Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 276 Han Zhang’s Purpose

Yuan Wenshao was not surprised that Han Zhang would come to him.

With their status at this level, they can't make schemes and they won't really fight to the death.

He counterattacked, and Han Zhang naturally knew that his plan had been seen through.

If Han Zhang doesn't come, it will do no good to anyone if the two of them continue to fight.

"Xiangong Han has played a good chess game. How can I dare to cooperate with you, otherwise I don't know if I will be betrayed by the Xianggong one day." Yuan Wenshao said with a hint of ridicule.

Han Zhang's face was ugly. He had been in a high position for many years. Even in the city, he was angry when he was ridiculed by a junior Yuan Wenshao.

However, he knew that once he got angry, the two of them would be at odds with each other.

Han Zhang took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said: "Everything in the world is for profit, and everything in the world is for profit. Marquis Yuan seems to be in the sky now, but in fact he is walking on thin ice. If he is not careful, he will be There will be no recovery. If we cooperate, we will both benefit. Marquis Yuan should understand this truth."

"Haha, my troubles don't seem to be as much as those of Grand Master, right?" Yuan Wenshao said lightly.

Han Zhang's best choice now is to retreat bravely.

However, when an official reaches the level of Han Zhang, let alone whether he is willing to part with it or not, even if he has this intention, he cannot just retreat if he wants to.

Zhao Zongquan has the handle on Han Zhang. If he retreats, how can the new Grand Prime Minister be as obedient as Han Zhang.

"How can Marquis Yuan be better than me? From the moment the Queen Mother conferred a title on you, it was impossible for you to have a happy death. If you had not entered into the muddy waters between the official family and the Queen Mother, you might have had a chance of a happy death. These things With Yuan Hou’s intelligence, can’t he understand it?” Han Zhang said.

A hint of gloom flashed vaguely in Yuan Wenshao's eyes.

He has naturally considered these.

As Zhao Zongquan's control over the court becomes stronger and stronger, it is very likely that Zhao Zongquan will take action against him after the Queen Mother completely loses power.

"hehe."

Han Zhang smiled slightly and said: "Yuan Hou, what I did before was indeed wrong, but I just want to cooperate with you. We have no hatred directly, and there is no need to fight each other. Only by working together can we protect ourselves."

Yuan Wenshao came back to his senses and said calmly: "The Grand Prime Minister said it nicely. Your troubles are now, and my troubles will be in the future. You will have already retired from office by then. The so-called self-protection is just to protect you. Cooperation will not help me. What’s the benefit?”

"Marquis Yuan's words are wrong. Nowadays, the officials use their confidants, and most of the confidants in Yuzhou are military generals. The officials' use of these people has made the civil servants in the DPRK and China dissatisfied." Han Zhang said.

Yuan Wenshao frowned and said, "So what?"

The opposition between civil and military forces has been like this since ancient times.

The Great Zhou Dynasty valued civil service over military affairs, and the contradiction between civil and military affairs became even deeper.

It's just that because of the power of civil servants, it's not very obvious.

Nowadays, officials place great emphasis on their confidants, and it is normal for civil servants to be dissatisfied.

Han Zhang asked in reply: "Does Marquis Yuan know the purpose of this Xixia mission?"

Yuan Wenshao looked at Han Zhang in surprise and said, "Does the Grand Prime Minister know?"

"Haha, people in the Ming Dynasty don't tell secrets. I have contacts with Xixia's spies who are hiding in Bianjing, and Marquis Yuan also knows about it. Marquis Yuan is not surprised. Why would I do such a thing if I am a great minister?" Han Zhang said.

"Appreciate further details."

Yuan Wenshao frowned slightly, he really found this strange.

Before Han Zhang was demoted, his official position was not low. As long as the officials below him were filial, he would not be short of money.

It's unlikely to be about money.

Speaking of Quan, he was demoted to Jiangnan before, and contacting Xixia did not help him at all.

"Actually, I have been in contact with Xixia for a long time. When I was an official in the northwest, I repelled Xixia's attacks many times and even captured a Xixia marquis alive. This is why I was promoted so quickly," Han Zhang said. .

"That's it!" Yuan Wenshao murmured.

From the time he became an official until he became the Grand Prime Minister, Han Zhang is like a legend.

Han Zhang only passed the imperial examination in his late thirties. At that time, he was only at the bottom of the second class, not even comparable to Wen Yanjing.

When Xixia became independent, Zhou sent troops to attack Xixia and suffered a disastrous defeat.

At that time, the northwest had insufficient troops and could only defend against Xixia.

Even so, the cities on the northwest border were often attacked by Xixia.

Later, the old leader of Xixia died of illness, the new king succeeded to the throne at a young age, and the queen mother took power. Xixia continued to plunder the northwest border.

At that time, Han Zhang was transferred to serve as the magistrate of a city on the border.

During an attack by Xixia, the garrison general died in battle. Han Zhang personally went to the top of the city to command the soldiers. Not only did he repulse the Xixia attack, he even almost annihilated the invading enemy with his strategy.

