Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 474 89 The Servant Lying on the Incense Stove-2

According to Mr. Zhoushan, Jingnan South Road, Jinghu North Road, Guangnan East Road, Guangnan West Road, Jingdong East Road, Jingdong East and West Road, Fujian Road, Liangzhe Road, Jiangnan East Road, Jiangnan West Road, there are more than 100 roads in total. Under the banner of "respecting the emperor and not obeying the king's order", the prefectures and counties elected the shepherds of the prefectures and counties according to the law of county learning and public discussion.After many preparations, the Neo-Confucianism Society finally allowed these prefectures and counties to offer sacrifices in person, or sent envoys to Ezhou, preparing to elect a sage to the post of prime minister, so as to control the overall situation, expel the northern captives, and welcome back the emperor.For a time, Ezhou gathered all the heroes.Kong Zimu, the emissary from Jingdong East Road, was outstanding and conspired to stir up more than 60 prefectures and counties to study and sacrifice wine. After deliberation, they jointly signed a charter to restrain the prime minister.Kong Zimu made it clear that if Chen Dong accepted the charter, then everyone would recommend him as a false prime minister as they wished, and if Chen Dong could not accept the charter, then everyone would disperse and no longer need to recommend this "false prime minister" who is likely to usurp the king up.

When Chen Dong thought he had the chance to win, he suddenly made such a fuss.After reading the charter drawn up under the leadership of Kong Zimu, he rarely became angry.Furious, he sent someone to invite Zhao Xingde to the mansion to discuss with him how to deal with the current situation.

"The Prime Minister is not allowed to increase the local taxes without the approval of the public discussion of the states and counties. The increase in taxes by the Military Supply Office must be clearly explained to the counties, and no concealment or misappropriation is allowed." Zhao Xingde read this harsh statement softly. The charter states, "The incumbent state and county shepherds and county school priests shall not be imprisoned and punished until the county school public discusses impeachment and dethrone. The local soldiers Baojia maintained by the county's self-raised food and salary are for the purpose of protecting the environment and the people. Without the approval of the county school council, the prime minister cannot be transferred to other counties, leaving the place empty. The town and the Baoyi army do not pass through the prefectural and county herdsmen. Observing the permission, you are not allowed to enter the state border and county border..."

Zhao Xingde muttered softly, and Chen Dong was very angry when he heard it, and said, "What kind of regulations are these! We are the same as the anti-Liao army!" Some of the states and counties in the joint name are actually under the control of the Neo-Confucian Society.Chen Dong couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, he said to Zhao Xingde: "This is all Kong Zimu's instigation, Hou Huanyin is not reconciled to not being a prime minister, after all, I thought that this person's side is quite big, and he has the weapon of a prime minister, now it seems , finally 'showing' the face of a villain. Fortunately, after listening to Yuan Zhi's persuasion, he didn't give up the position of prime minister to this villain." He changed his mind and said, "After all, we can't let this class The villain is successful. The distance between Jingdong and Donglu is too far to deal with. Yuan Zhi, can you send troops to station in several nearby counties with joint names, and warn those clowns who follow Kong Zimu to jump up and down?"

Zhao Xingde was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "This is absolutely impossible."

Seeing that Chen Dong's face darkened, he was afraid that he would have other ideas, so he analyzed the pros and cons for him and said, "My son said that there are differences in love, from near to far. Tai Shigong said that all the good and bad in the world are for profit." .Nowadays, many prefectures and counties sacrifice wine for their own benefit, which is out of human nature. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Yanzi had a saying that if the emperor chooses his ministers, the ministers also choose the emperor. Although the current situation is not the same, it is similar. It’s just that In the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, there were Liao bandits, Bianliang Zhao Zhifu Qin Hui and other son courts, Xiangyang Zhao Qi court and our Ezhou four forces, among which Ezhou was the weakest. These states and counties that respect the emperor do not follow the orders of 'chaos', no matter whether they hold What kind of selfishness always has loyalty in our hearts in the dimness of the world. Instead of cherishing it with kindness, we want to approach it with power and influence. I am afraid that instead of making the state and county return to their hearts, we will drive fish into clusters and sparrows for the sake of the abyss. These counties have rushed to the hostile side."

After hearing his persuasion, Chen Dong's expression softened a little, and Zhao Xingde said again: "The solution to this matter is not to suppress blindly, but to make the best use of the situation so as not to harm justice because of self-interest. The so-called politicians are righteous. Back then When I was preparing to build the Baoyi Army, the heroes of Jingxiang were worried about returning to the imperial court. In order to gain trust from others, they agreed with the generals to make many lenient rules and made them public to relieve the suspicion of the heroes. Now rumors are everywhere outside, even in the community Comrade, it may not mean that you and I have no doubts. If the contract agreed upon by the prefecture and county schools is in line with common sense, then Shaoyang might as well accept it and publicize it to show his intentions. If the contract is unreasonable, then he should argue hard For example, the agreement that requires the consent of the local herdsmen to allow the imperial army to enter the prefectures and counties can still be complied with in normal times, but there must be an additional clause that if the Liao army and other puppet soldiers invade the territory, the army does not have to wait for the prefectures and counties Agree, enter the territory of the state and county on your own to resist the enemy. Under such circumstances, if the state and county still refuses the army to enter, it is like treason, and we regard it as marching and fighting in the enemy's territory." The meaning of the enemy's territory is that soldiers can rely on Looting to replenish military supplies, doing things cheaply to extinguish resistance, and impunity afterwards.

