"Zeng Shangshu, we want you to impeach Niu Yuan," Guo Xiangren eagerly got to the point as soon as he sat down. "But the contract has been negotiated and the emperor has approved it. How feasible is it still?"
Zeng Liang clutched a writing brush, frowned and sighed: "If it's just me, it's insignificant."
Everyone understood what he meant, and Lu Zhixian was the first to say: "I am willing to sign the memorial with you!"
"Me too!" They all agreed.
Zeng Liang looked at them with solemn eyes for a moment and bowed pretentiously: "Since all the gentlemen are helping me, I have courage in my heart. But this matter needs careful planning. It is difficult to succeed just by relying on the surge of blood." .”
Seeing that the princes were still hesitating, the people from Guoxiang were overjoyed, thinking that it was their opportunity to make a contribution, and hurriedly said: "Master Zeng, I think the most important thing to consider in this impeachment is not the emperor, but the will of Prime Minister Liu. I don't know. Have you noticed that during the discussion just now, Liu Zhennian has been sitting back and watching our heated debate, and has never exercised his authority. Even when Niu Yuan was scolded by Xiang Zhi, he did not show any favoritism. This proves that he We are not completely sure whether the matter will be successful or not, so we must listen to the opinions of the ministers, so as not to offend the scholars of the world and shake the foundation of our rule."
"On this occasion, more officials should be gathered to write letters to resist and try hard with a spirit of fearlessness. This is ultimately a risky move. No matter how well planned it is, it is difficult to predict the people's hearts."
Lu Zhixian clapped his hands and said: "Okay, let's tell Lianghou's truth to other officials and analyze the pros and cons in detail. They will definitely be persuaded. When the time comes, we will jointly sign and create the original impeachment Yan Wen’s battle is coming!”
After hearing this, everyone put on a look of indignation, clenched their fists and stood up one after another, seemingly ready to swear a decision; but when they looked up, Guo Xiang was still sitting peacefully on the chair, fiddling with his wrinkled cuffs, looking cold. He sneered coldly.
They stood there awkwardly, and for a moment Tongpao Chen asked: "Lianghou, what do you mean?"
The people from Guoxiang raised their heads and said slowly: "I would like to ask you gentlemen, do you think that just relying on this joint memorial can intimidate the imperial court?"
How could Tongpao Chen not understand, but he pretended to be confused: "Other than this, what else can be done?"
The Xiang people laughed and said: "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for being a shrewd man. Why don't you understand as well as me, a young man who has just started his official career? No matter how many people sign the petition, it only looks impressive on paper, but in fact there is no one. According to my words , then you should lead hundreds of officials to kneel down in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and each person should write a memorial and hand it over. Just these impeachments one after another can drown the entire Zhongshu Province! Only by making the matter bigger , the younger Liu Zhen is, the more likely he is to give in! Zeng Shangshu, do you think this is true?"
Zeng Liang, who was always known to be upright, was dumbfounded. He tried his best to suppress his frightened expression, but he had no time to control the spasm of his face. After all, although he and Liu Dang were not on the same journey, he did not have any enmity with them. If a big fuss breaks out, there's no telling how the party members will look for an opportunity to retaliate.
In order not to be embarrassed in public, he forced himself not to think too much, but another worrying question suddenly rushed into his mind: 'Even if I am determined to break with the Liu Party, it would be better if I succeeded in making such an unmeasured trouble. , if it fails, wouldn’t I become the culprit? At that time, everyone turned into birds and beasts and dispersed, leaving only me and my family to perish. These people from Hunan are really evil-minded! '
But he did not want to lose his reputation for loyalty, which was the basis for being appreciated by adults. For the sake of long-term interests, he gritted his teeth and said: "It is not easy to be a minister in all dynasties. My hardship is not worth it." What? Just use it as a shield for them and risk your life! '
After thinking about it, he nodded vigorously: "The good prince is absolutely right. As ministers of the country, we should not be greedy for life and afraid of death and make outsiders laugh! Without further ado, I will set off quickly and find ways to win over people everywhere. The officials who are dissatisfied with Niu Yuan, even the Liu Party, can persuade them to write a letter of impeachment, and finally choose a day to kneel in front of Liu Zhennian's gate!"
"Zeng Shangshu said from the bottom of his heart, we dare not obey orders!" Gao Jizhi and Chen Tongpao also made generous speeches.
Only Lu Zhixian clasped his hands behind his back, sometimes lamented a few times, sometimes blew his beard, and finally rejected Zeng Liang's proposal and insisted on signing. Zeng Liang had no choice but to ask him to stay alone and submit the memorial jointly with him.
Zeng Shangshu's impeachment was the first to be submitted to the Prime Minister's Office. Although it seemed to be a short memorial, Liu Zhennian could smell a hidden crisis in it, but he was still hesitant - because he obviously did not want to pay attention to these boring titles. He cared more about it than this. In terms of actual efficiency, he agreed with Niu Yuan.
After a period of hard thinking, Liu Zhennian's head turned into a ball of mush. He had no idea how to weigh the situation of the court, so he had no choice but to send the memorial to Niu Yuan, hoping to use it to give him a slap in the face and tell him to be cautious in his actions and to carefully observe recent events. trends.
When Niu Yuan was satisfied with his ambition, he was furious when he saw the memorial. He wanted to cut Zeng Liang alive immediately. Unfortunately, Liu Zhennian still suppressed him and prevented the prime minister from venting his anger.
He had nowhere to vent his anguish, so after the noon meeting, he invited many ministers to rest in the warm pavilion beside the palace. He took the opportunity to show Zeng Liang's impeachment to everyone, and asked them with a fierce look in his eyes: "Zeng Liang is so long-winded." He made a lot of pedantic remarks, such as 'Don't condescend to be a bastard', 'The power of the heaven cannot be compromised', haha, you are really loyal to the country. What do you think about this?"
Most of the ministers had been persuaded by the Xiang people and others, and when they heard him asking such questions, they were even more distracted. They all left the table and knelt down at Niu Yuan's feet. They were covered in cold sweat and didn't even dare to raise their heads.
Niu Yuan smiled coldly: "Why don't you dare to speak? I tell you, this person is a traitor in this dynasty. Anyone who wants to support him will have his head chopped off! Don't take any chances. Have you heard this? ?”
"Yes..." Everyone was so frightened that their faces fell to the ground, their stomachs trembled, and they almost vomited out the lunch they had just eaten.
"I will burn it now, burn these traitor words! Then I will deal with him..." Niu Yuan said through gritted teeth, while picking up the iron tongs and adding an extra charcoal block to the brazier to make the flames The burning became more intense, and the room was suddenly extremely hot, as if it was boiling on the bodies of all the officials.
He pinched the paper hard, making a squeaking sound; when it formed into a ball, he threw it into the basin. Sparks flew everywhere, and the snow-white paper was burnt black.
