Fu Shanhe

Chapter 273 Forced into the Palace
"Vagrant king + descendants of saints + a group of gentry representatives", such a powerful lineup is almost an invincible combination in the Dayu Dynasty.

Without any hesitation, Li Mu decisively retreated behind the crowd and handed over the home court to Marquis Wuyang.

It's not that he is disloyal, it's just that his status as a military commander makes him unsuitable to deal with these people.

According to the unspoken rules of the officialdom, it was fatal for a prince to make friends with a military general. Even though he had saved Prince Fu in the capital, the two sides had deliberately kept their distance.

In this situation, if Li Mu dared to step out, he would be in big trouble no matter what the final result was.

However, he could hide, but Marquis Wuyang, as the commander-in-chief, couldn't escape.

Fortunately, the two identities were different. In the Dayu Dynasty, the governor had always been a civil servant, and Marquis Wuyang was also granted the status of a Jinshi by the emperor.

Although the civil service group was unwilling to accept this foreign relative governor who sided with the nobles, according to the rules of the political game, Marquis Wuyang's current identity was indeed a civil servant.

It was not so taboo for civil officials who were relatives of the emperor's wife to deal with princes and Yansheng dukes.

No matter how much the censor speculated, he would not be stupid enough to impeach Marquis Wuyang for colluding with Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng for treason.

Watching the three big men greeting each other, Li Mu turned his gaze to the Governor of Shandong standing beside him.

This scene would never have happened without the authorization of the local government.

According to the "Dayu Law", the princes were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms without permission. If they really wanted to leave their fiefdoms, they had to apply to the court.

In the process of specific implementation, the right to interpret the fiefdom lies in the hands of civil officials.

The titles of vassal kings are very broad. The fiefdom of King Lu can be understood as Shandong, or it can be regarded as the prefecture where the prince's palace is located. A more strict one is that he is not allowed to leave the prefecture.

If he has a good relationship with the emperor, or is the son of the current emperor, the censor will pretend not to see if his activities are a little out of the ordinary.

If you have a bad relationship with the emperor, or are a distant relative of the royal family, then you will be in trouble.

The local government refused to cooperate, and the prince's carriage could not leave the city.

This is one of the means used by local civil officials to control the princes.

After all, when the vassal kings become arrogant and domineering, their destructive power is extremely great.

They didn't care about their reputation at all. As long as they weren't guilty of treason, the emperor wouldn't deal with them easily.

Compared to Prince Lu, Duke Yansheng on the side is more difficult to deal with.

The title of "descendant of a saint" is too destructive.

No matter what kind of character Duke Yansheng has or how many bad things he has done, the civil service group can only help cover it up for their own interests.

The imperial censors dared to scold even the emperor, but never scolded the Duke of Yansheng. Even though everyone knew that the descendants of these saints had long been corrupt.

……

"You two are both pillars of the country, and you should know how dangerous the capital is at this time. If the capital falls, the consequences will be disastrous.

On the way here, I received three imperial edicts urging us to move forward. If we delay in Shandong for too long, we will not be able to explain to the court!"

Marquis Wuyang decisively refused.

As an army dedicated to the king, it made little difference where we fought.

Compared to rushing to the aid of the capital, staying in Shandong to deal with the grassland cavalry who come to plunder is undoubtedly much safer.

If given a choice, normal people would choose to stay in Shandong.

However, in addition to practical factors, political impacts must also be considered.

It would be totally unacceptable if we don't rush to the capital to rescue the king.

"My Lord, we are all sensible people, there is no need to put on airs here.

No matter where we fight, we must fight against the northern barbarian cavalry. Staying in Shandong to fight is good for you, me and everyone else.

If you really have to go deep into the enemy's territory alone to rescue the capital, the troops under your command will not be enough.

If you are not careful, your entire army will be wiped out.

Since the imperial edict was issued, the imperial court has lost seven reinforcements. Even the Beijing Army suffered heavy losses on its way back to the capital.

