The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 101: Western Internal Debate
On the sixth day of the tenth month of the first year of Gyeongbok, at the football field in the western inner garden of the palace.

The sky was overcast and the rain was drizzling. The field was mottled with withered grass and looked lifeless. Since the Holy Saint ascended the throne, he has only come here to play polo once. The imperial guards stood there in silence, holding spears and swords. Some wore tiger skin skirts, and some were covered with fox fur. The fur tributed by Fu, Xia, and Uighur was given to the officials by the Holy Saint to be made into winter clothes, and the cavalry and infantry were all given a lot.

A middle-aged palace maid leaned against a pillar, staring blankly at the high platform of the football field. There was a golden light surging there, and the coal pots were burning brightly, with green flames coming out. A red carpet was immediately spread on the wooden platform, and eunuchs and palace maids shuttled between them, constantly serving food and drink.

Guests are seated on the right.

Hedong officials Xue Zhiqin and Guo Chongtao.

The officials from Hezhong who made memorials to the emperor were Pan Hanyu and Peng Xun.

The officials from Xuzhou who made memorials to the emperor were Fu Mi and Qu Yan.

Yuncaopu presented officials Tan Ju and Yang Chen.

On the left were the important officials of the inner and outer courts, including Grand Commandant Du Rangneng, Privy Councilor Zhao, Central Commander Wang Congxun, Imperial Academy Envoy and Fufeng Yin Han Wei, Imperial Censor Xu Yanruo, Imperial City Envoy He Chuyu, and more than 20 others.

"The saint is coming!"

Seeing the saint striding over, the large group of guards on duty started to make a noise. Seeing his sullen face and unhappy expression, the soldiers shut their mouths and followed closely behind him. Dozens of soldiers surrounded him like stars, and the armor plates clattered. The sound was a bit loud, and the officials who were presenting the memorials heard it clearly and whispered to each other. The saint is really getting powerful.

"Here he is." Luo Fu, the favorite concubine of the Privy Council, reported.

Everyone stood up immediately.

The saint in gray and white uniform came up and knelt on one knee at the main seat. The military students crowded around the pillars, their eyes roaming around the official in the inner room. The attendants from various towns waiting outside were a little panicked, and wanted to say something, but were pushed away directly: "Get lost!"

"Stop making noise!" The saint knocked on the table.

The cadets exchanged glances and fell silent.

"Tatata." A group of female musicians came into the stage to perform.

But the officials' attention was not on the stringed instruments and the beauties. After destroying the four towns of Qi, Hua, Tong, and Feng, severely damaging Bining, eliminating the eunuchs, besieging Tongzhou, and suppressing the northwestern affairs of Beijing, no vassal town dared to despise the emperor. At this moment, dozens of eyes, either peeking or using peripheral vision, gathered on him, observing his expression and movements.

"Cheers to victory." Lady Tianshui raised the glass herself.

"Drink to win." Everyone calmed down and responded. This woman was extremely beautiful and had an extraordinary demeanor. The ministers respected her like a saint. They did not dare to make eye contact and covered their eyes with their sleeves.

"Si Tu defeated Li Kuangwei." Guo Chongtao swallowed the wine and put down the silver cup. He was obviously in a very good mood. "This is thanks to the saint's timely help and the assistance of 300,000 dan of grain."

Behind him were some military officers from the Imperial Court, all of whom were Li Keyong's confidants. Upon hearing this, they all stood up and toasted the saint.

The saint did not refuse.

After a round of drinking, his cheeks were already blood red.

Zhao was about to stand up and tell the whole story, but she saw the sage wave his hand and said to everyone: "I can't hold my liquor, please enjoy yourselves."

His predecessor often got himself drunk, and in fact he could drink a lot. But he didn't drink too much. He couldn't accept being drunk and at the mercy of others. There were many emperors who got drunk and were killed in their sleep.

