Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 249 is imminent
In the corridor outside the Hanging Palace, dozens of important officials of the imperial court gathered here. Everyone whispered to each other, but no one dared to speak loudly.

Generally speaking, if there is a major event in the court, the officials need to discuss it with the ministers, and it is not possible to reach a conclusion in a short time.

So sometimes discussing and dealing with things starts in the morning, and it will be past noon without knowing it.

Normally, the royal family seldom prepares food for the ministers, which is also a huge expense. Officials have their own salaries, and they cannot eat from the court, and public and private affairs must be separated.

But if this happens, the emperor will give food to the ministers, and the ministers will eat under the corridor outside the Chuigong Hall. The officials of Zhishi feel very face-saving and can prove their power.

It's just that today is different from the past. The officials staying in the corridor at this time are neither proud nor excited, and most of them look restless and restless.

Up to now, the news can no longer be concealed, and the palace is not going to conceal it anymore.

The official family is sick in bed, the queen mother is regent, the young prince has been taken to the palace to wait, Wang Pu, Wang Pu, Li Gu, Wei Renpu, Fan Zhi and other ministers have entered the Long Live Hall to wait, the news spread two days ago , the court shook, and all the officials were terrified.

At this time, it is inevitable that people will panic and be silent like a chilling cicada.

If the world was peaceful and prosperous, this would be considered a major event, but it would not be like this, but it is not now.

The Liao Kingdom in the north is staring at it, and the Northern Han Dynasty in the north, the Southern Tang Dynasty in the south, the Western Shu Dynasty, the Southern Han Dynasty, and Wuyue are still there. They are usually honest and honest. What if there is a change in the Great Zhou Dynasty?

This is the time when accidents are most likely to happen. Decades of experience tell everyone that every time this happens, it is very likely that there will be uncontrollable soldiers, military disasters, bloodshed, changes in the sky, cleaning, etc.
So everyone is on tenterhooks.

Some officials even prepared to salute softly and send their family members out of the city in advance. If the wind was wrong, they were ready to flee immediately, so as not to be implicated and lose their lives.

The world today is not peaceful. The surrounding countries surrender on the surface, but secretly covet them. The Khitan and them are mortal enemies, and they will go south from time to time. The conflicts and wars have continued for several years.

At this time, if the official family is gone, and the prince is only seven years old, they dare not think about the future of Da Zhou.

Outside the Chui Gong Hall, everyone was discussing in low voices, waiting anxiously, and the atmosphere was dignified.

Outside the Long Live Hall in the north, Empress Fu said something to several prime ministers in plain clothes, and then the prime ministers withdrew, and Empress Fu returned to the Long Live Hall to continue to take care of the officials.

Since two days ago, the official has been in a coma, unconscious, unable to explain things, only relying on precious medicines such as wild ginseng soup to hold his breath, occasionally waking up and murmuring a few words, and then immediately fell asleep.

As for what the officials said, only Empress Fu knew.

Three days ago, the officials had made a detailed explanation in front of everyone, and Wang Pu, Fan Zhi, and Wang Pu were the assistant political ministers to assist the new monarch.

Wei Renpu is still in charge of the Privy Council and manages major military affairs.

At the same time, all the northern troops were ordered to withdraw immediately to defend Kyoto.

After the withdrawal of troops, Li Chongjin continued to serve in Huainan as the governor of Huainan.

Zhang Yongde's military power was lifted, and Zhang Yongde was added to check the school's grand master, so as to make peace.

Shi Yanchao was dismissed from the position of deputy commander of Ma Bujun, the bodyguard of the pro-army, and Han Tong was replaced.

Add the seven-year-old prince Chai Zongxun as the king of Jin and the prefect of Kaifeng. Later, he asked everyone to assist the prince.

After this explanation, the officials never came to their senses again.

And several prime ministers would come and wait every day, afraid that the officials would wake up and have something to explain.

