In Chang'an, an unexpected heavy snowfall fell one after another in the city, and the entire city of Chang'an was shrouded in goose-feather-like auspicious snow.
Not long ago, a major event occurred in Chang'an City. Taiwei Zhu Si was assassinated on Zhuque Street. Three poisonous arrows were shot into the carriage through the window. A female bodyguard and a tea-making boy were shot dead, but Zhu Si managed to escape.
Pass a tribulation.
Zhu Si was furious and ordered a search throughout the city, but found nothing.
Of course he knew who ordered his assassination. There would be no one except Li Shi of Chengdu. They could not win on the battlefield, so they resorted to such despicable methods. Like father, like son, the late Emperor Li Yu was especially
He likes to use assassination methods, and so does his son.
However, in the past two days, Zhu Si couldn't care less about Chengdu. He received an urgent message that Wang Xiaotian, the guard general of Xiaoguan, decided to surrender to Chang'an.
This is an extremely important event. Once Wang Xiaotian surrenders to him, their defense line will advance more than three hundred miles eastward, and the next step is to capture the eastern capital Luoyang.
In the Xingqing Palace, Zhu Si summoned his close ministers to discuss the matter. Yuan Xiu said: "Wang Xiaotian is from Dengzhou, but his wife, children and mother are all in Chang'an. This is probably the main reason for his surrender."
Zhang Guangsheng said slowly: "Actually, that's not necessarily true. Wang Xiaotian is Liu Yan's niece and son-in-law. Who ordered Liu Yan's death? Everyone knows that Li Shi is involved. Wang Xiaotian didn't want to work for Li Shi in the first place. Now Li Shi has captured Chang'an."
It is completely reasonable for him to want to leave Chengdu if there is no hope."
Zhu Si turned back and asked Yao Lingyan: "What conditions does he have?"
"He wants to be a military envoy and become a county king. Secondly, he wants to surrender to the emperor Li Ji instead of surrendering to the Taiwei. These are his two conditions."
Zhu Si chuckled, "What's the difference between surrendering to Li Guang and surrendering to me? It's all about saving face. I can agree to it. As for the county prince, it's totally fine. Since he is from Dengzhou, let's make him Nanyang county prince and then crown him prince."
Shaobao, General Zuo Xiaowei, as for the Jiedu Envoy, you can make him the Qingning Jiedu Envoy, and he will be in charge of Qingzhou and Ningzhou."
The main reason why Zhu Si was so generous was that Wang Xiaotian actually controlled Shaanzhou and Guozhou. With his surrender, he dedicated two extremely important strategic places to Zhu Si.
At this time, Yuan Xiu said slowly: "Actually, I have another idea that can help the Taiwei succeed."
"Source Prime Minister, please tell me!"
"I knew from my humble position that Ge Shuyao's army controlled Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou, Zhengzhou, Huaizhou, Guozhou and Shaanzhou. When Wang Xiaotian surrendered, he dedicated Guozhou and Shaanzhou to Taiwei. Then Ruzhou, Zhengzhou and
What about Huaizhou?
If the garrison generals in these states follow Wang Xiaotian's example and surrender to Chang'an, Geshu Yao's actual strength will be reduced to 6,000 men. Six thousand men cannot defend Henan Prefecture. As long as the Taiwei launches a large-scale attack from Weiguan, he will definitely
By abandoning Henan Funan and retreating to Xiangyang, Taiwei will have a foothold in the Central Plains. If he goes south to open up the Shang-Deng Channel, the entire south of Henan Fu will be connected with Chang'an."
Zhu Si was overjoyed. He hesitated and said, "I'm afraid they won't follow Wang Xiaotian's example."
Yuan Xiu smiled slightly, "Not many people are willing to sacrifice their lives for a foolish king like Li Shi. The so-called unwillingness to surrender is actually because the price is not high enough. As long as the Taiwei is generous, they will definitely serve Chang'an!"
Zhu Si waved his hand and said, "If they want women, I will give them to them, if they want money, I will give them money, and if they want official positions, I will agree. I, Zhu Si, am a person who does great things. I have nothing to give up on those false reputations and extraneous things."
...........
The winter in the Chengdu Plain is not very cold, the rivers are not frozen, and there is still a touch of warmth in the air.
The inspection of the two Zhejiang provinces sent Han Huang to relieve the salt tax of 7 million yuan and the grain tax of 3 million yuan, which made the imperial government's finances suddenly rich. Li Shi issued an order to increase the salaries of hundreds of officials and build a large number of small official residences in the city. At the same time,
Massive construction work began to build Chang'an Palace.
The palace in Chengdu Mansion is really too small, and the living conditions are awkward. It is far different from the Daming Palace. Although it is impossible for him to replicate a Daming Palace, it should at least be larger in area and have some gardens and landscapes. He lives there.
Also comfortable.
Despite the opposition of many ministers, Li Shi decided to build Chang'an Palace to remind himself that he must always remember to regain Chang'an.
The area of Chang'an Palace is twice that of the palace, covering an area of 1,000 acres. To the north is the 10,000-acre manor dedicated to him by Huo Xianming. There are many forests in this manor, which was gradually turned into an inner garden and a place for hunting.
