Fairy, please let me explain.

Chapter 794 Prologue
At first, everyone thought it was just a rumor.

As an important place in the world, Hongnong has irreplaceable strategic significance to both the imperial court and the clan alliance. How could such a strategic location fall without any warning?

What a joke.

However, when the army of the clan alliance faced the imperial guards stationed on the north bank of the Tianhe River across the river, the rumor finally became a reality. Shock, anger, and fear gradually spread in Di'an City.

Many people had never thought that the Imperial Court would be defeated. Compared with the clan alliance, the Great Yan Imperial Court had absolute institutional superiority in the early stages of the war. Therefore, since the outbreak of the civil war, the idea of ​​a quick victory has been rampant in the court.

The Imperial Court did not need to unify its techniques or adjust its production lines, nor did it have to deal with the numerous disputes and obstacles within the clan alliances. Therefore, many people believed that the Imperial Court was able to put down the rebellion directly when the clan alliances were still unstable. The course of the war across the country also confirmed and fostered this atmosphere.

The iron hooves of the Black Scale Army wreaked havoc in the south of the Yangtze River.

The cross-continental eastward expedition of the Zhenxi Army and the Dayan Border Army almost connected the court's actual controlled enclave in the southwest.

On a larger national scale,
The court's actual control line has been moving steadily southward.

But Hongnong fell at this time.

A river called Tianhe runs across the east and west in Dayan, dividing the land into north and south. The north of Hongnong, which is adjacent to Tianhe, is a bridgehead for the imperial army to move southward to connect with a number of enclaves in the southwest. If it falls and they want to move south again, they will have to cross the Tianhe again.

As for the clan alliance, as long as they can completely control Hongnong, they will have the room to advance and retreat freely. They can advance to the north to attack Nanhuai Li on the south side of the capital, or retreat to use the natural moat of Tianhe to hold their ground and erode the nails planted by the court in their own hinterland.

The situation of the civil war seemed to have changed at this moment.

Within a few days after the fall of Hongnong, the sect's long-standing foundation began to operate, and the sect's counterattack began.

The Black Scale Army, which had marched alone deep into the heart of Jiangnan, began to show signs of fatigue. It was no longer invincible. The elite troops of Jiangnan were prepared to fight against it in various places in the mountains of Jiangnan.

Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

The imperial court's troops that marched southward began to suffer defeat in local battles, and the battle line that had been moving steadily southward fell into a stalemate.

In this case, a funny thing happened.

As these military intelligence reports were sent to Di'an like snowflakes, the court officials who had once clamored for a quick victory over the clan alliance quickly became pessimistic, and many of them even expressed their desire for peace in the court or in private.

There is only a small difference between a quick victory and a quick defeat, and only a small difference in thought. They cannot accept failure, even if it is just a stalemate. Fortunately, most of these people are of low status and their words are not taken seriously. The former emperor would not allow such clowns to take power. Before these voices affect more people, the new emperor Li Zhaoyuan dealt with them easily. But no matter what, the fall of Hongnong is a big deal after all. Someone must be held responsible for the loss of such a strategic location.

And then, the second interesting thing happened.

No one mentioned holding the defenders of Hongnong accountable. Many court officials invariably turned the focus of the discussion to the defense of the river defense line. Everyone knew that the entire northern part of Hongnong, from the commander-in-chief of the entire war zone to the defenders of each fortress, belonged to a non-existent army.

Black Scale Army.

No one has ever acknowledged this behemoth since its establishment. If we have to characterize it, it can at best be considered a servant of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

As a mere servant, he had no obligation to stay on duty, let alone be held accountable.

It's time to adjourn the court again.

As a group of court officials dragged their tired bodies out of the Golden Throne Hall, several old men quietly followed the eunuch in charge of the imperial court towards the East Palace.

There were not many people, only the Deputy Prime Minister of Dayan, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, and Marquis Wucheng who had just been recalled to the capital. There were more than just them at the top of the imperial circle, but at this juncture, Li Zhaoyuan could only completely trust these three people.

