Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

33. Dissension.

A gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and a villain is a metaphor for profit.

~

As soon as Bingjia entered the territory of Dongfu Kingdom, Dao Zhi secretly came to the residence of the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs saw that he was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard. He had just taken office, so he must have come to get closer to him. The Minister of the Ministry of War tried every means to find him. Although he had placed his own men in the Imperial Guard, some people came to visit him. The Minister of Civil Affairs was very proud.

"Deputy Commander? Are you the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard recommended by the Minister of Rites?"The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has never seen Daozhi before in the court. He looked at him and said,"No matter what, I will give him a show of authority first."

"The imperial guard directly obeys your Majesty's orders, and there is no need to discuss the appointment with the court. I am the deputy commander, and I only go to court when called upon. It is reasonable for the minister not to know that I am not aware of it."Daozhi

"Where did you serve as an official before? Why doesn't the Ministry of Civil Affairs have any copywriting about you?"The official minister seems to be interrogating

"Previously, he was a commoner in Dongfu State, so there was no record in the official register."

"What are you doing here?"The Minister of Civil Affairs said in an arrogant tone.

"It’s nothing serious, I just heard some news and wanted to verify it."Daozhi

"Oh, what news? I need this Shangshu for verification."The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was wondering what a mere deputy commander could know.

Daozhi then told the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel about the money, the palace, the whereabouts of the eldest son, the second son, and his wife in the Kingdom of Xilu, the interpersonal interactions, and the The shops and so on were told one by one, even more detailed than what the Minister of Libu knew. After hearing this, the Minister of Libu felt a chill on his back.

The Shangshu of the Libu turned around and stared at the inconspicuous deputy commander, his eyes filled with anger:" What do you want to do? Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is what are you going to do?"Daozhi

"Want money? How much?"

"silver? Is it just silver? Isn't it strange? How could a deputy commander of the Imperial Guard in the Eastern Capital City know so much about Lord Shangshu’s background? Even the Lord Shangshu himself may not know some things."Dao Zhi.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel thought for a moment:"Could it be the Minister of the Ministry of War? He is in charge of inspections (spies)."

"He collected information from all aspects, and it was not surprising that he knew this. The Minister of Hubu had the closest relationship with all parties in the Xilu Kingdom, so it was not impossible to know. Don’t you know what they are thinking, Lord Shangshu? Now 20,000 soldiers have entered Dongfu Kingdom. If they are not replacing the old ones as they said, but privately expanding the military palace, what do you think will happen in the future?"Daozhi

"impossible?"

"What is the difficulty in recruiting 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers when the Minister of Household Affairs is rich enough to rival the country?"Daozhi

"With the Blue Lake Treaty, Xilulu Country would not allow him to do that."The Minister of Libu is still on the side of the Minister of Hubu.

"Yes, the Xilu Kingdom does not want them to become too powerful and has suppressed them over the years. If replacing King Dongfu becomes a reality, what do you think the Xilu Kingdom can do?"Daozhi.

When Daozhi mentioned that they had replaced King Dongfu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was startled. His ears immediately stood up and his eyes looked directly at Daozhi. This was something they had secretly discussed a while ago. How could he know about it? , it seems that nothing can satisfy the man in front of him.

Noticing the ups and downs in the mind of the Minister of the Ministry of Affairs, Daozhi continued:"What the Lord Minister said is not unreasonable. The West Lu Kingdom will not let the Dongfu controlled by the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu or the Minister of the Ministry of War." The country will definitely intervene. Once King Dongfu is overthrown, Xilu Kingdom will never let the second King Dongfu appear. They will split Dongfu Kingdom. Each of the ministers may hold a side and be the king. Think about it, Mr. Shangshu. Which piece will you get?"

The Minister of Libu never took his eyes off Daozhi. He knew that what Daozhi said was true.

"Chenzhou with fertile farmland? The south where trade is developed? I'm afraid not, then the northeastern inland plateau Gobi is a barren land with cold weather. It is adjacent to the Rakshasa Kingdom. The naturalized Huns under its rule are mostly poor and have constant riots. Now Dongfu Kingdom has been adopting a support strategy, so they can Peace, will it?"

Daozhi paused for a moment and asked the Minister of Civil Affairs to think about it.

"I think it is very possible. If you think about it, even if Lord Shangshu becomes a king, he has no military power, insufficient money and food, cannot solve the problem of food and clothing for the people, and there is chaos everywhere, will such a king be better off than the current Shangshu? I'm afraid the phoenix at that time was not as good as the chicken. The Minister of Hubu is very ambitious, and the Minister of War is ruthless. In addition, they have soldiers, horses, money and food. If they unite, will they let you be the king safely? If they are annexed, what will happen to the king? But if they want to exterminate the clan, they know everything about Lord Shangshu's family affairs. Even if they don't use force, will Lord Shangshu abandon them under threat? They could ask King Dongfu to abdicate, wouldn't they do the same? Lord Shangshu may not believe it now, but if this happens, I'm afraid it will be too late and there won't even be a chance to regret it."Daozhi.

The Minister of Libu lowered his head and pondered, knowing that Daozhi's analysis was reasonable and that things were moving in this direction.

