After Liu Xie died of illness, Chen Chong essentially took over the power of the government, but he still faced many problems.
The first was foreign war. After the Liao people learned of the defeat of the Han army, they colluded with the Wu people and launched an offensive in August.
Cao Pi and Cao Zhen led 50,000 troops across Liaoze and stationed in Feiru, and then launched a fierce attack on Lulong and Haiyang at the same time.
After Zhou Yu's troops in Xiangyang failed to attack Fancheng, they turned their troops around and tried to cross Fancheng, attacking Caiyang, Zhangling, Suixian and other places first.
Lu Long's defense was not bad. After all, Chen Chong had personally intervened before and had many arrangements to defend against the Liao people.
However, the situation in Nanyang was still very bad. The autumn tide had not receded yet, and there were still many canals in Nanyang County, which were sufficient for large ships to travel. This allowed the Wu people to launch a final general offensive. It was urgent to send generals forward.
For the country, the most suitable candidate is naturally Marshal Guan Yu. After all, Guan Yu has a good reputation and is known as a national scholar. In his early years when he was the Yin of Henan, he was also responsible for Nanyang affairs many times. If he goes out to control Nanyang, the local sergeants will definitely be convinced, and the Wu people will also be a little more wary.
But for Chen Chong, it was not appropriate to send Guan Yu out of town. Because it was a troubled time in the country, he and Guan Yu were both civil and military. One controlled the government and the other controlled the Lin army. They managed to stabilize the political situation in Luoyang. If Guan Yu was sent to Nanyang, he would have lost his arm. , there is no guarantee that something unexpected will not happen.
But if you don’t send Guan Yu, who will you send? Send Wei Yan? Although Wei Yan was good at military strategy and had served as the governor of Nanyang for a long time, he was outspoken and had a hot temper, which was obviously not suitable for handling the current complicated situation in Nanyang.
Taiwei Fazheng came forward. Logically speaking, he had enough talent and qualifications, but Chen Chong could not guarantee that he had no other plans behind his back. Once he took control of Nanfu and interacted with Zhong Yao internally and externally, the consequences would be disastrous.
But Chen Chong had no more choices, and time did not allow him to hesitate too much. He had to make a decision immediately.
In this warm Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Chong already felt like he was walking on thin ice as soon as he took office. In the end, he decided to let Guan Yu go out to control Fancheng.
Even if the situation in the DPRK is difficult, for now, the party struggle is still limited to mutual criticism. If the DPRK and China continue to argue back and forth, Chen Chong can actually accept it, but the situation in Nanyang can no longer be allowed to deteriorate.
Without further ado, in August Jihai, Guan Yu's appointment was officially finalized: envoy Chijie, appointed governor of Jingzhou, prefect of Nanyang, and military commander of Jingzhou, Yi, and Yang.
Before leaving, Chen Chong specially had a private meeting with Guan Yu. Chen Chong specifically told Guan Yu that he could act cheaply in Nanyang, but he should focus on defense as much as possible, and at the same time pay attention to young talents in the army and local areas. Nowadays, there is a shortage of officers, and it is the time when the court is thirsty for talents. As long as he waits for a while In the past few years, when the organizational structure has been restored, the country will be able to turn from defense to offense again.
In addition, Chen Chong asked Guan Yu for several old troops, such as Liao Hua, Zhao Lei and others, to be responsible for the defense of Luoyang City.
At the same time, Chen Chong also wrote to his adopted son Fu Qian, saying that he planned to transfer him from Beifu and come to Luoyang to take over as a doctor.
The letter said that the current troubles in the country are actually caused by people's disagreements and inconsistencies. Every once in a while, many rumors spread from nowhere. The best place to perform is at Taixue, and this position requires not only knowledge, but also a person's character and mind, so he must be employed.
And just after the letter was sent, a big event happened in Luoyang. On this day, Chen Chong was reading the accounts of Qiu Fu sent by Chen Qun. When checking, Deng Ai suddenly said that he had something to report, which surprised Chen Chong.
As the prince officially ascended the throne, Deng Ai, who was originally a servant of the East Palace, was promoted to Deyang Wei, responsible for the emperor's daily life and travel in Deyang Palace.
Logically speaking, this was an idle position with mixed qualifications. Chen Chong planned to wait for Wei Yan to recruit new soldiers before transferring him and Jiang Wei to the Shanglin Army.
At this time, Deng Ai came to report, which was something Chen Chong did not expect. After Deng Ai sat down to meet him, he did not dare to delay and immediately talked about the reason for asking for a meeting. Although he was hesitant in speaking due to eloquence, and Chen Chong needed to ask for details from time to time, the content of the narrative quickly attracted Chen Chong's attention.
It turned out that after Deng Ai joined the job, he was bored and counted the accounts of Deyang Palace, and found that a lot of property was lost in the palace.
So he took matters into his own hands and led people to search the residence of the ladies in the palace. Sure enough, he caught several thieves and it can be said that they captured both the people and the stolen goods.
Up to this point, this was still a simple theft case, but when Deng Ai was checking the stolen goods, he accidentally discovered that in the box of a palace maid named Zhang Lanzhi, there was a small wooden figure placed with the gold cake. one place.
