The political atmosphere in the Eastern Capital has been tense since spring.
This is nonsense...whose emperor left with most of his court and never returned; his army of millions and millions of civilians collapsed just by walking; and then most of the world turned against him, how could he still not be nervous?
However, because of the existence of Luokoucang, the people have been able to stabilize a little, so the main tension here in Dongdu is still concentrated on the political level, which is a bit sad.
In other words, in the face of some core issues, other issues that usually seem very serious are not considered a problem.
"I'll count them..."
In mid-autumn, in the Ziwei Palace of the Eastern Capital, in the Nanya Conference Hall, Prime Minister Su Wei, who seemed to have suddenly aged seven or eight years, was trying to make a summary after taking the chair. "First of all, the outermost layer, several young people from the western part of the Wu tribe.
Khan, the little kings came to report one after another, saying that the Dulan Khan in the east and the Tuli Khan in the middle were meeting together at the Holy Mountain of the Wu Clan..."
"Don't think about it. The west is hopeless. We can't reach it across the desert. From now on, the northwest, even northern Shanxi, and even the western part of the northern wilderness will be troubled." One of the Eight Nobles of the Eastern Capital,
Duan Wei, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, commented expressionlessly. "Moreover, this matter has been settled since the Western Inspection."
"Then Beihuang was also in a bit of chaos." Su Wei didn't say much, and just continued to sit there and take stock. "But the matter was neither a big matter nor a trivial matter, but many things... For example, after Yu Shuwen came over, the demon slayer
Qiwei and Qizhen quarreled again; and because Yu Shuwen died for his crime, the rewards from the western families who rescued him last time were not paid, so they rebelled under the banner of Yu Shuwen;
Not to mention this, Uncle Ning Yuan from Guanhai Town sent a message saying that a master suddenly came to Beihai. He was said to be the beloved disciple of Master Zhang, but he acted fiercely and treacherously, forcibly seizing land to build towers and interfering in government affairs. Next to him,
The town of Weihai is suffering deeply.”
"I don't know this person." The real Dongdu, who was watched by the people around him, stayed behind. Zhang Shiben, the youngest son of Master Zhang, immediately raised his hands to confront him. "I really don't know."
"I know, Liu Wenzhou." The great master, Emperor Cao Lin, who had been closing his eyes to meditate, suddenly opened his eyes in the seat and explained seriously. "Old Master Zhang has reported to Jing'an Station a long time ago... I can probably guess this.
What does the lunatic want to do? But if a grandmaster goes to the ends of the earth, do you need a great grandmaster to catch him? We can only wait for him to destroy himself... Even the Northern Wilderness is probably going to suffer a lot from him."
"The external things are probably just these two, let's move on to the internal ones..." Su Wei acted as if he didn't hear anything and continued to turn over a page to speak.
"Where are Dongyi and Nanling? Where are the two islands of the Southeast Demon Clan?" Bai Hengjin, the Minister of Rites, suddenly asked in surprise. "It can't be that only the Wu Clan and Beihuang are in trouble, right?"
"Of course it's impossible." Gu Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, reminded sternly that this was a man with very obvious demon blood. His hair and beard were yellow, and his eyes were blue, but he grew up in Guanlong since childhood. "But there was trouble there.
Naturally, we have to submit it directly to the imperial commander...why do we have to have an explanation from the Eastern Capital?"
Bai Hengjin looked stunned and immediately shut up.
"There are two big things outside, and there are three big things inside." Su Wei continued to speak to the document in his hand. "First of all, His Majesty has a decree, and the people of Ziwei Palace, the internal servants, and the Jinwu Guards will protect the Queen and the concubines.
Princess, send us to Jiangdu together..."
No one said anything, everyone went to see Uncle Cao Huang, but the latter just continued to close his eyes and remain silent.
"Secondly, letters were sent from Jiangdong, Jingxiang, and Bashu, saying that an imperial edict had arrived, requiring that taxes and taxes after the autumn be sent down the river and handed over to the capital for use, and no longer be transferred to Guanzhong and the warehouses along the river..."
Still no one said anything, but Emperor Cao finally opened his eyes for the second time.
"The third time is after the autumn, the eastern border, Hebei, the Central Plains, Jianghuai, the Northern Wasteland mentioned before, and the northern Shanxi, a total of thirty-seven counties, towns, states, and guards reported thieves, famines, and requests
Regarding tax exemptions and tributes, fifteen of the prefectures and counties bluntly stated that if the bandits could not be suppressed, the autumn taxes would not be paid... A few counties even said that if the court did not suppress the bandits, they would have no choice but to die to serve the country and the king.
