choke element

The room was dark, with heavy curtains hanging down. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, still making it look hot. In addition, the undulating dust was floating in the beams of sunlight, making the room even more stuffy. There were no attendants or maids in this room, and it was very quiet. Only Cui Zhongxian was sitting on the bed, with a sick look on his face, looking down at the silk quilt covering his chest.

When he was young, his appearance should have been very majestic, but now he is too thin and out of shape, his beard is also gray, and it is still stained with semi-dried tea soup, and no one seems to have wiped it off in time.

He has maintained this attitude for a long time. It was obvious that the old man's body was weak. His brain was still functioning, and his eyes were still frighteningly bright in his sunken eye sockets, but the rest of his body was almost exhausted and could no longer sustain it.

However, the mere gaze made General Chi Yunshen, who was standing in front of the couch, extremely nervous.

Even though he was regarded as a confidant by Cui Zhongxian and held great power; even when Cui Zhongxian was seriously ill for several months, even his son Cui Yu could not come to see him, but Chi Yunshen and Liu Songjie could go in and out of the inner room without any scruples. Even if there was no one around this bedroom at this moment, Chi Yunshen could easily step forward and strangle Cui Zhongxian to death.

He still didn't dare to relax.

Over the past two decades, the regime founded by Cui Zhongxian has been in crisis many times, and he himself has been in desperate situations many times. But after every betrayal, rebellion, and plot, the winner was Cui Zhongxian, while the corpses of the losers piled up layer after layer in the mass graves outside Kaesong.

The only purpose of this old man's life is to hold power. As long as he dies, he will always be the ruler of Goryeo. Whether to his political opponents or to his subordinates, he was the most terrifying conspirator and the most brutal devil.

"Are you sure? He is really here to organize the polo competition?" Cui Zhongxian asked softly.

"Very sure. As soon as Yin Chang arrived, Cui Junwen stopped him and asked him, and did not allow him to deny it. In addition, we sent some smart people to pretend to be drinkers, drink and chat with the people who arrived on the ship, and even let people board the ship. After checking... It is true that Yin Chang didn't bring many guards when he came here. He was accompanied by accounting documents and the like, and many people brought the process documents of the game. We questioned twenty-four people, and they are all recorded here. "

Chi Yunshen held up the document, but Cui Zhongxian didn't take it at all. He just moved his fingers slightly and nodded imperceptibly.

"Oh, by the way, those accounting clerks were all hired from the Song Dynasty. Once the Nanjing Liushou of the big country resigned, it was really ridiculous to be reduced to this situation."

"Yin Chang obviously can't stay in Dazhou any longer, otherwise why would he come all the way to Goryeo?"

Cui Zhongxian said slowly and authentically: "No matter how good a man is, once he cannot control the power, he will immediately become a knife and a slave. I will be a fish and meat, and I will be taken advantage of by Xiaoxiao at any time!"

The tone of these words was light and fell in Chi Yunshen's ears, but it made his forehead and back sweat suddenly, and his whole body became stiff.

Cui Zhongxian took control of the government and raised all the people in Goryeo to serve one person, just like a single man. And a single husband always needs lackeys by his side.

Chi Yunshen, Liu Songjie, and Cui Junwen have been Cui Zhongxian's most effective lackeys in recent years.

They also understand that lackeys will probably not end well. So while Cui Zhongxian's body was getting weaker and his mind was often unclear, they began to make preparations to isolate the inside and outside, and formulated a plan to seize power, trying to turn around from dogs to humans.

In order to firmly grasp Cui Zhongxian's remaining power in the process, they tried their best to drive a wedge between Cui Zhongxian and his eldest son Cui Yu, and instigated a fight between Cui Yu and Cui Zhongxian's second son, Baocheng Bo Cui Jue.

We are really just Xiaoxiao, we are really just trying to find a way to deprive Cui Zhongxian of his power!

Could it be that this old man saw it?

Chi Yunshen didn't dare to say anything for a moment, fearing that if he said something wrong, a heavily armed swordsman would jump out from behind the curtain and chop him into pieces.

After a while, there was no special movement in the room.

He bravely looked up and saw Cui Zhongxian thoughtful and confused.

