Late Tang

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Sikong, the minister under the door, and Tongping Zhangshi Zheng Tian have always been more inclined to support Li Jing in the court. This is not to say that he has benefited from Li Jing, but that he thinks that what Li Jing has done in the East these years is indeed very important. No big deal, I made it possible for the people to live and work in peace and contentment. Since the emperor came to the throne, Li Jing’s rule has been a rare place of peace. Not only is Dengzhou, the largest port in the north, rich since it has not fought a big battle for decades. , and under Li Jing's nearly ten-year governance, it has become the most prosperous and affluent place in the entire Tang Dynasty. Even Liaodong, which was separated from the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years, has become prosperous under Li Jing's management these years. He has heard many businessmen who have been to Liaodong say that Liaodong is even more prosperous than Hebei now, especially It is the land of southern and western Liaoning, even surpassing Henan.

Zheng Tian has been an official for many years, and he did rely on the support of his father's friend, Ximen Sigong, a powerful eunuch in the palace, to enter the political affairs hall.But no matter how he came to power, he does have the persistence of a scholar in his heart.Just as the Qin newspaper said, being an official is not for the people, it is better to go home and sell potato medicine.

Many people say that Li Jing is actually a powerful minister, just like Wang Mang of the Western Han Dynasty, Cao Cao of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Sima Zhao of the Wei Dynasty. On the surface, they have always held the banner of the Tang Dynasty and respected the Sui Dynasty, but in fact they He is a real separatist warlord, and sooner or later, he will seek to usurp the throne.Zheng Tian actually had some support for this statement, but he still held some hope in his heart, thinking that Li Jing might be different, Duke Zhou was afraid of the rumors that Wang Mang had not ushered in humility.As long as Li Jing didn't do such outrageous things, the courtiers who wanted to rejuvenate the Tang Dynasty couldn't help but place hope in Li Jing.After all, Li Tang has become so corrupted that the building is about to collapse. Now, only Li Jing has the ability to turn the tide and help the building to collapse.Instead of pinning your hopes on him, should you pin your hopes on Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong?Yang Fuguang is a bit incomprehensible. Although he is an eunuch, he seems to be very loyal to Li Tang, but Yang Fuguang is just an eunuch. He is different after all. Although he is powerful now, he still has to rely on Li Keyong, Zhu Quanzhong, Qin Zongquan, and Wang Chongrong. , Li Changyan these warlords, and he knows very well that although these people are generals in command of the local army and princes of one side like Li Jing, they are absolutely different from Li Jing.Placing hope in their hands will only make Datang worse and worse.

He believed that Yu Cong, Xin Xun, Yu Jian, Li Zhuo, Du Xing, Zhang Zimian, Zeng Yuanyu, Cui Anqian, and Cui Yunqing, who had served under Qin Fan Li Jing's command, must also be pregnant. With the same expectations as him.

It's just that their expectation, in Tian Lingzi's view, is collusion with Li Jing, and now Yang Fugong thinks the same way.

At the beginning, with the expectation he had for Li Jing, he cooperated with Li Jing and actively organized the Guanzhong Allied Army King Qin to counterattack Chang'an. drive away.After he left the Fengxiang Army, he was called to Chengdu to serve as Sikong, Menxia Shilang, and Tongshu Shumenxia Pingzhangshi, and was in charge of military management.But before staying in Chengdu for half a year, he was squeezed out by Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong together, and was forced to recuperate with his son who was the governor of the state.

Although he was completely squeezed out of the court, Zheng Tian still paid close attention to the affairs of the court and the public.In the past two years, the government and the public have been in chaos, and the eunuchs in Chengdu finally fought among themselves.Tian Lingzi held the emperor hostage, imprisoned Zhang Tai and Simon Sigong, and drove Yang Fugong away.When Yang Fugong arrived in Guanzhong, he and Yang Fuguang quickly recovered the two capitals and killed Huang Chao.Just when he was feeling relieved, he suddenly heard the news that Yang Fugong had appointed Lishou Wang Jie as the new emperor on New Year's Day and respected Li Xuan as the Supreme Emperor.

