Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 460 Three Heroes Fight Lu Bu

Pei Yuan also noticed something wrong from Zhu Houzhao's recent actions.

Zhu Houzhao's policy of putting the military first in the Ming Dynasty seemed to be more radical than in the original time and space.

The struggle in the court was even more intense than before.

If the dispute continues to escalate ahead of time at the current pace, then no matter what the outcome is and who has the last laugh, there will definitely be a winner who will dominate for a while.

This is very disadvantageous to Pei Yuan.

——The rebalancing of the political situation in the second half of the seventh year of Zhengde was imminent.

Pei Yuan patiently explained to Li Shishi, "There are no factions in the court now, and there are all kinds of weird things. We should use simple team positions to sort out the relationships. Lu Wan was originally from Liu Jin's eunuch party. Since he can't show his loyalty, he himself will be the loyalty."

After hearing Pei Yuan's persuasive words, Li Shishi was somewhat moved.

As the relative of Prince Ning and an obvious supporter of Prince Ning, there are countless people who want to overthrow him and take the throne.

If a guy like Lu Wan really shows up to share the firepower, it seems, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

Li Shishi hesitated and said, "He has made great contributions, so I'm afraid we can't touch him."

Pei Yuan disagreed and said, "Impeachment and suppression of meritorious officials is the norm. First, it prevents meritorious officials from becoming arrogant. Second, meritorious officials can see the court's attitude feedback at any time through these impeachments, which will make them feel more at ease."

“It has been done this way since ancient times.”

"So this matter is not only very easy to do, but Lu Wan may not be wary."

"Perhaps he even deliberately showed his humility to avoid being criticized."

"When the atmosphere gradually formed and 'opposing Lu Wan and Liu Jin's remnants' became the new political correctness, it was too late for Lu Wan to wake up."

"Besides, opposing Lu Wan is just a pretext to unite the government and the opposition. The real target is a traitor like Li Hao."

Li Shishi understood a little bit, that is, under the guise of opposing Lu Wan, he continued to unite and eliminate those who were won over by the emperor.

He reminded, “By then, I’m afraid Lu Wan won’t just sit there and wait for death.”

Pei Yuan also suggested, "Don't do this to Lu Wan yourself. Isn't the Minister of Justice Zhang Zilin taking the lead in settling the matter? Tell him about this idea and see what he says."

"As for you... wait until they really push Lu Wan into a corner, then you can try to get in touch with him. Who knows, maybe Lu Wan will side with Prince Ning in his rage."

After all, in the original history, the Minister of War Lu Wan was the vanguard of Prince Ning in the court, and was also the vanguard general when he "broke through the three gates" at that time.

Li Shishi was delighted to hear this, "Okay, okay, I'll try to find out what Zhang Zilin has to say when I get back."

Li Shishi, the person in charge, did not notice anything, but Chen Xinjian, who had been watching from the sidelines, could not help but sigh.

It was a major debate that started with "cleansing the remnants of Liu Jin" and ended with "cleansing the remnants of Liu Jin."

The commander who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops to defeat the Bazhou army was finally going to take the seat of the Minister of War. However, he unknowingly became the leader of the remnants of Liu Jin, and met the fate that someone had prepared for him long ago.

With Lu Wan, a high-ranking official among the Seven Lords, leading the way, the sword that had been keeping Liu Jin's remnants on edge since the rebellion was put down could finally not be cut down.

When Lu Wan realizes that he is isolated and helpless, there is a high possibility that he will form an alliance with Wang Chang again and gather these remaining political forces.

In this way, Pei Yuan's layout in the court was basically completed.

He pushed Wang Hua to be the Minister of Rites, and in disguise, strengthened Wang Qiong's position through Wang Shouren's relationship.

After Wang Qiong returns to the court, Wang Hua's political wisdom can also help Wang Qiong and Wang Shouren, the two old sixth brothers, to better deal with the ups and downs in the court.

Lu Wan still served as the Minister of War and became the person who took the bullet for Wang Chang and Wei Ne and the remnants of Liu Jin.

In the future, if Zhu Houzhao wants to establish the Ming Dynasty with the most advanced military, the person who can play the most crucial role will be the Minister of War.

Li Shishi can become a straight and effective troublemaker in the court through his alliance with Lu Wan.

Next, it is time for Yang Yiqing to get rid of Zhang Yong’s political burden and let the upright eunuch Lu Ting replace Zhang Yong and become Yang Yiqing’s new ally.

The three major factions of "Wang Qiong - Wang Shouren - Wang Hua", "Lu Wan - Li Shishi" and "Yang Yiqing - Lu Ting" will form a pattern of three heroes fighting Lu Bu together with Yang Tinghe's huge followers.

