All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 228 It's Done

"What on earth are you planning?"

In the middle of the night, Li Qingzhao quietly came to the guest room and asked Chen Ran, "Are you trying to harm my husband?"

"Sister-in-law misunderstood."

Chen Ran, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, simply denied it, "I'm doing this for his own good."

"You can fool Defu, but you can't fool me!" Li Qingzhao sneered, "I'm sure you have other plans!"

Any other plans?

Of course I have, otherwise why would I help out so much? Would you have nothing to do?

Chen Ran’s plan was not complicated at all. It was just to transfer his troops in Qingzhou to outside the city of Tokyo.

The Song Dynasty has not collapsed yet. Tens of thousands of troops are marching from Qingzhou to Dongjing City. Without the order of the Privy Council, it means they are going to rebel.

Chen Ran wanted to rebel, but he didn't want to ruin the plan of a surprise attack on Tokyo City.

In this case, the only way to mobilize troops to outside the city of Tokyo without attracting attention and vigilance is to go through the Privy Council.

Zhao Mingcheng was already the prefect, and he had merits, the help of the old party, and the imperial concubine. Once he entered the Privy Council, he would definitely hold a high position.

This person is a waste in government affairs. Chen Ran has him in his hands and issues documents in his name. In the name of dispatching troops to the southeast to pacify the Vegetable Demon Cult, it is natural to transfer his own troops to the outside of Tokyo City and it will not attract attention.

Of course, when foreign troops came to Tokyo, they could only stay outside the city.

But it doesn’t matter. For Chen Ran, he just needs to choose the right time to cooperate inside and outside, open the city gate and let his troops in, then he can accomplish great things.

This is Chen Ran’s plan.

Of course, this plan could not be told to Li Qingzhao.

But in the face of Li Qingzhao's aggressive questioning, he always had to find a reason to evade her.

Otherwise, it would be troublesome if she started making a fuss.

Thinking of this, Chen Ran simply stood up.

Li Qingzhao was startled, "What are you doing?"

Chen Ran had no plan at first, but Li Qingzhao's reaction suddenly gave him an idea.

"The night was long and I couldn't sleep. I thought I was the only one thinking about my sister-in-law, but I didn't expect that my sister-in-law was also thinking about me and took the initiative to come to me."

He stretched out his big hands and took Li Qingzhao into his arms amid her exclamations.

"Sister-in-law, just shout." Chen Ran smiled and whispered in her ear, "Call Brother Defu and tell him that we are in love."

Li Qingzhao immediately stopped talking.

She really didn't dare let Zhao Mingcheng know about this. Once he knew, they would definitely get divorced.

We are getting divorced at this age, and it's because of this kind of thing.
"You, let me go."

"Sister-in-law." Chen Ran said softly, "Weren't you quite proactive last time~"

According to the customs of the Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao, who was in her thirties, was already yesterday's flower.

At this age, there is no need to serve the husband in sex, that is the job of the young concubines.

The river channel, which had been dry and narrowed for many years, suddenly had a strong flow of water, and the joy it brought was naturally hard to suppress.

What's more, I was drunk that night~~
When Li Qingzhao was reminded of this, she was filled with shame and indignation, and struggled desperately, "Let me go~~~"

Chen Ran's strength was beyond words. He fell on the bed with just one turn.

Li Qingzhao felt like she was being pressed down by a mountain and couldn't move.

Before he could shout again, his mouth was sealed and all the words were pushed back by his tongue.

After that, she no longer had the energy to think about what kind of conspiracy Chen Ran had in helping Zhao Mingcheng join the Privy Council.

The slightly old wooden bed began to shake gradually.

The sky was slightly chilly. After a rustling sound, the door was opened and a "swish" sound was heard.

"This door axle needs to be oiled."

Hearing Chen Ran's voice from behind, Li Qingzhao turned around and glared at him fiercely, then she covered her clothes and went out carefully.

In fact, there is no need to be so cautious.

After all, Zhao Mingcheng and she had lived in separate rooms for many years, and he usually rested in the concubine's room.

Prefect Murong had a very strong credit. After receiving the money and goods, he immediately wrote a letter and sent someone to Dongjing City to pass the message to the imperial concubine.

Concubine Murong was also helpless. Her brother asked her to help with things every now and then, and they had to be done. It was really a headache.

After receiving the letter, Concubine Murong did not rush to find the emperor to complain.

She first arranged for her trusted female official to inform several imperial censors outside the palace.

Since ancient times, the former dynasty and the harem have always had close ties.

They help each other and make progress together to form groups.

Soon, the censors began to write memorials, saying that the loss of the southeast had shaken the whole country, and that at this time people of virtue and talent were needed to plan and quell the civil unrest as quickly as possible.

They clearly stated that Zhao Mingcheng, the governor of Jizhou, had great potential to wipe out the Liangshan bandits and should be included in the Privy Council to supervise military affairs.

After this started the movement, a number of old party members who had received Zhao Mingcheng's handwritten letters also followed suit, advocating that Zhao Mingcheng was a man of great talent and should be admitted to the Privy Council.

With the joint efforts of both sides, a trend soon emerged in the court.

There were still obstacles. Adhering to the idea that we should oppose whatever our opponents supported, the New Party members immediately refuted the argument, and a melee broke out between the two sides.

It was not until this time that Concubine Murong began to take action, preparing exquisite wine and food and sending people to invite the emperor over.

