The Jinyi Qi family and the Yuan family are not close friends, but Yuan Rong has always been on good terms with Qi Ning, but Yuan Laoshangshu has never had real contact or communication with Qi Ning.
Yuan Laoshangshu recognized Qi Ning, but he had only met him at the court meeting. The two had not even exchanged a word before.
But Lao Shangshu still recognized at a glance that it was Qining standing in front of him.
Yuan Lao Shangshu's face was full of surprise at first, but he soon relaxed and looked at Qi Ning with a strange look. Qi Ning sighed and said: "Junior knows that Lao Shangshu is very strange, but This is also a helpless move, I hope Lao Shangshu will forgive me."
Yuan Laoshangshu stared at Qi Ning and finally said: "Not long ago, Chi Fengdian led hundreds of Yulin officers and soldiers out of the capital. Does it have anything to do with you?"
"Yes, they used the imperial edict to trick me into returning to Beijing, set up an ambush halfway, and joined forces with the Shenhou Mansion to take my life!"
Yuan Laoshangshu asked again: "The whereabouts of the Divine Marquis Ximen are unknown. Logically speaking, Xuanyuan Po should succeed the Divine Marquis. Why did it become Qu Xiaocang?"
"Xuanyuan Po was killed by Qu Xiaocang himself in that ambush." Qi Ning said without any hesitation: "Originally it was difficult for me to escape, but I was lucky enough to escape death."
Mr. Yuan Laoshang raised his hand and stroked his beard and said, "Last question, what is the crime of ordering your death?"
"Treason!"
Mr. Yuan Lao Shangshu pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and said: "Sit down and talk first. It's relatively safe here for the time being. It shouldn't be under surveillance, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get in."
Qi Ning raised his brows, and the old minister said this, which proved that the old man had noticed it, walked over and sat down on the chair, and then said with his hands: "This junior also has a few questions that I would like to ask the old minister!"
"Of course you sneaked into my mansion tonight because you have something to ask me for." The old minister said, "You tell me."
"How is the emperor now?" Qining asked.
Mr. Yuan Shangshu pondered for a moment and then said: "If I say that the Holy One is fine, I won't even believe it myself. But if I say that the Holy One is ill, I can't provide any evidence."
"I got the news." Qining said: "Huainan King Xiao Zhang's crime of rebellion has been dismissed. Not only did he not rebel, but he also served to protect the country. Xiao Shaozong succeeded the title of Huainan King and was called into the palace. He has been staying there ever since. In the palace."
"Yes." Yuan Laoshang wrote: "This is the decree issued by the emperor."
Qi Ning added: "Xue Lingfeng, the commander of the Tiger God Camp, was assassinated a few days ago. It is said that it was the work of the Jiutianlou assassin lurking in the capital. Just the day before yesterday, the Ministry of War made a statement and recommended Lu Xiaochao, the deputy commander of the Tiger God Camp, to replace Xue. Ling Feng became the new commander, and early this morning, the decree was issued, and Lu Xiaochao accepted the recommendation of the Ministry of War and took the position of the Tiger God Camp, which means that from today on, the three thousand Tiger God Camp is in the hands of Lu Xiaochao."
Yuan Lao Shangshu nodded and said: "Lu Xiaochao's father once worked in the Ministry of War and later passed away due to illness. However, this man still had some connections in the Ministry of War. This is not important. The most important thing is that Lu Xiaochao fought all night and his martial arts was not weak. Being able to be promoted to one of the three deputy commanders of Tiger God Camp is also due to his own strength. This person has a pretty good relationship with Xue Lingfeng. He is obedient to Xue Lingfeng and hates Xue Lingfeng's respect. , this time Xue Lingfeng was killed and someone needed to replace him. The most suitable candidate was to choose one of the three deputy commanders for promotion. In comparison, Lu Xiaochao was the strongest among the three and had the highest prestige in the army. , and coupled with his relationship with the Ministry of War, it is natural for him to take over as the leader of the Tiger God Camp, and it is not surprising."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "Lu Xiao feels that Lu Xiaochao has a connection with the Ministry of War. This person is within the control of the Ministry of War. If Lu Xiaochao replaces Xue Lingfeng, it will be easier for him to be controlled by the Ministry of War."
"It doesn't matter what Mr. Lu thinks." Yuan Laoshang wrote: "Of course you mentioned Lu Xiaochao for no reason."
Qi Ning thought for a moment before asking: "Old Minister, over in the north, Beitangfeng just succeeded to the throne not long ago, and the situation in Luoyang has not stabilized yet. At this time, is Jiutian Tower still thinking about building Ye?" To cause a murder?"
"Because the Qinhuai Army was pressing forward step by step and the Northern Han Dynasty's front line was tight, they sent people from Jiutian Tower to lurk in Jianye City and even kill people to create chaos. It makes sense." Although Yuan Laoshangshu is old, his eyes seem cloudy. , but there is still a hint of light in the depths of his eyes.
Qi Ning nodded and said: "If the people of Jiutian Tower wantonly kill and create chaos in the capital, I can understand their dying struggle." After a pause, he said: "But in fact, Jiutian Tower is the only one in the capital. The person killed happened to be the leader of the Yulin Camp. Except for Xue Lingfeng, there were no other murders in the capital. The chaos Jiutian Tower wanted to create may not be too simple. The assassination of Xue Lingfeng did make the Tiger God Camp appear. There were riots, but the riots only lasted for two days. After Lu Xiaochao was promoted, he immediately stabilized the morale of the army, and the capital did not fall into any chaos because of Xue Lingfeng's death." With his eyes like a knife, he sneered: "Old Minister, If I were a member of Jiutianlou, since I was ready to be exposed, I should have caused as many murders as possible in the capital, plunging the entire capital into panic. If I just killed Xue Lingfeng, the whole situation would start. It won’t have much effect.”
