Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 620: The Elbow Cannot Twist the Thigh
Snow-white paper and dark ink.

Li Lin looked at the "confession" in his hand and his body couldn't help but tremble.

The people of Zheng's family in Xingyang said on behalf of Concubine Zheng that she was a lewd person who concealed the truth. But for Li Lin, as the person concerned, didn't he know whether his new concubine was a virgin on her first night?
Under the threat of power, black can be said to be white and a deer can be said to be a horse.

this is the truth.

The people of Zheng family in Xingyang were very attentive when they surrendered, and very smooth when they betrayed.

"What does it mean?"

Li Lin placed the letter on the table and looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked, his tone stern but calm.

Seeing that he was still pretending to be perfunctory, Zheng Shuqing sighed, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I came to Chenliu today to take Concubine Zheng to Daxiangguo Temple to be ordained as a nun. Please don't embarrass me, Your Majesty."

"No one can take my concubine away!"

Li Lin was so angry that he slammed the table.

His eyes were red and his face was ferocious, like an angry beast.

"Your Majesty, if you cannot understand this truth, then Zheng of Xingyang can only ask the court to send troops to clean up the filth in Your Majesty's harem.

Your Majesty's family affairs are also state affairs, please understand. "

Zheng Shuqing remained calm and saluted Li Lin with his hands crossed.

Gao Shang stepped forward and persuaded Zheng Shuqing, "Even if Concubine Zheng has a problem, just demote her to Concubine Zheng. After all, she is your Majesty's woman. How cruel it is to order her to become a nun? Moreover, Concubine Zheng is also a woman from the Zheng family of Xingyang. Why would the Zheng family disregard family ties and human relations?"

"Don't bother Eunuch Gao with this kind of thing. Isn't it ridiculous for the eunuch to talk about blood ties?"

Zheng Shuqing glared at Gao Shang and said sarcastically.

Hearing this, Gao Shang's face turned red with anger, but he didn't know what to say.

Yes, you are a eunuch, and you are still talking about family affection. Are you worthy of it?

He retreated to Li Lin's side, meeting the other's inquiring gaze, but finally he shook his head slightly and sighed.

The situation is stronger than people. Meaningless showing off does not demonstrate strength and courage, nor does it express wisdom and intelligence.

In the future, whether it was to chop Fang Zhongyong into pieces or to rip the profit-seeking Zheng family of Xingyang into pieces, that was a matter for the future. But now, Li Lin had no power to resist.

At this moment, he must give in.

If she refused to surrender, Zheng's clansmen would lead a team of soldiers from the Filial Piety Army with silver spears, rush into the palace and take Empress Zheng away.

What can Li Lin do?
Falling out is not good for anyone, let alone the emperor!
Similar things actually happened frequently during the Wu Zhou period. Ji Ge's biological mother was taken away and then executed.

"Gao Shang, go and call Queen Zheng over."

Li Lin weakly gave Gao Shang an order.

"I will go now."

Gao Shang bowed and saluted.

After he left, Li Lin's eyes were always on Zheng Shuqing.

And this "old minister of three dynasties" was as steady as an old dog. He neither spoke nor moved, just like a stone statue standing in the same place.

People who didn’t know would think that Zheng Shuqing had fallen asleep.

"I will let Concubine Zheng return to the palace in the future, the imperial palace in Bianliang City!"

Li Lin said word by word.

Zheng Shuqing said nothing, just saluted him with his arms crossed without any nonsense.

Soon, Concubine Zheng was brought in. She had never met Zheng Shuqing before, but she recognized the handwriting of the letter, which was written by her father!
"Your Majesty! I don't want to leave!"

The beautiful Concubine Zheng threw herself into Li Lin's arms, crying loudly and shouting desperately.

Zheng Shuqing frowned slightly and sighed silently.

"Don't worry, just stay at Daxiangguo Temple for a few days. After Bianliang City is repaired, I will send someone to take you back to the palace."

Li Lin made a lot of promises while patting Queen Zheng on the back.

At this moment, as a man and as an emperor, he has completely lost face!
If you can’t even protect your own woman, what’s the point of being an emperor?
At this moment, an indescribable feeling of humiliation filled his body and his cheeks felt like they were burning.

