Jiuxi

Chapter 298 Chapter 296 [Bureau]

Heluo West City, a mansion somewhere.

The owner's surname is Wang, but he is not related to the Zhai Lin Wang family. The only similarity is that this mansion is as luxurious and exquisite as the Wang family's mansion, which is astonishing to look at.

You must know that the Zhai Lin Wang family has been inherited for hundreds of years, has a profound heritage, a large population, and countless wealth, so that it is possible to build a large house covering an area of ​​​​an area in Heluo City, where every inch of land is precious. The owner of this mansion was just an unknown person twenty years ago, but now he is as famous as the Zhai Lin Wang family.

Just because his name is Wang Shidao.

Relying on the secret support and promotion of the powerful officials of the Jing Dynasty, as well as his outstanding performance in the Procuratorate in the past few years, although Wang Shidao was publicly outnumbered by Wang An, Pang Shigu and others, the real power in his hands was no less.

He is not the kind of person who deliberately shows his noble character. On the contrary, he pursues the enjoyment of life very much, as evidenced by this magnificent home.

Perhaps this was the reason why the powerful people of Jing Dynasty trusted him. After all, a person without desires is very scary, and only those who want something have their weaknesses.

In the flower hall of the back house, the water is flowing outside and the breeze is blowing.

The surroundings were very quiet, and there were no servants in sight. Perhaps only top experts like Lin Jie could detect some sentries hidden in the dark.

There are two people sitting across from each other in the hall. One of them is Wang Shidao, the official of the Procuratorate, and the other is the former Moyang Road General Chen Xiaokuan who is currently idle at home.

In the Battle of Jiangbei the year before last, Chen Xiaokuan had to hand over his military power because he lost nearly half of the territory of Moyang Road.

In fact, seriously speaking, this result was rather unfair to him, because the command of the war at that time was in the hands of Chen Jingtang. It was the latter who was deceived by Xiao Wangzhi and transferred part of Chen Xiaokuan's troops to Dongyang Road, resulting in the garrison of Moyang Road. emptiness.

Facing the north-south pincer attack by the Huaizhou Army and Jingzhou Army of the Southern Qi Dynasty, it was not easy for Chen Xiaokuan not to be defeated thousands of miles away. Later, when faced with the imperial court's questioning, he did not make many excuses, nor did he run around to maintain his military power. Instead, he accepted everything calmly, and at the age of forty, he began to live a life of entertaining his grandchildren.

The reason is of course related to Wang Shidao.

"Brother, the atmosphere in the city is not quite right."

Chen Xiaokuan opened the conversation slowly.

Wang Shidao looked up at him and asked calmly: "What's wrong?"

Chen Xiaokuan said: "Your Majesty is holding a large court meeting at this time. I think it's a bit strange for me to think about it. After the failure of the series a few years ago, the emperor was extremely disappointed with the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. From then on, he indulged in wine and sex, without paying any attention to the government affairs. The idea. Now he is uncharacteristically eager to make suggestions for defending the city. Doesn’t he have an ulterior motive? "

Wang Shidao smiled faintly and said: "Your Majesty, this is just a whim. Besides, no matter what the situation in the court is, he is a veritable emperor of the Yan Kingdom. But if the Huaizhou West Route Army is allowed to attack the city, it will definitely He will be arrested immediately and taken to Yongjia City."

Chen Xiaokuan nodded and said, "It makes sense."

Wang Shidao did not delve into this topic, but changed the topic and said: "I have wronged you in the past two years."

Chen Xiaokuan was startled, then smiled freely and said: "Brother, why did you say this? In fact, this is an act of love from my brother. Otherwise, my foolish brother would very likely follow in the footsteps of Chen Jingtang, Guo Yan and others, and be involved in countless whirlpools and fall into the trap." It’s a shattered ending. Take Li Shouzhen and Niu Cunjie for example, they were so prosperous when they came to power, but what about now?"

He shrugged and said teasingly: "Niu Cunjie was tortured by Li Tianrun until he was sweating. Li Shouzhen was even worse than dead in the joint attack of Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen. Although Yudi has no military power now, he can live leisurely. Maybe they I am extremely envious.”

"It's a good thing you can keep your cool."

Wang Shidao showed approval and said: "However, this kind of leisurely life will not last long, you must be mentally prepared."

Chen Xiaokuan raised his eyebrows slightly, finally showing a bit of enthusiasm: "Brother, what do you mean, there will be big changes in the court structure?"

Wang Shidao nodded and said calmly: "This is inevitable. I am not worried about the Huaizhou army outside the city, but this time Lu Chen will definitely get some benefits before withdrawing his troops. As for the fall of Dongyang Road, it is a certainty. Qing Yuzhong hopes that this time I'm afraid the trip will be in vain. Coupled with the frequent defeats in the past, Jing Chao's preparations and arrangements over the years have been almost in vain. Rearranging the layout is inevitable, and naturally some people are needed to step up."

Chen Xiaokuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly: "Foolish brother has secretly hidden some people according to his brother's instructions, and can be used to fill the vacancies at any time."

"I always feel at ease when you do things."

Wang Shidao raised his teacup and gestured to him, smiling and saying: "I hope you can remember this sentence, it is not a bad thing to sit on the dry bank and watch the scenery."

"Young brother understands that everything is subject to your brother's arrangements."

Chen Xiaokuan responded with tea.

The two chatted about the details for half an hour, and then Chen Xiaokuan said goodbye and left.

It was completely quiet inside and outside the flower hall.

