Li Jiangyao looked at Tian Mu with burning eyes, until the other party became a little embarrassed, he slowly said: "Master Tian, we plain people don't talk secretly. You came to me today, in addition to His Majesty's intention, there should be Is that what the left prime minister means?"
Tian Mu was about to deny it, but Li Jiangyao raised his hand to stop him: "Please go back and tell Wei Zixuan that if you have the guts, come to me directly and fight with me in person. Don't hide behind and play tricks. The job of the Navy Commander is If you want to take back what the imperial court has awarded me, please ask the emperor to issue a formal decree. As for the pension, haha, Sun Chen and the others died for their masters. If they want money, they can go to their masters!"
After saying that, he stood up suddenly, ignored Tian Mu again, and left with a wave of his sleeves.
-
Wei Zixuan just walked out of the official office of Shangshu Province and met Tian Mu who was in a hurry.
Seeing the unkind expression on the other party's face, Wei Zixuan immediately made a guess and asked in a deep voice, "What? He refuses to agree?"
"Not only did he not agree, but he also gave me a beating." Tian Mu angrily said: "It's so arrogant. You have soldiers in your hands and you don't take the court seriously at all!"
Wei Zixuan ordered his left and right sides to wait, and then asked, "What did he say?"
Tian Mu responded: "Li Jiangyao was very rude. He pointed out that you, Prime Minister Wei, were behind my back. He also said that if he wanted to remove him from his post, he would need the emperor's personal decree."
Wei Zixuan couldn't help but feel a headache after hearing this.
Originally, Lao Jianhua sent someone to send an order asking him to try to get Li Jiangyao to leave the position of naval commander so that Bao Xinyan could launch a massive attack to completely destroy the imperial fleet and control the river. But now it seems that the deaths of Sun Chen and others obviously cannot shake Li Jiangyao's position as governor.
No matter how confused Li Bing is, he still knows Li Jiangyao's ability and value. The Navy has finally improved, and of course he is not willing to change the coach easily at this time.
The emperor asked Ni Linsi to investigate the case secretly, just to prevent the conflict from being brought to the table, which would lead to a bad ending for the court.
As for Tian Mu, he was also very weak due to personal gains and losses. Nilin Division is no longer the Nilin Division that Shen Lie had at that time. It was okay for Beiya secret agents to bully ordinary officials, even royal aristocrats, but once faced with a murderer like Li Jiangyao who had a large number of soldiers, Tian Mu, who was fierce and soft-hearted, did not dare to provoke him.
To put it bluntly, Tian Mu only wanted power, status, glory and wealth, and there was no need to risk the lives of himself and his relatives.
Wei Zixuan sighed secretly in his heart, waved his hands and said: "Forget it, forget it, since there is no good way, let's not dwell on this matter for now. When Cheng Wen comes to power, let her fight with Li Jiangyao."
Tian Mu felt relieved and asked: "How can I reply to the emperor?"
Wei Zixuan rolled his eyes and tried to say: "How about I go to His Majesty again and accuse Li Jiangyao of being arbitrary and arrogant and killing officials indiscriminately? How about His Majesty's reaction?"
Tian Mu cursed secretly in his heart and said at the same time: "Prime Minister Wei, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. After the dynasty ended today, the emperor came to me to inquire about the case, and specifically mentioned that he asked me to find out the background of Sun Chen and others. , whose faction they belong to. What if His Majesty ends up suspecting the three of you, and things will go badly wrong, what do you think?"
After hearing this, Wei Zixuan thought about it carefully, nodded and said: "That's true. There is really no need to create complications at this critical period and delay the important matter of the establishment of the emperor. You have experience, what do you think is better to say?"
"Let's just let this matter go," Tian Mu retreated: "Let's just say that Sun Chen and others did disobey orders in public. Although Li Jiangyao killed them, it was a little extreme, but it was excusable. After the emperor heard this, he probably won’t delve into it further.”
Wei Zixuan nodded helplessly: "Well, that's alright, I'll do as you say. Oh, by the way, regarding Princess Linzhou's affairs, please pay attention, don't delay."
Tian Mu agreed: "Don't worry, Mr. Wei, I have made arrangements early in the morning. The people from the Six Banners of Nilinsi have read through the files of previous years and have gained something. According to the investigation, Li Qin's father, Li Chenglu, the king of Guangxing County, When he was alive, he had a close relationship with the poet Qiao Yin."
"Qiao Yin?" Wei Zixuan felt that the name seemed familiar. He recalled it carefully and asked, "Is it the crazy Qiao Chucheng who wrote hundreds of anti-poems to criticize and slander the late emperor?"
Tian Mu smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's this person. When Li Chenglu was still alive, he liked to make friends with literati, and he often gathered and had banquets in his mansion. Qiao Yin and Qiao Chucheng were one of his guests. There was a clear record in Nilin Division , Guangxing Prince’s Mansion also included that crazy poem.”
Wei Zixuan smiled and said: "Okay! Dear brother, you have made great achievements! Li Qin's father supported the rebels who humiliated the late emperor, and she still wants to become the queen? Dreaming! Go back, sort out the files, and secretly hand them over to the censor Wang Hong, so that He brought it out during the court meeting."
Tian Mu nodded in agreement and chatted with Wei Zixuan about the upcoming public meeting on the selection of the queen the day after tomorrow. Then he left and went to the palace to report to Li Bing on the case of the Navy Commander.
Wei Zixuan also got on the official sedan and returned to the mansion to plan for the establishment of a queen.
-
The next day, it happened to be the morning break that happens every ten days. Li Jiangyao rested comfortably and comfortably in Hu Mansion for a whole day. It was almost evening before he got on his horse and went out to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion for a banquet.
