Chapter 60 Choices of the Military and Political Parties
"This old Lu has obviously ignored the government affairs for a long time, but today he has to come to the palace. He comes as soon as he comes. He has not been told not to come, but he is still trying to grab his position with his apprentice.
, I really don’t know what he is thinking.”
Cheng Yijie and the other two walked out of the Donghua Gate together, and He Renan, the center leader, couldn't help but complain, as if he was the one who had been deprived of his official position.
"Okay, Lao He, it's not a big deal. Besides, I still have the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. This is a first-class rank after all. It's similar to the previous one. It's enough!"
Ma Suiliang was very tolerant, but He Ren'an refused to let him go.
"I'm fighting for you, right? I've been fighting for most of my life. In the end, even an imperial envoy's official position was taken back. And that Lu Xiangrui, from the time we met in Liaozhou to now, how much has it done?
Even though he is a 20-year-old brother, he can do it!"
"I can't blame Lao Lu for this. He is not the only one who knows many things, but we ourselves are also aware of them. However, none of us will do it, and we are reluctant to give up our own interests. And he is just the first one who dares to stand up.
We're just human beings. In the final analysis, we each choose different paths."
Cheng Yijie waved to He Ren'an and shook his head. He didn't think Lu Xiangrui did anything wrong. The mistake was that the situation everyone wanted to see was different.
"Actually, no matter how you stepped down from your position, you have been serving as the imperial emissary for decades and have not accomplished many serious things. Instead, you have caused a lot of trouble. I used to feel that I had contributed to the founding of the country. So this
The position of the imperial emissary should belong to me, but after the burden is really relieved this time, it is much easier than before."
Ma Suiliang looked much calmer than He Ren'an. Although his tone of voice was still full of bitterness, he probably had looked away in his heart.
"Nothing to do today, Lao Cheng, why don't we go to your house to make a summary? Not only for us old guys who are about to be buried, but even for our children and grandchildren, we have to find a way out for them!"
He Ren'an didn't have time to think about what Ma Suiliang was thinking. This time he revoked Ma Suiliang's imperial emissary order, so next time he would revoke He Ren'an's central command order.
"It's no problem to go, but didn't the emperor ask you to draft an imperial edict and bring it to him? Are you sure you still have the time to go to my house?"
Cheng Yijie said in a joking tone.
"Harm, what's the point? I'll go back and write it tonight and give him the same one tomorrow. It'll be fine!"
"Aren't you afraid that he will seize this opportunity and cause trouble for your central command?"
Seeing He Ren'an's nonchalant look, Cheng Yijie had no choice but to persuade him, but it obviously had no effect.
"What's the matter? It's not just once or twice. Even if he really wants to make fun of me, it won't be for this reason."
"Then, let's go to my house to discuss the future trend."
After saying that, the three of them walked towards the home of Cheng Yijie, the minister in charge.
…
In the imperial palace, a special yamen used by the military to discuss matters, Generalissimo Dou Xianzhang took the seat of honor without hesitation.
"Hiss... I'm afraid the second prince has some agenda when he returns to the capital this time! Could it be that he is attracted by that position?"
In the left hand position below Dou Xianzhang, there was an old veteran who was about fifty years old and spoke.
"You understand what I said about Qi? Anyone with a discerning eye can see that, if the second prince didn't want to fight for himself, why would he rush back to the capital now? If it had been a few years,
Once the prince has managed to secure his position, then the return of the second prince will not help matters."
An old man of similar age and seniority sitting opposite the veteran named Qi said.
"Then what attitude should our military have? Don't be in the wrong team when the time comes."
Qi Lao
The general's face was very melancholy. Throughout his life, he had been so-so in fighting, but he really knew nothing about politics.
"You really only know how to fight in this life! Can't you understand such a simple question?"
The old man who spoke before mocked him, and then continued.
"This prince is obviously close to the civil servants. How can we, the generals, reap the benefits if we get close to him? He has to be disarmed. But the second prince is different. He is warlike, so he can't do without us.
If these old guys can get into that position, maybe the number of soldiers and horses in our hands will increase, and the level will also be improved."
After the old man finished speaking, there was a heated discussion in the hall. Almost all the generals agreed with him and believed that getting close to the second prince was the way out for the military. However, the heated discussion was interrupted by Dou Xianzhang
.
"It takes fifty steps to laugh at a hundred steps. I thought you, Li Shiping, had any brilliant insights?"
Dou Xianzhang's voice was full of energy, completely inconsistent with his age.
"Hehe, boss, just say it if you have any opinion. You can't let us rely on the prince who doesn't like war."
Li Shiping did not pay attention to the ridicule in Dou Xianzhang's words. The reason why the military has more power in the court than the civilian system is that they are united enough, unlike the civilian officials who always like to make some mistakes that civilians underestimate each other.
"As soon as the Second Prince Chu Tianxiong comes to power, the number of soldiers and horses in the world will indeed increase greatly, and we will also have more soldiers and horses in our hands. But you are sure that by that time, we can still firmly hold the military power within our own hands.
In your hand?"
Others were still confused by Dou Xianzhang's words. Only Li Shiping reacted and his expression suddenly became very exciting.
"It's really difficult for you to compete with those cunning civil servants. Do you really think that I stopped the second prince from returning to the capital in the daytime because I was worried about some bullshit reason of the Southern Tang Dynasty?"
