The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 91 He only lost a pair of legs, but I almost lost my face (Please order first!)
Zhao Duan walked out of Lihua Hall, walked out from the main gate alone, and got into the carriage of the "female prime minister".

"Is everything arranged?" Big Ice Tuozi was resting with his eyes closed and looked up.

"Just set a few rules." Zhao Duan said with a smile.

"Why do you want to do this?" Mo Chou said straight to the point, "I mean, use Li Lang as a target."

Zhao Duan said calmly:

"It's just to establish authority. He has the biggest background and took the initiative to come to us. There's no reason not to kill him to warn others."

Mo Chou stared at him, frowning:

"With your brain, there are better ways to establish your authority and gain a firm foothold. At the very least, just let me appear with you. No matter how stupid Li Lang is, he will not offend His Majesty in public.

But you deliberately made me wait outside, which means you deliberately sent me away and were planning to find someone to sacrifice, and Li Lang just happened to run into me. "

Zhao Duan remained calm and said with a smile after his thoughts were revealed.
"So what? Isn't this exactly why Lord Yuan and Your Majesty sent me here? Why is Mo Zhaorong asking when she already knows the answer?"

Mo Chou said calmly: "Speak your mind."

Zhao Duan lazily leaned back on the pillow, sighed softly, and said:

"Isn't it clear now?

Lihua Hall is the gathering place for all the government's ills. Whether it's because of personal relationships or to leave a way out, it's hard for Governor Ma to solve it himself. The best way is to send an outsider to rectify the situation."

"This outsider must have no connection with the old forces of the Zhaoya, and must not be afraid of offending people, and dare to offend people. I happen to be the most suitable candidate."

"It is reasonable that I should personally come to the office today, but he has disappeared under some pretext. Why?
Because if he helps me, then in the eyes of everyone, I will be the knife that executes the will of the governor. Everything I do is assigned by the governor, and the arrival of me as an "outsider" will lose its meaning. "

"Therefore, Lord Ma Du must be separated from me. I can only and solely represent the will of His Majesty...

Well, this is also the real purpose of His Majesty sending you here to support me. You stand by my side to make it known to everyone."

Zhao Duan talked freely.

After observing the female official's expression, he continued:

"As for Li Lang, huh... Your Majesty, how could you not know that Princess Yunyang's son is here?
I knew it, but you never reminded me from the beginning to the end, and neither did you, Mo Zhaorong. Isn't your intention clear enough?

It's nothing more than asking me to let go and do my job, or even to use my hand to deal with this useless thing. I am just following your orders."

After these words were spoken, Mochou's stern face couldn't help but be slightly moved.

As the emperor's close attendant, she had long heard of the wit and sophistication that Zhao Duan had shown in the past two months.

It will be clearer and can be recommended by Mr. Yuan himself.

This is definitely not something that can be achieved by just relying on a pretty face to please the empress.

But what you hear is false, and what you see is true.

At this moment, Zhao Duan guessed the intentions of all parties behind the scenes, including the mission she was responsible for, with just a little information.

Even if you don't like it, you have to admit that he is a capable person.

What a pity... he has talent but no morals.

No matter how smart and shrewd one is, if one has low character, is hypocritical and domineering...

Still a scumbag after all.

Mo Chou said coldly:
"But even if I allow you to teach him a lesson, there must be a limit. You punished him in public today and broke his legs. Even if Princess Yunyang can go to the Shenlong Temple to ask for elixirs for treatment, it has crossed the line."

Zhao Duan raised the corner of his mouth and said faintly:
"That's why I asked you to wait outside. Otherwise, if Zhao Rong were here, wouldn't it be difficult to handle it?"

Mo Chou's chest rose and fell from choking, and she almost laughed out of anger:

"Then I should thank you for your thoughtfulness?"

"That's not necessary. Thank you is too light. I like more practical thank you gifts." Zhao Duan said shamelessly.

Then he sighed softly, with a sincere look on his face:
"It's hard for me to do this. If I just stop there and the punishment is not severe enough, and the means are not cruel enough, then what's the point? How can those Jinyi be convinced and afraid? They will still think that I bully the weak and fear the strong.

Now, I dare say that at least on the surface, these people dare not provoke me anymore. The effect is immediate. As for the price, it is nothing more than Mr. Li’s legs.”

Zhao Duan looked aggrieved:
"He only lost a pair of legs, but I almost lost my face!"

inside the carriage.

The female prime minister was shocked by this outrageous statement. She opened her mouth but was speechless for a moment.

Zhao Duan laughed again:

“Besides, Zhaorong can take the elixir from the palace treasury later and send it over, saying it’s a reward from His Majesty.

I will pretend that I don't know. In this way, I will be the villain, and the royal family affection can be slightly compensated.

It doesn't matter. After all, Master Li only cursed me. I have already beaten him and I am angry now. I don't have to cripple him. His crime is not serious enough."

“…” Mo Chou closed her eyes and took a deep breath to suppress her emotions.

She found that she had greatly underestimated Zhao Duan's shamelessness and insidiousness.

She opened her eyes, as if looking at a madman:
"Are you really not afraid that Princess Yunyang will take revenge on you? Even though she has already married and is no longer considered a royal family member according to etiquette and law, the power she can mobilize should not be underestimated."

Zhao Duan was silent for a while, then he smiled and said:

"From the moment I pointed my sword at Li Yanfu in order to save my life, I have been in debt.

I even dared to offend the prime minister of the dynasty, Huaishui Pei, so why would I be afraid of an old princess who has been thrown out? Since I set foot on this road, there is no turning back. "

Mo Chou was stunned.

