Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 170: The South Wind Makes the Sound of Autumn

When Song Laoshi returned to Fengweilou, Luxi, Danniang and Qingtang were playing mahjong in the yard.

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival. Dan Niang said that she is alone and wants to spend it with her sister Luxi.

Luxi was such a kind person, and they were close friends, so he readily agreed.

Now that "Song Family Flavor Restaurant" has grown to a certain scale, Luxi no longer needs to worry about everything.

As for Dan Niang, after resolving the problems with her natal and in-laws' families and confirming that the store was under her control, she also made drastic adjustments and hired a professional manager.

This way, she could make some time, so she often made appointments with Luxi to go out together.

Today I invite you to go boating on the West Lake, and tomorrow you can come find me, Qingshi Diaoshen, and Qingtang. We are three little sisters and get along very well.

As soon as Father Song entered the yard, he saw his daughter's face was covered with small notes, leaving only a pair of bright big eyes exposed, and she was smiling like a little fool.

Old Man Song was immediately furious.

He already knew exactly who Dan Niang was and why she approached his daughter.

If he hadn't seen that Dan Niang was a good girl and knew how to care for her daughter, he would have cut her with a knife and destroyed her.

But my silly daughter still thinks he is a good person, really...

"Sister Danniang, you are amazing. You can remember the cards, right? I can't remember them, and I don't want to remember them. I get a headache when I remember them..."

Luxi chuckled.

Ok?
Old Man Song stopped. He heard a very sensitive name: sister!

"My girl, how can you call Miss Danniang sister?"

Old Man Song began to preach righteously.

Lu Xi pushed aside the small pieces of paper on his face, his eyes blank: "Why not?"

"Because..., you can't just recognize your sister casually! You should call her young lady."

"Hey, I'm pretty familiar with Sister Dan Niang, right?"

Qingtang nodded hurriedly: "Of course, I still call Luxi sister."

Dan Niang said to Old Man Song tenderly, "I get along very well with Miss Lu Xi, and we are like sisters. Dan Niang is only a few years older than Lu Xi Chi, so I accept her calling me sister. Old Man Song, you don't have to treat Dan Niang as a guest, otherwise, I will be embarrassed to visit you in the future."

"Well..., it's good that the young lady doesn't think that my daughter Menglang is good."

Old Man Song didn't know what to say. He dealt more with enemies and too little with women.

Once he couldn't draw his sword, he didn't have many tricks left, so he just responded casually and walked into the house with a sour face.

You can yell all you want, but if you dare to take my daughter's seat, dammit!

……

Inside the Xuande Hall, Mu Engong, the official in charge of the Imperial City Department, stood in front of Emperor Zhao.

He has reported all the investigation results to the emperor.

Emperor Zhao said coldly, "How did the Jin people who delivered the letter get all the way from Jin to Lin'an?"

"According to my investigation, this person first took the sea route. He arrived in Song territory quietly on a smuggling ship that traveled between Song and Jin."

"And the Maritime Court Judge Li Lin had already been bribed by them and had issued a number of passes for them."

Emperor Zhao asked again, "So, what role did the National Trust Office play in this?"

"On the surface, there is no solid evidence to prove Guo Xin's involvement. But... Zhang Dingbang, whom Guo Xin worships, once appeared at Yongshan Wharf."

"And that pirate, who used to go by the names Ju Huaguan and Guan Hao, whose real name is unknown, left from Longshan Wharf on that day. My Imperial City Division also ambushed him at Longshan Warehouse on that day."

"Li Rong, the former official of the National Trust Office, died in the meeting hall of the inner house of Qiyun Society. This Qiyun Society is the lair of the traitor Di Jiuzhou and others."

Zhao Gou nodded and asked, "Why did Mu Si, the new official of Guoxin Office, appear at Hening Gate?"

"Mu Si said that there were many misunderstandings with my Imperial City Division, so she wanted to collude with the Imperial City Division and made an appointment with Commander Cao to meet there."

Zhao Gou asked, "Did Li Defu, who colluded with the insiders and outsiders and passed the secret letter into the palace, ever ask for help from Mu Si?"

"Yes, but Mu Si ignored him."

"Haha, seeing that Li Defu has been captured, he naturally wants to clear himself!" Zhao Gou sneered and silently rethought the whole incident in his mind.

This Zhao Guanjia, who once had nothing but the title of Grand Marshal of the Army, was able to gradually gain control of all the military leaders with heavy troops on the mountaintops. Naturally, he was a man of great scheming and wisdom.

From the information submitted to him by the Imperial City Bureau, he has already seen many things hidden underneath.

Someone wants to take advantage of him!

He wants to use his knife to sharpen the handle of his own knife!

Who wants to sharpen the handle of his knife?

Naturally, whoever benefits the most is that person.

What's more, he knew exactly who was behind Guoxin Institute.

This really doesn't leave him any way out!

Military power is his last guarantee!
If this line of defense cannot be maintained, then the change of dynasty will not be far away.

Emperor Zhao, who could no longer bear it, couldn't help but reveal a murderous look in his eyes!
Zhao Gou narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a while, then asked: "Will Qin Hui go to the 'Tide-Playing Conference' on August 18th?" The imperial city protects the center, and the machines quickly explore all directions.

The Imperial City Division was in charge of the court's security during the Lin'an Tide-Ridden Conference, so the names of the important officials who would be attending had already been reported to Mu En, and he knew all of them.

Mu En replied, "Prime Minister Qin has sent a message saying that he is ill and cannot attend."

