When Jie Shoufu and others heard the news, their expressions changed drastically.
Liu Sheng had previously been ordered to go to Dianzhou to recruit the old troops of the King of Xiang and the imperial garrison, and attack Dongwu with all his strength——
At that time, except for Xia Tingzhen's party, everyone in the court strongly opposed the emperor's decision. They all believed that it was too risky to attack Dongwu at this time. Dongwu was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the king of Xiang knew the terrain of Dianzhou well.
There must be a traitor in the old department who colludes with him. This can be called internal and external troubles, and the chance of winning is extremely low!
However, the emperor insisted on going his own way and refused to listen to dissuasion!
But they thought that Liu Sheng's chance of winning was extremely slim, as he was facing Dongwu, but now the person reporting the news said...Liu Sheng was killed by the Dianzhou garrison!
There’s still no time to start a war with Dongwu!
After careful calculation, it was also ordered to crusade against foreign tribes. When Zhen Guo Gong sent troops to the Li tribe, Liu Sheng rushed to Dianzhou. There was only a month difference between them. However, Ren Zhen Guo Gong defeated the Li tribe first.
After their victory, they rebelled again, and now even Linyuan City has been captured——
Liu Sheng's side is better, he's not even close to Dongwu yet!
People died first!
What can someone say about the hugely different efficiency?
You don’t even need others to knock down your morale, your own people will be completely defeated!
But then I thought about it, Liu Sheng's mission to conquer Dongwu was not favored by them at all - look, the emperor didn't listen to them, and he was doomed to fail!
But none of this is important anymore!
"...these Dianzhou defenders dared to kill Liu Sheng. This is a clear indication that they are openly rebelling against King Xiang's legacy!" Jie Shoufu frowned: "Although King Xiang is dead, these Dianzhou rebels still refuse to do so.
I have stopped my ambition of colluding with Dongwu, I am afraid that I have already lured the wolf into the house!"
As a result, the crisis in Daqing is not limited to the inside. If Dongwu captures Dianzhou, the consequences will be disastrous!
Cold sweat broke out on the faces of several ministers, and Jie Shoufu was both angry and sad in his heart - this was not destiny, but clearly a man-made disaster caused by the emperor's wrong decision. As expected, he was scolding lightly just now!
"Looking back, Lord Fu, the current situation is not like this..."
The reporting soldier, who was supported by two internal guards, had just drank half a bottle of water, and now he had some strength. He said in a hoarse voice: "The name of the man who killed General Liu was Jin Yuan. This man was just a member of the border guard army."
A small general with only more than 400 people under his command... When General Liu arrived in Dianzhou, he first encountered difficulties from the commander of the Dianzhou Guard, the old army of King Xiang, and encountered a setback in his recruitment..."
After a slight pause, he said: "This Jinyuan did not attract the attention of General Liu Sheng at first, but this person first took advantage of his unpreparedness to kill the commander of the Dianzhou Guard, and then beheaded General Liu... and although this person's official position was low
, he actually had some prestige among the garrison and had many followers... He successively killed General Liu and the commander of the Dianzhou Guard, and was promoted as the leader of the rebels——"
"After this person took over Dianzhou, the first thing he did was to reorganize the defenses. Anyone found to be secretly colluding with Dongwu would be killed in public. He also said in the army that he would defend Dianzhou to the death and would never
There is an opportunity to take advantage of Dongwu!"
"..." After hearing this, Jie Shoufu and others were all surprised.
"According to this, although this person has rebellious intentions, he has no intention of colluding with other races..." The Minister of Rites said: "He is still..."
There is a bottom line.
This sentence sounded like he was praising the rebels, but that was exactly what happened.
At this juncture, it is Daqing's blessing that this person can hold on to the bottom line.
Taifu Jiang sighed slightly: "This is obviously the second Zhang Yunsui..."
Zhang Yun, the magistrate of Mingzhou, rebelled with the rioting people and was the first official to take the lead in the rebellion. Nowadays, the people of Mingzhou City and the surrounding counties are more united than when they were under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
Now there is another Jinyuan - rebelling against the imperial court, but still sticking to the territory and the people...
The reason for the rebellion is probably because of the emperor’s imperial edict to start a war with Dongwu!
The emperor was furious and said that in the end, the people of Dianzhou must be the first to pay the price——
Dongwu is a barbarian tribe, and there is always a precedent of massacres of foreign tribes entering the city. How can they show mercy?
Since Jin Yuan was a border guard general, he must know this very well.
Killing Liu Sheng and rebelling against the imperial court is the only way to protect Dianzhou...
And just like Zhang Yunsui, these people should have been able to hold up the backbone of Daqing just like the Duke of Zhenguo——
There are many people who take advantage of the chaos, but these good officials who still care about the survival of the people bring shame to the court!
