Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 410 The famous detective is online

What? What did your majesty say just now?
Is there a sound? What sound?
Halfway through his long speech, Emperor Li Ming suddenly said something that puzzled all the ministers. They involuntarily pricked up their ears to listen to the noise outside.

I heard nothing.

These old men, who are over fifty years old, have become deaf and dim-sighted, much worse than the original factory-made hearing of the young men, and they did not hear any sound outside.

But just because they didn’t hear it doesn’t mean that the other teenagers present didn’t hear it.

Da da da……

In the corridor outside the banquet hall, footsteps could be heard faintly.

not good!

Yuchi Xunyu reacted immediately and jumped up from his seat.

The footsteps were not loud. It was obvious that the servants outside were deliberately running in small steps in order to suppress the noise and not to alarm the guests.

But the noise was very chaotic, obviously something had happened outside.

But just when the black-haired man was anxious to protect the emperor, Li Ming stopped him with his eyes and shook his head slightly.

But what if there is danger outside... Yuchi Xunyu was puzzled.

But he still sat back in his seat obediently.

Seeing that his friends had a good understanding, Li Ming nodded slightly in his heart, then the smile on his face faded, revealing a slightly unhappy look.

"I am speaking up there, and who among you is whispering to each other down there? If you want to speak up, I will give you my seat."

The ministers at the table were just about to whisper to each other and ask each other what was going on.

Upon hearing this, he immediately shut his mouth and straightened his back like a student being scolded.

Oh, it turned out that someone was slacking off in the audience. I thought something unexpected happened outside.

But I didn't hear anyone having the guts to not listen carefully to your Majesty's teachings. Your Majesty has really good ears...

The ministers breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed up again, preparing for a new round of devilish sounds.

However, at this moment, the back door of the banquet hall opened.

The "Grand Chamberlain" of the Ming Palace - a well-mannered middle-aged man with a neat and beautiful beard at the corners of his mouth because he had not been castrated - walked slowly but very quickly to the dragon couch, leaned over and whispered a few words in the ear of His Majesty Li Ming.

Li Ming's expression remained calm. He just nodded slightly, then cleared his throat and said:
"It's getting late, you should go back first."

Huh... All the ministers breathed a sigh of relief secretly, but did not dare to show it. They all kept a straight face and expressionless. Led by the expressionless Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, they shouted "Long live the emperor" in unison and left with no expression on their faces.

As soon as they walked out of the banquet hall, they noticed that the atmosphere in the corridor was a little unusual.

In the corridor connecting to the Imperial Food Bureau, palace servants were running back and forth with their heads down, avoiding any eye contact with the ministers, and their steps were hurried.

And from the direction of the Shangshi Bureau, there seemed to be a burnt smell.

But the wind and rain outside were too strong, dispersing the scent, so I couldn't smell it clearly.

Perhaps the imperial chef burned the food and burned through the bottom of the pot... The ministers did not take this little incident seriously. They resisted the urge to yawn and filed out of the State Council Yamen.

Fang Xuanling, supported by his servants, stood under the eaves of the front hall, waiting for the carriage to pick him up.

Outside the hall, raindrops shot towards the ground like sharp arrows under the light.

"Haha, it's raining so heavily, old husband. Haha, I wonder if the crops in my hometown will be washed away. Haha..." The old servant was making small talk.

Fang Xuanling raised his head slightly, looked at the pouring rain, and murmured softly:
"Yeah, it's raining too hard..."

After a while, Fang Xuanling felt his left arm first loosen, and then was supported up by a pair of stronger hands.

He turned around and saw it was his third son, Fang Yize.

"Father, let me take you back."

Fang Xuanling's eyebrows moved slightly, looking at this precious son he had in his old age:

"how do I say this?"

Fang Yize was still young and the family had not yet separated, so he lived in the prime minister's residence with Fang Xuanling.

So what does it mean to “send” father home?
"I have some official business to take care of later, so I have to spend the night at the State Council Yamen." Fang Yize said expressionlessly.

Sure enough, it’s another late night working overtime…

"Are you so busy recently?" Fang Xuanling asked expressionlessly.

"Yes, father, yes." Fang Yize answered expressionlessly.

“This year, there was a severe drought followed by heavy rains, and disaster relief costs money.

“The war has just ended, and we need money to reward the troops.

"It's almost been a year since the war officially started. The first batch of war bonds are due one after another, and the repayment of principal and interest also requires money... Alas."

Fang Yize sighed subconsciously.

"And because of the disaster, tax revenue has dropped significantly...?"

Fang Xuanling added the second half of the sentence for his son.

"Yes." Fang Yize nodded. His expressionless face showed more that he had lost all hope in life than being cold.

