Wang Xueshan and his son defected to the She family and sent their retainers to assassinate Liu Zhi. It only took one day to cross the river by boat and sail back to Jiangning via Yijiang.
Since the 17th, it has snowed heavily in Jiangning for two more days. The snow on the walls and roofs is as thick as a mattress. Standing under the pavilion in Chenyuan Beiyuan, I can see from a distance a blanket of white snow, and the rows of houses are covered with snow.
The snow covered it, leaving behind criss-crossing streets as dense as a thread.
Lin Fu sat on top of the pavilion in the North Garden of Chenyuan, inviting people close to him to enjoy the snow. From Lin Xuwen down, Huang Jinnian, Qin Chengzu, Lin Mengde, Gao Zongting, Song Fu, Sun Jingtang and others are all core figures in Huaidong.
, Chen Huazhang was also invited to enjoy the snow to show his closeness.
"Before the emperor abandoned Jiangning and fled westward, Prime Minister Chen and the emperor had a fierce dispute in the Wenhua Palace over whether to abandon the capital. Before a formal decision was made, the news spread throughout the city. At that time, it was basically possible
I concluded that either there was a problem with the ministers, or there was a problem with the eunuchs, but I didn't expect that the problem actually came from Wang Xueshan..." Gao Zongting said with emotion.
"That's fine," Song Fu said, "the defeat of Huizhou and the emperor's abandonment of the capital and flight to the west can all be blamed on Wang Xueshan, and everyone will have a step to step down..."
Lin Fu nodded and said: "There is still a letter from Juchao, signed by King Zuo, Cheng, and King Chu. The emperor also drafted an edict in his own hand, asking us to arrest the royal party's remnants. It seems that the emperor really shied away all the blame.
Let’s blame Wang Xueshan. From this point of view, that’s all we can do, and it’s not appropriate to go into it any further. Then we’ll have to wait until the emperor’s culprit is punished, and then we’ll be done..."
All the central government officials have gone away. There are only three or five people in the three provinces, six ministries and nine temple supervisors left to support the scene. It is impossible to maintain the operation of the central government. Whether Emperor Yongxing comes back doesn't matter much. If the accompanying officials don't come back, it won't matter.
It will be difficult for the central government to resume operations immediately.
In order to get the court back into operation as soon as possible, Lin Fu would not even carry out a bloody purge; as long as all the officials accompanying him returned to Jiangning, he could slowly boil the frogs in warm water.
"The King of Chu will not have any good intentions when he goes to Juchao at this time; Liu Zhi's life or death is unknown in Juchao. There are always many things to discuss and compromise before the emperor returns to court - how about I go away?" Lin Xuwen said.
"Then let Zongting accompany you for a trip," Lin Fu said. This time when he went to Juchao, he wanted to settle everything that could be decided, and try his best to welcome Emperor Yongxing back before and after the new year. Many things will happen in the coming year.
In order to proceed in an orderly manner, Gao Zongting accompanied Lin Xuwen and shared some mental tasks, and said, "As long as they are willing to come back, we can agree to any conditions. Let's see what other tricks they can come up with."
"
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On the 20th, Lin Xuwen and Gao Zongting took the Queen Mother Yi Zhi to the west in a carriage. They were escorted by Zhao Bao with a battalion of cavalry and crossed the Yijiang River to enter Juchao.
Most of the blame can be placed on Wang Xueshan, and Huaidong and the Queen Mother also acquiesced. Zuo Chengmu, Cheng Yuqian, Yu Xinyuan, Wang Tian and others felt more at ease and learned from past mistakes, so they no longer stopped Huaidong from sending troops to escort.
Lin Xuwen and Gao Zongting entered the nest.
They are also worried that if there is another problem with the defense and another assassination occurs, the whole situation will be difficult to control.
Wang Xueshan was blamed for the defeat of Huizhou and the fall of the imperial capital, and the biggest worries of the officials who fled westward were relieved. Emperor Yongxing blamed all his mismanagement on Wang Xueshan, who was deceived by traitors.
The father and son were brought up and tortured several times, and they felt much better.
With the persuasion of Zuo Yu, King Zhang and others, Emperor Yongxing was able to accept the unbearable reality in front of him, and the biggest obstacle to the negotiations was eliminated.