"Everyone..." Deputy Privy Councilor Yang Kezheng walked through the banquet hall and approached him. He lowered his head and whispered a few words in his ear: "2000 soldiers from Jing have arrived at Bashang. Zhang Lian, Zhang Ke, Zhang Lian and other generals have entered the city and presented a memorial to wait for an audience with the emperor."

The saint nodded.

Yang Kezheng turned and left in a hurry. After she left, there were still attendants, Hanlin, school lieutenants, judges, female imperial concubines, and Zhonglangjiang coming in and out. One after another, memorials, resignations, edicts, memorials, letters, and petitions were sent in for confirmation and then taken away; the busy scene was comparable to the political hall, and the more the memorial officials looked at it, the more complicated their mood became. Is this an autocratic court? Do you have to do everything yourself and monopolize power? Is it necessary to work so hard?
"Quanzhong stopped the tribute from Bian, Wei, Heyang, Chen, Hua and Cai. He also closed the grain transport, so that the wealth of Zibo, Qinghai and the southeast could not pass through. The court lost most of the tribute from the world." After chatting absentmindedly about other things to break the ice, the general got to the point of the banquet.

Everyone's spirits were lifted.

The Privy Councilor gave a look, and the female musicians covered their faces and left.

"The Bian bandits are extremely ambitious and have the ambition to swallow up Zhou. They are very eager to invade Xuzhou." Qu Yan, the officer of the Ganhua Army, was the first to speak. Xuzhou was already in danger. Li Keyong, Zhu Jin, Zhu Xuan and others desperately tried to give blood transfusions to no avail. More than half of the 70,000 soldiers were killed. At this time, they basically relied on the ferocity of the masses to resist. In desperation, Zhang Yan, the governor of Haozhou, and Zhang Jian, the governor of Sizhou, turned against their side and had already communicated with Bianzhou on the surrender.

It is foreseeable that Yan and Jian will not be the last two. Shi Pu's days are officially in the countdown, and no one can save him.

The court appreciated his contribution in obtaining Huang Chao's head and sent an envoy to invite him to the court at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, Shi Pu was too optimistic and reluctant to give up his position. He was also worried that he would be harmed by Zhu Quanzhong on the way, so the matter was left unresolved.

Closer to home.

Even as Shi Pu's son-in-law, Qu Yan felt that his father-in-law could not turn things around. Unless Quanzhong changed his strategy and suddenly attacked Shaanxi, Guo and Hezhong to the west. But this was basically impossible. Zhu Quanzhong's strength was enough to support him to fight on four fronts. It was impossible to give up Xuzhou, which was already in his pocket.

The Reform Army is finished!

It's useless even if the sage calls himself to this place to form alliances.

"Your Majesty, the Sikong will be defeated next year at the latest." Qu Yan sighed and concluded his speech: "Since the war with the Bian people, the war in Xuzhou has become more and more serious in the past few years. The fields are barren and the wild trees are stripped of their bark. The people eat the corpses of soldiers. The warriors eat the dead people as food. The people are unbearable, the morale of the generals and soldiers is low, and there is really no power."

The meaning is clear. No matter what the court wants to do to Zhu Quanzhong, Xuzhou can't help. At the latest next year, the Ganhua Army, which was established more than a hundred years ago, will be destroyed. What can the saint expect? It is better to strengthen Tongguan.

have to.

"Where is Zhu Xuan?" the general asked again.

"Not enough counterattack, but more than enough defense." Yang Chen, who was transferred from Yuncheng's internal secretary to the memorial officer, said lightly.

In later generations, the three Zhus, Wen, Xuan, and Jin, fought for ten years. It was not until the economy and agriculture of Yan and Yun collapsed completely and the people launched large-scale anti-war demonstrations that the Bian army captured the two towns in one go. Zhu Xuan was captured and killed by the Bian army on his way to escape. Zhu Jin fled to Linyi for refuge and was expelled by the people. This is also a feature of the vassal towns such as Yan, Yun, Wei, and Zhao. Soldiers are natives and have intermarried for generations. The generals and officials dare not ignore the lives of the people. If you lose the people's hearts, you will lose the army.

