Good luck with koi carp
Chapter 162 Prime Minister Xing steps down
Chapter 162 Prime Minister Xing steps down
As soon as he entered the capital, Chi Li was summoned to the palace by an edict from the empress before he could go home.
Seeing the empress again after nearly a year, Chi Li found that her face was troubled, but overall she was in a good condition, at least she was not as troubled as she appeared on the surface.
Obviously, in the battle with Prime Minister Xing during this period, even if the Empress Party did not always have the upper hand, it did not lose anything.
Silently burying her thoughts, Chi Li had a serious yet respectful expression on her face. Under the empress's questions, she told her everything she had experienced in Min Mansion.
About the merits and demerits of Bai Zhifu, the crimes of You Yu and the two, and how he dealt with the Minfu River Dam problem, etc.
The conversation between the monarch and his subjects lasted for half the afternoon, and it was not until the eunuch in charge outside reminded in a low voice that the empress had other arrangements that the conversation ended.
The empress had actually already roughly understood the inside story while handling the memorial submitted to her. Now she was recruiting people to inquire, but she just added some more details and listened to the subsequent reconstruction process of the Minfu River Dam.
"Your clever plan is indeed clever." Regarding Chi Li's clever plan to control the water and also use the flood water to help the Min Mansion break away the boulders blocking the road, the empress said "wonderful" twice, but she also knew that this move could work. It completely relies on the right time, place and people, and perhaps some good luck in Chili itself, so it cannot be copied and has no reference for water control methods in other areas.
However, Chili's contribution cannot be ignored, so she pondered for a moment, and the empress issued an edict: "Publish my decree, Chili went out to inspect the Minfu, report local officials for bullying and concealing things, resisting the decree, and controlling floods and building roads. Bless them." If a citizen of one party has meritorious service, he will be granted the title of Bachelor of the Fourth Rank Cabinet and will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold, a thousand taels of silver, ten pieces each of silk and satin, and a pair of Ruyi jade."
"Thank you Lord Ron."
Chili, who was promoted on the spot, knelt down to thank him. In his ears, he heard the voice of the eunuch in charge repeating the Holy Father's will in a loud voice.
Except for Chi Li, the other people who were sent to Min Mansion as envoys all received various rewards. Lin Yanxiang, a fifth-grade captain, was awarded the title of General of Military Festival although he was not promoted like Chi Li. title.
She was so happy that she immediately went to Chili's house with two large jugs of wine, hoping to keep her drunken, but was told that she was still in the palace and had not returned yet, so she could only go back with regret, planning to come back another day.
Chili didn't come out of the palace until nightfall and returned home.
She expected that her parents, who had received the news, would be waiting for her, but she did not expect that all the family members would stand behind the door waiting to greet her. When she got off the carriage, she saw so many people standing behind the door. , which really shocked her.
"Father, I'm back."
Chi Li, who almost didn't run away on the spot, paused, then forced herself to calm down and walked towards her parents.
She thought she would behave calmly when she saw her parents again after a long time. After all, now that she has become a fourth-grade official, how could she act so unstable? Who would have thought that her legs were out of her control? She started to run while walking, and immediately threw herself into the arms of her parents, refusing to get up no matter what.
The Chi family couple also held their daughter tightly. Regardless of the elders' reserved emotional expressions towards their children, they directly exposed their emotions and hugged their children tightly with tears in their eyes.
Ever since Chi Li went to the legendary dangerous and remote Min Mansion, the couple had not been worried for a moment.
This is different from sending their children to the academy before. At least they know that Bohe Mansion is a prosperous and stable place, and there is also Xu's family there to help take care of Li'er. They will not let the child suffer no matter what, but this time the child is around Even if there is no one who can take care of her, she still has to manage the collapsed river dam. The danger is imaginable. How can this not make them worry as parents?
Since Li'er left home, the couple haven't had a good night's sleep. Fortunately, now that Li'er has returned safely, they can finally relax.
"Mom and Dad, my daughter has done a good job this time. The Holy Spirit has given me many rewards. Have you received them all?"
Since Chi Li was left behind for a while, the gifts given by the Empress arrived home earlier than Chi Li. When Chi Li asked, the Chi family couple immediately nodded.
"I got it, your mother will put it in your warehouse for you." Chi Xiucai said.
The Chi family and his wife had no intention of touching the reward that their daughter had earned for her hard work.
"If you don't need it, put it all in my treasury. Mother, please ask people to take out all the things. The silver will be kept in the palace for household use. Those silks and satins will be taken to the embroiderer to make clothes for the family. As for other ornaments, although they are The things given by the emperor do not have to be stored and cannot be used. Wouldn't it be appropriate to use them directly to decorate the home?"
Chili directly arranged the things that the empress had given her, without any thought of asking her parents to save them all for her.
In her mind, if these things are not put to use, then wouldn't the empress give them to her for free?
The gifts given by emperors in the Sui Dynasty were generally very practical. Officials were not required to enshrine the gifts as if they were treasures. Basically, if something is given to you, it is given to you. How you want to use it is your business, and the emperor does not care. of.
In the past, it happened that an official was too poor and had to sell the things given by the emperor in exchange for silver to buy grain because his family was too poor. When the emperor learned about it, he not only did not get angry, but also said: "I will reward you." The things you receive will not belong to me, and it has nothing to do with me what to do with the person who has received the reward. Don't bother me with such boring things in the future, otherwise the impeacher will be severely punished."
As soon as this statement came out, no one dared to object to this matter.
I heard that the emperor later found a reason to reward the poor official with some money, and increased the overall salary of the officials, so that many officials from poor families could afford to support their families without being too poor to raise the issue.
And this wise king in the hearts of countless officials who came from a poor background is the founding emperor of the dynasty and the grandfather of the current empress. I heard that the current empress was taken by the founding emperor to teach her for several years when she was a child, so her character, skills and other aspects are They are all quite like the founding emperor, not as weak and fatuous as the late emperor.
Chi Li also heard that the reason why the late emperor came to power in the first place was precisely because the founding emperor was busy fighting wars, and many of his outstanding brothers followed him around in battles and died on the battlefield, so he was chosen as the youngest person born at his age. The youngest son, who had never experienced any war, was picked up.
Unfortunately, perhaps it was because the late emperor was the youngest son of the founding emperor and he had been favored by countless people since he was born. He also escaped the most turbulent years when the country was first founded, so he did not experience much experience, which resulted in his character not being like that of the late emperor. He was bold and tough, but too weak to the point of being easy to handle, which is why he created such a disaster for Su Chao today, Prime Minister Xing.
Fortunately, before his death, the late Emperor Xu Shi also realized that he was useless, so he ordered to pass the throne to the eldest daughter who was most similar to his father, regardless of the ancestral etiquette, so that she could take over and help clean up the mess he left.
In this regard, Chi Li didn't know whether the empress was lucky or unlucky.
Everyone in the outside world said that the empress ascended to the throne because she used her military power to force the late emperor. In fact, they, the empress' close confidants and the veterans in the court, all knew that the empress ascended to the throne because of the emperor's final edict, and she was the eldest daughter. Regardless of gender, in fact, It is also both direct and long-term, so it can be called justifiable.
However, many people, including all the brothers of the Empress, were unwilling to accept this reality, so naturally they kept making noises and spreading unfavorable remarks about the Empress.
They thought that they could slander the empress in this way, but they forgot that she was not a person who could be affected by such rumors, and she was never merciful to her restless brothers, and would kill any one who dared to rebel. Until now, People who were still a little anxious at first have calmed down.
No matter whether those people's peace of mind is temporary or not, judging from the current situation, no one should dare to rebel again in a short time.
Chi Li thought so, but she was slapped in the face within a few days. As a result, she had to follow the army back in a hurry not long after leaving Min Mansion.
At the end of July, King Shouhui, the youngest son of the late emperor, rose up in rebellion in his fiefdom, and with lightning speed, he invaded Minfu, occupied various mineral veins within it, enriched his pockets with gold and silver ore, and used copper and iron ore to forge weapons. The armed army ambitiously wanted to use the resources of the Min government to fight all the way to Kyoto.
When the news came, I heard that another city adjacent to Minfu had been pressed by a large army. Unable to resist it, I hurriedly rushed eight hundred miles away to report the situation here and asked the Holy Emperor to send reinforcements to suppress the rebellion.
