Zhang Rang felt a little relieved when he saw Chen Mu Zhizhu holding it.
In fact, he had the same idea as Chen Mu.
If He Jin doesn't accept them, then they can only ask Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He.
This is the way of survival that they, eunuchs and regular attendants, have learned after staying in the palace for many years.
Chen Mu had never stayed in the palace, but he could grasp the key point at once, which really impressed Zhang Rang.
There was just one thing that made Zhang Rang feel uneasy, that is, if they expressed support for Liu Bian, would Empress Dowager Dong protect them.
You must know that Liu Xie was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, and it was Empress Dowager Dong who suggested Liu Xie ascend the throne during the lifetime of the emperor.
Otherwise, with the political acumen of the emperor, he would not have thought of forcibly resisting the courtiers and not establishing a crown prince.
The reason for the delay in establishing a crown prince was that both the emperor and the queen mother wanted to establish Dong Hou.
If the Emperor is still alive, and in a few years when Marquis Dong grows up, it may not be logical to force the establishment of a heir apparent by the Emperor's personal means.
But now the emperor passed away suddenly, and before his death, he just told them to support Dong Hou to ascend the throne.
Zhang Rang is not stupid. Except for the support of the Queen Mother, everyone in the world will oppose Liu Xie.
Nowadays, the power of the Queen Mother is not strong, and she only has one nephew, Dong Chong, as a guard.
Dong Zhong was previously a city gate captain, so he had some military power. But now that he was promoted to a guard captain, one of the nine ministers, he had no military power.
This is because the duty of the guards is to take charge of the guards at the palace gates, and the troops garrisoned in the north and south palaces are all under the jurisdiction of the guards.
The problem is that the current composition of the Forbidden Army is like this. The outer palace is guarded by Guang Luxun's Yulin Guards and Huben Army, including the inner city of Luoyang outside the North and South Palaces. Those patrolling the streets are basically Yulin Army and Huben Army.
The inner palace is controlled by the Suwei Army. This group of soldiers is mainly responsible for the palace gates of the North and South Palaces, complex roads, main hall guarding, palace guarding and daily patrols.
The number of people is about three to four thousand, which is roughly the same as the number of Yulin Guards and Huben Army. The total number of troops from the three parties is about ten thousand.
But just like the Habayashi Guards and Huben Army are nominally under the jurisdiction of Guang Luxun, they are actually commanded by Generals Habayashi Zhonglang and Huben Zhonglang.
The Su Wei Army was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Wei Wei, but in fact it was in the hands of Jian Shuo.
The soldiers and horses that Jian Shuo prepared to ambush He Jin before, and the soldiers that the eunuchs later mobilized to kill He Jin and resist Yuan Shao from bringing Xiyuan soldiers and horses into the palace, were all Su Wei troops.
Therefore, Dong Chong did not have any military power.
This means that Empress Dowager Dong is just a polished commander and cannot compete with He Jin at all.
It was precisely because Zhang Rang saw this clearly that he knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to join He Jin without hesitation.
But in this way, he offended Empress Dowager Dong, which really made him feel uneasy.
Thinking of this, Zhang Rang couldn't help but said: "Zi Gui, Queen He is okay. After all, I am still related to her, and I have helped her a lot, so there is a favor. It's just Empress Dowager Dong's side... If
If I support Shi Hou, firstly the Queen Mother will be displeased, and secondly she will not be able to protect me..."
Chen Mu pondered: "What does Mr. Zhang mean?"
"Where should we go completely?"
Zhang Rang hesitated and said: "Zigui and I have a good matchmaking relationship with the general. If Zigui can help as a lobbyist, the general may let me wait."
That was originally the idea.
Chen Mu knew clearly in his heart that Zhang Rang was in the center of the whirlpool. He already knew that both Empress Dowager Dong and Jian Shuo were just grasshoppers after the fall and could not survive for a few days. So he decided to completely turn to He Jin, but he was not sure about He Jin.
attitude and allow yourself to test things out.
