Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1018 Triple Agent
"This..." Ruan Duofang froze, looking embarrassed.

Fortunately, Huang Huai did not expect that General Ruan from Annan would be a learned man, so he was not surprised to see this. Instead, he explained to him, "Shen Sheng and Chong Er were both sons of Duke Xian of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period."

"Duke Xian favored his treacherous concubine, Li Ji, who intended to kill Shen Sheng and Chong Er in order to help her son gain the throne."

"Shen Sheng was unwilling to leave Duke Xian and continued to stay by his side as usual. Later, he was framed by Li Ji and died a violent death."

"And Chong'er chose to live in exile. He seemed to have lost his status as a prince and was miserable. But in the end, he was able to save himself. While he was abroad, he gathered many helpers. In the end, he returned home in a high profile and inherited the throne of Duke Xian of Jin."

"General Ruan, now, Hu Jinyi is Li Ji who is beside Duke Xian of Jin."

"And you...would you rather be Shen Sheng, or Chong Er, who is in exile?"

Huang Huai said.

Ruan Duofang was sweating profusely and looked hesitant.

"You mean, staying in Shenglong City..."

"Am I going to die?"

"Of course." Huang Huai said. "Now that Hu Jinyi is in power, he will definitely start to eliminate dissidents. And General Ruan, you are Hu Jinyi's biggest political enemy. What he wants is not only your Ruan family's property, but also to monopolize power so that no one dares to oppose him. Nothing can deter others who oppose Hu Jinyi better than your death."

"But..." Ruan Duofang laughed dryly: "After all, I was once Hu Jin's sworn brother, and even a general of the imperial court. How dare he kill me?"

Huang Huai curled his lips and continued to exaggerate: "He dared to kill even the monarch, so why wouldn't he dare to kill a sworn brother?"

Ruan Duofang's face turned pale instantly. He opened his mouth, but finally closed it in fear. He paced back and forth with a pale face for a long time before reluctantly saying, "Brother Fan asked me to learn from Chong'er, but..."

"If we were to stay away from the imperial court, the power of our Ruan family would be..."

Seeing this man so short-sighted, Huang Huai couldn't help but feel a little disdainful. On the surface, he said more sincerely: "General Ruan, there is no need to hesitate."

"In terms of power in the court, you are definitely not Hu Ji's opponent. Even if you stay in the court, you are just using your own weaknesses to attack Hu Ji's strengths."

"Instead of doing this, why not choose to stay out of the spotlight for a while, sharpen your own strengths, and then come back in a high-profile manner like Chong'er in the future to compete with him, Hu Jinyi?"

"My strengths?" Ruan Duofang asked puzzledly, "What do you mean, Brother Fan?"

"Of course it's military power." Huang Huai said as a matter of course. "The general is invincible, but his ability is not as good as that of the court. If that's the case, why bother fighting to the death with Hu Jinyi in the court?"

"It is better to take a step back and ask to leave Thang Long City and go to the north to defend the border... As long as the general stays in the army and stays away from the court, no matter how powerful Hu Jinyi is, he will not be able to reach him. It can be said that he has an invincible golden body."

"Could it be that Hu Jinyi still dares to take the risk of forcing you to rebel and attack you?"

Ruan Duofang frowned in thought, but his eyes gradually brightened.

"Hu Ji's focus is on winning over the nobles. So, the general can win over the army to compete with Hu Ji's." Huang Huai continued to persuade him. "Even, Huai can use his relationship with Master to find ways to win the secret support of the Ming Dynasty for you, the general..."

"Will the Ming Dynasty be willing to support me?" Ruan Duofang said in disbelief. "If I go to the north to defend the border... then I will be defending against the Ming Dynasty!"

"The Ming Dynasty won't care that you are on guard against it, General." Huang Huai said with a smile. "The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and Japan, Goryeo, and Mongolia are all under its rule."

"There are also places like the Western Regions, Sindhu, and Fengmingzhou overseas that are in urgent need of management by the Ming Dynasty court."

"How could they come again to seize my remote land of Annan?"

The examples of Goryeo, Japan, etc. were all the same, but they were phrased differently. To Hu Jinyi, it was said that even if the Ming Dynasty had great ambitions, it would certainly covet Annan; to Nguyen Duofang, it was said that even if the Ming Dynasty had enough land, it would not look down on Annan, a remote place. However, facing the eloquent words of "Fan Huai", Nguyen Duofang did not think much about it, but instead felt that it made sense.

"Besides, for the Ming Dynasty, the dominance of Hu Jinyi is definitely not what the Ming Dynasty wants." "Fan Huai" continued his analysis. "A fragmented Annan will definitely make the Ming Dynasty feel more at ease than an Annan with unity."

