The civil officials immediately turned their heads and looked at Cao Guogong with scrutiny and hostility.

In this struggle to avenge the grievances of the "38 unjust souls", the structure of the radical civil official group is complex, some are righteous in their hearts, and some are willing to live up to the sages. Some people are for fame and fortune, and some people follow the general trend.

The radicals were led by Wei Yuan and Wang Zhenwen.

The membership structure of the opposition is equally complex, starting with the royal family, and there are certainly good people in it, but sometimes the status dictates the position.

Once King Huai was convicted, it would be an unimaginable blow to the reputation of the entire royal family. In the words of the market, I can't raise my head and be a man in the future.

Ordinary people still have face, let alone the royal family?

King Zhenbei can die, but he cannot be convicted.

The second is the Xungui group, Xungui is naturally close to the royal family, as long as you understand the nature of the title, you can understand that the Xungui and the royal family are in the same camp.

Summed up in two words: aristocracy!

Civil officials are like leeks, changing wave after wave, and there is always a new force pouring into the court. When the scenery is in charge, when he is down, the heirs are no different from the commoners.

Only the hereditary nobles are born nobles, and they are in a different class from the commoners. And the hereditary succession, the power to extend the heir, is given by the royal family.

Therefore, even if there are people in Xungui who do not agree with King Huai and Emperor Yuan Jing, most of them will remain silent.

In the end, it was a group of civil officials who wanted to get to the top, or civil officials who were not in a good situation, who secretly reached an exchange of interests with Emperor Yuan Jing, spoke for him, and became his weapon.

The royal family, the noble group, and some civil officials formed the opposition.

At this time, Cao Guogong came out of the ranks, representing the Xungui group and representing their will.

"Your Majesty, over the years, the court has been worried about internal and external troubles, the summer drought continues, the rainy season floods are repeated, the people's livelihood is difficult, and the taxes in various places are in arrears every year. ”

Cao Guogong was heartbroken, and said in a deep voice: "At this time, if there is another rumor of the tragedy of the Zhenbei King slaughtering the city, how will the people of the world view the imperial court?

"Will you think that the imperial court has decayed, so it will intensify the looting of the people's fat and ointment, and become more unscrupulous?"

"Bastard!"

Emperor Yuan Jing was furious, pointed at Cao Guogong's nose and scolded angrily: "Are you sarcastic that I am a faint king, are you satirizing all the dukes in the hall as stupid people?"

"The minister doesn't dare!" Cao Guogong said loudly:

"But right now, isn't what the princes are doing such a stupid thing? He shouted that he would avenge the people's grievances and convict King Huai, but had anyone ever considered the overall situation? Considered the image of the imperial court? The princes were officials in the court, didn't they know that the face of the imperial court was the face of you?"

The two sang and harmonized, playing double reeds.

The princes of the court began to talk to each other, whispering.

Zheng Buzheng's heart was cold, shocked and angry, he had to bear Cao Guogong's words were not strong words, not only not, but very reasonable.

The face of the royal family is not enough to make the princes change their positions.

But what if it's the face of the imperial court?

In the hearts of the hundred officials, the majesty of the court is above all else, because the majesty of the court is their majesty, and the two are one and inseparable.

Even Zheng Xinghuai himself couldn't help but think about how the imperial court could save face and the image in the hearts of the people just now.

Emperor Yuan Jing was heartbroken and sighed: "But, but King Huai ........ Wrong indeed. ”

Cao Guogong said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, King Huai......... I'm dead!"

All of a sudden, the discussion became louder, some of them still talked quietly, but some of them began to argue fiercely.

The old eunuch held the whip and was about to subconsciously whip the floor tiles and scold the ministers.

But after being slanted coldly by Emperor Yuan Jing, the old eunuch understood what the emperor meant, and immediately remained silent, allowing the argument to ferment and continue.

Yes, King Huai is dead, the biggest "noble" is over, and there are no more generals who can ride on top of their heads......... In this case, is it worth trampling the majesty of the court for the sake of a dead man?

Many civil servants had such thoughts in their hearts.

Emperor Yuan Jing said angrily: "If you die, can you erase the matter?"

Cao Guogong said: "Yes!"

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes, and his eyes as cold as a knife swept over Cao Guogong.

Wang Zhenwen took a deep breath and sneered silently.

The two seemed to know what Cao Guogong wanted to say next.

Emperor Yuan Jing was surprised: "Why do you say this?"

Cao Guogong was serious, and his face was serious: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten, who destroyed Chuzhou City? It was the barbarians who turned the city of Chuzhou into ruins.

