No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 356: Taking advantage of the deposed emperor to rule the world

Xunyang City welcomed a large flow of strangers.

There were wealthy merchants from the western part of Gangnam Province who sought refuge in the southeast.

There were also officials who escaped and abandoned the city further south on the western border of Lingnan Road in the direction of Guizhou, rushing north in a hurry.

These non-stop groups of refugees brought more detailed news about the southwest to the Jiangzhou lobby. The news was summarized and gradually spelled out the full picture of the situation in the southwest.

"Master Wang, Master Ouyang..."

In the main hall of Jiangzhou Hall, there were many monks and officials gathered. Chen Yishan, a lychee envoy who had fled from Lingnan and was responsible for the palace lychee procurement, said with tears in his eyes:
"This Li Zhengyan is despicable and shameless, and has no martial virtues like his grandfather, the old British prince. He got the emperor's handwriting and the seal of the envoy from nowhere.

"He first asked someone to pretend to be the emperor's personal envoy and arrived in Guizhou. On the same day, he arrested Lan Changshi and imprisoned him for the crime of negligence in the mutiny of the Guizhou garrison.

"A few days later, Li Zhengyan arrived by post, pretending to be Sima Guizhou, and came to take up his post.

"He also said that according to His Majesty's secret order, the Gao family, the chieftain of Jisi Prefecture and Rong Prefecture next door, had rebelled and wanted to send troops to attack them.

"So he opened the treasury, drove out the prisoners who were exiled from various places, gave them armor, and built up armies. Then, he teamed up with the fake envoy Khufu to behead Lan Changshi in prison;
"Guizhou has no governor or long history, and holds the so-called secret decree of His Majesty. All the military and political power of the state fell into the hands of Li Zhengyan.
"Qian Zhaodu and other state officials who resisted were beheaded in public display. No one in Guizhou dared to resist.

"Then, this traitor bared his fangs, raised the troops of a state, held high the banner of restoration, and rebelled against me, the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

The main hall was packed with people, but there was silence.

Lychee made Chen Yishan's voice echo from the rafters.

"Kang Fu Li Qian?" Wang Lengran asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Chen Yishan nodded bitterly.

"They also used the name of King Xunyang Lixian... when he ascended the throne?"

"Correct!"

Chen Yishan gnashed his teeth and said:

"After taking control of Guizhou, the largest state capital in the west corner of Lingnan Road, Li Zhengyan no longer pretended to be a rebel. He actually established three government offices, one called Kuangfu Mansion, one called British Government Mansion, and one named Guizhou. The governor's office of the state.

"This rebel claimed to be General Kuang Fufu and took over the position of Governor of Guizhou. He appointed his former imperial censor Wei Shaoqi as chief historian, his former minister Du Shuqing as Sima, and a Hongzhou official named Yue Zi'ang as the recorder.

"The latter also wrote a remonstrance that was treasonous and slanderous against the saint.

"They have gathered more than [-] soldiers in the past ten days. They are holding high the banner to welcome King Lixian of Xunyang as emperor. They are marching northward from Guizhou in the southwest. They are very reckless along the way, attacking cities and territories, hoping to restore Liqian... "

"Where's the message?"

"Here it is." Chen Yishan immediately took out the manuscript.

Wang Lengran took it and opened it hurriedly. During the browsing process, the muscles with deep nasolabial folds on his face began to tremble.

"This Yue Zi'ang is so presumptuous, so presumptuous!"

A certain "request" was severely thrown to the ground and stepped on twice.

Wang Lengran's nose trembled, and he looked sideways at Ouyang Rong, who was frowning and pursed his lips.

"Ouyang Changshi, if I remember correctly, does this rebel named Yue Zi'ang have the same name as a scholar in the state school under your management? This treasonous person is also from Hongzhou. This It can’t be a coincidence, right?”

Ouyang Rong nodded without squinting:

"Well, it should be the same person."

And said softly:

"However, if Xianguan remembers correctly, Xianguan is the deputy of the governor, and this state school is also the state school under your rule, the governor."

"Don't shirk the blame. I trust you, so I entrust you with the people's livelihood affairs in Xunyang City. I'm not familiar with the state studies or anything like that."

In front of everyone in the audience, Wang Lengran rolled up his sleeves righteously, widened his eyes, and pointed his finger at Ouyang Rong, who was sitting upright:
"Besides, Li Zhengyan and his group of traitors passed through Xunyang City before. I remember that you were there to receive them all the time. You were very close to them. You were always present at every banquet, and you played the flute every night...

"Oh, does Ouyang Changshi know about their rebellion?"

The whole place was silent.

Under the quiet gaze of everyone, Ouyang Rong looked calm:
"Li Zhengyan's banquet in Xunyang City was not only attended by Xiaguan, but also most of the officials in Jiangzhou Hall, as well as celebrities from Kuanglu Mountain. They were much more active than Xiaguan, and even interacted with the governor. The famous monk Sihui who is too esoteric.

"If you follow the standards used by the Governor to identify the rebels' accomplices, you have already been surrounded by the rebels.

