My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 144 After All, It's the Six Major Sects
"??????"

The Lord Shi in front of him had indeed bowed deeply.

Hey, your eldest brother asked you to chop me down, but you closed the door and started to call me your brother. As a younger brother, you are so lazy and slacking off to this extent. Does Meng Gong know about this?

As soon as this thought came to mind, Lord Shi looked up and said, "Mr. Meng knows."

"!!!!!!"

Li Bailong was really shocked this time.

He reached out to help, blinked his eyes, and pretended to be confused: "Why are you so arrogant at first and respectful later?"

Lord Shi stood up and sighed, "It's all Lord Meng's thoughtfulness. Brother, you are a great talent, and you are valued by the bigwigs in the court. You don't know the hardships of officialdom. For example, Gao Bijin couldn't stand the hardships of officialdom. He took the benefits of Fenglin Huoshan and wanted to charge into the battle. If he was not careful, he would get himself into trouble."

"For example, Zhang Chun and his men have no roots. They must have been controlled by Gao Bijin's Feng Lin confession, so they had to hold their noses and cooperate with you to falsely accuse Gao Bijin of having an affair with Bei Ning. But seeing how active they are today, they must have hooked up with King Zhao through your relationship, so they can be considered to have survived..."

At this point, he looked outside the door and said, "Speaking of this, Lord Li, Zhang Chun and the others should be lying in ambush outside the hall. We have to put on a show for the people of Huazhou to see."

"..."

Damn it, I suddenly feel that this old guy is so terrifying, I must not let him stay!

Lord Shi continued, "I dare not speculate on the important events in the court. Lord Meng and King Zhao were close comrades at first, but later parted ways. Now they are enemies in the court, and everyone in the court and the public knows it. So when you were first transferred to Huazhou, I felt it was not good. Later, I hid away, but I also felt that I could not escape. Sooner or later, Lord Meng would pull you back to compete with you. I didn't expect... Oh, Lord Meng is considerate."

Li Bailong frowned slightly.

This guy repeatedly praised the merits of a certain high-ranking official in front of him in an indirect way, which really made him feel that it sounded familiar.

"If you have anything to say, please speak directly."

"Ah, yes, that's right." Lord Shi pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Meng wrote to me, asking me to go back to Huazhou to work... The Duke asked me to tell you that the disagreement with King Zhao was just a dispute of ideas. Sometimes, it is against one's will to fight in the court, but there is no need to involve the people below, and it is even more important not to delay state affairs. Mr. Meng has no opinion on you. On the contrary, he admires young and promising talents like you the most..."

"..."

Li Bailong felt a little horrified when he thought of some rumors about Meng Gong.

"So as soon as I arrived in Huazhou, I openly challenged you. After all, I am the prefect, a senior official in Huazhou who can suppress you in terms of official rank and power. Those opponents who have suffered from you for a long time but are difficult to resist will definitely come to me... Brother, I can cooperate with you in any way you want to control them."

"And those who haven't made their move yet but are ready to attack you will also see me as a potential ally and will most likely contact me secretly... In this way, I can tip you off in advance so that you can be prepared."

Lord Shi smiled friendly and said, "What do you think?"

Li Bailong said cautiously: "Your Excellency is from the Menggong faction, and I am the King of Zhao. We are enemies, but Your Excellency is trying to be nice to me and cooperate with me everywhere. I don't know what's going on."

The prefect confessed, "Mr. Meng wants to make friends with you, my Lord."

"..."

So frank?
"It is clearly stated in the letter that Duke Meng also wants to have a piece of what King Zhao wants to do. The dispute in the court is just a means of raising the price. In the end, we still have to join forces with King Zhao."

"You could have started a fight in the court, and ordered me to disrupt your Excellency's actions in Huazhou, and forced King Zhao to make concessions. But Lord Meng said that he pitied you as a rare talent in the court and could not bear to deceive you, so he fought against King Zhao in the court, and asked me to cooperate secretly in Huazhou... This is all Lord Meng's consideration and good intentions."

Lord Shi took a step forward, his voice lowered.

"Your Excellency only needs to accept Lord Meng's friendship, and you will be able to get the help of me. And if some people in the court want to use court means to interfere in Huazhou affairs, Lord Meng will also suppress them..."

Li Bailong's eyes were subtle: "What do you mean by Meng Gong's friendship?"

"Simple."

Lord Shi whispered, "Mr. Meng took the initiative to show goodwill today, promising not to interfere with you and even to cooperate. If King Zhao knew about this, he would immediately see through Mr. Meng's attack in the court as a bluff to raise the price... In this case, Mr. Meng's plan would be disrupted."

