Chapter 153: The beginning of civil unrest in Wei (2) [two in one]
"Your Majesty, Mr. Wei Ziyu wishes to see you."
When the eunuch Gao He came to report the matter, Zhao Hongrun was lying on a recliner in the inner hall of Chuigong Hall and reading a scroll.
Reading is one of the effective ways for him to pass the time when he is bored. Unfortunately, because he has a photographic memory, he can only read each book once before he can remember it verbatim.
Afterwards, the fun of revisiting the past and learning new things is missing.
The biggest problem is that there are not many books in this era, and the books written by those contemporary rigorous literati are simply not as fast as Zhao Run can read.
Just like the book in Zhao Run's hand today, it is actually the art of war compiled by Baili Ba, Zhu Hai, and Xu Yin, the former generals of Wei State. It is a textbook for Daliang military science. The three former generals compiled their life experience.
His experiences, as well as his experiences in training and commanding troops, were written in detail in the book. It took more than two years to write these few tens of thousands of words. However, in only half a stick of incense, Zhao Run had already completed this book.
I went through the art of war thoroughly and kept all the contents firmly in my mind.
Perhaps, when talent is too outstanding, it can also become a problem.
"Wei Gong Ziyu?"
Zhao Hongrun was a little surprised when he put down the book on the art of war compiled by three former generals.
The alliance in Daliang actually came to an end half a month ago. At least Zhao Run had achieved his goal and showed the powerful side of the Wei State in front of the envoys from various countries, so that the latter did not dare to fight against the Wei State.
As for the enemy, after that day, it was only the free time for envoys from various countries to move around - to put it bluntly, those envoys from various countries were spying on Wei's intelligence.
Zhao Hongrun knew this matter very well, but as a master, he naturally couldn't drive away these guests from all over the world. What's more, he didn't mind these envoys secretly spying on any information. After all, the real key thing was that he Wei
It is absolutely impossible for state officials to leak it.
Among all the people who have been engaged in espionage and detailed work in recent days, Wei Gong Ziyu is also one of them. As far as Zhao Hongrun knows, this cousin also visited the smelting factory again in the name of "arms order" a few days ago.
Bureau, trying to find out to what extent the swords and guns weapons currently forged by Wei State have reached, and want to use this as a pursuit goal for Wei State to develop the forging industry.
These matters were reported to him by the Green Crows and officials from the Smelting Bureau.
However, what puzzled Zhao Hongrun was that Wei Gong Ziyu had visited Zhao Run's adoptive mother, Queen Mother Shen, with gifts purchased in Bolangsha Port City two days ago. On the same day, he said goodbye to Zhao Run and prepared to return to Wei Kingdom.
, Zhao Hongrun thought that his cousin would return to Weiguo yesterday, but unexpectedly, for some unknown reason, he stayed in his Daliang for another day, and came all the way to see him today.
"Could it be...that something unexpected happened?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Hongrun ordered the eunuch Gao He: "Invite him to the side hall."
Immediately, the young eunuch behind Gao He went to deliver the message.
After about half a stick of incense was used, Zhao Hongrun met with Gong Ziyu of Wei State in the side hall of Chui Gong Hall.
After ordering people to serve tea, Zhao Hongrun dismissed the servants in the side hall, leaving only the eunuch Gao He.
"I thought my cousin would return to Weiguo yesterday..."
When the two sat at a table opposite each other, Zhao Hongrun poured a cup of tea for Wei Yu with his own hands and said with a smile.
"That was the original plan." After thanking him, Wei Yu said with some emotion: "I have done everything I should do when I came to Daliang this time..."
What he said "should be done" was actually nothing more than finding ways to obtain Wei's relevant technologies in smelting, farming, etc. However, Wei Yu did not hide this kind of espionage in front of Zhao Run.
, because he knew that the cousin in front of him actually knew all these things - in a sense, Zhao Run actually acquiesced to this matter.
"Very good, right?"
Zhao Hongrun asked casually with a smile.
Wei Yu nodded and sincerely praised the technology mastered by the Wei State, such as the "hydraulic forging machine" of the Wei State Bing Foundry. Although it could not completely eliminate labor, it greatly reduced the work and toil of the craftsmen in repeatedly forging iron blanks.
