When Fan Zhongyan and others were discussing things, at the beginning of the afternoon, Lu Yijian's sedan chair also slowly walked out of Donghua Gate and headed in the direction of Mahang Street in the inner city.

Everyone in the world knows that the Lu family is prominent, and they have been high-ranking officials for generations since the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, but they don't know that they are not only prominent, but also very wealthy.

Lu Yijian's uncle Lu Mengzheng was the prime minister of Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Heng, who was honest and honest, honest and rigorous, and the prototype of the allusion that the prime minister could support the boat in his belly In addition to Wang Anshi, he also had his share.

But this Daxian likes to eat chicken tongue soup for breakfast, and he kills dozens or hundreds of chickens every day.

Although he later learned that the kitchen had to waste so many chickens, he changed his habit of eating chicken tongue soup, but this is enough to prove how rich the Lu family is.

And this wealth is not the result of greed, but the inheritance of the family. For example, the Lu family has countless fields in the ancestral land of Shouzhou, and there are also a large number of shops, industries, etc. in the cities and Bianliang in various parts of Shouzhou, which can be called a family wealth.

Therefore, the Lu family is not a high-ranking official from a poor family like Fan Zhongyan, who can only buy an ordinary mansion in Daguan Lane in the outer city. But with the family heritage, the Lu Mansion is located on the Mahang Street, which is very close to the palace.

Mahang Street is much more prosperous than Daguan Lane, the west of the street is mostly residential, the east of the street is full of shops, and most of them are goods and pharmacies. The street is more than ten miles long, the street is full of shops, mixed with officials' houses, cars and horses are crowded, and its night market is a hundred times more prosperous than the state bridge.

In addition to the bustling streets, there are countless alleys of all sizes on both sides of the street.

Among them, the most famous is the Washe, commonly known as the tile, the hook bar. The high-rise buildings are connected together, like a large number of courtyard houses gathered together, forming a complex terrain like an alley.

There are brothels, teahouses, restaurants, inns, theaters, elegant gardens, taverns and so on. Especially in the Tiansheng years, Zhao Zhen completely canceled the curfew, and the Washe and Fang markets became completely prosperous and lively.

There are countless people who buy drunk, play, stay in the house, and prostitute at night, and it is said that there is also a black market, and you can buy a lot of things that you can't see outside. ”

Lu Yijian's sedan chair was surrounded by guards and servants, shuttling through the street outside the Donghua Gate where people came and went, and in front of him was Liwazi, and he heard the servants outside say: "Jiajun, Song Xianggong's guards came over just now and said that Song Xiangcheng was waiting for Jiajun in the east building of Wazi in front." ”

"Hmm."

Lu Yijian said in a deep voice: "Got it, go over." ”

The sedan chair continued forward.

After a while, he went outside Livazi, turned around and no longer walked straight to the street, but entered Rivazi.

Vasheen is a straight street lined with shops on the left and right.

The East Building is a big restaurant, and the people who can open a restaurant in the inner city have always had a big background, and as far as Lu Yijian knows, there should be a shadow of Jiangmen behind.

Because of this, it is safe to meet in the East Building.

At least the Imperial City Division is now controlled by the Cao family, and the current Imperial City envoy Cao Xiu is the cousin of Empress Cao, and he will probably give him Lu Yijian and Song Shou a thin noodle, and then present it to the official family, at most, it is just a light meal for Lu Xiang and Song Xiang.

Lu Yijian got off the sedan chair and went up to the third floor under the greeting of the shopkeeper in the east building, the first and second floors were all lobbies, and it was the meal that was crowded with guests. The third floor is much quieter, and the corridor is still burning with a faint Funan sandalwood.

The shopkeeper was very sensible, he didn't ask anything, and respectfully took Lu Yijian all the way to the innermost room, and Song Shou and Lu Yijian's guards and servants guarded outside, eliminating all possibilities of eavesdropping.

"Crunch" pushed the door of the room, there was still a room inside, the shopkeeper's interest retreated, Lu Yijian opened the bead curtain, and saw Song Shou in the inner room making tea for himself.

"Duke Tanf."

Seeing Lu Yijian come in, Song Shou got up and pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Please take a seat." ”

"Gong Hang."

Lu Yijian walked over, sat down on the chair, and said, "Didn't we say okay, try not to meet in private?" ”

Song Shou also sat down, the food on the table was just delivered, it was hot, he raised his chopsticks, and said with a smile: "Isn't it okay to have a light meal together on the way home from Zai Fusan?" ”

"Hehe, let's talk about something."

Lu Yijian saw that the table was full of dishes that he liked to eat, and he said in his heart that he was heartfelt, so he also raised his chopsticks, thinking that he was busy in the afternoon and forgot the time, and he was really hungry in his stomach, so he simply ate some casually in the East Building, and he didn't eat when he went home at night.

"What can I do, it's not that the government has been complicated recently, and I feel a little depressed."

Song Shou personally poured a glass of wine for Lu Yijian.

Although tea is good, when it comes to business, you still need a cup or two of sake to cheer up.

"When you are on duty, you should talk about business, and after you are on duty, you should always be more leisurely."

