Chapter 261 The big officials, let's steel to the end
In less than an hour, Daxuan's army surrounded the lord's castle in Lansuo City.
Lansuo City is not well prepared for war. There are not many defenders in the castle, only more than a thousand people, but
Chu Xin wanted to take the castle in one go, but unexpectedly Lord Lansuo walked out of the castle himself, led his soldiers, and surrendered to the Xuan army.
Ten years ago, Emperor Zhaoxing signed the "Yunwo Heshu", for which Daxuan endured ten years of humiliation.
So far, Da Xuan'erlang has captured Tunu's city again.
Liang Jixiong stood on the feudal lord's castle, pouring one cup after another of wine into the city. Two lines of old tears flowed down with the wine.
"You dear son of Daxuan, you shed a lot of blood in vain back then. Today I come to see you. I come to see you with the battle flag of Daxuan!"
The castle was replaced with the flag of Daxuan, and the soldiers cheered endlessly.
The prince carried the wine jar and toasted to the soldiers one by one. Xu Zhiqiong drank two glasses, his smile still awkward.
Tao Huayuan searched around the castle, but did not find Taibu. She saw Xu Zhiqiong standing on the corridor with a lonely expression, and accompanied Xu Zhiqiong to watch the snow scene together.
She knew why Xu Zhiqiong hurt his body: "It's better to tell the truth now, so as not to let their joy here go to waste."
Xu Zhiqiong sighed: "They have suffered so much, and it is always a blessing to be happy."
Tao Huayuan said: "So what if I am blessed with this night? It will all come to nothing in the end!"
"It's not all in vain," Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said, "This battle must not be in vain!"
That night, the prince was so drunk that he slept until noon the next day.
In the afternoon, Xu Zhiqiong went to see the prince. Before he could say a few words, Liang Jixiong and Chu Xin hurried into the room.
"I'm telling you that this old thief, Taibu, wants to do something bad!" Liang Jixiong pounded the table hard, "I didn't let the prince leave the capital, but he refused to listen. This old thief was so smart that he dared to commit an assassination. Now he has angered the emperor and asked me to wait.
"Teach the teacher immediately, what should I do?"
Liang Jixiong received official information, which was slightly different from the real situation.
According to official reports, the emperor had woken up long ago and was secretly observing in the palace to see who had disobedient intentions.
This not only reflected the emperor's wisdom, but also impressed the courtiers in the capital.
The emperor wants everyone to understand that he knows everything that has happened recently, and anyone with a disobedient heart will not escape his grasp.
The message also said that the emperor had long noticed that Taibu had disloyal intentions, so he took precautions to prevent Taibu from succeeding. Now that Taibu is on the run, the emperor is searching for the rest of the party and ordered the prince to arrest all the yin and yang cultivators.
Escorted back to Beijing.
Although the statements are different, the result is the same.
The prince asked: "Have all the Yin-Yang cultivators in the Yin-Yang Division been arrested?"
Liang Jixiong said: "I sent the Canglong Guard to investigate, and Taibu made preparations in advance. When the Imperial Army arrived, there was only an empty building left in the Yin and Yang Division."
The prince nodded and said, "That's good, that's good."
Liang Jixiong gritted his teeth and said, "I only hate that shameless old man Taibu for ruining something big!"
The prince shook his head and said: "It's not the fault of the divination. Now that my father has woken up, the country of Daxuan belongs to him after all. I still have to listen to my father's orders!"
Liang Jixiong said angrily: "The blood of thousands of soldiers has been shed in vain!"
"No!" the prince said to Chu Xin, "General Chariot and Cavalry, you lead the soldiers to garrison again. I will leave for Beijing today to inform my father about the situation of the war and inform the civil and military officials of the court. This victory must not be in vain. The territory we conquered
Never give it up to others!”
Liang Jixiong sighed and said: "Forget it, I will go back with you. I have to explain this truth clearly even if I risk my life!"
Chu Xin said: "Are we going to arrest the yin and yang cultivators in the army?"
The prince shook his head and said: "If you don't arrest them, just keep an eye on them. They are meritorious people. They should not be implicated in this matter. No matter what we do, we must absolve them of their guilt!"
Liang Jixiong stood up and said: "If you want to return to the capital, you have to rely on the Yin and Yang magic circle. It's a pity that such Yin and Yang cultivators are implicated in divination. That's all. I won't say more. I'm leaving now. I just hope I can save them."
life!"
The two were about to set off when they suddenly heard Xu Zhiqiong say: "Wait a minute!"
Xu Zhiqiong said to Chu Xin: "General Chu, don't tell the soldiers about this yet!"
Chu Xin was stunned and turned to look at the prince and Liang Jixiong.
Liang Jixiong shook his head and said, "How long can you keep it a secret? You might as well have told them earlier!"
