Chapter 150 Frankly admitting the military disaster
Three days later, an imperial edict was issued in the palace. Wang Zhongsi was appointed as the envoy of Shuofang Jiedu and the interview envoy of Hedong Jiedu. He was granted the title of Duke of Qingyuan County. After the prisoner ceremony was completed, the territory was returned to his jurisdiction.
When others heard about this reward, they all thought that Wang Zhongsi had received the favor of a saint.
But when Zhou Jun heard the news, a huge sense of powerlessness and frustration filled his heart.
He once tried to persuade Li Linfu and also tried to help Wang Zhongsi, but in the end, history was still the same history without any change.
After asking member Wei for a day off, Zhou Jun returned to Bachuan Villa.
After saying peace to Mr. Pang, Zhou Jun walked into his small courtyard.
Sitting in the patio, Zhou Jun looked up at the sky.
The sky of the Tang Dynasty was much bluer than that of later generations, with no haze visible. If you look closely, you can even vaguely see the moon and stars in the daytime.
However, seeing too clearly is sometimes not a good thing.
Huayue came over with a pot of tea, and Zhou Jun took a cup. He saw tea-colored amber and a fragrant aroma.
Tasting it slowly, compared to later generations of tea, the taste is a bit green and astringent at first, but after a while, it will have a long aftertaste and leave a fragrance in your mouth.
Seeing Zhou Jun's careful taste, Hua Yue took a glass of her own, drank it slowly, and breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "I don't know how to describe this taste. After drinking it, it feels like the whole body, the five internal organs and the six spleens have been cleansed."
Already."
Zhou Jun looked at the amber tea in the cup and said softly: "The young buds are fragrant and spiritual. I call them heroes among the herbs. There are heroes among the herbs. Although the taste is bitter, the heart is at peace."
Huayue looked at Zhou Jun and asked in a low voice: "Is there something on Erlang's mind?"
Zhou Jun smiled bitterly and said: "I want to change other people's opinions, but I find that no matter what, I can't do it."
Hua Yue: "Why should you change other people's opinions? Isn't it just a matter of being yourself?"
Zhou Jun was stunned when he heard this.
Huayue: "If you think you are right, then just go ahead and put your hopes on others. In the end, it will be in vain."
Zhou Jun lowered his head and began to think.
After a long time, he raised his head and said to Huayue: "Call Kong You here. I have something to say to you two."
Huayue responded, stood up and left the yard.
A quarter of an hour later, Kong You and Hua Yue entered the patio.
Zhou Jun waved to the two of them and motioned them to come to the study to talk.
The three of them entered the study, and Zhou Jun turned around and closed the door and window, which made Kong You Huayue and the others confused.
First, he asked the two of them to take their seats. Zhou Jun said to Kong You, "Bo Hong, do you still remember what we said before that there will be war in the north in the future?"
Kong You thought about it for a moment.
Previously, when discussing the location of Tea House, Zhou Jun chose the far side instead of the near side, but this hinted that there might be war in the north in the future.
Seeing Kong You nodding, Zhou Jun took out the map of the Tang Dynasty from the bookshelf, displayed it on the desk, and said: "The war in the north started at the end of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, when An Lushan and Shi Siming rebelled.
The war launched by the Tang Dynasty."
Kong You and Hua Yue were both surprised.
Zhou Jun continued: "The 120,000 Hebei frontier troops originally guarding the northeastern part of the Tang Dynasty, plus the Khitan, Xi, Shiwei, and Tongluo 30,000 Fan troops, and 50,000 civilians, a total of 200,000 troops, since Youyou
The state went south and invaded the Central Plains."
"The rebels finally invaded Chang'an. They massacred the city, killed, surrendered, burned, killed, and looted wherever they went. This lasted for eight years. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the population of Tianbao was 55 million. After this turmoil, the sharp
Reduced to tens of millions."
Hearing this, Hua Yue was so shocked that she opened her mouth from ear to ear and asked, "You mean, a total of 45 million people died in this war?!"
