The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 413 Zhu Xiu defected to Tang Dynasty
Zhu Xiu's words caused an uproar in the hall.

The Tang court, from Li Jing to hundreds of officials, were optimistic about sending troops to Hunan and were full of confidence in annexing the entire territory of Southern Chu.

Even though there were occasional ups and downs during the march, the Chu army was far more tenacious than expected, and the Tang army's casualties far exceeded expectations, Li Jing and the court officials still firmly believed that the destruction of Southern Chu was only a matter of time.

Judging from Bian Hao's military report, the Tang army was currently blocked in Hengzhou. Xu Wei held Ma Xichong hostage and defended Hengzhou City, forming a temporary confrontation with the Tang army.

In Changsha, Liu Yan, Wang Kui, Zhou Xingfeng and other surrendered generals of the Chu army surrendered and turned back, leading a remnant soldier to flee to Langzhou.

Fortunately, Changsha is still in the hands of the Tang army. This is the base camp for Bian Hao to enter Hunan. Relying on Changsha City, the Tang army can attack and retreat as well as defend.

Now Zhu Xiu actually swore that there was a danger of chaos in Changsha.

To Li Jing and a group of Jiangnan courtiers, this was undoubtedly a curse.

"Let's talk nonsense! Father, how can such a rude person stay in the court? Please hurry up and order this person to be beaten to death with a stick!"

Li Hongji was the first to stand up and reprimand, with a look of deep hatred on his face. Those who didn't know it thought Zhu Xiu had dug up his family's ancestral graves.

"As a foreign minister, you are actually dictating important military and national affairs of our country. It is simply arrogant!" Song Qiqiu shouted angrily.

"Yeah~ It's so rude!"

"What a lunatic!"

"Get him out!"

In the main hall, all the officials of the Tang Kingdom were furious and glared at Zhu Xiu one after another.

Zhu Xiu's smile remained unchanged, calm and composed.

Li Congjia, Zhou Zong, Xu Xuan, Han Xizai and others looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Now Zhu Xiu had made everyone angry, and they were unable to help.

Xue Juzheng stood aside silently, intending to argue for Zhu Xiu, but not knowing how to speak.

He didn't know much about the war in Nanchu, but he knew that if the Tang army fell into chaos in Hunan, it would be of great benefit to Zhou.

The Tang State was bound to annex Southern Chu. If the war did not go smoothly and fell into a quagmire, forming a situation where it was difficult to get out of the tiger, the Tang State could only continue to expend its national power on the war in Chu.

No longer having the energy and ambition to covet the land of Huaibei, the Zhou Dynasty could calmly resolve the domestic crisis and the joint invasion of Liu Chong and Khitan from the north.

It was impossible for Zhu Xiu not to know these truths, but why did he remind Lord Tang?

Xue Juzheng frowned. He had a vague feeling that Zhu Xiu might have done it on purpose.

"Silence!~"

The high-pitched drake voice of the old eunuch came from above the steps, and the noise in the hall stopped.

Li Jing stared at Zhu Xiu, and said in a deep voice, "What is the basis for what you said?"

Zhu Xiu saluted: "Foreign officials dare to make this judgment for three reasons.

First, although the foreign minister does not know how to box or kick, he has studied the art of war with his mentor for many years and has been in charge of military affairs in the Zhangyi Army in Jingzhou for more than three years. He considers himself a person who knows military skills.

Second, as the saying goes, troops are valuable and speed is fast. It has been three months since General Bian Hao entered Hunan. It stands to reason that even if he cannot occupy the entire territory of Hunan, he should still have a few important towns in his hands.

But looking at the battle situation, General Bian Hao first encountered obstacles in Changsha, finally conquered Changsha, and then stopped in Hengzhou.

The Tang army's opportunity for a quick victory has been lost, and they will enter a stalemate stage.

third"

Zhu Xiu paused deliberately and glanced at Li Jing. As expected, this guy was intrigued and asked eagerly: "What's the third one?"

