The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 156 Anger

Yin Tielin was lying on the ground.

Originally, he was an old Cai thief who would eat people without leaving any bones, but he stuck his butt out and concentrated and held his breath. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "I am ashamed. I have failed to defeat Li Sizhao, and I have also failed to force my way through Hexi City. Please... deal with me, Your Majesty!"

Officers and officials with different expressions stood densely in the dragon tent, looking at Yin Tielin kneeling on the ground with disdain, suspicion, or gloating.
In silence, Zhu Wen brushed off the snow on his body, sat back in the white leather carriage, put his feet on the table in front of him, and leaned his hands on the back of the carriage. There was a beautiful prostitute on each side. But no matter which one of them made tea for him or massaged his shoulders behind him, they looked obedient, but there was fear between their brows - the saint's temper flared up again.

On the 14th day, Zhu Wen attacked Hedong City for a whole day and night, and the two of them died side by side. Perhaps he was angry, and that afternoon he spent a lot of money to select a thousand soldiers to lead the foreign army to use the Yunliang Man Charge. Several times people climbed the city, but were all bloody and repelled. At night, he lit a lamp and piled firewood to try to burn down several fences outside the city, completely ignoring that the civilians and the captured Pu people were already very tired. The tens of thousands of Jin Jiangzhou soldiers under Wang Yao and Wang Gong also rebelled in front of the battle, wanting to join the Pu soldiers in the city. After the failure, more than a thousand people who rebelled were slaughtered by Zhu Wen, and the remnants were also confiscated of their armor and assigned to the consumables team, and their families were used as hostages to force them to pull down the fence. Gong and Yao regretted it so much that their intestines were broken and their capital was lost. Even if they became the governor of Hezhong in the future, wouldn’t they be puppets of Zhu Wen?
On the 16th, Zhu Wen, who had no hope of conquering the city, moved his troops to Taocheng Ferry and sent a small group of elite troops to seize the ice surface and the frozen beach on the opposite bank, hoping to attack Hexi City instead. However, they were repelled by the defending generals Li Sizhou and Li Yanzhen. These two beasts also built a bunch of small forts on the adjacent banks that could only accommodate dozens or one or two hundred soldiers. As soon as the Bian army crossed the river, they shot arrows from a high position and burned cypress trees to create smoke.

On the 17th, a pile of memorials arrived at the camp. It was unknown who submitted them or what they said, but Zhu Wen was under immense pressure. He ordered Yin Tielin and others to march north to assist Zhao Chang in the attack on Longmen Pass. Tuoba Sigong, stationed in Shangjun, could no longer wait and see. He had learned a lesson from Wang Shizi: following Zhu Wen would lead to bad consequences! It would be better to sell them to the Li family than to risk your life. The Dangxiang were lowly, but not so lowly that you could treat them like animals! So, they joined Li Sizhao at Longmen Pass to fight the Bian invaders. The Bian army seemed to have lost the fierce momentum they had when they first entered the pass, and the warriors began to slack off.

After these setbacks, the atmosphere that had been peaceful for most of the past six months suddenly became tense. People who were not very close to him dared not speak, fearing that they would anger the sage and be dragged away to be buried. In Zhu Wen's words, "Scholars like to play tricks on people, what else do you want to see? Kill, kill!"

The saint's emotional index has dropped to an all-time low!
He began to put on a grand imperial show - riding in a five-hour carriage, accompanied by music, fans, and a procession. He ordered all officers in the camp, including senior generals, to wear official seals, ribbons, and swords. The most trusted troops in the hall also changed into the uniforms of the imperial guards that were only used in Bianliang. He also required everyone to call him "Supreme Lord", "Sage", and "Son of Heaven". Anyone who dared to call him the damned commander again would be hanged.

But this failed to change Zhu Wen's gloom.

On the 19th, Luzhou reported that Li Kuangchou was a complete loser who could not even take down a small city like Weizhou. Li Keyong had already dealt with the invasion of the Youzhou army and was heading south. Wang Rong, who was invited to fight the one-eyed dragon, also had no good news - Concubine Liu, who was stationed in Xingzhou, joined forces with Wang Chucun, the governor of the Yiwu Army, to stop the fierce attack of the Zhao army.

Everything was going wrong. He had been looking worried and gloomy for the past few days, scaring everyone who saw him. And these two beautiful prostitutes were no exception.

