Great Han Empire

Chapter 736
In November, the general hurried to Jinxueyuan camp.

Surrounded by a group of personal guards, Shi Yupeng, the chiefs of Da Sima's Mansion and Grand General's Mansion, galloped up to meet him.

"Bohan, do you have an urgent report from Jinyang?" Li Hong asked anxiously.

"The emperor issued seven decrees in a row, and the Sangong Mansion urgently wrote every day, asking the general to return to Jinyang immediately."

Yu Peng turned his horse's head and galloped together with Li Hong, looking very panicked, "Jinyang is in great chaos, the general must rush back day and night. I have ordered the post stations along the road to prepare fast horses and carriages, and rush the general back. "

"I already know the situation before mid-September, what happened in Jinyang after that?" Li Hong asked loudly, frowning slightly.

"The six ministers, including Da Sikong, Liu He, were ineffective in handling the case and deliberately delayed it. Then the Minister of Public Affairs proposed to amend the criminal law with the intention of ending the case, which angered the eldest princess." In a fit of rage, two generals, Qu Yi and Yang Feng, were asked to preside over the trial of the case. The two generals were generals of the northern Xinjiang faction, and they believed in the fact that the relatives of the state and the ministers jointly conspired against each other. After a lot of torture, the scope of their involvement It is getting wider and wider, and more and more ministers are involved in the case. By the end of October, almost all the ministers of the DPRK and China have been arrested, and many officials in northern Xinjiang have been arrested."

"Is there really such a minister who wants to kill me?" Li Hong turned to look at Yu Peng, and asked with a wry smile, "Am I really like Dong Zhuo? What conspiracy did I do?"

Yu Peng's face changed instantly. He looked at Li Hong with wide eyes, and shouted at the top of his voice, "General, maybe someone wants to kill you, but there will never be such a minister who wants to kill you. General, calm down." One point, there must be something hidden about this matter. There have been so many such treasonous things in the past dynasties, and they were often involved in a wide range of cases. Many people were beaten into tricks, and finally the vitality of the court was severely damaged, so that the country fell."

Li Hong gritted his teeth and shouted, "It's not that easy to kill me."

=

The atmosphere in the big tent was very tense.

Yu Peng, Fu Gan, Chen Qun, Yuan Huan, Sima Yi and other subordinates from the two prefectures, Zhao Yun, Pang De, Yan Wuwei, Wei Jun, Tie Yue, Lei Zi and other generals, and Tian Yu, the prefect of Hanbei County, and other desert officials sat on both sides. Read the books and newspapers of the Jinyang court.

Li Hong looked stern.After reading the last emperor's edict, he raised his head, looked around at his subordinates, and asked slowly, "What do you think about Jinyang?"

Pang De, Tian Yu and others have been in the desert for a long time, and they are very unfamiliar with the Jinyang court, so they dare not speak casually.Zhao Yun, Yu Peng and others have followed the general to the north since February this year, and they are not clear about what happened in Jinyang, and they dare not express their opinions casually.

"Speak up..." Li Hong slammed his fist on the table and roared angrily, "What should I do when I go back to Jinyang? Should I kill these people or not? Jinyang is in such a state of chaos, how can you rejuvenate the big man?"

Everyone was startled, knowing that the general was so angry and murderous at the moment, that the situation in Jinyang might be more or less ominous.

"Before I left, I repeatedly explained that Jinyang should be stabilized, and Jinyang should be stabilized, but what did Xian Yufu, Xu Rong and Li Wei do? At this time, the criminal law needs to be amended. Isn't it clear that they want to confront the eldest princess? A bunch of bastards." Li Hong used all his strength and punched down again.The case was almost broken in half.

"What explanation does the Jinyang court have for the revision of the criminal law?" Li Hong pushed aside the disconnected case table with one hand, turned over and stood up, pointed at Yu Peng and shouted, "I let you be stationed in the Jinxueyuan Camp, let you How did you deal with Jinyang's urgent report with full authority? Don't you know that people from northern Xinjiang can't intervene in this case? Especially the military generals in northern Xinjiang. As soon as Qu Yi and Yang Feng intervened, the Jinyang court immediately collapsed. What should you do? ?”

