The capital of gods, Luoyang.
Since Pei Yuan was appointed as the right servant of Zhongshu, the minister of Luantai, the commander of the imperial guard Ma Bu, and the governor of all prefectures and counties in Zhili, Queen Cao Yanxi has done a big thing.
She handed over her second son, the eighth son of the emperor Zhang Xianzai, who was only three years old, to her sister, and her concubine Cao Yannai took her to Luoyang, the sacred capital.
After Cao Yannai arrived in Luoyang, martial law was immediately implemented in Ziwei Palace in Luoyang.
Luo Tongda, the prime minister during the period of Zhang Zhi's father Zhang Chengfeng, was in charge of the entire imperial guard work.
The city defense of Luoyang was put in charge of Cao Yanming, Duke of Ziting County, who had just resigned as the construction envoy of Shendu.
Eighty percent of the people used in this imperial guard system came from Helong, and of these eighty percent, more than sixty percent came from various families in the Guasha Laogui Rebel Army.
It can be said that except for people from the Lao Guiyi Army faction, it is impossible to get close to him.
At the same time, Cao Yannai also took Zhang Xianzai with him and lived in seclusion in Ziwei Palace.
The reason why Queen Cao Yanxi did this was because she saw the turbulent waves under the seemingly calm state.
In less than a year since Zhang Hao left Jingzhao Chang'an Prefecture and went to Chengtian Liangzhou Prefecture, Pei Yuan had done everything that could be called dangerous.
In some things, even Cao Yanxi felt that Pei Yuan went too far and played too much.
Tokyo, Kaifeng Prefecture
After Zhang Gao sent an angel to announce his appointment, everyone thought that Pei Yuan was going to be a treacherous minister with monopolistic power.
But on the contrary, Pei Yuan didn't make any movement at first, and even going to court seemed to be just perfunctory.
For two whole months, I didn't take any power or handle any major issues.
At first, everyone thought Pei Yuan was faking it, but seeing that he kept showing off for two months, many people believed it now.
There are private rumors that Pei Yuan has fallen out of favor a long time ago and was sent by the emperor to take the blame. Now he dares not do anything to protect himself.
Um! Very reasonable.
Now, the emperor is not here, and the "treacherous minister" who can be called the regent is frightened, so why not start having fun quickly?
All of a sudden, all kinds of ghosts and monsters came out, including the old martial arts who had failed after Zhang Shengren took over the Central Plains. Wubao Qiang suffered heavy losses. After the Qianzhuanghui was captured, the resentful Buddhist sects immediately began to act evil.
Then, Pei Yuan let them live freely for another month, and suddenly started Operation Thunder.
Pei Yuan used his authority to directly transfer the inspection department soldiers from Hezhong Prefecture and Shaanzhou Prefecture, as well as the guard troops from the two prefectures, to Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo. Arrests.
To be honest, an emperor like me, Zhang Shengren, came from an era when politics was relatively relaxed in later generations, and was not a strict king at all.
It can even be said that compared to the kings of previous dynasties, Saint Zhang was quite tolerant in terms of being a founding hero and a wise lord.
In terms of ranking, it is estimated that they will only be ranked behind Guangwu of Han Dynasty and Fu Jian of the former Qin Dynasty.
In this week, as long as you don't openly confront Zhang Shengren, don't violate the king's laws, or even don't jump out and do it yourself, Zhang Shengren rarely kills people, and rarely makes the people below him peaceful for the sake of PUA.
Is this style good?
Generally speaking, it is very good. You must know that since the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the sword handle has been the principle. The warriors from top to bottom (the emperor is also a warrior) will not reason with you at all. When encountering problems, they will just strike with a sword and bring down the entire society. It became a disease.
Therefore, Zhang Yan's tolerant style soon brought long-lost tolerance to this violent society.
This is also the reason why Zhang Zhang used the Donggui Sect and Lianglan Liugu Sect that entered the Central Plains to eat up most of the benefits of the old Hedong and Daibei Wuxun, but did not cause much turmoil.
Everyone is longing for a stable and well-regulated society.
However, there is no turmoil, and in this tolerant atmosphere, there are many crimes and violations of law and discipline.
Most people care about food but not fighting. After a few years of silence, these guys whose interests were harmed in the process of establishing the new dynasty began to take action.
Although he couldn't compete with the Conglong heroes from the Helong area, he had to find a place to make up for the losses he suffered.
If I can't defeat the heroes of Conglong, I can't defeat these Guizhou bosses below?
Therefore, when Pei Yuan arrived at Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo, he found that the social order of Zhang Zhou's dynasty had reached a point where it had to be reversed.
