The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

The birth of a new dynasty is destined to be shed with blood, but it is not the blood of soldiers and civilians, but the blood of these powerful kings and princes.

"Brother, what will happen to Luoyang if you leave?" Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Li Cunzhi asked hurriedly.

Unexpectedly, after asking this question, Li Siyuan glanced at him, as if caring for a mentally retarded person, and said, "After I leave, you don't have to do anything. Even if the substitute does something excessive, you have to endure it. At this moment, whoever shows up first will die!"

Chapter 214 The True Dragon Emerges from Luoyang

"Brother, is it really that serious?"

Li Siyuan looked solemn, staring into Li Cunzhi's eyes, and said seriously, "It's ten times more serious than what I said. I'll write a letter later. When we leave Luoyang and the political situation changes, you can secretly submit it to that person. He will understand what I mean."

Li Cunzhi also realized that this was a matter of life and death. He did not ask why and nodded silently.

For a moment, both of them were silent.

As soon as Yuan Tiangang arrived, they lost control of the situation. Whether in the court or in Luoyang, the previous disputes in the court now seemed extremely ridiculous.

Even with the recent arrival of beautiful girls from all over the country in Luoyang, they had no intention of interfering or adding insult to injury. Compared with the life-and-death crisis, none of these matters mattered.

Among all the people in Luoyang who are qualified to participate in this big game, perhaps only Yuan Tiangang can sit back and enjoy the benefits.

In the imperial city, Su Ming was reviewing memorials in the Qianqiu Hall as usual. Ever since Yuan Tiangang came to Luoyang, the court meetings held every five days were no longer held. Both the court ministers and the government offices had stopped their activities and dared not cause any trouble.

Although Yuan Tiangang had not shown up yet, he was able to suppress an entire city by himself and frighten everyone in the city. Without these constraints, Su Ming's work became much easier.

I can only say that the deterrent power of the Bad Leader is so terrifying!

……

"So what? They really didn't agree, did they?" The empress said playfully in the hall.

Su Ming had a pleasant smile on his face and spoke in a brisk voice, "It's just as expected. The Bad People is an organization founded by Yuan Tiangang, and has been passed down for more than three hundred years. Some of them have even been passed down from father to son. They are loyal to Yuan Tiangang but not to the emperor. I am not surprised at all."

"It's not easy to get them to rebel against Yuan Tiangang, and they won't do anything until the very last moment. Also, I hope you can delay your search for the Longquan treasure for as long as possible and just follow Li Xingyun's wishes."

The empress didn't ask why, she just said one word directly, "Okay."

He trusted her and she trusted him, that was all.

……

"Your Highness, we should set out to look for the Longquan treasure tomorrow. The Marshal hopes that you can be ready as soon as possible." Outside the door, Jing Xinmo stood respectfully at the door.

"I understand." In the room, Li Xingyun, who was wiping the Longquan sword, paused and replied lightly.

As the footsteps of Mirror Heart Demon gradually faded away, Li Xingyun sighed, put the sword into the scabbard, and went to Ji Ruxue's room next door.

"Xue'er." Looking at Ji Ruxue who was sleeping peacefully on the bed, he walked forward, held her hand, and called her name softly. These days, Ji Ruxue couldn't sleep well every night.

Li Xingyun had to prescribe some sleeping pills for her so that she could have a good rest.

Sensing a familiar breath, Ji Ruxue woke up from her sleep and looked at him with her beautiful eyes, "Nebula." Her voice was soft, not as powerful as before.

The two looked at each other lovingly. Ji Ruxue also keenly noticed the reluctance and worry in Li Xingyun's eyes. She smiled faintly, "Xingyun, don't worry, I'm fine."

Li Xingyun struggled internally, wondering whether he should tell Ji Ruxue about this. After much hesitation, he decided to confess because he couldn't hide it at all. He also didn't want to be separated from Ji Ruxue and go looking for the Longquan treasure alone.

"Xue'er, we will leave Luoyang tomorrow."

Ji Ruxue's eyelashes trembled slightly, her eyes widened with a sad look, "Are you leaving?"

Li Xingyun held her hand tightly, his eyes firm, "No, let's go together. No matter what happens, I will accompany you. I can't bear to leave you here alone."

……

The next day, the group left Luoyang quietly. Among them were the empress, Li Siyuan, Li Wentong, Li Xingyun, Ji Ruxue, Meng Po and a group of bad guys.

On the city gate, Su Ming looked at the direction they left with a complicated expression. They finally left, and Yuan Tiangang probably also left Luoyang. Now, he was the only one in charge here.

Everything will open a new chapter.

"Boom!"

