Chapter 636: Lord!
After watching Yue Heng leave in dismay, Chen Jingyu pondered for a moment and said to Murong Lun:
"Lord Murong, the Prime Minister asked me to act as soon as possible..."

Murong Lun smiled slightly and said calmly:

"The Fengwu Army has taken over Hebei and Henan so quickly. They have become a major concern for the Prime Minister. It is normal for the Prime Minister to ask you for an explanation!"

Hearing Murong Lun say this, Chen Jingyu frowned slightly. Seeing this, Murong Lun continued to smile and said:

"There is a secret that has enabled our Murong family to be passed down for hundreds of years in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Sir Chen, do you know what it is?"

"Master Murong, please speak! Jingyu is all ears!" Chen Jingyu said in a deep voice:

Murong Lun then began to preach leisurely:

"Keep a line in everything you do so that we can meet you in the future!"

Hearing this answer, Chen Jingyun's frown deepened. Seeing him like this, Murong Lun did not say much on this issue. He just took out a letter from the desk beside him and handed it to Chen Jingyu, saying:

"This is my personal letter to Jincheng prefect Gong Baoshan. I believe this letter can help the Prime Minister!"

After hearing this, Chen Jingyu's brows undoubtedly relaxed a lot. One of the most important purposes of his visit to Murong Lun this time was for this letter. After taking over Rongcheng, the attention of the Luoan court will gradually shift to Yongliang. They will try to eliminate this worry before the decisive battle with the Fengwu Army, so as to devote all their efforts to dealing with the Fengwu Army...

Although the Supervisory Office had been making plans in Yongliang under the order of Shangguan Hongyuan, and Chen Jingyu had also put a lot of thought into it, he was still a little short of controlling the situation. So Chen Jingyu thought of Murong Lun. The key figure in the Yongliang situation, Jincheng prefect Gong Baoshan, was a student of Murong Lun's father and had a close relationship with Murong Lun. Therefore, if Murong Lun came forward to persuade Gong Baoshan, it is very likely that Gong Baoshan would become the key factor in Yongliang's breakthrough.

Taking the letter from Murong Lun with both hands, Chen Jingyu said to Murong Lun very seriously:
"Thank you, Lord Murong!"

"That's fine! Lord Chen, we are friends, so we should help each other!"

Murong Lun said with a smile, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, the word "friend" seemed to make Murong Lun's tone three points heavier.

Chen Jingyu hesitated for a moment and whispered:
"After Lord Murong has cleared the court of evil, Lord Prime Minister will most likely focus on military affairs and eliminate the traitors for the Great Zhou!"

Upon hearing this, a barely detectable gleam flashed in Murong Lun's eyes, and then he nodded slightly. Seeing that Murong Lun understood what she meant, Chen Jingyu did not stay in Murong Mansion for long and just said goodbye and left. After Chen Jingyu left, Murong Lun sat on the armchair and fell into deep thought.

During the Luoan Incident, most of the dignitaries and royal family members of the Great Zhou stood on the opposite side of Shangguan Hongyuan. This led to the Luoan court led by Shangguan Hongyuan being far less powerful than the Southern Tour court at the beginning, and the operation of the entire court was paralyzed.

Shangguan Hongyuan had no particularly good solution to this problem and could only promote some of his trusted officials who supported him. Although this maintained the operation of the Luoan court and ensured the Luoan court's loyalty to Shangguan Hongyuan, these officials generally lacked reputation, causing the entire court to look like Shangguan Hongyuan was just entertaining himself.

Although reputation is something that cannot be seen or touched, it is a real thing. Although Shangguan Hongyuan has defeated the southern tour court and regained the young emperor, the Luoan Incident and the increasingly obvious situation of warlords in the Great Zhou in recent years have caused the credibility of the Great Zhou brand to decline. Therefore, even if Shangguan Hongyuan can use the emperor to control the princes again, it will not be as effective as before!
In terms of military strength, Shangguan Hongyuan had no advantage over the Fengwu Army, which had suddenly risen and expanded rapidly. Therefore, Shangguan Hongyuan needed the brand of the Great Zhou to attack the Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng out of righteousness. He needed to prove to the world that he was the orthodox of the Great Zhou, and Ye Mingsheng was a traitor and a rebel!
In order to achieve this goal, Shangguan Hongyuan not only needs a little emperor, but also needs prestigious ministers to stand on his side to expand the reputation and influence of the Luoan court. Murong Lun is well aware of Shangguan Hongyuan's need, which is why he is so fearless and confident that he does not join those fence-sitters in flattering Shangguan Hongyuan.

