Xie Xun's words also attracted Emperor Qi's attention as expected.
He couldn't help but think about what Xie Xun said.
Xie Xun was right. The reason why he suppressed Xie Xun's military power was because he felt that all military power was concentrated in Xie Xun's hands, which made him very uneasy.
After all, how can someone else sleep soundly on the side of the bed?
But dividing this power between Lao Si and Xiao Shan, the left prime minister behind him, is not the same.
This military power is even more dangerous than in Xie Xun's hands.
Although Xie Xun's reputation is now at its peak, he doesn't like to form cliques. Although some courtiers in the court showed their liking for him, they were not seen recruiting him.
Most of the courtiers admired him and have not yet joined his camp.
And Xie Xun seemed to be only interested in military matters. Looking at it, he couldn't tell which people among the six departments were Xie Xun's party members.
But the fourth child and the left prime minister are different.
Lao Si is good at scheming, and even he knows many of his officials, big and small.
Coupled with the support of the left prime minister, the only thing they are weaker than Xie Xun is that they have no control over military power.
Now that he has given away some of his military power, doesn't it mean that for Lao Si and Xiao Shan, both the civil and military forces have power?
As a result, Emperor Qi had to be wary——
Did he make a mistake by giving part of the control of the Imperial City Army to Xiao Shan's men?
Emperor Qi was suspicious by nature. Once the seeds of doubt were planted in his heart, the matter would remain in his mind for a long time.
After Xie Xun returned home, he told Qin Rushuang what happened today.
Qin Rushuang naturally agreed with his approach.
"Your Majesty, this is a good move."
"First let His Majesty show fear and suspicion towards Xiao Shan, and the military power will become a hot potato. When we negotiate with Xiao Shan, it will not be so distressing to give him the military power of the Imperial City Army, and it may be easier."
"After all, he has supported the fourth child for so many years, isn't it just to push the fourth child to the throne? While ensuring that the fourth child will not be implicated in the poisoning incident, he has left the imperial city army as a hot potato to the prince, and maybe he can still
I feel like I made a good move."
Qin Rushuang's guess was correct.
In the next few days, Xiao Shan clearly felt that Emperor Qi's attitude towards him had changed.
In particular, Emperor Qi mentioned the matter of the Imperial City Army several times. He said lightly, "The Prime Minister Zuo is now capable of both literary and military skills, and has managed the Imperial City Army in an orderly manner." This made Xiao Shan feel a chill in his heart.
It seems that Emperor Qi was afraid of his excessive power.
Xie Yang still didn't give out the results of the case investigation. Xiao Shan couldn't sit still and took the initiative to go to Prince Huai's Mansion for the first time to pay his respects.
On the day she received the greeting card, Qin Rushuang looked at the greeting card in her hand and smiled lightly, then handed it to Xie Xun.
"Everything is as we speculated. The prince can just ask him for the military power of the Imperial City Army."
Xie Xun nodded and said to Qin Rushuang, "I'm going to Prime Minister Zuo's mansion tomorrow. Do you want to go with me?"
Qin Rushuang thought for a while, but shook her head.
"I won't go. This matter has been finalized. It should be done sooner rather than later. The prince will first take over the military power of the Imperial City Army. Although I still don't know who is behind this, but he and the fourth prince have to wait and see.
Before making a deal over there, intercept this benefit first."
The next day, Xie Xun went to Xiaoshan Mansion as promised.
Xiaoshan has been running the court for many years and is very resourceful. He has countless gold and silver treasures in his mansion, but his mansion is decorated in a very low-key manner, without any luxury.
Even most of the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall were written by him himself, and some were gifts from colleagues. There was no work by a famous artist.
Xie Xun took a few glances and said meaningfully, "The left prime minister is really incorruptible."
Xiao Shan smiled, said nothing, and poured a cup of tea for Xie Xun himself.
"I invited the prince to the mansion because I want to talk to him about the military power of the imperial city."