Already."
After Su Wei finished reading, he spread out a large pile of forms and documents and placed them on the desk in front of him. Then he looked at everyone: "This is the specific situation of each county... It has been sorted out. If you want to see it, come and get it yourself.
.”
However, no one moved or said a word, and the eyes of the nobles in the hall were increasingly focused on one person sitting there.
That person was the emperor's uncle Cao Lin. He was silent for a moment and then simply said:
"Let me tell you first! In order to fight against foreign aggression, one must first settle the internal affairs. The Wu clan can just send an envoy to Tuli Khan to make a show of it. Although the eastern and central parts are allied, how to merge with the western part and how to divide and nourish the tribes? The two families are not
It's so easy to handle, I guess I have to fight for the top... Not to mention, the fortresses in the northwest are still there, which means that northern Shanxi is a little more troublesome. But there is also Bai Gong there... the true unification of the Wu clan,
A big move south will take at least three to five years... give it a try in advance."
Everyone nodded one after another, otherwise what else would happen?
"In Beihuang, it's an internal matter on the surface, but it's actually a trauma. Everyone knows in their hearts that the Seven Demon Guards and the Seven Towns have been struggling with each other for hundreds of years, and this time... I just talked about Liu Wenzhou's matter, but it really doesn't matter.
The only way... we can only send an envoy to appease Uncle Ning Yuan and the others, and then let the counties of Youzhou try their best to coordinate and take care of the seven towns." Uncle Cao continued to make a decision. "And if I can't say it to others, why not
Give Uncle Ning Yuan the title of Eastern Guard or Western Guard? Why not just send troops to help him? Because in Beihuang, we are not afraid of them making trouble, but they are afraid of them twisting into a rope. If they really join forces, no matter they are always dissatisfied with the court
The Seventh Guards of Dangmo makes the decision, and if each family in the Seven Towns succeeds, I'm afraid they will all look to Hebei!"
The other seven people just nodded...because this was the ultimate truth.
"As for the three internal affairs." Emperor Cao's face suddenly tightened, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "Your Majesty wants the queen and the princesses to go over, can we stop him? Are you willing to keep a few of the emperor's grandchildren?
It’s already a way of giving face. It’s almost the same as him, and we don’t need Xiyuan and Ziwei Palace... Let Gao Jiang go and move the entire Xiyuan and Ziwei Palace. As much as can be moved, let’s also pass it on.
Gao Jiang himself goes to tell His Majesty about the Tower of Babel!"
Everyone remained silent because the resentment in these words was too heavy.
"As for the southern counties..." Uncle Cao continued to respond seriously. "Bashu cannot send it to Jiangdu. Bashu must supply Guanzhong. How can you throw money and grain on the river for nothing? As for Jingxiang, money and grain can be sent there, but craftsmen and mineral deposits.
Military supplies such as beef tendon must also be sent..."
Some people opened their mouths, but in the end they didn't say anything. Most people still nodded.
"As for why... let's talk about the last thing, which is also the most troublesome thing." Uncle Cao finally gritted his teeth. "The hometown of Dong Qi is in such chaos. There are four or five places where people gathered to gather 50,000 people, and tens of thousands of people gathered.
There are no less than dozens of people, and there are countless other rebels and bandits with more than a thousand people, and some of them are armed with weapons and armor... Should we close the gate of Dongdu and ignore it? But Dongdu has no soldiers! What should we do? We must do it ourselves.
Set up an army of troops and come out!"
"How much do you want?" Duan Wei, Minister of War, finally interrupted with his eyelids twitching.
"At least one hundred thousand." Uncle Cao responded coldly. "Without one hundred thousand, how can we suppress the chaos for His Majesty?"
Everyone could hear it clearly, and couldn't help but feel a little moved in their hearts... To put it bluntly, it was just that the unorganized bandits were defeated militarily. The Hejian camp in Youzhou was mobilized, and the raids in Hebei were enough. Jiangdu would also naturally raid Jianghuai and Jin.
There is also a man left in Taiyuan who is recruiting troops to suppress northern Shanxi... So, if it is just the Central Plains, even if you add the protection of Dongdu itself, why do you still need 100,000 troops?
Are these 100,000 soldiers used to clean up the bandits, or are they used to suppress the imperial troops?
Who does this mess refer to?
Why do you, Uncle Cao Huang, suppress others?
"It's too difficult." After a moment, Duan Wei, probably knowing that he couldn't escape, lay down on his seat and sighed. "There are enough money, food, cloth and silk in several warehouses. The worst is to eat old rice. Give me more."
