While Chen Chong was secretly investigating the witchcraft case, Liu Dan was also planning something big.
Since Liu Xie's death, white flags have been hung all over the city of Luoyang to pay homage to the emperor. Although Liu Xie ultimately suffered a disastrous defeat in the south of the Yangtze River, he was frugal in spending money and liked to be hands-on. He often cultivated his fields in the northern suburbs and benefited the people after harvesting in autumn. Therefore, the people of the Eastern Capital did not have much resentment towards him. On the contrary, many people privately remember that His Majesty was so handsome and prosperous back then. From a distance, it was like seeing the snow on Jade Mountain, and from up close, it was like entering a house of Zhilan. It is not known how many years will pass before we can see such a prince of Chang'an again. Therefore, during the autumn harvest, there is an endless stream of people going to Fuling to worship.
But for Liu Dan, these days were extremely difficult. After Liu Xie issued the order to renounce the vassal before his death, Sili Colonel Chen Qun repeatedly sent people to urge him. He used the excuse of keeping vigil for his brother to delay for a few days, but after Liu Xie was buried, he could no longer delay. If there is no delay, we can only start to tidy up the house and make plans for the feudal clan.
Looking back on the past two years, Liu Dan had painstakingly used various means and made a lot of unknown arrangements around the matter of establishing a prince, but in the end it had no effect. Just because Chen Chong supported Liu Xie, did the result be in vain? Liu Dan undoubtedly couldn't accept it. Originally, he planned to make long-term plans in the capital after Liu Xie died of illness. Unexpectedly, Liu Xie cut his salary and issued a vassal order, and he had to make a short-term decision: should he completely give up his ambition for the throne and become an idle prince, or should he muster up the courage to make a last stand against Chen Chong?
This is not an option at all for Liu Dan. As early as when he was in Jinyang, both his peers and elders showed great care and concern for him, with countless followers and countless supporters. Therefore, he calls himself the Young Master of Jinyang and has great expectations for the future. But what disappointed him was that Liu Bei had no intention of changing the throne, and since Liu Xie came to the throne, he had been strictly guarding him and would not let him go even an inch. As a result, the courtyard has become increasingly desolate and few people come to visit. Compared with childhood, how can we not make people feel more disappointed and even resentful? Therefore, Liu Dan will never accept failure.
He went to find his third brother Liu Cheng. The two brothers had reached an alliance before. Liu Dan promised Liu Cheng that as long as he gained power, he would make Liu Cheng the governor of the Beifu. Therefore, Liu Cheng has been advancing and retreating with him during this period. After Liu Dan sat down, he asked directly: "Liu Xie and Chen Chong want you and me to join the feudal clan directly. Are you willing?"
When Liu Cheng heard this, his anger immediately broke out and he shouted: "How can I be willing to accept such a villain!"
Liu Dan was secretly happy, he held the tables with his hands, leaned forward and whispered: "If you and I go to seize the feudal lordship, it will be like a bird entering a cage, where will there be any chance of success? If we don't want to get moldy in the fiefdom, I'm afraid we have to get rid of Chen Chong!" "
Liu Cheng was startled and kept silent for a while. He said dejectedly: "It's not necessary. Chen Tingjian is almost sixty years old, and he has hidden wounds all over his body. How long can he live? He might as well wait a few more years. When the time comes, his mother will be here. Is he still afraid? Can’t we come back?”
Liu Dan secretly despised him and sneered: "In a few years, I'm afraid this giant python will develop into Wang Mang, with such a huge appetite that he will even want to eat the emperor's seat." He added: " Don’t forget, Tu Gao’s prophecy should be applied to those who represent the Han Dynasty, for fear that it will be applied to him.”
Seeing Liu Cheng shaking his head repeatedly, he immediately stood up and left, and said: "I can understand that you are greedy for life and afraid of death now, but don't wait until Chen Tingjian seizes the throne and puts the knife on your neck. It will be too late."
