Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 262 Assassinating the Grand Chancellor, is it really possible?
"Either start with the imperial envoy, or start with the Grand Chancellor!"

This was the idea of ​​Luo Yi, the second son of the Duke of Ling.

If one wishes to obstruct government orders, the only recourse is to target those who issue and implement them.

That is to say, an imperial envoy or a high-ranking official!
A seemingly casual remark, though not particularly harsh, struck the ears of nearly ten spoiled young men like a thunderclap.

All around, there was silence.

About ten breaths.

"Are you crazy?"

Qin Yan, the second son of the Marquis of Dongchang, suddenly stood up, his face filled with shock, and rebuked, "The burning of the imperial envoy by the Liangzhe River system has resulted in extremely severe punishments from top to bottom. Don't you have any idea?"

"Assassinating an imperial envoy or the Grand Chancellor are both capital crimes punishable by death, or even the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family!"

"Luo Lao Er, what nonsense are you spouting?"

A loud rebuke drew the attention of the spoiled young men.

Many people swallowed hard, their eyes filled with hesitation, clearly showing their worries.

The waterways of Liangzhe were set ablaze, and the imperial envoy was burned. The main culprit was exterminated along with his entire family. Students were banned from taking the imperial examinations, officials were dismissed and demoted, and the administrative system was dismantled.
The severity of the punishment is unprecedented in history.

Given the lessons learned from the past, it's truly frustrating to cross the "red line" in the slightest.

"He's not crazy."

"He wasn't talking nonsense."

"Assassinating an imperial envoy is considered a grave act of disrespect, akin to treason."

"The minimum sentence for assassinating a high-ranking official is caning, imprisonment, or exile, while the maximum sentence is considered treason."

"Both of these acts are indeed capital crimes, at the very least. But..."

Luo Yi calmly shook his head, looked over, and asked unhurriedly, "If you don't assassinate the imperial envoy or the Grand Chancellor, and instead sit and wait to die, isn't that a capital offense?"

"If the orders from above are truly implemented, and the censors investigating the military camps uncover past crimes, they will also face the death penalty!"

"this--"

Qin Yan's expression froze, somewhat caught off guard.

There's no other reason than that this statement makes a lot of sense!
Even within their small circle, they are quite "special" individuals, even among the circles of spoiled brats.

All ten of them, without exception, were the most dissolute of the dissolute.

Ordinary playboys are all incompetent. They do nothing but admire flowers and the moon, drink wine, patronize prostitutes, and tease courtesans. They are pure "lazybones".

Such incompetent individuals can only cause limited harm; they can only bully ordinary people. Even if the matter is taken too seriously, they will basically only be imprisoned for a few dozen or a hundred days.

They are different.

They were not only spoiled and dissolute, but also quite capable.

Compared to Gu Tingye, Zhang Ding, Zheng Xiao, Liang Zhao, and others, their abilities are naturally inferior and they are simply not up to par.

However, compared to spoiled brats who have no skills whatsoever, they are undoubtedly better.

This resulted in nearly ten people having commanded troops to varying degrees.

With a certain level of ability and a dissolute nature, the harm they cause is self-evident.

He was an incompetent playboy who bullied ordinary people, but that was all he did; at least he didn't kill anyone.

where are they?
They're risking their lives by more than a dozen people each, and they've even dared to bully officials.

Like Qin Yan, he even dared to commit crimes in front of his adjutant's wife.

Wife, not concubine.

To say that the adjutant harbored no resentment would be a complete lie.

If the censor really decides to investigate, the soldiers who have been humiliated will definitely try their best to reveal some of their crimes.

Without exception, all of their crimes were capital offenses.

In particular, Gan Ning and Luo Yi, by taking advantage of their father's power, were selling arms to the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms. If they were found guilty, they would be guilty of treason and betrayal, and the first punishment would be confiscation of their property and extermination of their entire families.

"Assassinating the Grand Chancellor and the Imperial Envoy is a capital offense, and not assassinating them is also a capital offense."

Luo Yi, with his hands behind his back, scanned the nearly ten people one by one and said heavily, "It's all death for us. If we fight, we might survive; if we don't, we'll die a hundred times over."

"Could it be that they don't even have the slightest bit of the will to survive a life-or-death struggle?"

In short, nearly ten spoiled young men suddenly realized the truth, exchanging glances and shifting their gazes.

Luo Yi's analysis is not without merit!