In the past, this trick always worked. As long as he was invited, the emperor would come. But recently, things have changed. The emperor rarely stayed overnight in the palaces. Even if Concubine Murong invited him, he would refuse on the grounds that he was busy with state affairs.

After receiving the reward, Imperial Concubine Murong's pretty eyes flashed with a gloomy look, "Could it be that the rumors in the palace are true? Has the emperor changed his nature and now only likes to share peaches and have gay sleeves?"

For the women in the palace, it was devastating news that the emperor did not like beautiful women.

Not only did their already limited usage quota disappear completely, but more importantly, without grace they also lost the right to speak.

Thinking of this, Imperial Concubine Murong instructed her trusted female official to take out a large sum of money to bribe the handsome eunuch who had been following the emperor recently and was very useful.

Eunuchs in all dynasties, except for a few who were recorded in history books, such as Zheng He, were all greedy.

The eunuch accepted the bribe without hesitation and said that he would definitely help the imperial concubine, but he also asked the imperial concubine to help him find a partner, and a beautiful one at that.
The eunuch's advice became the weight that broke the dispute between the New Party and the Old Party.

Soon, the emperor's decree came down, transferring Zhao Mingcheng to be the Privy Councilor.

The so-called Privy Councilor's main job is to manage the internal affairs of the Privy Council, examine the merits and demerits of officials below the Privy Council Chief, and their transfers and appointments.

To put it bluntly, he is the chief steward of the Privy Council.

In the Song Dynasty, the prefect was of the fifth rank, and the Privy Councilor was also of the fifth rank.

It seems that the grade has not changed, as if it is flat.

But in reality, he entered the court from the local area, and became the chief steward of the crucial Privy Council.

There are more than hundreds of states in the Song Dynasty, but how many bigwigs are there in the Privy Council?
There is no doubt that there is a bright future ahead.

Zhao Mingcheng was overjoyed when he heard the news. He even packed his bags and rushed to Tokyo City without waiting for the new prefect to take over.

Before leaving, he asked Chen Ran to help look after the official seal and take care of his family.

When the new prefect arrived, they would escort their families to meet him in Tokyo City.

Zhao Mingcheng patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, Zihou, when you enter Tokyo City, I will prepare a good job for you in the Privy Council!"

"Don't worry, brother Defu." Chen Ran glanced at the silent Li Qingzhao and said, "I will take good care of my sister-in-law."

Zhao Mingcheng, who had been away from Tokyo for more than ten years, couldn't wait to go back.

Leave the madam to deal with the aftermath here.

For example, the properties in Qingzhou and Jeju need to be sold, various collections need to be properly stored before shipment, and friends from all walks of life need to be said goodbye to one by one, etc.

There were a lot of things to do, and he threw them all to Li Qingzhao.

After Zhao Mingcheng left, Chen Ran bowed to Li Qingzhao and said, "Sister-in-law, how about eating first?"

Li Qingzhao glared at him, turned and left.

For several days, Li Qingzhao was busy with work.

Dispose of property, pack up things, write letters to friends, visit those nearby, etc.

She hadn't seen Chen Ran in front of her for a few days, so she was a little confused.

I thought this bastard would take the opportunity to come find me, but he never showed up.

Suspicious, he sent someone to investigate.

The result of her inquiries made her angry for no reason.

Chen Ran played Xuanhe cards with the Tongpan, Tuiguan, Canjun, Dujian, Panguan and others all day long.

The so-called Xuanhe cards are the original form of modern mahjong. Because they appeared during the Xuanhe period, they are called Xuanhe cards.

In addition to being a drunkard, Li Qingzhao was also a gambler.

My favorite thing in life is to play cards and drink at the same time.

I went there to investigate in person, and saw Chen Ran and others drinking and playing cards. I couldn't resist the desire in my heart no matter what.

It just so happened that a few friends learned the news that Zhao Mingcheng was returning to Tokyo, and came to visit and see him off, and there were three of them missing one.

After a struggle between her conscience and her desires, Li Qingzhao finally arranged for someone to ask Chen Ran for help.

At the beginning, she remained vigilant and resisted the urge to drink.

But after a few rounds, Li Qingzhao, who was addicted to the wine, could no longer control herself and immediately called for someone to bring her some wine.

The battle lasted until late at night, and the two visiting guests could not bear it anymore, so they ended the battle while Li Qingzhao was still not satisfied.

In the middle of the night, Chen Ran knocked out the maid on duty and quietly came to Li Qingzhao.

Everything that happened afterwards went smoothly.

When the sky was just getting light, Li Qingzhao pushed him away forcefully. "You took advantage of me being drunk again to flirt with me!"

At this time, I should have talked and laughed with her, caught the steps thrown by the girl and held them up so that she could have a step down.

But Chen Ran shrugged and said, "You wanted to drink."

Li Qingzhao was so angry that she immediately drove him out.

For the next few days, I ignored him.

Chen Ran was not in a hurry. After the new prefect arrived, he handed over the official seal and immediately rode back to Qingfeng Town.

Looking for Yang Zhi who stayed behind, he immediately instructed, "All units should be prepared. We will send you a notice in a month at most. Then you should set out to Tokyo City immediately."

Yang Zhi nodded repeatedly, "What do you need to bring?"

"Bring more horses." Chen Ran had already planned, "Bring all the war horses from Zengtou City, as well as weapons, armor, food, and so on. Just enough will be enough."

"There's no rush for other things. There's everything in Bianliang City. It's all ours!"

(End of this chapter)