Cloth and silk are used as rewards. But what's the use of only money and food? Where do the soldiers come from? Previously, they started to serve continuously, recruited soldiers, and stationed troops continuously. Guanzhong and Shaanluo were also very exhausted, and even faintly unstable. Just the soldiers
, I’m afraid it’s a big difficulty.”
Among the eight people present, at least more than half were nodding, because everyone knew that what Duan Shangshu said was basically the truth.
"Duan Shangshu is right, absolutely." Cao Lin glanced at the people in the hall and spoke calmly. "But so what? Half of the states and counties in the Wei Dynasty are rebelling, and the country is about to perish. What's the point of being tired?
"Isn't it ridiculous? When necessary, even women and children will go into battle, so how can we be exhausted?"
"Then force the conquest!" Duan Wei sneered. "Cao Zhongcheng has the final say... But people can force the conquest, so what about the ordnance? Don't forget, in the previous expedition, all the ordnance and other things were emptied, otherwise the bandits would also
It won’t be easy to conquer the city and grow stronger.”
"Then train again." Cao Lin responded without hesitation. "There is always a way."
"Of course there are ways." Duan Wei immediately raised his voice and replied. "But most of the craftsmen are in Nanyang, and half of the city in Nanyang was captured by the Wu brothers; what's more terrible is that there is no iron yet, and the iron is cast into big golden pillars.
Got it!"
"Then melt the big golden pillar." Cao Lin still didn't hesitate, and didn't even blink. "Quickly suppress Wu Jingfeng and melt the big golden pillar at the same time... No matter what, here in Dongdu, we must immediately
A new army to protect the country of Wei!"
At this point, Duan Wei finally fell silent, and the entire meeting hall became silent.
During this period, Duan Wei and Shangzhuguo Qian Shiying looked at each other several times, Su Wei and Niu Hong wanted to stand up several times, Zhang Shiben wanted to talk to Bai Hengjin several times, but they never dared to really answer the question.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Cao Lin was a little disappointed when he saw this.
"This is Nanya. Before His Majesty left, he entrusted the Eastern Capital to us. I thought there was nothing to say. On the contrary, not saying anything would be disloyal." At this moment, a person suddenly stood up, but it was the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
Bone Yi. "If you don't say anything, let me tell you... Zhongcheng, I have a few words to ask you."
On the contrary, Cao Lin's expression softened a lot, and he even raised his hand politely in a gesture of invitation: "Master Gu, please speak."
"Do you want to ask for an imperial edict from the Molten Gold Pillar?" Bone Yi asked seriously.
"Yes!" Cao Lin replied proudly. "But it's urgent. Just ask for the order and melt it directly at the same time."
"That means acting without asking for orders." Gu Yi sighed.
"Your Majesty has no reason to disagree." Cao Lin replied with a smile. "Why should he oppose something that is beneficial to the country?"
"Okay." Gu Yi continued to ask sincerely. "With the current situation, the conscription must be from Kansai, but the people's strength is really exhausted. Should we recruit strong men from the manor of the hero?"
"Of course." Cao Lin suddenly became serious. "With the situation in the country, why do they still keep strong men in the manor? Are they rebelling? This is to use the strong ones to make up for the weak ones in the center! Otherwise, Yang Shen's incident will happen again!
"
The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly solid.
But Gu Yi hesitated for a moment and continued: "Also, the generals of Youzhou, Hejian, Jiangdu, and Xuzhou camps are all His Majesty's confidants. Even if they don't listen to us, they will only listen to Your Majesty.
Leave the bandits in Hebei, Jianghuai, and the eastern border to them; there is also Bai Gong in Taiyuan, who is also what Your Majesty refers to as being left behind. With him, northern Shanxi will be settled... Then only the bandits in the Central Plains and Nanyang are left.
One hundred thousand soldiers, isn’t that too much?”
Cao Lin sighed and said: "Gu Shangshu might as well speak more clearly."
"My meaning is clear enough." Gu Yi responded seriously. "Zhongcheng is the emperor's uncle, the great master, and the pillar of the country. His Majesty is touring the south. Naturally, Zhongcheng will be in charge after his death. But if Zhongcheng is
How can I be justified in using this to compete with His Majesty? And if I go against the princes in everything, how can I get the support of the people?"
