As soon as King Lunnan died, the seven dragon pillars were collected by King Zhao, and they rose up from the ground with a roar.
Except for the fact that the palace was in ruins, the entire royal city was basically unscathed.
However, when Shen Zhui and others drove the warship over, they clearly sensed that some powerful auras were extinguishing quietly.
Some mysterious men in black kept appearing all over the royal city, killing some officials who wanted to escape.
As the master of the feudal kingdom, King Lunnan took refuge in an external force, and it was not soul slavery, which was really unpredictable.
The huge official power under his command is deeply involved. After all, the leader of a country has taken refuge in him, so it is difficult to say that the people below are absolutely clean.
And the men in black who killed these officials belonged to the Supervision Department!
"These people... are not weak." Shen Zhui stood on the deck, sensing the hidden scenes of the battle. Although it was relatively low-key, the distance was so close, and Lu Yuanwei had always turned on the Pantheon Mirror, so of course he could see clearly.
Among them were many officials of the sixth level of the Venerable, who easily killed the ninth-level officials of the Venerable, and then indifferently searched and destroyed the corpses.
As for the civil servants, they are basically nothing to see.
Usually, the cultivation of civil servants is entirely based on the bureaucratic system, and most of them rely on the luck of the court to improve their cultivation.
It looks as if it's going up, and it's going down just as fast.
With a secret order from the center, those civil servants who have reached the ninth level of the Venerable can be thrown into the abyss.
Of course, it's not that simple for someone above the venerable level.
The third-rank officials are the pillars of the country. They usually hold important positions in the six ministries, or are directly ministers of the central government. They must be submitted to the emperor through the central government, and the royal pen and ink are approved, and the imperial edict is issued before the civil servants of the third rank and above can be abolished.
"I just found out that none of the thirty-six sons of King Lunnan was clean. They were all dealt with." Kong Yangzhou appeared behind Shen Zhui and kept shaking his head. "Thirty-six royal families were uprooted. , all descendants of the royal family within the eighth generation, above the Lingqiao realm, have no chance of survival. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, they will be imprisoned in a desolate prison and die of old age."
"The Lunnan Kingdom is basically over." Shen Zhui sighed.
The head of a country has taken refuge with foreign forces, and it is obvious that the people below are definitely not clean. If a prince is traveling abroad, or practicing in the secret realm of the court, and proves to have absolutely nothing to do with this matter, then he might still have a chance to inherit the kingdom. part of the property.
However, the situation of King Lunnan is obviously impossible. The most likely thing is to remove the title, split the Lunnan Kingdom into several large mansions, and put them under the direct jurisdiction of Kyoto.
"Hmph, this King Lunnan deserves it." Kong Yangzhou snorted coldly. "He led the southern Xinjiang witchcraft and Gu cult to neighboring countries, and then betrayed the intelligence, causing a prince to die on the battlefield more than seventy years ago. .As for the implementation of the national policy of destroying ancestral clans and abandoning temples five years ago, King Talunnan was the most enthusiastic."
"If it's just the first two cases and he dies, your majesty may still care about the old relationship, keep his bloodline, demote him and inherit an idle marquis. It is possible that he will not be exterminated."
The two of them were chatting and moving forward. Soon the mysterious men in black disappeared one after another.
Not long after, a large and majestic purple fleet appeared in front and negotiated with King Zhao's personal guards. Among them were generals in armor and officials in civilian uniforms.
"Who are those people?" Shen Zhui asked doubtfully.
"The honor guard to welcome King Zhao is Qin Ming, the Minister of War, Cheng Hai, the Minister of Rites, and Haige, the transfer envoy between the two continents. They will lead us into the capital." Kong Yangzhou said. "There should be some supervisors. There are people there, but I don’t know about that.”
"Transporter Hagrid?" Shen Zhui seemed to have heard this name somewhere, but he couldn't remember it for a while.
"Shen Zhui, Hagrid, the transshipment envoy between these two continents, is Hai Qing's father." Zen Xin reminded.
"Huh? Hai Qing?" Shen Zhui suddenly realized.
Back in the Holy Word Secret Realm, there were several difficult opponents in the third level. Hai Qing and Long Qie were one of them.
Speaking of which, Long Qie and Hai Qing wanted to form an alliance with themselves in the end, and planned to exchange the secret of being promoted above the great concubine. However, Shen Zhui found the secret of becoming king through Hai Qing's words, and finally became the king. Entering the palace city of Daxia, he met Xia Jie, the second human emperor, and was granted the title of King Pingyang.
"It seems that after entering Beijing, I will meet a group of old acquaintances." Shen Zhui smiled slightly.
Wei Tianlong, who originally handed over the tips to him, Ji Chang, a descendant of the royal family...
A curtain of water appeared in the palm of his hand, and the name of the welcoming team appeared on the token. After a moment, Shen Zhui saw a very familiar name - Wei Wenhe.
"From the fifth rank, chief guest secretary?" Shen Zhui looked at the introduction on the list and smiled. From the fifth rank, this official in the capital is not a small one. Obviously, his former boss is also considered a good one. good.
"Lao Kong, is this chief guest and secretary considered a high official?" Shen Suixi asked.
