Jiuxi

Chapter 589 587 [Unraveling the Mystery]

Lu Chen's description seemed a bit exaggerated.

The various forces in Beijing are complicated and intertwined, which is an obvious fact. However, who can be so cunning to hide under the surface and take advantage of the fighting between other forces to seek greater benefits?

The most important thing is, who has such ability?

If he wants to become the black hand that Lu Chen mentioned, it is obviously not enough to be good at forming alliances and making allies. He must have sufficient strength and background so that he can pass through the flowers without getting hurt.

Because the struggle for power is essentially an exchange of interests.

If he doesn't have enough strength himself, he is at most just a broker.

Looking at the current court, there are not many candidates with such ability.

Li Tianrun thought for a moment and asked, "Where does this feeling come from?"

This is a question that goes straight to the heart of the matter.

Only by figuring out what exactly Lu Chen noticed the clues about could he help with the analysis in a targeted manner.

Lu Chen said calmly, "Since I first entered the capital, there have been several large-scale official adjustments in the court in the past few years. The first was in the early days of the Northern Expedition, when some officials impeached the right prime minister, who was then suppressed by the left prime minister. Now I know that this was because Qin Tiju, the head of the Textile Bureau, deliberately let his subordinate Bian Yin sell out information at the instruction of Your Majesty in order to gain the trust of the spies of Jing State. That is why Emperor Jing later misjudged the illness of the late emperor."

"The second time was because I used the Hou Yu case to investigate the court and the public. Fourteen court officials threatened to resign as an excuse to force the late emperor to abdicate. Add to that the dozen officials implicated in the Hou Yu case, and there were nearly thirty vacancies in the court. The late emperor had been prepared for this, but the preparations were still not sufficient. The officials he brought in could not fill all the vacancies, so it was difficult to see through the details of some of the new officials."

"The third was the rebellion in the capital last autumn. It was the largest change in the court so far. Five high-ranking officials, including the Minister of State, fell, and many middle and lower-level officials were implicated. How many of the newly appointed officials were loyal to the Emperor of Great Qi? This is probably a big question mark."

Lu Chen paused for a moment, picked up the teacup on the table to moisten his throat, and continued: "Uncle Li, these three official changes have a very obvious feature. The first one was planned by the late emperor, and everything was under his control. The subsequent two times there were unexpected situations that the late emperor did not expect, which led to an increasingly chaotic situation."

"This gives people with ulterior motives an opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

Li Tianrun took over the conversation and then said thoughtfully: "But this does not mean that someone is secretly controlling it."

"Yes."

Lu Chen responded calmly and explained, "What puzzles me most is the rebellion in the capital. After reviewing the details of the rebellion planned by Guo Congyi and others, there are several strange places. The first is why did they hold the eldest prince hostage? According to the information I have, the third prince is the one who has the deepest connection with the Jiangnan clans, but he actually stayed out of this rebellion. Does it mean that the third prince and the Jiangnan clans are only close on the surface, but they are not actually in the same boat?"

Li Tianrun frowned slightly and said slowly: "That makes sense."

Lu Chen continued, "The Jiangnan clan is a huge and chaotic power group. Except for the left prime minister Li Daoyan, no one can rise to the top and get so many followers. So can I infer that the friendship between the third prince and the Jiangnan clan is just an illusion, and even he himself is kept in the dark."

Li Tianrun nodded and said, "You can think so."

Lu Chen sighed and said, "The reason why Guo Congyi and others took the risk was because of the outbreak of the Hou Yu case. The most direct reason was that Hou Yu was killed during his exile. They thought that the late emperor wanted to kill him, so they decided to give it a try. The problem is that the late emperor did not issue an order to kill Hou Yu. The real situation was that someone assassinated Hou Yu on the way."

"Who did it?"

"At that time, because of the reminder from Miss Luo of Shazhou, I guessed that someone would harm Hou Yu, so I informed Qin Tiju of the Weaving Department in advance. His nephew Yang Jingxuan personally led the experts to secretly protect Hou Yu, and as expected, the assassin appeared. Hou Yu was seriously injured and unconscious, while Yang Jingxuan captured several assassins and found out after interrogation that they were Wang Yan's confidants."

Hearing the five words "Miss Luo from Shazhou", Li Bingxue, who had been listening silently beside her, suddenly raised her head, with a faint smile in her eyes.

Lu Chen noticed her gaze and gave her a friendly look in return.

Li Bingxue turned her head slightly to avoid his gaze, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Li Tianrun seemed not to notice the silent exchange between the young couple, and said calmly: "So it seems that there is nothing wrong with this matter? Wang Yan is the mastermind of the rebellion and the one with the greatest ambition. It is understandable that he wants to use Hou Yu's death to drag others into the water."

Lu Chen collected his thoughts and nodded, "That's true, but according to Yang Jingxuan's report, he also found traces left by another group of people near the scene. That is to say, in addition to the guards guarding Hou Yu, the secret agents of the Textile Bureau led by Yang Jingxuan, and the assassins sent by Wang Yan, there was also a fourth group of people!"

