Everyone looked out through the curtain, waiting with bated breath for Liu Zhennian's reply. They could even imagine what shocking actions he would do in anger. Unexpectedly, the prime minister suddenly changed his temper, and gradually put away his angry eyes, and his face showed a calm color again. He then leaned forward, held the sword's blade with one hand, picked it up with the other, and put it into its sheath with a soft "swish" sound.
"What you said makes some sense," Liu Zhennian replied coldly, "but whether it is true or false, we still don't know the truth. I will keep you somewhere else for now, and leave the matters in prison to the young prisoner. It will be investigated. Afterwards, if I find that you have even half a lie, I will kill the nine tribes immediately! Do you hear me clearly?"
When things developed to such an extent, Shi Zhengxiu lost all fear and replied: "I know better!" After saying that, he was dragged out of the house by two government officials.
Now it was the ministers' turn to be afraid. In particular, Lu Zhixian, who was the most trusted by Su Zongshan, enjoyed many blessings following him. They all raised their hearts to their throats and stared closely at Shi Zhengxiu's back, feeling guilty for a while. Niu Yuan, who was beside him, could tell what they were thinking with just a cold glance, but he didn't make it clear and just smiled.
"Mr. Liu, is Shi Jianzheng telling the truth?"
Niu Yuan followed Liu Zhennian back to the capital hall. Seeing that it was the time when the moon and stars were sparse, and there was no one around, he hurriedly climbed up a few steps, raised his hands and asked.
Liu Zhennian looked at him steadily for a while, then slowly turned around: "Isn't he yours?"
"Prime Minister!" Niu Yuan leaned towards him, with a trace of tears in his eyes, "That's because everyone saw me in despair, so they tried every means to frame me! I don't know how much injustice I have suffered and how many ups and downs I have experienced in my humble position! I'm afraid you have believed it a little bit. But there is no way to express my humble position to others, so I can only hold back this breath..."
Listening to what he said word by word, Liu Zhennian began to feel a little moved, but he didn't want to show it, so he forced a stiff face and asked again: "I don't care who is slandering you now, but I want to know who Shi Zhengxiu takes orders from!"
"Say!" Seeing that he still lowered his head, Liu Zhennian reached out and grabbed the collar behind his neck.
"It should be someone who is involved in politics..."
"That's right!" Liu Zhennian slapped him on the shoulder neatly, "Why keep it secretive and open it up! Let me tell you, after everyone left, I asked Shi Zhengxiu privately. He insisted that it was Su Zongshan who formed a clique and implicated himself, so he took advantage of the sudden change in the sky to expose it. He also told me all kinds of other things that were corrupt and perverted the law. It was really disgusting to hear it! Not to mention you. His eyes have always been intolerant of others, and he should have the energy to kill others! If he is still so depressed and unambitious, who can rest assured that he can do great things!"
Niu Yuan was shocked when he heard the words 'pay for big things'. He raised his sweaty forehead in surprise, but thought it was Liu Zhennian who was testing him, so he was extremely careful: "You just believe him?" If so? That person dared to name him, maybe he had selfish motives."
"Selfish?" Liu Zhennian smiled helplessly and pulled out an armchair. "At such an old age, his selfishness is left to his children and grandchildren. How can he destroy his whole family? Even if we don't guess his true intentions , take a look at the recent situation of not being able to make ends meet, and also know how far the corruption in the imperial court has reached." As he said that, he sat down and once again cast his expectant eyes on Niu Yuan.
Niu Yuan never thought that he would be able to make a comeback, but when he saw Liu Zhennian abandoning his past grudges and still giving him a trusting look as usual, a warm current seemed to arouse in his heart, and he couldn't help but kneel down heavily, pulling his gray He pressed his head to the ground and sobbed: "Niu is willing to make suggestions for Mr. Liu, to help you clarify the government and the public, and change the old trend!"
Liu Zhennian felt sad, and hurriedly stopped his twitching lips, swallowed hard, and concealed his emotion: "Okay, okay... let him let the past things go! Now you are the only one by my side. People are reliable.”
"Mr. Liu, I will always support you. No matter what you do, I will never utter a word of "no". But your 'disciples' are not of the same mind as me. They are connected with each other, one by one. They are all greedy and cunning people. If you interfere with their interests, it is tantamount to asking for death. According to your humble position, you can only do small things, not big ones." Niu Yuan crawled forward two steps and grabbed the handle of the chair, like a child Looking at him the same.
"The world is so rotten, what's the point of small actions?" Liu Zhennian's voice became more and more severe, "If I discuss it with those disciples, they will definitely advise me, saying that those who 'cannot destroy internal unity' and 'cannot give power to the enemy party' The fallacy of profiteering is simply fart!"
He slapped the table and his eyes turned red: "I will no longer pretend to be a decent person today. I admit that the reason why I bullied the ministers and wooed the scholars back then was entirely to form a party! I formed a party to overthrow the country of this dynasty. , in order to oust the emperor's son from the throne. They said that I wanted to plot a treason. I didn't refute it; but I never lived in a drunken life for the sake of the common people! Now even the confidants I raised are not clean, how can I still Are you going to protect them because of some sectarian opinions? Anyway, looking at today's situation, I will fall sooner or later, no less than a day or two! Even if the big move fails, I still have to bring down a few thieves, so that my life will not be in vain. Got it!"
Without thinking, Niu Yuan responded resolutely: "I have treated the Prime Minister like my mentor for many years. Since the Prime Minister is so ambitious, how can Niu Yuan dare to back down? So I am planning to offer a plan to make this happen!"
Liu Zhennian frowned and said: "Your strategies are usually very radical. This case of changing the sky is related to the fate of the court. It is of great importance. It is better to be cautious."
Niu Yuan said firmly: "You don't have to be afraid, my plan is foolproof. Su Zongshan has a lot of followers, so we must not be too cautious and worry about one thing at the expense of the other, so as to miss the chance of fighting and arouse the enemy. Therefore, we should attack them all with one move and make them unresponsive." If there is an opportunity, sit back and wait for death!"
Su Zongshan was not unprepared. He paid close attention to Liu Zhennian's actions at that time, so he was quite anxious and could not sleep until the second watch. He couldn't fall asleep after tossing and turning, so he had to get up and walk to the middle hall. Unexpectedly, after walking around for a few times, he became even more nervous and had no choice but to secretly summon many confidants to come to the mansion to discuss matters.
The confidants usually only care about ink, and they just listen to the shrewd Su Shen's political arrangements. What kind of intelligence is needed? Now that the Prime Minister has no idea, they are even more confused and ignorant. They talk about it all over the place, but few of them get to the point. After chatting for a long time, the third watch is about to arrive.