Yu Peng was terrified, and knelt down to plead guilty, "General, since July, I have been rushing to write to the princess, Xian Yufu and other lords in the name of the general, repeatedly asking the officials of Northern Xinjiang not to intervene in this case. But the imperial court suddenly passed the amendment of the criminal law, and the subordinate officials knew it too late, and they were powerless to stop it."

"The imperial court had a collegial meeting and asked to amend the criminal law. Obviously, Zhao Qi, Liu He, Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, Li Wei, Xun You and other ministers planned to join forces to force the eldest princess to give up the investigation. Compromise and continue to maintain the balance of power in the court." Yu Peng looked at Li Hong who was staring at him closely, hesitated, and then continued, "From this we can see that Zhao Qi, Xian Yufu and other ministers of Northern Xinjiang It must be believed that the Jinyang rebellion case has ended with the death of a group of ministers such as Dong Cheng, Wang Rou, and Shi Sunrui."

Li Hong's face turned cold, and his thick eyebrows frowned immediately.Yu Peng's heart trembled, and he quickly closed his mouth.

=

"Stand up and finish speaking." Li Hong let out a long breath, stretched out his feet and kicked the broken case aside, and sat down slowly, "Do you suspect that the eldest princess has another purpose?"

Yu Peng stood up and took a few steps back and forth in the big tent, patted his forehead, and then said to Li Hong: "The general must first admit that Xian Yufu, Xu Rong and Li Wei must know that Qu Yi and Yang Feng are in charge. As a result of the trial of the case, they should promptly persuade and stop the appointment of the eldest princess, but why didn't they stop it? Since they didn't dissuade the eldest princess from appointing Qu Yi and Yang Feng, why did they agree to the court to amend the criminal law before? "

"Obviously, the three adults may want to use the eldest princess to eradicate all forces in the court that may be detrimental to ZTE's cause. To achieve this goal, the only way to achieve this goal is to anger the eldest princess. Now it seems that they have achieved it."

"However, what is puzzling is that although they can eradicate some forces by doing this, it will also rapidly expand the power of the eldest princess. After these two changes of ministers and ministers, a large part of the ministers in the court will It belongs to the eldest princess." Yu Peng looked at Li Hong and said word by word, "General, don't forget that a large part of the former northern Xinjiang officials were scholars, and they were disciples of various powerful Confucianists. To a large extent, they are more loyal to the eldest princess. In addition, some warriors and scholars in northern Xinjiang have also become part of the major forces in the court."

Li Hong already understood what Yu Peng meant.

=

"General, if you go back now and kill the people who are locked up in Ting Wei's Mansion, or if you don't have time to go back, they have already been killed by the eldest princess, then what will happen to the court?"

"Among the ministers of the imperial court, the original northern officials and the eldest princess each occupy half. The eldest princess controls the emperor and the Chinese court, and her power is far greater than that of the outer court, and the authority of the outer court has been weakened again."

"The general will look at Waichao again. Half of Waichao are civil and military officials from northern Xinjiang, and half are the eldest princess or people who are close to the eldest princess."

"General, let's look at the civil and military officials in the northern half of the outer dynasty. Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, Li Wei, and Zhang Yan have already entered the court. After the Jinyang rebellion case, their power has begun to expand independently. , and this kind of expansion is exactly what the emperor and the eldest princess need, and it is also what the ministers who are close to the eldest princess need, and it is also what the four ministers in northern Xinjiang need. Their purpose is only one, that is to disperse and restrict General."

Yu Peng looked at Li Hong with a serious expression, and said with a wry smile: "If the matter is guessed by us, if the minister of the court is killed before the general rushes back to Jinyang, then the power of the general will be severely restricted, whether it is The court is still the army, and the power of the generals will be restricted."

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Li Hong lowered his head and thought for a long time, then suddenly he pointed to Yu Peng and asked, "You mean, the authority continues to check and balance?"

