The next day, Tanzhou Mansion, Chu Palace.
Li Yuan was ordered to come. As soon as he stepped into the hall with his right foot, he saw a dozen fully-dressed generals sitting solemnly on both sides. Two more people were sitting facing south. One of them was the commander-in-chief Hunan's pacifying envoy Bian Hao, and the other Li Yuan didn't recognize the person. He had no armor and only wore a long purple official robe with seven kinds of complicated patterns embroidered on the chest.
Li Yuan only saw that there were three beams on the Jinxian crown on the head of this person, and he knew at a glance that he must be a high official of the third rank or above. (Du Fu's "Dan Qing Yin": "A good prime minister puts a virtuous crown on his head, and he shoots a big feathered arrow around his waist")
But at this moment of celebration, everyone looked sad, and the atmosphere in the palace was really weird.
Li Yuan remained calm and respectfully bowed his hands in greeting: "I've seen the commander-in-chief! I've seen all the generals!"
Bian Hao said coldly and emotionlessly: "Li Yuan, I have been waiting for you for a long time! This trip our army was able to capture Tanzhou without any bloodshed, and the King of Chu captured him without hesitation. Thank you for your hard work."
Li Yuan thought for a moment and responded calmly: "The villain dare not take credit! Ma Xichong was able to surrender because he was afraid of the power of Heaven, His Majesty the Tang Dynasty and Master Wang. Without the trust of Commander Wu Bian, how could the villain succeed by chance?!"
Bian Hao's expression seemed to have softened a bit, and he raised his hand and said, "There is no need to be humble! You rode into the city three times and promised to surrender to the King of Chu. It will definitely become a good story in the future! We in the Tang Dynasty are full of talented people, and we can say that heroes come from young."
"What a heroic boy! Li Yuan, let me ask you the truth, do you know your guilt?"
With this cold and stern voice, Li Yuan suddenly raised his head and saw that the man sitting next to Bian Hao suddenly expressed his authority, but he still kept calm and said, "I wonder who this sir is?"
At this time, Bian Hao spoke up: "Li Yuan, this is Ambassador Chen Juechen, and he is also the military supervisor appointed by His Majesty on this trip! Why don't you come and greet me soon?"
Chen Jue? Li Yuan's mind was racing, and it gradually became clear that this was the leader of the "Five Ghosts and Four Fiends", Chen Jue, the powerful minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty? ! Suddenly, I couldn't help but feel frightened. How could this Chen Jue appear here?
Li Yuan's panic was not due to Chen Jue's identity, but to this person's consistent sexual behavior, because he recalled a very representative incident from the Southern Tang Dynasty.
In the fourth year of Baoda (946), the war to destroy Fujian in the Southern Tang Dynasty reached the final step, and only Fuzhou remained. Because Zha Wenhui, one of the "Five Ghosts", played the first role in wiping out the Fujian Kingdom, Chen Jue, as the boss, began to feel jealous.
Things that could have been easily solved by continuing the expedition, Chen Juefei, who did not understand military affairs, had to introduce himself in front of the emperor, saying that he could use His Majesty's grace to persuade Fuzhou to surrender, and so on.
But the emperor really believed it and let him go despite all objections. As a result, Chen Jue immediately regretted it when he arrived in Fuzhou. He was almost scared to death by the Fuzhou soldiers' formation. He was speechless for a long time and ran back in despair.
Now I was so embarrassed and humiliated. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I didn’t dare to go back to Jiangning’s Mansion to see the emperor. In the end, I kept doing nothing and actually sent out troops as per the imperial edict! Due to Chen Jue's troubles, the Southern Tang Dynasty had delayed its best opportunity to fight, and the frontline command fell into the hands of Chen Jue and others. The army was forced to stay under Fuzhou City until the second year, February of the fifth year of Baoda.
At this time, the Khitans destroyed the Later Jin Dynasty, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was shaken. There is no owner in the Central Plains, and the Huainan land of the Southern Tang Dynasty is right next to it. Countless officials and people from the Central Plains have gone south to defect. If the Southern Tang Dynasty made an expedition to the North at this time, the Tang Dynasty might be able to be revived! Unfortunately, due to Chen Jue's actions, not only did the national treasury consume a lot of food and fodder, but the army was stuck in the quagmire on the southern front.
Finally, Liu Zhiyuan, who stayed in Taiyuan of the Later Jin Dynasty in the north, took the opportunity to steal the Central Plains and established the Later Han Dynasty. Fuzhou in the south chose to surrender to the neighboring country of Wuyue, and the Southern Tang Dynasty could not get anything. The Quanzhou Prefecture that they got was simply separated and independent.
