Ma Zhou hesitated and said nothing, feeling surprised and uncertain in his heart.
If Li Ji said everything he said from the bottom of his heart, it would seem to be credible. After all, as Li Ji himself said, he has acted with integrity and honor for so many years. There is no need to work hard on the matter of seizing the direct descendants. The risks and benefits are simply not the same. Direct ratio... But then again, does Li Ji really have no selfish motives at all, and would rather risk offending the future emperor to serve the public and prepare for the future of the Tang Dynasty wholeheartedly?
Not necessarily...
Li Ji's talk seemed to have come to an end here. He sighed and waved his hands: "It all depends on people. As long as you feel clear about everything, why should others understand and accept it? That's it. Go and reply to His Majesty the Crown Prince, and speak frankly every word."
Ma Zhou had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye.
Watching Ma Zhou go out, Li Ji thought for a moment, poured out the tea in the teapot, took out some tea leaves from a porcelain jar, put it into the teapot, poured boiling water from the stove, made another pot of tea, and sipped slowly. , pick up a piece of pastry and put it in your mouth from time to time.
It was windy and rainy outside the window, and there were noisy people in the main hall, but the world in this side hall was quiet and leisurely, seeming to be out of tune with this world...
…
When Ma Zhou returned to Wude Hall, he happened to see Cui Dunli sitting under the prince wearing a half-wet official robe, drinking hot tea and greeting each other. Ma Zhou reported Li Ji's intention to Li Chengqian, and The conversation between the two parties was repeated verbatim without adding any subjective opinions of their own, so as not to affect the prince's judgment.
Li Chengqian looked ugly, but he was not angry. He was well-mannered. With Li Ji's current status and power, even if he, the prince, had ascended the throne, he would not dare to ignore him. What's more, the current situation is critical. How could he dare to treat Li Ji's attitude? Expressing anger and dissatisfaction?
No matter how unhappy I am, I can only endure it.
Cui Dunli picked up the handkerchief and wiped his hands, and comforted Li Chengqian: "The British Lord has always been fair and honest, and he always sticks to his word. Since he said so, he will not easily fall to the rebels. This is already a promise. It’s also the best news.”
Ma Zhou heard the hidden meaning in Cui Dunli's words, and asked: "Do you mean to keep the promise, does it mean that the rebels are not a concern at the moment?"
Cui Dunli nodded and added: "The premise is that the remaining troops of the Sixteenth Guards will not respond to the rebels. The power of the Youhou Guards alone is definitely not the opponent of the Sixth Army of the East Palace."
In fact, the opponents of the Sixth Army of the East Palace were not just the Right Houwei. Although Yuchi Gong was brave and his soldiers were also elite in hundreds of battles, his army was severely lacking in weapons, armor, and baggage, and its combat power was reduced by more than 30%. How could he win? Better than the well-equipped Donggong Six Rate?
Otherwise, the prince would not be allowed to sit peacefully in the Tai Chi Palace at this moment. He would have long ago tried to find a way to get through the Xuanwu Gate and escape to the Hexi area...
Li Ji hoped that this battle would draw all factions in the empire into a melee, and in the end only the most powerful one would be left. From then on, the imperial power would be stable, and central government orders could be issued to local governments, instead of the previous feudal clans and aristocratic families who were divided into local governments.
The goal of the East Palace is roughly the same. Since this crisis is inevitable, then look for opportunities in the crisis and decide the outcome in one battle...
Ma Zhou understood that what Cui Dunli meant was that no one among the Sixteen Guards would respond to King Jin's attack on Taiji Palace at this moment. As long as the current crisis is over, even if someone follows King Jin in the future, it will be useless. The six rates in the East Palace are enough to handle it. .
So now the strategy of the East Palace is extremely obvious. To surround the point to provide reinforcements, just wait for the armies of powerful families from all over the world to gather in Chang'an...
Before the Guanlong mutiny, the clans in Longyou, Hedong and other places had to enter Guanzhong under the coercion of Guanlong, and lost all their lives under the strangulation of the Donggong army. This greatly frustrated the strength of the clans in these places and made it difficult for them to fight again. As in the past, he controlled the place arbitrarily. This time, he probably wanted to lure the elites from Shandong and Jiangnan to Guanzhong and annihilate them one by one, once and for all.
You must know that regardless of the former Sui Dynasty or the present dynasty, the development of the land south of the Yangtze River has been extremely large-scale, and the proportion of grain and fodder taxes is getting larger and larger. It can be said to be a sacred land, a land of plenty, but like all parts of Shandong, the actual controllers are The central government has never really had decision-making power over these two wealthy lands.
Otherwise, in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, when the Guanlong clan had vague disloyal intentions, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty would not have taken a dragon boat to go to the south of the Yangtze River to deceive others and pray for help from the Jiangnan nobles. Return to Chang'an...
The empire is neither an empire of emperors nor an empire of people in the world, but an empire of powerful families.
In the eyes of aristocratic families, all the emperors are nothing more than withered bones in their tombs, lying in ruins like palms turning over their ears; the hundreds of millions of common people in the world are nothing more than dogs, cattle, and sheep, their only function is to provide support with their bones, blood, muscles, and flesh. A high-ranking son of a noble family...
It is extremely rare for a boy from a humble family like him to reach the high position he has today, and it takes a huge chance to get it.