During the Luoan Incident, although Murong Lun led the Murong family to stand on the opposite side of Shangguan Hongyuan, adhering to the principle of leaving a way out so that they can meet again in the future, the Murong family treated Shangguan Hongyuan with a relatively gentle attitude. They did not act like those fence-sitters, yelling and cursing at Shangguan Hongyuan in Rongcheng, wishing to dig up the Shangguan family's ancestors and criticize them.

Therefore, this matter now gives the Murong family a lot of room to turn around. Originally, Murong Lun felt that he was a surrendered minister after all, and Shangguan Hongyuan assigned him a Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Justice in order to invite him out of retirement...

However, judging from the information just revealed by Chen Jingyu, he seemed to have underestimated Shangguan Hongyuan!
Although the six ministries of the Zhou Dynasty were respectively in charge of an area, the Ministry of Personnel, which was responsible for rewarding and punishing officials, was undoubtedly the most powerful. Over the past 300 years since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, more than half of the cabinet chiefs had served as ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, and the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel in all dynasties had basically been able to enter the cabinet. Therefore, the Minister of Personnel has always been known as a heavenly official among the people.

Among the six ministers of the Luoan court at present, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Works all have ministers. Only the most important Minister of Personnel is concurrently held by Shangguan Hongyuan himself. And according to what Chen Jingyu said, Shangguan Hongyuan wants to focus on military and national affairs and suppress rebellions. This is undoubtedly hinting that Shangguan Hongyuan intends to resign as the Minister of Personnel, and that he is the successor considered by Shangguan Hongyuan!
Thinking of this, even with Murong Lun's Qi-cultivation skills, there was a hint of excitement in his expression. The reason why Murong Lun chose the Southern Tour Court was not only because he felt that the Southern Tour Court had the support of most of the powerful people in the Great Zhou and the possibility of success was very high, but also because Lin Shize promised him that he would be able to join the cabinet during the Southern Tour Court.

Entering the cabinet and becoming a prime minister is the lifelong pursuit of every official in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Murong Lun is no exception. At that time, he had been the Minister of Revenue for five years, but he still could not see the hope of entering the cabinet. So after careful consideration, Murong Lun finally chose to stand with Lin Shize.

And if Shangguan Hongyuan really offered himself the price of the Minister of Personnel, then the subtext would also mean that Shangguan Hongyuan would let him join the cabinet...

Although he had expected that Shangguan Hongyuan would assign him a ministerial position in order to invite him out of retirement, Murong Lun did not have high hopes for entering the cabinet. After all, he was a surrendered minister in the final analysis. This made Murong Lun, who had already entered the cabinet during the southern tour, somewhat disappointed. Now, if he could enter the cabinet as the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, it would definitely be a pleasant surprise!
Although the reputation of the Luoan court has declined a lot after the Luoan Incident, Shangguan Hongyuan, who has once again held the emperor hostage to control the princes, is still one of the most powerful candidates to fight for the world. Therefore, being able to enter the cabinet of the Luoan court will be of great benefit to Murong Lun himself and to maintaining the power of the Murong family!

Although he realized this opportunity, Murong Lun quickly calmed down. He and Shangguan Hongyuan were both from powerful families and had known each other for most of their lives. He knew that Shangguan Hongyuan's benefits were not so easy to obtain and he had to pay something for it!
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Murong Lun finally made a decision. He walked to the desk and began to write very seriously.

A quarter of an hour later, Murong Lun put the written letter into an envelope and sealed it with a wax seal. He then called his son Murong Zhengshan and instructed:

"Send this letter to Yijing and give it to your third brother!"

Hearing his father say this, Murong Zhengshan subconsciously took the letter but did not leave. He looked at Murong Lun with some hesitation... Seeing this, Murong Lun nodded and said:
"Zhengshan, if you have anything to say, just speak up!"

