Dynasty Call: Low-key Struggle for Hegemony

Sensing the strong pressure brought by Li Yuan on the dragon chair above, the civil servants and officials below were stagnant in breathing and bent deeper.

Li Yuan glanced at the officials below. Qin Yi, Lu Xun and others were all respectful and respectful, without any abnormalities.

"Everyone is safe!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

All the officials thanked him and stood up.

"You are the pillars of the imperial court..."

Soon, Li Yuan's calm but solemn voice sounded throughout the court.

Roughly speaking, there are only a few points. First, he expresses his recognition of the officials, second, he praises the highly respected officials who have taken refuge in him, and third, he talks about his own ideas.

For a time, the entire court was harmonious with its monarchs and ministers.

Until dusk and sunset, Liu Jin shouted in the Jinluan Hall:

"Retreat!"

All civil and military officials left one after another.

……………………

"well!"

"This King Chu is not easy to handle."

In Prime Minister Lin's Mansion, four ministers, Lin Shufan, Lu Xun, Tang Zuxing, and Liang Haidong, gathered together again.

They all had solemn expressions on their faces. They were prepared for the King of Chu to attack the court today, but the King of Chu did not make any move at all. He only spoke some stage words to express his approval of the officials in the court.

They would rather let Li Yuan attack on the spot than let Li Yuan's sugar-coated bullets disintegrate their current defense.

"Xiang Lin, please tell me what to do. Today the King of Chu praised Li Zonghai and Yang Zhao in person. These two people may have defected to the King of Chu. In addition, under the King of Chu's kindness today, the officials who remained neutral were also shaken.

Now it’s time to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! "

Lu Xun's eyes flashed sharply.

Obviously, they are the chickens!

But who will be first?

Tang Zuxing and Liang Haidong's eyes flashed. If King Chu chose to attack one of them, it would most likely be Lu Xun.

Lin Shufan has been prestigious in the court for a long time and has many disciples. King Chu may not be able to capture Lin Shufan in a short period of time and will find it difficult to obey.

Lu Xun was the first to choose Li Yao, and he was a staunch royalist of Li Yao. The King of Chu must deal with Lu Xun first.

That's why Lu Xun was so anxious now and immediately summoned them to Prime Minister Lin's Mansion, hoping that they would share the pressure together.

Lin Shufan's eyes flashed slightly, he looked at the bright eyes of the three people, and said with a smile:

"It's a good thing that King Chu didn't take action. The longer it takes, the better it is for us. I have already received news about the battle in the southwest. Prince Xuan is most likely rushing back to Kyoto."

Lu Xun was shocked when he heard this, showed joy, and said quickly:

"really?"

Lin Shufan nodded heavily,

"nature!"

"That's great!" Tang Zuxing looked excited.

Liang Haidong was also happy, but soon frowned and said:

"Now King Chu sends Fang Wukui to capture Qingzhou. With Fang Wukui resisting, can King Xuan break Qingzhou guarded by Fang Wukui?"

The smiles on the faces of Lu Xun and Tang Zuxing faltered. Prince Xuan still had to pass the test of Fang Wukui.

By the time King Xuan captured Fang Wukui, King Chu might have already captured them.

Seeing the nervous expressions of the three of them, Lin Shufan calmly stroked the hot tea, gently blew the steam, and said calmly:

"Who said that Prince Xuan must lead his troops back when he returns to the capital?"

"Um?"

The eyes of the three people moved. Does Lin Xiang mean that King Xuan abandoned the army and entered Zhongzhou alone?

Lin Shufan took a sip of hot tea and continued:

"Although King Chu holds the righteousness of the court, he has no foundation in Kyoto, and King Xuan has been in Kyoto and even Zhongzhou for many years. In Kyoto and Zhongzhou, King Xuan's power is far stronger than King Chu."

"If Prince Xuan's troops don't come back, will Fang Wukui intercept them?"

"If King Xuan leads his troops to attack Fang Wukui, then he has fallen into King Chu's trap."

