Chapter 70: Suppressing the Second Grade! Plan for the Emperor's Son

…

Emperor Longchang leaned back in his chair and couldn't help but wonder when he watched Prince Deshun's impassioned performance.

In the past, Prince Deshun was a loyal, honest and upright person.

Many years ago, he had major differences with Prince Dexin because of his political ideas and ambitions. In anger, he secluded himself in a manor on the edge of the West Sea. He spent all day fishing, drinking tea, and did not care about political and military affairs.

Why is it that after hundreds of years of self-cultivation and recuperation, it becomes even more smelly and shameless?

Let’s not talk about whether Mr. Wang is guilty or not. Even if he is guilty, he has not treated Prince An of your family badly... How can he immediately distance himself from the relationship and burn bridges as soon as something happens? This is too shameless, right?

"This matter has been coordinated by the three departments, and Meng Yuanbai is taking the lead in the investigation and handling. I believe that Meng Yuanbai will never bend the law for personal gain, and no matter who is involved, he will never tolerate it." Emperor Longchang waved his hand impatiently, "Deshun, if you get tired of fishing in the West Sea, go to the East China Sea and catch a dragon whale or something. Don't come to the capital and mess around."

"Your Majesty asked me to leave it alone, so I won't care." Prince Deshun said in an honest and obedient manner, "But it's rare for a child to come to the capital once, so these days he will stay with his ancestors to serve him."

Before Emperor Longchang could object, he pretended to be in tears again: "I haven't seen my ancestors for a long time, and I miss them very much. Every time I think of how high-spirited I was when I followed my ancestors, conquered the Western Jin Dynasty, and conquered the Southern Qin Dynasty when I was young. .”

"But I don't want my ancestors and I to be old in the blink of an eye."

Hearing this, Emperor Longchang's slightly muddy old eyes also showed the brilliance of remembering the past, and he couldn't help but recall everything that happened when Prince Deshun was by his side.

The older people get, the more nostalgic they become, and the easier it is for them to miss old relationships.

"Forget it, out of your filial piety, please stay with me for a while." After Emperor Longchang finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Hongbo with a somewhat amiable expression, "Zhao Aiqing came to see me for something important. ?"

"Your Majesty, I do have something important to report." Zhao Hongbo saluted and glanced at Prince Deshun unwillingly. The old guy Deshun is here, how can he apologize?

Originally, I wanted to sacrifice Zhao Zhikun, beg His Majesty for mercy, and then suppress the whole matter and downplay it.

But in the current situation, as soon as he apologized to His Majesty, Prince Deshun dared to make the matter a storm in the city and suppress the prestige of the Zhao family.

Zhao Hongbo had served as the chief minister of the cabinet for many years, and he was naturally a smart man. He understood that the other party had obviously guessed Zhao's plea for apology this time. Prince Deshun came here deliberately to disrupt the situation.

He just saw clearly that Zhao did not dare to bring the matter to a public trial. Once under the spotlight, a shocking reversal occurs during the public trial of the three companies, the entire Zhao family will be dragged into the quagmire.

Zhao couldn't afford to delay.

Since the other party wants to expand the results, let's give them another head.

Zhao Hongbo was also a decisive person. He made up his mind immediately, took a deep breath and said: "Your Majesty, I accidentally found out that this smuggling case has nothing to do with the Wang family. In fact, it is our Zhao family." The little beast Zhao Zhikun of the family was greedy and confused, and he just made a big mistake."

"The reason is that he lost too much in a gambling in the Immortal Dynasty. He lost too much and had evil thoughts. After I learned about this, I didn't dare to bring injustice to Wang's loyal family, so he immediately came here with Zhao Zhikun. Please forgive me."

As soon as this statement came out.

Emperor Longchang was stunned for a moment, and then his face gradually turned gloomy. It was very obvious that what Zhao Hongbo said was far beyond his imagination.

