Ye Yongjia put down the chessboard, turned around and opened the door. He saw that the man was wearing a plain brown short coat and had a short figure. He was indeed Chen Tongpao. Without saying any pleasantries, he bowed and saluted, and invited the latter in.
Room.
"It's really God's will!" Tongpao Chen returned the greeting and stepped over the threshold with a smile. "I think it was here that you and I started our official career. But now we are high and powerful, but we are cold.
How can people not be filled with emotion after losing the passion and painstaking efforts of the past..."
When Ye Yongjia saw that he came here specially, he must not only be reminiscing about old times, but also have other intentions. So he continued what Chen Tongpao said: "The past is gone, why be sentimental! Why don't we two play a game of chess here and talk while we're there?"
, how?”
Tongpao Chen understood his intention and agreed: "This is a good recipe for calming one's mind. I really want it!"
Ye Yongjia then placed the chessboard on the table. With all the black and white stones ready, he asked his colleagues to play first.
"I am not here just to express my feelings," Chen Tongpao held the chess piece in his hand and slowly moved it down, "but there is something that Gao Shangshu and I are asking for your help."
"Is it related to Liu Zhennian?" Ye Yongjia grabbed a chess piece.
"You guessed it right. Su Zongshan had already abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side before, and came to join us. I was thinking at that time, could I take this opportunity to bring down the Liu Party in one fell swoop? Now their strength is not as strong as before, and they are gradually gaining strength.
The momentum of decline is like that of a dying person, only one last blow is left. It would be a pity if this is not grasped."
Ye Yongjia pondered for a moment and pressed the chess piece firmly on the chessboard: "As long as you can unseat Liu Thief, Ye will be willing to listen to your arrangements. But I don't want to participate in the sectarian dispute between you. I have no objection to cliques."
Interested. If you have anything to say, it doesn’t hurt to tell me."
A smile appeared on Tongpao Chen's face: "I know your temper, and of course I won't involve you. All you need to do is say a word, and the matter will turn around."
Ye Yongjia glanced at him in surprise.
Seeing that he remained silent, Chen Tongpao continued to explain: "Except for me and Gao Shangshu, most people still regard you as the Liu Party. Tomorrow when you go to Kaifeng Mansion, the Liu Party will summon all the officials in the hall.
Discussion, if he has a step-by-step plan, you
He just said, "Corruption and cronyism should be prioritized and calculated separately." No matter what answer he gave, he would have fallen into our trap. If he got straight to the point and named Zongshan by name, you would be in trouble.
Don't say anything, we have our own way of dealing with it."
"Isn't it just a simple sentence?" Ye Yongjia said with a sneer, "I just do as I say. Okay, it's your turn to take action."
Tongpao Chen picked up a chess piece and was about to concentrate on playing the game. Unexpectedly, the door panel behind him was suddenly knocked several times. He quickly put aside the chess game and stood up to open the door. He saw an old man in civilian clothes standing outside, gasping for breath.
He was so excited that his face turned red with anxiety.
"May I ask if Su Shenzheng is here?" The old man rubbed his hands anxiously, as if he was about to rub out sparks.
"Not here. What do you want from him?" Chen Tongpao was very puzzled.
"I am a doctor nearby. I heard that Su Shenzheng has fallen into evil traps and I am in urgent need of treatment!" He stamped his foot again.
"The doctor! The doctor!"
Lu Zhixian suddenly appeared in the corridor in the distance and shouted to the old man, "I will lead you there!"
The doctor no longer bothered to talk to Tongpao Chen, turned around in a hurry, jumped down the steps in two steps, and rushed towards the opposite side.
The two men immediately broke into Su Zongshan's house and saw Mr. Shen Zheng rolling his eyes, gritting his teeth, and had passed out. The doctor hurriedly asked his attendants to lift him up, opened his lips, and drank the medicine. After a while, he gradually regained consciousness.
.
Su Zongshan opened his eyes, spat out a mouthful of blood, shook his head and looked at the two of them.
"Master Su! What's wrong with you?" Lu Zhixian grabbed his hand and asked.
Su Zongshan breathed out a faint breath and sighed: "I have been restless recently, and I have been traveling all day long, and I am exhausted. Naturally, I fell into this evil... It seems that I can't go to Kaifeng. Can Liu Xiangtong be allowed to go to Kaifeng?"
Melt one or two?"
Such shocking words came out of Lu Zhixian's mouth, which caught Lu Zhixian by surprise. He subconsciously retracted his arms, supported the bed board and stood up. However, he still controlled his fear in time, raised his eyebrows slightly, and glanced at the doctor with his peripheral vision.
: "Old sir, please go out for a moment."
The old man didn't dare to disobey his orders, so he packed up all his belongings, tucked them under his side, and walked away quietly.
"Are you crazy?" Lu Zhixian looked up to the sky and sighed, "Liu Zhennian has always been suspicious of you. If you show up like this again, people will only say that you have a guilty conscience. Doesn't that make you guilty of cultivating cliques?"
Su Zongshan coughed twice violently, and while he was calming down, he said: "Lu Shangshu, once I enter Kaifeng City and the files are checked by Liu Thief, I will not be able to escape the death penalty... Doubt or disbelief, no matter what, it is the same."
If he dies, it's better to try his luck and test him."
Lu Zhixian was confused and disapproved: "What is this..."
"You don't know the details of this group of people in the imperial court as well as I do," Su Zongshan interrupted him directly, "Go and do it quickly... Otherwise, I will die here immediately!"
After listening to Lu Zhixian's request, Liu Zhennian further understood Su Zongshan's true face. But after he was happy for a while, he realized that this was not such a good thing. On the contrary, Su Zongshan gave him a
Dilemma: If he forces Su Zongshan to set off while sick, not only will he
It will attract confusion from the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, and it will even alarm the group of party members, who may use this act of incitement to distort the purpose of their trip; if they stay here, a funny phenomenon will appear in Kaifeng Mansion -
—The imperial court wanted to try the principal criminal with great fanfare, but the principal criminal was not present.
Liu Zhennian had no choice but to raise this issue to Niu Yuan, who quickly made a choice for him, that is, to keep him. Niu Yuan changed his usual radical attitude and instead believed that the current situation could no longer apply the "catch them all" approach.
The plan should be mainly to appease the ministers, and not to disturb people's hearts and make the public opinion divided, giving the old party an opportunity to take advantage of. Liu Zhennian greatly appreciated this idea and praised Niu Yuan for learning the lessons of failure and in the future
The deed should be no small thing.
Therefore, Liu Zhennian approved Su Zongshan's recuperation while sick. Such a common treatment certainly did not stir up a lot of waves. The officials still ate and slept when they needed to, basically suppressing the situation that was about to break out.
So, after reorganizing at the post station for a night, the team set off as usual, leaving only three or five followers to look after Su Zongshan, the political advisor; the rest changed to fast horses, gathered enough energy and ran towards Kaifeng - not far away, only