The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 306 Liu Rengong

Outside Yanmen Pass, Liu Rengong received an imperial edict to disband the troops.

It was prepared to say that it was the imperial guards that unilaterally stopped fighting.

His face suddenly became as gloomy as water.

What does it mean for a mere provincial military officer to sit on the throne of Fan Yang?
Although it was outrageous that the lower class could overthrow the upper class in the imperial court, and a small soldier could become a military governor, there was no precedent for a military commander to sit in the hall in a place like Youzhou, right? The generals fought overtly and covertly, trying every means to kill the military governor and take over themselves, and then they were slaughtered by the new generals, and the cycle continued.

Liu Rengong was therefore very proud and often called himself the man of destiny. His ambitions also grew, and he wanted to annex Hebei and conquer the Central Plains.

In order to lay the foundation for his ambition, he registered all the men in the country with tattoos on their faces, tortured the people severely, plundered all their money, and forced the people to cast coins out of mud as a general equivalent.

He also built palaces on a large scale, abducted beautiful women from all over the country and imprisoned them inside for him and a group of warriors to enjoy all kinds of sexual pleasures. It is unknown how many women he killed.

It is exactly the same as Shi Siming's attitude towards An Qingxu.

This time they rebelled against Li Keyong. Since the Jin army was deployed on all sides with its focus concentrated in Guanfu, Daibei had neither heavy troops nor territorial generals and was no match for them at all. Apart from guarding the important places, they were allowed to wreak havoc.

Things went smoothly beyond everyone's expectations!
Although the area north of Dai was rough and sparsely populated, the Yan army indulged in revelry here, killing and looting men and women, leaving no one alive wherever they passed.

They then swept southward, bypassed the checkpoints and drove into Xinzhou, demonstrating against Beijing.

Seeing that Hedong was just keeping a low profile, everyone became even more arrogant and just waited to cooperate with the various expeditionary forces. No, it should be said that everyone pulled Li Keyong, and they saw the right opportunity to seize Longcheng.

Li Keyong and the Shatuo people were able to seize Hedong by taking advantage of the Chao Rebellion. Why can't we replicate their feat during the Keyong Rebellion?

Just as they were talking heatedly, Cui Gou, the Imperial Censor in the Palace, came with an imperial edict. After bestowing rewards on a group of people, he announced an infuriating decree.

The imperial guards will not fight anymore!
Liu Rengong bulged his eyes and walked back and forth holding the imperial edict.

"I I I, you dog-foot I!" he suddenly started cursing.

Cui Gou and his entourage were so frightened that they were shocked: "Mr. Liu, Mr. Liu! You can't scold me!"

Liu Rengong turned a deaf ear.

In a rage, he threw the imperial edict to the ground, trampled on it, rolled up his sleeves and cursed: "The great work is about to be accomplished, and Keyong is about to be captivated, but why throw it away!"

Cui Gou was extremely frightened and tried to explain, but Liu Rengong slapped him and made him sit down.

"The One-Eyed Dragon rebelled, Chang'an was in danger, and asked for our help, promising to give me Weizhou, but I refused. The national treasury is in short supply, and we don't want any rewards. Now the warriors from Youyan have come from afar to do the king's work, and the bodies of the dead soldiers are still exposed in the wild, with no time to collect them, but the Holy Emperor gave up halfway! What is the value of our efforts?"

What a huge thief!
Cui Gou covered his face and wanted to scold the Saint Emperor several times based on his achievements, but he held back.

Hebei soldiers kill and imprison people as a matter of course. Your Majesty, I have scolded you, so what do you do?

I am just an imperial censor, so I'd better not mess with him. Let the Holy Emperor deal with it himself.

These killer animals cannot be easily frightened by a butcher's knife or a record of battle.

Wu Shaocheng was exterminated, Cai Jun was slaughtered to the point where no one in the prefecture or county was left alive. Should Li Shidao have been disciplined? No. Li Shidao was captured and killed, and Yuncheng was slaughtered so much that the blood evaporated several feet. Should Chengde have surrendered? No.

