After the death of Yang Biao and his son, Chen Chong also returned to Sili Mansion to handle political affairs. When he came back, all the officials in the capital who were worth more than 300 shi had received the order and did not dare to delay. Soon, hundreds of people were standing densely in the courtyard, but they did not dare to speak loudly because of uneasiness. For a moment, the Sili Mansion seemed to be filled with migratory birds that had just returned from the north, and were filled with cobweb-like chirping.
Since Jia Xufu came to power as Emperor Zuo, the political situation in the DPRK and China has undergone great changes. Although the emperor did not adjust Chen Chongda's policies, he made numerous personnel changes.
The first to bear the brunt were the Northern Army, Sili Mansion, Tingwei Mansion, Weiwei Mansion and Taixue. Except for Taixue, these places had previously been Chen Chong's confidants, and the emperor was extremely worried. Therefore, while he transferred many old ministers of the Sili Mansion to vacant posts, he also promoted students in Taixue and promoted Doctors of the Five Classics such as Cui Yan and Xi Lu, supplemented by Shentu Pan, Han Rong, Chunyu Jia, Zhong Fu and other dynasties. Su Lao used this to control the government.
In the past few months, Chen Chong's old relatives left behind were anxious and worried, and many of them died due to worries, such as Yao Gong, Sheng Xiaozhang, Zhao Qian and other elderly people. They all died of illness one after another a year ago and were buried under Hongguyuan. In addition, there are also Kong Rong, Wang Yi, Huan Shao, Sun Yan and others who had many conflicts with Lu Bu and are now dead. Including Meng Jian, Tian Zhao and others who had died in the previous battle, Chen Chong's family suffered great losses.
But fortunately, the foundation has not been shaken. People such as Yu Fan, Tao Qiuhong, Guan Qiu Xing and others are still in Beijing. Chen Chong has gained a new group of young talents in Chencang, and it is not difficult to deal with them.
The top priority right now is to rebuild the Forbidden Army in Beijing and restore order in Beijing. Therefore, Chen Chong appointed Xu Huang as Huben Zhonglang General, Dong Yue as Yulin Zhonglang General, Hu Zhen as Zhonghujun, Zhang Ji as City Gate Colonel, and Duan Gu as Northern Army Lieutenant. Based on Dong Zhuo's remaining troops, the Forbidden Army was temporarily formed.
Secondly, we must stabilize Guanzhong counties. At present, the cold spring has not passed, and the people have experienced repeated chaos. Therefore, most counties and counties in Guanzhong have not yet been cultivated. Rebuilding military warfare will also require a lot of money. If necessary, we will continue to recruit troops from the people. This requires experienced old people to make proper arrangements. Therefore, Chen Chong sent out all the old people from Sili Mansion, appointing Tao Qiuhong as the prefect of Hongnong, Sun Qian as the left Fengyi, Xu Ci as the right Fufeng, Chen Deng as the Jing Zhaoyin, and Yang Hui as the prefect of Hedong. In an emergency, Chen Chong also temporarily gave them the power to remove the commander.
After the above arrangements were completed, it was finally the turn of the three most prominent officials in the court.
Among them, most of the three ministers had empty positions, so Chen Chong regarded them as virtuous. He successively moved Guanglu doctor Shen Tupan to the post of Taiwei, the servant Ma Yu to be Sikong, the Liaodong prefect Gongsun Du to be the Situ, and the father-in-law Cai Yong to be the Taifu.
Among the nine ministers, Chen Chong only changed the key points, with Liu Yan as Guangluxun, Qianzhao as the Weiwei, Wang Xiang as the Tingwei, Wen Li as the Grand Secretary Nong, Linghu Shao as the Shaofu, and the rest. Position remains unchanged.
As for the Sili Mansion, Chen Chong no longer set up Zhizhong and Biejia to work together. Instead, he directly led the Cao Cao and ordered Zhuge Liang and others to join the government to serve as counselors.
As for the imperial students chosen by the emperor for trial, Chen Chong changed them all to Dongguan Lang and Secretary Lang, and planned to try them out as appropriate in the future.
Chen Chong did not make any major changes to the remaining official offices in Xijing, except to review the official documents and check for any omissions.
After talking with officials for three days, Chen Chong finally settled everything. Martial law in Beijing was also lifted, and all the families in the city got back on track. The flow of people on the streets gradually increased. Except for Xu Huang who still led troops to escort Jia Xu to Liangzhou, everything was in order. On the surface, Guanzhong was in good order. Almost nothing happened.
But in fact, the counties and counties in Guanzhong are urgently mobilizing soldiers, food and supplies from each county to prepare for the next war with Cao's army. After all, the villagers and fortress people who came to gather before could not be called a good siege, and fighting together was useless. They could only demonstrate, but they probably could not deceive Cao Cao, so Chen Chongduo dismissed them and persuaded them to go home and work in farming. But as a result, the dispatch of troops may be delayed, and it is expected that it will not be until mid-March at the earliest. Fortunately, Liu Bei also sent a letter from Luoyang at this time, saying that Cao Jun's offensive had slowed down. Although he didn't know the reason, it was enough for him to prepare fortifications and it would be more than enough to last until May, so Chen Chong didn't have to worry.
Having said that, Chen Chong is still extremely busy. After Lu Bu entered the capital, his subordinates looted the treasuries of Cao's treasury such as Pingzhun and Junshu, causing the relevant accounts to almost become bad debts; then the Liang people seized private houses and drove out the people, causing many household registrations to no longer be used. As a result, Fu was faced with many difficulties, and Chen Chong had to send additional manpower to resettle the refugees to their place of origin. I was often busy from 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock. Even if it was almost dusk, I would still light up the lamp to review. Pang Tong and others couldn't help but secretly exclaimed. They joked to each other in private: "I said that governing a big country is like cooking a small delicacy. I'm afraid the teacher is shredding it." Miles!"