Chili was sleeping at home in the middle of the night when she was urgently called into the palace by the empress' order.
As soon as she entered the imperial study, she found that many important ministers of the court who she had never seen before were gathered here. Most of them were from the Empress's party, and there were also neutral ministers like Vice Prime Minister Liu who held real power but did not belong to any party. personnel, but there is no one from Prime Minister Xing’s side.
Empress, what does this mean?
Are you blatantly ostracizing Prime Minister Xing's party, or are you suspecting that King Shouhui's rebellion is related to Prime Minister Xing?
Lowering her eyes to hide the thoughts in her eyes, Chi Li respectfully saluted each Shangguan and the Empress one by one, and then consciously stood at the end, waiting for the Empress to reveal the purpose of calling her here.
In fact, needless to say, she had roughly guessed it.
Sure enough, when the empress saw her coming in, her eyes fell on her and she said in a deep voice: "In this rebellion, I hope that Chi Aiqing can follow the army to Min Mansion to suppress the rebels."
"My lord, I obey the order." Chili saluted and responded.
She could hear the anger hidden under the calm surface of the empress. King Lian Shouhui, the empress' once most beloved younger brother, was no longer called King Shouhui to her, but a traitor. It is conceivable that when the rebellion was suppressed, When I came back, the entrance to the Kyoto market was filled with blood again.
In this counter-rebellion, apart from Chi Li, Deputy Prime Minister Liu Zhengzhi was also at the forefront. He was sent out as a battlefield commander. It can be said that among the army, apart from the commander-in-chief, Deputy Prime Minister Liu Zhengzhi had the most power.
However, what is strange is that Mo Yu, the Duke of Zhenguo who was originally the most valued by the empress and had extensive experience in countering rebellions, was not sent out this time. Instead, he was kept by the empress. No, she was also nominally assigned as the head coach of the counterinsurgency army. She was dispatched, but she actually did not leave Kyoto at all, but hid in the outskirts of Kyoto.
What does it mean?
As a civil servant, Chi Li enjoyed the same treatment as Vice Minister Liu and was able to sit in the carriage of the counter-rebellion team. However, due to limited conditions, she was arranged to be in the same carriage as Vice Minister Liu.
There was only one carriage in the entire team, and in fact she had no choice but to get into other carriages.
Fortunately, Chili doesn't care about the great defense of men and women in this era. In fact, since women began to become officials, the open atmosphere in the Su Dynasty has become more and more open. Adult men and women riding in the same carriage have also happened from time to time. As long as As long as both parties are walking and sitting upright, it doesn't matter.
Chi Li and Vice Prime Minister Liu had no choice but to do this because of official business, and they would not be criticized.
Having said that, this is the first time that Chi Li has been able to talk so seriously about the legendary Deputy Prime Minister Liu. In the past, I only heard of his name but never saw him. Occasionally I saw him, either from a distance at the court meeting. Take a glance, or just look through a crowd of people, and you don't even get a close look at the person's appearance.
It's just that the other person's temperament is relatively unique, so even if you can't see the face clearly, you can still easily distinguish such a person from the crowd.
Now taking this opportunity, Chi Li can finally see clearly what this person looks like.
Well, how should I put it...
So familiar.
Looking left and right, Chi Li felt that the other person's appearance was very familiar. She even wanted to ask the other person if you had a long-lost brother, and your brother was in another world, named Jian Yuan.
Well, this is impossible no matter how you think about it.
But Vice Prime Minister Liu and Jian Yuan do look very similar, but their temperaments are completely different. If they are put together, they can be easily distinguished.
There are different people in this world, and naturally there are also people who have nothing to do with each other but look similar. When Chili was in the modern world, she saw someone holding a meeting online for "twins" who had no blood relationship. Everyone there was obviously a half-brother. , even from different countries and different races, but they look more like twins than twins. The similarity is not [-]%, but there is still a big difference.
People can't help but shout miraculous.
Chi Li also regarded Deputy Prime Minister Liu's appearance as a coincidence, and quickly dispelled the surprise that had just arisen in her heart, and instead treated the other party with a normal attitude, without anyone noticing at all.
Liu Zhengzhi didn't notice the change in Chi Li's demeanor. He looked sideways at the changing scenery outside the window. After a while, he suddenly said quietly: "Did you know that King Fu is crazy."
Fu Wang?who?
Chili's first reaction was confusion, and her second reaction was to pull out information about this person from the nooks and crannies of her memory.
The late emperor had six sons. The first four sons had been killed by the empress along with their families and related personnel in the first two rebellions. Among the remaining two sons, the youngest is now on the verge of death and is acting as a demon, intending to step down. Following in the footsteps of his four older brothers, he dragged his whole family to the entrance of the Kyoto market to have their heads turned upside down.
The other one is King Fu. He is the fifth among all the brothers. He is obviously from a good background and his biological mother has a noble family, but he is the one with the weakest presence among the brothers. Now that people are crazy, no one wants to pay attention to him. he.
But Deputy Prime Minister Liu would not mention such a person for no reason.
So Chili thought for a while and understood the meaning of his words. This was to say that his madness was too coincidental, and he didn't want it to be true, or it was originally false.
As for why he pretends to be crazy when he has nothing to do?
The reason is also very simple. After other brothers have died one after another due to rebellion, or have been added to the death list by his eldest sister, it is difficult for him to ensure that his sister will think that he may also rebel, and plans to simply kill him as well to avoid future troubles. Got cut off.
This kind of thing has never happened in history.
Even though everyone knew that the empress was actually a tolerant person, she had promised the late emperor when she succeeded to the throne that as long as her brothers and sisters were safe and sound, she would never do anything to them. However, her brothers could not tolerate her, so she The consequences were so tragic that she almost became a tyrant who killed her brothers in the eyes of the people.
King Fu was timid. He didn't have much ambition to rebel, and he couldn't believe that his eldest sister wouldn't kill him, so he simply pretended to be crazy and stupid just to save his life.
Naturally, his behavior of suddenly going mad could not be hidden from the Empress. The Empress also knew that her brother was not really crazy, but was frightened into "crazy". However, she was furious now and did not want to appease him, so she simply let him go.
Anyway, as long as he doesn't follow the example of other brothers and fight against her in the future, she will naturally not touch him.
And with the title of prince, no matter how much Prince Fu pretends to be crazy, his life will be much better than that of ordinary people. Anyway, he still has glory and wealth, so it doesn't actually affect anything.
However, Chi Li guessed that perhaps King Fu's move was to avoid Prime Minister Xing's use.
Every time the prince rebels, there is this old immortal figure. It is really hard to say that after King Shouhui is also beheaded by the empress, this person will not have his mind set on King Fu.
So Prince Fu simply blocked the other party's path and prevented him from getting close to his crazy prince.
"Still feel like something's wrong?"
Chi Li frowned and thought carefully in her mind. She first cleared her mind of distracting thoughts and then went over the matter from the beginning.
As I was stroking, an idea suddenly flashed in my mind.
I couldn't help but exclaimed: "In addition to King Shouhui, there is also Prime Minister Xing who wants to rebel!"
Liu Zhengzhi glanced at Chi Li calmly and said nothing.
But his attitude was actually acquiescence. Chi Li confirmed his suspicion through his attitude, and then thought that since Mo Yu was deliberately left in Kyoto by the empress, it meant that the empress had actually been prepared for this.
Even if I think about it more carefully, maybe it was the empress's handiwork that Prime Minister Xing was forced to this point little by little.
Prime Minister Xing is able to sit as the prime minister of a country and control the country's political power for many years. Could it be that he can't see the empress' step-by-step persecution and the continuous erosion of his own power?
Naturally he could see it.
Precisely because he could see the situation clearly, he knew that if he didn't resist, he would be slowly killed by the empress. When there was really no retreat, if he tried to resist, he might not have the strength to struggle.
Since death means death sooner or later, it's better to just be quick and seize the throne of her Si family in one fell swoop while his power is still strong. When he becomes the emperor, he will have nothing to fear.
But with Mo Yu, a loyal and loyal general who protects the country, it would not be easy for the empress to rebel, so he deliberately provoked King Shouhui, an ambitious but brainless fool, to occupy Min, far away from Kyoto. Mansion, forced the empress to send Mo Yu to lead troops to redress the rebellion. After Mo Yu left with most of the troops, the imperial city was empty, which was a good time for him to rebel.
