The best ring

Zhou Yanfeng and Li Yang were both quite satisfied with the result of this meeting, and the atmosphere in the study seemed more harmonious.

At this time, a servant came to report.

"Master, the Minister of Rites Qi is here and is in the hall outside."

After hearing the servant's report, Zhou Yanfeng and Li Yang looked at each other and smiled almost at the same time.

"Please ask Minister Qi to come over."

"Yes, Master."

Not long after, Qi Kai was led into the study. When he saw Li Yang was also in the study, Qi Kai's face showed surprise.

"Minister Qi, I didn't expect us to meet here." Li Yang spoke first.

"Yes... yes." Qi Kai then reacted: "Is Minister Li also here to see Minister Zhou?"

"Of course." Li Yang nodded.

Zhou Yanfeng looked at the two and smiled: "Today, two ministers can visit at the same time. My humble room is very bright."

Zhou Yanfeng smiled happily, happy from the bottom of his heart.

He already knew the purpose of Li Yang's visit, and he could probably guess the purpose of Qi Kai's visit. The two ministers had high status in the court, especially Li Yang, whose status and power were higher than his own. In the past, Li Yang would not even say a few words to him, let alone visit him.

Now, these two ministers came to visit him at his residence without any prior arrangement, and they had the intention of taking him as the leader. This made Zhou Yanfeng quite proud and naturally in a good mood.

"Minister Zhou is joking." Qi Kai said: "I admire the advice given by Minister Zhou at the altar today."

Hearing Qi Kai's words, Zhou Yanfeng and Li Yang said in their hearts, "As expected."

When they knew Qi Kai was visiting, they guessed that Qi Kai might also be here because of what happened at the altar just now, and now, Qi Kai's words proved that their previous guess was not wrong.

In fact, Qi Kai came here this time because of this matter. He was originally in a dilemma, but after Zhou Yanfeng made a suggestion, he not only got out of the predicament instantly, but also gained great power. This naturally made him very happy, so when he left the palace, Qi Kai left with a smile.

On the way back, Qi Kai kept thinking about this matter.

As one of the ministers of the auxiliary state, he naturally has power, but because he has always been the minister of rites, he has always been ranked last among the ministers. Now even if he enters the sequence of ministers of the auxiliary state, his words may not have much weight, and he may even be excluded. After all, everyone hopes that he has more power in his hands.

However, Qi Kai was unwilling to give up the decision-making power after all the hard work, so he kept thinking about solutions. Finally, when he was about to return to the government office, he thought of a solution:

Find someone to form an alliance!

With allies, both sides advance and retreat together, and the weight of their words will naturally be enough.

As for the choice of allies, Qi Kai did not think too much about it and chose Zhou Yanfeng.

Now the court is divided into several camps. Qi Kai knows very well that there are seven people who are responsible for handling the court affairs together. These seven people will inevitably be divided into different camps because of their own interests. The third prince Zhao Lun is one faction, and Yuan Ji and Hou Yi are definitely in the same camp. If he joins them, he may only become a follower of Yuan Ji and Hou Yi, and there will not be many opportunities to express his opinions. After all, these two are strong enough.

Li Yang is the Minister of War. Qi Kai and him are generally friendly on weekdays. As for Guan Zhuo, he is not a good person to talk to. Therefore, the only ally Qi Kai can choose is Zhou Yanfeng, the Minister of Revenue.

As the Minister of Revenue, Zhou Yanfeng has always remained neutral. In addition, his status in the court was not very high in the past. He and Qi Kai have a feeling of sympathy for each other. Therefore, it is most appropriate for the two to form an alliance. No one will suppress the other. They are equal. Although the two are not in a high position among the six ministers, they will still have great weight when they unite.

Therefore, without much hesitation, Qi Kai chose Zhou Yanfeng as his ally. He didn't even go back to the government office, and directly asked someone to send him to Zhou's house.

However, what surprised Qi Kai was that he was not the first one to come to Zhou Yanfeng. In Zhou Yanfeng's study, he actually saw Li Yang!

When Li Yang guessed the purpose of Qi Kai's coming here, Qi Kai was also guessing the reason why Li Yang appeared here, and he also easily guessed the purpose of Li Yang's coming here.

"This time, Minister Qi came..." Li Yang asked.

Qi Kai looked at Li Yang and smiled: "Same as Minister Li!"

"That's what I think, haha." Li Yang smiled and said: "This is perfect. The three of us form an alliance, and we can make our own voices in this court. No matter whether it is the second prince or the third prince, they will not be able to ignore our existence!"

Zhou Yanfeng and Qi Kai nodded in agreement.

Their small group has gathered three Shangshu, which is definitely not a weak force. You know, there are only seven people with decision-making power now, and the three of them almost account for half of the number, so their words naturally carry a lot of weight.

Moreover, the three of them represent three different fields, and together, their strength is still quite strong.

"Today is a happy day, the two Shangshu should not leave, stay and have a simple meal." Zhou Yanfeng said to Li Yang and Qi Kai.

Li Yang and Qi Kai would naturally not refuse. Their small group had just been formed, so they should have more contact and more understanding. After all, the three of them did not have much contact and did not know each other well enough on weekdays, which was obviously not acceptable.

The three of them were drinking and talking happily in Zhou's mansion, completely forgetting that the old emperor had just passed away. Today, the three of them were the biggest beneficiaries of the trip to the palace, so it was inevitable that they were excited.

On the other hand, Hou Zhong, who was far away from the imperial capital, did not know what had happened in the palace. He had the same idea as Yuan Ji and Hou Yi, and they all thought that with Liu Taiyi in hand, the third prince's ascension to the throne must have failed. Next, the second prince should come out to preside over the overall situation, and what he had to do now was to kill the eldest prince and reduce a competitor for the second prince.

"Where are the people now?" Hou Zhong sat on the horse and asked the subordinates who came to report the news.

"Reply to the adults, the eldest prince and his entourage have entered the southern neighboring city." The subordinate reported.

Hou Zhong frowned slightly when he heard this.

This is a bit tricky.

The mayor of Nanlin City is the father of the eldest prince's wife, and the eldest prince's father-in-law!

Now that the eldest prince has entered Nanlin City, he is obviously seeking the protection of his father-in-law. It is not an easy task to kill him in Nanlin City.