Daliang Kingdom spent the sixteenth year of Qiantai in shock and panic.
The rebellion in the northwest has lasted for many years and has not been calmed down for a long time. It has become more and more fierce, but it is like a festering trauma and not life-threatening. Deng Pu realized very early that the three towns in Hebei were the serious dangers that shook the national destiny of Liang. He tried his best to weaken the military power of the feudal town overtly and covertly, but he still failed to do so. However, Li Lie, the military governor of Ziqing, and Hou Xikai, the military governor of East Shannan Province, joined forces to cause rebellion, which gave the feudal town an opportunity to grow further. The imperial court finally put down the rebellion. The tail of the three towns cannot be lost, and the trend of separatism is a foregone conclusion.
In that counter-rebellion, Deng Pu's two sons and three grandsons were all killed on the battlefield, and were buried under the loess along with countless loyal soldiers. The vitality of the imperial court was severely damaged, and the feudal town was like a cancer born in the last days. It cannot be touched and can only be destroyed. Tolerate compromise and avoid offending Hebei's arrogant soldiers. Deng Pu weighed the pros and cons and decided to use the last ten years of his life to secretly plan and eliminate the three towns in Hebei at all costs, so as to avoid future troubles for the court.
The three towns in Hebei are located on the northern border of Daliang. They are like a barrier, shouldering the heavy responsibility of preventing the Hu people from going south. Once the imperial court and the Jiedushi of the three towns have a falling out, they will be crazy and may lead the wolves into the house and collude with the Hu people to start an army and cause chaos. The rebellion in the northwest was on and off, and the imperial court's annual revenue was stretched. Natural and man-made disasters occurred. In the most difficult years, even the salaries of hundreds of officials were not paid in full. In order to prevent Daliang Kingdom from falling into a full-scale melee, Deng Pu had to act cautiously.
Deng Pu thought carefully and made arrangements from three aspects. First, he sent envoys to contact the leaders of the Hu people to eliminate potential threats. Second, he supported Deng Quji and Deng Mao's father and son and used the Jiangdu camp to train new troops. Third, he controlled the connection between the north and the south. The Grand Canal ensures that the wealth of Jiangnan is safe.
These deployments took a long time and were slow to produce results, but Liangguo was like a seriously ill patient who could not withstand the devastation of strong medicines and could only make plans slowly. However, the evolution of the situation is often unexpected. Deng Pu never expected that Zhao Shuai, Zhao Bohai, would emerge out of nowhere, stand out from the northwest rebels, occupy the natural pass, and collude with the barbarians to covet the Central Plains. Civil strife suddenly broke out in three towns in Hebei. The whole family was destroyed, and the Hu army went south to plunder. The three towns opened their doors to the thieves, and the defense line was ineffective.
Whether they could not fight, did not dare to fight, or were unwilling to fight, the imperial court was unable to investigate. Emperor Liang Yuanhao hurriedly moved to Yangzhou, leaving the crown prince Liang Zhiping to guard the capital. The situation was critical and the world was shocked. Deng Pu originally thought that the battle would be protracted and result in countless casualties. Unexpectedly, the Hu people retreated hastily overnight, and the situation suddenly changed. After hearing the news, the Jiedushi of the three towns immediately changed their faces to be loyal to the court, and dispatched troops to intercept and kill them along the way. The Hu people were routed thousands of miles away and suffered heavy casualties. They could not recover for ten to eight years.
There is a saying that "the emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country." Liang Yuanhao abandoned the city and left, and the people were filled with resentment. Liang Zhiping tried to turn the tide, and everyone expected him to return. Scholars had already proposed that "the emperor abdicated, and the prince ascended the throne." Under the persuasion of Prime Minister Wei Guoxiang, Liang Yuanhao had no choice but to stay in Yangzhou and was unable to return to the capital.
Deng Pu vaguely learned that the real reason why the Hu people retreated was that the monks from the fairy city secretly took action and traveled hundreds of miles to kill dozens of Hu generals with only one sword, thus establishing the victory. The prince Liang Zhiping was supported by the Huashan Sect, and the monk who defeated the enemy with a sword was Li Xiyi, a swordsman from the Huashan Sect. Daliang Kingdom is a secular dynasty supported by the fairy city. Deng Pu does not care who will succeed his majesty a hundred years later. People's hearts are what he wants. The right time, place and people are in place. He is ambitious and is about to conquer the feudal town in one fell swoop. Suddenly he suffers from a stroke and becomes hemiplegic. Only a hundred days. Unwilling to die on his bed, Deng Pu wrote a letter and rushed it 800 miles to Yangzhou City, stating his interests and persuading the emperor Liang Yuanhao to mobilize the Han army to go north and complete his victory in one battle.