"So please don't tell King Zhao about Lord Meng's gesture of goodwill today. Just treat this as a little secret between you and Lord Meng and keep silent about it for now. Lord Meng said that once we have a secret, we will be one of our own from now on..."

"..."

Wait! Stop!
Why do I feel like I'm being seduced as a good girl! ?

Damn, why is Meng Gong so skilled!
——No, I can't betray my uncle! Let me go!

The feeling of weirdness was fleeting.

Li Bailong shook his head and said, "I'm sorry I refuse."

Lord Shi was surprised: "Why?"

"Mr. Meng is kind, and I am flattered. But I must be loyal to people who trust me." Li Bailong said calmly, "The emperor's uncle trusts me and uses me. This is about the mission of Huazhou, and I will not hide it from him."

The Lord of the Palace restrained his smile and said solemnly: "Your Excellency should know that I can help you, but I can also stop you."

"You should also know this," Li Bailong responded, "Even the Eight-Front Platform can't protect their genius."

Lord Shi didn't care, he just said: "Lord Meng has great power in the court, it's easier for him to do bad things than to do good things... I just want to ask you, sir, if Lord Meng insisted on thoroughly investigating Gao Bijin's Tongning incident in the court, and persuaded Fenglin Huoshan to risk his face, and got the support of Zhengnian Temple, Renxin Hall and even Cao Gang, and sent an imperial envoy to investigate the matter thoroughly, then can the Tongning incident fabricated by you really stand up to investigation?"

"It cannot withstand investigation. As an official, Gao Bijin followed Feng Lin's orders to fight with his colleagues, which is a serious crime. But how should you convict your colleague Tong Ning for falsely accusing him?"

Li Bailong heard this without any fear: "This is something King Zhao should worry about."

Oh my god, I still have the record of Fenglin Huoshan’s failure in Lin County. If I make this deal with the Ning people, I’ll see if the Beining barbarians are willing to take responsibility for Gao Bijin’s crime!

He was fearless in his heart, but in the eyes of Lord Shi, he was a fearless hero.

The Lord of the Palace suddenly burst into laughter.

"Mr. Meng is as good as a god!"

Lord Shi said this, and bowed to the ground: "This is a gesture of apology from Lord Meng's instructions... Lord Meng said that from the incident in Fenglin, Lin County, we know that Lord Li is a loyal and righteous man. I was just joking with him!"

Li Bailong frowned and said, "I still have to report today's events to King Zhao."

"Whatever, whatever. As for the affairs of the court, the people in the court will have their own disputes!"

Lord Shi laughed and said, "Mr. Meng has ordered me to lend a helping hand to you, without any additional conditions... just consider it as making friends with Mr. Li."

At this point, he stretched out his hand and winked: "Mr. Meng told me to tell you, don't worry, we are just friends, King Zhao will not be angry."

Damn it, I accidentally got involved in the fight between the giants in the court. Why does it feel a bit wrong? However, facing the hand extended by Lord Shi, Li Bailong still shook it.

Both of them smiled.

After all, Lord Meng is the master of Lintai Wuwei Mansion.

After the eldest sister passed the imperial examination and won the first place, she was selected to work in the Wuwei Mansion.

Meng Gong never brought up this matter from beginning to end.

Moreover, although Lord Shi was the one relaying the story, he was always very humble, whether laughing or scolding... This eventually made Li Bailong feel somewhat favorable towards him.

The actions of these succubi are really hard for young officials to resist.

The two discussed for a while in the third hall.

After a while, they finally started arguing.

"Bullshit! If the Tongwen Bureau is not responsible for publishing newspapers, then does that mean you are responsible for it?"

"How dare you! The newspapers are responsible for educating the people, so of course they should be under the jurisdiction of the martial arts instructor!"

"Old thief, you're fighting for power as soon as you come back!"

"Puppy, it's not your turn to have the final say in Huazhou!"

The two quarreled and then started fighting.

The prefect was a second-class Jinshi! He had studied hard since childhood, and after becoming an official, most of the hard work he had learned when he was young was wasted, and only internal strength, light skills, and self-defense boxing and swordsmanship were practiced.

Politicians who enter the court as officials and want to make progress are not gifted. The energy they spend on practicing martial arts in their youth will be distracted by the complicated government affairs and personnel dealings after becoming officials. However, successful politicians always have to set aside some time to practice martial arts and cultivate Qi. After all, nurturing internal energy can help prolong life. High-end political struggles usually depend on who can endure longer.