Empress Fu thought to herself, the official arrangement is still careful.

Wang Pu is upright, Fan Zhi is old-fashioned, Wang Pu is good at everything else, and he is also the youngest among them, but he is very stingy, so if the three of them are auxiliary ministers, they will not be afraid of forming a party for personal gain.

Li Gu has a high position and authority, and his prestige in the court is also high. It is not suitable to give him more weight, and he is afraid that the crown prince will not be able to control him.

As for the arrangement in the army, the official's first thought was to let Li Chongjin return to Huainan. In terms of blood relationship, Li Chongjin was more qualified to succeed than the official. The official was afraid that Li Chongjin would have second thoughts after his long live.

Then remove Zhang Yongde's military power, because Zhang Yongde is the son-in-law of the fairy king and has the qualifications to succeed.

After that, Shi Yanchao's military power was removed. In order to limit the power of the historians and his sons, Han Tong was promoted to the second in command of the bodyguard department to compete with the bodyguard department to limit Shi Congyun's power.

Han Tong doesn't have a good relationship with anyone, and he won't deal with Shi Congyun.

Such an arrangement seemed very thoughtful, but the atmosphere in the palace was still tense, so tense that everyone could hardly breathe.

Because such an arrangement is certainly good, but it is based on one premise, that is, if the officials are gone, the generals who lead the troops outside can be obedient.

What is the current situation? Someone once said, "Would the Son of Heaven rather have a kind? Those with strong soldiers and strong horses are their ears."

The words are very rude, but no one can refute them. The Great Zhou Dynasty was a mutiny by the privy envoys of the Later Han Dynasty, and the Yellow Banner joined him. However, the former Back Liang and the Later Tang Dynasty were all made by one warlord and then established a country.

But now the Tang Kingdom in the south of the Yangtze River, the land of Shu and the later Shu, are all made up by courtiers, who overthrow the former master after they are strong and strong, and even Wuping, which was destroyed by Shi Congyun before.

Prior to this, in the five kingdoms of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou in the Central Plains, there were no occasions when the generals made a big effort to overthrow the former master.

In this way, the biggest worry now is the army outside. No matter how careful the officials' arrangements are, if no one listens, then what's the use.

During the day yesterday, Empress Fu heard the officials suddenly say "Kill Shi Congyun!" Mumbling indistinctly.

There are six sandalwood doors outside the Long Live Hall, and there are long white jade steps outside. There is also a large courtyard with a pavilion. Several prime ministers are waiting there. There are more than a few hundred steps across the hall, and they can't hear it. .

Only then did she relax, and she also realized the seriousness of the matter, fearing that the eunuchs and maids around her would hear about it, so she replaced all the maids and eunuchs serving in the Long Live Palace with people around her.

Thinking day by day and dreaming at night, the officials must have murderous intentions towards Shi Congyun, and they are also very worried, but the officials dare not touch him, probably because of the Xianjun's lesson.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the emperor felt that Guo Wei, the privy envoy, was too powerful and wanted to kill him to stabilize his power. At that time, Guo Wei led his troops outside. After knowing the edict, he immediately added a yellow flag and declared himself emperor outside. The girders were empty, almost like a broken bamboo, and the last emperor died. After that, Guo Wei established the current Dazhou, and he was also the father of the official family.

The officials were probably really worried about what Fan Zhi said, and wanted to kill Shi Congyun's family to avoid future troubles, but they had no choice but to dare to think about the lessons they had learned back then. This is not the case now.

The prestige general leads troops outside, if he is a little careless, it may be the same mistakes as in the later Han Dynasty.
Even Queen Fu was afraid when she thought about it. At this time, she just hoped that the army would return safely, and that the generals could at least maintain a superficial harmony with the court.

Even if they are as domineering as Li Yun, the crown prince and she can only bear with it, because they have no prestige in the army. The ministers seem to be high-ranking and capable, but they have no soldiers in their hands.