, which amazed Wei Yu.
He decided to try related research after returning to Wei State. Not to mention catching up with Wei State's craftsmanship, he first tried his best to catch up with Wei State, lest he, Wei State, was not qualified to even wave the flag and shout beside Wei State.
But having said that, in the unprecedented war that has affected the entire Central Plains in the past two years, Wei Guo has actually benefited the most: Qin and South Korea are still at war, and the Chu State and the "Qi, Lu, and Yue" countries are still in confrontation, and these three parties
The envoys did not reach any agreement in this "Daliang Conference". It is no exaggeration to say that except for the Wei State, they have achieved their purpose of holding a conference of various countries, and they have become the hegemon of the Central Plains.
Except for the position, other countries actually gained nothing.
Oh, except for the agreements they each reached with Wei in private - the so-called agreement here, to put it bluntly, is that Wei sells arms and grain to various countries in private.
That's right, the Wei State sells weapons to both parties and disposes of all the old equipment that has been eliminated by the Wei State's hundreds of thousands of troops, in exchange for funds and ores, which are used to develop and forge new weapons and equipment.
Anyway, according to the current momentum of the Wei State, in recent years - at least within five years, no one in the Central Plains will dare to break out a war with the Wei State. Therefore, Zhao Run does not need to worry about his Wei State selling off to the outside world.
The armaments will one day become the weapon that kills the soldiers of Wei State on the battlefield and even causes Wei State to experience defeat.
It is no exaggeration to say that in addition to the nominal gains from this alliance, Wei also gained actual benefits. However, these actual benefits are difficult to publicize to the outside world. After all, selling arms to support the Central Plains countries to continue the war with each other is the same as
Their appeals to the outside world to stop the war are not very consistent.
It is worth mentioning that in this unprecedented battle, Wei's gains were actually no smaller than Chu's - it is undeniable that Chu did capture Qi's Sishui County and Donghai County, and pushed the boundary between the two countries to
Langya County, but Weiguo's side actually also swallowed up Qi's Dongjun, causing Qi to lose a large area of land west of Mount Tai.
But even so, during this alliance meeting, Qi's high minister Gao Xi still showed no hostility towards Wei Yu.
The reason is very simple, because Qi State does not care about Wei State. Therefore, even Gao Xi is actually angry with Wei State and adds insult to injury. He took advantage of Qi State's weakness and occupied a large area of land. However, for now, he can only smile at Wei State.
Welcoming each other, we did not dare to offend Wei Guo - just one Chu State had already overwhelmed Qi State. If we angered Wei Guo again, wouldn't it be even more difficult to deal with?
Because of this, for Wei Yu, this alliance is more like a technical discussion with the Wei State. No one is looking for trouble to stumbling upon it. It seems that everyone ignores the Wei State and this situation of making a fortune in silence.
, making Wei Yu secretly happy.
Unfortunately, a letter from his general Xia Yu made all the joy in Wei Yu's heart disappear.
"A few days ago, my father sent the "Pinghou Weishen" to Wuyan to help me reorganize the army..."
After thinking about his words, Wei Yu tried his best to explain the matter in a calmer tone.
Zhao Hongrun blinked. Although he was wise and instinctively guessed that Wei Yu's words had profound meaning, he was really confused.
He didn't even know who Pinghou Weishen was.
Perhaps noticing the confusion on Zhao Run's face, Wei Yu took a breath and explained: "Pinghou Wei Shen is also a member of my royal family. He is quite close to my father, but... I have always had a disagreement.
Just because some of the things I did in Weiguo harmed the interests of the royal family and nobles in the country..."
"Oh." Zhao Hongrun nodded in sudden realization: "It seems that Pinghou Weishen did not do any good things after arriving in Wuyan..."
He didn't feel strange about this, because in his opinion, some of the things Wei Yu did in Weiguo were almost the same as what he had done in Weiguo. To put it bluntly, it was nothing more than weakening the interests of the nobles to subsidize.
Just the common people - as a great nobleman, this approach was quite unusual in this era. Zhao Hongrun was even called a "clan treason" by some people in the Zhao family because of this.
Obviously, Wei Gong Ziyu, a reformer of the country, also encountered a similar experience.