Mr. Shi was an official sent to a remote place. Based on actual conditions, in addition to the internal skills for health preservation, he also practiced a set of light skills that combined explosive power and speed, as well as self-defense boxing and sword skills designed specifically for high-ranking officials.

As I got older, I learned a new finger technique, specializing in acupoint pressing.

With his perseverance and the martial arts benefits of a high-ranking official in the court, the current prefect can be considered to have considerable skills. After fighting with Governor Li for several rounds, the two men collided with each other with such great Qi that the doors and windows were blown away.

The loud noise attracted officials from the yamen.

Everyone was shocked to see two fourth-rank officials wrestling with each other.

The martial arts instructor and the magistrate took each side and separated the two men. The prefect was carried aside, his hair a little disheveled. "You little brat! I am here today for no other reason than to suppress your arrogance! You are a top scholar, and I am a military scholar! In terms of official rank, I am half a level higher than you!"

Li Bailong sneered: "You son of a bitch, what are you so proud of! You are just a dog of Lord Meng! Do you think you are qualified to ruin my business? If the Meng family wants to take the credit, it depends on whether King Zhao agrees or not!"

This quarrel fell into the ears of the officials.

The news leaked everywhere in the government office and soon spread out.

Zheng Xiuyuan and others, who had been overwhelmed by the chaotic public opinion war these days, were overjoyed.

"Our chance has come!"

Boss Ye said happily, "God has opened his eyes. Finally, someone can control him! And did you hear... it was Lord Meng's instruction! Lord Meng's instruction! In this way, we don't have to fear King Zhao's power!"

He said to Zheng Xiuyuan eagerly, "Master Fu Zun is usually arrogant and doesn't pay much attention to us. We have always been short of getting in touch with him. Now that he is arguing with Li Bailong, he has raised a banner. If we go and surrender now, he will definitely welcome us. It is a good opportunity to use Master Fu's hand to cut off the tentacles of the Tongwen Bureau!"

Chairman Zheng needs to be much calmer.

He tapped his fingers lightly and said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid it won't be enough just relying on the Lord of the Palace alone."

Everyone was surprised at first, but then they came to their senses.

It seems... it’s not enough.

After just a dozen days of fighting, the dog official Li Bailong left them with a huge psychological shadow.

After a few days of public opinion war, even the fools came to their senses... Those guys who appeared out of nowhere and played wildly and strangely were most likely hired by Li Bailong! What a ghost!

They are even more professional than the internet trolls they employ! Their rhetoric is even more radical! And their experience is even richer!

Li Bailong often came up with surprising moves, and would even always give everyone a blow in the area where they were good at. This huge sense of failure and frustration shook everyone's confidence, starting with Gao Bijin. No matter they were officials or businessmen, they all rushed to the battlefield with full confidence, and then were slaughtered by Li Bailong. Later on, no one believed that "they would win" anymore... It was really unbearable.

Boss Ye was a little discouraged: "...What should we do then?"

If the prefect cannot win, then if we vote for him now, we will be liquidated by Li Bailong in the future.

The fate of Gao Bijin's followers is still fresh in our minds.

Zheng Xiuyuan thought for a long time, finally let out a breath, looked around at everyone, and made up his mind.

"I'll go find the Cao Gang...it's time to invite them in."

He showed a solemn expression: "This morning, my son sent another urgent letter, saying that the Cao Gang intends to get involved in this matter and hinder the success of the Tongwen Bureau. It is best to expel Li Bailong from Huazhou... An important figure in the court has contacted him."

"That lord asked me to pass on a message, saying that if we cooperate with the Cao Gang and become an enemy of Li Bailong, then after we jointly expel the violent Li, the Cao Gang will not interfere with the literary business of Huazhou, and will not encroach on our interests at all... In this way, the literary world of Huazhou will still be ours."

When everyone heard this, they were surprised and happy.

Boss Ye looked suspicious: "Is there such a good thing?"

Zheng Xiuyuan pondered and said, "My son said that it seemed to involve the secrets of the imperial court. He dared not speculate too much. However, the Cao Gang is such a huge organization, thousands of times larger than us. They said that they want to enter the literary world of Huazhou after the matter is completed, and they want us to cooperate. We can only obey their orders. Since they said that they will not get involved in the cultural business of Huazhou, they must really not do so. After all, they are one of the six major factions, and they must keep their words and be reasonable."

After hearing this, Boss Ye gradually felt relieved.

He attributed that instinctive uneasiness and suspicion to the inherent insecurity of businessmen.

indeed.

"After all, they are one of the six major sects." He murmured, "We always keep our word."

(End of this chapter)