A timely rain is enough to stabilize people's hearts. The subsequent news from various places is also gratifying, especially in Hebei, which is suffering from severe drought. The dry ditches everywhere are slowly filling up, and the dry fields and rice are absorbing the moisture.
Due to the drought, many field seedlings in Hebei were damaged, but this rain stopped a lot of losses. It can be said that the recurrence of famine was directly avoided.
"It is certainly a good thing to have rain after a long drought. However, it rains continuously for days and days, which may lead to waterlogging. We should lower the order and inform all the prefectures to be more vigilant to prevent floods. Especially in the counties and counties along the Yellow River, the embankments must be protected. , you need to be especially careful where there is a breach." In the palace, hearing that it was raining outside, Liu Chengyou said in a warning tone to a group of ministers.
"yes!"
"I am just happy that the rain has fallen from the sky, and I am really ashamed. But Your Majesty has considered Zhou Xiang's hidden worries and nipped them in the bud, which is admirable." Feng Dao sat on the side, bowed slightly, and complimented, but his tone Jian's approval is somewhat sincere.
The palace was well-equipped with civil and military personnel, including Wang Zhang, Guo Wei, Shang Hongqian, Li Hongxin, Feng Dao, Wei Renpu, and Yin Houyi of Kaifeng Prefecture, who was invited to attend, plus Fan Zhi.
These people basically include Zhongshu Menxia, Privy Council, Guards Department, Third Department and Kaifeng Mansion, which are the most important yamen of the Han Dynasty. They are also the backbone of the government. There were only a few people there, so it was obvious that there was something important to discuss. The most unexpected thing was that Yang Bin, who was the head of the civil servants, was not present at such an important meeting.
Others may be slower to react, but old foxes like Feng Dao have already smelled the unusual political signal.
After thinking about it for a while, Liu Chengyou calmed down and reported calmly: "I have called all the princes to come here, and there is nothing else to discuss. Li Shouzhen in the river is already rebelling, and the rebellion is imminent. The court should prepare a response."
News about the changes on Li Shouzhen's side came like flying, and they were submitted to Liu Chengyou's court case one after another. The sources were varied. The Military Intelligence Department under the Privy Council, the detectives from the Wude Department, Liu Chengyou's secret agents, reports from the surrounding garrison and garrison, and those from within the river who secretly conveyed their sincerity to the court.
What surprised Liu Chengyou was that Gao Congjie turned around and sold Li Shouzhen and sent his contact letter to Tokyo. It seemed that Gao Congjie was really ill. Otherwise, given Gao Laizi's past behavior, even if he did not cause trouble in the south, the matter of Li Shouzhen's contact would not have been in vain to the court.
Li Shouzhen believed that he had seen through the thoughts and plans of Liu Chengyou and the court, had a panoramic view of his actions, and was confident and possessed of wisdom. But he never expected that every move he made would be completely exposed in front of Liu Chengyou, without missing a beat.
"Your Majesty, Li Shouzhen believed in the lies of the sorcerers and was treacherous. He did not know the heavens and the power of heaven. He tried to lead troops into rebellion and plotted against the imperial court. In fact, he was destroying himself with eggs and stones." Feng Dao stood up first and expressed his severe condemnation of Li Shouzhen. despise.
Following closely behind him was Hou Yi. Seeing this veteran general, he said with some excitement: "Li Shouzhen is humble in nature. Although he is a veteran general, he is not accustomed to military service. His career on the battlefield is really unworthy of praise. He was in the river, claiming to be the commander of the army. Heroes gather people's hearts, but they are just a mixed crowd. How many people can die for them. Your Majesty and the court have been prepared for it for a long time, how can they succeed?"
Liu Chengyou nodded and gestured to Guo Wei: "Privilege Guo, please inform everyone about the situation in the river!"
"Yes." Guo Wei stood up and saluted, then turned sideways and said to the ministers present: "According to the investigation of the Military Intelligence Department, after the autumn, Li Shouzhen has gathered more than 20,000 Pu soldiers in Hedong City for day and night drills. This summer, Hezhong Prefecture has a good harvest. , Li Shouzhen concentrated on the people, which caused resentment among the soldiers and people in the river. According to the investigation, Li Shouzhen had nearly 100,000 stones of grain for new ministers in Canglin, the state capital, which was enough to support the soldiers and people of Hedong City for a year. "
"Recently, he has repeatedly summoned his subordinates to secretly discuss unruly things. His words are arrogant, he has no restraint, and he wants to do extraordinary things."
"In addition, in the past few months, Li Shouzhen sent envoys to contact Xue Huairang of Tongzhou and Hou Zhang of Huazhou to make an agreement to join the rebellion. He also conspired to connect Xiazhou and Khitan in the north, and Meng Shu and the puppet Tang Dynasty in the south. He wanted to use multiple forces to conspire. A big man. His snake-like heart and overwhelming ambition are ready to move."