Judging from Dou Xianzhang’s words, every step in this temple has profound meaning!
When Dou Xianzhang looked at the confused veterans, he also expressed his helplessness, but he had to move forward with these old brothers who had a life-long friendship on the battlefield, otherwise, they were afraid that they would be killed by those civil servants.
After selling it, you still count the money for others!
"If Chu Tianxiong can ascend the throne, the first thing he will do is not increase the number of soldiers in the world, but take back the military power in the hands of us veterans. Think about it carefully, there is an emperor who wants to conquer the world who is willing to give up military power.
In the hands of others? At that time, we will be the ones who have the most difficult life."
It wasn't until Dou Xianzhang explained it clearly that the other veterans understood the serious relationship.
"Boss, then we really can only place our bets on the prince? In this way, our life will still be difficult! Why not, I think the third prince Chu Fusheng... seems to be a good choice too!"
Dou Xianzhang calmly waved his hand towards Li Shiping.
"Farewell for now, none of us know whether the third prince has any thoughts about the throne now. If he is determined not to want that position, then even if we grab the throne and place it in front of him, he won't take a second look.
Judging from the current situation, we really can only place our bets on the prince!"
"Alas...there is no other way."
Li Shiping sighed, as if he couldn't accept this result.
"Don't worry, the situation is unclear now, we are just placing our bets on the prince temporarily. Anyway, we will have the opportunity to change our bets on other princes before the winning or losing is determined at the beginning of the market. It is just that the profit after winning will be a little less.
"
"Then we can only take one step at a time."
Li Shiping regained his composure a little, but he still couldn't go there. As for other people who had no independent opinions, they all followed them.
…
The other rooms in Cheng Yijie's mansion, ordered by Shangshu, are not big, but
His study room is huge, even bigger than Su Wang's. The bookcases in the room are filled with books. It seems that he usually reads a lot!
"Lao Cheng, I just wanted to talk to you on the way back. Why did you bring the second prince back? Are you asking him to compete with the prince for the chair? But the second prince is the main fighting party! This ten thousand
If he wins, then the Southern Tang, Northern Barbarians, and Eastern Turks will be turned upside down!"
He Ren'an spread his hands, expressing that he did not understand Cheng Yijie's operation at all.
"You idiot, what do you know? Just hit me. Isn't this what you ate when you were young? There is nothing to be afraid of. You are really becoming more and more timid as you live."
Cheng Yijie pointed at He Yanan's nose and laughed and cursed.
"That's not what I mean. What I think is that the prince is not close to the civil servants. We were not doing well in the hands of his father Chu Zheng. When we are under his hands, we will be better off than now, no matter what.
.”
Cheng Yijie felt a little funny when he heard what He Ren'an said.
"You also know that we are not easy to get along with in the hands of his father Chu Zheng? Then how can you dare to guarantee that Chu Wushuang will treat us well? Yes! He is close to civil servants, but he is definitely not civil servants like us. He wants to
We know that there are not many scholars among us civil servants at all, and most of them have reached their current position as civil servants by virtue of their military exploits."
Cheng Yijie stretched out his index finger and placed it in front of He Ren'an.
"I can guarantee you that after Chu Wushuang came to power, the first people to be eliminated were our group of civil servants who had done nothing!"
After saying that, Cheng Yijie put down his finger.
"So, if the second prince doesn't come back, we will really have no way to survive. Even if we stay in our current position and rely on our achievements, there will always be a day when we die! We
You are not young anymore, how many more years can you stay in this position? By then, what will we do with the unworthy descendants of our family who have no future?"
"Then what's the benefit of choosing the second prince? Don't end up with the same result in both choices."
He Ren'an understood Cheng Yijie's approach, but he did not see the benefits of choosing the second prince.
"It is true that the second prince is warlike, but the worst he can do is for us old men to go to the battlefield and use the remaining heat. However, he will never abandon the civil servants. On the contrary, he will definitely take back the military power of Dou Xianzhang and his group of old guys.
Yes, this way, he won't push us too hard, and may even give us some benefits! This is the real reason why I hope the second prince returns to Beijing to fight for that chair."
"I see. From this point of view, the second prince is indeed the best choice."
He Ren'an stroked his gray beard and nodded with deep approval.
"But that child Wushuang, after all, we have watched him grow up since childhood. Now, is our choice..."
Ma Suiliang, who had been silent from beginning to end, finally spoke.
"Old Ma, what you said is so biased! Isn't Tianxiong what we old guys have grown up watching? Besides, this was the choice made by the prince first. It was he who pushed us to the opposite side. We
Isn’t there no other way to do this?”
"Old Ma, don't worry. In my opinion, no matter who of these two brothers gets the throne, the fate of the other will not be too miserable, and Chu Zheng will not watch his two sons kill each other.
Yes, since he agreed to the second prince’s return to the capital, he must know the second prince’s intentions, and presumably, he must have his own plans.”
Not only He Yanan, but also Cheng Yijie felt that Ma Suiliang was worrying too much.
"well…"
Ma Suiliang had no choice but to sigh.
And with the choices made by both the military and the government, the capital has become increasingly undercurrent. I wonder how many people will die in the capital on the day when this undercurrent breaks out...