Without the Queen of Heaven, who can control this jackal?
Yin Tielin pleaded guilty, but Zhu Wen, his face as cold as water, just stared at him. He suppressed murderous intent, suppressed it again, and then suppressed it again, revealing a mouthful of rotten yellow teeth. "You have followed Qin Zongquan for a long time, causing no less harm than anyone else. I spared your life and made you a general. Who could have predicted that the campaign against Li Ni would be so ineffective? What should I do with you? Kill you! If I used you as a vanguard, we couldn't take down Li the traitor on Shouyang Mountain. How long has he been in charge of the army? How many years have you been fighting? You'll destroy my morale. I'll even cut you into a salt corpse!"

Bang. Yin Tielin slammed his forehead to the ground violently: "Even if I eat you, I will not regret it! But as long as Li Ni is not dead, I will never rest in peace. Please show me your grace and let me attack Pujin Bridge again..."

"The army is in an uproar. It doesn't matter whether we are right or wrong to kill you, a bastard. Is it a serious crime to disturb the imperial carriage and destroy your three clans?" Kou Yanqing cursed with his eyes wide open.

Still attacking the city!
Just this morning, a heavy snowstorm descended, and the Zhongwu troops stationed northward toward Longmen Pass erupted in unrest. They asked Zhao Chang for firewood and charcoal for warmth, then for furs and footwear, claiming their feet were frozen. They demanded mutton, rice, and preserved fruit. They also requested prostitutes. They had grown tired of the barracks' simple fare of vinegar cakes, millet, and pickled vegetables, and the local women and girls provided by Wang Gong and Wang Yao. The atmosphere was chaotic and chaotic.

The Zhongwu Army has been arrogant for some years.

Zhu Jingzi was the military supervisor in southern Jingzhou, and he hired a group of Zhongwu soldiers as bodyguards. They were doing all kinds of evil in Jiangling Prefecture, just like a group of idiots. The governor Chen Ru couldn't stand it, until the 5,000 Jingzhou soldiers who went to Chang'an to encircle Huang Chao returned home, Chen Ru complained to his men and drove them away.

Moreover, the Zhongwu Army was not created by Zhu Wen alone.

The reason they obeyed the order was that Zhao Chang abandoned the Li family and turned to Daliang, and promised them that good days were still to come if they followed Zhu Sheng. They were able to endure the severe cold and persist until now, but they did not see any benefits. They ate a mouthful of ice chips, and when they made a fuss, they only asked for this and that, but did not kill the general to cause chaos. Zhu Wen was considered quite intimidating.

But this is a very bad sign, and signs of agitation are already appearing.

So Kou Yanqing started to curse, suspecting that Yin Tielin wanted to take the opportunity to rebel.

Also attacking the city...

Bang! Zhu Sheng kicked the files on the table several times, causing them to scatter all over the floor. His teeth were chattering, and his bloodshot eyes, filled with excitement and cruelty, seemed to be about to burst out of their sockets.

As his eyes swept over them, the ministers' legs trembled and they felt the urge to urinate.

This situation only occurs when a saint is about to chop a person into pieces.

Jing Xiang's lips moved several times, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself, not knowing who had provoked the tiger again.

Perhaps the strategy failed and the fire of ignorance and karma became more intense.

The withdrawal of troops should be a foregone conclusion.

Letter from the Queen of Heaven - The three feudatories of Wei, Qi and Xiang are making frequent moves in Hua, Yu and Yanzhou areas, which may evolve into a large-scale conflict at any time. The sooner or later of this conflict depends only on the performance of Daliang's offensive on the western front.

The diva who had been watching silently also expressed her opinion.

He requested that Zhang Cunjing, the governor of Ruzhou, be transferred to be the recruiting envoy of the Hezhong camp, and Zhao Yu, the deputy governor of the Zhongwu Army, be transferred to be the inspector of Shaanxi and Guo.

The two of them worked together to preside over the military affairs of Pu and Shaanxi, and were directly responsible for the war against Li Ni.

Niu Cunjie, the Marquis of Songzhou, was promoted to the governor of Heyang, and Deng Jiyun, the great general of Shenwu, was appointed as the governor of Henan, and they cooperated to handle the affairs of Huai, Meng, Henan Prefecture and Shangdang.

General Wang Yanzhang of the Left Imperial Guards was stationed in Ruzhou and appointed as the Defense Commissioner of Jin Shangjun, ordering him to attack Feng Xing and try to seize Wuguan Road.

At this time, these people have arrived in Bianliang and are waiting to take up their posts.

The saint's remaining days are numbered.

Jing Xiang looked blankly at the silent dragon tent.