At this moment, a beam of summer sunlight came through the gap in the car curtain and shone right into Zhao Duan's eyes.

His eyes were dazzlingly bright.

Mo Chou was silent for a moment, then waved her hand to drive the people away:
"Go down. I need to go back to the palace to report. I will report this to His Majesty."

"I couldn't ask for more." Zhao Duan smiled and got out of the car.

...Watching the low-key and restrained carriage leave, he looked suspicious.

Logically speaking, based on his recent performance, Xu Zhenguan and Yuan Li would have noticed that he was different from what was rumored and realized that something was fishy.

It was speculated that he had deliberately defiled himself.

But it was somewhat strange that Mo Zhaorong, who was also a favorite of the emperor, always remained firmly hostile to him and thought he was a hypocritical villain.

"She is known as the 'female prime minister', even though it is just a rumor and an exaggeration. She is totally incomparable to a real prime minister, but at least it shows that she is not stupid."

"Is she just averagely intelligent? Is she only in this position today because she has followed the Empress for so many years and is loyal enough? Is that why she didn't notice? It's possible, but unlikely..."

"Or is it that there is some other hidden secret that I don't know about, which caused him to have such a deep prejudice against the original owner that it cannot be changed..."

Zhao Duan thought hard for a long time but could not find the answer, so he simply gave up thinking about it.

She was just a palace maid, and he didn't care what she thought.

As long as the empress trusts me, I don't care what she thinks, just let her do what she wants.

"Someone, prepare the car."

Zhao Duan turned around and gave instructions to the clerk in the duty room.

It will take time for the news of Li Wei to spread.

He would not stay in the court today, nor was he too lazy to socialize with his colleagues. He planned to take some time to make arrangements for the next step in advance.

He did not forget that his hidden mission was to find out the "traitor" hiding in the imperial yamen.

……

……

"That's what it is."

In the Governor's Hall, Zhou Cang finished recounting the news he had heard.

inside the room.

The chief eunuch Ma Yan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his expression unable to conceal his excitement.

Beat Li Lang with a stick... Mo Chou stood up for him... Thrown him into the imperial prison... Set up three rules...

Zhao Duan had been in office for less than an hour when he completed a complete set of combined punches, leaving no one able to react.

Ma Yan was just thinking that when Zhao Duan could no longer handle it, he would step in to mediate, which would both help him and avoid giving others a chance to criticize him.

But I never expected that things would progress so quickly.

Moreover, he had not expected that Mo Zhaorong would accompany him on the platform.

After a little thought, I understood what Your Majesty was thinking.

After all, he didn't want to get involved... Therefore, as the governor, it was best for him to remain "invisible" when dealing with the affairs of Lihua Hall.

"I understand." Ma Yan stopped and thought for a moment, then asked:
"What's the trend at Lihua Hall now?"

Zhou Cang said:

"The effect of establishing authority is very good. Those troublemakers have become obedient. At least in the next few days, they will be temporarily obedient. After Lord Zhao established the rules, he left the government office. No one knows where he went."

This kid runs pretty fast... Ma Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the wind chimes under the eaves:
"But it is only temporary. Fearing power without respecting virtue is not a long-term solution."

At that moment, the Jinyi guards of Lihuatang were afraid of Zhao Duan and were temporarily submissive.

But if you want to tame a group of wild horses, a whip alone is not enough.

If Zhao Duan wants to truly bring the gang into his own team, he must win over the hearts of those people.

"I think that with Zhao Jisi's skills and wisdom, he may be able to do it." Zhou Cang thought for a while and said.

Ma Yan glanced at him and said with a smile:

"Just because he caught a spy from Prince Jing's mansion, are you convinced? You should know that the art of commanding subordinates and leading troops is completely different from bullying others or playing tricks.

The few times he had accomplished merit in the past, he had done so by relying on meticulous observation, finding opportunities, playing with people's minds, deceiving people, taking advantage of situations... and he was very good at it, but this time was different.

If you want to make a group of unruly warriors and troublemakers identify with you from the bottom of their hearts and make them loyal, you can never use scheming means. Therefore, many civil servants who are good at political schemes fail to succeed in the army because they cannot gain the love and trust of the officers and soldiers.

On the contrary, the most effective way to win over the soldiers is through personal charm, but unfortunately, his reputation is notorious...

What's more, the people in Lihua Hall are not easy to fool. They are all cunning and shrewd. Even I can hardly make them loyal."

As he spoke, Ma Yan also frowned, feeling that the situation was tricky.

I began to think about how I could help Zhao Duan.

But after thinking of several solutions, they all required him to personally step in and push them forward.

But the empress had almost made it clear that he should not interfere in Lihuatang.

At this moment, even with his experience as the "King of Hell", he couldn't think of a good solution.

After thinking hard for a while, Ma Yan rubbed his brows and suddenly something came to his mind:
If you can't help him directly, maybe you can try a different approach.

But I am afraid that if I use too much force, I will end up making things worse... Ma Yan weighed the pros and cons and finally spoke:
"Send an order, summon the nine major halls' chief officers, the Jisi, to come to the Governor's Hall to discuss matters."

After a brief pause, he added:

"If you are not in the government office, you don't have to come."

Thus, the eight major law enforcement agencies gathered together, but only Zhao Duan was missing.

……

Three more updates with 10,000 words
Thanks to Huang Er for the 2000 points reward and Yao Shou for the points reward!

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(End of this chapter)