The Southern Tang Dynasty was seriously weakened. Emperor Li Jing, whose life ambition was to unify the world and restore the prosperous Tang Dynasty, almost ran out of breath and vomited blood, so he became furious and wanted to kill Chen Jue, but in the end he was still afraid of Song Qiqiu and Chen Jue's party in power. The forces in the government only gave light sentences and demotions, but no severe punishments.
Four or five years have passed by now, and there are not many historical records of Chen Jue's whereabouts during this period. Li Yuan immediately realized that although Chen Jue had committed a serious crime last time, he was very powerful in the court. Although he offended Emperor Li Jing, it was inevitable that he would be reinstated in a few years. And as a professional in military supervision, how could he let go of this opportunity to make meritorious deeds?
Li Yuan knew something secretly and pretended to be afraid: "I have seen Ambassador Chen! I wonder what crime I have committed?"
Before Chen Jue could speak, Li Yuan immediately continued: "When I was living in the countryside, I heard that Minister Chen was a rare and virtuous prime minister in our dynasty. He shared your Majesty's worries at the top, and he was knowledgeable about people below. He has always been loyal to the emperor and loves the people. , governs with fairness and justice, has the style of Fang Du, and can be called the mainstay of our court!"
He was just about to glare but was given eye drops. Chen Jue liked flattery the most, and he had a good impression of Li Yuan. He was about to curse but had no choice but to hold it back: "Ahem, well, I owe you His Majesty's love for this. , I want to serve His Majesty. Let me ask you, have you falsely conveyed His Majesty's edict and promised to surrender to King Ma Xichong to control the Chu land?"
What is supposed to come has come! Li Yuan thought to himself that Ma Xichong was indeed asking for land from Bian Hao and Chen Jue.
The show is on.
At yesterday's celebration banquet, Bian Hao was begged by Ma Xichong in front of everyone, and his heart was on fire. At this time, he saw Li Yuan raising his head and looking at him, and just said coldly: "Mr. Li Yuannian is two years old. 10. It is inevitable that things will be done without consideration. However, our army won this battle without a fight, and the annexation of the Chu region to our country is just around the corner. The promised thing must be a temporary expedient. It is better to allow his merits and demerits to balance out, so that the Prime Minister... .”
Chen Jue snorted lightly and said with a cold look in his eyes: "Commander Bian, what is expediency? Our Tang Dynasty is a superior country, and your majesty attaches great importance to integrity, how can you talk nonsense? Although you have meritorious service in this battle, do you want to trap your majesty in injustice? ?Then Ma Xichong can say that this son obeyed your order and made a promise to him——"
This is a heinous crime! Seeing that he had great success in hand, Bian Hao, who immediately rose to prominence, made a decisive choice: "Absurd! This is absolutely not the case! I am devoted to being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, how can I dare to commit such a treasonous crime? I don't have the courage of Minister Chen. I still want to live for a few more years! As for ordering Li Yuan to enter the city to surrender, this was my commander's clever plan, but this man secretly conveyed your majesty's order, and I will immediately punish him under military law!"
This insinuation not only wiped away responsibility, but also directly hit Chen Jue's sore spot.
Chen Jue's face turned red from suppressing it, and he almost lost his majesty: "You!"
Li Yuan was deeply disappointed with Bian Hao's words at this time. As expected, he had predicted before that Bian Hao would mostly take the credit for this strategy and contribution in this battle in order to get promoted. If I hadn't had an extra thought and used Ma Xichong's mouth to lure this key figure out to meet him, I might have just rewarded him with some money in the end and settled the matter hastily.
This person loves great achievements, is narrow-minded, and has no sense of friendship.
Seeing the tension between Bian Hao and Chen Jue, there must be discord. Li Yuan immediately made up his mind and said impassionedly: "Mr. Chen, this matter has nothing to do with the commander-in-chief. It was the work of a villain!"
Chen Jue was a little surprised and said: "Oh? Well, he is a man! Do you know that falsely conveying His Majesty's edict will be punished if found guilty?!"
Li Yuan replied unhurriedly: "The villain knows. But the ambassador, the villain only admitted that he promised to control the Chu land to Ma Xichong, but he did not falsely convey His Majesty's edict!"