The reason for the objection was already there. The empress proclaimed herself emperor on the basis of a woman's body, which was not in line with the ancestral etiquette. As the prime minister of a country, it was completely justified for him to eliminate this danger for the country.
This reason can even win the support of many people in the DPRK and China.
In fact, the empress allowed women to participate in the imperial examinations and serve as officials in the court, which affected the interests of countless people and caused great dissatisfaction. However, everyone kept it secret before, but now Prime Minister Xing is taking the lead and taking this opportunity to overthrow it together. The empress and many people who abolished her regime.
"But there are troops stationed everywhere, so how can Prime Minister Xing be sure that His Majesty will send General Mo to redress the rebellion?" As soon as this question came up, Chi Li got the answer himself.
Because of mistrust.
Ever since the empress came to power, the only general around her who could be sure of being 100% loyal to her was Mo Yu. Even if other generals were willing to obey the emperor's orders, they were actually loyal to the imperial power, not the empress.
Therefore, every time when there was a major event like quelling a rebellion, the empress would only send Mo Yu to prevent the other generals who were sent out from being persuaded by the rebellious prince to support another emperor and rebel together. The scale of the unrest.
But this time, after knowing that it was Prime Minister Xing's conspiracy, the empress would never let Mo Yu leave her side, but someone had to do the redress.
So after much thought, she simply sent Deputy Prime Minister Liu and Chi Li to go together.
Needless to say, Chili had just come from Minfu, and because of her water control and road construction, she was loved by the local people, and she was also familiar with Bai Zhifu. When she went there, she could cooperate with Bai Zhifu to take down the rebels. Complete the task of redress at the minimum cost.
Sending Deputy Prime Minister Liu was a risky move by the empress.
Deputy Prime Minister Liu is not from the empress, nor even from the late emperor. The reason why he entered the court as an official was just to do something practical for the people. It was also because of Prime Minister Xing's powerful party that threatened the stability of the country. As long as he kept suppressing him, Prime Minister Xing could not go too far.
Otherwise, the ambitious Prime Minister Xing might have rebelled during the reign of the late Emperor, and how could he have waited until today?
After the empress came to power, Vice Prime Minister Liu did not take sides, but as long as the regime announced by the empress was beneficial to people's livelihood, he would support it.
Therefore, even if the empress does not believe him, she still believes that he sincerely safeguards the safety of the people of the Sui Dynasty and sends him there to vindicate him. Even if it is to prevent the people from suffering due to the war, Deputy Liu will not be persuaded by King Shouhui. If you surrender to him, you will try your best to win it at the minimum cost.
If he cooperates with Chi Li, he may be able to produce unexpected results.
The empress's arrangement was a conspiracy, and Deputy Prime Minister Liu naturally saw it, so he communicated with Chi Li in advance, which meant that they were on the same side for the time being and asked her to obey and cooperate.
After Chi Li figured out all the details, she said that Vice Minister Liu's so-called ventilation could be said to be thousands of miles away. If she hadn't been smart enough, she wouldn't have known what this person was doing so well.
"If the Deputy Prime Minister ever comes to you in the future, could you please tell me directly that I am a stupid official and don't like to make random guesses. If I guess wrong, wouldn't it delay important matters?"
Chi Li, who didn't like the other party's behavior, pointed it out to him directly. Anyway, the person who would be embarrassed after speaking out was definitely not her, so she wasn't afraid.
Seeing that Deputy Prime Minister Liu was stunned by what he said, Chi Li turned around, not bothering to look at him.
After a while, she seemed to hear an apology coming from behind, but due to the noise of soldiers and horses outside, she couldn't really hear it.
The emergency march was extremely fast. They rushed to the counter-insurgency battlefield and took the newly developed speedboat. They traveled from Kyoto to Minfu day and night, but it only took one and a half months to arrive, which was half the time compared to Chili's return trip on his own.
But there is a drawback to traveling in such a hurry, it is too torturous.
So after the army came to the mountains on the border of Minfu, Liu Zhengzhi ordered the entire army to repair on the spot.
After arriving here, Chili discovered that the army sent to vindicate the rebellion was not only theirs, but also the defenders who were urgently dispatched from the neighboring Bohe Prefecture and Nanhuai Prefecture.
Also, even if they used the fastest speed to get here from Kyoto, it still took them a full month and a half. By the time they arrived, the day lilies were already cold.
Therefore, the empress will inevitably order the surrounding garrison to help suppress the rebellion. Of course, it is only for suppression and not for the main purpose of countering the rebellion.
The main responsibility of the garrisons in various places is to guard their stations. When things don't come to them, they can't allocate too many troops to help at once. Now it's good to keep the rebels within the boundaries of Minfu. , no matter how many things happen, we have to wait until someone is sent from above to discuss it.
Vice Minister Liu arrived at the place and directly summoned military generals sent from various places to discuss how to suppress the rebellion. Chili was also here.
After listening to the whole process, she realized that this was not a discussion, but that Deputy Prime Minister Liu directly became the commander-in-chief and ordered all armies to cooperate in preparation for an invasion of Min Mansion and put down the rebellion in one fell swoop.
The role of everyone, including Chi Li, is to be tools, and they only have to listen to others' orders.
No one had any objections.
Deputy Prime Minister Liu has the highest official position here. Even if the subordinates have to obey the rules of their superiors, they will obey them.
As expected, Chi Li was assigned to contact Magistrate Bai and asked him to cooperate with them in the task of taking down the rebels. After completing the task, Vice Minister Liu asked Chi Li to use all means to do it, no matter what method Chi Li used. Complete her.
This matter is really not difficult for Chi Li.
She doesn't even need to use any magical means, such as asking the little fish in the river to come to the city to deliver a letter to her. She just needs to write a letter, and then make a small appearance near the river dam that is still under construction, and ask someone to recognize her. He was also able to directly contact the manager of Bai Zhifu, and handed the letter to him, and asked him to deliver the letter to Bai Zhifu under the pretense of reporting back on the construction of the river dam.
This steward was also born in Min Mansion. Chili was a benefactor to their whole family. It was just a matter of sending a letter to the benefactor. The other party agreed immediately and completed it brilliantly. That night, he delivered the letter to Chili, who had been waiting for it. reply.
In the letter, Magistrate Bai only replied: "Tomorrow at noon."
"What does this mean at noon tomorrow?" a bearded general asked in confusion.
Chili replied on her behalf: "A signal for us to attack together tomorrow."
"Yes." Vice Prime Minister Liu nodded, confirming Chi Li's words, and then made some arrangements, finalizing the entire army to enter Min Mansion at noon tomorrow, and must capture the rebel leader in one fell swoop.
Everyone had a good night's rest tonight. They all hid in the mountains and were not discovered by the people below.
King Shouhui thought that the army sent by the imperial court would attack through the only passage, so he only sent people to guard the entrance of the passage. Although under the advice of his staff, people were also sent to monitor the mountains, but those people had already been killed. , or were threatened with betrayal, anyway, they have all fallen into the control of Deputy Prime Minister Liu.
Even though they would send news back on a regular basis, the news they sent was all false. They came so quickly that they arrived so quickly that King Shouhui still didn't know that the army had quietly entered the territory.
At noon tomorrow, the people in the city seemed to have received the news in advance. The doors and windows of every house were closed, and there was not even a soul on the street.
Before the patrolling rebel guards could feel strange, they found that the city gate had been opened at some point, and countless well-armored cavalry led the way, holding weapons and attacking directly into the city.
As soon as these people came face to face, they were trampled under the hooves of the horse. Before they could react, the sharp weapon had already penetrated the fatal spot, killing them on the spot.
These minions were just side dishes before the war.
Immediately afterwards, under conscious command, the army divided into separate groups and captured all the rebel squads in the city. The cavalry with the most morale among them went straight to the prefect's office, where they captured the soldiers who had been drugged by a pot of poison from Prefect Bai. The stunned King Shouhui.
"The rebel leader has been captured. They all put down their weapons, took off their armor, and surrendered without killing!"
"The rebel leader has been captured and put down..."
"Rebel leader..."
Waves of sound spread throughout Min Mansion from inside to outside. It was so loud and powerful that countless rebel soldiers saw that the situation was over. In order to save their lives, they all put down their weapons, took off their armor, squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, and surrendered.
