Sheng Hong was taken out to dinner by King Yong. King Yong also invited a large group of officials to accompany him. During the dinner, he regarded Sheng Hong as his good brother and introduced him to everyone.
Sheng Hong, a sixth-grade official, had never received such treatment. He himself was a little confused and didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in King Yong's gourd.
When he was about to leave, King Yong gave Sheng Hong a box and asked him to take it home to Mrs. Sheng.
Sheng Hong wanted to refuse, but King Yong didn't give him any chance to refuse.
After returning home, Sheng Hong opened the box and saw that it was a thousand-year-old ginseng.
This kind of heavy gift was too hot for Sheng Hong to handle, so he hurried to Shou'an Hall to find the old lady and discuss what King Yong meant by this.
Mrs. Sheng was also a little confused. Logically speaking, Prince Yong was a prince, so there was no reason to give Sheng Hong such a heavy gift. On the other hand, Sheng Hong's gift to him was almost the same.
The old lady vaguely realized that King Yong's move had nothing to do with Sheng Hong, and after thinking about it, only Wang Gang was left.
Sheng Hong quickly called Wang Gang to Shou'antang for questioning.
As soon as Wang saw the Millennium Ginseng, he understood that this was King Yong's expression of goodwill, and it should be to thank him for overthrowing the commander of the imperial army.
"Since it was given by King Yong, father, just take it!" Wang Gang said nonchalantly.
The old lady is a human spirit, and as soon as she heard this, she knew that Wang Gang and King Yong must have some kind of relationship in private.
"Feng'er, have you taken refuge with King Yong?" Mrs. Sheng asked directly.
Sheng Hong was shocked. He came to the capital to become a minor official just to avoid the fight for the right to inherit the throne. Unexpectedly, his son jumped in on his own initiative.
"Grandma is joking, who am I? Who am I qualified to seek refuge with King Yong?" Wang Gang said with a smile.
Mrs. Sheng and Sheng Hong then thought about it. Who is King Yong? How could Wang Gang, a small official, be of service to him?
"Father, you took a gift from King Yong today, and you may be embarrassed by the officials tomorrow. You must be mentally prepared." Wang Gang reminded Sheng Hong.
Sheng Hong wondered: "What does King Yong's gift to me have to do with the official family?"
Mrs. Sheng had already thought of something and looked at Wang Gang with a somewhat complicated expression.
Wang Gang explained to Sheng Hong: "My father has never taken sides before. He belongs to the Qingliu lineage. Although his official position is small, he is safe.
But if you accept a gift from King Yong, many people will think that you have taken refuge with King Yong. Naturally, the officials do not want King Yong to become more and more powerful in the court. Since they cannot defeat King Yong, it is natural for the father to be unlucky."
Sheng Hong thought about it and broke out in a cold sweat, saying, "How about I return the gift tomorrow."
Old Mrs. Sheng said angrily: "If you take everything back and then take it back, how can King Yong lose his face?"
Sheng Hong was sweating profusely and asked the old lady: "Mom, what should I do? If I had known, I shouldn't have returned to the capital."
Mrs. Sheng sighed and said: "Take one step at a time, there is no way out now."
The next day, the officials found a small mistake and scolded Sheng Hong severely, deducting half a year's salary from him.
King Yong also begged for mercy for Sheng Hong, but the officials scolded King Yong even more fiercely and made him and Sheng Hong kneel for an hour.
Sheng Hong knelt for a long time and could not get up. King Yong was disgraced by the officials in public, and his face looked ugly.
The ministers in the court have also been silent these days.
First, King Yan's right-hand man, the commander of the imperial army, was kicked off by King Yong, and then some officials took advantage of Sheng Hong's small mistake to slap King Yong in the face.
The changes in the court were so rapid that even Prime Minister Han Qi did not dare to get involved.
After Sheng Hong returned home, he complained to the old lady. On the other hand, Wang Gang also received an invitation from King Yong.
In the same room in Fan Tower, Wang Gang met King Yong again, but this time King Yong's attitude towards Wang Gang was much better.
"Nephew Shengxian, please take a seat quickly." King Yong warmly invited Wang Gang to take a seat, and even the title changed.
"My lord, it seems that you already believe that I have the ability to give you a white hat." Wang Gang said with a confident smile.
"Nephew Shengxian is really very capable. He can even get the handle of the commander of the imperial army. Even the Imperial City Secretary of the official family doesn't know that Gao Tan is a fake." King Yong laughed.
Wang Gang raised the corner of his mouth and said proudly: "Actually, it's nothing. Making money is secondary to doing business these years. I used the sales channels of Liuli Ping to establish an intelligence organization."
King Yong was stunned for a moment. He probably didn't expect Wang Gang to be so frank and talk about the intelligence organization in such an understatement.