Liang Haidong's eyes flashed when he heard Lin Shufan's words. He completely understood what Lin Shufan meant, nodded in surprise and said:

"Indeed, although the King of Chu now controls eight states, except for Huanzhou, Lingzhou, Fengzhou, and Yizhou, the other four states have not yet been controlled. He also needs time. In Kyoto, the King of Chu needs time to control the court.

If King Xuan leads his army to attack Fang Wukui, and the two forces fight, it will buy King Chu time. King Chu can even use the battle with King Xuan to quickly integrate the other imperial courts and four states that he has no control over, and the longer the delay. The better. "

"Although King Xuan abandoned his army and went straight to Kyoto, seemingly alone, there are definitely many people in Kyoto and even Zhongzhou who have taken refuge with King Xuan. More people saw that King Xuan was so courageous, even if they had already leaned towards the neutral forces of King Chu. I don’t dare to act rashly anymore.

And it is impossible for the King of Chu to prevent King Xuan from entering Zhongzhou. "

"What a wonderful move by King Xuan!" Tang Zuxing patted his thigh excitedly.

Originally, they were still worried that King Chu was holding back his big move and waiting to deal with them, but now it seems that King Xuan may be able to enter the capital in a few days, and their confidence has returned.

Lin Shufan looked at the relaxed expressions on the three people's faces, slowly put down the tea cup, and said with a smile:

"Now you can rest assured. Since King Chu will not take action against us, we must wait quietly and not act rashly."

"clear."

Lu Xun and Tang Zuxing looked at each other, picked up their teacups, leaned back on their chairs, and showed relaxed smiles.

Lin Shufan narrowed his eyes slightly and continued: "Then it's time for you to leave now, otherwise, if you stay too long, King Chu will be tempted to take action even if he doesn't want to do it."

The three of them looked stern and immediately put down their teacups and stood up.

Liang Haidong nodded heavily and said:

"Mr. Lin is right. To be cautious, if the King of Chu does not make any big moves in the past few days, it is best for the four of us not to get together, so as not to embarrass the King of Chu."

"Okay, let's say goodbye first and wait quietly for Prince Xuan to return." Lu Xun said in a deep voice.

"Okay!" Tang Zuxing also looked solemn.

He didn't believe that the King of Chu could remove him as Minister of Works in just a few days.

………………

At Haishi, the imperial study room was brightly lit, and Li Yuan was quietly correcting the memorial. During Li Yao's absence, too many things had accumulated, and he had to resolve them as soon as possible.

After all, this is also the attitude of running the court.

Fan Zhongyan and Wei Zheng also watched each memorial carefully. From the things in the memorials, we can also see the character and practices of these officials, making it easier to find officials who made mistakes.

Liu Jin's figure appeared behind Li Yuan like a ghost, bent down and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, at 1:00 a.m. tonight, Lu Xun, the Minister of Rites, Tang Zuxing, the Minister of Industry, and Liang Haidong, the Minister of Household Affairs, gathered in Prime Minister Lin's Mansion. In less than a cup of tea, the three ministers left quickly and returned to their respective mansions, never leaving again. .

After Lu Xun returned to the mansion, Ministry of War officials Pan Liangchuan and Zhang Shaori quietly entered through the back door and left in a hurry a quarter of an hour later. "

After hearing Liu Jin's words, Li Yuan raised his head slightly, holding the pen in mid-air with a calm expression.

Li Yuan already knew that the four of them had met several times to conspire.

"Is there any action from Prime Minister Lin's office?"

"No, it has been quiet all the time. During this period, seven of Lin Shufan's disciples wanted to visit Lin Shufan, but Lin Shufan refused and left without even meeting him."

Liu Jin's eyes showed a cold light. Several of his disciples were officials of fifth rank or above.

After hearing this, Li Yuan put down the dragon pen in his hand and said calmly:

"Yesterday, I had a conversation with the elders of the royal family. Lin Shufan has devoted his whole life and made great contributions to the stability of the imperial court. He has won the trust of his father. I hope that I will be merciful. It is best to form a good story with him, a wise and sage king. They You can help me conquer Lin Shufan."

Fan Zhongyan and Wei Zheng paused with their pens in their hands, raised their heads and listened quietly to Li Yuan's words.

