Li Yu, King of Yue.
He is a very troublesome person.
This man is the second son of the late emperor, only about three years younger than the current emperor. When the emperor took charge personally, he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and he is already eighteen or nineteen years old this year.
In the eighth year of Hongde's reign, the emperor granted him a marriage and asked him to marry the youngest daughter of the Anping Houfu. After the marriage, the couple fell in love with each other. A year later, they gave birth to a son, who was established as the crown prince of Yue.
Originally, although His Royal Highness the King of Yue was not much different in age from the Emperor, he was not a direct descendant after all and did not pose much of a threat to the throne. As long as he did not do anything, he would most likely be able to live happily as a free prince for the rest of his life.
But…
He married the daughter of the Anping Houfu.
Now, the conflict between the emperor and the Zhao family has almost become obvious. If the emperor attacks the Zhao family someday, if Anpinghou honestly returns to Jiankang and bows his head to plead guilty, the impact on the Yue Palace will not be too great.
At most, it will only be slightly affected!
But once Zhao Lu, the Marquis of Anping, couldn't bear to part with the Zhao family's sixty-year-old family business and the power in his hands, he got mad and raised a flag to rebel!
So…
It is impossible for Prince Yue's palace to escape being implicated, his title cannot be guaranteed, and his life may even be in danger.
This is the reason why the prince of Jin Dynasty, Li Mu, told Shen Yi that the prince today is cruel.
In the eighth year of Hongde's reign, he single-handedly facilitated this marriage. Firstly, he used his own brother to stabilize the Zhao family a little. Secondly, he also wanted to use his own brother to seduce the Zhao family to "cross the line."
What's more terrible is that the emperor also needs a reason.
A reason to liquidate the Zhao family!
The Zhao family has defended the country for more than sixty years. The emperor cannot just say ruthless hands to them, otherwise it will chill the hearts of those nobles and heroes. The reason why the Zhao family can be completely overthrown is nothing more than two.
The first is treason, the second is rebellion.
Treason means liaison with Northern Qi, which is easier to say.
As for treason...
In the eighth year of his stay in Hongde, the emperor gave the Zhao family the motive for rebellion.
At that time, the court can completely say that the Zhao clan is secretly plotting rebellion, intending to kill the king and dethrone the king of Yue to take the throne!
It's really that time...
Whether the Zhao clan communicated with Yue Wang Li Yu in private was irrelevant. After all, what the court needed was a reason, not evidence.
Now, Shen Yi is doing well in Huai'an, and the court's dependence on the Zhao family is getting weaker and weaker day by day. In other words, one day, the emperor may wave his pen...
This big thing is about to happen.
The Zhao family is already standing on the tip of the knife.
At the same time, Prince Yue's Mansion... seemed to be standing on the edge of the knife.
This kind of thing can be seen clearly by anyone with eyesight in the court.
Now, Shen Yi had just returned from Huai'an. The King of Yue, who never liked to make friends with ministers, or rather did not dare to make friends with ministers, handed over an invitation to Shen Yi...
Obviously, he wanted to see Shen Yi.
Although I don't know what the Yue King is thinking, it is obvious that he wants to get out of this huge whirlpool.
However, there were few people in the court who could help him escape.
Empress Dowager Sun is one, and Emperor Hongde is one.
If anyone else reaches in... they may be sucked in and die in this whirlpool.
Therefore, even Zhao Changping told Shen Yi to ignore it.
After Shen Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, he nodded slowly and sighed slightly: "The world is unpredictable."
Zhao Shangshu lowered his head and took a sip of tea and said quietly: "This is fate."
"Neither you nor I can interfere, especially you Ziheng."
"Never show any sympathy."
Zhao Shangshu said slowly: "We are all ministers of the foreign court. The family affairs of the Tian family have nothing to do with you and me, and we can't control them even if we want to. Do you understand?"
Shen Yi nodded.
"Master, don't worry, my nephew will understand."
Zhao Changping put down his tea cup and lowered his head silently.
"Today, we are growing very fast."
"In the seventh year of Hongde, he still went to war with the Northern Qi Dynasty because of his anger, but today, Jin Shang is already a true emperor."
"Zi Heng, as a colleague in the officialdom, I shouldn't have said these words to you."
"But as a father-in-law, I have to talk to you."
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue said softly: "At this time, your Holy Scroll is in full swing and the sun is in the sky, but you must remember that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. In the court..."
"There are many things that can be done with love, but there are also many times when love doesn't work."
"The emperor is the country."
After saying this, he stopped talking.
But Shen Yi already understood it completely.
What Zhao Changping meant was, don't treat the emperor as a human being.
Because a qualified emperor, in many cases, especially when it comes to the national level, is no longer a human being, but the embodiment of the court's will.