Although Zhang Xichong is strict, that is for an official. He has done a good job in terms of character and in supervising officials' work efficiency.
In the years since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial court has continued to conquer the north and south. In matters such as grain and grass baggage, the supply and deployment of mules, carriages and ships, Zhang Xichong provided perfect guarantees without making any mistakes.
It can even be said that with the assistance of Privy Councilor Guo Tiance, the Great Zhou Center built by Zhang Xichong is the most efficient and complete of the hundreds of power centers that have appeared since the Anshi Rebellion. The restriction of arrogant soldiers is also the most successful.
However, in other aspects, Zhang Xichong most likely deliberately ignored the large number of old and new ministers who were engaged in illegal activities, and the Hexi Chamber of Commerce, Qianzhuang Association, Buddhism, etc. that were encroaching on people's wealth.
Because his most important task at that time was to use the already insufficient finances to supply the army for the southern and northern wars.
So Pei Yuan knew what he should do, and then there was three months of fishing law enforcement, and then he started to close the net.
On June 11, Pei Yuan arrested a large number of the former Hedong Daibei Xun ministers who had occupied people's fields, robbed people's women, robbed shops, and even killed people.
For these people, Pei Yuan strictly followed the legal situation and punished them with hard labor and exile.
He even beheaded a few unlucky ones to scare the monkeys. Even Kang Concubine's cousin in the palace, who was Kang Fu's grandson, was sentenced to death.
You must know that Kang Fu was very kind to Zhang Yan in the past when he was weak. Kang Concubine was very beautiful, good at singing and dancing, and gave birth to a prince. She was also a very favored existence. Her cousin, Pei Yuan Kill when told, without blinking an eye.
On June 27, the father of Su Guogong Li Cunhui's concubine forcibly dismantled the waterwheels of the people along the Bian River due to irrigation problems. He also ordered his servants to kill one of the people and injured more than ten people.
Pei Yuan also mercilessly detained the idiot who was known as Su Guogong's father-in-law. The four thugs who killed and injured civilians were all executed directly.
In July, Pei Yuan instructed the left-behind personnel of Zhongshu Province and the Ministry of Rites to form the Inner Court Supervisory Yushi Yamen, and began to seize the Hexi Chamber of Commerce and Bankers Association for surprise audits and investigations.
In recent years, Zhang Zhou's Hexi Chamber of Commerce and Bankers' Association have almost been in a state of barbaric growth.
Because Zhang Zhi knew nothing about finance, and in order to raise money to fight wars and control various Buddhist sects in the Central Plains, he created banknotes and bank associations.
Until now, although the Hexi Chamber of Commerce and the Bank did make a great contribution to the court, their power had expanded to the point where they began to compete with the court's Ministry of Household Affairs for financial rights after Zhang Gao neglected to control them, and they were even called real by officials. Household Department.
Pei Yuan, on the other hand, cracked down on corruption, dereliction of duty, and competition with the government for profits among the Hexi Chamber of Commerce and Banks.
At the same time, he was also preparing to write a letter to Zhang Zhang to merge most of the functions of the Bank Association into the Transportation Department, and then merge it to form a new government office - the Gold, Silver, Salt, and Iron Transportation Department, which would be under the direct management of the Shangshu Province. The remaining small parts would simply become royal private property.
As for the Hexi Chamber of Commerce, Pei Yuan even suggested that some of its functions be abolished and merged into the Jinyi Guards.
As a result, for some unknown reason, this memorial was leaked before it was issued, immediately arousing huge opposition.
The leader of the Hexi Chamber of Commerce, Zhang Liecheng's father-in-law, Cao Wanjin, even publicly drew his sword and said that as long as Pei Yuan dared to send this memorial to Datian, he would come to fight with Pei Yuan to the death.
After Pei Yuan heard this, without saying a word, he immediately caught Cao Wanjin's youngest son's dirty hands and feet and sent him to prison. Cao Wanjin looked for someone everywhere in a hurry, but could not save his youngest son, and his reputation plummeted.
But from then on, Pei Yuan also needed heavy protection from soldiers when he went out.
Even at the court meeting, there were samurai guarding him with swords on his sides, otherwise he might be beaten, showing his true nature as a treacherous minister.
In August, when Zhang Yan was preparing to conquer the Eight Enemies, Pei Yuan started to attack Buddhism in the Central Plains again.
He first ordered eminent Buddhist monks from Zhili, Hebei, Hedong, and Jiaodong provinces to gather at Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo to chant sutras and pray for the Empress Dowager Cisheng in the name of the upcoming birthday of the Emperor's biological mother, the Empress Dowager Cisheng.
