King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 550 Infighting
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and factional struggle is an unavoidable situation for any force.

From things as small as family inheritance, to big things like governing the country, and even rebel rebels, it is difficult to avoid complete alignment of interests internally.

It is precisely because of inconsistent interests that factions are derived, eventually forming a state of struggle without breaking the balance.

Miaoyu's words to Yang Yan were both a warning and a care for him.

Needless to say, warning, the so-called care is that Miaoyu does not believe that Yang Yan's assassination can be successful, and the final result can only be said to be the loss of the lives of core believers.

After staying in the capital for so long, Miao Yushen understands better than others how strict the prince's first-level travel protection is, and it is almost impossible to kill him.

However, on Yang Yan's side, he only saw Miaoyu's warning. The conflict of emotions made it difficult for him to think about the problem calmly, so he would not understand Miaoyu's good intentions.

Of course, even if he understood the second point, he would not agree with Miaoyu's point of view. He would only think that she was greedy for life and afraid of death, and was unwilling to carry out the assassination because she was afraid of sacrifice.

The butt determines the head. Unless Yang Yan is allowed to move his butt, this is an unsolvable contradiction.

After all, Miaoyu is a saint and one of the people with the best status in the White Lotus Sect. Yang Yan, a small incense master, does not dare to offend her too much.

So after Miaoyu warned him, he still agreed.

But he was still very unconvinced, and then he went directly to his superiors and their superiors' superiors to discuss strategies.

Miaoyu could feel Yang Yan's dissatisfaction, and there was actually nothing she could do about it.

The White Lotus Sect is said to be a whole, but it is only held together by doctrine, so it is difficult to use interests to coerce other factions.

Yang Yan and his gang want to kill Zhu Jinghong and fight for their own right to speak within the church. It is actually difficult for Miaoyu to intervene in a timely and effective manner.

"Send someone to keep an eye on them and see what they do next!"

"Yes!"

After giving this order, Miaoyu summoned another subordinate. She wanted to summon people from her own department to discuss the matter.

Not only Zhu Jinghong's life and death, but also the way forward must be re-clarified so that everyone can act as planned.

"Holy girl, do you want to ask the leader?" the maid at the side asked.

"I'll go and invite him personally!" Miaoyu replied.

"Yes!"

Here Miaoyu is making careful arrangements, while on the other side in Beiping Fucheng, Zhu Jinghong is guarding Qianhu Station during the military parade.

The content of the military parade, in addition to the initial procession, is the change of military formations and the use of ordnance.

"Not bad...very good..." Zhu Jinghong couldn't suppress his smile.

Standing next to him was Xia Yang. He tried his best to stay calm when he heard the praise and introduced daily training in a calm tone.

It was at this time that Ning Wanfu, a member of the Jinyi Guard Qianhu, entered the school grounds and passed through many hurdles to reach Zhu Jinghong.

"Your Majesty, the identity of the thief has been found out. He is a rebel from the White Lotus Sect!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong suppressed his smile, and the display on the school field was coming to an end.

"Xia Qianhu, you are really good at leading troops. Stay with me these days and accompany me around the guards below!"

Such an opportunity was rare for Xia Yang, so he heard him say: "I am willing to serve the prince!"

In fact, he wanted to say "follow" directly, but it seemed too snobbish, so he replaced it with the word "follower".

"Tell the ministries to take them back to the barracks!"

"Yes!"

Xia Yang took the order and left. Zhu Jinghong glanced at the senior officials of the capital department and said: "Beiping defends Qianhu Station. The army is in good order and morale is high. You should be rewarded..."

"What the prince said is absolutely true. When I get back, I will arrange it, give wine and silver, and then reward the army!" Cai Chuansheng, the commander of the capital, replied.

"Ok!"

Regarding the weapon arsenal and combat readiness, the Peiping Defense Qianhu Station gave high-scoring answers. Zhu Jinghong's mission was completed today.

After glancing at Ning Wanfu, Zhu Jinghong stood up and left the school grounds, and the latter immediately followed him.

Commander Cai Chuansheng and others were very sensible. Although they followed, they kept a distance so that Zhu Jinghong and Ning Wanfu could chat alone.

"I haven't seen you find any traitors on weekdays. When I came here, there were traitors from the White Lotus Sect. What a coincidence..."

This was not a pleasant thing to say, and it made Ning Wanfu very embarrassed.

Of course the old fox understood that Zhu Jinghong suspected that he wanted to close the case, so he handed the shit basin to the White Lotus Sect.

"These traitors overestimate their capabilities and always want to turn things upside down. Your Majesty is the pillar of our Ming Dynasty, so they will naturally come after them..."

Seeing that Ning Wanfu still insisted that he was from the White Lotus Sect, Zhu Jinghong asked: "Since he is from the White Lotus Sect, then tell me how you found the clues!"

