My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 106 The Wrath of Emperor Qi
Who is Zhou Qiu?

At that time, Pi Yi fell overnight, and news reached Chang'an that 30,000 men from the county had joined Zhou Qiu as thieves and followed Zhou Qiu northward. This problem troubled everyone in Chang'an.

——Who is Zhou Qiu?
Never heard of such a number one person under King Wu?
In just a few days, novelists in the market had already invented a whole family background for Zhou Qiu.

Why study under Liu Hou Zhang Liang~
What's the secret of Guiguzi?
Or maybe in Wu Di, I picked up the military book left by Fan Li, etc. There are various theories, and each one is more outrageous than the last.

But the Chang'an court did not pay too much attention to Zhou Qiu's accident.

It's not that Zhou Qiu's 'feat' is not worthy of attention, but that compared to Zhou Qiu, the attention of the Chang'an court was more focused on the main force of the Wu-Chu coalition under the command of Wu King Liu Bi.

In the second year of Emperor Qi Xinyuan's reign, on the 16th day of the eighth month in autumn, the Wu-Chu allied army of nearly 400,000 troops marched from Pengcheng, the capital of Chu!
Every city along the way must be attacked and attacked. All the men in the city are either incorporated into the rebel army as soldiers or used as food transporters.

In just fifteen days, on the way from Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, to Suiyang, the capital of Liang, the main force of the rebel army under the command of Wu King Liu Bi had already conquered dozens of cities!

This speed of conquering one city in half a day, or even three or five cities in one day, undoubtedly shocked everyone in Chang'an, and also made the Chang'an court really embarrassed...

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Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

All the officials and nobles in the court were present, but at this moment, they all lowered their heads in shame and anger, and they all looked like they were "shameless to see others".

After nearly a year, Prime Minister Shen Tujia appeared again at the court ceremony. He silently took off the crown and hat on his head, held it with both hands, and kowtowed towards his superior's imperial couch.

And on the imperial couch, Emperor Qi's gloomy face hid endless anger...

"Who can tell me: Who is this Zhou Qiu?"

"Om?"

"An unappreciated retainer - a helpless scribe, with just a talisman, he deceived the gate of Xiapi City and killed Xiapi Ling with such an easy plan!"

"Are all the county officials of my Han family such easy-to-deceive losers!!!"

···
"Enter Xiapi and kill Xiapi's order, that's all."

"——How can Zhou Qiu Hede be able to mobilize 30,000 troops in a single county in Xiapi?"

"This is like Xiapi, what about other places?"

"A scribe from Zhouqiu, single-handedly, captured a total of 30,000 soldiers and horses from Xiapi;"

"If we continue northward with these 30,000 soldiers and horses, will we be able to get a steady stream of soldiers and horses from other places???"

Snapped!
“When did my Han family’s Guandong become so rotten!!!”

In anger, the bamboo slips in Emperor Qi's hand flew out and landed in front of Prime Minister Shen Tujia, who was kneeling at the head of the court, bowing his head and taking off his hat to apologize.

"Xiapi thirty thousand, Liangcheng thirty thousand, Siwu thirty thousand, Wuyuan thirty thousand;"

"When we lead the army north to Chengyang Kingdom, can we have hundreds of thousands of troops in Zhouqiu?"

"If this is really the case, then under the old thief Liu Bi, are there Zhang Qiu, Li Qiu and others who can also arbitrarily pull up hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in the Guandong of my Han family?"

At the end of the sentence, Tianzi Qi's tone was already suppressed.

But no one gathered in Xuanshi Palace at this moment knew that compared to the hysterical roar, it was precisely such a deep tone that better demonstrated that Emperor Qi's anger was getting closer to the edge of bursting out.

Emperor Qi was obviously waiting for Prime Minister Shen Tujia to give an explanation on the matter of "corruption in Guandong".

In this regard, the old Prime Minister Shen Tujia had a hard time saying...

"My minister, I was in charge of Han Zuo and assisted Your Majesty in governing the world, but I actually caused the local counties in Guandong to rot to this extent..."

"My lord, it's a capital crime..."

First, correct your attitude and take the blame - Shen Tujia is used to it anyway.

After the Emperor Qi blew his beard and glared again, and let out several cold snorts in succession, and finally calmed down his anger, Shen Tujia slowly straightened up, still holding the crown and hat in both hands.

