Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 626: He Became Obedient After Being Beaten

After what happened that night, Da Zhenhui seemed to understand a little secret in Fang Zhongyong's heart.

But Dae Jung-hye felt that if the other person kept thinking like that for a long time, he would probably be very unhappy.

After all, no matter who Fang Zhongyong's subordinates are, they all hold the idea that "a slave's wish is to become a slave owner."

Leading such a group of people and directing them to contribute to the new dynasty.

Even if we gain the world in the future, we will have to reward people according to their merits, and this group of people will inevitably become "big parasites."

Such a world, just like the "Stories of Emperors and Generals" written by Fang Chongyong, has entered the cycle of reincarnation.

It must be a bitter thing to achieve success after hard work, but in the end it turns out to be completely different from what you expected.

Fang Chongyong may know exactly what will happen in the future, but he just doesn't have much power to change the current situation.

After all, a person's power is limited.

Da Zhenhui seemed to understand why Fang Chongyong used the pen name "Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng".

Reality and ideals are separated. Fame, wealth and power in reality cannot make him happy, let alone realize any value of life.

That is why Fang Chongyong wanted to write a book, but he did not dare to reveal his real name.

He wanted to expose this hypocritical set of rules of the game nakedly before the world and awaken those who were bewitched by the "divine right of kings."

He wants everyone to understand the ultimate secret hidden in the rules of the game of changing dynasties.

The sentence hidden behind "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born into a certain family?"

Just like what Fang Zhongyong said to Da Zhenhui that night: There is no good or bad person, only people with different ideas.

What needs to be eliminated is never a person, but an idea.

After thinking about this, Da Zhenhui felt that Fang Chongyong was indeed quite powerful.

His vision far exceeds that of people of this era, let alone his peers.

However, Fang Zhongyong, as the person involved, did not realize that Da Zhenhui's feelings towards him had changed a lot. It had changed from fear to understanding, and from understanding to worship and admiration.

Fang Chongyong has been very troubled recently because he received important news from the south: Ying Wang Li Yu has ascended the throne in Xiangyang. Under the call of Yan Zhenqing, many central government officials came to Xiangyang via the Wuguan Road. They also publicly issued a manifesto to denounce Li Baochen and vowed to take back Guanzhong.

It was very loud for a while.

Compared with Li Lin who could not hide things, Li Lu was more ambitious and better at forbearance, and was more like "the material for being an emperor."

As for Li Lin and Fang Chongyong, the manifesto did not mention them at all.

However, the handwritten letters from Li Lu and Yan Zhenqing were delivered to Fang Chongyong.

The profound meaning behind this is quite interesting.

Fang Chongyong was not vague either. He directly asked Li Lin to come to the Kaifeng government office for a meeting. He opened the letters in front of everyone and asked Yan Zhuang to read aloud the contents of the two letters.

However, it would have been better if he hadn't read it. After he finished reading it, everyone looked at Li Lin with strange eyes. And this puppet emperor was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into!
In the letter, Li Lu described in detail an incident during an outing that year when he toyed with a dancer, then abandoned her and caused her to jump into the lake and commit suicide.

Why did Li Yu do this? It was because he wanted to hint to Fang Chongyong:

From this small matter, we can see that Li Lin is a typical person who is "afraid of trouble" and "irresponsible". She is just a dancer, so what if she earns money in the mansion of the Ten Kings? But Li Lin just refused to take responsibility.

Of course, this is just Li Lu’s personal opinion, and outsiders don’t know whether it is true or not.

Later, Li Lu openly recruited Fang Chongyong in this letter and told him: Li Lin is a man who can't achieve great things, and a pearl like you is really a waste of money. It's better to serve me as your master, and you will have a share of wealth, honor, power and status.

You are the Right Prime Minister now. When you come to me, you are still the Right Prime Minister! Your status will not be lowered!
Yan Zhenqing's letter was about the other party's courage and "explaining the righteousness".

Yan Zhenqing said: The world is in this state now, which is really heartbreaking.

But as long as you follow Li Lu as your master, then the territories of Jingxiang and Henan can be connected. We can work together to clean up the world and return to Chang'an within three years.

In this way, the Tang Dynasty will be saved.

If the two parties cannot join forces, I am afraid that the chaotic situation in the world will continue for a long time. By then, you and I will be sinners of the Tang Dynasty.

It’s not that these words are unreasonable, but they are a classic case of moral kidnapping.

As long as you don't listen to me, you are a sinner, blah blah, nothing more than that.

Fang Chongyong had heard a lot of similar words in his previous life, so he didn't think there was anything strange about it.

Of course, Li Lu and Yan Zhenqing’s words could not make him change his original intention. At most, they would only disgust Li Lin.

"My dear ministers, what do you think?"

Li Lin, who was sitting on the main seat, asked with an embarrassed look on his face.