The old minister frowned and said, "You seem to have doubts about the cause of Xue Lingfeng's death."
"If you just look at the surface of any matter, it is easy to be misled." Qining sighed: "If you want to know the truth of the incident, the best way is to pay attention to the direct consequences of this incident. If It was Jiutianlou who assassinated Xue Lingfeng. Of course, their purpose was not to kill people for fun at the risk of being exposed. They could only cause chaos in the capital. But such a result did not occur. Therefore, Xue Lingfeng was assassinated by Jiutianlou and could only Someone deliberately framed me."
"Framing?" Old Shang Shu's eyes flashed: "Did you know that this case was not tried by the Ministry of War, and the Kyoto Prefectural Government had no contact with the case. From the night when Xue Lingfeng was found to have been assassinated, this case was handed over to It's in the hands of Shenhou Mansion." He stared at Qining and stroked his beard and said: "Xue Lingfeng was assassinated by Jiutian Tower, which was also the final decision submitted by Shenhou Mansion. For this reason, it is said that Shenhou Mansion has uncovered the murder in the capital in the past few days. More than a dozen spies from Jiutian Tower."
"Old Minister, please don't forget that he set a trap to ambush Xuanyuan Po and me, and the Shenhou Mansion was involved." Qining said, "The Shenhou Mansion is no longer the former Shenhou Mansion!"
The old minister leaned back on his chair and asked: "The Shenhou Mansion and the Yulin Camp teamed up to take your life, and they received your order to treason. If you really treason, and the emperor issued a secret order to kill you, then naturally It is a matter of course that even if I am powerless, I will fight to the death if I encounter a traitor."
"Old Minister thinks this junior is suspected of treason?"
"Otherwise, why would the Holy One have that decree?" Lao Shangshu asked, "Could it be that the Emperor has wronged you?"
Qi Ning sighed: "This is what I can't understand. Why did the emperor issue that secret edict and think that I betrayed the Chu State!"
"So you should explain it clearly to me now." Old Shangshu sighed: "Otherwise you have only two options, either kill me, or surrender and let me send you to see the emperor."
Qi Ning said: "The fact that the old minister can calm down and listen to me proves that you always believe that I am not treasonous. Otherwise, with the temperament of the old minister, of course he will not live in the same room with a traitor!"
The old minister stared at Qi Ning and said nothing for a long time. After a long time, he finally said: "Who do you think Xue Lingfeng was killed by?"
Qining breathed a sigh of relief. The old minister asked this question, which showed that the old man still trusted him very much. He did not ask about treason, which showed that the old man did not believe that he was really treasonous. , immediately said: "Old Minister, after Xue Lingfeng's death, at first glance, it seems that the Jindao Tantai family has benefited. Although the old Marquis of Tantai and the Grand Governor of Tantai have both passed away, the Jindaohou family in Chu State The power has not disappeared because of this, at least Lu Xiao is still maintaining the power of the Golden Sword."
The old minister nodded and said: "Yes, although the old Marquis of Tantai has passed away, Jindao Tantai is a founding hero and still has deep roots in our country. At least Donghai Navy still belongs to the Jindao line." Wei Yi After pondering, he said: "Xue Lingfeng previously commanded the Tiger God Camp. In the eyes of the ministers, Xue Lingfeng came from the Qinhuai Army. Naturally, the Tiger God Camp also belongs to the power of your Jinyi Qi family. This time Lu Xiaochao replaced Xue Lingfeng. Lingfeng, Lu Xiaochao has a deep relationship with the Ministry of War, so it will naturally make people think that Hushen Camp has become a force of the Jindao Tantai family."
"If you just look at it this way, I would suspect that Xue Lingfeng's death is related to Lu Xiao or even the Ministry of War." Qi Ning smiled lightly, "As the junior said just now, the truth of a matter depends on who benefits from the result. "The direct beneficiary of Xue Lingfeng's death is Lu Xiaochao. Because of Lu Xiaochao's relationship with the Ministry of War, it makes me doubt the Ministry of War, but the premise is that Lu Xiaochao is indeed Lu Xiao's person." Staring at the old minister, he asked: "Old Minister , between you and me, does this Lu Xiaochao really belong to Lu Xiao?"
The old minister thought for a while and then said: "You should know Xue Lingfeng. After Xue Lingfeng became the commander of the Tiger God Camp, he did not have personal relations with any officials in the court. Although Lu Xiaochao and Xue Lingfeng have different temperaments, they are different in their conduct. But they are very similar in life. He only obeys Xue Lingfeng's orders and has almost no contact with officials in the court. Although his father once served as an errand in the Ministry of War and was promoted by Mr. Jin Dao, his father has passed away ten years ago. Many years ago, Lu Xiaochao passed away before he entered the Tiger God Camp, so Lu Xiaochao actually didn’t have any deep contacts with the Ministry of War." After a pause, he continued: "It makes people think that he had friendship with the Ministry of War, and was even I think he is the one from Jin Dao Tantai just because Lu Xiao took some care of the Lu family back then."
The old minister was a veteran of several dynasties of the Chu state, and he knew very well the affairs of the Chu state and the interactions between officials. Although the Yuan family itself did not form cliques, the intricate intersection of forces in the court naturally made the old minister understand. There is an account.