Phoenix that can't smile

Chapter 712 Self-righteous
The Huben army built by Jin Wangshui set up camp three hundred miles away from Luoshui in Luoyang. Prime Minister Zhou Ji thought that his trick had succeeded, so he came to Jin Wang's camp happily and congratulated Jin Wang in person, but what he didn't expect was that the fundamental It's not Jin Wang Shuijian, but Cheng Rong and Jutu who are smiling.

"Zhou Ji, stop playing tricks. We are fighting on the front line, and you are conspiring to harass in the dark. To be honest, your rumors are nothing but nonsense. The emperor has seen through it a long time ago, so I deliberately set up this trap. You've thrown yourself into a trap!" Cheng Rong laughed loudly.

"Cheng Rong, you and Judu attempted to rebel and dared to hold King Jin hostage. It is an unforgivable crime. Come and arrest these two guys!" Zhou Ji yelled angrily.

"Prime Minister Zhou, this king is really puzzled. As a prime minister, you can be said to be well taken care of by the emperor. Why do you want to rebel? You even dragged me into the water together. I'm really sorry. In order to show your loyalty to the emperor, This king can only personally arrest you and return to the capital, and everyone who comes here will be tied up by this king!" At this critical moment, Jin Wang Shuijian laughed heartily, and walked to Zhou Ji from behind the curtain.

"Prince Jin, you must think twice. The emperor is extremely mean and suspicious. Now you are not replacing him, but arresting the old officials to receive the reward. You are really creating a disaster for yourself!" Zhou Ji stared at Jin Wang Shuijian in horror, hoarse persuaded.

"Bold Zhou Ji, come here, don't take down this traitor who spread rumors!" These words just hit Zhong Shuijian's weak point in his heart, and he immediately became furious and ordered Zhou Ji to be arrested quickly.

Five days later, Cheng Rong, Jue Tu, and Jin Wang Shuijian returned to Luoyang triumphantly with Zhou Ji and Ma Yan as criminals. , Fang Yun and others yelled: "My good fellow, I have treated you well. How dare you join forces for rebellion, spread rumors everywhere, tarnish the reputation of important officials of the court, turn black and white, and disrupt the country. You really deserve death! Anyone who comes here will be punished!" Push it out and chop it!"

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged. In fact, these things were done by Du Tu, Cheng Rong, and His Royal Highness Prince Jin. The purpose was to put blame on the minister. In fact, the three of them conspired to rebel and had nothing to do with the minister." Zhou Ji even rolled Dai Dai climbed under the newly repaired dragon chair, and fell down like a green onion.

"What a shameless person, you have caused us so much suffering, yet you still dare to bite back in front of the emperor, is there any shame?" An Tong was furious and rushed forward to strike.

"Your Majesty, this matter is indeed a bit strange. Two important ministers, Du Tu and Cheng Rong, are far away at Shuilong Pass. How could they know that Prime Minister Zhou Ji rebelled and supported King Jin? Could it be that someone secretly sent them a letter?" At this time, the eunuch in charge Under the hint of clustered eyes, Taiwei Min Zhong stepped forward to defend Zhou Ji.

"That's right, if Mr. Zhou rebelled, why would he run out of the city to meet the army? Wouldn't that be his own death?" King Yu frowned and came out to question.

"Don't say any more, Zhou Ji's treason, the evidence of his crime is conclusive, come and put them in death row!" Chuxiu said angrily.

After retiring from the court, Cheng Rong and Qu Tu's faces were full of doubts. Ming Chao stepped forward and cupped his hands to persuade him: "Everyone, it seems that Zhou Ji has a deep foundation in the court, and it may be very possible to frame us in turn. , shall we urge the emperor to behead Zhou Ji?"

"Lord Ming, you should know the emperor's temper. We can't bring back ten cows for what he decides." Cheng Rong sighed.

In Kunning Palace, Chuxiu felt very tired after reviewing the memorials. At this time, Axi came to Chuxiu holding tea, put the tea cup in front of Chuxiu, and asked softly: "Your Majesty, why are you so tired today? , did you encounter any unpleasant things?"

"Oh, Zitong, yes, Zhou Ji's rebellion has been arrested by Cheng Rong and Qutu in one fell swoop, but I have some doubts. Cheng Rong Qutu and Jin Wang Shuijian colluded secretly. If this happens, what will happen to my country and our Rong Cheng They are all very big hidden dangers!" Chu Xiu became worried.

"But your majesty, Zhou Ji has even more ulterior motives. He even secretly wanted to support the king of Jin as the emperor. It is a crime that cannot be punished!" Axi said indignantly.

"Axi, as a king, if you want to truly rule the world and control the court, you must balance the court's political situation. People like Cheng Rong Jutu and King Mingchao and King Jin have colluded so closely, I can't help being afraid!" Chuxiu let out a long sigh and stroked his beard.

"Then the emperor can think of a way to check and balance Dutu." Axi thought carefully and reminded the beginners.