Before, he only speculated that someone wanted to plot against Wang and deliberately accused Wang of Luo Zhi. Whether it is true or false, Lao Yao is here to find out if it is true. If it's fake, it can just happen to be a favor to that guy Wang Shouzhe. Who would have thought that there was actually someone smuggling and collaborating with the enemy, and moreover, he was Zhao's kid!

Smuggling and collaborating with the enemy is a serious crime. How dare Zhao and the others! How dare?

Due to geographical environment problems, both the Southern Qin and Western Jin Dynasties were relatively short of metal ores, especially iron. Therefore, they were inferior to Dagan in terms of manufacturing and equipping weapons and other military equipment. Coupled with various other factors, Dagan was able to achieve the same goal. Two enemies.

Therefore, one of the military national policies of Daqian is to cut off the trade of most metal mineral deposits, including iron ore, refined salt, and high-end grains between Daqian and the Southern Qin and Western Jin Dynasties. The former is for military purposes, and the latter two are for military purposes. People's livelihood!

Once prohibited items are smuggled to Southern Qin, it will help increase Southern Qin's national power, which in turn will pose a threat to Daqian. If allowed, the consequences will be disastrous.

"How audacious, this is an act of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country!" As expected, Prince Deshun immediately jumped out and scolded, "Are you, the Zhao family, planning to rebel?"

"Your Majesty, Prince Deshun." Zhao Hongbo bowed deeply to Emperor Longchang, his face full of guilt. "This behavior is indeed extremely bad and unpardonable. I cannot and do not want to defend myself. Although this matter is It was the evil Zhao Zhikun who committed this crime, but as the ancestor of the Zhao family and the chief minister of the cabinet, I did neglect to discipline my descendants. I cannot escape the blame for the crime committed by the evil Zhao Zhikun."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to resign from the position of Chief Assistant to the Cabinet, and I would like Your Majesty's permission."

Resigning as chief minister of the cabinet?

Prince Deshun was stunned.

This Zhao Hongbo is really decisive and ruthless.

Over the past thousands of years, the greatest prestige and power of the second-grade Zhao family has come from the fact that there is a prince and a chief minister in the family.

The position of Duke is the legacy of the ancestors and reflects the prestige of the Zhao family. The position of chief minister is the real power. It is also under this real power that the Zhao family can prosper and reach its current peak situation.

Emperor Longchang also frowned slightly.

Even though he had been a little dissatisfied with the Zhao family and a little unhappy with Zhao Hongbo in recent days, he had never really thought about depriving Zhao Hongbo of his power as the chief assistant of the cabinet.

After all, Zhao is also the founding father of Daqian, and has made countless sacrifices and bloodshed.

A country cannot be supported by just one royal family. The royal family is just the most powerful family, the largest contributor, and the largest "equity ratio". It is not a family like "family world".

Therefore, as an emperor, he must balance the relationship between the royal family and the aristocratic family, and the aristocratic family and the aristocratic family.

"Uncle Hong, how much did Zhao Zhikun smuggle?" Emperor Longchang's face was extremely solemn, "How many years did it last?"

Zhao Hongbo also looked at Zhao Zhikun with stern eyes: "Nie Zhan, why don't you answer your Majesty's words quickly."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Zhao Zhikun said in a trembling voice, already feeling weak, "It's been ninety years since then. From the beginning, we tried millions of people a year, and later, it developed to one year a year. Twenty million, twenty to thirty million, and in recent years, it has been more than 50 million every year.”

"After deducting management and various costs, the total profit is 8,830 million dry gold." As he spoke, Zhao Zhikun also took out the account book and presented it honestly, obviously prepared for it.

Lao Yao took the account book and handed it to Emperor Longchang.

This is not a small scale, but it is not out of control!

The gloomy Emperor Longchang flipped through it casually and put it aside: "Where is the profit money?"

"I spent part of it. In addition, I used most of the rest to pay off my debts..." Zhao Zhikun said bravely, "Your Majesty, I was cheated in that gambling session!"

Zhao Zhikun gave money to Prince Kang. Naturally, he couldn't do it blatantly. Instead, he went to the Immortal Dynasty and came back.

