It snowed heavily in Jinling, and the eaves of the rows of roofs inside and outside the city were all covered in white.
Inside the palace gate of Changchun Palace, Chun Shisanniang was wearing a dark green brocade robe, looking out through the gap in the palace door.
Heavy snow was falling, and Yang En was still standing in the square in front of the palace gate. His body was covered with snow, and his official robe must have been soaked by the snow. At this time, the cold wind blew, and if he hadn't gritted his teeth to hold on,
, Chun Shisanniang even doubted whether Yang En would tremble.
The snow was still falling continuously, and the boots Yang En was wearing were buried under the snow. Unexpectedly, she turned around after so long and saw that Yang En had not moved in front of the palace gate.
Hearing the rustling footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw Yao Xishui walking over on the snow. He said with emotion: "The Marquis of Liyang has been standing in the snow for more than an hour, and the snow has soaked his clothes."
| If it’s wet, if he keeps dragging it on like this, I’m afraid his body won’t be able to hold on. I think what he said makes sense. The Duke and His Majesty are somewhat losing their minds...”
"He is just playing a trick," Yao Xishui looked at the situation outside the palace gate ruthlessly and said with a cold snort, "If we don't attack Chaozhou at this time, all the previous achievements will be in vain, and Chaochu and other places will be lost again."
, the rebels regained Chuzhou and Chaozhou, and by then they had the advantage of the navy, they would directly threaten Jinling, the imperial capital - could it be true, as this lunatic said, that your majesty asked the Shuzi to lead the Xuzhou water camp to the east to resist the rebel navy?
Isn’t it a good teacher?”
Chun Shisanniang sighed softly in her heart. The main force of the Dachu navy was defeated in Hongzepu. Jinling was shaken. People all over the city were talking about it and were panicked. At this time, not everyone was worried that the Shouzhou rebels would collude with Liang Guo, or even
Most people believe that Anning Palace has colluded with Liang Guo for a long time, but at this time, they still support the recovery of Chaozhou first. In fact, the options available to the court at this time are extremely limited.
Not taking Chaozhou at this time would mean that all previous efforts would be wasted. More importantly, Chaozhou and Chuzhou would be lost again, and the Louchuan Navy would re-enter the Yangtze River waterway.
In the past, Jinling had the elite naval forces of the left and right Wuya Army. Even though the initial combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the Lou Chuan Army, it was still generally able to ensure that Jinling City and the wider deep hinterland of Jiangnan were not threatened by the warships of the Lou Chuan Army.
At this time, the Dachu navy suffered an almost devastating loss. In a short time, Dachu was on the Yangtze River and no longer had the power to check the rebel navy. At this time, they gave up attacking Chaozhou and did not blockade the building ships.
In order for military warships to enter the Yangtze River, is it possible that they should ask Qianyang Hou Han Qian to lead the Xuzhou Water Camp eastward to help defend the Yangtze River waterway, as Liyang Marquis Yang En suggested?
The lesser of two evils, rather than bowing to Xuzhou and diverting Xuzhou's water camp to advance eastward, the main force of the Forbidden Army on the north bank still has a great possibility of capturing Chaozhou before Liang Jun crosses the Huaihe River.
However, Chun Shisanniang also secretly admired Yang En's courage.
Everyone in the civil and military circles of the court knew that the Marquis of Guizhou Yang was a concern for His Majesty. Even Shen Yang did not insist on this matter. However, Yang En scolded His Majesty in court for not daring to mobilize the water camp of Xuzhou to advance eastward. He was really afraid of the Marquis of Guizhou Yang.
Like a tiger.
Chun Shisanniang felt that it was good luck that Yang En was not killed by His Majesty on the spot. Although in the past, Yang En was devastated after being deposed by the God Blessed Emperor, but Chun Shisanniang had not felt too deeply about it before.
of.
"Ignore that madman, he can stand as long as he likes..." At this critical moment, Yao Xishui urged Chun Shisanniang to quickly close the palace door tightly and follow her to the back.