The old palace could be converted into an official residence of the imperial court. Li Shi was very proud of his idea.
At this time, Li Shi did not interfere with the government affairs. He was still recovering from his injuries in the palace. The arrow hurt his muscles and bones, and the pain in his right shoulder and back became unbearable with the slightest exertion. He handed over the government affairs to the emperor's heir Li Yi, and left it to his son.
Serve as supervisor of the country.
But there is one power that Li Shi will never give up, and that is the military power of the new Shence Army. The Shence Army has a total of 30,000 people, composed of Li Sheng's 20,000 troops and Hun Yao's 10,000 troops. After experiencing the Shence Army's mission
After Bai Zhizhen's defection, Li Shi no longer trusted the generals and civil servants. He appointed his close eunuchs Huo Xianming and Dou Wenchang as lieutenants of the Shence Army. They took control of the military and garrisoned the army in the Huangzhuang Forbidden Garden to the north.
This is actually a disguised form of depriving Li Sheng and Hun Yao of their military power, and neither of them has a single soldier.
But mastering the Shence Army was not enough. Li Shi also had to control Liangzhe Road, Shannan Road and Jingnan Road. These three places were extremely important.
In the study, the eunuch Song Chaofeng, who had just been promoted to the privy envoy, said to Li Shi: "It is not reliable to leave the two Zhejiang Roads, Shannan Road and Jingnan Road to outsiders. The old slave suggested that your majesty appoint the prince as the military envoy and go to these three places to take charge.
Send capable ministers to assist them."
"What should I do about Han Huang?" Li Shi asked.
Han Huang was the observer envoy to the two Zhejiang provinces. He was very popular in the two Zhejiang areas. He stabilized the two Zhejiang provinces in a short period of time and managed them well. This time he escorted the grain and salt taxes to Shu, and he made a great contribution. Li
I'm a little hesitant about this.
Song Chaofeng said: "Your Majesty, military generals are not the only ones who have the desire to separatist rule. Your Majesty, please don't forget what Chen Shaoyou did."
Chen Shaoyou is the Jiedushi of Huainan Province and a typical civil servant. However, not long ago, the Salt and Iron Envoy Bao Ji impeached Chen Shaoyou for setting up troops to rob the salt tax of 3 million yuan, which caused heavy losses to the Salt and Iron Department. Since Chen Shaoyou had 20,000 troops,
The imperial court did not dare to remove him directly for fear that he would be forced to rebel and endanger the entire Jiangnan.
Song Chaofeng's reminder made Li Shi silent. He really couldn't believe anyone now.
Song Chaofeng then suggested: "Your Majesty, since Han Huang has come to Chengdu, don't let him go. Just stay in Chengdu and serve as an official."
After a long silence, Li Shi finally nodded.
Early the next morning, Li Shi promulgated a decree and appointed King Tong Li Chen, King Qian Li Liang and King Su Li Xiang as the Jiedushi of Zhejiang Province, Shannan Road and Jingnan Road respectively. At the same time, he also appointed his younger brother Zhao Wang Li
Si was the envoy of Lingnan Road, and Han Huang was appointed as Shangshu Zuopushe and Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel to participate in the affairs of the political affairs hall.
Li Shi's edict was issued directly without consulting the Supervisor and the Zhengshitang. It caused a stir in the court, but it soon fell silent. The Supervisor Li Yi issued a statement fully supporting his father's appointment.
Only then did everyone realize that the emperor had not left the center of power, and he still firmly held military and political power.
At dusk, Dugu Lingqiu came to Xue Mansion again. In the past few months, the two of them had become very close, and their relationship quickly became closer.
The two of them sat down in the study. Xue Xun poured a full glass of wine for Du Guqiu and asked: "I heard that Lu Qi sent a letter to supervise the country and impeach Guo Song for expanding his jurisdiction and occupying Lanzhou without authorization. Is this true?"
Du Lingqiu sneered and said: "It's true, but it's a pity that he went in the wrong direction and was scolded by the emperor."
"How do you say this?"
"The emperor originally wanted to persuade the emperor to appoint Guo Song as the military governor of Longyou, but the emperor did not agree. Soon the news came that Guo Song withdrew his troops from Longyou, and the puppet government sent the military governor of Longyou, and the army took over Longyou.
Right, the emperor regrets it again. If Lu Qi submits the impeachment letter at this time, wouldn't he step on the emperor's sore foot, and of course he will be scolded."
Xue Xun was a little worried and said: "Actually, I am also very worried about his development towards the feudal town."
Du Guqiu smiled slightly, "Everything has pros and cons. Don't think it is bad when mentioning a feudal town. Wasn't Li and Tang also a feudal town at the end of the Sui Dynasty?"
Perhaps feeling that what he said was too explicit, Du Lingqiu immediately changed his words and said: "Guo Song has been isolated in Hexi and completely separated from the imperial court. They have to rely on themselves for their survival. He can't even ask the imperial court for instructions."
Well, if Hexi is gradually turning into a vassal town, I think it is excusable. At least he did not surrender to the puppet government like Cui Kuan. This is already very commendable. My dear brother, don’t worry anymore, let everything take its course!"