A Clash of Gods - Chapter 903

[Chapter 893]

Of course Qi Ning understood that Sima Lan seemed to be trusting, but in fact it was an implied warning.

Sima Lan overthrew the King of Huainan, but welcomed the Jinyi Qi family as an opponent. Although the Jinyi Qi family’s power in the court is far from being on a par with the Sima family, no one will forget that the Jinyi Qi family has commanded the Qinhuai Army for decades. , Before the relationship between the Jinyi Qi family and the Qinhuai Army was completely stripped, even the Sima family, who was powerful and powerful, would not dare to do anything to the Jinyi Qi family easily.

Moreover, the situation in the world has changed now, and the civil strife in the Northern Han Dynasty is indeed an excellent opportunity for the Chu State to go north. This is clearly seen by the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty, and it is impossible for Sima Lan to see it clearly.

Of course, the Sima family hoped to find an opportunity to overthrow the Jinyi Qi family, so as to be in charge of the government alone, but Sima Lan knew better that the Jinyi Qi family was different from the King of Huainan. Conflict, Chu State will face a bloody fight against each other.

With a military background and a black-scaled battalion, the King of Huainan is by no means comparable.

Once there is civil strife in Chu State, the great opportunity to go north to conquer Han will also be missed, and no one knows if this opportunity is missed, there will be another chance.

Sima Lan certainly wanted to dominate the court and the opposition, but after all, he was an old official of the three dynasties, and the situation could not be limited to the state of Chu. His eyes were bound to look to the north.

If it is possible to maintain peace with the Jinyi Qi family at the moment, and even for the sake of the Northern Expedition, the Jinyi Qi family can be made to follow the lead of the Sima family, then it will naturally be the final result.

Qi Ning naturally heard the meaning of Sima Lan’s words, and Sima Lan really wanted to use the Northern Expedition as an excuse to let Jinyi Qi’s family follow him.

If the Sima clan really stopped fighting in the Chu state and focused on the Northern Expedition, Qi Ning would not be unwilling to cooperate, but Qi Ning knew very well that if the Sima clan did not take advantage of the Northern Expedition in the imperial court Expansion of power to exclude dissidents, then it would not be the Sima clan.

In Qi Ning’s words, he also revealed information to Sima Lan. If Sima really expanded the territory for the northern expedition of the Chu Kingdom, the Jinyi Qi family would cooperate, but if there were other plans, the Jinyi Qi family would not do anything. On the wall, let Sima refer to a donkey as a horse in the middle of the court.

The two spoke with a sharp voice, and each expressed their stance and attitude.

But Qi Ning also knew that Chu State was indeed going to start planning for the Northern Expedition. After all, the three princes of the Northern Han Dynasty fought against each other in order to compete for the throne. With the chaos of war, the Northern Han Dynasty would fall apart and fall into an unprecedented turmoil. Such an opportunity is rare in a lifetime. , it is impossible to ask for it, and it is absolutely impossible for the monarchs and ministers of Chu to miss such an opportunity.

The departure of the Eastern Qi embassy also gradually faded the festive atmosphere of the emperor’s wedding that lasted for many days.

Justice is not in the hearts of the people, right or wrong is about strength. Qi Ning knows this truth better than anyone else. If he wants to stand in the court, it is not because of how close he is to the emperor, but how much strength he has in his hands.

Although the Qinhuai Army was once the biggest ace in the hands of the Jinyi Qi family, the situation has changed. Although the Qinhuai Army still has a great 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 to seize now is the newly built Black Scale Battalion.

Now that the emperor has found an opportunity to let Qi Ning join the Department of Punishment, Qi Ning certainly cannot miss such an opportunity. For him, the top priority is to firmly control the yamen of the Department of Punishment. Coupled with the black scale camp, then the Sima family would not dare to act rashly towards the Jinyi Qi family, and if the Sima family wanted to exclude dissidents from the court, it would be very difficult for the Jinyi Qi family to control the Ministry of Punishment.

On the day of Dianmao, Qi Ning went straight to the Xingbu Yamen early in the morning. He had already figured out that the officials of the Sixth Yamen had to enter the Yamen at three o’clock in the morning, so they were already seated in the Xingbu Yamen just after the first hour. main hall.

The Punishment Department is the place where the name of the punishment is in charge, so the lobby of the Punishment Department naturally looks very dignified. Qi Ning went to the lobby, sat on the chair, closed his eyes and rested, and did not say a word from the beginning.

Three quarters ago, many officials from the Seventh Division of the Ministry of Punishment had already arrived inside and outside the main hall. The first person to arrive was Shen Lian, the head of the Ministry of Punishment, whom Qi Ning had met last time. Quietly, every time someone came in, he glanced at it, and the supervisor Liao Zhen, the secretary, and Wei Yujiang, whom he saw in the Qinhuai River that night, were also among the crowd.

At three o’clock in the morning, there were already thirty or forty people standing in the lobby, standing on both sides. Qi Ning could see from the official uniform that most of the chiefs of the seven divisions of the Ministry of Punishment had already arrived, but the autumn trial division had already arrived. The judge, Cao Sen, was nowhere to be seen, and Da Xichong, the left servant of the Ministry of Punishment, was not in the crowd either.

“Mr. 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, “Report to the Marquis, it’s just been three quarters after Mao Shi!”

“Master Hou?” Qi Ning said with a smile: “I’m sitting here, is it just Master Hou?”

Shen Lian was stunned for a moment, but he was obviously an extremely shrewd person, and said hurriedly: “Yes, yes, negligence in my humble position, Lord Huibutang, it has already been three quarters of an hour!”