However, the more powerful Wang Gang is, the more advantageous it will be for him to seize the throne.
"My dear nephew, are the officials really not prepared to let either me or King Yan become the emperor?" King Yong asked.
Wang Gang said: "The current official has been on the throne for forty years, and he has mastered the art of checks and balances. He sits back and watches the prince and King Yan become bigger. His purpose is to balance the situation of the court.
But the official family never lets you and King Yan touch the military power. In fact, it is very clear that you are not the candidate in his mind."
King Yong is a smart man and he understands the key immediately.
"Which prince has military power in his hands will be the future prince."
Wang Gang raised the corner of his mouth and nodded: "Yes, the prince may not be loved by the courtiers, but he must not be without power, especially military power.
Because no matter how much trouble there is in the capital in the future, as long as the military power is in hand, we can bring order to the chaos and secure the throne."
King Yong stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his expression changing, because he already knew the candidate for the future heir apparent.
There were many princes in the Song Dynasty, but only one had an army and was suitable to be crown prince, and that was the eighth prince Zhao Zongquan.
Zhao Zongquan was appointed as the crown prince by the official family many years ago. Later, because of the birth of the official son, Zhao Zongquan voluntarily resigned from the position of crown prince and went to live abroad.
In order to compensate Zhao Zongquan, the officials allowed his palace to recruit troops privately, in the name of suppressing bandits.
In this way, Zhao Zongquan became the only prince with military power.
More importantly, although Zhao Zongquan resigned as prince, he was still regarded as an adopted son of the official family and was still in the royal family tree.
Once the official family died and there was no heir apparent, Zhao Zongquan was the legitimate heir.
The name was justified and he had soldiers in his hands. The more King Yong thought about it, the more wrong he became, but he did not dare to completely believe that he had been completely defeated.
"Impossible. Since the officials like the Eighth Prince, why don't they call him back to the capital?"
Wang Gang replied: "It is precisely because you and King Yan are in the capital that the officials do not want to find King Yan.
You two kings have been fighting for power for many years, and you have so much power that even the officials have to take care of it. Prince Yan even secretly bribed the commander of the imperial army. If the prince were an official, how could he dare to recall the prince to the capital."
King Yong snorted coldly: "The officials are afraid that the Eighth Prince will return to the court and become the target of King Yan and I. He really loves this adopted son."
Wang Gang said: "King Yan should have figured it out earlier than the prince, so he has been recruiting troops and horses during this period, buying off the commanders of the forbidden army externally, and wooing Concubine Rong internally. His focus is to change the dynasty."
King Yong was really anxious now and asked: "My dear nephew, what should I do now?"
Wang Gang said confidently: "King Yan loses the command of the forbidden army, and he loses the capital to rebel. He should not take any action in a short period of time. This period is the prince's opportunity."
King Yong frowned and said, "You want me to rebel?"
Wang Gang asked back: "Is the prince really willing to submit to others?"
King Yong shook his head.
Wang Gang continued: "No matter who ascends the throne, it is impossible to accommodate the prince and the prince. The prince should understand this!
When fighting for the heir apparent, there is no turning back. If you don’t become an emperor, you will become a ghost.”
King Yong was finally moved.
"I just want to rebel, but I don't have any soldiers!"
Wang Gang said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as you have money, you will have soldiers. I can help you."
King Yong's eyes lit up and he asked, "It's not easy to raise an army."
Wang Gang smiled and said: "It seems that the prince still doesn't believe me. Your army in Shu has already been established!"
King Yong was shocked because Wang Gang revealed his biggest secret in one sentence.
"How did you know?" King Yong now felt that Wang Gang was terrible. If such a person is not a friend, he must be killed.
"Although what the prince does is secretive, a large amount of money from the prince's palace flows into Shu every year, so it can be easily detected."
In fact, King Yong also understood that fighting for the throne was impossible without troops, so he secretly trained an army and hid it in Shu, disguised as bandits. There were about five thousand people.
It wasn't that King Yong didn't want to hide more troops, but that raising an army cost too much money. Even with the financial resources of the palace, he couldn't raise an army of ten thousand people.
"If you can trust me, Your Majesty, I will pay for all the expenses of the army from now on." Wang Gang's voice was like the temptation of the devil.
"Seriously?" King Yong said happily.
The hundreds of thousands of mountains in Shu can hide tens of thousands of people. As long as the money problem is solved, everything will be easy to handle.
"If my nephew can really help me succeed, the position of prime minister in the future will definitely belong to my nephew." King Yong began to draw the pie.
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "My qualifications are too low. Even if I have the talent of the Prime Minister, I still can't hold the position of Prime Minister. Your Majesty just needs to give me the Minister of Household Affairs."
When Wang Gang made the request, King Yong felt more at ease.
"Okay, when this king takes the throne, my nephew will be my Minister of Household Affairs."