After listening to Guo Wei's words, all the officials present immediately fell silent and were all solemn.
"Why, are you all scared by Li Shouzhen?" Liu Chengyou asked calmly after glancing around.
"Your Majesty, if there is only a corner of the river, there is nothing to fear. With the power of the imperial court, it can be annihilated. However, if the three rebels join forces and the four bandits come together, the imperial court will be stretched thin to deal with it." The reply was Shang Hongqian seemed to have thought of the situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides, and his expression was a little solemn.
"What do Wei Qing think?" Liu Chengyou asked Wei Renpu, who looked calm.
When his name was called, Wei Renpu stood up, saluted, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, gentlemen. The rebellion in the river looks fierce, but it is actually like a castle in the sky. To the west of Tongzhou, there are two states: Pi and Yao; Huazhou is between Jingzhao and Jingzhao. In the pincer attack of Tongguan, if these two dare to rebel, they will be destroyed by the imperial court immediately."
"Xue Huairang and Hou Zhang have long been despised by people for their lack of good governance and excessive hoarding of wealth. What is there to be afraid of? What's more, although these two people colluded with Li Shouzhen, how can they be of the same mind? They only need the imperial court. When we send troops to conquer, they may not join Li Shouzhen in resisting in the face of strong military strength. The so-called Three Rebel Alliances are really just one family in Hezhong."
"As for the four foreign enemies, here in Western Shu, the leader of Shu, Meng Chang, has purged his old ministers, and the situation in the court is unstable. The battle at Jifeng Mountain has frightened the Shu army. In addition, they signed a contract with our court before, and they will never dare to launch troops rashly. Li Jing, the puppet leader of the Tang Dynasty, has always been weak, and if the Tang army is on the Jianghuai River, it can still show off its power with its navy. If it dares to go out on the Huaihe River, how can our Central Plains Tiger Army be afraid of its weak force?"
With that said, Wei Renpu asked Shang Hongqian: "What does Shang Dushuai think?"
Shang Hongqian was listening attentively, and after hearing the question, he blurted out: "If the Tang army dares to go north, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard will make it impossible for them to come back!"
"As for Li Yiyin in Xiazhou, he is a member of the party, fierce and cunning. If he can't see any real benefits, how can he really respond to Li Shouzhen? It is more likely that he will sit back and watch the development of the imperial government's counterinsurgency and follow the trend. The only thing to worry about is, It has to be the Khitan in the north of Ling Dynasty, but if the Hu cavalry invades from the south, the Youzhou defense line is there, and they can resist it."
"Therefore, if Li Shouzhen rebels, at least in the early stages, the only way for the court to face the threat is in a corner of the river!"
After listening to Wei Renpu's analysis, all the ministers present looked relaxed. Thinking about it carefully, the situation does not seem to be that critical anymore.
"Wei Qing's words resonate deeply with my heart!" Liu Chengyou stood up and wandered back and forth in front of people for two times before he expressed his views in a cold voice: "Li Niqian has been harboring extraordinary ambitions for a long time, and his actions are not out of the ordinary. Unexpectedly. I had known that he had different intentions, so I kept staring at the river, like watching a dancing clown. In the past, I ignored it because of the national conditions, but now, thanks to the help of the princes, the government is stable, the military morale is stable, and the food shortage is a little bit Understand, I will never have any tolerance for such rebellious people."
"I have decided to send out troops to defeat the traitors and eliminate internal troubles!"
"Your Majesty, please give me an order!" All the civil and military officials responded in unison.
"Shang Qing, Guo Qing, the Privy Council and the Guards Department are in charge of selecting horses to suppress the rebellion."
"yes!"
"Wang Qing, the Third Division can first dispatch the food, fodder and ordnance that can last half a year for the 50,000 horse infantry!"
Hearing this, Wang Zhang thought about it secretly, with a troubled expression on his face, but faced Liu Chengyou's gaze, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes."
"Hou Qing, starting from today, we will work with the Inspection Department to strengthen control over Tokyo!"
"Yes." Hou Yi hurriedly touched his waist.
"Instruct the troops in the northern border area to increase their vigilance!"
Of course, there is another arrangement that was not announced in court. Give it to Takeshi to eliminate Pu Jun spies in Tokyo.
After the discussion was over, Liu Chengyou dug out Li Shouzhen's previous letter of colluding with the Shu army and Hou Yi, presented it with Gao Congjie, three copies in total, and ordered them to be sent to the river.
Subsequently, an edict was issued, and Li Shouzhen, the governor of Hezhong Festival, moved to Jinzhou.
Liu Chengyou's intention is very obvious. Even if Li Shouzhen rebels, he still has to look at his eyes.