It is also clearly required that the abbots and heads of major temples in various places must come in person.
As a result, as soon as these eminent monks arrived, Pei Yuan immediately sent the elite cavalry from Hanhai Town, with the cooperation of Wuhou and patrol inspectors from various places, to conduct a surprise inspection on the status of moderate ultimatums in various temples.
This is to tune the tiger away from the mountain and add the black tiger to rip out the heart!
You must know that since the Anshi Rebellion, especially after Tang Wuzong destroyed Buddhism, the court has not issued ultimatums to monks at all.
As the imperial court's control weakened, many temples did not take the ultimatum seriously.
The actual situation now is that most temples, except for a small number of monks, do not have ultimatums at all.
So, in just over ten days, Pei Yuan had found out all the information about these large temples with more than 300 monks, and registered all the monks who did not have ultimatums.
Later, local governments were ordered to conduct an inventory of all temples within their jurisdiction. Even those with only three or five monks must be inspected.
Although Pei Yuan did not further announce what would happen to the monks who had not given ultimatums, all the major temples smelled an extremely ominous smell.
So soon, in response to the government's investigation of ultimatums, temples in the five provinces of Zhili, Hedong, Hebei, Jiaodong, and Jianghuai broke out in resistance and even armed rebellion.
The reason is simple. What kind of person needs to take the initiative to become a monk?
There are only two types, one is related to the temple. They actively donate their fields to the temple and pretend to be temple fields in order to pay less or even no taxes.
The other type is those who have committed crimes, and most of them are serious criminals. They may join Buddhism to avoid enemies, or to avoid the government, or even just to use their identity as monks as a cover to facilitate their travels.
This trend was very popular in the late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. Even in the Ming Dynasty, it was still a popular method to hide people's eyes. Just think about the routines of Lu Zhishen and Wu Song in Water Margin.
This isn't Buddhism, it's just a bandit's den.
Historically, before Guo Rong destroyed Buddhism, he specially formed a bodyguard, Ma Bu Qinjun, to replace the imperial army, which was mainly composed of warriors from Daibei and Hedong, whose military force began to weaken.
When recruiting brave men from all over the world to join the Mabu army, Guo Rong almost asked those hiding in the temple to come out and join him by name.
It was not until the weapons that relied on a large number of temples were basically disarmed that the smooth operation to exterminate the Buddha began.
In Zhang Zhou, the warriors Zhang Zhi brought from the Helong area were already very good at fighting, and they were followed by the Guanzhong Yi Cong composed of tens of thousands of Guanzhong men.
Although some pro-army and forbidden troops were later recruited in the Central Plains, the scale was not comparable to that of Guo Rong in history.
Moreover, here at Zhang Yan, the top martial arts positions have been fully booked for a long time, and their attractiveness is much lower than that of the later weeks in history.
Therefore, there are still many vicious people hiding in the countryside and major temples.
This is also the reason why Pei Yuan needs to mobilize soldiers from the inspection departments of Hezhong and Shaanzhou, which are close to Guanzhong, and troops from the state and county guards.
Because this is a tough battle, different from the security war fought by large corps.
In two months, the five provinces, from towns to countryside, were physically integrated.
Even the inspection department of the Inspection Department, the grassroots military attaché of Zhangzhou, killed seven people in the battle, which shows how fierce the battle was.
Of course, the most intense situation was still in Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo. One day ago, Pei Yuan took a carriage to go to the morning court. As a result, when he was about to reach the imperial city, a group of assassins suddenly appeared.
They are very skilled, have a clear division of labor, and are even equipped with Fuyuan crossbows.
A group of people held back Pei Yuan's guards, and several other sharpshooters armed with Fuyuan crossbows had already laid an ambush on the tall building. In just a few breaths, they fired six arrows in a row, all of which hit the carriage.
However, Pei Yuan, a thief who is accustomed to playing tricks on others, is naturally very careful.
He installed steel plates on both sides of the carriage, and wore more than twenty kilograms of chain mail made of twisted steel wire at all times. The number of accompanying soldiers who accompanied him usually started at thirty.
Of course, the outcome was that thirteen of the nineteen assassins were killed on the spot, and the rest were injured, so they probably couldn't run far away.
In an inconspicuous courtyard in Kaifeng Mansion, Tokyo, a tall young man slipped in very easily... through a very hidden dog hole at the base of the wall.
The posture is extremely smooth, and there is not even a lot of clay on the robe. It can be seen that he must have drilled it many times and is very skilled.
