In the twelfth lunar month of the third year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, rumors arose in Beijing that the king of Taiyuan, Liu Chong, who was left behind in Beidu and the governor of Hedong Jiedu, had hidden ambitions that would bring trouble to the court.
There were a lot of discussions among the people in the government and the public. Emperor Liu Chengyou was furious after hearing this. He went into a rage in the Chongzheng Palace, saying that there were people with ulterior motives and evil intentions who wanted to separate the imperial court and Hedong.
Immediately, he summoned Wude's chief and deputy envoys Li Shaoyou and Wang Jingchong, and ordered them to investigate and deal with the matter and arrest those who spread the rumors. Afterwards, all the undercover agents of the Butoku Division came out, and secret operations became common. Even the newly formed Butoku Battalion also came out with soldiers, arresting hundreds of people in succession. There was a lot of commotion, and Tokyo, which had been stable for a long time, was in chaos because of this incident. For a while.
However, in the past few years, Wu Desi, who had always been successful in investigating cases and pushing for interrogation, suddenly became inefficient in this matter. He arrested many people and ultimately gained nothing. It was the emperor Liu Chengyou who calmed down from his anger in time and ordered the release of all innocent people and compensation of money to appease the people's resentment.
Later, Liu Chengyou wrote a "Letter to the Emperor's Uncle" written by Zhongshu Sheren and Zhizhi Gaotaogu. He described all the events in the capital with fluent writing and full of emotion. He fully expressed the feelings of uncles and nephews, and the friendship between emperor and ministers. All clear thoughts.
He also summoned the emperor's uncle Murong Yanchao into the palace, had a serious talk with him, and then appointed him as the envoy to Hedong to go north to Jinyang on behalf of the emperor to worship heaven and ancestors. In addition, he brought the emperor's letters and a large number of prepared royal gifts to Liu Chong.
Murong Yanchao has been staying in Tokyo for almost two years since the case of Liu Xin, the emperor's uncle in Xuzhou, at the beginning of last year. Even if the confinement date given to him by Liu Chengyou has passed, he has no intention of returning to Yunzhou. Instead, he did business in Tokyo, bought a large property, earned a large fortune, and "developed" his business talents.
As for the Yunzhou side, at first the officials were entrusted with the duties, but later they were completely ignored. Up to now, although Yunzhou is still a festival town, both military and political affairs are controlled by military and political generals directly dispatched by the imperial court. In the process of Liu Chengyou carefully "de-regulating" the local area, Yunzhou has almost achieved it in one step.
Probably in view of this, Liu Chengyou was a little laissez-faire about Murong Yanchao's stay in Tokyo. Compared with the harm he caused to the government and people in the local area, using his status and privileges to do business in Tokyo was not a big deal at all.
Murong Yan was superior to this person, saying that he was vulgar, arrogant, greedy, and lustful. It would not be exaggerating at all, but there was one thing that he was quite sensible, especially when facing Liu Chengyou, the emperor's nephew.
I had also heard the rumors in Tokyo, and I had some guesses about the emperor's purpose in entrusting him with the mission, so I just confirmed it and was ordered to go north to Hedong.
When Murong Yanchao left for the north, Liu Chengyou followed closely. First, he distributed the "Letter to the Emperor's Uncle" among the people; second, he urgently ordered Yang Ye, who had not stayed in Tokyo for a month. , returned to Daizhou; thirdly, sent some additional weapons to Jinzhou; fourthly, Bai Chongzan, the envoy of the Sishui Army, moved to Tumen (Jingxing) and allocated two thousand troops.
Originally, Bai Chongzan was an idler posted by Liu Chengyou when Shi Hongzhao left Luoyang to control Sishui. It basically had no effect, because Shi Hongzhao almost maximized the value of his "tool man" in Luoyang, and many honorary officials The noble family trembled under his "obscene power". But now, Liu Chengyou has transferred him to Tumen. What is the purpose? A wise man can see it.
In fact, this series of actions is basically Liu Chengyou's response to the situation in Hedong. While comforting and comforting, he did not forget to scare the snake and scare the tiger.
