The solemn funeral was held in the auxiliary hall of the Temple of Heaven in the north of the palace. This is the place where emperors of all dynasties have held funerals. Groups of ministers and dignitaries filed in. The coffin was placed in the center of the hall, and the crystal screen showed the old and thin emperor. Heaven and man are forever separated.
The person who presided over the funeral ceremony was Ning Yuanwang, the Deputy Minister of Administration of the Empire. A large number of boring clichés were recited by Ning Yuanwang in a passionate tone, which made Wu Feng, who had been standing in the back row of the hall, extremely suffocated. There was silence in the hall, except for Ning Yuanwang's old voice echoing in the hall. The palace etiquette officer with a high bun and a cold face once again attracted Wu Feng's attention. His beautiful face always showed a solemn air, especially Those pair of Jianshui eyes are like morning stars, always bringing a chill when they pass by you.
While standing bored among the ministers, Wu Feng quietly looked at the etiquette officer who was said to be the empress dowager's grandniece and had considerable influence on the empress dowager. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, he was gathered together but not separated, and his chest was straight. Her hips were raised and her buttocks were tucked in, so she was probably still a virgin, but she was probably about the same age as An Qier and Situ Yushuang. It was indeed a rare thing for her to be able to maintain her virginity at this age.
Every time she sings, the pure and clear sound that blooms from her lips always makes Wu Feng feel a throbbing feeling. This voyeuristic feeling puts Wu Feng in a special and exciting situation. If she can strip her clothes off, Playing with it in such a solemn environment, I wonder what the taste will be like? At this moment, Wu Feng was surprised that he had such evil and absurd thoughts in his heart.
According to the royal etiquette procedures of the Tanghe Empire, once the old emperor is buried in the coffin, the next step is the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor. The enthronement ceremony of the new emperor should be held in the main hall of the Temple of Heaven and then held in the Dezheng Hall. However, in view of the current Due to the complicated situation, the Provisional Military and Political Committee, after consulting the Queen Mother and Her Majesty, set the time for selecting the new emperor in one month, and the enthronement ceremony will be held on the second day after the selection.
After the burial was completed, the imperial political decision-making committee announced the decision, which immediately caused an uproar in the court. Doesn't this mean that within this month, the empire will still be in a leaderless situation? ! And local officials from various counties in the empire had to stay in the imperial capital for another month until the new emperor was born. And facing the end of the year, how should local government affairs be handled
He watched coldly as a group of colleagues were shouting angrily in the court. Wu Feng did not participate in the discussion. It was obvious that the prestige of the interim decision-making committee of the empire was difficult to convince the public. Everyone knew that this was just a transitional organization, so The more noisy they become, the more they become more and more unscrupulous. The Ning Yuanwang incident announced on behalf of the Provisional Military and Political Decision-making Committee was so strong that some of the officials reacted so strongly that they were somewhat undecided. Seeing that Ning Yuanwang was hesitant, the ministers were even more noisy and cursed. Seeing this situation, Ning Yuanwang had to pause. During the court meeting, he asked a group of ministers to rest temporarily in the main hall and surrounding side halls, while he summoned a group of members of the decision-making committee to go to the harem to report the opinions of the ministers to the Empress Dowager and the ministers. He would make an announcement after the final results of the deliberations came out two hours later.
Ning Yuanwang's cowardly performance made Wu Feng quite interesting. If he could not show strength in this situation, it would be more difficult to convince the officials from various ministries who had nothing to do and talk about for a living. Such a result would only make the government more and more insecure. It was difficult to control until the power of several princes surfaced and they became independent.
While they were thinking about it, the ministers began to disperse one after another, talking in circles. The passing of His Majesty the Emperor for a month has caused almost everyone to lose the sense of novelty without His Majesty the Emperor. More people even seem to think that this is not bad. Faced with the decisions of the Military and Political Decision-making Committee, they can question and criticize unceremoniously. If they don't like it, they can even yell and refuse to implement it. However, this committee without the power to replace officials has no ability to control the government. Its inherent flaws make it difficult to move forward.
"Master Li, it seems that we are in the same boat, and we can only stay in the imperial capital for a while." A greeting from behind interrupted Wu Feng's thoughts.
The obese man and another rather rustic middle-aged man appeared behind Wu Feng. When he turned around, Wu Feng had a cheerful smile on his face. He held the other person's hand affectionately and said, "Brother Liao, this is also a good thing. After worrying about political affairs all day long, it would be nice to have some leisure time in the imperial capital. I really want to stay in the cozy nest of the imperial capital for a year and a half, and it would be best not to go back to the desolate land in the northwest. .Well, this is—?”
Seeing the rustic man with bright eyes next to the fat man, who always kept a cigarette rod from his body, Wu Feng had actually guessed the man's background, but he still politely hesitated and waited for Liao Qichang's introduction.
"Haha, Mr. Li, this is my old friend Chang Gui. He has admired your name for a long time." The fat man is Liao Qichang, the head of Jiangnan County. His fat face is always full of enthusiasm, smiling from ear to ear. He also patted the two of them on the shoulders affectionately, "Now that you two are neighbors, you should get closer and interact with each other more in the future."
Wu Feng then exchanged greetings with the rustic man and the atmosphere became harmonious.
