Liu Yang felt tired and tired when he talked about the troubles in the court. Xiao Chuo was still very considerate towards Liu Yang. When he saw him chatting happily, he didn't bother him much, but helped him to sleep on the couch.
However, if you want to sleep peacefully in Yuehuayuan, you can't get it. Not long after I lay down, a figure appeared outside the curtain and called softly: "Has your highness rested?"
When Xiao Chuo heard the sound, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance down. He looked down at the sleepy Liu Yang. He stood up and took a small step out. The sound of lifting the bead curtain was controlled very softly.
Standing outside was a chamberlain, about forty years old, with a kind face. He was Liu Yang's personal attendant Wang Yue. Perhaps it was because of the prince's temperament. Most of the people around him were kind-hearted. This Wang Yue at least looked like a loyal and good man.
"Your Highness just went to bed, what happened?" Xiao Chuo asked.
After glancing at Xiao Chuo, Wang Yue bowed, still not daring to speak loudly: "Senior Murong wants to see His Highness. It seems he has something important to do."
"Senior Murong." Xiao Chuo murmured, and immediately said: "Let him wait a moment, I will wake up His Highness!"
"yes!"
There were not many people with the surname Murong in the imperial court. The only one who could be called a scholar Murong, and who could directly enter the East Palace and pay homage to the prince, was Murong Defeng, who was then a privy scholar.
Under Liu Yang's arrangement, Murong Defeng worked hard in the local area for seven or eight years, serving in two provinces and three states before he was transferred back to the capital, and with the approval of Emperor Liu, he served as a Privy Councilor.
This position is not an easy one. It is now a fourth-rank official position, ranking high in the Privy Council. It belongs to the role of liaison, attendant, and advisor between Emperor Liu and the Privy Council. His position is not humble, but he is powerful. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wei Renpu, the Duke of the State of Yu, once held this position. However, its status and importance were established through successive military reforms after Emperor Liu ascended the throne.
It can be seen that Murong Defeng was highly regarded by both the Crown Prince and Emperor Liu. When Murong Defeng came to see him overnight, Xiao Chuo immediately judged that what he did was not a trivial matter and he did not dare to show any slights.
What's more, even if she didn't take into account Murong Defeng's title or his relationship with the prince, she still had to pay more attention to the surname "Murong". Now that the Xiao family has gained a foothold in the court, in addition to the favor of the prince, the Murong family also has a lot of help. Otherwise, the pressure and criticism she will face will be more serious. Who taught her to give birth to a son for the prince.
He turned back inside and approached the brocade couch. Just as he was about to speak, he saw that Liu Yang had already opened his eyes. Liu Yang said: "I'm looking for something again."
"Scholar Murong is here!" Xiao Chuo nodded.
"Hey" Liu Yang sat up and breathed a deep sigh of relief: "Just rest, I'll go take a look!"
Xiao Chuo didn't hold back, but quickly helped Liu Yang put on his shoes and clothes, and said respectfully: "Your Highness, go slowly!"
Liu Yang waved his hand and said no more.
In front of Yue Hua Courtyard, there was a thin layer of mist, which made it feel cold. Murong Defeng was waiting there. When he saw Liu Yang coming out, he immediately went up to greet him and saluted.
Liu Yang asked: "What happened?"
Murong Defeng's expression was serious and he immediately reported: "Your Highness, news just came from Yulin that Yanzhou has rebelled! The traitor Yuan Ke colluded with the local party members, gathered people to cause chaos, attacked towns and villages, killed officials, and attacked the salt fields. The thieves coerced them. The people, many of them, were bewitched and threatened by him, so they had no choice but to follow the crowd, and coupled with the local powerful, they joined the thieves. According to reports, the number of thieves exceeded 10,000."
Murong Defeng quickly finished his explanation. Liu Yang was stunned for a moment. He was not too surprised, but there was an obvious complex look on his face. He smiled bitterly at Murong Defeng and said: "I heard that you asked for a meeting all night, and I knew that it would be difficult to sleep tonight. Have a good sleep!”
Taking a deep breath, he asked, "What's the situation in Yanzhou now?"
Murong Defeng said: "The leader of the thieves, Yuan Ke, led a crowd to attack the city of Dingbian, and Wang Xuanzhen repulsed the northwest patrol. However, outside Yanzhou, there was chaos, and it was difficult to control the thieves. According to Wang Xuanzhen's report, the government is currently Only Zhoucheng, Yanchi and a few forts are under control, and the remaining places are temporarily unable to suppress them.
