Joy of Life: I am a Han Dynasty succubus, and I rebel from the beginning

Chapter 137: The hot potato of the East Factory is passed on to Emperor Qing

There is no need to wonder why Qin Heng showed goodwill to Liu Hong.

After all, the one who died was just an illegitimate child who was dispensable! He couldn't even be included in the family tree, so what kind of child of the Qin family was he?

Although Liu Hong has cut himself off from all officials, his official career is still going smoothly.

Besides, they don’t have any conflicts of interest now.

Qin Heng would certainly no longer regard Liu Hong as an opponent. Instead, he gave him a friendly reminder, implying that he could give Liu Hong some support.

As long as Liu Hong becomes a disciple of the Qin family...

Liu Hong understood Qin Heng's subtext, smiled and said nothing.

Before long, Emperor Qing realized that the Qin family's power had grown to a point where it was almost uncontrollable, and he promoted Liu Hong to the position of Minister of War.

Let’s see if Qin Heng can still maintain this goodwill.

Go back and tell Zhang Liang what happened today.

Zhang Liang waved his folding fan to dispel the heat in his heart and nodded slowly.

"Sir, the layout is now unconscious, and even I can't find anything unusual."

"Really?"

Liu Hong spoke with great interest. It was really rare for him to hear a word of praise from Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang smiled without saying anything, and Liu Hong understood instantly.

"Sir! Now that he is the deputy garrison commander of Kyoto, and the garrison division is mixed with three generals as sand, Ye Zhong can still tolerate it. If he continues to push his limits, I am afraid he will face resistance from Ye Zhong."

"Ye Zhong has been in charge of the garrison division for twenty years and is deeply rooted. I will naturally not confront him head-on."

Liu Hong nodded.

"So between the garrison division and the city defense army under the jurisdiction of Kyoto Prefecture, you must carefully consider these 8,000 people."

Kyoto's city defense force is somewhat similar to a combination of urban management and police in later generations. It overlaps with the functions of the Kyoto Prefecture's constables and is responsible for maintaining Kyoto's public security on a daily basis.

On the surface, it is under the jurisdiction of Kyoto Prefecture, but because of its military nature, it is included in the garrison division.

Liu Hong nodded thoughtfully.

It just so happens that Ergouzi doesn't want to be an official and get involved in all those intrigues.

Ergouzi is just the right person to be a fifth-rank commander.

However, this requires the tacit consent of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

"Zhang Liang, do you think the Second Prince will still target me now?"

Liu Hong suddenly blurted out something. After all, after returning to Kyoto, his relationship with the second prince was not very good, and he even killed one of his eight generals.

"Since you have already severed your relationship with Fan Xian, if the Second Prince still persists in his delusion, then you will have no choice but to surrender to the Crown Prince."

Zhang Liang gently put down his folding fan, his eyes flashing.

Liu Hong nodded silently. Every time after reviewing the situation with Zhang Liang, his memory became a little clearer.

However, there is something wrong between the two official positions, the Ministry of Justice and the Deputy Garrison Commander of Kyoto.

Liu Hong basically has no idea how to make money.

Baoyue Tower and the commercial street in Kyoto can at most sustain the daily expenses of the Minister's Mansion, while Qianlong Bay can only make them tighten their belts for the time being.

"Sir, Prince Jing congratulates you on your promotion and specially presents you with five thousand taels of silver as a token of respect."

Ji Xin knocked on the door holding the letter from Prince Jing Li Hongcheng, and was obviously confused.

"Prince Jing is also quite powerful in the court! It only took a short while for the news to reach Li Hongcheng."

Liu Hong slowly stood up, opened the door and took the letter from Ji Xin.

Apart from a moment of hesitation, he could only give in tactfully and let Liu Hong let Yuan Meng go back.

"Sir, this is a godsend opportunity for reconciliation. Fortunately, you didn't do anything to Yuan Meng last time."

Zhang Liang read the letter for a while and then burst out laughing.

"It's just Yuan Meng. Prince Jing is a sentimental person and might write a letter to plead for mercy, but how could the Second Prince do that? He is most like Emperor Qing, heartless and unrighteous."

Liu Hong gently nodded and saw the seal of the second prince in the letter.

"Have you forgotten the East Factory, sir? Even if we can't compete with the Censorate, having a small Censorate in hand is still a great help."

