Seeing the situation, the officials quickly got off their chairs and came to offer some words of persuasion. Then they glanced at Tao Xuandao from angrily-eyed Liu Zhennian - and he restrained himself.
Yan Wen just calmed down and called the soldiers in the hall: "The prime minister is too excited. You can take him down and let Master Tao rest for a while."
"What?" Tao Xuandao coughed a few times and pointed at Yan Wen, "How dare you do anything without my consent..."
Before he could say anything, the people on both sides took his elbows and dragged him out.
"Everyone, please go back and sit down." Liu Zhennian was stunned for a while, then bent down to collect all the writing and ink documents on the floor.
Everyone hurriedly agreed.
"Your Majesty, this is a secret message from Zhongshu Province." Shen Jing came in holding a small document, and the emperor motioned for him to put it in front of him.
"What are you talking about?" the emperor asked as he opened the memorial.
"They didn't say a word when they handed me over. I really don't know."
The emperor quickly searched for the key point, and what caught his eye was a line of eye-catching black characters: "After repeated discussions, the ministers and others have decided to depose the prince to death, so as not to cause trouble and delay future generations." 'It is stamped with the seal of Zhongshu Province and the signatures of many ministers, except Tao Xuandao's.
"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Shen Jing asked with a smile.
The emperor closed the memorial in a hurry and looked up at him: "Oh, it's about giving death to the deposed prince. My rebellious son wants to usurp the country, and nine deaths are not an exaggeration. I ordered General Liu to do this. thing."
"My slave understands."
Shen Jing went out and closed the door. Hearing his footsteps walking away, the emperor did not make any move. He just took a look in front of the bronze mirror and straightened the golden crown on his head.
"Who to send?" Liu Zhennian turned to look at Yan Wen next to him.
"Lu Sijin should be able to take up this position."
"It's nothing like this," Liu Zhennian sighed, "It's just that Tao Xuandao is so shameless. I really don't know how to deal with it."
Yan Wen offered advice: "Tao Xuandao relied on his famous family background, so he dared to challenge people in public and was lawless. How about giving him a false position, rising up and down in secret, and then forcing him to become an official after the limelight has passed?"
"There is no better idea than this. Go and take off his prime minister's clothes now."
Tao Xuandao was still separated outside the palace by the officers and soldiers. He paced anxiously in front of the steps, occasionally asking about the situation inside, but unfortunately the soldiers refused to speak.
While he was still depressed, he suddenly saw several forbidden soldiers rushing towards him with a fierce look on their faces: "The Emperor has an order. In recognition of your hard work and merits, I will temporarily suspend your position as Prime Minister and be promoted to Grand Master. Why don't you kneel down quickly?" Thank you for your grace and hand over your court uniform?"
"Emperor, which emperor?" Tao Xuandao was not willing to be outdone, "I'm afraid the emperor you respect is Liu Zhennian!"
"How brave!" Several people were furious and started to pull his clothes. Tao Xuandao couldn't compete with his strength, so he was snatched away. He stumbled to the ground and watched them walk away.
"Master Lu, the court clothes have been taken off."
Lu Yingshan folded the court clothes and ordered his servants: "Bring them to General Liu."
He turned to the imperial guards and said, "Take the wine given by the emperor and go to the East Palace again."
During the time when the heavy rain stopped, the prince was able to meditate peacefully. He rolled the beads all over the place, leaving the food on the table untouched. He even forgot how much time had passed.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew open the windows on both sides, making a banging sound.
The beads immediately stopped spinning, and the prince opened his eyes in fright. The door opened at the same time, and two strong men in black armor came in. They held a lacquered wooden box in their hands and knelt down to him.
The prince's face was pale and he didn't dare to express his anger. He stared at the box tightly. I saw the man skillfully removing the lid of the box and taking out a bowl of cold wine.
"Please." He didn't say any more words.
The prince understood everything and begged in an extremely humble tone: "Wait for me to eat first."
The man obviously acquiesced to his words. The prince picked up the chopsticks and ate hungrily.
"Better hurry up."
After hearing this, he simply threw down his chopsticks and grabbed handfuls of rice to eat. When a lot fell to the ground, he hurriedly picked it up and refused to let go of even a grain of rice.
The bowl is empty. The prince puffed up his cheeks, swallowed his saliva, and said vaguely: "Okay."
He reached out to take the poisoned wine, drank it without hesitation, and smiled stupidly at the visitor.
The man's face remained calm, he collected the leftovers and walked out - at this moment, the prayer beads rang again.
The imperial guards leaned against the door and listened for a while, and the beads seemed to scatter.
Liu Zhennian held the prime minister's court dress high and laughed loudly at Yan Liang beside him: "I think only your brother is worthy of this dress!"
Yan Liang said he didn't dare, but felt proud in his heart. He looked back and saw that Yan Wen was indeed here, so he hurriedly bowed: "Brother, you are finally here."
Liu Zhennian also turned around and threw his court clothes in his face with a smile.
Yan Wen hurriedly caught it and asked, "Who does the general want to appoint to take this position?"
Liu Zhennian said: "There must be three conditions before you can take on this important task: first, you must come from an official family to stabilize the hearts of the scholars; second, those who are loyal to me, Liu Zhennian, will not be doubted; third, you must have The ability to govern the country and stabilize the situation.”
Yan Liang glanced at his brother.
However, Yan Wen pondered for a while before replying: "I don't think anyone in the whole dynasty is worthy of the position of prime minister. Tao Gong is new, and you can't just appoint anyone at will, which will attract criticism from the world. It's better to leave this position empty for now, and let the ministers decide everything together." When the time comes, it’s not too late to teach people again.”
Liu Zhennian felt disappointed after hearing the meaning behind his words, but he didn't want to openly point it out and embarrass others, so he lowered his eyebrows and said, "In that case, let's do what you think."
Yan Wen and Yan Liang withdrew.
After walking to a secluded place, Yan Liang began to complain about his brother: "Liu Gongming asked you to take over the position of prime minister, why did you refuse to take up the position? He is a sincere person, why should I doubt him?"
Yan Wen stopped and said: "My dear brother, if you want to be in charge of the world, you must sit in the position of prime minister, so as not to lose power. If you appoint me now, will General Liu be willing to be a military attache in the future? If he is appointed as a civilian official, he can't Living under me, it is difficult to remove me from my position, which is difficult. Mr. Liu does have good intentions, but I have to plan for our future."
Yan Liang was speechless.
"Don't be bored, tell me how the fight between Lu Wan and the two parties went during the days you went to Nanjing?" Yan Wen patted his head.
"In my opinion... Lu Fangxuan seems to be more likely to win." Yan Liang looked at the dark clouds that had not dispersed, and suddenly thought of the clear sky in Nanjing.
"I hope they both lose." Yan Wen sneered, and the two slowly walked out of the path.
