"Go check on the other members of the Liu family." Xiao Yan said in a deep voice.
Liu Tongen has always been a very loyal person who does not admire the powerful. There are not many servants in Liu's house and it seems deserted. Liu Tong'en seems more like he has suffered bad luck.
The elders in the mansion passed away, and his wife and children died early. He lived alone for several years. Later, because Emperor An couldn't bear to see him too lonely, he gave him two concubines. Liu Tongen kept her by his side, but he had no one for so many years. No matter how much heirs were left, he never remarried his first wife.
Many people in Beijing had privately discussed that Liu Tongen's injuries when he rescued the driver were probably related to his heirs, so Emperor An was particularly "guilty" of him and let him join the Forbidden Army as an empty commander. The salary and salary in the court have been taken care of for many years.
It is precisely because of this that although Liu Tongen has no real power, no one has dared to say anything about his private affairs. They also dare not say much about the two concubines in his house. They usually deal with each other as serious female members of the Liu family.
Thinking about it now, with Emperor An's contempt and casualness towards Liu Tongen, how could he possibly care about Liu Tongen's rear residence and heirs.
Those two concubines were either hiding something to cover their eyes and ears, or they were Emperor An's spies, just like Yue Fengcheng who was originally sent to Jiuyun Lane to monitor him, which was the prerequisite for Emperor An to trust Liu Tongen.
"The Liu family's wife, children, and parents who died early may not necessarily be really dead."
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice: "For a person like Liu Tongen, the one who can control him is either his close relatives or his own life. You first have someone check the people in the Liu family to see if there was anything fishy about their deaths. As for Liu Tongen, side……"
Xiao Yan thought of the methods used by some royal families to control their dead soldiers, and ordered Jinyun:
"Find an opportunity and ask Dr. Sun or Dr. Jiang to take Liu Tongen's pulse to see if there is anything inappropriate in his body."
Jinyun was surprised: "Master, do you think he was drugged by Emperor An?"
Xiao Yan said "Yeah": "An Emperor is suspicious by nature. He won't use people he can't control so much. You ask Jiangtian and the others to try to see if there is any secret medicine in Liu Tongen's body. Tell them to act more secretly and find someone. A better excuse, don’t let Liu Tongen notice it.”
Before he was sure what Liu Tongen had caught by Emperor An, alarming him was equivalent to alarming Emperor An.
Xiao Yan was worried that Emperor An would regard Liu Tongen as an "abandoned son".
If the person in charge of the private army changes to someone else, it will be even more difficult to find an opportunity to capture him.
Jinyun also understood this truth and said quickly: "My subordinates understand, and I will tell them to be more careful."
…
When Xiao Yan and Jin Yun rode back to Jiuyun Lane, it was still dark. Someone in front of the house saw them coming back and quickly stepped forward to lead the horse.
Xiao Yan let go of the reins, turned over, and dismounted. As he walked towards the mansion, he asked in a low voice, "How's it going in Shezhou?"
Jinyun replied: "Canglang has arrived, and arrangements have been made at Shantang and Yugutang."
"Canglang and the others originally wanted to wait until the pensions from the central government could not be paid out, then they would use the hidden chess pieces to make a big deal out of Emperor An's ignorance, extravagance, and renegade. But now there is a war in Pingyang County."
"The money originally sent to Shezhou has been cut in half, and I'm afraid it will all be reduced in the future. With the money sent now, it is not even enough to provide pensions to the survivors in Rongjiang, let alone the preparations for the construction of the Tomb of the Ten Thousand People."
Jinyun whispered about the situation in Shezhou, and then said:
"The master's previous instructions were to stir up chaos in the Southland, so that Emperor An would completely lose the support of the people, so that he could be completely isolated before doing anything else. However, now that King Pingshan is rebelling, the Southland is afraid of chaos. Those things that were arranged before are terrible. Do you want to continue?"
Xiao Yan said: "Let's hold off for now. Putting down the rebellion first."
"But wouldn't this be advantageous to Emperor An?"
Jinyun was a little unwilling to hear this: "An Emperor had people spread rumors about the master in an attempt to slander the He family with the rewards and the dramas he did. Now it is being spread everywhere." Benefit, risking the lives of the He family in exchange for his own power, and using his status as a minister to bully His Majesty. "
"If we don't cover this up with the news from the Southland and let them continue to spread it, wouldn't the master's reputation be completely ruined?"
Jinyun was extremely disgusted with what Emperor An had done, and did not want to see him scheming against his master.
On the contrary, Xiao Yan was particularly open-minded. Hearing this, he just sneered: "When will my reputation get better?"
Jinyun choked.
Xiao Yan's expression was calm: "Ever since I entered the palace and became a palace eunuch, and started climbing up the ranks to win Emperor An's trust, I have never been clean again."
"In order to win his trust and 'stand out' from the palace servants, I didn't bear the reputation of being dirty and ruthless. Didn't I hear enough of those scoldings, contempt, disgust, and sarcastic remarks from others?"
"It's just a few words of discussion, it won't hurt the bones. Besides, things in the South can only be suppressed for a while. After Marquis Wenxin and others put down the rebellion, the war cannot cover up Emperor An's fatuousness, and what should break out will still break out."
What's more, what Emperor An has lost now is not just his reputation.
In order to regain his power and regain the military symbols, he did not hesitate to collude with the rebels and "facilitate" King Pingshan's rebellion. No matter how much he participated, at least among those generals, he, the emperor, had completely lost the hearts of the people.
He wanted to save the situation, but he made the already messy situation even more messy. Even if he didn't step on him regarding Nandi's pension, An Di would never get over it.
If an emperor betrays his relatives and loses trust and prestige as a king in front of his courtiers, what can he do even if he is still sitting on the throne?
Xiao Yan saw these external objects very clearly. He stepped on the lotus-carved archway into the backyard and said to his side: "Don't pay attention to what people outside say, as long as you win in the end, no matter how bad it is, You can become a good person in the eyes of the world, but if you lose, even a saint will be infamous."
His father is the best example.
"Tell Canglang to tell those people not to take action yet, and to put Pingyang County's affairs first, so as to avoid further chaos in the south."
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Jinyun couldn't persuade him any more.
Xiao Yan asked about other things: "How long until Hang Li and the others can reach the northwest?"
Jinyun said: "We just crossed Wuhe Road when we received the message the day before yesterday. Calculated by foot distance, it should take four or five days."
It only takes ten days for a man and a horse to travel to the northwest. But if Hang Li and his companions are traveling with troops, even if they have fewer stops, it will take a little more than half the time to less disturb the people along the way. If they march normally, it may take even longer.
Xiao Yan kept walking: "Have someone send him a message to let him and Fuyue know about Pingyang County's troops. Also send a message to Di Shuangcheng to let him take more precautions."