But he said: "Xiapi is a county affiliated to the Chu State."

"When Liu Wu, the king of Chu, raised his troops to rebel, Xiapi could close the city gate tightly and not join the thieves. In fact, he was considered a loyal minister."

"As for Zhou Qiu, the reason why he was able to deceive Xiapi's city gate and plan to kill Xiapi Ling was not because Zhou Qiu was so resourceful, or because Xiapi Ling was so stupid."

"——Zhou Qiu entered Xiapi and summoned Xiapi Ling with the help of a talisman from the Chang'an court given by Wu King Liu Bi."

"By pretending to be the 'Emissary of Chang'an', I defrauded Xiapi and summoned and killed Xiapi Ling. Even if Xiapi Ling was too careless, it is really excusable..."

The tone was mixed with a shameful excuse, but it caused the emperor to raise his eyebrows again.

"how?"

"Is it possible that this happened, and can it be blamed on me?"

"Shouldn't I have given Liu Bi, the old thief, the emperor's talisman and festival to the envoy who went to Wudi to deliver the edict?"

Seeing that Emperor Qi's suppressed temper was ignited again, Shen Tujia hurriedly continued: "Your Majesty, please calm down your thunderous anger."

"Let Rongchen speak slowly..."

After just a few words, the old prime minister was already out of breath. He didn't know whether it was due to physical reasons or because of the dull wind in the palace.

The rather sad request was finally answered by a cold snort from Emperor Qi. Shen Tujia adjusted for a while before finally smoothing his breath.

Taking a deep breath, Fang straightened up his upper body again and said in a low tone: "Xiapi was succeeded by Zhou Qiu by luck. The remaining counties will definitely be on guard."

"Even if we are still defeated by Zhou Qiu in the end and the army is defeated and the city is destroyed, it will never happen again that an unknown person can capture tens of thousands of soldiers in a county."

"——Even taking a step back: Even if Zhou Qiu really has a smooth journey and can capture the soldiers of several counties around Xiapi, the peak of his soldiers will still point to the already chaotic Qi ground."

"At the moment, our Chang'an court should probably focus on Liu Bi and Liu Wu's main force of the Wu-Chu rebels..."

At the end of the sentence, Shentu Jiacai finally let out a long breath of relief, as if he had taken a huge risk just by saying these words.

In fact, logically speaking, what Zhou Qiu did in Xiapi can only prove that the Chu region was ruined, or that the counties and counties under the jurisdiction of the Guandong princes and vassals were ruined.

In essence, this matter has nothing to do with Shen Tujia, the prime minister who nominally governs the world but actually only manages Guanzhong, Bashu, Hanzhong, Beidi, Longyou and other counties. .

——Even if Shen Tujia wants to, he can't control the fiefdoms of other clan lords, right?
However, it has been a long-standing practice of the Han family to scold the Prime Minister no matter what.

Moreover, Prime Minister Shen Tujia really had no objection to this matter.

what?
You said that you only govern the world in name and have no actual jurisdiction over the territories of the Kanto princes and vassals?

Then who can you blame!

The name has been given to you, but you cannot turn this nominal power into reality. Is it because you are incompetent?
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Perhaps in the eyes of future generations, such rhetoric is unreasonable.

But in this era, no one would think there is anything wrong with this - including Shen Tujia himself.

The reason is that this power distribution model of "I give you theoretical power, and you find a way to transform theory into reality" was inherited by the Han family from Zhou Dynasty.

When King Wen Ding Ding Ji Zhou Guozuo, where did the vast land of China, thousands of miles in the southeast and northwest, come from?

Didn't Emperor Zhou take a map and draw circles after circles on the land that did not belong to the Zhou family but was still under the control of Di and Man, and 'enfeoffed' it to his nephews and juniors?
——Na!

——I, the Emperor Zhou, have sealed this land for you!
——As for the barbarians who 'live' in this land, it's up to you to decide what to do!

——Whether it’s a fight or a handover, whatever you want.

——Anyway, I am the Emperor of Zhou. Whoever I say this land belongs to, that’s who it belongs to!

After a hundred years of this, the Zhou Dynasty, which was originally only a hundred miles in diameter, expanded to the Central Plains of China, which was thousands of miles north and south, and east and west.

The lands that were originally under the control of foreign barbarians were gradually included in the Chinese territory through the hard work of the royal family named Zongzhouji.