But that afternoon, a messenger in white clothes suddenly came from the palace, saying that the emperor wanted to meet with Chen Chong. This can't help but surprise everyone. After the previous coup, everyone knew that the relationship between the emperor and Chen Chong had completely broken down. It was only in order to maintain the stability of the court that Chen Chong let things go. But how awkward it would be for the two to meet is beyond anyone's imagination.
Therefore, Chen Chong kept delaying the meeting with the saint. Since Chen Chong entered the capital, except for the first day, he has basically stayed in the Sili Mansion. Although he submitted four letters to the palace every day for the emperor to review, in fact they were just asking the emperor to stamp them. And the emperor also waited as usual and ignored him, until today. When everyone thought that everything was going to be peaceful, the emperor couldn't bear it anymore, so he came to invite Chen Chong first.
After delaying for so long, Chen Chong had no reason to refuse, so he immediately agreed and entered the palace with his guards.
An internal official introduced him to the side entrance of Weiyang Palace, and he was waiting in the corridor to report the news. After standing for a long time, everyone in the palace knew that he was coming, and some maids were looking here from the other side. He heard whispers, as if someone was discussing.
After waiting for a while, the internal official came out and invited him in. After passing through the corridor and entering the hall, the curtains on both sides rustled, and it was clear that many people were peeking behind the scenes. Chen Chong was very surprised. These palace maids did not seem to be talking about him out of fear or pity, nor were they preparing for an assassination. After all, the guards in the palace had all been replaced. If there was a premeditated plan, he would definitely be rewarded. They seemed to be talking about something completely unexpected and related to him, which made it difficult for him to guess the reason.
On this day, he was wearing a white robe with a narrow collar, a copper-tacked belt around his waist, and a green sword hanging on the left side of his waist. Instead of wearing a heavenly crown, a white scarf was wrapped around his head to show his mourning. The battles in the past six months have made his face dark and thin, and the scars on his brow bones appear more abrupt and conspicuous. With a seven-foot figure and steady steps, he walked calmly and calmly to the side hall where the emperor was studying under the gaze of everyone, openly or covertly. It was silent here, except for Chen Chong and Tianzi.
Chen Chong did not take off the Qingzhi Sword, but took off his boots and walked straight in. Seeing the emperor sitting on the couch in the middle, he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, Chen Chong, is here to see you. Your Majesty will live forever."
When the emperor saw him, he didn't say anything, just looked at Chen Chong quietly. Chen Chong stood up on his own, looked directly at the emperor calmly, and asked directly: "I am busy with official duties. I wonder why your majesty has summoned you?"
The emperor still didn't respond. He was sitting on the big couch in half-light and half-darkness, but his expression seemed to be extremely struggling. It was obvious that he was having a fierce struggle in his heart. He didn't speak, and Chen Chong didn't speak either. The two of them faced each other in the palace like stone statues. But Chen Chong finally realized that the emperor was not looking at his own appearance, but at the white scarf on his head.
After a long while, the emperor sighed. He stood up from the big couch, bowed to Chen Chong sadly, and said: "Although I am sorry for the teacher, the life and death of the teacher's family are not my intention, but I still cannot escape the blame, so I still bear the responsibility." Please forgive me, teacher."
When Chen Chong saw the emperor bowing beneath him, he immediately remembered the scenes of getting along with him in the past few years. He still remembers the calmness of the emperor when he first met him when he first entered Chang'an. He also remembers the relief that the emperor was Yuanfu. He also remembers the anger of the two people's quarrel. But these have passed. Now, there is no wave in his heart. He thinks that he probably hates the emperor. This student is awesome.
But he could only help the emperor up and said calmly: "This is just a minister's family matter, so I won't bother your majesty."
The emperor saw that Chen Chong's face was as dense as a cloud, his tone was not wavering, and his heartstrings could not help but tighten. He didn't know whether to continue speaking. But remembering Jia Xu's words before leaving, "I am trapped in the prison, otherwise I will have no chance of survival." In the end, the desire to survive defeated his fear, and he continued to say to Chen Chong: "Why did the teacher say this? I invite the teacher to meet you today." See, it’s just for the teacher’s family affairs.”
He didn't wait for Chen Chong's reaction, and then said: "I'm talking about the teacher's renewal."
Continue? Chen Chong was shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect the emperor to say such words. He immediately refused: "I am still in mourning. How can we discuss marriage?"
But the emperor said: "What the teacher said is true. However, there is no need to stick to common sense during war. What I said today is also for the sake of the emperor."
As the words started to open up, the emperor's words gradually became smoother. He said: "The emperor has admired the teacher for a long time, but because the teacher was married long ago, she has no interest in it. However, she thinks very highly of herself, even if she is a famous Guanzhong family member, she does not hesitate. Color, this has been delayed until now. If I can't get married with the teacher, I'm afraid she will never marry in her life!"
Chen Chong was even more surprised when he heard this, and then felt a sudden sense of realization.
On her first night in Beijing, the princess sent someone to bring her wine. I was still surprised, but in fact, I should have woken up long ago. Otherwise, later on, why did she disobey the emperor and secretly pass the silk scarf to herself, and write the palace conspiracy in it? Thinking about it now, she had actually expressed her feelings a long time ago, but she had never thought about it. It is now very clear what the palace ladies were talking about on the way here.
But then he thought of Dong Bai and realized a series of consequences after marrying the princess, which Chen Chong could not accept, and his heart soon became cold again. For the sake of the princess' reputation, he did not refuse in person. Instead, he excused himself and quickly left the palace.
In the corridor, he felt the same gaze as before.