Li Lin hugged Concubine Zheng tightly, and only let go after a long time.

Empress Zheng raised her head and stared at Li Lin, but the puppet emperor did not dare to look her in the eye.

At this moment, Princess Zheng and Li Lin seemed to understand some truths that they had not understood before.

It seemed as if I saw the trajectory of fate.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late. It would be better to send Concubine Zheng to Daxiangguo Temple as soon as possible."

Seeing that Empress Zheng and Li Lin were being affectionate with each other, Zheng Shuqing coughed lightly to remind them.

"Go."

Li Lin waved his hand tiredly.

Concubine Zheng looked at him deeply, then turned and left, following Zheng Shuqing out of the study.

"Too deceiving!"

After Zheng Shuqing and the others left, Li Lin drew his sword and chopped on the table.

However, due to lack of force, the sword got stuck in the table. Li Lin staggered and took several steps back.

The feat of chopping the table with one sword was not completed.

Li Lin's chest rose and fell violently, just like his current agitated emotions.

“Your Majesty, Empress Zheng is only temporarily becoming a nun. Daxiangguo Temple is very close to the sealed city. It will be very convenient to bring her back when the imperial palace is completed in half a year.

Your Majesty must wait for the right time and accumulate strength for the future."

Gao Shang comforted Li Lin.

"I hope so."

Li Lin sighed. He hoped so too.

But can you really pick up your face once it has fallen to the ground?

I'm afraid it won't go that smoothly.

……

While Li Lin was still brooding over the departure of Empress Zheng, Fang Chongyong was in the study, planning the next military operation with his generals.

Well, to put it simply, it is to suppress rebellion.

There is certainly no problem for the tax police team under Cui Qianyou to inspect the land and confiscate assets.

However, it may not be effective against landlords and powerful people who have their own private armies.

We still need the elite troops of the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army to take action.

"Li Jiayou, the governor of Songzhou, attempted a mutiny. Is this true? Is there solid evidence?"

Fang Zhongyong asked in a deep voice, staring at Yan Zhuang with burning eyes.

He was also very surprised that as soon as the court announced the land inspection, some wealthy families actually wanted to rebel and contacted the local governor.

As for what these people are planning, it is actually easy to guess, not to mention that someone has tipped them off in advance.

The solution is to control Li Lin and then drive away or eliminate Fang Chongyong's forces.

As for whether it can succeed, in fact, this is not what those people need to consider at all. When a dog is desperate, does it need to consider whether it can jump over the wall?

Then of course you should roll up your sleeves and get to work!

However, these people were a mob, and their strength was dispersed. Not to mention that there was an internal response from Zheng Clan of Xingyang, just the fact that they kept sending private soldiers to Songzhou was enough to tell that something bad was going on, and it had already attracted Fang Zhongyong's attention.

Li Jiayou was a scholar, not the provincial governor appointed by Fang Chongyong. He was able to hold the position only because he was the provincial governor of Songzhou in the past.

In order to consolidate his position, Fang Chongyong did not replace him.

In fact, Li Jiayou and Yan Bojun are both people who have registered with Fang Chongyong, and they will be dealt with sooner or later.

So now one of them is the governor of Songzhou, and the other is the Sima of Songzhou, and they are arranged together. It will be convenient to catch them all in one fell swoop.

As expected, flies don't bite seamless eggs. Songzhou is the weakest point, and problems occurred in the government here at the critical moment.

It is not unimaginable that Li Jiayou and Yan Bojun "rebelled".

The officialdom of the Tang Dynasty was a society of favoritism. It was difficult for people without strong connections to climb up. For example, Yuan Jie was appointed as the governor of Bianzhou because he had an old relationship with Fang Chongyong in his early years.

Since the latter trusts him, he can do his job with peace of mind and won't have any extra thoughts.

Many rebellions may seem like "earth-shaking changes" at first glance, but in fact, upon closer analysis, it is revealed that they are just a matter of course.

"These people plan to start from Xiangyi County, Songzhou, and attack Chenliu County by surprise, clear out the imperial court and get the imperial edict. Then they will rush to Kaifeng County. As for other prefectures and counties, it is estimated that they will not have time to react by then.

