A few days later, in the imperial city, there was Tingquan Xiaozhu.
Following the chamberlain, Kong You followed the palace path to the gate of Tingquan Villa. Kong You looked at the courtyard, which was almost the same as the Bachuan Villa in terms of appearance, furnishings, and structure. For a moment,
Mixed feelings.
The chamberlain whispered from the side: "Zhongcheng, His Majesty is waiting for you, it's time to go in."
Kong You nodded and entered the courtyard along the corridor.
Although it was noon and the sun was shining brightly, soft snowflakes were still floating in the sky.
Entering the middle road of the courtyard, and walking to the door of the inner courtyard, there were two female officials wearing traditional skirts and shawls, and they opened the heavy cotton cover on the door.
The moment Kong You stepped on the door, he felt that the room was warm as spring, and he could still smell the faint fragrance of flowers and plants.
After passing through the front hall and coming to the side hall, Kong You saw two people sitting next to the desk in the room.
One of them is Emperor Zhou Jun, and the other is Zhaoyi Huayue.
When Kong You saw this, he quickly took a step back and said it was disrespectful.
Zhou Jun waved his hand and said: "In the early years in Bachuan, we were all acquaintances, so there's nothing rude about it. Come and sit."
Kong You responded, chose a seat, and sat down carefully.
After Kong You sat firmly, Hua Yue turned around and said to the female officer on the side: "Everyone is here, let's pass on the dishes."
When Kong You heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhou Jun and asked: "Your Majesty, are there no other guests?"
Zhou Jun deliberately looked around, then smiled and said to Kong You: "Take a look, are there any other tables placed here?"
In the huge side hall, there is only a large desk placed in the center, and there are no other tables and chairs.
When Kong You saw this, he also laughed.
After the wine and food were brought to the table, Zhou Jun waved his hand to dismiss the serving palace maids, and said to Hua Yue and Kong You: "Today's banquet, pouring wine, picking dishes, etc., you have to do it yourself, and don't let the servants do it for you.
."
Kong You knew that the emperor and he should have an important conversation today, so he did not want outsiders to be present.
Zhou Jun took a sip of wine first, and then said to Kong You: "Bo Hong, at the court meeting a few days ago, Yu Shi Zhu Lu accused you of killing prisoners of war and acting illegally. Guo Xin and other generals came forward to intercede. You
He was very strong-willed and shouldered all the responsibilities."
Kong You picked up a piece of fish meat with his chopsticks and said helplessly: "It is true that I have acted ungratefully."
Zhou Jun looked at Kong You and said slowly: "At that time, you said that the purpose of killing prisoners of war was for the war... But the truth is, I'm afraid it's not that simple, right?"
Kong You's body trembled and he almost dropped the fish meat from his chopsticks.
Zhou Jun: "Even though the group of Tibetan prisoners cannot be taken into custody because of the fierce fighting, there are many more appropriate 'disposal' methods than killing them on the spot without endangering their personal names, such as...
Kill someone with a borrowed knife."
Kong You put down his chopsticks and just listened quietly.
Zhou Jun: "Among many choices, you chose the worst strategy. This is not consistent with your usual strategies and actions. Why?"
Kong You was silent for a moment and asked softly: "Your Majesty, I have a question, if there is no case of trapping and killing prisoners of war, how do you plan to use me?"
Zhou Jun: "Feng Changqing is the Right Chancellor. He is busy with affairs on weekdays, but he also has errands with the Privy Council. I originally planned to wait for the end of the battle of Chang'an, first promote you to the imperial censor, and then let you enter the Privy Council as temporary deputy.
Knowing his duties as Privy Councilor will free up Feng Changqing to concentrate on other matters."
When Huayue heard this, she looked at Kong You and asked, "You don't want to be in a high position?"
Kong You: "Being able to be a high-ranking official is what many people dream of. How could I not be willing to do so? But..."
Huayue: "But what?"
Kong You: "Instead of holding a high position, I have another important thing to do at the moment."
Zhou Jun: "What happened?"
Kong You: "Wei Chen wants to be transferred to Jiangzhou battlefield."
Zhou Jun was stunned: "You just finished participating in the Battle of Chang'an, why do you want to be transferred to Jiangnan again?"