After forcing all the loyal ministers and good generals to this point, I wonder if the emperor is blushing or not!
"Although it is also a disaster, it is far better than the result of attracting a wolf into the house..." Jiang Taifu sighed: "This can be regarded as a blessing among misfortunes."
Jie Shoufu also breathed a sigh of relief.
After being relieved, he thoughtfully asked the soldier who reported the news: "Since you are under Liu Sheng's command, have you ever seen this Jinyuan?"
"On the night of the general's accident, I was able to meet this man once..." Thinking of the bloody scene that night, the soldiers were still a little scared. Fortunately, the other party took the general's head and only used it to scare them, instead of killing them indiscriminately.
move——
Jie Shoufu hurriedly asked: "How old is this person and what does he look like?"
The name Jin Yuan sounded vaguely familiar to him...
"About... about forty years old. There is nothing unusual about his appearance, but there is an old scar under his left eyebrow."
Jie Shoufu's eyes changed: "It is indeed him..."
"Does Mr. Ge know this person?" Yu Guang, a cabinet scholar, asked.
"When I first heard it, I thought, if this person has the ability to establish authority in the border guards, he will probably not be a nobody without a name..." Jie Shoufu's eyes flickered: "If I remember correctly, he
He should have been a lieutenant general in the Western Camp, but he was ostracized by Xia Tingzhen's party about ten years ago and was demoted from the capital——"
The Minister of Rites was slightly surprised: "You are actually a deputy general?"
Jie Shoufu: "More than that, he is an old friend of King Yan."
Because of this, he had met this person several times.
I think back when Daqing was first established and before a prince was established, he, like many others, was more optimistic about King Yan in private...
But no matter how optimistic they are, they and their ministers are only loyal to the monarch and the future monarch.
King Yan...
Seeing that face flashing before his eyes, Jie Shoufu felt hard to distinguish in his heart. He couldn't tell whether he felt hatred or regret, or whether he was sighing that fate had more to do with people.
In the past, the young man who was full of meaning, upright, and valued the stability of the country more than anything else, has finally reached this point...
Did the late Emperor really have no expectation of this before his death?
"Old friend of King Yan... If you put it this way, isn't it very likely that this person will fall to King Yan's party?"
In this way, Dianzhou would be equivalent to falling into the hands of King Yan!
"I'm afraid it's more than that..." Taifu Jiang shook his head slightly: "This person's actions may have been ordered by King Yan."
Jie Shoufu said nothing, but he tacitly agreed with this guess.
More than twenty years ago, Dianzhou was almost occupied by Dongwu. At that time, it was King Yan who followed Zhen Guogong all the way south to set the border of Dianzhou, expel these foreign races from the territory of Daqing, and build layers of iron walls for defense.
Only those who have witnessed the cruel methods of aliens with their own eyes can better understand the suffering of the people of Dianzhou.
It’s hard to say that Jin Yuan’s move was not the intention of King Yan...
Realizing this, there was a brief silence in the huge cabinet study.
Some things cannot be said.
But needless to say, they all have discernment.
At the same moment, the prince came out of the Yangxin Hall.
"Your Highness..."
The personal eunuch who was guarding outside the palace hurriedly came up to meet him. Seeing the boy's purple and swollen eyes, he couldn't help being surprised: "Your Highness's eyes are injured!"
"It's okay. It's just a minor injury. It doesn't matter. Doctor Zheng has already looked at it for me."
The boy said as he descended the stone steps, the eunuch followed beside him and sounded concerned.
Hearing these attentive concerns that did not seem to be fake, the boy felt a little touched in his heart.
Since the emperor's father was seriously ill, the fourth brother... may not be able to call him that way anymore. Since the son of Concubine Rong was kidnapped, the palace people around him have treated him with a bit more true loyalty.
Some people even knelt in front of him and confessed to him that in the past, they were entrusted by his father to stay by his side, but from today on, they are truly his people. If he has any mission, they will risk their lives.
Will do it too.
He didn't think it was ridiculous, nor did he think it was unbearable that these people had repeated faces.
They are just poor people trying to survive in the cracks...
After the emperor's father fell, these palace people fell into confusion and uneasiness, and it was normal for them to want to seek shelter.
But can he give these people shelter?
Even he was confused and uneasy...
It's just that his uneasiness is slightly different from that of the palace people——
And just today, just now, for the first time, he had the thought that "maybe my father shouldn't wake up."
It wasn't because of the medicine bowl that hit his eye hard, although it really hurt, it hurt a lot.
But because he saw that Jie Shoufu was almost beaten with a cane——
During the days when my father was in coma, no, even before that, Jie Shoufu and the others were struggling to deal with all the difficulties. My father...the father who had caused all these evil consequences really had no right to treat him like this.
them.
The people of Daqing should not be treated like this.
