The clouds are like lead, the river is rushing, and the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" with black helmets and black armor on the other side of the Ba River stand solemnly and motionless like a forest. This troop is the imperial guard of His Majesty Li Er, and has been guarding His Majesty Li Er since the beginning of the Eastern Expedition. Around him, since the withdrawal of Liaodong troops, the "coma" His Majesty Li Er has been guarded. No one except Li Ji is allowed to see him...
However, traveling thousands of miles along the way, how could the coffin, which was hidden under the baggage of the tent and pulled by the horse-drawn carriage, and the large amount of saltpeter used to make ice along the way, be hidden from the eyes and ears of the army?
Zhang Liang stared at the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" for a while before looking away. He rode the cavalry closer to Li Ji and lowered his voice: "What does the commander-in-chief want?"
Anyone who has fought against Li Ji knows that he has an extremely distinctive character and strong principles. He clearly distinguishes between what should be done and what should not be done, and he will never trample on his bottom line for temporary gains. Therefore, no one believed that Li Jihui had made a move to attack Chang'an and depose the crown prince.
It is precisely because of this that Cheng Mingzhen, Zhang Liang and others have been obeying military orders all the way until now...
However, at the last moment, Li Ji still refused to reveal his trump card, which was unbearable - even if everyone is willing to follow you unconditionally, you can't lead everyone to rebel in a daze, right?
If there is a "last edict", you should take it out and tell everyone about His Majesty's last wishes. As a minister, you should do your best to fulfill it; if there is no "last edict", you have to express your feelings and let everyone decide whether to follow you to the end. What's going on with such a mysterious secret, keeping everyone in the dark?
Li Ji sat steadily on the horse. The drizzle fell on his saddle and condensed into a stream, flowing down his neck protector and iron armor. His handsome face remained unchanged, and his eyes did not waver. He said calmly: "I am ordered by the emperor to Why do you need to explain to someone when you act? You just know how to act according to orders."
Zhang Liang was stunned when he heard this, then looked back at the "Xuanjia Iron Cavalry" on the other side of the river, and said with a wry smile: "At this time and here, why is the commander still so secretive? Forget it, since the commander keeps saying that he is acting under the emperor's orders, then I have the courage to do so. I would like to ask, where is the emperor's order? Can you let us observe it?"
The way he acted was very obvious: There is no airtight wall. We already know about His Majesty's death. Otherwise, what would you do with the coffin during the march? Don't hide it at this time, quickly open the skylight and speak openly. , stop fooling people...
Li Ji's face hardened, his eyes looked directly at Zhang Liang, and he said slowly: "Are you questioning the military order, thinking that the commander is falsely conveying the order?"
Zhang Liang cupped his fists and said, "I don't dare."
Li Jing stared at Zhang Liang for a while and said coldly: "We are human ministers, how can we be disrespectful to the king? I will not care about you today, but there is no need to ask more about this matter, just obey orders and act."
Zhang Liang was struck by his sharp gaze and felt that something was not quite right. He hurriedly said: "I don't dare. It's just that the Crown Prince is the emperor's first official. Now he is out of the city to 'welcome the Holy Master', so we should go to Baqiao." We are waiting for you, how can we send our troops to attack each other like we are doing now? This is extremely disrespectful."
Although etiquette has collapsed since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties unified the world, and both the government and the public made great efforts to restore the etiquette system. The etiquette gradually recovered and became rigorous. The emperor died in the wilderness, and he came back to welcome him as the crown prince. Although the emperor did not collapse, the emperor died. The prince is asked to greet him wherever he goes, but at least he must go out of the city for a hundred miles to "kneel down" to show his loyalty and filial piety, otherwise it will be a great disrespect.
The reason why the prince insisted on going out of the city to "welcome the Holy Emperor" was precisely due to this. Everyone knew that His Majesty Li Er had passed away. If Li Ji had no intention of rebellion, he should have waited for the prince in Baqiao and handed over his majesty's coffin; Now that His Majesty Li Er has passed away, Li Ji instead of announcing the details and inviting the Crown Prince to Baqiao to welcome him back, instead transports His Majesty's coffin to Chang'an to pay respect to the Crown Prince. This is putting the Crown Prince in a disrespectful place. He is unfaithful, unfilial, and an inhuman subject. What the Son of Man did forced the Crown Prince to go to war...
Li Ji's expression was cold and unmoved, and he said in a deep voice: "Commander, I will say it again, all you need to do is obey orders. No need to say more, and don't question my military orders. Otherwise, military law will be dealt with."
Although he and Zhang Liang were both honorable ministers of Zhenguan and had fought side by side in the past, they had always lacked a favorable impression of him and disliked his slippery character. Therefore, they only gave a warning without explaining a word more. I hope Zhang Liang would not You must be smart, otherwise you will be punished by military law.
Zhang Liang was shocked and said hurriedly: "Don't worry, Commander, I will act in accordance with the orders and don't dare to make mistakes."
Li Ji said "hmm" and said calmly: "Just take care of yourself and don't make any mistakes."
…
Cheng Mingzhen was commanding the troops in the front to gather forward and put pressure on the right marquis guard. When he turned around, he saw Zhang Liang riding from a distance. When they arrived, the two men were riding side by side. Surrounded by gold and iron horses, swords and guns, groups of soldiers slowly moved forward. They pressed towards the Youhouwei camp, their momentum was low and their swords were on the verge of breaking out.
