Of course Qi Ning understood that Sima Lan seemed to be sincere, but in fact it was a hidden warning.
Sima Lan overthrew the King of Huainan, but he ushered in the Jinyi Qi family as his opponent. Although the power of the Jinyi Qi family in the court was far from being comparable to that of the Sima family, no one would forget that the Jinyi Qi family had commanded the Qinhuai Army for decades. , before the relationship between the Jinyi Qi family and the Qinhuai Army was completely separated, even the powerful Sima family would not dare to attack the Jinyi Qi family easily.
Moreover, now that the situation in the world has changed and civil strife breaks out in the Northern Han Dynasty, it is indeed an excellent opportunity for the Chu State to go north. This is clearly seen by the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, and it is impossible for Sima Lan to not see it clearly.
Of course, the Sima family hopes to find an opportunity to overthrow the Jinyi Qi family and take sole control of the government, but Sima Lan understands better that the Jinyi Qi family is different from the King of Huainan. It is not easy to overthrow the Jinyi Qi family, and if something big happens. Conflict, Chu State will surely face a bloody fight between rivals.
The Jinyi Qi family, who has a military background and holds the Black Scale Battalion, is definitely not comparable to the King of Huainan.
Once civil strife breaks out in the Chu State, the great opportunity to go north to conquer the Han will be missed. No one knows whether there will be another opportunity if this opportunity is missed.
Although Sima Lan wanted to dominate the government and the public, he was a veteran of three dynasties after all, and the pattern could not be limited to Chu State. His eyes must also be set on the north.
If we can maintain peace with the Jinyi Qi family now, or even make the Jinyi Qi family obey the Sima family for the sake of the Northern Expedition, then that will naturally be the final result.
Qi Ning naturally understood the meaning of Sima Lan's words, and Sima Lan indeed hoped to use the Northern Expedition as an excuse to have the Jin Yi Qi family follow him.
If the Sima family really stopped fighting within the Chu State and focused on the Northern Expedition, Qi Ning would not be unwilling to cooperate, but Qin Ning knew very well that if the Sima family did not use the Northern Expedition to gain influence in the court, Expanding forces and excluding dissidents would not be the Sima clan.
In Qi Ning's words, he also revealed information to Sima Lan. If the Sima family really wanted to expand the territory of the Chu Kingdom in the Northern Expedition, the Jinyi Qi family should cooperate. However, if there were other plans, the Jinyi Qi family would not do anything. Watching from the wall, Sima was allowed to refer to the donkey as a horse in the court.
The two of them spoke eloquently, each expressing their position and attitude.
But Qining also knew that the Chu State was indeed planning for the Northern Expedition. After all, the three princes of the Northern Han Dynasty were fighting each other for the throne. If the war broke out, the Northern Han Dynasty would surely fall apart and fall into an unprecedented turmoil. Such a This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it is a dream come true. The kings and ministers of the Chu Kingdom will never miss such an opportunity.
The departure of the Dong Qi envoy also made the festive atmosphere of the emperor's wedding gradually fade away.
Justice does not matter in people's hearts, right and wrong depends on strength. Qining knows this truth better than anyone else. If he wants to gain a foothold in the government, it does not depend on how close he is to the emperor, but how much strength he has in his hands.
Although the Qinhuai Army was once the biggest trump card in the hands of the Jinyi Qi family, things have changed. Now, although the Qinhuai Army still has a close relationship with the Jinyi Qi family, the actual control of the Qinhuai Army is no longer in the hands of the Jinyi Qi family. The only force that can hold on now is the newly built Black Scale Camp.
Now that the emperor has found an opportunity to let Qining take charge of the Ministry of Punishment, Qi Ning certainly cannot miss such an opportunity. For him, the top priority is to firmly control the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment. As long as he can have the card of the Ministry of Punishment in his hand, Coupled with the Black Scale Camp, the Sima family would not dare to act rashly against the Jinyi Qi family, and if the Sima family wanted to eliminate dissidents in the court, it would be very difficult for the Jinyi Qi family to control the Criminal Department.
On the day of midnight, Qi Ning went straight to the Yamen of the Criminal Department early in the morning. He had already figured out that the officials of the six Yamen had to enter the Yamen at three o'clock to do errands, so just after midnight, he was already sitting in the Yamen of the Criminal Department. Main hall.
The Ministry of Punishment is the place in charge of punishment, so the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment naturally looks very majestic. Qining arrived at the lobby, sat on a chair, closed his eyes to rest, and said nothing from the beginning.
Three quarters ago, many officials from the Seventh Division of the Criminal Department had already arrived inside and outside the main hall. The first one to arrive was Shen Lian, the head of the Criminal Department whom Qi Ning had met last time. Later, Chu Mingwei, the right servant of the Criminal Department, also arrived early. Qi Ning He kept his composure and glanced at every person who came in. Liao Zhen, the Superintendent of Police, and Wei Yujiang, whom he had seen on the Qinhuai River that night, were also among the crowd.
At three o'clock in the morning, thirty or forty people, large and small, were already standing in the lobby, standing on both sides. Qining could tell from his official uniform that most of the chiefs of the Seventh Department of the Criminal Department had already arrived, but the Autumn Trial Department The presiding judge Cao Sen was nowhere to be seen, and Da Xichong, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishments, was also not among the crowd.
"Master Shen, what time is it now?" Qi Ning sat upright, looked at Shen Lian, and asked with a smile.
Shen Lian hurriedly stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Replying to the Marquis, it has just passed three o'clock!"
"Master Hou?" Qi Ning said with a smile: "I am sitting here, am I just Master Hou?"
