Chapter 244

Deep in the night, it was quiet.

The county seat of Bianning County was already peaceful, with only the sound of the night watchman echoing over the city. Occasionally, the sound of sparse footsteps would ring out on the empty streets, and a group of night-patrolling soldiers walked past, looking like a group of ruffians even though they were wearing military uniforms.

It was still wartime, and there was a curfew in the county seat at night. But there were people coming and going at high levels everywhere in the city, and the patrolling soldiers just pretended not to see them.

Several official residences were brightly lit at this time, with singing and dancing, a scene of a peaceful and prosperous age.

In the back garden of the Vice Prefect's residence, Sun Chaoen set up a table of wine, with Little Wei Yuan and Yue Qilin sitting at the table. At this time, Yue Qilin looked depressed, burying his head and drinking several cups of wine in a row.

Little Wei Yuan had just arrived and didn't know what had happened, so he asked casually.

Sun Chaoen sighed: "That Captain Song Chao who died not long ago still has a cousin named Song Zhongliang, who serves as a remonstrance official in the imperial court. This Song Zhongliang knew his brother was dead and wanted to take his sister-in-law and children back. Those children are fine, but the young sister-in-law is now living in General Yue's residence, so how can he take her away?"

"And then?"

"That Song Zhongliang submitted several memorials to the court in a row, biting people indiscriminately and fabricating many charges against General Yue. Coupled with the fact that our grain sales deficit was a bit large some time ago, and several granaries were burned, Yuan Qingyan seized the handle and also participated in a memorial. Oh, and there is more, Provincial Military Commander Yue offended the Eunuch Faction. Now it's good, all parties worked together, and the imperial court dismissed General Yue from his post and appointed him to a leisure position. The successor general is already on the way and will take office in two days."

Yue Qilin said: "I don't care about this general, but Feng Lin, who is going to take my position, is Yuan Qingyan's dog. If he investigates to death, some things will not be covered up."

Little Wei Yuan could not help with this.

If there is anything that cannot be covered up, it is the whereabouts of the million catties of military grain. The quantity is too large, there are flaws everywhere, and it cannot withstand investigation at all.

But Sun Chaoen was not worried at all, laughing: "General Yue does not need to worry, it is a good thing to stay in a leisure position for a few days first. Your uncle's tree is big and attracts the wind, and his position is not stable now. If you still have military power in your hands, it is somewhat eye-catching."

Yue Qilin was startled, a flash of light in his eyes, and said: "Did Master Sun hear any wind?"

Sun Chaoen raised his glass to the west and said: "Speaking of which, this has something to do with that person in the west. The latest news from the court is that that person just broke the Shaman army, beheaded two Great Shamans in the formation, and severely injured an important figure of the Shaman tribe who fled. The Shaman tribe's strength in the Western Regions has been greatly damaged, and they have no ability to invade for a while."

Yue Qilin glanced at Little Wei Yuan, his eyes full of shock and suspicion. He knew that Little Wei Yuan was a person who could do great things when they met last time, but he didn't expect Little Wei Yuan to do bigger and bigger things, with no sign of stopping at all.

Little Wei Yuan also frowned. It had only been a few days since that battle, and as a result, the Western Jin court not only knew about it but also issued the news to the Western Regions. This news was transmitted too efficiently.

There are countless spies of Western Jin in the domain, and this kind of thing cannot be stopped, and Little Wei Yuan will not deliberately screen and stop it. It's just that the population of the domain has only been entering and not leaving recently, so how did these spies' news get passed out?

Little Wei Yuan made up his mind to clean up the domain thoroughly after returning.

Sun Chaoen continued: "The Shaman tribe will not invade for a short time, so Provincial Military Commander Yue is a bit redundant. Some people in the imperial court want to transfer him back to the north. If it weren't for Provincial Governor Chen pushing back all the voices, maybe the imperial envoy would already be on the way."

Yue Qilin was stunned: "It's a bit too early to kill the donkey after the millstone is finished, right?"

Sun Chaoen looked at Little Wei Yuan again and said: "This is not killing the donkey after the millstone is finished, but making room for others. Your uncle doesn't want to use troops against the west, but some people want to, so his position is not stable. The day before yesterday, Censor Master Zuo submitted a memorial, saying that Provincial Military Commander Yue colluded with bandits and raised bandits to respect himself, making the thieves grow day by day, and wanted to dismiss him and put him in prison for strict trial."

Yue Qilin slammed the table heavily and said angrily: "These bastards!!"

After drinking several cups of depressed wine, Yue Qilin looked at Sun Chaoen suspiciously and asked: "You knew about the memorial submitted the day before yesterday? How is your news so well-informed?"

Sun Chaoen smiled: "I am now under the Right Prime Minister, and all the officials in the court are my classmates and old friends. I write letters diligently, so the news is naturally better informed."

Yue Qilin's face turned cold and said: "So I have lost my official position, and my uncle is about to lose his official position too. Why are you still inviting me to this meal?"

However, he added, "I am still very willing to eat with Mr. Zhang."

Little Wei Yuan did not speak, waiting for Sun Chaoen's follow-up. He came to eat this meal because he had something to do, and Little Wei Yuan believed that Sun Chaoen would not waste the time of a meal.