After Pei Yuan dealt with these matters in the capital, he could return to Shandong with peace of mind to develop his career, and then influence the world situation by remotely controlling Wang Qiong, Li Shishi and Lu Ting.

Li Shishi felt that he had gained a lot from this trip and was reluctant to leave.

When Pei Yuan sent Brother Li out, he also said to him, "Although the emperor is stubborn, he is not so reckless. The emperor has shown resoluteness and tenacity in recent times, which must be due to the help of outsiders who do not understand the rules of the game."

Li Shishi also had some vague feelings, so he said, "Many people also think it's abnormal."

Pei Yuan continued to give out stereotypes, "I heard that the eldest son of the emperor, He Huan, has always been outstanding in strategy and is known as Little Zhongda. Perhaps these things were planned by him."

Li Shishi was also a little surprised when he heard this. "I thought Gu Dayong's praise of this person was a bit exaggerated, but I didn't expect that he really has outstanding qualities."

Pei Yuan didn't pretend, and directly hinted boldly, "It might be a good idea to briefly mention this matter to the Minister of Justice."

Li Shishi said without hesitation, "It should be so."

The next day, Pei Yuan arrived at Zhihua Temple early again to attend work.

He was feeling a little nervous, and he didn't know which came first, the court officials submitting memorials or the empress dowager launching an uprising.

Pei Yuan simply handled some official business, but he couldn't sit still, so he quickly asked Chen Xinjian to go to the Tongzhengsi under the pretext of delivering a memorial.

He asked Chen Xinjian to tell Wei Ne that if there was any disturbance today, he should immediately go to Zhihua Temple to report.

Unexpectedly, after Chen Xinjian came back, he brought back a lot of valuable information.

Some time ago, because of Wei Ne's trouble, the Tongzhengshi Ding Feng was implicated and then demoted to the Tongzhengshi in Nanjing by the emperor's order.

Li Hao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War who was temporarily in charge of the Tongzhengsi affairs this time, was impeached and retired, leaving the Tongzhengsi without a person in power.

So the emperor summoned back the demoted Minister of Public Administration Ding Feng.

This operation has been trouble-free so far.

But then, Zhu Houzhao's actions became a little outrageous.

He asked Ding Feng to come back not to fill the vacancy of Tongzhengshi that he had previously held, but to fill the vacancy of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of Li Hao, and directly gave him the assignment of Superintendent of Xuanda’s military affairs.

You must know that according to the current official practice, as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Admiral of Xuan Da, he will be directly qualified to be promoted to the Minister of War when he returns.

Also undergoing adjustments at the same time was Lin Tingyu, the Right Minister of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Lin Tingyu left the Tongzhengsi and moved to the Censorate, and was appointed as the Right Censor-in-Chief, Governor of Baoding and Commander-in-Chief of Zijing Pass.

As for the vacant Tongzhengshi position, the former Tongzhengshi Cong Lan, who was out hunting, took the position concurrently as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. When Pei Yuan heard what Chen Xinjian had recounted, his heart skipped a beat.

If Pei Yuan remembered correctly, the governor of Xuanfu was the right Tongzheng of Nanjing Tongzhengshisi.

Now that such a series of operations are so blatantly happening around the Tongzhengsi, could it be that the "Tongzhengsi" system is about to officially surface?
Isn’t this emperor too arrogant?

Then Pei Yuan changed his mind and thought, if that was the case, Wei Ne was also from the Tongzhengsi department, so Wei Ne could also make progress.

Unfortunately, Wei Ne’s reputation is so bad that there is not much room for maneuver.

If Pei Yuan wanted to push him up, he might get into trouble.

Compared to these, Pei Yuan was more concerned about how today's court meeting would proceed.

Pei Yuan waited for news for most of the day, but no news came back from the people guarding the Tongzhengsi.

Pei Yuan was a little annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.

The Tongzhengsi was mainly responsible for the communication between the imperial court and local areas. It had no direct control over what was happening in the court. Even if it could get some information, it could only rely on gossip that was passed down from unknown sources.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuan couldn't ask other people for help, otherwise, he would lose his image as a man of great powers.

Seeing the sun setting, Pei Yuan became restless and wanted to ask Xiao Yan for help.

At this moment, the doorman came hurriedly to report that the Daduxian had come again.

Pei Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this, but he quickly sat back in the hall and pretended to be indifferent as he looked through the cases sent from various places.

After a while, Li Shishi was invited to the hall.

Li Shishi looked rather downcast, and when he saw Pei Yuan, he sighed, "I never thought that I would be so unlucky, and end up being a nobody."

Pei Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he had some rough guesses. He quickly stood up and asked, "Dadu Xian, what do you mean? Please take a seat."