On the tower of the imperial city, the sound of a bronze bell rang. When the officials in the city heard the bell, they knew that a court meeting was to be held. Whether they were officials resting at home or officials working in the government office, they all changed into their official robes and headed towards the imperial city.

The palace gates were opened wide, and officials entered one after another and came to the Taiji Hall.

When all the officials arrived one after another, they suddenly realized that today's court meeting seemed a little different. The King of Qi and the King of Jin were not here.

Everyone was not used to the absence of two people, especially those from Prince Jin's faction. They had received instructions from Li Siyuan a long time ago and looked very unnatural.

There were not many people in Luoyang who were qualified to know the news of Li Xingyun's entry into Luoyang, and Li Siyuan did not dare to leak it rashly and disrupt Yuan Tiangang's plan.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Be flat."

Sitting on the dragon throne, Su Ming, wearing a dragon robe, looked down at the ministers.

At the beginning, Li Cunli, the deputy secretary of the Secretariat, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I request to expand the imperial guards. The entire Luoyang city is so vast, but the imperial guards are only 5,000. The garrison force is seriously insufficient. I think now is the best time to expand the army."

Su Ming had already discussed this matter with Li Cunli.

As for the matter of Li Xingyun, Li Cunli is still kept in the dark. He is not qualified to know about it and thinks that the person sitting on the dragon throne is the real Li Xingyun.

"Lord Li is wrong. The country is in a state of recovery now. Where will we get the money to expand the army? In my opinion, five thousand imperial guards are enough to guard the imperial city. If that doesn't work, we can transfer troops from nearby Hedong." Upon seeing this, the Privy Councilor An Zhonghui immediately retorted.

As soon as this was said, the Minister of Rites Feng Dao immediately asked, "Hedong is hundreds of miles away from here. Far water cannot quench a nearby fire. If the court is harassed by the vassal states and the emperor is frightened, can you bear the responsibility? Does your King Jin dare to bear this responsibility?"

Faced with Feng Dao's questioning, An Zhonghui was suddenly speechless. After all, in the previous dynasty, the harassment of the imperial court by the local vassal states continued despite repeated bans, and even the emperor was abducted. These things really happened, and he couldn't pretend that he didn't know.

At this time, the Three Officials Envoy Ren Yuan stepped forward and smoothed things over. "Lord Li thinks the court should expand the army, and I also think it should. Five thousand imperial guards are too few, but expanding the army is not something that can be done in a day or two. Moreover, the treasury is empty now. The emperor just got married not long ago, and now beauties from all over the country are coming to Luoyang one after another, which is another expense."

"As for the expansion of the army, I think we should first let the Privy Council come up with a charter before we act. We have to take one step at a time and eat one bite at a time. The national treasury has limited money and grain, so the court should do what it can."

It seemed that he agreed to expand the army, but in fact he wanted to delay the matter as much as possible. By putting it under the Privy Council, he could also throw sand in the wind in the imperial guards, killing two birds with one stone.

"Are you joking, Master Ren? The Imperial Guards' duty is to guard the Imperial City and the Emperor. All matters should be decided by the Emperor. It is not the Privy Council's turn to intervene!"

Chapter 215: The Longquan treasure will be revealed, so don't worry!

"In Luoyang City, the appointment and retention of the Imperial Guards are decided by Your Majesty only. Lord Ren wants to bring the Imperial Guards under the Privy Council, but he is stretching his hand too far." Feng Dao argued, holding a tablet in his hand.

The Imperial Guards are directly under the emperor's command, guarding the imperial capital and responsible for palace matters. If they were controlled by civil officials, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ren Yuan knew that his words were untenable, so he snorted coldly and ignored him.

An Zhonghui stared at Li Cunli and said in a deep voice, "I wonder how much Lord Li thinks the Imperial Guards should be expanded to?"

Li Cunli did not fall into the trap of the words, but turned to face the emperor and said, "Your Majesty is in charge of the imperial guards, and everything should be decided by Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, the national treasury is limited. Please think twice before acting." Ren Yuan sighed, and the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to deepen. Without Prince Jin, none of them could withstand the pressure from the emperor, so they could only retreat.

Su Ming glanced at the ministers and said in a deep voice, "Master Ren, don't worry about the money and food. Hasn't the military funding for Hedong this year been allocated yet? Just use it as the military funding for the Imperial Army first."

Although he had no control over the three departments, he knew very well where the court's taxes and grain went. The biggest expense was the military expenses in Hedong, and the rest was the salaries of officials and the expenses for supporting the imperial palace.

However, as soon as this sentence came out, a large number of ministers in the court shouted in unison, "Your Majesty, you must not do this."

"Oh? It's just embezzling some military funds, why not?" Su Ming glared at the ministers, pretending to be confused even though he knew the truth.

