In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

While Fan Zhongyan and others were discussing matters, at the beginning of the afternoon, Lu Yijian's sedan slowly left the Donghua Gate and headed towards Ma Xing Street in the inner city.

Everyone knows that the Lu family has a prominent family and has been a high-ranking official for generations since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. But they don't know that in addition to being prominent, they are also very wealthy.

Lu Yijian's uncle, Lu Mengzheng, was the prime minister of Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Heng. He was an honest official, upright and rigorous. In addition to Wang Anshi, he also had a prototype of the allusion that the prime minister could punt a boat.

But this great sage likes to eat chicken tongue soup for breakfast and kills dozens or hundreds of chickens every day.

Although he later changed his habit of eating chicken tongue soup when he learned that the kitchen was going to waste so many chickens, this was enough to prove how rich the Lu family really was.

Moreover, this wealth does not come from corruption, but from family inheritance. For example, the Lu family owned countless fields in their ancestral homeland of Shouzhou, and also owned a large number of shops, industries, etc. in various cities and towns in Shouzhou and Bianliang. They could be said to have great wealth.

Therefore, the Lu family is not like Fan Zhongyan, a high-ranking official from a poor family who can only buy an ordinary mansion in Daguan Lane in the outer city. But relying on the family background, Lu's house is located on Maxing Street, where land is very valuable, very close to the palace.

Maxing Street is much more prosperous than Daguan Lane. The west side of the street is mostly residential, while the east side is crowded with shops, most of which are drugstores. The streets are more than dozens of miles long, filled with shops and shops, mixed with official residences, and crowded with cars and horses. Its night market is a hundred times more prosperous than that of Zhouqiao.

In addition to the bustling streets, there are countless alleys of various sizes along both sides of the street.

The most famous one is Washe, commonly known as Wazi and Goulan. High-rise buildings are connected together, like a large number of courtyards gathered together, forming a complex terrain like alleys.

There are brothels, teahouses, restaurants, inns, theaters, elegant gardens, pubs, etc. Especially during the Tiansheng period, Zhao Zhen completely canceled the curfew, and Washe and Fang City became completely prosperous and lively.

There are countless people who get drunk, play, stay in hotels, and visit prostitutes at night. It is said that there is a black market, where you can buy many things that cannot be seen outside. The grand occasion is really like "when you look up, you can see brothels and pavilions, embroidered bead curtains, and car-carving competitions". Stationed in Tianjie.”

Lu Yijian's sedan chair, surrounded by guard servants, shuttled through the crowded streets outside Donghua Gate. In front of it was Livazi. He heard the servants outside say: "My lord, the guards of Xianggong Song came here just now and said that Song Xianggong Your Majesty is waiting for me in the east building of Wazi."

"Um."

Lu Yijian said in a deep voice: "I know, let's go."

The sedan continued forward.

After a while, I arrived outside Rivazi. I turned around and no longer walked straight to Ma Xing Street, but entered Rivazi.

Vashene is a straight street with various shops on the left and right sides.

The East Building is a large restaurant, and those who can open a restaurant in the inner city always have a great background. According to Lu Yijian's knowledge, there should be a general behind him.

Because of this, it is safe to meet in the East Building.

At least the Imperial City Department is now controlled by the Cao family. The current Imperial City Envoy Cao Xiu is the cousin of Empress Cao. He will probably give him Lu Yijian and Song Shou. When presented to the officials afterwards, at most they will be Lu Xiang and Song Shou. Just having a casual meal together.

Lu Yijian got off the sedan and was greeted by the shopkeeper of the east building and went up to the third floor. The first and second floors were the lobby, which was crowded with guests during the meal. The third floor is much quieter, and the corridor is still burning with a faint scent of Funan sandalwood.

The shopkeeper was very sensible and didn't ask any questions. He respectfully led Lu Yijian all the way to the innermost room. Song Shou and Lu Yijian's guard servants were guarding the outside to eliminate any possibility of eavesdropping.

The door creaked open, and there was another room inside. The shopkeeper Shiqu stepped away, Lu Yijian opened the bead curtain, and saw Song Shou making tea for herself in the back room.

"Mr. Tanfu."

Seeing Lu Yijian come in, Song Shou stood up and pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Please sit down quickly."

"Gong Chui."

Lu Yijian came over, sat on the chair, and said, "Didn't we agree not to meet in private as much as possible?"

Song Shou also sat down. The food on the table had just been delivered and was still hot. He raised his chopsticks and said with a smile, "Isn't it okay to have a simple meal together on the way home from duty?"

"Haha, tell me something."

When Lu Yijian saw that the dishes on the table were all his favorite dishes, he said to himself that he was really interested, so he also raised his chopsticks. Thinking that he was busy with official documents in the afternoon and forgot about time, he was really hungry, so he just ate in the east building. Some, I won’t eat when I get home at night.

"What's the matter? It's because the government affairs have been complicated recently, and I feel a little depressed."

Song Shou personally poured a glass of wine for Lu Yijian.

Although tea is good, when talking about business, you still need a glass or two of sake to cheer you up.

"We talk about business when we are on duty, and we always have some leisure time after we are off duty."