Han's army broke out of camp and slowly marched northward. Deng Qu hurriedly avoided the eyes and ears of others, followed the troops in a light carriage, and sneaked into the capital to visit his old father. Deng Pu Shouyuan originally had very little left, but after taking the elixir given by the head of the Huashan Sect, he breathed a sigh of relief and regained some of his energy. He did not look like a dying person at all. In the dead of night, Deng Quji confided in his old father. He said frankly that the prince was guarding the capital, turning the crisis into peace, and bringing the world back to its heart. Even the emperor today was afraid. If the three towns in Hebei were to be taken back, how would the emperor behave? Is it possible to really give up the throne to the crown prince? What's more, once the prince ascends the throne, what should Huai Wang Liang Zhizhong do?
Deng Pu knew that Deng Quji had a close relationship with the King of Huai, but he did not expect that he would stake all his wealth, life and fifty thousand Han troops on him, and regarded the prince as his enemy and interfered in the royal disputes. Shocked, Deng Pu slapped the sick bed vigorously and angrily scolded Deng Quji for not paying attention to priorities. No matter who ascended to the throne of emperor, he must have the support of the Han army. Why should he be blinded by lard and meddle in the emperor's family affairs? The three towns in Hebei are a serious thorn in the side of Daliang. The opportunity is fleeting. As long as he has a breath, he must wipe out the three towns and lay the foundation for long-lasting peace and stability in Daliang for decades to come.
Deng Pu ordered Deng Quji to kneel down and obey his orders. When Deng Quji could not persuade him, he cruelly killed his father with his own hands and broke his heart with one palm. The Han army must not move lightly, and the three towns in Hebei must rebel. Liang Yuanhao could only give way to Huai Wang Liang Zhizhong, and the Liang Kingdom moved its capital to Yangzhou. This was the result of a secret discussion between him and Huai Wang, and no one could stop it.
As for the prince blocking the way of King Huai, he can only kick the stone away.
Fate played a malicious joke like this. For the sluggish Daliang Kingdom, Deng Pu's sudden death was undoubtedly a heavy blow. The rebels in the three towns of Hebei were divided into two groups, east and west. The Han army was still silent, and the court was silent. People are available, but Wen Da, the privy envoy, could not sleep all night looking at the map, and was in a dilemma. The eastern capital was dilapidated and the northern capital was rotten. All the soldiers and generals worthy of fighting were stationed in Tianjing City. The capital could be lost but the capital city could not be lost. Wen Da did not dare to mobilize the garrison in the city, so he had to use the dead horse as a living horse doctor, while using Zhang Daoyou who was idle at home. On the one hand, volunteers from all walks of life were summoned to fight against the national disaster.
Deng Pu was dead, and Wen Da could only make his own decision. After repeated discussions with his aides in the government, he decided to let Zhang Daoyou go to Dongdu to recruit troops and find ways to hold the Weihe River line. King Qin's Yishi rushed to Beidu to help Yin Tang Xianren of Longcheng defend the city.
The Central Plains martial arts has always been led by Shaolin Wudang. However, when the barbarians went south and the capital was in danger, the two sects were wise to protect themselves. They only sent a few disciples to falsely respond to the story. Li Shi, the leader of the Huashan sect, stepped forward and raised his arms. People who responded gathered, and there were more people behind them. The support of Huashan Sect in Immortal City is well-deserved. But this time when they rushed to help Beidu, the head of Huashan did not show up for some reason. The Huashan sect had already evacuated the capital and was missing. The leader of the Songshan sect was leaderless. Ding Shuanghe, the leader of the Songshan sect, reluctantly stepped forward and summoned all the martial arts sects to go to Beidu to resist the foreign invaders.
Halfway through the journey, a man appeared. Weiye approached Ding Shuanghe, claiming to be Hu Muxian, a Taoist monk of the Huashan Sect, and came to help him on the order of the master's sect. Ding Shuanghe had known about the alliance between the Lancang sect and the Huashan sect for a long time, and he was determined after hearing this. He asked roundly about the whereabouts of the Huashan sect. Hu Muchian smiled and did not answer, and only ordered him to try to find a general who knew how to fight and fight with the world's swordsmen. Fa, he will not interfere easily. Ding Shuanghe was slightly startled. If he didn't intervene in the attack, what was he doing here?