Dayan Cixiang walked at the end of the three people, with his eyes downcast and a tired look on his face.

Since Xu Yinhe disappeared, those matters that should have been handled by the prime minister were naturally transferred by Li Zhaoyuan to him, the second prime minister of Dayan. This made the power in his hands expand unprecedentedly, but he also felt unprecedented fatigue.

He did not have the same foundation as Xu Yinhe, and this sudden expansion of power made him tread even more cautiously, especially when it came to political matters involving the Xu family.

Just as he was pondering the summary of today's court meeting, the deputy prime minister suddenly heard the conversation between two military officers in front of him.

The commander of the imperial guards walked side by side with Marquis Wucheng:

"My Lord, I never thought that the last time we met was after His Majesty passed away."

Wu Chenghou was silent for a moment after hearing this, and replied:
"You are well aware of your Majesty's health. This day is actually already too late. We, the ministers, should look forward and assist the new ruler of Great Yan."

The commander of the imperial guards nodded slightly, looked at the other party, and whispered:

"You have worked so hard during these days in the capital. Without your words, many of His Highness's decrees would have been refuted by those villains."

Wu Chenghou was summoned to the capital to a certain extent because of Li Yaoxuan's death, but more importantly, the imperial party needed a heavyweight official to suppress the doubts of other court officials about the new emperor.

Wu Chenghou shook his head and said:

"We are just doing our duty as subjects. As soon as your Majesty left, these villains jumped out impatiently. It's really ridiculous."

"You two, compared to all this, why do you think His Highness summoned us to the palace?"

The Second Prime Minister of Dayan suppressed the complicated government affairs in his mind and asked behind the two men: "Xu Yinhe is likely to have followed the late emperor, and Xu Changtian seems to be a more hawkish person than him."

Hearing this, Wu Chenghou did not hesitate at all. He was always straightforward and answered immediately:
"Why else? The only thing that could make Your Highness so worried is the Black Scale Army."

Seeing the other party's answer, the second prime minister's face was full of worry:

"The Black Scale Army is the tacit agreement of the previous generation of emperors and prime ministers, and is the product of strongman politics. However, at this time when His Majesty has passed away and the prime minister has disappeared, the order that allowed the Black Scale Army to continue to exist silently has naturally collapsed."

Although no one mentioned it in the court for the time being, after the Hongnong incident, the Black Scale Army had become a source of uneasiness for everyone.

In the past, if the Black Scale Army committed a crime, Li Yaoxuan could directly send someone to hold Xu Yinhe accountable, but who dares to hold them accountable now?
When the tide of strongmen recedes, those problems that were once suppressed by personal authority will be exposed to people's vision.

Wu Chenghou raised his eyebrows slightly and sneered:

"Could it be that the Prime Minister's Mansion dares to rebel? Now the clan alliance is using the banner of opposing the Prime Minister's Mansion to purge the emperor's court."

Da Yan Ci Xiang cursed the crude warrior in his heart, but still whispered:
"There is no need to dwell on the Marquis' angry words. What is important is how to resolve this problem and how to establish a new order in the court."

The commander of the imperial guards hesitated for a moment and said slowly:

"The Prime Minister has not appeared in public for more than a month. At this point in time, it is highly likely that he has gone with His Majesty."

"."

The Prime Minister of Dayan and Marquis Wucheng looked at each other at the same time.

The incident at the imperial mausoleum was caused by the blockade of the Imperial Guards. As the number one figure in the Imperial Guards, the other party must have known some inside information, and mentioning it at this time can be said to be an explicit indication.

After walking a long way along the vermilion palace wall in silence, Dayan Cixiang sighed slowly and said:
"It is useless for us to speculate here. Let's make a judgment after meeting His Highness."

"Everyone, this is the result of the investigation conducted by the Imperial Shadow Guard in Hongnong."

