Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 232 Everything Goes Well
"What else do you want to report?"

In the middle of the night, inside the Zichen Palace...

When Li Chen slowly raised his head and looked at Zheng Hao and asked in a very calm tone, Zheng Hao felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him and his enthusiasm was gone.

Facing the emperor's calmness, he was not sure and said, "Your Majesty, Bai Sikong secretly worked with Liu Jilong to force good people into slavery. Shouldn't this be dealt with?"

Given Zheng Hao's level, he really shouldn't have said such things, but he couldn't help it.

If it weren't for Bai Minzhong, he should have had children with Lu and was on the rise.

Now that he had such solid evidence of Bai Minzhong's guilt, the emperor simply brushed it aside. This was very different from what he had expected.

"It's late at night, Minister Zheng, please go back and rest first."

"I will explain the outcome of this matter to all officials after the Lantern Festival."

Li Chen's eyes were deep and his tone remained calm.

Seeing this, Zheng Hao could only bow helplessly: "I...will take my leave!"

Li Chen just watched him leave the Purple Palace. Half a quarter of an hour later, he slammed the document on the table and looked at Ma Gongru who was not far away.

"Find out for me whether this is true or not!"

"I obey your order!" Ma Gongru responded quickly, and then secretly sent people to Jiannan Road to investigate.

Li Chen was naturally well aware of the influx of population from Longyou, but he always thought that it was Feng Ao and Liu Jilong, the father-in-law and son-in-law, who were flirting with each other, but he didn't expect that Bai Minzhong was also involved.

"Isn't this fellow jealous that I transferred him to Xichuan?"

Li Chen's suspicious character was exposed at this moment. He suspected that Bai Minzhong was jealous of him for dismissing him and transferring him to another place, so he flirted with Liu Jilong to take revenge on him.

"Your Majesty, tomorrow is New Year's Eve..."

After arranging the affairs of Xichuan, Ma Gongru asked tentatively, but Li Chen said impatiently: "Just hurry through it!"

"I obey your command..." Ma Gongru responded, then slowly left the Zichen Hall.

The next day, with the arrival of New Year's Eve, many people bought a lot of "fireworks" produced in Huainan.

Due to the shortage of bamboo in Guanzhong, fireworks from Huainan have begun to enter Guanzhong in recent years.

These fist-sized fireworks were packed in bamboo tubes and sold to Guanzhong. After being ignited, they slowly burned and emitted white smoke, and finally made a crackling sound.

Although the price is high, it is nothing for the wealthy families in Chang'an.

Amid the sound of fireworks and firecrackers, the tenth year of Dazhong passed, and was replaced by the eleventh year of Dazhong.

It’s a pity that because Zheng Hao reported Bai Minzhong, Li Chen became suspicious of many of his former loyal ministers.

Many things that had been planned were postponed by Li Chen for various reasons.

On the eve of the Lantern Festival, Wei Mo came to the Zichen Hall again and met Li Chen who had just taken the "longevity medicine".

Facing Li Chen's unusually ruddy face, Wei Mo couldn't help but frown and bow:

"Your Majesty, the so-called elixir is nothing more than a sorcerer's trick to deceive the king. If you want to live longer, you should take care of yourself instead of taking elixirs."

"Ha ha……"

Facing Wei Mo's advice, Li Chen was still unhappy in his heart, but he still smiled and said: "This is the medicine and food given by the Imperial Hospital, not elixir."

"Don't worry, Prime Minister Wei. I am not greedy for immortality. It's just that the current situation is chaotic and I can't let it go, so I take medicine and food to regulate my body."

"Your Majesty..." Wei Mo wanted to persuade him, but Li Chen raised his hand to stop him.
"Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Prime Minister Wei came to see me. I guess he didn't come for the longevity medicine, did he?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Wei Mo bowed and saluted, then spoke:

"In recent days, many officials in the Northern and Southern Offices have been secretly speculating on the emperor's intentions. I am worried that this will lead to factional disputes. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince during the Lantern Festival tomorrow to avoid instability in the country."

Wei Mo's words were relatively restrained. After all, he had the precedent of Pei Xiu, and he also knew that the matter was very sensitive.

But he felt that the emperor was now forty-seven years old and should be more relaxed than he was last year.

In addition, the turmoil between the Southern Court and the Northern Court for the succession was getting bigger and bigger. He was worried that it would lead to party strife and destabilize the country, so he came to give advice.

Unfortunately, Wei Mo still underestimated Li Chen's control over power.

Faced with Wei Mo's well-intentioned advice, Li Chen couldn't help but think of Bai Minzhong's matter, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

But on the surface, he still said in a pleasant manner:
"I have thought deeply about the matter of the crown prince, but I still haven't made up my mind."