Zhao Gou uttered a sarcastic remark: "Yes, Qin Hui is too old now. He doesn't even have the energy to attend the court meetings, so he naturally won't go to Qiantang River to watch the tide."

Zhao Gou tapped the imperial desk with his fingers, thought for a while, and said, "Mu En, you have written it down."

"Yes!"

Mu En bowed slightly and perked up.

"On August 18, when we watch the Qiantang tide, find a way to place Yang Cunzhong, Zhao Mi, Cheng Min, Li Bong, Qian Duanli, and Zhang Yun by my side."

Yang Cunzhong, Zhao Mi, Cheng Min and Li Bang were the commander-in-chief and three great generals of the imperial guards.

Qian Duanli was the sixth-generation grandson of King Qian Chu of Wuyue and the son of Duke Rong Qian Chen.

Now he is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Privy Councilor, but most importantly, he is the local boss of Lin'an.

The Qian family's reputation, influence in the Lin'an area, and potential power among the people are unmatched.

Zhang Yun had served in local positions for many years, and had also been in charge of financial affairs in the court, and had also been in charge of criminal justice, and had also been in charge of grain transport and maritime trade. When Yang Mao and Huang Cheng rebelled in Hubei, he led his troops to the city of Dingzhou, controlled the upper and lower parts, and resisted the rebels.

This person is a versatile person. He is good at literature and martial arts, and he understands economics, criminal justice, maritime trade, and finance...

Mu En just told Emperor Zhao that the Maritime Customs had been infiltrated by the Jin people. Now that the Emperor suddenly mentioned Zhang Yun, I'm afraid he's going to...

As for the people mentioned above, if Your Majesty wants to take some action in Lin'an, he cannot do without soldiers, money, and the cooperation of Qian Duanli, the local tyrant in the Wu Yue region.

Your Majesty, this is going to be a big move!

However, if all these people were summoned into the palace to discuss matters, I am afraid that Qin Hui would know the news before they arrived.

Taking advantage of the tide-watching event, the emperor, his concubines, and all the civil and military officials in the court went to the Qiantang River to watch the tide. In such a crowded and bustling scene, if he wanted to contact a few people and discuss something secretly, it would be less conspicuous.

Mu En secretly memorized the names of these people, acknowledged them first, and then went back to think about how to arrange them cleverly without being abrupt.

Zhao Gou added: "Li Xianzhong, Liu Qi, Ling Jingxia, Wang Yingchen, Jin Anjie, these are all old ministers whom I haven't seen for a long time. Let's ask them to go to Qiantang to watch the tide. While it's lively, I will meet them all and show my sympathy to these old ministers."

Mu En hurriedly said respectfully: "Your Majesty, your grace is great!"

Although Mu En remained expressionless, there was a storm of turmoil in his heart.

Because the identities of the people mentioned by Emperor Zhao are more sensitive than those mentioned above.

Li Xianzhong, born in a military family, joined the army to fight against the Jin Dynasty at the age of 17. Later, he was trapped and surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, and defeated the Western Xia Dynasty many times for the Jin Dynasty.

In the eighth year of Shaoxing, he designed a plan to capture Wanyan Gao, the general of the Jin Kingdom, with the intention of returning to the Song Dynasty. However, he was caught up by the Jin army and had to release Wanyan Gao, thus gaining a chance to delay his attack.

But it was too late for him to return south to the Song Dynasty, so he turned to Western Xia.

Xixia was naturally overjoyed at the surrender of such a famous general.

But Li Xianzhong always had his heart in the Song Dynasty. The next year, he finally found an opportunity and led his troops back to the Song Dynasty.

After that, he continued to fight against the Jin army and made many military achievements.

However, six years ago, Li Xianzhong offended Qin Hui by proposing to restore the Central Plains, and was thus relegated to home.

Now, is the government going to re-employ him?
And there are Liu Qi, Ling Jingxia, Wang Yingchen, Jin Anjie...

These court officials included both civil and military officials, but they all had two things in common:
First, they have long experience and outstanding talents, and as soon as they come out, they can immediately stand on their own.

Second, they were all unemployed at home because they had offended Qin Hui, and some of them had been unemployed for sixteen or seventeen years.

Now, is this going to be reactivated?

It seems that Qin Hui's attempt to get involved in the Imperial Guards really frightened His Majesty...

Zhao Gou was now shocked, afraid and hated Qin Hui.

However, Qin Hui had held power for many years and had many followers.

The Privy Council, which controlled the country's military power, was in the hands of his son Qin Hui.

Although Zhao Gou had been on guard early on and used the Mechanical Speed ​​Room to contain Qin Hui, Qin Hui was nominally the Privy Councilor after all.

Even if Zhao Gou wanted to take action against Qin Hui, he could not do it hastily and had to plan slowly.

While Zhao Gou was thinking about countermeasures and people who could be used, he gave instructions to Yu Muen.

Finally, he looked at Mu En deeply again and said, "Smuggling between Song and Jin has become more rampant recently. The Maritime Customs should be responsible for this matter. Since the Maritime Customs is rotten, then you, the Imperial City Department, should investigate it thoroughly."

"I obey your order. However, my Imperial City Department has a rule that we cannot leave Lin'an City..."

"Then ask the 'Speed ​​Room' to send someone to assist you."

Even though Zhao Gou was the emperor, he could do nothing about it. If he allowed the Imperial City Division to leave Lin'an, the scholars and officials would be furious.

Not only Qin Hui's faction, but all civil and military officials will oppose it.

"promise!"

Mu En bowed and slowly retreated!
He knew that the stagnant water would soon become turbulent, and some boats would be dragged under the water...

(End of this chapter)