Dong Tianxing asked Ma Hongjie very seriously, under what circumstances they could be loyal to the emperor without any worries.
Ma Hongjie said very frankly that they would be loyal to the emperor without any worries at any time.
Obviously, the emperor they two talked about was not the same thing at all.
When Dong Tianxing talks about getting the emperor, he refers to Li Bing; when Ma Hongjie talks about getting the emperor, he refers to Li Kuang or Li Bing.
Seeing that the other party was like this, Old Dong stopped pretending and pointed it out directly: "General Ma, why don't you accept the fact that the new king has succeeded to the throne and that the prince has become the emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty?"
Ma Hongjie seemed very calm: "Mr. Dong, we hold heavy troops and are powerful weapons for the country. We are really afraid of being deceived. In the end, it will destroy the foundation of Shengtang. You said that there is a succession edict, the prince has it, and the King of Huaiyang has it. Who is it? There are different opinions now about who is real and who is fake. To be honest, I have sent people to Yizhou to inquire. Some adults are absolutely sure about this, but some adults are deeply doubtful. Even the court is like this. You call us rough people. How can Han tell the difference?”
He paused briefly and continued: "You said that King Huaiyang rebelled. Yes, some of his previous actions were indeed taboo, but how can the prince be any better? Don't forget that back then, the Xuanjia Army was threatening In the imperial capital, there is conspiracy and chaos, and the prince openly stands with the rebel Xie Guang, and even the death of Commander He Jingming is inseparable from them!"
These words made Dong Tianxing a little speechless. Six years ago during the college military examination, the Xuanjia Army suddenly broke into the imperial capital and started a confrontation with the Qilin Army. He was at the Ministry of War at the time, and the feeling of shock and fear was still fresh in his memory. At that time, Lu Yaofeng, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, was a direct descendant of Xie Guang. He directly forced the officials of the Ministry of War to join forces. Dong Tianxing was almost killed by the rebels because he sternly refused on the spot.
At this time, Ma Hongjie brought up this old matter again. Even if Li Bing came in person, he might not be able to explain it clearly.
Dong Tianxing shook his head helplessly and tried his best to say: "What you said is indeed known to everyone, but the prince was still young at that time and was deceived and threatened by Xie Guang, so he inevitably went on the wrong track. Didn't the late emperor not hold him accountable? ?”
"Then who knows?" Ma Hongjie said coldly: "During the period when the prince was in charge of the country, Xie Guang's power grew stronger and stronger, and the management of Jinhe almost caused serious trouble. Although the prince was later placed under house arrest by the Xuanjia Army, there were rumors that that It was the unequal division of the spoils between him and Xie Guang that led to internal strife, which led to the final breakup, but it was not a battle between loyalists and traitors."
Old Dong's face darkened: "So you are determined not to recognize the emperor?"
Ma Hongjie waved his hand: "It's not that I firmly deny it. It's just that I can't tell whether it's right or wrong at the moment, so I'll take another look at it like I said today."
"Then tell me, what exactly are you looking for?" Dong Tianxing asked: "How can I make you sure who you should be loyal to?"
Ma Hongjie hesitated for a moment and gave his answer: "When it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake, there is only one way left, and that is whoever is qualified to be the emperor, we will support him."
Dong Tianxing was stunned: "You mean... let them fight?"
Ma Hongjie nodded bitterly: "The only thing we can do now is to be impartial and not help each other. Whichever side can prove that it really has the strength to be an emperor and can make Shengtang prosperous and powerful again, we will be loyal to whoever you want. We are now going north to join the war, which is indeed helpful in fighting foreign enemies, but it also means that we will become the army under the prince's command. Once he suddenly asks us to put down the Turks and turn around to fight the King of Huaiyang, what will we do? Will we disobey him?"
"I understand," Dong Tianxing said in a deep voice: "You are afraid that the emperor will seize military power in the name of crusade against the Turks, but in fact it is to eliminate the Huaiyang King. Therefore, you decided to hold your troops temporarily and let the emperor fight the civil war first. ?”
Ma Hongjie responded: "Although this is cruel, Shengtang has reached a time when it must face cruelty. It is uneasy internally and there is no way to fight against foreign enemies. Only one prince and King Huaiyang can be left, and then everyone can work together to fight against foreign enemies. .”
"It's ridiculous!" Dong Tianxing couldn't help but said angrily: "This is a fallacy! What do the Turks want to see most now? What they most want to see is a civil war in Shengtang, so that they can watch the fire from the other side and reap the benefits! It's better for you, You should cooperate with whatever the enemy thinks. Don’t you think the country is dying fast enough?!”
Ma Hongjie was still very stubborn: "We just don't want to be used by others and become a tool to harm Shengtang. Mr. Dong, I know that you are a gentleman and have a patriotic heart, but I also hope that you can be more sensible and see clearly the foundation of the dynasty. "
Dong Tianxing felt that Ma Hongjie was really unreasonable, and he also knew that this guy had already determined his inner thoughts, which would be difficult to change for a while, so he calmed down a little and said from a different angle: "General, you said your army is not I am willing to become a tool used by others and participate in the struggle for imperial power, but there is no problem in dealing with the Turks, right?"
Ma Hongjie looked at Dong Tianxing and nodded slightly: "Yes, it is our duty to resist foreign enemies."
"Well, let me ask you a question," Dong Tianxing said: "If the emperor agrees to give you full autonomy and only asks you to fight the Turks, will you be willing to go north?"
