Chengyuan was the residence of Mr. Xiong, an important official in the imperial court during the Zhenzong Dynasty. Later, when Mr. Xiong grew old, he begged for his remains and returned to his hometown. The garden was also returned. Zhenzong also gave countless mansions in Mr. Xiong’s hometown. Good farmland.
Chengyuan covers an extremely large area, covering dozens of acres. Today, there are nearly a hundred soldiers stationed outside Chengyuan. There are armored soldiers patrolling back and forth on both sides. The euphemistic name is that they are worried about the rebels. He came back to protect the safety of the Hou Mansion, but Gu Er knew exactly why.
But now Gu Er's mind was filled with Wang Zhong's words just now, but it was as if a boulder weighing tens of millions of kilograms had been smashed down again on the already rippled lake, setting off huge waves.
Just like the Gu family, for the mere title of Marquis Ningyuan, Xiao Qin, whom Gu Er once respected as his own mother, worked hard for more than twenty years and started planning even before marrying into the Gu family. Gu Er and his brother turned against each other, and even went so far as to poison Gu Yankai...
"Yes, we are fighting over and over again, when will we be the winner!" Gu Er couldn't help but sigh.
Now the Gu family is temporarily stable, but who can guarantee that such a thing will not happen again in the future.
When Gu Er returned home with a heavy heart, Zhang Guifen had been waiting for a long time. She was relieved when she saw her husband came back with his tail intact.
"Mrs. I'm worried!" Gu Er hurriedly comforted Zhang Guifen.
Zhang Guifen said: "As long as the official has nothing to do, it will be fine!"
"My mother has just sent someone over to deliver a message, saying that everything is fine at home and telling me not to worry."
"Don't worry, madam. My father-in-law is the pillar of the imperial court and has a lot of troops. No matter what, at least for now, there is no need to worry about the safety of my mother-in-law and brother-in-law."
Families like the Gu family and the Zhang family, who have been running in the military for many generations, let alone a mere Empress Dowager Cao, even if the late emperor is still alive, if they want to deal with it, they must provide sufficient evidence to convict her of the crime. Otherwise, it will definitely not be able to convince the public.
"What is the situation outside now?" Zhao Guifen asked worriedly.
Gu Er sighed and told Zhang Guifen everything he knew, down to the smallest detail.
After hearing this, Zhang Guifen's expression changed and she was shocked.
Zhang Guifen said in disbelief: "Where did the rebels come from? Can they be so capable that they can even enter the palace?"
Gu Er shook his head and said: "Rebellion is just a cover-up. Anyone with a discerning eye knows what this is all about."
"The official said, Queen Mother?" Although she had already made a guess in her mind, Zhang Guifen still couldn't believe it.
Gu Er said: "If it weren't for her, why did she summon so many military generals and their family members into the palace last night? If it weren't for her, why were only the officials and the queen assassinated last night? If it weren't for her, why were all the officials and queens assassinated last night? How many times have she written letters to urge her to return to power as an official?"
"How dare she do this?" Zhang Guifen was puzzled: "Isn't she afraid of causing a backlash from the courtiers?"
Gu Er said: "Power is the easiest thing to get lost in!"
"Isn't my stepmother a good example?"
Speaking of the Xiao Qin family, Zhang Guifen couldn't help but be speechless. After being married for more than 20 years, Zhang Guifen couldn't figure out why the Xiao Qin family was so determined to drug her father-in-law just for the inheritance of the title and the Gu family's family business.
"What are the officials going to do?" Zhang Guifen knew her husband's friendship with the officials and Prince Huan, and also knew her husband's character, so she asked this question.
Looking at each other, Gu Er remembered Wang Zhong's words before leaving, and said frankly: "Things shouldn't be like this!"
Zhang Guifen looked at the frankness and determination in Gu Er's eyes, and also saw the concern in Gu Er's eyes. She reached out and took the initiative to hold Gu Er's hand. She met Gu Er's gaze and said firmly: "Just do whatever the officer wants to do." , don’t worry about the family, I will take care of Sister He Rong, Brother Chang and Brother Tuan.”
Gu Er's eyes flickered, he grabbed Zhang Guifen's hand, pulled her into his arms, and let Zhang Guifen's head rest on his shoulder. His tone became gentler: "I'm sorry! I'm too selfish!"
"No!" Zhang Guifen struggled to get out of Gu Er's arms, straightened up, raised her eyes and looked directly into Gu Er's eyes: "Some things have to be done by someone. Instead of living in an ignoble way, it's better to do it vigorously, regardless of the officials. No matter what you choose, I support it.”
On the other side, Wang Zhong did not go home, but went straight to Jiying Lane and the Sheng family.