Liu Dan thought to himself that Liu Cheng was not courageous enough, and it seemed that he could not be counted on. He originally hoped to use him to stabilize the Queen Mother, but even without him, there was still a way to fight against Chen Chong. After all, he is now allied with Taifu Zhongyao, Taiwei Fazheng and others. With them around, he can still find a way.
So he deliberately claimed to be sick while moving furniture, and then secretly visited Zhong Yao late at night. Zhong Yao also knew his purpose, but remained calm on the surface, waiting for him to speak first.
Seeing his profound appearance, Liu Dan was not sure about his attitude for a moment. Was he supporting him or trying to persuade him to give up? So the two of them chatted for a while, but still didn't get to the point. Seeing tea sprinkled on the table bank, his eyes suddenly lit up. He dipped his hand in the water to draw a curved line, and then said to Zhong Yao: "I heard that in ancient times there was a mythical beast called a dragon, which could call the wind and rain, and cover all things. Why are some people calling it a scourge now?”
Zhong Yao was so smart that he immediately replied: "That's because the wind and rain are too strong, covering the sky and blocking out the sun, and inverting the yin and yang."
Liu Dan heard what Zhong Yao said and said hurriedly: "Then we have encountered such a dragon now. It has been covering the sky and the sun for a long time. If we let it develop, I am afraid it will harm others and ourselves."
Zhong Yao stood up and was silent for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Then let's capture him as soon as possible."
Although this was Liu Dan's original intention, he couldn't help but be surprised. He turned around and looked around the secret room, seeing that there were only two of them.
Speaking of this, Liu Dan immediately told his thoughts: "Master, now it's time to make a decision. When I really leave the capital, how can I come back? While Guan Yu is not in Luoyang now, we still have A little chance. If we wait until next year and the north and south are stabilized, won't he alone have the final say in government affairs? My promise to you remains unchanged. As long as you can help me regain the throne, I will definitely share the glory!"
Zhong Yao had a solemn expression and remained silent for a long time.
Although he was also dissatisfied with Liu Xie's long-term exclusion of him, for Zhong Yao, his original intention was only to regain the power of assistant government, and launching a full-scale political struggle with Chen Chong was not actually part of his plan. However, with the showdown between the two sides, the differences in political views have intensified, and now it has become a situation that cannot be eased. Judging from Chen Chong's various current measures, he is afraid that he will no longer have a position in the Prime Minister's Palace, and the eldest son Zhong Yu is not a great weapon in the military. As a result, the decline of the family may only occur within two or three generations. This is undoubtedly Zhong Yao couldn't accept it.
Fortunately, he is not the only one who has such worries. Liu Bao, Fazheng, Meng Da, Yang Dan and others also hate Chen Chong's style. Over the past few years, everyone has clearly seen that the reason why Liu Xie was able to exclude the old ministers in this way was not only his own methods, but also the support and instigation of Chen Chong behind the scenes. If Chen Chong is not driven out of the capital for one day, the old people will not have a peaceful day. So over the past two years, everyone has slowly come together. But considering the matter, relying on Liu Dan to deal with Liu Xie and Chen Chong was originally just a stopgap measure, but the development of the situation was always beyond the control of ordinary people. At this point, there was only one way to fight with swords.
From this moment on, the two of them were completely bound together.
The two then made a secret plan. Nowadays, the two people's party members are extremely full. Zhong Yao and Fa Zhenggui are Taifu and Taiwei. It can be said that their party members are all over the government and the public. Even if some people are unwilling to support, Zhong Yao is confident that he can make them sit on the sidelines. But the most important thing is to see who Luoyang's army will fall to. If Guan Yu were in the capital, there would be no suspense about this issue, but now that Guan Yu has gone to Xiangyang to take charge, there is still room for maneuver.
