The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 147: Words are like arrows
After Wang Jun finished speaking, there was a slight private discussion in the hall, which quickly subsided.

Zhang Yijun, Shi Kuangwei.

These two names are relatively unfamiliar to most courtiers.

Occasionally, I know about it, but I don't take it seriously. Anyway, I don't have any friendship and I haven't received any benefits from Zhang Yijun.

Li Shouzhen said that he followed and rebelled, it didn't matter if it was true or not, he was a small role anyway.

If the imperial court wants to kill chickens to scare monkeys, it would be a good idea to attack Zhang Yijun.

The courtiers had no problem with this.

It's just that Wang Jun seems to have a lot of resentment towards Zhang Yijun Shi Kuangwei, and he feels like he is gritting his teeth when he speaks.

Wang Jun was in Chang'an before. Did he have a conflict with the Zhangyi Army?
As soon as Wang Jun finished speaking, Guo Wei frowned.

He has an impression of Squam, who fought the Khitans together in Hebei last year, Skw also helped Chai Rong guard Cangzhou, and made a lot of contributions.

Guo Wei originally planned a series of rewards, but after reporting them to the officials for approval, there was no news.

After Chai Rong explained, he found out that when he was in Cangzhou, the officials and Shi Kuangwei also had a very unpleasant quarrel.

There were only so many troops in Cangzhou at that time, and the officials and Chai Rong, Shi Kuangwei, and Fu Jinzhan were all unhappy, and they didn't know whose problem it was.

Few people in the imperial court have paid attention to the achievements of the Changyi Army. However, as a privy envoy and a capable minister who knows how to use troops, Guo Wei certainly knows the importance of the Changyi Army to the court and the achievements that the Changyi Army has made in guarding the country's borders over the years. .

Last year, the Tubo people took advantage of the emptiness in the pass and mobilized their troops to attack Longshan Pass. Fortunately, Zhang Yi's army defended the pass and kept Longshan Pass from falling into the hands of the Tubo people.

If Longshan Pass is lost, Yuanzhou will have no danger to defend, and the Tibetans will be able to enter the Jinghe River Basin. The northwest gate of Guanzhong will be wide open to the Tibetans.

Over the years, the focus of the court and the people has been on Hebei and the Khitan people.

But Guo Wei knew very well that in Guanzhong and Hexi, there were Tubo, Tyuhun and Qiang people who were the great enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Even the Dangxiang people entrenched in Xiazhou have begun to listen to the instructions rather than listen to the propaganda. They nominally respect the Kaifeng imperial court, but in fact it is no different from being self-reliant.

Guo Wei intended to strengthen defenses in Hexi, but the court always focused on Hebei, and the ministers never looked directly at the Changyi Army who was on the front line against the Tibetans.

Focusing on Khitan is the consensus of the court and a major policy. Guo Wei knows that he cannot change it alone.

After listening to Wang Jun's words, Liu Chengyou took it seriously and shouted coldly: "Shi Kuangwei colluded with Li Shouzhen. He has been accused of making and selling salt without authorization before and grabbing the salt profits of the court. This time, he did not repent and colluded with Li Shouzhen in an attempt to occupy Guanzhong and fight against him." The imperial court’s crime is truly unpardonable! I”

Just as Liu Chengyou was about to issue an order announcing that Shi Kuangwei would be deprived of all his official positions, Guo Wei hurriedly said, "Calm down the anger of the officials, and I have something to say."

Liu Chengyou suppressed his impatience and said, "Privy Minister Guo, please speak."

Guo Wei said in a deep voice: "I have said before that Fu Yanqing cannot be convicted of the crime based on a heaven-sacrifice proclamation alone, so how can we determine the crime of Zhang Yijun?
Three generations of historians have guarded the Zhangyi Army. They have been loyal for generations, guarded the border for the country, and fought to the death with the Tubo people. The Zhangyi army and people are also the people of our dynasty, and they are deeply favored by the country. How could they rebel against Li Shouzhen?
I think this matter should be thoroughly investigated before we talk about it, and we should not easily convict. "

Shi Hongzhao didn't want to defend Zhang Yijun. He also had the same surname of Shi, but he was of orthodox Han origin, not a Shatuohu like Shi Kuangwei.

