Under the Emperor’s instruction, Prime Minister Lin completed the task assigned by the Emperor. It took only one day to convict Xiao Tianyao of the crime, and he was scheduled to be executed three days later.
Court officials related to Prince Xiao, or officials who were close to Prince Xiao, were also thrown into prison by Prime Minister Lin with the words ‘not afraid of 10,000, just in case’ and ‘whether you are wrong or not can be found after investigation’. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple jointly tried.
At this point, Prince Xiao was convicted of treason. Anyone who spoke for Prince Xiao was branded as Prince Xiao’s party. There were only a few left arguments in the palace court, which were about how they will capture Prince Xiao’s henchmen, and how to subdue the Jinwuwei Army.
It is not difficult for civil servants to defeat Prince Xiao. The civil servants only open their mouths to use words that can hurt people without saying dirty words, and each one was more gorgeous than the other.
It was not difficult for them to catch Prince Xiao’s henchmen. The ministers who can stand in the court were at least ranked one to three ministers. They just need to open their mouths. How to catch people has nothing to do with them, and there was no need for them to run around.
For these ministers, the biggest trouble was how to subdue the Jinwuwei Army!
The Jinwuwei Army was built by Prince Xiao alone. Although it was an army registered by the court, because of the Emperor’s selfishness, the Jinwuwei Army can be said to be a private army supported by Prince Xiao. The Jinwuwei Army only listens to Prince Xiao’s order, and this was a well-known matter long ago. It was almost impossible to move the Jinwuwei Army without Prince Xiao’s assistance.
If you can’t subdue it, then destroy the Jinwuwei Army.
… anyone with a brain would not make this suggestion. It would take at least 500,000 soldiers to kill all the 200,000 Jinwuwei Army in the hands of Prince Xiao.
The Eastern Country was the richest of the four countries, but its military strength was not the strongest of the four countries. The weak military strength cannot withstand internal friction at all.
Any of the ministers present can be sure that as long as the Emperor gives the order to attack the Jinwuwei Army, and the other countries learn about the Jinwuwei Army’s rebellion, whether it was the south, the west, or the north, who has just been repelled by Prince Xiao, will make a comeback. It was not as simple as civil strife, but the country will perish.
If it cannot be seized by force, it cannot be destroyed, so it can only be outsmarted. However, a group of ministers discussed it from morning to evening but failed to come up with an effective solution.
If we put it in the past, the Emperor would be furious, but today the Emperor let everyone go in a good mood, let everyone go home and think about it, and come up with a countermeasure tomorrow morning.
All the ministers breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, but they couldn’t help but feel heavy.
The Jinwuwei Army was a tough nut to crack. This was well-known in all four countries. If they want to take down Jinwuwei Army without bloodshed, it can be explained in one word: Difficult! In two words: very difficult!
However, taking down the Jinwuwei Army was the key to eradicating Prince Xiao’s power. If the Jinwuwei Army cannot be subdued, even if Xiao Tianyao was killed, the Eastern Country will still have civil strife.
“This is not easy!”
“If this matter is not handled well, it will shake the foundation of the country.”
All the ministers were frowning, discussing with the people around them from time to time, but they couldn’t let their brows relax. Similarly, Prime Minister Lin and Prime Minister You, who were left behind by the Emperor to discuss countermeasures, also frowned, with dignified faces, Prime Minister You was even more so, no matter how the Emperor asked him, he would always say: “This old minister really can’t think of a good way, why don’t you?” or “Please forgive me, Your Majesty”.
Even if the matter has reached this point, Prime Minister You was still unwilling to make trouble and step on Prince Xiao to consolidate his position in the Emperor’s heart. For Prime Minister You, neither he nor his family needs to be the confidant of the Emperor, he only needs to be a capable minister.
But it was different for Prime Minister Lin. Prime Minister Lin has no foundation. He was the Emperor’s confidant and the Emperor’s close minister. His role was to share the Emperor’s worries. No matter what happens, the Emperor’s needs must be his starting point. Otherwise, he can’t keep his position.
Therefore, Prime Minister You can keep quiet and express his opinions, but Prime Minister Lin cannot do so. Even if he can’t think of a good way, he still has to put forward one or two opinions.
Although Prime Minister Lin looked dignified and embarrassed on his face, he already had a plan in his heart, so after thinking deeply, Prime Minister Lin tentatively said: “Your Majesty, the Jinwuwei only listens to Xiao Wangye’s orders, but when the Eldest Prince and the Seventh Prince went together in their camp, they saw Xiao Wangfei commanding the Jinwuwei. Do you think Xiao Wangfei will be the key person?” Prime Minister Lin knew that it was not kind to push Lin Chujiu out, but at this moment he couldn’t allow him to think too much.
Not to mention that Lin Chujiu’s background made him very suspicious. Even if Lin Chujiu was 100% his daughter, she had to back down in front of his official career.
“Xiao Wangfei?” The Emperor was not at all surprised when he heard this. He tapped his fingers on the table, and his two sword eyebrows slightly frowned as if he was thinking about whether Prime Minister Lin’s proposal was feasible.
Prime Minister You saw at a glance that the Emperor must have thought of attacking Princess Xiao, but as an emperor, he was afraid of losing face and didn’t say it directly, but Prime Minister Lin’s words touched the Emperor’s heart.
After looking back and forth between the Emperor and Prime Minister Lin who was pretending to be worried, he couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Sacrificing his daughter repeatedly for the sake of his future, Prime Minister Lin’s character needs to be verified. Such a person was useless and will not have a good future.
Of course, Prime Minister You was just thinking about these words in his heart. He will not say them or show them. Prime Minister You knew that what he had to do at this time was just to stand here and wait for the Emperor and Prime Minister Lin to finish their discussions. Then prove to the Emperor when necessary that those extremely despicable methods were not the Emperor’s intention, but Prime Minister Lin instigated it.
Just as Prime Minister You expected, the Emperor and Prime Minister Lin quickly discussed a plan to use Princess Xiao and members of the Meng family as bait to lure her to come forward, and then use Princess Xiao’s hand to control the Jinwuwei.
Of course, 90% of this plan was said by Prime Minister Lin. The Emperor only nods when necessary, guides, or raises doubts. As smart as Prime Minister Lin, he will perfect the plan according to the Emperor’s thinking and carry the reputation for “treachery” on his back.
“Prime Minister You, what do you think of Prime Minister Lin’s plan?” After the Emperor finished speaking with Prime Minister Lin, he asked Prime Minister You for his opinion.
Prime Minister You said without even thinking about it: “Xiao Wangfei is the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Lin, and Prime Minister Lin thinks this plan is a good one.” His father can plot against his daughter without caring, so what can he say as an outsider? He was not his daughter, and he didn’t sacrifice her.
“What Prime Minister You said is wrong. Although Xiao Wangfei is my daughter, she is also a citizen of Dongwen, a citizen of the Emperor. It is her honor to share the worries of the monarch.” Prime Minister Lin was smart. How can he not understand the meaning of Prime Minister You’s words?
Putting eye drops on him in front of the monarch, sowing discord between their ruler and ministers, Prime Minister You was simply shameless.
“Prime Minister Lin is dedicated to serving the country and is selfless. I am very pleased. I will leave this matter to you. Prime Minister Lin, I will wait for your good news.” Prime Minister Lin’s selfishness and indifference have long been known by the Emperor. He sacrificed Lin Chujiu again and again, so the Emperor was not surprised at all.
This was what he likes about Prime Minister Lin. He was the dog in his hands. If Prime Minister Lin Xiang was not selfish and cold, what’s the use of keeping this dog?
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