The Heavens: From Knowing Whether You Rule the World

Chapter 44: A plan within a plan!
As night falls, a hidden mansion is brightly lit, and three figures sit around a carved table.

Among these three people, two of them were Li Jin and Zhao Shun who were making sarcastic remarks.

The third person was Wei Ran, who was just indignant.

"Haha! Ma Ziyi is really unlucky. Now it will be easier for us to swallow up the Ma family's assets."

Zhao Shun looked very happy, stroking his beard and showing his high spirits.

"Yes, Brother Wei is truly the living Zhuge Liang, the Phoenix of Hangzhou! I just don't know how Brother Wei could convince Brother Ma to offend Chu Zifeng?"

Li Jin stroked his beard and looked at Wei Ran, who had an upright and honest face. While praising him, he was also a little wary in his heart. Who would have thought that Wei Ran, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually a cunning person.

"No, no, it's not worth mentioning. At that time, I suggested that Ma Ziyi offend Chu Zifeng. I was planning to let Chu Zifeng deal with him. Who could have thought that Ma Ziyi would be assassinated?"

Wei Ran, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, smiled innocently and did not answer Li Jin's doubts.

"Well, Ma Ziyi was assassinated, and we can slowly take over the Ma family's assets. However, now that Chu Zifeng is about to govern Hangzhou, what should be everyone's attitude?"

Zhao Shun asked about other things with a smile.

"Ma Ziyi has offended Chu Zifeng to the core. We should either apologize or sideline him."

"Give me a gift to apologize?"

Li Jin paused for a moment as he stroked his beard, then nodded slightly, indicating that he agreed with this approach.

“You two, this Chu Zifeng is not a good person. Ma Ziyi represented several major families in Hangzhou and offended many people.

Even if you bow your heads, they may not accept it. And are you really willing to be servile and bow your heads like a servant, eating the leftover soup and water like a running dog?"

Wei Ran seems to hold a different attitude.

"Brother Wei, this is not important. Behind Chu Zifeng is the Prime Minister. You won't be as stupid as Ma Ziyi, right?"

Zhao Shun shook his head, disagreeing with Wei Ran's statement.

"Of course I won't be stupid. But this is Hangzhou. No matter how powerful Chu Zifeng is, he has to be cautious, right? My family and I have been operating in Hangzhou for more than 40 years. Are we really going to bow down and crawl just because someone comes?"

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Shun frowned slightly. He didn't think that this local tyrant in Hangzhou could defeat Chu Zifeng, who was a man who even dared to fight Wang Qinruo.

"This Ma Ziyi is also unlucky. According to my preliminary analysis, Ma Ziyi offended a group of pirates last time because of a few merchant ships. I guess these people are here to seek revenge. If... we put the blame on Chu Zifeng, will it work?"

Wei Ran expressed his opinion.

"No, no, his teacher is the Prime Minister, and he himself is the top scholar. How can this succeed?"

Zhao Shun thought about it carefully and finally shook his head.

"Have you two forgotten that the current Prime Minister impeached four Prime Ministers with a single document? At that time, who would have thought that this would succeed? Doesn't success or failure depend on your Majesty's wishes?"

Wei Ran tempted him softly, "If Chu Zifeng is captured, we will have made great achievements. Not only will our future be bright, but we will also be able to get whatever we want in Hangzhou!"

"Achieve great success?"

"What great achievement did you get?"

Zhao Shun and Wei Ran looked at each other. Chu Zifeng was the prime minister's disciple. Was it a great achievement to deal with him?
"Guess what, both of you, why do I have the guts to deal with the Prime Minister's disciples? And why can I convince Ma Ziyi to deal with Chu Zifeng?"

"Could it be?"

Li Jin's eyes lit up. He didn't think that Wei Ran would dare to do this alone.

"This is what Xu Daban meant."

Wei Ran gave an accurate answer.

In the early years, a distant relative of the Wei family who was from a poor family was summoned to the palace to be a eunuch. The head of the Wei family at that time gave him considerable support based on the principle of casting a wide net, and money and other things were regularly sent to the palace.

The palace was in turmoil, and the struggles within it were no less intense than the competition for power. The head of the Wei family at the time did not expect this person to make a name for himself.

Who would have thought that that person would actually break out.

Most eunuchs came from poor and hungry families. Although Eunuch Xu's family was poor, he could read and write, which made him stand out among the eunuchs.

It can be said that Xu Daban was also lucky. By chance, he was valued by the current emperor and rose rapidly all the way to become one of the emperor's close companions, holding enormous power.

As for the Wei family, it is said that they have been in contact with this person for many years.

"Xu Daban?"

"What did Xu Daban say?"

The deterrent power of the Prime Minister was so great that even after hearing this, Li Jin and Zhao Shun did not rashly express their attitudes.

"Of course, our Wei family would not dare to offend the Prime Minister, but there are certainly people in this world who dare to confront him openly."

"Hehe. You two know that since Han Da Xianggong came to power, Wang Qinruo's party has been in decline, and Your Majesty can no longer balance the two parties!"

"what?!"

Li Jin thought of something and stood up to look at Wei Ran: "Could it be that Wang Qinruo, the elder Wang, is about to be re-employed?"

It's no wonder that Wei Ran thought so much. There were just too many officials in the Zhou Dynasty who were demoted and then reinstated. Among the four cabinet ministers who were demoted due to Han Zhang's impeachment, three of them were reinstated.

Zhao Shun also looked straight at Wei Ran. Although he was somewhat alert in his heart, something special pulled him back, causing him to look sideways. "More than that."

Wei Ran nodded slightly, then shook his head.

