The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 576 The country is about to perish
Early the next morning, Wu Yanzuo and Zhang Mei used the excuse of holding a court meeting to summon the prime ministers, main officials of the three provinces, six ministers, ministers, officials of the Privy Council, and generals in Beijing to go to the Zichen Palace to discuss politics.

When Fu Jinwan arrived in full attire, appeared in front of all the ministers in the queen's court uniform, and grandly ascended the steps and sat on the side of the imperial throne, the ministers were in an uproar.

Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, Wei Renpu, Tao Gu and other important ministers who stood at the forefront of the group looked at each other and frowned.

The gate of the palace was closed, and Wu Yanzuo stayed behind in Tokyo. The prime minister and inspector Zhang Mei walked up the steps with a serious expression, facing the ministers, and asked for an imperial decree.

Zhang Mei cleared her throat and read the decree loudly.

Fu Jinwan was canonized as the queen, and the emperor's eldest son Zongxun was canonized as the King of Liang and the prefect of Kaifeng, the school of inspection. During the period when Shengjia was out of Beijing, the King of Liang temporarily supervised the country.

In view of the fact that King Liang was still young, the Queen was required to temporarily take charge of the affairs of the court.

As soon as this edict came out, the officials were shocked.

It is common knowledge that His Majesty does not like the imperial concubine, and he has never revealed his intention to make her a queen. How could he suddenly issue an edict to confer her a title?

The emperor's eldest son was given the title of Prince of Liang and then given the position of Kaifeng Prefecture Yin. This was the normal process for formally establishing the status of the crown prince since the Five Dynasties. The officials did not have any objections to this.

Everyone knows that His Majesty has been seriously ill for a long time, and it is only a matter of time before the eldest son of the Emperor succeeds to the throne.

But to confer the title of noble concubine and temporarily take charge of the government, this was beyond the expectations of the officials and made people full of doubts.

Fan Zhi shouted loudly in the hall: "Why did you mention this in the imperial edict? Why have I never heard of this before?"

Fu Jinwan looked at him coldly from a high position, her eyes full of arrogance and disdain, and her heavily made-up face was expressionless, like a cold statue.

Zhang Mei made a fuss and bowed her hands to the north: "Your Majesty went north, specially summoned the prime minister and the two stay-at-home men in the capital, and entrusted the imperial edict face to face.

In accordance with His Majesty's decree, during the Northern Expedition, if His Majesty is unable to return to Beijing in time due to physical insecurity, the ministers should be summoned to issue an edict.

The matter is of great importance, so it is extremely confidential. Only the prime minister, Wu Yuanshi, and Zan Yuanshi know about it. "

"Haha~ What a joke!" Fan Zhi couldn't believe it and sneered:
"Xianggong Wang and Xianggong Tao are also official prime ministers, and the envoy Wei is an old friend and close friend of His Majesty. Why are we not aware of such a major event that affects the country?

Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang, was also granted the Tongping Zhang Shicheng just before His Majesty left the capital. You are both prime ministers, but you are behind me in rank.

Now you say that His Majesty has entrusted you with the great responsibility of the country, but we are completely unaware of it. Please think about it, colleagues above the hall, is this reasonable? "

Fan Zhi shouted loudly and loudly, and the ministers talked about it, and they all believed that Fan Xianggong was right.

Although His Majesty appointed Wu Yanzuo and Zan Jurun as principals and deputies to stay behind, Zhang Mei was inspected in the inner capital, and even entered the prime minister's class, but it was just a normal promotion in accordance with the court practice, which did not mean that in His Majesty's mind, he trusted them more. Three people.

Especially the canonization of the queen is unimaginable and difficult to accept.

Fu Jinwan is not qualified to be the mother of a country in terms of virtue, qualifications, or prestige. The most important thing is that everyone knows that His Majesty does not favor her.

Tao Gu said in a weird voice: "False edicts are equivalent to treason, and they are meant to destroy the three clans!"

Wang Pu also stood up and said sternly: "His Majesty is on his way back to Beijing and will arrive in the near future. I believe that we can wait until His Majesty returns to Beijing to make a final decision!"

Wei Renpu also said solemnly: "His Majesty has already issued an edict in Chanzhou. The Taifu, Zhao Guogong and the palace have all inspected Zhu Xiu as the Minister of Gu Ming to assist the Liang King in the regency. Now, Zhao Guogong is on his way back to escort the holy driver, please. Lords, please wait a few days for Zhao Guogong to escort the Holy Emperor back to the capital, and you will make your own decision on everything!"