It was not a pleasant feeling to have one's secrets exposed. The key point was why he had abandoned the dancer. In fact, Li Lin had long forgotten about it.

That's right, he just didn't remember. He didn't feel proud or regretful, he just simply forgot.

She's just a dancer. Since she's in this line of work, she's there to be played with by the powerful.

Like an object.

Who would care what an object thinks? After the incident, Li Lin had already forgotten about it.

I didn’t expect that this bastard Li Lu still remembered it!
Whenever he thought about it, Li Lin felt so angry that his teeth itched.

"Your Majesty is the ruler of heaven. Li Yu is a villain and Yan Zhenqing is an accomplice of the tyrant. You don't need to be afraid of him.

As for their open attempt to win over a humble minister, your majesty need not pay any attention to this despicable attempt to sow discord."

Fang Zhongyong stepped forward, saluted Li Lin and said.

"You are truly the pillar of the country!"

Li Lin sighed with emotion and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The letters were read out in public, as if they were a public execution of him.

But it would be good if Fang Chongyong doesn't cause trouble.

Fang Chongyong set the tone with just one sentence; those "weird" ideas would no longer be openly discussed in the future.

For example, if someone proposed that Li Lin abdicate, it would really be embarrassing for this puppet emperor.

"Your Majesty, given the current situation, it is necessary to send troops to the south to deter Li Lu and prevent them from plundering the east."

Fang Chongyong said seriously.

He originally had no plan to use foreign troops this year, but Yan Zhenqing said in the letter that Li Lu had "100,000 armored soldiers" under his command, which was really a bit surprising.

Regardless of whether it is true or false, we must be lenient with the enemy and strike hard to deter them.

"You, the Right Prime Minister, please discuss these matters with the other ministers. I grant you the power to make the decision."

Li Lin said this insincerely, his tone was very reluctant, and he was ready to slip away.

What's the point of staying here any longer?

I can only watch Fang Zhongyong give orders while I can't say a word. It's better to turn a blind eye.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Fang Zhongyong shouted.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

The ministers behind him shouted in unison.

Li Lin said nothing and left the Bianzhou government office accompanied by Gao Shang. Anyway, Li Lin didn't feel embarrassed. It was no secret that he had no ability to handle government affairs. As long as he was not embarrassed, then others would be embarrassed.

After Li Lin left, many ministers breathed a sigh of relief, muttering secretly in their hearts: The troublesome person has finally left.

"Tell me, how should we deal with Li Lu's claim to the throne?"

Fang Zhongyong sat down in the seat where Li Lin had just sat, without any hesitation. No one in the hall felt anything about it, as if they were used to it.

"Right Prime Minister, I suggest that we send troops to Shouzhou to block the passage between Huainan Road and Shannan West Road. This can also intimidate Huainan and pave the way for the capture of Yangzhou.

Moreover, Shouzhou is adjacent to Bozhou and Yingzhou, so food and fodder supply is not a problem."

Li Quan stepped out of the line, and the other party, Chong Yong, saluted with his hands crossed and said.

The newly formed "Privy Council" was specifically responsible for formulating military strategies and doing this work. The functions of the former Ministry of War in the "Three Provinces and Six Departments" were further hollowed out and it had lost the power to participate in military decision-making.

Its function is increasingly leaning towards logistics support and daily account book management.

Fang Chongyong concurrently served as the Privy Councilor, while Li Quan, the Deputy Privy Councilor, was the person who actually managed the Privy Council.

"Shouchun City, the seat of Shouzhou, is a tall city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Who can take on the task?"

Fang Chongyong asked as he looked around at the crowd.

"Let Li Guangbi lead the troops to attack Shouchun.

Now Prince Sheng Li Qi serves as the governor of Huainan, Gao Shi serves as a military officer, Lai Zhen serves as the deputy governor of Huainan and the military commander of Shouzhou.

We can use courtesy before force.

Since Li Lu hasn't officially turned against us, we don't have to turn against him now."

Yan Zhuang saluted and suggested to Fang Zhongyong.

Prince Yan Li Yin, Prince Ji Li Huan, and Prince Yi Li Yu are still in Youzhou, Hebei, and have now fallen into the hands of Shi Siming. It is hard to say whether this "tyrant" will also learn from Fang Chongyong and play a trick of holding the emperor hostage to control the princes.

Because of the chaos in Chang'an, many royal family members were exiled to various states, and they were in a state of "silent" separatism. They did not issue any manifestos, but just watched from the sidelines, supporting whoever gained power.

He ruled one or several states and lived a carefree and easy life like a local emperor.

It cannot be said that Yan Zhenqing's letter was nonsense. The current situation and possible future development described by the other party do make some sense. Of course, it is not surprising that literati like to use moral kidnapping.