"Everything is fine so far. It seems that the governor is also an accomplice of the traitor."

"You fart." Wang Lengran laughed angrily: "I have never seen Thief Li before."

Ouyang Rong nodded:

"So many people have seen it in the Jiangzhou lobby, but the governor has never seen it. You are the white lotus in the mud everywhere. It is difficult not to believe that Li Zhengyan and others did not do it on purpose. They deliberately avoided suspicion for the governor."

Except for the outsider Chen Yishan, the Litchi ambassador who was looking around in confusion at the den of rebels, the Jiangzhou officials who were listening around looked at each other, with some agreement in their eyes, feeling that someone's logic was quite reasonable.

"You, you... are so glib and talk nonsense!"

Ouyang Rong ignored Wang Lengran, who immediately took the blame and drew a clear line, and frowned at Chen Yishan and asked:
"Guizhou is located on the western edge of Lingnan Road. It is the core state capital with the largest concentration of Han people in the southwest. It is also home to the largest number of military mansions on Lingnan Road, with a large number of garrison troops stationed.

"In addition to Lan Changhao, there are many senior officials and generals at the same level, as well as the supervisory censor... How was this taken away by Li Zhengyan?
"And how could the people of Guizhou Prefecture allow Li Zhengyan to gather so many troops in just a few days and follow him to rebel?"

Chen Yishan immediately replied: "It's all Li Zhengyan's evil words that confuse the public."

"It's not just that." Ouyang Rong shook his head and suddenly asked: "Lan Changhao was sentenced to death. How did the soldiers and civilians of Guizhou Prefecture react? Did they applaud?"

Chen Yishan choked.

Wang Lengran scolded: "What does Ouyang Changshi mean? Mr. Lan died unjustly, and you still ask such malicious questions and are so offensive. What is your intention?"

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and stared at Chen Yishan.

The latter hesitated, looked away, and whispered:

"There are evil people taking the lead among the common people, and there are indeed cheers, but Lan Changshi is absolutely loyal to the court..."

"I have another question."

Ouyang Rong interrupted, asking a question that hit the point of pain: "How is the giant Buddha built by Lan Changhao doing now?"

This question silenced the entire audience.

Wang Lengran also frowned and looked at Chen Yishan hesitantly.

The latter was embarrassed and had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer truthfully:

"On the day of Li Zhengyan's rebellion, he immediately sent people to overthrow the Buddha. Many people gathered to watch this..."

He explained:

"Master Ouyang, Master Wang, Li Zhengyan is so good at winning people's hearts. The court has worked so hard. Who knows that he is a rebel with evil intentions and deceives the ignorant people."

Everyone in the main hall remained silent.

Chen Yishan was a little embarrassed.

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly to him: "I know, thank you for the hard work."

Ouyang Rong took the article asking for payment and glanced through it.

After putting down his hand to pay the documents, he looked at the sky outside the main hall, sighed and said to himself: "The morning glow will not go out, but the sunset will travel thousands of miles."

Ouyang Rong had to admit that Mr. Li was indeed good at "choosing the day" and seizing the opportunity.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the weird atmosphere in the main hall, Wang Lengran frowned and answered Chen Yishan:

"More than just deceiving people, the old British man was highly respected for his public morality, but somehow he had such an unworthy descendant. His family was unfortunate, and all his connections in the British government were used by him as the basis for rebellion.

"I don't know how many of the military generals in Guizhou, Lingnan, were promoted by the old British Lord, or served under his command. They were originally a blessing, but they were used to commit treachery and cause countless harms!"

Yan Liulang put down the southwest line report in his hand, handed it to the people around him, and muttered without raising his eyelids:
"Li Zhengyan's army was overwhelming in the southwest. Along the way to the north, they responded like clouds and surrendered continuously. They were almost reaching the borders of Lingnan Road and Jiangnan Road.

"This kind of morale is even much greater than that of Cai Qinjun. This cannot be explained by a British government connection alone."

This muttering was particularly harsh in the main hall where the drop of a needle could be heard.

"What does Yan join the army mean?"

Wang Lengran frowned and said in a dissatisfied tone:

"Are you talking about the imperial policy in vain and His Majesty's judgment? Are you trying to say that the imperial court has lost the people's support?"

Yan Liulang said calmly: "Master Wang, you are serious. How dare you, a junior official? He is wearing one big hat after another."

"Humph." Without comment, as if thinking of something, Wang Lengran suddenly calmed down his expression, shook his sleeves, and said sadly:

"Want to know why Thief Li is so arrogant?

“It’s not because Prince Xunyang’s Mansion helped him a lot and gave him a great honor for free.

"Actually, I think this is a good idea. I can let Her Majesty the Queen take a closer look at who they are, thinking about Li Qian, and responding to Li Thief..."

The meeting broke up badly.

Everyone dispersed in a moment of silence.

Ouyang Rongxiu walked out of the main hall.

He could clearly feel that after the news came that Li Zhengyan was raising a flag to rebel under the banner of Xunyang Prince's Palace, Wang Lengran and others looked at him differently.