However, back then, Zhao Run had his father, King Zhao Si, helping him secretly, but as for Wei Yu, his father, King Fei of Wei, regarded him as a thorn in his side. Therefore, in a sense, Wei Yu's current situation is worse than that of Zhao Run back then.
Even worse.
"Hmm."
Wei Yu nodded and said truthfully: "According to what my general Xia Yufa said in a book, Pinghou Wei Shen, under the guise of rectification, actually wanted to take over my army... If nothing else, this is probably what my father meant.
.”
At the end of the sentence, his tone was inevitably a little bleak.
Also, Wei Yu felt hugely disappointed that her biological father not only did not help her, but also regarded her as a thorn in his side.
Zhao Run remained silent for a while, then asked quietly: "Do you want me to help you?"
Wei Yu glanced at Zhao Run, but did not answer directly. He changed the subject and said: "In the past two years, especially after the incident of "Han General Sima Shang led his troops to invade the country," many of our country's officials, generals, and people have
I am very disappointed with my father, and I hope that I will inherit the throne and govern the country... My father has lost the support of the people."
After hearing this, Zhao Run looked at Wei Yu with great interest and asked: "Are you implying to me that even if there is no Wei, you can still sit on the position of King Wei, or are you saying that even if I, the Wei, support the rest?
Mr. Wei, everyone in the Wei Kingdom will not listen to this?"
"..."
The corners of Wei Yu's eyes twitched slightly, and she said with a smile: "You are too worried... Of course Yu hopes to get the support of you and the State of Wei."
Being looked at by Zhao Run with half-smiling eyes, Wei Yu couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
He felt very puzzled. The cousin in front of him was actually a few years younger than him, but why did his eyes seem to be able to see through other people's hearts?
Just when Wei Yu was thinking about how to dispel Zhao Run's suspicion, Zhao Run suddenly laughed and said: "Okay, you and I don't have to be suspicious of who will be the king of Weiguo.
I, the Great Wei, don’t care at all now, and for me personally, I am also quite concerned about my cousin’s ascension to the throne..."
"Huh?"
Wei Yu was stunned.
Of course he could understand the first half of Zhao Run's sentence: With the current power of Wei State, of course he would not care who becomes the king of Wei State.
But the second half of Zhao Run's sentence, the direct expression of support, surprised Wei Yu.
At this moment, Zhao Hongrun stated the reason bluntly: "You and I are cousins after all. If I don't support you, will I still support your brothers whose names I can't even remember?"
"..." Wei Yu opened her mouth, quite moved.
At this moment, he couldn't help but feel inexplicably moved and sighed: They are cousins after all!
Some things, once discussed, no longer have so many scruples. No, Zhao Hongrun asked straightforwardly: "You came here today to test my attitude, right? So what are you going to do next? Return to the country to seize power.
?”
After hearing this, Wei Yu shook his head sadly and said: "I have no clue at this time... He is my biological father after all." At this point, he suddenly raised his head and asked with some expectation.
: "What would you do if it were you?"
Zhao Hongrun was stunned. He was really stunned by Wei Yu's question.
"Well..."
After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Hongrun touched his chin and said: "I can't tell... maybe I will move to another country and live out of sight. Maybe I will also force the palace to seize power?"
"Are you guilty of disobedience?" Wei Yu opened her eyes in disbelief.
Zhao Hongrun shrugged.
His character is very self-interested, and he only cares about those people he cares about, such as his relatives, his people, etc. If he were in Wei Yu's position and faced someone who didn't care about him at all and regarded himself as
His father, King Wei Fei, who was a thorn in his side, would not attach too much importance to the so-called father-son relationship based on Zhao Hongrun's character - of course, he would not be like his father Zhao Si, who personally killed his grandfather Zhao Kang, committing regicide and killing his father.
This kind of situation.
How could Zhao Si's hatred for Zhao Kang be as simple as a throne?
Looking at Wei Yu who was silent, Zhao Hongrun said calmly: "Why are you so solemn? No matter whether you are in power or your brothers are in power, it is impossible for the country of Wei to break away from my ship, the Wei Dynasty. I will watch over it for you.
of……"
"What you said is really straightforward."
Wei Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head.