"You Huai is the matchmaker for the general. As long as the general pledges allegiance to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will certainly not be stingy in supporting the general."

"And the general can also use the support of the Ming Dynasty to secretly strengthen himself outside the capital. No matter how fierce the struggle for power in the court is, as long as the army is approaching, even a thousand-year-old noble family will not be able to withstand the three-foot steel sword."

"Military affairs are your most important reliance. You must know that political power can only be established on the barrel of a gun!"

This set of principles just fits Ruan Duofang's thoughts and temperament. He only thought about it for a while, then he was very excited and said:

"Chong'er survived outside, and political power can only be established on the barrel of a gun. Hahahaha, well said!"

"Only a smart person like Mr. Fan can come up with such truths!"

"Okay! Anyway, I am in the imperial court and I can't beat that old fox. Instead of waiting for that second-named servant to destroy my Ruan family, it is better to escape from the capital and give him a chance to gain power."

"Friend Fan, we have a deal now! You have to make recommendations on my behalf to gain the support of His Royal Highness the King of Zhou!"

Huang Huai naturally agreed. Ruan Duofang left a lot of gold and silver and then left Huang Huai's residence in a secretive manner.

As soon as he left, Huang Huai immediately changed his clothes and got on the carriage, telling the driver, "Let's go find His Highness!"

Zhu Su had been waiting in the government office for a long time. When he learned that Huang Huai had successfully persuaded Ruan Duofang, he could not help but exclaimed in delight: "Great, great!"

"Good disciple, you have tricked another one!"

"You are born to be an actor!"

Huang Huai looked embarrassed. Although he didn't know what an award-winning actor was, he thought that he should be something similar to an actor... How could he say that his disciple was an actor?

Beside Zhu Su, Huang Guan said worriedly, "Your Highness, I think after Ruan Duofang returns to the court, he will ask Chen Yizong to leave the capital to prepare for the border."

"Hu Jinyi is busy trying to win over the power of the aristocracy. Seeing this thorn in his side voluntarily leaving the capital, he will definitely add fuel to the fire instead of stopping it. It can be said that Ruan Duofang's move to the north is a foregone conclusion."

"But do we really need to give Nguyen Duofang assistance and support? I think that if we give Zong Yu some more time, even without the support of the Ming Dynasty, Zong Yu can persuade him to leave Thang Long City and win over the military forces to fight against Hu Jinyi."

"If the Ming Dynasty supports him...will it bring disaster to him? After all, the areas to the north and south of Annan are the territory of the Ming Dynasty!"

"It's okay." Zhu Su smiled gently, comforting the worried Huang Guan. "Although I will provide financial assistance, my Ming Dynasty is ready to support him. Ruan Duofang's military weapons and armor are all old styles that were exchanged from Yunnan, Guizhou and other places."

"There is no benefit in leaving these old weapons in the warehouse or transporting them back to the Central Plains for recasting. Instead of doing that, it is better to sell them to the Annan people. While making a fortune, the weapons of our Ming army will always be superior to those of the Annan army."

"Besides, Ruan Duofang is not a tiger." Zhu Su said with a confident smile. "'Political power grows from the barrel of a gun', this saying is indeed correct."

"But he, Ruan Duofang, is just a gun, a gun held in the hands of our Ming Dynasty."

"The only one who will leave the regime is the Ming Dynasty."

"...Yes." Huang Guan said. He still had some doubts, but Zhu Su's words were firm and his previous trust in Zhu Su made him decide not to question Zhu Su's arrangements.

"How is the deployment of the Jinyi secret agents going?" Zhu Su turned around and asked Sanbao and Gou'er who were in charge of the secret work.

"Your Highness, most of the newly transferred Jinyi secret agents have already been deployed and placed in the homes of merchants, landlords, and poor families throughout Annan." Gou'er said. "When the situation changes, they will spread rumors according to your Highness's arrangements."

"It is not easy to place people in the Annan Palace. However, we have successfully bribed a cook in Chen Yizong's palace. This cook is a Han Chinese who specializes in cooking Chinese delicacies for Chen Yizong..."

"Well, continue to infiltrate this person, but don't reveal too much to him for the time being, so as not to alert the enemy." Zhu Su said. Placing people in the Annan Palace and trying to bribe Chen Yizong's people was just a casual move. After all, now everything is ready. Ruan Duofang was sent away and Hu Jinyi was supported to establish the Annan New School. It can be said that the conditions for pushing Hu Jinyi to become a powerful official in Annan have been gathered. After Hu Jinyi successfully reorganized the Annan small court, the next step is to push this beast to start usurping the throne.