Chen Dong's eyes lit up slightly, and then he said bitterly: "Xingzhi, you are a sincere gentleman. But a gentleman can be deceived. If someone with ulterior motives like Kong Zimu wants to embarrass us, how can we explain it?" No matter how much you allow, no matter how much you fight, you won't be able to win."

When Kong Zimu came to lobby him to support Hou Huanyin as the prime minister, he was full of compliments, but he didn't mention the matter of restricting the power of the prime minister.And if there is no such charter, and Hou Huanyin is allowed to assume the position of prime minister, I am afraid that the forces of the Jingdong and the East can do something with the title of prime minister.Thinking of this, Chen Dong couldn't help feeling chills in his heart, and even secretly became wary of Hou Huanyin and Kong Zimu on Jingdong Road.It is not your enemy, but your ally who gives you a fatal blow in court.

"To deal with Hou Huanyin and his ilk, fight or not," Zhao Xingde said with a sneer, "it's all about Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, and his ambition is for Pei Gong." He picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and continued, "Ezhou initiative , I respect the Son of Heaven not to be ordered by 'chaos', and colleagues from all over the world are watching the wind. We have already taken the lead in this game of chess. After that, as long as you play calmly and don't let yourself be 'chaotic', you can firmly gain the upper hand and let others follow your lead. The pawns are falling. Kong Zimu wants to establish regulations to limit the power of the prime minister. It is a means of showing weakness and self-protection. We are not afraid that he will muddy the water. Only firmly stand on the righteousness, and there will be fewer and fewer people who follow Hou Huanyin. It is not just a book to talk about it. Through these struggles, those states who are hesitant in the middle will be brought to the greatest extent. The counties are drawn to our side, attracting those prefectures and counties that have not yet responded to the flag of righteousness to our side, and isolating people with ulterior motives like Hou Huanyin to the greatest extent. In this way, without using weapons, you will reduce your opponents and gain allies Isn't that what the ancients called victory over the court?"

"That's right." Hearing this, Chen Dong nodded and sighed, "Scholars will look at each other with admiration for three days. If it wasn't for Yuan Zhi, he would almost have missed a major event."

Chen Dong's eyes were a bit complicated.If it hadn't been for the town's eastward expedition, only the Baoyi army was left in Ezhou, and Zhao Xingde had to be sent to send troops. I am afraid that the army has just entered the counties and counties. Be vigilant and centrifuged, the righteous reputation gained since the Ezhou initiative will be put to waste.

"It's just a fool's gain." Zhao Xingde said with a smile.He thought of Chen Qianli in Chang'an, Zhao Xingde always felt that Chen Qianli's reputation was not commensurate with his knowledge.When he left Chang'an to go to Dunhuang Huguo Mansion to discuss matters, Chen Qianli explained to him the way of combining vertical and horizontal in Huguo Mansion, which inspired him a lot.

"Brother Qianli is hiding in the court," he shook his head inwardly, "I'm just making a name for myself."

Thinking back to the early years in Bianliang, a group of classmates and friends, only out of righteous indignation, exposed the matter of denouncing Tong Guan, a powerful minister. At that time, they were desperate, and the situation they were in was so dangerous that Zhang Minghuan died, and many friends died for several years. But thinking about it now, the blood is still surging.After a long time of trials and hardships, he was burdened with a great reputation, but he couldn't be as impulsive as before.After calculating many pros and cons, the gains and losses are still unpredictable.For example, donating students, although Zhao Xingde hated it in his heart, he had no choice but to do so in order to raise food and salaries for the military supply department.For example, Hou Huanyin is quite ambitious. It seems that he is an ambitious man who advances to compete in the world, and retreats to separate one side.But he controlled more than 30 states and counties in Jingdong, Zhao Xingde didn't like this person, but he had to persuade Chen Dong and him to be vain.This seemingly incompatible ally, who will win and lose in the future, will not be able to tell, but now he still has to try his best to maintain his face.

Chen Dong's mansion is adjacent to the downtown area.Walking out of the mansion, the eyes are full of traffic.Most people's faces are full of smiles, it seems that this day is a good day.In this 'chaotic' world, for the people of Ezhou, as long as the market is calm and the Liao army does not kill under their noses, every day is not bad.Especially recently, a large number of nobles gathered from various states and counties to Ezhou, which really made the inns and shops in the city a lot of money, and even the beggars got a few more money.

The air was filled with the smell of fresh vegetables, fish, and chicken and duck manure. It had been rainy for days, but this day happened to be sunny. Various stalls were set up on the street, and the faces of the people in front of the stalls were full of smiles.The seller peddles with a strong Ezhou accent, and the vegetable farmers who set up the stalls bargain with the shopping aunts and daughter-in-laws, and they can earn red faces for a few copper coins.But after the deal was made, those who bought things left happily, and those who sold things contentedly counted and counted the copper coins.

Such a lively and lively scene made people squeeze aside full of melancholy.Zhao Xingde took a deep breath of the damp air, and secretly said: "It's just an ordinary person. What we do today will cause the rise and fall of the world, and everyone is responsible." He strode forward.