Mrs. Sheng was taken back to Tokyo by Chang Bai years ago. Fortunately, the mutiny only lasted one night and ended without involving the Sheng family.
However, Wang Zhong was not here to visit Mrs. Sheng. Wang Zhong's purpose was Changbai, or his goal.
In the outer study, Yu Chuer and Khan Niu were guarding the door, and all the servants around them were dismissed. In the study, the two sat opposite each other, with steaming tea on the table.
"What do you think of Zecheng's changes last night?" Wang Zhong got straight to the point and asked directly.
Changbai's face was expressionless, but his voice was a little dull: "How else can I look at it? Facts speak louder than words."
Wang Zhongdao: "Since when did Zicheng like to play aggressive? This is not like you!"
Changbai didn't look into Wang Zhong's eyes, but lowered his head, looked at the steaming tea on the table, and said, "What do you want me to say?"
Wang Zhongdao: "Ze Cheng thinks, what is the difference between Emperors Yao and Shun compared with Emperor Qin and Emperor Han Wu?"
Changbai paused while holding the tea cup, then raised his eyes to look at Wang Zhong: "Why are you suddenly talking about Emperors Yao and Shun?"
"Since Xia Qi replaced Boyi as the second emperor of Great Xia, the public world has become the family world. From Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, to the east of Qin, King Qin swept Liuhe, and since then the six kings have , the world is one, after the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the world was unified from the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui system, the country was three times the age of Zuo, and then came the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and up to our dynasty.
Thousands of years ago, the world was divided and reunited. Throughout the dynasties, brothers competed for the nine-fifth position, leading to feuding. Are there many examples of fathers and sons killing each other? How many innocent people died in the struggle for power. Didn't Zi Zecheng never think about why this happened? "
Changbai said: "Of course it is for the supreme right!"
"When the emperor is angry, he will lay down millions of corpses!" Wang Zhong said: "Throughout the dynasties, the founders of the country were often wise people. But if they could not be passed down for five generations, many monarchs would be foolish. The Shang Dynasty was tyrannical. King You of Zhou was playing tricks on the princes, just for the sake of gain. When a beauty smiles, she is as wise as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but in his old age, he becomes dull and suspicious!"
"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in strife, and then the Five Husbands disrupted China. The princes fought endlessly. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms fought endlessly. In the end, it was not the common people who suffered!"
"The wine and meat in Zhumen stinks, and there are frozen bones on the road. When prosperity comes, the people suffer! When death occurs, the people suffer! The cycle goes on and on, never stopping. Hasn't Zecheng never thought about the reason?"
Chang Bai's expression has changed. He is no longer expressionless and calm before, but looks at Wang Zhong with some solemnity: "What exactly does Zi Hou want to say?"
Wang Zhong said directly: "Don't Zecheng feel that the emperor's authority is too heavy? When the emperor was angry, he laid down millions of corpses! But the people of Li were like grass and grass. How unfortunate! How unfair!"
Chang Bai frowned and looked at Wang Zhong with a worried expression: "Does Zihou know what he is talking about?"
Wang Zhong met Chang Bai's gaze and said directly: "I know! I've always known it, I understand what I said, I'm very conscious!"
"Then you still..." Chang Bai only said half of what he said, but Wang Zhong's hot gaze blocked the rest of his words.
Wang Zhong had no intention of stopping, but looked at Chang Bai and said directly: "Ze Cheng, you said that if one day, the monarch's power is restricted, the emperor does not have such great rights. He cannot decide life and death with a single word, and cannot take possession of the country's wealth. If the emperor commits a crime for his own use, he will be punished with the same crime as the common people. Can you tell me whether there will be some different changes in this world?"
Given Changbai's temperament, a look of shock couldn't help but appear on his face.
Changbai is so smart, he has a strong memory of blog posts, almost a photographic memory, and quick thinking. How can he not understand Wang Zhong's meaning? It's just that Changbai has received a Confucian education since he was a child, that is, father, father and son. The class concept between father and son has long been engraved in Changbai's bones, how could Wang Zhong change it with just a few words.
"Huh!" Chang Bai breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Wang Zhong and warned with a solemn expression: "These words are coming out of your mouth and into my ears. No other person will know!"
Wang Zhong said: "Mencius said: The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least. Do you really think that Mencius's words are a big fallacy?"
Changbai said: "Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once said: The king has a boat and the people have water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it!"
Changbai did not answer Wang Zhong's question directly, but quoted Tang Taizong's words, which said that the relationship between boats and water, king and people is interdependent, not antagonistic.
