Cao Yong said sternly, "Yong, I will follow your Highness's lead!"

"it is good."

Li Che stood up and looked at Cao Yong seriously:

"The first thing I want to tell you is that you cannot follow anyone else's orders except His Majesty!"

Hearing Li Che's words, Cao Yong was confused.

Li Che ignored him and continued:

"You have never understood the true nature of the Jinyiwei. The Jinyiwei is not the imperial government, the Ministry of Justice, or the city guards. It's not even a law enforcement agency in Daqing."

"To put it nicely, you are the emperor's personal soldiers. To put it bluntly, you are my father's servants. Your loyalty belongs only to my father."

"As long as the Emperor is still alive, you must be loyal to him. Even if the Emperor is gone, you can only be loyal to the next Emperor."

Li Che stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes like a hawk: "Loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely not loyal!"

Cao Yong stood there as if struck by lightning.

What Li Che revealed was very simple. The only meaning of the Jinyiwei's existence was to be loyal to the emperor!

They cannot get involved in court struggles. If they join any side, they will be the emperor's natural lackeys.

"Others are afraid of offending the civil service clique, but you are not afraid! Others are afraid of offending the aristocratic families, but you are not afraid either! Others are afraid of offending the founding military heroes, but you must not be afraid!"

"You, the Jinyiwei, don't rely on those officials for promotion. Your future and wealth depend only on the emperor's will. When you do anything, you only need to consider him!"

Seeing Cao Yong looking thoughtful, Li Che pointed outside and continued:

"Not only that, you must also annoy those officials, constantly oppose them, and make your reputation rotten to the ground."

"You have to make yourself a lone minister. Not just you, but all the Jinyiwei are lone ministers!"

Cao Yong said in shock, "If that's the case, wouldn't my Jinyiwei be the target of public outcry?"

Li Che sneered: "What do you think the officials now think of you Jinyiwei?"

"Waste! Lackey! A bloodsucking worm who relied on his parents' merits to rise to power!"

"You want others to hate and fear you, but they are afraid of you and dare not provoke you at all."

"Or do you want people to despise and disdain you, completely ignore you, and treat you as nothing more than palace guard dogs?"

Cao Yong gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I want the former!"

"That's right." Li Che showed a teachable smile, "Remember, fear is also a way to gain respect."

"I understand." Cao Yong's eyes were filled with determination. "Thank you, Your Highness, for clearing up my confusion!"

"Ah."

Li Che replied and took a sip of the hot tea in his cup.

He raised his head and looked outside. Feeling that the time was almost up, he stood up and said, "When I see my father later, I will propose to resign as the commander of the Jinyiwei and recommend you to him."

"Whether you can seize this opportunity depends on you. I can't help you much."

Cao Yong said respectfully, "I understand."

Li Che nodded slightly and looked at Li Lin who was deep in thought: "Fourth brother, it's almost time, let's go."

The two men left the Jinyiwei's office and walked towards the Xuanzheng Hall.

Both of them were dressed in royal robes and walked with dignity. Even though they had no followers to lead the way, people along the way still subconsciously made way for them.

All the civil and military officials turned their gazes and whispered:

"I wonder which princes these two are?"

"Hush! Keep your voice down! The stronger one is Prince Yan, and the better-looking one is Prince Feng!"

"Hiss... Is this Prince Feng? He doesn't look like a fierce person?"

"Don't come near. Prince Feng just got into big trouble. Perhaps His Majesty will punish him today."

A group of civil officials were whispering to each other. Facing these two princes with the most martial virtues in Daqing, no one dared to approach them.

Li Che and the other man had no intention of getting acquainted with this group of people. They swaggered through the crowd and walked in front of the ministers.

The further you go, the higher the status of the people you meet.

Soon, many nobles and core members of Prince Feng's party saw the two princes and came over.

"Greetings to the two princes."

"Marquis Pingjiang is polite."

"I hope you are well, Sixth Prince."

"Chen Yehou, long time no see."

"Hey? Didn't we meet at Heming Tower a few days ago? We drank wine and played with girls together..."

"Ahem... Chen Yehou, please speak more quietly, more quietly."

The nobles remained the same as before. Besides respecting Li Che and the other two, they also felt close to them.

These warriors are like this. Although they may be corrupt, go to brothels, and drink the blood of soldiers... they will also treat people more warmly and it will not be tiring to deal with them.

Just as Li Che was smiling and greeting everyone one by one, a young man suddenly squeezed through the crowd and came up to him.

"Your Highness!" The young man stood in front of Li Che with excitement, "Your Highness."

"Oh?" Li Che looked down and immediately laughed, "It's Duanli. Your brother also came back with me. Have you seen him?"

The person who came was Huo Duanxiao's younger brother Huo Duanli. After returning from Fengguo, he was personally appointed by Emperor Qing as the head of the Gunpowder Bureau.

Although his official position was not high, he was a close minister to the prince and was qualified to attend court meetings.

"Your Highness, my brother has never returned home."

"It's my fault." Li Che said apologetically, "I'll give Zhengze a day off tomorrow and let him go home and have a good rest."

"Thank you, Your Highness." After thanking him, Huo Duanli winked at Li Che and whispered, "Your Highness, my father is here too."

"Oh?" Li Che raised his head and looked behind the crowd following Huo Duanli's gaze.

An old man with white hair and beard was standing quietly in the distance. Although he had his eyes closed to rest, his powerful aura formed a blank area around him. Other court officials did not dare to approach rashly.

The Right Prime Minister of Daqing, Huo Tao!

Li Che knew in his heart that this veteran of three dynasties was his greatest ally in the court, and this was their first meeting.

Without hesitation, he strode over and bowed, "Right Prime Minister."

Huo Tao slowly opened his eyes, a gentle smile on his face: "It turns out to be His Highness the Sixth Prince. This old minister pays his respects to His Highness."

Li Che quickly supported Huo Tao's hand and said, "Don't blame me, Right Prime Minister. I should have paid a visit to your residence after returning to the capital, but I was busy with other matters and then was confined by my father, so I haven't been able to find time."

Huo Tao smiled gently and said, "Your Highness, this is wrong. It is I, the old minister, who should go and pay my respects to Your Highness."

Huo Tao seemed to be too old. He took a deep breath and continued, "Your Highness, I have seen everything you have done in recent days. You did the right thing."

Li Che smiled bitterly: "I am sorry to see this, Right Prime Minister. I have just returned to the capital and I have caused trouble..."

"Young people are not afraid of causing trouble." Huo Tao looked at Li Che meaningfully. "As the saying goes, no one is perfect. Even Your Highness shouldn't be perfect, right?"

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