Jinghong Tower

Chapter 350 The Third Bowl of Blood
The great hall in the temporary imperial palace was far inferior to the Golden Throne Hall in the capital, and one could see the end at a glance.

A Jinyiwei was peeking outside the door and Yanmi saw him at a glance.

He gave a wink and the eunuch standing beside him quietly went out. He came back soon, walked to Yan Mi, and quietly handed him a newspaper hidden in his sleeve.

The court was already tense at this time. Most people's attention was on Liu Shanhe, but there were also a small number of people who were keeping an eye on all directions and keeping an ear to all directions.

So Yan Mi and the eunuch's little tricks fell into the eyes of those who were interested.

"Commander Yan, is that today's newspaper in your hand?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the two groups who had just been confronting each other temporarily ceased fighting and looked at Yan Mi together.

This newspaper was just seized by the Embroidered Uniform Guards this morning. It is not a morning newspaper, but an evening newspaper.

Yan Mi himself didn’t have the time to take a look yet.

He could only look at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne.

The emperor was about to speak when he heard Lord Quan say, "Commander Yan, could you please let me take a look?"

The newspaper is already in his hand, can Yan Mi hide it on the spot?

Besides, if he doesn’t hand it over now, these ministers will be able to see it once they leave the palace.

Even if the Jinyiwei collected the evidence everywhere, there would still be people who would copy it down.

Even the emperor was reading the handwritten newspapers, let alone these ministers.

Yan Mi had no choice but to hand over the newspaper.

Mr. Quan took the newspaper and immediately locked onto the front page headline.

Everyone read ten lines at a glance, and the other officials understood it immediately without asking any more questions. The third bowl of dog blood had arrived.

"Master Quan, could you please let me read it?"

"And this officer."

Lord Quan looked around at the civil and military officials in the court and smiled: "I am not talented, so I will read it to you."

"Thank you, Lord Quan. I am all ears."

Mr. Quan cleared his throat and read slowly.

All officials have to speak Mandarin. However, the climate and soil in the north and south are different, and people's tongues are also different. Therefore, the Mandarin spoken by officials is also varied.

There are Sichuan and Fujian flavors.
However, Lord Quan stood out from the crowd. He spoke standard Mandarin with clear pronunciation and intonation, and all the civil and military officials in the court could hear him clearly.

But he had just read a short paragraph when the emperor shouted, "Shut up, stop reading, and leave the court!"

All the civil and military officials in the court said: It’s too late. Although it’s only a short paragraph, we can all guess what is written next.

What is it?
Of course it was Taizong who killed Taizu and framed the former crown prince.

If the emperor says he wants to adjourn the court, then he has to adjourn it.

The first thing officials did after leaving the palace was to ask their attendants to buy newspapers. If newspapers were not available, they would buy handwritten newspapers. If handwritten newspapers were not available, they would look for them on the streets.

At this time, the officials waiting outside the temporary palace also received the news that someone had obtained the first-hand handwritten newspaper!
In less than an hour, all the officials had seen the article.

Every word is filled with blood and tears, and every word is an accusation.

Although Mrs. Di died early, she was still worried about Zhou Wen's son when she was dying.

Therefore, she left a handwritten letter and instructed her confidant to give it to Zhou Wei when he was fifteen years old.

In other words, Emperor Taizong Zhou Wei knew that he was not Taizu's biological son when he was fifteen years old.

But he was extremely cunning and pretended to know nothing, putting on a mask of kindness and honesty, which made Taizu relax his vigilance against him.

He had been plotting in secret and had bribed the imperial physician to learn of Taizu's health condition. He seized the opportunity, colluded with the imperial physician when Emperor Taizu fainted, and prevented Taizu from waking up. He then took the opportunity to throw dirty water on the former crown prince, framing the former crown prince and causing Taizu to faint. He then strangled the former crown prince to death, disguising it as suicide out of fear of crime.

Inside the palace, the emperor stared in a daze at the three handwritten newspapers on the dragon table.

These three newspapers tore the Zhou Dynasty to pieces.

Gaozu was cuckolded, Taizu had a biological mother who had an affair with her younger uncle, Taizong was of low descent, and he repaid kindness with enmity, sought power and usurped the throne, and killed the emperor and the crown prince. He deserved to have his corpse whipped.

As for the late Emperor Gaozong and the current emperor, regardless of whether they have done anything wrong, their bloodline alone makes them unfit to be emperor.

What’s more, there is Min Man in the middle whose ancestry is unknown.

The emperor didn't know yet that the incident of murdering a young girl, which was finally suppressed a while ago, has now been brought up again.

The article written by Bai Yan was also copied into a handwritten newspaper and spread throughout Jiangnan along with the three royal scandals.