At this time, the three Zhus were fighting fiercely, and the high-level officials of Yan and Yun adjusted their strategy - no longer seeking to severely damage the main force of the Bian army, but focusing on small-scale encounters and defending the city, so that the Bian army would fall into a long-term, high-frequency bitter battle and wear down its fighting spirit. At present, both sides have won and lost. Xuan and Jin suffered a few setbacks, but their roots are still there, and their morale is stable. While preparing for war, they are also looking for allies everywhere - Hedong, Wei Bo, Cangzhou, and the imperial court are all targets for development.

Yang Chen's words, "Not enough counterattack but more than enough defense", are quite appropriate.

If Zhu Quanzhong wanted to go to war with the imperial court, he would have to leave at least 40,000 troops to defend against the enemy. If he only had 20,000 or 30,000 troops, Xuan and Jin, two desperate criminals, would dare to rush directly to the city of Kaifeng. Yes, it is highly likely that they will not be able to take it down, but if their homes are stolen, do you think the Bian army will panic?

“If Quanzhong is not restrained, within ten years, he will own the whole country. I hope the saint will strip him of his title. If Quanzhong sends troops to Tong and Shaanxi, my lord and brothers will turn Cao, Song, and Huazhou upside down. We won’t attack the city, but just capture the people under his rule and move them eastward.” Yang Chen’s expression was quite sinister, and he smiled and said, “This guy calls himself the savior and buys the people’s support. This is his Achilles’ heel.”

The saint felt a little bad after hearing this. This was Quanzhong's Achilles' heel, and also his Achilles' heel. It seemed that to be a good man or a believer, one had to be prepared to be exploited.

The banquet continues.

The saint silently recorded the current situation.

In the east, Xuzhou's defeat was inevitable. Ziqing Wang Shifan was loyal, but his mind was still too immature. Moreover, as a son of a warrior, he spent all day tinkering with art and immersed himself in calligraphy. It would be difficult to get him to do something to disgust Zhu Wen.

Lu Yanwei of Henghai is arrogant, brutal and lawless, and he is far away from Zhu Quanzhong, so he will most likely ignore the court.

Quanzhong's neighbor Yang Xingmi, uh, just sent him the imperial edict and the magic weapon last month. Huainan is in chaos right now, and Yang Xingmi will definitely have no time to care about other things before he completes the integration. Moreover, most of the Jiedushi in the south lack courage, and they don't have the arrogance of Lu Yanwei, the little tyrant of Cangzhou - I want, I want, I want more. It's difficult for Quanzhong to unite with Yang Xingmi if he doesn't hit them with his heavy punch.

In Xiangyang, Zhao Kuangning can make use of them. His Caizhou beast soldiers are tough and good at fighting, but this guy is just like Wang Shifan. He doesn't like the country, beauty, or power, but he likes calligraphy on a piece of paper.

The saint found it really outrageous.

A warrior who was fed with jerky by beast soldiers became addicted to this? And none of his subordinates rebelled. Even novels don't dare to write this.

Not just him.

Luo Yanwei, the son of Luo Hongxin, the governor of Weizhou, was even more exaggerated. He spent his days chatting with Confucian scholars and writing poems. When the poet Luo Yin traveled to the territory, Luo Shaowei was overjoyed and thought that this was due to the flourishing literary style of Weizhou, so he led all the civil and military officials out of the city ten miles to welcome him. Xie Yanzhang, the adopted son of Ge Congzhou, was known as the first cavalry general in Bianzhou. But what did he do when he was not fighting? He recruited talented people with a lot of money to teach him poetry and history. He did not wear military uniforms when marching and fighting, but wore civil official Confucian clothes...

Li Keyong's son, Li Tianxia, is very famous. Zhu Wen's son Zhu Youzhen, the first Confucian emperor of the Five Dynasties: What use do I have for Hanlin scholars? I am a Hanlin scholar myself. I write most of the imperial edicts, decrees, and various official documents myself, and I treat this as fun.