He didn't know what to say, his mind still in a state of confusion. As the fight went on, Li Ni, who was in the rain, became more and more successful, while Daliang, who was strong in military and cavalry, became more and more annoyed...?
It is true that this time they did kill the One-Eyed Dragon in Luzhou, and also took over Jinzhou and Jiangzhou. The former great threat of Hezhong fell apart, and an ambitious Sima Le emerged in Cizhou. On paper, they gained a lot, but the effects were limited.

The princes do not care how much land and population you have conquered. They only know that you mobilized a large army but failed to overthrow the weak imperial court whose commands were only over a few dozen states in Hexi, Jiannan and Guanzhong.

It is obvious who holds the destiny.

The Zhu family is not so invincible, and the Li family does not seem to be the maintenance organization as previously imagined.

In this superstitious age, after accepting the abdication of the Yang family, the Grand Tutor of the Wu Dynasty, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Prime Minister, the Grand Marshal, the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese and Foreign Armies, and the King of Qi Xu Zhigao threw his face under his feet and claimed to be the fifth-generation grandson of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, and carried Li Yuan and Li Shimin, father and son, into the shrine to sit... It seems biased to say that the Tang Dynasty was a bunch of corrupt and lawless people without the support of the people, not to mention that the dirty Tang Dynasty had been destroyed for decades. Now the orthodox Li family is still there, can its influence be worse than it was thirty years later?

Jing Xiang certainly didn't know about the absurd things that King Qi of Wu had done, but he was sure that as this season's offensive came to an end, there would be more and more crazy people clamoring for the revival of the court and criticizing Daliang.

Once the scales entrusted by heaven begin to tilt towards the Li family, everything will become increasingly difficult.

When An Lushan was in power, people like Yan Zhuang were extremely loyal.

An Qingxu fled to Yecheng and immediately knelt down.

There are people like this in Daliang as well.

Take Li Zhen for example. Jingxiang always felt that this person's knees were too weak.

The ambition of a sage is difficult!

But there is no better way.

The emperor's power is granted by God. What cannot kill him will make him stronger and make his "mandate from heaven" look more dazzling.

The bitter fruit of today is also the price that must be paid for the failure of the assassination attempt. There is no such thing as a perfect benefit without any harm. Since you have chosen to march west, you must now face the bitterness calmly.

From now on, we'll take it one step at a time.

If it is not necessary, do not punish Li Ni, unless there is unrest in his rule, or he is killed by his son, concubines, or warriors.

Thinking of this, Jing Xiang had to speak: "Supreme..."

"Don't say anything!" Zhu Wen said in a trembling voice, furious.

He understood the truth, but his heart was broken, with a numb sadness. I am Cao Aman, Liu Bei, Liu Yu, Zhao Wuling, and... Zhu Wen thought so... and then he calculated that he had lost 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and his territory was devastated. His heart was stabbed again. The expression he had tried to control turned into a grin again, with a mouth full of fangs, and a fierce look on his face.

Not only the two beautiful prostitutes serving beside them, but even Li Zhen, who was observing the expressions on the side, felt a fear as if they had seen a ghost. All the officials were in a panic and lowered their heads.

Suddenly, he noticed that the delicate body of Dong Ji, who was massaging him from behind, was trembling slightly.

The sage slowly turned his head and said, "Why are you shaking? Are you afraid of me?"

“No, no, no…” Dong Ji’s face turned pale with horror, and the moment she met Zhu Wen’s eyes, her body immediately became trembling.

"Bitch!" Zhu Wen yelled, grabbed Dong Ji's hair with his claws, and slammed the armor on the table in front of him! The loud bangs were accompanied by the horrible breaking of bones and flesh, and blood splattered: "A waste, a pair of wastes, a bunch of wastes! What use do I have for you!!!"

He cursed loudly, his throat hoarse: "Besides crying and shouting, 'I dare not,' what else can you do, you bitch? Can you command the army? Can you manage finances? Can you improve rituals and music? Can you destroy the traitor Li? Can you demolish Hedong City? Can you change the course of the damn Yellow River? Can you make that evil obstacle Tongguan turn to ashes? Can you stop the thief heaven from snowing? Can you stop the beastly killer from rebelling?..."

The monster-like roar shook the dragon tent.

The guards outside the door felt weak in the knees.

Li Zhen, Xiao Hao, Liu Kangyi, Wang Zhongshi, Kou Yanqing... their hearts were beating wildly.

Bang! Bang, bang... Dong Ji's face was smashed into a mess, and her eyeballs were stained on the paper with red and gray mucus.