Zhou Jun: "If we only count military disasters, there would not be so many dead. But if we add in the famine and plague that followed, it would be this number. As long as the war has affected the place, bones are everywhere, and they can be seen within a thousand miles."
There are no people left, and millions of Tang people have been displaced."
After Kong You and Hua Yue heard these words, they froze on the spot and did not recover for a long time.
After a long time, Kong You asked Zhou Jun: "The rebels went south and entered Chang'an. Where are the Tang border troops and the emperor's imperial army?"
Zhou Jun: "In the ten years before the rebellion, most of them died in border wars."
Kong You took a breath and asked: "Excluding Hebei, the Tang Dynasty could control more than 300,000 soldiers. When the rebellion broke out, most of them died?"
Zhou Jun nodded heavily.
Kong You couldn't believe it and asked again: "Why is it gone? Is it an invasion from another country?"
Zhou Jun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No, it was mostly because I used offense as defense in those few years, but ended up losing again."
Kong You couldn't accept it for a moment, so he could only sit there and slowly digest the information.
Huayue recalled some of Zhou Jun's words and deeds at this time, and slowly understood the latter's feelings, and said: "Erlang, since you know this, and the Lord has sent you here, then there must be some reason behind it.
."
Zhou Jun scratched his head.
reason?
Before time travel, he was still a staunch atheist, but now, he only has confusion in his mind.
Kong You said: "Erlang mentioned Li Linfu and Wang Zhongsi before, is it also related to the future war in the north?"
Zhou Jun nodded and said: "If Li Linfu hadn't proposed to replace the military governor with a vassal general, and if Wang Zhongsi had returned to the imperial court and become prime minister, then the disaster in the future might have been avoided."
After hearing this, Kong You just shook his head: "Erlang, you think things are too simple."
Zhou Jun motioned to Kong You to continue.
Kong You: "Li Linfu replaced the court generals with vassal generals. On the one hand, he did not let the court generals threaten his position. On the other hand, he also wanted to cater to the saint and find sources for palace expenses."
Zhou Jun nodded, this statement is true.
Kong You: "As for Wang Zhongsi, no matter what, the saint will not agree to his return to the court and becoming the prime minister."
Zhou Jun asked in confusion: "Why?"
Kong You: "Erlang, do you still remember that when we were talking about the struggle between left and right ministers, a certain person once talked about the sage's balancing technique."
"As a member of the prince's party, Li Shizhi also had good relations with Wei Jian, Han Chaozong, Huangfu Weiming and other important ministers. Compared with Li Linfu who had been supporting King Shou, his power was much stronger."
"If Wang Zhongsi returns to the court as prime minister at this time, the imbalance of power in the court will probably never be restored."
Kong You pointed to the tea cup on the table and said: "In the heart of a saint, a bowl of water must be held level, and two cups of tea must have the same amount. Any tilt will lead to one party being dominant in the court."
"Erlang can think about it. If Li Shizhi, Wang Zhongsi and others really become big and overthrow Li Linfu, what will they do next?"
Zhou Jun said in a deep voice: "Help the prince to ascend to the throne."
Kong You: "Yes, the saint went through several coups in the palace before he got the throne now. He is naturally very sensitive to this kind of thing. If there is any sign, he will kill it as soon as possible."
"That Wang Zhongsi is the crown prince's younger brother. When they were in the Tenth Prince's Palace, they were called brothers and could even "sleep and stand together"."
"Even if such people are fake, how can a saint keep them by his side with peace of mind?"
When Zhou Jun heard this, he also understood that even if he reminded Wang Zhongsi and the latter really escaped Li Linfu's plan, he might not be able to stay in the court for long and would eventually be released to the frontier.
In the final analysis, Wang Zhongsi's inability to become a prime minister was due to the balancing technique of today's sage Li Longji.
Kong You looked at the map, thought for a moment, and then said to Zhou Jun: "Erlang, since we know that there will be a big disaster in the north ten years from now, we have to make some plans now. How should we deal with it in the future?"