The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 391 National Height
Xingtang Palace, Yanjia Palace.

Li Jing sat on the imperial throne. In the palace, the Crown Prince Li Hongji, the Prime Minister Qiqiu of the Song Dynasty, the King of Jin Li Jingsui, the Taifu Zhou Zong, the Deputy Privy Councilor Zha Wenhui, the scholar Feng Yanlu of the Qinzheng Palace, the Minister of Civil Affairs Xu Xuan and other dignitaries gathered together.

Li Jing held her forehead and had a headache.

Regarding how to deal with Zhu Xiu, the emperor and his ministers discussed it all morning, but still could not reach a unified opinion.

Li Hongji was wearing a prince's ocher yellow robe and a beam crown on his head. He looked noble and attractive, and he looked handsome at first glance.

It's just that his bloodshot eyes are like a man-eating evil ghost, and his eyes are full of ferocity, which makes people shudder.

Li Hongji glanced at Li Jingsui, Zhou Zong, and Xu Xuan with evil eyes, wishing he could rush forward and tear these three people to pieces.

It was these three people who tried their best to prevent Zhu Xiu from being imprisoned immediately.

In Li Hongji's mind, these three people were Zhu Xiu's accomplices and the culprits who almost killed him on Fangshan Mountain.

That day Li Hongji returned to the palace and knelt down in front of Li Jing with grief and complaint. Li Jing was furious and distressed when he saw how miserable he looked.

But no matter how Li Hongji begged, Li Jing refused to execute Zhu Xiu immediately.

Today, Li Hongji gathered several heavyweight ministers such as Song Qiqiu, Zha Wenhui, and Feng Yanlu to go to the palace to put pressure on Li Jing, hoping that he would order Zhu Xiu's execution.

Li Jingsui, Zhou Zong and Xu Xuan moved after hearing the news, and tried their best to stop them when they entered the palace.

Li Jing looked at the two distinct factions in the palace and secretly smiled bitterly.

He did have the intention to support the princelings to fight against the Jin Dynasty, but the ambitions of Li Hongji, Song Qiqiu and others seemed to be much greater than he imagined. The princelings developed rapidly and gradually showed signs of squeezing the imperial power. .

This made Li Jing feel alert.

On the contrary, Jin Wang Li Jingsui, who was originally deeply feared by him, after relinquishing his identity as the crown prince, was willing to hand over power and retreat behind the scenes, pretending not to interfere in the government affairs.

Even this time he inspected the armaments at Zhenjiangkou, Li Jing strongly requested him to go, otherwise Li Jingsui would rather stay in the mansion and have fun.

Glancing at Li Jingsui, who was standing with his eyes lowered, Li Jing smiled bitterly in his heart. It seemed that he still didn't quite understand this brother with a kind-hearted appearance and a weak personality~
The position of prince and the dignity of emperor may not be that important in Li Jingsui's eyes.

Li Jing was a little bit regretful, regretting that he had given too much power to Prince Li Hongji, so that he and Song Qiqiu and others became one, and gradually there was a tendency that the tail could not be lost.

But this time, Li Jing felt that maybe he could take the opportunity to beat the prince and Song Qiqiu's party and make them restrain themselves a little bit.
"Ahem~" Li Jing cheered up, sat upright, and said in a deep voice: "You don't need to argue anymore, I have decided to detain Zhu Xiu in Honglu Temple for the time being, and the daily expenses will be provided according to the standards of foreign envoys. It is strictly prohibited. He comes and goes at will!
If outsiders want to get in touch with Zhu Xiu, they must also get my handbook.

A decree was sent to Shenwu Commander Liu Yanzhen, ordering him to be responsible for guarding Honglu Temple without making any mistakes! "

Li Hongji's face turned gloomy immediately. Before he could speak, Zhou Zong and Xu Xuan bowed in unison and said, "My emperor is wise!"

Xu Xuan said again: "Your Majesty, Prince Anding and Zhu Xiu are old acquaintances. Recently, Prince Anding has often been in and out of Honglu Temple. I suggest that Prince Anding be specifically responsible for contacting Zhu Xiu. Maybe we can learn more from him. The situation in the Northern Dynasties.”