A bright firelight flickered in the East Palace. Behind the desk, Li Zhaoyuan said this calmly while leaning back in his chair while waiting for three important ministers to pass the memorials around and read them.

As the three expected,
Li Zhaoyuan called them together today to discuss the Black Scale Army, but when they looked at the reports in their hands, the faces of the three of them all darkened at the same time.

All the evidence from the investigation proves that the fall of the northern part of Hongnong was not a defeat, but the Black Scale Army chose to voluntarily withdraw from this strategic location.
Li Zhaoyuan folded his hands on the table and said quietly:
"Everyone, what do you think about this?"

Wu Chenghou said with a gloomy face:
"Your Highness, it is impossible for an ordinary war to destroy the north of Hongnong so thoroughly. If the information from the Imperial Shadow Guard is correct, the Black Scale Army stationed in the north of Hongnong is definitely not defeated."

Li Zhaoyuan looked at the old man who was known as the Great Yan Military God:
"Mu Qing, do you mean that the Black Scale Army took the initiative to demolish all the defensive facilities north of Hongnong and abandoned the land and evacuated?"

Wu Chenghou nodded:
"Yes."

Li Zhaoyuan was silent for a while, glanced at the three important officials of the imperial party, and said:

"Then why do you think the Prime Minister's Office did this?"

Wu Chenghou thought about it seriously, and said directly in a matter-of-fact manner:

"Xu Yinhe transferred most of the elite Black Scale Army in Hongnong to raid Jiangnan. Regardless of whether this move was right or wrong, it has tilted the balance of military power in Hongnong towards the clan alliance. Abandoning the land and evacuating is the best option for the Xiangguo Mansion."

Li Zhaoyuan did not respond immediately to this answer, but turned his eyes to look at the other people in the hall.

Soon, Da Yan Ci Xiang opened his mouth and sighed sharply:
"Although what Wu Chenghou said is correct, it is only limited to the military. The deeper reason is probably that the situation in the Prime Minister's Mansion has changed."

Wu Chenghou frowned slightly and glanced back at the old man who spoke:
"Does that mean Xu Yinhe is really dead?"

Great Yan Cixiang's eyes were filled with thought, and he whispered:

"Based on my understanding of the decades of working with Prime Minister Xu, if he were still alive, it would be impossible and unnecessary for him to give up the northern part of Hongnong, which he had managed for more than ten years. That was the bridgehead he and the late emperor planned to use to go south to suppress the rebellion."

Saying,

The second prime minister looked tentatively at the new emperor behind the desk.

From the information he received, the late emperor should have passed away on the day of the great change in the imperial mausoleum, but after that day Xu Yinhe appeared in the court.

In other words,
If Xu Yinhe really died now, it would only be the work of the new king.

Li Zhaoyuan did not immediately give a clear answer to this test.

The old emperor wanted to establish the authority of the new emperor, and leaving a powerful minister as a touchstone was a tried and tested method in the imperial dynasty, but Xu Yinhe had obviously far exceeded the scope of a powerful minister.

Li Zhaoyuan's admission of this matter did help him establish great prestige within the imperial party in a short period of time, but the consequence was a split between the emperor and the prime minister.

This was something he couldn't accept.

Therefore, Xu Yinhe's death can only be hinted at, not made clear.

Li Zhaoyuan looked at another military officer in the hall.

The commander of the imperial guards understood and spoke slowly:

"In my opinion, the Xu family is putting pressure on you, Your Highness."

The commander of the imperial guards did not use the term "Xiangfu" to refer to the family, but instead used "Xu Family", which to a large extent had already answered the question for Li Zhaoyuan, so he also responded to the commander of the imperial guards' speculation:
"I agree."

At this point, the matter had been made clear within this small circle - Xu Yinhe had probably already followed the late emperor.

For the several veteran officials present, this matter was neither a happy nor a sad event. The era they had personally experienced had finally come to an end. Some of them probably just sighed with regret, but they always had to look forward.

