"I have a heart-to-heart talk with Your Majesty today, and I will also speak my mind. Your Majesty's accession to the throne in Yangzhou aroused criticism from all over the world, and Your Majesty is at fault. But I believe that the biggest fault lies not with Your Majesty, but with Zhang Wenbiao. I I know that His Majesty's ascension to the throne must have been coerced by Zhang Wenbiao.
With all due respect, Zhang Wenbiao is a traitor with obvious ambitions. How can I think of His Majesty? He wanted to imitate Cao Cao's story, coercing the emperor to order the princes, and pushed his majesty into a dangerous situation, becoming the target of public criticism in the world, but he was reaping the benefits with evil intentions.
Just like in the previous battle of Tanzhou, I wiped out Zhang Wenbiao's 150,000 troops in one fell swoop, but Zhang Wenbiao had ulterior motives and put the blame on His Majesty, making His Majesty blame himself and act so shamelessly. When the late emperor was still alive, he often praised His Majesty for his intelligence. How could His Majesty be so wise that he could be confused by Zhang Wenbiao's insidious behavior? "
Li Congjia frowned and said nothing. Li Yuan specifically criticized Zhang Wenbiao in a letter and blamed all his faults on Zhang Wenbiao. This surprised Li Congjia. After all, he and Li Yuan had an sworn hatred for his wife. But Li Yuan didn't seem to care about the past at all, and he magnanimously didn't even mention it.
"Your Majesty, I had no choice but to establish a kingdom in Chu and proclaim myself emperor. Because the King of Yan colluded with foreign enemies and tried to bring chaos to the country, the officials and people lost trust in the court, and Chu was almost in chaos. Under such circumstances, I must not He did not risk the power of the world and took risks. He took risks and ascended the throne, putting himself in a position where the world was looking at him. He was just to stabilize the people's hearts and stabilize the country. The minister was given a bad reputation, but in fact he had good intentions and was the plot of the Tang Dynasty.
The more important reason is that I cannot bear to see the Tang Dynasty controlled by Zhang Wenbiao. However, His Majesty was coerced by Zhang Wenbiao to proclaim himself emperor, and the ministers were unwilling to allow this traitor to seek the country. They could not bear to see Your Majesty being humiliated in Yangzhou, so they had to ascend the throne as emperor to counter Zhang Wenbiao's harm to the Tang Dynasty.
In fact, as far as I am concerned, whether the late emperor is the emperor or His Majesty is the emperor, I am willing to be loyal to you, because you and I are all members of the Li Tang royal family. No matter who is the emperor, it is reasonable for the subjects, and I am also your Majesty’s imperial uncle! Uncle and nephew are one family. Aren't you closer to your majesty than Zhang Wenbiao? "
"Therefore, although I have raised an army to fight with Your Majesty today, I do not show any disrespect to Your Majesty. I am attacking Zhang Wenbiao, not His Majesty. Your Majesty, please think about it. The late emperor has passed away, and only Your Majesty is left as the prince. Who will be the emperor in the future? ?The Tang Dynasty is not yours yet.
This is also the reason why I and Chu State only dare to use Chu as their country's name, but never dare to stand on their own under the name of Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty, why should you and I go to war and kill each other to the death? "
"Having said this, if Your Majesty still cannot tolerate me, then I have nothing to say. It is true that I have been disrespectful to Your Majesty before, and some of my actions have also made Your Majesty suspicious. But I am as loyal as the sun and the moon, Your Majesty Whether you doubt it or not believe it, I can't change it, but let the facts speak for themselves.
This time I came to the city, I could have conquered Yangzhou in one fell swoop, but I didn't do that. Because the purpose of the troops coming to Yangzhou City is not to invade Yangzhou and threaten His Majesty.
The minister has only one purpose, and that is to kill the rebels. I want to remove Zhang Wenbiao, the chief culprit who caused all the chaos in our Tang Dynasty, so that Your Majesty can escape from this person's control.
As soon as Zhang Wenbiao died, I led my troops south to attack Jiangnan and regained Jinling. After that, I abdicated and took the title of my country. I will tell the people of the world that I am willing to support your majesty as the only emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the sole lord of the world.
If Your Majesty is still wary of me, I can retire to the mountains and forests and no longer hold any position. After I put down the rebellion, killed all the rebellious officials and traitors, and calmed down the disputes, I felt relieved. I became worthy of the late emperor's kindness to me. I resigned and retired to seclusion with no regrets. "
"Your Majesty, if I don't kill Zhang Wenbiao, I will never retreat. I don't want to attack the city unless I have to do it. I have confessed my feelings and hope that your majesty will think twice. I respectfully await your majesty's decision. Li Yuan nodded. Bow down, long live your majesty."
Li Congjia sat there in a daze, his brows twisted into a knot...
In the evening, Zhang Ji received Li Congjia's order to summon him to the palace. Zhang Ji hurried to the palace. The chamberlain told Zhang Ji that His Majesty was at Concubine Jing's residence and asked Zhang Ji to meet him at Concubine Jing's place.
Concubine Jing was the title of Zhang Jie's sister. When he heard that His Majesty was about to summon him at his sister's residence, Zhang Jie smelled something unusual, and he hurried to the harem under the guidance of his chamberlain.