"Yes, power must be checked and balanced. This is the basis for maintaining the normal operation of the court. Today's crisis in Jinyang is because no one can control the power of the eldest princess. The great general has seen the great harm. Domination, especially the dominance of the eldest princess, will definitely be a disaster for the general, for Northern Xinjiang, and for the great cause of Zhongxing."

"There must be checks and balances between the Son of Heaven and the Eldest Princess, the officials of Northern Xinjiang, and other forces in the court. Only in this way can the power of the General be maintained and guaranteed."

"Especially the civil and military forces in northern Xinjiang. They will stand closely with the general only when they are restricted and threatened. This restriction and threat must come not only from the emperor and the princess, but also from all forces in North Korea and China. Once the interior of Xinjiang is stabilized, the power of the emperor and the eldest princess will be restricted and threatened, and they will not be able to monopolize power. The other forces in the DPRK and China have been threatened by the emperor, the eldest princess, and the forces of northern Xinjiang at the same time, especially this time. Finally, in order to survive, they had to huddle together and try to check and balance power. As long as power is reasonably checked and balanced, they will have a chance of survival. They no longer dare to take the initiative to provoke troubles and break this balance."

"In addition, General, don't forget that in the future, the civil and military officials in Northern Xinjiang will all be ministers of great merit. If these people are not restrained and pressured, under the deliberate training of the emperor and the eldest princess, many people will gradually stay away from the general. The general will even compete with and replace the general." Yu Peng bowed and said, "The factions in the Northern Army are too complicated. Once the former general of the Northern Army has formed power in the court, it will be difficult for the General to directly control the leadership of the Northern Army. The generals of the ministries are gone. General, the harm to Hebei and the great cause of ZTE from this hidden danger is far greater than the power disputes among the various factions in the court."

=

"Bohan, according to your speculation, is the crisis in Jinyang caused by the eldest princess and Zhao Qi, Liu He, Xian Yufu, Li Wei and others intentionally?" Yan Wuwei asked hesitantly, "The eldest princess is very young. After staying in northern Xinjiang for so many years, she knows the general very well. She will plan to plot against the general? Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, Li Wei and others are all brothers who have followed the general for many years. They will, for their own power, And put the general's safety at risk?"

"What the eldest princess thinks, we don't know, but judging from the fact that the emperor married her off this time, and she reacted very violently, she will not give up the power in her hand easily. As for the formation of the crisis in Jinyang, I guess it is not because of The original intention of the eldest princess is to be used by others." Yu Peng said after pondering for a while, "Of course the few ministers such as Xian Yufu will not disregard the safety of the general. They just want the general to monopolize power, so Deliberately acquiescing and indulging the eldest princess to use Qu Yi and Yang Feng to preside over the case. The reason why they violated the general's order may be the battle between the eldest princess and the emperor, which made them feel that Hebei was in danger, so they took this bad policy. "

"The expansion of the power of the few ministers I said may be detrimental to the general, that is a matter of the future, and this is also the inevitable consequence of the general pushing them to the court. Of course, if the general can restore the court this time Power checks and balances, the expansion of the power of several ministers is good for the general, the power of the northern border will be even greater, and the weight of our words in the court will be even greater."

"The eldest princess is being used by someone?" Yan Wuwei asked suspiciously, "Bohan, can you explain clearly, who is using her?"

"Who will benefit the most from the growing power of the eldest princess?" Yu Peng twisted his short beard slightly and asked back.

"Great Sikong Liu He." Yan Wuwei said, "The eldest princess is in charge of the government, and the royal clan can monopolize the power."

"Yes, but it's not just Liu He alone." Yu Peng said, "There are also the ministers in the court."

"The generals themselves are very powerful, but the warriors from Northern Xinjiang are entering the court one after another, and now when the court is not fighting, the generals from Northern Xinjiang are all in the court. As time goes by, these generals will gradually integrate into the court. In the end, as the general said, warriors and scholars hold the same power. However, these warriors are all warriors from northern Xinjiang. If the scholars from northern Xinjiang are added, the voice of the general alone will be in the court. This is the voice of the court The ministers don't want to see it, so they want to take advantage of the opportunity of the Jinyang rebellion case to quickly strengthen the eldest princess's strength in a short period of time, so that the eldest princess can form a force strong enough to counter the general."