"I know that Gu Shangshu is a loyal minister, but I am also a loyal minister." Under the gaze of everyone, Cao Lin fell silent for a moment and simply responded, as if he had been thinking about it and had made a conclusion these days. "Only you, as long as you work diligently on state affairs,
It is enough to be loyal to the emperor. In addition to being a minister, I am also a country's surname. I must also be worthy of my ancestors and the late emperor... Therefore, I only want the great Wei Dynasty to last for thousands of generations. No matter how good it is, how can I come... The so-called but with me
For one day, I will never allow the Wei Dynasty to be in any danger of overthrowing, and I will not hesitate to smash my body to pieces and ruin my reputation. As for other details, I will naturally be thorough, but that's all."
"I understand." Gu Yi nodded and sat down.
Cao Lin glanced at the other seven people and asked in the audience: "Everyone, among the 100,000 soldiers, who else disagrees?"
No one below Su Wei dared to answer.
"Everyone." Cao Lin continued to look around. "I will be responsible for the affairs of the Eastern Capital for the time being. Is there anyone dissatisfied?"
Still no one answered.
"If anyone is dissatisfied, let him be dissatisfied!" Cao Lin suddenly sneered. "But I have to invite one or two great masters, or three or five masters to come here to be dissatisfied... That's good, I will continue to be a tyrannical villain.
, please ask Mr. Yu, who is leisurely at home, to come out and go to Jiangdu to assist His Majesty in suppressing the rebellion. Please ask Mr. Tuwang to come out and suppress the rebellion in Nanyang... How about that?"
Yu Gong is Sima Zheng's master Yu Jiuluo, and Tu Wangong is another military master in Guanlong, Tu Wan Chang Lun. Like Lai Zhan'er, they are both masters in the military, but because of
At that time, He Ruofu had been living at home for several years because he was worried about a case, or because he suppressed senior ministers.
These two people should be the ones relying on the Guanlong clan who are about to make a move. They are also the ones Duan Wei, Bai Hengjin, and Qian Shiying dare to rely on to maintain their posture in front of Zhongcheng.
Therefore, Cao Zhongcheng's move is called coercion, followed by taking advantage of the situation and taking advantage of the situation.
"I think it's okay." Bone Yi, the only one who jumped out to openly question, suddenly agreed actively.
"I think it's too hasty." Su Wei sighed. "But Mr. Cao has his own position. Moreover, the situation is difficult now. I will never embarrass Mr. Cao and make it impossible for him to do things."
"That's what I mean too." Niu Hong responded sincerely. "I think Cao Cao's behavior was unforgiving, including the Du Shui messenger arrested yesterday. In fact, no matter how you look at it, it's just a matter of speculation, and at this time it's absolutely impossible.
You shouldn't care too much, and lose people's hearts... But now only Mr. Cao can do things, and I am willing to try my best to help."
Cao Lin nodded slightly and expressed his gratitude to his two old partners: "I will reconsider the matter of the Du Shui Envoy."
Zhang Shiben was the most junior, and immediately stood up in a hurry: "Zhongcheng knows that, and I have always supported Zhongcheng!"
The remaining three people, Qian Shiying of the Zhu Kingdom, Duan Wei, the Minister of War, and Bai Hengjin, the Minister of Rites, felt a little uneasy at the same time, but had no choice but to keep silent.
Cao Lin looked at the three people and knew that today was already the best situation and that he could not really push too hard. He shook his head and stopped caring: "The public opinion in the meeting hall has been announced, so let's do it! Issue the Nanya Order!"
"
With that said, Uncle Cao Huang got up and left directly, and walked out... Besides, as a Grand Master, Cao Lin could just take up his true energy and fly outside to easily return to his black tower. He did this a lot in the past.
But since the defeat of the Three Expeditions and the collapse of the Tongtian Tower again, he has been riding a horse in person every day, majestically crossing Tianjie to and from Nanya and Jing'antai.
And on this day, he was no exception because of the current situation.
In this way, under the escort of the second eunuch Xue Liang, Cao Zhongcheng arrived at his loyal Jing'an Tower at noon. Before he returned to the Black Tower, someone came to report that it was the Fulong Guard Chang Inspector and the British Princess Bai Bai.
Yousi suddenly came alone and had been waiting for Zhongcheng in the black tower for a long time.
Cao Lin was surprised and confused for a moment.
After all, at this moment, Bai Yousi used to be a subordinate, but now his position is questionable, just because the incident at Gushui Bank that day really involved too much inside and outside Jing'an Taiwan, plus the British official was out of town, Bai Yousi
The thought and shape are the same as those of protons, so he pretends not to know and treats them indifferently.
Who would have expected that the other party would dare to come alone?
And in this case, how could Cao Lin, as the Grand Master, Emperor's Uncle, and Zhongcheng, not enter his own black tower to meet him?
