Guo Congyi understood why Wang Yan wanted to kill Hou Yu.

But he didn't understand why Wang Yan had to do this.

If Hou Yu died unexpectedly, it is easy for ordinary people to think that this is the arrangement of the Son of Heaven, after all, because of the pleas of the Zuo Prime Minister and many courtiers at the court meeting, the Son of Heaven reluctantly spared Hou Yu's life, and it is difficult to guarantee that he will not settle accounts after the autumn.

In this way, it may be proved that the name of the Son of Heaven's benevolence is only a disguise, and his ruthlessness is his essence.

The Jiangnan clan, who has been forced to the edge of the cliff, is bound to be in danger, and holding together is the only choice.

Once this loose but huge force is tightly integrated, no one can determine what kind of terrifying power will erupt.

Wang Yan's move is clearly adding fuel to the fire.

Guo Congyi's expression was solemn and solemn, and he asked in a low voice, "What do you want to do?" ”

Wang Yan didn't answer, raised his hand and rubbed the white porcelain tea cup, and his eyes were glowing with cold light.

Time passed silently.

Guo Congyi's brows furrowed, and his tone became deeper and lower: "Brother Ziran, once you take a step, there is no turning back. ”

"Do you think we have a way out?"

A fierce anger appeared on Wang Yan's face, and he said hatefully: "Back then, Your Majesty only went south with his family, with no soldiers and no horses, and no territory, who supported him to ascend the throne as emperor?" At that time, he said clearly, he was willing to share the world with the Jiangnan Wang clan, and now it has only been 14 years, and he wants to destroy the promise of the year with his own hands, which is what Mingjun did? ”

He said that he didn't want to become a deaf and blind man in the deep palace, so he wanted to maintain the establishment of the warp weaving department, and even begged softly from the court, which made the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty helpless, and finally had to pinch his nose and admit the existence of such privileged yamen. Now the warp weaver has turned into a sharp minions, and he can kill me at any time! ”

He said that Xue Nanting was a rare talent, and despite the opposition of Zuo Xiang and all the Shangshu, he forcibly pushed it step by step into the middle book, and Zuo Xiang could only agree for the sake of the overall situation. Right now, Xue Nanting is taking that group of imperial histories and trying to catch the handle of us, and its purpose is self-evident. ”

He said that Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun were the backbone of the country, and they were given officials and knights again and again, and then continued to expand the strength of the border army. We all understand the importance of the border army, and even if we are reluctant, we do not interfere with the supply of the border army. But the border army raised with Jiangnan taxes has become the confidence of His Majesty in the palace to kill us and others! ”

"After so many years, one thing after another, which time is not us backing down? When is it not that we are compromised? What did you get in the end? ”

"You tell me, who can accept such a result?!"

Wang Yan's voice was not loud, but this series of catharsis was like a sharp arrow shot into Guo Congyi's heart, making him almost unable to breathe.

He could only pick up the teacup, and the originally fresh and fragrant tea was now full of bitterness.

Wang Yan slowly exhaled a breath of turbidity and sneered: "Whether it is Xiao Wangzhi or Li Tianrun, including that Lu Shen, they all feel that it is the Jiangnan clan that has dragged the back of the Northern Expedition, as if we will not be killed in one day, and Daqi will only be able to live in a corner of peace." But I really want to ask, from His Majesty's accession to the throne fourteen years ago to the present, how many things have we done that undermined the overall situation? ”

"The border army wants money, food, people, official titles, how many times have I stood up to stop it?"

"Your Majesty violated the promise of the year and wanted to take back the authority, when did we resist strongly?"

"It's not that we have bad intentions, it's His Majesty in the palace who forced us to go that way!"

In the last sentence, Wang Yan said it categorically, and at the same time revealed his purpose undoubtedly.

Guo Congyi's eyes were gloomy, and his face was cloudy.

After a long time, he said with a difficult heart: "According to my understanding of Your Majesty, it is impossible for him to be defenseless, and letting Lu Shen go to Chengzhou at this time is more like a bait." ”

Wang Yan said succinctly: "Until today, I have not received a flying pigeon from Jiangbei, which shows that everything is normal for the Jingzhou Army and the Huaizhou Army. ”

Guo Congyi had no doubts about this, if there was really a large-scale movement of the border army, it would be impossible to hide it from everyone, and he and Wang Yan would definitely know in advance.

He hesitated in his heart: "If we can succeed, what will we do next?" The border army has already become a momentum, and it is very likely to cause a split in the Great Qi at that time. ”

At this moment, a figure was not hindered in any way, slowly walked into the inner study, and said indifferently: "Why should the privy be worried? Your Majesty has laid the groundwork for us. ”

Guo Congyi looked up, and saw Ning Yuanfu, the secretary of the ministry, walking to the opposite side and sitting down with a smile on his face.

He looked at the two high-ranking officials with real power opposite, and he already understood in his heart, it was obvious that the two had already reached a tacit consensus, so he asked, "What does Ning Shangshu mean by this?" ”

Ning Yuanfu said unhurriedly: "The privy council is too complicated, in fact, the general and I have never thought of conspiring to cause chaos. Later historians will say that in the autumn of the fourteenth year of the founding of this dynasty, the eldest prince Li Zongchao held a grudge because he was not eligible for the position of prince, and colluded with the generals of the forbidden army to murder the Son of Heaven. Guo Shumi and the general and others were shocked to hear the bad news, and immediately raised troops to destroy the rebellion, but His Majesty unfortunately died in the palace, the eldest prince was defeated and committed suicide, and finally the three princes of the Manchu Dynasty supported the queen by the civil and military to ascend the throne as the emperor. ”

Guo Congyi was slightly stunned.

Looking at Ning Yuanfu's calm expression, he couldn't help but secretly sigh that these scholars were thick-skinned, and he was really out of reach.