"Now everyone has seen that their goal has been achieved, and the princess's strength has greatly increased." Yu Peng sneered, "However, the mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind. The ministers in the court probably never expected that the power is so great. The eldest princess Zeng went to deal with them, wiped them out, and even pushed the general into a dangerous place."

"Therefore, the general must set off immediately, rushing day and night, trying to return to Jinyang before the end of this month, rescue these self-righteous ministers, and let them restrict the civil and military affairs of northern Xinjiang, and restrict the powerful eldest princess. "

=

Li Hong, Yu Peng, and Zhao Yun discussed with each other and decided to return to Jinyang urgently. However, the war in the desert had just ended, and the tribes of the Hu tribe still needed time to appease them. There was still a meeting with the tribal kings at the end of this month.Li Hong decided to keep his wife, Feng Xue, and let Feng Xue complete these things on his behalf.

Fengxue was worried about Li Hong's safety and refused to stay in the desert, "You said that Xiaoyu and I cannot interfere in political affairs, I can't stay in the desert, I want to accompany you back."

Li Hong held Fengxue in his arms, gently stroked her blond hair, and said very apologetically, "Xiaoxue, I am not in the desert, and you are not in the desert, Kirby will not come. Now that Qianman is dead, Budu Geng also died, the Xianbei people are stronger than Kirby Bear, if he can't be persuaded, Da Mo will fight again. You have to do me this favor no matter what, just this time."

"But I miss the child, I miss her." Feng Xue begged with tears, "Let me go back with you."

"Winter is over, I'll send someone to pick you up." Li Hong comforted in a low voice, "The child will be fine with Xiao Yu taking care of it. Don't worry."

"I don't want to leave you, I really don't want to leave you." Feng Xue put her arms around Li Hong's neck and cried, "There is General Pang De in the desert, and Brother Wuwei, why do you want me to stay?"

Li Hong hugged her tightly, speechless.

=

In mid-November, Li Hong crossed the Yin Mountains and arrived at Wuyuan.

According to the imperial decree, the emperor is critically ill, and the general is asked to return to Jinyang immediately.

Li Hong was very anxious, and ordered Zhao Yun and Yu Peng, who were still crossing the Yin Mountain, to lead their troops back to Jinyang directly, and not to stop at Yunzhong Camp on the way, so as not to change Jinyang.He took thirty black panthers and ran along the road.Riding a horse during the day, riding a car at night, and traveling day and night.

At the end of November, General Li Hong returned to Jinyang.

Taichang Xunyou, Guangluxun Xianyufu, Weiwei Xu Rong went out of the city to meet them.

The horses and chariots were traveling at high speed on the road, and the thunderous hooves shattered the tranquility of the night.

Li Hong was exhausted and sat crookedly in the carriage, his face as frosty.Xian Yufu and Xu Rong sat opposite him, silent.

Xun You sat beside Li Hong, whispering what happened in Jinyang recently.

The place where the emperor fell was the Changqiu Palace where the empress lived.The stone steps were about ten steps long. After the Son of Heaven fell down, he hit his head hard and fell unconscious on the spot.Although the imperial physician Ling Huang Da and other dozen imperial physicians tried their best, they failed to revive the emperor.Later, the great Situ Zhao Qi sent a fast rider of [-] miles to Handan to invite two masters, Xiangkai and Huatuo.Master Hua Tuo believed that the emperor had a brain hemorrhage, and he had to open the skull to stop the bleeding and take out the blood clot, otherwise the emperor would die.Since ancient times, it has never been heard of opening the head for healing.The eldest princess refused and almost killed Master Hua Tuo.

"How long will Your Majesty live?" Li Hong asked weakly with his eyes closed.

"Master Hua Tuo said that it can last for two to three days at most." Xun You said palely, "If the general returns a few days later, he won't be able to see His Majesty for the last time."

"Where's the queen?"

"The emperor is in a coma, and the eldest princess is in chaos, so the matter of bestowing the dead queen has been delayed." Xun You sighed in a low voice, "But once the emperor dies, at least thousands of people will be buried with him."