Liu Hong frowned.

"The main positions in the East Factory are held by eunuchs, serving the emperor."

Obviously Liu Hong wanted to use this excuse to politely reject the Second Prince's advances.

After all, there is still Hong Zhu in the palace. Even if Hong Zhu is not qualified to be the eunuch in charge of the East Factory, it is still possible to put him in a powerful position in the East Factory. After all, this is the treatment that the founder of the East Factory deserves.

"Your Excellency is wrong! The East Factory is a gift to the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, and also a gift to Your Majesty! If we form a clique among them for personal gain, wouldn't that give people something to criticize us?"

Zhang Liang suddenly shouted loudly with a serious expression.

Liu Hong was shocked and cold sweat broke out on his back.

He forgot that given Emperor Qing's suspicious character, there is no way he would allow him to insert people into the conspiracy.

I'm afraid he just agreed on the surface, but then died mysteriously in the palace a few days later.

"Phew...thank you very much. I was not thoughtful enough in this matter and almost killed someone."

Liu Hong let out a breath.

No wonder Qin Heng showed kindness to me after leaving the palace. It turned out that after there was no interest entanglement, Qin Heng still wanted something from me.

For a moment, Liu Hong felt that the East Factory was a bit hot to handle, and he was afraid that ministers, military dignitaries, and royal family members would all come to him.

"My Lord, my advice is to accept all the gifts that have been sent to you recently, and leave all the orders to your Majesty."

Zhang Liang gently burned the letter and smiled.

Liu Hong's eyes lit up and he nodded slightly.

"Indeed, in this case I can visit Prince Jing with peace of mind."

In Prince Jing's mansion, Crown Prince Li Hongcheng was looking around with his servant as if they were waiting for someone.

Liu Hong led his personal guards and came on horseback.

The last time I came to Prince Jing’s Mansion was when Qin Yu was killed by a chessboard.

When several servants saw Liu Hong, their pupils shrank and they covered their heads subconsciously. Then they smiled awkwardly at the strange looks from the people around them.

Liu Hong smashed Qin Yu to death, and those playboys made a big fuss about it.

He has a title externally, called the Daqing Chess Saint.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t convince others with your chess skills!
Don't forget, playing chess involves not only chess pieces, but also a chessboard.

"Haha... Minister Liu is here, please come in."

Li Hongcheng forced a smile and welcomed Liu Hong back to his mansion with a complicated look.

He also had some feelings for Fan Ruoruo, otherwise he would not have invited the dandy boy to embarrass Liu Hong, but now the matter is done.

The only choice is to let go.

"His Royal Highness."

Liu Hong bowed and followed Li Hongcheng to the backyard. They both knew what was going on.

The protagonists today are the Second Prince and Liu Hong, and Li Hongcheng is just an intermediary.

The second prince gently flipped through Fan Xian's collection of poems, his eyes full of admiration.

"The capital is full of dignitaries, but this person is alone and haggard. This sentence is really well written, isn't it?"

Until now, Li Chengze still doesn't understand why Fan Xian, who could write this poem, doesn't understand himself at all.

"I am just a soldier, I don't understand poetry at all."

Liu Hong bowed and interrupted Li Chengze's whining.

Fan Wujiu behind him couldn't help but spit. This guy is so useless that he is unwilling to enjoy the cultural influence.

Li Chengze's eyes dimmed a little and he put down the poetry collection.

"In that case, then please tell us how you are willing to release Yuan Meng."

On the surface, he was talking about Yuan Meng, but in fact, he was asking how he could be willing to interfere in the East Factory.

"Your Highness, you have people in Kyoto Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice. I'm afraid you have all the senior officials under your control. Why do you need me, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, to speak up?"

Liu Hong’s answer was also very clear.

Your power is so great, you can just interfere in the East Factory secretly and don't have to worry about me.

Li Chengze calmed himself down, looked at Liu Hong for a while, and suddenly chuckled.

"I regret not protecting you last time in Prince Jing's Mansion."

"It has come to this, Your Highness, there is no point in saying more."

Liu Hong shook his head. He originally wanted to leave the Second Prince's tutelage.

Even if there was no incident of the chess master in Prince Jing's mansion, there would be other things.

(End of this chapter)