After Zhu Wen's tragic end, Li Keyong should have learned his lesson, right?

Perhaps only by slaughtering all the warriors in the world and spending a hundred years to replenish the people can we change the customs.

Cui Gou thinks so.

However, this is also a fantasy. At least one million warriors died at the hands of Zhu Wen, Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan, and Shi Jingtang. If you don't agree with me, you will still be grimacing. Why do you rebel? Come here, I have something to tell you.

"It's not that I have failed Your Majesty, but Your Majesty doesn't use me!" Liu Rengong sighed and looked at Cui Gou sideways: "Well! Ke Yong is just a dead bone in the tomb. Since the Holy Emperor doesn't send troops, you can blame Rengong! But-"

"What?" Cui Gou asked, anxious to leave.

"Appoint my son as Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Youzhou Grand Commander, and Deputy Commander." Liu Rengong raised his eyebrows and said to a young man sitting next to him, "If Qilin is like this, is he unworthy of it?"

Cui Gou looked over and saw a young man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks. He grinned at him and said, "Thank you for your help. Shouwen is very grateful."

"A young hero indeed." Cui Gou forced a smile.

However, another young man with leopard eyes and hooked nose next to Liu Shouwen had a sinister look on his face. He looked at Liu Rengong and finally stopped his gaze on Liu Shouwen. It was unknown what he was thinking.

Liu Shouwen noticed his brother's fierce look and avoided him.

You are so cowardly, are you worthy of that? Liu Shouguang laughed dryly twice: "Congratulations in advance, big brother."

He had a very high opinion of himself and looked down on Liu Rengong and Liu Shouwen.

In today's world, how can this father and son accomplish anything great?

In addition, he was interested in his stepmother Luo Linghuan, and had long wanted to imprison his father and kill his brother to take the throne, but he was troubled by his lack of power.

"As for this matter, I can only report it to you in person. I dare not act as a guarantee." Cui Gou said hesitantly.

If he said this, he would inevitably be slapped in the face by Zheng Yanchang.

Messenger, if you don’t have the courage to defend the dignity of the court, what use are you!
"What do you mean by guarantee?" Liu Rengong said disdainfully, "I have the banner and the flag myself, but I just want to get the true colors of Chang'an and restore my reputation. If the Holy Emperor is not satisfied, then take my words to him as they are!"

Cui Gou was so angry that he almost fainted: "I'll take my leave now."

"Wait!" Liu Rengong said again: "Wei Bo and Heng Hai refused to fight against the enemy, so let the Holy Emperor issue an edict to grant them the title, and I will help him and Li Keyong to deal with them together."

Cui Gou was shocked.
Li Keyong has not been eliminated, and the second Li Keyong has popped up again?

These guys are amazing.

Can the Holy Emperor handle this terrible situation?
Cui Gou sighed and couldn't help but question the future of Sheng Tang.

Liu Rengong and the other generals sat there arrogantly, looking at Cui Gou's back and bursting into laughter.

They also have some understanding of the Holy Emperor's strengths and weaknesses, and their actions are limited to self-protection.

After the Yuanhe eradication of the feudal system, they were just being submissive and obedient on the surface, let alone now? It was the time to make achievements in Hebei while the Holy Emperor was out of reach.

It's done. The East and the West confront each other, and Tang and Yan coexist. Isn't it beautiful? But in history, Zhu Wen annihilated 60,000 people in one battle, breaking his backbone and aborting his ambition. Now that the people of Bian are dead and the one-eyed dragon is seriously injured, who can stop it?

********
Luoyang.

Zhu Dalang sat on the dragon bed in Ziwei City, overlooking the officials in the palace. Since the recapture of Henan, he had thought about re-establishing the banner of Daliang countless times. After a few years of this, Emperor Li's so-called righteous reputation was just that.

The world then accepted the coexistence of the two countries, just as people in the late Han Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties tacitly accepted the coexistence of the Three Kingdoms and the division between the North and the South.

