The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 268 Yuanzhi
Today is late spring in February of the third year of Qianning.

The mountains are green and the rivers are white, and Changsha city is sunny and beautiful.

"Have you heard? The angel has arrived and ordered our army to attack the five traitors Yang Siyuan, Tang Shimin, Cai Jie, Chen Yanqian, and Lu Jingren."

"Why is your majesty crazy? Our army only has over 20,000 people, how can we be their opponent? Jiang Xun, who was causing chaos in Xiangtan, was only a commander of Shaozhou, and he fought for months until he put it down ten days ago."

"It's hard to disobey the imperial edict. Since the Saint ascended the throne, he has been working hard to maintain the operation of Shengtang. He is highly skilled in political tactics and military affairs. I'm afraid it would be a death wish to go against him. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of him."

Hearing this, the generals could not help but feel fear and anger in their eyes: "This ungrateful bastard! Just as we helped him defeat Zhu Wen, he immediately took advantage of us and forced us to death!"

"But there is indeed nothing wrong with his order. Since Marshal Ma is in charge of Hunan, it is his duty to organize the patrol."

"He just wants us to fight the Five Bandits so that he can weaken the Six Clans."

"So... is it necessary to rebel?"

"Alas, why hasn't Li Tang fallen yet? With his way of playing, only powerful towns like Zhao, Wei, Hezhong, and Youzhou can benefit. There is no place for poor people like us. It's too difficult to become one of the princes."

"Shut up! Holy Tang is an eternal kingdom like the sun and the moon."

"Forget it, let's see what Marshal Ma and Mr. Zhang have to say."

The generals kept silent, drew their swords and walked into the commander's mansion.

In the general's mansion, two rows of fierce Cai people, like animals, stood on both sides of the courtyard road, holding spears and akimbo. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a tripod, with firewood piled underneath. Hot water was boiling in the tripod, and steam was swirling.

After entering the palace, the military officers, all wearing red headbands and white clothes, sat down on the futons neatly spread out on the left side of the road like a chessboard. They put their hands on their knees and looked forward. After they sat down, the civil officials also sat down silently on the right.

Ma Yin was the last one to come in.

Looking at the situation in the mansion, Ma Yin was not afraid.

Because this tripod was Sun Ru's tableware and the platform for dealing with heresy, and later it was followed by Liu Jianfeng and others, becoming a necessary ritual for every conference, and it was not targeted at a particular person. Therefore, he walked past the tripod calmly and walked directly to the corridor to sit down facing everyone.

"You know everything, right?" Ma Yin looked around and said slowly, "The Five Bandits are so arrogant, the court ordered us to attack them as soon as possible. If we don't send troops by March, the matter will be transferred to Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Let's talk about what to do."

"You can only turn your back on me!" The burly Qin Yanhui said sternly, "We travel the world to become local emperors. To fight bandits, ha! It doesn't matter if we have the strength, but now with this little wealth, we will definitely suffer heavy losses if we fight against the five bandits. How can we stand up without the capital! What if we are turned against? Don't forget what we have done to get to where we are today. The saint calls you a noble, and you really think you are a loyal person? You want to drive a tiger to eat a wolf, what else can I say! Besides, with just a piece of imperial edict, can I fight with the Chu barbarians to death?"

"What should we do if Zhao Da and Zhao Er come?" Zhang Yanzhong said coldly: "The saint is far away inside the pass, and they are right next door."

Qin Yanhui said indifferently: "Fight."

"Fuck! You are so stupid!" Zhang Yanzhong cursed, "To fight against the five bandits, we only have five of them. To fight against the Zhao family, at least Jing and Xiang are two towns. Where's your brain?"

Qin Yanhui was furious when he heard this and pointed at Zhang Yanzhong: "Who the hell are you fucking with! Believe it or not, I'm crippled!"

"Come on." Zhang Yanzhong took off his headband and stood up, his fat body trembling.

"You all want to get in the pot?" It was the second leader Zhang Ji who suddenly spoke in a powerful voice. His voice was quite imposing, and coupled with the many previous cases of killing materials to be cooked and shared, the two of them shut up and sat down at the same time.

At this time, Yao Yanzhang looked puzzled and said, "Last year we agreed to respect the emperor and punish the traitors, and conspire for wealth and power. This time I will obey your orders. What can I do if I am not as powerful as you? It's time to give up those unrealistic fantasies, otherwise the benefits I have already gained will be lost."

"I think so, but..." Han Tong questioned, "The country has been in decline for a long time, and it is difficult to recover. Even if the saint is heroic, it will be extremely difficult to revive it. I am afraid that the revival will fail, and the Holy Tang will eventually perish, and then we will have no capital."