The beautiful prostitute who was making tea stood aside, pinching the delicate flesh on her thighs with her fingernails, trying her best not to tremble.

"Hmm... Hoo... Hum..." Panting heavily, Zhu Wen picked up Dong Ji's corpse as if it were a chicken and carried it to the door: "Take it and steam it."

After saying that, he grabbed something and started throwing it at the officials: "Are you waiting for my celebration banquet?"

Everyone fled in a panic.

The dragon tent was silent.

Zhu Wen collapsed to the ground, muttering, "Li Ye is a scoundrel. He refused to accept my toast and is now a forfeit. He is not worthy of being the King of Qin. He is trying to stop the army. Once Chang'an is captured, I will massacre the whole clan and not leave a single brick or tile in Chang'an."

Toyed and toyed by eunuchs, a puppet in name only, Yang Fugong only began to show his face after being forced to supervise the army in Taiyuan. He actually ruled for less than three years, and while he possessed some skills, all he did was a ridiculous attempt to single-handedly save the collapsing empire... But he forgot that in this chaotic world of cannibalism, who among us, male or female, is a good person? A shameless man who could swallow a slap from a servant, a man who could cut a willow branch at Baqiao to bid farewell to a traitor who had murdered his uncle... He was no different from Liu Heng, the mourner who cried at his funeral. No emotion, only profit...

Is this how an emperor should be?

His body swayed, and then swayed again, his pupils lost focus, and after a while, he finally found Jing Xiang who was quietly packing up the dragon tent. Zhu Wen's tiger body softened, and he lowered his head, tears streaming down his nose, staring at the ground, and asked in a low voice: "What should I do, what should I do."

But it was a crying tone, just like when he faced Qin Zongquan.

Jing Xiang cried with the saint.

The saint lay there, not caring how much this was a loss of dignity for the emperor, and just muttered to himself: "What should I do, what should I do, I have no choice, I have no choice... I can't do anything to him... Does he really have a destiny... Woo..."

It was as if he had been stripped of his strength and spirit, and his soul was taken away, and tears fell drop by drop. He could only express this ugly appearance in front of Jingxiang, the only person who was like a minister and a friend to him, and even the queen could not do it.

Jing Xiang gently consoled: "I am here, and I am here for everything... Since ancient times, emperors have gone through many hardships in starting a business. The saints were at their peak in the Spring and Autumn Period, and they were loyal and selfless. The people of Yi and Yun were diligent inside. The two saints came to the throne and decided everything. The kings Yu, Wen, and Zhen were outstanding. Now that the foundation is there, we still hope that their determination will remain strong. The worst thing this time is that the princes will be besieged. However, just like attacking a nest, the towns will inevitably have their own ulterior motives. It is a dream to ask them to come together to attack. The five countries attacked Qin with bloodshed, the nine generals besieged Yan and were defeated thousands of miles away, and the six towns attacked Liang and might not chase the enemy to the north. Moreover, Keyong and Li Ni, the father-in-law and son-in-law, are just temporarily huddled together for warmth... After getting through this, everything will be fine..."

"Isn't this how we got through all the dangerous places along the way? It's just that it's a little more difficult this time."

Jing Xiang swore solemnly, took the saint's hands and squeezed them tightly.

Zhu Wen just looked at the floor with tearful eyes and nodded silently.

"Keep it a secret for me. Don't let anyone else know."

"I don't understand." Jing Xiang understood. The emperor of Daliang, who was always strong and determined, would not expose his weak and helpless side.

"Zhang Cunjing, Zhao Yu, Niu Cunjie, Deng Jiyun, and Wang Yanzhang are ordered to take up their posts."

Since the Queen has been chosen and Jing Qing has no doubts, then so be it. Zhu Wen doesn't want to ask those idiots anymore.

"We will return to the capital after Cunjing and Zhao Yu arrive in Pu. We cannot let the people in the world think that I have to leave because I cannot do anything about Li Ni. I just have more important things that I need to deal with when I go back... Please write an edict and make sure to describe my intentions clearly." He added.

Jing Xiang had anticipated this and took the document from the tidied desk: "I have prepared the remark, please take a look."

"Yes." Zhu Wen said without even looking at him. The saint was originally a very enthusiastic and confident person, but the ups and downs of life recently had caused him a lot of excitement and he was no longer very lively.

On the first day of December in the second year of Jingfu, the Bian army was completely withdrawn to the areas of Yuxiang, Yishi, Anyi, Xia, Jie, and Wenxi in Hezhong, and the scattered guerrillas were also gradually brought back.

(End of this chapter)