Moreover, Li Tang was not popular among the people in Henan. In fact, many people hated him. The main force of the Chao army that captured the two capitals and massacred Guanzhong was from Henan.

When Emperor Li attacked, his troops retaliated against the prefectures and counties of Henan without hesitation.

Therefore, there is this basis in the hearts of the people, and this is also one of the reasons why the old thief dared to proclaim himself emperor.

However, the internal reaction was strong.

The civil servants, in particular, seemed to be frightened by what happened in Henan.

They were afraid that after failure, Emperor Li would massacre them in the Central Plains in the same way, leaving no one alive.

Although the soldiers did not object, they were also panicked. Emperor Li was extremely cruel, and he did not have the heart of an emperor who believed that even though the people were trapped by the enemy, they were still his own children. If they rebelled, they would kill all the male members of their family, exile their wives and daughters to the border, and rape any bachelor they wanted.

To say that they are not afraid is a lie. Since Liu Xuanzuo, the Xuanwu Army has been arrogant, but why do they basically obey orders? To put it bluntly, isn't it because they have been slaughtered too many times and have a certain psychological shadow?

He is not afraid, but his wife, children, and neighbors are also afraid.

The current difficult situation of the military government’s conscription work in the Central Plains is a manifestation of this.

In the past, the people of Henan, who were fierce and heroic, did not dare to let their men serve as soldiers to fight against Emperor Li and earn wealth! There were also deserters in the army who were afraid of fighting Emperor Li.

Alas! Too many elite or fearless killers died.

In the Jingnan Campaign, countless elite soldiers and generals were killed.

The generals were also hesitant. Although some bachelors were willing to give up, most wanted to do it but were afraid.

A good yamen officer was captured by the evil army one day and suffered a fate worse than death. He was tortured and killed in every way. Why did he suffer so much?
Besides, the Queen Mother is alive and well, and is loved by the Holy Emperor as if he were holding her in his mouth for fear of biting her to pieces. According to the reply from those who have contacted Murong Zhang and others, her favor has reached the level of Bao Si and Li Ji!

Therefore, those soldiers who followed the court into the court lived a comfortable life after proving their position. Their life was no worse than in Bianliang, and the atmosphere was even more relaxed.

At least the Holy Emperor doesn't kill the whole group?
Don't you stare at your subordinates' wives and daughters with shining eyes? Don't you call for war and killing at the slightest provocation?

What is the bottom line for the court's actions?
Therefore, some generals were thinking of peacefully taking over. It didn't matter who they worked for, as long as the Holy Emperor didn't think that they were all thieves and should all die, so what if they surrendered?

Under various constraints, it is difficult to jointly support the throne. If he forcibly ascends the throne, it will definitely cause conflicts and cause the strength of the Bian people to be damaged again, which is what Zhu Dalang does not want to see.

So he compromised, calling himself a saint at home and a general abroad, pursuing the policy of separatism and taking one step at a time.

In his opinion, the armed confrontation with the imperial court would last for at least several years. Unless there was an internal problem, he would be killed, and the Bian army, which had already dispersed once, would disperse again. Or Emperor Li would self-destruct, such as having a stroke on horseback, or be killed by his wives and concubines.

Alas! When will you die?

How about collecting beautiful women to offer as tribute to speed up the process?
Zhu Dalang glanced at Pei Shou and said, "Now that Ze Huai has come, how should we manage it?"

Yes, he had taken the opportunity to capture Hanoi and Zezhou. It is reported that Li Keyong had one arm cut off and fled in disgrace at night, and his prestige was greatly damaged, which is a cause for celebration.

The saint has no power to make progress, but he has plenty of energy and time!
Pei Shou was Pei Di's brother, the Prime Minister of Daliang who was killed by Wang Jingrao's rebellious army.

Pei Di's family fought bravely for Zhu Wen, and many of his family members who served in the court suffered. Pei Zhi, Pei Shu and others were either sentenced to death by Zheng Yanchang and others, or sent to remote places. In short, they did everything they could, even if they were distant relatives.

I can’t go back to Chang’an for the time being.