Daozhi turned around and continued:"Even if you fled to Xilu Country at that time, they might not be able to What to do with you? You should know that what the Xilu Kingdom cares about is not you as a person, but your role as a minister. Once you are of no use to them, what does your life mean? I'm afraid it's you who is the fish, who is Daozu? Taking a step back, even if you save your life, what do you think will be the consequences of losing power? Mr. Ling has offended many people there. Will those enemies come to take revenge? Has Shangshu thought of a countermeasure?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs frowned. He had never thought so far ahead. The consequences were indeed scary.

Dao Zhi then said:"The assassins in the Minister of the Ministry of War, have you ever thought about using these assassins on you?"

The Minister of Civil Affairs was shocked again. He didn't expect that he knew this.

"I remember that my wife asked someone to arrange a marriage for the son in the Xilu Kingdom. Although she is a down-and-out princess, she is still a royal family member. They also hope to marry a rich and wealthy family, and Lord Shangshu can marry the Xilu royal family. As an in-law, it can naturally greatly enhance the status of foreigners in the Xilu Kingdom and help the stability of the family. However, later on, the son was crippled by a group of land hooligans. Although the down-and-out royal family needed money, they could not look down on a disabled person. Madam, I reported to the official, but the officials of Xilu Kingdom found nothing to investigate, and the matter was left unsolved. Although your Excellency is the Minister of Dongfu Kingdom, it is beyond your reach. After all, the matter happened in Xilu Kingdom. In the end, your son was disabled for life. He was like a cripple and could only Accepting your fate, is it really your fate?"Daozhi paused for a while.

"Then the princess got married to the son of the governor of Chenzhou, the younger brother of the Minister of Hubu. Naturally, the Minister of Hubu had another theory. He must have felt that something was fishy, ​​right? Who would do such a thing? Is it really the work of local land hooligans who crippled the son? The Western Capital is a bright spot, with the Central Guards in charge, and the public security has always been good. This kind of thing probably only happens once in ten years. What's even more strange is that the matter was passed like this, without any investigation, and the Lord Shangshu never thought about it. Well, could it have been done by an assassin from the Minister of War's mansion? Is it possible that Tobe Shang is causing trouble? They no longer regard Master Shangshu as one of their own."Daozhi.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel did not dare to think about it any more. He could not find any reason to doubt Daozhi's inference and asked:

"What's your plot?"

"Whether I have a conspiracy or not, these are all facts. With Lord Shangshu's intelligence and his many years in the court, no conspiracy can escape the eyes of Lord Shangshu. Even if I have a conspiracy, I can't hide it from him."Daozhi

"Why should I trust you?"The official minister asked in a pretentious manner.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I don't have food, grass, soldiers and horses, I'm just a deputy commander. The key is how the Minister of Hubu and the Minister of War will treat you, will they treat you like your son?"Daozhi

"No, we have been in the same court for many years, and he would not be like this."The Minister of Civil Affairs was not willing to fully accept this for a while.

"Really? Your Excellency trusts the Minister of the Ministry of Finance so much. If the Minister of the Ministry of Finance can also trust you, why should I come to visit you?"Daozhi.

The Minister of Civil Affairs lowered his head and said nothing. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head, looked at Daozhi with a suspicious look and said:

"It's not that simple to touch him, not to mention that the Minister of the Ministry of War is highly skilled in martial arts. No one in Dongfu can touch him."

"You do what you should do, and if he is playing with fire and burning himself, it will not be you who refuse to save him."Daozhi

"I'm afraid this minister can't do much by himself. Are there other ministers?"Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs

"Could it be that the other two ministers are sincerely convinced by the minister of household affairs and the minister of military affairs? Lord Shangshu should know in his heart that they are actually looking at you, and their situation is not much better than yours."

Then Daozhi told the situation of the families of the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry in the Xilu Kingdom, and then asked:"Do you think the concubine of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is really the cousin of the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu? Do adults think they are a family?"Daozhi

"how? Isn't it?"

"Who wants to become a family with a prostitute? His cousin is just a girl in the brothel named Chunlai. She is quite pretty and very smart. The housekeeper of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance often visits her. She is very good at coaxing men. The Minister of the Ministry of Finance learns that Later, he redeemed her body and adopted her as his sister. The purpose of course was to appear as a sister and seduce the Minister of Industry, and she became a concubine. Turning around from a brothel lady to the minister's concubine, Chunlai understood that all this was given by the minister of Hubu, and regarded the minister of Hubu as his reborn parent and obeyed his words. You can ask the madam of the brothel, and she will tell the truth with a little coercion. You should have known later that the Minister of Industry and Commerce listens to his concubine’s advice on many matters, and the whereabouts of the Minister of Industry and Commerce are all under the control of the Minister of Hubu."Dao Zhi.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was thinking, and Daozhi continued:"The Minister of the Ministry of Justice has long complained about the Minister of the Ministry of War. A few years ago, the father of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice was seriously ill. The old father saw a piece of Feng Shui treasure land that could prosper future generations. Knowing that his old father's time was running out, the Minister prepared to break ground. The Minister of the Ministry of War learned that it was a rare geomantic treasure land, so he reported it on the pretext of building a military camp, and then occupied it privately. The illness of the old father, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, worsened, and soon he died. After returning to the west, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice couldn't find a good land for a while, so he found a place to bury him. I'm afraid he has been holding a grudge for this matter, but because of the power of the Minister of the Ministry of War, he could only swallow his anger."

"Tell me this, what do you want to do to me?"

"I just want to be on the same front as Shangshu. Life in this world is nothing more than fame and fortune. I just want to find an official position. It depends on you whether you want to support me or not."After Daozhi finished speaking, he left.