Northern Song Dynasty gangster: Start the game with a dog's head, and Mr. Bao spares his life

Although the emperor did not want to cause large-scale turmoil in the court, he also did not want to leave a deadly threat to his son.

He probably knows the relationship between Cai Jing and King Duan.

Since Cao Bin swears that Cai Jing is the mastermind of fighting for the position and forcing the palace, he can't stay.

Therefore, he didn't have any scruples about Cai Jing's planning and control of the world's finances, so he directly sent Cai Jing to prison for interrogation.

At this time, only one heinous Cai Jing was dealt with, and no one dared to challenge his majesty as the emperor.

Afterwards, the emperor took a weak breath, looked at the old eunuch who reported the news, and asked:

"Tell me, what's going on with the Queen Mother and King Duan?"

In the early years, the emperor had some conflicts with his aunt Empress Dowager Liu, and he didn't really care about her life.

When Duan Wang did something like this, he would deal with it more clearly and logically.

I'm afraid that King Duan will make some showy operations and damage the face of the royal family.

The eunuch stammered and told what had happened, but everyone could only make a rough idea.

In fact, the truth of the matter is even more strange, the old eunuch did not dare to say it.

During the great court meeting today, King Duan was waiting for news in the Empress Dowager's Palace.

After hearing that the emperor had woken up, King Duan was already terrified, and the Queen Mother also knew that his situation was over, so she gave him an idea.

Said that "Shen Sheng died inside, and Chong'er was safe outside", and advised him to flee to Xixia or Liao first, so that the emperor would not settle accounts with him.

Now the emperor is seriously ill and the little prince is weak, as long as Zhao Ji can survive until the little prince dies, maybe he will be welcomed back to the court to succeed the emperor by all the ministers in the future.

Zhao Ji was very moved after hearing this suggestion.

He was about to leave the palace to prepare, but he heard the news that Li Zhaoming rebelled and forced the palace.

The Empress Dowager thought that things had turned for the better, but King Duan was so frightened that he didn't dare to wait for Li Zhaoming's result, so he begged the Empress Dowager to send him out of the palace to flee for his life.

What worried the old eunuch was that the queen mother did not return to the palace after Li Zhaoming's rebellion ended.

Not long after, a young eunuch came back to report that King Duan had taken the Queen Mother as a hostage, tricked him into opening the city gate, and disappeared.

The old eunuch was so depressed that he wanted to die. He never thought that such a change would happen, so he had to report it.

Although the officials didn't know the details, they saw Zhao Ji's plan and were speechless.

Kou Zhun regretted it even more, why did he support such a prince, wanted to fight for the throne, but didn't even have the guts to sit back and enjoy it.

If he is really allowed to be the emperor, I don't know how stupid and useless it is.

However, Cao Bin understood Zhao Ji a little bit. If Li Zhaoming hadn't forced the palace, with the character of the emperor, he would most likely be suppressed and his life would not be in danger.

But with Li Zhaoming's operation, the emperor will never let him off easily. It seems a bit worthless to risk his life for the sake of the throne.

It's just that the operation of holding the queen mother hostage is a bit too much. Is it because he is afraid that he will not be charged enough?

At this time, the emperor was also a little depressed, and said directly:

"Decree to immediately deprive King Duan of his honor, abolish him as a commoner, and order the whole country to arrest him... Be sure to rescue the Queen Mother, and don't let her old man be harmed."

Pan Renmei looked forward to it:

"Your Majesty, that Duan Palace..."

The emperor glanced at him displeasedly, and said a little tiredly:

"Don't move for the time being, we'll talk about it when Zhao Ji is brought back. Well, I'm a little tired, and you should go to appease the court first."

As he said, he closed his eyes slightly.

The emperor had just woken up, and there were frequent troubles and major events, which consumed a lot of energy.

And he also had a feeling that he didn't have much time left, so he had to think carefully about how to adjust the court and arrange the funeral.

At least leave a relatively stable court to his son.

All the ministers breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the words, and hurriedly bowed their hands and left.

Although the position of the heir has been determined and the rebellion has been suppressed, the court has been tormented enough, and the front office needs to be sorted out, and there are still many follow-up things.

Cao Bin was about to leave the palace with all the ministers, but Concubine Pan Guifei suddenly caught up, with red eyes and whispered:

"Thank you Zhong Jinghou for rescuing my son...Don't worry Zhong Jinghou, I will never forget the previous agreement."

"When I have free time, I will definitely hold a son-recognition banquet for Zhong Jinghou and my son."

Cao Bin nodded and smiled:

"Your Majesty, you are being polite, this is your duty..."

With that said, the two had arrived in the courtyard.

Seeing many concubines gathered here, with terrified expressions, crying to see the emperor, Concubine Pan raised her brows upside down and said:

"What are you arguing about? The official family is resting. Where can I see you all? Go back to your respective palaces and wait."

"If you dare to disturb the officials again, be careful and punish me severely."

All the concubines were scolded for a while, even though they were reluctant, they had no choice but to go out.

In fact, they were safe and sound, thanks to Li Zhaoming's ability to restrain the soldiers, and several eunuchs brought their inner guards together to protect them.

Otherwise, when disorderly soldiers enter the palace, the emperor will inevitably be forced to wear several hats.

And these concubines gathered here for a purpose.

They were very frightened by the rebellion, and worried that the rebellion would rise again, but it was much safer to follow the emperor.

The second is that they heard that the emperor was awake, and they wanted to find out about the situation, and they also hoped to gain some favor in front of the emperor, so as to ask for some grace and protection for the days to come...

It's just that Concubine Pan Guifei has the highest status and gave birth to a son. They will live in the hands of others in the future, so they dare not refuse to listen.