Xu Zhiqiong said to Chu Xin: "General Chariot and Cavalry, please trust me for once. This matter must not be mentioned to the soldiers. Please allow me to have a word with the prince and Elder Shengwei alone."
Looking at Xu Zhiqiong's expression, Chu Xin felt that this matter seemed to be turning around.
He turned and left, leaving only three people in the room.
Xu Zhiqiong said to the prince: "Your Highness, you can't go back to Beijing, the battle is not over yet!"
Liang Jixiong smiled bitterly and said: "Zhiqiong, I know you are unwilling to give in, but now is not the time to think about fighting!"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Now that Lien Zhan and Lianjie's morale is at its peak, it is a perfect opportunity to capture Nanyuxing Province in one fell swoop!"
Liang Jixiong said: "The emperor asked me to wait for our master to return to the capital. If we resist the order, we will become criminals!"
"If you go back, won't you be a sinner?"
Liang Jixiong asked in surprise: "What crime do we have?"
"Is the crime of assassination and treason serious enough?"
Liang Jixiong said angrily: "What does the assassination have to do with us?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "The purpose of Taibu's assassination was to help the crown prince succeed to the throne. With a little trickery, the crime can be placed on the crown prince. Can the mastermind behind this escape the crime?"
Elder Shengwei has a close relationship with the prince and is dissatisfied with the emperor. Can he escape the charge of conspiracy?"
Liang Jixiong gritted his teeth and said, "He wants to frame us with empty words? The Liang clan's rules are still there, but I don't believe it and can't explain it!"
Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said: "Second brother, you haven't suffered a loss for some time, but you have forgotten the pain. The emperor has made complete preparations and waited for you to return. Do you want to throw yourself into a trap again? Do you want to fight with him again?
What? Do you still want to go back and talk to the emperor? When have you ever seen the emperor talk to him?"
Liang Jixiong said: "There are still civil and military ministers in the court! He is unreasonable, but he does not believe that there is no reason!"
Liang Jixiong was a little emotional. During this period, he received a lot of support from the cabinet and ministers, which gave him some illusions, as if the cabinet and ministers would always support him unconditionally.
"Second brother, please tell me why the cabinet wants to help you reason?"
Liang Jixiong was a little excited: "The prince is not in the capital, but fighting in the north. Yin and Yang Sitaibu assassinated the emperor. What does it have to do with the prince? Why should he be framed against the prince?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Where can this truth be taught? Should it be taught while standing in the court?"
"Of course it will be said in court!"
Xu Zhiqiong smiled: "Second brother, why does the emperor see you in the court?"
In one sentence, Liang Jixiong was choked and speechless.
Xu Zhiqing continued: "But you said that you have not suffered a loss for a long time, but you have forgotten the pain. If the emperor doesn't see you, he will let you go back to the Canglong Palace and the prince back to the East Palace. Is there anything wrong with that?
The prince returned to the East Palace, and the emperor wanted to ask him to ask questions. Whether it was about the war or about the assassins, the prince should answer the question, right?
When we arrived at the secret pavilion, we casually grabbed the prince and said that he was an associate of the assassins and was caught by Chen Shuncai. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Elder Canglong shouted: "This is definitely inappropriate! This is the time to reason. I will go to the emperor to reason with you, and I will bring all the civil and military ministers with me to reason with you!"
"Who are you trying to reason with? Are you trying to reason with a prisoner? His Royal Highness has become a prisoner."
"He dares!" Liang Jixiong was furious, "Without any evidence, he dares..."
"Why doesn't he dare? Evidence is like a bird's egg in the eyes of the emperor!"
Liang Jixiong stopped talking. Xu Zhiqiong was right. Not only in the eyes of the emperor, but also in the eyes of the members of the clan, evidence was not even a bird's egg.
Xu Zhiqiong continued: "There are many capable people in the palace. Does forging two letters count as evidence? When the evidence of guilt is confirmed, how do you ask the ministers to defend the prince?"
Liang Jixiong snorted and said, "Even if I risk my life, I still want to save the prince."
"Preservation? Risk your life, just for preservation? Recover the entire territory of Yongzhou, capture Tunu's Lansuo City, just for preservation?
There are good chess pieces all over the board, but you just send a solitary piece to the emperor just for the sake of preservation?
You have protected the prince, but who will protect the soldiers who have been through life and death? Who will protect the territory of Daxuan? "Yunwo Heshu" is everywhere in Tunu country, why don't you sign another "Lansuo Heshu"? Don't worry about Mao Sha anymore
Should the emperor call him uncle? Wait for them to write a biography of the wise nephew and filial piety?"
Liang Jixiong was almost in tears. This was the scar in his heart that he least wanted to uncover. This was the last thing he wanted to see, but these things were almost a foregone conclusion.
