Volume 4: Stormy Jiangnan Chapter 77: Confrontation between the Emperor and his Minister
There was a sudden surge of public opinion across the country.
Since the beginning of the war, less than two months have passed, and the situation on the battlefield has completely changed.
From the beginning, the three Dongjiang guards launched an attack together. The Leishan Guards defended Jiangdu, and the Jiangyang Guards resisted the water in the north. As the main force of the attack, the Dongyang Guards captured Sanchakou, Liulin Town, Juma River, Huangyan, and Pagoda Temple, so that Wu Wang's rebel army swept through most of the southeastern area, and when the Yue and Huai kings both rebelled, Huai's five thousand soldiers and Li Xian's small number of troops worked together to fight bloody battles in Xiangyang City! Then Jiang Bu, the first aide to the King of Wu, instigated a rebellion against some generals in the Jiangnan Navy camp, causing internal strife in the Navy to stain the south bank of the Yangtze River with blood! In the end, the imperial army pressed on the border. The combined forces of the Luocheng Guard, the Jeju Guard, and the North and South Naval Battalions approached the territory of Huaixi. The King of Huai had to recall the rebels for defense, which directly led to the Wu-Huai rebels under Xiangyang City. Fall short! In the end, the King of Yue and the King of Huai both asked to surrender. In an instant, the situation took a turn for the worse, and it became an embarrassing situation where King Wu Zhang Xiu was fighting alone
??A closer look shows that the battlefield situation has experienced ups and downs and changes, but the overall situation seems to have always been in the hands of the imperial court. The king of Wu was in the limelight for a while, but it was just the court's deliberate indulgence and indulgence of the rebels. And judging from the reality of what happened, the imperial court only swung out the fist that had accumulated strength. Before it even hit the door of the three kings' homes, the rebels had already fallen apart. The southeastern half of the wall that originally seemed indestructible suddenly became like a leak. The pavilion has flaws everywhere. As long as the imperial court exerts all its strength and fights for a while, the fall of Jiangdu will be just around the corner.
The situation suddenly reversed, and there was an uproar between the government and the public.
The officials who used to look up to King Wu in the southeast suddenly became a little different from usual. The officials, big and small, who traveled back and forth in the past and tried every means to gain a foothold in front of King Wu's Mansion, disappeared one after another. Those who were closely connected with King Wu naturally couldn't break away from the relationship at this time, no matter whether they wanted to or not. They had no choice but to tie themselves to the big tree of King Wu, share life and death, and fight to the end. However, those middle and low-level officials who were not closely connected and only sent some filial piety in the past began to wipe their butts hurriedly, even if they knew that they could not wipe it clean. You must also keep it clean and show your loyalty to the court.
As for the capital in the far north, the important officials of various ministries in the imperial city, although they openly promoted the emperor's virtue and might, secretly there was also an undercurrent, except for a few people who really had nothing to do with King Wu. In addition, the remaining officials, large and small, even the ministers and eunuchs in the palace, all started their own different calculations and plans. Almost all of these people have had some relationship with the King of Wu over the years, but some have a very close relationship, and some just have a temporary need to do something for the King of Wu under the offensive of King Wu's money and beauty.
If it were left in the past, these things would sooner or later be sealed at the bottom by thick dust as time goes by, and no one would stir them up again. But now the situation is different. Previously, the King of Wu only secretly opposed the court. Even if there was some intrigue between the two parties in private, no one would find out. But now, King Wu Zhang Xiu has openly raised a banner to rebel against the court. What makes these people feel even more hateful is that the momentum at the beginning went downhill, and King Wu was about to be defeated. As a result, in the past, Those relationships of mutual use and mutual dependence have become the fatal weaknesses of these people! Once these dusty resume pages are dug out, under the stirring smoke and dust, one accident will lead to a bloody storm!
Therefore, despite the fact that the war took place thousands of miles away, the bloody fighting on the surface was only limited to the southeast corner, but secretly, another unusual battle quickly spread to the capital in the north. During the day, nothing can be seen. Many officials should go to court, be on duty, and resolve cases. But at night, there are more cars, horses, and pedestrians on the streets and alleys in the capital. When you look at the carriages and horses, you don't see anything fancy; when you look at the pedestrians, they are dressed exactly like ordinary people wandering around at night. However, in the eyes of another group of people who were also hidden in the crowd at night, these carriages and pedestrians had been labeled early on.
Carriages passed through different streets and stopped at different places. People of all kinds came and went frequently, chatting, and then rushed to the next place with different expressions. Place. The invisible human networks gradually began to appear as time went by. Maybe it's a thread, maybe it's a thread, and it becomes more and more clear
The Forbidden City, the Imperial Garden.
The weather in early autumn in the north is still hot and dry. Fortunately, it had just rained, and the air was filled with moist water vapor and a hint of coolness in early autumn.