The ministers had another private discussion. This matter had already spread. Although there was a lot of controversy about His Majesty's decision to appoint Zhu Xiu as the Minister of Gu Ming, with Zhu Xiu's current status, after searching the entire court, it seemed that no one could compare to him. He is more suitable.

As the commander-in-chief of the front department of the palace, he was in charge of military power. He also served as the minister of Zhongshu. Now he is in the highest position of the three princes. He can be said to shoulder the responsibility of military and political affairs.

If His Majesty hadn't been seriously ill, when he returned to Beijing this time, Zhu Xiu's chancellor would basically be a certainty.

With Zhu Xiu's qualifications and reputation, once he becomes prime minister, he will be worthy of the name No. 1 in the dynasty.

Therefore, the ministers were quite able to accept Zhu Xiu's appointment as the Minister of Gu Ming. Apart from him, they could not find anyone else who could convince them.

When Fan Zhi, Wang Pu and others spoke, there was a chorus of agreement.

Fu Jinwan's hands folded on his knees turned white, his face was extremely ugly, and his eyes that should have been full of lust were full of viciousness, and he wanted to take Fan Zhi and others off to be executed on the spot.

She knew in her heart that these senior prime ministers simply looked down on her, a person who presumptuously called her queen.

Zhang Mei looked at the crowded hall, her face turned pale and ugly.

Wu Yanzuo was a military general and had experienced battles, so he still had some courage. He immediately roared viciously: "You are not allowed to make any noise in front of the queen! Where are the imperial guards?!"

With a clang, the door of the main hall was pushed open, and a large group of armored guards carrying swords rushed into the door, surrounding the ministers on all sides.

Zhao Kuangyi, wearing white armor with a wild goose feather sword hanging on his waist, led Zhang Lingduo, Zhang Guanghan, Zhao Yanhui, Wang Zhengzhong, Yang Guangyi, Liu Shouzhong, Liu Qingyi and other Forbidden Army generals into the hall.

The ministers were frightened, and no one dared to say anything anymore, and the palace became quiet.

Fan Zhi was furious, pointed at Zhang Mei and Wu Yanzuo and said sternly: "How dare you lead your troops to cause rebellion?"

Wu Yanzuo smiled ferociously and said: "We follow the Queen's decree to protect Prince Liang and the inner court, and guard against treacherous ministers who dare to take advantage of His Majesty's deathbed to collude with others and bring trouble to the court!"

Fan Zhi yelled, "You are the traitors who pretended to usurp power!"

Wang Pu, who had always been graceful and graceful, turned red with anger and angrily shouted: "You are confusing right and wrong, trying to hold Prince Liang hostage and disrupt the government. Little do you know that the world is clear, the sun and the moon are high, and the truth will eventually come out!"

Tao Gu looked at the soldiers standing around the hall. The shining steel swords revealed a cold and murderous aura. His little eyes were rolling, and he swallowed his saliva and did not dare to speak any more.

Facing the ministers, Wei Renpu said loudly: "Colleagues, don't be afraid. As long as we are united, we will not be afraid of treacherous ministers making mistakes! Zhao Guogong and Wu Guogong escorted His Majesty back to Beijing, and the young people will be spurned by the people of the world!"

Wei Renpu waved his sleeves, pointed directly at Wu Yanzuo and Zhang Mei, and shouted angrily: "In the past, Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty committed the crime of the Guangzheng Palace Incident, and ended up with death and the destruction of the country.

If you dare to imitate Emperor Yin and kill anyone in this hall today, you will be accused by thousands of people and will be infamy for eternity! "

Zhang Mei, Wu Yanzuo and Zan Jurun were shocked and angry, their faces turning green and red.

Fu Jinwan stood up with a cry and screamed: "Come here! Kill him now!"

Zhao Kuangyi, who was standing on the side of the hall, frowned and showed no reaction. The other generals of the Forbidden Army also pretended not to hear.

Zhang Mei hurriedly bowed to Fu Jinwan and said: "Queen, calm down, people are unsettled right now, and we must not kill ministers without permission, otherwise we will not be able to convince the public in the future!"

Wu Yanzuo was also full of murderous intentions, but he also knew that Wei Renpu was actually right.

Ten years ago, the Guangzhengdian Incident made Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty lose the support of the Han Dynasty and made hundreds of officials panic. Therefore, the late emperor established Zhou Dynasty on behalf of the Han Dynasty and encountered almost no obstacles in the court.