Li Tianrun's expression became solemn.

Lu Chen sighed, "At that time, Yang Jingxuan did not catch the fourth group of people, but was aware of their existence. Now that I have reviewed the matter, I can be sure that the fourth group of people was not to protect Hou Yu, otherwise when the assassins sent by Wang Yan took action, they could reveal their identities to help the spies of the Textile Bureau." Li Tianrun said softly, "So they and Wang Yan's people have the same goal, but they mistakenly thought that the assassins had succeeded, so they did not reveal their identities unnecessarily."

Lu Chen said, "Someone is instigating this rebellion. Even if Wang Yan didn't send assassins, his people would have taken action to kill Hou Yu and put the blame on the late emperor, forcing those powerful families to take action."

Li Tianrun fell into deep thought.

Lu Chen's analysis lacks real evidence, but many things do not require conclusive evidence.

After a moment, Li Tianrun asked calmly, "Has the Textile Bureau investigated those officials who forced the emperor to abdicate? It is impossible that these people did not collude, otherwise, even if they wanted to impeach you, they would not have threatened the late emperor with resignation."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "According to Qin Tiju, the results of the investigation by the Textile Bureau showed that there was indeed a conspiracy, and the mastermind was Han Chang."

"Han Chang?"

Li Tianrun asked with a hint of surprise, "Former Chief Censor Han Chang?"

Lu Chen smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, Uncle Li couldn't have thought of that, right? This Han Zhongcheng was a second-class Jinshi in the sixth year of Yuankang. He has always had a very good reputation as an official. People all think he is an upright gentleman. According to him, he couldn't stand my arrogance and tyranny, and thought I would be a disaster in the court, so he contacted a group of like-minded people and advised the late emperor at the cost of his own future."

Li Tianrun said with a complicated expression: "This is indeed very similar to his style, but it is also very strange."

"Who says it's not?"

Lu Chen did not show any self-pity on his face. He just sighed and said, "Although I arrested many officials myself that time, there is solid evidence that they were in collusion with Hou Yu. Han Zhongcheng is not an unreasonable person. He can't drag a group of people to die with me just because I acted too decisively. His reason is too far-fetched."

The hall fell into silence.

After a long while, Li Tianrun gave his own judgment: "Your inference is correct. There is indeed someone pushing these things in secret. What do you think his purpose is?"

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, "I have been thinking about this question for a while. What exactly is this black hand trying to do? One day, it suddenly occurred to me that before the turmoil in the court, the power in the court had been solidified for more than ten years. Each party had its own territory, and even the late emperor could only take advantage of the gaps. Only when there are several large-scale changes in succession will the water be completely muddied, making it difficult to tell who is whose. For example, right now, there are many new faces in the various departments of the court, the Beijing Army, the Imperial Guards, and even the Textile Bureau. Who can know the true positions of these people?"

"After all, the human heart is unpredictable."

Li Tianrun nodded, raised his hand and rubbed his brow and said, "Since you are talking to me about this topic, I guess you already have someone you suspect?"

Lu Chen said carefully: "Uncle Li, please don't laugh at me. I suspect too many people."

"Who is there?"

"Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Xue, Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng, and a Minister of Military Affairs."

Several names popped up in Li Tianrun's mind, and then he frowned slightly and asked, "Han Zhongjie?"

"Yes."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "I have nothing but admiration for Duke of Jing, Han Lingfu. He has given everything for Da Qi, so I naturally won't doubt him. However, his eldest son may not be willing to live in seclusion in the Duke's Mansion. I have studied the life of this Lord Han, and he is very accomplished in military affairs. Before Duke of Jing retired, Han Zhongjie's position in the hearts of the Beijing Army was no less than that of Guo Congyi and Wang Yan, but he was forced to stay at home because of Duke of Jing's request."

Li Tianrun naturally had more say in this matter and agreed, "Han Zhongjie is indeed a great man. If he had the opportunities that Brother Xiao and I have, his achievements would not be inferior to ours."

Lu Chen said softly, "Looking back at the rebellion in the capital, the one who gained the most was this Lord Han, who went from being idle at home to becoming the Minister of Military Affairs. With the reputation and prestige of his father, the Duke of Jing, and his own background in the Beijing Army, even if Uncle Xiao returns to the capital to take charge of the Military Academy in the future, he will not be able to exclude this Lord Han from the core."

Li Tianrun nodded.

Lu Chen looked up at him and said carefully: "Uncle Li, if these big shots just want to cultivate confidants, I won't take it too seriously, because this is what everyone in a high position will do, even I am no exception."

He paused for a moment, and his tone suddenly became cold and stern: "It's not terrible to have such thoughts. What is the most critical issue is how to do it. If you cultivate a few confidants after you get promoted, no one will say anything. And using these insidious means to achieve the goal can only show that the person behind the scenes has a big plan, which is definitely not ordinary!"

(End of this chapter)