Jiuxi

Chapter 819 817 [Suffocating Killing]

In the Duancheng Hall, the atmosphere of solemnity and murder was almost overflowing.

When Qi Weili was brought down by Wang Ding before, although he did not foolishly implicate Li Shizhi directly, it does not mean that no one knew about his relationship with Li Shizhi.

At least Li Zongben had gradually come to his senses after the former Minister of Justice Gao Huan was dismissed from office.

When Li Shizhi explained to him the connection between Gao Huan and Lu Chen, it didn't take long for the Dali Temple to bring out the accumulated mistakes of the Ministry of Justice over the years, allowing Li Zongben to dismiss Gao Huan from his post with justification, as if someone had brought a pillow to the emperor when he was sleepy.

Looking back, Li Zongben realized that the relationship between Dali Temple Minister Qi Weili and Li Shizhi was unusual. Qi Weili had apparently been secretly collecting evidence of Gao Huan's crimes, and was waiting for Li Shizhi to persuade the emperor. Then he would throw it all out and leave Gao Huan with no way to refute it.

Even so, Li Zongben did not suspect Li Shizhi.

The court is never so clean, officials will naturally look for allies, and even Xue Nanting is no exception.

Although this left prime minister was an upright person who disdained to cultivate his own clique, he was by no means alone. After all, he still had some capable and reliable people under his command.

Therefore, the relationship between Li Shizhi and Qi Weili was not unusual, and Li Zongben simply turned a blind eye to it.

Until today's grand court meeting, Wang Ding single-handedly toppled Qi Weili. Li Zongben knew that this was definitely not a blind cat catching a dead mouse, but a fierce counterattack by some officials against Li Shizhi because of the Beijing inspection incident.

When Shen Wanzhang and Kong Qingwen came forward to impeach Pei Fangyuan and Lou Huanzhang, Li Zongben could not help but look at Li Shizhi meaningfully.

The fact that he let Li Shizhi take charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Hanlin Academy did not mean that he would be unprepared, nor did it mean that he would hand over all power to the other party.

Qu Hongyi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Ji Jun, the Attending Academician of the Hanlin Academy, were both officials promoted by Li Zongben himself. As Li Shizhi's deputies, they assisted Li Shizhi in managing government affairs on the one hand, and played a supervisory role for the emperor on the other.

Of course, Li Zongben would not allow Li Shi to hinder him in every way. He allowed this important official to use his trusted confidants, such as Lou Huanzhang, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

I see……

While all the officials in the palace were excited, Li Zongben had already fully understood the hidden meaning behind these impeachments.

Qi Weili, Pei Fangyuan, Lou Huanzhang and four other middle and lower-level officials of low rank but powerful influence were definitely Li Shizhi's confidants.

This was a naked counterattack and revenge, targeting not Li Shizhi himself, but the factions he had cultivated in the court in recent years.

Li Zongben's complicated feelings are difficult to describe in words. He had not known before that Pei Fangyuan, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, was actually Li Shizhi's man.

Looking at the Minister of Personnel standing silently, Li Zongben hesitated for a moment.

Inside the hall, all officials continued to pour their fire on the six officials except Qi Weili. Such a lively scene had not appeared in the court for a long time.

Pei Fangyuan, Lou Huanzhang and others who were at the center of the storm did not even have the confidence to refute at this moment. Although the impeachment against them was not as detailed as the one Wang Ding used to overthrow Qi Weili, there were also many groundless accusations. The problem was that after Shen Wanzhang and others took the lead, there were too many officials who stood up to accuse them, and they could not cope with them even if they had a lot of mouths.

The reason for such a grand occasion was that the scope of this imperial inspection was too wide. Although there were no high-ranking officials above the fourth rank among the 43 officials, their family friends, in-laws, teachers, and classmates were all standing in the court. They really did not dare to point the finger at Li Shizhi without any evidence, but how could Pei Fangyuan and others be compared with Li Shizhi?

In addition, with Wang Ding and others taking the lead, the court officials who were already full of resentment immediately understood. Even though they did not collude privately, they now had a tacit understanding and kept staring at Pei Fangyuan and others and criticizing them.

Amid the righteous rebukes of dozens of court officials, Pei Fangyuan and six others were almost becoming great criminals endangering the country.

From beginning to end, Li Shizhi never showed up.

The reason is very simple. These people have no obvious relationship with him, and he has just admitted in person that the Beijing inspection has not yet ended. What excuse can he use to stop these upright officials from helping the Ministry of Personnel to find out the deficiencies and fill the gaps?
It can be seen from Li Shizhi's slightly rising and falling chest that he is forcibly suppressing his emotions.

He knew he had underestimated his young opponent.

A big part of the reason why he had decided to maintain the Beijing inspection was that the officials involved were of lower rank. In other words, these people were not irreplaceable, and dealing with them would not affect the normal operation of the court.

He also knew that this move would lead to a counterattack, but he had enough confidence to stand firm. How could ordinary people shake his position in the heart of the emperor?

He never expected that the other party's real target was not him, but to clip his wings!
The most crucial point is that this move made Li Shizhi's cunning, scheming and eloquence useless, because he had no reason to speak. He could only watch Pei Fangyuan and others tremble like a small boat in the sea under the siege of many officials.

With the constant reminders from the Imperial Censor, the noisy and chaotic court finally gradually returned to calm.

Li Zongben coughed lightly and looked at the officials in the hall with solemn expressions, feeling hesitant.