This made him very strange, so he took the wooden figure to question Zhang Lanzhi. Unexpectedly, Zhang Lanzhi was shocked when she saw the wooden figure. Before Deng Ai could say anything, she shouted for mercy and kowtowed.
Deng Ai was baffled by this, but he also knew it couldn't stop there. He simply made up for the mistake and raised Chen Chong's banner, saying that as long as she confessed her accomplices, she would be spared the death penalty.
Zhang Lanzhi then confessed one after another that there were four of her accomplices, two of whom were maids from other palaces. She was responsible for taking the emperor's hair, one was responsible for liaison with the outside world, and the other was responsible for lookout.
The person who gave her the wooden figure was a Taoist priest outside the palace named Zhang De. It was said that he had knowledge of ghosts and gods and was able to practice magic. The other person was Huang Menlang from Lantai named Xu Qiu, and he gave her all the money. , saying that as long as the matter is accomplished, each of them will be given one hundred gold, and now they have been given sixty gold.
The remaining wooden figure is the certificate. After talking to this point, how could Deng Ai not hear the truth: This is a witchcraft case!
There has always been this custom among the people: if there is an enemy who is difficult to defeat, the enemy's birthday and birth date will be carved on the back of the puppet, tied with his hair, and then a powerful magician will be asked to cast a spell. The effect of killing people.
Due to the witchcraft disaster during the reign of King Sejong, the imperial court had always explicitly prohibited the practice of witchcraft, and even stipulated that those who kept poisonous bugs would be sentenced to death immediately upon discovery, and their families would be sentenced to three thousand miles away.
However, there are so many people who follow it and they have banned it repeatedly so far, and the court has turned a blind eye.
But when this happened to Emperor Zhuang Liu Xie, it was no small matter. Therefore, Deng Ai immediately came to report the matter to Chen Chong and asked him to make up his mind.
After listening to Deng Ai's narration, Chen Chong was silent for a long time. He does not believe in witchcraft, but the political significance hidden behind it is very important.
Among the five known prisoners, the one with the highest official position is just a man from Lantai Huangmeng, a small official with hundreds of stones. How can he dare to do such a treasonous thing?
There must be someone behind it. But no matter who is involved, it will inevitably be involved in a major case that will sweep the entire dynasty.
In this regard, Chen Chongdao was hesitant. He closed his eyes slightly, and while tapping the scroll in his hand, he pondered: Liu Xie has passed away now, and making a fuss about this matter will not bring the dead back to life. And once important officials in the court are involved, Members, I am afraid that there will be great turmoil in the capital soon, even if it leads to war, is it impossible? Do you want to shelve this matter first?
But as soon as he had the idea of suppressing the matter, he changed his mind and vetoed it: Deng Ai had already captured Zhang Lanzhi and could not let him go again.
If you don't do anything, you are just trying to alert the enemy, and instead give up the initiative to the other party.
Since the other party is capable of such a plot to harm the nine tribes, he must not take any chances. He must strike first before the other party is aware of it!
After thinking about this, Chen Chong stood up. After wandering for two steps, he said to Deng Ai: "Don't reveal this matter first. All insiders are staying in the palace and must be strictly guarded. No rash actions are allowed. If someone comes, If asked, just say that you are still checking your belongings." After Deng Ai took the order and left, he immediately transferred Liao Hua and ordered him to search the Taoist priest named Zhang De in the city, and told him not to bring too many people with him and to conduct affairs in secret. , we must not let him go, he will live or die or his body will be seen.
At the same time, Chen Chong called Pang Tong and asked him to immediately check Xu Qiu's previous files, what positions he had held, and those people he often interacted with.
Of course, the most important thing was to capture Xu Qiu himself. Chen Chong attached great importance to this and made relevant arrangements himself.
During the day, he first sent people to inquire about Xu Qiu's residence. However, in order not to alert the snake, Chen Chong did not arrest him immediately. He bypassed Henan Yin Yangdan and directly took out thirty guards from Chen Qun. , planning to arrest Xu Qiu again during the curfew, so that true confidentiality can be achieved.
At midnight, dark clouds covered the moon, and there were no pedestrians on the streets. After the lights went out, Dongdu fell into darkness and deathly silence.
But at this moment, in the alleys of Dongshi, the heavy sound of horse hooves broke the silence, bringing a long series of competing dog barks in response.
Amidst the noise of dogs barking, the sound of weapons and armor rubbing and colliding could still be clearly heard. The sound came from far and near, and suddenly rushed in from the entrance of the alley.
In fact, everyone was awake at this time, but the frightened people didn't know what was happening, and they didn't dare to light the lights. They just waited with bated breath in the darkness, silently praying to God to bless their homes.
Fortunately, this sound did not last long, probably only a moment or two. It seemed that someone shouted a few times, and then there was the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets, and the alley became silent again.
Chen Chong was waiting for the final result at the Prime Minister's Mansion. At about three o'clock in the morning, the guards sent came back.
But they did not bring Xu Qiu, because after Xu Qiu heard the sound of the door being broken into, he killed himself with a knife without waiting for a reaction. Only his wife and children were still alive.
But the soldiers did not find nothing. They searched Xu Qiu's study and found some letters. Several of them had very simple contents. Although they were exchanging greetings with Xu Qiu, the identity of the sender was very different. Extraordinary, it turned out to be Liu Dan, King of Pingyang.
