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

Although Kong Xianwen died, the Ministry of Rites still failed. Although death is the greatest tragedy, someone has to take the blame for this matter. A dead person cannot speak to defend himself. What's more, he had been praised too highly before this.

Du Ziming, the deputy minister, stood up, holding a tablet in his hand, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Lord Kong originally put the peace talks in the hands of the Ministry of Rites. Now that the peace talks have failed, the people are in panic. The court must give the people an explanation."

Su Ming glanced at him indifferently. Before he ascended the throne, he was still a small ninth-rank proofreader. In just a few months, he was promoted from a proofreader to a deputy director of the Ministry of Revenue. This promotion speed was not slow.

"My dear ministers, please feel free to speak your mind."

As Su Ming finished speaking, all the ministers unanimously put the blame for the failure of the peace talks on Kong Xianwen.

Su Ming and Li Siyuan did not react and simply acquiesced.

Afterwards, Su Ming glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "During this peace talk, the marriage proposed by Khitan does not conform to the court etiquette. Even if someone else went, it would be impossible to agree to their conditions. The failure of the peace talks is not the fault of the Ministry of Rites. They have tried their best."

"But they made a big promise at the beginning that if this thing fails, they are willing to be punished."

"There is no order without rules. Since the matter was not handled properly, it must be punished. All officials of the Ministry of Rites will be fined one year's salary, and the official in charge will be demoted one level and retained for observation. If you make mistakes again, I will never forgive you easily!"

After he finished speaking, the officials in the hall looked at each other in surprise. They had not expected that the emperor's punishment on the Ministry of Rites would be so light.

Li Siyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Ming expressionlessly. How could he not know that the emperor was trying to win people's hearts.

Su Ming had fought for the peace talks with Khitan, but the task was snatched away by the Ministry of Rites. Now that the Ministry of Rites had failed to do its job well, Su Ming not only did not reduce the punishment, but gave a lighter sentence and only investigated the guilt of the main culprit.

In this way, the emperor's tolerance, kindness and generosity are demonstrated.

You know, the Ministry of Rites was Li Siyuan's men, but the emperor did not pursue their crimes and pardoned them. Although the court officials knew that the emperor was trying to buy people's hearts, they were still shocked.

However, even if Li Siyuan knew that Su Ming was trying to buy people's hearts, he could do nothing about it. The officials of the Ministry of Rites were his people, and even the emperor treated them with caution. If he asked for a strict investigation at this time and stepped on them, it would surely make his subordinates feel disheartened.

How could Li Siyuan do such an unwise thing when he was in such an advantageous position?

The peace talks were originally designed by Su Ming in order to cooperate with the Khitan and attract Li Siyuan's attention. The consequences of the failure of the peace talks were not as serious as imagined.

Although the Khitans are strong, they will not move south for the time being.

Yelu Abaoji knew very well that as long as the conflicts within the Central Plains court did not intensify, once he went south, the Tang Dynasty would put aside their grudges, unite against external enemies, and transfer all conflicts to the Khitan. By then, it was still unknown whether he could gain an advantage.

However, the letter still made Li Siyuan feel frightened, even though he guessed that Yelu Abaoji wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the two tigers fight and gain the advantage, he knew that his conditions could not be just that.

But Li Siyuan was still afraid that if the peace talks were really successful, the emperor would gain prestige and the support of the people, and the attitudes of officials in the court would also change to a certain extent. Never underestimate people's ambitions.

The officials in the court can either rely on him and gain the merit of following the emperor, or rely on him to help the world and eliminate this powerful official.

Fortunately, the peace talks failed. Li Xingyun had put so much effort into it, but all he did was to dig a hole for the Ministry of Rites. There was no peace talks between the two countries. Even if Yelu Abaoji had secretly reached some cooperation with the emperor, it would not help him much.

What happened at the court meeting spread quickly, but the court did not release the news of Kong Xianwen's death because someone needed to take the blame and the people needed someone to vent their anger on!

In just half a day, Kong Xianwen's reputation was ruined and he was cursed by the people.

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Prince Xue's Mansion.

After the court session, Li Cunli returned to his mansion, had dinner and stayed in his room alone.

What happened in the court today surprised him a little. He did not expect that the emperor would let the Ministry of Rites go and did not pursue the victory to deal with Li Siyuan's people. If it were him, perhaps the Ministry of Rites would have been replaced from top to bottom by now.

In the past few months in the court, he saw how Li Siyuan was grabbing power in the court. Many times, the emperor sitting on the dragon throne looked more like a mascot. If it were not for the fact that the emperor always said shocking things every time he asked him to play chess, he almost thought that the emperor had accepted his fate and was willing to be a puppet.

Li Cunli felt unhappy when he thought of Su Ming's kindness to others in the court, and that Li Siyuan removed him from his position as the head of the Li School of Tongwenguan because of a promotion by the emperor.

