The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 87: A Show of Power (Please Read on Tuesday)
"If you want to do this, I have no objection."

Mo Chou was stunned for a moment, then seemed to understand something and said lightly.

I'm backing you up, but you don't need it... Are you too self-righteous, and have your confidence swelled because of your many achievements? Do you think you can do it without His Majesty's help?

Or is it simply to show off your ability, impress me, or change my impression?
It doesn’t matter, the female prime minister doesn’t care.

Although she had a premonition that Zhao Duan would definitely look for her as reinforcement after entering Lihua Hall.

After all... a treacherous villain who bullies the weak and fawns on the powerful, and who bullies the weak and fears the strong, can usually act arrogantly in front of low-level officials and the people.

But if you are facing the son of a powerful and influential person whom you cannot afford to offend, your knees will probably be weak. This has nothing to do with your ability or skills.

Mo Chou had no doubt that Zhao Duan was smart and capable.

But she also knows that the smarter people are, the more they know how to "assess the situation" and even curry favor with the powerful.

Well, if that's the case, there is another possibility:
The man with the surname Zhao had no intention of establishing his authority at all, but instead colluded with the dandy and powerful people in Lihua Hall and was close to them.

Based on Zhao Duan's terrible personality, this possibility is not small...

But if Zhu Kui were here, he would surely feel a pang in his heart, because every time his envoy showed such a smile, it meant that someone was going to be in trouble.

……

After a while, the carriage arrived outside the imperial court. Zhao Duan got off alone, leaving the female prime minister waiting outside.

The imperial yamen is a whole complex of buildings, and each hall has its own courtyard with its own entrance and exit.

Opposite the main entrance is the "Governor's Hall" where Ma Yan worked.

There are nine halls scattered on the left and right, and behind them is the famous "Imperial Prison" dungeon.

"Master Jisi! I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much."

As soon as Zhao Duan announced his arrival, his old acquaintance, Captain Zhou Cang, greeted him with a big smile:

"The governor is busy and cannot leave, so he has ordered me to wait for a long time and lead the way for the police."

Can't get away? You're not hiding from me, I feel like I've called you Senior Brother for nothing... Zhao Duan smacked his lips and nodded happily:

"In that case, thank you for your help."

Zhou Cang smiled and said, "You are too polite, please follow me."

The two of them walked along the stone road towards Lihua Hall. Occasionally, servants and officials passed by along the way and looked at them sideways, obviously having heard of the new commander who was parachuted in.

"The governor has ordered me to explain the situation to you. If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to call me at any time." Zhou Cang said as he walked.

Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Before I came here, I had heard a little bit about Lihua Hall. I heard that it was a group of undisciplined people. Is that true?"

He was so sharp right from the start... Zhou Cang replied awkwardly: "This... is indeed true."

Zhao Duan asked curiously:

"Will the Governor tolerate it? With his authority, if he really wants to remove it, will it be difficult?"

Zhou Cang sighed and smiled bitterly:

"The governor has your Majesty's back. If he is determined to take action regardless of the cost, he can easily cure some stubborn diseases, but..."

He hesitated, as if weighing the options, and finally lowered his voice and chose a euphemism:

"Your Excellency, you know that since the establishment of the Imperial Court, most of the successive governors have not had a good end."

Zhao Duan understood immediately!
When he read history in his previous life, he found that the chief officials of institutions such as the East and West Factories and the Embroidered Uniform Guard often had a tragic end and later became victims of the struggle to appease the anger of court officials.

But there are exceptions.

For example, Lu Bing, the leader of the Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty, absorbed the experience of his predecessors and paid great attention to currying favor with powerful officials when he was an official, taking advantage of both the emperor and the prime minister.

He worked for the emperor openly and for powerful officials secretly, licking the emperor's boots in both directions, walking in between, and finally getting away with it unscathed.

Influenced by film and television dramas, Zhao Duan once believed that the secret service agencies were lawless and had great deterrent power over the ministers.

But after opening the history books, I found that the situation was complicated.

For example, Lu Bing once knelt down and begged for forgiveness from the prime minister at the time, crying bitterly... and then he turned to his political enemy and bit him to death. This is a later story.

Return to Dayu.

Although Ma Yan did not curry favor with Li Yanfu and Yuan Li, he was still a human being after all.

He is loyal enough to work for the empress, but he will also consider himself and try to reduce the hatred of the official group.

Therefore, Ma Yan would tolerate some people who there was no need to offend.

The group of people in Lihuatang belong to this category.