If one person surrenders, with his leadership, countless others will surrender.
When all the rebels were killed and captured, the battle came to an end in an extremely quick and inexplicable and somewhat comical manner.
"Push the rebel leaders and all the prisoners into Kyoto and wait for His Majesty's disposal." Vice Prime Minister Liu stood on the wall of Min Mansion, looking down at Min who experienced a brief turmoil and quickly returned to calm. Mansion.
Chi Li stood behind him and also watched this scene.
In fact, King Shouhui's army should not have been so weak. The main reason was that they cooperated internally and externally to catch others by surprise, and Magistrate Bai deliberately held a banquet to stun all the rebel generals and staff, including King Shouhui. The rebels had no command. Faced with their well-equipped troops led by generals, they naturally lost the ability to resist. They were scattered in all directions and ultimately unable to recover.
Not counting the rebels who were killed this time, there were more than [-] prisoners captured. It was not an easy task to escort such people to Beijing.
The empress also seems to know that it is not appropriate to let so many rebels enter the city now. Kyoto should be in chaos now. If these people are allowed to enter the city, who knows if they will become rebels again if they are prisoners now.
So even before Chili and the others set out to return to Kyoto, a decree came down: "King Shouhui, his family, staff, and all the rebel generals will be executed on the spot, and the surrendered soldiers will be beaten into slaves and exiled to the northwest. Be a coolie.”
The empress's verdict was considered the best result in Chi Li's opinion.
In fact, not all of the rebels are people who know that they are rebelling. Some of them just muddleheadedly follow the orders from above and follow the soldiers who participated in the rebellion. But no matter the reason, the fact is that they are all rebels. Now it is just good luck. They have enough time to cause too much turmoil, thereby harming the people. If they really succeed, many people will suffer as a result, and even their families will be destroyed and they will be displaced.
Therefore, although they can escape the death penalty, they cannot escape the living penalty.
There were more than [-] people, most of whom were strong laborers. The empress simply sent them to the northwest to work as coolies, which could be regarded as giving full play to their remaining value for the rest of their lives.
Others who consciously participated in the rebellion were not so lucky.
This time, it was the turn of the Minfu Market to burst into blood at the entrance. Fortunately, none of the local people felt scared yet, so they all gathered to watch the excitement. Some people were still angry when they saw people dying, and threw rotten vegetables, leaves, and rotten eggs at them.
He was throwing things away and scolding them at the same time, saying whatever was offensive.
Since everyone spoke local dialects, Chili couldn't quite understand what they were saying, but he knew they were swearing.
No one stopped the people.
As we all know, during the months when Minfu was occupied by the rebels, the local people suffered a lot. King Shouhui's army was not as disciplined as regular troops like them. After entering the city, they often engaged in various incidents of beating, smashing, looting and burning. happened, and many people were arrested and forced to mine for them. The people suffered greatly and hated them to death, so it was appropriate to let them vent their emotions at this time.
"Master Chi, do you want to come too?"
Someone was smashing and found Chili standing next to him, and he kindly handed her two rotten eggs. Chili shook his head and declined the other person's kindness with a smile: "Thank you, but as a court official, I cannot accept people. thing."
"Master Chi is really honest and caring for the people."
Looking at the back of Chi Li turning away, he sighed, then turned around and smashed two rotten eggs, and cursed angrily: "Bah, you beast."
If it hadn't been for them, his eldest brother wouldn't have been forced to go mining, and even broke a leg because of it. It was all the fault of these scourges. No matter how many rotten eggs he smashed, it wouldn't be too much!
"We are going back tomorrow, right?"
The turmoil in Min Mansion has been resolved, so Chi Li and others naturally have no need to stay.
Liu Zhengzhi looked sideways when asked: "Do you still want to stay?"
"That's not true. It's just that I may never want to come to this place again." Chi Li sighed.
She didn't have any objections to Minfu. The main reason was that it was too far away from Kyoto and it would take a lot of time to come back every time. Moreover, every time she came there was not for any good reasons, so she sincerely hoped to come less frequently or not at all.
Let the people of Minfu and her live peacefully and peacefully.
The suppression of the rebellion was completed, and the army returned to the court.
Different from when we came here, there are a few more people in the team that are going back this time, who are obviously generals. These people are generals sent by garrisons from various places to participate in the counter-rebellion. They want to go back with them to discuss their merits and reward them in front of the Empress. of.
At the same time, the empress also intended to take this opportunity to subdue these local generals. After this incident, she also realized that it was not enough to have only Mo Yu by her side. She had to cultivate more forces in the army to help her stabilize her political power. , guard the country.
If the entire army can surrender to her, then who can rebel against her?
Even if someone wants to start a rebellion, it depends on whether the army will listen to him or not. He may be suppressed by the local forces before he takes off.
The empress had ignored it before. If she had paid attention to this matter earlier, she would have been betrayed three times in a row. No, four times if you include the old Prime Minister Xing.
There was no need to rush as fast as the way back, so it was a little slower. It took about two months to get to Kyoto.
Including their counterinsurgency and follow-up processing time, this trip took about four months. Heavy snow fell in Kyoto, covering the entrance of the blood-stained vegetable market tightly.
It was only after returning to Kyoto that Chi Li learned that Prime Minister Xing was dead.
Died at the hands of the Empress.
He may not have expected that the empress was actually a master of martial arts. When she personally led the villain army to invade the palace, she was killed by her sword in a battle with the empress.
In addition, everyone learned later that Prime Minister Xing's martial arts skills were not low. It was precisely because of his high martial arts skills that he dared to challenge the empress in a duel. As a result, he came up short and was stabbed through the heart by a sword, causing blood to splash in the Golden Palace.
When Chi Li heard this, she turned around and asked Mo Yu, who was also present: "Didn't Your Majesty also serve in the army and lead troops to win many battles? Why does Prime Minister Xing think that her martial arts skills are weaker than his?"
"Because Prime Minister Xing was too arrogant, and he thought that His Majesty only knew some external martial arts, leading troops in battles mainly depended on how the commander used the troops, and rarely fought alone, so he did not know that Your Majesty actually had deep internal strength and strong martial arts, and eventually died Under his own arrogance." Mo Yu answered Chi Li.
Because she was the only person present who knew that His Majesty was very powerful, she did not take any action when Prime Minister Xing proposed a duel. She watched him being killed by the Empress, and then led her soldiers out to clear out all the remaining members of Prime Minister Xing's party.
After the prime minister's rebellion, the empress became cruel. All the officials who were directly involved in the matter were betrayed and implicated the nine clans. The officials who were not directly involved but only provided indirect help were all killed by the empress in one go, so as to avoid future troubles.
Such a thunderous method not only emptied nearly half of the court hall at once, but also shocked the people outside the court, making countless people tremblingly bow their heads to the empress, not daring to have second thoughts.
Afterwards, Chili felt that the palace was a little empty when she went to court.
Naturally, everyone felt this way, but no one dared to say anything about it. Many people even had nightmares for several days in a row, and it took a long time for them to recover.
Of course, it doesn't matter to these officials of the Empress's party. If it had anything to do with them, it would probably be a matter of celebration and reward afterwards.
Prime Minister Xing's entire party is gone, leaving quite a few official positions vacant.
The more important of these official positions were assigned to her own people by the empress, and the rest were snatched by other forces. During this period of time, it was like a opera in the court. After you sing, we will go on stage, each showing his or her special powers in order to snatch the benefits. Chi Li was amazed by what she saw, and it also made many theatergoers like her find a lot of fun.
Chili doesn't need to join in this chaos.
As one of the empress' confidants, she was directly granted the title of second-grade cabinet bachelor.
Directly became one of the powerful people in the cabinet.
In the past, many people in the court would have been dissatisfied and opposed to such a matter of jumping several levels and being promoted to a high-ranking official. Some ministers even threatened to death to make the empress take back her imperial life.
However, now the imperial court is the voice of the empress, and as the headquarters of Prime Minister Xing, the cabinet has the most official positions after he stepped down. In order to ensure the operation of the cabinet, the empress promoted Chi Li, a confidant in the cabinet, to Getting to a high position is really a helpless move.
Everyone understands it, so no one objects to it.
Mainly because they didn't dare, fearing that the empress would kill them too if she still had her murderous intention.