Sure enough, Sun Chaoen said: "General Yue, you are being an outsider. We have all shared tens of thousands of taels of immortal silver together. Can't you trust me with this kind of life-and-death friendship? Cliques, cliques, the 'friend' must be before the 'party', you must be a friend first before you can form a party. It's not that you can form a party just by sitting on the same side."

Yue Qilin's face looked better, and he smiled bitterly: "I don't even have a position, where do I have the qualifications for a clique?"

"Isn't the ups and downs of the officialdom common? Which of the officials in the court hasn't had several ups and downs? Now you take a step back, and you will naturally come back before long." Sun Chaoen said somewhat inscrutably, and Yue Qilin said: "I hope Master Sun will teach me!"

"Your matter happens to be related to Mr. Zhang's matter. I have been thinking about it for the past two days, and it just so happens that there is an opportunity."

Sun Chaoen took out a map and spread it out. This was a hand-drawn map that included the entire Western Regions and thousands of miles inside and outside Hanyang Pass. Little Wei Yuan saw at a glance that this map was extremely precise and delicate, and immediately had the idea of snatching it.

Sun Chaoen laughed and said: "I will give you this map later."

Yue Qilin was slightly uneasy, but didn't say anything. He had led troops for many years, and such a map falling into Little Wei Yuan's hands was like adding wings to a tiger. The problem is that the scope of this map is only the Western Regions. What does Little Wei Yuan want to do with it? Does he want to go east or east?

Sun Chaoen coughed and began to talk about business: "Princess Ningguo of Zhao Guo is visiting Western Jin to celebrate the birthday of the Imperial Consort. The envoy group originally planned to go through the pass, but after the Shaman tribe suffered setbacks, they changed their route to the Western Regions, entering the pass from Hanyang Pass and then going to the royal capital. This route can save thousands of miles. When this envoy group arrives in Bianning County, General Feng Lin, who is replacing General Yue, should also take office. Escorting the envoy group is his duty."

So my meaning is, General Yue had better hand over the position happily and let Feng Lin take this errand quickly."

"Something is going to happen to the envoy group?"

Sun Chaoen said: "Such a large envoy group will definitely not be able to escape the clutches of the Maofei Zhan Tian Society!"

Little Wei Yuan almost spat out a mouthful of wine, then thought thoughtfully and asked: "Then to what extent do you think the Maofei Zhan Tian Society will fight?"

"The guards will definitely die a few, and the property may also be lost, so as to reflect the strength of the Maofei Zhan Tian Society. But it is said that Princess Ningguo is as beautiful as a fairy and is favored by luck, so she should be fine. She is also the younger sister of the Imperial Consort, so it is unlikely that anyone will really dare to have ideas about her."

Little Wei Yuan's face sank and said: "Do you think the Maofei Zhan Tian Society can withstand the crusade of the two countries?"

!.

Sun Chaoen said: "Robbery is just a play for others to see. The main thing is that someone wants to see the strength of the Maofei Zhan Tian Society and wants to meet the leader of the Maofei Zhan Tian Society by the way."

Little Wei Yuan asked: "Who wants to see?"

"Marquis Wang Gan." Sun Chaoen handed over a piece of jade paper.

Little Wei Yuan took it and read it carefully. Wang Gan is the uncle of the Imperial Consort of Western Jin and serves in the Ministry of Rites. Although his official position is high, he has no real power. He was granted the title of Marquis by his relationship with the Imperial Consort. How could such a person who has nothing to do with him suddenly want to see himself?

Sun Chaoen explained it in detail.

The Imperial Consort was originally a princess of Zhao Guo. Three years ago, when she became the Imperial Consort of the Jin King, the Jin King did not attend the morning court for a whole month. The Imperial Consort is not a fuel-efficient lamp. Since she gained exclusive favor, she has placed her relatives in various places. Because she was originally a princess of Zhao Guo, she placed her relatives on her mother's side. This Marquis is a core figure in the Imperial Consort's line.

Little Wei Yuan is well-read in history books and understood many joints in the blink of an eye, saying: "The Imperial Consort wants to find foreign aid?"

"Not bad. This matter was leaked by the Marquis, and it was passed to me. I think you also need someone in the imperial court to speak for you, so I pulled this line."

Yue Qilin heard more and more wrong, saying: "Hey! You two don't need to say this in front of me, I didn't hear anything!"

Sun Chaoen smiled: "The envoy group was attacked, and the charge of Feng Lin's dereliction of duty cannot be escaped. General Yue will soon be able to return to his original position."

"But I don't want to get involved in the Imperial Consort's affairs!" Yue Qilin said.

Sun Chaoen smiled like a fox and said: "I'm afraid this is not up to you. The Imperial Consort has taken a fancy to Provincial Military Commander Yue, and you are just an addition."

Little Wei Yuan frowned and said: "Am I going to become a party of the foreign relatives?"

"Didn't you say long ago that you wanted to find a towering tree in the imperial court? The Imperial Consort's tree is not small, at least it is a party."

Little Wei Yuan had a headache and said: "I did intend to participate in order to fish in troubled waters, but I didn't want to join the party of foreign relatives. If I hadn't read your information, I wouldn't have known that there was a party of foreign relatives."

Sun Chaoen said: "If the foreign relatives were not weak, where would you have the opportunity to participate? Both the Qingliu and the meritorious nobles want to destroy you. If you don't choose the foreign relatives, then tell me, which faction do you have a chance with?"

Little Wei Yuan said: "The Eunuch Faction."

(End of chapter)