After a night of fierce fighting, the Prime Minister's Mansion was almost razed to the ground, with only a few side houses luckily preserved.

Moreover, there were broken limbs and arms all over the ground, and blood ice everywhere. In some places, there were fires that kept reigniting, with flickering flames and black smoke billowing into the sky. It was really impossible to host a party.

After leaving the imperial city, Zhu Chong and others tacitly walked straight past the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion and went to the Ministry of Rites next door, which was not affected last night and was still intact.

In the spacious, tall, and elegantly decorated hall, Zhu Chong and others took seats in order of their official rank, and soon someone brought them tea and snacks.

Bai Changkong had a gloomy face and said nothing after sitting down.

His expression represents his attitude.

He suffered a loss at the grand court meeting today.

Because of the "friendly help" of General Le Wu, it can be said that everyone in the world knows that Lu Yi, who was engaged to his granddaughter Bai Changkong, had fallen into depravity and joined the eunuch party.

In this incident, the Bai family's reputation was damaged and Bai Changkong's reputation was also affected.

Although Bai Changkong used tricks like the twelve wise men coming to propose marriage, he managed to save some public opinion.

But this little trick can fool those ignorant common people, but it is useless to these shrewd and experienced colleagues in the cultural and educational departments. Everyone knows that what Lu Yi did was a slap in the face, which made Bai Changkong unrecognizable.

Therefore, at the grand court meeting, Bai Changkong mobilized so many of his disciples, as well as their followers and lackeys, to try to snipe Lu Yi.

Even if Lu Yi's title could not be completely ruined, at least his title should be reduced by two or three ranks.

Only in this way can Bai Changkong's will be reflected.

Only in this way can Bai Changkong's damaged reputation, fame, and all kinds of tangible and intangible things in the hearts of many people be restored.

Otherwise, a young man who joined the eunuch party and regretted his engagement with the Bai family actually got promoted and became rich in a short period of time, and was awarded a title for his meritorious service. Where would Bai Changkong put his face? Where would the Bai family put their face?

Some people might even think - Oh, Lu Yi broke off the engagement and didn't want to marry Miss Bai Lu, so he was made a duke?

Once this word gets out, it will be a fatal blow to Bai Lu's reputation.

If in the future, Bai Lu's husband cannot be granted the title of duke and cannot surpass Lu Yi in terms of "fame, wealth and honor", no matter how the Bai family and Zhu Yu build momentum for Bai Lu, her reputation will not be very good.

The contrast is there, it's too strong.

Therefore, Bai Changkong was determined to take action against Lu Yi at the grand court meeting.

However, Zhu Chong's look made Bai Changkong give up and watch Lu Yi get the huge benefit.

He was granted the title of duke, imperial authority, a great banner, and ceremonial guards, as well as so many fields, mines, pastures, etc. It can be said that Yinyuan single-handedly built the framework of a powerful and prestigious family for Lu Yi.

The more benefits Lu Yi gets, the greater the "slander" Bai Changkong, the Bai family, and Bai Lu will suffer, and the greater the loss of their reputation and prestige will be.

As one of the banners promoted by culture and education in the court of Haojing, Bai Changkong suffered a great loss today.

So he had to keep his face tight and give everyone a clear signal - I have been harmed because of your affairs, and it is up to you to handle how to deal with this matter.

Zhu Chong held the teacup and took a few sips of tea.

He looked at Bai Changkong, then looked at the dozen or so key ministers of culture and education in Haojing who were silent in the hall, put down his teacup, and sighed softly.

"Master Bai has been wronged today."

Bai Changkong was silent for a while, put down the teacup, stood up, and bowed to Zhu Chong.

Zhu Chong, the direct descendant of Zhu Sheng, is the current prime minister.

Bai Changkong was promoted by culture and education and was one of the banners in the court of Haojing, but he was just a banner and a signboard.

But Zhu Chong was the representative of culture and education in Haojing. He was the supreme leader of culture and education in the court of Haojing. His every word and action represented the will of the entire culture and education.

Flags and signs can be changed at any time, but leaders cannot be easily changed.

Moreover, Zhu Chong is nearly twenty years older than Bai Changkong.

From all aspects, Bai Changkong could not disobey Zhu Chong in the slightest, unless he wanted to ruin his reputation and cut himself off from culture and education.

Otherwise, at the grand court meeting, if Zhu Chong just glared at him casually, would Bai Changkong have obediently stopped?

However, Bai Changkong originally thought that Zhu Chong would give him an explanation, but he didn't expect that Zhu Chong's attention was not at all on the matter that Bai Changkong was thinking about.

After he casually mentioned it, he quickly changed the subject.

"I feel that something big is going to happen in Anping Prefecture." Zhu Chong tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair, staring at the many ministers present with a subtle look: "Nearly 20,000 assassins, carrying a full set of official weapons, are desperately attacking the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"What a big move, what a powerful force, what an amazing ability to act." Zhu Chong stood up, slapped the coffee table beside him, and said loudly: "My Lords, who is behind this?"

"imperial clan?"

"Noble?"

"Princes?"

"Even..."

Zhu Chong pointed his finger above his head. What he meant was whether one of the empress dowager or the emperor was the mastermind behind this incident.

"Or maybe one of our own?"