Li Jing thought for a while and said with a smile: "Liu Lang has reached 14 years old and can share the worries for me and the court. Then I will grant him the position of Minister of Honglu Temple and order him to be in charge of Honglu Temple and responsible for maintaining communication with Zhu Xiu." connection."

Xu Xuan and Zhou Zong smiled at each other, this arrangement is the best.

Li Hongji's face darkened again, and he looked at the two with extremely fierce eyes.

Song Qiqiu said loudly: "This is inappropriate! Zhu Xiunai was the assassin of the Northern Dynasties who kidnapped the prince. How could Prince Anding be allowed to contact him?
Arranging an assassin to live in Honglu Temple is already absurd, how can we entertain him with the etiquette of foreign envoys? "

Zha Wenhui, a die-hard supporter of Song Qiqiu and deputy privy envoy, immediately agreed: "What Song Xianggong said is true. I suggest that if this incident is made public, it should be said that the Lord of Zhou ordered an assassin to sneak into Jiangning to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince. The purpose is to Caused civil strife in my country.

In this way, Lord Zhou will lose all face, and it can also arouse the morale of our soldiers and civilians who share the same hatred of the enemy! "

Feng Yanlu took the opportunity and said: "Then publicly kill the assassin, forgive me that Zhou Lord Guo Wei can't do anything to me."

Li Hongji gritted his teeth and said: "Zhu Xiu has deeply insulted my son. If I don't kill this thief, I will have no face to face the people of the government and the public!"

"This" Li Jing hesitated again, and these people shouted with indignation, wishing to peel Zhu Xiu's skin and cramps, and hang her on a bamboo pole to parade through the streets.

Zhou Zong cupped his hands and said: "Zhu Xiu went south to Jiangning just to find his relatives. He was not assigned by Lord Zhou. There is no evidence. How can we say that he is an assassin sent by Lord Zhou?"

Li Hongji said angrily: "That little bastard almost killed Gu on Fangshan, isn't that evidence?"

A little disgust flashed in Zhou Zong's eyes, he saluted and said: "Your Highness calm down, in the eyes of the veteran, Zhu Xiu had to do it to save his life, he didn't really want to murder His Highness.

Otherwise, how could His Highness survive this meeting? "

"You!" Li Hongji's eyes turned red, he pointed at Zhou Zong and cursed angrily: "Old man! How dare you protect the murderer of Gu Gu?"

Xu Xuanyi spoke sternly: "Old Master Zhou is the founder of the country. When the late emperor was in power, he also respected him as his master. How can His Highness the Crown Prince insult you?

This move is against the royal etiquette and is extremely disgraceful!

Could it be that the crown prince of a country did this? "

Li Hongji's chest filled with anger. Thinking about the humiliation he suffered in Fangshan, he felt a fire filling his chest and his teeth gritted loudly.Li Jing said displeased: "The prince must not be rude to the old lady! Apologize quickly!"

Song Qiqiu stroked his beard and gave him an impulsive look.

Li Hongji suppressed his anger, cupped his hands and saluted: "I ask the old lady for your forgiveness for speaking rudely while being alone and angry!"

Zhou Zong turned sideways to avoid it, and said politely: "Your Highness is serious."

When Li Hongji raised his head, his red eyes were as malicious as ghosts, and he did not hide the murderous intent in them.

Zhou Zong pretended not to see it and looked calm.

"Ahem~" Li Jing coughed twice, looked at Li Jingsui, and said kindly: "What does King Jin think?"

Li Jingsui has a rich figure and a kind face, somewhat similar to Li Jing, and he smiles like a kindly fat rich man.

"Hehe, I feel that Brother Huang's previous arrangement is the most appropriate. Put Zhu Xiu under house arrest in Honglu Temple, and let's see what happens in the Northern Dynasty." Li Jingsui smiled softly.

Song Qiqiu snorted coldly: "Just kill a small Northern County magistrate. What's the big deal?"

Li Jingsui still smiled and said: "Mr. Song, don't forget that this Zhu Xiu is not only appointed as a county marquis by the Lord Zhou, but also serves as the Deputy Envoy of Zhenhuai Army Jiedu.