Li Jiayou and Yan Bojun must have been desperate. They had agreed with the Zheng family in Xingyang to start the rebellion at the same time. "

Yan Zhuang introduced it tirelessly.

There was no problem with the rebels' marching plan. After all, there was only Fengqiu County blocking Chenliu County to the south.

If Fengqiu County cannot be defended, the rebels will have a great chance of taking Chenliu County.

As long as Chenliu County is captured, Emperor Li Lin will be controlled, and then the hope of success will be much greater if we march into Bianzhou.

In addition, people from the Zheng family of Xingyang would also cause trouble in various places in Bianzhou, distracting the attention of the defenders.

From this perspective, this rebellion can be considered "carefully planned."

Apart from not realizing that Zheng family of Xingyang had already sold them all, they hardly made any mistakes.

At least when the people from Zheng family in Xingyang came to report the news, the small court controlled by Fang Chongyong did not know that Li Jiayou and Yan Bojun had been bribed by those wealthy families.

The trouble with this matter is that if the rebels don't set out and take no action, it will be difficult for Fang Chongyong to find fault with them. At most he can replace Li Jiayou and Yan Bojun.

When fighting a war, it is important to have a legitimate reason.

If we want to smoothly carry out the land inspection and redemption, then it is inevitable to lure the snake out of its hole, obtain evidence of the crime, and then eradicate it completely.

When someone rebelled, the government sent troops to suppress the rebellion. Those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned, and those who should be beheaded were beheaded. This is the upright way!
"Wang Nandai led his troops to defend Yongqiu County, Feng Changqing went from Bozhou to the rear to attack the rebels' old nest Songcheng, and He Laohu set out from Caozhou Kaocheng to cut off the rebels' retreat.

I will personally lead the main force of the army to garrison Kaifeng City.

Ok, deal. "

Fang Chongyong waved his hand and decided on the plan to send troops.

It was just a rebellion in one state, and it was just the private armies of some wealthy families. Most of the people were unwilling to follow those people and make trouble.

Although they seemed to be coming with great force, they were doomed to fail after the plan was leaked. Fang Zhongyong was so skilled that it was easy for him to deal with this mob.

Of course, from a military point of view, this matter is definitely not worth mentioning, but from a political point of view, it is a different matter.

Since Li Lin was the emperor supported by Fang Zhongyong, no matter how outrageous a puppet he was, he still had some appeal.

In the future, there will be rebellions under the pretext of "clearing the court", and it is estimated that such things will happen from time to time, so we have to be on guard.

"Order!"

All the generals saluted and said in unison.

"According to the rebels' plan, the rebellion will begin after the court meeting tomorrow. You should prepare now."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand, signaling the generals to retreat.

After the generals left, Yan Zhuang came over mysteriously and said, "Marshal, are you busy now?"

busy?
Fang Chongyong was stunned, not knowing why Yan Zhuang asked this question.

"I'm fine, what's up?"

He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Let's go to Daxiangguo Temple together. There will be a good show to watch today."

Yan Zhuang said mysteriously.

"That's fine, just think of it as going for a walk."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, and the two of them changed into inconspicuous coarse cloth robes and wore a fu hat. They called Zhang Guangsheng, and the three of them went to a meditation room in Daxiangguo Temple with a small entourage.

Of course, I didn’t meet Houmo Chen on this trip.

"Miracles often happen in this temple."

After the three of them sat down, Yan Zhuang said meaningfully.

"Mysterious? Apart from the filth and theft and whoredom, what other mysterious things are there?"

Fang Chongyong asked curiously.

There are a lot of bad things in the temple, but generally speaking, they are just murder and robbery and debauchery.

"That's Zheng from Xingyang, showing loyalty to the Marshal."

A mocking smile appeared on Yan Zhuang's face.

Fang Chongyong nodded, roughly understanding what it meant.

Zheng of Xingyang attempted to squeeze out Houmochen by sending her daughter and establish a queen. She even planned to dilute Fang Chongyong's influence in the court through soft tactics in the future.

