The three princes are fighting among themselves. Bribing the princes and officials of each county requires a lot of gold and silver. The salary from the court alone is far from enough. Whether it is the current prince or the previous prince, there are many shady people. income.
When Chu Wen was in power, he didn't dare to do many things too obviously, and most of them were done secretly. Since the last big cleanup, the princes no longer had any scruples. Some bandits killed people and stole goods. As long as they gave enough money, they would do it. It will not attract the attention of the government, and officials at all levels in the prefecture and county can benefit from it, and no one will make any noise.
It doesn't matter once or twice now and then. As time goes by, the whole county is full of bandits and bandits, and there is no room for the people to survive. People's resentment is everywhere, and it is useless to go to the county government office. Gradually, the people understand that these things Most of them were done by the government, and there were even government soldiers pretending to be robbers to earn dirty money.
In some prefectures and counties, because their owners increased taxes a lot, siphoned off the people's wealth, and amassed money crazily, all walks of life in the prefectures and counties were unable to operate and closed down one after another. These prefectures and counties were overthrown by the people and incorporated into the Northern Territory Allied Forces.
For example, Li Zheng, the head of the Baichuan Mansion, Wang Xuewen, the head of the Beijun Mansion, and Zhou Hao, the head of the Mobei Mansion, who just took office, have added dozens of new official taxes, construction taxes, protection taxes, etc. upon their arrival. When he was captured from the government office, he was still covered with a gold-threaded quilt. He kept cursing the common people for being so bold and that they should punish the nine tribes.
There are also some prefectures, such as Huang Hao of Wencheng Prefecture, who have orderly governance and do not collude with others, but they are deliberately targeted by Zhou Hao and others. Not only do they impeach him, but they also suspect him of colluding with bandits. Huang Hao also complained, but he was punished by the prince. After calling him back, he ignored him and was often scrutinized by officials from various ministries. Fortunately, Huang Hao was usually cautious and did not find any problems, so he is now stable.
When everyone around you is greedy and you are not greedy, you will not survive! Many prefectures and counties that were usually well-governed also surrendered to the Northern Territory Alliance for this reason.
For a time, most of the northern territory fell into the hands of the enemy. Liu Cheng no longer had any thoughts of intrigues. He summoned officials at all levels and organized troops to move south to ensure that there would be no betrayal in other prefectures.
It's not that Liu Cheng didn't know about the bandits among the people, but he turned a blind eye. It is impossible for a new king to take office without his own courtiers, so Liu Cheng has always encouraged the prince to bribe his courtiers, whether it is the previous prince or the current prince.
The lost hearts and minds are irreparable. Liu Cheng introduced many new policies to crack down on banditry, reduce taxes, and increase recruitment pay, but it was too late.
Fortunately, the Northern Territory Allied Forces did not rush south. Instead, they integrated and deployed the northern prefectures to capture the bandits on the run and killed them all to great satisfaction.
The main person who caused the betrayal of the Northern Prefecture was Li Jun. He first persuaded Huang Hao of Wencheng Prefecture and met many palace lords through Huang Hao. People like Huang Hao who had empty ambitions but were unable to implement them, then relied on three Their persuasive words made these people feel rebellious, and then they were defeated by the Iron Curse of the Four Directions and took advantage of the situation.
The north then implemented a meritocracy system. Talents from all parties were directly appointed to officials after being identified. The decision was entirely based on talent and character, and Li Jun was responsible for review. Many failed talents from the Destiny Wushuang Society have gone north to seek refuge. These people are truly talented and have the world at heart. The top three in the Destiny Wushuang Society is just a joke!
There were more soldiers in some prefectures and counties near Wushuang City, and with the presence of the Tianwei Army, there was no commotion, but people were still panicking, fearing that the rulers would change overnight.
Qiao Chu returned in defeat, but Liu Cheng did not punish him. Instead, he asked Qiao Chu to temporarily take the position of personal bodyguard like Lu Yu. The lives of others are never as important as his own. How much protection from two great masters can make Liu Be more at ease.
A few days before the court, the ministers under the Long case were helpless. Even the always resourceful Sangong chose to remain silent. This made Liu Cheng angry and the prince frightened.
"You bunch of losers, you usually enjoy being ostentatious and sensible, why are you silent now?"
Liu Cheng didn't notice that not only today, but since the day Qi Ping'a was killed, they had learned to remain silent.
Who doesn't want to keep his official title? Who is willing to ask for life for the people?
Liu Cheng glanced around, but no one answered. He could only point at the prefect Li Wei and angrily said: "You said, if you can't tell me, you won't have to come to court again in the future!"
Li Wei stood up solemnly, "Your Majesty, the two hundred prefectures and counties in the north have betrayed, and their foundation is false. Most of them are just grassroots. The Northern Territory Allied Forces only have a main force of 1.5 million, and they cannot control such a wide area. , we only need to attack the east and west, and comprehensively attack the border counties, so that they can't look at each other. As time goes by, they will withdraw their troops sooner or later if their food and grass supplies are insufficient!"
Finally, someone said something decent, and Liu Cheng felt that this plan was feasible, so he calmed down a little and sat back on the throne.
Taifu Taibao Dongcheng also stood up at this time, "Your Majesty, even if we lose the Sifang and Iron Curse, as well as the Dragon Formation and Hundred Beasts, the main force can compete with us, not to mention the two million Tianwei Army. , coupled with the nearby government troops, there should be tens of millions of troops, and holding them back should not be a problem. We will immediately increase our recruitment efforts, expand the Tianwei Army, and occupy the terrain. After a long time, the enemy army does not have enough supplies and will be defeated. It’s just a matter of time!”
"Well, I'll do as you say. I'll leave all the authority over this matter to you, including the mobilization of military power!"