(End of this chapter)
As soon as he entered the capital, Chi Li was summoned to the palace by an edict from the empress before he could go home.
Seeing the empress again after nearly a year, Chi Li found that her face was troubled, but overall she was in a good condition, at least she was not as troubled as she appeared on the surface.
Obviously, in the battle with Prime Minister Xing during this period, even if the Empress Party did not always have the upper hand, it did not lose anything.
Silently burying her thoughts, Chi Li had a serious yet respectful expression on her face. Under the empress's questions, she told her everything she had experienced in Min Mansion.
About the merits and demerits of Bai Zhifu, the crimes of You Yu and the two, and how he dealt with the Minfu River Dam problem, etc.
The conversation between the monarch and his subjects lasted for half the afternoon, and it was not until the eunuch in charge outside reminded in a low voice that the empress had other arrangements that the conversation ended.
The empress had actually already roughly understood the inside story while handling the memorial submitted to her. Now she was recruiting people to inquire, but she just added some more details and listened to the subsequent reconstruction process of the Minfu River Dam.
"Your clever plan is indeed clever." Regarding Chi Li's clever plan to control the water and also use the flood water to help the Min Mansion break away the boulders blocking the road, the empress said "wonderful" twice, but she also knew that this move could work. It completely relies on the right time, place and people, and perhaps some good luck in Chili itself, so it cannot be copied and has no reference for water control methods in other areas.
However, Chili's contribution cannot be ignored, so she pondered for a moment, and the empress issued an edict: "Publish my decree, Chili went out to inspect the Minfu, report local officials for bullying and concealing things, resisting the decree, and controlling floods and building roads. Bless them." If a citizen of one party has meritorious service, he will be granted the title of Bachelor of the Fourth Rank Cabinet and will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold, a thousand taels of silver, ten pieces each of silk and satin, and a pair of Ruyi jade."
"Thank you Lord Ron."
Chili, who was promoted on the spot, knelt down to thank him. In his ears, he heard the voice of the eunuch in charge repeating the Holy Father's will in a loud voice.
Except for Chi Li, the other people who were sent to Min Mansion as envoys all received various rewards. Lin Yanxiang, a fifth-grade captain, was awarded the title of General of Military Festival although he was not promoted like Chi Li. title.
She was so happy that she immediately went to Chili's house with two large jugs of wine, hoping to keep her drunken, but was told that she was still in the palace and had not returned yet, so she could only go back with regret, planning to come back another day.
Chili didn't come out of the palace until nightfall and returned home.
She expected that her parents, who had received the news, would be waiting for her, but she did not expect that all the family members would stand behind the door waiting to greet her. When she got off the carriage, she saw so many people standing behind the door. , which really shocked her.
"Father, I'm back."
Chi Li, who almost didn't run away on the spot, paused, then forced herself to calm down and walked towards her parents.
She thought she would behave calmly when she saw her parents again after a long time. After all, now that she has become a fourth-grade official, how could she act so unstable? Who would have thought that her legs were out of her control? She started to run while walking, and immediately threw herself into the arms of her parents, refusing to get up no matter what.
The Chi family couple also held their daughter tightly. Regardless of the elders' reserved emotional expressions towards their children, they directly exposed their emotions and hugged their children tightly with tears in their eyes.
Ever since Chi Li went to the legendary dangerous and remote Min Mansion, the couple had not been worried for a moment.
This is different from sending their children to the academy before. At least they know that Bohe Mansion is a prosperous and stable place, and there is also Xu's family there to help take care of Li'er. They will not let the child suffer no matter what, but this time the child is around Even if there is no one who can take care of her, she still has to manage the collapsed river dam. The danger is imaginable. How can this not make them worry as parents?
Since Li'er left home, the couple haven't had a good night's sleep. Fortunately, now that Li'er has returned safely, they can finally relax.
"Mom and Dad, my daughter has done a good job this time. The Holy Spirit has given me many rewards. Have you received them all?"
Since Chi Li was left behind for a while, the gifts given by the Empress arrived home earlier than Chi Li. When Chi Li asked, the Chi family couple immediately nodded.
"I got it, your mother will put it in your warehouse for you." Chi Xiucai said.
The Chi family and his wife had no intention of touching the reward that their daughter had earned for her hard work.
"If you don't need it, put it all in my treasury. Mother, please ask people to take out all the things. The silver will be kept in the palace for household use. Those silks and satins will be taken to the embroiderer to make clothes for the family. As for other ornaments, although they are The things given by the emperor do not have to be stored and cannot be used. Wouldn't it be appropriate to use them directly to decorate the home?"
Chili directly arranged the things that the empress had given her, without any thought of asking her parents to save them all for her.
In her mind, if these things are not put to use, then wouldn't the empress give them to her for free?
The gifts given by emperors in the Sui Dynasty were generally very practical. Officials were not required to enshrine the gifts as if they were treasures. Basically, if something is given to you, it is given to you. How you want to use it is your business, and the emperor does not care. of.
In the past, it happened that an official was too poor and had to sell the things given by the emperor in exchange for silver to buy grain because his family was too poor. When the emperor learned about it, he not only did not get angry, but also said: "I will reward you." The things you receive will not belong to me, and it has nothing to do with me what to do with the person who has received the reward. Don't bother me with such boring things in the future, otherwise the impeacher will be severely punished."
As soon as this statement came out, no one dared to object to this matter.
I heard that the emperor later found a reason to reward the poor official with some money, and increased the overall salary of the officials, so that many officials from poor families could afford to support their families without being too poor to raise the issue.
And this wise king in the hearts of countless officials who came from a poor background is the founding emperor of the dynasty and the grandfather of the current empress. I heard that the current empress was taken by the founding emperor to teach her for several years when she was a child, so her character, skills and other aspects are They are all quite like the founding emperor, not as weak and fatuous as the late emperor.
Chi Li also heard that the reason why the late emperor came to power in the first place was precisely because the founding emperor was busy fighting wars, and many of his outstanding brothers followed him around in battles and died on the battlefield, so he was chosen as the youngest person born at his age. The youngest son, who had never experienced any war, was picked up.
Unfortunately, perhaps it was because the late emperor was the youngest son of the founding emperor and he had been favored by countless people since he was born. He also escaped the most turbulent years when the country was first founded, so he did not experience much experience, which resulted in his character not being like that of the late emperor. He was bold and tough, but too weak to the point of being easy to handle, which is why he created such a disaster for Su Chao today, Prime Minister Xing.
Fortunately, before his death, the late Emperor Xu Shi also realized that he was useless, so he ordered to pass the throne to the eldest daughter who was most similar to his father, regardless of the ancestral etiquette, so that she could take over and help clean up the mess he left.
In this regard, Chi Li didn't know whether the empress was lucky or unlucky.
Everyone in the outside world said that the empress ascended to the throne because she used her military power to force the late emperor. In fact, they, the empress' close confidants and the veterans in the court, all knew that the empress ascended to the throne because of the emperor's final edict, and she was the eldest daughter. Regardless of gender, in fact, It is also both direct and long-term, so it can be called justifiable.
However, many people, including all the brothers of the Empress, were unwilling to accept this reality, so naturally they kept making noises and spreading unfavorable remarks about the Empress.
They thought that they could slander the empress in this way, but they forgot that she was not a person who could be affected by such rumors, and she was never merciful to her restless brothers, and would kill any one who dared to rebel. Until now, People who were still a little anxious at first have calmed down.
No matter whether those people's peace of mind is temporary or not, judging from the current situation, no one should dare to rebel again in a short time.
Chi Li thought so, but she was slapped in the face within a few days. As a result, she had to follow the army back in a hurry not long after leaving Min Mansion.
At the end of July, King Shouhui, the youngest son of the late emperor, rose up in rebellion in his fiefdom, and with lightning speed, he invaded Minfu, occupied various mineral veins within it, enriched his pockets with gold and silver ore, and used copper and iron ore to forge weapons. The armed army ambitiously wanted to use the resources of the Min government to fight all the way to Kyoto.
When the news came, I heard that another city adjacent to Minfu had been pressed by a large army. Unable to resist it, I hurriedly rushed eight hundred miles away to report the situation here and asked the Holy Emperor to send reinforcements to suppress the rebellion.