"What about the Fu family? Killed them all?"

"Fude was severely tortured and died in the prison of Tingwei Mansion. He is still alive after he fell. Princess Yang'an is in Longquan, and the general's wife is accompanying her day and night."

"Where are the elders Zhang Wen and Cui Lie?"

"In the prison of Ting Wei's Mansion. Master Zhang Wen has not received good medical treatment since he was sent to court, and his health is deteriorating. Recently, he heard that the emperor was seriously injured. He felt sad and indignant. His condition suddenly worsened. I am afraid it will be difficult to spend the new year."

Li Hong gritted his teeth and shook his head in pain, "What about the others? Have they all been killed?"

"No. The eldest princess is full of remorse at this moment, full of grief and hatred, and has no intention of asking about this matter." Xun Youru said with relief, "General, fortunately you came back in time, otherwise, Jinyang would be bleeding like a river."

"Is there conclusive evidence for treason?"

Xun You was stunned for a moment. He wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Xian Yufu hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: "General, the Jinyang rebellion case is too implicated, I'm afraid there will be grievances."

"Too much involvement?" Li Hong sneered, "Who tried the case?"

Xian Yufu stopped talking.Li Hong looked at Xu Rong, Xu Rong smiled wryly, "It's Qu Yi and Yang Feng who presided over the trial."

"Whose idea?"

"It is said that it was recommended by some ministers." Xian Yufu cupped his hands and said, "General, don't investigate this matter any more. If you continue to investigate, there will be no one in the court."

"Before I left, how did I explain it?"

"We persuaded." Xian Yufu spread his hands helplessly, "but the eldest princess didn't listen."

"The eldest princess doesn't listen to your advice, what about Qu Yi and Yang Feng? They don't listen to your advice either?" Li Hong sat up straight, pointed at the two of them and cursed angrily, "You have to bear the main responsibility for Jinyang's affairs." , and Li Zhongyuan, what about the others? Why didn't you come pick me up?"

"Lord Li is discussing the emperor's funeral with Da Situ, Da Sikong and other ministers." Xun You replied hastily.

"To discuss the emperor's funeral, I think he should discuss his own funeral." Li Hong glared at Xian Yufu and Xu Rong, and said loudly, "And you. The emperor passed away, and you can go to be buried with him."

=

Grand Sikong Liu He, eunuch Gai Xun, Zongzheng Xu Shao, Dasinong Li Wei, general master Kong Rong, Shangshu Ling Zhang Fan, Yushi Zhongcheng Sima Fang, Guanglu doctor Zhou Zhong and other ministers greeted Li at the city gate. Hiro.

After exchanging pleasantries with the ministers, Li Hong immediately asked Xu Shao, Sima Fang and Zhou Zhong about their missions.Xu Shao wanted to cry but had no tears, the emperor was about to die, so this mission was a waste of time.

Li Hong waved his hand and signaled everyone to go to Jinyang Palace, he was really not in the mood to ask these things.

"General, the eldest princess has just left the city and returned to Longquan." Li Wei followed Li Hong into the carriage and said dejectedly.

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, "In this case, does she still go to Longquan?"

"The eldest princess is about to collapse. If she sees your accusing eyes again, I think she will collapse immediately." Li Wei sighed, "This year's life is too difficult, and she has suffered a lot."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Li Wei looked at Li Hong in surprise, "I'm fine."

"Are you okay? I think you want to die." Li Hong rushed forward, grabbed his neck with both hands, and said with gritted teeth, "I left you in Jinyang, and I expected you to stabilize the situation, but you stabbed him out. Such a big disaster, do you think I should kill you?"

Li Wei rolled his eyes, and let Li Hong drag him around, feeling remorseful in his heart, "General, who would have expected such an accident to happen to the Son of Heaven? Who would have expected it? It's all God's will, God's will!" .”