Kong Yangzhou looked at Shen Zhui with a strange look on his face and said: "There are various responsibilities in the Ministry of Etiquette, including the Chief Secretary, the Sacrifice Department, the Cleaning Officials Department, the Printing Department, and the Chief Guest Department. The most useless one among them is the Chief Guest Secretary. What, you have a friend in the receptionist department?"
"After all, he is a fifth-rank official. How could he be so bad as you said?" Shen Zhui frowned slightly.
"Haha, I, Lao Kong, think that I am not as good as you when it comes to force, but when it comes to understanding various departments, Brother Shen, you are far inferior to me." Kong Yangzhou said proudly.
"The departments of the Ministry of Rites, the Chief Minister is in charge of rituals, military rituals, and academic affairs. It handles many matters such as offering sacrifices to temples, dispatching troops, and managing the academy. Although they are all self-proclaimed clean-blooded people, there is no shortage of oil and water."
"I won't talk about it, Priest Director. The important matters of the country belong to the army and the sacrifices!"
"The Department of Cleaning Officials, which involves integrity and etiquette in official promotion, is a great source of wealth for the Yamen!"
"The Department of Seals is responsible for casting the seals and documents of internal and external officials. It is equivalent to the in-house department of the Ministry of Rites. It is not unimportant."
"Only the chief guest, hehe, is the yamen where the Ministry of Rites welcomes guests. At best, he is an official, but at worst, he is the servant of the Ministry of Rites!"
Kong Yangzhou pointed at the group of people who were nodding and bowing behind the official. "Look, those are the people in charge of guests. The senior officials of the Ministry of Rites went down to the boat, spread out the long ladder, sat down to greet the guests, and served tea... This There are a lot of rules inside, unlike us soldiers who can just pack up the warship and jump off when we get to the place."
"Being a clerk of the fifth rank? If you are a fifth-rank clerk, there will be some benefits. But if you are a clerk of the fifth rank, you will get nothing, but you will have to do a lot of work. In terms of benefits, it is not as good as being a clerk of the cleaning department. Sixth grade! Who did your friend offend? He actually works in the chief guest department!"
"..." After listening to Kong Yangzhou's introduction, Shen Zhui could not help but be speechless. His brows gradually knitted together.
According to him, Wei Wenhe was young, talented, and backed by the Wei family. He was his great-grandfather who was the right minister. How could such a person be willing to stay in a dispensable yamen like the Ministry of Rites?
"Let's go." Shen Zhui clasped his hands and came out of the warship.
"Where to go? Wait for me." Kong Yangzhou quickly followed.
…………
There was a lavender ship in the welcoming team. This ship was the concierge ship sent by the chief guest. It looked majestic and solemn, but the interior was indeed antique and full of book atmosphere.
And inside the ship in the concierge building, there was an old man. His hair was carefully combed, and he was sitting leisurely on a big chair, drinking genuine fragrant tea.
From time to time, officials came in and out to report, but when facing Li Wenqing, the chief official of the Chamber of Commerce, they subconsciously slowed down, fearing that if something went wrong, they would be scolded.
After a while, after drinking a cup of tea, Li Wenqing put down the cup, called a young official over, and asked: "Have the arrangements been made for the people sent to the warship of Marquis Wenxin to take orders?"
"Your Majesty, we have sent people there. They are all smart and smart. They will ensure that Marquis Wenxin is satisfied. No etiquette will be missed during the sacrifice." The young official said respectfully.
"Very good, the imperial court has newly conferred the title of Marquis Wu, and the ceremony is a big deal. Whether it is Marquis Wenxin who is dissatisfied or the princes of the imperial court who are dissatisfied, it is our chief guest who will be scolded. We must not make any mistakes! I urge those who are going forward to do so. Be cautious and respectful, if you offend Marquis Wenxin, be prepared to stay in the Zhangbin Division for your rest for the rest of your life!"
It seemed that the appearance of this last sentence made the young official extremely frightened, and he immediately said: "Yes, sir, I will go and check again to see if there are any omissions."
"Wait, come back!" Li Wenqing stopped the young official again. "Where is the champion?"
The young official's face changed slightly, "This..."
"Asshole! You dare to be disrespectful to the champion?!" Li Wenqing said angrily. "If you piss him off, you won't even have a chance to stay in the Headmaster's Department and take care of yourself!"
"Sir, sir." The young official said aggrievedly. "Sir Wei is in charge of the champion. This is none of my subordinates' business."
"Wei Wenhe doesn't understand etiquette. You've followed me for so long and you don't understand it either?!"
"Send someone over quickly. By the way, call Wei Wenhe over!"
"Yes." The young official hurriedly left.
"This ungrateful thing..." A trace of anger flashed in Li Wenqing's eyes.
The official who saw the angry chief on the side became gentler in his actions.
At the same time, everyone felt a moment of silence for that young Mr. Wei.
Obviously, the title of Champion Marquis is of great significance. In terms of courtesy, it is more important than Wenxin Marquis. But why did such a mistake happen at this juncture?
Originally, the Wei family had lost power in the court, and Mr. Wei was usually disliked by Si Zheng. Fortunately, this time, he was given an excuse.
