Thief Emperor

Chapter 421: Sitting on the Ground
His Majesty the Emperor's carriage was not moving very fast.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor still has no idea in his mind. He doesn't know what kind of situation he will face when he returns to Guanzhong this time.

Therefore, as soon as the dragon chariot left Chengdu City, the emperor became a little uneasy. During the rest time at noon, he ordered someone to call Pei Huang over.

When Pei Huang came over, the emperor was already pale.

Pei Huang was horrified, but he suppressed his surprise and tried to lower his voice: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

When the Emperor saw Pei Huang coming, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around, and Pei Huang immediately understood what he meant. He drove away the nearby palace servants and whispered, "Your Majesty, please speak."

"I...always feel upset."

His Majesty the Emperor clenched his fists, looked at Pei Huang silently, and could no longer speak.

As a childhood friend, Pei Sanlang almost immediately understood the emperor's intention. He knew that the emperor was a little flustered.

This kind of panic is not necessarily due to fear of death.

I am just afraid of the unknown future situation and the future fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Pei Huang thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will go ahead tomorrow and meet the three military governors on your behalf."

"After I meet them and get some results, at least... I will know what their conditions are. Then I will come back to see Your Majesty. This way, Your Majesty will at least be mentally prepared."

The emperor shook his head slightly and let out a long breath: "Useless, useless."

"No matter how nice they say to you, after we enter the customs, they can still go back on their word however they want."

Pei Huang whispered, "Your Majesty, if there was only one Jiedushi in Guanzhong, this would naturally be the case. However, there are three Jiedushi in Guanzhong, and there is still room to win over Li Tong, the Jiedushi of Hedong. There is a lot of room for mediation."

"Anyway, we are all going back to Guanzhong. It will be beneficial for me to go and see him first."

The emperor was silent for a long time, then he patted Pei Huang on the shoulder and sighed: "Go, go."

Pei Huang bowed his head deeply and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Although those military governors have rebellious intentions, at this time, they are restraining each other and no one dares to stand up and risk the world's disapproval. Your Majesty, at most, will just hand over some benefits when you go back this time."

"Of the three military governors in Guanzhong, no matter which one wants to completely control the government, the other two will not allow it."

At this point, Pei Huang fell silent, lowered his head slightly and said: "The Great Zhou will still exist."

The emperor laughed at himself first, then sighed: "I am afraid that I, the emperor, will become the first nominal emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Pei Huang whispered, "Your Majesty, I only have four words."

“It can still be done.”

He whispered, "Your Majesty must cheer up."

The emperor closed his eyes and said, "Before you leave, Sanlang, go meet some prime ministers."

Now, the imperial court has fallen, but those prime ministers have not fallen.

Most of them came from aristocratic families and their roots were not in the capital or even in Guanzhong. The unrest in Guanzhong this time did not affect them much.

For example, Prime Minister Cui Yuan’s family was in Beizhou, which was very far away from the capital. Although they were inevitably affected by some unrest, their family was still prosperous.

There were two Jiedushi who were relatively close to Beizhou, one was Pinglu Jiedushi and the other was Fanyang Jiedushi. Both Jiedushi were familiar with the Cui family and even went to the Cui family to propose marriage.

One of the sons of Xiao Xian, the governor of Fanyang, married into the Cui family. Although he married a concubine's daughter, General Xiao was still quite proud of it in his early years.

Under such circumstances, not to mention that there is no unrest in Beizhou now, even if it is occupied by the Pinglu Army or the Fanyang Army, the Cui family will still be as stable as a rock.

The same is true for other companies.

Pei Huang bowed his head slightly and replied, "I obey your command."

He whispered a few more words to the emperor before bowing and leaving. After leaving the dragon chariot, he quickly found Prime Minister Cui Yuan in the team. At this moment, Prime Minister Cui was arranging matters for the team's journey to ensure its smooth progress.

In a sense, he is actually a very competent prime minister, and he is indeed doing his best for the great Zhou court.

