The ninth and forty-fifth chapters rise up and attack
After the short-lived joy after the rebellion of the religious bandits subsided, the court fell into an inexplicable depressive atmosphere. On the surface, it seemed that everything returned to normal after the rebellion subsided, and the morning court that had to be attended every day during the counter-insurgency period also
It was changed to once every three days, and the mood and life of the people in the city were returning to normal, and everything seemed to be getting better. However, everyone could clearly feel an undercurrent under the calm, as if something was about to explode.
The King of Jin and the King of Huai returned to the capital three days apart. The scene when King Guo Mian of Jin returned to the capital was very grand. An army of more than 8,000 people entered the city in red and colorful colors, and went out to welcome the civil and military officials. The people in the city lined the streets to welcome him. Guo Mian, who was riding a tall horse,
Guo Mian deliberately wore a blood-stained armor and let his bun float higher in the wind, giving the people and officials the feeling of "returning from a battlefield with bloodshed". This triggered wild cheers and admiration from the people. Afterwards, Guo Mian entered all the way.
The palace met Guo Chong, the Queen Mother and Queen Yuan. Guo Chong hosted a banquet for him in person and said many words of praise and praise.
Compared with Guo Mian's big scene, Guo Xu, who returned with an army of 30,000, was treated much more deserted. Only a dozen officials came to greet him, and not many people. And Guo Xu obviously felt embarrassed himself.
, chose to enter the city at night, and did not attract much attention. Afterwards, according to the people watching at the scene, Huai Wang Guo Xu entered the city in a cart, and the onlookers did not even see his figure.
In the eyes of the people, King Huai was too embarrassed to see anyone, so he chose to ride a cart back to Beijing at night.
When the two princes returned to Beijing, some inside information about countering the rebellion soon became clear. The fact that the leader of the bandits, Haidong Qing, received financial support from the Liao people and colluded with the Liao Kingdom to plot the Great Zhou Dynasty also came to light. Guo Chong was furious.
He immediately sent people to the Liao Kingdom to negotiate and question the matter, and asked the Liao people to give an explanation. But in fact, this move was purely to set a trap for himself. As someone in the court said, when Zhou learned of the matter, he immediately sent troops to the Liao Kingdom.
Punishment is the best, but there is really no need to send people to argue. But what they don't know is that Guo Chong didn't want to punish the Liao people, but after discussing with Yang Jun, Lu Zhongtian and others, he had to stop this
Thoughts. Because the imperial court cannot fight a war and does not have the money to launch a war between countries. If it is done forcefully, the country will probably be in chaos first. After all, the lessons of the Qingjiao have sounded the alarm.
This Qingjiao rebellion actually dealt a big blow to Guo Chong. The decline of national power after he took the throne has already shattered Guo Chong's dream of becoming an emperor for eternity. But if he can maintain stability, he will be regarded as a wise king. However, the rule of law
An inland rebellion broke out, which was an extremely embarrassing thing for Guo Chong. Although Guo Chong personally supervised the executions a few days later, beheading more than a thousand of the most heinous cult bandits in the square inside Zhuque Gate.
It's rolling, but the facts can't be changed. If a rebellion occurs, it means that he is incompetent in governing the country and is unqualified to be an emperor. When the people rebel, it is the fault of the court and him. After the eternal dream of an emperor was shattered, the wise and virtuous emperor
The dream is also in danger.
In fact, Guo Chong really felt a little helpless. He had tried his best. He could be said to have broken his heart for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was not his fault that the national power was weak and the treasury was empty. It was already like this when he succeeded to the throne. He had tried his best to think about it.
He wanted to change all this, so he decided to reform. However, at such a moment, such a big chaos happened, which really made Guo Chong angry. Guo Chong knew that he was actually taking the blame for the late emperor.
The shortcomings and mess were the cause, and he just tried his best to remedy it. But could he use this reason to defend himself? Do you want to throw the blame on the late emperor? Isn't that unfilial and unjust? He can only bear the blame himself.
However, things that troubled Guo Chong even more were yet to come. As early as the beginning of the rebellion, there were discussions in the court to investigate the root cause of the rebellion and reflect on the court's policies. After the rebellion subsided, such voices became louder.
On the morning of September 21st, Prime Minister Lu Zhongtian issued a rare memorial of 10,000 words, detailing the causes of the rebellion and pointing the finger directly at the court's new law. The conclusion was that it was precisely because of the shortcomings of the new law.
, leading to the plight of the people, who took advantage of it and incited the people to rebel. The new law must be slowed down or stopped, otherwise, the disaster of Qingjiao may reappear. The imperial court can no longer follow the wrong path.