Cheng Mingzhen watched the reaction of the Youhouwei camp and asked in a low voice: "What does the commander say?"
Zhang Liang looked around, smiled bitterly and whispered: "The words were extremely harsh, and the intention was not revealed at all. I originally threatened to lead the army to evacuate, but unexpectedly, I was warned by the commander in law... I feel something is wrong. ."
Cheng Minzhen frowned and said, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Liang hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "I can't tell you, but this matter is definitely not the British way of doing business. Having said that, if they really ordered us to attack the prince's honor guard, what should we do?"
Now it seems that everyone in the Eastern Expedition Army is dormant under Li Ji's lustful power, and everyone dares to be angry but dare not speak out. But in fact, almost all the troops have different thoughts, and the situation is chaotic. Zhang Liang must survive in this chaotic situation. I'm looking for a firm ally, preferably from the East Palace...
Gu/span Cheng Mingzhen didn't think much about it. Hearing the words, he didn't hesitate and said categorically: "There is no way I can obey the order! The prince is the crown prince of the country and the emperor of the empire. It is a capital crime for me and others in Liaodong to fail to protect His Majesty Zhou Quan. How can I do it again? An act of rebellion? Even if I die, I will not fight against the prince, otherwise I will act like a subordinate!"
Zhang Liang took out his ears and said helplessly: "You are the most loyal in the world, right? Why are you so loud..."
He looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he felt relieved and said: "Don't worry, I will advance and retreat together with you, and I will never break my promise! However, if the prince holds the Eastern Expedition Army accountable for various crimes in the future, you can say a few good words on my behalf. I must make it clear that I am in the Cao camp and in the Han Dynasty, and I have not joined forces with Li Ji. What I did was done out of necessity."
He knew Li Ji's temperament and style very well, coupled with his observation of the military's preparations for war, he estimated that he did not think that Li Ji would brazenly go to war. But even if he didn't understand what Li Ji was up to, he could conclude that Li Ji would eventually The inference that I must surrender to the East Palace...
But this does not mean that the world will be peaceful after Li Ji surrenders.
Hundreds of thousands of troops devoted all their strength to the eastern expedition, but ended up losing their troops and generals under Pingrang City, and returned home defeated. In the end, the fruits of victory were snatched away by a mere navy. Who should bear the responsibility?
His Majesty Li Er went on a personal expedition, but died in the army. This was a great change. Who will be responsible?
There is no doubt that the person most responsible is Li Ji. The fact that His Majesty Li Er died in the army is enough to make him commit suicide.
But now that Li Ji has hundreds of thousands of troops and can easily contribute to Chang'an and shake up the country, who dares to let Li Ji take responsibility? However, even if Li Ji cannot be held responsible, this responsibility will not disappear out of thin air. There must be someone to shoulder the responsibility. , give the world an explanation.
All the accompanying generals at the Duke level in the Eastern Expedition army may become the scapegoats for Li Ji to take responsibility...
The Cheng family has a close relationship with Fang Jun, and Cheng Wuting is Fang Jun's most trusted confidant. This means that even if Li Ji chooses Cheng Mingzhen as the scapegoat, the East Palace will reject it. There are only a few people who are qualified to be the scapegoat, and Cheng Mingzhen is missing. , Zhang Liang’s own probability will naturally increase greatly...
Therefore, he must plan an escape route and express his loyalty to the prince through Cheng Mingzhen in order to ensure that he will have peace of mind in the future.
Cheng Mingzhen was a straight-tempered person, but not an idiot. He understood Zhang Liang's intention after just a few moments of thinking, and said helplessly: "Now when we are thinking about how to eliminate possible war disasters, why should we care about our personal honor and disgrace? The prince is kind, the British Lord He is not a despicable person, and there is no need for you to worry about him."
Zhang Liang was noncommittal. Anyway, once his thoughts were expressed, Cheng Mingzhen would always pass them on to the prince, which would be an extra insurance policy.
Now he is taking orders from Li Ji and colluding with Guan Long in private. If he expresses his loyalty to the prince again and is accepted by the prince, then no matter what the final situation is, he himself will be as stable as Mount Tai and will not be involved in the power struggle, and his own Interests are protected...
He raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the Right Houwei in the west and said: "Look, the Right Houwei has moved!"
Cheng Mingzhen looked quickly and saw that the Eastern Expeditionary Army was slowly advancing. Countless soldiers were lined up in the field, marching like a wall, putting great pressure on the Right Houwei. Somewhat loosened up, they began to be forced to move westward under pressure.
Heading towards the direction of the prince...
…
You Houwei didn't want to move, but he had to move.
Yuchi Gong was riding on his horse, waving his whip bitterly and scolding: "Li Ji bullies others too much! If you want to be a rebellious official and traitor, you can do it yourself. Why force me to be your pawn? You are insidious and vicious, and you are not a son of a man." ! ”
But after scolding, facing the aggressive and pressing Eastern Expedition Army, we had to quickly order the movement to the west. Otherwise, when the Eastern Expedition Army comes into contact with the troops under their command, who knows whether an unexpected melee will break out!
Yu Wenshiji put on an ordinary military uniform and rode beside him, his eyebrows deeply furrowed and difficult to relax...
"Commander Qi, we have seen the Crown Prince's guard of honor ahead, coming towards us!"
The marching right guard suddenly became nervous. Everyone looked towards the direction of the central army, waiting for Yuchi Gong's military order - should they stop on the spot or continue to move forward?