"Your Majesty, I don't believe that Zhao Zhikun did this alone. It must be the Zhao family who was behind it." Prince Deshun said, "Your Majesty, please take a closer look."

"Your Majesty." Zhao Hongbo also bowed and said loudly, "My Duke Anguo is the pillar of Daqian's court and is loyal to Daqian. How could he betray his country for such interests? The 830 million stolen gold implicates the Immortal Dynasty. Your Majesty, it is already difficult to recover. But I, Mrs. Zhao, are willing to collect one billion in dry gold to return to the national treasury. However, the amount of funds is too large for Zhao to collect at the moment. Please allow your majesty to allow Zhao to return 10 million every year for a hundred years. Pay it off within a day.”

"Your Majesty, it's not that Uncle Hong shirks his responsibilities. It's just that Uncle Hong is the chief minister of the cabinet and holds a lot of power in his hands. If he really wants to engage in a despicable act of smuggling and collaborating with the enemy, I dare not say that he can do it without leakage, but he will not use such methods. It’s rough, and the scale must be at least several times larger.”

Emperor Longchang did not comment on this, but looked at Zhao Zhikun again and said, "Has Yingji been involved?"

"Your Majesty, cousin Yingji did not know about it." Zhao Zhikun replied honestly, "Your Majesty, you also know the temper of cousin Yingji, and it is impossible for him to do such an act. Therefore, I can only put two heads in. ~~Conquer the power of Anjiang through the Jiaolong Gang..."

The reason why he is so honest is because he knows that this matter is not subject to investigation.

Emperor Longchang's expression eased slightly, and then he looked at Zhao Hongbo and said, "Uncle Hong, you must have some clues about how to deal with it when you come here this time. Let's talk about it."

"First, I have no face to serve as the chief minister of the cabinet again, and I ask your Majesty to hire another wise man. Second, I, Mrs. Zhao, are willing to make up for the stolen money to replenish the national treasury. Third, Zhao Zhikun's smuggling and treason is unforgivable and should be severely punished. However, I hope that His Majesty, for the sake of his being the seed of supernatural power, will allow him to go to battlefields outside the territory and enter the cannon fodder camp to kill enemies and atone for his sins until he can atone for his sins."

Zhao Hongbo did not shirk responsibility, spoke sonorously and forcefully, and then begged: "Your Majesty, please remember that Zhao is the founding father of the country, and for the sake of a long-lasting family, leave some face for Zhao."

Each of these three treatment conditions caused huge trauma to Zhao, and it was extremely difficult to recover in a short period of time. But it is still much better than being completely discredited.

But the only conditions Zhao originally wanted to give were two and three. As for the first item, it was Zhao Hongbo's impromptu idea to silence Prince Deshun.

"I do believe that the Zhao family should not be involved in the smuggling and collaborating with the enemy as a whole. Such an apology is indeed frank enough." Emperor Longchang's expression was calm, "But Zhao Aiqing must not forget that now all the spearheads are directed at the Wang family of Changning. Directly targeting Wang Shouzhe, now under the spotlight, how will it end?"

"Don't think that because I stay in the palace all day, I will be blind, deaf, and blind. I don't know why this happened and why it developed to such an unmanageable point."

"Your Majesty." Zhao Hongbo cupped his hands and said, "The investigation into the Wang family's taxes is indeed an investigation order issued by me after receiving the report. But now it seems that someone is secretly trying to target the Wang family."

Although this plan was proposed by Zhao Zhikun. But since Zhao Hongbo agreed and implemented it, he naturally would not shirk his responsibility.

"It was Meng Lang who caused the reputation of the Wang family to be damaged. I can only shamelessly ask Your Majesty to mediate in this matter. I, Mrs. Zhao, are willing to compensate and have the Third Division officially announce to the public that the Wang family has not evaded taxes and has not evaded taxes." No smuggling and treason.”

"Your Majesty, from what I've seen, it's clear that Zhao fell into the hole he dug after stealing the chicken and losing the rice. How can we let such a false accusation against a loyal and good person be easily let go?" Prince Deshun was stirring up trouble again. With an expression filled with righteous indignation, he said, "My child is complaining for Wang and Shouzhe~~~~"

"spit!"

