The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 180
"The Bian bandits are rampant and the mountains and rivers are difficult to cross. I was worried about your majesty's trip to the east to trade gold, but it was a waste of time." Seeing the emperor with a slightly haggard forehead but a steady and graceful demeanor as always, Cui Anqian couldn't help but feel relieved: "We met at Taiye Lake, and there is still some lightness. Add to the years of struggle, the king is as deep and steep as a mountain."

The sage remained silent. In fact, he himself did not perceive any "kingly aura" and felt the same as before. But when he carefully recalled his words, actions, and thoughts, he found that they had indeed changed.

Three years ago in Zitingyuan, I hid behind Xiao Zhao, hugged her waist and shivered. I had to hold Xiao Zhao to sleep at night to feel a little safe. When I first came, I saw the wailing people all over the ground, and I couldn't help but feel heartbroken. Then I carried out a sweep against Zhu Wen to weaken his war potential without any burden. The forced relocation of the people of Jin Shang made the streets full of tears, but I was not much moved. I drove the surrendered soldiers to fill the trenches, and I felt it was natural.

Looking back at the past, the present seems like a different person. Three years have passed, and the human nature has gradually disappeared while the rulers have become more and more like "saints" who treat everything as straw dogs. I hope they will not degenerate to the level of Sun Ru and Zhu Wen.

"How is the situation in China and abroad recently? Living in Yincheng, I only know that the attack has been stopped." Cui Anqian started talking.

The sage expected that he would ask this question. He also wanted to hear Cui Gong's opinion. After thinking for a while, he said, "The Grand Commandant has suffered a stroke, and Liu Sikong is weak and sick. The court asked for a discussion on the prime minister. Cui Yin, the Minister of Personnel, Wang Tuan, the Tea and Wine Commissioner, and Li Qun, the Minister of Agriculture, were nominated."

"Cui Yin..." Cui Anqian raised his eyebrows, shook his head and closed his eyes: "This loser is stubborn and self-willed, and he is used to taking extreme measures. Although he has the ambition to serve the country, he is definitely not a talent for assisting the country. If he were in power, he would be the one who would destroy the country and the Cui family in the future. Fortunately, I am not in the central government, otherwise how could I keep him in the government."

The sage smiled and continued, "Since Li Qun entered the government, he has been managing finances for the Grand Commandant. He may be able to manage rivers, build canals, and develop salt and iron, but he may not be able to command all officials, suppress the princes, or pacify the barbarians. Wang Tuan has only served as the governor of Yicheng Army and Suzhou in the local area. His qualifications are too low."

"Your Majesty, I can now enter Shu with peace of mind." Cui Anqian nodded.

"Liu Chonggui, the governor of Guangzhou, the military governor of the Qing navy, and the inspector of Lingnan East Road, has become increasingly ill." Taking the opportunity, the sage mentioned something that made him anxious.

Signs of separatism have emerged in the Lingnan region.

On the one hand, it was reflected in the official circles. As Liu Chonggui was dying, the generals and town commanders in Lingdong, such as Lu Ju, Tan Qi, and Liu Yin, all had the intention to usurp the throne, and a fight was imminent. The last time the imperial court appointed a military governor to the Western Road stationed in Yongzhou was in the second year of Zhonghe. Zhang Congxun was driven out due to military chaos, and Cui Zhuo, the governor of Rongguan, was appointed to replace him.

Cui Zhuo was also the nephew of Cui Gong. He died inexplicably less than two years after taking office. After that, the central government did not send anyone to take over. No one wanted to die. As a result, in the past ten years, the Western Road was governed by its own government without a leader.

He Ding occupied 14 states including Rong, Lao, Xiu, Lian, and Yulin. He and Cui Gong were both Jinshi in the same year. He would send some special products from time to time, and he seemed to be quite loyal.

Liu Shizheng was in control of Guilin. He was originally a subordinate of Zhu Wen. After a defeat, he fled to Lingnan and took Guilin as his base. He called himself the governor of Jingjiang Army. In Jiaozhi and the coastal areas of Aizhou, seeing the example of Liu Shizheng next door, the powerful Qu Chengyu also named himself the governor of Jinghai Army.

Contact with the Leizhou Peninsula and the five prefectures of Qiongya has been cut off, and the local situation is unclear.

On the one hand, the ambitions of the local gentry and the barbarians to be independent are growing day by day, which can be seen from their practice of establishing a country and becoming kings immediately after defeating the Southern Han army in later generations. "Lu Ju, Tan Qi, and Liu Yin of the Guangzhou Military Office are plotting evil. I plan to send two envoys one after the other tomorrow." The saint stared at the hot tea on the table and said in a low voice: "The first group will bring the imperial edict to appoint Ju, Qi, and Yin as the governor of Lingling, the infantry commander of the Imperial Guards, and the lieutenant of Zhangye. The second group will carry the demotion and the demand letter. If they do not obey the order, they will be rewarded with the governor of Lingnan East Road, and they will be lured to rebel and killed. If it fails again, Wang Chao, the governor of Fujian, will lead the troops of this road to eliminate them."