How to describe the dispute between civil and military officials?

Forget it, Zhao Kuangning just needs to continue paying tribute and protect the water transportation in the country.

Among the several powerful towns in the east, only the brothers Xuan and Jin can pose a real threat to Zhu Quanzhong for the time being, but it is enough to contain 30,000 to 40,000 Bian troops.

Finally, there are Li Keyong and his son Wang Chongying.

The saint looked at Guo Chongtao.

speak.

Guo Chongtao's face turned pale, his Adam's apple bulged as he seemed to want to say something but stopped.

The saint got up and walked outside alone.

Emperor Hui! Guo Chongtao did have some things that were not convenient to say in public. Seeing that the saint understood it as soon as he saw his expression, he praised him in his heart.

I think I married the right person.

Calming his mind, Guo Chongtao pulled Xue Zhiqin out.

The Grand Commandant was worried that the Emperor might mishandle the matter, so he followed him out.

"Go ahead." The sky was dark, as if it was the end of the world. Freezing rain swept across the West Inner Court. The sage stood facing the wind and said, "If Quanzhong invades the west, can my uncle come to rescue me? Although I have 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and strong fortresses, I have to consider everything carefully for the sake of morale."

A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. A saint may not be afraid of such a powerful enemy as Zhu Quanzhong, but the soldiers will discuss it in private. What they think is not something the emperor can control. With a strong ally, everyone can feel at ease.

"It's difficult." Guo Chongtao said painfully: "Cunxiao was bewitched by villains and secretly communicated with Zhenzhou and Bianzhou... The king was angry and wanted to send troops to punish him."

To put it bluntly, Li Cunxiao was planning to rebel. The reason was simple. It was he who defeated Zhang Jun, the envoy of the imperial court, and captured Sun Kui, the deputy envoy, alive. After the war, Li Keyong gave him nothing in rewarding merits. This aroused Li Cunxiao's inferiority complex. He, like Zhazhu, was born a slave. He did the most and hardest work, and ate the least. What does my adoptive father think of me?

After that, he became passive and lazy. Whatever Li Keyong asked him to do, it was either windy or rainy. This aroused the suspicion of the military government and he was accused of having rebellious intentions. Could Li Cunxiao bear such criticism? You say I have rebellious intentions? Then I will show you how I am!

To be honest, the saint also has some opinions about his father-in-law.

What is he thinking about every day? Is it really okay to have so many brave generals? In the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, is there any warrior with such a simple mind as my father-in-law? He doesn't know how to farm, and his subordinates often eat corpses. He doesn't know how to govern, and either one of them is alienated or the other is angered to death by him. What else can my father-in-law do besides fighting?
Last time, Zhu Xiewusi was asked to write a letter back to persuade his father-in-law, but he wrote back to scold his daughter. Zhu Xiewusi did not tolerate him and sent a private letter to scold him. Now, the father and daughter have not contacted for two months.

Having said that, the sage did not want to see Li Keyong and Li Cunxiao become enemies. What time is it, and they are still fighting among themselves! And if the two of them fight, will the father-in-law have time to protect him, the son-in-law?

"Can we not use additional troops to punish the criminals?" the saint asked stupidly.

"They are all trying to persuade you." Guo Chongtao sighed and said, "All the officials in the shogunate, the generals of the internal and external cavalry and infantry, and all the ladies are trying to persuade the king."

"Did you persuade him?" asked the saint.

Guo Chongtao was a great hero who assisted Li Yazi. Although he was still a lackey, he was assigned to Chang'an as an official in charge of making memorials. He must have been trusted and respected by his father-in-law. If he went to persuade him, it might be helpful.

"I dare not." Guo Chongtao was still frightened. When Li Keyong got angry, only his two daughters, Zhuxie Wusi and Zhuxie Miaowei, and his wife Liu could subdue him with gentleness.

"In fact, the king is reluctant to do so, so he has been undecided." Xue Zhiqin sighed.