It is true that assassinating the Grand Chancellor and the Imperial Envoy is a capital offense, but they were both people who had committed capital offenses in the first place.

Since we're going to die anyway, assassinating the imperial envoy and the prime minister doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it?
As for assassinating the imperial envoy and the Grand Chancellor, it's possible that their family would be wiped out, their clan exterminated, and their entire family wiped out.
Ah!
They're all spoiled brats with terrible tempers; who cares about their clansmen?

"Let Luo Yi continue," said Gan Ning, the eldest son of the Duke of Gan, in a deep voice.

Luo Yi's idea piqued his interest.

He had been in the arms dealing business for almost ten years.

Recently, he has even been trying to find out how to get his hands on "bombs" and sell them to the Liao people to make a fortune.

If such a crime were to be discovered, the consequences would be absolutely dire.

Rather than sit and wait to die, it's better to take a gamble!
其余
"Military reform is an inevitable trend, and the higher-ups have made up their minds and cannot change them. If they want to obstruct the implementation of the government's orders and prevent them from being carried out, there are only two options: assassinate the imperial envoy or assassinate the Grand Chancellor."

Luo Yi paced back and forth, slowly analyzing, "Among them, the plan to assassinate the imperial envoy has little chance of success."

"The main drawback of this strategy is that its impact is too small."

"Too little impact?" Qin Yan was taken aback, somewhat puzzled.

Assassinating the imperial envoy—would the impact be too small?
"That's right, the impact is too small."

"The court's handling of the assassination of the imperial envoy is not hard to predict. It will certainly involve a thorough investigation and close attention to the area where the envoy was killed."

Luo Yi nodded and slowly said, "This also means that if an imperial envoy dies at once, the impact will not be enough to hinder the implementation of the policy. On the contrary, it will make the implementation of the policy even more ruthless."

"The only way to reverse the situation is to assassinate the imperial envoys in large numbers. This is to gamble that other local military officers will also be driven to desperation and assassinate the imperial envoys."

"Nowadays, many military families and nobles are dissatisfied with the military reform policy, with six or seven out of ten opposing it and two or three out of ten supporting it."

"If the capital region is like this, the situation in other parts of the country is probably not much different."

"The reasons for this are nothing more than two:"

Firstly, with the implementation of military reforms, military officers lost their source of military pay, and they worried about the difficulty of maintaining their daily wealth and status; secondly, many military officers had committed serious crimes, and they feared that the censors would investigate and punish them.

Luo Yi shook his head and said, "Therefore, if the news of the assassination of the imperial envoy leads some local military officers to also decide to assassinate the imperial envoy, then the great cause can be accomplished."

“If dozens of imperial envoys die, the resistance to military reform will be too strong, and the policies from above may naturally be relaxed a bit.”

Strategy one: assassinate the imperial envoy!

Nearly ten spoiled young men frowned and shook their heads repeatedly.

The success rate of this thing is just too low.

The death of an imperial envoy would certainly attract the court's attention, but it would not be enough to reverse the court's determination to reform the military.

Dozens of imperial envoys would have to die!
The deaths of dozens of imperial envoys meant that there were many local opponents, and there was a strong tendency for them to "rebel" at the slightest disagreement, which could coerce the government into canceling the military reforms.

But how could dozens of imperial envoys die all at once?
“It’s not very feasible.” Gan Ning frowned and shook his head: “If the imperial envoy dies, those people will probably cower and secretly rejoice, and there’s no way they would work together to assassinate the imperial envoy.”

This is primarily a matter of human nature.

The Liangzhe River system already has examples of how to handle the killing of imperial envoys.

If an imperial envoy is assassinated in a certain place, the imperial court will definitely conduct a special investigation into the area where the envoy was killed.

This is equivalent to having a focus when investigating military camps.

If there are priorities, there will definitely be non-priorities.

With everyone's attention focused on the place where the imperial envoy died, the other military officers who had committed serious crimes and were filled with fear would definitely have their presence reduced, hoping to escape with their lives rather than join in assassinating the imperial envoy.

"If that's the case, then the only option is to assassinate the Grand Chancellor."

"The Grand Chancellor is the one who leads the government's policies. If the Grand Chancellor is assassinated, there will be no one to support the reform policies, and the military reform will naturally be canceled."

"This strategy makes assassinations more difficult, but also increases the success rate."

Luo Yi spoke eloquently, stroking his beard with one hand and placing the other behind his back. Apart from his somewhat lacking demeanor, he really did look like a "strategist."