The emperor suddenly had a feeling of powerlessness as if the situation was hopeless. He Ran's army was about to reach Xuzhou, and the court, which should have been united in hatred of the enemy, was now in a state of panic, with swords pointed at the emperor.

It shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be!

The emperor thought of the years he had spent in Qingzhou. Although he could not be said to have lived a life of hardship, he did work hard to govern the country. He created a good reputation for himself as being honest and close to the people. He made Qingzhou a place where merchants gathered. He amassed treasures that could rival the treasury. Whether in the court or among the people, he was known as a wise king.

He has been waiting for the opportunity, he has never taken a wrong step, and he chose the best time to leave Qingzhou and head for the capital.

When the army of Prince Jin was approaching, at the critical moment, he turned the tide, stabilized the court, and preserved the royal foundation from north to south.

Obviously, he did all this very well and was beyond reproach.

Obviously, the only person he wanted to deal with was Min Man.

He got what he wanted and took away the throne from Min Man. He was truly the number one in the world's powerful list.

Everything was clearly in his favor; he was clearly in a superior position and had always been in an undefeated position.

It was obvious that next, he was the one who led the response and everyone united to fight against He Ran, recover the lost territory, and achieve unprecedented achievements in both civil and military affairs.

Obviously, it should be like this
A fishy and sweet taste rushed up his throat, and the emperor spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wow".

Eunuch Xia was startled. He wiped him with a handkerchief and asked Abao to call the imperial physician.

The emperor waved his hand and said, "No need to call the imperial physician. I am fine."

At this time, the news that the emperor is ill must not be spread.

"Go and tell Liu Shanhe that I have something to discuss with him." Liu Shanhe did not leave at all. The cabinet was set up in the temporary imperial palace.

Although Liu Shanhe is the prime minister, he does not have the final say in the cabinet.

Perhaps two months ago, the other ministers were just obeying orders, but now, the cabinet has been divided into two factions.

One faction is headed by him, while the representative of the other faction is Lord Quan who has been in the limelight in the court today.

Those who remained in the palace at this time included not only the cabinet members, but also the royal family and nobles.

The short knife in the hand of the Earl of Yan'an slammed on Liu Shanhe's desk and said, "Prime Minister Liu, it's already this hour, and you are still pretending here. Tell me quickly, what should we do about the throne?"

As soon as the Earl of Yan'an finished speaking, the people of Liu Shanhe's faction shouted, "Earl of Yan'an, you are so bold that you actually brought a knife into the palace. What do you want to do?"

Earl Yan'an smiled contemptuously, stretched out his hand and pulled it back. Everyone took a few steps back in fear. Liu Shanhe's body also trembled, fearing that this scoundrel would swing his sword and bleed on the spot.

But what the Earl of Yan'an pulled out was just a handle of the knife.

The Earl of Yan'an held up the knife handle and said to the crowd, "Which law stipulates that we cannot bring knife handles into the palace?"

Everyone
Would a good person bring an empty scabbard into the palace?
However, the danger was over and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Shanhe said in a deep voice: "Lord Yan'an, I know that you have a connection with Jinghong Tower."

Before Liu Shanhe could finish his words, Earl Yan'an spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on Liu Shanhe's desk.

Everyone
The Earl of Yan'an sneered, "Liu, you said that I have a connection with Jinghong Tower. What connection is there? Can it be greater than the connection that you sent military funds to He Ran? If you were in the capital, He Ran would definitely give you a title. Without your money, how could He Ran have the money to fight the war? Everyone, don't you think this makes sense?"

Several nobles who were on friendly terms with the Earl of Yan'an laughed out loud, "Prime Minister Liu, we all feel bad for you. You worked so hard for so many years to embezzle money, but in the end, all the money went to make wedding clothes for them. All the money went into He Ran's pocket. If I were you, I would definitely find a piece of tofu and kill myself."

What Liu Shanhe was most reluctant to mention was the Liu family’s wealth that was confiscated by He Ran.

Of course, the Liu family's wealth was nothing compared to what the emperor had lost, but it was enough to make the Liu family uneasy. Until now, the Liu family's relatives still came to him for money on this grounds.

Although Liu Shanhe has great power in the court, he is a civil servant after all.

Historically, in the court, nobles and civil officials have been two different circles.

The present nobles were all conferred titles by Taizu, and their ancestors all followed Taizu in conquering the world.

Our dynasty has only been around for fifty or sixty years, but the fame of our famous generals has not yet been washed away by wind and rain. Nobles like the Earl of Yan'an still have the credit for following the emperor.

Liu Shanhe was a big shot in his circle, but when it came to these nobles, he could only stay away.

Everyone should keep their own business and not interfere with other people's business.

But today, it is obvious that Earl Yan'an wants to stir up trouble and provoke trouble.

