National color raw owl

Shen Keqiu and all the officials were stunned when they heard the words, wondering if they had heard it wrong, some of them even looked blank, Xue Huai'an sighed: "Everyone, the Majesty passed away a few days ago, now the state affairs , will be handled by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

What Xue Huai'an said was true, and everyone realized that Shen Keqiu got up from his chair and fell to his knees on the ground with a loud wail. The other officials also fell to their knees one after another. Inside, within a few moments, there were already bursts of wailing, and more than a dozen officials were weeping bitterly, beating their chests and stamping their feet.

The prince's expression was gloomy, Xue Huai'an's eyes were also red, and seeing everyone howling loudly, he also cried a few times with him, then went to help Shen Keqiu, and said: "The old censor is old, the sage passed away, everyone in the world Sad, but the country is going to be difficult, the boss still has a lot of things to do, you must take care of your health."

The crown prince raised his hand and said, "My lord, the royal father passed away, and this Palace is also heartbroken, but the news of the royal father's death has not been announced to the world, just as Lord Xue said, the current situation is difficult, we have to help each other, Let’s get through this difficult time together.”

Shen Keqiu was helped up by Xue Huai'an, and all the officials stood up one after another, wiping away their tears, Shen Keqiu choked up and said: "Your Highness, in the opinion of the old minister, the death of the Holy One should not be concealed, but should be announced to the world!"

Xue Huai'an frowned and said: "Master, there are many thieves and thieves in the world, and the world is in turmoil. It's okay if they don't know the death of the Holy One. Once they know the death of the Holy One, the consequences...!"

"Your Highness, the southeast half of the wall has been lost, so there is no need to talk about it." Shen Keqiu wiped away his tears, and said seriously: "The ministers already know that Feng Yuanpo conspired against him, and the imperial court used thunder to eradicate him. Now Hexi is controlled by the imperial court. The next step is to rectify the army in the north and recover the capital...!" After a pause, he said: "Since the Holy Majesty has passed away, the world is yin and yang, and the country cannot live without a king. If the news of the Holy Majesty's death cannot be announced to the world, The crown prince will not be able to inherit the great rule, then my Great Qin will be in a state where the empire has no king, and it will be of no benefit to the current empire!" Looking at Xue Huai'an, he cupped his hands and said, "Master Xue's concerns are naturally too much. It's not unreasonable. Under the current situation, the empire has various ways, but some have ulterior motives and are ready to move. Some may be afraid of the majesty of the Holy One and dare not act rashly. Once the news of the death of the Holy One is announced to the world, maybe it will really Many rioters jumped out of the stage."

Xue Huai'an nodded and said: "Exactly, His Highness is also worried about this."

"Your Highness, at this point, those who can obey the court's order are naturally loyal to the court. Those who have ulterior motives will not obey the order even if the court's order arrives." Shen Keqiu said seriously: "Northern Although there are people with ulterior motives in various ways, the situation is much clearer than in the south. Letting a group of people with ulterior motives be ready to move, it is better to tell the news to the Holy One. If someone really jumps out, it may not be a bad thing, at least Let His Highness and the court know the loyal and traitorous ministers at a glance."

The crown prince nodded slightly, and an official next to him cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, I have been waiting on the road to Hexi, but I have also discussed what the court should do next."

"Oh?" The crown prince immediately asked, "Just tell me."

The humane said: "There are so many thieves in Tianmen, sweeping across the southeast, and now everyone talks about Tianmen Dao, they are all pale, but the ministers think that as long as the imperial court stabilizes its position in the north, gathers a heavy army, and drives southward, Tianmen Dao It’s actually vulnerable.”

"Oh?"

Shen Keqiu explained: "Your Highness, when we left the capital, a vanguard force from Tianmen Dao had already entered the capital, and we actually saw the so-called Tianmen Daoists."

The prince immediately asked: "I have also received news that Tianmen Dao has defeated Qin Shui. Lord Shen, Tianmen Dao is really brave and good at fighting? Is it that even Old General Lei is hard to resist?"

Shen Keqiu shook his head and said: "From the very beginning, the imperial court thought that Tianmen Dao was just a mob gathered by a group of rioters, but later General Lei led his army to the southeast to suppress the rebellion, and was frustrated several times, even the old general...! With a gloomy expression, he hesitated for a moment before continuing: "It is precisely because of this that the imperial court began to think that Tianmen Dao is difficult to deal with, and greatly overestimated the fighting power of Tianmen Dao."

"Oh?" The prince frowned and said, "According to you, the Tianmen Dao is weaker than the court estimated?"

"After this catastrophe, the old minister can be regarded as a person who died once. If there are some things, he will speak out to His Highness." Shen Keqiu said solemnly: "Although the old minister is only a civil servant, he also understands that the success or failure of a war depends on the success of a good general and an elite soldier." Although it has played a great role, in the final analysis, it depends on the right time, place and people."

The prince said seriously: "What the boss said is not bad, it is exactly so."

"Old General Lei is certainly a famous general in the world, and the guards transferred from the capital are all elite soldiers, but only this elite soldier cannot be the condition for victory or defeat." Shen Keqiu said with a solemn expression: "Tianmen Dao started from Jianghuai, but soon spread to the East China Sea. The people there are so easily bewitched by Tianmen Dao. The reason has a lot to do with the imperial court."