Cui An thought about it. These three positions are all good and sincere. If the three people's goal is to seek wealth and honor, they are likely to obey orders. If they seek to secede Guangzhou, it will be useless to appoint any official position. Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, take drastic measures. I'm just not sure if Wang Chao will really help. This generation is not very loyal to the emperor, but he is respectful to the royal family. This time, we can test his position again.

"What about the candidates for the two Jiedushi?"

"For the governor of the East Road, many ministers recommend Xu Yanruo, the former Imperial Censor and the governor of Helan. Han Yi, the lieutenant of the Imperial Guard, is both civil and military, and has the style of Cui Gong. I like him very much. Choose one of these two." The saint took a sip of water and added, "For the West Road, we must raise an army, otherwise the people who go will die violently."

In fact, he considered moving Ma Yin to Lingxi and letting him take office armed, but the risk was too high. Hunan was doing well, why should he move? It is better not to provoke those with rebellious tendencies; if Cheng Li came to the court, the emperor might give him the position of Yongshuai. Let him take the Jingzhou soldiers to fight the barbarians. Wouldn't it be wonderful? But this guy bargained and dragged his feet until yesterday when he came to see the emperor reluctantly, which disappointed Li. Moving to Lingxi might be like raising a tiger to cause trouble.

"There is nothing wrong with it." Cui Anqian nodded. The emperor's skillful and experienced judgment left him speechless, so he asked about the situation in Jingxiang.

"After Cheng Li led 300 soldiers from Qingzhou and civil and military officials such as Lu Yanrang, Li Ting, and Chen Xiaonu to enter the court, his generals Cheng Junzhi, Shu Zhen, and Zhao Wu led thousands of people to rush to Bian via Anlu and Shenzhou. The rest of the people did not make a fuss. The eight states and one prefecture in southern Jing were already in our pocket. Upon hearing the news, E, Yue, and Wu Tao submitted a petition to move their garrisons, but I did not agree and ordered them to attack Zhu Wen to gain merit. Lei Man and Ma Yin offered tribute in the form of money and goods." said the sage.

"Cai." Cui Anqian clapped his hands, without responding to the saint's surprised look, and only said something confusing: "Zhu Wen probably won't live past next year."

"When the Chaos bandits first entered Chang'an, the people thought that the imperial court could not recover, and many people joined the bandits. When Zheng Ting sent envoys to various places to issue edicts, all the princes rushed to send troops to respond to his orders. During the Guangqi and Wende rebellions, the royal family was wiped out, and the princes said that the mandate of heaven was far away from the Tang Dynasty. The respectful ones became lazy, and the arrogant ones became bandits and threatened to compete for power. Since the Dashun period, your majesty's authority has been restored, so everyone has reformed themselves and is willing to change the etiquette of serving the king." Cui Anqian's old eyes were dim, and he sneered, "It is the nature of the feudal lords to be indecisive and change their attitude according to the wind. In this world, there are no loyal ministers out of thin air. There are none in the imperial court, and even less in Zhu Wen."

The saint waved his hand, signaling him to continue.

"Now Zhu Wen is at a disadvantage, and the stronger my power is, the more people will betray him. Observe Ma Yin and Wu Tao's words and deeds, and they will not dare to act rashly in the short term. Once Zhong Chuan is in charge, Jiangxi will obey the order. By then, we can remove the generals and force Xing Mi and Yanshou to attack Bian. The royal army will march out of Tong again to attack An Qingxu and Shi Chaoyi, and the princes will surely gather to respond. Besieged on all sides, the Bian rebels are struggling, and within two years, someone will kill Zhu Wen and surrender. But the rebels still occupy the prefectures and counties, and they are independent with their military power. This is just a repeat of the story of Daizong."

His idea was to stabilize the business while watching the princes fight for hegemony, and wait until their strength was almost exhausted, the warriors were tired of fighting, and afraid of killing, and then slowly surrender. Instead of being like Tao Chao, he just sent troops and fought a few battles hastily and then attracted visitors from all over the world.

　I have been drained of my body by alcohol and sex. I was in a daze the past two days. I felt dizzy, my limbs ached, and I had no energy. Today I feel a little better. I hastily wrote this chapter. Please bear with me. I will update more after I rest for two days and feel better. Eunuchs will not be eunuchs. Don't spread rumors.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)