In the past, the imperial court never issued military funds. The funds were not enough for its own use, so how could it have the spare energy to issue military funds to other places? Moreover, even if military funds were issued, it would be like throwing meat buns at a dog, which would never come back. It was almost like raising a tiger to cause trouble.

After Li Cunxu's death, Li Siyuan cleaned up the situation, placed his confidants in important positions in the court, and forcibly appropriated a portion of the court's limited money and grain to use as military expenses for Hedong.

It was said to be the military expenditure for Hedong, but in fact it was used to support Li Siyuan's personal soldiers.

"Your Majesty, there are tens of thousands of soldiers in Hedong. If the military expenditure is cut, those soldiers may cause riots and easily mutiny. Please think twice." This time, An Zhonghui panicked. He didn't expect that Su Ming's machete would actually hit this.

Su Ming smiled faintly and said warmly, "The court has just concluded peace talks with Khitan. Hedong is far from the border. If those soldiers dare to mutiny, they will be killed. With the King of Jin in Hedong, I feel relieved."

"Why, Lord An, are you worried about the King of Jin? Do you think he can't guarantee the stability of Hedong?"

An Zhonghui's face was covered with cold sweat, and he knelt on the ground. "I dare not, but the Hedong area is of great importance and cannot be touched lightly. If Your Majesty wants to deal with it, it is best to discuss it with His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin before making a decision."

For a moment, the entire hall was silent.

At this time, everyone realized that since Li Siyuan was not in the court, no one could restrict the emperor.

Su Ming stood up from the dragon chair and laughed loudly, "Don't worry, Lord An. The misappropriation of Hedong's military funds is only a temporary measure. I have arranged for the King of Qi and the King of Jin to go together to look for the Longquan treasure. Once the treasure is obtained, you can rest assured."

Another blockbuster bomb exploded in the court in an instant. They only knew that Prince Qi and Prince Jin had something to do, but they didn't expect that they were actually going to look for the legendary Longquan treasure.

Thinking of the rumors about the Longquan treasure, some people's eyes became dazzled and their breathing became rapid. There was wealth hidden in it that was enough to rival a country!

Seeing the ministers below discussing the matter, Su Ming smiled.

This matter cannot be concealed in the first place, so it would be better for him to tell it in advance and lay the groundwork in advance to avoid affecting the changes in the court situation.

Instead of letting Yuan Tiangang make a fuss about this matter, it would be better for him to take a step first and take the credit for the Longquan treasure on himself. He will not lose out either way.

As for how he could order King Qi and King Jin around, let the court officials guess.

After a brief discussion, the court returned to calm.

Su Ming sat back on the dragon chair, raised his eyelids, and said calmly, "The imperial city's imperial guards will be expanded to 30,000, and the military expenses will be paid from the Hedong military budget. The Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue and other government offices must prepare military equipment and clothing first, and the three departments must prepare money and food. My dear ministers, what do you think?"

Ren Yuan and An Zhonghui exchanged a glance, bitterness on their lips, and reluctantly lowered their heads, "I obey your command!"

After the rules for this matter were set, the rest of the matter became much simpler. Soon, the court meeting ended and the ministers left one after another.

……

Soon, this incident caused an uproar in Luoyang.

The imperial court is sometimes very transparent and no news can be concealed.

In less than three days, the streets and alleys of Luoyang City were abuzz with discussions about the Longquan treasure. Since ancient times, people have been pursuing gold, silver and treasures. Not to mention that the legend of the Longquan treasure had been brewing for decades by Yuan Tiangang and had been endowed with a mysterious color of destiny.

Now, the emperor sent King Qi and King Jin to search for the Longquan treasure together, which is enough to show the importance the court attaches to this matter.

Who is the Prince of Qi? He is the confidant of the current emperor, the Minister of the Secretariat, and almost the leader of the civil officials.

Who is the King of Jin? He is the most powerful military governor in the Central Plains and the most powerful military commander.

It is truly amazing that two important officials, one civil and one military, left Luoyang at the same time to look for the Longquan treasure.

Amid the enthusiasm caused by the Longquan treasure, the news of the court's expansion of the imperial guards was not so conspicuous. Feeling the enthusiasm of the ministers, officials from all departments did not dare to neglect their duties and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to this matter.

However, Ren Huan did not dare to confront Su Ming because he had been instructed by Li Siyuan, so he could only allocate the funds reluctantly.

With money, everything becomes easy. Su Ming directly arranged for the Jinyiwei personnel to form an audit team, with funds used for specific purposes to prevent court officials from taking advantage of the situation.

With the emperor's men secretly watching, the people in the yamen dared not be careless and worked more attentively.

The imperial court's purchase of cloth, military materials and other items also made the private market more prosperous, and merchants from all over the world made a lot of money.

……