The more urgent the matter is, the more people can see who has the power. At this time, whoever can mobilize the army will have the power.

And she suddenly thought of a possibility, and the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became. With Shi Congyun's intelligence and power, he should have an eyeliner in the palace. What would he do if he knew that Fan Zhi had sued him for treason?
She couldn't help but think of the former emperor, and the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and then she comforted herself that Fan Zhi's words were said secretly in front of her and the officials, so no outsiders should know.

What Empress Fu hopes most at this time is that Shi Congyun will bring back the army. At that time, he will be her brother-in-law. With him as the backing, she can completely control the situation as a regent. Yun obediently brought the army back.

But in case he knows someone has accused him of treason.
Empress Fu broke out in a cold sweat, and even tried to calm herself down, probably not, since no one has revealed the news, and when she came back, she acted as if nothing had happened.

Several prime ministers outside the palace were still waiting. She found Wei Min and told him to take good care of them. As for the prince, he stayed in the harem and waited. At this time, no one paid any attention to him, and Empress Fu didn't care.

In the small pavilion outside the Long Live Hall, the atmosphere was equally dignified. Most of the prime ministers were people who had gone through several dynasties. They had seen many such scenes, and they felt even more uneasy.

The privy envoy Wei Renpu asked a very difficult question, "How should the officers and men be rewarded for the victory of the crusade against the Liao Kingdom?"

"If the government is here, this is not a problem. The Privy Council will discuss and decide with the government, and most of the officers and men will be convinced."

Wei Renpu didn't say anything later, all the smart people present immediately understood the meaning and frowned.

"It's just this time." Wang Pu also had a sad face, "The officials are not here, no one can restrain those arrogant soldiers, and the rewards are less, and if you are a little dissatisfied, you are afraid that someone will take the opportunity to make trouble.

Every soldier needs to be rewarded and fed, the treasury is empty after years of conquests, especially this year’s Northern Expedition to the Liao Kingdom, which consumes a lot of money and cannot afford so much money and goods.”

"Whatever you are afraid of will come. Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes never come singly." Wang Pu also sighed.

As the prime minister who handles the specific affairs of the court, he has long seen the crisis behind it. Since the end of Tang Dynasty, in just a few decades, after five dynasties and ten kingdoms, one of the main reasons is that no one can completely control and suppress these arrogant soldiers.

The official family is considered a hero, and he can temporarily suppress many arrogant soldiers in the world, but it cannot be completely resolved, and continuous compromises are required.

For example, when conquering Huainan, they could only acquiesce to Bai Yanyu, Zhao Chao and other soldiers would plunder the people; The officials can only bear with it, write a few words of reproach, and dare not actually punish them; and for generals like Shi Congyun, the officials dare not move even if they have concerns.
Outsiders don't know these things, and they all think that the official is supreme, omnipotent, and can do whatever they want. They help the official to deal with affairs, and the important ministers who have been around the official for a long time are very clear about the situation. Power is the result of mutual balance and compromise. .

And this time it was even worse, what would happen without the government to suppress the arrogant soldiers?
In the past few decades, there have been too many examples of this, mutiny everywhere, kings everywhere, and then a person who can best represent the interests of those arrogant soldiers will be replaced as the emperor.

Wang Pu, the youngest, was a little anxious: "I, the two sage kings of the Great Zhou Dynasty, have managed to gain momentum. Over the past few years, I have defeated the Northern Han, Western Shu, Tang, Nanping, Wuping, and Liao successively. It would be a pity that there would be an accident at such a juncture!

You are all talented people, you must not be depressed, you should think of a way. "

No one answered his words, Li Gu who was sitting in the corner of the small pavilion closed his eyes and meditated, if he said something important in the past, everyone would let Li Gong say it first to show respect, Li Gu is a veteran of several dynasties, with great qualifications and contributions.