Gan Ning frowned and said, "As the core of the reform, the Grand Chancellor holds a high position and great power. He is usually either in the Jiang residence, the Zhaowen Hall, or the Imperial Study."

"In such a strategic location, let alone how to successfully assassinate someone, even deciding who to send is a major problem."

The remaining people frowned upon hearing this, their faces showing reluctance.

The Jiang residence, Zhaowen Hall, and Imperial Study were either located in the core area adjacent to the Forbidden City or were simply within the Imperial Palace itself.

The difficulty of this assassination is comparable to ascending to heaven!
"I have three plans to assassinate the Grand Chancellor."

There can be three strategies?

Nearly ten people all turned their attention to him. Luo Yi, with an air of complete control, said calmly:

"First, he bribed his page with a large sum of money and poisoned him."

"It's unrealistic to bribe the page with a large sum of money. This strategy might make the Grand Master wary," Gan Ning said, somewhat disapprovingly.

"Secondly, we should arrange for his relative to die unexpectedly. The Grand Master will surely return home by boat, and we can take this opportunity to assassinate him."

“The Jiang family of Huaizuo is a prominent local clan. It’s not really feasible to let their beloved relatives die unexpectedly,” Gan Ning shook his head.

Such unexpected deaths are extremely rare.

Firstly, it is not easy to commit the perfect crime.

Secondly, the eldest son must also believe it was an accident, otherwise he will be wary.

Furthermore, government orders must be implemented immediately, leaving no time for planning.

“If that’s the case, then the only way is to find a way to make the martyr’s orphan one of the imperial guards on duty during the grand ceremony in the southern suburbs, kill him in front of everyone, and then have him commit suicide by poison.” Luo Yi raised an eyebrow.

"A grand ceremony in the southern suburbs?"

Zhaowen Hall.

The long table, about ten feet in length, held dozens of documents.

Jiang Zhao picked up one of the papers and began to read it carefully.

A grand gift from the southern suburbs!

This is a document presented by the Ministry of Rites. After being embroidered in red by Tang Jie, a Grand Academician of the Wenhua Hall, it was delivered to the Zhaowen Hall.

The other documents on the long table were also documents with red ink.

As the Grand Chancellor, Jiang Zhao did not wear the red robe alone; his main duty was to review the red robe documents of the other five Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

If the presented red robe is deemed to be correct, it can be sent to the palace for the emperor to make a decision.

If they believe that the submitted imperial edict is incorrect, they can discuss the matter in the cabinet, where the six Grand Secretaries of the cabinet will review the edict together.

In short, all documents submitted to the cabinet had to pass through the hands of the Grand Chancellor.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the arrangement of documents on a high-ranking official's desk is actually the same as that on an official's desk.

"A grand ceremony in the southern suburbs." Jiang Zhao narrowed his eyes.

The so-called Southern Suburban Grand Ceremony is the sacrifice to the Azure Heaven and the Jade Emperor, and it is the first of all sacrifices.

Generally speaking, during grand ceremonies held at the southern suburbs, the emperor would don a high-ranking "grand fur robe" and lead his officials in performing the three offerings ceremony to pray for national peace and prosperity and abundant harvests.

As a high-level sacrificial ceremony, the Grand Ceremony at the Southern Suburbs is usually held once every three years.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions.

To build momentum for the "Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai," Emperor Zhenzong held several grand ceremonies at the southern suburbs, far exceeding the usual scale.

Jiang Zhao held the document and glanced at it.

On one corner of the document, several words were prominently displayed in red:
Since the late emperor's passing, external threats have been constant, and the grand ceremony at the southern suburbs has not been held for six years. Perhaps it is possible to restore this ritual!
After a cursory glance, Jiang Zhao reached out and tossed the document into the corner of the long desk.

The most important matters of state are war and sacrifice.

It is perfectly acceptable not to perform any small or medium-sized sacrifices.

Large-scale sacrifices such as the sacrifices to the Azure Heaven, the sacrifices to the God of Earth, the sacrifices to the God of Soil and Grain, and the sacrifices to the God of the Di and the God of the Gods, involve orthodoxy and divine mandate, and must be carried out.

Just as Jiang Zhao was about to read the next document, a clerk approached, bowed, and announced:
"Reporting to the Grand Chancellor, the Marquis of Ningyuan, the Earl of Zhennan, the Duke of Yingguo, the Marquis of Funing, the Duke of Gan, the Marquis of Zhongjing, the Duke of Liang, and the Minister of Works Cao are here to receive you."