At this moment, two short baby cries suddenly came from the direction of the classroom at the back.
Although it was far away, and although no new cries of hooves were heard after the two cries, it was silent in the heavy snow.
Chun Shisanniang heard these two short cries and was stunned for a while. She looked at Yao Xishui and asked, "Has the Queen Mother given birth?"
"Damn it!" Yao Xishui didn't expect that just after she left for a short while, the class behind her would make such a mistake, and the sound of a baby crying would be heard here.
Now she could only hope that Yang En would stay further away and not hear the two babies crying, but she couldn't care too much at the moment, so she wanted to pull Chun Sanniang away.
Yang En vaguely heard the two short baby cries, but he was in a daze for a moment, thinking that he had stood in the snow for too long, his whole body was frozen and stiff, and he was hallucinating.
How could there be a crying baby in the Changchun Palace, and no concubine was seen taking the prince out of the city to visit the Queen Mother in the Changchun Palace today?
Yang En wanted to move his hands and feet, but his feet were already numb from the cold and he lost consciousness. He lost his balance and fell headlong into the snow.
Seeing this scene, Chun Shisanniang sighed in her heart, and finally followed Yao Xishui to the class courtyard at the back without looking back.
The attendants who were waiting in the stable outside the palace saw Yang En fell in the snow. A dozen people rushed over, picked Yang En up from the snow, and wrapped their cloaks around his body to resist.
severe cold.
Someone advised him distressedly:
"Prime Minister Shen didn't insist anymore. Why are you doing this, Lord Marquis? Besides, His Majesty also agreed that as long as it is detected that Liang Jun has gathered to cross the Huaihe River, General Li will be allowed to take advantage of it. The situation is not as urgent as you imagined."
"You guys know nothing!" Yang En struggled and sat down in the snow, angrily yelling at the subordinates beside him, "You really think that Ying and Xu only have 70,000 to 80,000 Liang troops. After winter, there really will be none."
Mobilizing troops and horses from other places on a large scale? Do you really think that the main force of the navy was defeated in Hongzepu because Gao Chengyuan and his colleagues were arrogant and incompetent, and they were careless. Did they not expect that the rebels would fight hard and be defeated by the backlash? This is all a trap.
In the battle between Jingxiang and Chu, Chu suffered losses from Zhu Yushan's hidden troops, how could he not remember it forever?"
"The situation has changed rapidly. Even if Liang Guo had his heart set on something, he would not be able to make it in time. Besides, the Zifang Division has sent many more elite scouts to the north bank of the Huaihe River to detect the enemy's situation. If there is really a trap, there will definitely be clues." Sui Hu advised.
.
"Who controls the Staff Department?" Yang En scolded regardless of his manners. "Everyone in the Privy Council Staff Department is under the control of that idiot Li Pu. That fool wanted to escape the blame for his missteps that led to the destruction of the Navy.
, if you really want to find out any clues, will that fool ask all the officials and officials to report the truth to His Majesty? Shen Yang is also confused this time - His Majesty is young and energetic, and does not know the principle of taking the long term. How can the Queen Mother
I have been hiding in Cishou Palace for more than ten years, so I should know how powerful it is. You go break down the palace door for me, I must see the Queen Mother today..."
Everyone on the left and right looked at each other. Although Yang En made a big fuss in the political hall before and was finally kicked out by His Majesty without any severe punishment, it does not mean that they can continue to go on peacefully after smashing the gate of Changchun Palace today.
"Master Marquis, stop fooling around. The robe on your body is soaked by the snow. If you don't change into dry clothes, you will be in trouble!" The two leading guards looked at each other and thought immediately. No longer paying attention to Yang En's crazy words and scoldings, Yang En must be forcibly carried into the carriage and taken back to the city.
"You dog slaves, the country of Chu is going to be ruined in your hands!" Yang En shouted anxiously, spurted out a mouthful of blood, straightened his body back, and fainted.