But not this time. Instead, he sat in the corner and was ignored from the beginning, because the government did not arrange him when they arranged for the assistant minister, probably because they were afraid that his prestige would be too high, so the situation would soon become what it is now. His colleagues respectfully asked him to speak first.

Li Gu was not very angry, the officialdom was like this, and he had already gotten used to it after going through several dynasties.

However, seeing everyone's desperation, he opened his mouth to wake up: "Masters, this matter is actually not that difficult. Think about Xishu, Nantang, Nanping, Wuping, and Liao. Who led the troops to fight these, who led the battle?" Naturally, your soldiers can also suppress those arrogant soldiers."

Li Gu's words made everyone stunned, like the same words awakening a dreamer.

"Shi Congyun!" Wang Pu said, and then he hesitated: "Li Gong, Shi Congyun is indeed capable, and the old man fully believes that he can discipline soldiers and generals, but he is already an extremely human minister. If you continue to rely on him, and add another title, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the crown prince will not be guaranteed."

Although Wang Pu's words were euphemistic, the meaning was already very clear, and everyone's expressions were different.

Wei Renpu was very calm, Wang Pu was a little confused, but Fan Zhi was full of anger: "Relying on a traitor and traitor? I think Li Gong is old and confused!"

Li Gu didn't mean to quarrel with him. He was different from Fan Zhi. In addition to being a chancellor throughout his life, Li Gu often traveled with the army, raising grass and supplies for the army, and ensuring supplies; in addition, he personally led the army. , fought in battles, and in the Battle of Huainan, he took the lead in leading troops across the Huaihe River and erecting pontoon bridges to open the way for the follow-up army.

So he is well-informed and has a peaceful temper, not because he has no temper, but because he is too lazy to argue with them. In the eyes of these officials, a few words of "face" are irrelevant to Li Gu who is used to life and death.

"The old man only said a few important things, and now the matter is no longer about fighting for the crown prince, but whether or not the Jiangshan Sheji, who have finally gathered together, should be wanted.

With all due respect to the old man, if the official family leaves, if no one can restrain the arrogant soldiers and subdue the military envoys such as Li Jun, Li Chongjin, Fu Yanqing, etc., the overall situation will not last long for China (the country of the Central Plains) , will repeat the mistakes of the former Liang (Later Liang), Tang (Later Tang), Jin (Later Jin), and Han (Later Han). " Li Gu's words were bolder and more straightforward than Wang Pu's.

Wang Pu and Fan Zhi's faces were very ugly, and Fan Zhi said on the spot: "You are talking about treason! I want to sue you for treason!"

Wang Pu hesitated to speak, because he was too upright and had few friends, Li Gu was one of the few friends he made good friends with, so he didn't expect to say such words at this time.

In the end, the few people disagreed with each other, turned their heads and walked away, and waited in various places in the yard outside the Long Live Hall, but the atmosphere became more tense, and everyone had their own thoughts.

Until the evening, the official still didn't wake up, and his breath became weaker and weaker.

That night, the chancellors did not dare to leave, so Empress Fu ordered the eunuch Wei Min to find beds for them, and lay down on the floor in the Chui Gong Hall to wait.

While the atmosphere in the palace was tense, Shi Congyun had already led his army across the Yellow River. Because there were no marching arrangements and acquaintances before, the ferry officials did not arrange enough boats.

But when the local people heard that it was Shi Congyun's army, the army that defeated the Khitans triumphantly, the news spread quickly, and the nearby people offered to help one after another. Many people offered their own boats to ferry the army across the river for free. .

The itinerary, which was originally thought to be delayed, was sped up instead, and because there was no requirement to prepare a large number of ferries in advance, the officials at the South Bank Ferry did not know the news. After the army landed, he hurriedly came to see him still in a daze.

In this way, Shi Congyun's army quietly reached the south bank of the Yellow River, and the court still knew nothing about it.

(End of this chapter)