Guo Chong was very surprised by Lu Zhongtian's memorial. Lu Zhongtian didn't even say hello beforehand, which was different from his previous style. In the past, whenever there were major moves and actions, Lu Zhongtian would go to the palace to report to him in advance to avoid
This caused Zai Chao to be caught off guard. But now, Lu Zhongtian did not do this, but made a sudden attack. This made Guo Chong feel both surprised and angry. This was by no means a mistake, Lu Zhongtian obviously did it on purpose.
Fortunately, the words in Lu Zhongtian's memorial were gentle. They were not directed at people, but at policies. He did not write off the new law. He only said that it might need to be reflected and improved, and that it would be postponed for the time being to make it perfect. This somewhat made Guo Guo
Chong felt better in his heart. But then the situation suddenly got out of control.
On the 22nd, all the ministers in the DPRK suddenly began to submit memorials, requesting that the implementation of the new law be stopped and the relevant persons held accountable. On the 23rd, memorials from all over the country arrived in the capital like snow, and piled up into a small mountain on Guo Chong's desk.
All were requests to stop the implementation of the new law and to investigate those responsible. Guo Chong suddenly realized that after just quelling the rebellion of the religious bandits, he had to face another storm within the court. Although this was not a rebellion, it was
But it is similar to this. Lu Zhongtian's memorial was like a call to action. Under his call, officials rose up one after another and launched a fierce attack on the new law. This was a planned attack and was by no means an accident.
.
On the 24th, Wu Chunlai took the lead in initiating the impeachment of reformist officials such as Yan Zhengshu and Fang Dunru. The impeachment list was very long, with nearly fifty officials on this list. Wu Chunlai brought up old matters again, and Chen
The Ten Deadly Sins of Sesame and Rotten Millet were mentioned again, and compared to the last Ten Sins, several more serious sins were added this time. The most important crime among them is that the new law harms the country and the people and stimulates conflicts.
, caused a rebellion, and directly called Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru "national thieves". They said that they wanted to overthrow the Zhou Dynasty in the name of the new law. They did not care about the lives and deaths of the people, only for their own selfish interests, used their reputation to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and controlled the government.
, bringing trouble to the imperial court.
The wind changed direction, from targeting the new law to directly targeting Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru personally. All the officials followed suit one after another, with a fierce and overwhelming momentum.
Guo Chong was furious and uneasy. He felt that he seemed to be being isolated. Although Lu Zhongtian and the others were only targeting Yan Fang and the two of them for Xin Fa, in Guo Chong's view, targeting Yan Fang and Xin Fa was targeting him. Because
It was he who fully supported the reform carried out by Yan Zhengshu and Fang Dunru. If Yan Zhengshu and Fang Dunru were convicted because of the reform, and if they admitted that it was the shortcomings of the new law that led to the people's rebellion, wouldn't it mean that he, Guo Chong, was a foolish king?
Doing things that shouldn't be done and using people that shouldn't be used?
In order to maintain his own face, authority, and ardent hope for the reform, Guo Chong thought deeply that he could not let them slander the new law and the reformers. He must suppress this storm. Right or wrong
Putting it aside for now, he cannot tolerate his ministers persecuting him in this way. Even if Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru are at fault, even if the new law has shortcomings, they can only cover it up.
After the morning court on the 25th started at Chen time, Guo Chong made his attitude clear and clear.
"I understand the loyalty of all my beloved ministers. I understand the anger towards the Qingjiao rebellion and the concern for the country. However, reform is a national policy and cannot be abandoned halfway. Facts have proved that the new law is still beneficial to the country. Yang Zhengsu and Fang
Dunru is doing his best, and I can see it. Maybe they didn't think it through, and the new law may have shortcomings, but these can be corrected. What's more, I don't think the Qingjiao rebellion is directly related to the new law.
The Qingjiao bandits colluded with the Liao people to bring trouble to our great Zhou Dynasty. This was entirely a conspiracy of the Liao people. The Liao people have been coveting our great Zhou Dynasty for a long time. If there is no chaos this time, there may be chaos next time somewhere else. I cannot be simple.
This rebellion cannot be attributed to the new law, let alone individuals. In this way, who will be willing to work for me in the future? Wouldn’t it chill the hearts of those who work for the imperial court?”
Guo Chong's statement was very direct, completely cutting off the connection between the rebellion and the new law, and fundamentally severing the connection between the two events. This was precisely because he did not want to involve himself in the matter. He
Do not allow your authority and reputation to be compromised.
Guo Chong thought that this time it would be the same as before. After he expressed his position, the ministers also stopped making noise and stopped making noise. He would calm down again and let Yan Zhengshen and Fang Dunru come forward to say a few words of apology, and then things would calm down.
. He would go back and comfort them one by one and explain, and it would always get over. But he made a mistake. He did not realize the determination of Lu Zhongtian and others this time. They were bound to win and could not fail.
