Su Baiqing was summoned by his servant, and he was led into the main hall of the palace with a feeling of uneasiness.
Su Baiqing was wearing a thin lining, and the tied thorns on his back pricked his skin and made it stained with blood. He looked at Liu Mingzhi, who was at the top with a dull expression, and then at the more than 20 generals and generals sitting on both sides of the main hall.
Su Baiqing said deep down that he wasn't nervous, that would be a lie.
The three-chamber joint trial doesn't have this kind of posture.
"Su Baiqing, the last general, has met with the commander-in-chief and all of you brothers."
Liu Mingzhi looked at the thorns behind Su Baiqing in surprise, and glanced thoughtfully at the faces of Cheng Kai, Zhou Baoyu and others, and he suddenly understood something in his heart.
However, Liu Mingzhi did not reveal anything, nor did he let Su Baiqing untie the thorns from his back. He gently turned the ring on his thumb. Liu Mingzhi looked at Su Baiqing's embarrassed look and smiled lightly.
You can't tell that he is laughing from his heart, but that he is laughing out of anger.
"Su Baiqing, I want to ask you, has Ren Wenyue, the head of the state, really reached the point where he can make all the changes in the court now?"
"ah?"
Su Baiqing looked at Liu Mingzhi in astonishment, never expecting that he would ask such a question. Shouldn't he be asking why he and others came to join forces in time by putting on a formation that was more terrifying than the three-party interrogation?
"What? You don't know?"
Su Baiqing came back to his senses, shook his head and nodded: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, when I was in the capital, the brothers who had been staying at the new army camp to train Dragon Eagle Riders rarely stepped into the court hall, but I
Although the general is far away in the camp on the outskirts of the city, he has heard about the affairs of the father-in-law Ren Wenyue."
"Oh? If you heard something, tell me everything you know without any concealment!"
"Yes, the general will take your orders."
"This matter started after the commander-in-chief led the troops to the expedition. The father-in-law Ren Wenyue was originally the governor of Chengzhou. Later, due to your majesty's post-election, his daughter Ren Qingrui was fortunate enough to be selected by your majesty...
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Queen Ren Qingrui's bedside affair was fierce, and Ren Wenyue gradually began to grasp some real power in the court from a mere abbot.
Later, with the support of Queen Ren Qingrui, Ren Wenyue gradually began to suppress dissidents and serve others for his own selfish purposes. Some important officials in the court repeatedly tolerated it because of Queen Ren Qingrui, but they did not expect that Ren Wenyue was decisive in his methods and had the intention to push further.
At first, many important ministers in the court, adhering to the idea of one emperor and one minister, did not want to refute the new emperor Li Ye's face too much, and tolerated everything. Unexpectedly, Ren Wenyue not only had no intention of restraining, but secretly made friends with officials and wooed his subordinates.
Gradually it grew out of control.
Even the senior ministers of the dynasty, such as Wei Yong, Jiang Yuanming, minister of the Ministry of Rites, minister of the Ministry of War, minister of the Ministry of Punishments, minister of Taipu Temple, etc. were forced to retire early and retire from officialdom as a last resort.
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Even Song Yu, the Minister of War, was suppressed in his hands because of the recruitment of new soldiers.
The reason why the food and grass matter was delayed and the successor was difficult to support was precisely because Jiang Yuanming, the Minister of Household Affairs, retired from office. Many officials wanted to take up this banner, but no one accepted it.
Later, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue even remained vacant for two months.
It was about the food and grass needed by hundreds of thousands of troops, and the two ministers on the left and right of the Ministry of Revenue did not dare to make their own decisions. They did not have the confidence of their immediate boss Jiang Yuanming, who had to sell iron and steel to get the food and grass needed by the Northern Expedition.
The matter came to a standstill.
The most important thing is that officials focused on the official positions of Jiang Yuanming and others after they retired from the court. They were busy fighting for power and had no time to take care of food and grass matters.
If it weren't for the documents urging food and grass from Northern Xinjiang to come one after another like snowflakes, finally Xia Gongming, the imperial censor, Xiangtong Tong think twice, Song Yu, the minister of the Ministry of War, admonished the Qinzheng Palace, please come to court to deal with the matter, civil and military officials
Only then did he realize that he had forgotten about this incident.
Ren Qingrui didn't know what kind of ecstasy drug was given to Li Ye, and he actually asked Ren Wenyue, a relative of the family, to temporarily take the position of Minister of Household Affairs. Although Ren Wenyue had a bad reputation, his methods were still admirable. He actually managed to put together a batch of goods in a short time.
Food and grass were transported to northern Xinjiang in time.
Not long after the first batch of grain and grass had set off, Ren Wenyue began to prepare the second batch of grain and grass. Under the escort of 300,000 new troops, the troops and grain and grass were transported to northern Xinjiang.
When Ren Wenyue was desperately gathering food and fodder, he threatened in the palace that no matter how peaceful he was, he could not delay the great cause of the Northern Expedition, which was carried out by the king and the generals on the left and right.
Even if you risk your life, you have to gather all the food and grass. You can't let the soldiers go hungry to fight for the country.
For a time, Ren Wenyue said these words for whatever reason, he really gathered the food and grass, and with this, he won over a large number of people's hearts.
Many officials in the court also gradually realized that Ren Wenyue was able to influence everything in the court, not only because his daughter Ren Qingrui was the current mother of the country.
Its own capabilities also account for a large part.
Otherwise, he would not be sitting in the position of governor of Chengzhou.
Nowadays, although there are still right ministers and senior ministers such as imperial ministers and officials above the court who can compete with them, Ren Wenyue's power above the court has reached the point where no one is afraid.
Liu Mingzhi held the tea cup in his hand blankly, looking at Su Baiqing who had already kept silent, knowing that he had finished telling what he knew.
Liu Mingzhi frowned and drank a cup of tea: "Forget it, Old Jiang! Prime Minister Wei is one of the five auxiliary ministers appointed by Emperor Ruizong, and even he was run away by the bastard Ren Wenyue?"
"As the auxiliary minister appointed by Emperor Ruizong, let alone the bastard king of Wenyue, even the current Empress Dowager has to be a bit polite. How can he still have the ability to turn over rivers and seas when he is appointed Wenyue? Even the auxiliary minister is not
Take it seriously."
Su Baiqing shook his head silently: "The matter of Wei Xiangzhi's retirement from officialdom is no longer a secret in the capital. As for the specific process, I don't know the details, but I have heard that the Queen's help was indispensable."
"Now your Majesty only has one woman, the Queen, and I heard that your Majesty loves her very much!"
"This is also what I heard from you, and I don't know the specific reason."
Liu Mingzhi played with the tea cup in his hand and nodded clearly: "No wonder the capital was like an iron barrel during that time, and no news could be spread. It turned out that it was busy fighting for power and profit, and busy with party struggles."
Song Qing on the side heard that there was something about his father Song Yu, the coldness in his eyes flashed away, and he hesitated for a moment and looked at Young Master Liu.
"Commander, there is something you don't know whether to say or not?"
Liu Mingzhi raised his eyebrows: "We brothers can't say anything, but it doesn't hurt to say it."
"Commander, listen to what brother Bai Qing just said, Ren Wen... the abbot of the country will risk his life to provide us with food and supplies for the expedition. No matter what his purpose is, the general feels that he is so
It seems that I am deliberately trying to show my favor to you, the commander-in-chief!"
Liu Mingzhi frowned slightly and murmured.
"Are you showing your kindness to me?"
Liu Mingzhi poured himself a cup of herbal tea, turned it in his hands, and suddenly fell silent.
He began to analyze every word Su Baiqing said in detail in his mind.