Northern Wei Dynasty, Daliang, Wei Palace.
The young emperor of the Wei Dynasty is now a young man, and his heroic figure is beginning to show. Under the careful cultivation of the female prime minister, the young emperor is now growing rapidly. In time, the Northern Wei Dynasty may have another hero like Emperor Wuxuan.
The young emperor looked at the secret fold handed over by the female prime minister with concentration. Then he raised his head and stared at the female prime minister, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Prime Minister Wei! Is the little emperor of the Tang Dynasty really going to be so aggressive?"
The young emperor is a few years younger than Yingping, but he calls him 'little emperor', which makes people feel ridiculous. But if you think about it carefully, Yingping's time spent in the royal family and his baptism by the royal family were far less than that of the young emperor of Wei. The young emperor felt that Yingping's tenderness naturally had his own capital.
"Your Majesty, the information from all sources is true. I'm afraid...it can't be false."
The female prime minister has been keeping a close eye on Xintang's every move over the years, and if there is any trouble, she can't escape her eyes and ears - all of this is due to the growing strength of Yunyue Pavilion!
Although the Pavilion Master was severely injured by an arrow in the Battle of the Cottage three years ago, and it is said that 90% of his strength was lost, and he has been lying in Fengtian Linzhong recovering from his injuries with his last breath, but under the helm of Master Wenhe, Yunyue On the contrary, the Pavilion has developed even stronger than in previous years. Its intelligence network is all over the Central Plains countries such as Xintang, Nanchu, Tianqi, etc. It is all-pervasive. Even the Northern Barbarians outside the Guan Dynasty have Yunyue Pavilion's spies. Now that Young Master Wen He has gradually replaced the pavilion master and is on the line with the female prime minister, a steady stream of news is flowing into the Wei Palace from Yunyue Pavilion, some of which are even secrets that the spies of the Northern Wei Dynasty cannot grasp. So much so that the female prime minister had to secretly guard against this 'monster' while 'relying' on Yunyue Pavilion. In the days since Yingping took office, the most mentioned word in the secret reports received by the female prime minister was ' "New Deal", this made her spend a lot of effort to understand this so-called "New Deal". After she had a general understanding of this "New Deal", she immediately went to the Young Emperor to report the matter.
Hearing the female prime minister's affirmation, the young emperor felt inexplicably happy in his heart, and said quickly: "The little emperor is so tossing...the Wang family, the Chang family...and the Wu family and the Gongsun family, they will be willing to What?"
The female Prime Minister smiled faintly and said, "According to Wei Chen, there is probably going to be trouble."
"Then let's not add some extra fire to him?"
"Your Majesty has foresight, and I am very pleased." The female prime minister nodded, as if she was very satisfied that the young emperor discovered the key to the matter at a glance. She continued: "But I think it is too early for me, the Great Wei, to intervene now."
"Oh? What's the point of being a female?"
"As the Holy One thinks, if the little emperor causes trouble to the Tang Dynasty like this, it will cause chaos. Without us taking action, the Wang family will naturally not let him have an easy time. I, the Wei Dynasty, can only sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."
The young emperor was noncommittal. Over the years, he had also been paying attention to the trends of the New Tang Dynasty. Seeing the death of the Tang Emperor and the new emperor's accession to the throne, he always wanted to take advantage of the turmoil in the New Tang Dynasty to take action. Even if he could not destroy it, he could still injure it. , but every time he mentioned this matter to the female prime minister, the female prime minister always advised him to wait again and again. Now that he saw that this novice 'comer' of New Tang Dynasty was ready to make a fuss, he could no longer Couldn't help it anymore.
"Just now what Prime Minister Wei said was 'too early'... then when do you think it will be 'the right time'?" The young emperor suddenly caught the word 'too early' in the female prime minister's words, and his eyes lit up again.
"Just wait for one more person."
"who?"
"Yin Jingting!"
"Yin Jingting?"
"Exactly! The stability of the Tang Dynasty for decades was inseparable from these three people - Wang Songling, Yin Jingting, and Chang Zhishan." The female prime minister stretched out three fingers and counted them one by one. Then, she continued: "During the Six Kings' Rebellion, the Tang Emperor dared to lead a personal expedition, and it was all because of Wang Songling's control of the government in the palace. Otherwise, with the momentum of the Six Kings at that time, most of the princes and ministers in Chang'an would have surrendered. After Wang Songling retired from the court, The burden of managing major affairs in the court fell on Yin Jingting. This person was the number one scholar in the imperial examination in the previous dynasty of the New Tang Dynasty. He worked hard in the court for several years. Wang Songling also supported him in his early years. Later, Wang Yanqing continued to work under him. Wang Yanqing also always calls him 'Enxiang', and with him around, Wang Yanqing behaves better."
The young emperor listened with great interest. He kept nodding his head with full approval in his eyes.
"As for Chang Zhishan, this person is really as talented as Sun and Wu. The reason why we, the Wei Dynasty, dare not confront him head-on is because Chang Zhishan leads the army."
"Oh? Is Chang Zhishan really capable of this?"
"Han Dan once said that even if our White Horse Army of the Wei Dynasty is invincible, we dare not underestimate Chang Zhishan. If our troops are arrayed and our army is far stronger than the Tang Dynasty, Han Dan is 70% sure; if the two sides have equal military strength, Facing Changzhi Mountain, Han Dan is only 50% sure; if Changzhi Mountain is defended by the steep mountains in the north of Nanyang and the danger of Tongguan, even if our army is several times that of the New Tang Dynasty, Han Dan may... have no confidence."