Shen Lian was stunned for a moment, but he was obviously an extremely shrewd person, and he hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, yes, I have neglected my duty. Sir, it has already passed the third quarter of the hour!"
Qi Ning nodded slightly, glanced at it, and then said: "Three days ago, I already told you that I would order a meal today. I also warned that even if the house is on fire, I must arrive on time." His eyes were sharp. , asked: "Shilang Chu, have all the people from the Criminal Department arrived?"
Chu Mingwei also glanced at it, and then came out and said: "Back to the reporting hall, except for those who went out of the capital for business, almost all the officials, big and small, who stayed in the capital have arrived, and there are about a dozen people who may have been delayed on the way."
Those who participated in the ordering were naturally the officials of the Ministry of Punishment. The jailers below did not need to come to order the order. There were a total of 136 officials in the Department of Punishment. There were indeed hundreds of people inside and outside the hall at this time.
"Mr. Shen, if anyone has not arrived, please record it in the book immediately and present it to me." Qining leaned back, closed his eyes and said, "We are waiting!"
Everyone looked at each other, Shen Lian was startled for a moment, but he quickly took the book in his hand and checked the officials. After half an hour, the list was presented. Qining reached out to take it, flipped through it a few times, and threw the list away. On the table, still sitting back in the chair, closing his eyes and meditating.
After a while, Chu Mingwei raised his hands and said, "Boutang, do you want to send someone to urge you?"
Qi Ning did not open his eyes. He just raised his hand and waved casually. He did not explain clearly what he meant. All the officials were stunned, but Chu Mingwei had already turned around and whispered to Shen Lian: "Send someone." Find all those people."
"Master Chu, where is Master Daxi...?"
"Send someone to urge you." Chu Mingwei whispered, "I told you that the Lord of the Department will be waiting in the Yamen, and no one is allowed to be absent."
Shen Lian agreed and hurriedly retreated.
After Shen Lian sent people out, he returned to the hall and heard snoring in the quiet hall. The officials in the hall looked at each other, and the snoring came from Qining. , Shen Lian looked over and saw that the young Marquis had fallen asleep leaning on the chair.
Shen Lian approached Chu Mingwei and whispered: "Master Chu, this...?"
"We are all waiting." Chu Mingwei said calmly and calmly: "Today is the first day of the Ministry, sir. If everyone is not here, we will naturally have to wait."
Shen Lian nodded slightly and didn't say much.
Suddenly, an extremely absurd scene appeared in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Justice was sitting in the lobby and shouting loudly. However, hundreds of officials inside and outside the lobby stood silent and no one said a word.
After a long while, several officials finally came belatedly. Seeing the formation inside the yamen, the expressions of several officials changed slightly, but they still went forward bravely. When they reached the door, they hesitated. But he didn't dare to go into the lobby.
Some officials looked at these belated officials with a look of gloating in their eyes.
When Cao Sen, the chief judge of the Autumn Trial Division, arrived at the Yamen of the Punishment Department, it was already a quarter past two hours, nearly an hour later than the stipulated time.
Early in the morning, hundreds of officials stood waiting inside and outside the lobby because someone was late. They inevitably had complaints in their hearts. Although they complained about the harshness of the young marquis, they also blamed these late officials for causing trouble to everyone.
When Cao Sen came outside the hall, he saw everyone's eyes on him. He didn't look guilty at all. Instead, he swaggered into the hall and stood next to Superintendent Si Liao Zhen. He looked like he was fine. Many people were surprised. He frowned slightly, but at this moment, they heard the snoring stop suddenly. Everyone hurriedly looked at Qining, only to see that the young Marquis had sat up, raised his arms and stretched.
Cao Sen glanced at him, his expression calm. Qining glanced around, his eyes stopped on Cao Sen, and said with a smile: "When did Cao Sishen arrive?"
Cao Sen came out and said: "Report to the Marquis...!" Before he finished speaking, Shen Lian coughed twice as a reminder. Cao Sen glanced at it and continued: "I was reviewing some cases last night. I didn’t rest until midnight. I got up a little late this morning and couldn’t get to the Yamen in time. Please punish me!”
Qi Ning smiled and said: "So, Director Cao worked really hard last night." He leaned forward slightly and said with a half-smile: "So where did Director Cao review the cases last night? What cases did he review and the results? How about it, I wonder if I can say it in public?"
Cao Sen was startled, but he still had the courage to say: "Beizi... Beizi is checking the cases at home. There are many cases, Beizi... Beizi will go back and sort them out, and then submit them to the Marquis."
"At home?" Qi Ning touched his chin, looked at Chu Mingwei, and asked, "Master Chu, when does the Criminal Department Yamen get off work?"
"Master Huibu Tang, as a rule, if you are not on duty that night, you can leave the Yamen at the same time. If there are important cases to be tried, you may have to stay in the Yamen." Chu Mingwei said respectfully.
"Then were there any important cases at the Autumn Tribunal yesterday?"
"As far as I know, the Autumn Trial Division had no major cases to handle yesterday."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, stared at Cao Sen, and asked with a smile: "So, Mr. Cao left the Yamen at Youshi yesterday and went on business until midnight?"
Cao Sen's eyes twitched slightly, but he still said: "Exactly... that's exactly it!"
Qi Ning still had a smile on his face and said: "Sir Cao, I give you one last chance. Please recall carefully. When you left the Yamen at Youshi last night, did you really return to the house and work until midnight? No. Answer in a hurry, think slowly, since I have been waiting for you for an hour, I won’t mind waiting a little longer, think about it before you reply!"