There are more and more people surrounding Su Zongshan. From the ministers to the subordinates and petty officials, everyone listens to his command and is served by him. His minions have spread all over the government and the public. There are many people who come here because of their fame and power, but most of them are forcibly recruited by Su Zongshan through some despicable means.
Ever since Niu Yuan lost power, he has been frantically craving the power of the second-in-command. Now that he has the opportunity, he will do whatever it takes to get it. He was uncharacteristically gentle and used the private parties he had organized before to use the banner of Liu Zhennian to collect accusations against dissidents everywhere. He used this to blackmail his colleagues and force them to surrender to him, otherwise they would be impeached. He must also be dismissed from office. Officials like Lu Zhixian were either grateful for his great kindness, or were afraid of paying bribes in the first place, so they were respectful and fearful in their hearts, so they naturally served him obediently.
After two months of careful management, Su Zongshan had secretly cultivated a powerful clique without disturbing Liu Zhennian. He knew that the overall situation had been decided, so he put down the butcher knife in his hand and changed back to his original appearance. He actually doesn't want to quarrel with others for no reason. Once his desire is satisfied, he has no motivation to continue to grow his reputation. In addition, he has no pursuit of national politics, does not talk about new policies, and does not talk about old policies. All he does is to firmly keep this position.
Out of this mentality, he began to enjoy himself with his party members, often entertaining people at home, and entertaining them with the best wine he bought. When he heard their complaints about the lack of royalties at home recently, he generously granted a hundred taels of silver to them. When they talked about the achievements of his children, he readily sent out a few confidants to take care of them in the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites. It is guaranteed to be a Jinshi and get a good job. He treated people so generously, and all the officials were naturally willing to interact with him. Even officials who were not in his party could not hate him. There was a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere in the court all day long, and people no longer had to be as nervous as before.
With no one to restrain them, Su Zongshan's cronies began to act unscrupulously. For example, Lu Zhixian, the Minister of Rites, took the lead in being greedy. He not only embezzled the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, but also deducted the expenses of the ancestral temple. As long as there is money to be made, they will do whatever they can to steal the marrow, and they will also pocket the public property in the treasury bit by bit.
But they were still not satisfied, and soon set their sights on a very lucrative deal - the Ministry of Works was going to build a new temple, and the cost would be at least ten thousand taels. This news was revealed to everyone by a doctor from the Ministry of Industry. He said that the Vice Minister also wanted to profit from it and planned to make a plan with Su Shenzheng. The party members were very happy after hearing this and hurriedly reported these words back to Su Zongshan.
Su Zongshan was tired of them causing trouble everywhere, but thinking that it was not easy for these people to gain power, he should be somewhat tolerant, so he agreed to their pleading and called his most trusted Shi Zhengxiu to tell him the whole truth.
In recent days, Shi Jianzheng often hangs out with this group of 'old party members'. He is used to hearing their dirty conspiracies and has completely seen their true colors. Unfortunately, he realized it too late, and he was already riding a tiger with difficulty, so he had to obey Su Zongshan's order and go to the Ministry of Industry.
Shi Zhengxiu was afraid of being recognized by others, so he walked out of the capital hall through the side door, stood at the door, and looked at the street carefully. He first looked to the east and saw officials coming and going; then he looked to the west and saw that the road extended straight to the forbidden gate, which was still wide open.
'Now is the time to sleep at noon. The eunuchs are also waiting for the emperor. There may be no one on the road to the forbidden area...' Such an idea suddenly appeared in his mind, and then he had an idea. He did not go to crowded places and walked through the forbidden area. Take the inner detour and walk to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.
With this in mind, he weighed his feet and slowly moved to the west. Seeing that there was no one around, he took a confident step and crossed the corridor, stepping on the bricks of the corridor without thinking.
However, in his trance, he forgot about the forbidden road. He bumped into red walls everywhere and couldn't find the right path. He went round and round and ended up at the gate of the East Palace. He didn't know what the reason was. He stopped and looked around when he suddenly heard the creak of the door behind him. He suddenly looked around and saw that the prince was wearing a yellow robe and was about to step down the steps, surrounded by several young eunuchs.
Shi Zhengxiu panicked, his legs became weak, and he knelt on the ground. He quickly moved his knees back a few times, and then he was a little farther away from the door.
"Veteran Shi Zhengxiu pays homage to His Highness!" He could only shout loudly.
There was a hint of surprise on the prince's face, and he hurriedly walked down the steps and called Shi Zhengxiu: "The old prisoner is asking me to get up. I wonder why you are here?"
"Chen...chen..." Shi Zhengxiu said cowardly, and suddenly came up with a way to deal with it, "I just feel guilty in my heart, and I came here to apologize to you!"
"Excuse me? What's your crime?" the prince asked in confusion.
Shi Zhengxiu never thought that he would say these words, which caught him off guard: "I... wasn't the minister impeached by the ministers a few days ago?"
"Impeachment?" The prince stroked his beard and thought thoughtfully, "Oh, this is a common thing. The ministers are dissatisfied with everyone, and there are no less than ten million articles of impeachment. You, a Si Tianjian, what have you been involved in? Big thing? As the saying goes, you are not afraid of the shadow. You don't need to pay attention to those rumors. Let's go, let's go to see our father."
Shi Zhengxiu was stunned for a long time and then kowtowed towards the prince's back. His head was on the ground, but his eyes were bloodshot, staring straight ahead.
"Looking at his reaction, His Highness the Crown Prince is completely unaware..." He murmured, "This little thief, Su Zongshan, dared to use the name of the Crown Prince to deceive me. It was obviously a deliberate attempt to trap..." His voice became more and more trembling. , but the anger has not yet completely burst out.
"What? Will there be auspicious signs tonight?" Liu Zhennian looked at Si Tianjian in front of him. He was not happy. Instead, he raised his eyebrows slightly angrily, as if he was questioning him.
"Yes," Shi Zhengxiu said with an exaggerated and flattering smile, "There are signs this morning, which will be an unprecedented good omen!"
Seeing that everyone was in disbelief, he gritted his teeth and said, "If I tell a lie, I will be punished by heaven and earth!"
Liu Zhennian nodded solemnly, seemingly convinced. Seeing his reaction, Gui Fu quickly stood up and said with a smile: "This is really a blessing from God for our country! Since there is an unprecedented auspiciousness, why not celebrate it? Tonight, let's light up the lights in the Sitian Prison and entertain all the officials. We have gathered there, waiting for him to come, what do you think?"