The prince sighed and said: "Zhiqiong, brother, what do you think we should do about this matter?"
"This matter is easy to handle!" Xu Zhiqiong thought about it all night last night and figured everything out. "The battle will continue. After Lansuo City is captured, several surrounding towns must also be captured. The entire Nanyu City must be captured."
Take down all the provinces!"
Liang Jixiong said: "But this matter of resisting the imperial decree..."
Xu Zhiqiong said: "At this time, we have to use the ministers to remonstrate! For a prince who is plotting to rebel and assassinate, the ministers may not be willing to remonstrate, but for the sake of Daxuan's country, they will definitely speak up.
The prince cannot go back before the battle is over. If he wants to go back, he will be a fool and he is not worthy of sitting on the throne!"
Liang Jixiong said: "What if the emperor unleashes his thunderous wrath..."
"Who is he angry with?" Xu Zhiqiong sneered, "Our emperor is not afraid of smart people. He is a smart person himself, and he is not afraid of good people. He can play good people to death.
The only thing he fears is ruthless people, and Tunu is ruthless enough, so he calls Tunu uncle. Counting Tunu’s prisoners, the prince has more than 90,000 soldiers and horses, who does the emperor dare to be angry with?"
Liang Jixiong was stunned.
At first, he did not agree with Xu Zhiqiong's idea. He believed that resisting the imperial edict was the most undesirable idea.
But I have to admit that following Xu Zhiqiong's thinking can achieve the most perfect result. He knows the emperor's temperament very well and hits the emperor's weakness every time.
Xu Zhiqiong said: "This battle must be fought. Not even an inch of the land that Da Xuan'erlang bought with his own flesh and blood can be allowed out! Not even an inch of the achievements that Da Xuan'erlang has gained with his own flesh and blood can be wiped out!"
The prince nodded and said: "Then I will stay here and continue fighting, but I am afraid that the weapons, food and wages will be unsustainable."
Liang Jixiong sighed: "I'm afraid the emperor will immediately cut off the army's food supply."
Xu Zhiqiong unfolded the map and said: "If the prefect of Luzhou were alive, this matter would be really difficult to handle. But if he dies, please His Highness the Crown Prince to appoint someone immediately to take over the position of prefect temporarily. The official rations of Luzhou can be used by the army. ,
Yongzhou is in ruins and awaits redevelopment. We cannot hope for it for the time being, but we must appoint a prefect to make long-term plans for the future.
There are nine cities in Nanyuhang Province. Every time a city is captured, one city official will be appointed to run the three states!"
Liang Jixiong said: "The slaves are poor and may not have much food in stock. I am afraid that they will not be able to supply them in the future."
"Let's go back and ask for food from the emperor," Xu Zhiqiong looked at Liang Jixiong, "The prince can't go back, so we brothers have to go back and get it out of his hands one by one!"
Liang Jixiong gritted his teeth: "Okay! This is the right way! Let's leave immediately!"
"Don't worry," Xu Zhiqiong waved his hand, "We'll leave in two days. Today I'll write the script, and you'll memorize the lyrics tomorrow!"
Liang Jixiong was stunned: "Why write a play script?"
Xu Zhiqiong said with a stern look: "The emperor wrote a notebook first, and as soon as he came up, he wanted us to be forced to the edge of the cliff. Let's also write a notebook and see who is standing on the edge of the cliff!"
…
Two days later, Emperor Zhaoxing was reading a book on dream interpretation in Tianzhang Pavilion when he heard that Chen Shuncai came to report: "Elder Shengwei has returned to Beijing."
Emperor Zhaoxing waved his hand and said, "I don't want to see him."
"This..." Chen Shuncai's expression was a little ugly.
Emperor Zhaoxing sneered: "This old guy must be very anxious to come to see me, and then tell me how the war in the north is going, how many results have been achieved, how much territory has been conquered, how much credit the prince has made, and how much he has defended. , saying that it was impossible for him to assassinate,
Everything this old guy wanted to say was within my expectations.
So what if we win the battle? Can meritorious service cover up the crime of treason? So what if we conquer the territory? Has he ever thought about my safety? Without me, what will happen if Daxuan has more territory?
I don’t want to hear him talk so hard that he can’t say a word, so I’ll ask Yuyang to come over and see me!”
Chen Shuncai said: "Your Majesty, the prince has not returned to Beijing."
"What?" Emperor Zhaoxing was furious, "You traitor, how dare you resist the order and ask Liang Jixiong to come see me immediately!"
Chen Shuncai's expression became even more ugly: "Your Majesty, Elder Shengwei said that he has no time to face you."
Emperor Zhaoxing said in astonishment: "What do you mean? Be clear!"
Chen Shuncai tried to speak as plainly as possible: "Elder Shengwei said he doesn't want to see you."