Chen Jue didn't know the meaning of Li Yuan's words. He just thought it was a dying struggle and immediately said: "Oh, you still dare to quibble! I have been in front of the emperor for a long time and was ordered to supervise the army here. All your Majesty's edicts are conveyed by me. How has your Majesty ever issued an order? To live up to such an edict?"
Li Yuan was well prepared in his heart and said calmly: "Mr. Xiangrong is not just a quibbler. Promising something is a plan for An Chu. There are two reasons. One is that Ma Xichong is a person who values profits and forgets loyalty. Because the villain promised him to control the Chu land, he was willing to surrender his entire family so that our army could win without a fight. Secondly, now that Tanzhou, the capital of Chu, had fallen, the King of Chu was at a loss. Except for a corner of Langzhou, the Chu land was no longer There is no more military strength to resist, and there will be no more war in a few months! And after the war, it will be about pacifying the people!
After all, Chu Land has been occupied by the Ma family father and son for many years. Although Ma Xichong and other unscrupulous descendants have brought disaster to the country and the people, to this day, Chu Land still has many people who miss their ancestor Ma Yin.
Therefore, using the name of the Ma family to control Chu territory not only conforms to the people's wishes, but also eliminates those remnants who want to rebel in the name of restoring the country. In this way, Chu land will definitely be peaceful!
The envoy is a virtuous minister, and from now on Chu will be our territory of the Tang Dynasty. You are here to supervise the army. Although the war is managed by the border commander, His Majesty will definitely ask the envoy for advice when it comes to governing the affairs of the people! Therefore, the villain thinks that if the minister is so wise, he will definitely be able to think of this plan. After that, the land of Chu will surrender and be peaceful, and your majesty will definitely be very happy! Only then did he boldly make a promise to Ma Xichong! "
After these sincere words, all the generals present had a general idea, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, and some even looked at Li Yuan with admiration.
As a veteran in officialdom, how could Chen Jue not understand that Li Yuan was getting closer to him and sending him a huge contribution!
But there is still a little suspicion. This person's reaction just now clearly means that he does not recognize himself, but it is normal to think about it. How can an ordinary pawn see his true face!
So he smoothly smoothed his robes with his hands and said in a gentle tone: "Li Yuan, so you are saying it for the truth? What you said makes some sense! But Ma Xichong is surrendering to the throne, how can your majesty let him He continued to control his old land..."
Li Yuan smiled faintly: "Can the minister hear the story of Emperor Wu of Wei and Cao Cao's capture of Jingzhou?"
"Come and listen!"
Li Yuan said calmly: "In the past, when Emperor Wu of Wei captured Jingzhou and surrendered to Liu Cong, he promised the children of the Liu family to lead Jingxiang..."
"Leading Jing Xiang from a distance?" Chen Jue paused for a moment, then stood up, clapped his hands and said, "Wonderful, wonderful! Li Yuan, I never thought you had such a good plan! You are both wise and brave! I thought you were It’s just common man’s bravery, hahaha, I’ve misjudged the truth!”
Li Yuan followed the current and summed it up in a neither humble nor arrogant way: "How can a villain with little knowledge have such a plan? He just wants to make the prime minister think and plot. The villain is reckless and has the courage to share your worries! The villain knows his guilt!"
Chen Jue is pretty much sure of it. Ever since he was severely punished by the emperor when Fujian was destroyed a few years ago, he has endured so many negative comments! There is a tendency of sunset. This time I asked for a job as a supervisor of the army. I wanted to avenge my previous shame, but unexpectedly Bian Hao led his army to victory without a fight and captured the entire family of the King of Chu. He was about to become your majesty's famous man, at least a The feudal official!
However, he did not have any merit in this trip. When the emperor was happy, he would at most accept a small reward along with everyone else, which was incomparable with Bian Hao's great contribution.
The most terrible thing is that Bian Hao has always been a noble person, but he is unable to deal with him. The previous quarrel in the commander's tent has already made all the generals unhappy. Who knows what Bian Hao will do to His Majesty in the future. calumny?
At this moment, Li Yuan popped out, seemingly causing a small splash of water, but it actually gave him a chance to make a comeback. Using the name of the Ma family to lead Chu territory, such a good plan, using his own name to be a sage, and then letting the party members in the court instigate it again, His Majesty will definitely entrust the important task of governing and tranquilizing the people here!
To make Chu land completely surrendered and peaceful, this is a great achievement!
Chen Jue thought to himself that although Hao Hao was the head coach in this battle, he actually relied on Li Yuan in front of him to surrender the King of Chu. This person gave himself such a credit again, and he was obviously siding with himself.