Chili was sleeping at home in the middle of the night when she was urgently called into the palace by the empress' order.
As soon as she entered the imperial study, she found that many important ministers of the court who she had never seen before were gathered here. Most of them were from the Empress's party, and there were also neutral ministers like Vice Prime Minister Liu who held real power but did not belong to any party. personnel, but there is no one from Prime Minister Xing’s side.
Empress, what does this mean?
Are you blatantly ostracizing Prime Minister Xing's party, or are you suspecting that King Shouhui's rebellion is related to Prime Minister Xing?
Lowering her eyes to hide the thoughts in her eyes, Chi Li respectfully saluted each Shangguan and the Empress one by one, and then consciously stood at the end, waiting for the Empress to reveal the purpose of calling her here.
In fact, needless to say, she had roughly guessed it.
Sure enough, when the empress saw her coming in, her eyes fell on her and she said in a deep voice: "In this rebellion, I hope that Chi Aiqing can follow the army to Min Mansion to suppress the rebels."
"My lord, I obey the order." Chili saluted and responded.
She could hear the anger hidden under the calm surface of the empress. King Lian Shouhui, the empress' once most beloved younger brother, was no longer called King Shouhui to her, but a traitor. It is conceivable that when the rebellion was suppressed, When I came back, the entrance to the Kyoto market was filled with blood again.
In this counter-rebellion, apart from Chi Li, Deputy Prime Minister Liu Zhengzhi was also at the forefront. He was sent out as a battlefield commander. It can be said that among the army, apart from the commander-in-chief, Deputy Prime Minister Liu Zhengzhi had the most power.
However, what is strange is that Mo Yu, the Duke of Zhenguo who was originally the most valued by the empress and had extensive experience in countering rebellions, was not sent out this time. Instead, he was kept by the empress. No, she was also nominally assigned as the head coach of the counterinsurgency army. She was dispatched, but she actually did not leave Kyoto at all, but hid in the outskirts of Kyoto.
What does it mean?
As a civil servant, Chi Li enjoyed the same treatment as Vice Minister Liu and was able to sit in the carriage of the counter-rebellion team. However, due to limited conditions, she was arranged to be in the same carriage as Vice Minister Liu.
There was only one carriage in the entire team, and in fact she had no choice but to get into other carriages.
Fortunately, Chili doesn't care about the great defense of men and women in this era. In fact, since women began to become officials, the open atmosphere in the Su Dynasty has become more and more open. Adult men and women riding in the same carriage have also happened from time to time. As long as As long as both parties are walking and sitting upright, it doesn't matter.
Chi Li and Vice Prime Minister Liu had no choice but to do this because of official business, and they would not be criticized.
Having said that, this is the first time that Chi Li has been able to talk so seriously about the legendary Deputy Prime Minister Liu. In the past, I only heard of his name but never saw him. Occasionally I saw him, either from a distance at the court meeting. Take a glance, or just look through a crowd of people, and you don't even get a close look at the person's appearance.
It's just that the other person's temperament is relatively unique, so even if you can't see the face clearly, you can still easily distinguish such a person from the crowd.
Now taking this opportunity, Chi Li can finally see clearly what this person looks like.
Well, how should I put it...
So familiar.
Looking left and right, Chi Li felt that the other person's appearance was very familiar. She even wanted to ask the other person if you had a long-lost brother, and your brother was in another world, named Jian Yuan.
Well, this is impossible no matter how you think about it.
But Vice Prime Minister Liu and Jian Yuan do look very similar, but their temperaments are completely different. If they are put together, they can be easily distinguished.
There are different people in this world, and naturally there are also people who have nothing to do with each other but look similar. When Chili was in the modern world, she saw someone holding a meeting online for "twins" who had no blood relationship. Everyone there was obviously a half-brother. , even from different countries and different races, but they look more like twins than twins. The similarity is not [-]%, but there is still a big difference.
People can't help but shout miraculous.
Chi Li also regarded Deputy Prime Minister Liu's appearance as a coincidence, and quickly dispelled the surprise that had just arisen in her heart, and instead treated the other party with a normal attitude, without anyone noticing at all.
Liu Zhengzhi didn't notice the change in Chi Li's demeanor. He looked sideways at the changing scenery outside the window. After a while, he suddenly said quietly: "Did you know that King Fu is crazy."
Fu Wang?who?
Chili's first reaction was confusion, and her second reaction was to pull out information about this person from the nooks and crannies of her memory.
The late emperor had six sons. The first four sons had been killed by the empress along with their families and related personnel in the first two rebellions. Among the remaining two sons, the youngest is now on the verge of death and is acting as a demon, intending to step down. Following in the footsteps of his four older brothers, he dragged his whole family to the entrance of the Kyoto market to have their heads turned upside down.
The other one is King Fu. He is the fifth among all the brothers. He is obviously from a good background and his biological mother has a noble family, but he is the one with the weakest presence among the brothers. Now that people are crazy, no one wants to pay attention to him. he.
But Deputy Prime Minister Liu would not mention such a person for no reason.
So Chili thought for a while and understood the meaning of his words. This was to say that his madness was too coincidental, and he didn't want it to be true, or it was originally false.
As for why he pretends to be crazy when he has nothing to do?
The reason is also very simple. After other brothers have died one after another due to rebellion, or have been added to the death list by his eldest sister, it is difficult for him to ensure that his sister will think that he may also rebel, and plans to simply kill him as well to avoid future troubles. Got cut off.
This kind of thing has never happened in history.
Even though everyone knew that the empress was actually a tolerant person, she had promised the late emperor when she succeeded to the throne that as long as her brothers and sisters were safe and sound, she would never do anything to them. However, her brothers could not tolerate her, so she The consequences were so tragic that she almost became a tyrant who killed her brothers in the eyes of the people.
King Fu was timid. He didn't have much ambition to rebel, and he couldn't believe that his eldest sister wouldn't kill him, so he simply pretended to be crazy and stupid just to save his life.
Naturally, his behavior of suddenly going mad could not be hidden from the Empress. The Empress also knew that her brother was not really crazy, but was frightened into "crazy". However, she was furious now and did not want to appease him, so she simply let him go.
Anyway, as long as he doesn't follow the example of other brothers and fight against her in the future, she will naturally not touch him.
And with the title of prince, no matter how much Prince Fu pretends to be crazy, his life will be much better than that of ordinary people. Anyway, he still has glory and wealth, so it doesn't actually affect anything.
However, Chi Li guessed that perhaps King Fu's move was to avoid Prime Minister Xing's use.
Every time the prince rebels, there is this old immortal figure. It is really hard to say that after King Shouhui is also beheaded by the empress, this person will not have his mind set on King Fu.
So Prince Fu simply blocked the other party's path and prevented him from getting close to his crazy prince.
"Still feel like something's wrong?"
Chi Li frowned and thought carefully in her mind. She first cleared her mind of distracting thoughts and then went over the matter from the beginning.
As I was stroking, an idea suddenly flashed in my mind.
I couldn't help but exclaimed: "In addition to King Shouhui, there is also Prime Minister Xing who wants to rebel!"
Liu Zhengzhi glanced at Chi Li calmly and said nothing.
But his attitude was actually acquiescence. Chi Li confirmed his suspicion through his attitude, and then thought that since Mo Yu was deliberately left in Kyoto by the empress, it meant that the empress had actually been prepared for this.
Even if I think about it more carefully, maybe it was the empress's handiwork that Prime Minister Xing was forced to this point little by little.
Prime Minister Xing is able to sit as the prime minister of a country and control the country's political power for many years. Could it be that he can't see the empress' step-by-step persecution and the continuous erosion of his own power?
Naturally he could see it.
Precisely because he could see the situation clearly, he knew that if he didn't resist, he would be slowly killed by the empress. When there was really no retreat, if he tried to resist, he might not have the strength to struggle.
Since death means death sooner or later, it's better to just be quick and seize the throne of her Si family in one fell swoop while his power is still strong. When he becomes the emperor, he will have nothing to fear.
But with Mo Yu, a loyal and loyal general who protects the country, it would not be easy for the empress to rebel, so he deliberately provoked King Shouhui, an ambitious but brainless fool, to occupy Min, far away from Kyoto. Mansion, forced the empress to send Mo Yu to lead troops to redress the rebellion. After Mo Yu left with most of the troops, the imperial city was empty, which was a good time for him to rebel.
