xymnovel Chapter 24: Mind's Eye
Chapter 24: Mind's Eye
The first meeting after the coup ended abruptly.
When everyone left Yanying Hall, Li Xun still had a dark expression on his face.
It is clear that the emperor's final appeasement did not satisfy him.
Leaving the Yanying Hall and walking straight out of the gate, you will find the Hall of State Affairs.
Generally speaking, only the prime minister could take this route. Ministers like Linghu Chu, who held the title of head of three provinces but were not prime ministers, would take another route out of the palace because they did not work in the Hall of State Affairs on a daily basis.
After watching Wang Ya and the others leave, Linghu Chu and another Minister Zheng Tan also headed in another direction.
Along the long palace path, Linghu Chu had his entourage follow at a distance, and as he walked forward, he turned his head to look at Zheng Tan and said.
"Zheng Pu She, why didn't you help me just now before the Emperor?"
Upon hearing this, the latter paused for a moment and then smiled.
"Brother Linghu, what you say is true. Although we both serve in the court, our political views have always differed. Why should I help you?"
Although that's what he said, Zheng Qin's expression clearly didn't match the relaxed and peaceful tone he was giving.
As expected, upon hearing this, Linghu Chu stopped in his tracks, snorted coldly, and turned around.
"Stop pretending to be confused. You and I both know the current state of the court. Since Li Xun became prime minister, ministers with some seniority and ability who are unwilling to flatter him have been successively dismissed."
"Now, he first plotted against the Shence Army, and when that failed, he wanted to use Qiu Shiliang's case to continue eliminating dissidents."
"If such a person is not eliminated, how can the court remain peaceful?"
Unlike his sharp words in the hall just now, Linghu Chu was calm and serious at this moment, his tone revealing deep worry.
However, his "heartfelt words" clearly did not move Zheng Qin.
The latter remained standing in the same spot, but his expression turned somewhat cold as he spoke.
"And then what?"
"With Li Xun gone, it's difficult for Shu Yuanyu to remain either. Two positions in the Council of State are now vacant. Brother Linghu, are you planning to advise His Majesty to recall Niu Sengru or Li Zongmin?"
"Or perhaps, a simultaneous recall?"
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As soon as he finished speaking, Linghu Chu's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
The relationship between him and Zheng Qin was not only one of political disagreement, but also one between members of different political parties.
Before Li Xun rose to power, the court was divided into two factions.
The faction was led by Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru, and was privately referred to as the "Niu Party" by contemporaries.
Linghu Chu was one of them, and a veteran member at that.
The other party was privately referred to as the "Li Party" by contemporaries, and its leaders were Zheng Tan and Li Deyu.
The two parties have vastly different attitudes on various major national affairs, leading to constant friction.
From the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong onwards, the two sides engaged in mutual infighting and attacks. Often, when one party was in power, it would do everything in its power to dismiss members of the other party. The relationship between them could no longer be simply summarized as enmity.
Let's not talk about distant events, but just take Li Deyu's dismissal as prime minister last year.
Although it was Li Xun's doing, his method was to exploit the conflict between the two parties, first bringing Li Zongmin into the position of prime minister, and then, with the help of the Niu Party, expelling Li Deyu from the court.
Linghu Chu even contributed to this matter.
Although in the end, under Li Xun's manipulation, Li Zongmin and others were also demoted one after another, this debt obviously cannot be wiped clean.
Given this incident, it's not hard to understand why Zheng Tan harbors hostility towards Linghu Chu at this time.
"The importance of being a prime minister is not something that you or I can decide."
Faced with Zheng Qin's lukewarm attitude, Linghu Chu quickly adjusted his mindset and continued.
"But no matter who His Majesty's heart is with after him, it is better than trusting a villain like Li Xun. You and I have been in court for many years, and there are some things that we understand without needing to say them."
"Niu Xiang is honest and upright, Li Xiang is good at recognizing and appointing people, and as for Li Deyu, although I despise his aloofness and narrow-mindedness, I acknowledge his talent in governance."
"As for veteran ministers like Lord Pei, there is no need to mention them further."