Emperor Longchang really wanted to spit on Deshun's face.

I didn’t know who it was just now, but she kept saying that she would severely punish the Wang family. In the blink of an eye, she started to accuse the Zhao family of framing Zhongliang? When did this boy Deshun become so shameless?

"Okay, okay, no matter how you say it, the Zhao family is the palace of the Duke of the country." Emperor Longchang waved his hand and said angrily, "Their ancestors and our ancestors fought together. This time, for the fight between the emperor and his son, they did secretly use Some means. But I don’t believe that they are collaborating with the enemy and treason.”

"However, if this matter becomes a big deal, it will bring shame to both the royal family and the Zhao family. Uncle Hong, since you want me to mediate, you must show some practical sincerity so that I can talk to Shouzhe."

"Your Majesty, our Zhao family will obey your Majesty in everything." Seeing Emperor Longchang relent, Zhao Hongbo felt relieved and saluted, "We will do whatever your Majesty says."

"Okay, let me think about it. First, the position of the chief minister of the cabinet is of great importance. Although your Zhao family is now morally corrupt and has no face to take responsibility, you can't just come and take it? Uncle Hong, let's go to court another day. At the meeting, it will be up to you to recommend Prince Yinda of Dingguo to temporarily serve as the chief minister of the cabinet. Do you have any opinions?" Emperor Longchang thought for a moment and said.

Zhao Hongbo's pupils shrank, but he quickly calmed down and said calmly: "I have no objection. The ancestor of Dingguo Gong Yinda is talented and knowledgeable, and his virtue is unparalleled. He is expected to hold the position of chief assistant."

"Secondly, in order to quell the public grievances, your Zhao family has not been strict in educating your children, which has led to the scum of the family. The punishment should be reported to the world. Do you have any objections?" Emperor Longchang said again.

"My lord, I have no objection. Since it was my fault, Mrs. Zhao, I shall bear all the consequences."

Zhao Hongbo handed over again.

Although this would reduce the prestige of the Zhao family, with Prince Deshun present and many external matters, the matter could not be hidden at all. An official notification of punishment would be the best solution, or at least it would sound nicer.

"It's quite sensible. In that case, how can Shouzhe compensate for it? I'll mediate for you." Emperor Longchang's face softened a little. "In addition to the three conditions for self-punishment by Zhao, you Zhao must take good care of yourself." Reflect on yourself and check your family tradition. Otherwise, if such a scum appears again in the future, I may not be as easy to talk to as I am today."

"I will obey your Majesty's will." Zhao Hongbo agreed.

When Prince Deshun heard this, he sighed heavily in his heart. The end of all this is that there is still no way to escape Wang Shouzhe's plan.

Shouzhe told him through Mingyuan that His Majesty's heart lies in balance. Although he wants to suppress the Zhao family, he will never kill the Zhao family.

He came to disrupt the situation this time, mainly to mess around and expand the original results. When he came today, his purpose of disrupting the situation has been exceeded. The foreign master in the position of first and second aid is already the biggest gain.

Next, Wang Shouzhe naturally has a way to deal with it.

As for whether Zhao Zhikun can enter the cannon fodder camp, it is secondary. In the final analysis, he is just a magical species. If it is not a magical power, its influence will still be limited after all.

"Old Yao, please take the time to remind Wang Shouzhe." Emperor Longchang was quite satisfied with Duke Anguo's attitude of being respectful and obedient and accepting punishment, so he said to Lao Yao, "As soon as possible, help him meet with me. "

"Is Your Majesty going to issue an order to summon Wang Shouzhe?" Old Yao said with bright eyes, "I have also wanted to see Wang Shouzhe for a long time."

"Bah, who am I? What is his identity?" Emperor Longchang said with an arrogant look on his face, "How can I summon him at will?"

After a pause, he murmured in a low voice: "Hint, do you understand the hint?"

"Old slave understands, hint, hint." Old Yao said with a smile.