The scene today is so similar. Once someone is killed, even if the edict in their hands is true, it will be difficult to gather people's hearts in the future.

As long as the purpose of deterrence is achieved, the court is temporarily stabilized, and Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde are dealt with, the king of Liang can be successfully enthroned.

These people can take advantage of this to rise to the top and become the most powerful people in the imperial court.

Wu Yanzuo said in a deep voice: "Please calm down the queen!"

Zan Jurun and the two followed suit, and quickly followed suit to persuade them.

Fu Jinwan sat down angrily, thinking that Fan Zhi, Wang Pu and Wei Renpu were dead.

Two generals wearing helmets and carrying armor stepped into the main hall one after another. The first one was Han Tong, the chief military officer in front of the palace, and the second one turned out to be Zhang Qiong, who had been expelled from the front department of the palace.When Han Tong saw the situation in the hall, his thick eyebrows furrowed, his dark face solemn, and he said nothing.

Zhang Qiong's armor was stained with blood, and there were even bloody marks on his feet.

Seeing the two people coming back, Zhao Kuangyi felt a little relieved.

Wu Yanzuo said in a deep voice: "In view of the current chaos of public security in the capital, I propose that Zhang Qiong be the inspector of the inner capital and be responsible for leading the imperial army to protect the palace city.

In front of the palace, General Yuhou Han Tonghan is responsible for inspections inside and outside the capital. From now on, martial law will be opened and closed in the city and a curfew will be implemented. "

Fu Jinwan nodded slightly, and said indifferently: "It was played by Zhunqing."

Zhang Qiong knelt down and bowed: "I will definitely live up to the high expectations of the Queen and King Liang!"

Zhang Qiong stood up and glanced at the ministers with ferocious eyes, like a ferocious tiger ready to pounce at any time, which made people shudder.

Han Tong hesitated for a moment, then bowed and accepted the order.

Zhang Mei then announced: "For the sake of the safety of the princes, the Queen specially allocated the Wende Hall, together with more than a hundred pavilions and houses, for the temporary residence of the princes.

From now on, the princes will stay in the palace, and all government offices will operate as usual, and they will preside over their own government affairs in accordance with the order of authority. "

"What? You won't let me wait until I leave the palace?"

"This is clearly house arrest!"

"It's simply too much! How is it different from the Guangzhengdian incident?"

The ministers were filled with indignation and expressed their anger and dissatisfaction with this resolution.

Zhang Meiqian laughed twice and did not explain. No matter what she said, the ministers would not agree.

Zhao Kuangyi winked at several Forbidden Army generals, and the generals ordered that hundreds of courtiers be sent to Wende Hall for temporary residence.

When Fan Zhi and others passed by Han Tong, they all looked at him angrily.

Han Tong lowered his head in silence.

When the main hall was empty, Fu Jinwan also returned to the harem, and only Zhang Mei, Wu Yanzuo, Zhao Kuangyi and others were left, Han Tong could no longer bear it and asked in a deep voice:
"Is it true that His Majesty is under house arrest by Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde? Is the edict sent from Chanzhou really true?"

Zhao Kuangyi said in a deep voice: "This is absolutely true, General Han also received a letter written by my brother.

Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde launched a mutiny in Chanzhou, put His Majesty under house arrest, and deposed my brother to Yunzhou. My brother risked his life and sent a letter back, so that we learned of the conspiracy in advance. "

Zhang Meidao: "Just imagine, General Han, if Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde return to the capital, coerce Your Majesty to seize power, and then assist King Liang to ascend the throne, become regent, and control all officials, the Zhou Dynasty will be destroyed sooner or later!"

"So we have to take a preemptive strike, stabilize the court officials, support the king of Liang, and find ways to remove Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde from military power. Only in this way can we ensure the smooth handover of the country." Wu Yanzuo said with a smile.

Han Tong stared at the three of them closely, and for a moment it was difficult to tell which one was telling the truth.

"Han Tong is only loyal to His Majesty. As long as it is His Majesty's will, Han will abide by it!" Han Tong said coldly.

Zhao Kuangyi smiled and said: "General Han is loyal and sincere, and he will definitely be reused by the Queen and King Liang in the future."

Han Tong said nothing with a sullen face, took a deep look at everyone, turned around and strode out of the hall.