Li Yuan smiled calmly: "I guess Lin Shufan also meant this. If I agree smoothly, he can take the opportunity to surrender to me."

Li Yuan's deep eyes did not waver at all.

Just kidding, there are so many talented people in China who are prime ministers, and they are even more loyal to him. How stupid can he be to still want Lin Shufan.

"However, Prime Minister Lin has been in office for many years and has worked hard and achieved great results. He does have to show some affection. It depends on whether he seizes the opportunity."

"However, we can't keep his seat."

Li Yuan shook his head and chuckled, picked up his pen and looked at the memorial, and continued to correct it.

Fan Zhongyan and Wei Zheng looked at each other, nodded slightly, and continued to read the memorials. They already had a rough classification of civil and military officials in their minds. Based on these memorials, they had found many breakthroughs.

………………

At midnight, a carriage slowly walked toward the palace, even to a hidden corner not far from the palace.

Someone has been waiting here for a long time.

A man stood quietly next to a black carriage and stopped the carriage.

"Xiang Lin, Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Si, dressed in black solemn clothes, said to the people on the carriage. Although he could not see who was in the carriage, Li Si's tone was full of affirmation.

It's Lin Shufan.

Inside the carriage was indeed Lin Shufan, who had just discussed with three ministers.

Lin Shufan looked through the car curtain and saw Li Si, who looked like he had been waiting for a long time. His eyes trembled, but he soon showed a wry smile. Lin Shufan dismounted and cupped his hands and said:

"Lord Li Si, I have long admired your name."

Li Si nodded slightly, and with vigorous movements, directly invited him to get into the black carriage next to him.

"please!"

Lin Shufan didn't hesitate and walked into the carriage with Li Si.

"drive!"

The carriage drove towards the palace gate. When the guards saw the black carriage, they did not intercept it and let it go.

"Lord Li Si, Your Majesty already knew that I was coming?"

In the carriage, looking at the palace getting closer and closer, Lin Shufan calmed down little by little. He looked at the quiet Li Si opposite and said with a smile.

Li Si met Lin Shufan's gaze, nodded and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty is very much looking forward to Prime Minister Lin's arrival."

"I can't find out who sent the assassins from Jinglan City." Lin Shufan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"The assassins in Jinglan City are not important." Li Si's smile did not change.

The shadow sword sent by Chu Junxiong was frozen as soon as it was released. Before anyone could see it clearly, he was blasted by Yu Wen Chengdu's punch.

Who knows which force sent it.

Even Lin Shufan guessed who sent him, but as Li Si said, is it still important?

"Indeed, the assassins in Jinglan City are not important anymore. Your Majesty has already dealt with them." Lin Shufan nodded slowly, looking at the other party's peaceful face, he could feel the aura emanating from Li Si, solemn, solemn, mysterious, and for some reason , the longer I stay with him, the calmer I feel, as if I have been judged and know the outcome.

"I don't know where Mr. Li Si is from. People like Mr. Li Si shouldn't be mediocre."

"We are naturally members of the Yu Dynasty. Fortunately, your majesty appreciates us so that we can show our talents."

"So it turns out that the Yu Dynasty is really lucky to have such great talents as you!"

Lin Shufan sighed.

Li Si's smile deepened, and he could feel Lin Shufan's sincerity.

Soon, the two came to the imperial study room to meet Li Yuan.

"The criminal Lin Shufan pays homage to Your Majesty!"

As soon as Lin Shufan stepped into the imperial study room, he knelt down and worshiped on the ground.

"Why is Prime Minister Lin like this? Please get up quickly!"

When Li Yuan saw Lin Shufan kneeling down, he immediately threw down his pen and stood up, quickly pulling Lin Shufan up.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Lin Shufan's face was filled with tears and he knelt down.

………………………………

Author's note: Dear book friends, I'm sorry. It's almost the end of the year, I'm busy with work, and I'm overwhelmed with all kinds of reports. I can't update it normally these days. I'll update it when it gets back to normal in a few days.

Hope you’ll bear with me! (End of chapter)