Zhu Chong looked at the many ministers present with a stern look in his eyes: "Grand Minister of Justice, tell me, is there anyone who is dissatisfied with our Zhu family's position in culture and education and wants to replace us?"
Gong Yangxu rolled his eyes.

The Gongyang clan had an ancestor who specialized in the "law" and was the "second sage" of the "law" of culture and education.

Zhu Chong's words were quite hurtful.

He said this out of suspicion. Was it possible that some forces within the cultural and educational circles were behind the attack last night? Someone had set their sights on Zhu's position as the cultural and educational leader and wanted to replace him?

Gong Yangxu rolled his eyes, but he stood up and said to Zhu Chong with a smile, "Prime Minister, you are worrying too much. I have hundreds of millions of disciples in the Wenjiao School, and they all follow the lead of the Zhu Sheng lineage and have no second thoughts."

Zhu Chong smiled and said, "Gongyang's school of thought is based on 'legal principles', and they abide by the rules. They know the truth. But the others..."

More than a dozen important officials stood up and swore that this matter had absolutely nothing to do with themselves or the various cultural and educational schools behind them.

Zhu Chong's eyes flickered, and he smiled calmly: "That's great, we can work together to meet the challenge."

He put his hands together, signaling everyone to sit down again. He also sat back in his original seat, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"So, can this incident be regarded as a provocation to our culture?"

"Royal family, nobles, princes, or... Which one do you think is most likely?"

Bai Changkong felt unhappy.

I made such a huge sacrifice, but Zhu Chong didn't even mention it?

He coughed lightly and said, "Prime Minister, you are being too harsh. The attack last night might have been a deranged attempt to kill you personally."

These words were spoken with a hint of resentment.

Of course, there is also a little bit of doubt.

Zhu Chong looked at Bai Changkong and said softly, "If it was just an attack on the Prime Minister's Mansion, maybe it was a revenge for my personal grudge. If that's the case, it's a small matter. I have been in charge of government for more than 40 years and have accumulated countless grudges, such as the case of the Duke of Ye... It's only natural that someone wants my head."

"However, what happened last night involved Anping Prefecture. I'm afraid this isn't just about the truth."

Bai Changkong frowned slightly.

His doubt was, why did Zhu Chong and other court officials care so much about Anping Prefecture?

Inside the hall, except for Bai Changkong, the other dozen or so purple-robed ministers all had flickering eyes, some with fear on their faces, some with fierce gleams in their eyes, and some were pinching their fingers carefully, not knowing what they were planning.

Bai Changkong watched the changes in everyone's expressions carefully.

Gongyang Xu looked up and looked at Bai Changkong. He remembered what his brother Gongyang Yao had said to him a few days ago. He decided to drag Bai Changkong into the water.

"After all, this matter happened about eighteen or nineteen years ago." Gong Yangxu looked at Zhu Chong.

Zhu Chong held the teacup and said nothing, which obviously meant that he tacitly agreed to Gong Yangxu's explanation to Bai Changkong.

Bai Changkong straightened his back.

The purple-robed officials at the scene obviously knew the real inside story of the Anping Prefecture incident...but Bai Changkong didn't know.

This feeling made Bai Changkong feel very uncomfortable. He felt ashamed and humiliated for being excluded from his small circle.

So, he pretended to be attentive and wanted to listen carefully to what Gong Yangxu would say next.

At the same time, he was thinking that eighteen or nineteen years ago, he was just a doctoral student in the Imperial College.

Given Bai Changkong's status and power in culture and education and in the court at that time, there were some things that he was not qualified to know and had no channels to know.

"It's easy to explain." Gong Yangxu said seriously, "It should be the first year of Jiayou, when the emperor had just ascended the throne and there was a natural disaster in Anping Prefecture."

"A dragon turned over in the earth, and there was a flood, followed by a severe drought, locusts, and pestilence."

"Anping Prefecture is 20,000 miles long from east to west and 9,000 miles wide from north to south. According to the household registration book, there are more than 87 million households, about 300 million males and 400 million females. The number of slaves and maids not listed in the household registration book is probably the same."

Bai Changkong stared at Gong Yangxu.

Gong Yangxu said slowly: "Such a natural disaster has affected the entire Anping Prefecture, so of course we need disaster relief."

"There was a small problem with the disaster relief."

"In terms of money and food, the loss is a little bit higher."

"During disaster relief, the efficiency was a little slow."

"The disaster relief lasted for more than a year, from the first to the second year of Jiayou. The plague was rampant and countless people died and were injured. There were more than 87 million households in the household registration book, but by the fourth year of Jiayou, only more than 30 million households remained. The ratio of male and female deaths and injuries was probably higher than the loss of household registration."

Bai Changkong took a breath of cold air.

Gong Yangxu looked at Bai Changkong and said softly, "The new emperor has just ascended the throne, and people's hearts are uneasy and the country is unstable. This matter should not be made too big to avoid causing uproar in the world. Therefore, this matter was finally handled very quickly and efficiently... Some officials who were responsible for disaster relief were convicted by the Dali Temple and exiled, and all of them died of plague on the way."

Bai Changkong was silent for a long time. He looked at Zhu Chong, hesitated for a while, and finally asked a question that he knew very well he shouldn't ask.

However, he vaguely felt that it might be better to ask this question now rather than keeping it in his heart.

If you want to board a pirate ship, you should do it without hesitation. You have to show your loyalty, right?

So, he asked.

"Then what about the land in Anping Prefecture?"