Because although the Cui family had a way out, he, Cui Yuan, had already reached the highest position in the country and was destined to be the prime minister of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. He had no other choice.

At this time, Cui Yuan's own choice might not be consistent with that of his family. No matter what choice his family made, he would stand firmly on the side of the Wu Zhou Dynasty to preserve his reputation during his lifetime and after his death.

And his reputation will continue to bring glory to the Cui family in the future.

Pei Huang stepped forward and bowed his head, "Prime Minister Cui."

Cui Yuan waved his hand and dismissed several officials who were accompanying him. He turned to look at Pei Huang, forced a smile, and asked, "Sanlang, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I have just requested permission to go ahead and meet the three Jiedushi who are waiting for you."

He paused and continued, "Your Majesty has agreed."

Pei Huang looked at Cui Yuan and whispered, "Your Majesty asked me to meet Prime Minister Cui and ask him what he thinks."

When Cui Yuan heard this, the smile he had forced on his face disappeared. He was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "I will go with you."

Pei Huang was startled, a little surprised: "Prime Minister Cui?"

"Don't worry, even though I'm old, I can still ride a horse, so I won't be late."

Cui Yuan looked at Pei Huang and said slowly, "Those who can serve as military governors for many years are all skilled people. If you go alone, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle them."

Seeing Pei Huang wanted to speak, Cui Xianggong put his hands behind his back and said, "Wait here. I will go to see His Majesty."

After that, Prime Minister Cui went straight to see the emperor. Not long after, he came back with his hands behind his back. When he passed by Pei Huang, the prime minister, who was nearly 60 years old, patted Pei Huang on the shoulder and sighed: "Let's go, your majesty has approved it."

Pei Huang followed behind Cui Yuan, and suddenly seemed to understand something. He lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty asked me to look for Prime Minister Cui, could it be that..."

Prime Minister Cui walked in front with his hands behind his back, without even turning his head: "Don't think too much. I have been receiving salary from the Great Zhou for half my life, so I should have worked hard for the Great Zhou. I have been a prime minister for many years, and now the country is about to fall apart. I have committed a great sin."

The old prime minister shook his head and sighed: "Even in my old age, I should do my best for the country."

At this point, he looked back at Pei Huang and said in a deep voice: "When you meet those three, Sanlang doesn't need to say much. If you must say anything, remember these four words."

Pei Huang bowed his head and said, "Prime Minister Cui, please give me your instructions."

The old man said silently: "Protect Guanzhong."…………

Two persons, one old and one young, left the imperial escort team under the protection of two hundred imperial guards, headed northeast, passed Lizhou, and soon crossed Hanzhong County and arrived at the junction of Hanzhong and Guanzhong.

Dasan Pass.

The three military governors have now stationed some troops here, waiting for the return of His Majesty the Emperor.

After the two men arrived near Sanguan, they were greeted by several troops and horses before they even entered the pass. As soon as they entered the gate, the three military governors came out to greet them.

When the three people saw Cui Yuan, they all came forward and saluted.

The burly Wei Quanzhong also lowered his head and said with a smile, "Hello, Mr. Cui."

Xiao Xian, the governor of Fanyang, clasped his fists and saluted: "Greetings, Lord Cui."

General Li Tong, who was older, cupped his hands and said, "I heard that Prime Minister Cui, at his age, came here on horseback."

He sighed and said with emotion: "You are really strong. I am only a few years older than Prime Minister Cui, but now I can hardly ride a horse."

Prime Minister Cui looked at Li Tong and said with a smile: "When the general was young, he fought bravely on the battlefield. Now that he is old, injuries have naturally come to him."

Li Tong nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right, my health is far inferior to Prime Minister Cui's."

"I am just holding on."

After that, he turned sideways and said with a smile: "This is Pei Huang, the son of Minister Pei, and now the chancellor of the Secretariat."

The several military governors were naturally aware of Pei Huang's identity. They looked at each other and bowed to him. Pei Huang lowered his head and returned the greetings one by one.