At the entrance of the Jiangzhou lobby, he took the reins from Yan Liulang. Before mounting his horse, Ouyang Rong suddenly thought of the reason why Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi and others stayed in Xunyang City for a long time a few months ago.

I also thought of the reason why Li Zhengyan persevered and visited Prince Xunyang's Mansion many times.

"Mingfu, are you okay?"

Yan Liulang looked worried and called out to Ouyang Rong, who was in a daze in front of the horse.

Ouyang Rong glanced at him and shook his head.

He got on his horse, raised his whip and left. Before he left, the weak-headed official looked back at the cloudy sky in the direction of Hongzhou in the west:

"So this is what I was waiting for."

Yan Liulang's confused voice came from beside him: "What are you waiting for? What is Mingfu talking about?"

Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sighed, suddenly raised his whip, and before riding away, he only left two words:
"Dayi."

More than half a month has passed since Li Zhengyan raised the Kuangfu banner and launched the rebellion in Guizhou. The Kuangfu army has now swept through less than half of Lingnan Road, and its momentum is still expanding rapidly, advancing with great success.

And Li Zhengyan asked Yue Ziang to write "Chao Wei Zhaoxi", which spread to various states and counties along the way, and soon reached the court in Luoyang, the sacred capital.

Ouyang Rong has read this appeal. The general content is as follows: First, he enumerates the numerous crimes of the empress Wei Zhao, and reveals them layer by layer, like a pearl.

Then it was pointed out that the Wei family was the root cause of the country's subjugation, thus revealing the necessity of Li Zhengyan's army to attack the Wei family this time...

Anyway, Ouyang Rong knew it was Yue Ziang's writing style as soon as he read it.

Who else but him could write such an impassioned and righteous statement?It just clicks.

However, it must have been under Li Zhengyan's instruction. The submission also severely criticized the construction of the Songde Center of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the four Buddha statues in all directions.

The whole world was told that this was an act of tyranny that wasted money and wasted the people. The Guizhou soldiers and civilians who were deeply exploited by local governors are proof of this.

The documents were sent back to Luoyang, the sacred capital, and the Zhou court was shocked.

The empress was furious and issued an edict to seize the official titles of Li Zhengyan's grandfather and father, abolish the British government office, dig graves and chop coffins, and change Li Zhengyan's grandfather and father to the Chou surname.

A few days later, news came one after another from the west corner of Lingnan Road to the north:
Li Zhengyan not only held high the banner of crusade against the brutal Wei Zhou, restored the old Li Qian, and opposed the central statue,
He also publicly announced that he had secretly met King Xunyang Lixian when he was in Jiangzhou.

He threatened that King Lixian of Xunyang was being monitored and imprisoned by Bao Zhou, and was being humiliated and abused.

The former deposed emperor quietly sent him an imperial edict, ordering Li Zhengyan to conquer on his behalf and go to Jiangzhou to rescue him.

When the news came, the ruling and opposition parties fell into a brief silence.

No one is a fool. The incident of Li Zhengyan pretending to be the emperor's personal envoy Khu Fu just happened. The so-called clothing and belt edict is not a real person, so naturally everyone is dubious.

What's more, there are Di Fuzi, Xiang Wangfu and other pro-liberation factions in the court who intercede and defend him.

King Lixian of Xunyang in Jiangzhou also immediately wrote a letter to apologize and defend the rumors.

However, Li Zhengyan still went his own way and ordered the world with the so-called clothing edict.

Immediately afterwards, something happened that caught everyone off guard. In Hongzhou, which had been silent for a long time, some people responded immediately.

Except for Cai Qin and other garrison generals who were the first to respond.

There was even Prince Teng's Mansion who showed little resistance when Hongzhou fell rapidly.

The young Teng King Li Lou and Hongzhou Governor Zhu Lingxu stood up together and publicly responded to Li Zhengyan's call, calling on people with lofty ideals in the world to welcome back the deposed emperor and restore Li Qian.

The sudden addition of the Li Shi clan king immediately added fuel to the rebellion.

However, what is more significant is that something called great righteousness is endowed with it.

As a result, some "undercurrents" in the world that were originally thinking about separation began to waver.

People's hearts are changing rapidly.

To put it simply, Li Zhengyan is competing with Wei Zhou for legitimacy.

Don't underestimate this light change.

There is a huge difference between rebellion and Kuangfu crusade.

For example, Cai Qinjun, who was originally a mutinous rebel, gained some legitimacy.

The places around them that had been resisting desperately began to waver, and the places that were already weak in resistance simply gave up their weapons and surrendered.

The resistance in and around Hongzhou is collapsing, and there are people in the prefectures and counties along the way that Li Zhengyan went north to conquer.

This is because in this world, people with clear minds are already rough and tumble. Most of them are country folk, merchants and citizens. They are resigned to public opinion and are easily brainwashed.

At present, in Jiangnan Dao and Lingnan Dao, a front against Wei Zhou is gradually forming, with great momentum...

　sorry for the lateness...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)