"Zhongcheng, long time no see. Are you still in good health?"
The wind chimes rang, and as soon as they arrived at the tower and climbed to the fifth floor, they saw Bai Yousi waiting here, holding a sword and saluting proudly. The latter was still dressed in the usual plain brocade clothes, with a small warrior crown.
Cao Lin nodded, led Xue Liang past the opponent and a row of black ribbons, and sat back in his seat. Then he calmly raised his head and said, "If Sisi doesn't go and guard the White Tower, how can you come to me when you have time?"
"Return to Zhongcheng." Bai Yousi calmly informed the purpose of his visit. "I heard that Li Ding, a family friend, was framed by Luo Fang and imprisoned because he did not pay bribes. Entrusted by his family, I came here to ask for his release! At the very least, this should be done
He was handed over to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of War and Punishment were asked to discuss whether his behavior in Pu Tai was meritorious or demeritful."
"The reason why he was imprisoned was not just because of the military, nor was he framed." Cao Lin was silent for a moment and answered seriously. "What I heard is that this Li Ding is a close relative and old friend of the traitor Zhang Xing. This time he entered
He was imprisoned because of his unauthorized association with Zhang Xing when he was in the Eastern Territory..."
"Zhongcheng is joking." Bai Yousi laughed on the spot. "If we talk about the traitor Zhang Xing's old friend, who in Jing'an Taiwan is not? Didn't Zhongcheng almost become his adoptive father? And if we talk about colluding with him,
, below me, who belonged to Jing'an Terrace by the Gu River that day, who is not connected? And if I hadn't understood the righteousness of my subordinates and took the initiative to cross the river to gather together, I'm afraid that half of the people in the three groups in front of Jing'an Terrace
They all rebelled against that guy... If Zhongcheng doesn't believe it, why not ask Xue Liang?"
Xue Liang hesitated to speak, but Cao Lin stretched out his hand to signal silence. The latter, after hesitating for a while, decided to be honest: "Sisi, there are some things that we all know well. No need to say more, I just ask you.
, what if I don’t let him go?”
"Then I still want to know, why didn't Zhong Cheng let him go?" Bai Yousi couldn't ask further. "Legal regulations, or tactics, or something else? Some people say that Li Ding was just unlucky because Zhong Cheng happened to want to
Suppressing Duan Shangshu in order to establish his power in the Ministry of War and control the Ministry of War, plus Zhang Xing’s matter is really the matter with Zhong Cheng’s heart, and they collided with each other, so he was used as a raft, right?”
Cao Lin was silent again.
Xue Liang was impatient and said directly: "Bai Changjian, Your Majesty has gone to Jiangdu. Now only Zhongcheng is in charge of Dongdu as the emperor's uncle. He can do anything in the world. No matter how much you say, Zhongcheng just doesn't want to let go.
People, aren’t they enough?”
"If that's the case, then I have something to say." As he said that, Bai Yousi took hold of his Heavenly Sword without hesitation, then slightly clenched his fist with his other hand, raised it and put it on his chest, and asked Xue
Liang. "Am I the only one who is strong in the world, Zhong Cheng? Please ask Xue Zhushou for me, who said he can do anything in the world? As for Li Ding, I have already promised his family, so I have to let him go today."
Let it go, even if you don’t let it go! So what?”
Xue Liang was stunned... The meaning is very simple. Are you, Miss Bai, threatening a great master?
In his dark tower?
Even if it's because he's afraid that your father will rebel and it's hard to deal with it, so he won't beat you to death, but what if he beats you half to death?
Cao Lin was also surprised for a moment, but when he glanced at the fisted hand in Bai Yousi's hand, his expression did not change, but he was suddenly startled, which caused the ringing of bells all over the tower. As he expected, it was true, what was in that hand
The one I am holding should be the Fulong Seal that has several layers of effectiveness.
"Leave the Fulong Seal and hand Li Ding over to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment for a fair trial!" After a long pause, as the ringing subsided, Cao Lin responded slowly. "Sisi, don't waste my patience."
"Yes, but I must first take Li Ding to the Ministry of Punishment, and then let Xue Zhushou bring Fulong Seal back." Bai Yousi was silent for a moment, his expression unchanged, and only said through Xue Liang, whose expression changed greatly. "But Zhongcheng, too
Please don’t underestimate the people of the world. You must know that those who bully the weak will eventually be humiliated...Bai Yousi is just an ordinary person among the people of the world."
"good."
Cao Lin responded calmly, as if he agreed with the other party's plan, but he didn't know whether he meant to agree with the other party's point of view.