In addition to disbanding the imperial camp and establishing a new Privy Council to take charge of military affairs, Lin Fu also had no intention of carrying out major operations on the state system and officials before the overall situation was stable.
Wang Xueshan and his son were escorted back to Jiangning, and the three departments of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were also held for a formal joint trial to convict him. Officials from other ministries, prisons, and temples will remain in their positions without any major changes.
Chen Xiyan sacrificed his life for the imperial court, and the title will be discussed again after returning to Jiangning. Cheng Yuqian had the most seniority, and was the second prime minister before, and was promoted to chief assistant. Zuo Chengmu made meritorious efforts in admonishing twice and was promoted to second prime minister. Wang Tian resigned from the prime minister due to illness, and Xu
In order to retire and return to his hometown, Yu Xinyuan was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister; the Minister of Household Affairs vacated by Wang Xueshan was also appointed as Deputy Prime Minister Lin Xuwen.
Zhang Yan continued to be in charge of the Iron and Salt Department and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The original imperial camp army was disbanded, the imperial horse guards were disbanded, and the troops and horses were taken over by Chizhou and Huaixi respectively. Xie Dan, who could not calm down at the critical moment, was naturally abandoned by Yue Lengqiu, who only had more than 10,000 soldiers.
Ma did not dare to resist and could only accept the fate of leading his troops to Huaixi to be reorganized by Dong Yuan.
After the disbandment of the imperial camp, the capital defense will be responsible for the formation of a new imperial camp, which will be subordinate to the Privy Council, but the details will not be discussed in detail until the emperor returns to the court.
After the general framework was agreed upon, on the 24th, Yue Lengqiu sent Deng Yu, Dong Yuan sent his general Gongsun Qi to accept the disbanded imperial camp, and Yuan Guizheng also came to Juchao on the 25th.
On the 26th, I ordered him to sin under his nest.
The edict stated that he was deceived by traitors and stayed away from loyal people, resulting in the defeat of Huizhou and the fall of Jiangning, which harmed the country and the people. The edict was specially issued to show self-reflection and to invite the Queen Mother to supervise the government. This is the essence of the edict.
Emperor Yongxing gave up his power of pro-government by issuing an edict on his own.
Emperor Yongxing was afraid that after returning to Jiangning, Huaidong and the Queen Mother would be poisoned, so before he prepared an edict to punish himself, he appointed the emperor's eldest son Yuan Ximin as King of Shou, and was escorted by Chu King Yuan Hancheng to Shouzhou to join the vassal-he was determined to regain his power.
The last glimmer of hope rests on Huaixi.
Lin Xuwen and Gao Zongting, on behalf of Huaidong, had no intention of stirring up trouble and irritating Emperor Yongxing again, and agreed to the appointment of King Shou.
On the same day when the emperor issued the imperial edict, Ge Cunxin, Zhang Gou and others led the Huaidong Water Infantry into Juchao.
Ge Cunxin led a large number of warships and merchant ships to pick up the people; Zhang Gou led his troops to take over the defense of Luzhou Prefecture.
In addition to the disbanded imperial camp and the imprisoned guards on horseback, there were about 60,000 to 70,000 people from the harem, concubines, chamberlains, maids, officials, family members, and servants who fled westward with Emperor Yongxing. Lin Fu had no intention of asking them to return together.
Going to Jiangning will aggravate Jiangning's food shortage.
The concubines of the harem, as well as the distinguished chamberlains, female officials, official relatives, and indentured servants and children of the family can accompany them back to the capital. The rest will be taken over by the Luzhou Prefecture and placed on the spot.
As a result, less than 30,000 people were able to accompany him back to the capital in the end, especially the chambermaids and palace maids. There were less than 600 chambermaids with good taste, so 5,000 people were cut off at once.
Juchao is only three to four hundred miles away from Jiangning by water, and it is still along the river. It can be returned day and night, but many things are complicated. However, Chu Wang Yuan Hancheng escorted King Shou to Shouzhou first, and Huaixi and Chizhou respectively.
After taking away the water infantry that had been disbanded by the imperial camp, Emperor Yongxing returned to the court with all the officials. The trip was delayed until the sixth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of Yongxing.
