Liangzhou City, Zhongshu Province.
Since Zhou Jun also knew the Three Dukes, he promoted his confidant Kong You, the chief minister of the palace, to the position of Minister of Zhongshu, responsible for fully managing all political and military affairs of the court after he left.
Kong You was blinded in one eye due to his imprisonment in his early years, and his throat was full of scars. When others saw it, they thought he was ugly and difficult to see.
In addition, Kong You was born into a slave family and had a low status. Therefore, even though he was a Shangguan in Zhongshu Province, officials of all sizes despised him. Some people even used his former nickname "Kong Chi" to call him this behind his back.
he.
After Kong You heard about this, he was not upset. He just worked hard to complete his official duties every day, ignoring such gossip as if it just fell on deaf ears.
On this day, Sun Aying took the official documents and entered the Zhongshu Province to find Kong You's official position.
After entering the cabin, Sun Aying saw Kong You covering his throat with a handkerchief, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What are you doing, sir?"
Kong You picked up the handkerchief, and Sun Aying looked at it carefully, only to see dots of pus and blood on it.
Looking up again, Sun Aying found the scar on Kong You's throat, with faint blood stains overflowing, and asked: "The wound on Mr.'s neck...?"
Kong You said nonchalantly: "Every time it is cold and cold, pus and blood will ooze out of the wound in the throat... This is an old problem. It will get better after a while and it will not be a problem."
Sun Aying: "Sir, why don't you see a doctor..."
Kong You: "This wound can actually be stopped with medicine, but I wish it would stay like this, so that it can always remind me not to forget the past."
Sun Aying wanted to talk more, but Kong You changed the topic: "Are the armies you have been asked to contact ready ready?"
Sun Aying: "The Liangzhou camp under the command of old General Shen Shu, the Shanlang Guard under the command of General Luo Anyuan, the Guiyi Army under the command of Ban Wei Zheng, and the Da Dou Army that I have reorganized are all ready to go."
Kong You nodded slightly: "That's good."
Sun Aying: "Sir, when you ask us to stand ready, do you want us to go out of the city to meet the enemy?"
Kong You shook his head and said, "No, the enemy is in the city."
Sun Aying was puzzled: "The enemy is in the city?"
Kong You smiled and said: "Ah Ying, let me ask you, for the Lord, who is the biggest enemy at the moment?"
Sun Aying: "My Lord is in Fan Yang, so the biggest enemy should be the rebels, right?"
Kong You: "The current rebel army looks huge, but in fact it is scattered and fighting on its own. There is nothing to worry about."
Sun Aying thought for a while, lowered his voice and said: "That's the one in the palace. He set up ambushes in Liangzhou and Fanyang. He wanted to imprison the Lord and then seize military power. He was very thoughtful and had to guard against it."
Kong You: "Are you referring to the emperor who has entered his twilight years? He is indeed capable of political strategizing, but he is also suspicious and indistinguishable from loyalties to loyalties. Although he has plans in mind, his cleverness is often misled by his cleverness. You want me to do it?
Said, he is not a serious problem for the Lord."
Sun Aying had a headache: "Then according to Sir's opinion, who is the Lord's greatest enemy?"
Kong You took out a piece of paper, wrote two words on it with a chicken-tip pen, and pushed it to Sun Aying.
The latter raised his head and took a look, only to see the two words above, which were clearly "men valve".
Sun Aying: "Sir, is this...?"
Kong You lit the candlestick, put the piece of paper on it, burned it to ashes, and then said to Sun Aying: "The Lord was born in a poor family, and he came to the officialdom after leaving the country. In addition, Daqi Business Road, Quan Yanfa, etc.
We have been at odds with many prominent families for a long time, and the conflicts have deepened to the point of irreversibility."
Speaking of this group of powerful nobles, Sun Aying said bitterly: "In the final analysis, they are just a group of powerful people who suck the fat of the people!"
Kong You: "Ah Ying, don't underestimate this group of powerful people. This group of people are connected with each other through marriage, teachers and students, township parties, official education, etc., and together they have built a huge network... In Liangzhou City,
The court, the army, the trading houses and even the government offices are all controlled by this group of people."
