The dust settled on Hou Yu's case, and Zhu Pi, the Son of Heaven, exiled him to Guining Mansion in Taiping Prefecture on the southwestern border.

It is located in the middle of the dense mountains and forests, at the junction of Daqi and Nanzhao, and it is said that miasma is full of poisonous insects, and even walking on the road will be extremely risky.

Because of the plea of Li Daoyan and more than half of the courtiers, the Son of Heaven did not execute Hou Yu in the end, but the choice of this place of exile was enough to see the anger in his heart.

The Hou family's property in the capital is being counted, and it is jointly investigated and dealt with by the Weaving Division, the Criminal Department, the Dali Temple and the Yushitai, and Lu Shen also sent more than ten experienced subordinates to supervise the whole process to ensure that those gold and silver treasures will not be filled with private pockets.

Once all the procedures were completed, Hou Yu would embark on his journey into exile alone, accompanied only by a few servants.

The only generosity of the Son of Heaven is that he did not use this matter to liquidate the entire Dehua Hou family, but it is foreseeable that the Hou family has no hope of setting foot in the Great Qi Dynasty in the next few decades.

The restructuring of the southern government of the Beijing army is in progress, and the policy of transferring middle and lower-level generals suggested by Lu Shen has also been smoothly implemented, and 15 lieutenants and lieutenants of the Beijing army have been transferred to the frontiers, and at the same time, the Jingzhou Governor's Office and the Huaizhou Governor's Office have also elected 15 generals to Beijing.

The Son of Heaven's control of the court reached its highest level in fourteen years.

There is not much discussion about this, after all, this belongs to the intrigue at the top of the Great Qi, ordinary people seem to be like seeing flowers in the fog, and they can't figure out the twists and turns at all, maybe they are more interested in the jealousy of the powerful, or the romance of the Qinglou Oiran.

But for the Jiangnan clan, this summer wind faintly has the chill of the cold winter wax moon.

Today, in the hidden manor in the northern city, everyone is sitting in the dark room.

During the banquet, every middle-aged man was a well-known figure in Beijing, including Ning Yuanfu, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Ding Hui, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Le Qinyi, the head of the household.

These people obviously didn't get together to talk about the wind and snow.

Ning Yuanfu looked at Li Shizhi, the waiter of the Criminal Department, who was sitting in the main seat, and said in a low voice: "Can the old man explain?" ”

Li Shizhi shook his head slightly.

Ning Yuanfu didn't say much, but his face was slightly solemn.

When Ding saw this, he said, "Everyone, we can't do nothing, right? If this continues, I'm afraid everyone will have to pack up their sheets and roll back to their hometowns. ”

Li Shizhi said lightly: "Your Majesty will not do this. If I am not mistaken, he will certainly ease the atmosphere in the court and show grace to some of us in order to further divide us. ”

Everyone couldn't help but be silent, the Son of Heaven now has a stable throne, and because of the victory in the frontier war, it is very difficult to oppose it in the open.

Li Shizhi observed their expressions, and said: "But I advise you, Your Majesty's doing this does not mean that this is the end, and his fist is withdrawn not to fear us, but to accumulate strength to deliver a stronger blow." Believe me, when Your Majesty makes another move, it will definitely not be aimed at Hou Yu alone like this time, and there will definitely be turbulent waves in the court at that time. ”

Hubu Shangshu Le Qinyi said coldly: "Today's plan is to let the people below move, as long as this year's tax revenue is sharply reduced, Your Majesty will understand where the foundation of the imperial court lies." ”

His tone was firm, and his words made the others shine.

The reason why the Jiangnan clan can become an important interest group in the Great Qi court is not only because they hold the authority of the imperial court, but also because these high-ranking clans are closely related through spider webs, entrenched in various parts of the thirteen states in the south of the Yangtze River.

In other words, if the imperial court wants to return taxes to the treasury from all over the country, it is inseparable from their help.

Even if the Son of Heaven could find a successor to the central official, he would not have the ability to govern the vast territory of the thirteen states in the south of the Yangtze River by himself. It is obviously an unrealistic fantasy to find enough officials to change everything up and down in a short period of time.

While everyone was looking forward to it, Li Shizhi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty doesn't want to push us into a corner, and we can't take that step either." When it comes to a complete turnaround, can you guarantee that Your Majesty will not resort to extreme measures? Don't talk about Liu Shouguang and Lu Shen, don't talk about the elite border army in Jiangbei, just the two Marquis of Yongding and Marquis Chongshan, are you sure they will be on our side? ”

Le Qinyi couldn't help but be speechless.

Ning Yuanfu looked at Li Shizhi and frowned, "What about your opinion?" ”

Li Shizhi said calmly: "In my opinion, we need to do three things well at the moment. ”

Everyone was sitting precariously with grim faces.

Li Shizhi looked around at everyone: "First, I hope you can be more united in the days to come, although there may be some contradictions in the past, but now it has reached the moment of life and death, and it is an inevitable choice to advance and retreat together." If we continue to think about each other as before, we will only find an opportunity for Your Majesty to break through one by one and take back what is in our pockets little by little. ”

Ning Yuanfu bowed his head and said, "It should be so." ”

The rest echoed it.