The Northern Tartars are clearly using the capital as bait to lure the imperial court's reinforcements over, waiting for an opportunity to annihilate our manpower!"

Duke Yansheng said with a look of disdain.

The purpose of the Northern Tartars' siege of the capital was clear to all observers, except those in the situation. The classic tactic of "siege a point and attack the reinforcements" was intended to weaken the military power of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Attacking the city is impossible!
Using elite cavalry to attack the heavily guarded capital of the imperial court would require the top leaders of the Northern Tartars to have lost their minds.

Even local cities, as long as they were defended tightly enough, would be bypassed by the Northern Tartars.

When he occasionally attacked a city, he would use the surrendered soldiers as cannon fodder and rarely went into battle himself.

"Duke Yansheng, it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order!
Even if this is a conspiracy of the Northern Tartars, since I have received the imperial edict, I must obey it. "

Marquis Wuyang said meaningfully.

You can ask him to help defend Shandong, but he definitely won't take the blame for disobeying the order.

Unless the emperor has a new edict, he will continue to lead his troops north.

As for whether to move closer to the capital, we will wait and see after landing in Tianjin Prefecture.

Judging from the current situation, all the reinforcements that arrived first have become victims.

When it was his turn, Marquis Wuyang was also very nervous. Especially the generals he relied on the most, who repeatedly reminded him to act cautiously, exacerbated his anxiety.

"My Lord, Duke Yansheng has said so much, and you are still clinging to the imperial edict, which is too pedantic.

The Northern Tartar cavalry were plundering everywhere, and now almost all of Tianjin Prefecture had fallen into enemy hands. Even if you wanted to land there, I'm afraid the conditions were not met.

Anyway, we are all rushing to help the capital, so it’s the same to go through Shandong.

If you are worried about being blamed by the court, we can vouch for you and prove that you are doing your best to help the capital!"

Prince Lu on the side began to persuade him.

Theoretically speaking, landing in Shandong and fighting all the way to the capital was also a way of fulfilling the mission of serving the king.

However, the prerequisite for this operation is that the troops under Marquis Wuyang are strong enough to sweep all the way.

If we were defeated by the enemy halfway, rescuing the capital would become a joke.

"My Lord, you decide!

For the sake of the people of Shandong, I will risk everything today. Either you send troops to save the people from the water and fire, or I will die here!"

As he spoke, Duke Yansheng charged directly at the bow of the ship, scaring the officials into rushing to stop him.

As the person involved, Marquis Wuyang was completely confused by this scene.

If he had known that going ashore would cause so much trouble, he would rather stay at sea.

The crime of killing Duke Yansheng in front of him on the spot and forcing the descendants of the saint to death could crush him to death.

Even if the emperor wanted to protect him, he could not withstand the spit of scholars all over the world.

Not only will you be in trouble, but your entire family will be liquidated in the future.

He doesn't even need to be killed in the accident. As long as Duke Yansheng is slightly injured, he won't be able to explain it clearly.

No one can guarantee how many stories this group of Shandong gentry can make up.

"My Lord, if someone has to die today before you save the people of Shandong from the dire straits, then count me as one!"

With the previous lesson in mind, as soon as the King of Lu took action, the Marquis of Wuyang hurriedly pulled the person back.

A Duke of Yansheng and a prince actually ran to him and tried to commit suicide. It was obvious that someone had set them up deliberately.

His intuition told him that these two people were people who valued their lives and would never commit suicide in front of him, but he simply couldn't take the risk given the situation before him.

"Calm down, both of you. This governor must consult the imperial court first when it comes to military changes!"

Marquis Wuyang said while suppressing his anger.

Thinking about it yourself is one thing, being forced to do it is another.

Even a clay man would get angry if he knew he was being plotted against.

But now is not the time to be angry. No matter how angry I am, I have to deal with today's issues first.

(End of this chapter)