"Okay, this matter is settled." Emperor Longchang waved his hand, "Uncle Hong, you go back first and wait for me. Deshun boy, you come with me, I will compete with you to test your fishing skills."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Everyone agreed in unison.

…

A few days later.

The investigation team headed by Sancaisi posted the investigation notice in a low-key manner.

The Changning Wang family's smuggling case has already caused a stir in Guilong City, and the popularity remains high. More and more people are paying attention to this case.

Now, as soon as the investigation results came out, the emotions that had been brewing for many days were immediately "exploded" under the instigation of thoughtful people.

The effect was almost like dropping a bomb directly into the crowd.

No one expected that such a shocking turn would occur when the case seemed to have been finalized.

The person who smuggled and collaborated with the enemy was actually not the Wang family of Changning, but Zhao Zhikun, the great genius of the Zhao family! Even Zhao Ge, the chief minister of the current government, resigned due to this.

For a time, everyone was in an uproar, and the government and the opposition were shaken.

In the streets and after dinner, almost everyone was discussing this matter.

At the beginning, everyone's attention was focused on Zhao Zhikun's smuggling and collaborating with the enemy. They secretly scolded Zhao Zhikun for being a magical species who enjoys the treatment of many stars but does not do anything in private. He is simply a scum of the family. , should be severely punished!

But soon, there was a subtle change in the wind direction.

Someone pointed out that Zhao Zhikun, as a great talent carefully cultivated by the Zhao family, is very likely to inherit Zhao Hongbo's position as the first assistant in the future. The future is bright, and there is no reason at all to take risks and smuggle?

What is he planning? What does he need so much money for?

This is indeed a doubtful point.

People's eyes are sharp.

Although it is said that when a storm of public opinion forms, everyone's attention will easily be biased and collective dementia may occur, there are always smart people among the crowd.

"Could it be that Zhao Zhikun is not the mastermind at all, and there are other people behind this incident?"

When the first voice of doubt appeared, many people soon woke up.

That's right~ Who doesn't know that Zhao Zhikun is a die-hard supporter of King Kang? Since he himself is not really short of money, isn't it obvious who he is smuggling to make money for?

Only Prince Kang needs massive financial support for the fight between emperor and son and to win over people's hearts.

In normal times, even if someone was aware of this, it would be impossible for such remarks to spread. After all, the battle between emperor and son is about the hearts of the people and prestige. How could King Kang not understand the importance of controlling public opinion?

The "Breaking Dawn" organization is not a free-for-all.

In fact, as soon as they realized that the wind was going in the wrong direction, "Breaking Dawn" had already secretly taken action, trying to guide the direction of public opinion and prevent everyone from focusing on Prince Kang.

However, what Li Xiao faces this time is the cooperation between "Tianque" and "Luoxian Palace".

Even though Li Xiao tried his best, he could not save the situation, and the direction of public opinion was still moving in the intended direction little by little.

More and more small and medium-sized aristocratic families and ordinary people are realizing that this matter is probably closely related to Prince Kang. Zhao Zhikun, maybe he was unlucky enough to be pushed out to take the blame.

Those third- and fourth-grade aristocratic families have already guessed the truth of the matter, and may even have guessed that there may be one or several forces behind this matter that are leading the direction of public opinion.

They just don't say it.

The so-called matter has nothing to do with themselves, it is hung up high, and it does not involve themselves, so they can just watch the excitement.

Of course, maybe they themselves are also adding fuel to the flames.

After all, with Prince Kang's behavior, he had been trying to win over people's hearts in order to be the emperor's son. It was normal for any aristocratic family to dislike him.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ This Zhao Zhikun is so pitiful~" In the teahouse, while sitting around drinking tea, a member of the small and medium-sized aristocratic family couldn't help but sigh, "I thought he had followed that person for so many years and was a great genius. Qualifications must be taken very seriously, but I didn’t expect that person to give up right away.”

"This Prince Kang is really cold and cold."