Although he knew that the emperor's behavior was for the court officials to see, he still unconsciously compared the two men. They were both good at forbearance, but the difference was that one was lenient and the other was strict.

For so long, Li Cunli had been secretly reporting the affairs of the Secretariat to Li Siyuan. As for what the emperor said every time he summoned him, he subconsciously concealed it and did not report it. On the surface, he was still loyal to Li Siyuan.

But after so much time, he and Li Siyuan were still strangers in the court. The other party did not give him convenience in his power, and sometimes he even hindered him and gave him orders. The Five Thunder Heart Sutra that Li Siyuan gave him at the beginning was still only half, and there was no follow-up.

Although he was envious of the martial arts, Li Cunli did not dare to practice it at all, because he did not know whether the secret book was true or false, and what tricks Li Siyuan had used in it.

Thinking of this, Li Cunli sighed, took out the secret book of Five Thunders Heart Sutra from the room, reached out and stroked the cover, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and then he exerted his strength, and the entire secret book was instantly destroyed by his internal force and turned into scraps of paper and fell to the ground.

It's time to make a decision!

After observing for such a long time, Li Cunli has realized that Li Siyuan is not reliable at all!

In a sense, he and Kong Xianwen were both abandoned. Since he had been abandoned, he would not go back eagerly. Once he did so, he would be controlled by Li Siyuan at will, and he would be helpless. He hated this feeling.

After destroying the Five Thunders Heart Sutra, Li Cunli let out a long breath and felt an inexplicable sense of relief in his heart, as if a huge stone had fallen.

He understood that once he took this step, he would never be able to turn back. Li Siyuan had always been cruel and brutal towards his enemies, especially those who betrayed him like himself, who would not have a good ending.

Li Cunli now only hopes that the final winner will be the emperor!

Chapter 77 The greater the risk, the greater the reward

Jin Palace.

Li Siyuan was hosting a banquet. At the banquet, there was a lot of cheers and conversation. The banquet lasted until late at night. In the hall, the servants cleaned up the mess, and he slowly walked to the back garden of Prince Jin's Mansion.

As the end of the year approaches, military governors and officials from all over the country come to visit the Prince of Jin's Mansion. Some of these people are his subordinates, and some are his allies. There are not many people who are important enough for him to entertain, but there are quite a few people he has to meet every day.

The night was slightly cool, and a breeze blew towards him, blowing away the heat from the alcohol. Li Siyuan used his internal energy to evaporate the alcohol and regained consciousness. He went to sit down at the stone table. The full moon was high in the sky, and the stars were falling, which was a beautiful sight.

But he had no mood to appreciate it, instead he fell into deep thought.

This peace talk with Khitan reminded Li Siyuan that the emperor was not without cards to play. He still had the Xuanming Sect as his eyes and ears, and the Tianshi Mansion in Xuanwu Mountain was his ally.

The marriage with the Khitan made him realize that if the emperor wanted to win over allies, his marriage would be a good bargaining chip. When the Tang Dynasty was about to fall, there were aristocratic families willing to marry their daughters into the palace, let alone now.

There is no shortage of ambitious and adventurous people in this world. The position of queen is worth the risk for some people.

Li Siyuan pondered for a moment and made a decision in his mind. Then he shook his head and said that there was no rush for this matter and he would make plans after the new year. The most important thing now was a smooth transition and not to let the political situation become turbulent.

The military governors and vassal states in various places had to return to the court to report on their work at the end of the year. They had to make preparations in advance and not give the emperor an opportunity to take advantage of them. These people were powerful local figures with troops in their hands. Once they were won over by the emperor, it would be very troublesome.

He is not afraid of the Seal Emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne, but he will be more wary of an Emperor with military power, because that means he has the ability to overturn the chessboard at any time.

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Qianqiu Palace.

Su Ming was playing chess with Li Cunli as usual. The two sides were going back and forth and had already reached the middle stage of the game, but today Li Cunli gave him a very special feeling.

In the past, Li Cunli was cautious in front of him, and was careful with his words and actions. Although they were familiar with each other, it was difficult for him to get close to him. Today, Li Cunli did not have that twisted feeling at all. His expression was obviously relaxed when playing chess. He was really playing chess, and not treating it as a task as before.

"It seems that King Xue is in a good mood today and his chess skills have improved greatly." Su Ming said casually as he placed a piece down.

Li Cunli's brows relaxed, and he smiled as he twisted the chess piece, "After playing chess with Your Majesty so many times, if I don't make any progress, I will have failed Your Majesty's expectations."

There is something else behind this sentence.

Su Ming's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at him and found that he looked normal, nothing special. But what did this sentence mean?

Seeing Su Ming in deep thought, Li Cunli raised his lips and put down the chess piece in his hand. "Your Majesty, it's your turn."

Unable to figure it out for a moment, Su Ming stopped thinking about it and shifted his attention to the chessboard. Now, the two dragons on the chessboard were wrestling with each other, full of murderous intent, and neither was willing to give in. It was now the critical moment.