Lu Yijian smiled, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

"By the way, if Zhao Jun really wants to be reused by officials after his eyesight is restored, what position should he be given?"

"Zhao Jun has gone too far in his killing sprees. He should hone himself in the officialdom instead of letting him take the imperial examination and become an official first."

"Well, that's what I thought too. He's just a descendant, how could he pass the exam?"

"Then just ask the officials to give him the same background as a Jinshi."

The two chatted for a while, and after two or three glasses of wine, they finally got to the point.

Song Shou took a chopstick of chicken and put it in his mouth and chewed it for a while. After swallowing it, he hesitated a little, put his head next to Lu Yijian, and whispered: "My lord, to tell you the truth, there is indeed something important."

"You tell me."

Lu Yijian probably understood what he was going to say.

Song Shou said, "We haven't seen any guests recently. Ziqiao and Ziming are very worried."

The Ziqiao and Ziming he mentioned are actually Xia Song, Jia Changchao and others. Most of the students and old officials promoted by Lü Yijian are now middle and lower-level officials. Except for Song Shou, who was promoted by him, the other high-level forces are basically in an alliance of interests with him.

In fact, Song Shou and him are not completely superiors and subordinates, nor are they slaves who bow down to Lü Yijian. Instead, they are allies with more gratitude than political alliances.

At the beginning, Song Shou disobeyed the old witch Liu E and was demoted to the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture. It was Lü Yijian who recommended him to Zhao Zhen after Liu E's death and supported Zhao Zhen's personal rule that returned him to the court and was reused as the deputy prime minister.

It is precisely because of this gratitude that Song Shou has always supported him.

Otherwise, with the current system of the Song Dynasty, unless he is the sole prime minister, Lü Yijian will not be able to dominate the court and make all the people of the Lü Party obey his orders.

But now Lü Yijian is the leader of the Lü Party after all. Recently, the Fan Party has been making a big fuss, and many of their lower-level forces have been eliminated.

At this critical juncture, Lü Yijian closed the door and refused to see visitors. Every day, except for staying in the palace until the afternoon, he did not talk to anyone, which made other senior leaders of the Lü Party very worried.

Could it be that the government really intends to let Fan Zhongyan and others purge them?

"I know what they are worried about."

Lv Yijian put down his chopsticks, tapped the table with his right index finger, and then said in a deep voice: "But you should understand what is the most important thing now. In comparison, even if Xia Song and Jia Changchao were all driven out of the court, it would not be as serious as this matter."

Song Shou understood what he meant, and frowned and said: "I naturally understand this truth, but Fan Xiwen is a stubborn person, as smelly and hard as a stone in the toilet, and he has repeatedly tried to kill us."

"The official really trusted this man wrongly. Fan Xiwen's low pattern is disgusting. When we should have united as one, he was wholeheartedly provoking party disputes, which is really hateful."

Thinking of this, Lu Yijian couldn't help getting angry.

The word "pattern" existed in the Song Dynasty, and in Lu Yijian's heart, Fan Zhongyan's pattern was really low. With Zhao Jun, he actually wanted to use Zhao Jun to engage in party disputes instead of enriching the country with Zhao Jun's help, which really made him angry.

But he also understood that perhaps in Fan Zhongyan's heart, he was another person.

After all, Lü Yijian had been somewhat arbitrary and tyrannical in recent years. Among the three prime ministers and three ministers, Wang Zeng was very dissatisfied with him for monopolizing power many times. Zhao Jun said that he would be dismissed next year for this reason.

But this was not the reason for Fan Zhongyan's repeated attacks.

Because both Lü Yijian and Fan Zhongyan knew very well that under the current system of the Song Dynasty, no matter how powerful the prime minister was, he could not threaten the imperial power. Fan Zhongyan impeached Lü Yijian for controlling the government and disrupting the government, which was nothing more than finding a high-sounding reason.

In the final analysis, this fight was still a struggle of positions and interests. First, the Lü Party controlled the high position, and the Fan Party was mostly young talents. If you want to get to the top, you must burst the gold coins of these old guys.

Second, the members of the Fan Party are basically new policy reformists, and Fan Zhongyan's main focus is to reform the problem of redundant officials.

Most of the Lü Party members are from aristocratic families. The Fan Party intends to launch reforms and deal with the problem of redundant officials. The Lü Party is naturally the biggest obstacle in their way. So Fan Zhongyan pointed the spearhead at Lü Yijian, and his intention is self-evident.

The dispute over positions is inevitable, but what makes Lü Yijian angry is that Fan Zhongyan cleverly used Zhao Jun as a tool for party disputes, making him the target of public criticism.

And Lü Yijian is too passive.

Zhao Jun said that Fan Zhongyan is the initiator of the future Qingli New Deal, and the Qingli New Deal is the right path that the Song Dynasty should take under the current situation. In the eyes of the government, Fan Zhongyan has become a good minister of governance.

On the contrary, Lü Yijian has become the culprit who blocked the new deal. In the hearts of the government, Fan Zhongyan's weight has greatly increased, and his status has also risen steadily.