And Chen Yizong would become the biggest obstacle to Hu's usurpation of the throne.

Although this pleasure-seeking old man is almost at the end of his rope, according to history, he can still live for another three or four years... Zhu Su hopes that Hu Jinyi will usurp the throne as soon as possible. After all, the sooner he takes action, the less stable the Hu family's foundation will be.

If Chen Yizong lived a few more years, Hu Jinyi would have nothing else to do and would have built up his power like an iron barrel. But if he died, according to the history of Hu Jinyi's impatient nature, he would not be able to endure for too long and would have hurriedly sat on the throne of the King of Annan to have some fun.

If Lao Hutu didn't want to die, Zhu Su would be willing to give him a gentle push...but this was ultimately just a matter of convenience. He was still young, and the Ming Dynasty was also young, so they could wait.

Annan has a complex terrain, a long strategic depth, and many mountains. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the people are not in the Ming Dynasty. Relying solely on war to conquer it is a bad idea. If Chen Yizong does not die in a short time, Zhu Su will have the patience to wait with this old fool.

"Zong Yu, the Annan exam is coming up soon. You must make a splash in this exam. As a 'poor family', you must get a ranking that will shock everyone in Annan." Zhu Su turned around and instructed Huang Huai. "The Ruan and Hu families are now counting on you to lurk in my place and win support from the Ming Dynasty for them. You are now the inner spy of the Ruan and Hu families in the dark. The two largest families in the court regard you as one of their own. No one will dare to dismiss you in the Annan imperial examination."

"You should use this opportunity to create a public identity for yourself, so that you can become the representative of the interests of the poor children of Annan, and the spiritual leader of many poor students of Annan."

"Yes." Huang Huai nodded. The academic atmosphere in Annan was sluggish and the imperial examination system was corrupt. He was quite confident that he could get a good ranking in the Annan examination.

As for having another identity, lurking among the poor scholars in Annan, Huang Huai said that there is not much difference between a double agent and a triple agent...

Just as Hu Jinyi, who had just changed his surname, was busy eliminating dissidents and Nguyen Duofang was leaving Beijing, the imperial examination in Annan, which was in name only, was held again. This time, a group of poor scholars from the ordinary courses of the academy were also able to take the exam because of Fan Huai.

Although almost all ordinary science students failed in the provincial and tongsheng examinations, they were still full of hope. After all, they had only started studying for a short time, and not everyone was a natural talent like "Fan Huai". They firmly believed that through their own efforts next year, they would be able to pass the exams and move their family forward.

They regarded this exam, which opened a small window for them, as a reformative exam. They believed that this was a sign that the court was beginning to employ people from poor families, and that from now on, they, the poor families, would officially step onto the political stage of Annan, bringing a powerful shot of adrenaline to this decadent country.

What made them even more excited was that the top scorer in this subject was from their poor family.

It was this genius representative of poor families, Fan Huai, who won the first place in the imperial examination with an almost overwhelming momentum and won the title of No. 1 Scholar without any suspense, letting everyone in Annan know that the talents of poor students were not inferior to those of the children of aristocratic families. Countless poor students were excited for Fan Huai. They regarded "Fan Huai" as a role model and the light of hope for poor students, and looked forward to him opening the door to official careers for poor students.

Compared with the excited scholars from poor families in Annan, Huang Huai, who used the alias Fan Huai, was very calm. He even felt that he had overexerted himself. This imperial examination in Annan was like a child's play to him. He won the first place in the imperial examination with almost no effort.

Yes, Annan was only a province of the Ming Dynasty. Because the gentry wanted to monopolize knowledge, there were few scholars, and most of them were children of the gentry who did not seek to understand deeply. Huang Huai was a paper winner, and even in the Ming Dynasty imperial examination, he was confident that he could pass the exam and become a Jinshi. What's more, he had Huang Guan, the only "exam god" in history who passed the first six exams, to tutor him wholeheartedly.

If Huang Huai could still fail under such a dimensionality reduction attack, that would be incredible.

However, compared with the excited scholars from poor families, the attitude of the gentry towards Huang Huai is very intriguing. Although the gentry did not abolish the title of "Fan Huai" due to the manipulation of the powerful Hu Jinyi. However, facing this "poor man" who broke the rules of the gentry, the gentry still raised a twelve-point hostility towards "Fan Huai".

You have passed the exam, but whether you will be reused in the future is not determined by your knowledge and test-taking ability.

(End of this chapter)