Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 89

Zhao You, an official, was born intelligent. From childhood to adulthood, his talent was higher than that of others. No matter what he learned or talked about, or his calligraphy, painting and poetry, he was not inferior to others.Therefore, Zhao You thought highly of himself. There was once a courtier who flattered him with the rule of Zhenguan.Afterwards, the eunuch Liang Shizhong said in the text of the imperial study, that what the officials admired was the rule of Yao and Shun, and they thought that Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty was far inferior to himself.

However, in the prosperous age of balance, the southeast turned upside down!What's more, hundreds of thousands of "rebellious" people raised poles in more than ten counties at the same time.

Zhao You read Fang La's call to action with a gloomy face, and didn't say a word for a long time.In the vertical arch hall, the candles were flickering, and the prime minister Cai Jing, the political adviser Zhao Zhifu, the privy envoy Wang Fu, the privy envoy Li Bangyan, and the official of the Imperial City Department Shen Yun were all there. Except for Cai Jingshang, who was a prime minister, the other people looked pale Even worse than the official family, as if the ancestral grave has been dug.

"What do you think, how should we deal with this matter?" Zhao You finally said slowly, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and calmed down. "Since the dynasty, the world has been at peace, the national treasury has been filled, and the kingdoms have come to the court. Occasionally, Hebei's defeat has been restored, and the ancestral territory has been restored immediately. But in the hearts of the subjects, do you really think that I am a fool?"

"Your Majesty," Wang Fu said cautiously, "this dynasty adheres to the policy of guarding the interior and the exterior. Except for the forbidden army, the prefecture and county armies have a strength of more than 40, and they are all unfit for battle. The distribution of the forbidden army is more important in the north than in the south. The three major battalions in Hedong and Xijing have a total of 35 troops stationed in the Forbidden Army. The Imperial Army and the Fourth Army are stationed near the capital. More than a thousand people, more than 4000 people from Hunan Road, 1 people from Hubei Road, more than [-] people from Fujian Road, and more than [-] people from Guangdong and Guangxi. Self-defense is still insufficient, and it is really difficult to send troops to quell the 'chaos'..."

Zhao You's face became more and more gloomy, and his breathing became heavier and heavier.

"I asked how to deal with it!" Accompanied by the anger of the officials, a brush washer hit Wang Fu with a "bang", and the fragments flew in all directions.

"I ask you how to deal with it!" Zhao You pressed the dragon chair to calm down his anger, stared at Wang Fu and said in a deep voice, as if standing in front of him was the Ming Cult demon who wantonly slandered him.

Wang Fu was frightened into a cold sweat, and hurriedly said: "In my humble opinion, I should choose good generals and lead the capital and the Xijing Imperial Army to the southeast area to put an end to the 'chaos'."

"In two months, how many imperial troops will be needed to conquer these grassroots monsters? Who can be the general?"

"The devil has been plotting for a long time, and the southeast has become hasty. If we want to calm the 'chaos' in two months, at least 15 troops will be needed." Wang Fu trembled. The Privy Council must be responsible for raising and coordinating the supply, food and grass of the army. Two months is too short, and if the number of troops in the Southern Expedition exceeds 30, it will definitely be too late.

Zhao You snorted, the number of 15 troops was slightly more than he had estimated in his mind, but the lion fought the rabbit with all his strength, in order to quickly pacify the southeast and let the imperial court's national policy return to open up territories, The track of Wanbang's coming to court is on track, which is considered to have agreed to Wang Fu's proposal.

"Then 15 elite soldiers will be drawn from the capital and Xijing to form the Southern Expedition Battalion. Who will be the general?"

All the important ministers became cautious. Water transportation is the lifeblood of Bianjing, and it also involves the safety of the southeast half of the country.

After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Cai Jing sighed, and said slowly: "The Daofu has just been in charge of the Hebei camp and fought fiercely with the Liao army for several months. If he is in Beijing at this moment, he should be a suitable candidate."

As soon as his words came out, Wang Fu, Li Bangyan, Shen Yun and others became suspicious.These people are all aware of the inside story of the "turmoil" in Hebei, and they have long classified Tong Guan as a mediocre general who is greedy for life and afraid of death, but Cai Jing actually recommended him.Li Bangyan thought to himself, could Mr. Cai go insane because his ancestral grave was dug up?

Zhao You's pupils shrank, and he picked up the Mingjiao uprising document and looked at it again, and said bitterly: "The southeast has changed, and I wanted to press this matter first. Since Cai Xiang mentioned it, what is said in this document is 'child thief As a result of the fall of Hebei, millions of lives and people were devastated.''Thousands of scholars and people have posted public announcements, accusing him of being a 'traitor', and the world is 'outraged'.' What's going on?"