However, Guo Wei winked at him, and Shi Hongzhao couldn't refuse, so he had to stand up and say a few words of agreement.

Wang Jun raised his voice and said: "Shi Kuangwei grabbed the royal salt profits, sold the salt privately, and kept a large sum of salt money for himself. This is an indisputable fact! There is another matter that I have not reported to the officials, and none of my colleagues know it. Affection.

Previously, officials ordered Jiao Jixun of the Fengxiang Army and Xu Xingsi, the salt envoy of Jingzhou, to enter Jingzhou to investigate Shi Kuangwei's salt production and sales.

Later, because Jiao Jixun received news of the sudden movement of the Shu army, he hurried back to Fengxiang to take charge of the overall situation, and the matter was left unresolved.

But Xu Xingsi, the capital salt envoy of Jingzhou, disappeared for no reason, and his whereabouts are still unknown.I suspect that Xu Xingsi has been killed by Shi Kuangwei! "

As soon as he said this, there was another uproar in the hall.

Wang Jun said loudly: "Please issue an order from the officials to temporarily remove Shi Kuangwei from the position of Jiedu Envoy, and wait until the matter is investigated clearly before discussing his crime. Li Yiyin, the condemned army, filed a lawsuit against Shi Kuangwei for allowing his subordinates to kill Li's children. It also needs to be clarified in detail.

Shi Kuangwei had many faults and was really not suitable to continue to serve as the governor of the Changyi Army.You can let Wang Shouen of the Jingnan Army take over temporarily, integrate the troops and horses of the two towns, and join forces with Jiao Jixun to advance into Chang'an, making it difficult for Li Shouzhen to take care of him. "

Wang Jun's words sounded impeccable.

First deprive Shi Kuangwei of his position, hand over the Zhangyi Army to Wang Shouen, integrate the forces of the two towns, and cooperate with Fengxiang Jiao Jixun to contain Li Shouzhen's rebel army from the west.

Countless successes are related to the imperial court's plan to counter the rebellion.

Guo Wei smiled wryly and shook his head. In this way, even if he wanted to defend Zhang Yijun, he didn't know how to say it.

Liu Chengyou immediately issued an order to remove Shi Kuangwei from all official positions and go to Beijing to await trial.
"Kaifeng Yin Liu Chong and Tianxiong Army Jiedushi Chai Rong are here to see you!"

Outside the main hall, the sound of singing suddenly sounded.

Liu Chengyou was startled, and then he swallowed the words that were on his lips: "Announcement of the two of them entering the palace."

The officials looked back and saw the emperor's uncle, Kaifeng Yin Liu Chong, and Tianxiong Army Jiedushi Chai Rong coming hand in hand and quickly entered the palace.

Liu Chong was sweating profusely and holding a document written on brocade silk.

"Your Majesty, Liu Chong and Chai Rong, pay homage to your Majesty!" They saluted.

Liu Chengyou waved his hand impatiently and said: "Excuse me, why is the emperor here? What is he holding in his hand?"

Liu Chong said cheerfully: "Officials, please send a message! Please send a message!"

Liu Chengyou's face was full of confusion: "What kind of message?"

All the court officials also looked at each other.

Liu Chong hurriedly unfolded the brocade silk in his hand, and saw an article written with dragons and phoenixes on it, starting with the first few characters: Asking for Li Shouzhen's petition!
"This is..." Liu Chengyou stood up and looked forward, clearly seeing the contents on the brocade.

"The officials don't know what they are doing. Since this morning, this message has spread in Kaifeng City. Wine shops, singing houses, flower streets, shopping malls, academies, and government offices are all covered with this message!"

Liu Chong happily said: "The news of Li Shouzhen's rebellion has caused panic in the city of Kaifeng, and the imperial court's Announcement to the People and the Edict of Rebellion have not yet been issued, and the people of the world do not know what happened.

Now, with this statement, it is enough to expose Li Shouzhen’s wolfish ambitions to the world!This slogan is well written, impassioned and majestic, and its majestic energy is enough to represent the orthodox atmosphere of our dynasty!

I ask the officials to immediately issue an edict in accordance with this and make Li Shouzhen's evil deeds known to the world, so as to set the record straight! "

Guo Wei cast a puzzled look at Chai Rong, and Chai Rong smiled slightly, expressing his father's relief.

