Li Shenfu was an experienced man and immediately understood Fang Jun's intention, which made him hesitate.
The original intention of his plan was to use Fang Yizhi's life to anger Fang Jun, causing Fang Jun to attack the clan in a rage. As long as the blood of the clan's children is contaminated, the conflict between the two parties will be irreconcilable, and His Majesty will have to help Fang Jun.
, choose one side from the clan to support.
Everyone knows that for His Majesty at this stage, stability is the prerequisite for all government affairs, and stability comes from the clan.
Although the two consecutive mutinies were inextricably linked to the clan, the clan was the strongest foundation of imperial power anyway - without the clan, how could the emperor maintain his position as a lonely man?
No matter how rebellious the clan was, they were still the emperor's staunchest supporters.
In contrast, even if Fang Jun once helped Li Chengqian ascend to the throne, at this stage, the weight of the clan is far higher than that of Fang Jun.
As long as Li Chengqian chooses to support the clan, the gap between him and Fang Jun will not be bridged. The two parties will gradually drift apart, and the clan will gradually replace Fang Jun's power and status.
However, now Fang Jun is retreating in order to advance, pushing the problem onto himself, how should he deal with it?
After swallowing this breath, I have lost all face. The reputation accumulated over decades has been lost. How will I call on the clan in the future?
By refusing to back down, you are creating conflicts on your own. Even if His Majesty wants to support you, you cannot support him. This directly leads to conflicts between Your Majesty and the clan, which is contrary to the original intention...
He couldn't help but glance at Fang Jun suspiciously. He had always thought that this guy was just someone who dared to fight and had good luck, but he lacked the skills of strategizing. Now it seems that he was mistaken. He was clearly a
Old fox.
Weighing the pros and cons, Li Shenfu can only be unlucky.
"Let's put this matter aside. Although Fang Yizhi's assassination has nothing to do with me, I feel the same for Fang Junzhi, so he came to the door rashly and humiliated me. I will not be held accountable. Everything is based on the overall situation."
Li Xiaogong glanced at Li Yuanjia and saw that he had lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes and did not intend to speak. He also knew that the matter was involved with him and was unable to express his position, so he asked Fang Jun: "The king of Xiangyi County is the founding hero of the country, and he has a high seniority. In total, he is
My elders, how about we just drop this matter?"
Fang Jun said calmly: "The prince of Hejian County has great prestige. Logically speaking, I should give you this face. However, the two parties involved in this matter are honorary ministers and clan members. They have nothing to do with you."
Not looking at Li Xiaogong's ugly face, he turned to Li Yuanjia: "His Royal Highness the King of Han is Zong Zhengqing. He has unshirkable responsibility for this matter and cannot avoid it. I wonder what you say?"
Li Yuanjia scolded this brother-in-law over and over again in his heart, saying that he couldn't beat him, otherwise he would just take this guy out and give him a beating...
Do you have to involve me?
But as Fang Jun said, as long as Fang Jun holds on to this matter, he, Zong Zhengqing, can't run away even if he wants to. If he doesn't handle it well, Fang Jun will never let it go.
However, His Majesty's intention was very clear to him, which was to put things to rest...
He simply hesitated for a moment, then left the table, took two steps back, bowed his hands to the ground, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I am a humble minister with little talent, little knowledge, and insufficient moral standing. He has been occupying the position of Zong Zhengqing for many years but has been unable to appease the clan.
, I have acted fairly and failed the late Emperor and His Majesty's entrustment. I am sincere, frightened, and guilty, so I resign from the post of Zong Zhengqing and ask Your Majesty to choose another worthy person."
Fang Jun's eyes widened and he cursed in his mind: This guy looks sanctimonious, but he doesn't know he is so cunning and shrinks from the battle?
Li Xiaogong secretly praised: Good method!
Li Chengqian hurriedly said: "If Uncle Wang sincerely resigns, how can I not agree? However, Zong Zhengqing's position is so noble and powerful, how can I find a suitable candidate to replace him in such a hurry? This matter needs long-term consideration."
Then, he looked at Fang Jun.
Now that Zong Zhengqing has resigned, and for an uncertain period of time in the future, it is very likely that Zong Zhengqing's position will remain vacant. Without Zong Zhengqing, who would you complain to?
Fang Jun never expected that it would be like this. After thinking about it, he said: "Although Zong Zhengqing is vacant, there is still Dali Temple..."
Halfway through the words, Li Xiaogong shook his head and sighed: "If the Minister of Dali Temple also resigns, what will you do?"
Fang Jun: "..."
He laughed angrily and said helplessly: "So the assassination of my brother will not be pursued, right?"
Li Xiaogong said: "Does the Prince of Xiangyi County have anything to say?"
It is obvious that Li Shenfu is involved in this matter. Now for the sake of overall stability, Li Chengqian, Li Xiaogong, and Li Yuanjia even used a rogue method to force Fang Jun to give up the investigation. But as the party involved, you Li Shenfu really didn't show any expression at all.
?
Li Shenfu could only say: "After I return, I urge the Gaoping County Prince to give a satisfactory explanation to the Fang family."
This matter can only end here, otherwise if it continues, His Majesty will hate Li Shenfu, completely deviating from the original intention, and the entire plan will be deeply affected. This is an absolutely unacceptable situation.
As for how the Gaoping County Prince's Palace should give an explanation to the Fang family...if they want to kill or behead them, that's all up to you.
Li Chengqian said: "Are Erlang satisfied?"
Fang Jun had nothing to say. Fang Yi was still alive, so this matter was over. We should stop it in moderation. If it continues, it would be what Li Shenfu wanted: "Your Majesty is arbitrary in everything, and all ministers must obey his orders."
