North of the Yangtze River, within the territory of Tangyi.
To the north of the Yangtze River, less than fifty miles away from Jiankang City, the sound of rumbles of horses trampling on the ground was heard on a mountain road. An elite cavalry meandered from north to south, heading towards the location of Jiankang City. galloping in the direction!
"Hurry! Hurry up!" The leading general held two big flags behind him and wrote the words "Tian and Zhang". This was Xu Zongwen's adopted brother Tian Luo and Zhang Gui.
Less than two days after Zhuge Kan led the Wolf Guard southward, Xu Zongwen secretly ordered the cavalry army again, and ordered Tian Luo and Zhang Gui to lead Zhuge Kan's elite cavalry southward at night to support the imperial troops and quell Sun En's rebellion.
Zhang Gui rode behind, already out of breath. He chased Tian Luo and shouted loudly: "Fifth brother, wait for me. Big brother asked us to go to Jingkou, not to the capital. Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Xilulu——" Tian Luo held the reins tightly and reined in his horse. He looked at the looming river in the distance and took a deep breath: "Brother is ordering us to go south so urgently. Something big must have happened in the court! It's so far away from here. The capital is only a short distance away, so we might as well send someone to contact Big Brother first, and then follow the orders."
I heard that Yin Zhongkan, the servant, was demoted as a court lieutenant and put on trial a few days ago. People in the court were panicked. At such a critical juncture, it was Xu Zongwen's private life for the cavalry to go south. What if his whereabouts were exposed on the way to Jingkou? Give people authority and give them credibility?
When Zhang Gui heard that what Tian Luo said was quite reasonable, he agreed. The two led their army to hide in the mountains near Tangyi. At the same time, they sent troops to sneak into Jiankang City and contact Xu Zongwen...
Taicheng, Tai Chi East Hall.
At present, Taiji East Hall has become the place where the auxiliary ministers discuss and handle government affairs, as well as the place where officials from Santai, Five Provinces and Six Ministries in Beijing work directly.
"General Zhengbei has arrived!"
"The minister's order has arrived!"
"Uncle Guo is here!"
"Zuopu's shot!"
The eunuch on duty saw Xu Zongwen and four other auxiliary ministers entering the Tai Chi East Hall on time and began to roll their names one by one.
After Yin Zhongkan was imprisoned and put on trial, the post of servant under his sect was taken by Wang Ya, the former regular servant of Sanqi. The right servant of Shangshu was concurrently held by Zhang Xuanzhi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel. When the vacancy became the regular servant of Sanqi, the post of Shangshu Ling Wang Xunzhi's disciple Waishan was held concurrently. Wang Min, the Cavalry Minister, will temporarily take over.
To put it bluntly, this type of personnel appointments are the result of negotiations and compromises between the four auxiliary ministers and the three parties.
Only when each party gains benefits can the balance of the court be maintained. Otherwise, once the balance tilts, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the Jin court!
Xu Zongwen controlled the troops. There were cavalry troops outside and Zhang Songzhi, the commander of the Forbidden Army, who was his ally. Zhang Xuanzhi, the Zuo servant, was also close to him. Although he did not promote anyone, he also appointed many shogunate staff.
Pei Qing, the former governor of Donghai, was appointed as the commander of Sizhou and concurrently as the commander of General Zhengbei's Mansion. This was a dual role.
Weiyuan General Shen Yu joined the army to record the affairs of the general's office in Zhengbei, referred to as joining the army.
Xi Jian was appointed as the chief historian and concurrently served as Sizhou Zhizhong and engaged in history, referred to as Zhizhong. Guo Shang was appointed as the military advisor and the minister of wine. As Xu Zongwen's confidants, the two of them jointly served as military counselors.
Liu Yu conscripted Sima from the General's Office of Beida to serve as the leader of the building, commanding two thousand troops, who were not included in the Jin army's establishment.
Yingyang General Zhuge Kan was the military cao, Jingyuan General Zheng Lue was the law cao, and his fourth brother Xu Zezhi was the meritorious cao.
Tian Luo and Zhang Gui also served as military attaches to the shogunate, and Pang Bai, Zhang San, and Zhang Si were also recommended one after another.
"Everyone, Xu has a memorial today. Please discuss it together." After all the auxiliary ministers sat down, Xu Zongwen took out a memorial from the sleeves of his official uniform, "This is "Ping Thief Shu", Xu thought. I want to personally lead the army south to conquer Sun En, pacify the three Wu states as soon as possible, and restore peace and stability to Jiangdong as soon as possible. Please share your thoughts."