"coming?"

Jiang Zhao understood and waved his hand, saying, "Let them in."

The people mentioned in the report were all those he had summoned.

The purpose... is to distinguish between supporters and opponents!
These individuals all wielded considerable influence among military and noble families, and can be considered representative figures of these families.

Among them, Marquis Ningyuan Gu Tingye and Earl Zhennan Wang Shao are both favored by the emperor and are about to enter the cabinet.

The Duke of Yingguo refers to the newly appointed Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Ding, not the former Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Fu.

Zhang Ding expanded the territory of Yan and Yun, and his achievements in the war for the country were considerable. He was already awarded the rank of a second-grade military officer.

In terms of status, he is certainly not comparable to Gu Tingye and Wang Shao, but he is still a figure who is almost unparalleled.

Marquis of Funing, Duke of Gan, Marquis of Zhongjing, and Duke of Liang were the four deputy envoys of the Privy Council.

As for Cao Situ, he was Cao Yi, the younger brother of Empress Dowager Cao.

These eight individuals, whether emerging military leaders or established powerful figures, are all qualified to represent the military group.

Originally, military officers held meetings in the Privy Council.

However, Jiang Zhao was too lazy to walk, so he simply summoned the group to Zhaowen Hall.

Anyway, Zhaowen Hall is the Grand Chancellor's office, and there is no distinction between civil and military officials.

About ten breaths later, the eight people entered one after another.

"Please sit down," Jiang Zhaoping said, waving his hand.

Eight people took their seats.

"I wonder what brings you here, Grand Chancellor?" Duke Gan already had the answer in his mind, but he still asked anyway.

Since the death of the old Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, the military has been without a true leader among the military generals.

As among the most senior members of the older generation, both the Duke of Gan and the Marquis of Zhongjing gradually rose to prominence.

Gan Ding was arrogant and naturally wanted to show off, so he spoke before Marquis Zhongjing.

Jiang Zhao raised his eyelids slightly, took a document from the desk, and passed it down: "What do you think of this military reform document?"

As expected, military reform!
The documents were circulated one by one.

“Military reform is undoubtedly the best policy,” Gu Tingye immediately stated.

“The corrupt practices within the military should be reformed,” Wang Shaoyi immediately stated.

"Reform is difficult, but military orders are absolute! I will certainly discipline my subordinates and ensure that orders are obeyed. Anyone who resists the new policies will be severely punished. Please rest assured, Your Excellency!" Zhang Ding did not hesitate.

"A good plan." Marquis Zhongjing nodded in support.

As someone who had worked with Jiang Zhao, he knew Jiang Zhao's personality.

Since the decision to reform the military has been made, there must be a comprehensive plan in place.

"This……"

Duke Gan hesitated, "Grand Chancellor, perhaps we should postpone it?"

“Since the expansion of our territory into Yan and Yun, the two countries have been locked in a stalemate. Military reform at this time will only bring disadvantages and no advantages!” Duke Liang shook his head and said.

"Many members of the military families say that the court has taken away their livelihoods, and there is considerable opposition!" Marquis Fu Ning sighed.

They stole my business?

Jiang Zhao glanced at it indifferently and said nothing.

“I, Cao, am not knowledgeable in military or political affairs,” Cao Yi said hesitantly.

Judging from the feedback from military and noble families, he leaned towards opposition.

However, since the Grand Chancellor was related to the Empress Dowager's retirement, he had to favor the Grand Chancellor.

The combination of the two results in neutrality.

After about a hundred breaths, all eight people had expressed their opinions.

Of the four deputy privy councilors, three opposed it, and one supported it!
Given the lessons learned from the corruption of officials and tea merchants, and having already been given a chance to consider the matter, how dare they still oppose it?

They even granted the mining rights for the Iwami Ginzan mine, and you're still not satisfied?

Jiang Zhao's expression was not good.

……

The setting sun casts a tapestry of light, its afterglow gentle and tender.

The residence of the Marquis of Dongchang.

Qin Yan, the second son of the Marquis of Dongchang, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, clearly hesitant.

At a small gathering at Fanlou, more than ten playboys reached a consensus and decided to assassinate the Grand Master.

The spoiled brats even swore an oath of brotherhood by blood and signed a pledge.

only……

Qin Yan's eyes were full of hesitation, and his expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Is it really possible to assassinate the Grand Chancellor?
……

(End of this chapter)