"Haha, thirdly, your majesty may have heard that the foreign minister has done some research on celestial phenomena and once successfully predicted the death of Liao Emperor Yelu Deguang in Cangzhou.
According to what foreign ministers have observed over the past few days and nights, Kui Su of the White Tiger Palace in the West is dim, declining but not falling, while the sun shines brightly in the daytime.
Kui Su is the first star of the West Palace, and Kui is the eye, which is faint and invisible, indicating that the power of the Ma family in Southern Chu will fall and there is a danger of collapse.

In the west, the Taibai star appears during the day, which indicates that the master will lose power and other destiny stars will take his place! "

Zhu Xiu talked eloquently, and then came up with a set of specious and mysterious astrology theory, which made Li Jing and the courtiers in the palace look at each other.

There were many people among the officials who were involved in astronomical phenomena. They frowned and thought about Zhu Xiu's words.

Li Jing swallowed his saliva and quickly scanned the officials: "Where is Xiang Yuan, the king of Sitiantai?"

A crimson-colored public servant standing in the middle and back position on the left side of the hall stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the King Xiang Yuan pays homage to His Majesty!"

"Can you believe what Foreign Minister Zhu Xiu said?" Li Jing sounded anxious.

"This" Wang Xiangyuan hesitated for a moment and then said carefully: "Si Tiantai did observe changes in the stars in the west, but he was not sure whether it was related to the war in Nanchu."

The implication is that what Zhu Xiu said is true!
The celestial phenomena have indeed changed slightly!

Li Jing was shocked and angry: "Since it was a celestial warning, why didn't you report it to me?"

Wang Xiangyuan hurriedly knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, calm down! At first, I thought that the changes in the stars were due to changes in the seasons, and I did not speculate on the war in Southern Chu."

Li Jing was furious, and wanted to expel this person from the court, but glanced at Zhu Xiu who was calm, hesitated, took a few deep breaths to suppress his anger.

Don't let the foreign ministers see the joke. After you retire from the court, you will send an order to deal with this person.

Wang Xiangyuan stood up tremblingly and returned to stand in the line of officials.

Zhu Xiu raised his head slightly and calmly welcomed the countless surprised glances directed at him.

Astronomical phenomena are said to be of some use in predicting climate and weather, but there is no scientific basis for using them to predict good or bad luck or to determine life and death.

What he said was nothing more than seasonal and cyclical changes in the astrology, forcibly applied to established facts and used to bluff people.

In fact, Wang Xiangyuan was only wrong in one point. It was not the changes in the astrology that caused the changes in the seasons, but the changes in the movement of the astrology that caused the changes in the seasons.

Of course, this requires an understanding of the relationship between the earth and the galaxy. Although it is just some common sense in astronomy and geography, in tenth-century China, Confucian scholars who generally believed in the Hun Tian theory did not have such a macroscopic vision.

An institution like Si Tiantai, which is more superstitious than scientific, actually has an awkward position.

In the eyes of the people at that time, celestial phenomena often represented good and bad fortune, and the emperor was the son of heaven, so the changes in celestial phenomena were naturally inseparable from the emperor.

On a larger scale, it is even related to the safety of the country and the country.

Therefore, Si Tiantai did not dare to draw conclusions easily, especially when it came to major national affairs, and he was even more cautious in his words and deeds.

It would be best for the emperor not to interrogate. If the emperor got interested and wanted to deduce state affairs from the celestial phenomena, then Si Tiantai would have to rack his brains to come up with an explanation that would be convincing and avoid accountability afterwards.

Of course, being as powerful as Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng is another matter. In the eyes of the world, these two great sticks are already half-immortals, and anyone can believe them casually.

The reason why Zhu Xiu dared to make false accusations was because he saw the names of three people in the intelligence sent by Wang Lingwen and the official military report in Li Jing's hands: Liu Yan, Zhou Xingfeng, and Wang Kui

Others don't know who these three people are, but Zhu Xiu, the "Bag" who came from time-to-time, knows them very well.

In history, these three leaders have been active in Hunan after the fall of Nanchu.

The most important thing is that they are die-hards who are determined not to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

At present, these three people appear slightly earlier than the original historical trajectory.

But it was no longer important. Seeing these three people appear in Bian Hao's military report, Zhu Xiu knew that it was basically impossible for the Tang army to occupy the entire territory of Hunan in one fell swoop.