As a military commander, Wu Chenghou saw that the words had already been exposed, so he simply asked directly:

"It seems that Xu Changtian is really anxious. Your Highness, how are you going to deal with this matter?"

The Deputy Prime Minister of Dayan spoke before Li Zhaoyuan, giving him more room for maneuver:

"Your Highness, there have been huge problems with the system of the Prime Minister's Mansion since its inception. If we can sum it up in two words, it is division. It divides the whole into two factions. One side is the officials of the Prime Minister's Party in the court, and the other side is the internal officials of the Xu family. The two teams stand in parallel, and then complement each other with Xu Yinhe, the supreme leader, as the intersection.

"Everything ran smoothly when Xu Yinhe was still alive, but when he passed away, the intersection between the two teams disappeared.

“From the government affairs that I have handled recently, many matters at the grassroots level of the Xu family’s internal officials need the cooperation of the court officials, whether it is the recruitment of manpower, the allocation of land, or even the dispatch of materials, we need the assistance of local officials in Da Yan.

"In the short term, due to Xu Yinhe's personal prestige, the centripetal force of the Xiangguo Mansion system will not be destroyed. However, if time goes on, without Xu Yinhe, a strong man, standing in the court, and you hold the righteousness of the world and have the absolute legitimacy of the court, those Xiangguo party members will gradually lose the ability to speak in the court over time and eventually turn to you."

Li Zhaoyuan listened carefully, his dark eyes showing no emotion:
"According to Prime Minister Gong, should I continue to delay?"

"." Dayan Cixiang's eyes twitched.

Of course it can be delayed. After a month, Xu Changtian let the Black Scale Army lose Hongnong. If this continues, who knows what extreme things that young boy can do.

However, Li Zhaoyuan's next words made Dayan Cixiang feel relieved again:
"But now is not the right time. The Xu family is an ally of the Tian family, and the clan alliance is the biggest threat to our imperial court. I cannot ignore Xu Changtian's request."

The commander of the imperial guards asked in a low voice:

"Your Highness's intention."

"The old order established by my father and Prime Minister Xu will eventually collapse, and my new order must be established."

Li Zhaoyuan slowly stood up from his chair, his fingertips brushing over the wood grain of the desk. "Since Xu Changtian wants to maintain the same influence as Prime Minister Xu in the court, I will just give it to him. However, the Hongnong incident has indeed made the court panic. The Black Scale Army can no longer be treated as a non-existent army. At least the court cannot be completely ignorant of the movements of this army."

"."

The words fell silent.

Everyone present were important officials who had been immersed in officialdom for decades. Even Marquis Wucheng, who had been leading troops outside the court for many years, knew clearly what the new monarch meant by his words.

Li Zhaoyuan was ready to acknowledge the existence of the Black Scale Army.

Xu Changtian can continue Prime Minister Xu's influence in the court, but he wants to give the court a chance to intervene in the Black Scale Army.

At least you have to report the whereabouts of the Black Scale Army.

From a macro perspective,
This is a decision that benefits the entire court.

Since the outbreak of the civil war, the armies of the royal family and the prime minister's office have been fighting each other. However, facing the behemoth of the clan alliance, the armies of the royal and prime minister parties will inevitably cooperate in combat in the civil war that will intensify in the future. It is almost impossible to complete such a joint operation with the current system.

But the problem is,

This is beneficial to the entire court, but not necessarily to the Xu family. With Xu Changtian's hawkish style, would he really allow outsiders to intervene in his army?
However, the worries of the three people soon turned into doubts after hearing the news from the Prime Minister's Mansion.

The next day,

The late emperor's last will was passed on to the prime minister's mansion, which named Xu Xiang's third son the King of Han, granted him the Nine Gifts, the Yellow Axe, the right to worship an unknown name, the right to establish the Three Departments, and the title of commander-in-chief of the army, Black Scale.

The third son of the prime minister, Xu Yuan, calmly accepted the imperial decree and was conferred the title.

(End of this chapter)