Li Shizhi continued: "Second, promote the dispute between the princes. Your Majesty likes the second prince, I believe you have seen this, but the eldest prince is the legitimate choice of the prince, plus the third prince is ready to move, we can use this matter to give His Majesty a lot of headaches, so that he will not have the extra energy to continue to target us. ”

Ding Hui glanced at him meaningfully.

Le Qinyi was not annoyed by the rejection of Fang Cai's proposal, he bowed his head and said, "This is a good way. Brother, we will all listen to you in the future, but if you have an order, you can speak directly. ”

No one questioned the weight of this statement.

In fact, as early as five or six years ago, Li Daoyan had already consciously handed over the family power to Li Shizhi, and Li Shizhi had used the energy of the Jinlin Li family to make many shots over the years, and he had already won the approval of these people in the room.

Li Shizhi was still not surprised, and said indifferently: "Thank you for your trust." This last one is to wait, if Hou Yu can arrive in Taiping Prefecture safely, it means that His Majesty's means are still within the acceptable range, he will still follow the rules of the court, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. ”

Ning Yuanfu heard the meaning of his words, and said slowly: "You mean Hou Yu ...... him"

Li Shizhi said expressionlessly: "I will send someone to protect him along the way, after all, he is one of us, and he has a certain influence in the army, no one can say what will happen in the future, maybe there is a chance for him to contribute." However, if His Majesty is really unwilling to let him go, I may not be able to keep it. ”

Hearing this, everyone's expressions looked very serious.

After half an hour, everyone who had roughly discussed the way to deal with it left one after another, and in the end, only the military department was left in the past.

He looked at Li Shizhi, who was sitting there, and said softly, "Hou Yu, do you want me to send someone to do this?" ”

There was no doubt that he knew Li Shizhi's true intentions.

Li Shizhi pondered for a long time and said, "No need. During this time, you and I will try to avoid private interactions, and you have to focus on that person, who is our real killer weapon. ”

Ding Hui said, "Yes." ”

Li Shizhi said quietly: "The power in Your Majesty's hands seems to be strong, but in fact, it can't withstand scrutiny at all, and the most important thing is that we don't have to rush to have a head-on conflict with Your Majesty now, we just need to wait patiently." ”

Ding Hui looked slightly puzzled.

In his opinion, the Son of Heaven is already ready to fly, and even if it is not triggered for the time being, sooner or later he will launch a terrifying purge of the court and the army.

Since the Son of Heaven has taken the first step to gather power, he will not stop after tasting the sweetness, what he has to do is to carry this matter to the end until the stability of the imperial power of the Heavenly Family is completely ensured.

Li Shizhi glanced at him lightly, and finally revealed a little detail to this companion who knew the roots: "Your Majesty is sick, half a year soon, and a year later." ”

Ding Hui was shocked in his heart and couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

He suddenly understood the origin of Li Shizhi's previous three suggestions.

Li Shizhi took a shallow sip of the teacup, and his tone was slightly fluttering: "Wait, don't worry." ”

……

On the Hengjiang River, which runs through the east and west of the mainland, the drizzle is misty, and the mountains and rivers are like fog.

The crystal rain fell on the surface of the river, as if the celestial beings plucked the strings, ethereal and solemn.

The world is vast, and the eyes are desolate.

It was obviously not a good weather to cross the river, but there was a small boat that set off from the north bank of the river and headed south.

The sound of rain falling on the canopy was continuous.

In the cabin sat a middle-aged man, dressed in a blue robe with a wooden hairpin running through his bun.

His appearance is quite thoughtful, but there is a slight hint of coldness, like a lonely ghost walking in the night, ordinary people will inevitably be afraid when they see it, especially those white and black eyes, revealing indifference and coldness.

He was wiping a long sword.

The blade of the sword was unstained, but he still meticulously rubbed it, rubbing it countless times, as if this sword was more important than himself.

The captain in the bow of the ship in a cloak glanced to the south and said to the cabin, "Master, you are almost on the shore." ”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man put the long sword into the sheath, and after a while, he said: "You don't have to wait on the north shore after you go back, and don't go home, go to the place I arranged for you to stay for half a year, and then you can go back." ”

The captain hurriedly responded.

The middle-aged man picked up his sword, put on a hat to protect him from the rain, and then walked slowly to the bow of the boat.

Gong Gong knew that the middle-aged man must have something important going south this time, and the worry in his heart could not subside, after all, the two were called master and servant, but in fact, they had been dependent on each other for decades, and they had long been no different from their relatives.

He turned his head to look at the middle-aged man, the head of the family who was proficient in swordsmanship and ranked sixth on the martial arts list by the rivers and lakes, and asked cautiously: "Master, how long are you going to stay in the capital this time?" ”

The middle-aged man stared at the misty scenery on the south bank, his eyes were still cold, and he said indifferently: "It won't take too long, it's just to kill someone." ”

(End of chapter)