To put it more bluntly, it is the concretization of the court's interests.
At that point, humanity and emotions don't matter.
Shen Yi has always understood this truth.
However, in the past two years, the relationship with the emperor has become "better and better", and he himself has been slacking off a bit. After hearing Master Zhao's words, Shen Yi felt a coolness in his head and immediately calmed down a lot.
He sat on the chair, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, and didn't speak for a long time.
After a while, he raised his hands to Zhao Shangshu and said, "Thank you, uncle, for your teaching. My nephew will keep it in mind!"
Zhao Changping nodded slightly. He opened the drawer, fumbled around for a while, then took out a longevity golden lock, placed it in front of Shen Yi, and said: "It's approaching the end of the year. The household department has been very busy recently. Most of the uncles have It’s impossible to escape.”
"I heard that Qingque is about to give birth at the end of the year. I may not be able to go then. I went to Dongshi Street to buy this gold lock a few days ago. When the child is born, I will hang it on the child to pray for the child."
Shen Yi took it with both hands and bowed his head respectfully: "Thank you, uncle."
"You're welcome."
Zhao Changping smiled, and then asked: "By the way, how is Yi An in Huai'an? When he insisted on going to Huai'an, I was always worried that he would not be able to endure the hardships on the front line."
"Senior brother... you did a very good job."
Shen Yi said with a serious face: "Senior brother is in Huai'an and will at least share 30% of the pressure for my nephew."
"That's good."
Zhao Changping patted Shen Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Huai'an has played very well in the past six months, and I am very happy to see it."
"I wrote to your father-in-law and told him some things about Huai'an. He was dancing with joy."
"If he hadn't been held hostage by the academy, he might have gone to Huai'an to look for you."
Shen Yi was a little surprised: "I haven't received a letter from my mentor..."
"I guess it's because I'm afraid it will affect your fight."
Zhao Shangshu reached out and patted Shen Yi on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Zi Heng, no matter what others say, my uncle thinks you are doing the right thing, and this path is not wrong."
The road he was talking about was the Northern Expedition.
"You and Yi An must keep going."
"It's gone..."
Zhao Shangshu smiled: "From now on, the world will be dominated by young people like you."
There was one sentence he didn't finish.
If the Northern Expedition succeeds, it will not only be a victory for Shen Yi and this small group of people, but also a huge victory for Ganquan Academy!
By then, Ganquan Academy will immediately become one of the most dazzling academies in the land of Kyushu!
That night, Shen Yi stayed in Zhao Shangshu's study for a long time.
By the time he walked out of the study, it was completely dark.
As soon as he walked out, he heard a familiar voice.
"Shichiro!"
Shen Yi looked back and saw Zhao Jizhou walking over cautiously. When he got closer, he seemed a little embarrassed, and he raised his hands to Shen Yi and said, "Zi Heng."
Shen Yi patted his shoulder and smiled heartily: "When did the second brother become so reserved?"
Zhao Jizhou glanced at the direction of the study and shrank his neck: "Zi Heng, my father..."
Seeing him like this, Shen Yi knew in his heart that Zhao Changping didn't want him to go to Huai'an just on a whim.
I've probably thought so for a long time.
There was even news that it had leaked to Zhao Er.
Shen Yi looked calm and said quietly: "I want you to celebrate the New Year and go to Huai'an with me to fight."
Zhao Er took a deep breath after hearing this.
He stood there and didn't speak for a long time.
After a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, "Mom, just go. It's no big deal. If you can go, Ziheng, I can go too!"
He put his arm around Shen Yi's shoulders and said, "Zou Ziheng, my brother is going to treat you tonight at Ningyan Tower!"
Ningyan Tower…
As soon as I heard the name, I thought it was the Qinhuai River's Brothel Chu House.
Shen Yi did not move, shook his head slightly, and said: "Second brother, if you want to go, just go. I am now..."
"It's hard to go to crowded places."
The people from the Purity Department never gave up assassinating Shen Yi for a moment.
You definitely can’t go to the brothel.
He patted Zhao Er on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I advise my second brother not to go either. Just stay at home with my uncle."
"Uncle...maybe I have something to tell you."
After saying this, Mr. Shen bowed his hands to Zhao Er, turned around and left, getting on his carriage.
Zhao Jizhou, on the other hand, stood at the door of Zhao's house, staring blankly at his shadow under the moonlight, and said nothing for a long time.
After a while, he touched the beard on his chin and slowly exhaled a breath.
"Dad, the kitchen has made soup and I'll bring it to you."
At the door of Zhao's study room, Zhao Er was holding a wooden plate, honestly.
In the study, Zhao Changping put down his brush and glanced outside the door unexpectedly.
Then, the Minister of Revenue showed a smile on his lips.
"Send it in."