Thinking of this, Zhao Duan suddenly realized that his Zhenbao and the old villain Yuan Li had put him in this position. Was there another consideration?

"I see." He nodded slightly and asked:
"Then tell me, who in Lihua Hall is hard to offend?"

Zhou Cang exhaled silently and said carefully: "Newcomers and the few people who were kicked out of other halls because they didn't fit in with the group don't count. As for the others who have backgrounds, you don't have to be in awe of them, considering your relationship with His Majesty.

As long as it is not too much, it does not matter if it offends a little. However, there is one person who is an exception and must not be offended. His name is Li Lang, and he is also the biggest troublemaker in Lihua Hall. "

"Sounds familiar. Which family does he belong to?" Zhao Duan frowned.

"Princess Yunyang's son." Zhou Cang said in a low voice.

Zhao Duan suddenly realized!
Princess Yunyang is a very famous person. She is the old emperor's sister, and the empress has to call her aunt.

However, because of his young age, he was only about ten years older than Xu Zhenguan.

A true royal noble.

The reason why Qin Qiu was able to get into the Beijing circle was because he got close to Prince Consort Yunyang. However, what Princess Yunyang was most famous for was not her noble status.

But it’s the word “dissolute”.

Although she is the aunt of the empress, she openly keeps a lover and often seeks out handsome young men to play with her in her palace. Her son-in-law is always cuckolded, and she can be called the number one divine tortoise in Dayu.

"Princess Yunyang's offspring?" Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows.

No wonder it's hard to offend. Both Ma Yan and him are attached to the royal family.

It’s okay to offend foreign officials, but if you offend members of the royal family... you will always have to be more cautious.

……

……

As he was talking, he walked through a side door and entered a courtyard.

In the center of the courtyard, there is a huge pear tree with lush branches and leaves.

On the branches, green-skinned pears hang, not yet ripe.

Turn left and you will reach the inner hall, with a plaque with three large gold-plated characters "Lihuatang".

It was already past the hour of dawn, but the hall was empty. A few chairs were scattered crookedly around a large "conference table".

There was only one female official who was dozing off on the table.

Zhao Duan:? ?
"Cough!" Zhou Cang looked embarrassed and coughed with his fist clenched:

"Where are the others? Didn't the Governor inform you that the new Chief of Police will be arriving today? Do you want them to wait?"

The sleepy female official was startled and stood up suddenly, still dizzy.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with a handsome appearance. Half of his face was left with a red mark, and there was a string of sparkling tears at the corner of his mouth.

Maybe she was sleepy and looked stupid, which reminded Zhao Duan of the image of female college students entering the workplace in workplace movies and TV dramas.

His eyes were clear and stupid, as if in the next moment, he would bow 90 degrees and say "Private Marseille"!
Qian Kerou stayed up late last night reading a storybook and wasted time.

This was not a big deal in the past because there was no official in Lihua Hall and everyone was disorganized and undisciplined.

Reporting for work is just a formality. Skipping work and falling asleep are common occurrences.

But today was different. In her confusion, she recalled the new police chief taking office and explained tremblingly:

"They are all here, playing cards in the back... I, I'll go and call them now!"

With that, he started to walk away. After taking two steps, he turned around to salute his new boss. He was surprised to see Zhao Duan's handsome face. He was stunned for a moment and whispered:
"My lord, please wait a moment."

He just ran away.

Zhou Cang rubbed his hands awkwardly and explained: "I clearly notified you yesterday..."

"It's okay," Zhao Duan's face was not angry, but smiling, as if he didn't care at all:

"Oh, right, what was this just now..."

"Oh, a newcomer who has just joined the government. He has no background and was hired to replace his family member. He is a common warrior." Zhou Cang introduced, "He is one of the few obedient subordinates of Lihua Hall."

The “minority” you mentioned, do you mean the “only one”... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, with a smile on his face becoming brighter.

Good, very good. He was very satisfied with his defiance of his superior on the first day.

After all, if everyone was obedient, how could he establish his authority? After all, he was not a demon.

"There are so many talented people here, and I really like them." Zhao Duan said calmly, leaning against the big pear tree in the yard.

Zhou Cang was sweating profusely and felt a cold wind blowing.

But Zhao Duan had already walked straight into the lobby and glanced at the weapon rack next to the wall.

Then he turned around, leisurely sat in the main seat at the end, closed his eyes and waited.

Thanks to 20211209143041377 for the -coin reward support

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(End of this chapter)