If Liu Chong was rebellious at this time, Liu Chengyou believed that it was not as exaggerated as Wang Jingchong reported. It would be impossible to be of the same mind as the imperial court. With Liu Chong's status, coupled with the imperial court's policies and the influence of his character, it is inevitable to have doubts about the imperial court.
And this is what Liu Chengyou wanted to tell Liu Chong through many measures. The emperor's uncle and I have an uncle-nephew relationship, so we have no intention of harming each other. Please don't worry, the emperor's uncle. But if the emperor's uncle really made any changes due to suspicion, then the court was not unprepared and had already been on guard.
With Liu Chong's mind, it may be difficult to sort out the pros and cons, but Liu Chengyou heard that his Jiedu judge Zheng Gong and Taiyuan Shaoyin Li Xiang were knowledgeable talents, which would make Liu Chong more vigilant.
Liu Chengyou's main purpose was to stabilize Hedong and prevent him from causing chaos when his great cause was just beginning. He also knew in his heart that the trouble in Hedong was serious, but if it really reached the level of a personal trouble, it would not be serious.
The problem of Hedong is a legacy of history. Its mountains and rivers, coupled with the rise and fall of the past three generations, are destined to make it difficult for those who occupy it. But for Liu Chengyou, the crux of the problem lies only with his uncle Liu Chong.
As for Hedong itself, in addition to geographical advantages, population, land, cities, taxes... the war potential had already been exhausted during the three efforts of Li Cunxu, Shi Jingtang, and Liu Zhiyuan to enter the Central Plains. As of now, that corner of Hedong does not have the strength to stand up to the imperial court independently.
In the original history, Liu Chong was able to occupy Hedong to resist the Later Zhou Dynasty. First, there is the "great righteousness" of inheriting the ancestral temple of the Later Han Dynasty. Although Guo Wei led his army to Beijing in the name of "Qingjun side", the essence of seeking to usurp the throne has not changed; secondly, the country is not in good order and civil strife continues. Guo Wei is busy To appease the towns, Teng Bu could not take action against Liu Chong; the three of them naturally had the support of the Khitan, and the "Country of Uncles and Nephews" set an example for the Southern Song Dynasty when Longxing Peace was negotiated.
As for the emperor's uncle Liu Chong, it's not that Liu Chengyou looked down upon him. Regardless of his political power, military use, political strategy, or reputation, he was nothing more than a middle-aged man. To achieve his current status, even if he was not lucky to be born into a good child, he must be grateful to have a good brother.
If he really wanted to deal with Liu Chong and take action against him, Liu Chengyou would not be conceited. In a moment, he would be able to come up with several strategies. However, the time has not come yet.
For the great cause of conquering the south, Liu Chengyou had been working hard for two years and preparing for two years. He planned to implement a thorough defensive strategy against the Khitan. How could he expand the Hedong problem at this juncture?
In addition, Liu Chong had accumulated a lot of soldiers, horses, money and food in Hedong due to a shady plan. He only needed to capture them in the future, and then, after years of accumulation, they would be available to the imperial court. Most of the grievances accumulated by the people can be resolved with an edict, and the imperial court will benefit from it. The emperor's "righteousness to destroy relatives" will earn his reputation.
After all the calculations, Liu Huangshu from Hedong was more like a fat pig raised in a pig pen to be slaughtered than a disaster to the Han emperor Liu Chengyou...
However, the development of things was not entirely dependent on Liu Chengyou's will, even if he was the emperor. Regarding the Hedong issue, it still depends on Liu Chong as to which direction it will develop next.
Of course, the temple had considered everything, and on Liu Chengyou's side, even if Liu Chongzhen rebelled, he would still be prepared to deal with it.
With the current stable situation in the Han Dynasty, the stability of the court, the reorganization of the army, and the power of the central government, Liu Chengyou did not think that Liu Chong could shake the world of the Han Dynasty with a corner of Hedong. As for the states under Hedong, Liu Chong's influence may not be greater than that of the imperial court. Once Jinyang rebels, Liu Chengyou will have confidence in where his generation will go.
Liu Chengyou now just wants to try his best to avoid the Hedong problem from breaking out and delaying his strategic plan.
"Uncle Emperor! You must not be hot-headed..." No matter what, this is Liu Chengyou's most sincere expectation for Liu Chong.