The guards did not dare to delay, so they hugged Yang En, who was skinny and weighed little, and got back into the carriage, and galloped away to Donghua City.
…………
…………
"How is Marquis Liyang doing?"
Seeing Qin Wen walking to the hanging flower hall, taking off his cloak and shaking off the snow, Shen Yang walked over and asked.
"I couldn't enter the Liyang Marquis Mansion. Mr. Yang has a deep grudge against the Prime Minister."
Qin Wen handed the cloak to his servant and accompanied Shen Yang to the depths of the Prime Minister's Mansion. When he heard that Yang En had vomited blood and fainted outside the Changchun Palace gate and rushed to visit him, he couldn't help but ask,
"The navy suffered too much damage. Now the imperial troops on the north bank have a chance to recapture Chaozhou City before Liang Jun goes south, but what if they can't defeat it? According to Qin Wen, Yang Hou's advice is more reliable. The prime minister's advice Why didn’t you stand with Mr. Yang the first time?”
Shen Yang looked at the white snow on the walls on both sides of the courtyard, his thin face, and the wrinkles became deeper at this moment.
If Xuzhou and Huaidong had not colluded beforehand, and if Xue Ruogu went to Lishui to take up a post and Zuo Guangde's old army gathered in the area along Taihu Lake, there were no signs of Xuzhou's secret manipulation, he would of course support Yang without hesitation at this time. Well, I advise your Majesty to send an edict to mobilize Xuzhou Water Camp to assist in the defense of the Yangtze River.
Now the problem is complicated.
Although he did not agree with Xue Ruogu to reveal these things in order to avoid adding fuel to the fire, but even if he did not care about his deeds, he had to consider the problem that it was easy to ask God to send him away, but it was difficult to send him away.
Shen Yang had no intention of explaining to Qin Wen, but frowned and looked at the hazy sky in the north...
…………
…………
The waves of the river crash against the shore, making a sound like a galloping horse.
Han Qian stood on a cliff facing the river at the northern foot of Baohua Mountain, looking through the flying snow to the turbulent blue water above the Yangtze River.
"Yang En failed to enter the Changchun Palace gate after all. He stood outside the palace gate for more than an hour. Finally, he vomited blood and fell to the ground. The guards carried him into the carriage and left." Xi Yin came over and said to Han Qian.
"Alas!" Han Qian learned that Yang En made a big fuss in the political hall and was expelled by Yang Yuanpu. He also knew in his heart that Yang En's visit to the Changchun Palace today to see the Queen Mother was destined to return in vain. But after hearing such a result, he still Couldn't help but sigh softly.
He has become the inner demon in the hearts of too many people, and the situation in Dachu at this time, in the eyes of most people, is not at the end of the road, not to mention Yang Yuanpu, among the court officials , who would be willing to bow to him and advocate moving Xuzhou Shuiying eastward to help the Yangtze River waterway?
Even Shen Yang, who has always been prudent, did not support Yang En's advice to call for reinforcements from Xuzhou this time. Perhaps many things made him suspicious?
In order to prevent Jinling City from being directly threatened by the rebel navy, Chaozhou was forcibly captured before Liang Jun was dispatched, blocking the rebel navy's passage through Chaozhou, and the passage from Chuzhou to the Yangtze River, which may become the only channel for the government and the public. Have you chosen?
If he had expected this, Han Qian would not have been too hasty in reversing the case, but he may have limited manpower, and he never thought that the situation would change like this.
"Li Pu has crossed the river and rushed to Chaozhou with the decree at noon. Since there is no room for change here, it seems that I should cross the river to see Li Zhigao now." Guo Rong tidied up his clothes and talked to Han Qian
said.
"By the way," Xi Rong took advantage of Guo Rong not leaving and mentioned another matter to Han Qian. "The spy who followed Yang En to the gate of Changchun Palace heard two voices behind Zuoxiang Pavilion in Changchun Palace.
The baby's cry was heard..."