Concubine Jing's residence was the palace residence of the former Empress Zhong of the Tang Dynasty. It was originally an elegant, quiet and clean place. However, after Concubine Jing married Li Congjia and moved in, all the original resting furnishings were removed, including several lush flowers in the yard. All the roots were dug up and planted with the vegetation that Concubine Jing liked. The colors of the corridors, pavilions and pavilions have also been changed again. A simple and elegant place is now magnificent and golden, exuding an oppressive aura of luxury.
Zhang Ji entered the Nuan Pavilion on the west side and waited. Soon after, Concubine Jing came to the Nuan Pavilion. According to the rules, Zhang Jie first greeted his sister, and then Concubine Jing gave the courtesy of brother and sister.
"Your Majesty is taking a bath and will come to see brother soon. Taking this opportunity, my little sister came to talk to brother. How is brother? How is sister-in-law?" After sitting down, Concubine Jing asked with a smile.
Zhang Jie smiled and said: "I am still the same, Concubine Jing, don't worry. Your sister-in-law is also the same, she just misses you so much."
Concubine Jing said with a smile: "I'll just invite my sister-in-law to the palace to talk some other time. But brother, don't overwork yourself. Someone will do the things in the court, so why do you have to fight so hard."
Zhang Jie frowned and said, "Did you hear something? Have I ever fought so hard with someone?"
Concubine Jing sighed: "Brother, why do you need to hide it from me? Don't I know? His Majesty also said a few words openly and secretly that my little sister is not a fool. There is a discord between brother and Prince Huai, so there is no need to hide it."
Zhang Ji was stunned for a moment, then whispered: "I'm not fighting for myself, little sister, you don't know the dangers of the court. I, Zhang Ji, took huge risks to get where I am today, and little sister, you have this tranquility." The title of concubine, but do you think it is so easy to gain a foothold in the court? If I don't fight today, I will soon be ostracized by Zhang Wenbiao and even kicked out of the court in the future. How can you understand these things? "
Concubine Jing sighed softly: "I don't understand these things, and I don't want to know. But the current situation is extremely dangerous. Shouldn't we work together to deal with the outside world? Hundreds of thousands of Chu troops are approaching the city outside the city. Your Majesty has trouble sleeping and eating. At this time Brother, it’s better not to annoy His Majesty anymore.”
Zhang Jie nodded and said: "I have my own sense of discretion, so don't worry, Madam. By the way, do you know why Your Majesty summoned me?"
Concubine Jing pondered for a moment and waved her hand.
After the two palace maids exited the door, Concubine Jing whispered: "I came to see your brother first just to tell him so that he knows what he is aware of. This afternoon, Your Majesty received a message from Li Yuan outside the city. Letter. I also read that letter. The general meaning is that the Chu army came to the city this time to kill the culprit, not to embarrass His Majesty. The letter said that as long as Your Majesty agrees to his request and kills the evil thief, Chu The army will retreat."
Zhang Jie said in astonishment: "Kill the evil thief? Who is the evil thief? Is it me?"
Concubine Jing burst into laughter and said, "Brother, you are too worried. How talented is your official? Why would Li Yuan target you?"
Zhang Jie's face turned red and he said in a deep voice: "Brother, you are not overly concerned. You don't know the inside story. Let's not mention that the whole world knows that I am His Majesty's confidant. Let's talk about the things His Majesty did in Langzhou in the past. Li Yuan is now the king of a country, and the army is approaching the city, how can he let me go? That's why I am very nervous."
Concubine Jing sighed: "Brother, if you do good deeds, don't ask about your future. You were originally a talented man who studied the books of sages. Why did you commit such crimes in the past -"
Zhang Jie said angrily: "We are originally a family of ordinary people. If I didn't go to such great lengths to invite the Holy Favor, would you be able to marry the emperor and become his concubine? You are here to blame me."
Concubine Jing was stunned for a long time and whispered: "My little sister doesn't want to be this powerless concubine."
Zhang Jie hurriedly shouted in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense. If word spreads, you will be finished."
Concubine Jing sighed and frowned. Zhang Jie said: "Don't think too much, think of some means to make His Majesty unable to leave you. If you have a prince in the future, the mother will be more valuable than the son, and you will get ahead, you know?"
Concubine Jing frowned and said nothing. Zhang Jie didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he asked in a low voice: "I wasn't the one who wrote the evil poem, was it Zhang Wenbiao?"
Concubine Jing nodded and said: "That's him. Then Li Yuan wrote in the letter that if Your Majesty can kill King Huai, he will immediately withdraw his troops, recognize Your Majesty as the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and even be willing to abdicate and take the title of his country. His purpose is We must eliminate the chief culprits of rebellion so that His Majesty can independently take charge of the affairs of the Tang Dynasty in order to repay the kindness of the late Emperor."
Hearing this, Zhang Jie sneered and said: "If that's true, that would be great. I'm afraid Zhang Wenbiao is dead this time, and no one can save him."
Concubine Jing frowned and said, "Brother, do you believe what Li Yuan said? Even my little sister thinks that letter is just for estrangement."
Zhang Ji said coldly: "You are right. Of course what Li Yuan said is false, but even if it is false, I will make it true. This is the best opportunity to get rid of Zhang Wenbiao. This person is not Otherwise, I will be destroyed in his hands in the future. Not to mention that he held the emperor hostage to order the princes. If Li Yuan hadn't invaded this time, I'm afraid he would have killed the emperor and usurped the throne..."