The Earl of Yan'an cleared his throat, clasped his fists towards everyone, and said loudly: "Since Prime Minister Liu just mentioned my connection with Jinghong Tower, I have to say something. The dirty water of the villain is about to be thrown on my head. If I can't prove my innocence, who knows if my Earl of Yan'an Mansion will be the next one to be burned."

Everyone knew that the last building to be burned was the Jinghong Tower in Nanjing, and the emperor at that time put all the blame on the Empress Dowager.

The old fellow, the Earl of Yan'an, not only scolded Liu Shanhe, but also the emperor.

Duke Dingguo said, "Don't keep us in suspense. Tell us what is your relationship with Jinghong Tower."

Earl Yan'an chuckled and looked at Liu Shanhe, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

“If we talk about the relationship between me and Jinghong Tower, it’s actually a business relationship.

I think you all know about the ugly things that happened in my house. The person I admire most in my life is Taizu.

I hate that I was born a few decades later and could not follow Taizu to conquer the world like my father.

It's also my fault. I was only concerned about my family, my country and the world, and failed to manage my home well. My youngest son was killed by a demon in the mansion, and I kept this secret for twenty years. It was my wife who found Jinghong Tower and spent five thousand taels of silver to finally find out the truth and avenge my poor son.

This is my family scandal, but it's not a secret. Everyone here knows it, right? Don't you all know it?"

Some people were laughing secretly, while others were nodding. In those days, the Earl of Yan'an submitted a memorial to depose the Crown Prince and enthrone his grandson. His concubine died naked and her body was left exposed in the wilderness. This matter became a hot topic in the capital.

The mastermind behind this incident was Jinghong Tower.

But I didn’t expect that the Yan’an Earl’s Mansion would actually pay five thousand taels of silver.

After the Earl of Yan'an finished speaking, he looked at Liu Shanhe and said, "Prime Minister Liu, although I spent five thousand taels, compared with your Liu family, my five thousand taels are nothing. They will be gone as soon as they are spent. They are not as much as the military expenses sponsored by your Liu family to He Ran. It is said that there are at least five or six hundred thousand? Oh, tut tut tut, these five or six hundred thousand are enough for He Ran to conquer half of Jiangnan, right? He Ran is really ignorant. Why didn't you give you, Prime Minister Liu, a title of Lord?"

The Earl of Yan'an turned to look at Duke Dingguo and said, "Do you think that Prime Minister Liu's actions are worthy of being named a Duke?"

Duke Dingguo: "Of course it's enough. Not to mention the Duke, even a king of a different surname is not bad."

Everyone was delighted. In a blink of an eye, Liu Shanhe became a king of a different surname personally appointed by He Ran.

Among the nobles in the capital, the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and the Marquis Wu'an's Mansion are the most prestigious.

The Marquis of Wu'an has a loyal and brave wife named Li Jinxiu, while the Duke of Dingguo has an old lady who is over 90 years old.

During the wars, the old lady often cooked personally for the generals. Even Li Jinxiu's father-in-law and Earl of Yan'an's biological father had eaten at the old Duke Dingguo's house. After the capital was moved to Beijing, the next generations of these noble families would run to the Duke Dingguo's mansion all day long, because the food there was delicious.

Therefore, although the Duke Dingguo's Mansion did not compete for anything in recent years, it was able to gain a lot of support, and these emperors all looked up to it.

Now even Duke Dingguo and Earl Yan'an were on the same page, and everyone present knew what was going on.

Liu Shanhe said in a cold voice: "Duke Dingguo, Earl Yan'an, do you still want to force the emperor to abdicate?"

Yan'an Bo cleared his throat, and Liu Shanhe instinctively covered his nose with his sleeve.

Earl Yan'an glared at him contemptuously, spat the thick phlegm on the ground, and did not forget to wipe it off with his feet.

Everyone
"Mr. Liu, you are such a dog that you can't spit out ivory. You have the nerve to put yourself in the third place on the world's power list, and you still have the nerve to say that I'm forcing you to abdicate?

Now the emperor is the boss, He Ran is the second, and you are the third.

He Ran has already rebelled, and you are the only one missing.

He Ran is too far away, but you are close. You don't have to rebel, you can just force the emperor to abdicate!"

When the Earl of Yan'an said this, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he had discovered some great secret: "Oh my, this is unbelievable! Liu Shanhe is trying to force the emperor to abdicate!"

Liu Shanhe's face darkened. He really underestimated this rough man, Yan'an Bo. It turned out that he was determined to throw dirty water on him and accuse him of treason.
"Lord Yan'an, stop talking nonsense! Someone, please ask Lord Yan'an to leave!"

All civil and military officials, even those of Liu Shanhe's status, could only bring one attendant with them when entering the palace.

If you want to ask the Earl of Yan'an to leave, you can only let the eunuchs do it.