"Oh, it's really not messy enough." Han Qian slapped his forehead in pain and asked.
"Can you now confirm that the Queen Mother has given birth secretly in the Changchun Palace?" Guo Rong's expression perked up when he heard Xi Yong mention this news, and he asked.
Han Qian's previous plan was for Guo Rong to meet Li Zhigao secretly and threaten Li Zhigao with the secret of Li Zhigao's life experience, forcing Li Zhigao to choose to cooperate with Xuzhou. However, this matter is still full of great uncertainty at this time.
.
Li Pu, now the Duke of Chang State and Deputy Privy Envoy, personally carried Yang Yuanpu's edict and rushed to meet Li Zhigao. It was not because Li Zhigao had the intention to disobey his order that he could really disobey it.
First of all, Li Zhigao's personal control over the Zuo Longque Army and the Left and Right Armed Guards was not strong enough to make the grassroots military attachés and middle- and high-level generals blindly follow orders.
In addition, Chaozhou is so close to Jinling that one can cross the river by boat and horse and can go back and forth in one day.
Once there is any disturbance in Chaozhou, Jinling will quickly notice it, and there is no possibility that Li Zhigao would detain Li Pu and falsely pass on the imperial edict.
The more secure plan that Han Qian and the others discussed before was to persuade Li Zhigao and then use Li Zhigao to find excuses to delay the attack outside Chaozhou City and maintain sufficient vigilance and defensive posture on the northern front.
In this case, as long as the Xuzhou water camp passes through Dongting Lake and enters the Yangtze River waterway, and the government and the public are shaken, it will be a matter of course that Li Zhigao gives up the attack on Chaozhou and withdraws to Shuzhou.
Of course, in order to prevent Xuzhou from becoming a target of public criticism, after the main force of the Beichen Forbidden Army withdrew into Shuzhou City, Han Qian had to coerce Li Zhigao to endorse Xuzhou Water Camp's eastward advance, and together he wrote a letter to persuade Yang Yuanpu to depose Chang Guogong Li Pu and hold him accountable.
He was responsible for the defeat of the navy and even further divided up the military power of the Forbidden Army on the north bank, leaving Yang Yuanpu and the ministers in the court helpless to do anything to them!
This was the plan Han Qian and the others prepared to implement. No one expected that the Queen Mother Wang Chan'er would give birth at this time.
Guo Rong had been plotting in the palace for half his life, so he knew that this matter was not trivial and would likely bring new subtle changes to the whole matter, so he subconsciously asked Xi Rong how sure she was of the news.
"Lv Qingxia has very strict control over Changchun Palace, and we failed to send people to infiltrate. However, Feng Liao noticed Han Jun's anomalies four or five months ago, and sent people to investigate Han Jun's behavior for a period of time, and found that
Basically, other possibilities have been ruled out. Even though the Queen Mother Wang Chaner has occasionally summoned foreign ministers in the past few months, it is said that when she summoned foreign ministers, she concealed it intentionally or unintentionally. And with Lu Qingxia's skills, she wanted to completely remove Wang Chaner.
Controlling her becomes a puppet in her hands. Although this method is risky, it is the most effective!" Xi Rong said.
Guo Rong frowned and thought deeply.
Xi Rong did not disturb Guo Rong and continued with Han Qian:
"What's more fortunate now is that after Han Jun realized that the situation was out of control, he requested to call out the guard sequence of Changchun Palace three months ago. Lu Qingxia was still unable to control or threaten the Han family through this matter. The old man, Han Daoming and others should
They are still kept in the dark - I guess Lu Qingxia will send this baby out of the Changchun Palace soon, should we arrange a few more spies to keep an eye on them and catch their roots?"
Han Qian shook his head and said: "They take this matter very seriously. We have limited manpower in Jinling. If we really want to arrange people to keep an eye on this matter, not only will it be easy to expose flaws, but it may even make the situation too complicated."