Lu Yijian smiled, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

The two chatted for a while, without saying a word, and waited until two or three glasses of wine were in their stomachs, and finally got to the point.

Song Shou took a chopstick chicken and put it in his mouth and chewed it for a while, and after swallowing it, he hesitated slightly, leaned over to Lu Yijian's side, and said in a low voice: "Xianggong, I won't hide it from you, there are indeed some important things." ”

"Say it."

Lu Yijian probably understood what he was going to say.

Song Shou said: "We haven't seen any guests recently, Ziqiao and Ziming are very worried. ”

He said that Ziqiao and Ziming were actually Xia Zhu, Jia Changchao and others, and the protégés and officials promoted by Lu Yijian himself are now mostly middle- and lower-level officials, and the high-level forces except for Song Shou, who was single-handedly promoted by him, others are basically allies of interests with him.

In fact, Song Shou and him are not completely superior and subordinate, let alone Lu Yijian's servants, but an alliance with more kindness than a political alliance.

At the beginning, Song Shou rebelled against the old demon woman Liu E and was demoted to Ying Tianfu Yin, but it was Lu Yijian who recommended Zhao Zhen to Zhao Zhen after Liu E's death, and then returned to the court and was reused as the deputy minister.

It is precisely because of this kindness that Song Shou has always supported him.

Otherwise, with the current system of the Great Song Dynasty, unless it is a single minister, Lu Yijian will not be able to tilt the power towards the government and the opposition, and let all the people of the Lu Party obey his orders.

It's just that now Lu Yijian is the leading brother of the Lu Party after all, and the Fan Party has made a lot of trouble recently, uprooting a lot of their middle and lower forces.

At this juncture, Lu Yijian closed his door and thanked guests, and did not talk to anyone except for entering the palace and returning in the afternoon every day, which made other high-level leaders of the Lu Party very worried.

Could it be that the official family really planned to let Fan Zhongyan and others purge them?

"I know what they're worried about."

Lu Yijian put down the chopsticks in his hand, lightly tapped the index finger of his right hand on the table, and then said in a deep voice: "But you should understand what is most important now." In contrast, even if Xia Zhu and Jia Chang were all driven out of the court, it was not so serious. ”

Song Shou understood what he meant, so he frowned and said: "I naturally know this truth, but Fan Xiwen is a bull temper, as smelly and hard as the stones in the pit, and he has repeatedly tried to kill us." ”

"The official family really mistrusted this person, and Fan Xiwen's low pattern is disgusting. When he should have been united, he single-mindedly provoked party strife, which is really hateful. ”

Thinking of this, Lu Yijian couldn't help but get angry.

In the Song Dynasty, there was the word pattern, but in Lu Yijian's heart, Fan Zhongyan's pattern was really low, and with Zhao Jun, he actually wanted to use Zhao Jun to engage in party struggle, instead of enriching and strengthening the country with the help of Zhao Jun, which really made him angry.

It's just that he also understands that maybe in Fan Zhongyan's heart, he is a different look.

After all, he Lu Yijian has indeed been a bit arbitrary and tyrannical over the years, among the three phases and three counselors, Wang Zeng has been very dissatisfied with him many times because of his monopoly on power, and Zhao Jun said that he will resign next year, which is the reason.

But this is not the reason for his repeated attacks by Fan Zhongyan.

Because both Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan know very well that under the current system of the Great Song Dynasty, no matter how powerful the prime minister is, it is impossible to threaten the imperial power. Fan Zhongyan's impeachment of Lu Yijian for controlling the government and causing chaos in the government is nothing more than finding a high-sounding reason.

In the final analysis, this battle is still a battle of positions and interests, one is that the Lu Party holds a high position, and the Fan Party is mostly young talents, and if you want to take the position, you must blow out the gold coins of this group of old things.

The second is that the members of the Fan Party are basically reformers of the New Deal, and Fan Zhongyan's main focus is on the problem of reforming redundant officials.

Most of the Lü Dang are the sons of wealthy families, and the Fan Party intends to set off reforms and deal with the problem of redundant officials, and the Lü Party is naturally the biggest obstacle on their way. Therefore, Fan Zhongyan pointed the finger at Lu Yijian, and his intention was naturally self-evident.

The battle of positions is inevitable, but what makes Lu Yijian angry is that Fan Zhongyan actually cleverly used Zhao Jun as a tool for party struggle, making him the target of public criticism.

And Lu Yijian is too passive.

Zhao Jun said that Fan Zhongyan is the initiator of the Qingli New Deal in the future, and the Qingli New Deal is the right path that the Great Song Dynasty should take under the current situation, so in the eyes of the officials, Fan Zhongyan has become a good minister who governs the world.

On the contrary, he Lu Yijian became the culprit who blocked the new policy, and in the hearts of the officials, Fan Zhongyan's weight increased greatly, and his status also climbed steadily.

In this way, as long as Fan Zhongyan relies on the identity of this reform minister, he can be invincible.

He can continue to suppress the Lu Party, stand on the moral high ground, say that they are a conservative interest group, just like the characters portrayed in later films, television, novels, and TV series, turning the Lu Party into villains and traitors.