He couldn't be as relaxed as Ning Yuanfu, and said slowly: "But Lu Shen ......"

Wang Yan interrupted him and said, "Lord Privy Council, if Your Majesty wants to use Lu Shen's departure as bait, then Lu Shen must go to Chengzhou honestly, otherwise who will fall into this trap?" Take 10,000 steps back and say, Lu Shen really has the ability to penetrate the heavens and the earth, and he can hide all our eyeliners, and he only has 2,000 cavalry in his hands, can't tens of thousands of soldiers of the Beijing army stop just 2,000 cavalry? ”

Guo Congyi smiled reluctantly, as a privy envoy, he had studied the details of the frontier war very deeply, of course he understood that the Ruishi battalion in Lu Shen's hands was an elite tiger that could defeat the Jing Army's iron cavalry head-on, two thousand people seemed to be not much, who knew how much of a role it could play in Lu Shen's hands?

Ning Yuanfu said sincerely: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not exhausted, he will also make wrong judgments, maybe our retreat in the past six months has given His Majesty an illusion, making him think that we have long lost the courage to resist, and will only kneel on the ground and beg for mercy to be slaughtered." Even if this is just a trap for His Majesty, he must show his flaws in order to lure us into making mistakes, otherwise who will be fooled? ”

Wang Yan took over the conversation and said awe-inspiringly: "A trap doesn't mean that there is no chance, but if we don't do anything, the final result will inevitably be to be killed." Thinking about Hou Yu's fate, you should understand His Majesty's determination. Without cutting off our heads, how can he hold the power inside and outside the government and the opposition in the palm of his hand? ”

Guo Congyi said: "Don't worry, the two of us are in the same breath, so naturally we should advance and retreat together." It's just that the stakes are big, and I think it's necessary to take into account the attitude of the old man. ”

"Old man?"

Ning Yuanfu sighed softly, and said in disappointment: "Could it be that the Privy Master has not yet understood that the old minister has decided to stand on His Majesty's side, otherwise how could he take the initiative to confess to the three princes and Li Yunyi, the masterminds behind the scenes?" Not to mention that in the past few years, the old prime minister has made concessions to His Majesty again and again, just to keep the power and status of their Jinlin Li family, and he doesn't care about the interests of our family at all. If it weren't for the old man who took the initiative to back down several times, how could His Majesty have the current advantage? ”

Guo Congyi frowned and said, "You want to exclude the Li family?" ”

"What Zuo Xiang has done in the past few years is no longer worthy of our trust."

Wang Yan's attitude was more direct, and he said coldly: "If you let him know about this, I dare to guarantee that he will enter the palace to report immediately." ”

"Not so much." Ning Yuanfu, as a secretary of the ministry, must have respect and fear for Li Daoyan from the bottom of his heart, and then explained: "We can't determine the old minister's thoughts, it's best not to let him get involved." In fact, Li Shizhi originally thought of some means to confront His Majesty, although it was not very radical but it may not be ineffective, but it is a pity that the old minister noticed the clue and dismissed Li Shizhi from power with an understatement, and let him stay in the mansion to recuperate, but in fact completely cut off his contact with us. Based on this situation, I think it is possible to bypass the Li family directly. ”

Guo Congyi was still hesitant.

You must know that what they are discussing now is not a dinner party, but a real rebellion, which is a big crime of beheading the nine clans.

Seeing this, Wang Yan said: "Brother Guo, okay or not, you have to give us a clear answer." ”

Guo Congyi sighed and laughed at himself: "The two of you have nothing to hide from me, do I still have room to refuse?" ”

Wang Yan and Ning Yuanfu glanced at each other and chuckled in unison.

Guo Congyi also laughed helplessly.

Although the three of them were laughing, Guo Congyi knew very well in his heart that if he showed a slight tendency to stand on the side of the Son of Heaven today, I am afraid that he would become a traitor to the Jiangnan Wang clan before the Son of Heaven's methods were displayed.

After all, he doesn't have the world-famous reputation like Li Daoyan, and he was slapped dozens of times by Lu Shen in front of the Privy Council some time ago.

After the laughter stopped, Guo Congyi looked at Wang Yan and asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

Wang Yan said confidently: "The lifeblood of the border army's money and food is in the hands of the center, as long as we move quickly enough to grasp the overall situation before they react, then it will be a boat." As Ning Shangshu said, this is a grievance between the father and son of the Heavenly Family, we are just the King of Qin to save the driver, and the last one to ascend the throne is the prince of the Heavenly Family, and the border army has no righteous name at all. ”

Guo Congyi bowed his head slightly and said: "This sentence is right, if you want to move, you will be able to thunder the lion and fight the rabbit." ”

Wang Yan continued: "His Majesty's reliance in the city is Liu Shouguang, but he overestimated Liu Shouguang's ability, in just a few months, how could Liu Shouguang completely subdue the three armies of the Northern Ya?" I'm sure enough to trap this person. ”

Guo Congyi reminded: "There are three other Beijing camps outside the city. ”

Wang Yan smiled and said, "Isn't the Privy Counsellor ready to make a move?" ”

Facing the fierce eyes of the two, Guo Congyi was silent for a moment and then said, "I will handle it properly." ”

Wang Yan praised: "It is deeply hidden, and it is worthy of being a privy councilor." In fact, after careful calculation, all we really need to solve is the 8,000 forbidden troops guarding the palace. ”

Guo Congyi nodded, and a cold murderous aura quietly appeared in his heart.

The two discussed in an orderly manner, and Ning Yuanfu sat next to him for a long time to listen, with a somewhat calm smile on his lips, and the face of the Son of Heaven suddenly flashed in his mind.

I wonder if His Majesty will regret his despair when that day comes?

(End of chapter)