In this day and age, what is the difference between an adopted son and a biological son who has been raised by one's own hands since childhood? Later, Li Keyong killed Li Cunxiao in a rage and regretted it. But he, who was famous for his stubbornness in the Five Dynasties, would not admit it. He just ignored the military and political affairs for a few months. He also scolded the people around him: Why didn't you ask for mercy when I killed him!

The saint wanted to try to see if he could change Li Cunxiao's fate.

Mainly, of course, fear.

If Quanzhong really came, and his father-in-law didn't come, he would be really unsure. Although Xiao Wang's group of killers were quite good, and they also gave a lot of reasons why Quanzhong would never be able to attack Guanzhong...

But it concerns the throne, wife, children, civil and military officials, and the future. Do you dare to gamble? What if someone makes a surprise move, what if the ant hole collapses, what if a butterfly effect occurs...

"Your Majesty, the king has always hated Zhu Wen, but he dotes on his children. If you could write a letter in person to explain the pros and cons, state Zhu Wen's threats, and say that Concubine Xian is five months pregnant and will give birth next spring. Between attacking Cunxiao and defending the king to fight Zhu Wen..." Guo Chongtao hinted.

Just do it.

In this case, the father-in-law will definitely come. If he doesn’t come, he is not Li Keyong.

Everything is ready, it's time to confront Quanzhong.

As soon as he sat down at the banquet, the sage sighed and said, "Alas. I have protected the ancestral temple with my meager virtue and ruled the world with my weak and good governance. Although I have barely experienced a few wars, my prestige is not enough to shock the enemy outside and convince the people inside. The enemy is not afraid and the people are not united, which makes things difficult. I don't want to see the light of war and the heavy casualties of the people. But Quanzhong has pushed me to a dead end, and I have no choice but to fight him to the death-"

At this point, the saint changed his tone and slammed the table: "Call the troops!"

The dense crowd of soldiers surrounding the outside started to make a commotion, shouting in unison: "Fight if you want!"

"Once we capture Bianzhou, we will capture Zhu Wen's wife and daughter and beat them for ten days and ten nights!"

"Kill Quanzhong!"

"Hehe, I ate Quanzhong."

"Who said the saint is of low moral character? Go and chop him up."

The saint glared at them and bared his teeth.

The warriors shrank their heads and dared not make any more noise.

"Privy Councillor!"

"I'm here." Zhao, who was pregnant, slowly spread out the pen and ink with her jade hands, looked at the saint with bright eyes, and responded with a smile.

"Send an order to the Imperial Academy to draft an imperial edict. Strip Zhu Quanzhong and Xuanwu Bafu Jingxiang, Li Zhen, Pei Di and others of all their official positions and titles, and convict them of rebellion and list their crimes, just like An Lushan, Shi Chaoyi, Li Xilie, Zhu Ci, Wu Shaocheng, and Li Shidao."

"Issue an imperial decree to appoint Ge Congzhou as the governor and Zhang Cunjing as the deputy governor. Offer a reward for Zhu Wen's head to the whole country. Whoever gets it will be rewarded as the governor of Xuanwu."

"Tell the Jingzhao Yin to seal up the Xuanwu Memorial Court and expel the Bian people from the memorial service."

It’s time to wrestle with Zhu Quanzhong!

The sage was excited but also a little nervous. In Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou, the one who had the strongest grasp of military power, the most prestige among the warriors, the one who took the people the most seriously, the one who cared the most about his daughter-in-law, the one who had the most amazing start, the one who could fight on all sides without losing the upper hand, should be this man.

He took office with only 500 defeated soldiers, but he overthrew Qin Zongquan's hundreds of thousands of Cai bandits and beastly soldiers. To this day, he has more than 100,000 battle-hardened soldiers from Chen, Cai, Song, Ru, and Hua states under his command, and he is invincible in every battle.

The greatest hero of the Five Dynasties, what a great reputation!

　Speak! Vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)