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Zuo Lanshan has been deliberately delaying his trip during this period, but the messengers from various temple factions are racing against time and working hard on the way, fearing that they will be a step behind.
Liang Fuchen, as a senior official in the court and an important minister of the "imperial party", naturally had his own news channels and reliable messengers.
Therefore, almost at the same time that Zuo Lanshan encountered the group of victims, Liang Fuchen had already received news from the capital.
Looking at the contents of the secret letter, Liang Fuchen couldn't help but frown.
"Your Majesty conferred upon Zhao Junchen the title of Young Master of the Dynasty, Grand Scholar of the East Pavilion, and the title of Earl of Immortal Xincheng. From now on, he will have the right to join the cabinet and discuss government affairs... Zhao Junchen is given such a reward based on his military and political achievements. It's worthy..." Liang Fuchen murmured to himself: "But considering Zhao Junchen's age and character, such a reward is still too generous. After having both the cabinet and the title, his power and influence will inevitably If he expands aggressively, his wild ambitions will probably become even more difficult to control. Isn’t Your Majesty afraid that Zhao Junchen will become so powerful that he won’t be able to lose his power?”
Thinking of this, Liang Fuchen couldn't help but feel worried.
After reading the contents of the secret letter again, Liang Fuchen noticed something unusual. He looked up at the messenger and asked, "According to the secret letter, His Majesty and the ministers agreed on Zhao Junchen's reward eleven days ago. But Why didn’t I receive the news until today?”
The messengers worked hard all the way, working day and night. Logically speaking, it only took six or seven days to get from the capital to Huamachi Camp. However, Liang Fuchen waited for eleven days to receive the news, but four people appeared. Delay to five days.
Hearing Liang Fuchen's inquiry, the messenger immediately lowered his head in shame and explained: "I would like to inform Mr. Liang Ge that this is all the villain's fault! In order to spread the news to Huamachi Camp as soon as possible, the villain did this On the way, he only cared about riding fast, but he neglected safety. When he took a shortcut through a valley in Shanxi some time ago, he accidentally injured the horse's hoof. In desperation, he had no choice but to abandon the horse and walk out of the valley, which was a huge delay. Three days... Because of this incident, the villain was exhausted, and the subsequent journey was also a little slower..."
After saying that, the messenger knelt down in front of Liang Fuchen and said in a trembling voice: "The villain has wasted time and did not dare to defend himself. Please ask Mr. Liang Ge to punish him!"
After hearing the messenger's explanation, Liang Fuchen sighed lightly.
The road environment between Beijing and Huamachiying is poor, so this situation is common.
What's more, this courier is also an old man who works under Liang Fuchen. He has always been a reliable person and rarely makes any mistakes. Just looking at the fatigue on the courier's body and the fatigue on his expression, you know that he must have tried his best along the way. With all my strength, this can only be said to be bad luck.
From the bottom of his heart, Liang Fuchen was unwilling to punish him severely, but sitting in the position he is in today, Liang Fuchen could no longer rely on his heart to make decisions many times. He had to make clear rewards and punishments and be impartial. Since this messenger It was a delay on the road. No matter what the reason was, punishment must be given. Only in this way can the crowd be convinced.
Liang Fuchen sighed softly in his heart, and after taking a deep look at the messenger, he said slowly: "Although it is just bad luck, you did waste time. Seeing that you are exhausted now, I will not use corporal punishment." , I only punished you with three months of monthly silver, are you convinced?"
After hearing Liang Fuchen's decision, the messenger's expression flashed with a hint of heartache, but he still said in a deep voice: "Thank you Mr. Liang Ge for your mercy. The villain deserves his punishment. I dare not refuse."
For court officials, being fined three months' salary is not a big deal. They all have a lot of extra money, and the court salary only accounts for a very small part of their income. Being fined is not painful, but for For this messenger, the monthly silver is his only source of income to support himself and his family. Being fined three months of monthly silver in one breath means that he and his whole family can only eat food for the next three months. After Kuan drank porridge, he naturally felt pain in his body.
But this messenger also knew that the transmission of information between the capital center and the Huamachi Camp was a crucial matter. Even a moment's delay would delay things and slow people down, let alone delay three days in one go. .
If you encounter those employers with bad tempers and ruthless hearts, it is possible that even half the life of the courier will be taken. Liang Fuchen's punishment is already a lenient treatment and consideration of old relationships.
Therefore, although the messenger felt a little pain, he was still grateful.
The change in the messenger's expression did not escape Liang Fuchen's eyes, but Liang Fuchen's expression remained unchanged. He just waved and said: "You can go down and rest first... By the way, help me call Xu Wenqing here. I have something to tell him."
After the messenger agreed and turned to leave the room, Liang Fuchen secretly thought: "I remember that his father has always been old and sick. Now that I have fined him three months of silver, his family must not be able to afford it." Turnover... After a few days, I still have to find a reason to return the three months of Yueyin to him..."
After all, it was just a small matter, and such thoughts only flashed through Liang Fuchen's mind.
The next moment, Liang Fuchen began to think about Zhao Junchen again.