In order to prevent the bandits from expanding and affecting the prefectures and counties, Wang Xuanzhen had already asked Ling and Xia for help in wiping out the rebels. The Yanzhou Rebellion broke out on September 27th, nearly ten days ago. We still need further information on what the current situation is, but in my opinion, I am afraid it is not optimistic! "
Liu Yang sniffed and took in the coolness of the early winter, as if he wanted to calm himself down, and said: "Li Jiqian rebelled in Xiazhou. When the situation was raging, the number of people was only a few thousand. When Yanzhou rebelled, it was so easy." , there are more than ten thousand thieves. How could the chaos in Yanzhou not affect Yulin? Even within the pass, it will be shaken!"
"What His Highness said is true!" Murong Defeng said: "Your Majesty, Long Yan was furious because of this, and ordered me to summon His Highness to discuss matters!"
"Prepare the car and enter the palace!" Liu Yang immediately ordered Wang Yue, the chamberlain beside him.
"yes!"
He strode towards the outside of Yuehua Courtyard, his steps unavoidably hurried. Murong Defeng followed closely behind and continued: "In addition, during the Yanzhou Incident, Xiazhou Li Jiqian once again led an attack and went south to attack Zhen'an Fort. . Duke Yan sent his troops and horse commander Meng Xuanzhe to the rescue, but was defeated by Li Jiqian. Zhen'an Fort fell, and all two hundred garrison soldiers were killed!"
Although the situation of Yanzhou rebellion is obviously more serious. But when he heard the news from Xiazhou, Liu Yang was obviously even more surprised. You must know that Li Jiqian had been struggling in Xiazhou for a year and suffered repeated attacks. He never defeated the official army once. The rebels attacked the fortress several times, but never once. It wasn't just a bloody encounter, but this time, not only did they defeat the army, but they also broke through Zhen'an Fort.
A small fort wall is nothing, but the impact it has is huge. It is likely to increase the arrogance of the rebels and seduce the party members to rebel. Yulin is likely to slide into an unpredictable and bad situation.
Liu Yang couldn't stand it anymore and asked: "How did Meng Xuanzhe fight? He failed to defeat the rebels and just killed Li Jiqian. How could he still be defeated at the hands of thieves?"
Obviously, there's something wrong with this. Murong Defeng's face showed something strange. He thought about it and said, "It is said that when he learned that Li Jiqian was going south, the Duke of Yan State forced Commander Meng to attack. He only gave him one battalion of troops and horses, and they rushed 200 miles to help, and they were outnumbered. , so the army was defeated.
In addition, after Commander Meng's army was defeated, he was taken into custody by Duke Yan and reported to the court to punish him for the crime of the defeat. The officials thought that the generals of Yulin were at odds with each other and that the conflict had deepened, and Duke Yan's move was really inappropriate! "
Hearing this explanation, Liu Yang's face was filled with disbelief. He remained silent for a while, and without caring about his bearing, he burst into anger and scolded: "Wang Qian, is he out of his mind? How can he be allowed to act so recklessly in a major military matter? Even if If there is a conflict between generals, doesn’t he understand the principle of mutual tolerance for the sake of the country? I think there will be chaos in Yulin, and he, Wang Qian, will be the first to bear the blame!"
Murong Defeng didn't plan to say anything more about Wang Qian. Since the emperor and the prince were at odds, what he was more worried about was the chaos in Yulin.
When Liu Yang's anger calmed down a bit, he added: "Judging from the information obtained so far, the two rebels, Li Jiqian of Xiazhou and Yuan Ke of Yanzhou, are likely to have been linked together. Otherwise, Li Jiqian would attack and rebel against Yuan Ke." The timing is not such a coincidence.
If so, the current situation in Yulin will be even more dangerous. What's more worrying is that Li Jiqian's rebellion was always suppressed by the officers and soldiers. Although many party members followed the crowd, the overall situation was still under control.
Now that there is chaos in Yanzhou and there are so many gangsters, I am afraid that all the gang members in Yulin will be affected by it. Once the gangs respond and cause chaos, the situation in Yulin will be completely out of control! "
"This is what I have been worried about!" Liu Yang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Yang raised his eyes to the northwest and sighed: "The matter has come to this, and we are just dealing with it with all our strength. Your Majesty has already prepared for the worst. Since Yulin is in chaos, let's clean it up."
At this time, Liu Yang knew very well that if the current situation continued to develop, Yulin would inevitably shed blood. Since it was unavoidable, he could only deal with it actively.
Murong Defeng carefully observed Liu Yang's expression. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but the prince felt a little relieved.