"The Han faction has been powerful since Han Da Xianggong came to power. No one in Bianjing dares to compete with it. Chu Zifeng is the top scholar, and both the master and the disciple are famous people in the world. If the Han faction leans towards one of the two parties in Bianjing, the balance of succession will be broken. Do you think Your Majesty is anxious?"

"No matter what you two think, I have already made up my mind. If you two still have hesitations, that's fine. Just pretend I never said this. When you walk out of this door, I will pretend I never said this. After all, this is just gossip."

Wei Ran shrugged, looking unconvinced.

Li Jin frowned slightly. His second uncle was currently serving as an official in Bian Jing, holding the title of Yinqing Guanglu Doctor. But how come there was no news about such a thing?
Yes, this kind of information can only be known by such a great companion, and it involves the secrets of the king, which a third-rank honorary official may not be able to access.

"You two, if we can make Chu Zifeng fail in Hangzhou, it will be a solution to your majesty's problem, and his future will be bright!"

While Li Jin and Zhao Shun were thinking about it, Wei Ran said something quite tempting, took out a secret letter from his arms and threw it on the table.

He didn't say anything, but it seemed like he said everything.

Wei Ran and Zhao Shun picked up the envelope and looked at it carefully. It was a letter from Xu Daban.

The two of them took a closer look and saw only a few words: There has been a change in Bianjing, Wang Qinruo will be reinstated, and Lord Shen wants to compete for the position of prime minister. This is what the king wants.

There was no problem with the signature and handwriting. Wei Ran and Zhao Shun's faces changed drastically and they looked at each other.

"Oh, Brother Zhao and I are in vain for thinking that we are on the same side as Brother Wei. We are all planning to seize the Ma family's assets.

I didn't expect that! It looks like Brother Wei and Brother Ma are the only hunters, so Brother Zhao and I are the prey, right?"

Li Jin's doubts were resolved, and he finally saw through everything. He understood why Wei Ran could convince Ma Ziyi to offend Chu Zifeng. He really didn't expect that this was a trick within a trick.

Ma Ziyi was made the prey in the open, but in fact Wei Ran and Ma Ziyi had inside information, just to make the Zhao family and the Li family stand on the wrong side.

If these two families were allowed to secretly stand on the right side this time and get promoted, then the Li and Zhao families would be at the mercy of others!
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Ma Ziyi died halfway. Wei Ran did not dare to deal with Chu Zifeng alone and could only give up some of his interests to seek help.

"Hey! I admit that I have selfish motives, but haven't I just taken the things out?"

Wei Ran also looked like things were beyond his expectations and he had to drag everyone along to make money together.

"Heh, you dragged us in because you couldn't deal with Chu Zifeng alone."

Li Jin had an extremely clear mind and he saw through everything. If Wei Ran had not been unable to defeat Chu Zifeng alone, he would have definitely made a fortune quietly.

"In a word, do you want to do it together? This is the trend ordered by the emperor, and no one can change it!"

"Well! Let's go together!"

"That's right, let's stick to one story and put the blame on Chu Zifeng!"

Zhao Shun sighed slightly. Li Jin, Wei Ran and he were all fourth-rank officials, serving in the Liangzhe East Road, but the Wei family had the protection of the palace, and the Li family had a Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor.
In the past, at least there was Ma Ziyi to support him. Now the Ma family is about to be swallowed up. If he doesn't make progress, he will probably repeat the mistakes of the Ma family in the future.

Of course, if this matter is handled well and he is promoted to the fourth rank, the gap between the three families will not be so big, and the situation will be very good.

After all, the one from the Li family is probably only going from a nominal position to real power, and it is unlikely for him to be promoted to the third rank.

Li Jin also participated decisively. This kind of thing was a sure way to make a fortune, and anyone who didn't take advantage of it would be committing a crime.

"We have to take things slowly and have a careful plan." Wei Ran said with a smile, and it seemed that he had already begun to think about how to lay it out.

"Send someone to spread the news and exaggerate the fact that Chu Zifeng and Ma Ziyi have a feud." Li Jin suggested. He has rich experience in this area.

"I can arrange for someone to forge some evidence and persuade the courtesan in the brothel to help give false testimony." Zhao Shun planned his part.

"Okay, okay! Once the news has spread, we will jointly report to His Majesty and ask the Emperor to send someone to convict and arrest the perpetrators!"

"In this case, we will obey Brother Wei's orders!"

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

The three of them looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

As the night grew darker, the people dispersed.

The moment he walked outside, Li Jin naturally put the letter into his sleeve.

Wei Ran subconsciously wanted to stop him, but withdrew his hand halfway through.

It will be the same if I take back this letter after the task is completed.

After Wei Ran and Zhao Shun left, Wei Ran smiled cunningly, with an expression on his face that was inconsistent with his honest appearance.

Wei Ran gently took a pen and wrote something with his left hand, which was exactly the same as the words on the envelope.

The previous letter was written by Wei Ran himself.
"Xu Daban's name is really useful!"

"It's not a plan within a plan, it's a plan within a plan! Haha!"

"This time, let me be the chess player!"

Damn, someone said that my Do You Know chapter is a bit long with around 100 pages. Didn’t I tell you the reason?
In a world without the supernatural, what can we do if our personal power is infinitely reduced? Who can't just brush it off?
But there is no excitement in this way. Everyone can write a diary, but it doesn’t look good!
He even married a princess. The number one scholar married a princess. Sigh, I don’t know if the civil officials are happy or not, but the emperor must be happy, and the military generals must be happy too…

Alas

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(End of this chapter)