"Mr. Zhang, I understand."
Chen Mu nodded and said sincerely: "Since I want to surrender, I also have to submit a certificate of surrender. I wonder what Mr. Zhang can do for the general?"
Zhang Rang hesitated for a moment and whispered: "I will fully support Shi Hou's ascension to the throne."
"not enough."
Chen Mu shook his head: "The general has the military power, and he has the support of hundreds of civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and Queen He. Even without the regular attendants, he can support Shi Hou to ascend to power. This certificate of nomination is too small."
"That......."
Zhang Rang's eyes flashed fiercely and he said fiercely: "We are willing to hand over Jian Shuo and surrender to the general."
So cruel?
Chen Mu thought to himself that in order to survive, Zhang Rang and his regular attendant Jian Shuo were willing to sell.
But if you think about it carefully, Jian Shuo has been favored in recent years. After all, Liu Hong liked Liu Xie and wanted to make Liu Xie emperor. However, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others opposed him, while Jian Shuo supported it. The attitudes of the two sides were different.
I'm afraid that for this reason, there is already a gap in the competition between Zhang Rang and Jian Shuo. Although they don't wish for Jian Shuo's death, they certainly don't feel bad about selling.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu smiled and said, "Has Mr. Zhang ever heard of this sentence?"
"What words?"
"You can't put all your eggs in one basket at the same time."
"What does this mean?"
Zhang Rang was puzzled.
Chen Mu smiled and said: "During the Warring States Period, Lord Mengchang had a retainer named Feng Xuan. He once said: "A cunning rabbit has three burrows, so it only needs to avoid its dead ears." Does Mr. Zhang understand what I mean?"
Zhang Rang was not stupid. An idea flashed in his mind and he realized: "What Zigui means is that you want me to make more preparations?"
"good."
Chen Mu nodded: "Perhaps the general did not intend to murder the regular servants, and the news he released was just to kill Jian Shuo. But you must know that Jian Shuo is the only one who holds military power among the regular servants. Jian Shuo
Once Shuo is eliminated, you will be like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, with no room for improvement. Once the general is just pretending to attack Guo, and after getting rid of Jian Shuo, he suddenly turns his back and refuses to recognize anyone else, you will be in danger."
"well."
Zhang Rang sighed and said with despair, "This is what I'm worried about."
It seems that Zhang Rang is not completely brainless.
However, since he is involved in it, he must also know the stakes. It is normal to have such worries.
Chen Mu smiled slightly and said: "As the saying goes, the authorities are confused, but bystanders know clearly. Zhang Gong was afraid that the general would turn his back on him, so he didn't dare to make up his mind. But he didn't know that everything has two sides. Zhang Gong was afraid that Empress Dowager Dong would not be able to compete with the general.
, won’t it help the Queen Mother to increase her strength? Mr. Zhang must not forget that the military power in the palace is still in your hands. Once both are destroyed, the Queen and Shi Hou..."
"You mean?"
"No, I didn't say anything."
Chen Mu stood up and said slowly: "The core of politics is balance, and Mr. Zhang should know this better than I do. Now that the balance has been broken, if Mr. Zhang wants to ensure nothing goes wrong, the most important thing is to ensure equality of strength, or try to make it as easy as possible.
The strength of both sides is similar. If this cannot be guaranteed, then Duke Zhang can only gamble his life that the general will not attack the Dukes."
After that, he bowed his hands and said: "Mr. Zhang, I'm leaving first. I will handle the matters you asked me to do. But I can't get involved in the affairs in the palace. I have to handle it myself. Otherwise, I will
Firstly, it is impossible to mobilize the troops in the palace, and secondly, it is impossible to persuade the queen mother and empress. All these have to be done by Zhang Gong himself."
"I see......"
After he left the side hall, Zhang Rang finally regained his composure, let out a long sigh, looked at Wang Jun and said, "This Chen Zigui is more ruthless than me."