"
Li Chengqian felt relieved when he saw that Fang Jun was willing to back down, but he also knew the secret behind Fang Yizhi's assassination, so he warned Li Shenfu: "Let Li Daoli come to apologize in person. If I can't get the Fang family's forgiveness, I won't give up."
Don't think that I don't know anything and can only be at your mercy. It's you who did the matter. No matter what the cost, you have to settle the matter yourself.
Li Shenfu was helpless: "Old minister, I obey the order."
It's not possible to kill Li Shaokang, but the massive bleeding in the Gaoping County Prince's Mansion is certain. I just don't know how much meat Fang Jun can bite off with this bite. Thinking about it makes me feel sorry for the Gaoping County Prince...
*****
"What did you say?"
After getting up early and taking a shower before having breakfast, Li Daoli was shocked by the news reported by the steward.
"Informing the Prince of the County, Fang Jun forced his way into the Prince's Mansion of Xiangyi County in the middle of the night. After smashing it and smashing it, he set fire to the main hall of the Prince's Mansion. The flames soared into the sky and most of Chang'an City could see clearly, but he didn't know why. Then Li
Jun Xian arrived and conveyed His Majesty's decree, summoning Li Shenfu and Fang Jun into the palace, while Li Demao and Li Wenjian went to the Hejian County Prince's Palace and the Han Prince's Palace respectively. What happened is not yet known."
"broken!"
Li Daoli's heart skipped a beat.
What other reason could there be? Fang Jun dared to knock on the door so brazenly and set fire to the main hall of Xiangyi County Prince's Mansion. The only reason could only be that the assassination of Fang Yizhi had been leaked.
But until now, Li Shenfu has entered the palace, and Li Demao and Li Wenjian have gone to Li Xiaogong's and Li Yuanjia's houses respectively, apparently begging them to make peace and settle the matter, but they still haven't received any news from their side.
Regardless of whether the assassination of Fang Yizhi is successful or not, since Fang Jun knows about it, it means that the operation has been exposed, and the person responsible for organizing the assassination is his grandson Li Shaokang, who will definitely bear the brunt, but he does not know what the current situation is?
A sense of fear made Li Daoli feel uneasy. Something seemed not quite right...
His son Li Jingshu walked in quickly from outside. Before he reached him, he said loudly: "Father, I just heard that some navy soldiers returned from Japan last night and stayed at the south dock of the city. Fang Er left the city at midnight and ran to Dongshi to buy some.
Taking a coffin out of the city and arriving at the dock, does it have anything to do with Shaokang?"
How could he not be worried that his son was performing such sinister things in the Japanese country? Therefore, he usually arranged a lot of people to inquire about the Fang family's activities. I thought that as long as Fang Yizhi was assassinated, the Fang family would be in chaos. We can know the details.
situation.
After all, the Japanese country is far away from the mountains and the ocean, so it is really inconvenient for the family to send news. However, because the Fang family has navy to communicate with them, the news can be delivered much faster...
When I woke up early and heard the news, I felt something was not good, so I hurriedly came to discuss it with my father, Li Daoli.
Li Dao stood at attention and was worried, sitting on pins and needles. Hearing this, he immediately shouted: "No! Shaokang must have returned to Chang'an and fell into the hands of Fang Er. Otherwise, if he didn't have such a handle, how could Fang Er dare to attack the Xiangyi County Prince's Mansion and set it on fire?"
Burn down the main hall of the county prince's palace? Shaokang is in danger!"
"ah?!"
Li Jingshu didn't know that Fang Jun had killed the prince of Xiangyi County in the middle of the night. She was stunned for a moment. When the steward explained it to him in detail, she suddenly panicked: "Oh no, no, no, it must be that the Japanese affairs were exposed. Shaokang was accidentally killed."
Capture, what should I do?"
Li Shaokang used his family's property in the Japanese country to lay out a strategy to assassinate Fang Jun, and was responsible for the secret execution. It was Li Shenfu's people who took action. Logically speaking, the treasure would not be leaked in any case, but once it was leaked, he would face Fang Jun directly.
of anger.
The key question now is not why Li Shaokang leaked his secrets despite being so secretive, but whether Fang Yi died or not.
If Fang Yizhi does not die, Fang Er will definitely have a bottom line no matter how angry he is. Even if Li Shaokang falls into his hands, he will not be killed.
But if Fang Yizhi was already dead, with Fang Jun's temper, he might be able to peel off Li Shaokang's skin and bones and light a sky lantern.
Think again that Fang Jun brought a coffin before leaving the city...
Li Jingshu's legs were numb. He was only such a son: "Father, hurry up and enter the palace. No matter what, please ask Your Majesty to come forward and persuade Fang Er to let Shaokang go. Besides, Fang Er and Li Shenfu entering the palace must be a confrontation in front of the emperor. Let's
Rush over and explain the matter clearly. The mastermind behind the scenes is Li Shenfu, how can we let Shaokang pay for Fang Yizhi's life?"
But Li Daoli angrily scolded: "You are confused! What's the use of going to the palace now? Gather all the people at home, let's go out of the city to the dock immediately, find Shaokang while Fang Jun is away, and bring him back!"
He felt that no matter how violent Fang Jun was and how eager he was to avenge his brother, he should not kill Li Shaokang so recklessly. At the very least, he should ask if there was a mastermind behind the scenes, right?
There is still a chance to go to the dock to rescue people now, but if the argument between Fang Jun and Li Shenfu ends, who knows whether Li Shenfu will sell Li Shaokang? What if His Majesty also chooses to convict Li Shaokang in order to calm the situation?