These three people are the last glory of the vassal power in Hunan. Bian Hao is just a third-rate general. The Ma brothers are good at fighting infighting. If they encounter these three powerful Ma brothers, they will never take advantage.

Bian Hao is a general recommended by Li Hongji and Song Qiqiu. His victory or defeat is related to the face of the prince's party.Li Hongji was furious: "Scaremongering! General Bian Hao is a veteran on the battlefield. There is no way he will be defeated by a group of unknown juniors in the Chu army!"

Zhu Xiu saluted and said: "Your Highness, dare to bet with me that the situation in Changsha will definitely change within half a month!"

Li Hongji didn't even think about it: "Why don't you dare? If General Bian Hao breaks through Hengzhou and captures Ma Xichong, what will you do?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "If General Bian Hao's war goes well, I will let the prince handle it. Otherwise, His Highness the prince will lose 500 taels of gold to me!"

Li Hongji laughed angrily, "Bold maniac, you think your life is worth 500 taels of gold? Okay! I'll bet with you!"

Zhu Xiu smiled, his eyes shining, as if the 500 taels of gold were already in front of him.

"Brother Zhu, be careful what you say!" Li Congjia, who was huddled in the crowd, whispered to him worriedly.

Zhu Xiu winked for comfort.

Zhou Zong and Xu Xuan looked at each other and smiled bitterly. In their opinion, the bet was unnecessary and purely out of youthful spirit.

Xue Juzheng was silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

Li Jing waved her hand to signal Li Hongji not to say anything more. She looked deeply at Zhu Xiu and said, "After the meeting, come to the East Pavilion of Wanchun Hall. I still have something to ask you."

"The foreign minister obeys the order." Zhu Xiu saluted, stepped aside, and stood with Xue Juzheng in the ranks of five-rank officials.

The ensuing court meeting discussed some insignificant topics. After a quarter of an hour, the court dispersed and hundreds of officials walked out of the hall one after another.

A eunuch had already received Li Jing's order, found Zhu Xiu, and took him through the side door, through the corridor, and all the way to the east pavilion of Wanchun Hall.

"Please wait here, foreign minister."

Arriving in front of the east pavilion of Wanchun Hall, the eunuch bowed respectfully. Zhu Xiu thanked him and waited patiently.

Li Jing's angry scolding could be heard faintly from deep in the chamber, mixed with Li Hongji's aggrieved and saddened complaint.

It seems that because of the meeting just now, Li Hongji first questioned Xue Juzheng about the cause of Emperor Yin's death. Unexpectedly, he was refuted by Xue Juzheng and was speechless. Then he ignored the dignity of the prince and made a bet with a foreign minister, which caused the royal family to lose face.

After a while, Li Hongji walked out of the attic dejectedly. His eyes were red and he looked like he had been scolded by his old father.

"Your Highness." Zhu Xiugong cupped his hands with a gentle smile, as if the dispute not long ago did not exist.

Li Hongji's eyes turned red and he whispered viciously: "I'm just waiting to take your head!"

Zhu Xiu smiled lightly and said: "I am willing to admit defeat, and I also hope that your highness will prepare 500 taels of gold. It must be pure gold. Your highness can't fool me with red copper, lest it gets spread and makes the world laugh."

Li Hongji clenched his fists: "It's only 500 taels of gold. If you really have a life, just take it!"

"Then the foreign minister will thank His Highness for the generous reward in advance!" Zhu Xiu bowed and saluted.

"Hmph~" Li Hongji waved his sleeves and walked away.

Zhu Xiu tidied his clothes and entered the East Pavilion after the eunuch informed him.

Li Jing changed into a thin white shirt, leaned on the brocade couch, holding a bowl of lotus seed soup and eating slowly, while a maid fanned beside her to provide air.

"Wen Cai is here." Li Jing smiled brightly and pointed to a bowl of lotus seed soup on the table, "I have been standing here for most of noon. I think you are also hungry. I specially asked Shangshi Bureau to send you an extra bowl. You can try it. Try it to see if it suits your taste.”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Xiu was not pretentious at all. He took the wet towel sent by the eunuch and wiped his hands. He picked up the bowl and put a large spoonful into his mouth, eating happily.