Let’s say that in the present Zhongshan County of Zhao State, in the early days of Zongzhou, there were still Baidi people living all over the mountains and plains!

The King of Chu in the Spring and Autumn Period even admitted in person without caring about his face: I am a barbarian!

So, don't talk about 'I only have theoretical jurisdiction'.

I have given you the right to do so, but if you still cannot turn theory into reality, then you can only blame yourself for your own inability.

Shen Tujia obviously had a clear understanding of this.

For his failure to transform the Han Dynasty's jurisdiction over the Guandong vassal kingdoms from theory into reality, Shen Tujia was also "deficient". But right now, Shen Tujia and even the entire Chang'an court couldn't care less about wrangling.

The most critical thing right now is that the main force of the Wu Chu rebels, who have captured dozens of cities one after another, will soon arrive in Suiyang for a decisive battle with Liang Wang Liu Wu...

"It was just a fluke that Zhou Qiu single-handedly conquered Xiapi."

"But the main force of Liu Bi's Wu-Chu rebels has been victorious in consecutive battles since leaving Pengcheng, and even defeated several cities in one day."

"Whenever a city is destroyed, all the men in the city will be kidnapped by the bandits and used as soldiers and civilian husbands."

"If this continues, when the main force of the Wu and Chu rebels arrives in Suiyang, the enemy force that King Liang will face may reach an appalling level..."

With Shen Tujia's solemn words, the already dull atmosphere in the hall suddenly became even duller.

Snowball.

In this era, whether it is the farming civilization south of the Great Wall or the nomadic civilization north of the Great Wall, as long as you are determined to 'do big things', it is easy for such a snowball to roll.

Conquer a city/tribe, and then ask with a knife to your neck: Do you want to fight with me or die?
The vast majority of people will choose to save their lives, either actively or passively.

In this way, the rebel forces became more powerful and more powerful;
Until eventually, it snowballed into a big trend!
——This trend is what people who 'do big things' want and need most.

Naturally, it is also what worries the central government and those being challenged the most...

"The Kanto region is so corrupt that it's almost chilling to the spine!"

"After the chaos is over, the Prime Minister's Office must come up with a complete plan to completely rectify the local counties in Guandong!"

"My Han family cannot afford to disgrace this person!"

"I can't afford to be embarrassed!!!"

Leng Ran scolded, causing Shen Tujia to kowtow again to show that he was "ashamed", but it was also a declaration of Emperor Qi's anger, so he put it aside for the time being.

Emperor Qi had vented his anger, and Shen Tujia had "deeply realized his mistake." The next issue for Chaoyi was naturally how to deal with it.

"The Lieutenant's army, are everything ready?"

Emperor Qi asked in a low voice, and several figures immediately walked out of the court train and all raised their hands in the direction of the imperial couch.

"Your Majesty: The grain, grass, vinegar cloth, meat sauce and ordnance required by the Taiwei army have all been shipped from Chang'an to Xingyang Aocang!"

——With Cen Mai around, the young master is always so reassuring.

"Your Majesty: The ceremony for worshiping the Lord and swearing an oath to heaven has been prepared."

——As the main force in countering the rebellion, especially the commander-in-chief Zhou Yafu, who has only been appointed and has not yet gone through the process of "becoming a general", naturally needs to worship the master and pray to heaven, and at the same time, the emperor will go and worship him as a commander ' process.

"Your Majesty."

"In accordance with the order of the Prime Minister's Government, the internal history summoned soldiers from all over Guanzhong."

"Today, the Taiwei's army to suppress the rebellion is composed of one hundred thousand soldiers from good families in Guanzhong. The generals of the Northern Army's Shesheng and Zhongli divisions have been reorganized."

"As soon as the Taiwei sets off, the army can set up camp from Lantian."

Among the three people who stood up one after another, Shaofu Ling Cenmai spoke calmly, which made people feel inexplicably more confident;
Feng Changqingyi (liú) was originally taciturn, and when he spoke, he was even more slow and leisurely, which made people feel at ease for a while.

Only internal history Chao Cuo;

Obviously he was describing his own work, but there was nothing noteworthy about the content of his words;
That tone of voice made everyone in the hall subconsciously turn their heads and cast their complicated eyes on the lonely figure.

"The great righteousness that Liu Bi started was to punish Chao Cuo and Qing Jun..."

"I don't know how Chao Neishi feels now..."

