at the same time.
In Bianjing City, in an elegant small teahouse.
A middle-aged man with a mustache and a Chinese-character face sat with his eyes lowered, as if waiting for someone to arrive.
"Cough cough... cough cough cough!"
A burst of intermittent coughing came in, and a moment later, a weak man with a pale face appeared outside the door.
The middle-aged man immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to the other party.
"Come on, Zhou Ping'an, the Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, pays homage to His Highness the Third Prince!"
Song Liang sat down opposite him and pointed to the stool in front of him.
"Master Zhou, there is no need to be formal, sit down!"
"Last month, I sent someone to deliver a letter to Mr. Zhou, but I never received a reply from Mr. Zhou."
"I wonder why Mr. Zhou suddenly asked to see me!"
Zhou Ping'an couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when Song Liang mentioned the previous incident.
Since the fall of Shangguan Yi and Xu Rong one after another, the court has been facing a complete reshuffle.
The battle for the right to inherit the throne between the third prince and Prince Rong has become a tacit fact that everyone understands.
Many neutral factions chose to support Prince Rong, but there were also many of Xu Rong's subordinates who turned to the Third Prince's disciples and kept talking about avenging General Xu.
Speaking of which, when Zhou Pingan was young, he was also appreciated by the general.
But he knew in his heart that no matter how powerful the general was, he had long since ceased to exist.
What path you choose to take next is crucial!
Nowadays, Prince Rong is the most popular person in front of the Holy Emperor, which is a fact that everyone knows tacitly.
Therefore, Zhou Pingan did not respond easily to Song Liang's olive branch.
But just today, a superstitious letter from the harem made him almost get carried away by impulse.
That Prince Rong must be targeting him intentionally, so he just talked nonsense in front of the Holy One!
If things continue like this for a long time, how can my daughter continue to climb up the ladder?
Thinking of this, Zhou Pingan made up his mind and took the initiative to show his kindness to Song Liang.
Seeing a meaningful smile on Song Liang's face, Zhou Pingan quickly stood up again and bowed deeply to Song Liang.
"It's because the subordinate is timid and lacks careful consideration!"
"Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Song Liang smiled faintly and raised his hand.
"Since I am willing to come today, I will naturally not blame Lord Zhou."
"Master Zhou, there is no need to belittle yourself and overthink!"
Seeing that Song Liang didn't pursue it any further, Zhou Ping'an felt relieved.
"By the way, Master Zhou," Song Liang said calmly, "I heard that the new concubine Li who entered the palace is your daughter, Master Zhou?"
When mentioning this matter, Zhou Ping'an seemed quite proud.
"Empress Li is indeed from the Zhou Mansion."
"Now that the empress has a golden branch and a noble status, the lower officials dare not call themselves the biological father of the concubine Li!"
Song Liang said with a smile: "The empress flew up a branch and turned into a phoenix, but Mr. Zhou is still her biological father."
"This is an undeniable fact!"
"I heard that Concubine Li is now in the prime of favor. If she can always say a few kind words for Lord Zhou in front of the Holy Lord, it won't be long before Lord Zhou will no longer be a little minister of the Ministry of War."
Hearing this, Zhou Ping'an waved his hands and said: "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. Naturally, Concubine Li also understands all this deeply!"
"But as far as I know, Concubine Li often praises His Highness the Third Prince in front of His Majesty, saying that His Highness is gentle and polite, and His Majesty is very happy when Hearing this!"
"It's just that now...hey!"
Song Liang was so smart that he naturally knew that what this guy had just said was a roundabout way of telling him that if he could help support Li Bin, she would definitely be able to speak favorably for him in front of his father.
Who said blowing pillow wind is useless? That's just because the blowing force is not strong enough!
Come to think of it, Zhou Pingan suddenly found him today, probably because of something related to Libi!
Song Liang looked curious: "Master Zhou, what happened?"
Zhou Pingan shook his head helplessly: "Your Highness, you know."
"Xiaguan was promoted by General Xu before he could serve in the Ministry of War, and eventually became the Minister of War."
"Prince Rong believed that Xiaguan was an old subordinate of General Xu, so he always targeted Xiaguan and always gave him shoes to wear, covertly and overtly!"
"That's all. Prince Rong met Empress Li concubine by chance in the palace a few days ago, and he insulted her extremely."
"It's because Empress Li came from the lower government, Prince Rong even said all the bad things about Concubine Li in front of His Majesty!"
"Since then, His Majesty has refused to summon Concubine Li."
"Your Highness, although I am a minister of the Liang Dynasty, I am also a father!"
"My daughter has been insulted like this, and I feel extremely uncomfortable!"
At this point, Zhou Ping'an even pretended to shed a few tears.
Song Liang was also quite moved for a moment: "Yes, there are a few parents in this world who don't worry about their children!"
"What the fourth child did is really a bit too much."
"He has always been like this, even the concubines in the harem are his targets!"
"If my father really listens to his slander, it will really be detrimental to Concubine Li!"
Since the two of them have a common hostile goal, cooperation seems to be much more logical.
Zhou Ping'an was furious and said: "My empress is timid. Even if she is deliberately smeared by Prince Rong, she does not dare to say anything in front of His Majesty!"
"I'm afraid that if this continues for a long time, Your Majesty will be dissatisfied with His Majesty!"
"It has gradually developed into an irreparable situation!"
Song Liang immediately waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhou, as long as I am here, I will never allow such a situation to happen."
"The Fourth Brother wants to cover the sky with one hand and control everything in front of his father, but I'm afraid he doesn't have such capital and strength yet!"
"Except for Cheng Tianlin, all the current generals may be dissatisfied with the Fourth Brother!"
Zhou Pingan nodded: "Exactly."
"Although General Xu's cronies have been implicated, some of the generals in Daliang have not been promoted by the general!"
"The fall of the great general is inseparably related to Prince Rong."
"For Prince Rong, everyone has resentment and dissatisfaction in their hearts, but they have not shown it!"
Hearing Zhou Pingan's words, Song Liang's eyes lit up.
This is a great thing!
"Lord Zhou, please contact these generals secretly first."
"At this critical moment, I need the support of all the generals!"
"As for what to do next, let's wait and see how the situation in the court develops!"
"Of course, after it's done..."
"Jiang Tian is already old, and the future position of Minister of the Ministry of War belongs to none other than Mr. Zhou!"
Zhou Ping'an was ecstatic and immediately saluted Song Liang and said, "Yes!"
"I understand!"