The same treatment was given to the Wei clan, the Feng clan in Hezhong, and so on. The men were killed and demoted, and the women were sent to the harem to be played with. When the Holy Emperor got tired of playing with them, he kicked them and made them wash clothes and chop wood until they died of exhaustion or illness.

Therefore, Pei Shou continued to work for Zhu Dalang.

Seeing his master calling him, he said respectfully: "The late emperor once said that if we take Luzhou, we will be able to dominate Hebei. If we advance, it will be the basis for advancement. If we retreat, it will be a bargaining chip for secession or peace talks. I think that the priority now is to seize Luzhou."

"You old thief, you don't know anything." Zhu Dalang snorted coldly, "Given the dangers of Luzhou, how many people should we send to fill it? How many people should we send to surround it? How long should we surround it for? Then it will be easy to attack, and it won't be called Luzhou anymore."

Pei Shou put his hand down awkwardly.

"Come on, guess what Li Keyong is thinking now?" Zhu Dalang clapped his hands.

"Having been severely wounded by the Saint and having their dignity destroyed, and now being invaded from all sides, I'm afraid they have already intended to surrender." Zhu Youwen said.

"I second the motion." Zuo Chuji crossed his hands.

"I second the motion."

"I think so too." Zhu Dalang stroked his chin and leaned over to look at everyone. "When I rushed to Bian that day, I only heard that the defeat was terrible. When I arrived in Luoyang, I found out how terrible it was. I guess the envoys begging for surrender are already on the way. I intend to send someone to contact him, to support him and encourage him to continue fighting. As long as the war continues to burn in Hedong, there will be more opportunities to fish in troubled waters. Taking Luzhou, conquering Xingming, and attacking Li Ye are all possible."

"I agree." Zhu Youliang was the first to stand up and said regretfully, "It's a pity that Li Ye didn't catch up with Jin Jiang, and we made a wasted trip. Otherwise, with his exhausted army, we might have been able to destroy him in one fell swoop, allowing us to enter Chang'an again."

"Hey." Zhu Dalang grinned, "I took it for granted. With his steadiness, it's hard for him to be carried away by women. What has a bitch like Zhang Hui done to him? It's so funny. But it doesn't matter. Give Li Keyong courage and show your support to him until death, and trick him into fighting the saint to the end. If the saint loses, the two families will go to the capital together to kill the king. Otherwise-"

let's discuss it later!
It's OK to help the court to fight, it's OK to kill them one by one, it's OK to kill the saint alone, and Li Keyong can occupy Hedong and Guanzhong, there may be other developments. The situation is changing, it's not good to speak without thinking.

First prevent him from reconciling with the court.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Beijing!" Xiao Zhen stood up and bowed, loudly asking: "Persuade Keyong to ally with Bian to resist Tang and completely cut off his retreat!"

"Good!" Zhu Dalang shook his hair and said with a sly smile, "It's done. You can pick any of the old thief's wives or concubines! I dare say they are all top-notch talents."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xiao Zhen suppressed his joy. The woman of the late Bian commander, the emperor of Daliang, and the master, even if she had been played with, still had a unique flavor.

Nowadays, everyone, whether warriors or scholars, loves this.

They just seek psychological enjoyment and class humiliation.

I played the emperor's woman!

How proud is this? How awesome is this? He is afraid that people will know that he is usually oppressed and submissive, and he is afraid that he cannot show his uniqueness.

*****
The sun was blazing brightly in the sky, and the Holy Emperor, Lin, and Cai collapsed from exhaustion while working in the wheat fields.

His legs went weak and he stumbled and knocked Lin down, falling on top of her.

Lin was estimated to be about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old. She was lying on her back in the wheat field. Her demure red face was full of shyness, tears, and pitiful grievances. Her long hair pressed down on the wheat seedlings. Her sweaty, hot arms were wrapped around the back of the Saint Emperor. "We agreed to take care of the wheat, but now we're working... Get up quickly. You're being pressed so hard that you can't breathe. There's still a dragon seed in your belly."

(End of this chapter)