The reason for the objection was already there. The empress proclaimed herself emperor on the basis of a woman's body, which was not in line with the ancestral etiquette. As the prime minister of a country, it was completely justified for him to eliminate this danger for the country.
This reason can even win the support of many people in the DPRK and China.
In fact, the empress allowed women to participate in the imperial examinations and serve as officials in the court, which affected the interests of countless people and caused great dissatisfaction. However, everyone kept it secret before, but now Prime Minister Xing is taking the lead and taking this opportunity to overthrow it together. The empress and many people who abolished her regime.
"But there are troops stationed everywhere, so how can Prime Minister Xing be sure that His Majesty will send General Mo to redress the rebellion?" As soon as this question came up, Chi Li got the answer himself.
Because of mistrust.
Ever since the empress came to power, the only general around her who could be sure of being 100% loyal to her was Mo Yu. Even if other generals were willing to obey the emperor's orders, they were actually loyal to the imperial power, not the empress.
Therefore, every time when there was a major event like quelling a rebellion, the empress would only send Mo Yu to prevent the other generals who were sent out from being persuaded by the rebellious prince to support another emperor and rebel together. The scale of the unrest.
But this time, after knowing that it was Prime Minister Xing's conspiracy, the empress would never let Mo Yu leave her side, but someone had to do the redress.
So after much thought, she simply sent Deputy Prime Minister Liu and Chi Li to go together.
Needless to say, Chili had just come from Minfu, and because of her water control and road construction, she was loved by the local people, and she was also familiar with Bai Zhifu. When she went there, she could cooperate with Bai Zhifu to take down the rebels. Complete the task of redress at the minimum cost.
Sending Deputy Prime Minister Liu was a risky move by the empress.
Deputy Prime Minister Liu is not from the empress, nor even from the late emperor. The reason why he entered the court as an official was just to do something practical for the people. It was also because of Prime Minister Xing's powerful party that threatened the stability of the country. As long as he kept suppressing him, Prime Minister Xing could not go too far.
Otherwise, the ambitious Prime Minister Xing might have rebelled during the reign of the late Emperor, and how could he have waited until today?
After the empress came to power, Vice Prime Minister Liu did not take sides, but as long as the regime announced by the empress was beneficial to people's livelihood, he would support it.
Therefore, even if the empress does not believe him, she still believes that he sincerely safeguards the safety of the people of the Sui Dynasty and sends him there to vindicate him. Even if it is to prevent the people from suffering due to the war, Deputy Liu will not be persuaded by King Shouhui. If you surrender to him, you will try your best to win it at the minimum cost.
If he cooperates with Chi Li, he may be able to produce unexpected results.
The empress's arrangement was a conspiracy, and Deputy Prime Minister Liu naturally saw it, so he communicated with Chi Li in advance, which meant that they were on the same side for the time being and asked her to obey and cooperate.
After Chi Li figured out all the details, she said that Vice Minister Liu's so-called ventilation could be said to be thousands of miles away. If she hadn't been smart enough, she wouldn't have known what this person was doing so well.
"If the Deputy Prime Minister ever comes to you in the future, could you please tell me directly that I am a stupid official and don't like to make random guesses. If I guess wrong, wouldn't it delay important matters?"
Chi Li, who didn't like the other party's behavior, pointed it out to him directly. Anyway, the person who would be embarrassed after speaking out was definitely not her, so she wasn't afraid.
Seeing that Deputy Prime Minister Liu was stunned by what he said, Chi Li turned around, not bothering to look at him.
After a while, she seemed to hear an apology coming from behind, but due to the noise of soldiers and horses outside, she couldn't really hear it.
The emergency march was extremely fast. They rushed to the counter-insurgency battlefield and took the newly developed speedboat. They traveled from Kyoto to Minfu day and night, but it only took one and a half months to arrive, which was half the time compared to Chili's return trip on his own.
But there is a drawback to traveling in such a hurry, it is too torturous.
So after the army came to the mountains on the border of Minfu, Liu Zhengzhi ordered the entire army to repair on the spot.
After arriving here, Chili discovered that the army sent to vindicate the rebellion was not only theirs, but also the defenders who were urgently dispatched from the neighboring Bohe Prefecture and Nanhuai Prefecture.
Also, even if they used the fastest speed to get here from Kyoto, it still took them a full month and a half. By the time they arrived, the day lilies were already cold.
Therefore, the empress will inevitably order the surrounding garrison to help suppress the rebellion. Of course, it is only for suppression and not for the main purpose of countering the rebellion.
The main responsibility of the garrisons in various places is to guard their stations. When things don't come to them, they can't allocate too many troops to help at once. Now it's good to keep the rebels within the boundaries of Minfu. , no matter how many things happen, we have to wait until someone is sent from above to discuss it.
Vice Minister Liu arrived at the place and directly summoned military generals sent from various places to discuss how to suppress the rebellion. Chili was also here.
After listening to the whole process, she realized that this was not a discussion, but that Deputy Prime Minister Liu directly became the commander-in-chief and ordered all armies to cooperate in preparation for an invasion of Min Mansion and put down the rebellion in one fell swoop.
The role of everyone, including Chi Li, is to be tools, and they only have to listen to others' orders.
No one had any objections.
Deputy Prime Minister Liu has the highest official position here. Even if the subordinates have to obey the rules of their superiors, they will obey them.
As expected, Chi Li was assigned to contact Magistrate Bai and asked him to cooperate with them in the task of taking down the rebels. After completing the task, Vice Minister Liu asked Chi Li to use all means to do it, no matter what method Chi Li used. Complete her.
This matter is really not difficult for Chi Li.
She doesn't even need to use any magical means, such as asking the little fish in the river to come to the city to deliver a letter to her. She just needs to write a letter, and then make a small appearance near the river dam that is still under construction, and ask someone to recognize her. He was also able to directly contact the manager of Bai Zhifu, and handed the letter to him, and asked him to deliver the letter to Bai Zhifu under the pretense of reporting back on the construction of the river dam.
This steward was also born in Min Mansion. Chili was a benefactor to their whole family. It was just a matter of sending a letter to the benefactor. The other party agreed immediately and completed it brilliantly. That night, he delivered the letter to Chili, who had been waiting for it. reply.
In the letter, Magistrate Bai only replied: "Tomorrow at noon."
"What does this mean at noon tomorrow?" a bearded general asked in confusion.
Chili replied on her behalf: "A signal for us to attack together tomorrow."
"Yes." Vice Prime Minister Liu nodded, confirming Chi Li's words, and then made some arrangements, finalizing the entire army to enter Min Mansion at noon tomorrow, and must capture the rebel leader in one fell swoop.
Everyone had a good night's rest tonight. They all hid in the mountains and were not discovered by the people below.
King Shouhui thought that the army sent by the imperial court would attack through the only passage, so he only sent people to guard the entrance of the passage. Although under the advice of his staff, people were also sent to monitor the mountains, but those people had already been killed. , or were threatened with betrayal, anyway, they have all fallen into the control of Deputy Prime Minister Liu.
Even though they would send news back on a regular basis, the news they sent was all false. They came so quickly that they arrived so quickly that King Shouhui still didn't know that the army had quietly entered the territory.
At noon tomorrow, the people in the city seemed to have received the news in advance. The doors and windows of every house were closed, and there was not even a soul on the street.
Before the patrolling rebel guards could feel strange, they found that the city gate had been opened at some point, and countless well-armored cavalry led the way, holding weapons and attacking directly into the city.
As soon as these people came face to face, they were trampled under the hooves of the horse. Before they could react, the sharp weapon had already penetrated the fatal spot, killing them on the spot.
These minions were just side dishes before the war.
Immediately afterwards, under conscious command, the army divided into separate groups and captured all the rebel squads in the city. The cavalry with the most morale among them went straight to the prefect's office, where they captured the soldiers who had been drugged by a pot of poison from Prefect Bai. The stunned King Shouhui.
"The rebel leader has been captured. They all put down their weapons, took off their armor, and surrendered without killing!"
"The rebel leader has been captured and put down..."
"Rebel leader..."
Waves of sound spread throughout Min Mansion from inside to outside. It was so loud and powerful that countless rebel soldiers saw that the situation was over. In order to save their lives, they all put down their weapons, took off their armor, squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, and surrendered.