Speaking of the Duke's Mansion, he was not unfamiliar.
Cheng Qianli, the first generation of Zhenguo Duke and founder of the dynasty, was a famous blessed general in the history of the Holy Tang Dynasty. He followed Taizu to lay the foundation of the dynasty. He had no illness or disaster in his later years, and lived happily for most of his life.
The residence of Duke Zhen Guo is located in Buzhengfang next to the imperial city, across a narrow alley, which is the imperial martial arts hall.
When Li Jiangyao was studying, he often secretly climbed over the wall and entered the fruit forest in the back garden of the Duke's Mansion with Xu Youchang and Murong Xue, picking green dates in spring and peaches in summer, and had a great time eating them.
One time, the three of them were "greedy for merit" and stayed in the orchard for too long. Unfortunately, they were caught by the guards of the palace, and they were almost regarded as thieves and sent to the government.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Xu Youchang stepped forward and shamelessly announced his family name, alarming the Duke of Zhen's wife, and the three of them escaped.
Now that Li Jiangyao has revisited his old place and arrived at the Zhenguo Palace, he is no longer the naughty boy covered in mud and with droopy eyebrows, but the world-famous Chief Protector of the Zhenjiang Army.
Things have changed and people have changed, which is very sad.
Cheng Dong, the eldest son of Cheng Kaiyang, cannot be called the Duke of the country yet because the imperial court has not officially issued an edict to clarify his hereditary status. At this time, "Young Duke" Cheng Dong was leading his younger brothers Cheng Bei and Cheng Nan, waiting outside the gate of the mansion, waiting for Li Jiangyao's arrival.
As soon as the cavalry of the White Robe Army appeared, Cheng Dongyuan stepped forward to greet Li Jiangyao and introduced his brother to him.
Cheng Bei and Cheng Nan, like their elder brothers, are both tall, burly and heroic young men from wealthy families. Their attitude towards Li Jiangyao is also warm and polite, and their admiration is beyond words.
Li Jiangyao felt that these two people were not as deep in the city as his elder brother Cheng Dong, and they didn't seem to have any messy things in their hearts.
He flew off his horse, returned the salute to the Cheng brothers, and then walked into the gate of the Duke Zhenguo's mansion accompanied by three people.
Tonight's banquet was held in the main hall at the second entrance of the mansion. In addition to the three brothers from the main room of the Cheng Mansion, there were also several children from the side rooms accompanying them, but they were all Cheng Kaiyang's concubine sons and the same generation as Cheng Dong.
Li Jiangyao met everyone one by one, and after a few pleasantries, he ordered his men to bring in ten large boxes. These are all gifts for the women of the Cheng family, two boxes for the old lady, one box for each of Cheng Kaiyang's three wives, and the remaining five boxes for the ladies of the Cheng family.
In addition, Li Jiangyao also specially prepared a dozen daggers of the Western Xinjiang style as gifts for all the young masters present.
Everyone did not expect that the Protector-General would actually give him a weapon as a gift. They were all surprised and happy, and they all thanked him profusely.
Cheng Dong also specially thanked Li Jiangyao on behalf of his mother, and then announced the opening of the banquet, and invited Li Jiangyao to take a seat, while he, Cheng Xi, and Cheng Nan accompanied him.
Cheng's family banquet is quite unique. It has both the elegance of a scholarly family and the magnanimity of a family of military generals. Several of the heirloom dishes are said to have been created by the old Duke Cheng Qianli himself. After hundreds of years of inheritance, their original taste and true character have not changed.
Li Jiangyao did not hide his true nature as a foodie, gobbling up his food to his heart's content, while Cheng Dong and other disciples from the Duke's Palace frequently raised their glasses to express their gratitude to the Protector for the honor and to express their respect for the heroes who protect the country.
Unknowingly, Li Jiangyao had drank no less than thirty glasses of wine. If it weren't for his deep inner strength, he would have been extremely drunk.
While the wine was in full swing, a servant walked into the hall and whispered a few words in Cheng Dong's ear.
Cheng Dong was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously: "What is she here for?"
The servant suddenly looked embarrassed, lowered his head and said, "It's true... I want to thank you in person for your generous gift."
Cheng Dong frowned and hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid this is not appropriate."
"The person is already outside the hall." The servant said, "We can't stop him."
Li Jiangyao vaguely heard the conversation between the two and couldn't help but be curious: "Who is here?"
Hearing his question, Cheng Dong suddenly felt a little embarrassed and said with a smile: "Please forgive me, the Protector. It's my sister who is waiting outside the hall and wants to thank you."
"Your sister?" Li Jiangyao couldn't help but be stunned: "Which sister?"
Cheng Nan is young and outspoken: "It's my sister Cheng Wen."
As soon as he heard the name "Cheng Wen", Li Jiangyao suddenly sobered up. That was a popular candidate for the future queen. According to what Mr. Hu said, how could he meet a foreigner like him so easily?
Cheng Dong also saw that Li Jiangyao did not want to meet the female family members, so he quickly said: "Please sit down for a moment, Protector, I will send her away right now."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a soft and gentle voice came from the door of the hall: "Brother, I just want to say hello, why should I treat you like this?"
Seeing Cheng Wen suddenly appear, all the brothers who were drinking got up one after another, including Cheng Bei and Cheng Nan. Only Cheng Dong was still sitting in his seat, looking embarrassed and helpless.
Li Jiangyao raised his eyes and took a closer look, and couldn't help but feel something in his heart: Oh, it's exactly what Li Xi said, he really looks a bit like Xia Hou Ninghan.
