Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Brother, do you mean someone did this on purpose? If so, then it can only be Fang La."

Xu Guanzhong and Xiao Jiasui reacted quickly.

"I'm just guessing. After all, I don't think Assistant Li would cause trouble at this time. You know, that guy is no less capable than you guys."

Ren Yuan shared his opinion.

"It seems that it was because of Tian Hu's matter that Fang La suddenly had a new idea."

After a moment's thought, Xiao Jiahui had an idea.

"I guess Fang La is planning to have similar acts of treason appear in both our families and Wang Qing's family, so that the court and the three families will go to war at the same time. This way, the three families will be bogged down in a quagmire with the court, while giving him more time to develop."

"And if that's the case, brother, I think Fang La might make one of these for us too."

Zhu Wu also said to Ren Yuan, "Brother, this kind of thing is a hot potato. We need to be more careful. I suggest setting up more observation posts near Liangshan to prevent Fang La's side from sending people to fish in troubled waters."

"Yes, and brother, we also need to be careful of Wang Qing. After the 'Tiger Devours the Moon' incident, Wang Qing has gained a lot of public support in Huaixi. If the local officials in Huaixi report this to the imperial court, Wang Qing might drag us down with him."

Xu Guanzhong expressed regret over Wang Qing's being framed this time, because such blatant auspicious omens and open conspiracies are particularly difficult to clarify in this era. Even if Wang Qing did not openly rebel, he would still be targeted by the court.

And indeed, just as the Liangshan strategists had guessed, Wang Qing and the entire Huaixi region were doing their utmost to suppress the spread of this rumor.

I heard that the strategist Li Zhu personally took action, leading the killing of many people who spread rumors and suppressing those with ill intentions with swift and decisive measures, which finally put the matter to rest.

"Strategist, even if we don't acknowledge the Tiger Devouring the Moon phenomenon, do we really need to suppress it like this?"

Wang Qing has been watching Li Zhu kill people these past few days, and he's become numb to it all.

At first, he also thought this auspicious omen was a good thing.

After all, Tian Hu suddenly became king. Although everyone knew that it was just a makeshift operation, he was still king, and people would always feel that they were being overshadowed by him.

So these two auspicious omens in a row made Wang Qing feel that he might be able to do it too.

Look, that bastard Tian Hu dares to call himself king even without any auspicious omens. I have auspicious omens, so even if I don't call myself king, am I still more impressive than Tian Hu?

As a result, several important figures under his command, Li Zhu, Du Xue, and Liu Min, strongly opposed the spread of this so-called auspicious news. Wang Qing had no choice but to order Li Zhu to personally suppress the rumors.

However, the characteristic of rumors is that they spread very quickly. Although Wang Qing's side reacted very quickly, some of the rumors still got out.

A few days later, in Bianjing (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song Dynasty.

"You damned bastard! Tian Hu just declared himself king, and now another Wang Qing with auspicious omens has appeared. Is this still my empire? Huh?"

In the imperial court, Zhao Ji, of course, continued to rage!

"Tell me, what's wrong with these people? Why don't they just enjoy their peaceful lives and instead choose to oppose the imperial court!"

"Am I not doing a good enough job? Wasn't it said that the world was at peace? Then can someone tell me why this auspicious omen appeared in Huaixi?"

"Your Majesty, I have also heard about this matter, but it seems that the news is untrue. There is no intention to rebel in the Huaixi region. It is just that some people are deliberately spreading rumors."

Cai Jing stepped forward, but this time, he came out to plead for Huai Xi.

This is not Cai Jing's fault. After Wang Qing occupied the Huaixi region, Wang Qing also engaged in the private salt trade, which brought in huge profits every year. He really took a lot of money and bribed many Huaixi officials. These officials were basically Cai Jing's subordinates, so they would naturally give Cai Jing benefits.

For Cai Jing, Huaixi was his secret stash of money.

"Grand Tutor, are you saying this is a misunderstanding?"

Emperor Huizong was somewhat surprised, because he trusted Cai Jing implicitly and greatly admired Cai Jing's ability to handle political affairs.

"Your Majesty, I dare not say whether this is a misunderstanding or not, but I know the officials of Huaixi well. They are all fair and honest people. Although they may not be particularly talented, they are reliable and steady. I believe that they will not allow such trouble to occur in Huaixi."

Cai Jing spoke earnestly and with a very sincere attitude. Although some people in the court had different opinions, no one dared to speak at this moment.

"Grand Tutor, surely such a thing can't be baseless? I think it's necessary to go to Huaixi to investigate the situation."

Although Zhao Ji felt that Cai Jing's words made sense, his intuition told him that the matter was not so simple and that it was best to investigate.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. This old minister also believes that it is appropriate to go to Huaixi for an inspection."

Cai Jing affirmed Zhao Ji's idea, and then began calling out names again:

"In my opinion, Grand Commandant Gao is very suitable to go on this inspection tour to Huaixi."

Gao Qiu: !!!!=????(?o?o?)?

What? It's me again?

I'm not going to Huaixi!

That place is very dangerous!

Cai Jing, you old dog, you have no morals whatsoever! And I've been sending you so many things lately!

Refund! Refund!

"Your Majesty, I have recently caught a cold and am not feeling well, so I am not suitable to conduct inspections."

Gao Qiu quickly stepped forward to decline, while simultaneously giving Cai Jing a meaningful look:

"Grand Tutor, have I offended you recently? Why are you calling me again?"

Cai Jing returned his gaze with an apologetic look:

"Sorry, I'm used to it."

"Oh, Minister Gao is ill? Is it serious? Should we summon the imperial physician?"

Upon hearing that his little follower was ill, Zhao Ji was quite anxious. If he hadn't been in court, he probably would have gone directly to Gao Qiu to inquire about his condition.

After all, Gao Qiu had been a very close friend of his when he was still the Prince of Duan; he was a true confidant!

"Your Majesty, this is a minor illness, nothing serious, but it came at an inopportune time, delaying my ability to share Your Majesty's burdens. I am ashamed!"

Gao Qiu quickly put on a tearful expression, and anyone who didn't know the situation would definitely think it was a harmonious scene between the emperor and his subject.

"Your Majesty, since Grand Commandant Gao is ill, this old minister has another candidate in mind."

Seeing that Gao Qiu had already said so, Cai Jing stopped dwelling on the issue and directly recommended another person to Zhao Ji!

"Oh, I wonder who the other person the Grand Tutor is referring to is?"

Emperor Huizong listened to Cai Jing speak with great interest.

"As the saying goes, one should not avoid recommending relatives when choosing a worthy person. This time, the old minister wants to recommend the current prefect of Daming Prefecture, who is also the old minister's son-in-law, Liang Shijie."

Cai Jing directly recommended Liang Zhongshu!

"During his time as the prefect of Daming Prefecture, Shijie worked diligently and made many contributions, governing Daming Prefecture very well. This old minister believes that he can go to Huaixi for an inspection."

"But he still has to guard Daming Prefecture, right?"

Emperor Huizong smiled and asked Cai Jing.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, thanks to Your Majesty's great blessings, the people of Daming Prefecture live in peace and prosperity, and no one picks up lost items at night. This time, Shijie will be sent to inspect Huaixi on behalf of the Emperor, and the trip will not last long. We only need to have him leave some people in Daming Prefecture to guard the area."

"Yes, Grand Tutor's words are very reasonable. Guards, draft an imperial decree to allow Liang Shijie to travel to Huaixi on behalf of Heaven and see if this rumor is true!"