"Master Wei, you are going to suffer."
"If you ingratiate yourself with the champion, you might be able to get promoted in the future."
"If you are favored, it would be better to be taken to the prince's kingdom and granted a title than to stay in the Zhangbinsi... No wonder Si Zheng is angry."
"Shh, keep your voice down and do your thing."
"..."
The busy officials continued to go about their business, but when they sent people to the champion warship, Shen Zhui came directly to the outside of the courtesy warship.
This boat is exactly the building boat on the Weiwen River.
"Brother Wenhe." Shen Zhui's spiritual thoughts floated gently on the barrier of the concierge boat.
"Who?" A gentle voice sounded.
"It's me, Shen Zhui."
"Shen Zhui?" Wei Wenhe opened the door curtain and walked out. He looked at Shen Zhui happily.
"It's me." Shen Zhui cupped his hands and smiled. "Brother Wenhe, long time no see."
"Quick, please come in." Wei Wenhe also waved his hand, opened the barrier, and invited Shen Zhui in.
After entering the boat, the two of them took their seats. Naturally, a while of greetings was inevitable.
"Nearly two years have passed since we parted ways in Heyuan County. I didn't expect that you would become Marquis Wu." Wei Wenhe looked at Shen Zhui now, his demeanor was completely different from before, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"No matter how high-ranking an official is, he would not dare to forget the kindness of Brother Wenhe. Without Brother Wenhe's promotion, how could he be the champion he is today?" Shen Zhui said with a smile. He had always remembered this. If he hadn't been promoted, I'm afraid it would not be so easy for him to get where he is today with the resources that the county magistrate protected and provided him with.
"It's because you work hard enough. I, Wei Wenhe, don't have the ability to promote a Wuhou." Wei Wenhe shook his head slightly, as if he was mocking himself.
"Brother Wen He seems to be troubled?" Shen asked.
"It's okay not to say anything." Wei Wenhe took out a pot of wine, filled it up for Shen Zhui, and invited Shen Zhui to drink with him.
Shen Zhui picked up the wine glass and took a look at Wei Wenhe. He saw that the other person had changed a lot. In the past, Wei Wenhe never drank alcohol, only drank tea, and was full of high spirits. But now, there is a sense of vicissitudes of life all over his body.
Thinking about it, the past two years in Beijing have not been very satisfactory.
Shen Zhui didn't push him and just drank a few drinks with Wei Wenhe.
After three glasses of wine, Wei Wenhe started to talk a lot as a vein shot up from the center of his eyebrows.
"King Lunnan collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country. He deserves to be killed. But are all his descendants within eight generations worthy of death?"
"As soon as the title of the country was removed and the king was beheaded, everyone pushed the wall down. Not only did they not intercede for him, but they added insult to injury and ordered the Supervision Department to expand the scope of involvement. It is true that the world is in trouble and the methods are all-powerful..."
Shen Zhui frowned, realizing that Wei Wenhe was referring to something, and asked, "I wonder who Brother Wenhe is referring to?"
"Who else could it be?" Wei Wenhe chuckled. "Of course it's the Prime Minister of Taiping!"
Shen Zhui's eyelids twitched slightly. Thanks to Kong Yangzhou, of course he also knew some anecdotes about famous people in the capital. Among them were his potential enemies, the Fan family!
Fan Wenhan, the left prime minister, was extremely powerful in the capital, and the country respected the left. His strategies in governing were often criticized. Because if something bad happened in the princely states, the left prime minister would either suppress it secretly or with extreme ruthlessness. , or post-pressing treatment to whitewash it.
In short, the strategy he implements must be stable and peaceful in all aspects, and it will be a good strategy without any drawbacks!
The officials sent by the imperial court to deal with the situation saw that it was indeed a peaceful situation. In fact, the bitter consequences were passed on to the lower-level people in each vassal state.
"Brother Wenhe, I remember you once said that after returning to Beijing, the place you most want to go to is the Ministry of Punishment. Why..."
Wei Wenhe smiled bitterly and said: "My ancestor's plan to destroy the family and abandon the temple was rejected. In the first year after the decree was withdrawn, the left prime minister united all officials to attack the ancestor, forcing the ancestor to retire. As a result, the position of right prime minister has been lost. It was replaced by Mr. Yang Wenguang and Mr. Yang."
Wei Wenhe sighed: "My brother was able to work as a fifth-rank clerk in the Ministry of Rites and Guests' Department, and it was only after Mr. Yang made it clear that he left a path for the young people of the Wei family in the officialdom."
"Brother Wei, don't worry. With your talent, sooner or later..." Shen Zhui was about to say a few words of relief when he found someone breaking into the barrier outside.
When a fair-skinned young official saw Wei Wenhe drinking with a stranger, he immediately shouted angrily:
"Wei Wenhe, when things are urgent, you are still here drinking and having fun! Such dereliction of duty, if you anger the champion, how can you afford it?! This black gauze hat of yours that you managed to keep will probably be completely gone!"
"Huh, why don't you quickly prepare the ceremony and make arrangements? Then quickly go to Lord Sizheng to apologize!"