Wang Zhongdao: "In the pre-Qin period, Meng Tian resisted the Xiongnu in the north. In the Han Dynasty, the champion was granted the title of Lang Xu. In the pre-Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, Li Ji and others defeated the Turks, Tubo, and Goguryeo successively. However, in our dynasty, the sixteen states of Yanyun fell. It has been in the hands of the Khitans for more than a hundred years. Later, Li Yuanhao occupied the land of Hetao, proclaimed himself king, occupied the Silk Road, and blocked the trade between our dynasty and the Western Regions.
Zecheng thinks, what causes these results? Is it because the frontier soldiers refused to sacrifice their lives? "
Changbai was speechless when asked by Wang Zhong. Since Emperor Taizu, the imperial court has implemented a highly centralized system, especially military power. The generals below do not have much autonomy at all. They must obey the emperor when marching and fighting. man's orders.
In the Battle of Gaoliang River, hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated. The situation between the imperial court and the Liao Kingdom immediately changed from offensive to defensive. Then they suffered repeated defeats, not only losing troops and generals, but also wasting a large amount of military equipment and food. These were the blessings of the people.
It was not until Fan Wenzhenggong became prime minister that the imperial court won the war with the Liao Kingdom. However, even so, it still failed to change the offensive and defensive trends of the two countries.
After a moment of silence, Chang Bai finally choked out a sentence: "You eat the emperor's salary and worry about the emperor!"
Wang Zhong heard the words and said directly: "Your salary and salary are the people's fat and the people's anointing!"
Their eyes met, Chang Bai looked stunned, his eyes full of shock.
Wang Zhongdao: "Ze Cheng thinks carefully about what I said today. I'll come back in a few days!"
After saying that, he picked up the tea cup on the table, drank all the tea in the cup, stood up immediately, and walked out quickly without looking back.
"My lord!" Yu Chuer saw Wang Zhong walking out quickly and hurriedly saluted Wang Zhong.
"Go back!" Before Wang Zhong stopped, Yu Chuer raised his hands to the Khan Niu next to him to say goodbye, and immediately hurried to follow Wang Zhong's footsteps.
Seeing Wang Zhong leave, Khan Niu hurriedly entered the room to wait on him, only to see Chang Bai kneeling beside the long desk, staring at the tea cup on the table, with a look of astonishment on his face, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
It took Changbai a long time to come back to his senses, and he murmured something like "people fatten people's ointment" in his mouth, and Khan Niu didn't dare to ask any more questions.
The next day, several news spread quickly in Bianjing City. The rumors about rebel assassins were all fabricated. The real instigator behind the murder of the emperor, empress, Han Daxiangong and others was none other than Empress Dowager Cao. What is certain is that the murderous disaster was caused because Mr. Han led his ministers to urge Empress Dowager Cao to return power to the official family.
But less than a day after the news spread, a large number of soldiers and horses from the city defense camp were arresting people everywhere, trying to stop the spread of rumors.
But rumors only get worse as they spread, and they cannot be stopped easily.
Moreover, the civil and military officials of the DPRK are not fools or blind people. Those things that happened on New Year's Eve were so blatant, how could they be hidden from everyone's eyes.
On that day, many royal officials knelt in front of the palace gate and asked Empress Dowager Cao to give them an explanation.
Empress Dowager Cao was so furious that she even threw those censors into prison, but she didn't expect that her move had no effect at all, but instead aroused the dissatisfaction of the courtiers.
In particular, more than a dozen important officials in the court, led by Han Zhang, the current prime minister, were killed, and their families were also slaughtered. How could Empress Dowager Cao not cause dissatisfaction among the courtiers with such a heart-rending behavior.
In Tokyo, it is not only the Cao family that controls military power, but there are also many Zhao clans near the capital. Although their official positions are not high and they do not have much power, their royal family status is The real deal.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, headed by Duke Ying, more than a dozen distinguished military generals serving in the army, including General Zheng, Ningyuan Marquis Gu Tingye, Yongchang Marquis, Ling Guogong, and Zhong Qinbo, gathered at Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.
A group of civil servants headed by Wang Zhong also rushed to the Ningyuan Hou Mansion, and everyone gathered in the main hall of the Hou Mansion.
The British Duke was the first to find out: "Today I have taken the liberty to invite you all here together with my son-in-law, just for one thing. You must know what it is. I just want to ask you, we have received the emperor's favor in this life, how can we do it now?" Do you have to watch the country and the country fall into the hands of foreigners?"
Gu Er also immediately stood up and said: "In the past, we asked the Queen Mother to be regent because Emperor Renzong had just passed away and there were frequent changes in the court. It was a helpless move to stabilize the court and calm people's hearts, rather than to create someone else. A Wu Zhao!"
"I invite you all to come here today for only one thing!"
Gu Er's sharp gaze swept over the crowd and said loudly: "..."
(End of chapter)