But deep down in his heart, he did not agree with Zhao Hongrun's point of view: Although it is indeed unlikely that he, Weiguo, would be able to break away from the ship of Wei, he still had to have some status on this ship, right? Look at Qin and Chu.
, There are still these two big countries on the ship of Wei State. How can Wei State be respected and valued?
Only strengthen your ears!
However, his father and his brothers could never understand this. They had fallen to the point of relying on the power of the Wei State for everything. They did not want to think about it. If this continued, his Weiguo Company would wave the flag and cheer for the Wei State.
Are they not qualified? - When he reaches that point, his defense of the country will not benefit the Wei State at all. How can the Wei State care about the life and death of his Wei State and regard the Wei State as a true ally?
This generation is okay. After all, the biological mother of the contemporary Wei King Zhao Run is the daughter of Wei. Zhao Run will take care of Wei to some extent, but what about the next generation?
The future king of the Wei Kingdom, the current crown prince Zhao Wei, although his name also carries the word "Wei", he is actually the son of Wei Empress Mi Jiang, the daughter of Chu. If you think about it, you will know that when Zhao Wei succeeds to the throne in the future, Wei
Most of the countries are definitely close to Chu.
At that time, who will protect Weiguo?
Will the Wei State at that time still take care of him and support him to defend the country as it does today?
Wei Yu couldn't guarantee it.
"I will return to Weiguo today."
After being silent for a while, Wei Yu said in a deep voice.
"..." Zhao Hongrun glanced at Wei Yu, blinked and asked, "Have you thought about it?"
Wei Yu remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun shook his head slightly and said, "It seems that you are not aware."
"It doesn't require any enlightenment." Wei Yu said sternly: "After I return to the Kingdom of Wei, I can persuade my father to hand over his power and take care of himself. It's that simple."
"Heh." Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly and asked casually: "Do you need me to lend you some troops?"
It's not that he is boasting. As far as Wei's current front-line army is concerned, if he sends an army at will, he can easily defeat Wei Wang Fei's army and help Wei Yu seize the throne. In fact, even if he sweeps the entire Wei State, it won't be too big.
problem.
However, Wei Yu righteously refused: "No need, this is an internal matter of Weiguo after all."
Of course, he had no doubt that Wei's army would definitely help him ascend to the throne, but he did not want Wei to intervene in the internal affairs of his country. What's more, if his army was defeated by the Wei army, it would be completely defeated.
, does he, Mr. Wei, have any dignity on his face?
Seeing that Wei Yu refused the matter, Zhao Hongrun did not force it. After all, he only provided help because the two were cousins - otherwise, would there be any money to be made from Wei Guo? Maybe?
Yes, but he doesn't like it.
Afterwards, Wei Yu and cousin Zhao Run chatted for a while, and then Wei Yu said goodbye.
When seeing off Wei Yu, Zhao Run said sternly to Wei Yu: "A single tree cannot withstand the wind and rain. Even I, the Wei Dynasty, still need firm allies... There will always be Weiguo on my ship, the Wei State."
location."
Wei Yu was surprised that Zhao Run would say such heartfelt words. After thinking about it for a while, he asked: "South Korea... should not be affected. Are you guarding against Qi or Chu?"
"Who knows what will happen in the future." Zhao Hongrun shrugged and said with a smile: "Just like before, I never thought that Qi State would actually come back and block Chu's army..."
Wei Yu nodded and said, "I will look after the two countries for you, so that I can repay your favor today."
"Hahaha." Zhao Run laughed and reminded pointedly: "Yesterday's favor has not been repaid, so what about today's favor?"
"Yesterday's favor?"
Wei Yu was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized it, nodded and said: "That's almost it. After returning home this time, I will repay yesterday's favor."
Speaking of yesterday’s favor, wasn’t it Xiao Luan’s head?
Anyway, that guy's savings were almost drained, so there was no need for Wei Yu to make the cousin in front of him unhappy because of him.
"Farewell."
"I won't send it."
After Wei Yu left, Zhao Hongrun looked at the back of his cousin, thoughtfully.
He knew that if Wei Yu returned to Weiguo this time, there would be turmoil in Weiguo, but that didn't matter. Firstly, he felt that Wei Yu was capable of handling this matter. Secondly, he was confident that Weiguo would not be able to do it no matter what the circumstances.