"Second uncle, we found out. Sure enough, three of the Fuyuan crossbows they used came from Hedong craftsmen. The place where they settled in Tokyo was a small businessman from Hebei. Everything seems to have nothing to do with Huainan or Huaibei."
The second uncle mentioned by the young man was suddenly Pei Yuan, the 'great traitor' who had just escaped assassination.
Pei Yuan snorted coldly, "It's too obvious. They never dreamed that in the black markets of Tokyo, Shendu, Zhengzhou, Guide, and Xuchang in Zhili, there could be decapitating devices like the Fuyuan Crossbow. , 50% are controlled by Jinyi's personal guards, and the remaining 40% are under the orders of Jinyi's personal guards.
No matter how they conceal their whereabouts, as long as they use the Fuyuan Crossbow, they cannot escape the surveillance of the court. "
The young man also smiled and said, "With the intelligence of Li Renshu, a Huaibei thief, he would not understand that the relationship between the second uncle and Cao Wanjin was just an act. The commander of the Jinyi Guards, Zhang Gong, did not want to get rid of the second uncle.
But the second uncle can't take such risks again in the future. If something goes wrong with you and we hear about Pei, we will really be in bad luck. "
Pei Yuan's slender and charming eyes showed a rare warmth, and he patted the shoulder of the young man in front of him.
"There are some things that only the second uncle can do. Saints have their own difficulties.
The purpose of this danger was to lure Li Renshu and the others out. These people were able to send Master Cixian to the Xiangji Temple where there were many guards in the dark. If they were not caught in one fell swoop, the saint's trip to Bozhou would be ruined. Extremely dangerous. "
After saying that, Pei Yuan seemed to be feeling a little emotional, "I'm so happy, Mr. Pei! In the great dynasty alone, there were seventeen prime ministers, and there were also peerless talents like Xiangong (Pei Xingjian). But now, you are the only one left." My uncle and nephew.
Zhongpu, if something goes wrong here, I will recommend you to the Zhongshu Province. With such an old face in the family, the saint will definitely take you with him.
Whether our Pei family can produce another Xiangong depends on you. "
There is a reason why Pei Yuan is so emotional. He dares to act so cruelly and stops doing many things only half way. This is obviously clearing the way for the emperor!
Therefore, those who are familiar with Emperor Zhang's character and are more politically sensitive know who is standing behind Pei Yuan. This is also an important reason why Pei Yuan is not opposed by everyone.
But after Pei Yuan did these things, even his father was afraid that Pei Yuan would implicate the Pei family, so he publicly stated that he had severed ties with him, and even ran back to Wenxi's hometown.
Among the dozens of Pei family members, the only one left with him was his cousin Pei Ji and Pei Zhongpu.
Pei Ji was overjoyed and kowtowed to Pei Yuan. He knew how rare this opportunity was. Many people kowtowed and broke their legs to find this way.
Serve directly at the side of the Holy Emperor! The uncle did not leave such an opportunity to his son, but left it to him, which was indeed a great kindness.
In history, Pei Ji was almost the last glory of the Wenxi Pei family. Wu Neng led the cavalry formation to kill thousands of Khitans, and Wen Neng stabilized the place and brought it to great rule.
He was also the last general of the Han family in Shuofang. He died in battle when Li Jiqian captured Lingzhou. After him, Shuofang returned to the hands of the Han people in the Zhu Hongwu period.
Pei Yuan helped Pei Ji up, then pulled out a short knife and handed it to Pei Ji.
"You can't do it yourself, come on!"
Fifteen-year-old Pei Ji shook his head violently, "Uncle, why do you need to do this? Nephew, don't go down and do it!"
"Of course you have to do a complete show. You have been practicing martial arts since you were a child, and you know the severity better than others. This strike must be very serious to outsiders. You will be unable to act for at least ten days. Hurry up and do it!"
Pei Yuan shouted, and Pei Ji burst into tears. After taking three or four deep breaths, he decided to stab Pei Yuan with a knife.
The smell of blood suddenly dispersed, and the sky turned white. A piece of news quickly spread throughout Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo.
Duke Pei Yuan of Zhao was assassinated and was seriously injured. He has not gotten up yet. Even the imperial physician from the palace rushed over.
As the news of Pei Yuan's injury spread, there were also surging waves that were already undercurrent.
The situation of the emperor's expedition to Mobei is unclear, the queen of the prison is panicking, and the ministers who have been ordered to do so are not sure whether they are alive or dead. This is the best time.
However, some people would not have thought that Pei Yuan's ultimate purpose in making waves was to muddy the water and allow some guys who had been hiding under the water to reveal their true colors, either actively or passively.