The problems of Pei Fangyuan and others were not as serious as those of Qi Weili, but Li Zongben had clearly intended to deal with the forty-three officials. If he just dealt with the problems of these people lightly, how could the court officials who were eagerly waiting in the hall agree?

Furthermore... Li Shizhi has quietly cultivated so many confidants, and there must be more than these six people. Punishing these six people can give Li Shizhi a warning, but it will not make him unable to recover. At the same time, it can calm the public anger, so that the storm of the Beijing inspection will fade, and perhaps it can truly achieve a balance in the court.

Thinking of this, Li Zongben finally made up his mind and said in a deep voice: "I have said before that the imperial inspection is a necessary measure to clean up the atmosphere in the court. No one can get away with it. Pei Fangyuan, Lou Huanzhang and others will suspend their duties from today and stay in the palace to reflect on themselves. Wait for the court officials to find out your problems and deal with them separately."

Pei Fangyuan and the others were instantly devastated. They were able to reach their current status not only because of Li Shizhi's secret support, but also because of their own efforts. Not to mention that everyone had studied hard for more than ten years, but now it was all gone in one day.

Although the emperor did not dismiss them from their official positions on the spot, nor did he imprison them in the Ministry of Justice like he did to Qi Weili, his words had already announced that their official careers had come to an end and that they would have to live out their remaining years in poverty.

Even so, Pei Fangyuan and others had to kowtow sadly to express their gratitude.

At the same time, the hall was filled with the heartfelt praises of many officials.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Li Zongben slowly breathed a sigh of relief. This time he finally realized the strength of the civil and military officials united for some reason, and he also understood why his father waited for more than ten years before launching the first Northern Expedition.

"Retreat!"

Yuan Yuji's voice echoed throughout the hall.

Officials filed out one after another, and Li Shizhi walked among the crowd, his figure slightly hunched.

Returning to the elegant and exquisite Shangshu Mansion, Li Shizhi came to the inner study with an expressionless face. Li Jinshan tactfully dismissed all the servants and followed Li Shizhi closely.

Li Shizhi sat in front of the window without saying a word. Li Jinshan poured a cup of fragrant tea and said carefully, "Master, calm down."

Li Shizhi took the teacup and said indifferently: "Lu Chen's chain of tricks not only made me offend some forces in the court, but also made me lose seven reliable companions in one day."

Li Jinshan frowned and consoled him, "Master, the positions of the ministers are still very stable. Master Qi, Master Pei, and Master Lou were plotted against this time, but as long as they take care of themselves, Master will be able to reinstate them in the future. Master, that Duke Qin is definitely not a good person. Master, you must remain calm and not be angered by him!"

"boom!"

With a crisp sound, the teacup broke into pieces, and Li Jinshan was immediately shocked.

At this moment, Li Shizhi finally lost his former calmness and composure, and an extremely strong sense of hostility appeared on his face.

How could he not understand those principles? Why did he need Li Jinshan to analyze them? It was just the first time that he felt the frustration of having the power but nowhere to use it.

When Wang Ding impeached Qi Weili, Li Shizhi had already noticed the other party's intention. However, those people never directed their spearheads at him, resulting in him having no chance to intervene, let alone reverse the situation.

"Lu Chen——"

Li Shizhi took a deep breath and said word by word: "I hope that when that day comes, you can still have such scheming and skills."

……

The spring breeze blows across Jinlin County.

The chess game in Jianxi Pavilion lasted for many days. Li Daoyan and Lu Chen won and lost alternately, and the old and the young got along very harmoniously.

The Li family's ancestral home not only covers a large area with beautiful scenery, but also has extremely delicious food, and of course the rare wine Dihuayun.

Lu Chen, Li Bingxue and Gu Wan'er lived very comfortably here, and they didn't even want to return to Beijing too early to face those annoying intrigues.

"This is a great move. You must have thought about it for a long time, right?"

Li Daoyan looked at the two black and white dragons entangled on the chessboard with a faint smile on his face.

Lu Chen smiled slightly, picked up a black piece and put it in the deadly area. In an instant, the situation of the two dragons was reversed, and the old man's white pieces were slaughtered. Then he said calmly: "From the beginning, I only wanted to deal with Qi Weili and Lou Huanzhang. The former tricked Gao Huan, so of course I had to vent Gao Huan's anger. The latter is Minister Li's right-hand man, so how could he get away with it?"

"My son suffered a loss this time, and he must hate you to the core now."

Although the old man said this, his expression was very calm. He was neither troubled by Li Shizhi's experience nor frustrated by his disadvantage in the chess game.

Seeing him saving the loose ends, Lu Chen asked curiously, "I don't quite understand. Since the old prime minister had seen through my intentions long ago, why didn't he remind Minister Li, but instead helped me? I don't have any leverage over Pei Fangyuan."

Li Daoyan was silent for a while, then sighed, "I just hope that he can be more sober because of this setback. The court situation is countless times more complicated than the chess game, and the chess players who are qualified to play against him are definitely not as simple as he imagined. His career has been smooth sailing in recent years, especially after the current emperor ascended the throne. Even Xue Nanting and Zhong Cheng were repeatedly calculated by him. If he continues like this, he will probably destroy himself soon. The capture of Qi Weili and others is definitely a loss for him, but it is not a serious injury."

Lu Chen nodded and said respectfully: "The old prime minister is worthy of being the pillar of the country."

"I am now on my deathbed and may close my eyes any day. What's the point of talking about being a pillar?"

Li Daoyan looked at the young Duke in front of him with a slightly bleak expression, and asked softly: "I just want to know...what will you do in the future?"

(End of this chapter)