Seeing Sun Aying's surprise, Kong You took out two rosters, placed them on the desk, and motioned to Sun Aying to open them and read them.
There are two rosters, one is for the generals of the Anxi Army, and the other is for the generals of the Shuofang Army.
Sun Aying looked carefully and found to his surprise that nine out of ten generals and civil servants in the Anxi Army came from poor families; while more than half of the generals and civil servants in the Shuofang Army came from aristocratic families.
.
Sun Aying: "Sir, what's going on?"
Kong You: "The Anxi Army was originally stationed in the far west. In addition, in recent years, a large number of refugees have poured in. Therefore, whether it is soldiers or civil servants, it is natural that there are few descendants of the rich and powerful. And the Shuofang Army is stationed near Guanzhong, and has made great achievements.
It’s a good place, and aristocratic families would naturally like to send their children there.”
Sun Aying: "Then this rebellion is also related to the clan?"
Kong You nodded: "The emperor sent angels this time to instigate Shuofang generals to plot rebellion, which is also inseparable from the fact that the clans are fueling the trouble. As for the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army, because the soldiers were not as good as those from the Central Plains, it was difficult for them to be controlled by the court.
"
"The Battle of Fan Yang is about to begin, and the emperor has decided to initiate the Zen position at this time. So I predicted before that the emperor would definitely turn his attention to the army responsible for attacking Fan Yang and try every means to fight for military power."
"I calculated before that instead of planting trouble in the army and bringing disadvantages to future wars, it would be better..." Kong You threw aside the handkerchief stained with pus and blood: "It is better to use the trick and prick the wound earlier, and remove the blood from the body."
Clean up the poisonous blood, so that you can control the overall situation and no longer have to worry about anything."
When Sun Aying heard this, he was surprised and asked: "Sir, have you known for a long time that the palace wants to seize military power?"
Kong You: "Throughout the ages, coups in the palace have always focused on military power. This is not a rare thing. With a little thought, you can know what the emperor wants to do... However, Fan Yang, no matter how troubled he is,
Big, it’s not a big deal. Compared with there, the situation in Liangzhou is the key. As long as we can control the emperor and get the Six Seals, it will be equivalent to controlling the army at the source and making it afraid to act rashly."
Sun Aying: "But if the angels sent from the palace command the Shuofang army to cause internal strife, causing heavy casualties to the Tang army, wouldn't it destroy the soldiers and affect the subsequent Battle of Fan Yang?"
Kong You shook his head and said: "The person in the palace knows that although the rebels have been defeated in Hebei, Shi Siming's troops still remain, and Fan Yang's military strength is intact. In other words, the main force of the Hebei rebels is still there. The emperor is removing the master.
After gaining military power, this army must be relied on to suppress the rebels of Shi Siming and Fan Yang. Therefore, the secret order given to the angels in the palace must only be to deprive the generals of their military power, but not to cause the armies to fight against each other. Otherwise, Fang Guan would be in trouble in Chang'an.
Defeated, if Fan Yang's army suffers further losses, Liangzhou City will have no more usable soldiers, and the court will be in danger."
Sun Aying: "Then the commander-in-chief of Shuofang Army, Guo Ziyi, is very resourceful. What if he takes over the military power during the war and surrenders to the palace?"
Kong You: "Today's Holy Emperor is naturally suspicious and willful. Ever since Guo Ziyi served under the Lord and was named the Deputy Marshal of the World's Arms and Horses, the man in the palace has become suspicious of this veteran general who came from a poor family.
If you want to drive a wedge between the emperor and his ministers, it is very simple. All you need to do is to forge a few letters to make the emperor think that the emperor and Guo Ziyi have a long-standing connection. In this way, the emperor will definitely not trust Guo Ziyi when he deprives him of military power.
."
Sun Aying asked again: "What if Guo Ziyi proves his innocence afterwards, alienates the Lord, and raises a banner against the Lord?"
