The uproarous Ezhou incident ended with an unexpected result.
The Jiangnan faction of officials suffered the greatest setback in history. Even Prime Minister Feng had no choice but to resign and return to his hometown. None of the officials who tried to use the Ezhou incident to attack Tang Ning, the acting minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, ended up well.
In the past few years, King Kang and King Duan had been fighting inextricably and bloodyly. These neutral forces mostly watched the excitement. Jiangnan officials represented by Feng Xiang never participated in party disputes, but in this incident,
It suffered a more serious blow than the partisanship against dissidents.
Prince Kang's Mansion.
There was such a big turmoil in the court, so naturally King Kang had already received the news.
Prince Kang poured a glass of wine to himself, shook his head and said, "This Tang Ning is really blessed with great fortune. She won't die even if she does this..."
Ever since the two of them completely fell out and knew that he could no longer win over him, King Kang had no good impression of him and expressed regret that Tang Ning was not defeated in this chaos.
He took a sip of wine, suddenly looked to the other side, and asked: "Mr. Xu, this time my father asked Feng Xiang to roll his clothes and go home, and the former Minister of Civil Affairs, Zhou Shangshu, stepped in. Do you think we should send food to the Zhou Mansion?"
It’s a gift, but don’t let Prince Duan and the Tang family get ahead of you..."
"Your Highness does not need to do anything extra." Mr. Xu said: "Zhou Shangshu is already old and frail. His Majesty asked him to take over the position of right prime minister. It is just a reward and a gift. In less than a year, Prime Minister Zhou will retire from this position.
of."
"Sir, what you said makes sense." King Kang thought for a while, nodded slightly, and said with some regret: "It's a pity that this time, Prime Minister Feng took the lead in attacking Tang Ning, and the Tang family didn't follow. If they also participated in the impeachment, maybe my father would be the same."
When he was angry, he removed his minister of rites, how much trouble would we save..."
Mr. Xu said: "Since the Tang family suffered losses in the past few times, their actions in recent days have tended to be conservative. They will not take action without full certainty. This time Feng Xianghui takes action, I am afraid they are also adding fuel to the fire.
I want to borrow a knife to kill people and reap the benefits."
"Those named Tang have always done things in such a shady manner." King Kang gritted his teeth and said somewhat happily: "At the beginning, I almost wanted to get involved. Fortunately, Mr. Xu, you persuaded me.
Otherwise, our losses will be huge this time."
Mr. Xu looked at him and said: "We have already lost a lot in the fight with Prince Duan. His Highness should cherish his wings and not cause unnecessary trouble. Then Tangning has no direct conflict with us. Your Highness should save all
All attention is focused on King Duan."
King Kang nodded in an educated manner and said, "I understand. Sir, what do you think I should do next?"
Mr. Xu said: "Although the Jiangnan party suffered heavy losses this time, it was all due to Feng Xiang's group. After Feng Xiang fell, the Tang family became the only big tree that Jiangnan officials could rely on. His Majesty is now dissatisfied with Jiangnan. His Highness
We should use this east wind to drag the Tang family into the water, so that we can not only defeat Prince Duan, but also please His Majesty. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
King Kang thought for a while, his face showed joy, and he said: "High, really high!"
Tang family.
Tang Qi's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said: "If you don't succeed enough, you will fail more than you can!"
This time, the incident caused by Prime Minister Feng and his party not only failed to bring down Tang Ning, but also got them involved. Not only did their whole army be wiped out, but it also caused trouble to the entire south of the Yangtze River. Your Majesty is not someone who just accepts good things.
, the harvest of tens of millions of taels of silver was enough for him to pay a huge price to rectify Jiangnan. He must have made plans to Jiangnan.
Jiangnan West Road belongs to Prime Minister Feng's party, and most of Jiangnan East Road belongs to the Tang family.
The Tang family originally wanted to use Feng Xiang's sword to kill people, but now they are not killed. Instead, they are accidentally injured by Feng Xiang and his family, causing disaster to the entire Jiangnan...
"Be careful with King Kang." Tang Huai also frowned and said, "The timing is not good for us. If King Kang takes advantage of the situation, the situation will be even worse."
Tang Qi thought for a while and said: "With Prince Kang's mind, he can't think of this. What's more, with the person named Xu there, he should be able to control the situation."
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant of the Tang family walked in, handed the thing in his hand to Tang Huai respectfully, and said, "Master, this is Mr. Xu's secret letter."
