A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 878: Li Fuguo, garrisoned in Bianzhou, Bai Weimin

May of the first year of Baoying
Cheng Yuanzhen, who received the secret order from Chang'an, immediately returned to Beijing after getting Bai Jing's promise.

Li Fuguo, who was originally unable to handle the whole thing alone, was overjoyed when he saw Cheng Yuanzhen and immediately told him about Empress Zhang's plan.

"I came from Guandong and the envoy said that the world is in turmoil and it is not appropriate to change the commander in the middle of a battle."

Li Fuguo breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Cheng Yuanzhen's promise.

As the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Palace and the military inspector of the Shen Ce Army, he could use force to support the prince to successfully succeed to the throne.

But politics not only exists in the palace, but also in the world. If he does not win the acquiescence and support of foreign troops, when Empress Zhang wins over foreign troops, there is no guarantee that foreign troops will not enter the capital to defend the king.

Many things need to be thought of in advance, otherwise the court might relocate them again, which is not what they want.

Although they are eunuchs, it does not mean that they are not loyal to the country.

Li Fuguo was even more devoted to the country and a loyal minister. He asked himself if there was anyone in the world more loyal to the royal family than him.

In this case, it is reasonable to hand over the power of the world to such a loyal minister as him.

"That's good. Today, the troops in the world are first with Pugu Huai'en, second with Li Guangbi, and then with Bai Jing."

"Three days ago, Yu Chaoen sent a letter saying that Pugu Huai'en was concerned about the crown prince, and that Li Guangbi never interfered in government affairs. Now that two of the three great marshals are on our side, there is no need to worry about not accomplishing our great cause and the country being lost."

Li Fuguo was extremely excited when he heard Bai Jing's words of support for the crown prince's succession to the throne.

He was the only one in Beijing these days, facing pressure from Empress Zhang's faction. Yu Chaoen and Cheng Yuanzhen were no longer in Chang'an, so his life was difficult.

If he had not controlled the Shence Army, he would have been executed by Empress Zhang on some pretext.

The reason why Cheng Yuanzhen was summoned to Chang'an instead of Yu Chaoen was because he was also the inner-shot envoy and controlled the inner-shot troops in the palace, so he could help him to the greatest extent.

May 6
Li Heng finally couldn't hold on any longer, and passed away, leaving behind endless regrets and no attachment to the world.

Empress Zhang acted decisively and summoned Li Yu to the palace on the pretext of being summoned by Li Heng, preparing to kill him and support King Li Xi of Yue to ascend to the throne.

However, within the deep palace, the eunuchs are the most well-informed.

In just a quarter of an hour, Cheng Yuanzhen learned of their conspiracy from the palace people and found Li Fuguo to tell him.

Li Fuguo immediately arrived at the East Palace in a carriage, stopped the prince, and sent troops to protect him.

He then summoned the Shence Army in the city and cooperated with the Neishe Army in the palace to open the palace gate. He successfully captured Empress Zhang, Li Xi and others, and searched for their followers in the city.

That night, Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen imprisoned Empress Zhang in another palace and beheaded Prince Xi of Yue and Prince Xian of Yan, who posed a threat to the crown prince.

On the second day, heavy bells were rang out from Chang'an City and Daming Palace, where the blood had not yet dried, officially announcing the death of Li Heng.

Under the protection of Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen, both dressed in armor, Crown Prince Li Yu succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin, and all the ministers shouted "Long live the crown prince".

May 10
Li Yu came to power and officially confirmed Li Heng's posthumous title as "Emperor Wenming, Martial Virtue, Great Saint, Great Xuanxiao", temple name "Suzong", and burial place "Jianling".

At the same time, in order to demonstrate his determination to wipe out the rebels, the first edict issued by Li Yu was to follow Li Heng's example and appoint his eldest son, Prince of Fengjie Li Shi, as the Marshal of the Army of the World.

Puguo Huai'en, Li Guangbi and Bai Jing were appointed as deputy marshals, each responsible for a front line.

Despite this, the Tang army on the front line was still hesitant to move forward due to major changes in the rear, and only defended but did not attack, giving Shi Chaoyi a chance to successfully solve his own internal problems and completely take over Shi Siming's power.

Li Yu also rewarded Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen, the two officials who had contributed the most to his enthronement.

Cheng Yuanzhen was appointed as the Right General of the Imperial Guard, in charge of the internal affairs, and in charge of the power of the imperial palace.