Qi Ning nodded slightly, glanced at it, and then said: “Three days ago, this official has already made a statement. Today, I will order Mao, and I have warned that even if the house is on fire, I must arrive on time for this official.” His eyes were sharp. , asked: “Chu Shilang, have all the people from the punishment department arrived?”

Chu Mingwei also glanced at it, and then came out: “Reporting to the Ministry, in addition to those who are going to Beijing on business, almost all the officials who stayed in Beijing are here, and there are about a dozen people who may have been delayed on the way.”

The officials who participated in Dianmao were naturally the officials of the Department of Punishment. The jailers below did not have to come to Dianmao. There were a total of 136 officials in the Department of Punishment, and there were indeed hundreds of people inside and outside the lobby.

“Mr. Shen, if anyone is not here, immediately record it in the book and present it to this official.” Qi Ning leaned back, closed his eyes and said, “We’ll wait!”

Everyone looked at each other, Shen Lian was stunned for a moment, but he quickly took the book in his hand and checked the officials. After half an hour, the book was presented. Qi Ning reached out and took it. At the table, he was still leaning on the chair, closing his eyes and resting.

After a while, Chu Mingwei said with a hand: “Minister, do you send someone to urge you?”

Qi Ning didn’t open his eyes, just raised his hand and waved it casually. He didn’t explain what it meant. All the officials were startled, but Chu Mingwei had already turned around and whispered to Shen Lian, “Send someone to go. Get those people here.”

“Master Chu, where is Master Daxi?”

“Also send someone to urge you.” Chu Mingwei whispered: “It was said that Lord Butang was waiting in the yamen, and no one was allowed to be absent.”

Shen Lian agreed and hurried back.

After Shen Lian sent someone out, he returned to the hall, but he heard a snoring sound in the quiet hall. The officials in the hall all looked at each other, and the snoring came from Qi Ning’s side. , Shen Lian looked over and saw that the little Marquis was already leaning on the chair and fell asleep.

Shen Lian approached Chu Mingwei and whispered, “Master Chu, this?”

“We’re all waiting.” Chu Mingwei said calmly and calmly, “Today is the first day of Mr. Butang’s ordering, and before everyone arrives, naturally we have to wait.”

Shen Lian nodded slightly and said nothing.

All of a sudden, an extremely absurd scene appeared in the hall of the Ministry of Punishment. The minister of the Ministry of Punishment was sitting in the hall, shouting everywhere, while the hundreds of officials inside and outside the hall stood without speaking, and no one said a word.

After a long time, several officials finally arrived late. Seeing the battle in the yamen, the expressions of several officials changed slightly, but they still braved the front and went forward. When they got to the door, they hesitated. But he didn’t dare to go into the hall.

Some officials looked at these officials who had been long overdue, and their eyes gloated over schadenfreude.

When Cao Sen, the judge of the Autumn Trial Division, arrived at the yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, it was already two quarters of an hour, nearly an hour later than the stipulated time.

Early in the morning, hundreds of officials stood waiting in and out of the lobby because someone was late. It was inevitable that there would be complaints in their hearts. Although they complained about the harshness of this little prince, they also blamed these late officials for hurting everyone.

Cao Sen came to the outside of the hall, and when he saw everyone’s eyes on him, he didn’t have the slightest guilt. Instead, he swaggered into the hall and stood beside Superintendent Si Liao Zhen. He frowned slightly, but at this moment, the snoring stopped abruptly, everyone hurriedly looked at Qi Ning, but saw that the little prince had already sat up, his arms raised and stretched.

Cao Sen glanced at him, his expression was calm, Qi Ning swept around, his eyes stopped on Cao Sen, and he said with a smile, “When did Cao Sishen arrive?”

Cao Sen came out and said, “Return to the Marquis!” Before he could finish speaking, Shen Lian coughed twice, intending to remind him, Cao Sen glanced at it, and continued: “Beijing reviewed some cases last night, and also Knowing that the child has only just rested, I woke up a little late this morning, and I failed to arrive at the yamen in time, so please punish the Lord Hou!”

Qi Ning smiled and said, “So, Sishen Cao really had a hard time last night.” He leaned forward slightly and said with a smile that was not a smile, “So where did Sishen Cao review the case last night? What other cases did he review? How, I don’t know if I can say it in public?”

Cao Sen was stunned, but he still said bravely: “The low-ranking and the low-ranking refer to the cases in one’s own home. There are many cases. The low-ranking and low-ranking jobs will sort them out and present them to the Hou Ye.”

“At home?” Qi Ning touched his chin, looked at Chu Mingwei, and asked, “Master Chu, what time does the Xingbu Yamen leave work?”

“Master Huibutang, as a rule of thumb, if you are not on duty that night, you can leave the yamen when you are there. If there is an important case to be tried, you may have to stay in the yamen.” Chu Mingwei said respectfully.

“Then what important case did the Autumn Trial Office have yesterday?”

“As far as the lower officials know, the Autumn Trial Division had no major case to deal with yesterday.”

Qi Ning nodded slightly, stared at Cao Sen, and asked with a smile, “So, Mr. Cao left the yamen at Youshi yesterday, and has been working until midnight?”

Cao Sen’s eyes twitched slightly, but he still said, “Exactly!”

Qi Ning still had a smile on his face, and said: “Cao Secretary, this officer will give you one last chance. Please recall it for yourself. You left the yamen last night. Did you really return to the mansion and work until Zishi? Don’t. Hurry up to answer, think slowly, since this officer has waited for you for an hour, I won’t care about waiting a little longer, and then answer after thinking about it!”