Still under the tall osmanthus tree, Emperor Qi Yuan was wearing a light sheer gauze ball.The dragon is wearing a soft shirt, with his hands in his sleeves, standing next to a lush green coriander leaf, facing the southeast, thoughtfully. The dense clusters of dill leaves are lush and green, with a bright water color on the surface of the green leaves. Clusters of small flowers are dotted on it, which makes it look very interesting. On the right hand side of Emperor Qi Yuan, half a step behind him, Du Ning, the commander of Feiling Guards, stood quietly and did not say a word for a long time.
After a long time, Emperor Qiyuan finally sighed and came back from his meditation.
"Has everything been arranged? Have you ever found out?"
"Yes." Du Ning responded: "Ever since the incident happened in the southeast, I have made preparations in advance. Some things have been recorded in the case very early, so it is easier to investigate. Some things have no signs before, and there are some problems at first. There is no way to start. But since the turmoil began in the southeast, many things have come to light naturally. I have sent a lot of people overtly and covertly, and there are also a lot of news about some hidden piles that have not been touched. Although they are still There are still some people who have not been identified, but there is no clear evidence. If we want to find solid evidence, I am afraid it will take some time."
Emperor Qiyuan nodded slightly, but still did not turn around: "Well, you should be more busy these days. When the Southeast Incident happened, people in the world only thought that I must be very frightened and even exhausted to cope with it. Everyone's eyes were blank. Staring at the southeast, staring at me! The first open rebellion in the several years since the founding of our dynasty occurred in my dynasty. There must be many people behind the scenes waiting to see my joke! Although it is not obvious now , but once I fail to respond well and an unpredictable situation occurs, these gossips will turn from the audience to the stage!"
After coughing twice, Emperor Qi Yuan reached out and took out a silk handkerchief, wiped the corners of his mouth, and sneered: "Humph, these people have good ideas, but they have good abacus, and I am not a clueless person. What a fool! The southeast is just a corner. As the king of a country, I cannot just focus on a small area. In the north, I must guard against Rong and Di taking advantage of the chaos to invade the south; in the southeast, I must be busy suppressing rebellions; although there is a war, I still have to take care of other things, I have to be busy with disaster relief, appease the refugees and the people, I have to look after the other kings, observe their movements, and check their hearts. In addition, I have to guard against these officials, big and small, who want to praise me to heaven. , we can¡¯t let them make mistakes, we can¡¯t let them take advantage of the opportunity to mess around behind my back, or even give me a knife!¡±
Emperor Qiyuan was talking to himself, but Du Ning just stood aside and listened, unable or daring not to interrupt. After a while, Emperor Qiyuan turned around and asked lightly: "Is there any news about the southwest affairs?"
Du Ning bowed and said, "Reply to the Emperor: At the end of the day today, the news came back from outside. The Emperor's previous judgment on the King of Shu has been basically confirmed. Bashu's food raising action was claimed to be the work of the King of Shu, but in fact it was His son Xiang Yu was the head and tail of the county king. Although the King of Shu was already old, he did make some moves before the imperial court sent troops. He was repeatedly persuaded by his son Xiang Yu, but later he hurriedly gave up when he saw that something was not right. I didn¡¯t want to be a minister. But by then the news had spread, and in order to make up for the situation, Xiang Yu raised 200,000 stones of food and grass and presented it to the court"
"Hmph! He has a good idea! He recruits troops and horses with the intention of rebelling. He only wants to buy peace with a mere two hundred thousand shi of food?" Emperor Qiyuan snorted coldly: "Does he think this is a business? Who in the world can Can you do business with me? I think he has lived a comfortable life for too long these years and has forgotten which seat he is sitting in At least his son is not too confused, but he is also very limited!" Stopped After a pause, Emperor Qiyuan asked again: "Where are the other people? How was the investigation?"
"King An was not involved in this incident because his fiefdom was in the north. According to the inspection by Yichen, King An has remained the same as before. However, due to the recent turmoil in the southeast, he no longer goes out to play and just lives in his house. King Dian, who is close to Bashu in the southeast, We once plotted to raise an army, but when the army was not yet formed, the news was leaked, and in panic, we quickly dispersed our troops As for now, it is estimated that they are already on their way to the capital, and they will be in the palace soon." After taking a slight breath, Du Ning added: "The Emperor must have known about the affairs of King Huai and King Yue. They are currently detained by the Jiangbei Navy Camp, and His Highness the Sixth Prince's people are already on the way to be escorted. And in the upper section of Jiangnan, in The King of Han on the edge of the battlefield has never shown any signs of rebellion. He has just kept to himself, and his ministers are still observing"
"King Zhang Lu of Dian, although his actual talents cannot support his ambition, he is not that imprudent. He leaked the news? Haha, is this your handiwork?" Emperor Qiyuan smiled meaningfully. , Du Ning bowed quickly but said nothing. "King An, he has always had the same temper, let's not talk about him. King Huai and King Yue, I will have my own explanation when I meet him in the future. On the contrary, it is King Han. Although my brother is a bit timid, he cannot be said to be law-abiding. What's more, What does it mean that he kept his peace during such an emergency? Just three feet in front of his door, the rebels had already killed him.When he arrived, he still turned a blind eye and never said anything. Even if his heart is peaceful, I'm afraid it is very limited"