Now, in front of him, there are two imperial edicts.

One is to confer him the title of Grand Tutor, Shizhong, Tongping Zhangshi, and King of Yingchuan County, and invite him to enter the court as a prime minister.The other way is to confer him the title of Taishi, Zhongshu Ling, Tongping Zhangshi, and Langya County King, and also invite him to enter the court as a chancellor.

But when these two imperial decrees of yellow silk were placed in front of him, he couldn't be happy at all.

The reason is simple, the two imperial edicts were not issued by the same emperor.The former one was issued by the emperor Li Xuan of Chengdu, and the latter one was issued by the new emperor Li Jie who just ascended the throne on New Year's Day. Now the longevity king has just changed his name to Li Ye according to the law after he ascended the throne.

However, Zheng Tian knew very well that neither of these two decrees were really the will of the emperor. The edict in Chengdu was undoubtedly issued by Tian Lingzi, while the edict in Chang'an was issued by Yang Fugong.

He couldn't believe that not long ago he was hated by both of them, but now he was so sought after, with both sides vying for him to be the prime minister.He knew in his heart that all they needed was his name to gain some prestige.No matter which way he went, within a few days they'd be throwing him aside like a foot wipe.

The remnants of Huangchao have not yet been wiped out, thieves are still swarming everywhere in the world, and the people have been displaced by the war. At this time, those people don't want to reorganize the mountains and rivers, stabilize the people and govern the land, but they have created two emperors and two courts.It was hard to see the dawn of the Great Tang ZTE, but it was all overwhelmed by dark clouds all of a sudden.

Li Xuan is only 22 years old this year. Although he was not considered a wise emperor before, but mainly because he was deceived by Tian Lingzi and Lu Xie and others, he was still a good emperor in essence. At least he worked hard.But such a young emperor is now hijacked by Tian Lingzi, who he once regarded as his father, and the Yang brothers, who he regarded as the real and reliable, abolished the throne.Now, the Yang brothers helped King Shou to ascend the throne. Although he is also a smart clan, he is only 15 years old.Putting aside Li Yan and standing up for Li Ye was clearly the result of the eunuchs' struggle. They all wanted to hold the emperor in their hands, and they would not really let the emperor take power, they just wanted an emperor puppet.

As the half-adopted son of Ximen Sigong, Zheng Tian still has feelings for the emperor Li Xuan, but he also knows that the Yang family is now more powerful, far surpassing Tian Lingzi, and the new emperor has helped him ascend the throne. They were all godsons adopted by the Yang brothers. It is an indisputable fact that the emperor Li Xuan became the Supreme Emperor.It is impossible to change.

Li Ye's ascension to the throne meant that the original weak balance of the Li Tang court was completely broken.It turned out that after the Anshi Rebellion, the imperial court barely maintained a little stability, and established more and more feudal towns, allowing local feudal towns to restrain each other. In the court, eunuchs and prime ministers were allowed to balance each other. Command the forbidden army, and at the same time use the prime ministers to restrict the eunuchs.Although it is said that in the final battle between the North and the South, the power of the eunuchs became stronger and stronger, and the prime ministers failed in the struggle, but at least there was a final balance.

But now, the eunuchs have colluded with the warlords in those places, and the prime ministers and civil servants of the imperial court have completely become puppets of the eunuchs. This is a dangerous signal. When the last point of balance is broken, then the dangerous building of Li Tang It will collapse at any time.If the foundation does not exist, how can the building not collapse.

Just then, there was a rush of footsteps outside.

Zheng Tian was already annoyed, so he raised his head and looked outside the house, and said angrily: "What's the noise, there are no rules!"

"Young Master is back!" The servant quickly walked into the study and reported, "Young Master just came back on horseback."

