In the imperial study room of Chengguang Hall, Emperor Wu of Zhou was reading the secret letter sent by Song Dekang from Yangzhou. In the letter, Song Dekang reported the situation in Yangzhou to Emperor Wu of Zhou in detail, and all plans went very smoothly. At the end of the letter, he asked Emperor Zhou Wu when he would close the net.
After reading Song Dekang's secret letter, Emperor Wu of Zhou received another secret letter from the magistrate of Guangling County.
Seeing the secret of "father-in-law" Liang Shuren, Emperor Wu of Zhou unconsciously showed a look of surprise on his face. Emperor Wu of Zhou had a pretty good impression of his "father-in-law" who was far away in Yangzhou. Although the county magistrate bought it during the previous dynasty, he has worked conscientiously for the people for more than 20 years, never being greedy or specializing in flattery.
Among the county magistrates, the "father-in-law" has achieved good results. The reason why he was not promoted was because his position as county magistrate was purchased during the previous dynasty. Another reason is that he did not achieve outstanding results.
Usually, Liang Shuren seldom wrote memorials to Emperor Zhou Wu to pay his respects like other officials. He would only write memorials to Emperor Wu of Zhou when he had something to do.
Obviously he was the "father-in-law" of Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty, but Liang Shuren did not dare to be "presumptuous" at all. On the contrary, he became more and more cautious.
Emperor Wu of Zhou knew quite well about the temperament of his "father-in-law" and would not go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. He hurriedly opened the secret fold, and after reading it, his expression became very solemn.
Sun Kui, who was standing aside, saw that Emperor Zhou Wu's face became very ugly, and he asked with concern: "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Did something big happen?"
Emperor Wu of Zhou ordered with a serious face: "Go and call He Xiang and Taishi Liu."
Seeing Emperor Zhou Wu's serious and solemn look, Sun Kui felt nervous and said hurriedly: "I'll go and invite you, my servant." After saying that, he hurried out of the imperial study.
After a while, He Xiang and Taishi Liu came to the imperial study.
Emperor Wu of Zhou waved his hand to Sun Kui. Sun Kui understood and hurriedly withdrew. He walked to the door and drove away the eunuchs and guards guarding the door, leaving only his apprentice Sun Doudou.
"Master, has something important happened?" As long as only he and the master were left at the door of the royal study, and no one else was left guarding, it meant that the emperor and the ministers had very important things to discuss.
Sun Kui gently tapped Sun Doudou on the head with a whisk, and warned him with a straight face: "It's not something you should know, so don't ask." After that, he added, "You don't want to live too long."
Sun Doudou smiled at Sun Kui in a flattering manner: "Master, I haven't lived enough yet, how can I be dissatisfied with my longevity."
"Then don't ask anything."
"Didn't I tell you this? I wouldn't ask anyone else this question."
Sun Kui also knew his apprentice's temperament. He was lively and talkative in front of him, but he was very cautious in front of others.
"By the way, after lunch, you go to Hulong Temple and bring His Highness back."
"His Royal Highness is at Hulong Temple?" Sun Doudou asked in surprise.
"The Tenth Prince went to Hulong Temple to visit His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Eighth Prince."
"His Tenth Highness is really thoughtful." Sun Doudou thought of the happy chat with Zhao Yao last time and couldn't help laughing, "Master, you gave me a good job."
When Sun Kui heard this, he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise: "Hey, is it a good job to ask you to pick up His Highness?"
"His Royal Highness is cute and funny. It's very fun to talk to him."
"That's true." Regarding Zhao Yao, Sun Kui didn't say much to Sun Doudou.
In the imperial study, Emperor Zhou Wu showed Liang Shuren's secret book to He Xiang and Taishi Liu. After the two of them read it, they looked shocked: "How dare they..."
Taishi Liu looked furious: "These people are so presumptuous!"
Emperor Wu of Zhou raised his lips and sneered: "I really underestimated this group of people in Yangzhou!"
He Xiang frowned and said: "This group of people is simply lawless. They have no regard for the court or the emperor at all."
"In Yangzhou, they are the local emperors. How could they take me as the emperor seriously?" Emperor Wu of Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes were sharp, "If a tiger doesn't show its power, it really treats me as a sick cat." This sentence , Emperor Wu of Zhou learned it from Zhao Yao.
"Your Majesty, what are you going to do?"
Emperor Zhou Wu returned to his usual informal appearance. He leaned back in his chair, put his legs on the royal table, and said casually: "Of course it's a pot."
He Xiang nodded and said: "It's best to uproot it."
Taishi Liu said coldly: "Don't leave any one behind."
"I haven't been on the battlefield for more than ten years. Does everyone think that I have become a living Bodhisattva?" Emperor Wu of Zhou touched his face and said, "Is my face becoming more and more charitable?"
When He Xiang heard Emperor Zhou Wu's words, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he said without any shame: "Not really."
Taishi Liu also said: "You have nothing to do with the word charity."