Chao Cuo's popularity inside and outside the court was very poor.

There is no complicated reason. It's just that Chao Cuo, as Emperor Qi's former mentor, naturally needs a "lone minister" character to maintain Emperor Qi's trust in him.

In the past, this "lonely minister" persona had brought countless conveniences to Chao Cuo.

But now, Chao Cuo, the "lonely minister", has completely felt the difficulties of the "lonely minister".

"Are the horseshoes at the Young Mansion ready?"

On the imperial couch, Emperor Qi just glanced at Chao Cuo subconsciously, and then immediately returned his attention to business.

He asked in a deep voice, which only made Cen Mai quickly bow his waist again.

"His Majesty ordered the young master to rush to make three thousand sets of horseshoes. All three sets of horseshoes were cast the next day after the order was issued."

"Just the technique of nailing the horseshoes under the horses' hooves with copper nails will take another three to five days for enough craftsmen to learn it."

"At that time, I will order these craftsmen to set off together with their horseshoes to catch up with the Taiwei..."

Hearing this, Emperor Qi just nodded his head, acquiescing to Cen Mai's request.

As the saying goes: Before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first.

As the young master, Cen Mai sent all the required logistical equipment to Aocang before Taiwei Zhou Yafu's army had even been recruited. He had successfully completed the task.

The rest is to transport military rations to Aocang in an orderly and continuous manner to make up for the deficit caused by Zhou Yafu's "food in Aocang".

——This is also the reason why Aocang is 'the most important warehouse in the world'.

When there is turmoil in Guandong, the north, or the south, the court does not need to travel long distances from Chang'an to transport grain to the front line, thereby delaying the fighter plane. Instead, it can directly let the army transfer grain from Aocang to use it first, and then the court will transport the grain. Go to Aocang to make up for it.

As for horseshoes, or horseshoes, they are not things that are needed in a hurry. Zhou Yafu's departure from Chang'an in the evening will not delay anything.

You must know that the daily marching speed of an army, especially an army with a unit of 100,000 people, is probably around sixty miles.

But a team of hundreds or even hundreds of people can travel at a speed of more than a hundred miles a day.

As for a person riding alone and running desperately - it is like the highest standard intelligence transmission channel in the Han Dynasty today: eight hundred miles expedited, and it can even reach three hundred and eighty miles a day!

Zhou Yafu led the army to set off first, and the nail-nailing craftsmen set off soon after with their horseshoes. They could catch up with Zhou Yafu's army in a few days.

"Without further ado!"

"If we don't respond quickly, Liu Bi's troops may be directed towards Luoyang!"

"——At midnight tomorrow, we will swear sworn homage to the general in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an!"

"The main force of Taiwei Zhou Yafu, the rear army of General Dou Ying, as well as the side armies of Qu Zhouhou Li Ji, General Luan Bu, and Young Master Liu Fei will also set off tomorrow!"

There should be truth in this question. All officials and nobles in the court bowed their heads and bowed to receive orders.

But then, some minor incidents occurred.

——Emperor Qi said: In order to motivate Taiwei Zhou Yafu and General Dou Ying, each of them will be given thousands of gold.

As for whether this thousand gold should be used as military expenses for the two of them to build a mansion or as a means of extravagant enjoyment of wealth, it is entirely up to the two of them.

As a result, Zhou Yafu and Dou Ying had just expressed their gratitude and had not yet received the reward. Almost all the distinguished nobles and nobles in the court jumped out and cried to the emperor in tears.

In the final analysis, it is just one sentence: according to the ancestral system, the ministers (the meritorious princes) should have raised their own troops, horses, food and fodder to go out to quell the rebellion;
But they are really short of money and cannot afford the military expenses to form and arm the pro-army...

"There are thousands of households in the city, tens of millions of dollars in feudal taxes every year, and you can't even come up with this little military expenditure?!"

"——You can find your own way!"

With an angry roar, he scolded all the shameless princes out of the palace. Emperor Qi left Zhou Yafu and Dou Ying alone, hoping to discuss the details of the counter-insurgency.

However, when the court ceremony was over and the officials dispersed, the solitary figure in the palace did not leave with the officials and the noble lords.

Seeing his mentor looking at him with such expectation, Emperor Qi had no choice but to keep Chao Cuo, his internal history, too...

　First update today.

　　Second update, the prediction needs to be carefully crafted, it may be after twelve o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)