"Then we should use courtesy first and then force. If Li Qi refuses to listen to our persuasion, then we should ask Li Guangbi to lead the troops to capture Shouzhou."

Fang Chongyong said in a deep voice.

"It's all gone."

He waved his hand gently. With so many people at the court meeting, crowded in such a small government hall, it was indeed impossible to discuss any details.

Fang Chongyong immediately adjourned the meeting, but kept Yan Zhuang and Li Quan.

The three of them came to the study and sat down. Fang Zhongyong looked at the two and asked, "It was inconvenient to ask because there were so many people around just now. I want to ask, do you need a reply from Li Lu? Do you need to send someone to contact him?"

Shouzhou is not controlled by Li Lu now, and the purpose of taking this place is just to seize the strategic node in advance. There is nothing much to say about this matter. Huainan’s soldiers are weak, and Li Qi can’t make any waves.

As for whether to deal with Li Lu next and what the other party’s attitude is, it requires testing and confirmation.

"Right Prime Minister, Li Yu and Yan Zhenqing clearly think that we are people who can cooperate. Now is not the right time to turn hostile."

Li Quan said thoughtfully.

In fact, whether it was Li Lu or Yan Zhenqing, they both believed that anyone who ignored the Li clan and proclaimed himself emperor was courting his own destruction.

There are many examples mentioned above, from Huangfu Weiming at the beginning to Li Baochen and even Fang Zhongyong later, all of them supported the prince to ascend the throne in order to obtain the legitimacy of the legal system.

No one is seeking death.

Of course, these three people can be considered "success cases".

In fact, there are many "grassroots kings" in various parts of the Tang Dynasty who have declared themselves emperors in a county or a village, with hundreds of people under their command. However, before they could even make a fuss, they were destroyed by the provincial governor.

If this is the case, then it is not surprising that Fang Zhongyong gave up Li Lin and supported Li Lu, right? After all, isn't it all about supporting the prince to ascend to the throne?

This is the thought process of Yan Zhenqing and others, and it is also a reasonable judgment based on the current situation.

"We still have to send someone to find out the truth."

Yan Zhuang added.

“I think we may not be unable to talk about it.

Yan Zhenqing and Li Lu's sights must still be on Chang'an. But we have no intention of seizing Chang'an in the short term.

This is like two men competing for a group of women at the same time. If they are not interested in the same person, they can put aside their dispute and not interfere with each other.

There can even be tacit cooperation.”

Fang Chongyong gave an example that was not very appropriate, but very vivid.

Yan Zhuang and Li Quan nodded slightly, feeling that this was indeed the case.

"I suggest that Cen Shen go to Xiangyang."

Yan Zhuang saluted and suggested to Fang Zhongyong.

"Yes, let's do it."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said, but he couldn't help sighing in his heart.

The world is indeed becoming more and more chaotic. Bianzhou is a place surrounded by four warring states. Its long-term transportation advantages have not yet been brought into play, but its short-term strategic disadvantages have already emerged.

It seems that it is indeed necessary to drive a nail in Huainan to ensure the safety of the rear area.

Fang Chongyong thought secretly.

……

Bang!

The door of the mansion was kicked open, and a bandit wearing the armor of the Konghe Army but covered with black cloth broke in.

Wang Wang Wang!
Wang Wang Wang!
Wang Wang Wang!
The guard dogs barked wildly and rushed forward. The "bandits" killed the dogs and rushed into the front yard through the gate, killing anyone they saw, and rushed to the backyard!
Killed people all over the mansion.

"Kill! Just leave one alive!"

Zhang Shao, the commander of the Control Crane Army, shouted.

They came here to exterminate the whole family, and they had no intention of hiding their tracks. Not only did they wear the standard armor that only the Crane Control Army had, but they also swaggered around in Chang'an City.

According to the agreement reached in advance, Li Baochen had already led the main force of the army to Xianyang City to "suppress the rebellion."

Marshal Baochen was not there, and Chang'an City was so large, it was understandable that the defenders let a few well-armored bandits enter the city, right?
You know, even if you throw 100,000 people into a huge city like Chang'an, it's not certain that every corner can be well defended. It's normal for someone to take advantage of loopholes.

Isn’t the wall of each block meant to provide enhanced protection?

In less than an incense stick of time, Zhang Shao and his soldiers had finished their work. They wiped out the emperor's entire family, leaving only Li Lin's eldest grandson. No one else was left alive, regardless of gender, age, or beauty.

All were killed!
"Let's go to the next one!"

The work is done, Zhang Shao said lazily to his subordinates.

As a result, as soon as he turned around, someone cut his throat with a knife. He fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and then became motionless.

The soldier from the Konghe Army who killed him wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it. The group moved Zhang Shao's body next to the bodies of Li Lin and others, and then left.

(End of this chapter)