Li Zhen solved the problem of the nine admirals and did not enter the palace immediately. Instead, he led a group of soldiers and headed towards the Shangshu Mansion. When they came to the gate, the soldiers guarding the gate did not stop him and turned back to the mansion to report.
Li Zhen entered the hall and found Guiliang already sitting in the hall.
Guiliang smoothed his gray beard and said with a smile: "The good son-in-law has returned to the court. Good, good. This time the good son-in-law tried to mediate in the Jiangbei camp, and his methods were amazing. First, the bandits were defeated, and then Yang Xiuqing was captured." Wei Changhui was also killed, and even Shi Dakai, the bandit king, fled away. He thought, you did a very good job and did not disgrace me. Sit down."
Li Zhen sat down as instructed and said nothing.
Guiliang looked at Li Zhen eagerly, waiting for Li Zhen to speak. He praised Li Zhen and gave Li Zhen a step down first, and an introduction, so that Li Zhen could talk about recent events.
However, Li Zhen didn't speak, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"Little Fox."
Seeing Li Zhen not speaking for a long time, Guiliang cursed secretly in his heart.
According to Guiliang's plan, he wanted Li Zhen to tell him what happened recently and the difficulties he encountered. However, Guiliang remained unmoved and sat in front of him as if nothing had happened. Guiliang was stunned for a while. Helpless, Guiliang sighed softly and said softly: "Xian son-in-law, you know the situation in the court, and now a storm is coming."
Li Zhen then answered: "You are the pillar of the court, and I will analyze it for my son-in-law."
Guiliang coughed twice, looking helpless.
The boy in front of me made up his mind not to reveal anything.
Guiliang flicked his long sleeves and said seriously: "I'm really tired talking to you. I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. Now, the emperor is seriously ill and the prince only has a few months. The main gate of the imperial court has been divided into several factions, among which , Sushun, Du Han and others are the emperor's old ministers, who support the prince and belong to the royalist party. As the person who competed with the emperor for the throne, Prince Gong and Yi are young, powerful and talented, and are supported by some ministers. In addition, In addition, there is..."
Li Zhen interrupted directly: "Father-in-law, tell me directly which faction you are from."
Gui Liang rolled his eyes at Li Zhen and said: "I want to be neutral, but it's a pity that I have two sons-in-law who are not easy to worry about. One son-in-law is Prince Gong. Now Prince Gong is about to ascend the throne, and I am his father-in-law. Can I Are you neutral? You have Yi's name on you, and you are such a troublesome son-in-law, so I can't be neutral either."
Li Zhen raised his eyebrows and said, "Why do you have anything to do with me?"
Guiliang said: "You and Du Han have a big feud, and your relationship with the conservatives is in a stalemate. It is difficult for the two sides to reconcile. Do you think I can be neutral? Even if I am neutral, I will still be attacked by Du Han. I simply became People from the Yi faction."
Li Zhen said seriously: "Father-in-law, I am a royalist."
Guiliang said: "I know that the wise son-in-law is a royalist, but I also know that the wise son-in-law cannot be together with Sushun. At this stage, the wise son-in-law's identity is very delicate. He must be cautious in doing things. Every move must be made carefully. Be careful not to make any mistakes."
Li Zhen said in surprise: "My father-in-law didn't persuade me to help Yi ascend the throne."
Guiliang said: "Prince Gong values you very much and wants to take you for his own use. However, you are a good son-in-law who was promoted by the emperor. If you betray the emperor and abandon the prince, you will definitely be infamy. Therefore, I have no plan to do so." I advise you."
Li Zhen stood up, cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, father-in-law."
Guiliang laughed and scolded: "What I care about is that the two good grandchildren have no father and the daughter has no husband. Otherwise, I would not have a relationship with your kid. You just returned to Beijing and have already turned the world upside down. God knows what you will do next." I'd like to remind you about something. No matter what you do, think about your own future and make arrangements for your wife and children. This is the most important thing."