"Your Highness's eyes are injured, why not go back to the East Palace to rest first?" the eunuch suggested from the side.
"No need." A cold autumn wind blew over. The prince tightened his cloak, coughed twice, and said, "Go to the cabinet."
Even though he can't help with political affairs, he should at least apologize to Mr. Jie and all the adults as his father-in-law.
He walked all the way to the outside of the cabinet study, and faintly heard some disagreements among the adults in the study, so he did not let the eunuch come forward to communicate, but walked in alone.
The cabinet study is divided into two rooms: an inner one and an inner one. Xie Shoufu and others were discussing matters in the inner room. The prince listened and subconsciously stopped behind the screen.
He heard many things that made the adults anxious, and the astonishing number of victims...
There was a voice in his heart telling him - he can't go on like this.
The boy slowly clenched his white and thin fingers.
Perhaps, he should also do something for Daqing...
But what can he do?
…
Emperor Qingming developed a high fever around Zi Shi.
The already weak man came down from the high fever and began to talk nonsense in a daze.
I can’t say it’s nonsense——
At first, they were full of vicious words cursing King Dingnan and Duke Zhenguo, which made Dr. Zheng who was watching over him feel chills running down his back.
"Where's Li Ji? Ask Li Ji to come see me..." Emperor Qingming seemed to suddenly think of something, and suddenly opened his eyes, and then his eyes were full of muddy and groggy colors.
"Your Majesty, I'm always here..." Li Ji hurriedly responded.
"Has there been a letter from Tang Changyu? Is King Yan dead?" Emperor Qingming asked through gritted teeth.
As early as when the Xu and Wu families defected from Beijing, he sent his young master Tang Changyu as an imperial envoy to Mizhou. He must capture King Yan for treason!
There is no need to tell him anything. Now it is only the Xu family and the Wu family who are rebelling. Now that the Queen Mother has been rescued from the capital, King Yan's intention to rebel is clearly revealed, and no other evidence is needed!
He must let King Yan die in Mizhou——
Only in this way can we cut off the retreat of the Xu family and the Wu family. Once these two rebels have no one to support them, they will have no way to unite their various forces. It will not be too late to defeat them one by one!
Even though the Mizhou garrison would rebel with the King of Yan, several cities adjacent to Mizhou all had troops that could be mobilized. He had repeatedly told Tang Changyu that if the King of Yan refused to admit his guilt and insisted on resisting, he would use a large army to
If he is trapped, he must be trapped and die in Mizhou City!
"Your Majesty, please do not be impatient. Tang Shaofu sent a message to Beijing the day before yesterday. He said that he had successfully arrived at Mizhou and was not attacked along the way... If there is any progress, I will report it to Your Majesty as soon as possible."
"Okay...I'll wait...I'll wait!"
"When the time comes, I will hang his head outside the capital city tower... and let those rebellious officials and traitors take a good look - this is their fate!"
"Yes, yes..." Li Ji echoed - think about it, no one has fantasies yet, as long as His Majesty is happy...
The emperor's spiteful words with a hint of madness floated out through the half-open window lattice, and were crushed by the night wind.
…
In the city of Mizhou, the sky was getting dark and the rain was pouring.
"...My father has been gone for more than half a month, so I have been stuck in the house for half a month...Why can't I go out? This is Mizhou, why is my father controlling me even more strictly than when I was in the capital?
?”
In the inner courtyard of Prince Yan's Mansion, Princess Sangyun and Princess Yan were complaining with some dissatisfaction: "Is it true that as rumored outside, my father really wants to create -"
"Shut up!" Princess Yan quickly interrupted her daughter and frowned: "Your father has his own reasons for doing things, let's just follow them."
"You are so timid, what are you afraid of when we are in our own house?" Princess Sangyun curled her lips and became more and more dissatisfied: "Just do as you are told, my mother only knows how to do as she is told, and you are not my father's subordinate.
Soldier, why do you never ask your father more than once when something happens?"
"I am a woman, why are you asking?" Princess Yan said thoughtfully: "What's more, there is an imperial envoy living in the post house outside Mizhou City... At this juncture, it is better to be careful.
.”
The news of the rebellion of the Xu and Wu families has spread throughout the country. Mizhou is not a place with limited ears and eyes, so they have heard about it.
Some people say that the Xu and Wu families rebelled for the sake of the prince...
But the prince is still in the military camp and has not returned. She doesn't know and dare not ask more.
At this time, a maid walked in quickly: "Princess Qi, princess... the prince is back."
"Father is back?" Princess Sangyun stood up quickly: "I'm going to find father!"
"Princess, don't go at this time..." The servant woman lowered her voice and said, "As soon as the prince entered the city, he sent someone to notify the imperial envoy who was waiting at the post house. Now everyone has arrived in the front hall."