After the imperial edict was issued, officials at all levels immediately took action. Although the Qi Dynasty was deeply decadent, it had been prosperous for thirty years. The family was rich and concentrated most of the wealth in Kyushu. With money, you can do many things and attract many people. People who work hard for money.
The prince who was in charge of the dynasty was already frightened by this situation. He thought that he could sit on the throne of God without any trouble, but the whole dynasty was suddenly in turmoil, so that he did not dare to say a word in the court.
The Three Dukes' plan was good, and the emperor agreed with it, and officials at all levels cooperated very well. The recruitment was carried out quickly. However, unexpectedly, the originally stable Northern Territory Allied Forces suddenly galloped straight towards Wushuang City.
The Northern Territory Allied Forces were not prepared to fight a war of attrition at all. One million and a half million troops marched south, causing the policy just formulated by the imperial court to immediately turn into bubbles. The heads of the various prefectures and prefectures quietly returned to their government offices, claiming illness and withdrawing from the imperial court in time. Withdraw or surrender.
Everyone pushed against the wall. These palace masters who were promoted by the prince and the former prince had no loyalty at all. They were more concerned about their own future and interests.
Liu Cheng was also a little panicked, and hurriedly asked Li Wei to find a way to delay the coalition forces, and even began to make an evacuation plan.
A large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, and antiques were sold into silver notes so that they could be easily carried when traveling. Under the haste and confusion, Li Wei hurriedly ordered the remaining two main armies to fight, but he did not expect that Si Yeqi would not obey the order at all. The Hundred Beasts Temple had even contacted the Northern Territory and stood aside to watch.
The only army that could still be ordered was led by Li Cheng. Without Long Yu, the Dragon Formation was dispersed by the Northern Territory Allied Forces in less than three rounds. Some fled and others surrendered. The actual combat power was not so inferior. Attack, but the Dragon Formation army has been led by Long Yu for many years. Suddenly the commander turned rebellious. Many people could not accept it and had already lost their fighting spirit. Not to mention that not everyone was a fool. Several generals died suddenly, but there were still some clues left. down.
Along the way, the number of the Northern Territory coalition forces not only did not decrease, but continued to increase. Some older people saw that the Qi Dynasty had collapsed, and they hoped that the Northern Territory could unify Kyushu as soon as possible, and the future of the province would fall into the war-torn era many years ago.
The Wei Tianjun under the rule no longer dared to fight, and guarded outside Wushuang City, trying to rely on the terrain of Wushuang City to defend the last capital.
Wushuang City is very large, larger than ordinary prefectures and counties. It has sufficient resources and arable land. Liu Cheng believes that as long as the city is not breached, it can still hold on for a while.
Before the Northern Territory Allied Forces reached Wushuang City, the surrounding prefectures and counties had been abandoned. All the soldiers who could obey orders were gathered inside and outside Wushuang City to protect Liu Cheng, who had been the emperor for more than thirty years.
This was the first time in history that such an order had been given. The enemy had given away the territory before it could be captured. The civilian emperor Liu Cheng, who fought out the enemy one by one, actually made such a stupid decision.
The records in future history books will only be a bait for future generations to laugh.
The person involved, Liu Cheng, didn't know or didn't care how the history books evaluated him. He was more worried about his waning life, this hard-earned imperial life.
The only advantage of abandoning the surrounding prefectures in advance is to buy some time. The Weitian Army deployed countless hidden arrows outside the walls of Wushuang City, increasing the thickness of the city wall. Two million people, plus the tens of meters high of Wushuang City. The city wall looks a bit like an iron wall.
Perhaps fear will fade after a long time, and like other emotions, it will become blurred and weakened due to time.
Liu Cheng has been in a state of fear since he failed to siege Long Yu. Now that he is about to face the desperate situation of approaching the city, the silent fear has weakened, so that he can fall asleep early before night falls.
Whether he could sleep or not, he felt sad and lonely, but he couldn't sleep and slept. The deadline had come. Liu Cheng slept peacefully, but he forgot how many things he had done and how many people he had killed in the night.
In the inner courtyard of the palace, in an unknown side hall, two uninvited guests were welcomed.
Personal bodyguards Lu Yu and Qiao Chu carry swords.
Lu Yu gently knocked on the palace door, and a voice came from inside the door: "Nothing is wrong!"
Lu Yu replied: "The emperor's order!"
There was a slight creak, and the palace door was opened.
"Why is it Mr. Lu?"
"Master Zhao, are you here? Your Majesty has an order!"
"Please!" Inside the hall was a man dressed entirely in black, who ushered Lu Yu and Qiao Chu in.
The man in black opened an underground passage, walked down, and came to a huge secret room.
Liu Cheng established an assassination team, with five hundred little masters all in this secret room, and their leader was Zhao Mu, who only obeyed the emperor's orders.
When Zhao Mu saw Lu Yu and Qiao Chu, he frowned and asked, "Why are you two adults here? You and I always have a different division of labor. What orders do you need to convey in person? Where is Yu Wan?"
Lu Yu: "Due to personal reasons, Yu Wan will no longer serve as Mie's liaison. From now on, he will be directly led by us!"
"Led by you directly?" Zhao Mu was very doubtful about this order. When the establishment was first destroyed, the emperor personally issued the order and only obeyed the emperor's orders. There was something fishy about this!
"Where's the imperial edict?" Zhao Mu didn't believe it, so he wanted to check the imperial edict. If it was false, there must be no imperial edict, not to mention that he had never seen the imperial edict for so long.
"This is the imperial edict!"
Said Lu Yu took out a pair of yellow scarves from his arms and handed them to Zhao Mu.
"Is there really an imperial decree!?"
