North City, Huitong Fang.

On Jinshui Street, there was a crowd of people, and the people were whispering to the people around them while looking at the shop that had been burned by the fire.

The fire came very suddenly last night, but fortunately, it was about to fall into the night, and the shopkeeper and the guys in the store were very clever, and they escaped in time when the situation was not good.

Unfortunately, the shop itself suffered heavy losses, and all the silk and other goods in the storeroom were destroyed.

"Master Hou, after rough statistics, the loss of our business this time is about more than 13,000 taels."

Chen Shu came to Lu Shen with a rather heavy expression.

For the Lu family, more than 10,000 taels of silver will certainly not hurt the muscles and bones, but it is also a big loss.

More importantly, the sudden fire was a warning.

Lu Shen looked at the blackened façade everywhere and asked calmly, "Has the cause of the fire been found out?" ”

Chen Shu said ashamedly: "Before it was ascertained, a guy said that the fire started in the warehouse, and it was too late to extinguish it when it was discovered. ”

"From the ...... of the Warehouse"

Lu Shen repeated these words in a low voice, his eyes were a little colder, and then he ordered: "First settle the shopkeeper and men of this store, the other stores are closed, and the important goods can be temporarily stored in the Hou Mansion." ”

Chen Shu hurriedly responded.

Lu Shen took one last look at the storefront that had been destroyed by the fire, and then turned around and left surrounded by dozens of pro-soldiers.

Everyone traveled all the way south, and Wei Chigui didn't know when he appeared beside Lu Shen.

The middle-aged man said meaningfully: "This time the warehouse of a store was burned, and next time it may be that all the stores of the Lu family business in the capital will be burned, and further there will be various problems in the Lu family's business in various prefectures in Huaizhou." If arson doesn't solve the problem, then pull out a knife and kill people, even if they can't move you, you can also threaten the people you care about, such as Ling Zun and the men, women and children of the Lu family. ”

Lu Shen rode his horse and said indifferently: "Seniors know who set the fire?" ”

Wei Chigui said sarcastically: "Who else can these dignitaries and nobles in the south be?" You are now not only the Qin Cha who is responsible for investigating and handling the Hou Yu case, but also the greatest support for the Son of Heaven to break the stubborn disease of the Beijing army. Earlier, you talked about the details of the night banquet in the ink garden, and you used a wine glass to block the hope of those people to pull you into the water, and the next thing was naturally threats and intimidation. ”

Lu Shen smiled.

Wei Chi returned and said, "It seems that you really don't care about these threats. ”

Lu Shen looked at the street scene in front of him and said slowly: "I just think that the old men in the south think things too simply, they think that setting a fire can scare me, but they forget how I entered the palace from the frontier." ”

This sentence is very plain, and it does not deliberately bring murderous aura, but when it falls on Wei Chigui's ears, there is a common pride and wanton in the rivers and lakes.

The middle-aged man asked with interest, "Then how are you going to pay back?" ”

Lu Shen didn't answer this question directly, and said leisurely: "The predecessor previously relayed Uncle Xiao's evaluation of these powerful people in Jiangnan, and those three sentences are still fresh in my memory. The so-called knowing small courtesy without great righteousness, being restrained without great virtue, valuing self-interest and ignoring shame, this evaluation can be described as appropriate, but I think it can be added. ”

Wei Chigui smiled and asked, "Which one?" ”

Lu Shen looked ahead and said word for word: "Fear of power but not virtue." ”

……

The Imperial Palace, Wende Hall.

When Lu Shen walked in, there were already two important ministers in the hall, standing on the right was the warp weaver lifting Qin Zheng, and the one on the left was Xue Nanting, the right minister.

Before Lu Shen came to the capital with Huanghuang's military exploits, the three monarchs and ministers in the hall at this moment were a very fixed match.