At this moment, Concubine Pan Gui suddenly smiled and said:

"Sister Pang, don't leave, and take care of His Majesty with me."

Concubine Pang was waiting in the side hall and just came out. Hearing this, she frowned and said:

"Your Majesty is resting, I just..."

Cao Bin suddenly said:

"Imperial Concubine, my father-in-law has a few words to convey to Empress Pang, is it convenient?"

Concubine Pan waved her hands and said with a smile:

"This is human nature, Zhong Jinghou and Sister Pang go to the side hall to talk..."

Hearing this, the concubines couldn't help showing envy and jealousy.

Previously, they saw Concubine Pang made a mistake, demoted her status, and lost her great backer, Grand Master Pang, and thought that she had lost power and her residence would soon become a cold palace.

Unexpectedly, she made such a big mistake, and her treatment in the palace did not decrease much.

Even Concubine Pan Gui, the new owner of the harem, took extra care of her, treating her differently.

Originally, they each had their own guesses, and they didn't think that a loyal queen could play such a big role in the harem.

Seeing Concubine Pan Gui's attitude towards Cao Bin now, I still don't understand.

All the concubines lamented, this is fate.

A grand master Pang who had great power left, and another Marquis Cao came.

I can't envy this kind of thing, and I only blame myself for not having a reliable father, nor finding a reliable brother-in-law for myself.

In Funing Hall, the emperor didn't rest for long, and he didn't have that much time to waste.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the emperor immediately ordered:

"Come here, draw up an order for me."

"Pan Renmei, Duke of Zheng Guo, has meritorious service. He was promoted to the Duke of Qi State. He was resigned from the position of Shangshu Youcheng, and he was appointed as a Privy Council envoy."

"Loyal Jing Hou Cao Bin has made meritorious service, and the crown prince Shao Fu..."

Just as she was talking, Concubine Pan had already walked in. When she heard the emperor's imperial decree, she was immediately unhappy, and she said speechlessly:

"Officials, it's fine if you don't give my father a promotion, why did you demote him?"

Seeing Concubine Pan questioning her decision, the emperor was a little unhappy and said:

"I have promoted your father to the rank, aren't you satisfied? The Great Song Dynasty has not yet had an important minister who is in charge of both privy secretaries and political affairs."

In the Great Song Dynasty of this world, the title of title has been simplified a lot, there are not many levels, but it is not flooded, and the weight and treatment have become much heavier.

The title of a great country like the Duke of Qi is already the highest title for a minister with a foreign surname, but it has nothing to do with real power.

The demotion mentioned by Concubine Pan Gui refers to the emperor's deprivation of Pan Renmei's ruling power as Shangshu Zuocheng.

When the privy envoy is a real job, it is only a high-ranking name. In fact, there is no difference between power and position and knowing the affairs of the privy council.

In principle, the Song Dynasty implemented the separation of powers in finance, government, and military, and all three ministers could be called Zaizhi.

As a privy envoy, Pan Renmei controls the military affairs of the country, and her status is only half a rank lower than the ruling prime minister, which is equivalent to the vice minister. In fact, her power is not small.

But it's no wonder the emperor was cautious.

It is really that the heir is too young, and it will take at least ten or twenty years for him to take charge, which is too long.

He was worried about the dictatorship of his relatives, and he was worried that the heir would not have a reliable confidant and would be easily abolished by his ministers, so he was so careful.

"Okay, you can step back for now, I have my own arrangements."

Concubine Pan Guifei is not a stupid person, and she has read some history books. She just gave birth to a prince before, and she had some arrogance in her heart.

Seeing the emperor's displeasure at this time, he immediately reacted and said nervously:

"Your Majesty forgives my concubine for overdoing it."

She suddenly remembered a story about "What kind of lady is hooked", lest the emperor suddenly come and leave the mother and keep the child.

In fact, the Song Dynasty's meticulous separation of powers system made the court much safer than previous dynasties, and the emperor himself was not a particularly ruthless person, so he never had such thoughts.

Looking at Concubine Pan Guifei's back, the emperor rubbed his eyebrows tiredly, and was about to continue drafting the imperial decree, when he suddenly pondered for a moment, and ordered the eunuch:

"Ask the Secretary of the Imperial City to bring me the news that I heard in the last three months."

When the commander of the Imperial City Division arrived, the emperor said directly:

"Read all the news you think is important to me."

The commander hurriedly found a booklet and read:

"On the first day of October, Prince Duan will have a secret meeting with Cai Jing, and we will leave in half a day."

"On the second day of October, Cai Jingmi met King Yong. Three days later, King Yong's son fell off his horse..."

The emperor said with cold eyes:

"Cao Bin is right. Cai Jing is the mastermind behind King Duan."

Later, the commander read the information of Wang Yanling, Kou Zhun and others.

The content about them is the most detailed, and on several occasions, even their conversations are clearly remembered.

After listening, the emperor commented directly:

"Publicity is commendable, but loyalty is insufficient."

When the commander heard this, he couldn't help but sweat for Wang Yanling and others.

In the eyes of the emperor, no matter how dedicated they are to Song Dynasty, as long as they are not wholehearted to the emperor himself, they are not loyal enough.

Afterwards, the commander took up the Yang family's information again, and was stopped by the emperor after reading halfway:

"Forget it, I don't want to hear about that old lady's stupidity, let's talk about Cao Bin."

Even without the report from the Imperial City Secretary, the emperor can guess the general situation of the Yang family consciously. Although it is easy to use, it is always unsatisfactory for him.

Hearing the emperor's order, the commander did not hesitate, and directly picked up Cao Bin's information.

When he heard that Eighth Sister Yang escaped from marriage and had a private meeting with Cao Bin, the emperor almost couldn't hold back and asked quickly:

"Maybe this matter is accurate? Does Madam She know about this matter?"