Li Fuguo was honored as "Shangfu", appointed as Sikong, and concurrently Zhongshu Ling, holding the power of the outer court. In addition, they also held the post of military inspector of the inner and outer imperial guards, which means that the military and political power was concentrated in one person, and the power of the eunuchs reached its peak.

Li Fuguo even said to Li Yu, "Your Majesty, just stay in the palace. No matter what happens, I will take care of it."

Although Li Yu was dissatisfied, he was intimidated by the fact that Li Yu held the military power, so he had to compromise. No matter how big or small the matter was, he had to discuss it with him before making a decision.

It is not known whether he forgot or did it on purpose, but after Li Yu ascended the throne, he did not establish the reign title for the next year and still used Baoying as his reign title.

September of the first year of Baoying
Bianzhou City, Henan
Now that the war in the east has ended, martial law has been lifted in Bianzhou City, goods from the south can finally flow in here, and with this city as the center, radiate to the surrounding area for hundreds of miles.

Bai Jing also moved the Marshal's Office from Chenliu here, remotely controlling the army in Zhengzhou and Chenzhou.

Among them, Zhengzhou was led by Henan Deputy Envoy, Pinglu Yanyun Jiedushi Tian Shengong as the main general, and led Ziqing Jiedushi Neng Yuanhao, Yicheng Army Jiedushi Li Zhongchen and others to guard against the Luoyang rebels.

Chenzhou appointed Gao Shi, the deputy envoy of Henan and the commander-in-chief of Jianghuai, as the chief general, and led Jia Yinlin, the inspector of the Huaixi Army, Li Guangshou, the governor of the Huainan Army, and others to guard against the rebels in Xuzhou.

Bai Jing coordinated all matters in Bianzhou, transported food and fodder for the army, and restored the people's livelihood and economy in Henan.

On this day, Bai Jing was handling military affairs when someone came in from outside the door without notifying him.

Bai Jing was dissatisfied and looked up, surprised: "Xin'er?"

Bai Xin smiled and bowed respectfully, "Father."

Bai Jing hadn't been home for two or three years, and he missed the mountains and rivers of Songxi for many days and nights. However, the country was in great trouble, and since he had taken on this responsibility, he had to complete it.

"Why did you come to Bianzhou?"

Although he was happy that Bai Xin came, Bai Jing knew that people of their status could not come out casually.

"Grandfather is worried about you, so he asked me to help you complete the task as soon as possible."

"I hope your grandfather is still in good health."

"It's still the same. There's no big problem. He just keeps nagging you to go back early so that he can enjoy his old age."

Bai Jing did not comment, and then asked: "You are not here just to help me this time, right?"

"Father, you have a good eye. Grandfather said that although the terrain of Hedong is rugged, it is still isolated and has low development potential. It is also difficult to receive transportation from the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, he asked me to tell you that he intends to establish another hub in Shandong to connect the north and the south."

Nodding, Bai Jing roughly knew what Bai Qing was thinking.

"What about your Xuanwu Army?"

"I have resigned from the post of the Xuanwu Army Commander and will hand it over to my third brother."

Since Bai Xin had already dealt with the family affairs, he felt relieved:
"Since you are here, then help me. It just so happens that I need to transport the revenue from the south of the Yangtze River. One is to be transferred from Shuzhong to Chang'an, and the other is to be transported north to Bianzhou."

"I can't stay here for long. I plan to wait until the rebels are driven back to Hebei. Then I will report to the court and return home. The affairs of Henan and Jiangnan will be handed over to you."

Bai Xin only felt a huge pressure falling on his shoulders, but the men of the Bai family are never afraid of hardships. Only through hardships can one grow.

Soon, with Bai Xin's help, Bai Jing's pressure was relieved a lot, and he was able to devote himself to the fighting on the front line, as well as dispatching various armies, recruiting and training new troops.

Bai Jing wrote a letter requesting the appointment of Bai Xin as the Jiangnan Duzhi Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner, responsible for the collection and transportation of Jiangnan's financial revenues.

When the memorial arrived in Chang'an, Li Fuguo naturally would not offend Bai Jing and directly agreed to his request. Anyway, for him, as long as the money and food were sent from Jiangnan, it would be enough.

And from another perspective, it is more convenient to use Bai's son than his own adopted son. After all, as eunuchs, he knows the moral character of his adopted sons too well, and he is sure that Bai's son will not be corrupt.

(End of this chapter)