Reason tells them that being a loyal minister is the best choice at present. But they feel that the general situation is uncertain, and it is too early to get on board now, and they can still waver. The reason is simple, but if we understand the reason, we can make the right choice, and there won’t be so many stupid people and stupid things in the world that make people laugh and cry. Knowing that being a licker is a dead end, they just can’t control themselves. Knowing that lust will shorten their lives, they just can’t control their lower body. Knowing that...

Too many people knowingly commit crimes, which makes the truth just a truth. There are always few people who can control their emotions and follow reason.

Ma Yin frowned, turned a deaf ear to the noise coming from the audience, and felt very conflicted.

He wanted to annex Eyue, Wuzhen Army, Huainan, and even Jiaoguang, and wanted to become the overlord of the Southern Dynasty. But the battle of Shangluo left a deep psychological shadow on him. If he really turned against the emperor, the probability of his wish being fulfilled was pitifully low.

This dog emperor is so vicious.

Taking advantage of his lack of wings, this edict directly forced him into a corner.

If you don't obey, you will die. If you obey, you will become a pawn.

Should I be rational or try my luck?

"Ma Yin, this edict cannot be obeyed." Qin Yanhui said anxiously, "Without soldiers, we will be at the mercy of others. At that time, the saints can just use a few tricks and we will be finished! We are people like Hou Jing. Except for not digging up the Li family's ancestral tombs, we have done all kinds of bad things. Why should the court treat us sincerely? That is called the imperial court, not Zhu Wen's makeshift team, where anyone can enter and thrive."

"Shut the fuck up!" Yao Yanzhang slammed the table and stood up, cursing, "Don't rely on your status as the old marshal's confidant to speak nonsense. The old marshal is dead! Except for Ma Yin and Zhang Gong, no one takes you seriously! You were in charge of food and fodder in the Battle of Yangzhou, and the human flesh you cooked caused an epidemic in the whole army. It was also your idea to attack Jiangxi, but what was the result? What else can you do besides fighting and killing? You won't be satisfied until you lead everyone to a dead end!"

"Okay, okay, I'm a waste." Qin Yanhui spread his hands and turned to walk towards the cauldron: "In this case, I can't bear to see the disaster of destruction, please enter this cauldron."

"Hey, hey, hey." The silent Li Qiong immediately stood up, ran over to grab Qin Yanhui, turned around and looked at everyone: "We are friends who risked our lives for each other, why are you so angry?"

Qin Yanhui looked unhappy and said to Ma Yin, "Old Ma, if you want to be a loyal minister, then I can only take my hundreds of subordinates and leave."

Yao Yanzhang also expressed his opinion: "Ma Yin, brothers, if you really want to rebel, then we have to say goodbye. You also know my ambition, to be the prime minister. I don't want to be a thief all my life. I want to enter the court, and I want to repent in time."

As they spoke, all the military officers in the room formed their own teams and divided into several waves.

Looking around, Ma Yin was speechless. He could only sigh heavily and said helplessly: "Forget it, let's break up! The South China Sea is a fertile land with endless horizons. I decided to go to Jiaozhou to continue my business. I can't do anything to the saints. I can't beat the Zhao brothers. Can I beat those three-inch barbarians? Those who are willing to go with me, stand by me. The rest of you, take care of yourselves. If you become rich, don't forget me."

There are many beautiful women in the world, why should I be obsessed with my hometown in China? If I can't establish my own regime in Hunan, why can't I change to another place?
One day, I will become a barbarian king like Khotan, Korea, and Japan.

"If you become rich and powerful, don't forget us!" All the officials crossed their hands.

The Ma Yin Group was the most special one in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. They were born out of the cannibal army, fought together in the troubled times, and completed a long march in the late Tang Dynasty. As a result, they had a high level of mutual trust, which made their internal struggle almost zero, and eventually established the most harmonious and united Southern Chu regime among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Of course, this is limited to the first generation.

Now it seems that Nan Chu is gone.

"I'll entrust Yuanyuan and Xiuxiu to you. Bring them to the court and remember to find good marriages for them. I'm a descendant of the Ma family of Fufeng. The two girls are coming to the pass to trace their roots." Ma Yin walked up to Yao Yanzhang, patted him on the shoulder, and finally said.

The journey to Jiaozhou was too long and the hardships were too great. Once there, there would be fierce battles, climate adaptation and other problems. Ma Yin did not want to trouble his two daughters.

"Old Ma..." Yao Yanzhang had a complicated expression. They both knew that no matter whether it succeeded or not, Ma Yin would never come back, and after this separation, they would never see each other again.

"Why are you being so hypocritical? I'm going to open up new territories for the Chinese people." Ma Yin waved his hand and smiled: "A real man should not be bound by love when traveling in the world. Ah Yao, see you later! I hope you can achieve your wish and become the prime minister and realize your ambitions."

"You should have become the king of the barbarians earlier." Yao Yanzhang teased and clapped his hands with Ma Yin.

Finally, he watched Ma Yin turn around and walk out of the mansion, getting farther and farther away.

(End of this chapter)