"To be honest, Your Majesty, ever since Your Majesty handed over part of the control of the Imperial City Army to my incompetent disciple, I have had trouble sleeping and eating."
"His achievements are not as good as those of the prince's lieutenants. I am afraid that he will make some mistakes. After thinking about it, this imperial city army has the heavy responsibility of protecting the imperial city. My incompetent disciples may not be able to shoulder the responsibility. I am afraid that I will not be able to do it."
I need to trouble the prince to take full control of it."
"As long as the prince goes to speak to his majesty, I will give him full military power. By the way, the fourth son has offended the prince in some places before, and please forgive me. The friend of the fourth brother who was a guest in Prince Huai's mansion also made a lot of troubles.
It's day, it's time to go back to the fourth child."
Xie Xun understood clearly that Xiao Shan wanted to use the military power of the Imperial City Army in exchange for the poisonous informant.
Xie Xun smiled and said, "What did Zuo Xiang say? Since the Imperial City Army was handed over to Zuo Xiang's favorite disciple, no mistakes have been made. Naturally, I have no reason to take over. But if Zuo Xiang feels
The Imperial City Army has become a hot potato, so something must have happened to the Imperial City Army. It is only reasonable for me to teach your favorite disciple a thing or two."
The words of these two people were all playing tricks.
Xiao Shan's intention was to let Xie Xun take the initiative to go to Emperor Qi and ask for control of the Imperial City Army.
Although he felt distressed, he also knew that after Emperor Qi became afraid, he would not be able to hold on to the military power for much longer. In this case, it would be better to let Xie Xun get it.
In this way, he could not only get rid of this hot potato, but also arouse Emperor Qi's fear of Xie Xun.
But Xie Xun was not fooled.
How could he agree to this good idea from Xiao Shan?
Want him to take over the Imperial City Army? Yes, but only if his protégé makes a mistake first, allowing him to naturally take over the mess.
Xie Xun's attitude was tough, and Xiao Shan said it several times, but the two still didn't reach an agreement.
Xie Xun stood up and said, "It seems that the left prime minister is not sincere today. The friend of the fourth prince likes the scenery in Prince Huai's palace very much. It seems that he will have to stay for a few more days before returning to the palace for duty."
He emphasized the word "in the palace" very strongly, and the threat was self-evident.
Hearing this, Xiao Shan became anxious and hurriedly stood up and said: "My lord, wait a minute!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "In that case, then do as the prince says, and please keep your promise!"
Xie Xun nodded, "Then Prime Minister Zuo, let me see your sincerity first. Within two days, I can take over the imperial city army, or I can let the fourth prince's friends return to the fourth prince. But if the deadline is exceeded
, then it’s too late to wait.”
The more Xie Xun looked confident, the more Xiao Shan believed in what he said.
And Xie Xun's threats were indeed effective.
He had just returned to Prince Huai's Mansion and had just changed his clothes. Someone had already come to report.
It was said that the deputy general who was in charge of the Imperial City Army openly slept with prostitutes in broad daylight and even injured people in a brothel.
He happened to meet a court official who was furious and threatened to impeach him the next day.
Xie Xun nodded, indicating that he understood.
Xiaoshan's movements are really fast, and the reason for his choice is good.
An official engaged in prostitution and even injured someone. This would not kill his protégé, but he could be easily removed from his original position on the charge of dereliction of duty.
When the time comes, if you have your own people on top, you will be safe.
After receiving this good news, Xie Xun was in a good mood and couldn't help but ask the old housekeeper beside him, "Where is the princess?"
He couldn't wait to share the news with Qin Rushuang.
The old housekeeper looked a little embarrassed and said: "After the princess had lunch, she was originally bringing the little grandson in the palace, but suddenly someone came to invite the princess in a hurry. The princess looked not very well, so she handed the child to the wet nurse and hurriedly
out."
"Oh, by the way, before the princess left, she asked the old slave for some banknotes. I don't know why she went there."