The less the input, the more the output.

Under heavy financial pressure, Fang Yi, who was respected by his colleagues as the "Minister of Planning", did his best to display his superb financial skills and tried every means to fill the hole for the Ming Empire.

In fact, it is just robbing Peter to pay Paul, delaying as much as possible and using credit as much as possible.

It is no wonder that the poor classmate Fang Yize has to stay up late to work overtime every few days and work until he becomes unconscious.

However, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

Ji Xiang said that Potian was just a senior accountant. He was just a wealth carrier, not a producer.

To fundamentally solve the financial dilemma, we must...

Fang Yize had a blank expression on his face as he stared at his old father.

Fang Xuanling's mouth curled up:
"Why, did His Majesty ask you to be a lobbyist? To persuade your old father to return to his post as an official?"

Fang Yize shook his head:
"No. His Majesty just said that if this work is not finished, I can't think of leaving get off work."

The corner of Fang Xuanling's mouth twitched slightly.

Are you threatening me with your son?

How can I get your goose?

The father and son looked at each other in silence.

The two taciturn people, surrounded by servants, watched the rain that seemed to never stop, and waited quietly for the carriage to return home.

In the rain, Fang Xuanling caught a glimpse of a burly figure.

It’s Yuchi Jingde.

The old black charcoal door god did not bring his eldest grandson, Yuchi Xunyu, with him. He got on the carriage alone, looking a little lonely.

Does Yuchi Xunyu's intelligence department also have to work overtime... Fang Xuanling muttered to himself.

"Mr. Fang."

A familiar voice broke the awkward silence.

Fang Xuanling raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise and slowly turned around.

It was his "roommate", Changsun Wuji.

"Greetings to the eldest grandson, 'Prime Minister'." Fang Xuanling bowed to the other party.

Chang Sun Wuji was not happy at all about his old political enemy's suggestion. He frowned and corrected the other party's political incorrectness:
"What are you talking about, Prime Minister Fang? I am just a deputy, temporarily filling in the duties of Prime Minister Fang."

He deliberately put emphasis on the word "Prime Minister" to show that he had no intention of replacing the emperor.

Fang Xuanling said indifferently:

"'Acting' just means that the formal appointment and dismissal process has not yet been completed. When I retire, you will soon be the real prime minister."

Faced with the other party's clear suggestion of "helping you to rise to a higher level", Changsun Wuji was not happy at all, and his face became darker and darker:
"Prime Minister Fang is such a jokester. You are extremely capable. If you retire and return home, it will be a great loss to the country, the society, and Your Majesty."

Fang Xuanling: "It's a pity that I am old and have run out of energy..."

Zhang Sun Wuji: "The lamp can be refilled with oil if it goes out, and Fang Xiang can come out of retirement again."

Fang Xuanling: "I am afraid that flowers may bloom again, but people will never be young again..."

The two top bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty began to be humble.

The new colleagues who had just arrived from Chang'an were stunned. "What's going on? Are those Prime Minister Fang and Prime Minister Zhang Sun?"

Huangmen Shilang Liu Li could hardly believe his eyes.

It is well known that Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji have always been at odds with each other. They had already started fighting openly and secretly during their time in the Qin Palace, and the fight was even more intense in Chang'an.

How come their relationship became so harmonious once they arrived in the capital of the Ming Dynasty?
You know, what they are humble about is not the New Year's money, but the position of Prime Minister which is second only to the emperor!
This is the most powerful position since the abolition of the prime minister system in the Qin and Han dynasties!
The two power animals who have been fighting for their entire lives actually didn't care about anything. Not only did they not fight, they also learned from Kong Rong and took the initiative to be humble?
What Kong Rong gave away was just a pear, not the prime minister!

"It seems that His Majesty the Emperor really knows how to rule his subordinates. No wonder the True Dragon Emperor can rise up and conquer the world." Fang Yize's colleague Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Tang Dynasty, speculated.

Everyone who came from Chang'an nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

The focus is not on those two old foxes, but on His Majesty Li Ming.

It must be that Your Majesty's unparalleled benevolence moved all the officials and boosted the morale of the officialdom.

Just when the foreign ministers felt the warmth of the Ming Dynasty's political arena and began to actively think for His Majesty.

The "local gang" only felt the cruelty of His Majesty Li Ming.

In Your Majesty's hands, officials have as much power as they have obligations.

By analogy, being second only to one person and above ten thousand people almost means shouldering the responsibility of the whole country.

The word "Prime Minister" is like a golden hoop!

As long as you wear it, it means endless work to do, endless responsibilities to shoulder, and days off that are always visible but untouchable...