Emperor Wu of Zhou was not upset at being so unceremoniously undermined by two loyal ministers. Instead, he said with a smile: "It's better that you two dear ministers understand me."
He Xiang said again: "Your Majesty, none of the officials in Yangzhou are clean. If we really want to uproot them, I'm afraid there will be no officials left in Yangzhou's officialdom."
Taishi Liu said: "If it doesn't exist, it won't exist. We will transfer officials from other places to Yangzhou."
"I have made arrangements. This time I won't leave anyone behind." Emperor Wu of Zhou shook his feet on the imperial table and said with a smile, "There are still some good officials in Yangzhou."
"Liang Zhaoyi's father, County Magistrate Liang, is a pretty good official." He Xiang said meaningfully, "This time Magistrate Liang discovered that those people in Yangzhou had colluded with Han Zhong from Shu, which is a great achievement. After the matter is completed, Your Majesty He needs to be promoted."
"This time I finally have a reason to promote my father-in-law." Emperor Wu of Zhou said, raising his hands and stretching.
When He Xiang heard what Emperor Wu of Zhou said, he joked: "Your Majesty, what would Duke Zhen Guo think if he heard what you said?" The only real father-in-law of Emperor Wu of Zhou was the deceased Duke Zhen Guo. . Although Liang Shulin was Liang Zhaoyi's father, he could not be considered the father-in-law of Emperor Wu of Zhou.
Emperor Wu of Zhou smiled and said, "If he doesn't accept it, just hold it in."
Taishi Liu asked: "Your Majesty, have the aristocratic families in the capital colluded with the aristocratic families in Yangzhou?"
Emperor Wu of Zhou raised his left eyebrow and looked at Taishi Liu: "What do you think?"
Taishi Liu sneered: "Sure enough, the world is as black as crows."
Prime Minister He asked: "Your Majesty, what are you going to do?"
Emperor Zhou Wu crossed his hands and hugged the back of his head, and said in a calm tone: "Just do whatever you have to do."
"Your Majesty, is the Xie family also involved?"
"That's not true." Emperor Wu of Zhou took back his feet on the royal table, sat up straight and said, "My brother-in-law is very smart."
This made Prime Minister He very surprised: "You should have asked Duke Zhen Guo in Yangzhou, right?"
Emperor Wu of Zhou put his hands on the royal table and crossed his chin: "I found it, and I promised my brother-in-law a lot of money." After saying that, Emperor Wu of Zhou stretched out his two hands.
He Xiang and Taishi Liu gasped in shock: "One million?!"
Emperor Zhou Wu nodded: "Yes, one million!"
Prime Minister He was shocked and said: "The Duke of Zhenguo didn't agree?"
"One million is a sky-high price, but Lord Zhen Guo is not moved!" Taishi Liu's face was full of disbelief, "Does Lord Zhen Guo want more?"
Emperor Wu of Zhou waved his hand and said, "Even if Yangzhou offers my brother-in-law another one million, I, my brother-in-law, will not agree."
"Your Majesty, your brother-in-law is really smart." Taishi Liu instantly understood why Lord Zhen Guo didn't agree to go to Yangzhou.
"Does the Duke of Zhen Guo know about Yangzhou?" He Xiang asked in shock.
"He should know a little bit about it, but he knows better that I will not always tolerate the actions of a wealthy family." Emperor Zhou Wu said with his chin supported on his right hand, "He also knows that I am suspicious of the Zhenguo Palace, so he does not dare to make mistakes."
Prime Minister He sighed: "The Duke of Zhenguo is indeed shrewd!"
"The Zhenguo Government was not involved, but the Wang family and others were involved, right?" Taishi Liu asked.
"I participated, but I'm not a direct descendant." Emperor Zhou Wu tapped the imperial table with his right index finger and said with a half-smile, "They are all old loaches."
He Xiang said with some regret: "That's such a pity."
"The aristocratic families in the capital don't look down on the aristocratic families in Yangzhou, and don't trust them very much. Naturally, they won't let their direct descendants participate." Taishi Liu said in a deep voice, "It's not that easy to eliminate the aristocratic families in the capital."
"As the emperor said, the powerful families in the capital are all old loaches who have become refined and are very difficult to deal with." He Xiang said with emotion, "They all have a century-old heritage and deep strength. If you want to deal with them, you can only Figure it out slowly and don't rush it."
"I'm afraid that removing the family from Yangzhou will make the elites in the capital alert." Taishi Liu said with a worried look on his face, "They might do something."
"That is exactly what I want." Emperor Wu of Zhou looked at Taishi Liu and ordered, "Old Liu, when the time comes, you can go to Yangzhou in person to collect the net."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
There is no one in the world who can play tricks and tricks better than Taishi Liu, so it would be most appropriate for him to go to Yangzhou to close the net against those aristocratic families.
Duke Zhen: Give me two million and I won’t do it! I don’t think I’ll live long!
(End of chapter)