What does this make Lu Yijian do?

It's hard to refute it.

So Lu Yijian now feels a headache.

Fan Zhongyan will not give up, he just needs to make good use of his identity as a pioneer of reform, and sooner or later he will pull himself off the horse.

Song Shou said: "If Fan Xiwen continues to make such a fuss, I'm afraid it will not be good for anyone." ”

"Fan Zhongyan relied on the fact that he was said a few words by that person, but he didn't take anyone else in his eyes, and arranged whether or not we waited in front of that person all day long."

Lu Yijian's face was ugly and very unhappy.

Song Shou frowned and said: "If it is said that there are many officials and imperial histories under the Xianggong who have been cleared, but there should be a lot of other people's subordinates, and there are countless people who use the power of the Emperor to impeach him, but now if he is forced, he will not be able to move, and it is impossible for the official family to let go." ”

Lu Yijian pondered for a moment and said, "Do you have any solution?" ”

"Uh."

Song Shou was stunned for a moment, and then smiled bitterly: "If I had the law, I wouldn't have come to find Xianggong." ”

"For the sake of the official family, for the sake of the Great Song Dynasty, I don't want to do anything to Fan Zhongyan after learning that he will be useful to the country in the future."

Lu Yijian touched his beard, his eyes narrowed slightly, and said softly: "But if he still doesn't know how to advance and retreat, and then he doesn't know how to restrain, I will find a way to beat him at that time." ”

"Oh?"

Song Shou was surprised: "Could it be that Gong Lu has a strategy? ”

Lu Yijian said: "The method on the surface can't be used, so you can only use other methods, let's take a look first, if Fan Xiwen dies down, then I will bear with it, if he still insists on embarrassing the old man, the old man has to use this strategy." ”

Song Shou asked: "Please also ask Gong Lu to tell me, I also have a mental preparation." ”

Lu Yijian asked rhetorically: "Do you know why I cut off all contact and refused to visit during this time?" ”

Song Shou said: "Naturally, I know that not only Duke Lu, but also me, the two Wang Xianggong, Sheng Xianggong and Cai Xianggong, are also living in a simple place. This time, it was Ziqiao who asked someone to come to the house, otherwise I wouldn't have come to Lu Gong. ”

"Huh."

Lu Yijian said with a smile: "But I recently heard that Fan Xiwen's mansion is very lively, and Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Cai Xiang and others have repeatedly gathered in his mansion. ”

Song Shou's eyes widened, and then he said, "Is Gong Lu worried about Fan Xiwen?" ”

"He probably wouldn't be that stupid."

Lu Yijian shook his head: "But who can say for sure this kind of thing?" Even if he didn't name and come from, he would reveal something else. If there is something circulating in Bianliang, hehe. ”

"Something is circulating?"

Song Shou wondered, "What's the matter?" ”

"Someone told the official family that Zhao Yuanhao rebelled."

Lu Yi said lightly.

"Zhao Yuanhao rebelled? Who doesn't know this..... Wait ..... meeting"

Song Shou didn't understand at first, thought deeply a little, and suddenly became stunned, and looked at Lu Yijian in shock.

Zhao Jun's matter is already the top secret of the Great Song Dynasty. The old mothers and children sent into the palace, they couldn't bring them out, and now they all live in the back garden.

Even if King Lu Yijian had three phases and three ginseng, all of them lived in a simple place, and they didn't even dare to mention Zhao Jun's name.

The power of the Imperial City Division has indeed been somewhat restricted, but this is Bianliang, which is the most powerful place in the Imperial City Division, and it is impossible for the officials not to know how careful Lu Yijian and them are.

Only Fan Zhongyan's side kept holding parties, in groups of three or five, shouting five and six, as if he was afraid that others would not know that they were having a party in the mansion.

Even though Fan Zhongyan didn't reveal anything, once something spread in Bianliang City.

For example, the official family of the Great Song Dynasty already knew that Zhao Yuanhao had objections, and someone told him about it. Even if there is no wind and waves in Bianliang, in the hearts of the officials, there will probably be stormy waves.

After all, Zhao Yuanhao has long been opposed, in fact, many people know that Zhao Yuanhao once threatened to establish a country in front of Langzhong Yang of the Ministry of Industry and Deputy Protocol Zhu Yunzhong.

If this matter spreads to the people, it is estimated that it will not cause much sensational effect.

Because there are too many true and false news in these years, from the attitude of Zhao Yuanhao's heart that everyone knows over the years, it is not that the people have no news that Zhao Yuanhao wants to establish a country.

So in fact, if there is no Zhao Jun in this matter, it is probably an insignificant trivial matter.

But the key is that Zhao Jun appeared.

At this juncture, Zhao Yuanhao's rebellion suddenly made a fuss, and it was also pointed out that someone told the official family about it, so what would he think when it reached the ears of the official family?

Naturally, he would have thought that Zhao Jun's news had been leaked out.

So who leaked it?

Is it the three-phase three-phase three-counselor who lives in a simple place and almost never talks to people, or Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu and others who often gather together?

Song Shou was taken aback for a while, and after he came to his senses, he gave a thumbs up.

"Ginger, it's still old and spicy."