Li Duan, the son of heaven sitting behind the imperial case, looked at Lu Shen and asked gently: "You went to the eastern suburbs for a military parade yesterday, did something interesting happen?" ”

Lu Shen carefully noticed that there was a dull look between the eyebrows of the Son of Heaven, he did not rush to ask, briefly recounted yesterday's events, and finally said: "Your Majesty, the minister left nine hundred cavalry, which were placed in the Zhenwei, Chongwei and Liwei armies, and temporarily served as the military law team. In fact, although there are many problems in the Beijing army, they have not yet rotted to the roots, and giving the ministers a period of time is enough to change the style of these three Beijing armies. ”

"Very well, I didn't see the wrong person."

The smile on Li Duan's face became thicker and thicker, and then he said: "The restructuring of the Beijing army is not a day's work, you have already had a good start, and you can slow down the pace appropriately." ”

Lu Shen bowed his head and said: "The minister understands, please rest assured Your Majesty." ”

Li Duan asked again: "How is Hou Yu's case investigated?" ”

Lu Shen was about to speak, but he saw Xue Nanting take a step forward, bowed down and said, "Regarding the case of Nan'an Hou, I implore Your Majesty to think twice!" ”

This sudden change interrupted Lu Shen's thoughts, and he looked at the right phase with a little puzzlement, only to see that the middle-aged man with a hard temperament had a little more worry on his face that was usually difficult to see.

Li Duan's previous mild face was a little cold, he raised his hand and rubbed the white jade paperweight on the table, and said slowly: "Think twice? Why should I think twice? ”

Xue Nanting knew that his advice was not liked by the king, but as the right minister of the court, and because of the old age of the left minister, he knew better than anyone the structure of the Great Qi court and the problems it was facing.

There is something that has to be said, it must be said.

He arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, all the things committed by Nan Anhou are indeed unforgivable, especially the unauthorized use of swords and the deception of the king, even if it is a raid on the family. But his connection with those high-ranking clans is too deep, and it involves the relationship between Daqi and the seven tribes of Shazhou. If Nan'anhou is heavily blamed for this, will it cause a riot in the Governor's Mansion of Chengzhou, and will it cause the seven departments of Shazhou to gain an inch, and then threaten the stability of the western border? ”

At this moment, Lu Shen felt a strange emotion in his heart.

Perhaps these words should have come from the mouth of the Left Minister, who had always been the staunchest supporter of the Son of Heaven, and would oppose the Son of Heaven's decision.

Li Duan looked at Xue Nanting steadily, and after being silent for a long time, he asked, "According to Xue Xiang's intentions, how should I decide?" ”

Xue Nanting looked up at the Son of Heaven and said earnestly: "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Nan'an is a military meritorious knight, so he can be convicted. In the humble opinion of the minister, he can take away his title and be demoted to a commoner, and he will never be hired. ”

Li Duan was noncommittal, and asked again, "What about the others?" ”

Everyone in the temple understood who this "other person" was.

During his tenure in the Chengzhou Governor's Office, Hou Yu first took the initiative to cross the Yunling Mountains to hunt Shazhou people, and in this way he grabbed the first rank and military merits to be promoted. When the people of Shazhou could not bear to fight back, he lied about the military situation and said that this was the invasion of the border by the seven departments of Shazhou, and he reaped the credit by blocking the enemy.

These things seem very simple, and if you want to completely hide them from the court, it is impossible to cover them up without the help of some ministers in the court.

Li Duan endured it for fourteen years, and he didn't want to endure it any longer, so he was bound to take the opportunity of Hou Yu's case to move the court.

Xue Nanting knew this, he looked at the Son of Heaven, and said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, it's too late." ”

"Bang!"

Li Duan suddenly raised his hand and patted the case, and said angrily: "Too much? How many times have I given them a chance in the past 14 years? Do they know how to cherish it? These people have privately delegated the authority of the imperial court, and they are intertwined with each other, even if I want to change the military department, I have to look at their faces! ”

Xue Nanting's expression was solemn.