"But now, these capable and virtuous people have all been dismissed, and the court has been occupied by treacherous officials. If you, Minister Zheng, still have any loyalty to the country, why can't you put aside past grievances and join forces to punish the traitors?"
"Execute the traitors?"
Zheng Qin's eyes flickered slightly, keenly sensing the certainty in Linghu Chu's words.
He narrowed his eyes, a hint of doubt in his voice, and asked.
"Minister Linghu, you and I both know that Li Xun and Zheng Zhu's rise to power was only partly due to their own efforts, with the remaining seven-tenths being due to His Majesty's promotion."
"You actually dare to talk about punishing such a traitor?"
"It is not that I am belittling myself, but if you and I had this ability, why were those gentlemen successively banished from the capital?"
Upon hearing this, Linghu Chu shook his head, a barely perceptible hint of mockery appearing in his eyes as he looked at Zheng Qin.
However, he did not reveal it, but simply said...
"Since I said that, I naturally have my own confidence in it."
"There's some news that Zheng Pu She probably doesn't know yet: early this morning, Lieutenant Liu Hongyi secretly led his troops out of the capital and waited on the road that Zheng Zhu, the military governor of Fengxiang, would inevitably take back to the capital. If nothing unexpected happens, he should have already been arrested and imprisoned."
"Having fallen into the inner prison, Zheng Zhu could not protect himself, and Li Xun naturally could not escape unscathed either."
"Whether you believe it or not, I am doing this out of a sense of patriotism, fearing that you, Zheng Pu She, might do something wrong, so I am informing you in advance."
"I only hope that you can also uphold this sentiment and prioritize the overall interests of the nation."
After saying these words, the two happened to reach the palace gate.
Linghu Chu gave a slight bow as a farewell, and then headed off in another direction.
As he left, another minister from the Li faction, Chen Yixing, the Vice Minister of Works, who had been waiting outside the palace gate, stepped forward and bowed to Zheng Tan.
"Boss..."
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
Zheng Qin nodded, saying nothing more, only giving a simple reply.
Although Zheng Tan was not appointed as the prime minister, he was still in charge of many affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, and his office was naturally located in the Ministry of Personnel.
Upon returning to his official residence, Zheng Qin recounted to Chen Yixing everything that had happened before and after his audience with the emperor.
Nowadays, many senior officials of the Li faction, including Li Deyu, have been ousted from Beijing.
Of the ministers still active in the court, only these two remain, and they are the only ones with any real influence.
"Does the Master mean that the Niu faction is actually confident they can eliminate Li Xun?"
Chen Yixing was also somewhat surprised to hear this news.
After all, for more than a year, Li Xun's arrogance in the court had been completely unmatched.
Otherwise, the Niu and Li factions wouldn't be in their current state, reduced to a few insignificant figures.
Zheng Qin nodded and said, "It's not surprising that Li Xun is going to lose. I had my doubts when Qiu Shiliang's incident happened that day."
"If Your Majesty intends to execute the eunuchs, such an action would be far too risky. Furthermore, Li Xun had the audacity to seize the Shence Army from the eunuchs, only to be detained by them at Your Majesty's order. I suspected at the time that Li Xun acted on his own initiative, and Your Majesty was actually coerced by him, with the arrow already on the bowstring, he had no choice but to release it."
"Li Xun and others relied on the emperor's favor to establish themselves in the court. Now, with these actions, they are actually destroying their own foundation."
"Today, His Majesty summoned me to the Yan Ying Hall for an audience. He could have only summoned the prime ministers to discuss matters, but he made an exception and invited Linghu Chu and me to attend. I suppose he has already grown tired of Li Xun and is on guard against him, and is making preparations for replacing the prime minister."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yixing's eyes also showed some excitement, and he quickly asked, "Is what you say true, Minister?"
Zheng Qin nodded, but his brows remained furrowed: "Compared to this, what worries me more is that Linghu Chu's actions today were a bit too proactive."
"Furthermore, the fact that he knew about Liu Hongyi's secret departure from the capital suggests that, most likely, these people have reconnected with the palace eunuchs."
"The Niu Party...a bunch of despicable people!"