After greeting each other, the three military governors warmly invited the two men into the Dasan Pass, prepared a banquet, and invited the two men to sit down.

Cui Yuan was invited to sit in the main seat.

Prime Minister Cui was not polite and sat down in the main seat. The other three military governors then took their seats according to their ages, and Pei Huang sat at the last seat.

After everyone sat down, they drank a glass of wine first. Then, Cui Xianggong looked at the three Jiedushi and suddenly asked, "Three great generals, you have done a great job in quelling the rebellion. I wonder what kind of reward you want?"

Li Tong and Xiao Xian tacitly understood each other and did not speak.

General Wei coughed and said with a smile: "Mr. Cui, what are you talking about? We are all ministers of the Great Zhou. It is our duty to serve the Great Zhou. We do not ask for rewards. We do not ask for rewards."

Cui Xianggong looked at Wei Quanzhong and said with a smile: "I almost forgot that when General Wei was ordered to go south, he had already been conferred the title of Duke."

He looked at the other two people and asked, "You two, do you also want a duke?"

The three Jiedushi all lowered their heads and drank, without answering.

Cui Xianggong looked calm, lowered his head and drank a sip of wine, and said: "If the Duke doesn't want it, then I don't know how to reward him."

Wei Quanzhong smiled and said, "Brother Li and Brother Xiao have made great contributions, so they should both be given the title of Duke. I don't need that."

"We will wait until the emperor returns to the capital, and then we will return to our respective vassal states and continue to guard our respective regions for the imperial court."

Cui Xianggong looked at him and asked, "Is the general really willing to leave?"

Wei Quanzhong poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Mr. Cui, drink."

Cui Yuan was not polite either. He raised his head and drank it all. Then he looked at the three people and said in a deep voice: "Now the only thing the court can give you, apart from the reward, is Guanzhong. You three must give an explanation, right?"

Seeing that the three generals still did not answer, Cui Yuan knocked on the table lightly and whispered: "If the three of you want to occupy Guanzhong by force, I will have no way to deal with it. I can only let you do it."

"But such greed may lead to misfortune."

Wei Quanzhong looked at Pei Huang with a smile, but said nothing. Cui Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Sanlang, go get a pot of wine."

Pei Huang frowned, but nodded slowly, then stood up and left silently.

He didn't even take the wine jug.

But no one cares about him anymore.

After he left, the old man looked at Xiao Xian and said silently: "General Xiao, how about you concurrently serve as the Hebei Road Recruiting and Suppressing Observation Envoy?"

"General Li, you will be the governor of Hedong."

He looked at Wei Quanzhong and said silently: "General Wei's military farm states will be expanded to include Lanzhou, Shizhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Huizhou and other states."

"I'll give you half the amount until I have twelve states."

The Shuofang Jiedushi now has six states under his jurisdiction, including Lingzhou, Shengzhou, etc. However, they are all relatively far to the north. If we increase his territory by half, the conditions would already be quite generous.

After all, the Tuntianzhou did not have to pay taxes and was not responsible to the imperial court. It was an independent small kingdom, and doing so was almost equivalent to "ceding territory."

The three generals fell into deep thought, but soon, General Li Tong nodded and said, "I have no objection."

Fanyang Jiedushi Xiao Xian quickly nodded to show his agreement.

Wei Quanzhong hesitated for a while, then looked at Cui Yuan and said with a smile: "Mr. Cui, I went south for the sake of the country and people of the Great Zhou, not for personal gain. Now that Guanzhong has finally been pacified, I have not met Your Majesty since he ascended the throne. I want to meet Your Majesty."

Cui Yuan looked at him deeply, then said calmly: "Since you have stayed in Guanzhong, you want to see His Majesty..."

“You can see it naturally.”

After that, he raised his glass.

"Let's stop here for business, let's have a drink."

The four men clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp. However, when Li Tong and Xiao Xian put down their glasses, they both glanced at Wei Quanzhong at the same time.

Because if Wei Quanzhong refused to leave Guanzhong, the two of them...

Neither will leave.

(End of this chapter)