After getting his father's permission, Murong Zhengshan said without hesitation:
"Dad, Ye Mingsheng has married Sister Qingwu, and my second uncle's family and my third brother are all working for the Fengwu Army in Yijing. Are you planning to work with that cruel official Chen Jingyu to deal with Ye Mingsheng? Didn't you always teach me that blood is thicker than water and that family members are the most important?"

Facing his youngest son's confusion, Murong Lun smiled and shook his head and said:

"Don't worry, Zhengshan. I'm not that heartless!"

After getting his father's promise, Murong Zhengshan finally felt relieved. Seeing this, Murong Lun restrained his smile and said seriously:

"Zhengshan, you can look down on Chen Jingyu from the bottom of your heart, but on the surface you have to be honest with him. People like this do a lot of bad things and what they lack most is a sense of security. As long as you grasp his psychology, you can make him work for you!"

Although Murong Zhengshan was very smart, he was still a teenager and could not fully understand the political tactics his father talked about. He just nodded as if he understood. In response, Murong Lun touched his head and smiled and instructed:
"Go and deliver the letter!"

"Yes! Dad!"

After Murong Zhengshan left, Murong Lun, who was alone in the room, was silent for a long time. After an hour, he murmured in a low voice:
"It's enough for the Murong family to have one person as the elder!"

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Already, the Governor's Office

Looking at the things in the box, Ye Mingsheng's expression showed a bit of amusement. It was a human head. Although it was covered with a thick layer of lime, one could vaguely see the terrified expression of the owner of the head before he died!

"Is this Cao Changping?" Ye Mingsheng looked at Su Yi in front of him and asked:
"Yes!" Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Su Yi bowed and said with certainty:
Ye Mingsheng nodded when he heard this, put the lid of the box away, and then told Ye Cheng beside him:

"Just find a random place to bury it!"

"Yes!"

Turning his gaze back to Su Yi, Ye Mingsheng said with a smile:

"Tell me about Qilu's situation!"

Su Yi organized her words and said:

"After Sun Jing'an and Yin Biao killed Cao Changping, they have taken control of the entire Licheng, and pushed the blame for Cao Changping's death onto Meng Qingxing and Wang He. Currently, the two of them are trying to control the entire Qi army, but Han Wenbao of Bozhou, Song Peishen of Haiqu, and Ma Shanyuan of Ande don't seem to be convinced by Yin Biao and Sun Jing'an!"

"These three people originally only obeyed Cao Changping in name. Now that Cao Changping is dead and Yin Biao and Sun Jing'an's prestige is low, these three people seem to have some ideas. These three families have been communicating secretly and are tending to advance and retreat together!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and continued to ask:

"I heard that Sun Jingan killed many people in Licheng?"

Su Yi felt a little pressure after hearing this. He considered his words and said:

“Sun Jing’an hated the Cao family very much, so after he succeeded this time, he took revenge on the Cao family and his wife Cao’s mistresses…”

Although Su Yi said it very easily, Ye Mingsheng, who received intelligence from the Coordination Office, knew that in order to avenge Cao's cuckoldry, Sun Jing'an killed the entire Cao family, as well as the entire families of his mistresses, a total of nearly two thousand people. However, Sun Jing'an was very careful in doing things and did not do it openly. Instead, he let his men pretend to be defeated and do it quietly!
Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Su Yi felt a little worried. He didn't know what Ye Mingsheng thought about this. Sun Jingan had indeed gone too far this time. He also had an argument with Sun Jingan because of this matter, but the matter was done and nothing could be changed.

It was Su Yi who planned the Qi-Lu Incident. He was determined to turn this incident into a major achievement for him to establish himself in the Fengwu Army, and Sun Jing'an was the executor of this incident. Therefore, they were both in the same boat on this matter. Even for his own sake, he had to help Sun Jing'an speak well in front of Ye Mingsheng.

Su Yi gritted her teeth, mustered up her courage, looked up at Ye Mingsheng and said:
"General, Sun Jingan has promised me that he will never kill again after this incident. Besides, Sun Jingan has always had a good reputation both among the people and in the Qilu officialdom. Our army can use him to conquer Qilu!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked deeply at Su Yi, who looked sincere. Then he did not say anything more on this issue, but changed the subject and continued to ask:
“What are Yin Biao and Sun Jingan’s intentions in sending people here…”

(End of this chapter)