"Hmm~ Cool and delicious, very delicious!"

Li Jing burst out laughing. Seeing that Zhu Xiu was eating well, the plain lotus seed soup in his mouth suddenly became much sweeter.

After finishing a bowl and wiping his hands and mouth, Li Jing waved his hand to retreat, and motioned to Zhu Xiu to sit closer.

Zhu Xiu moved the embroidered pier and sat in front of Li Jing.

"Literary talent, I have seen the government and the public, and there are not many young people as stunning and talented as you. There are also few young and strong people as energetic as you in the court."

Li Jing had a pleasant look and made no secret of her appreciation.

"Your Majesty is so complimentary." Zhu Xiu smiled modestly.

Li Jing looked at him and her smile became meaningful:

"If the war in Hunan really develops as you predicted, it will be most beneficial to Da Zhou.

But why did you speak out? "

Zhu Xiu showed a rare hint of embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I have proposed marriage to Mrs. Zhou, and Mrs. Zhou has promised to make Mrs. Zhou my wife."

Li Jing narrowed his eyes slightly: "So, are you willing to stay and play for Datang?"

Zhu Xiu stood up and bowed to the ground with a pious face:
"Thanks to your majesty's magnanimity, I will not pursue the crime of gathering in Jingyuan. I am deeply grateful. I am willing to serve your majesty from now on!"

My family members all live in Jiangning, which is prosperous, and I am a person who desires comfort. I want to stay in Jiangning and enjoy happiness in the rest of my life.

I conclude that our country, the Tang Dynasty, will prosper under His Majesty’s hard work. If I don’t come to serve you now, I’m afraid I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

Li Jing said calmly: "Since you have the intention to surrender, why didn't you show it at all when you met me before?"

Zhu Xiu said awkwardly: "Before, I was worried that Your Majesty would pursue me for offending the prince in Jujingyuan, so, so I just wanted to save my life.
Later I found out that Your Majesty is a truly magnanimous and benevolent Lord, and I was impressed by Your Majesty's magnanimity, which made Wei Chen make up his mind to stay in Jiangning."

"Haha, are you impressed by my magnanimity or by the beauty of the young lady of the Zhou family?" Li Jing teased, twirling her beard.

"Hey~ You have both! But you should be more inspired by His Majesty!"

"Haha~ You are sincere!" Li Jing laughed.

"I heard that Lord Zhou treats you well, why do you want to betray the Lord?" Li Jing changed the topic and asked.

Zhu Xiu looked hesitant and struggling, as if he was thinking about it before gritting his teeth and said: "I dare not hide it from your majesty. The Emperor of Zhou Dynasty is indeed kind to me. However, over the years, I have offered black fire thunder to help the Lord of Zhou pacify Li Shouzhen." , followed the Lord of Zhou and raised troops in Yedu, asking themselves to live up to the king's kindness.

Lord Zhou did not know about this trip to Jiangning. Later, when he heard about Jiangning, he was extremely angry and asked Xue Juzheng to scold the minister in front of him.
The privy envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wang Jun, is the Lord Zhou's favored minister, and the minister has a deep grudge with him. Once the minister returns to Kaifeng, Wang Jun will definitely find a way to question the minister.
After thinking about it, Weichen still feels that the future is brighter if he stays in Jiangning."

Li Jing clapped his palms and laughed, very heartily.

He believed Zhu Xiu's words.

If Zhu Xiu only stayed for beauty and wealth, Li Jing felt that he might have ulterior motives.

But if Zhu Xiu had a last resort reason, Li Jing would find it credible.

If you return to Kaifeng, you will be punished by the Zhou Lord and face threats from political enemies, so why not just stay?

Jiangbei and Jiangnan have different ownership, which was the first choice for bureaucrats and nobles on both sides to escape.

"Wen Cai, please excuse yourself from the ceremony. I will decree that you and Mrs. Zhou will get married. You can choose a good time and auspicious day to get married!"
After you get married, I will put you to good use! "

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Zhu Xiu kowtowed with tears in his eyes, his eyebrows lowered, and he looked completely disloyal.

(End of this chapter)