The news spread back to Bianjing, and the whole country was excited.

Han Zhang was not only promoted, but also ordered to take control of the military.

At that time, Duke Dingguo had just inherited the title and had not yet become the commander-in-chief of the northwest.

After Han Zhang took control of the army, he repeatedly predicted the enemy's advance, causing Xixia to lose troops and generals, and did not dare to invade the border.

He even surrounded and killed the commander-in-chief of the Xixia army at that time.

After Xixia did not dare to invade the border, the northwest fell into calm. As a result, Han Zhang was transferred to the capital and became the Privy Council envoy of the second rank.

From the sixth grade to the second grade, it only took four short years, which seemed like cheating.

Later, because of the failure of the New Deal, he was demoted to Jiangnan and became the magistrate. Eight years ago, he was transferred to Bianjing and became the Grand Prime Minister, which he held for eight years.

A civil servant who never failed to lead an army was called the God of War among the people.

Now it seems that this military god has a lot of water. Someone in Xixia leaked the news and route of sending troops to Han Zhang.

But why did Xixia do this?

The person who could obtain this information must have a high status and would not be able to do such a treasonous thing.

"Isn't it strange?" Han Zhang said with a smile: "The person who leaked the information to me was Feng Rushan, Duke of Xixia An."

"Impossible!" Yuan Wenshao said in disbelief when he heard this.

"Do I need to lie to you? At that time, the old Xixia king passed away, and the new king who succeeded him was not born of the Xixia Queen Mother at all. After the Xixia Queen Mother came to power, she promoted many relatives into the army and frequently launched wars, just to save her relatives. Complete control of military power through meritorious service. An Guogong is the number one person in the Xixia military and is loyal to the old king. Naturally, he does not want to see such a thing happen." Han Zhang said.

Yuan Wenshao fell silent when he heard this. If so, it is really possible.

Doing this will not only defeat the Queen Mother of Xixia's plan, but also eliminate some of the Queen Mother of Xixia's people.

The leaders of the army were all loyal to the Queen Mother's side. If they lost the battle, even if they saved their lives, they would be punished when they returned.

But Han Zhang was just a general judge at the time. Why did Xixia ask him to cooperate?

As if seeing Yuan Wenshao's doubts, Han Zhang explained: "Feng Rushan sent a messenger to contact the generals in the northwest. The messenger was accidentally discovered by me. I thought this was an opportunity, so I reached a cooperation with him."

Yuan Wenshao knew that there must be something else involved, but he did not ask. He was silent for a while and said, "What do you mean when the Grand Prime Minister tells me these things? Aren't you afraid that I will leak it?"

"Haha, I'm not a traitor. I've even kept the northwest peaceful for more than ten years. If you tell me, no one will believe you. So what if someone does?" Han Zhang said lightly.

He dared to say this to Yuan Wenshao and considered every possibility. "As for talking to Yuan Hou about this, I also want to learn from Feng Rushan." Han Zhang said.

"You are crazy!"

Yuan Wenshao looked at Han Zhang in horror. His so-called imitation of Feng Rushan meant that he wanted to betray Zhou's military deployment to Xixia.

Once Xixia masters these and breaks the northwest alignment, the entire northwest may be lost.

At that time, if the Liao Kingdom takes advantage of the situation, it may destroy the country.

"Marquis Yuan has misunderstood. It is naturally impossible for me to leak the deployment of troops in the northwest. Before Xixia's mission, Feng Rushan sent someone to contact me and asked me to facilitate the marriage, and to find a way to prevent Xixia from sending troops to Hehuang. Dazhou sent troops to interfere." Han Zhang said.

Yuan Wenshao pondered for a moment, looked at Han Zhang and said, "Do you want to send a message to Xixia when Zhou Dynasty sends troops?"

He now somewhat understands Han Zhang's purpose.

Han Zhang would not prevent Zhou from sending troops, on the contrary, he would promote it.

Once Zhao Zongquan mobilizes troops, he will definitely use those confidants.

Han Zhang then revealed the marching route, troop deployment and other information to Xixia, and the Great Zhou Dynasty would definitely be defeated.

Zhao Zongquan will not be able to protect those people by then.

Once Zhao Zongquan's confidant is removed, Zhao Zongquan will have no one to use.

At that time, civil servants regained control of the court, and Zhao Zongquan was little more than a puppet.

"Have you never thought about the consequences once Xixia takes Hehuang?" Yuan Wenshao said with an ugly face.

To be able to sit in the position of Grand Prime Minister, in addition to calculation, ability is also indispensable.

Even though Han Zhang, the god of war, has a lot of talent, it is impossible for him not to see the dangers of Xixia's occupation of Hehuang land.

Even so, if Han Zhang still does this, what is the difference between it and betraying his country?

"I have no choice but to do this, just to protect myself. Moreover, even if Xixia takes Hehuang, it will inevitably lose its troops. There may not be a chance to take it back by then." Han Zhang said.

It is true that Han Zhang was trying to protect himself, but Yuan Wenshao found it difficult to agree with this statement.

