Chapter 963: Driven by Interests

The civil and military officials of Longyan arrived at the Shangshu Mansion one after another.

Zhu Zhen took out the letter in his hand: "Everyone, take a look."

The group of people looked at each other in dismay.

The situation in Longyan has been quite tense recently. As far as Jinghua is concerned, Xie Ming has already begun to become active, and Xie Chan has also returned to the palace. The return of this Longyang Princess immediately gave Empress Zheng Fu a great deal of confidence, and she began to rival Dong Guifei in the inner palace. Xie Chan's personality is not one to suffer in silence, and as it happens, she is the most favored princess in Longyan today. No matter how powerful Dong Guifei is, when facing this formidable Longyang Princess, she can only strive for a draw.

The various Feudatory Kings have already begun to sharpen their weapons and feed their horses.

It is said that he is already terminally ill, babbling nonsense every day.

The situation has begun to become confusing and obscure.

"Constitutional monarchy?"

However, there is still no news of the Crown Prince, Xie Fang.

A few previously unknown princes, seeing this situation, also joined in the fray. It seems that they, who had always been unable to squeeze into the final circle, now seem to have a chance? You cannot help it when one dies and another goes missing. Thus, these princes also began to interact in various ways with the Feudatory Kings from various regions.

The old emperor, Xie Tianyao, is already on his way back.

Remember the website.

"How preposterous!"

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, everyone could not help but jump up and curse.

Zhu Zhen looked at this group of people coldly, sighed, and tapped the table: "Everyone, everyone, look clearly, look clearly before you speak."

"This..."

"What is this Liu Zheng trying to do!"

"This is destroying the foundation of us scholar-officials!"

"This..."

"It seems that is indeed the case."

"But..."

The group of people looked at one another.

Suddenly, one person frowned and said: "No, if this constitutional monarchy of Vice Minister Liu really has any repercussions in Longyan, wouldn't that strengthen the power of us scholar-officials?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone finally realized.

"This move by Vice Minister Liu, along with his Pushing Favor Edict, are both overt schemes within overt schemes, my lords!"

The more Zhu Zhen spoke, the more agitated he became. In the end, this old man, who had always been extremely calculating, could not help but strike his cane against the floor. The thumping sound echoed in the hearts of those present, and their faces changed one by one, feeling somewhat at a loss.

"This..."

Zhu Zhen gave a cold laugh: "A bunch of short-sighted people! Fellow colleagues, this Vice Minister Liu is completely trying to draw the firewood from under the cauldron! It is too ruthless, this move of his is too ruthless! In the short term, it looks like our power has increased, but—"

"Once this policy is implemented, what about our descendants?"

"Can you guarantee that they will be able to become Councilors?"

A sharp glint flashed in Zhu Zhen's eyes: "The great enemy of Longyan is Vice Minister Liu."

"Everyone, we must rouse ourselves!"

"This challenge is a calamity that our Scholar-Official Group has not encountered in a thousand years. If we let the constitutional monarchy of the Li Dynasty succeed, I fear it will be difficult for us to clean up the mess."

"Old Minister—"

"Then what do you mean—"

The group of people were all bewildered.

Correct!

After hearing Zhu Zhen's words, their eyes all lit up.

That—

The group of people also felt their hearts sink.

A strong sense of crisis struck their hearts.

Success—

The Wa army is invading!

Everyone was shaken to the core.

In this aspect, find a Method.

Why not just make the Li Dynasty's constitutional monarchy fail?

And now.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Li Dynasty?

Speaking of this, everyone felt that things were a bit troublesome again.

Since this Vice Minister Liu debuted, he has resisted the Xiongnu, conquered the Western Regions, completely annexed the Southern Barbarian Lands, and even almost wiped out the Mughal and Bukhara empires, with almost no defeats. It can be said that no one does not admire Vice Minister Liu's military talent. With such a person, if he has the support of the Li Dynasty's army, it is really hard to say whether this Wa nation will win or lose.

"Does the Old Minister mean—"

"Old Minister, the Wa army has five hundred thousand troops, waiting in full battle array; it seems we do not need to—"

Before the person could finish speaking, Zhu Zhen gave a cold laugh: "Five hundred thousand? Do you really think the Li Dynasty does not have five hundred thousand troops?"

"They do! And if it is under the command of Vice Minister Liu—everyone should know Vice Minister Liu's battle record—"

The Wa pirates?

Suddenly, their train of thought opened up.

That's right!

"It is indeed a difficult problem."

Zhu Zhen's eyes suddenly lit up: "Everyone, what if it is the Wa nation's five hundred thousand-strong army, plus the two hundred thousand Wa pirates running rampant in the East Sea?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The Li Dynasty!

Their target is the Li Dynasty!

According to conservative estimates, the number of Wa pirates active on the East Sea every day has reached two hundred thousand! These Wa pirates have already become a mainstream profession and an armed group that people cannot ignore!

You must know that for a long time, the reason the Wa pirates were able to run rampant in the coastal regions was actually because they had reached a certain secret agreement with these scholar-officials. The backroom deals were full of suspicion of treason. This also included those fake Wa pirates. However, this time, because of Liu Zheng, the Scholar-Official Group had no choice but to sever ties with these Wa pirates. Nowadays, the scourge of Wa pirates in the coastal regions remains very serious. The scholar-officials can only kick them while they are down.

However,

The situation now is a bit different again.

Scholar-officials are just like this! As long as there is profit, they can cooperate with anyone and become friends, but likewise, for the sake of profit, they can tear up any contract and start kicking someone while they are down.

"Old Minister,"

"In this way, we must surely concede some benefits to make these Wa pirates compromise."

Under these circumstances,

If the Wa pirates could go and reinforce the Li Dynasty, what kind of concept would that be?

Everyone took a deep breath.

Those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles.

As long as they can still occupy half of the country in Longyan, they can find a way to make up for these losses sooner or later!

The group of people all agreed one after another.

Zhu Zhen gave a cold laugh: "What does it matter if we concede some benefits? As long as we can make the Li Dynasty a complete mess, our goal will be achieved! Gentlemen, those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles. Once Longyan is pacified and successfully transitions to the next imperial power, it will not be too late for us to deal with these Wa pirates!"

Everyone heard this and was incredibly excited.

That is correct.

"Whether the scholar-officials can continue their glory depends on Lord Chen!"

"Lord Chen, if the negotiations are successful, I will treat you to a drink when you return!"

A group of people also followed suit, cupping their hands in salute.

"Lord Chen, I will trouble you with this matter."

Zhu Zhen appointed his man on the spot, and an official responsible for Jiangnan affairs was singled out. This person was named Chen Zhang, and he immediately looked solemn: "Rest assured, Old Minister, this subordinate will certainly strive for more room for benefits for us!"

"I am counting on you, Lord Chen!"

Chen Zhang laughed heartily.

Only then did the moods of these people begin to relax.

As long as the Li Dynasty keeps staying in chaos!

Then the constitutional monarchy of Vice Minister Liu will not be able to have any influence on Longyan!