All the ministers looked at each other, but they didn't say anything, but they all knew in their hearts that what Shen Keqiu said was actually related to the emperor.

The prince pondered for a while before sighing softly: "After the father is old, some things... are really inappropriate...!" He naturally knows that the source of the empire that it is now comes from the emperor, but after all As the son of man, and in front of everyone, saying this is already admitting to everyone that the emperor is stupid.

"All the taxes and taxes in the empire are increased, and the people's lives are difficult. The Tianmen Dao takes advantage of the vacancy, and naturally it is easy to deceive the hungry and poor people." Shen Keqiu looked solemn, and his tone was also heavy: The sect has been active in the southeast for many years, and as soon as it rises, the Taoists of the Tianmen gather together like ants. For the Taoist, they have the right time, place and people to fight in the southeast, so it is definitely not easy to deal with."

The crown prince nodded, and Shen Keqiu continued: "In contrast to the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, the guard army led by General Lei is going to suppress bandits in the southeast. , but it may not be impossible to win, but... Hey, officials in the southeast are greedy for ink, and incompetent people can be found everywhere. Tianmen Dao threatens and lures them, and they can easily become puppets of Tianmen Dao. In the battle, the tiger and wolf divisions of the Great Qin Dynasty are no longer what they used to be. They are lax in training and have no fighting spirit. As far as I know, local officers and soldiers even have a serious problem of starvation. In many places, the strength of troops cannot reach When the manpower was full, the fight broke out suddenly. The troops were not enough, and a group of soldiers with no fighting spirit, not only could not help General Lei, but many soldiers and horses suddenly rebelled, which brought great trouble to the court. Because of this, Old General Lei was defeated in the southeast, although Old General Lei is a famous general of a generation, but...!" Shaking his head, the other ministers also looked sad.

Before the emperor was alive, the empire was riddled with holes and dangers abounded. Many upright and loyal ministers complained. The emperor was ruthless and punished many upright ministers. The rest of the people kept silent since then. The whole empire was in a state of death. In a word, although many people know in their hearts where the failure of the Southeast War ended, not many people dare to speak out.

Now that the emperor is gone, the crown prince is in charge, and Shen Keqiu and others were mostly members of the princeling party. At this time, there is no more scruples, and the empire has become what it is now, the emperor bears the unshirkable responsibility, but the crown prince closed the door because of his leg disease Not to mention, Shen Keqiu would not offend the prince when he said it at this time.

"Just now you said that the Taoism of Tianmen is actually vulnerable, why do you say so?" The prince asked, "You saw the Taoists of Tianmen in Beijing, how are they?"

Shen Keqiu sat upright and said, "Your Highness, although the Tianmen Dao has a large number of people, we have seen that their sergeants are not well organized and disciplined, and their combat effectiveness is almost the same as that of mobs with murder weapons. And we have seen with our own eyes, Although there are only a few thousand people in the thousands of Tianmen Dao soldiers who took the lead in entering the city, they are already fighting on their own, and even because of the looting of property, they all started their own hands."

Xue Huai'an wondered: "Your Excellency is saying that the disciples of the Heavenly Sect kill themselves?"

"Exactly." Shen Keqiu nodded and said, "The members of the Tianmen Daoists are all local rioters. A team of soldiers and horses are mostly fellow villagers from one village to one county. Once there is a dispute, people from a village will huddle together. If there is a dispute with someone from another village, if there is a dispute between people from one county and another county, then people from one county will huddle together again... Once there is a fight, it will be those generals of the Tianmen Dao. Difficult to direct them."

The prince sneered and said, "Sure enough, it's a mess of loose sand."

Xue Huai comforted Xu and said: "At the beginning they rebelled together, and they were hungry and poor at the beginning, maybe they could still be united, but when they looted a large amount of property, this contradiction appeared."

"Furthermore, as far as I know, although Tianmen Dao claims to have millions of people, there are only 3 or [-] people who can actually fight." Shen Keqiu said: "There are also some capable people in Tianmen Dao, who have trained a group of elite soldiers, but the number Too few, most of the Tianmen Daoists are just holding the banner of Tianmen Dao. It is like a village with a hundred or so people led by someone who raises a flag, and they are regarded as soldiers and horses of Tianmen Dao. Wherever the main force of the sect is, they will run to seek refuge. It would be good if the battle goes smoothly, but once they lose, most of the Taoists of the Tianmen will disperse... The Taoists of the Tianmen hardly have a clear combat goal. Their purpose is to Because I was hungry and poor, so I gathered together, under the banner of Tianmen Dao, to plunder other people, and many Tianmen Daoists plundered all directions, wandering everywhere...!"

The prince looked solemn, listened carefully, and nodded slightly from time to time.

"Most of the hundreds of cities in the southeast were looted by them, and many were even burned." Shen Keqiu said sadly: "It is impossible for them to take down a city. , Even the poor people will not be spared, just like locusts, when they pass by one place, they will harm another place...!"

The prince frowned and said: "The Tiangong of the Tianmen Dao, since he is bewitching the people to rebel, of course he is ambitious, and even wants to replace me with Daqin... But he indulges his subordinates in plundering without restraint, if it is said that he kills officials and steals wealth In order to gain the support of the people, but now even the people are not spared, so what is it for?"

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