"This matter, can it be viewed from another angle? The combined forces of the demon and barbarian clans captured the city, and the king of Zhenbei resisted desperately to defend the country for Dafeng. In the end, the city was ruined and people died, and they died heroically. ”

Speaking of this, Cao Guogong's voice suddenly high-pitched: "However, the sacrifice of King Zhenbei is valuable, he single-handedly fought the leaders of the demon and barbarian clans, and killed Ji Ji Zhigu and severely damaged Candle Jiu.

"Let the two strong men in the north die and one be wounded, and after this battle, the north will usher in more than ten years, if not decades of peace. The king of Zhenbei, who died well, is the hero of Dafeng. ”

When he said the last sentence, Cao Guogong was full of emotion, his blood was boiling, and his voice echoed in the hall.

Cao Guogong gave the princes two choices, first, stick to their own opinions and convict the fallen King Huai. However, the face of the royal family was greatly damaged, and there was a crisis of confidence in the imperial court among the people.

Second, come to a trick to steal the sky and change the day, and change this matter to the demon and barbarian clans destroyed Chuzhou City, and the king of Zhenbei died defending the city and died heroically.

All the princes have to do is to correct the name of a dead prince. In this way, it can not only save the face of the imperial court, but also go further and establish the prestige and strength of the imperial court.

At this moment, a miserable laughter rang out above the main hall.

Zheng Xinghuai looked around at the silent princes, and swept the faces of Emperor Yuan Jing and Cao Guogong, this scholar was both sad and angry.

"Your Majesty, Cao Guogong, have you forgotten that it is not only the official who witnessed all this. There are also people in the mission, as well as 20,000 soldiers in Chuzhou. and the thousands of people in the capital who know about it, as well as the young students of Guozijian. Zheng Xinghuai sneered suddenly:

"Can you stop these people?"

Emperor Yuan Jing looked down at him condescendingly, his eyes were deep mockery, and he said lightly: "Retreat from the dynasty and discuss it tomorrow!"

...........

Huaiqing Mansion.

In the pavilion in the back garden, at the stone table, Huai Qing was playing against Xu Qi'an.

"The day before yesterday, I heard that Lin'an went to ask her father about the truth, and was blocked out of the imperial study. I thought she would go again, but the next day, the prince was assassinated. ”

Huaiqing's fair-skinned and slender jade fingers twisted the white chess pieces, chatting with a cold expression.

"The prince shouldn't be dead. Xu Qi'an stared at the chessboard, didn't fall for a long time, and asked casually.

"I was just slightly injured. Huaiqing said lightly.

The two played against each other for a while, and she seemed to feel that playing chess with Xu Yinluo was really boring, so she found another topic: "Have you heard of today's court affairs?"

Xu Qi'an nodded with a gloomy face: "The princes are deflated, but Your Majesty has not begged for benefits." It is estimated that it will be a long-term tug-of-war. ”

Huaiqing raised his beautiful face, his eyes as black as Qingtan after autumn, stared at him, and actually laughed, "You are indeed not suitable for the court." ”

“？”

Did I say something wrong, you're going to hit me like this........ Xu Qi'an frowned.

"This chess game is also boring, this palace is not interested, it is better to review with you about today's court. Princess Huaiqing gently threw the chess pieces into the bamboo chess box.

Xu Qi'an was in good spirits.

"Today, the court discussed how to deal with the Chuzhou case, and the princes asked their father to sit on the charge of King Huai, demote him to a commoner, and hang his head in the city for three days......... The father was grief-stricken and emotionally out of control, and set off a big case and reprimanded the ministers. ”

Huaiqing smiled: "What a bitter trick, first close the palace for a few days, avoid its edge, and let the angry civil and military officials punch the cotton."

When they calm down and stabilize their emotions, they lose their irresistible sharpness. At the beginning of the court meeting, it not only disintegrated the last remaining courage of the princes, but even turned against the guests, making the princes jealous and cautious......."

It's like two people fighting, and one of them suddenly goes berserk and grabs a brick and hits himself on the head, and the other person will definitely be instinctively jealous, cautious, and that he is crazy. The routine is not clever, but it works.......... Xu Qi'an had to bear it, Emperor Yuan Jing had a few brushes.

Then, the Ministry of Rites gave Yao Lin the impeachment of Wang Shoufu, who only had beggar bones. This is the father's plan to kill two birds with one stone, first beat Wang Shoufu down, and he will have one less big enemy at this court meeting. And it can deter hundreds of officials and set an example for chickens and monkeys. ”

Huaiqing took a sip of tea and said lightly:

"Fortunately, Duke Wei made a timely move, didn't he want to govern the king's first assistant? But this is contrary to his father's original intention, he doesn't really want to dismiss Wang Shoufu, which will make the Wei family's family dominant. Heh, for Duke Wei, it is also a wonderful thing to take the opportunity to get rid of Wang Shoufu in this way. ”

....... Xu Qi'an swallowed his saliva and unconsciously sat upright.