It should be noted that the term "poor family" does not refer to the common people in Guizhou, but to families that are in decline or have not yet risen. It is absolutely impossible for those real common people to counterattack and ascend to high positions in such a social environment, no matter how talented they are. She was extremely beautiful, but she was brutally killed when she just showed her prominence.
The world is such a big place with limited resources. The existing clans have been divided up unevenly and fights often break out. How can we allow the rise of Guizhou to have the opportunity to become a new clan?
With his mind spinning, Ma Zhou said to Li Chengqian: "Since the British Duke will not get involved for the time being, then tomorrow we will hold a 'big funeral' according to the procedures. His Highness will read the sacrificial inscriptions and accept the worship of hundreds of officials. First, the principles of the monarch and his ministers will be determined, and then he will deal with it calmly." It’s not too late for the rebels.”
Li Chengqian nodded heavily: "In this way, I owe you all my dear friends. Now that the empire is in turmoil, and the rebels are imminent in entering the capital, I am very pleased that you can still help me and work conscientiously. I hope you can help me to tide over the difficulties. When he does, A great victory will be achieved in the day, and the rewards will be determined according to the merits, and there will be no stinginess!”
Everyone said: "This is the duty of ministers. I dare not be praised by His Highness."
*****
The city of Chang'an is large in scale and has many lanes. It is more than enough for a million people to live here. However, Zuowuwei's 40,000 soldiers and their equipment and horses suddenly gathered in one place, which caused huge congestion for a while.
Under the heavy rain, the soldiers had no place to stay. The camps were densely packed and endless, but there was no way to accommodate so many soldiers. Cheng Yaojin simply ordered the requisition of the houses and warehouses in the West City, and expelled all the shopkeepers and clerks of each shop, so that The entire West Market turned into a huge military camp.
The expelled shopkeepers and clerks left in panic, but all the buildings were on guard and strictly prohibited entry and exit. These people had no homes to return to, so they could only flee to the Qinglongfang area away from the war, cowering under the walls of the factory and letting the heavy rain fall. My whole body was wet, and I was as panic-stricken as a dog that had lost its home.
Fortunately, Donggong Sixth Leader and Youhou Wei were fighting fiercely outside Chengtian Gate. The order in the city was chaotic, and no one came to drive them away for a while...
Cheng Chumo led his men back from Jinguang Gate, and galloped all the way to the vicinity of the West Market. He waved his whip to disperse the chaotic soldiers blocking the road, and then bypassed piles of ordnance and baggage piled haphazardly, and finally arrived at Cheng Yaojin's handsome tent. He swung his stirrup out of his saddle, dismounted from his horse, and strode into the tent.
As soon as he entered the military tent, he saw his father wearing a helmet and armor, holding a candle and observing carefully in front of a huge map on the wall. He was startled by Cheng Chumo's sudden intrusion, and turned around just as he was about to scold him. , seeing that it was his own son, he just scolded: "What a shame for you!"
Cheng Chumo turned a deaf ear, grabbed the water bottle on the table and took a big gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then took a breath, and asked loudly: "The King of Jin gathered the Youhou Wei and other troops to attack the city and intimidate the capital. Why is this father?" Is there an order to open the city gate and let them drive straight in? Now the Youhou Wei and the Sixth Leader of the East Palace are fighting fiercely outside the Taiji Palace, and they often rush into the palace to subvert the imperial power. Gang Chang is in chaos!"
Cheng Yaojin stood in front of the map and did not move. He just put down the arm holding the candle and asked with a frown: "You have read the late emperor's edict and the King of Jin's message. Why do you ask such a question? As soldiers, how can we ignore it?" Did the late emperor act arbitrarily on his own initiative?"
Cheng Chumo's eyes widened and he said, "The King of Jin came out with a so-called edict and you believe it to be true?"
Cheng Yaojin asked: "Then how do you prove that the edict is false?"
Cheng Chumo choked and thought to himself, isn't it obvious? If the King of Jin really had the late emperor's edict, he should have released it long ago, why wait until now? But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.
Because he found that this was not actually a problem. Even if the King of Jin really carried the late emperor's edict, he was surrounded by the prince's minions in the Taiji Palace. Taking out the edict rashly would not only not be a guarantee for ascending to the throne, but would also lead to death—— Even if the prince did not harm him because of his brotherly love, those officials in the East Palace would definitely eradicate the problem and kill King Jin to avoid future troubles.
The King of Jin escaped from the Taiji Palace and then took out the imperial edict and gathered the right marquis guards to read out the crusade against the prince. It is really reasonable and reasonable...
Cheng Yaojin walked back to the table, put the candle on the candlestick, sat down and asked again: "Have you read the memo? Tell me what you think."
Cheng Chumo opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He had previously determined that the memorandum was fabricated out of thin air, and its purpose was naturally to endorse King Jin's rebellious behavior. It was really not worth trusting. But now I calm down and think about it carefully, there may not be any real elements in it...
For example, the memorandum accused the prince of bribing and coercing Chu Suiliang into poisoning the late emperor in the Liaodong Army.
When His Majesty faked his own death to confuse the Guanlong clan into allowing him to raise an army, there were many speculations that His Majesty Li Er was using Guanlong's help to abolish the Crown Prince. However, if he thought about it the other way around, the Crown Prince was deeply disappointed by His Majesty Li Er's determination to abolish the Crown Prince. , unwilling to take risks, he poisoned His Majesty Li Er. As a result, His Majesty Li Er followed his plan and allowed Guan Long to depose the crown prince. It also makes sense...