There is nothing wrong with this, because everyone has the right to develop themselves and expand their living space.

If people don't do it for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them.

But as a loser whose plot was thwarted, the people of Zheng family in Xingyang couldn't think that after they had done so much, Fang Chongyong would just raise the board high and then put it down gently, right?
Where in the world can there be such a cheap thing!

If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price!
If you stand on the wrong side, you will get spanked!
"I am very curious about what sincerity the Zheng family of Xingyang will show."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said.

After a while, Zheng Shuqing's nephew came in, bowed to Fang Chongyong, and also bowed to Yan Zhuang.

He said to everyone, "Please go out and check, Marshal, and don't make any noise."

After saying this, he led everyone out of the Zen room and stood behind a locust tree to peek.

Zheng Shuqing came to the courtyard with a young and beautiful woman dressed in silk and satin.

Then the woman knelt on a cushion and allowed the monk to shave her head. Fang Zhongyong couldn't see her expression from a distance, but he was sure that she must have looked ashen.

"This is Li Lin's new imperial concubine, Zheng. She has been divorced and has become a nun at Daxiangguo Temple."

Yan Zhuang whispered in Fang Zhongyong's ear.

However, the other party had known about this matter for a long time, and even Fang Chongyong read the "letter of repentance" earlier than Li Lin, so it is really not worth mentioning.

"Is that it?"

Fang Chongyong asked in some confusion.

What's so good about this? He doesn't plan to pick up the women left over by Li Lin.

Not to mention that Concubine Zheng is already a pair of sluts, even if she is a virgin, Fang Zhongyong does not intend to do anything to her. This kind of thing is meaningless.

From the perspective of personal needs, Fang Chongyong is not really that hungry for beauty.

"Even if a consort who has become a nun has already shaved her head, she can be quietly taken back after the limelight has passed.

By then, this incident would not be a slap in the face of the emperor, but of the marshal.

Li Lin probably thought that the day the new palace was completed would be the day he would take Concubine Zheng back to the palace.

Yan Zhuang sneered as he spoke, and then everyone saw several followers following Zheng Shuqing, holding down Concubine Zheng, and then one of them put a rope around her neck from behind and strangled her hard!
With a snap, Concubine Zheng's neck was broken.

This young beauty just collapsed straight onto the ground and didn't move at all.

The whole process was as fast as lightning! The speed was so fast that apart from the person who did it, even Zheng Shuqing, who was closest to him, didn't react.

Before Fang Chongyong could call for a stop, everything was over!
You have to stand firm when you stand on the side. Zheng of Xingyang expressed her loyalty to Fang Chongyong in such a cruel way: There is no such thing as Imperial Concubine Zheng in the world. Now the Marshal should believe our sincerity, right?
Fang Chongyong walked forward slowly and looked at the young woman lying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, and it was obvious that she died with her eyes open.

He squatted down and brushed his hand across the other person's eyes. Those terrifying eyes finally closed.

"I have no intention of killing her. She is also a member of your Zheng family. Why do you have to do it so ruthlessly?"

Fang Chongyong stood up and looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked.

The latter waved his hand gently, signaling his followers to retreat.

Zheng Shuqing looked at Concubine Zheng lying on the ground, sighed and said:

"Zheng didn't want to kill her. But His Majesty couldn't forget her and obviously wanted to rekindle their past relationship.

If he is recruited into the palace in the future, I am afraid that the Zheng family of Xingyang will fall into an endless abyss. A short pain is worse than a long pain, and one person's death is better than the death of the whole family.

Isn't the cruelty now for the sake of mercy in the future? "

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong was speechless.

Yes, if Concubine Zheng enters the palace again in the future, who can be sure whether it is Li Lin's insistence or the instigation of Zheng family in Xingyang? At that time, whose side will they, such a big family, stand on?

It would be better to let Concubine Zheng hang herself, sacrificing her alone and saving everyone else.

Let Li Lin give up his thoughts, let Fang Chongyong stop being suspicious, and let Zheng of Xingyang stop hesitating about hedging their bets.

"Give it a good burial."

Fang Chongyong sighed, feeling sad about the cruelty and ruthlessness of the world.

(End of this chapter)