"God's will? Who believes it's God's will? Yuan Shao? Liu Biao? Or Cao Cao? Do they believe it's God's will?" Li Hong pushed Li Wei away and gave him a slap on the head, "Hebei can't even think about fighting now. "

Li Wei rubbed his neck, looked up to the sky and sighed, "The imperial court has ordered all counties and counties to find a way to stockpile grain and grass immediately, and quickly transfer the canal to East County, Wei County, Ganling Country, and Plain County to prepare for war."

"Where are Qu Yi and Yang Feng?"

"They have gone to Jizhou by order." Li Wei said, "The [-] troops from Jizhou and the [-] troops from Hedong will be assembled in the next year and deployed on the north bank of the Yellow River. The [-] northern troops from Jinyang and the [-] southern troops The army will go south to fight at any time after the emperor's funeral."

"These two bastards, I can't wait to peel their skin."

"Really?" Li Wei pretended to be serious and said, "I'll send the general's order right away."

"And your skin, peel off one piece." Li Hong scolded angrily.

=

The emperor lay quietly on the couch, with a trace of pain in the corner of his mouth, without any consciousness.

Accompanied by Da Situ Zhao Qi, Li Hong knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times, then stood by the couch and looked at the emperor silently, feeling very sad and painful.

I spent several years of painstaking efforts, tried my best, and finally rescued him, but what the emperor brought me was not the beginning of Zhongxing Dahan, but a disaster in Hebei.Bigger disasters will follow, can Hebei survive?
Li Hong looked up at the night sky outside the window.

Late Emperor, I am really incompetent. I can neither save the emperor, nor rejuvenate the great man. I may have to live up to your great trust.

=

Li Hong thanked Master Xiangkai and Master Hua Tuo who were guarding the emperor, and then hurried into Shangshutai with Zhao Qi.

Several ministers and ministers in the court were waiting for Li Hong here.

"Stop talking about useless things." Li Hong said hoarsely, "Discuss the most important things first."

"General, the three things are most important at present, one is the emperor's order, the other is the aftermath of the Jinyang rebellion case, and the third is..." Shang Shu ordered Zhang Fan to take a look at Li Hong, "The third is the eldest princess."

"Eldest princess?" Li Hong was suffocated, and immediately thought of something, and his expression suddenly became uneasy, "How is she?"

"If the emperor dies, the eldest princess may..." Zhao Qi stroked her white beard with a sad face, "Maybe it's too late."

Li Hong shuddered for a while, bowed his head and remained silent.

"General, there is nothing more sad than heartbreak. The eldest princess is heartbroken, is there any hope?" Liu He patted Li Hong on the shoulder, "General, as long as you persuade her. If..." Liu He's voice Choked up, unable to speak.

"Do you have any countermeasures for the emperor's order?" Li Hong ignored the expectant gazes of the ministers and immediately changed the topic.

"Whether the child in the queen's womb is a boy or a girl, no one knows now." The eunuch Gai Xun said, "It depends on God's will. If God bless the great man, this is the future great Han emperor."

"What if it's a princess?" Li Hong asked, "What about the royal succession? You didn't choose a royal descendant?"

"If the eldest princess doesn't say anything, how dare we mention it?" Kong Rong, the master craftsman, said, "The affairs of the emperor have been tightly sealed. We can wait for the matter of the emperor's succession. Let's see God's will first."

Li Hong nodded, and then asked: "The Jinyang rebellion case, how do you plan to deal with the aftermath?"

There was an instant silence in Shangshu's room.

In front of Li Hong, no one was willing to express their opinions. "Don't tell me the court doesn't even have an opinion on how to deal with the aftermath?" Li Hong asked incredulously.

"Yes." Zhao Qi said, "but we want to hear the general's opinion first." At this time, only Zhao Qi dared to speak.

"What can I say?" Li Hong smiled wryly, "Let's let it go."

The ministers stood up all of a sudden, and many looked at Li Hong excitedly.

"Is this the general's suggestion?" Zhao Qi asked in disbelief.

"All let go." Li Hong waved his hand vigorously, "Since the eldest princess killed Dong Cheng, Wang Rou, Shi Sunrui and other ministers, this case will be over."

"What about the eldest princess?" Zhao Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and made a pun.

"I will rush to Longquan immediately to see the eldest princess."

=

(End of this chapter)