The Zhenhuai Army was stationed in Suzhou, and within half a year after its establishment, its number had grown to over [-], and most of them were descendants of Huainan, practicing day and night."

Li Jing's expression changed slightly. The troops stationed in Suzhou were his biggest concern.

Blind people can see that the formation of the Zhenhuai Army is for the Huaibei land.

No one knows when this army will march south!

Song Qiqiu shouted: "So what? I don't believe that the Zhenhuai army dared to launch an attack on our dynasty and provoke the Huainan War for Zhu Xiu without the permission of Lord Zhou!"

Zha Wenhui said in a weird voice: "That's right! The commander-in-chief of the Huai Army is Li Chongjin, the nephew of Zhou Lord Guo Wei. I don't believe that Li Chongjin would be stupid enough to send troops to attack the Tang Dynasty for Zhu Xiu."

Just as he was talking, a cry came from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, Jiangbei Defense Envoy and Navy General Chen Jun sent an urgent report from Zhenzhou!"

The sudden high-pitched voice of the eunuch was very scary. Li Jing stood up in a hurry: "Hurry! Submit the urgent report!"

A eunuch in crimson robes quickly ran into the hall and delivered an urgent military report stained with dust to Li Jing's hands.

Li Jing snatched it away, tore off the sealing seal, took out the letter and browsed it hastily, suddenly opened his eyes wide, and sat on the throne without speaking.

"Brother Huang, what happened? Could it be that the Jiangbei war started?" Li Jingsui asked hastily.

Everyone looked at the emperor nervously.

Li Jing raised the letter in his hand and said with helplessness in his anger: "Chen Jue came to report that the Lord of Zhou has sent an envoy to our court. He has now arrived in Shouzhou and will reach Jiangning in six or seven days.
In addition, Chen Jue said that Li Chongjin, the commander-in-chief of the Huai Army, wrote to him, hurling abuses and threatening that if he dared to touch Zhu Xiu, he would mobilize all the troops from Suzhou and cross the Huai River to attack."

"hiss~"

There was a sound of sucking cold air in the hall.

Zha Wenhui trembled with shock and anger: "Then Li Chongjin turned out to be such an overbearing, stupid, and unreasonable idiot! He started a war over one person, he, he bullied others too much, it's extremely abominable!"

Qi Qiu of the Song Dynasty was so angry that he said: "Did Zhou Lord deceive me into having no one in my court? If the Zhou soldiers dare to go south, I will request an order to lead the troops to fight! We must make the land of Huainan the burial ground of Zhou soldiers!"

Li Hongji also didn't expect that a mere Zhu Xiu would cause war disputes between the two countries. He kept sullenly calculating in his mind the pros and cons of this matter for him.

Xu Xuan immediately said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Lord Zhou sent envoys to the south, which shows that in Lord Zhou's heart, Zhu Xiu's life and death are very important! In addition, the purpose of sending envoys to communicate with us is to avoid misunderstanding and provoke border disputes between the two countries. war.

The minister believes that we should first meet with the envoys of the Lord of Zhou and know the Lord of Zhou's intentions before making any considerations.

In addition, I suggest that your Majesty might as well summon Zhu Xiu and hear his explanation.

This person can become the founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty at such a young age, and win the favor of the Zhou Lord, there must be something special about him! "

Li Jing frowned and thought for a while, and felt that what Xu Xuan said made sense: "Okay, as you said, I will summon Zhu Xiu into the palace, and I will ask him personally what Lord Zhou wants to do!"

Song Qiqiu, Li Hongji and others exchanged looks and did not continue to refute.

The Lord of Zhou sent envoys to personally investigate the matter. This matter has risen to the level of diplomatic relations between the two countries. If it is not handled well, it may indeed trigger a war in Huainan.

Song Qiqiu was tough with his words, but he also knew that fighting is not a child's play.

Moreover, the imperial court was using troops against Southern Chu and could not withstand the torment of the Huainan war.

If the important land in Huainan is really lost, no one will be able to bear the responsibility.

(End of this chapter)