Luoyang's army is mainly divided into three groups. The first one is the Shanglin Army guarding the capital. It is still being rebuilt. There are about 20,000 people, headed by Wei Yan, the general of the guard, stationed in Xuanwu City. The second part is the guards guarding the city gates in Luoyang. There are about 3,000 people. During the reign of Emperor Ling, the city gate captain was in charge. However, when Chen Chong entered the Lord Sili Mansion, this position was abolished. Now these 3,000 people are in charge. The guards are all under the command of Henan Yin, also known as Yang Dan. The third part is the imperial guard in the palace, which has about 4,000 people. One thousand people are subordinate to Shaofu Liu Bao, one thousand people are subordinate to Guanglu Xun Fan Xian, and two thousand people are subordinate to Weiwei Gao Tanglong, who are directly responsible for the palace. Order inside and outside.
Among the three, Wei Yan is Chen Chong's diehard loyalist and is absolutely unconvinced. But fortunately, the Shanglin Army is still rebuilding, does not have much combat power, and is in a remote location. As long as it is handled properly and the coup is completed before it intervenes in the situation, it has nothing to do with the overall situation. The most important thing is the city gate guards and the palace guards. Although nominally, these soldiers belong to Zhong Yao's party, in fact Chen Chong took over the city defense in the north of Luoyang, and transferred Deng Ai, Jiang Wei and others to the palace. people, so that out of these 7,000 people, about 2,000 were directly subordinate to Chen Chong. And it is hard to say how many of the remaining people can stand firm and join Zhong Yao in the coup.
At this point, Liu Dan no longer evaded, and asked directly: "Chen Tingjian seems to be powerful, but as long as he dies, which of the remaining people will bury him? In my opinion, it is better to ambush a few people in the palace. He is a killer. Once he enters the palace, he will be chopped into pieces just like how the Chang Shi killed He Jin! If he is declared to have rebelled afterward, what other tricks can he pull out?"
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhong Yao waving his hand. Liu Dan was extremely unhappy, but he had no choice but to listen to him: "Absolutely not. Do you think you are in the era of assassinating kings? Let's not talk about the army of soldiers around Ting Jian. Even if he succeeds, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang in the south, With Zhang Fei in the north, we can only win over the support of Ma Chao and Yuan Tan. Wouldn’t that lead to a civil war? This is self-destructive! We can only force him to delegate power, but we must not actually kill people!"
"Okay, then let's find a way to master the palace restrictions first." Liu Dan didn't want to argue, and continued: "I think it can be scheduled on the Double Ninth Festival. According to convention, the curfew will be canceled on this day, there will be a night market, and many palace guards will also They all rested in advance. We can try to lead troops into the forbidden area at this time. As long as we take Erlang (Liu Yi) back before Lin Jun reacts, and then plead with my mother and empress, we can use the emperor and the emperor to In the name of the Queen Mother, an edict was also issued to Chen Tingjian, asking him to plead guilty and release his powers, so he must have no choice but to admit defeat."
"Plead guilty? What crime?"
"Exclude wise ministers and monopolize power."
"Can this really convince the public?"
"If Chen Chong admits it himself, he will be able to convince the public."
Zhong Yao thought for a moment and then said: "It's still not comprehensive enough. Deng Ai and Jiang Wei are rising stars in the army. I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with them quickly."
Liu Dan smiled and said to Zhong Yao: "Master, judging from our current manpower, it may be close. But in the past two years, I have been buying dead soldiers around Yanshi. There are more than 2,000 people. At that time, I transferred them all to Luoyang. As long as I can get Yang Shijun to open the door and let them in, no matter how good Deng and Jiang are, they will not be able to beat four hands with one fist!"
Zhong Yao was shocked when he heard that he had two thousand dead soldiers in private, and reminded him: "That's what I say, but it's better not to involve too many people. The more people there are, the greater the possibility of leaking the secret." After lingering for two moments, he asked Liu Dan again: "You don't have other arrangements secretly, do you?"
Liu Dan laughed loudly, waved his hands and said, "Where is there?" Regarding Liu Xie's use of witchcraft, he thought he did it perfectly, and he never told any of his comrades.