On the sixth day of the lunar month, Liu Zhi's injuries gradually recovered and he escaped.
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Counting from the war in Eastern Fujian, the early stage of this chaos only lasted three months, and the entire Jianghuai land underwent earth-shaking changes - and because it happened so quickly, the bandits called Yanlu had no chance to take advantage of it.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Yongxing and hundreds of officials entered Jiangning through the Dongshui Gate of Jinchuan. Lin Fu led the officials who stayed in Jiangning to greet him at Dongshui Gate at noon and escorted Emperor Yongxing into the imperial city to meet the Empress Dowager Liang.
In front of the Wenhua Palace, Yuan Jianwu stepped down from the chariot and looked at the majestic palace. His eyes were filled with tears and his body was trembling slightly. He couldn't help but look at the new Privy Councilor Lin Fu who was walking beside him with a sword in his hand.
Although the guards inside and outside the palace all wore palace scarlet armor, they were all Huaidong armored soldiers. The cold-light blade made people worry whether it would fall on their necks next moment -
- This cage has to be crawled into after all. Zhang Yan looked at Lin Fu who was walking side by side with Cheng Yuqian, and then saw that the emperor's mane had frosty hair, and he felt sad in his heart.
The privy envoy was the same as the imperial envoy before the dismissal. Lin Fu was given the special gift of "swords and shoes to go to the palace and pay homage without being named" by the Queen Mother. Therefore, he was on the same rank as the chief assistant Cheng Yuqian, but according to Lin Xuwen, he also headed the household department.
From the perspective of Shangshu, after this Chaotang, there may be six departments in the future and the Zhengshitang will be neglected.
Before Emperor Yongxing entered the Wenhua Hall, he read out the imperial edict on his sins to all the officials on the Rhinoceros Platform, and then ordered the Queen Mother to enter the hall for questioning. Next, all the officials entered the hall to worship. On the high hall, they saw,
Next to the dragon chair, another phoenix was added. The Queen Mother wore a phoenix crown court dress and sat on the phoenix. From this moment on, she officially began to supervise the government. She didn't even bother to hang up a curtain. Emperor Yongxing's face was ashen as he sat on it.
The dragon chair looked like a dead tree, and there was no movement for a long time.
"Ask Duke Pengcheng to come forward and listen to the order..." Queen Mother Liang looked down from a high position, her cloudy eyes looking towards Lin Fu, with a lot of reluctance in her expression.
Zhou Yuanqiao followed Liu Zhi to live in the west, and was recommended by Liu Zhi to serve as Huangmen's chamberlain. The Queen Mother's voice was low, so he sang the edict according to the rules: "The Queen Mother has a decree, Duke Pengcheng, Doctor Jin Ziguanglu, Huaidong, Xuzhou,
Lin Fu, the director of the Eastern Zhejiang Province, came forward to listen to the order!"
Zhang Yan, Cheng Yuqian, Yu Xinyuan, Zuo Chengmu and others were still subconsciously shocked when they heard this. Although Lin Xuwen and Gao Zongting had discussed with them about Lin Fu's official appointment and reward when they went to Juchao, they still had some doubts in their hearts.
Too much reluctance.
Lin Fu looked at his nose with his eyes, walked to the palace, held his hands and bowed his head, saying: "I am here..."
"After the Autumn, there was a national crisis. The emperor was deceived by treacherous evil spirits. He repeatedly lost state power, resulting in the defeat of Huizhou, the collapse of the imperial camp, and the fall of the imperial capital. Lin Qing led his troops to turn the tide on his own. He rebelled against the invaders in consecutive battles, regained the imperial capital, and installed the ancestral temple. His achievements were comparable to the reconstruction of the imperial capital.
, granted the title of Chong Guogong, the fiefdom of Chongzhou, the special title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Dr. Zuo Guanglu, plus Shizhong, Shaofu, with the title of Zuodu Censor, and also led the guard, privy envoy, and the governor of the capital camp..."
The empress dowager's hoarse voice echoed in the hall, and a series of honorary and official titles were called Zhang Yan. Cheng Yuqian and others were trembling with fear. Before entering Jiangning, they had some confidence to compete with Huaidong. At this moment
Only then did I feel that the confidence I had before was as pale and powerless as the winter sun.