In this way, Fan Zhongyan can be invincible just by relying on his identity as a reform minister.

He can continue to suppress the Lü Party, standing on the moral high ground, saying that they are a conservative interest group, just like the portrayal in later movies, novels, and TV dramas, turning the Lü Party into villains and treacherous ministers.

What should Lü Yijian do with this?

It is difficult to refute.

So Lü Yijian is feeling very headache now.

Fan Zhongyan will not give up, he just needs to make good use of his identity as a reform pioneer, and sooner or later he will pull himself down.

Song Shou said: "If Fan Xiwen continues to make such a fuss, it will probably not be good for anyone."

"Fan Zhongyan, relying on the few good words he received from that person, has already ignored everyone and has been making up stories about us in front of that person all day long."

Lü Yijian looked ugly and very unhappy.

Song Shou frowned and said, "If you say that many censors and imperial censors under the prime minister have been purged, there should be many under the prime minister's command as well. There are countless people who have used the power of the censorate to impeach him, but if we force him now, we can't do anything. The emperor will never give in."

Lü Yijian pondered for a moment and said, "Do you have any solution?"

"Uh."

Song Shou paused, then smiled bitterly and said, "If I had a solution, I wouldn't come to the prime minister."

"For the sake of the emperor and the Song Dynasty, I don't want to do anything to Fan Zhongyan after I learned that he would be useful to the country in the future."

Lu Yijian touched his beard, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said softly: "But if he still doesn't know how to advance or retreat, or how to restrain himself, I will find a way to beat him."

"oh?"

Song Shou was surprised and said, "Could it be that Mr. Lu has a plan?"

Lu Yijian said: "If the methods on the surface don't work, we can only use other methods. Let's see first. If Fan Xiwen stops, then I will give in. If he still insists on making things difficult for me, I will have to use this trick. ”

Song Shou asked: "Please let Mr. Lu tell you, so that we can be mentally prepared."

Lu Yijian asked: "Do you know why I have cut off all contact and declined visitors during this period?"

Song Shou said: "Of course I know that not only Lu Gong, but also me, the two Wang Xianggong, Sheng Xianggong and Cai Xianggong also live in seclusion. This time it was Zi Qiao who asked someone to come to the house, otherwise I wouldn't have Come to Mr. Lu."

"hehe."

Lu Yijian smiled and said, "But I heard recently that Fan Xiwen's house is very lively. Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, Cai Xiang and others have gatherings at his house many times."

Song Shou opened his eyes wide and then said, "Is Mr. Lu worried about Fan Xiwen?"

"He probably can't be that stupid."

Lu Yijian shook his head: "But who can say for sure about this kind of thing? Even if he doesn't tell the person's name and origin, Bao Buqi will reveal something else. If something is spread in Bianliang, haha."

"Something is spreading?"

Song Shou wondered: "What's the matter?"

"Someone told the officials that Zhao Yuanhao was plotting rebellion."

Lu Yijian said calmly.

"Zhao Yuanhao is plotting rebellion? Who doesn't know about this? Wait a minute."

Song Shou didn't understand it at first. After thinking about it for a while, he suddenly became stunned and looked at Lu Yijian in shock.

Zhao Jun's matter is already the top secret of the Song Dynasty. They could not bring out the old woman and children who were sent to the palace, and now they all live in the back garden.

Even Lu Yijian Wang Zeng and other three ministers and three ministers lived in seclusion and did not even dare to mention Zhao Jun's name.

The power of the Imperial City Division is indeed subject to some restrictions, but this is Bianliang, where the Imperial City Division has the greatest power. It is impossible for the officials to not know how cautious Lu Yijian and the others are.

Only Fan Zhongyan kept having parties, in small groups, shouting and drinking, as if they were afraid that others would not know that they were having a party in the mansion.

Even though Fan Zhongyan didn't reveal anything, once something spread in Bianliang City.

For example, the officials of the Song Dynasty already knew that Zhao Yuanhao had objections, and someone told him about it. Even if there is no trouble in Bianliang, there will probably be a storm in the hearts of the officials.

After all, Zhao Yuanhao had already rebelled. In fact, many people knew that Zhao Yuanhao once threatened to establish a country in front of Yang Gao, the doctor of the Ministry of Industry, and Zhu Yunzhong, the deputy protocol officer.

If this matter spreads among the people, it is estimated that it will not cause much sensation.

Because there are so many true and false news these days, and judging from Zhao Yuanhao's attitude that everyone has known, it is not that there is no news among the people that Zhao Yuanhao wants to establish a country.

So in fact, if Zhao Jun hadn't appeared, this matter would probably have been an insignificant matter.

But the key is that Zhao Jun appears.

At this juncture, the matter of Zhao Yuanhao's rebellion suddenly made a fuss, and it was also pointed out that someone told the officials about it. What would they think if it came to their ears?

Naturally, one would think that the news about Zhao Jun had been leaked.

So who leaked it?

Is it San Xiang San Shen, who lives a reclusive life and almost never talks to others or has guests, or is it Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu and others who often gather together?

Song Shou was shocked for a moment. After he came to his senses, he gave a thumbs up.

"Older gingers are more spicy."