From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 227

"The most difficult thing to disguise in the world is ambition."

Looking at the fire burning all over the sky, Zhou Yuan's eyes also had a brilliance.

He sighed slowly and said: "Perhaps in the eyes of most people, King Jing is an idle king, the so-called elegant prince. He is well-read, can write poems and lyrics, and is also good at folk culture, opera and customs. He can be said to be knowledgeable."

"At the same time, he is proficient in eating, drinking and having fun. He is good at Cuju, hunting, archery and riding, and even visits brothels, right?"

Ye Qingying frowned and said: "Is there any problem with these? No matter from which aspect, he is an elegant and idle king!"

Zhou Yuan said: "When he was young, he entered the Imperial College and became a disciple of Qu Shuyuan. He could write poems at the age of seven and write articles at the age of ten. This is a talent!"

"Being proficient in poetry, ancient Chinese, history, culture, and folk customs, and being well-read, this is not talent, but self-discipline and diligence."

Ye Qingying said: "What's wrong with studying because of love?"

Zhou Yuan said: "What about eating, drinking, and having fun? Proficiency is also because of love? Can a person love so many things?"

Ye Qingying thought about it, then frowned and said: "Maybe this is very unusual, but it is not a reason for him to be directly suspected, it is obviously not sufficient!"

"Yes, I thought so as you did."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: " I heard that he is kind and generous, very concerned about the lives of poor people, and even often helps disaster victims. "

Ye Qingying stared and said, "What's wrong with this!"

Zhou Yuan patted Ye Qingying on the shoulder and sighed, "Second Senior Sister, you are a Taoist priest of Baiyun Temple, why do you want to join the Inner Court!"

Ye Qingying was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Zhou Yuan suddenly asked this, but still frowned and said, "Do I have to become a monk and practice Taoism for the rest of my life at such a young age? The world is so corrupt, what's wrong with me doing my best?"

Zhou Yuan said, "Yes, you said it very well , you are a female Taoist priest in Baiyun Temple, but you still know how to do your part for the world... What about King Jing? "

"He is a noble, the son of the previous emperor, with outstanding talent, well-read, and good martial arts. He is both civil and military, wise and brave."

"Shouldn't he do his best for the world more than you?"

Ye Qingying said: "Maybe he is not interested in this, and just wants to be an idle prince."

"Yes! There is such a possibility!"

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes and said: "But, people who only want to be an idle prince will not care about the lives of the people."

Ye Qingying was suddenly stunned.

Zhou Yuan said: "If he is a mediocre person, then caring about the people is not ambition, at most he is just a good prince."

"If he is a genius, he doesn't care about the people, then he is not ambitious, he is just a dandy."

"But Jing Wang Chen De is extremely talented, both civil and military, with strong self-discipline and diligence... At the same time! He cares about the people! He feels the pain of the people!"

"As the legitimate son of the previous emperor, do you think he has ambitions?"

Ye Qingying felt cold all over when she heard it, she already understood.

With ability, status, and a sense of responsibility for the people, it is impossible not to have ambitions.

It's just that he hid it very well and very deeply.

"But, he has no power!"

Ye Qingying said hurriedly: "He has no official position, he is just an idle prince, and his palace soldiers are only 300. How can he turn the tide!"

Zhou Yuan smiled faintly: "Do you know what my first feeling was when I came to Shenjing?"

"What?"

"It's not easy to live."

Zhou Yuan said: "It's too expensive here. Food, clothing, houses and carriages are all very expensive. Being an official requires a lot of money and connections!"

Ye Qingying said: "So what does it have to do with King Jing?"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "In every special examination, King Jing will hold a poetry meeting to meet every Jinshi. These Jinshi are not all from wealthy families, there must be poor families, right? Do they need financial support? Of course they do, King Jing can provide them with financial support."

"Even if they are from wealthy families, if there is no connection at home, who can give them the connection? King Jing King can. "

Ye Qingying trembled and said, "You mean, King Jing secretly cultivated a large number of officials?"

Zhou Yuan said, "Yes, in the past ten years, there have been three special examinations and more than ten poetry competitions. A very interesting phenomenon has emerged, that is, the children of poor families are actually doing better than the children of rich families and have higher official positions."

"Heh! With such corruption in the government, how can the poor get promoted? Do you believe it if no one secretly supports them?"

"These days, I asked the Jinyiwei and the Nei Tingsi to check many people, most of whom are poor families who are promoted quickly. I found that they can always make meritorious deeds, always find opportunities for promotion, and even take out large sums of money at critical times to smooth relations."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "If I only suspected King Jing before, but when I saw those information, I was really sure that he had a big problem. "

Ye QingyingYing was shocked and silent for a moment before saying, "That's not right. What's the use of relying on those people alone? A coup requires soldiers, otherwise the 8,000 imperial guards are not vegetarians."

Zhou Yuan said, "Then I'll tell you another piece of news. The Fifth Army Camp hasn't received salary for nearly three months."

"Ah?"

Ye Qingying glared and said, "What's going on?"

Zhou Yuan said indifferently, "Cao Ye, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army Camp, was killed by me in September, so there has been a sense of anger spreading throughout the Fifth Army Camp."

"But if you really want to use them, the anger is obviously not enough, so someone secretly made a move and stopped paying them. . "

"Not only did the salary stop, but King Jing also sent a large number of people to secretly cause trouble for the centurions, captains, lieutenants and other middle-level officers, mainly by causing trouble for their relatives, making their families extremely short of money!"

"As a result, the anger about the suspension of salary has increased, and the middle-level officers of the Five Army Camps are almost desperate."

Ye Qingying trembled and said: "At this time, King Jing stood up and gave an order, saying that he would make the decision for them."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said: "With King Jing's reputation and status, the angry army of the Five Army Camps will definitely follow him to rebel!"

Ye Qingying's body was shocked, and she couldn't help but anxiously Said: "Of the three camps in the Beijing Camp, the Fifth Army Camp is the largest, with 90,000 people!"

Zhou Yuan said: "Are 90,000 people enough to overthrow the 8,000 Imperial Guards?"

Ye Qingying murmured: "The Shenji Camp still has 10,000 people, and the Three Army Camp still has 60,000 people... plus the 8,000 Imperial Guards, maybe they can stop it."

Zhou Yuan said indifferently: "Are you so sure that the Three Army Camp and the Shenji Camp, which belong to the Beijing Camp, will wait for orders obediently? They only need to delay a little, and King Jing can accomplish his goal overnight!"

"Then why are you still talking nonsense here!"

Ye Qingying hurriedly said: "Quick! Send a pigeon to report to the Chief!"

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said: "Is it my turn for this kind of thing? Come and report it. Your mission is to cooperate with me fully. "

"You can report it now. Yanshan is on fire, and it is a forest fire."

"Juyongguan does not have so many water dragons, nor does it have the ability to put out professional fires. Such a large mountain cannot be ignored. They will ask the Five Cities Army to come out."

"King Jing wants the city to be empty, and since I'm dead, he won't interfere."

Ye Qingying said, "What is this move for?"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Want to know? Hey, I won't tell you."

"You!"

Ye Qingying stomped her feet heavily and said loudly, "Zhou Yuan, don't ask me for help!"