Chapter 354

This old fox Yan Chonggu united all forces in the court who were dissatisfied with him, or were panicked because of the deterioration of the Beijiang situation, or simply wanted to take the opportunity to rise, and wanted to topple him completely!

He quickly looked at the officials of his own line, especially Lu Wenchang and others.

Lu Wenchang met his gaze, his face turned pale, his lips trembled, and he actually lowered his head slightly, not daring to look at him!

Several other confidants also mostly had flickering eyes, or hung their heads and said nothing!

Even... among those who said these words, there were people from the Si family!!

A chill instantly rushed from Si Gui's soles to the top of his head.

He was... abandoned by his own people?

"Your Majesty!"

Si Gui stabilized his mind; he knew that he must not be chaotic at this moment, he must counterattack, "The Beijiang matter indeed has twists and turns. But Jiang Jinshi is a treacherous thief, holding the Imperial Seal to confuse people's hearts, and Western Liang is eyeing covetously, the situation is complex, not something that can be determined for a while.

Vice Censor Yan and fellow colleagues, how can you, because of a temporary setback, speak of the Prime Minister misleading the country and shaking the foundation of the country? This is not a theory of loyalty to the monarch and the country!"

"Temporary setback?"

Yan Chonggu sneered, his voice suddenly raised, "Zhenguo Pass is a key pass of Great Qian, now fallen into the hands of thieves! The Imperial Seal, fallen into the hands of thieves! 250,000 troops, stagnant under the pass, wasting money and grain! Prime Minister, in your mouth, this is a 'temporary setback'?

Then do we have to wait until the rebellious thief is at the city gate to count it as a 'great disaster'?!"

He turned around fiercely, knelt down to Wei Xi Yuan on the dragon throne, "Your Majesty! This old minister reports with blood! Since Si Gui took charge of the court, he has not been able to resist Western Liang and pacify Beijiang from the outside, and has not been able to eliminate corruption and appease the people from the inside!

Forming cliques for private interests, excluding dissidents, causing the court to be chaotic, and border affairs to rot! Now he has lost the army and the land, and the Imperial Seal is covered in dust!

Such a mediocre prime minister and treacherous official, if he continues to occupy the prime minister position, I am afraid Great Qian will be in danger! This old minister implores Your Majesty to dismiss Si Gui and punish him according to the law to thank the world and appease the country!"

"We implore Your Majesty to dismiss Si Gui and punish him according to the law!"

More than half of the officials in the hall followed Yan Chonggu, kneeling down in unison, their voices ringing together.

Si Gui stood alone in the hall, looking at the colleagues kneeling in a black mass around him, looking at the happy sneer of Wei Xi Yuan on the dragon throne, and the mockery in Yan Chonggu's eyes, he understood everything.

This was a transaction, an abandonment.

The Imperial Court needed a scapegoat to appease the surging anger of the court and the public due to the disastrous defeat in Beijiang, and to restore the crumbling prestige.

The Emperor needed to take this opportunity to take back the power that had been held by him, the powerful prime minister, for a long time.

And forces like the Yan family needed to topple him to re-divide the power cake.

Even... the Si family behind him likely also acquiesced, or even participated in it!

Using a fallen prime minister to exchange for the preservation of the family in the subsequent power reshuffle, or even obtaining new interests.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Si Gui's clothes.

He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but in the end, all the words were blocked in his throat, turning into a powerless sigh.

He knew he was finished.

From the moment Jiang Jinshi raised the "Ming" flag at Guansongling, from the moment the series of Beijiang strategies he led failed, he had already become an abandoned pawn.

"Hahaha!"

Si Gui knelt down slowly, took off the prime minister's crown on his head, and the crown fell to the ground, making a dull sound.

Wei Xi Yuan looked at Si Gui, who was kneeling on the ground and seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, his happiness even stronger, but he forcibly suppressed it, making a look of heartbroken and hesitant.

"Si Prime Minister... you... sigh! The public anger is hard to offend, and the national law is hard to tolerate! I... although I can't bear it, I have to put the national affairs first! Someone! Take off Si Gui's crown and belt, throw him into the heavenly prison, and wait for the decision!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Yan Chonggu and others shouted long live, their voices filled with the joy of victory.

Several eunuchs stepped forward, expressionless, lifted the limp Si Gui, and dragged him out of the hall.

Si Gui did not struggle, just took a deep look at everyone in the court.

After Si Gui was dragged out of the hall, the Imperial Court began to argue endlessly about the vacancy of the prime minister and the mess in Beijiang.

Although Great Qian was crumbling, even if he only held this position for a period of time, he could still seek quite a few interests for his family or himself.

As for the mess in Beijiang...

Who cares?

Wei Xi Yuan was not stupid; it was not easy to get rid of Si Gui, so why would he add trouble to himself by establishing a new prime minister now?

It just so happened that everyone had different opinions on this matter, so he found an excuse to prevaricate!

Now the clans were not as unified as before, and they had different minds, which was naturally the situation Wei Xi Yuan wanted to see most as the Emperor!

Only in this way could he master the great power and no longer be a puppet.

After the court meeting, Wei Xi Yuan found Bu Yunsuan, "Now that Si Gui has been toppled, the prime minister position is vacant, what should I do next?"

Bu Yunsuan bowed and said: "Your Majesty! Next, you need to completely master the military power of the Imperial Guard and the Forbidden Army! With military power in hand, your words will have weight!"

The Imperial Guard is the royal guard, the personal army, usually not large in number, active in the capital!

And the Forbidden Army is the central main force of Great Qian, guarding the capital, protecting the safety of the capital and the palace, and stationed around the capital.

It also serves as Great Qian's strategic mobile force, going out to conquer rebellions or foreign enemies.

Usually, the central Forbidden Army is the military foundation for the Emperor to control local vassal towns and maintain centralized rule.

Previously, the commander of the Imperial Guard was drawn in by the clans, which gave Wei Xi Yuan a chance to rebel, and now as long as he masters the military power of the Imperial Guard and the Forbidden Army, everything can be completely reversed.

Doing all this is not difficult; he is the Son of Heaven, as long as the commander of the Imperial Guard sees the current situation, would he still listen to the clans?

The struggle in the court temporarily subsided, but at this moment in the Fu Residence's council hall, it was a piece of annoyance and chaos.

"What?! Guansongling taken in eight days? Yang Jiye's 250,000-strong army dare not attack the pass and retreated to defend Shuoning?"

"Yan family! Yan Shining has already taken heavy gifts to Beijiang?!"

"Cui family... the Cui family seems to have a big move, it seems to be related to their daughter who is doing business outside?"

"This Beijiang Jiang Jinshi has already become a climate!"

"That girl Ruyan... only took 5,000 taels and two carts of goods and left? Nonsense! Simply nonsense! Isn't this making people laugh at my Fu family for being petty? Quick! Send someone to chase! Send more people, bring heavy gifts! Absolutely cannot fall behind!"

Third Master Fu jumped with anxiety, and other clan elders also changed color, realizing that they might have missed a crucial opportunity to bet on the future.

However, the report from the people sent out said that Fu Ruyan had already left the state boundary and could not be caught up.

Even if caught up, that little bit of temporarily added "sincerity," compared to the actions that might have already started by the Yan and Cui families, what did it count for? The weight was not just one level behind!