"Brother Li, your northwest is prospering now. Isn't Qingyang said to be blocked by Jiangnan? Why, you are still not satisfied? How about you and I change places? I will treat the northwest and the north under your rule. Lu Song has admired it for a long time. I heard that the exotic scenery of Northern Lu Song and the countries in the Western Regions is very refreshing, and the thousands of miles of grassland in Tengger is even more fascinating." Liao Qichang joked with a half-smile.
"Haha, Brother Liao is joking. The beautiful scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is unique to the mainland. How can my remote land compare with it? But if Brother Liao has time, he might as well come to the northwest. I will definitely be waiting for him." Wu Feng also smiled and agreed. He said: "Of course, if Brother Chang is interested, I will welcome it as well."
Chang Gui was chatting while carefully observing the young man in front of him. He was gentle and elegant with a rare enthusiasm. He seemed very willing to make friends with him. However, it was a bit inconsistent with the rumors that he killed people without blinking an eye. Maybe in the I am used to overindulging in the borderlands, so I will have to restrain myself a lot when I return to the imperial capital.
Liao Qichang, who had sharp eyes, noticed a hint of worry in Wu Feng's eyebrows when he smiled and said, and said with a smile: "Is there something else on your mind, brother Li? I don't think he is very happy."
Wu Feng didn't want to hide anything, and said with a faint smile: "Well, times are tough. Seeing that the internal situation of the empire is unstable, and foreign invasion is imminent, how can we, the subordinates, feel relieved?" Wu Feng also knew that these news were hidden. Soon everyone will know, so just be accommodating.
"Oh?" The two of them were also experienced people and immediately noticed the hidden meaning in Wu Feng's words, "Brother Li, there seems to be something in his words."
He pretended to glance around and saw that no one was paying attention. Wu Feng lowered his voice and said, "The Kaman and Pu people are expected to launch an unprecedented attack on Beiyuan and Yanyun in the next two days. If you two have Whatever needs to be dealt with, take action as soon as possible.”
It was like a thunderbolt that shook the sky, shocking both of them so much that they trembled, "Brother, are you serious about this?"
Wu Feng pondered for a moment and then said: "There should be nothing wrong. It depends on you two whether you believe it or not."
As soon as Wu Feng said this, they both knew that he was absolutely right. With his reputation as the Northwest King and his intelligence network in the north and Jeroke, his words were at least 80% reliable. This is hard-earned news. Once the war breaks out in the north, real estate prices in the neighboring imperial capital Donghai will definitely plummet, while food and other daily necessities will skyrocket. The five lakes in the south of the Yangtze River will be no exception. Just the controllability of food prices. That's enough to make a good fortune.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, he knew that they had believed his story. Wu Feng said again: "Brother Chang, I guess things won't be that simple this time. It's hard to say whether the Machihan people will be involved here. , I’m afraid your Wuhu won’t be able to escape, so you have to take care of yourself.”
Chang Gui was shocked and grabbed Wu Feng's hand and asked, "Brother Li, what do you mean by this?"
"Brother Chang, can't you see the seriousness of the problem? If the Kamans and Puers join forces to invade the south, the scale can be imagined. However, the current situation in the empire is chaotic and unclear. The Machi Khans have already established a firm foothold in Balingfu. Heel, doesn't Brother Chang know what the navy trained by the Machi Khan in Yue Jing is used for? According to the information I have, this navy has secretly set off to Balingfu half a month ago? Brother Chang is a local snake. He doesn't even know this information, right? Unless someone wants to deliberately deceive you!" Li Wufeng asked in surprise, "How could the people of Machihan just stand by and watch like this when they get this good opportunity? His Highness the Third Highness is not in Wuhu. , I’m afraid it’s difficult for all departments to work together, and the current situation in Wuhu is quite dangerous.”
Chang Gui's face suddenly turned gray, and his lips twitched violently like a freshly cut wound. He didn't come back to his senses for a long time: "That's it!"
Both Wu Feng and Liao Qichang on the side heard other meanings in the other party's words, but in this situation, it was inconvenient to ask. However, Liao Qichang apologized to Wu Feng and said goodbye, saying that there were some matters that needed to be dealt with immediately, and hurriedly Pulling Chang Gui away quickly, Wu Feng did not hold back. He knew that after learning the news, the two of them naturally had a lot of private business matters to deal with, otherwise once the news spread, it would no longer be valuable.
Looking at the backs of the two people leaving in a hurry, Wu Feng felt a little emotional. News is worthless once it becomes outdated, but when used at the right time, it can produce a hundredfold benefit. When there was civil strife in Beiyuan, Xiao Tang instructed the Northwest Finance Bureau to send agents to buy real estate at low prices in Anyuan, Pinglu and even Qinghe. He took advantage of the local gentry and nobles who were forced to flee and dispose of real estate at low prices and the Taiping Church people to auction and confiscate the property. The fields and real estate are crazy to get into. In fact, as early as that moment, Wu Feng and Xiao Tang were already ready to control Beiyuan. Even Hua Yumei and Guan Yingying quietly joined forces to come to these places. Investment, and once Northwest takes over these places, their value will increase exponentially, and the profits can certainly be expected.