After Tang Huai opened the letter, he glanced at it a few times, crumpled it into a ball, and said in a low voice: "Kang Kang has listened to the counselor and plans to stick to this matter. Xu asked us to make preparations in advance."
When Tang Qi heard this, his expression changed first, and then he said fiercely: "In that case, don't blame us!"
…
Prime Minister Feng fell, and Prime Minister Feng's family was also disbanded. Officials in the court thought that the matter would end there, but they did not expect that on the second day after Prime Minister Feng resigned, King Kang pointed out the evils of Jiangnan in the court.
He requested the imperial court to strictly investigate the taxation of Jiangnan states. This proposal won the hearts of the Holy Spirit. His Majesty rarely praised King Kang in public and gave him many rewards.
However, luck and misfortune are unpredictable. Within a day of King Kang's success, a censor accused him of indulgence every day. There were many displays in the palace that exceeded the regulations. The royal family hierarchy was strict. The emperor had the emperor's regulations, and the prince had the prince's regulations.
Exceeding the rules is a serious crime, and it is not without precedent that exceeding the rules is defined as the intention to rebel, beheading, and confiscating the family. Fortunately, King Kang's situation of exceeding the rules was not too serious. Even so, he was fined and was not allowed to go to the court to discuss politics or participate in court affairs for one month.
…
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is another secret confrontation between King Kang and King Duan, but this time, there is no winner, and both sides suffer...
…
There was nothing more than fighting going on in the court. King Kang and King Duan were both injured in the fight, and each of them calmed down. Everyone also turned their attention away from them and put it elsewhere.
The Fang family's old lady's birthday party was approaching. The Fang family took the old lady to the capital from Lingzhou. His Majesty allowed Concubine Fang Shu to leave the palace for a visit. Most of the officials in the court also had to think about what kind of birthday gifts to give at that time, which would not be ostentatious or ostentatious.
As for being stingy.
The Fang family has always kept a low profile. When it comes to the Fang family, many people in Beijing may not realize it at first, but after thinking about it carefully, they are secretly shocked.
The old lady of the Fang family now has two sons and one daughter, who hold important positions in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel respectively. There is also the beloved concubine Fang Shufei in the palace. If you really think about it, even the Tang family is not as powerful as the Fang family.
Of course, the Tang family still has Prince Duan behind him. Prince Duan is the legitimate prince. The Tang family still has many members, and Prince Run, the daughter of Concubine Fang Shu, is still a child. No matter how good the resources of the Fang family are, they can only be left vacant. After all,
Would a child with no full hair want to be an emperor?
Even so, no one in the Fang family dares to underestimate them in the capital. Not to mention the Tang family, even the two princes are unwilling to have any conflict with the Fang family.
Today is the day when Concubine Fang Shu returns to the palace. Concubines in the palace cannot stay overnight outside the palace. She must return to the palace before the palace doors are closed.
After coming out of the old lady's room, the smile on Fang Shufei's face faded. She looked at Fang Hong and Fang Zhe outside the door and said, "Brother, fourth brother, I have something important to discuss with you."
Seeing her solemn expression, Fang Hong became nervous and said, "Go to my study."
In Fang Mansion's study, Fang Hong closed the door himself, leaving only the three siblings in the room.
Fang Hong then looked at Concubine Fang Shu and asked, "What's the matter with Second Sister?"
Concubine Fang Shu looked at the two of them and said, "Two days ago, Yuan'er told me that he wanted to be the emperor."
Fang Hong's expression changed and he asked, "Who was he bewitched by?"
"He was just unintentional." Concubine Fang Shu shook her head and added: "But his words reminded me that although Yuan'er is still young, he is the prince after all. With the temperament of King Duan and King Kang, once they ascend the throne,
Is there any way for Yuan'er to survive?"
Fang Hong's face was complicated. He naturally knew the answer to this question. If King Kang and King Duan ascended the throne, other princes might still be idle princes and stay in their fiefdoms honestly. However, the birth of several beloved concubines in the palace
The prince will definitely have no way to survive.
Only one of King Duan and King Kang can sit on that position alive, and no matter who sits on that position, they will not let go of King Run who was born by Concubine Shu.
Not only that, even the Fang family will decline or be completely destroyed by then.
After all, the new king would not just watch the power of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household fall into the hands of one family at the same time.
Fang Zhe's expression remained calm. After Concubine Fang Shu finished speaking, he looked at her and asked: "Second sister, do you mean to let Yuan'er also participate in the fight for the heir?"
"Yuan'er is also a prince. He will grow up sooner or later." Fang Shufei looked calm and asked: "Since they can fight, why can't we fight?"