Kong You: "The army led by Guo Ziyi has been fighting against Lai Ai in Jiangzhou for more than a year. I read the military report and found that in late autumn, Li Guangbi's troops broke through the Xunyang defense line and defeated Shi Siming's army. Lai Ai was worried about being defeated.
Therefore, he took the initiative to withdraw from Jiangcheng, led his troops south, adopted guerrilla methods in Baling, Yuezhou, resisted Guo Ziyi in the north, and used light cavalry to attack Li Guangbi's grain road in the east, which made the progress of the two armies slow."
Zhou Jun: "Although the war in the south of the Yangtze River was delayed, Shi Siming's troops were defeated by Li Guangbi and had fled to the east of the Yangtze River. The troops under Lai Qi suffered heavy casualties in the battle of Jiangcheng. Apart from guerrilla warfare, they had nothing left to fight.
I'm afraid the reason why you want to go to Jiangnan is not these."
Kong You looked at Zhou Jun and sighed: "After all, I can't hide it from Your Majesty... When I go to Jiangnan this time, the war is only secondary. The most important thing is to pave the way for Your Majesty in the future."
Zhou Jun asked curiously: "How do you say this?"
Kong You: "If one day, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is destroyed, what will your Majesty do with the Li Tang clan in Jiangnan and the thousands of nobles who once followed Li Tang?"
Zhou Jun frowned when he heard this.
Kong You: "Your Majesty is the stepson of the Li and Tang royal family. If we kill the remnants of the Jiangnan family, the soldiers and ministers under his command who were loyal to the Tang Dynasty in the past will definitely object, and there may even be a rebellion. However, if we don't kill them,
This group of people will sneak into the court and the market in the future, and they will eventually seek opportunities to cause trouble, and they must be a serious problem for His Majesty."
Zhou Jun was silent for a long time and then asked: "What exactly do you want to do?"
Kong You: "As I just said, I will pave the way for your Majesty in the future."
Zhou Jun: "By paving the way, do you mean killing?"
Kong You shook his head gently: "Your Majesty has already let go of the rebellious ministers in Luoyang City such as Chen Xilie. If he massacres the puppet dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River, it will definitely cause panic among the old ministers. This is inappropriate."
Zhou Jun: "Then you plan to persuade him to surrender?"
Kong You: "The Jiangnan court, from the puppet emperor to the nobles, all hate His Majesty to the core. To rashly persuade him to surrender is nothing more than asking for trouble."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhou Jun was a little confused: "Not to kill, nor to persuade to surrender?"
Kong You: "For the puppet dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River, I have my own plans. I just ask your Majesty to rest assured."
Zhou Jun thought about it for a while and finally drank a glass of wine.
Kong You said another thing at this time: "Your Majesty, in order to be able to go to Jiangnan to seek affairs, I originally planned to find someone to report quietly to impeach myself for killing prisoners, but unexpectedly, Yu Shi Zhu Lu took the lead.
"
Zhou Jun: "Zhu Lu is usually greedy for life and afraid of death, but he definitely doesn't dare to act like this. Someone must have instigated him."
Kong You: "Actually, Wei Chen probably also knows who instigated Zhu Lu... Wei Chen is the supervisor of the Jinyi Guard Mansion, and it is normal for the people below to want to replace him."
Zhou Jun slowly said a name: "Yuan Zai."
Kong You: "Yes, Yuanzai is a man who is greedy for power and money, and always wants to climb up. Naturally, he will not be satisfied with the position of governor of the Zhenfu Division. He squeezes out the low-ranking ministers and takes charge of the Jinyiwei, so he seeks someone to report him. It is reasonable and reasonable.
…However, I’m afraid this matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface.”
Zhou Jun: "Oh?"
Kong You: "At the court meeting that day, not only several officials from the Yushitai, but also many officials from the Shangshu Province and the Zhongshu Province also agreed with Zhu Lu overtly or covertly. Although it may be due to nature, but
The voices of these people are too consistent, as if they were organized in advance."
Zhou Jun: "Are you trying to say that Yuan Zai was also used? Is there someone else behind the whole thing?"
Kong You nodded slightly.
Zhou Jun asked solemnly: "Do you have any guesses about the identity of the person behind this?"
Kong You opened his mouth slightly and was about to speak.
After thinking for a moment, Kong You shook his head and changed his words: "Wei Chen doesn't know who he is."
When Huayue heard this, she seemed to remember something and couldn't help but frown.