Li Shishi sighed and sat down, saying with a gloomy face, "I listened to your words yesterday, and I felt that they made a lot of sense, so I followed your words and advised the emperor that the emperor and empress are both in their prime and can still give birth to legitimate children. The empress has never done anything immoral, and it is really rude to rashly discuss the issue of the heir, which is not in line with the principles of a minister."

When Pei Yuan heard this and thought about what Li Shishi had just said, he immediately became a little excited. It couldn't be such a coincidence.

He quickly asked, "And then?"

Li Shishi sighed, "The emperor naturally praised me highly, and even reprimanded Mao Ji and his gang on the spot. He even planned to make an exception and give my son a position as a centurion of the Imperial Guard."

Li Shishi's memorial was equivalent to strongly safeguarding Zhu Houzhao's dignity.

Zhu Houzhao was not very old at that time, but Mao Ji urged him to quickly claim a few sons of the royal family. This was a blatant slap in the face, saying that Zhu Houzhao was not capable.

Zhu Houzhao was young and energetic, how could he bear this?

It's just that he really doesn't have a son, so he can't be tough for the time being.

Thinking back to the past when Song Renzong was ridiculed by court officials for not having a son and went back to the harem to hug the empress and cry bitterly, Zhu Houzhao was also overcome with grief.

Li Shishi's memorial came at a very timely moment. It can be said that he stood on Zhu Houzhao's side despite the ridicule and sarcasm from all the civil and military officials in the court.

This is equivalent to patting Zhu Houzhao on the shoulder and saying to him, I believe in you, you can do it!
How could Zhu Houzhao not be moved?
However, Pei Yuan was in no mood to pay attention to these. Like a hungry wolf that smelled blood, he asked excitedly, "What happened next? What happened next?!"

Li Shishi sighed and said, "Later, they talked about transferring border troops to Beijing again."

Pei Yuan's excited blood almost cooled down, "That's it?"

I don't care who wants to go to Beijing! I have my son Fengxian!
Li Shishi continued, "Later, somehow, the Queen Mother suddenly sent an imperial decree."

Pei Yuan finally heard what he wanted to hear!
Empress Dowager Zhang has been plotting against Empress Xia for some time. Although she has not yet started the plot, it is only a matter of time before she does.

Even if it's not today, it will be the same in the future.

But if you happen to do it today, the effect will be extra good!
Pei Yuan suppressed his excitement and asked Li Shishi, "What did the Queen Mother say?"

Li Shishi's face looked a little strange. "The Queen Mother said that the Queen's palace is not clean, and she plans to have the Queen move to a side hall temporarily. Ask the Ministry of Works if they have money, food and manpower to renovate it as soon as possible."

If the Queen Mother wants to strike at the Xia family, she will certainly spread the news. If we take action at this time, the effect will undoubtedly be good.

Moreover, the Queen Mother's deliberately ambiguous wording could mislead people into thinking in unnecessary directions.

Pei Yuan asked nervously, "And then?"

Li Shishi said, "Then, the emperor looked very unhappy and swept everything on the table to the ground."

Then, Li Shishi said indignantly, "That Jin Gui is simply a villain. He deliberately did bad things and looked at me, attracting many people's attention to me."

"The emperor thought that the officials were taking this opportunity to mock him, and in his rage, he even held a grudge against me."

Li Shishi said aggrievedly, "The way he glared at me was as if I was deliberately embarrassing him."

Pei Yuan finally laughed when he heard this.

Li Shishi looked at Pei Yuan in confusion, not knowing what was so funny.

Pei Yuan also realized that he had lost his composure. He suppressed his joy and said to Li Shishi, "It's not you who embarrassed him, it's obviously the Queen Mother! What do you have to worry about?"

Li Shishi sighed. He understood it, of course. But it was unreasonable to vent your anger on others for no reason.

After Li Shishi admitted that he was unlucky, he did not forget to remind Pei Yuan, "Don't say such things carelessly."

Zhu Houzhao was still bound by moral codes, but Empress Dowager Zhang never paid any attention to them.

Pei Yuan said lightly, "How could I say that? The Queen Mother and the ministers have collaborated to trample on his son's dignity. This is not the first time."

"Ah? This..."

Li Shishi couldn't help but think of the rumors about the lingchi execution of Liu Jin and the abolition of the new policy two years ago.

It seemed that in that incident, it was Empress Dowager Zhang who came on stage and made the final decision, forcing Zhu Houzhao to bow his head.

For a moment, even Li Shishi began to wonder whether what happened today was deliberately done by the Queen Mother.

Pei Yuan's words quickly confirmed this idea.

"Of course, the things discussed in the court cannot be hidden from Empress Dowager Zhang, who has strong control over the palace. Why did Empress Dowager Zhang's decree come at this time instead of earlier or later?"

Pei Yuan continued to chuckle, "Of course, she is venting her anger for her brother and suppressing the Xia family."

(End of this chapter)