From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 554

There were five people in the inn, except Zhou Yuan, Li Yu'an, Zhuang Xuansu, Guan Caixi and Guan Lu were all there.

This was a small meeting, but the discussion was about the current situation and the future of Dajin. Guan Caixi was not originally planned to attend, but Zhuang Xuansu said that Guan Caixi was in a bad mood and seemed to be frightened today, so it would be better to let her attend.

Zhou Yuan did not feel much pity and sympathy for this girl, but thinking of what the senior sister said, he finally decided to let Guan Caixi sit in.

It was still the old rules, and Guan Lu reported the current intelligence.

"After going south from Shenjing, I started to infiltrate the Cao Gang in Huai'an. Zhang Fei also brought people here soon. Our progress was very smooth. By exploring the internal relations of the Cao Gang, we finally found a suitable target and successfully infiltrated it."

"The Cao Gang has a deep connection with the eight major families. All the private salt in Jiangnan must be transported to various provinces in Dajin through the canal. The Cao Gang has information about the annual salt transportation of each family. We have seen part of the data of this information, which is completely different from the salt permits issued by various places, and the salt permits of various places are completely different from the detailed regulations of the court. This is very important evidence."

"The person we are currently infiltrating is named Jiang Chuan, the third leader of the Cao Gang. He has a high status in the gang, but gradually began to decline. Because of various internal disputes, he is willing to cooperate with us."

"And the many reasons he gave are enough to gain our temporary trust. The specific situation will be known after you meet him in Jining."

At this point, Guan Lu paused and said: "Regarding the situation of the eight major families in Yangzhou, the Bai family and the Song family are now in an extremely difficult period. They already know their fate and are trying to make a final struggle."

"And the Wu family and the Xu family are hoping that your appetite is not big, just swallowing the Bai family and the Song family, even if you swallow two more families, it doesn't matter. They have a strong backing and are very confident."

"As for the other four major families, they all take the Wu family and the Xu family as a guideline and plan to follow the team."

"After the news of Lu Zhili's death spread to the south, the Bai family and the Song family may not be able to sit still at all."

Until this time, Zhou Yuan slowly nodded and said: "Let Zhang Fei prepare. We are going to start closing in on the Bai family."

"During this trip to Jiangnan, all plans will start to speed up. We will no longer stick to the step-by-step strategy discussed earlier, but will sweep across Jiangnan with thunder."

Guan Lu's face changed, and he lowered his voice and said, "Sir, if that happens, we will expose a lot of things."

Zhou Yuan said, "I can't care about so many things. The darkness of Dajin is not a solid block now. We can pry it at any time, but as the pressure increases, they will gradually tend to unite."

"Guan Lu, arrange the Shenque operation. Starting tomorrow, the people of the eight major families cannot leave Yangzhou. At the same time, strengthen the protection of the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Office to prevent the other party from being defeated."

"When necessary, you can control its key figures."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan He said in a deep voice: "If you encounter obstacles that are difficult to resolve, let the Inner Court assist you, Master Zhuang, is that okay?"

Zhuang Xuansu's face was not good, but he said in a deep voice: "You are the imperial envoy, the Inner Court must cooperate with you unconditionally, this is the order of His Majesty."

"But the Inner Court will only cooperate with you, not other organizations."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "I am the imperial envoy and I have the final say. Whoever I ask the Inner Court to cooperate with, they must cooperate with."

Zhuang Xuansu wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Zhou Yuan again: "Master Zhuang, this is the autumn of life and death. I am under great pressure to inspect the salt in the south. I hope you don't lose your temper."

Zhuang Xuansu said coldly: "Losing temper? The Inner Court is the right-hand man of His Majesty, and directly obeys His Majesty. Of course, it also obeys you because of the imperial edict, but it will never assist the Jianghu organization. This is a taboo."

Zhou Yuan said: "There is no taboo in the current situation in Jiangnan, only the knot is important. "

Zhuang Xuansu stopped talking and fell into deep thought.

Guan Lu stood up and bowed, saying, "Sir, I will go to work first. To speed up the overall process, we need to prepare a lot of things."

Zhou Yuan thought for a while before saying, "Let Zhang Fei bring the people from the northwest here. Next, we will face the invasion of the darkness of the entire Jin Dynasty. We have to compete with our hard power."

"Yes!"

There was no fear in Guan Lu's eyes. In addition to his solemnity, there was also a hint of excitement.

...

It was another morning court. Empress Zhao Jing sat on the dragon chair, looking down calmly, and said, "Mr. Wu, how is the war in Hetao going?"

Wu Qingrong hurriedly said, "Your Majesty the Cavalry, Wen Hou is invincible. While repelling the 40,000 Mongolian troops, he sent 60,000 elite soldiers to pursue from four directions, forcing the other side to retreat step by step, which greatly boosted the prestige of our Jin Dynasty."

As soon as these words came out, WenThe military officials began to discuss, and they were all a little excited.

Most of them thought of a problem, that is, the Great Jin is vast and rich in resources, and there are more people who can fight than Zhou Yuan, such as Wen Hou Wen Tieli, who is also a famous general and can also defeat foreign invaders.

Many ministers began to congratulate Empress Zhao Jing, and the court became lively.

Soon, the Minister of Works suddenly stood up, holding up a sign, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have a report."

Empress Zhao Jing looked at him and said: "My dear minister, speak frankly."

The Minister of Works said: "The afternoon before yesterday, Shandong Governor Lu Zhili died tragically in the governor's office. After multiple analyses by the coroner and the government, Lord Lu was killed."

When this was said, the whole court was shocked, and many ministers even cried out in surprise.

For a while, the Golden Palace was noisy.

Zeng Cheng stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Lu Zhili is a second-rank official and a frontier official. This matter is of great importance. We must send someone to find out the truth."

"Two years ago, the Zhejiang Governor Huang Heng died in an assassination, which led to the Liangjiang Rebellion. Now that the Shandong Governor has died, I am afraid that something big will happen again. We must not take it lightly."

At this point, he looked at the Minister of Works and shouted: "Where did you get the information! What is the specific situation!"

The Minister of Works said: "It was the Shandong Provincial Administration Office that gave the dispatch information. It is said that before Lu Zhili died, he met with the Duke of Weiguo and the two sides had a quarrel."

"And the Duke of Weiguo did not go to Jinan Prefecture in an official capacity, but in a private visit in disguise, which is very suspicious."

The whole Golden Palace was boiling.

Zeng Cheng's face changed drastically, and he glared and said, "Your Majesty, how could the Duke of Weiguo be in Shandong? How could he meet with Lu Zhili in a non-official capacity? The cause of Lu Zhili's death, whether it was related to the Duke of Weiguo, these questions are complicated and confusing. Please recall the Duke of Weiguo and ask him in detail."

Yang Guozhong also said, "The governor was assassinated, which was a matter of heaven. I also agree to let the Duke of Weiguo return to the court and explain the reason."

The words that came one after another have been lingering in the Golden Palace, and the ministers were angry, which made Empress Zhaojing's heart sink directly.

She knew that the darkness of the entire Jin Dynasty had begun to invade Zhou Yuan.

The other party was unwilling to sit and wait for death, and was going to launch the most fierce attack.

From this moment on, the battle between the temple and the people, all aspects of the battle started completely.

This battle is really about to begin.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, sneered in her heart, this little resistance is nothing to her.