"Chuifang is back?" Zheng Tian heard that it was the eldest grandson who came back. He couldn't help showing a smile on his face. Chuifang is the word for eldest grandson. It is the eldest son of his eldest son Zheng Ningji. His name is Shaoyu. He is just 16 years old this year. , capable of literary and martial arts, Zheng Tian likes it very much.A few years ago, when Li Xuan was hunting in the west, Zheng Tian sent his eldest son Zheng Ningji to accompany him. Later, when he arrived in Chengdu, the emperor appointed him as the Minister of the Ministry of War.After Zheng Ting's defeat at Longweipo and Shang Rang's victory spread to Chengdu, Li Xuan specially granted Zheng Ningji the Minister of War.However, shortly thereafter, Zheng Tian was dismissed from the position of Fengxiang Jieshuai, and Zheng Ningji was demoted as the governor of Bizhou because of this. Not long after Zheng Tian arrived in Chengdu, he also went to the side of his son in Bizhou.

Just as he was talking, Zheng Shaoyu had already entered the study.

After a few greetings, he waved the servant away.

His eyes swept across the two yellow silk edicts on the table, and he chuckled slightly: "How can I reward you, sir?"

Zheng Tian moved the two imperial decrees aside, and said desolately: "It's just borrowing the little reputation left by my old bone, it can't be taken seriously."

Although Zheng Shaoyu was young, he had a mature look on his face, "It's better not to pick up my grandfather, these eunuchs don't have a good thing."

"Chuifang, be careful with your words." Zheng Tian was a little dissatisfied with his grandson's frivolity, and the eunuch was not without good things, like Simon Sigong, he treated him like a father.

"Why did you come back today?" Sun Tzu was studying in Chengdu recently, and in his spare time every day, he also called on an old general in Chengdu to learn martial arts.Neither he nor his son objected to his grandson practicing martial arts. He would definitely have opposed it in the past, but now that the soldiers are fighting against the army, reading alone is no longer enough. If they can learn some martial arts and know how to lead soldiers in battle, they can still serve in the future. Son of Heaven.

"Father asked the grandson to come back, and the father asked the grandson to bring a letter to the grandfather."

Zheng Tian took the letter from his grandson in a strange way. He didn't understand how his son wrote a letter but asked his grandson to deliver it.After all, his son was in Bizhou with him, but his grandson was in Chengdu.

Opening the letter, Zheng Tian frowned more and more as he looked at it. He read a letter over and over again for more than half an hour.

"My lord, what is written in the letter?" Zheng Shaoyu was curious.

Zheng Tian didn't answer, his heart was really too chaotic at this moment.The letter was indeed from his son, but the content was astonishing.In the letter, his son told him that people from Qin Wang Li Jing had come to him, and the intention was very clear, that they wanted to invite their father and son to Yanjing.

As for what to ask them to do in Yanjing, I made it very clear.Li Jing is very dissatisfied with the current eunuchs abolishing the emperor at will. Therefore, he plans to invite Zheng Tian and other loyal officials of the court to Yanjing to discuss together, re-select a wise and wise clan to take the throne, and assist the new emperor together to revive Li Jing. Don.In this letter, Li Jing also told Zheng Tian that he also sent invitations to hundreds of famous ministers, upright and loyal people at the same time, inviting them to go to Yanjing to rebuild the Tang Dynasty!

"Li Jing also wants to set up a son of heaven. In this way, there will be three sons of heaven in the world. There is no second sun in the sky, and there is no second master in the people. This, this is the source of turmoil." Zheng Tian sighed in his heart, but there was another feeling in his heart. Faintly moved, let Yang Fugong and Ximen Sigong act like this, the world will only become more and more chaotic.If Li Jing really intends to rebuild Datang, maybe this is an opportunity.Perhaps he should go to Yanjing to make another contribution to Datang.

But, will Li Jing really be loyal to Li Tang?He has no answer to this question! (To be continued.)