At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

Xia Yun stayed in the Ninth Prince's Mansion until about ten o'clock in the evening.

As they were about to part, he and Xiao Yan talked about many things. In addition to their own matters, they also talked about the internal and external troubles of the Daliang Dynasty.

The external threat naturally came from the foreign tribes on the northern and western borders, and the internal threat came from the Japanese pirates along the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian.

Xia Yun gave his own opinions on all these issues.

Even when they walked out of the gate of the Ninth Prince's Palace, Xiao Yan, who had seen them off all the way, still had a look of wanting more on his face.

"Brother Xia, we say goodbye today. Take care of yourselves. When you arrive in Beijing in the future, I will definitely drink with you all night long!"

Xia Yun's various insights on the current situation gave him great inspiration.

If he wasn't going to lead his troops to war tomorrow, he would really like to keep Xia Yun in the mansion.

"We bid farewell here. I wish His Majesty a successful battle in the Northern Frontier!"

Xia Yun clasped his hands together and performed the farewell ceremony.

Soon, under the dim moonlight, Xia Yun's figure completely disappeared from the sight of everyone in the Ninth Prince's Palace.

But after leaving the Ninth Prince's Mansion, Xia Yun did not go directly back to the Xia Mansion.

On the way, Xia Yun met Zhang Chunlei who was about to go to Xia Mansion again to report the news.

It turned out to be the Zhili Governor Zhao Gongming, who had also left the imperial city and returned to his residence in the capital.

Xia Yun then, under the leadership of Zhang Chunlei, came to Zhao Gongming's mansion.

As luck would have it, the Zhao Mansion was actually only about four or five streets away from the Xia Mansion.

When Xia Yun appeared in Zhao's mansion, Zhao Gongming had been waiting for a long time.

"Master Xia, I hope you are doing well since we last met in Changshan!"

The moment he saw Xia Yun, Zhao Gongming took the initiative to step forward and greet him.

"Master Zhao, you are joking. We haven't seen each other for just a few days. How can you talk about your elegance?"

Xia Yun laughed.

From the last time the two met in Zhili to today, less than ten days have actually passed.

"Haha, Lord Xia, I have already prepared some drinks, let's take our seats!"

Zhao Gongming has a heroic posture and a loud laughter.

"Xia Mou respectfully obeys your command."

Xia Yun readily agreed.

To be honest, after being busy all day, he was a little hungry.

So, in the lobby of Zhao's mansion, servants immediately brought a table of delicious dishes.

"You all go down."

In order to make it more convenient to talk to Xia Yun, Zhao Gongming sent away all the servants in the hall.

It was at this time that Zhao Gongming's face suddenly turned gloomy without any warning.

The playful expression on Xia Yun's face also disappeared.

"I have read the letter that the Governor wrote to me. Thank you for telling me the truth."

This time, Xia Yun spoke first and broke the silence.

"In the case of the assassination in Zhili, those people did it very secretly. After Lord Xia left, this governor tracked it down day and night, but could only finally find the butler in Xu Miao's mansion."

"The group of assassins who were originally imprisoned in the dungeon of the headquarters all died of poisoning in prison not long after Lord Xia left. I think those assassins must have taken some kind of slow-acting poison."

Zhao Gongming's voice was very gloomy, and in his eyes there was a murderous aura that was almost tangible.

Hearing this, Xia Yun nodded.

At this time, he already knew what Zhao Gongming mentioned to him from the letter.

Speaking of which, Xu Miao is indeed a ruthless person.

When Zhao Gongming found out that the assassination was related to Xu Miao's housekeeper, the housekeeper fell seriously ill and died the next day.

Such cruel means are enough to prove Xu Miao's ruthlessness.

"Master Zhao, don't worry about it. It's over. I'm still alive. I'll have plenty of time to play with the young elder in the future."

Perhaps feeling that the atmosphere was too depressing, a smile suddenly appeared on Xia Yun's face.

"Mr. Xia has such an open mind. I admire him."

Zhao Gongming nodded, and the gloomy expression on his face finally eased a little.

When he focused his gaze on Xia Yun, a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

"Haha, it's just that every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor."

Xia Yun smiled.

He knew very well that the reason why Zhao Gongming investigated the case so seriously was mainly to clear himself of suspicion.

After all, the assassination took place in Zhili, and there were hundreds of assassins.

If it were anyone else, they would probably point the finger directly at Zhao Gongming.

But Xia Yun was a very experienced man. Since leaving Changshan City, he had never doubted Zhao Gongming again.

"Come on, Master Xia, let Zhao offer you a drink!"

As he spoke, Zhao Gongming raised his glass.

"it is good!"

Xia Yun smiled.

After the two clinked their glasses, they drank the drinks in their glasses at the same time.

"Speaking of which, Xu Miao is known as the Little Elder, but in reality he is nothing at all."

After drinking a glass of wine, Zhao Gongming's words gradually became more exaggerated.

"Oh? What do you mean, Lord Zhao?"

Xia Yun raised his eyebrows.

Judging from his current understanding of the court and the Zhili officialdom, the Xu family was extremely powerful in the Daliang Dynasty.

Nearly half of the officials in the court were Xu Jinsong's disciples.

Among the people in the provinces outside the capital, there is even a rumor about "Xu Banchao's theory."

"Humph, Xu Miao is just a dandy boy. His methods may seem cruel, but they are actually full of loopholes."

"After all, the real tiger is still Lord Xu."

When the three words "Lord Xu" were mentioned, a complicated look appeared in Zhao Gongming's eyes.

"What kind of person does Lord Xia think Lord Xu is?"

Suddenly, Zhao Gongming shifted his gaze to Xia Yun again, and their eyes met.

"The late emperor entrusted his son to an important minister, who has great power in the government and the country, and can cover the whole world with one hand?"

Xia Yun was not sure what Zhao Gongming meant by asking this question, he could only try his best to express his impression of Xu Jinsong.

Even so, he hasn't even seen Xu Jinsong since coming to Beijing this time.

According to the rules for local officials to report to the capital, Xia Yun should have entered the court to meet the emperor tomorrow.

But the Tatars suddenly invaded Changchun and Shenyang, which indirectly caused him to miss the opportunity to see Xu Jinsong.

"Master Xia, I don't know."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"If my Daliang Dynasty chooses a person who is absolutely loyal to Your Majesty and absolutely loyal to the imperial power."

"Then it must be none other than Lord Xu Jinsong!"

Zhao Gongming placed the wine glass on the table with a loud bang.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Yun immediately became alert.

Judging from what he had heard before, Xu Jinsong's image was undoubtedly that of a powerful official who was half loyal and half treacherous.

This was the first time he heard Zhao Gongming's evaluation of Xu Jinsong.

"Xu Jinsong has been sitting firmly in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet for twenty years, relying on his absolute loyalty to the emperor. This was the case during the reign of the previous emperor, and it is still the case during the reign of the current empress."

Zhao Gongming continued to speak.