How horrible, how horrible!

It is no wonder that Prime Minister Fang and Prime Minister Zhangsun were giving way to each other.

They are shirking their official positions, but this is simply a thunderbolt!
Political struggle is so terrifying!
…………

The ministers left the State Council one after another, got on their carriages, and went back to their homes in the heavy rain, their minds full of work.

Everything is as usual.

Little did they know that an incident was brewing inside the State Council.

"Brother Ming, I just heard a lot of people running anxiously in the corridor.

"What happened? Is there any danger?"

Yuchi Xunyu did not leave the banquet hall, but stayed. As soon as the ministers left, he could not wait to come to the dragon couch.

Just now, he indeed heard some strange noise outside.

But it was suppressed by Li Ming and was not exposed.

"The chief eunuch just reported this to me." Li Ming slowly stood up from the couch and said calmly:

"The Shangshi Bureau is on fire."

"How did the fire start?" Yuchi Xunyu immediately became alert.

Although the word "kitchen" has the character "fire" in its name, the Shangshi Bureau is not an ordinary kitchen.

The concern here is of great importance, so the guarding is very strict.

"Don't worry too much, the fire was quickly put out. So I didn't alarm anyone."

Seeing the worried look on Yuchi Xunyu's dark face, Li Ming comforted him calmly.

If a major accident that was difficult to control occurred, it would not be the turn of the Grand Chamberlain to report it, because His Majesty Li Ming's imperial guards would have rushed in at the first opportunity.

However, not only did the loyal guards not come in, the palace servants who were putting out the fire also deliberately lowered their footsteps for fear of alarming the guests.

This means that the matter is not serious.

This is also why Li Ming stopped Yuchi Xunyu with his eyes and used other excuses to get away with it.

There is no need to alarm the ministers because of this accident which is under control.

Especially the ministers who had just jumped from Chang'an.

If they were to show their disdain in public on their first day at work, there's no guarantee that those old foxes, who have temporarily kept quiet, would not become disloyal again.

"Was it put out quickly?"

Yuchi Xunyu kept repeating it in a low voice, but he didn't feel relaxed at all.

If it was an accident, then the problem it reflects would be serious.

Although the State Council Office is outside the forbidden area of ​​the Imperial Palace, its security level is no less stringent.

Under such strict supervision, if an accident could still happen.

This shows that the Ming Dynasty’s degree of organization has begun to decline significantly.

If it wasn't an accident...

Haha, then the problem is even bigger.

“It’s not an accident.”

Li Ming said calmly:
“When the incident happened, the imperial chefs were busy at the stove, and the fire did not come from the stove.

"The fire started in the woodshed."

"The woodshed..." Yuchi Xunyu pondered, his face very serious.

It was possible that mistakes could be made in other parts of the kitchen and a fire could start accidentally, but this was absolutely impossible in the woodshed.

Because the woodroom is just a warehouse, it is not busy when cooking, and few people come in and out, let alone bring sparks in.

“According to the guards’ report, the woodshed was not struck by lightning.

"So, this fire was man-made."

Li Ming said.

Yuchi Xunyu asked almost subconsciously:

"Who will it be?"

"Who knows?" Li Ming shrugged.

We are back to the classic question: How many people want Li Ming’s head?
The answer is, too many to count.

Aristocratic families, emerging landlords, Tang Dynasty veterans, barbarian spies...

Even the lone wolf actions of war widows.

If we only consider the motive for the crime, there are too many targets.

Yuchi Xunyu hesitated for a while, but still asked the question:

"Could it be Li Chengqian, Li Zhi, or... someone else in the palace?"

For example, a certain imperial concubine, for example...the emperor emeritus.

To be honest, launching an assassination is the only feasible way for the loser group to make a comeback.

Li Ming still has affection for his grandfather and brother, but what about the other party?
Li Ming put his finger to his lips and hushed:
"Before you have solid evidence, you should not doubt or accuse others at will."

Otherwise, the court will be plunged into a bloody storm and fall into a spiral of political purges.

"The incident must be contained within a controllable scope and investigated in secret."

Yuchi Xunyu immediately became alert:

"Shall I check?"

Behind him, a voice sounded faintly:
"not me."

The charcoal-haired man frowned and turned away.

Standing in front of me was a gentle and elegant young man, who was slightly bent over and even looked a little inferior.

He suspected that he could send the other person flying with just a sneeze.

"Di Renjie?" Yuchi Xunyu frowned.

This guy didn’t go back home and stayed here?

When did he start standing behind me?

I didn't even notice it...

Various thoughts kept emerging in Yuchi Xunyu's mind.

(End of this chapter)