He hesitated and coughed lightly. Cui Zhongxian calmed down: "These days, people in the capital are impetuous. After the news of Yin Chang crossing the sea came, all parties were desperately trying to find out, worried that this person was a foreign aid brought in by a certain family, and might damage the country. The interests of a certain party. I heard that some people are trying to use pirates to prevent the landing. It is a joke! Goryeo is a big country in the east of the sea! A powerful country in the universe! How can you be so afraid of an outsider on the land of Goryeo! "

As Cui Zhongxian spoke, he patted the bed with his skinny palm. Chi Yunshen felt his legs were weak and couldn't answer the words for a moment, then he heard Cui Zhongxian continue:

"If the National Assembly that week took advantage of the turmoil after my death to interfere in the government affairs of our country of Korea, and even seize our three thousand miles of beautiful country, they would never use only this manpower, let alone send a person with no strength! In the capital, Many people have ghosts in their hearts, so they think too much!”

Chi Yunshen hurriedly took a half step forward: "In these days, your body is gradually recovering, and everyone inside and outside the court is rejoicing. How can there be turmoil in the country of Goryeo if you are here! As long as the news of your health comes out, those who have evil thoughts in their hearts will Nature has died down."

Cui Zhongxian sneered a few times and said: "That's not necessarily the case. Even if I ride a horse and go out for a walk now to tell everyone that I have recovered, what should happen will still happen. The arrow is already on the string and must be fired!"

Chi Yunshen didn't dare to speak again.

He then cursed in his mind, is this old man confused or sober? You have to be clear-headed. In the past few days, we falsely conveyed an order to change two leaders of the Tofou 6th Division private soldiers, but we didn’t see him pointing out the mistake and ordering a change of tactics. But let’s say he was confused...he today Suddenly, he thought of the polo match, and immediately inquired about every detail. How could a foolish person do this?

Thinking about it more carefully, this old man's words have profound meaning. It seems that he has seen through something?

After a while, Cui Zhongxian said: "Although the monks are hateful, they occasionally have good ideas. Let a foreigner come out to host the polo match, so that everyone does not have to worry about being assassinated after arriving... Then after Yin Chang arrives, You must treat each other politely, ask him to take care of himself, and do not harass him!"

"Yes!"

"The political situation must not be chaotic, and the capital city must not be chaotic. The polo competition must be held stably to show that nothing is happening to the world. Let my sons, the king and other military officials participate, and tell them that I will also go to watch. I want On the polo field, see your friends and juniors in action!”

"Yes Yes!"

Chi Yunshen responded repeatedly, waiting for Cui Zhongxian to continue speaking. After waiting for a while, his back felt a little sore, but there were no orders from above. He carefully raised his eyes and found that Cui Zhongxian seemed to be distracted again, so he slowly backed away and planned to leave.

"return!"

Cui Zhongxian shouted fiercely.

Chi Yunshen stepped forward and fell to his knees.

Cui Zhongxian asked: "You said last time that you urged the Deputy Privy Envoy to visit the patient several times, but he ignored him?"

The deputy privy envoy Cui Zhongxian mentioned was his eldest son Cui Yu. Cui Zhongxian originally regarded his eldest son as his assistant in government affairs and trusted him very much. But as he aged, he became more and more wary of his eldest son, and instead got close to his second son Cui Jue.

Now that external interference has been eliminated, Cui Zhongxian once again focused his attention on Cui Yu.

Chi Yunshen said hurriedly: "Yes, the deputy privy envoy is very wary and will not agree to go to the government under any circumstances."

"Then there's no need to push him further. I'll wait until the polo match to meet him."

Cui Zhongxian thought for a moment and then said: "The Deputy Privy Envoy only has a group of Japanese pirates in his hands. But the Japanese pirates are all goods that cannot be brought to the table. They cannot go ashore and cannot play polo. If he wants to support his own reputation in the polo competition, , we must immediately prepare a large amount of money to recruit those Khitans and Jurchens who are living in our dynasty. I can also use those people. You ask Cui Junwen to allocate money and recruit them as soon as possible, so as not to fall behind others."

Chi Yunshen was overjoyed: "Yes, I will do it right away."