Kong You: "Proving one's own innocence? How easy is it? In the letter to the Lord, I wrote down several strategies. One of them was to kill the angel Lou Quanjin and make the mystery clear. Once Lou Quanjin died, Shuofang's army would tell everyone about it afterwards.
Even if the emperor pleads guilty, it is absolutely impossible to get rid of the suspicion of being an accomplice. Another plan is to execute those generals of the Shuofang Army who are from a wealthy family and have connections with the palace. In this way, Guo Ziyi, who was born in a poor family, will have a close relationship with the wealthy family.
If there is no room for reconciliation, there will be no retreat, and the Lord can take advantage of the situation and take Shuofang's army for his own use."
Sun Aying: "Sir, if you just want the Lord to gather Shuofang's army, you only need an imperial edict and mobilize personnel. Why go to such trouble?"
Kong You: "Ah Ying, don't forget what I just said. The greatest enemy of our lord is not the rebels or the emperor, but the thousands of nobles in the world. Take the Zhongshu Province as an example
, three-quarters of the officials are all descendants of powerful families. Even though the Lord knows the three princes now, if he wants to adjust the personnel of high-ranking officials in the three provinces, he must consider the influence of many aspects and cannot do whatever he wants. As for the implementation of administrative orders
, the officials below are even more obedient and disobedient. Not to mention, those aristocratic families, now that they know that the emperor is under house arrest in the palace, all regard their lord as a traitor, who has caused countless obstructions in the court, and they want to kill him quickly. Therefore,
Once the Lord uses an imperial edict to mobilize personnel, it will definitely arouse the vigilance of the clans and even trigger a backlash in the country, causing disaster."
Sun Aying: "In your opinion, sir, what should the Lord do now?"
Kong You frowned and said: "Your Majesty... the best thing to do at the moment is to stay away from Liangzhou."
Sun Aying was stunned: "Let the Lord stay away from Liangzhou? What do you mean by this?"
Kong You: "Ah Ying, think about it, the one in the palace suffered two defeats in succession during the Liangzhou Palace Incident and the Fanyang War. Will he give up?"
Sun Aying: "Of course not."
Kong You: "That's right, the one in the palace has been waiting for a chance to make a comeback. And this time the Lord went to Fan Yang to lead the army, it was his best chance. Only the Lord stayed away from Liangzhou, and the people in the palace
That’s the one who can cause trouble in the city with peace of mind.”
Sun Aying frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked Kong You: "Sir, with all due respect, why didn't you tell the Lord all these things? As long as the master is honest with the Lord about the plan, it will be normal to execute it.
But concealing it from the Lord and not reporting it to the Lord would be suspected of exceeding the limit."
Kong You laughed, looked at Sun Aying and said: "Aying, if there are some aspects of the plan that are revealed to the Lord, given his temper, he will definitely become furious and reject my plan long ago.
"
Sun Aying was puzzled: "What is the link that will make the Lord so angry?"
Kong You: "You will know after a while."
Sun Aying looked troubled and planned to ask further questions.
Kong You stretched out his hand to stop Sun Aying, changed the subject, and sighed: "My lord, everything is good, but there is only one thing that is troublesome."
Sun Aying: "Trouble?"
Kong You: "Your Majesty is generous and generous, knows people and treats people well, has the style of Han Emperor Gaozu, and is a hero. However, when planning and deciding things, he often favors benevolence and stops at killing. He cuts the weeds without eradicating the roots, which may lead to endless disasters.
."
When Sun Aying heard this, he frowned and said, "Aying cannot agree with what you said, sir."
Kong You: "Oh, should I have any ideas?"
Sun Aying said: "Advising ministers to serve the master, and brave generals to die in service, who doesn't want to find a kind and wise master? If the master is cunning, murderous and aggressive, which subordinate would dare to be loyal to such a master?
?”
After hearing this, Kong You patted Sun Aying on the shoulder, nodded and said: "Aying is right, only when the master is kind can he recruit talents... As for those cunning and murderous things, it is up to us subordinates
Do it for me."
This chapter has been completed!