Recently, an image has been spreading quietly throughout the capital, and I don’t know where to start. The image depicts a man named "King" standing under a tree, and a knife named "Ming" hangs from the branch directly above his head, as if it could fall at any time.
The old beggars gathered the children on the roadside, stuffed a candy in each hand, and taught them the so-called "nursery rhyme": "The five tigers are not tolerant to the cold and vow to cause trouble in Chang'an. They advise you to disperse early and end the human habitation early..." "
These twenty words were like a snowball, rolling all over the capital, making people panic. Some wealthy businessmen jointly wrote a brochure and sent it to the palace, asking the court to come forward and explain.
Under the arrangement of Zhang Qingmeng, an emergency court meeting was held. Fearing that the ministers' carriages and horses would be slow, someone was specially sent from the Long Yun Department to respond. The speed was shocking.
"The Emperor has arrived, all the ministers have entered the palace——"
Civil and military officials held wat tablets and entered the Xuanzheng Hall in rows. Snowflakes were falling and the misty weather made people extremely depressed. After kneeling and worshiping, all the ministers followed the steps and stood respectfully at His Highness, waiting for the emperor's words.
Tai Buran glanced at Prince Zheng beside him uneasily. After receiving a nod of approval, he plucked up the courage to ask the people below the steps: "People in the capital have been uneasy recently. Those wealthy businessmen want to ask for an explanation on behalf of the people... What is going on outside the palace?" What happened? I have no idea. I hope you all will come up with a good countermeasure to reassure the people."
The ministers below the steps were coy and coy, and countless eyes collided with each other, looking back and forth. The atmosphere in the Xuanzheng Hall seemed to be colder than outside.
At this time, Chen Sheng walked out slowly: "Your Majesty, it's just because of a portrait and four nursery rhymes."
"What does this mean?" Tai Buran waved his dragon sleeves.
Chen Shuai took out the image from his sleeve, presented it, and continued: "The nursery rhyme goes: 'The five tigers cannot bear the cold and vow to cause trouble in Chang'an. I advise you to disperse early and stop the human habitation early.'"
"I am young and ignorant, so please give me some advice..."
Chen Sheng leaned over and saluted: "The so-called 'Five Tigers' correspond to the sworn brothers of the King of Jin in Bingzhou. The following sentences should correspond to the painting - the one in Jing is Chang'an, and the one in Bing is Bingzhou. Bingzhou is condescending, The eye on the imperial capital is like a sharp sword in the picture. I think it was Emperor Taizu who protected me and relied on the picture to remind His Majesty."
The eyes of all the ministers suddenly focused on him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Duan Chongwen hurriedly walked to the emperor: "What Master Chen said is absolutely true! In my opinion, if he is not ready, he should be attacked immediately!"
The ministers suddenly realized that these two people were die-hard King Zheng's party, so their words represented King Zheng's thoughts. But at this time, Zhang Qingmeng's expression was as calm as water, silently looking at the two people below.
"This must not be done!" A loud roar echoed in the palace, and Zeng Shilu, the head of the Ministry of Rites, jumped out to object: "Your Majesty, the King of Jin has made outstanding achievements in guarding the border. How can you believe the rumors in the market and go to war?"
This sentence was like a heavy artillery piece, and all of a sudden the ministers exploded. The ministers discussed this issue fiercely. What did Zhang Qingmeng mean? Why didn't he propose it himself, but let his minions take the lead in explaining why Zeng Shilu dared to go against King Zheng?
Duan Chongwen pointed at Zeng Shilu and said angrily: "It is already known to everyone that the King of Jin supported his own troops and lived alone in the north to be independent. Why should there be rumors in the market?"
Zeng Shilu refused to give in: "Since Mr. Duan admits that this is a 'market rumor', why did he bring it to the court to deceive the emperor?"
"When did I deceive the Holy Emperor? The King of Jin occupies an exclusive position and is condescending, facing the capital. If he does not send troops at this time, will he have to wait for them to sharpen their swords faster so that they can chop our necks?"
"My lord, there is no need to be excited." Zeng Shilu smiled: "What your lord must mean is: 'The King of Jin has begun to take shape', but it is actually completely baseless. Now that the world is at peace, could it be that your lord is just rekindling the crime with an 'unfounded' charge?" Has the war caused countless people to suffer?"
The debate between Duan Chongwen and him gradually fell into a disadvantage, and Chen Sheng quickly stepped forward to rescue him: "Master Zeng, didn't you hear: 'Everything will be successful if it is forewarned, and it will be ruined if it is not forewarned.' The ambition of the King of Jin is not trivial. Don't you and I know this?" ? What if the King of Jin leads his troops into the capital in the future, and we are unprepared? Wouldn’t this be the 'Bing' knife in the picture stabbing into the skull?"
Wang Zhan, the Qintian Supervisor, quickly walked out and objected: "Your Majesty, I watched the stars last night and found that the star in the north was bright and unstoppable. If we insist on sending troops, it will be detrimental to our side."
Chen Sheng turned around and said, "The celestial phenomena are constantly changing. How can we rely on paranoia? If we have to rely on the celestial phenomena for everything, what use are we waiting for all the officials in the court?"