If one person surrenders, with his leadership, countless others will surrender.
When all the rebels were killed and captured, the battle came to an end in an extremely quick and inexplicable and somewhat comical manner.
"Push the rebel leaders and all the prisoners into Kyoto and wait for His Majesty's disposal." Vice Prime Minister Liu stood on the wall of Min Mansion, looking down at Min who experienced a brief turmoil and quickly returned to calm. Mansion.
Chi Li stood behind him and also watched this scene.
In fact, King Shouhui's army should not have been so weak. The main reason was that they cooperated internally and externally to catch others by surprise, and Magistrate Bai deliberately held a banquet to stun all the rebel generals and staff, including King Shouhui. The rebels had no command. Faced with their well-equipped troops led by generals, they naturally lost the ability to resist. They were scattered in all directions and ultimately unable to recover.
Not counting the rebels who were killed this time, there were more than [-] prisoners captured. It was not an easy task to escort such people to Beijing.
The empress also seems to know that it is not appropriate to let so many rebels enter the city now. Kyoto should be in chaos now. If these people are allowed to enter the city, who knows if they will become rebels again if they are prisoners now.
So even before Chili and the others set out to return to Kyoto, a decree came down: "King Shouhui, his family, staff, and all the rebel generals will be executed on the spot, and the surrendered soldiers will be beaten into slaves and exiled to the northwest. Be a coolie.”
The empress's verdict was considered the best result in Chi Li's opinion.
In fact, not all of the rebels are people who know that they are rebelling. Some of them just muddleheadedly follow the orders from above and follow the soldiers who participated in the rebellion. But no matter the reason, the fact is that they are all rebels. Now it is just good luck. They have enough time to cause too much turmoil, thereby harming the people. If they really succeed, many people will suffer as a result, and even their families will be destroyed and they will be displaced.
Therefore, although they can escape the death penalty, they cannot escape the living penalty.
There were more than [-] people, most of whom were strong laborers. The empress simply sent them to the northwest to work as coolies, which could be regarded as giving full play to their remaining value for the rest of their lives.
Others who consciously participated in the rebellion were not so lucky.
This time, it was the turn of the Minfu Market to burst into blood at the entrance. Fortunately, none of the local people felt scared yet, so they all gathered to watch the excitement. Some people were still angry when they saw people dying, and threw rotten vegetables, leaves, and rotten eggs at them.
He was throwing things away and scolding them at the same time, saying whatever was offensive.
Since everyone spoke local dialects, Chili couldn't quite understand what they were saying, but he knew they were swearing.
No one stopped the people.
As we all know, during the months when Minfu was occupied by the rebels, the local people suffered a lot. King Shouhui's army was not as disciplined as regular troops like them. After entering the city, they often engaged in various incidents of beating, smashing, looting and burning. happened, and many people were arrested and forced to mine for them. The people suffered greatly and hated them to death, so it was appropriate to let them vent their emotions at this time.
"Master Chi, do you want to come too?"
Someone was smashing and found Chili standing next to him, and he kindly handed her two rotten eggs. Chili shook his head and declined the other person's kindness with a smile: "Thank you, but as a court official, I cannot accept people. thing."
"Master Chi is really honest and caring for the people."
Looking at the back of Chi Li turning away, he sighed, then turned around and smashed two rotten eggs, and cursed angrily: "Bah, you beast."
If it hadn't been for them, his eldest brother wouldn't have been forced to go mining, and even broke a leg because of it. It was all the fault of these scourges. No matter how many rotten eggs he smashed, it wouldn't be too much!
"We are going back tomorrow, right?"
The turmoil in Min Mansion has been resolved, so Chi Li and others naturally have no need to stay.
Liu Zhengzhi looked sideways when asked: "Do you still want to stay?"
"That's not true. It's just that I may never want to come to this place again." Chi Li sighed.
She didn't have any objections to Minfu. The main reason was that it was too far away from Kyoto and it would take a lot of time to come back every time. Moreover, every time she came there was not for any good reasons, so she sincerely hoped to come less frequently or not at all.
Let the people of Minfu and her live peacefully and peacefully.
The suppression of the rebellion was completed, and the army returned to the court.
Different from when we came here, there are a few more people in the team that are going back this time, who are obviously generals. These people are generals sent by garrisons from various places to participate in the counter-rebellion. They want to go back with them to discuss their merits and reward them in front of the Empress. of.
At the same time, the empress also intended to take this opportunity to subdue these local generals. After this incident, she also realized that it was not enough to have only Mo Yu by her side. She had to cultivate more forces in the army to help her stabilize her political power. , guard the country.
If the entire army can surrender to her, then who can rebel against her?
Even if someone wants to start a rebellion, it depends on whether the army will listen to him or not. He may be suppressed by the local forces before he takes off.
The empress had ignored it before. If she had paid attention to this matter earlier, she would have been betrayed three times in a row. No, four times if you include the old Prime Minister Xing.
There was no need to rush as fast as the way back, so it was a little slower. It took about two months to get to Kyoto.
Including their counterinsurgency and follow-up processing time, this trip took about four months. Heavy snow fell in Kyoto, covering the entrance of the blood-stained vegetable market tightly.
It was only after returning to Kyoto that Chi Li learned that Prime Minister Xing was dead.
Died at the hands of the Empress.
He may not have expected that the empress was actually a master of martial arts. When she personally led the villain army to invade the palace, she was killed by her sword in a battle with the empress.
In addition, everyone learned later that Prime Minister Xing's martial arts skills were not low. It was precisely because of his high martial arts skills that he dared to challenge the empress in a duel. As a result, he came up short and was stabbed through the heart by a sword, causing blood to splash in the Golden Palace.
When Chi Li heard this, she turned around and asked Mo Yu, who was also present: "Didn't Your Majesty also serve in the army and lead troops to win many battles? Why does Prime Minister Xing think that her martial arts skills are weaker than his?"
"Because Prime Minister Xing was too arrogant, and he thought that His Majesty only knew some external martial arts, leading troops in battles mainly depended on how the commander used the troops, and rarely fought alone, so he did not know that Your Majesty actually had deep internal strength and strong martial arts, and eventually died Under his own arrogance." Mo Yu answered Chi Li.
Because she was the only person present who knew that His Majesty was very powerful, she did not take any action when Prime Minister Xing proposed a duel. She watched him being killed by the Empress, and then led her soldiers out to clear out all the remaining members of Prime Minister Xing's party.
After the prime minister's rebellion, the empress became cruel. All the officials who were directly involved in the matter were betrayed and implicated the nine clans. The officials who were not directly involved but only provided indirect help were all killed by the empress in one go, so as to avoid future troubles.
Such a thunderous method not only emptied nearly half of the court hall at once, but also shocked the people outside the court, making countless people tremblingly bow their heads to the empress, not daring to have second thoughts.
Afterwards, Chili felt that the palace was a little empty when she went to court.
Naturally, everyone felt this way, but no one dared to say anything about it. Many people even had nightmares for several days in a row, and it took a long time for them to recover.
Of course, it doesn't matter to these officials of the Empress's party. If it had anything to do with them, it would probably be a matter of celebration and reward afterwards.
Prime Minister Xing's entire party is gone, leaving quite a few official positions vacant.
The more important of these official positions were assigned to her own people by the empress, and the rest were snatched by other forces. During this period of time, it was like a opera in the court. After you sing, we will go on stage, each showing his or her special powers in order to snatch the benefits. Chi Li was amazed by what she saw, and it also made many theatergoers like her find a lot of fun.
Chili doesn't need to join in this chaos.
As one of the empress' confidants, she was directly granted the title of second-grade cabinet bachelor.
Directly became one of the powerful people in the cabinet.
In the past, many people in the court would have been dissatisfied and opposed to such a matter of jumping several levels and being promoted to a high-ranking official. Some ministers even threatened to death to make the empress take back her imperial life.
However, now the imperial court is the voice of the empress, and as the headquarters of Prime Minister Xing, the cabinet has the most official positions after he stepped down. In order to ensure the operation of the cabinet, the empress promoted Chi Li, a confidant in the cabinet, to Getting to a high position is really a helpless move.
Everyone understands it, so no one objects to it.
Mainly because they didn't dare, fearing that the empress would kill them too if she still had her murderous intention.
(End of this chapter)
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