Cai Jing's face was as usual, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty mentioned it, and the veteran just remembered that these days, Bianjing and Southeast Prefecture suddenly appeared many posts slandering Mr. Tong, slandering the government, and the veteran has let the Kaifeng government Investigate this matter. Alas, Your Majesty, please forgive me for being stupid. After reading the military newspaper, I realized that this post was actually done by the thieves in order to disturb people's hearts." He paused, and then said, "Your Majesty Tong I set off from Hejian to Beijing on the same day, and now there is no news from the state capitals on the road, and the veteran is worried that the "rebellious" bandits want to accuse Mr. Tong, and they secretly kill him on the way." When he said this, he kept silent, watching to the side.

Zhao You looked at Shen Yun with his eyes, his face was slightly cold, and he asked in a deep voice: "Is there any whereabouts of the Taoist priest?"

Shen Yun hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Just as Mr. Cai said, Mr. Tong has disappeared since he set off from Hejian, and the Jinyan Mansion is also sending more people to find Mr. Tong's whereabouts."

Thinking of Tong Guansu's loyalty and hard work, Zhao You thought that he was framed by a thief and his life and death were uncertain, so he couldn't help gritting his teeth and said: "The thief wants to ruin the world, he is so cruel."

"This old official who slandered Mr. Tong also brought it, full of nonsense. Don't dare to insult the saint." Cai Jing slowly took out a folded rice paper from his arms.Shen Yun, an officer in the Imperial City Department, has been aware of Cai Xiang's scheming in recommending Tong Guan ever since he heard the officials read the words in Fang La's essay.He wanted to help these scholars who posted the posters, but he had no good plan, and he couldn't involve himself in it, so he could only stand by and let Cai Jing frame him.

As usual, Zhao You read the post with a glance at ten lines. In agitated mood, he threw it on the table and scolded: "Absurd, what kind of Taoist is he, can I still read it wrong? If he didn't get mad, how could he?" It is possible to allow the Hu people to 'shoot' and kill the imperial army, and sit back and watch the Hebei army mutiny. Every day in Hejian, there are military letters to report, how many times they fought with Khitan, how much they killed, how much they lost, and the facts are all there. The person who wrote the post was fabricated Such absurd thing to slander Daofu is undoubtedly to ridicule..." He originally wanted to say something, but changed his words, "The court is 'faint', and its intentions are extremely vicious."

Zhao You finished cursing the post, and asked: "There are also postings from southeast 'chaotic' thieves in Bianjing, did the Kaifeng government find out the whereabouts of the thieves?"

Cai Jing then said: "The veteran also ordered the Kaifeng government to conduct a thorough investigation. Fortunately, the 'chaotic' thieves have no scruples in their actions, not only the thieves who posted the posters were exposed, but even the ones who wrote the posters were the leaders who instigated this matter. , it’s almost all checked.”

"Oh?" Zhao You became interested as soon as he heard it. The head of the "Luan" thief was far away in the southeast, and Wang Shi Liang Yueping' "Luan" was too long.Right now, if he wants to relieve the hatred in his heart, he must take these Xiao Xiao who are lurking in the capital.

Cai Jingruo glanced at Shen Yun, and said slowly: "The person who wrote the post is Zhao Xingde, a student of the Imperial Academy, and the other leaders who instigated this matter are Chen Dong, Zhang Bing, Deng Su, etc. In addition, these 'rebellious' thieves also contacted more than 2000 officials in Beijing, leading each other as cronies, attacking the government and slandering the emperor."

Zhao Youhan finished listening with a straight face, knocked on the table with his left hand, and said as if he had suddenly realized: "No wonder, no wonder," he picked up Fang La's proclamation from the table, "It's another cronies, and they are still colluding with the 'chaos' thieves. It’s no wonder that the ‘chaotic’ thieves said something stupid like, ‘Over the past 30 years, the old officials and old ministers have all been demoted to death’, it seems that Yuanyou old party is used as a metaphor for the present, and it is for the cronies in Beijing.”

"Your Majesty is holy! You can see clearly!" Cai Jing never thought that Zhao You would discover something else, and Shen Yun secretly sighed in his heart, just for this southeast 'chaotic' thief, his efforts to sacrifice his heart and courage for the country were on the verge of failure. Catastrophe is inevitable.

Zhao You was silent for a while, then said coldly: "Since that's the case, why doesn't the Kaifeng Mansion quickly arrest them? Don't they want to sit back and watch these gangsters who slander the government make 'chaos' in the capital?"

"Your Majesty," Cai Jingbing said, "there are so many candidates in the capital, they live scattered everywhere, and exchange news with each other. If the Kaifeng government rashly arrests them, I'm afraid that the wind will leak out, and it will be difficult to capture them all. A few days later, it will be Qiu Wei. , all candidates have to enter the examination room. At that time, the officials of Kaifeng government only need to wait outside the examination room. The essence gathered should be in accordance with the family law of the ancestors, and should not be easily broken. Even if His Majesty wants to punish the crime, he must be thoroughly interrogated by the Kaifeng Mansion, and the three divisions will interrogate before making a decision."

"Yes." Zhao You nodded slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Cai is right."