"I really didn't expect Prince Kang to be such a person. I thought he was a good person. After all, he has been donating money for disaster relief and fighting overseas in recent years. He has a good reputation in the government and the public. It seems that he is a good person. It’s just that I have little knowledge and misjudged the situation.” Some people felt that they were blind and saw the wrong person, and their emotions were quite complicated. “On the other hand, this Zhao Zhikun, although he has no bottom line, is still quite loyal, and he was surprised to be able to carry it all by himself. Take all the blame."

"Yes, yes~ and he is really courageous. Where is the cannon fodder camp? I feel scared just thinking about it, but he agreed immediately. I heard that his expression didn't even change. Just for a moment. Really tough!"

"I heard that he is still imprisoned, and he has not been able to tell the truth to Prince Kang. To say he is 'iron and loyal' is not an exaggeration."

Similar remarks were quietly circulated in private, and for a while, the nickname "Iron-courage and Loyal Zhao Zhikun" was strangely spread in Shangjing City.

I just don’t know if when these people say these words, the meaning of their words is more sarcastic or more complimentary.

These rumors were conveyed to the ears of Prince Kang on the battlefield outside the territory in the fastest possible way.

When Prince Kang heard this, he almost spit out a mouthful of blood.

Who is it, who is spreading "rumors" behind the scenes?

At this moment, how could he stay in the battlefield outside the territory? He had no time to spare and could only rush back to Dragon City as quickly as possible to quell the rumors himself.

…

same time period.

Wang's Four Seasons Garden in Daqian.

Prince Anjun was sitting across from Wang Shouzhe.

Prince An used a lot of strength to restrain himself from looking at the two women serving beside Wang Shouzhe... one of them was also one of the leaders of "his" intelligence organization "Tianque", Tianque. Fairy Yan.

"Shou Zhe did a great job in this battle. As you expected, King Kang can no longer sit still and will return to Dragon City as quickly as possible." King An said with emotion while drinking the spirit tea. , "Now that the Zhao family has been pushed to the forefront of the storm, she cannot protect herself, so she can only keep her tail low. If King Kang falls again, there will be no suspense about the battle between the emperor and his son this time."

"It's just that there is something unclear about Mingyuan. The current situation of the Zhao family can only come back if we protect Prince Kang." Prince An said with solemn eyes and doubts, "Even if Prince Kang returns to Dragon City, what can you do to make Zhao Is your family at odds with Prince Kang?"

"Rebellion or not, let's not mention it for the moment. I just believe in the principle of flying when disaster strikes. In a few days, the court meeting will be held. Is Your Highness ready for the final blow?" Wang Shouzhe said while drinking spiritual tea.

"Shouzhe, don't worry, Mingyuan will not hold you back." Prince An said with a serious look on his face.

After a pause, he said with some doubts: "Shouzhe, I heard that His Majesty has lost his temper several times... and scolded you in private for being disrespectful. According to Eunuch Yao, Your Majesty still wants to see you, but you have ignored him several times. This hint made His Majesty very angry."

"This..." Wang Shouzhe said with an innocent face, "Shouzhe has always been dull and has never understood this information. Your Majesty really wants to see me, why don't I know? Why doesn't Your Majesty issue an order to summon me?"

Prince An held his forehead and felt extremely helpless towards Wang Shouzhe.

You dare to ignore His Majesty's hints. No wonder His Majesty bangs the table and scolds you every day.

"Shouzhe, there is one thing I still don't understand. How can you be sure that Prince Kang is a cold-blooded person who would burn bridges when crossing rivers?" Prince An still couldn't figure this out and was very surprised. After all, King Kang seems to be very reliable on the surface.

Wang Shouzhe took a sip of spiritual tea and said slowly: "The specific reason is a bit complicated to explain. To put it simply, if he is not such a cold-blooded person, but a person who values ​​love and justice, has ideals and beliefs... "

"I have accepted his solicitation a long time ago. Where will it be His Highness Mingyuan's turn?"

"Well……"

Prince An broke into a cold sweat, why did he sound so anxious?

Then if Prince Kang is reliable, then nothing will happen to him?

…