After pondering for a moment, he slowly placed a piece without giving in at all.

However, after he made his move, Li Cunli unexpectedly did not continue to fight, but directly avoided the attack and placed his piece somewhere else.

What does he mean?

When the two dragons were fighting, one piece was enough to decide the outcome. Li Cunli placed a piece somewhere else, seemingly opening up another battlefield, but in fact he was handing over the dragon to the enemy. This move was tantamount to suicide.

The game has only reached the middle stage and is far from over, but once the big dragon is dead, no matter how the game goes on, it will be a lingering battle.

Su Ming didn't understand what he meant, but since the opportunity was presented to him, he would not hesitate. He took advantage of the situation and attacked, blocking the dragon's way of survival. It was only a matter of time before he slayed the dragon.

But Li Cunli seemed not to see it and continued to make moves in the corner, as if he had really given up on the big dragon.

The big dragon was already dead, so Su Ming did not continue to kill the dragon. Instead, he continued to fight with Li Cunli in the corner, not giving him a chance to develop. Soon the game came to an end.

When the game was about to end, Su Ming took action to kill the dragon and put an end to it.

In front of a true master, there is no such thing as a Zhenlong chess game. The reason why you are not in a hurry to slay the dragon is that you don't want to give him the opportunity to develop. Since the dragon is already in your hand, why rush to move it.

After finishing a game of chess, the two men did not move the pieces again. Instead, they picked up their teacups and drank slowly. No one spoke.

Today's game of chess was played a little strangely. Su Ming still didn't understand what Li Cunli meant by giving up the big dragon.

After finishing a cup of tea, Li Cunli smiled, a gentle smile appeared on his fair face, "Your Majesty is a superb chess player, I admire you."

Su Ming pointed at the piece that Li Cunli had given to Da Long before and said softly, "I still don't understand the mystery of the move that King Xue made today. I wonder if King Xue can help me understand it?"

Li Cunli's smile remained unchanged, and his snow-white hair fell in front of him, which was quite charming. "When two dragons fight, one must die. This humble minister's move was both a test of the waters and a way to survive. Unfortunately, it failed."

"On the contrary, Your Majesty really opened my eyes. You laid out the plan smoothly and concluded the battle without giving me any room to breathe. In the end, you captured the dragon, which was beyond my expectation."

When two dragons fight, one of them will die. Is this referring to him and Li Siyuan?

Throwing a stone to test the water, risking one's life in the face of danger, is this referring to himself?

Could it be that Li Cunli has already made his choice?

Some things don't need to be said explicitly, because they will be meaningless if they are said out loud.

Su Ming looked at him with burning eyes and found that he was also looking at him. Their gazes met and neither of them dodged. After a moment, they both smiled at the same time.

The fact that Xiang gave up Dalong and what he said afterwards had already made his stance clear. Li Cunli finally chose him and betrayed Li Siyuan.

Su Ming was not surprised to learn about this. His strategy of sowing discord was very effective. Although he knew that Li Cunli was trying to take advantage of the situation, he did not use force. Both parties knew this very well.

In this world, famous ministers and generals would bow to each other and call their masters "lord" when they met. Such things only appear in storybooks.

In troubled times, the king chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose their kings. It is mutual. There is no such thing as an outburst of personal charm or bowing down to others. If there is, that person will definitely not survive more than ten episodes.

In this world, there are only two kinds of people who can live safely, one is the smart person, and the other is the person with better luck.

And Li Cunli is undoubtedly the first type of person.

Su Ming smiled slightly and said softly, "Putting oneself in a desperate situation and then surviving is a good move, but also a risky one. I once heard a saying that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I give this saying to you, and I hope you will keep it in mind."

Chapter 78: List of names submitted, a good harvest in the snow

Li Cunli was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Your Majesty, it is getting late, I will take my leave."

"Okay, you can leave first." Since he had already made his point, there was no need for him to keep her.

Li Cunli bowed, then turned and left.

Suddenly, Su Ming's eyes focused and he looked at the place where Li Cunli had just sat. There was a thin book lying on it. He stretched out his hand and grabbed it. His true energy circulated and turned into a suction force, and the book quickly flew into his palm.

Opening the book, it contained Li Siyuan's dark secrets and some of the unspeakable things he had done in the past. However, these things alone could not deal with him. With his current status, these things would not cause any waves even if they were brought to the court. No one would believe it, and no one dared to believe it.

Afterwards, Su Ming continued to read, and the content at the end gave him some surprises. It contained the secrets of Tongwenguan and Li Siyuan's confidants hidden in various important places.

Before, he let Li Cun Yi be in charge of Xuanming Sect because he used to be the leader of Tongwenguan and was familiar with Tongwenguan, so he could avoid being targeted by Tongwenguan. But after all, he had been away from Tongwenguan for several years, and many things had changed.