"Axi, you are ice-snow smart, tell me quickly, what exactly are you going to do?" Chuxiu's eyes lit up immediately.

"Your Majesty, why don't you ask Empress Dowager Ping to make Jutu the prime minister of the court, so that the Huben army will be commanded by the emperor alone, and the officials will not have any strange remarks. As for Zhou Ji, the emperor will only kill him. If he let his subordinates go, wouldn't it be a good balance between the two sides?" Ah Xi said lightly.

"That's right, Ah Xi, what you said makes sense!" Chu Xiu immediately said overjoyed.

"My lord, Axi has given the emperor these ideas according to your instructions. What do you think? Why do you want to get rid of the military power of Qudu?" In the New Moon Palace the next day, Axi with a silly face She asked Bao Sidao very strangely.

"Axi, I must protect the absolute safety of Qutu. No one can match the prestige of Qutu in the army. On the surface, the emperor thinks highly of him, but he is very suspicious of him in his heart. Through these coups, I have seen through it all the more. To get rid of the emperor's fear, so to make the emperor feel at ease about Dutu forever, the only way is to let the emperor truly grasp the military power of the Huben army in his own hands. Don't worry, even if the emperor completely controls the Huben army, but once In case of war, the emperor will still appoint Du Tu as the marshal." Bao Si smiled at A Xi and explained in great detail.

"Young master is really clever!" Ah Xi couldn't help beaming with joy.

After Zhou Ji was beheaded, everyone in the court breathed a sigh of relief. Jugtu was appointed as the prime minister, feeling very puzzled, he couldn't help asking Cheng Rong: "Master Cheng, although I became the prime minister this time, I feel very strange in my heart. Let's see, does the emperor mean to doubt me?"

Cheng Rong couldn't help laughing and said: "Ju Tu, you have double happiness. You have been promoted, and you have escaped the misgivings of all officials in the court. It seems that the Empress Dowager Ping must have come up with this idea."

"Master Cheng, when you said that, I really didn't think that it must be the queen mother, and she is the only one who can be so spooky. After all these years, she is still so witty!" After thinking about it for a while, he was immediately overjoyed. road.

Besides, the chief eunuch Tuosheng, since Chuxiu moved the capital to Luoyang, has been a helper to help Chuxiu deal with the memorials, and he has been in collusion with Zhou Ji, doing all kinds of evil. To ensure that his power will not be weakened in the future, Tuo Sheng has a deep hatred for Qu Tu and Cheng Rong Mingchao and his gang, and the powerful ministers who have lost a lot of wealth due to reforms also hate Qu Tu. Wipe out all the digging party.

"Eunuch, Jue Tu is so self-confident that he is so self-satisfied in the court, how can we teach him a good lesson?" Tai Wei Min Zhong, Ma Yan Fang Yun and others all excitedly encouraged Tuo Sheng to say.

"Hahaha, Jugtu, Cheng Rong, and Mingchao Antong are all enemies against us, but they also have a weakness, that is, they are afraid of gossip. Travel through the mysterious legends to fuel the flames, and engage in some scandalous scandals that will make him unable to sit still and ruin his reputation, so what face does he have to carry out reforms?" Tuosheng showed an extremely vicious smile.

"Eunuch is brilliant! So how should this rumor be started?" Min Zhong couldn't help but praised again and again.

"It's not easy. Isn't Que Tu still in love with the Empress Dowager of the New Moon Palace? Let's make some fake news, spread rumors that Que Tu is immoral, and make him stink. In this way, the prime minister of Que Tu will be considered unstable." !” Tuo Sheng slyly laughed.

After a few days, the rumors in Beijing became more and more vicious. Even Xinyue and Jiang Caibing of the Duke's Mansion heard about it. Without mercy: "What empress dowager? She is so young, isn't she a little widow? Back then, she was just serving others with color, but now she is still restless. How dare she dare to seduce our father-in-law? It's really shameless!"

"Jiang Caibing, what are you yelling about there?" Suddenly the door of the room slammed and was pushed, and Jugtu rushed in front of Jiang Caibing furiously, and grabbed Jiang Caibing's bright wrist fiercely.

"Ju Tu, what kind of prestige do you have at home? How can the capital not know about this now? You want to protect your sweetheart, how dare you enter the palace?" Jiang Caibing cursed.

"Jiang Caibing, you should be sensible. You are going to be a mother soon. Don't see it like this. The wind is the rain. Who is the queen mother? It's the emperor's mother. Let's not talk nonsense in front of the servants!" Jue Tu reprimanded angrily Jiang Caibing had a meal.

"Ju Tu, you have flesh and blood, I advise you to give up on the empress dowager!" Jiang Caibing said with a snort.

In the middle of the night, indignantly, Qu Tu hurriedly found Cheng Rong and told him about his pain.

Cheng Rong frowned and said, "It looks like someone is deliberately spreading rumors this time."

(End of this chapter)