"Master Chen is right!" Lu Qu, the Minister of War, smiled maliciously: "In that case, we will not talk about the stars, but only talk about the practical issues of sending troops today. It has just entered winter, how can the soldiers in the Central Plains endure the severe cold in the north? ? This is one of them; five years have passed, the world is extremely peaceful, and armaments are lax. If you send troops hastily, it will be a disaster for yourself. This is the second one. How could the nursery rhymes and portraits spread in the suburbs of Beijing happen to be such a coincidence? This is the third case of deliberate forgery by people with ulterior motives in order to confuse the imperial court into sending troops. Mr. Chen has always been smart, so why do you need to talk too much when you are lowered?"
The most important thing is the third sentence. He focused all his attacks on Chen Sheng. Officials in the court and the government started talking about it. They began to doubt the authenticity of the nursery rhyme and the portrait. For a moment, Chen Sheng was on the passive side of the debate.
Chen Sheng took a long breath: "In the past, when Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty was in power, he did not pay attention to the meaning of nursery rhymes, which led to the disaster of Wang Mang usurping the throne. Today, the meaning is so clear, but Lu Shangshu insists on distinguishing the authenticity, thereby causing confusion. Aren’t these state affairs unreasonable?”
Lu Qu said with a smile: "What does the Emperor of Zhou think of 'If you surrender, the Kingdom of Zhou will be destroyed'? What does the First Emperor think of 'The one who will destroy Qin is Hu Ye'? They are all based on their superficial meanings. It's a big mistake, but I didn't know it meant something else. If the nursery rhyme is true, all officials in the court should discuss its true meaning together, and one or two villains must not be allowed to use it to bring harm to the country. What does Mr. Chen think?"
Just as the debate between the two parties was reaching a fever pitch, Zhang Qingmeng coughed lightly, and the entire court fell silent for an instant.
"Your Majesty, we will discuss this matter another day." Zhang Qingmeng put down these words and ordered people to take the young emperor back from the dragon throne, leaving only a group of doubtful ministers.
At Prince Zheng's Mansion
Chen Sheng, Duan Chongwen, Yu Jitao, and Gao Chou gathered here. Zhang Qingmeng closed the doors and windows, and after making sure that no one was prying, he calmly said to the four of them: "Today, the lonely king in the court is just a test." I didn’t expect there to be so many opponents based on my tone of voice.”
Yu Jitao waved his sweet-scented osmanthus folding fan: "Your Majesty, a few officials dare not go against you. There must be someone behind them."
"This Lu Qu is really an opponent. If the king doesn't stop, I really don't know how to deal with it..." Chen Sheng wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Zhang Qingmeng nodded: "I think so too, there must be a powerful force behind them. If King Gu guessed correctly, it must be the Wei family."
"Indeed, I have seen these three people entering and exiting the Wei Mansion many times, and they have close contacts with Wei Zhongcheng, Vice-President of Wei..." Duan Chongwen analyzed, stroking his beard.
Chen Shuai said with dissatisfaction: "What on earth are those Shangguan family doing? They said they are our allies, but they didn't say a word when they arrived at the court!"
"Shangguan Qing has been ill for many days, otherwise this person would be a sharp sword. As for the other members of the Shangguan family, I am afraid they are also seeking good things from both sides." Yu Jitao said.
Duan Chongwen raised his hand and asked: "I still have one thing that I don't understand. Why is it that no one from the Wei family is going to fight? They will only send people privately. What does this mean?"
"How dare they confront the king head-on?" Gao Chou smiled sinisterly: "They knew that the men and horses in Bingzhou could not resist King Zheng's cavalry at all, so they insisted on resisting the war in order to continue to preserve their strength and occupy a certain say in the court. .”
"Now that the influence of each party's attitude is clear, I hope you will make good plans for the next step. As for forging nursery rhymes and pictures, you must not avoid it, so that you will not be suspected." Yu Jitao said to everyone.
The others bowed respectfully and left first. Only Zhang Qingmeng and Yu Jitao were left in the whole room.
"Military advisor, in fact, the lonely king doesn't have much confidence in conquering Bingzhou..."
"Don't worry, my king. If we conquer Bingzhou, General Gao Yu must be the commander. General Gao Yu has a high prestige, is brave but not reckless, and is good at listening to his subordinates. This will have a great effect on Pingbei." Yu Jitao Put away the osmanthus folding fan.
"This expedition to merge the states is of great importance. I hope that the military advisor will follow us personally to ensure there is no danger."
What Zhang Qingmeng is worried about is that once the Battle of Bingzhou fails miserably, its unification strategy will be completely shattered, and the Wei family's voice will be greatly increased, and it may even completely affect the government. In more serious cases, the princes of the world may attack him.
"What King Zheng said is absolutely true, but if Ji Tao goes there, he must bring someone with him..."
"who?"
Yu Jitao smiled slightly: "King Zheng, do you still remember the veteran Zuo Wen who blocked us at Sanqin Pass? This man has passed the Fourth Dynasty. Although he is in the year of the Zang Dynasty, he is as strong as an ordinary man. .”
"What's the use of this person?"
"In the past, when Emperor Tai Lei was in power, Wei Hua was just a junior general under Zuo Wen. Zuo Wen defeated the Anjiwa people in Bingzhou many times. I think he knows the situation and geography of Bingzhou better than I do. How can we not use such talents? "
"But Zuo Wen was escorted to the countryside by me, and he has long held a grudge against me. How could he come out to help?"
After hearing this, Yu Jitao looked at him up and down, as if he was hinting at something. After a while, he spoke:
"Don't you, Your Majesty, hear the allusion of 'Kneel down three times to seek the wise'?"