Why don't you help yourself, and at the same time magnify this person's achievements? Even though Bian Hao is the head coach, his achievements cannot be stifled, but they will be weakened accordingly. In short, it would be better if he is the one who benefits... .
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Chen Jue stood up and walked straight to Li Yuan without any concealment. His eyes narrowed into two shallow grooves: "What a person to share the trouble with me! What crime do you have! Li Yuan, even though you are still young, , but you are both civil and military, and have great talents! When Master Wang returns home in triumph, I will definitely ask for merit for you in front of the emperor! God bless our Tang Dynasty! You will definitely be the leader of the younger generation of our Tang Dynasty in the future!"
Sure enough, he is a powerful minister, and he can get through it with just one click! Li Yuan took a deep breath and replied loudly: "I thank the ambassador!"
"Li Lang is a great talent!"
"Heroes come from young men!"
"God bless the Tang Dynasty!"
...
The atmosphere relaxed, and the generals gradually began to chat happily.
Chen Jue was not satisfied yet and decided to launch an attack from now on. He seemed to say unintentionally: "Li Yuan, why do you keep calling yourself a villain? Instead of a general? I heard that the border commander has appointed you as the deputy commander of the battalion, and you have five hundred sergeants under you. , how can you be rude wearing this armor?"
Seeing that the expression of Bian Hao on the side was slightly unnatural, Li Yuan showed an unknown smile, and then said with an earnest expression: "Returning to the Prime Minister, this villain has no official status! There is no official list for the appointment. The villain also knows that he is not good at anything. How can he take up a military position with any virtue? As for this armor of a general, the villain borrowed it from the commander of the border before leaving, so as not to see that Ma Xichong fell into the Tang Dynasty. Reputation! Now that the war is over, the villain will be returned immediately!"
Chen Jueshunpo rode a donkey, turned around and loudly accused: "Nonsense! Bian Hao, as the commander of the first army, how can you joke about his appointment? Li Yuan has worked hard in this battle and made great achievements. If you treat him like this, won't you chill the hearts of all the soldiers?! Are you jealous of the capable?"
"Your Majesty, please don't give me such a bad reputation! The army has just entered the city, and I am just busy with military affairs! Li Yuan has made outstanding contributions this time, and I will definitely reward him based on his merits!"
Bian Hao's heart was in turmoil. After all, the appointment was indeed a blank check given by him, but now he came to the door and had to cash it: "Li Yuan, now I will officially grant you the first army of the left wing of the Shenwu Army." As the deputy commander of the third battalion, if you join the army, you will immediately register your name and submit it to the Privy Council. You will also be given three hundred taels of silver and five hundred guans!"
The generals took a deep breath, knowing that although Li Yuan had made great achievements, he took up the post of commander at the age of twenty and received such a generous reward. How could he not make others jealous! (Note: The common currency in the Southern Tang Dynasty was copper coins, usually one thousand coins. Silver and gold were not commonly used and were hard currencies. They were also used by the people but rarely. One tael of silver was equivalent to a copper coin. The monthly salary of an ordinary soldier was roughly three cents. Silver, less than consistent.)
Li Yuan's heart was beating with excitement. With this military position and these rewards, he had laid the foundation for his first step in settling down in this era.
Just as he was about to step forward to receive the reward, Chen Jue intervened again and raised his hand to stop him: "Wait a minute!"
Not only Li Yuan, but also Bian Hao and all the generals looked at each other: "What does the ambassador mean?"
Chen Jue showed a complacent expression, stared at Li Yuan and said unhurriedly: "The silver rewards will be distributed together. But the prime minister is in charge of all affairs in the Privy Council. Li Yuan is the first to eliminate Chu this time, and he is a great talent. The position of deputy commander of this battalion is really humble! We will wait until the prime minister compiles a letter and reports it to Your Majesty before we make a decision!"
Bian Hao thought it was Chen Jue who had taken over the throne, but he had no choice but to say, "It depends on the envoy's wishes!"
Li Yuan was secretly surprised. He never thought that Chen Jue was so powerful. He not only owed himself a favor, but also took the opportunity to imprison Bian Hao, killing two birds with one stone! But of course he accepted the order, so he showed a grateful expression and said: "I thank the envoy and the commander-in-chief!"
Then Chen Jue raised his eyebrows: "Go and receive the reward!"
Li Yuan immediately understood: "That villain retreats first!"