Feng Dao stood up tremblingly, walked over to take the essay, and browsed it quickly. His cloudy eyes sparkled with light, and he blurted out praises: "What a great article! Such courage! The essay is really like an arrow!"~~~
One day ago, in the southwest corner of Kaifeng City, at the entrance of Laoya Alley, inside Shenghe Mansion.

Several newly recruited workers moved several carts of silk from Jiangling into the warehouse, while owner Ma was directing and shouting.

This was the first business that Shenghe Dishe had received, and owner Ma decided to handle it personally.

When they arrived, Zhu Xiu explained that the operation of various businesses in Kaifeng City required them to find ways to achieve breakeven in the shortest possible time.

The initial capital investment can be transferred from the Changyi Army, but after all, Jingzhou is thousands of miles away from Kaifeng, so it is impossible to rely on Zhu Xiu's remote control for everything.

Using Shenghe Dishe's business to cover up the activities of the Zangfeng Camp, expand the Zangfeng Camp's influence in Kaifeng City, and at the same time recruit and train people. All these tasks require a legitimate business to cover up.

After Ma Qing and Chen An combined their efforts, they decided to prop up the stall in Shenghe Dishe first. The small officials gave them a small amount of money, including travel expenses to Kaifeng, accommodation and food expenses, shop rental fees, and intermediary fees for finding a charlatan. After deducting a lot of miscellaneous things, there is not much left.

Dishe's business can no longer be done, let alone inquiring about information in the city and building an intelligence network. The five or six grown men are sitting on nothing, and they are afraid that they will soon have nothing to eat in Kaifeng.

Ma Qing took the account book and pen, and while instructing the workers to move the goods into the warehouse, he compared the number and weight of each item in detail to see if they were exactly the same as what the client had stated.

Chen An hurried over, pulled Ma Qing aside, and whispered: "The news came half an hour ago that Gao Xingzhou was staying in Luoyang and sent a messenger to arrive. He has entered the Zhuque Gate at this moment."

Ma Qing was startled and asked hurriedly: "Is there any news from the Hezhong Army?"

Chen An swallowed his saliva: "Li Shouzhen had already built an altar in Chang'an seven days ago to worship heaven and earth, issued a proclamation to worship heaven, and officially declared himself the King of Qin, occupying Guanzhong and breaking away from the jurisdiction of the imperial court!"

Ma Qing tightened his grip on his pen and waved his hand vigorously: "Li Shouzhen has indeed rebelled. This low-level official is truly a man of gods!"

Chen An also looked in admiration and said hurriedly: "Don't forget the first task that the young envoy gave us. Now that the news of Li Shouzhen's rebellion has reached Kaifeng City, we can start taking action!"

Ma Qing said: "You go and call them back, and I'll prepare things. I'll see you at Zhuque Gate in an hour."

Chen An responded, and the two of them went down to prepare.

Not long after the urgent report of Gao Xingzhou who stayed in Luoyang was sent to the palace city, messengers sent by several governor states nearby Puzhou also arrived in Luoyang one after another. The news was without exception, all about Li Shouzhen blockading Tongguan and sending orders to the states in Guanzhong. County, separatist king openly rebelled.

In half a day, Kaifeng City received countless news about the rebellion of the Hezhong Army.

There was fierce discussion in the streets and alleys. When the news finally spread, some said that Li Shouzhen had sent troops to Tongguan to occupy Luoyang, and 10,000+ troops were heading towards Kaifeng.

Some said that the king of Linqing and the old general Gao Xing and Zhou Gao stayed behind in Luoyang, relying on the tall and strong city of Luoyang, and led the army to defend it to the death.

Some also say that the old general Gao Xingzhou had been defeated and the city was broken, and his head was beheaded by Li Shouzhen. Half of the country west of Luoyang has returned to Qin King Li Shouzhen.

Some people even predicted that the world would enter the protracted Qin-Han war, and that the northern rivers and mountains, which had just calmed down the war, would once again fall into pieces.

Some merchants began to pack up their belongings, and their families fled Kaifeng City and headed south.

It has been a long time since the imperial court issued a notice to calm the people. The people of Kaifeng did not know what the fighting was like in Guanzhong and Luoyang, let alone the movements of Li Shouzhen's rebels, and how far they were from Kaifeng City.