Ma Hongjie wondered: "What does autonomy mean?"
Dong Tianxing explained: "For example, the area where you are fighting only faces Turks; the emperor's decree for you is only for Turks; and your subordinates, whether they are appointed or dismissed, the emperor will not interfere at all. Your only mission is, It means blocking the enemy's invasion and at the same time cooperating with friendly forces to launch a counterattack, can you do it?"
Ma Hongjie thought about it seriously and said solemnly: "If we simply deal with the Turkic army, this is our duty. Even if we fight to the death, we have nothing to say."
Dong Tianxing took a long breath: "Okay, your words are enough. I will write a memorial immediately and report the matter to the emperor. But you have to promise me that once the emperor approves my suggestion, you must unconditionally Cooperate with me and persuade all the troops in the Jingxiang area to join the war against the Turks. If anyone refuses to obey, or plans to defect to the King of Huaiyang, you must take a resolute attitude and stop him together!"
Ma Hongjie slapped his chest: "I promise you! The Jingxiang army will not listen to the propaganda, but will only attack the Turks. Whoever dares to have different intentions, I will be the first to stand up and deal with him!"
-
After sending Ma Hongjie away, Dong Tianxing was about to write a memorial, but unexpectedly another visitor came.
This person is Feng Kun, the captain of Ezhou Zhechong whom he met outside the city today.
When Dong Tianxing saw it was him, he hurriedly let him in. While ordering his men to serve tea, he thanked Feng Kun repeatedly for his previous act of kindness.
Feng Kun said politely, saying that he had long disliked Huo Zhenyu's arrogance and domineering attitude. At the same time, he said that although he was in a humble position and had little power, he still had a loyal and patriotic heart and was willing to follow the emperor and fight against the enemy with all his strength.
Dong Tianxing greatly appreciated this and asked who else he could win over. Feng Kun seriously mentioned a few names, all of which were generals who had visited Lao Dong in the evening.
Dong Tianxing was a little curious and couldn't help but ask: "General Feng, why didn't you come with them?"
Feng Kun looked around and saw no one around, then lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Dong, I don't want to meet Huo Zhenyu. He has a conspiracy!"
"A trick?" Dong Tianxing was stunned: "What kind of trick?"
Feng Kun said: "This is why I came to find you late at night. Huo Zhenyu seems to have given in, but in fact he has other plans. He plans to lead his troops to surrender to the enemy!"
Dong Tianxing quickly asked: "Which side do you mean by surrendering to the enemy?"
"Which other side? Of course it's Huaiyang." Feng Kun said: "I'm afraid you don't know yet. Not long ago, King Li Kuang of Huaiyang sent a secret envoy to Xiangcheng. He originally planned to meet with the Prince of Anping County, but the old prince In order to avoid suspicion, I didn’t want to see them, so I asked my subordinate to contact them on my behalf. And the assigned subordinate was none other than Huo Zhenyu.”
Dong Tianxing's expression suddenly became tense: "You mean, Huo Zhenyu was instigated by the King of Huaiyang to rebel?"
Feng Kun nodded: "Nine times out of ten, that's the case. Moreover, I suspect that the death of Prince Anping is also related to Huo Zhenyu. He is a crony of the old prince, and he has the opportunity to get close to the prince and do evil things secretly. The truth of the matter is very likely However, Huo Zhenyu was bribed by the Huaiyang King's secret envoy and tried to persuade the Anping County Prince to support Li Kuang, but he was flatly rejected by the old prince, so he was tempted to kill."
Dong Tianxing had to pay attention to such important information. He pondered for a moment and asked, "How did you know that Huo Zhenyu planned to surrender to the enemy?"
"I paid attention to him early in the morning." Feng Kun explained: "Because the old prince's assassination made me suspicious, I sent someone to secretly monitor Huo Zhenyu's troops to see if they had any unusual behavior. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do it today. We rushed to help you out in time. In the afternoon, Huo Zhenyu's troops began to quietly gather, which looked very unusual."
Dong Tianxing asked: "How many troops does he have on hand?"
Feng Kun said: "Huo Zhenyu's direct troops are not many, only three thousand. But he is the commander of the Anping County Prince. This status can affect the entire Lingnan army. Many people do not know the truth and will be directly incited by him. .”
Dong Tianxing's face was full of worry. The Lingnan soldiers were Li Chenglin's direct lineage, with a total of 80,000 people. Once they rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, Jingxiang would fall into a melee in the blink of an eye.
He rubbed his hands and asked Feng Kun: "General Feng, do you have any good ideas now?"
Feng Kun gritted his teeth and said: "Strike first will gain the upper hand, and those who strike later will suffer disaster. For now, the only way is to get ahead of them and disarm all the Lingnan Mansion soldiers! Sir, think about it, you are the emperor's imperial minister, Huo Zhenyu will definitely want to take it." I will keep you here so that I can give it to the King of Huaiyang to ask for merit."
These words made Dong Tianxing even more nervous. He couldn't help but muttered: "I only have two hundred flying cavalry beside me. Not to mention fighting against the entire Lingnan army, even Huo Zhenyu's three thousand men and horses can't cope with it. General, how much power do you have, can you hold them down?" ?"
Feng Kun shook his head: "I can't. There are only 7,000 people in Zhechong Prefecture in Ezhou. They can at most suppress Huo Zhenyu's cronies. I can't do anything about the other Lingnan troops. Mr. Dong, please quickly inform the generals who support the emperor. Only they can turn the tide."