Wang Shidao leaned back on his chair, raised his eyes to look at the bright spring scenery outside the window, and took a long breath.

He took out two notes from his sleeves, one of which was clearly older and had a short line written on it: Feng Li, the emperor's confidant, was behaving strangely, as if there were signs of a secret connection, and something might happen in the palace.

The handwriting on the other note was very clear, and it should have been written in the past two days, but it read: Li Fuqing received money to do things, and quietly brought seven masters into the palace, seemingly arranged somewhere outside the Imperial Guard.

Wang Shidao looked at the two notes, and a hint of sarcasm gradually appeared in the corner of his mouth. No one in the world knows that he is like an extremely patient hunter, always paying attention to the situation in the palace, and no one knows that he has used the shell of the Procuratorate over the years to develop a force that belongs only to him.

After Qingyu Huaijin went south again, he no longer trusted the officials of the Yan State. Although he still let Wang Shidao be in charge of the Procuratorate, he placed many ears, eyes and spies around him, as if he could gain insight into all Wang Shidao's secrets.

However, this is an impossible task.

Wang Shidao was very cooperative on the surface, tacitly allowing Xiao Jun to deploy people in the Procuratorate in the name of Qing Yu Huaijin, and handing over part of his authority without hesitation. However, this did not trap him in a cobweb, but would Let him hide in the dark and watch calmly.

Such as abnormalities in the palace, such as undercurrents in the city.

These two notes were secrets sent by Wang Shidao's secret power. If he told Qingyu Huaijin truthfully, with the intelligence of the little princess, he would surely be able to find the problem, but Wang Shidao obviously would not do this.

"Your Highness, why do you think that I am secretly colluding with Nan Qi? Countless Qi people have died in my hands over the years, and there are many capable talents among them. Even if the Emperor of Nan Qi accepts him on his own initiative, I dare not take the gamble. His benevolence, because that is the danger of losing his head. No matter what, I will never move closer to Nan Qi, but in fact you don’t have to worry at all."

In the quiet and lonely flower hall, Wang Shidao muttered to himself and threw the two notes into the furnace.

"This is going to be a very lively situation. The emperor is full of resentment, Southern Qi is just in time to meet, and all the important officials in the court have their own agendas. I thought about it carefully, and finally decided to stay out of it and watch you come on stage and sing the Nine Links."

Many names flashed in Wang Shidao's mind. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He tapped the armrest with his other hand and said leisurely: "Your Highness, I am not from Southern Qi, Yan or Jing Dynasty." people."

"I just hope you kill more quickly and die more."

"Otherwise, how could we, the children from poor families, be able to succeed?"

……

On February 26, the Southern Qi Huaizhou West Route Army had been outside Chen Bing's city for three days.

Although the Huaizhou Army never launched an attack and lurked calmly like a wild beast watching its prey, the atmosphere in the city became more solemn day by day.

The noise from the prosecutor's office and the patrol camp became louder and louder, so that in broad daylight there were only a few people on the streets.

The imperial court did not directly order the implementation of round-the-clock martial law, but at this time, except for officials and personnel related to city defense, ordinary people did not dare to appear on the streets for fear of being arrested by the Procuratorate as a spy of the Southern Qi Dynasty.

Early in the morning, a spacious and comfortable carriage set off from Zhuoyuan and drove slowly to the Imperial Palace of Yan State.

Surrounding the carriage were more than forty masters of the Jinglian clan with strong figures and bright eyes. To be precise, they were all retainers of the Qingyu family of Jingchao and were responsible for protecting the safety of Qingyu Huaijin.

There were more than 60 armored warriors holding swords and bows at the front and rear, forming the outer defense line.

This kind of defense requires Lin Jie to come personally. If he doesn't have enough helpers, he can only hope and sigh.

In the carriage, Qingyu Huaijin did not disguise himself as a man as before, but was dressed in exquisite jewels and jade, and his red and phoenix eyes showed grace and nobility.

As we get closer and closer to the palace, the road gradually becomes lively, because today is the court meeting, and all officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing will enter the court.

As soon as Yan officials saw this fierce team and the carriage in the middle, they would stand by the roadside and wait for them to pass by. Some of them would even salute respectfully, even though they knew that the nobles in the carriage could not be seen.

Unlike others who got off their sedans and horses outside the palace gate, Qingyu Huaijin's carriage and the masters of the Jinglian clan went straight into the palace, while more than a hundred armored warriors stayed outside the palace, slightly caring about the face of the Yan Kingdom's court.

The Imperial Guards on duty did not respond at all, and had obviously been notified in advance.

The carriage stopped in the square in front of Tai Chi Hall.

Qingyu Huaijin slowly stepped out of the carriage and looked up at the majestic and magnificent hall, his eyes clear and cold.

Most of the Jinglian clan masters stayed in the square outside the palace, while Qingyu Huaijin only led six people up the steps into the palace.

The early morning sunlight shone on her body, outlining a slim and graceful figure.

With the breeze blowing on his face, Qingyu Huaijin said calmly: "If there is a change, kill someone."

Xiao Jun, who was half a step behind her, bowed and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, there are also our people in the palace."

Qingyu Huaijin said no more, calmly stepped into the palace, and then walked step by step towards the imperial court under the nervous and eager gazes of countless Yan ministers.

On the dragon chair, Emperor Yan Zhang Can stared at the figure of the beautiful girl from heaven, with a gentle and slightly respectful smile on his face.

No one noticed that he clenched his hands so hard in his sleeves that his knuckles were almost white.

(End of this chapter)