…”
"If Wang Chan'er has completely fallen into the control of Lu Qingxia and others, and after giving birth, she is no longer afraid of summoning foreign ministers or meeting Yang Yuanpu, then it seems that we can make some adjustments to our plan?" Guo Rong looked at Han
Qian said uncertainly.
Han Qian knew what Guo Rong wanted to say.
It was easy to convince Li Zhigao that Liang Jun had a big plot, but even if Li Zhigao had been alerted to Liang Jun's plot, it would be difficult to disobey the order.
Their original plan also had big loopholes. It was far from perfect, not to mention that the consequences would be extremely serious.
If they threaten Li Zhigao with the secret of his life experience, they can make Li Zhigao choose to cooperate, but what will happen after the situation between Liang and Chu eases?
According to the previous plan, after the situation between Liang and Chu had eased, Xuzhou should divide the military power of the Forbidden Army on the north bank with Li Zhigao to prevent the court from questioning him later. But the problem is that even if Li Zhigao is willing to peacefully coexist with Xuzhou, Lu Qingxia, who is behind Li Zhigao, will
How could people like Yao Xishui be willing to hold such a big handle in the hands of others and be controlled by others forever?
The most likely possibility is that once Li Zhigao establishes a foothold in Shu and Chao Prefectures, he will definitely attack Xu Prefecture.
This is not something Li Zhigao is willing to do personally. It involves the wealth and lives of so many people around Li Zhigao, and it is not up to Li Zhigao whether he is willing or not.
If it can now be confirmed that Wang Chan'er has given birth, it means two changes, as Guo Rong just said: first, Wang Chan'er has completely fallen into Lu Qingxia's control, and will only obey Lu Qingxia's orders; second, Wang Chan'er does not need to
He avoided seeing foreign ministers and Yang Yuanpu as he had done in the past few months.
As long as they can convince Li Zhigao at this time that Wen Ruilin is a traitor to Liang Guo, that the navy's attack on Hongzepu is Liang Jun's plot, and that Liang Jun has a bigger plot waiting behind him, Li Zhigao should be able to obtain the Queen Mother through Lu Qingxia
Wang Chaner's edict to mobilize the water camp of Xuzhou to reinforce Jianghuai and order the imperial troops on the north bank to withdraw from Chaozhou.
Although the Queen Mother Wang Chaner did not interfere much in the government affairs after Yang Yuanpu ascended the throne, the "concubine's title system to discuss government affairs" that had been implemented since the Yueyang period was not officially abolished.
The effectiveness of the Queen Mother's edicts on the laws of Dachu is equivalent to the imperial edict.
When Xuzhou and Li Zhigao "obey" the Queen Mother's orders, Yang Yuanpu will not be able to directly accuse Xuzhou and Li Zhigao except for falling out with his mother.
In this way, they no longer have to risk "military remonstrance", and they don't have to worry about the consequences of the subsequent difficulty in controlling the situation. At worst, they can support the Queen Mother Wang Chan'er and Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu in the mother-son dispute, which is still within the controllable range.
In fact, Han Qian and Feng Liao had long suspected that the Queen Mother Wang Chan'er had an affair with Han Jun and was pregnant with Liujia. But because of this, before the Queen Mother Wang Chan'er gave birth, she could not face the furious Yang Yuanpu who broke into the Changchun Palace.
When confronted, he did not consider the Queen Mother's edict.
Things have changed now...
Taking a step back, Han Qian could even directly tell Li Zhigao and Lu Qingxia that Xuzhou already knew about the affair between Queen Mother Wang Chan'er and Han Jun.
When this matter was revealed, it was a source of leverage for Li Zhigao, Lu Qingxia and others, but at the same time, it was also a source of leverage that might lead to the Han family's Yi clan, so there was no question of who was blackmailing whom.
Even the threat to the Han family was more serious, after all, the baby was now under the control of Lu Qingxia and the others.
Or perhaps Lu Qingxia had a sinister plan to check and balance the Han family and Xuzhou...