"Reporting to the prince, I first ordered people to interrogate the soldiers who cleared the area. They discovered the cellar the night before, but it was empty at the time. Who knew that there were more artillery pieces overnight?"

"Even if one of the patrolling soldiers is responsible for thirty feet, and the interval between patrols is less than a moment, the artillery is heavy and difficult to carry. It must be the nearby villagers who want to hide it!"

The soldiers clearing the area were the outermost security personnel. There was only one person stationed along the official road within thirty feet, so it would not be too outrageous for someone to take advantage of the loophole.

Of course, as Zhu Jinghong approaches, more sergeants will patrol back and forth to eliminate any possible danger.

It was precisely because of the stricter security system that the Jinyi Guards discovered the crisis during their inspection, and then captured all the assassins.

Seeing that Zhu Jinghong was listening attentively, Ning Wanfu was relieved, so he continued: "So I sent people to investigate the nearby villages, and I really found clues about the traitor!"

"In that Huaishu Village, there are a total of eighteen families who believe in the White Lotus Sect. After interrogating these people... they summoned them!"

"It turns out that five days ago, their incense owner asked them to help deliver the artillery to their homes. Each person was given ten taels of silver in advance..."

Ning Wanfu continued to explain the details, but Zhu Jinghong was no longer in the mood to listen carefully.

He was basically convinced that the White Lotus Sect had done this, which made him feel a little more at ease.

As long as it was the White Lotus Sect that did it, if someone from Yanshan Dusi was stupid, the next thing would be terrible.

"Zhang Lin!" Zhu Jinghong shouted with a raised voice.

"Chen is here!"

Zhu Jinghong said calmly: "Go to Yanshan Qianhu's office and see if there is anything missing in what Ning Qianhu said!"

Zhang Lin can definitely be regarded as Zhu Jinghong's best friend, so the latter has great trust in him. At this time, he was asked to go to Jinyi Guard to find out the truth of what Ning Wanfu said.

Whether all the witnesses, physical evidence and testimonies can be referenced with each other without any disconnection can tell whether Ning Wanfu is faking it.

Zhang Lin knew this very well, so after receiving the task, he began to think about what to do next.

It is said that it is difficult to support a tree alone. After all, his strength alone is limited. After retreating, he found a few capable subordinates to follow him to Jinyiwei.

"Ning Qianhu, if you have nothing else to do, you can stay at Prince Yan's Mansion tonight and stay at Prince Yan's Mansion in the afternoon. Let's wait until Zhang Lin comes back!"

Zhu Jinghong's arrangement was to prevent Ning Wanfu from returning to join forces, and the latter was open-minded at the moment and did not panic at all.

"I accept your order!"

Here Zhu Jinghong drove back to Prince Yan's Mansion, while at the other end of the White Lotus Sect Incense Hall, Miaoyu had summoned the left and right guardians, the three heavenly kings, and the five divine envoys.

This time she was a saint, and although the White Lotus Sect's senior officials tried their best to come, one Heavenly King and three divine envoys still failed to arrive. This is normal in the history of the White Lotus Sect. It is precisely because they cannot gather together most of the time that they are not afraid of encirclement and suppression.

"Master Yang Xiang wanted to assassinate him, but King Xiang's honor guard was twenty or thirty miles away, and they were captured..."

"Not counting the loss of more than a dozen masters in vain. With the help of artillery clues, how many of our people will be detected? How many masters will be lost?"

"Even if the loss of manpower is not included, if their rash actions affect our plans in the capital, who can bear the responsibility?"

Regarding the matter of supporting Zhu Jingyuan to rise to power, only a very few people among the White Lotus Sect's senior leaders knew about it, and only Miaoyu knew the specific plan.

So when she said it might affect the plan, no one knew how to question it.

"So, seniors, regardless of past grievances, please be patient and restrain your subordinates from acting rashly!"

"The great achievements of the Divine Religion have now been implemented step by step. When the prince succeeds to the throne, as long as our Divine Religion is managed properly, it is not impossible for our Divine Religion to be established as the state religion!"

If there is no interest to consolidate the alliance, then create interests to consolidate it, so Miaoyu drew the "state religion" pie.

Although it was a bit blunt, it was somewhat useful. At least everyone present had some ideas.

Unfortunately, the leader was not invited today, which made Miaoyu very disappointed.

The leader is a banner. As long as he does not strongly support Miaoyu, people who oppose Miaoyu will naturally gather around him, which will in turn enhance the leader's own voice.

Everyone made a promise, and then the discussion ended today, and Miaoyu specially left King Bei behind and explained the stakes to him again.

This Northern King was responsible for the educational affairs of several provinces in the north, and Yang Yan was his subordinate's subordinate.

"What the Saint said is absolutely right. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer!"

Bei Wang's statement made Miaoyu feel more at ease.

Returning to her residence, Miaoyu took off her veil and lay down on the bed after taking a long breath.

