In the side hall of Prince Ning's Mansion, Lu Zuo raised the tea cup in his hand and took a sip, "Now is the time to fight back."
Liu Xun has been waiting for his words for too long. Since Lu Zuo left the capital, for more than three months, he has watched the people of Prince Liu Yan making trouble every day, which has made him unable to swallow. Now it is finally time. , now that Lu Zuo has returned victorious, and with Gao Yun's cooperation, he believes that he has the ability to regain everything he has lost in the past few months. Thinking of this, a sly smile appeared on Prince Ning's lips, "Mr. Lu, then What should we do next.”
"My lord, please tell me first what the current situation in the court is like!"
Liu Xun lowered his head and frowned. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Except for a few small changes that are not worth mentioning, there are a few very important adjustments. This person is Quan Shidao, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. This person is a celebrity around Liu Yan. He was mentioned earlier. When the prince went to Dengzhou for inspection, Quan Shidao was still the governor of Dengzhou Prefecture. He was transferred to the capital last year and had been serving as the second-in-command in the Ministry of Personnel. Just less than ten days after you left, Liu Yan's They recommended him to the emperor, saying that the old minister was already old and at the end of his official career, so he asked Quan Shidao to replace him. Unexpectedly, the emperor actually agreed."
"Master Quan's way? Master Quan's way! Master Quan's way..." Lu Zuo muttered a few words.
"Mr. Lu? Do you know him?"
"Oh! I've heard of it, but I don't know it!" Lu Zuo's face was still as calm as water, "It's just that the Ministry of Personnel is responsible for the assessment, promotion, transfer, etc. of officials. If the prince's people take control of the Ministry of Personnel, it will be very detrimental to... "
Liu Xun tapped the table repeatedly with a sad face, "Who says it's not the case? It's better this time. As far as I know, Quan Shidao is a person who loves to find trouble. If he is in the official department for one day, he will not have an easy life like us." .”
Lu Zuo continued to ask: "Are there any other changes?"
"There are also changes in the Ministry of Household Affairs. This is not surprising. The Emperor has been having a headache for a long time due to the vacancy in the Ministry of Household Affairs. In the end, he decided to let Xia Jingying fill the vacancy. Xia Jingying looks honest on the surface, but I think he also has his tail between his legs. Thousand-year-old fox.”
Lu Zuo asked in confusion, "How do you say this?"
"Not only is he cunning, but he also has no leverage in other people's hands. It is said that when he was working as an errand in the household department, he got along very well with everyone at the top and bottom. The emperor originally wanted to let him take over the household department directly, but I don't know why the emperor has been hesitant. The decision was so smooth this time, Xia Jingying took over the household department with a stroke of a pen."
"You said that the emperor has always wanted him to take over as the Minister of Household Affairs, but he has never made up his mind?"
"Yes." Liu Xun's eyes also flashed with surprise, "On the morning of October 29th, the prince recommended Xia Jingying. The emperor looked embarrassed at that time, but what's even more strange is that the emperor actually asked me for my opinion. , I was also surprised at the time, thinking that the emperor was testing me, and then I remembered Mr. Lu’s words, so I didn’t express my opinion at that time. So the emperor agreed to the prince’s request.”
Lu Zuo nodded meaningfully, "It seems that the emperor doesn't actually trust Xia Jingying very much. This time we have to start with Xia Jingying first."
"How to start?"
The side hall of the palace became quiet again. Lu Zuo and Liu Xun were planning in low voices. After saying that, Liu Xun clapped his hands and said happily: "Great plan!"
"There is another important matter that needs to be reported to the court tomorrow morning, and that is the issue of brother Pang Gu's pursuit of the title. I hope that the prince can give more input at that time."
Liu Xun raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu, I will do my best for General Pang's matter. I heard that you submitted the merit book to the emperor, and it was also the Ministry of Personnel that removed General Pang's name. This matter Tomorrow, the king must first tell the emperor's counselor a lesson."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Mr. Lu, you are too polite. They are all members of our family." When Liu Xun said this, his face became dark again.
"My lord, what's wrong? Are you in trouble?"
"That's not true." When Liu Xun said this, his face showed displeasure, "Now, in addition to the two vacancies in the Ministry of Personnel and Household Affairs that have been taken advantage of by the prince, there is another place that has also been touched by the prince."
"You mean Kingo Guard, right?"
"Exactly!" Liu Xun said angrily, and then asked curiously through gritted teeth, "How did Mr. Lu know so quickly?"
"Gao Yun told me about this when he came back. A few months ago when he was about to go on an expedition, Gao Yun recommended the post of General Jinwu Guard, and Liu Bozhao, this year's second place in martial arts, took his place temporarily. The prince and the others have been They thought the Gao brothers were theirs, but the prince and the others were still worried."
"Yes, now we have arranged for a person named Deng Zhuo. He was originally the commander of the prince's bodyguards, but now he is also in charge of the Jinwu Guards." Liu Xun punched the table hard again, "Damn it. , I’m really angry.”
"My lord, don't be too anxious. A lion never swallows its prey in one go."
Liu asked: "What does Mr. Lu mean?"
"It's impossible to bring down all the prince's people at once."
"Alas..." Liu Xun sighed, "What does Mr. Yilu mean?"
Lu Zuo closed his eyes and didn't answer, then opened his eyes for a moment, "The reason why the appointment, dismissal and promotion of officials have been so frequent in the past few months, and the prince and the others can proceed so smoothly every time, it can be said that it is precisely because the official department has the authority Shidao, so now..."
"How about it?"
"He must die too, but not now!"
Liu Xun nodded with satisfaction, "That's right. But...but it's not entirely because of Master Quan. There is another person involved behind the scenes."
Lu Zuo's face darkened, could it be him? Impossible. He rarely interferes in party disputes. Could it be that he doesn’t understand the prince’s appointment of these officials? So he asked: "Seriously?"
"It's absolutely true!" Liu Xun's face showed disbelief, "If the emperor hadn't told me this, I still wouldn't believe it!"
"What did the Emperor tell you?"
Liu Xun thought for a while and continued: "On the morning of October 29th, the emperor only asked me symbolically. In fact, the emperor had summoned me the night before. At that time, the emperor said that someone had recently recommended Xia Jingying to him. As the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, he asked me what I thought about this and wanted to hear my opinion."
"My lord, what did you say?"
"At that time, I remembered what you said, don't do anything at will, and don't express any opinions at will, so I did as you said. I said that this is a big matter, and the emperor still has the discretion."
"The Emperor can't just let you get away with it so easily!"
Liu Xun asked curiously: "Mr. Lu, how do you know?"