The female prime minister paused for a moment to rest, and then continued—
"However, the power of the new Tang Dynasty is not what it used to be. Wang Songling has already left the court in exchange for the Tang Emperor to use his son. Moreover, he is getting old and is near Xishan. He is bedridden all year round, so there is nothing to worry about. As for Changzhi Mountain, Now he has been left aside, far away from the Privy Council. Although Gongsun Cuo is also a good general, he has wavered between left and right in recent years, and even got close to Wang Yanqing, which is also not a cause for concern. Among the three, only Yin Jingting remains He mediated among them and tried his best to keep the New Tang Dynasty from falling apart. But he is getting old after all, and it is rare for him to last two or three years. If he leaves the court, that will be the real 'right time'!"
It was not only the first time that the young emperor heard a female prime minister comment on the officials of the New Tang Dynasty, but it was also the first time that he heard about Han Dan's evaluation of Chang Zhishan and how he connected the entire New Tang Dynasty court to take an overall view. This analysis was like clearing the clouds, and he suddenly felt enlightened when he heard the young emperor nodding his head repeatedly. He smiled and said: "It's a great idea! It's a great idea!"
"Your Majesty praises you!"
"Know yourself and the enemy, strategize, and the general trend of the New Tang Dynasty. I am afraid that even the little emperor has not seen it so clearly as Ai Qing." The young emperor did not hide his appreciation and love for the female prime minister at all, and continued to praise: "If you are so good, I will What more could I ask for!"
The female Prime Minister lowered her head with a smile and humbly accepted the compliment from her Majesty.
Clearly capturing the essence and key of the situation through the foggy and chaotic appearance is her greatest magic weapon for sorting out political affairs and making decisions. It is also true that the Northern Wei Dynasty has become increasingly prosperous under her careful management. Now her ambitions are highly consistent with those of the Young Emperor, Han Dan, and the Chinese and military officials of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In her plan, after the Tang Emperor left, she gradually split the New Tang Dynasty from within. This was the first and most important step in completing her unworldly act! Now that this step is gradually coming towards her, she, who has always been calm, even feels a little expectant and excited. She carefully planned and deduced the general trend of the Central Plains. Now these have confirmed her expectations one by one, which makes her more and more sure of herself.
"But apart from that, there is one thing that Your Majesty needs to pay attention to!" The female prime minister put away her smile and changed the subject. The stability reappeared in her eyes. She said calmly: "I have never been able to see through this matter. , even felt quite strange.”
"What's the matter?"
"The fourth child from a poor family!"
"Mr. Fourth from a humble family?"
"right!"
The female prime minister's expression became more solemn, and she always felt vaguely inappropriate when faced with such a mystery that even she couldn't understand.
"Sir, there were nine disciples taken in before and after he opened the door. Except for Bo Qingbo, who has been driven out of the customs and his life and death are unknown, the rest of the seven disciples are known to the world. But the fourth one has never shown up, and even... not even investigated by Yunyue Pavilion. For several years, I haven't gotten a single clue. I only know that my husband recruited a disciple outside, and I only found out about it when the fifth girl started."
The female relative's worries about this mysterious fourth gentleman may come from the unknown. A person like her who has no plans will naturally feel deeply uneasy when faced with such an uncertain factor. However, her husband has always regarded the stability of the Central Plains as his own responsibility, so she has always been worried that when the Northern Wei Dynasty launched a large-scale attack on the New Tang Dynasty in the future, such a person would suddenly appear, carrying his husband's will to maintain peace in the Central Plains, and change the entire situation.
"So, Mr. Fourth, who is from a humble family... is he a secret left behind during his lifetime?"
The female prime minister nodded and said: "Sir, you are definitely not a cryptic, and you will never deliberately leave the fourth son's position vacant to fool the world. I am sure that there must be someone for you, Mr. Fourth! Your prestige in the Central Plains is so high that it can reach the sky. There are countless people who worship him to the extreme. Perhaps this fourth gentleman is secretly hiding in a corner carrying the legacy of his late master, waiting for the critical moment to reappear to achieve unexpected effects. Regarding this, I, the Wei Dynasty, must not ignore this. !”
"Is there really no clue about this person? There are countless talented people in the world. How many of them can catch the eye of Sir?"
"I have also thought about it, and I have made some guesses based on the characteristics of the gentlemen in recruiting disciples. I even...even doubted whether these four gentlemen were placed in our Wei Dynasty or in the army..."
The female prime minister did not express her conjectures. After all, such inferences were based on speculation and the speaker had no intention. If it caused misunderstanding, it would be detrimental to her.
The young emperor's expression also became solemn, and there was a sense of stability and maturity in his brows that was extremely inconsistent with his age.
Seeing that the young emperor was deep in thought about the fourth gentleman from the poor family, the female prime minister made a note of it and regained her confidence, saying: "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry too much about this matter. Just do your best and obey fate. Now all I, the Northern Wei Dynasty, need to do is 'wait' '."
The young emperor was startled at first, and then looked at the female prime minister - yes, since he couldn't see through it, he could just wait, wait for the new Tang Dynasty to collapse without a fight, and wait for the mysterious Fourth Master to show up, so don't bother yourself and worry unfounded.
"Okay! Then I will wait! Wait until the right time, place and people are right!"
"The Holy One is wise!"
After all, the young emperor is young and vigorous. At this moment, he has swept away all the doubts he had just now, and looks confidently at the vast sky outside the palace gate. He is very convinced that his future and the future of Wei will reach an unprecedented level. , a situation worthy of being recorded in history! The heroic spirit soars into the sky like a mountain, and the ambition is as vast as the sea. The great deeds that my ancestor of the Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wuxuan, never completed, must now be realized in our hands!