Li Duan continued: "For the sake of the overall situation of the country, I have endured it again and again, but these people are more and more ignorant of restraint, and they dare to hide such things from me, do I continue to treat them leniently? ”

Xue Nanting did not flinch because of this, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has no selfish intentions. ”

Li Duan looked at the white hair that appeared on the middle-aged man's sideburns at some point, and an extremely complicated emotion surged in his heart, and he said slowly: "I know that I am not accusing you. ”

Xue Nanting straightened up, thanked the Son of Heaven first, and then said: "Your Majesty, Nan'anhou's case is not complicated, although the minister has not read the case file, he can roughly guess who has secretly helped him, after all, as long as this kind of thing is revealed, there are traces to follow." But the minister wanted to say that the most important thing for Daqi was stability. Now that the northern Jingguo has destroyed Zhao Pingyan, the next step must be to point to the south of the Yangtze River. ”

He turned his head to look at Lu Shen, then looked back at the Son of Heaven, and said heavily: "Your Majesty, the minister firmly believes in the loyalty of the border soldiers to Daqi, and he will not doubt their combat strength, but no matter how brave a soldier is, he also needs a stable rear. The minister was extremely disgusted with what Hou Yu had done, and wanted to kill him faster than His Majesty, as well as the others. However, the current Great Qi cannot withstand the stormy waves, and before the final success of the Northern Expedition, only the word stability is the most important! ”

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Xue Nanting saluted again and said, "Your Majesty, if you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, and temporarily retreat just to take care of the overall situation!" ”

Li Duan was silent.

Xue Nanting did not oppose for the sake of opposition, he considered this issue from the perspective of the stability of the court situation.

Taking down Hou Yu and the ministers of the clan who colluded with him can indeed vent the anger in Li Duan's chest, but this incident happened after he reformed the Beijing army, which was equivalent to slashing them on the premise of forcing the Jiangnan clan into a corner.

What is the Imperial Court?

It is not a specific person, but an interest group formed by the combination of countless forces, and the Jiangnan clan is the most important part of it.

Swinging a knife at oneself to rip off the carrion may sound magnificent, quite like the majesty of a strong man with a broken arm, but there is also a result that the carrion is not gone, but he himself is bleeding non-stop, and finally cheapens the enemies of the north.

Lee Do-yan was silent because of this concern.

Xue Nanting also spoke out based on this consideration.

Li Duan looked at Xue Nanting quietly, looking at this capable minister who had been loyal to protect the Great Qi River since he ascended the throne, although he did not ask directly, but he also knew that Xue Nanting, who was born in a high-ranking family, was on his side, especially in supporting the Northern Expedition.

He looked at Qin Zheng on the other side, this lonely minister who was secretly scolded by many people as the eagle dog of the Son of Heaven, pulled the warp weaving division for him between the cracks of various forces, and ensured that he did not become blind and deaf in the palace, and now he is also middle-aged and exhausted.

In the end, his gaze fell on Lu Shen.

Compared with the other two important ministers, Lu Shen is like the rising sun, exuding an enviable aura.

Li Duan couldn't help but have a look of relief on his face, and then suddenly coughed continuously.

"Your Majesty?"

Xue Nanting looked at the Son of Heaven, who was gradually turning red, and couldn't help but take a step forward worriedly, and then said, "Do you want to pass on the imperial doctor?" ”

Li Duan raised his hand and waved, and finally stopped coughing, he shook his head and said, "No need, the imperial doctor has already seen it, there is no need to let them run in vain." ”

Lu Shen couldn't help frowning slightly when he heard this.

Li Duan picked up the cup on the case, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then said to the three of them: "Although you have never asked, I know in my heart that you must feel that I am a little anxious during this time, and it seems that I am carried away by the results of the great victory in the frontier, and I can't wait to deal with everything in one day, in fact——"

At this, a bitter smile appeared on his face, and he muttered, "I will tell you today that it is not that I have lost my patience, but that I have to do it. ”

As soon as these words came out, the hearts of the three people in the hall were shocked.

(End of chapter)

.