Wang Xun held a roll of personnel appointments for the Ministry of Civil Affairs in his hand. He was reading it carefully when he suddenly heard that Xu Zongwen was going to conquer Sun En personally. He immediately put it down. He said slowly: "Zongwen, there is Xie Yuandu in front of him, and there is Xie Yuandu in the back. Additional Wolf Guards of the Valiant Cavalry were sent to quell the rebellion. Although there is a shortage of troops, there is no serious problem. Why do you need to go out to conquer it in person? All military affairs in the DPRK are still waiting for you and us to discuss and deal with them. You You have to think carefully!"
"Yes, Zongwen, Xie Yuandu is brave, Zhuge Kan and Zheng Lue are good at fighting. Why not wait and see how the battle goes before making a decision?" Wang Gong also put down his urgent matters and persuaded Xu Zongwen not to leave Jiankang.
"With a general sitting in the capital, Xiaocai didn't dare to act rashly. The general is in charge of the overall situation of President Jiankang and directing the war. This is the best way. Why do you have to wear armor and go into battle and risk yourself?" Even the ministers who have always been taciturn in meetings Wang Guobao, who was fluent in English, began to speak.
Xu Zongwen stopped the three people's advice and remained unmoved. He stood up and looked around at everyone. Then he held Ping Tie Shu and explained: "The anti-thieves are powerful, and quelling the chaos cannot be achieved in a short time, and Jiangdong cannot be achieved in a day." An, as assistant ministers, we are responsible for national security and the safety of the country, and we should think about long-term strategies. Sun En cannot be peaceful for a day, and we cannot sit back and relax for a day. The court cannot be slack and contemptuous for a day. Your Majesty and the Queen Mother also have trouble sleeping and eating. The loss of the treasury will also be greater."
Hearing the depletion of the treasury, the three of them began to quietly nod in agreement. This war has been fought for money and food since ancient times. Sun En's move to rebel against the imperial court was already very slow. In addition to supplying Xie Yan and Wolf Guard, it was also necessary to appease the people. food.
In addition to the flood in Qiantang at the beginning of the year, the kindness given by the late emperor to the princes and kings in various places during the New Year's Day, the rewards given by heroes of the Northern Expedition, the construction of flood control dams in various places in the east of the Yangtze River, the repair of fortified cities and fortresses in the north to defend against the Hu people, the relief of drought and floods in various places, and the achievements of the Northern Expedition. The large amount of food coins obtained has been lost!
If the war continues to be delayed, it will be a trivial matter if the losses are too much. If Sun En is defeated and Sun En becomes bigger, it will threaten the foundation of the Jin Dynasty!
"Please think about it. Without the gains from last year's Northern Expedition, would the imperial court's annual income alone be able to sustain such a large expenditure and bear such heavy losses?" Xu Zongwen grasped the difficulty of the auxiliary minister and asked the three One is powerless to refute.
Xu Zongwen sat down and handed "Ping Thief Shu" to the eunuch waiting at the side. The eunuch passed it to the three auxiliary ministers, who signed and printed it in turn.
"Send the "Ping Thief Shu Submission" to the Xianyang Palace to the Empress Dowager for personal reading." After all the auxiliary ministers signed and sealed it, Xu Zongwen ordered someone to send it to Empress Dowager Chen to read.
There are three main halls in Taicheng, the front hall is the Taiji Hall, the middle hall is the Shiqian Hall, the back is the Xianyang Hall, the Taiji Hall and the provinces in front of the hall are where the imperial court holds discussions, court meetings and rituals. The Shiqian Hall is the main hall of the emperor and the Xianyang Hall. It is the residence of the new emperor, and the Queen Mother also lives in the Nuan Pavilion in the side hall, so that it is convenient for the new emperor to take care of his daily life.
When he heard that Xu Zongwen was going to hand over "Ping Thief Shu" to the Queen Mother for reading, his uncle Wang Gong hurriedly asked: "The Queen Mother does not participate in government affairs, why should Zongwen do this?"
Shangshu Ling Wang Xun also seemed to be dissatisfied. He said calmly: "The late emperor's decree, the government and military affairs are to be discussed and handled by the four of us, and the Queen Mother will not be involved in the government affairs. Zongwen, by doing this, is it possible that you support the Queen Mother's appointment in court?"