"The strategy of killing chickens and setting an example to monkeys failed, and the father immediately asked Yuan Xiong, the imperial historian of the left capital, to take action and bring out the royal family's face........ You must know that from ancient times to the present, the dignity of the royal family is second only to the dignity of the imperial court, and it has a natural oppressive force on the princes. Princess Huaiqing said in a deep voice.

As a courtier, he wants to disgrace the royal family, which will undoubtedly cause psychological pressure on the princes........ Xu Qi'an nodded slowly.

The struggle between people is nothing more than a struggle by force and a psychological game.

It's like a word he often heard before he crossed: pua

This is to pave the way for the subsequent appearance of King Li, Yuan Xiong is not a member of the royal family after all, and his father is not suitable to be this abusive. The highly respected Liwang is the best character. Although this trick was cracked by Wei Gong. ”

Huaiqing said while cleaning up the chess pieces: "But the effect of the troubles of the previous kings is still somewhat subordinate. And these are all paving the way for the subsequent appearance of Cao Guogong.

"With the face of the court and the royal family, move it with affection. The ending of killing barbarians and demons is reasonable. Although Chuzhou City is gone, all this is done by the demon and barbarian clans.

"The people have long been accustomed to the ferocity of the demon and barbarian races, and it is easy to accept this outcome. And the demon and barbarian clans did not get any benefits, because the king of Zhenbei killed the leader of the barbarian Qingyan tribe and severely injured the leader of the northern demon clan, Candle Jiu.

"What will happen to the people if they hear the news and are willing to accept it?"

Xu Qi'an said astringently: "The city of Chuzhou is broken, it is not so unacceptable. Because all the sins are attributed to the demons and barbarians, and to the war.

"King Zhenbei has also changed from a murderer to a hero who guards the country for Dafeng. Moreover, he also killed the barbarian three-grade powerhouse and made a great contribution. ”

Princess Huaiqing bowed her head, her voice was clear, but the topic she asked was particularly heartbreaking: "If you were a prince, what choice would you make?"

Xu Qi'an did not answer.

The king of Zhenbei is simply a dead man, if he is alive, the princes will definitely try to bring him down by all means.

But now that he's dead, what's the threat of a dead man? In this way, the core motivation of the princes is less than half.

If it is really like what Cao Guogong said, it can reverse the truth of the Chuzhou massacre case and turn this incident from a scandal into a great victory worthy of praise.

So why not?

Huaiqing said: "My father's next method is to promise benefits, and above the court, the interests are eternal." The father wants to change the ending, in addition to the above strategies, he has to make enough concessions. The princes will think, if they can really turn the scandal into a good thing, and there is a profit to be gained, then will they still insist on it?"

Xu Qi'an's face became more and more gloomy.

And once most people's minds change, Duke Wei and Wang Shoufu will become the ones who face the rolling trend. But they couldn't close the palace door and stop the surging trend. Huaiqing's cold smile was a little mocking.

Xu Qi'an couldn't tell for a while whether she was mocking Emperor Yuan Jing and Zhu Gong, or Wei Yuan and Wang Shoufu.

Or both, or, she's mocking herself.

"No, this matter is so big, it can't be solved by an announcement issued by the imperial court, the rumors in the capital are in full swing, and if you want to reverse the rumors, you must have enough reasons. He can block the mouths of the courtiers, but he can't block the mouths of the people of the world. Xu Qi'an shook his head.

"Father, he and the ........ in the back hand" Huaiqing sighed: "Although I don't know, I have never underestimated him." ”

The two didn't speak again, they were silent for a long time, and Huaiqing said in a low voice: "This matter has nothing to do with you, don't do stupid things." ”

She doesn't think I can play any role in this matter, too, I'm a little viscount, a small silver gong, I can't even enter the Jinluan Palace, how can I fight with the king of a country?

I'm still very tender when I play fighting, and Huaiqing doesn't think I'm good........ Xu Qi'an grinned, revealing an ugly smile.

However, I am the hero who killed Jili Zhigu.

...........

Beat the yamen, Haoqi Building.

After lunch, Wei Yuan took a short nap and was then woken up by the officials who came in.

"Duke Wei, Your Majesty sent someone to summon you to the palace. The officer bowed his head.

....... Wei Yuan was silent for a few seconds, and said in a gentle voice: "Prepare the car." ”