As soon as he left, Zhao Kuangyi said with a cold face: "Han Tong has become suspicious of us, we cannot allow him to continue to be in charge of the military."

Zhang Qiong said fiercely: "Will you find an opportunity to get rid of him?"

Zhang Mei shook her head and said: "No, now Han Lingkun, Gao Huaide, and An Shouzhong, the generals of the front office, are in custody. We can only rely on Han Tong to stabilize the hearts of the front office. This person cannot be moved for the time being, at least until Zhu Xiu returns to Beijing. No!"

Wu Yanzuo worriedly said: "Wang Shenqi is on the run and his whereabouts are unknown. Several confidants promoted by Zhu Xiu in the front office of the palace, Mi Xin, Tian Chongjin, Zhu Wu, Bi Zhenhai and others have all escaped capture and must still be hiding in the capital. If we don't put these Once someone finds it, it is always a hidden danger.”

Zan Jurun added: "There is also Cao Han, the martial virtue envoy. This person seems to have disappeared. Ever since the news came back that His Majesty was seriously ill, he has been missing."

Zhao Kuangyi sneered and said: "It doesn't matter. Although these people escaped capture, their family members were all arrested. As long as Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde are eliminated, these people are nothing to be afraid of."

Everyone nodded. For them, the biggest threats were naturally Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde.

Zhao Kuangyi said: "I will let Liu Shouzhong and Liu Qingyi monitor Han Tong. If there is any suspicion of acting rashly, he will be eliminated immediately."

Zhang Qiong suddenly said: "Liu Shouzhong and Liu Qingyi used to be Li Chongjin's people. How can they be trusted?"

Zhao Kuangyi said confidently: "Since Li Chongjin lost power, the two of them have had a hard time in the Imperial Army. During the Second Expedition to Huainan, the two of them stayed with my elder brother in Chuzhou. Because of Shi Kuangwei's death, they were angered by Zhu Xiu and received a slap in the face Not to mention, he was dismissed from the military.

It was my brother who worked in many ways to bring the two of them under his command.The two of them now hate Zhu Xiu deeply and absolutely do not want to see Zhu Xiu return to power. "

Zhang Qiong said bitterly: "Zhu Xiu has a lot of enemies as a thief! If I have a chance in the future, I will definitely beat him up with my own hands!"

Zhao Kuangyi smiled and said: "General Zhang, please be patient and there will be a chance."

Zhang Qiong was demoted from the Palace Front Division, which became another big joke of the Forbidden Army after Han Chongyun.

Under the indoctrination of Zhao Kuangyin and his brothers, Zhang Qiong fully believed that it was Zhu Xiu who designed and framed him from the beginning to the end of this incident.

In Zhang Qiong's heart, he already regarded Zhu Xiu as his unyielding enemy and wanted to eat his flesh alive.

After discussing for a while, Zhang Qiong and several Forbidden Army generals took the lead to retire. Zhao Kuangyi said that he would go to the inner palace to inspect the palace to ensure that everything was stable.

Zhang Mei and Wu Yanzuo watched him lead a group of forbidden soldiers away, with some ambiguous banter on their faces, and their ridicule was undisguised.

"What about guarding against assassins? I think the person he should guard against the most is himself!" Zhang Mei said with a low smile.

Wu Yanzuo sneered and said: "A watery poplar and a wild bee and a butterfly are a match made in heaven. When a country is about to fall, evildoers will appear. It's true!"

Zhang Mei said sadly: "Now that the military power is in the hands of the Zhao family, we can only let him be arrogant. When King Liang ascends the throne in the future, you and I will be the auxiliary minister, and then we will slowly consolidate the military power.

Without the support of the Palace Secretary, the Zhao family is nothing. When the time comes, we will put all the crimes on him and use him to calm the anger of the officials. "

Wu Yanzuo said with a smile: "Congratulations, Mr. Zhang! From now on, you and I will cooperate sincerely to support the great Zhou Dynasty!"

"That's natural!"

The two looked at each other and laughed.

Today, the power group with Fu Jinwan, Zhao Kuangyi, Wu Yanzuo, and Zhang Mei as the core has a common enemy, Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde.

After Zhu Xiu and Zhang Yongde are eliminated, Wu Yanzuo and Zhang Mei will definitely not allow Zhao Kuangyi to continue to hold military power.

But if the Zhao family is removed, how can Wu Yanzuo and Zhang Mei live in harmony?

The country is about to perish, and the demons are dancing wildly.

(End of this chapter)