Although she is a saint of the White Lotus Sect, and although she controls the fate of hundreds of people, Miaoyu is still a girl of seventeen or eighteen years old, and she will be tired and tired.

Closing her eyes, Miaoyu was already thinking about the return journey.

The inheritance of the saint has ended. In the past two days, the heavenly kings and envoys will leave Peiping one after another and return to their own positions.

Miaoyu decided to go south to Beijing in three days, so she had to make careful plans to make good use of the next two days.

Just as she was thinking about these things, she heard the maid outside come to report: "Your Highness, Yang Yan is kneeling outside to apologize!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yang Yan said that he acted recklessly and offended the saint, so he came to apologize!"

Miaoyu was originally very happy to learn that Yang Yan had pleaded guilty, but as soon as she heard the other party's words, she knew that this guy was convinced but not convinced at all.

"Then you go out and tell him that everything is based on the great plan of the divine religion. I have long abandoned my personal happiness, anger, honor and disgrace. Since Lord Yang Xiang is a hero, you and I, weak women, must be more considerate!"

After listening to Miaoyu's words, the maid savored the true meaning and at the same time responded: "I'll go right away!"

After a while, the maid who had delivered the message returned to the room and reported: "Your Highness the Saint, Master Yang Xiang said thank you for teaching me..."

"Then what?" Miaoyu turned around and saw that she was chanting sutras.

"Then he left!"

Miaoyu's face turned ugly again, and she cursed secretly that this guy was really nothing, and he didn't even want to do anything to save face.

If I am not punished, they will really think that I am easy to bully and a soft persimmon... Miaoyu thought to herself.

"Go to King Bei immediately and say what I say... Yang Yan is disrespectful to his superiors and acts wildly. He will be removed from his position as Incense Master and grounded for three months!"

According to her original intention, it was actually more convenient to execute Yang Yan, but she also had to take the Northern King's face into consideration, so in the end she left some room.

After clicking her tongue secretly, the maid replied: "Yes!"

"Tell the King of the North that I'm waiting for his reply!"

"Yes!"

After the maid left, Miaoyu actually sat in front of the mirror, closed her eyes, chanted sutras, and waited.

Half an hour passed, and when the sun was about to set, the maid who had delivered the message finally came back.

"Why have you been gone so long?"

"King Bei went home, so he was delayed!"

This Northern King's surname is Chen. His normal identity is a squire from Wanping County. His external image is that he is picky and greedy for money. No one will associate him with the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

Of course, only the leader and the saint know this information. The four heavenly kings and the eight divine envoys do not know each other.

"How did he say?"

"King Bei said that if he agrees with the saint's opinion, he will depose Yang Yan's incense master and then ban him for half a year!"

King Bei's attitude was very good, which made Miaoyu feel much relieved.

"That's good!"

Then she continued to chant sutras. She didn't put away her homework until nightfall, and stopped after dinner.

She did rest, but in a house in the north of Dongchenjia Village, Wanping County, Northern King Chen Fuli was drinking in his room, with only a servant serving him.

If Miaoyu were present, he would be very surprised to find that this boy is the unruly Yang Yan.

But this alone was not surprising enough, because the next moment Yang Yan said: "Dad... I'm really not convinced!"

Yes, Yang Yan calls Chen Fuli "father".

Putting down his wine glass, Chen Fuli looked around, and then scolded in a low voice: "How many times have I told you? Don't call me daddy even if there is no one!"

"Yes, sir!" Yang Yan replied helplessly.

They are really father and son, and Chen Fuli is very ambitious. More than ten years ago, when he was still a divine envoy, he was planning to become the leader of the cult, and sent his seven-year-old son to the White Lotus Sect under the pseudonym Yang Yan.

Chen Fuli now knew that he had no hope of becoming the leader of the sect, so he carefully cultivated and allocated resources to Yang Yan, allowing him to quickly rise to prominence in the sect and become the incense master before he was twenty years old.

In Chen Fuli's recent plan, he wanted to push Yang Yan to the leader as a closed disciple. The latter was also very capable, so he always wanted to make meritorious deeds, so he planned to attack and kill Zhu Jinghong.

In other words, Zhu Jinghong's life is the step for him, Yang Yan, to become the successor of the leader.

But because of this, Yang Yan offended Miaoyu to death, and now he has lost his position as the incense master.

"I told you to calm down, but you just didn't listen. Now it's better. The position of the Incense Master has been removed. Now you are happy!" Chen Fuli's face was ashen.

Even if it was his own son, under the instructions of the saint, Chen Fuli did not dare to cover up openly, so at this moment he could only reprimand Yang Yan.

"Master, that woman can't cover up the sky with one hand, but now the leader is the sky!"

Yang Yan sneered and said: "As long as my son succeeds and is accepted as a disciple by the leader, he will no longer be afraid of her in the future!"

"You still want to kill Zhu Jinghong?" Chen Fuli was quite surprised.

(End of this chapter)