"Thank you, father-in-law."
Li Zhen smiled and shouted loudly: "Here comes someone."
In an instant, Huang Qiang and Long Ao walked in.
Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "Huang Qiang, you immediately select fifty soldiers from the Sharp Knife Battalion and take your wife and my two children to the Jiangbei Camp. Upon arrival, ask Huang Shihai to send troops to escort his wife and children south to Guangzhou."
"As commanded."
Huang Qiang was ordered to prepare immediately.
Not long after, Zhilan came out with her children. After she saw Li Zhen, she and Li Zhen briefly recalled the past, and then had to leave. Although Zhilan wanted to be with Li Zhen, the two children were only a few months old. Da, needed Zhilan to take care of him, so he had to leave. Zhilan said goodbye to Guiliang and Dafujin, and left the Shangshu Mansion under the protection of Huang Qiang and other fifty soldiers from the Jiandao Battalion.
The remaining fifty soldiers of the Jian Dao Battalion remained in Beijing for Li Zhen's deployment.
Li Zhen looked at Guiliang and said: "Father-in-law, my son-in-law would like to remind you that the situation in Beijing is more complicated than you think. Be careful. If you are ambitious, you will definitely conflict with your son-in-law. I hope my father-in-law will avoid it." When this happened, my son-in-law came up with a way for his father-in-law to avoid the incident by hiding at home and claiming to be sick. When the time comes, whether it is the royalists or Yi Shengli, my father-in-law will not be affected."
After finishing speaking, Li Zhen left with the people.
Guiliang frowned as he looked at Li Zhen's retreating back, because he felt that Li Zhen seemed to have changed, as if he had lost the shackles around his neck, and his whole person suddenly became free.
However, Guiliang didn't take it to heart, but considered Li Zhen's words.
Guiliang lived a long life, had a high-ranking official position, and was powerful.
He didn't need to fight for power, so he decisively adopted Li Zhen's suggestion and hid at home to recuperate. Li Zhen led the soldiers to the palace. On the way, he got the news that Gui Liang was ill. He was also quite happy. Now Yi is involved. Among the forces vying for the throne, Li Zhen will definitely have a conflict with Yi. If Guiliang is caught in the middle, it will be difficult for Li Zhen to deal with it.
Zhilan must be heartbroken after hurting Guiliang.
However, Li Zhen had no scruples about Prince Gong Yi. Even if Yi was defeated or even killed, Li Zhen would not worry about Zhi Lan. After all, the relationship between the two parties was not complicated.
Li Zhen entered the palace and went directly to Chuxiu Palace.
When Cixi saw Li Zhen coming back, she asked with concern: "Admiral Li, how is the situation in the nine admiral's offices?"
Li Zhen smiled and said: "Don't worry, your Majesty, I have already taken the nine gates of the Admiral's Office into my hands. Counting the time, the nine gates in the inner city have been controlled by the soldiers. They have become a trump card in the hands of the Empress, ensuring that the Empress and the Crown Prince are safe." Worry, at the same time, I also transferred back the soldiers from the fifth patrol battalion outside Beijing as a force to guard Beijing. Together with the troops from the fifth patrol battalion and the inner city, there were twenty to thirty thousand soldiers, enough to temporarily control the situation. "
Cixi asked again: "Admiral Li, what should we do next?"
Li Zhen said loudly: "To control the military power in Beijing, the next step is to fight with the ministers in the court. Although the emperor is dead, the funeral cannot be held for the time being. The officials in the court who do not support the prince must be removed, so that Yi's influence in the court will be reduced." When the power is weakened, after controlling the ministers in the court, the news of the emperor's death will be announced, and the prince will be succeeded immediately."
Cixi nodded and said: "I am a woman who does not understand the important affairs of the court. It is entirely up to Admiral Li to make the decision. The safety of the Queen, the Crown Prince and me is in the hands of Admiral Li."
Li Zhen cupped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Madam, I will fulfill my heavy responsibility."