"Zong Wen, if you want to conquer Sun En personally, just go. However, you have to raise food and fodder for the troops and horses yourself. There is not much food in the capital. I will give you five thousand shi at most, but you have to give "Ping Thief Shu" to the Queen Mother. , you have to think clearly about what this means!" Uncle Wang Gong was relieved, as long as Xu Zongwen did not send "Ping Thief Shu" to Xianyang Hall, everything would be easy to discuss.
Wang Guobao didn't say much. He lowered his eyebrows and was thinking. The Queen Mother Chen took the initiative to order him to enter the palace a few days ago, saying that as long as the Taiyuan Wang family supports the imperial title, Wang Guobao will be the next minister, and the Taiyuan Wang family will soon become the minister. Following the Wang family of Langya, the Yu family of Yingchuan, the Longkanghuan family, and the Xie family of Chenjun, they were the fifth leading gentry clan in the Jin Dynasty!
Among the auxiliary ministers, Wang Guobao's existence was dispensable. Now that the Queen Mother had made a serious promise, Wang Guobao carefully considered Xu Zongwen's actions. He felt that this matter was not simple!
Perhaps, the Queen Mother was not only looking for herself, but also for General Xu Xiao!
Otherwise, why did Xu Zongwen abnormally propose to send the memorials from the auxiliary ministers' proceedings to Xianyang Hall?
Xu Zongwen was as tough as ever. He took out another military newspaper and asked the eunuch to pass it to the three auxiliary ministers for circulation. It was an urgent military newspaper sent from the south this morning!
Xie Yan died in battle, and the Forbidden Army accompanied the Longxiang Army, Huwei Army, and Zuoyu Linwei. The Longxiang Army was almost completely wiped out, Zuoyu Linwei and Huwei Army lost more than half, and the remaining army retreated due north to rest!
"Xie Yan, Xie Yan died in battle!" Wang Xun and Wang Gong were shocked!
Wang Guobao asked urgently: "May I ask General, is this news true?"
Xu Zongwen calmly replied: "This is the news Zhuge Kan came from Wuxian. At this time, the rebels have moved north in large numbers. If no reinforcements are sent, Wuxian will be in danger!"
"That's why I gave "Ping Thief Shu" to the Queen Mother for reading. Not only to state that the court should quickly quell the chaos, but also to inform the Queen Mother and even the courtiers that Sun En's disaster was worse than we imagined! For this purpose, Xu A certain person led a brave and skilled army south to support Zhuge Kan. If the two armies unite, they may be able to fight Sun En!"
Xu Zongwen deliberately made the situation look terrible. In fact, after Du Zigong held a Tianshi Taoist gathering in Yunxian Temple, the Tianshi Tao believers near Jiankang had rushed to Sanwu. Their mission was to disperse and disintegrate Sun En's military morale and deny Sun Tai and Sun En’s orthodox identities as Tianshi Taoist leaders!
"If this is the case, please Zongwen send troops as soon as possible!"
"If things change later, I also agree to send troops quickly. Zong Wen will lead the army to conquer Sun En!"
"But where did this army come from?" Wang Guobao asked an important question. He couldn't take away the remaining imperial troops. Then the capital would be empty and Jiankang's defenses would be lax. Any troops could attack Huanglong. Go directly to Taicheng!
Xu Zongwen waved his hand and told them not to worry. He had already secretly ordered the elite cavalry of the Xiaoqi Army to go south. They were on the other side of the Yangtze River and ready to go at any time!
Although Wang Xun and others are used to seeing Xu Zongwen act on his own, it is taboo to use troops and horses without control and without permission! If it weren't for the fact that the emperor was young and the queen mother ignored political affairs, Xu Zongwen could be prosecuted for the crime of sending troops to Beijing privately and plotting evil!
But they couldn't do this. Sun En was still waiting to be defeated by Xu Zongwen, and the Sima vassal princes and state pastors in various places also relied on Xu Zongwen to suppress him. Without Xu Zongwen, the position of the auxiliary minister would not be so stable.
This is a pirate ship!
Wang Xun now realizes that the private edict and the creation of an auxiliary minister seemed to have many disadvantages!
"In this case, we will draft an edict and leave the important task of quelling the rebellion to you, Zong Wen. You must defeat Sun En and there will be no room for failure!" Wang Gong actually messed up, as if Sun En At this time, it was as if troops were approaching the city, which aroused a burst of contempt and resistance in Xu Zongwen's heart!
Xu Zongwen vowed: "If you are brave, you will do your best and you will live up to everyone's expectations!"