Soon, the contents of the Guanzhong rebels' proclamation to worship heaven spread quickly in Kaifeng City, with the help of interested people.

Shi Kuangwei, the governor of the Changyi Army, and Fu Yanqing, the governor of the Taining Army, who assisted and even surrendered to the rebels, were criticized both verbally and written. People with lofty ideals scolded them for not wanting to repay the country's kindness, but for helping the tyrants, and for their own selfish interests, which caused the world to fall back into war.

Panic spread faster than the court expected. In the evening, Guangli Gate, Puji Gate, and Shuntian Gate gathered a large number of people who wanted to escape from the city. Wealthy merchants.

It has been a common practice for many years to flee south when there is war in the north.

The imperial court urgently ordered the closure of the nine gates, with no entry or exit allowed, and at the same time issued an unspecified peace document.

Time was running out, and the imperial court obviously did not think well about how to deal with the sudden war in the Guanzhong area. It could only try to appease the people, but unfortunately the effect was not very good.

While public sentiment in Kaifeng City was raging, a "Message to Discuss Li Shouzhen" spread throughout the streets of Kaifeng City at an unexpected speed.

Countless wine shops, inns, merchants, Goulanwa shops, Yingyuan Chunfang, monasteries and Taoist temples, everywhere where people gather, it seems that at the same time, this "Message to Li Shouzhen" was circulated.

This slogan is well written. It not only details the cause and effect of the Hezhong Army's rebellion, but also scolds Li Shouzhen bloody. It also uses a detailed comparison of strength, taking into account factors such as the right time, the right place, the right people, and so on. It is conclusively concluded that Li Shouzhen will be defeated and the imperial court will win!
The words and sentences of the article were majestic and written in one go. Countless scholars couldn't help but praise it. Some people even recited the proclamation publicly in a lively place where people gathered, and many people gathered to ask for advice and listen.

The memo was not signed by the author, but it was stated that it was written by Zhang Yijun.

At the end of the message, Shi Kuangwei, the governor of the Zhangyi Army, petitioned the court, imploring the court to immediately send troops to exterminate the traitor Li Shouzhen. The soldiers and civilians of the Zhangyi Army and Guanzhong were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of Wang Shi!
How could the Changyi Army participate in Li Shouzhen's rebellion if they could publish such a proclamation full of loyalty and patriotism?

Suddenly, there were more and more voices complaining about Shi Kuangwei and Fu Yanqing. They all said that the content in Li Shouzhen's memorial to heaven was just a bluff and they wanted to sow discord.

Outside the Xuande Gate of the palace city, Chai Rong was riding on horseback from Situ Mansion.

As the envoy of the feudal town, he returned to Beijing in the name of reporting his duties. He was not allowed to participate in the government without an imperial edict.

Guo Wei was called by people in the palace early in the morning to attend an emergency imperial meeting. Chai Rong was going to go to the palace and go to the Privy Council to wait for his father, so that he could know firsthand how the court would respond to Li Shouzhen's rebellion.

He had just learned about the "Essay on Discussing Li Shouzhen" that spread throughout Kaifeng City overnight, and was walking along to read it.

The slogan was written with sharp words, which made him secretly applaud.

Suddenly, two people jumped out of the crowd and fell in front of Chai Rong's mount.

The four guards around Chai Rong reacted quickly. The first two rushed forward with their swords drawn, while the remaining two guarded the rear, protecting Chai Rong in the middle.

"Shuai Chai Jie will stay! We are here to ask for an audience on orders from Zhang Yijun Zhu Xiaoguan!"

Ma Qing and Chen An knelt on the ground, and Ma Qing held a letter high above his head.

Chai Rong's heart moved and he signaled to the guard, who stepped forward to take the letter and handed it to him.

After unfolding it, it turned out to be the long-lost and familiar handwriting.

For a moment, Chai Rong thought of something and raised the slogan in his hand: "Is this thing also made famous by Zhu Xiu?"

Ma Qing swallowed and nodded.

Chai Rong laughed dumbly: "Follow me into the city and tell you what happened in detail."

Immediately, Chai Rong led the two of them into Xuandemen and went to the Privy Council.

(End of this chapter)