Facing the aggressive attitude of the five surnames and seven Wangs, Li Er was so angry that he trembled.
Had he lost his morals?
In order to govern the world well, he had to tighten his clothes and reduce his food. The Empress had not made new clothes for a year, and the food in the palace could not compare to the small landowners outside.
He endured being chased and scolded by Wei Zheng.
"Do you really think that my butcher's knife is not good?”Li Er said sternly," Where are the court guards?”
With the clattering of metal armor, eight court guards entered Hanyuan Palace.
Blood was about to splash in the palace.
Lu Wang, Cui Min Gan, and the others were fearless. For the benefit of their families, they had long disregarded their own lives.
If they could not force the Emperor to lower his head today, the foundation of the aristocratic families would be finished.
Moreover, they were certain that Li Er would not dare to kill him. Once they died, the major families would start a rebellion among the people. At that time, the world would fall into chaos.
This was where their confidence lay. Li Er would not miss it.
Cui Min Gan said calmly," It's easy for Your Majesty to kill us, but it's difficult to shut the mouths of the people.”
The Five Surnames and Seven Wangs had extremely high prestige among the people. They could be said to have controlled the fishing wheel. They said that the emperor had lost his virtue, and most of the people would blindly follow.
They had always been good at manipulating public opinion to achieve their goals.
The cunning old man stepped forward and said leisurely," You all keep saying that the drought is a sign of His Majesty's loss of virtue and a warning from the heavens. May I ask if you have any evidence?”
Lu Wang snorted coldly." I won't argue with you. Everyone knows that the drought was caused by His Majesty's lack of virtue.”
This was simply unreasonable. The old man was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
Because since ancient times, whenever there was a little natural or man-made disaster, it would always be related to the emperor's loss of virtue.
" It's scary to be uncultured." The old man thought of something Qin Mo had said.
Cui Mindao said," Your Majesty, only by killing the crafty sycophants and issuing an edict to punish us can we free the people from their predicament.”
As for whether it would rain after killing the crafty sycophants?
I'm sorry, they're not responsible.
If it rained, then it meant that they were right.
If it doesn't rain, then it must be that the heavens are still punishing the emperor. It has nothing to do with us.
Wei Zheng couldn't stand such shameless words." At this critical moment, we should work together to tide over the difficulties. How can we fight here?"”
Since Wei Zheng could make Li Er tolerate him for so long, he naturally had good judgment.
Fang Xuanling said," The Supreme Court still needs evidence to decide a case. You don't have any evidence to say that His Majesty has lost his virtue. This is slandering the emperor.”
Cui Mintong said," As the Son of Heaven, Your Majesty can sense heaven and man. A drought is a warning sign from heaven. What evidence do you need? Fang Xuanling, don't be so unreasonable.”
Calling him by his name was very rude. He was warning the old master.
Without evidence to slander the emperor, you still say that I'm pestering you? Fang Xuanling, this honest man, was also infuriated.
The cunning old man was so angry that he laughed. Since you said that the drought was a warning sign from the heavens, what if it rained?”
Cui Min said," If it rains, we will be the ones to blame.”
The sly old man laughed." Alright! If it rains, you are slandering the king.”
Then, the cunning old man cupped his hands at Li Er and said," Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to pray for rain from the heavens and break all the rumors.”
Wang Gui sighed. Li Er had transferred him back to the central command, which was considered a kindness. However, the interests of the family and the court were in conflict, so it was difficult to have both sides.
Hence, he fell silent.
Cui Min 'gan sneered." How long will it take? There had to be a time limit. No matter how dry it was, there would be a few rains in a year. Could it be that Duke Zhao was trying to stall for time?”
" Ten days," the old man said." We only need ten days for His Majesty's prayers to reach the heavens. It will naturally rain then.”
Qin Mo, Li Er, and the others had said that it would take five days. However, for the sake of perfection, the old man had doubled the time.
Li Er sat on the throne with a mocking expression.
Cui Min Gan looked at Li Er," Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhao said that it would rain in ten days. What if there is no rain by then?”
Before Li Er could say anything, the cunning old man said," If it doesn't rain, I'll take responsibility for it. Your Majesty doesn't need to do anything."”
He spoke with confidence on the surface, but his heart was beating like a drum. Qin Mo, don't lie to me.
Old Foolish Yuchi and Old Qin were shocked. Would it really rain within ten days?
Where did the old man's confidence come from?
However, they were all in the same boat, so they wouldn't have any objections at this time.
Lu Wang was overjoyed." Your Majesty, since the Duke of Zhao promised to ask for rain within ten days, if it fails, I ask Your Majesty to kill them."”
They had asked the Imperial Astronomical Supervisor before they started the operation, and it would not rain for a month.
Zhangsun Wuji was simply courting death by setting a ten-day deadline.
Otherwise, Li Er wouldn't have given in so easily just by relying on their coercion.
Now that Zhangsun Wuji had jumped out himself, it saved them a lot of effort.
Li Er said coldly," If the Duke of Zhao can get rain, you will be slandering the king. Don't regret it."”
Cui Min Gan said firmly," I don't regret it.”
"Good!" Li Er's eyes flashed with killing intent." He ordered Zhangsun Wuji to go to Mount Li to pray for rain.”
I hope Qin Mo won't lie to me.
Li Er's heart was also pounding. The matter of artificial rainfall was like a fantasy. If it wasn't for Qin Mo's confirmation, he wouldn't have believed it.
Now that the old cunning fellow was praying for rain on behalf of the emperor, he and he were bound together.
If he succeeded, all the rumors would naturally fall apart. If he failed, it would mean that he had lost his morals.
Qin Mo had originally encouraged Li Er to pray for rain personally, but Li Er cowered. He was worried that he would be embarrassed if he failed, so they discussed letting the old cunning fellow take over.
As for Qin Mo, he would naturally continue to hide behind the scenes and act as the mastermind.
If the Five Wangs and Seven Families knew that he was the one manipulating everything behind the scenes, they would probably fight to the death.
After the court session.
Cui Min Gan and the others gathered together to discuss matters while eating in the corridor.
"Cui Gong, isn't it too dangerous for us to bet with Zhangsun Wuji to pray for rain for ten days?”Someone raised his concerns.
Cui Min laughed dryly." Don't worry, everyone. I've already sent someone to ask the Imperial Astronomical Supervisor. There won't be any rain in a month. Zhangsun Wuji is courting death, which saves us a lot of effort.”
Lu Wang nodded." That's right. "At that time, we'll kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Who else will dare to go against us?”
"Zhangsun Wuji and the others will die in ten days.”
When the officials of the aristocratic families heard this, they all celebrated. Their thinking was very simple. As long as they used this matter to kill Zhangsun Wuji and the others, no one would dare to challenge the authority of the aristocratic families.
.......
Li Main Hall.
Old fool Yuchi grabbed the sly old man and asked," Duke of Zhao, can you really pray for rain within ten days? My head is in your hands.”
Old Qin also looked at the cunning old man." Is Duke Zhao confident?”
The cunning old man smiled bitterly." Don't ask me. This matter was handled by your nephew.”
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