"I received the news this time four to five days late due to the accident. But if Zhao Junchen's messenger had not had the same accident, he would have received the news several days earlier than me. But he has been He remained calm and showed no signs...
Zhao Junchen is only young, but his scheming in the city is much deeper than many veterans in the court! If an ordinary person received such good news and received the reward of joining the cabinet and being granted a title, he would definitely be overjoyed and show off everywhere for fear that others would not know about it. However, Zhao Junchen could endure it and did not. It would be really scary to reveal any news..."
As he was thinking secretly, Liang Fuchen frowned more and more, thinking more and more that Zhao Junchen was too scheming and was destined to become a hidden danger to the court in the future.
Liang Fuchen naturally understood the reason why Zhao Junchen deliberately concealed the news. Once the news spread, Zhao Junchen's momentum would definitely increase greatly, but after all officials learned of the news, they would also understand that Zhao Junchen Will return to the capital soon.
As the saying goes, "It is better to manage now than to be an official." If Zhao Junchen will soon leave Huamachi Camp and return to the capital, it means that Liang Fuchen will soon become the highest power in Shaanxi and Gansu. Many officials discovered After this point, their attitude towards Zhao Junchen and Liang Fuchen will undergo subtle changes.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen simply concealed the news, and the officials did not know that Zhao Junchen would leave Beijing soon. They still regarded Zhao Junchen as the thickest man in Shaanxi and Gansu, and gave up one after another. Liang Fuchen turned to Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Junchen took advantage of the opportunity of various officials to please him during this period, which made it much easier to operate many things.
Thinking of this, Liang Fuchen couldn't help but snorted angrily, and his expression became a little ugly.
Liang Fuchen was not deaf or blind. He naturally understood that during this period, the governors and generals from all over Shaanxi and Gansu were rushing to visit Zhao Junchen. When Zhao Junchen had private conversations with these people, he did not know how many secret deals he had reached and how much he had gained. benefit!
In fact, Liang Fuchen has almost lost his patience with Zhao Junchen. This is not only because Liang Fuchen is aware of Zhao Junchen's hidden danger to the court, but also because Liang Fuchen suspects that Zhao Junchen is the mastermind behind instructing the horse bandits to kidnap him. Zhao Junchen's repeated teasing and provocation during this period, as well as the completely different attitudes shown by Shaanxi and Gansu officials towards Zhao Junchen and Liang Fuchen.
Liang Fuchen can be considered a scheming person who is good at forbearing, but after so many situations, it is difficult to control himself.
"It's a pity that this news came a few days late. Otherwise, I could have spread it out in advance and ruined many of Zhao Junchen's plans... Now that the opportunity has been delayed, Zhao Junchen's plans are on the right track. , I’m afraid it will have no effect. Instead, the content of the imperial edict will be leaked in advance, which will damage the prestige of the imperial court..."
Just as Liang Fuchen was thinking deeply, Liang Fuchen's aide Xu Wenqing pushed in the door.
Liang Fuchen has been in business for so many years, so he naturally has many talents under his command. Xu Wenqing is one of the top staff members, and he has always been smart and capable.
After seeing Xu Wenqing appear, Liang Fuchen asked: "Has there been any news from Zhang Daozhen and Li Hong these days?"
After Liang Fuchen was rescued from the horse bandits by Xu Qingyan, he suspected that his kidnapping by the horse bandits was related to Zhao Junchen, so he arranged for his two most capable aides - Zhang Daozhen and Li Hong - Stay where you are to investigate the truth behind your kidnapping by horse bandits.
Now, more than ten days have passed, and the investigation of these two people should have some clues.
Xu Wenqing quickly replied: "For the record, Mr. Liang Ge, the two of them have already sent news, saying that they have found some signs and will soon investigate the truth... and all the signs they have investigated are... Show that your kidnapping was indeed related to Zhao Junchen! The students also did some investigations in Huamachi Camp during this period and found that Xu Qingyan was not with Zhao Junchen on the days when you were kidnapped. He waited until you After being rescued, Xu Qingyan showed up again... This situation also aggravated Zhao Junchen's suspicion."
Liang Fuchen nodded and said in a deep voice: "Urge the two of them to find out the truth before Zhao Junchen rushes back to the capital! Huh! I must do it on the day Zhao Junchen receives the imperial edict. With all the attention and glory on my mind, I asked him about this in public! I will pay him back everything Zhao Junchen has done these days!"
Liang Fuchen knew very well that in a shocking case where he was kidnapped by horse bandits, and the suspect involved Zhao Junchen, he had to confront Zhao Junchen face to face and make Zhao Junchen indefensible in public!
Otherwise, even if Liang Fuchen found tangible evidence and wrote a memorial to the imperial court to impeach Zhao Junchen to Emperor Deqing, as long as Zhao Junchen refused to admit it and acted recklessly, and because the capital was far away from Shaanxi and Gansu, the imperial court wanted to verify it. It is also very difficult to verify the authenticity of these evidences. At most, Zhao Junchen is in a little more trouble.
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27/30
Thank you for your concern.
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