After all, whether Zhao Zongquan would touch him or not was just his own guess.

Just for this kind of speculation and to make himself feel at ease, he did this treasonous act.

Yuan Wenshao didn't say anything about the justice of the family and the country to Han Zhang. In his opinion, Han Zhang was crazy now, and he wouldn't listen even if he said it.

Instead, Yuan Wenshao was thinking about how to stabilize Han Zhang.

Han Zhang is a madman. He told him all these secrets, including his own plans. If he refused, how could Han Zhang let him go.

Yuan Wenshao's first thought was to stabilize Han Zhang first and then report him.

But Yuan Wenshao soon gave up this idea.

Since Han Zhang dared to say it, he must have considered the possibility of him rejecting it.

He has no evidence, so what can he sue?

But if you agree, you must agree first. Han Zhang has said so much to him. If he doesn't agree, Han Zhang will definitely not let him go.

With Han Zhang's viciousness, who knows what methods he will use to deal with him later.

As the old saying goes, it takes a thousand days to be a thief, but a thousand days to prevent a thief.

Now I can only agree first and then slowly look for opportunities.

But don't agree too readily, otherwise Han Zhang will definitely become suspicious.

Therefore, Yuan Wenshao pretended to be very hesitant and struggling.

"As the saying goes, if everyone does not serve himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. What I did was also a helpless move. I know that Yuan Hou cares about the country, but if he doesn't do this, when the officials take full power, we will not end well. I am quite old. , I don’t care about anything anymore. But Yuan Hou is still young. Even if Yuan Hou is not afraid of death, where are your wife and children?" Han Zhang advised.

You don’t care about anything. If you didn’t care, would you do such a traitorous thing?

Although he was cursing secretly in his heart, his face looked like he was struggling even more.

Han Zhang continued to persuade: "Nowadays, many generals in the army are old. Once those ministers who are hiding in the palace are defeated and demoted, Marquis Yuan will be the mainstay of the army. It may not be impossible to become a privy envoy by then."

Ha ha.

Yuan Wenshao sneered in his heart, if he became the Privy Councilor, he would be close to death.

This position has always been held by civilian officials. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, only one military general has served as Privy Councilor.

The final outcome was very miserable.

If others were really moved by what Han Zhang said.

But Yuan Wenshao was very calm. He didn't want to die, so he didn't dare to worry about this position.

However, he felt that he had finished pretending, so he pretended to be moved and asked, "I wonder what Mr. Han wants me to do?"

"Haha, the officials attach great importance to the Hehuang strategy proposed by Marquis Yuan. The officials intend to send Marquis Yuan to the border to defend Xixia. When the troops are sent out, Marquis Yuan will also go out with the army. I need Marquis Yuan to provide me with the route of the troops. "Han Zhang said.

"Does the Grand Prime Minister think that I am a fool? If I go out with the army, I will be punished if the army is defeated." Yuan Wenshao said with a cold face when he heard this.

He had previously wondered why Han Zhang kept staring at him.

I spent a long time trying to get him to provide information.

"Don't be upset, Marquis Yuan. Even if you send troops, you won't be the commander-in-chief. There is a high probability that it will be Uncle Shen. The Marquis only needs to oppose one or two things when Uncle Shen makes a decision. Even if he loses the battle, his guilt will not be heavy. I will naturally I will help Mr. Hou get out of crime." Han Zhang said.

Yuan Wenshao sneered in his heart, he really thought he was a fool.

He could guarantee that as long as he really did what Han Zhang said, Han Zhang would tell the truth immediately if something happened, and he would become the scapegoat.

However, in order to stabilize Han Zhang, Yuan Wenshao pretended to hesitate for a while, nodded and said: "I can agree to what the Grand Prime Minister said, but the Grand Prime Minister must agree to two conditions."

"Let Marquis Yuan tell you, if it is within my ability, I will not refuse," Han Zhang said.

"First of all, Mr. Han must persuade Wen Yanjing to admit the marriage." Yuan Wenshao said.

Han Zhang heard this without any hesitation, nodded and said: "The Lu family are wealthy businessmen from the south of the Yangtze River. Wen Yanjing will be worthy of marrying him. I will persuade him."

Wen Yanjing may have some talents, but Han Zhang doesn't value him.

He is already so old, even if he supports Wen Yanjing, it is not certain that he will still be around when Wen Yanjing becomes effective.

He wanted to use Wen Yanjing to tie Yuan Wenshao to his chariot. Now that his goal was achieved, he didn't care who Wen Yanjing married.

"The second condition is that after the matter is completed, I must be guaranteed to be the privy envoy. Otherwise, Mr. Han, don't blame me for turning my back on him." Yuan Wenshao said.

Yuan Wenshao had long expected that Han Zhang would come to negotiate with him, and he wanted to mention this condition during the negotiation.

However, he did not expect that Han Zhang would be so crazy and wanted to use Xixia's help to get rid of Zhao Zongquan's confidants.

Therefore, in order to make Han Zhang believe in himself, the following condition was added.

(End of this chapter)