Out of Wei's control.
He just felt a little sad that there could be such a bad relationship between father and son in this world - compared to King Wei Fei, his father Zhao Si was really an enlightened and loving father.
"Summon Gao Kuo."
Zhao Hongrun ordered.
After a while, Gao Kuo, the left captain of Tiance Mansion, arrived at the Chui Gong Hall of the imperial palace.
After meeting Gao Kuo, Zhao Run briefly told the story of Wei Gong Ziyu, and then ordered: "Gao Kuo, I have sent people to keep an eye on Weiguo these days. We don't have to interfere in Weiguo's internal affairs.
Yes, but Xiao Luan, keep an eye on me, I have a hunch that that guy might take advantage of the civil strife in Weiguo..."
"yes!"
Gao Kuo clasped his fists and accepted the order, but he did not leave immediately. Instead, after thinking for a moment, he said: "Your Majesty, regarding the 'Ying Concubine', I think it is best not to let her go out."
"What happened to that woman?" Zhao Hongrun asked with a headache.
Among the girls, Mi Jiang and Qin Shaojun are just a little temperamental, which is not a big problem, but Zhao Ying is very subjective and goes her own way. Sometimes even Zhao Run can't defeat her - of course, the main reason is that Zhao Run is not willing to punish herself.
woman.
"According to reports from the Green Crows under my command, Concubine Ying ambushed Xiao Luan again in Pingyi County of Wei State a few days ago, but unfortunately she failed to succeed. However, afterwards, Concubine Ying seemed to intend to use herself as bait to lure Xiao Luan.
Luan committed a murder in the street, but Xiao Luan was very cunning and saw through Concubine Ying's intention.
Escape..." After a pause, Gao Kuo said: "Xiao Luan is just a bereaved dog now and has nowhere to go. In addition, Wei Gong Ziyu is about to attack Xiao Luan. I think that in order to prevent Xiao Luan's dog from jumping over the wall, I suggest that it is not appropriate to continue to let it go.
Concubine Ying is outside to avoid being hurt by Xiao Luan."
Zhao Hongrun nodded when he heard this. He still cared about Zhao Ying. After all, Zhao Ying and Zhao Que were really good in bed. In addition, Zhao Ying's charming appearance made her a natural beauty. How could he be willing to be...
Injured by Xiao Luan.
"Can the Blue Crows contact that woman?"
"Yes, even though Concubine Ying's whereabouts are uncertain, the Green Crows under my command are still aware of Concubine Ying's whereabouts and are protecting her."
"That's enough. Tell that woman and ask her to return to the palace immediately. Otherwise, I will confiscate a waterside pavilion and dismiss Nightingale."
"yes!"
Gao Kuo bowed his hands and retreated.
About a few days later, before civil strife broke out in the Wei Kingdom, the Green Crows contacted Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying refused at first, until the Green Crows conveyed Zhao Hongrun's words, telling her that if she did not return to Daliang immediately, His Majesty would confiscate a waterside pavilion and dismiss Nightingale. Then she gritted her teeth and reluctantly boarded the board to pick her up.
The carriage returning to Daliang.
And just one day after Zhao Ying left the Wei Kingdom, Wei Gong Ziyu secretly returned to Wuyan County.
On the same day, Xia Yu, the general of the Wuyan Army, launched a mutiny and successfully recaptured the army from Pinghou Weishen and several others, and placed Pinghou Weishen and others under house arrest.
But unfortunately, the news still leaked out. Within two days, Puyang issued a royal order from King Wei Fei, accusing Wei Gong Ziyu of condoning the murder of his soldiers and persecuting Pinghou Wei Shen and other pillars of the country.
There must be a villain around Yu who is instigating him and telling Wei Yu to return to Puyang immediately.
At this time, even if Xia Yu and others did not persuade him repeatedly, Wei Yu would not dare to return to Puyang - the conflict between father and son has intensified, and if he returned to Puyang, he might not be able to get in or out.
In early June, under forced circumstances, Wei Gong Ziyu took up the banner of Qingjun and led his troops to Puyang.
At this time, King Fei of Wei also expressed to the outside world that Wei Yu was disobedient and rebellious, and ordered Puyang and surrounding troops to gather in the royal capital.