"I promised Prime Minister Wei that the issue of the crown prince will be decided before the end of the year."

Seeing this, Wei Mo could only bow helplessly: "If that's the case, then I'm fine."

"Well, Prime Minister Wei, take care." Li Chen nodded with a smile, then watched Wei Mo leave the Zichen Hall.

After Wei Mo left, Li Chen glanced at Ma Gongru and Wang Zongshi not far away.

The two of them were frightened by his gaze, but they still stood in the corner with a serious expression.

"Summon Linghu Xuan to the Purple Palace."

Li Chen's voice sounded cold, and the two of them bowed quickly in response.

Half an hour later, Linghu Tao hurried to the Zichen Hall, and Li Chen handed the document brought by Zheng Hao to Linghu Tao, indicating that he should read it.

Linghu Tao just opened the document and immediately took a breath of cold air.

He was not shocked by Bai Minzhong and Liu Jilong's "forcing good women into slavery", but by this booklet.

In this volume, Bai Minzhong and Liu Jillong privately traded more than 100,000 civilians. Bai Minzhong obtained draft horses and mules, while Liu Jillong obtained population and food.

If this is true, Bai Minzhong must be punished because the number of people he trades with is too large.

"Your Majesty, could this booklet be..."

Linghu Tao wanted to say that this was a forgery, but Li Chen said in a deep voice: "I have sent people to Jiannan Road to collect evidence. In a few days, the news will be reported back."

The reason why Li Chen dared to inform Linghu Tao now was because it had been nearly half a month since he sent people to Jiannan Road.

Even if Linghu Tao informed Bai Minzhong, Bai Minzhong would not have had time to clean up the mess. He could also use this opportunity to see whether Linghu Tao was on his side or cared more about his party.

Li Chen used this to test Linghu Tao, and Linghu Tao gradually reacted from the initial panic, and then quickly performed;
"Your Majesty, if this is true, Bai Minzhong should be convicted!"

"How do you judge the crime?" Li Chen asked calmly, but Linghu Tao said firmly:
"If this is true, please dismiss Bai Minzhong from his post and let him return home!"

"Can't we kill him?" Li Chen narrowed his eyes, but Linghu Tao hesitated:

"If you want to kill me, this evidence may not be enough..."

After he finished speaking, Li Chen did not respond to him, and one could hear a pin drop in the hall.

After a long while, Li Chen slowly said, "If this matter is confirmed, no matter how big or small the matter is, Bai Minzhong will be dismissed from his post as the governor of Chengdu and the governor of Xichuan."

"As for the candidates for Xichuan Jiedushi and Chengdu Yin, let's temporarily choose Wei Mo."

Li Chen wanted to take the opportunity of transferring Bai Minzhong to transfer Wei Mo to Xichuan.

Even though Wei Mo had offended him, Wei Mo was upright enough and would not form a clique for personal gain after being transferred to Xichuan, and would certainly not become involved with Liu Jilian.

As for how Bai Minzhong will deal with it, it depends on how true the contents of this booklet are.

"I accept the decree..."

Linghu Tao bowed in response, feeling bitter in his heart.

He knew that if what Bai Minzhong said was true, he would be branded as someone who was jealous of Wei Mo and transferred him away.

But if he didn't do this, his fate would not be any better, so he had no choice but to do it.

After he stepped down, he spent the next few days paying attention to Beisi and the Daming Palace gate.

He wanted to send someone to find out about Bai Minzhong's affairs, but thinking of the emperor's attitude, he finally gave up.

In mid-February, the spies sent by Ma Gongru to Xichuan returned to Beisi and compiled the collected intelligence into a booklet, which Ma Gongru handed over to Li Chen.

Li Chen was sitting in the hall flipping through the documents, while Ma Gongru reported:
"It is true that Bai Sikong and Liu Jilong had forced good women into slavery, but the number was not as large as previously stated in the document. The exact number is difficult to estimate, but it is probably no more than 20,000."

Li Chen's face remained calm while listening to Ma Gongru's report, but the speed at which he flipped through the documents revealed his unrest.

To him, there is no difference between more than 100,000 and 20,000.

Since Bai Minzhong knew that the imperial court wanted to deal with Longxi, he should not have anything to do with Liu Jilian.

What about training mule troops and horse troops... they are all excuses!

Since he did such a thing, it means he is no longer clean.

Thinking of this, Li Chen closed the document and said in a cold voice: "Draft an imperial edict to transfer Bai Minzhong, the governor of Chengdu and the governor of Jiannan West Sichuan, to the governor of Jiangling and the governor of Jingnan, and retain the position of co-prime minister." "In addition, Wei Mo, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the co-prime minister, will be the ambassador of the Jiannan West Sichuan governor, and the governor of Chengdu, in charge of observing and handling the barbarians near the border, and the envoy to pacify the eight countries of the Western Mountains and Yunnan."

Although he really wanted to deal with Bai Minzhong, Li Chen also knew that Bai Minzhong's power in the court was deeply rooted. If he was forcibly removed, it would inevitably damage the interests of the court.

Moving him to the post of Jiedushi of Jingnan and still retaining his status as envoy and prime minister was already considered a lenient treatment on his part.

"I obey your order..."

Ma Gongru breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, then bowed in response and reported the matter to the Southern Court.

Soon, Linghu Tao of the Southern Court learned about this. He was relieved about Bai Minzhong's fate. At the same time, according to the palace's order, he ordered the three provinces to draft and review the imperial edict, which would be issued by the Menxia Province.

In early March, Bai Minzhong, who was in Chengdu, learned that he had been suddenly transferred. Although he didn't know what had happened, he still guessed something.

Because of this, he hurriedly summoned Yang Fugong as the military supervisor.

"Sikong!"

Yang Fugong hurriedly walked into the government office, which was full of servants packing up their things.

Soon, he came to the inner hall and saw Bai Minzhong in casual clothes.

Although Bai Minzhong, 65 years old, was relocated at this time, he was still energetic and not discouraged by this incident.

"Zike is here?"

When Bai Minzhong saw Yang Fugong, he immediately motioned for him to take a seat.

Yang Fugong bowed quickly, then sat down and said, "Sikong, I heard that you were transferred to Jingnan. What's going on?"

"I don't know." Bai Minzhong shook his head and then smiled:
"Perhaps the trade with Liu Jilong was known to the imperial court."

"It must have been that group of people who reported it!" Yang Fugong gritted his teeth, and the group of people he was talking about were the Beisi generals in the Xichuan Army.

After all, in his opinion, Liu Jilong did not report Bai Minzhong's suspicion.

Although Bai Minzhong restricted the number of hungry people who could move to Longyou, at least a few thousand people could still move there in a year.

Now it was Wei Mo's turn. Given Wei Mo's intolerant character, Liu Jilong might not even be able to get a few thousand starving people.

Not only him, but Bai Minzhong also thought so, so they attributed these things to the Beisi general in the Xichuan army.

"Okay, don't worry."

Bai Minzhong comforted Yang Fugong and smiled softly, "I have been an official in Xichuan for four years. I have trained 1,200 elite cavalry, 5,000 horsemen, and 8,000 mule soldiers for Xichuan. I have also repaired many passes in the western and northern borders. Xichuan's defenses are now as solid as a rock."

"I know Wei Shenzhi well. He is a man of integrity and will definitely not compromise with Liu Jilong. However, the administration in Xichuan is poor, and the county officials may have been bribed by Liu Jilong."

"Even if Wei Shenzhi wanted to stop it, he couldn't."

"Fortunately, I left behind these elite mule and horse soldiers. If Liu Jilong rebels in the future, we can also repel the enemy north of the pass and prevent them from invading our territory."

Bai Minzhong's attitude towards Liu Jilong is to cooperate but also to be cautious.

He originally wanted to train 3,000 elite cavalry, 20,000 horse and mule troops to strengthen the strength of the Xichuan army.

It’s a pity that before he achieved his goal, he had to be transferred to be the Jiedushi of Jingnan.

"If Wei Shenzhi comes to Xichuan, you must remind him to repair the passes in Rongzhou and Shizhou in the south."

"In this way, Xichuan will be as solid as a rock."

"South?" Yang Fugong was surprised. After he came to his senses, he bowed and said:
"Are you worried that Nanzhao might cause chaos?"

"Hmm..." Bai Minzhong rubbed his brows and then sighed:
"Since Nanzhao captured the artisans in Chengdu, their skills have been comparable to those of the imperial court. In addition, after more than 20 years of recuperation, the country's strength has increased."

"The Nanzhao King Fengyou is in his prime and quite scheming."

"The imperial treasury is currently empty, and most of the southern soldiers are not well-trained for battle."

"If Fengyou rebels and attacks, Annan, Qianzhong, and Jiannan may suffer from war, so we must take precautions early."

Bai Minzhong's judgment was correct. Yang Fugong also thought it made sense, so he nodded quickly and said, "Don't worry, Sikong. I will definitely remind Wei Xiang."

"Yes!" Bai Minzhong nodded: "With your reminder, I won't worry anymore."

"The Supreme One has asked me to leave for Jiangling today. I cannot stay in Jiannan, so I can only place the burden on your shoulders."

"I will leave for Jiangling tomorrow, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of me."

"Leave Liu Jilong alone. Explain the matter to Wei Shenzhi. He will naturally know how to handle the relationship between the two."

"Okay, that's all. I can't keep you here any longer, so go and get busy."

Bai Minzhong spoke in a very anxious manner, and Yang Fugong knew that he was worried about implicating himself, so he stood up and bowed to the court.

"I hope I can work with Sikong again in the future."

"There will be."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Yang Fugong left the inner hall.

The next day, Bai Minzhong, accompanied by dozens of servants, went to Jiangling to take up his post, escorted by two hundred elite cavalrymen from the Xichuan Army.

At the same time, Wei Mo, who was also the co-prime minister, also took the Tangluo Road south to Jiannan.

It was already the end of March when Liu Jilong learned the news.

"Jingnan Jiedushi, it seems these things are not enough to bring him down."

Inside the main hall of the Longyou Protectorate, Liu Jilian looked at the intelligence in his hand with a stern expression on his face.

Inside the hall, Gao Jinda, Zhang Chang, Cui Shu, Li Shangyin and others' expressions were not as stern as his, but not much better.

The Jingnan Jiedushi governed Jingzhou, Lizhou, Langzhou, Xiazhou, Wanzhou, Guizhou and other places, which was equivalent to Jingzhou, Yichang in Hubei and Wanzhou in Chongqing in later generations, with a population of four or five hundred thousand.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell whether the move from being the Jiedushi of Xichuan, who governed millions of people, to being the Jiedushi of Jingnan, who governed hundreds of thousands of people, was a promotion or a demotion.

"Bai Minzhong being transferred away was a good thing, but the person who replaced him was Wei Mo, which became a bad thing."

Li Shangyin briefly told everyone about Wei Mo's intelligence. After listening, everyone's expressions were solemn. On the contrary, Liu Jilong rubbed his brows and said:
"Too rigid will easily break, not to mention that Wei Mo has been serving in the north for many years and is now old. He may not be able to adapt to the climate of Jiannan Road."

"Fortunately, Aweng has not been transferred to the capital for the time being. In addition, the Bai Minzhong incident has come to an end, so we can move people in from Shannan West Road without any hesitation."

Liu Jilong was still relatively optimistic. Although he had no impression of Wei Mo, he did not expect too many people to flow into Jiannan Road.

He sent Yu Conghui and others to inquire, and found out that Bai Minzhong's mule army and cavalry had already been trained, and what they lacked now was only elite cavalry. However, elite cavalry was just icing on the cake for the Xichuan army, not an absolute necessity.

In other words, even if this incident had not happened, Bai Minzhong would not have moved too many people to Longyou, so he had to use a trick to transfer Bai Minzhong away.

Once Bai Minzhong is transferred away, with the insane methods of the Xichuan Army, it won't take long before the more than 16,000 elite soldiers will be destroyed by them.

This is the case of one soldier being incompetent and the generals being incompetent as well.

Although Wei Mo was good at giving advice, he was not good at leading troops, unlike officials like Bai Minzhong who organized armies to quell rebellions.

The longer Bai Minzhong stayed in Xichuan, the more difficult Liu Jilong's plan to plunder Xichuan's population would be in the future.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Chang and asked, "How is the situation in Guzhou?"

"Reporting to the commander, Chen Ying and Cao Mao have taken over Guzhou with their troops. Shang Bibi took away the skilled craftsmen in Hankou, leaving only more than 1600 Hankou."

"In addition, they built a city in the upper reaches of the Tao River in Mochanchuan. Chen Ying sent people to investigate. The city is not big. It is located in the Tao River valley. It is made of stone and is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

Zhang Chang reported this to Liu Jilong, who was not surprised.

There were only a few hundred craftsmen, so it would be fine if Shang Bibi was taken away. It would be enough to leave 10,000 in Hankou.

What's more, with the previous example of Lun Kongre being ambushed by Li Ji on the grassland, Shang Bibi would naturally choose to build the city in the more southern and complex terrain.

If I turn against them at that time, Shang Bibi and Shang Moyan will have enough time to retreat to Duomai.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said, "Since he has moved to the upper reaches of the Tao River, we should open the Taozhou and Diezhou markets to him."

"Twenty horses for a suit of armor, or a hundred pounds of iron."

"For the rest of the goods, we will continue to trade with him at the same prices as we did in Shandan in the past."

"If he wants to become the lord of Duomai and Weixi, he should start early and unify Mochanchuan first."

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, Li Shangyin continued, "General, if this official's army becomes powerful in the future and seizes an opportunity to invade Longyou, what should we do?"

"He doesn't dare..." Liu Jilong responded confidently, then turned his eyes to the table.

"What's more, there is a place richer than Longyou waiting for him..."

(End of this chapter)