The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 187: White Night Walk (Part )
The sparse rain became a curtain of pattering rain. As he grew older, Zhu Wen liked such rainy days that made him feel inexplicably at ease. When he stood on the Suanzao Gate and listened to the rain, looking at the soldiers in green straw raincoats coming in and out with blank expressions, he suddenly missed the vague memory of playing Cuju and polo with the Queen in the sun without any worries to please her.

Zhu Wen sighed, not wanting to be so depressed even after leaving the palace. He sat quietly on the Suanzao Tower, surrounded by people, yet feeling particularly lonely.

The Xuanhui Envoy Jiang Xuanhui lowered his head, his chin almost to his collar, like a quail. The Ye Ting Ling Li Yi's face was pale, and she kept pursing her lips. The palace maids, waiters, and guards were stunned, like dead people, answering one question at a time, and there was no conversation at all. In the dead silence, there was only the occasional soft murmur of Defei Shi Shaoyuan, who was holding Fu Wang Youzhang to sleep.

So depressing.

He suddenly thought of Zhu Zhen.

If my second brother were still alive, he would be much more relaxed, right?
The second brother was also a warrior who came from a thief family, but he had the style of an ancient general. He was born with both civil and military skills. He selected the virtuous and capable, judged people and made decisions, trained the army and governed the country. No ordinary person could compare to him. He fought in all directions and never lost. Wang Jian, Han Xin, Xiang Yu, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing were no better than him. When he was executed, hundreds of generals begged for mercy at the risk of their lives, and the army mourned for several days. There is no other person in the world today who has such prestige.

If my second brother were still alive, we would have been the Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai of Daliang, and there would have been no chance for people like Tian Xide, Zhu Jin, Zhu Xuan, Wang Shifan, Zhao Kuangning and Li Shu to commit crimes, and the state affairs would not have come to this point.

I am far inferior to Zhen Yuan!
Thinking about those people who were promoted, Zhu Sheng couldn't help feeling discouraged.

Kou Yanqing, a general from Xuanwu, was always the vanguard, but he was extremely treacherous and cunning. His ancestors had participated in killing and expelling military governors many times, which made people love and fear him. He Delun, a general from Yicheng Army, looked respectful but was treacherous. He had no backbone and was not as strong as Wang Yanzhang.

Zhang Guiba was originally a wealthy man in Weizhou. When Chao was in chaos, he and his brothers Guihou and Guibian joined Chao in the rebellion. After Chao was destroyed, they surrendered to Bian. He had no idea about the emperor, loyalty or treachery, and only wanted wealth and power. He would work for whoever could give him what he wanted, and would leave without hesitation if he could not.

Wang Tan was from Chang'an. His great-grandfather, Ci, served as a general in the Tang Dynasty. His grandfather, Yao, assisted Li Sheng in taking back the capital and was a meritorious official in suppressing the rebellion. His father, Huan, was one of the Nine Ministers - the Minister of Honglu. However, such a son of a noble was willing to "start a business" with him, and he was the same kind of person as Li Zhen, Shi Yanci, and Jing Xiang.

This made Zhu Wen both happy and worried.

The good news is that he may indeed be a wise overlord, otherwise there wouldn't be so many heroes coming to join him. The bad news is that this is not a good thing for him. How did the Li family betray Wang Tan? There is nothing to be sorry about, but Wang Tan rebelled. To show his loyalty, he insulted the Li family's ancestors more than once. He ate with a bowl, threw the bowl and cursed his mother, and after cursing, he helped his enemy kill his mother. What kind of person is this?

Jing Xiang, his wife was played by him, but he pretended to be ignorant... Even if he complained a few words like Zhu Youwen, he would be so weak. Today, for the sake of profit, he can surrender the person next to him, but I dare not imagine what he will do to survive tomorrow!

There was also Li Zhen, who entered the government as the governor of Taizhou through family ties. Because he failed the imperial examination several times, he was full of hatred for the Li family and was the one who was most enthusiastic about destroying the Tang Dynasty.

However, the saddest thing is that even though Zhu Wen knew very well how these people behaved, he had no way to stop them.

A man who used his power to attack his lord, a man who was used to going back on his word and treating betrayal as a daily routine, could not expect nor had the face to teach his subordinates loyalty. It was good enough to have people like Kou Yanqing, He Delun, and Li Zhen who came for profit, and he had no right or room to be picky.

Whatever kind of person you are, you are the kind of person you can rely on and trust.

A pile of shit can only attract flies and produce maggots. This is the law of heaven and earth, the truth of nature.

Why did the Later Liang Dynasty go from having an absolute advantage to having the upper hand, being in a balance of power, being at a disadvantage, and finally being destroyed in its confrontation with Hedong? To put it bluntly, it was because they were stupid and evil.

Zhang Cunjing, Wang Yanzhang, Zhao Keyu, Huang Wenjing, Deng Jiyun, Ge Congzhou, Kang Huaiying, Ding Hui, Wang Chongshi, Zhang Shensi, Li Sian, Zhang Guibian, Fan Jushi, Gao Shao, Hu Zhen, Xie Tong, Zhang Guihou, Wang Jingren… Normal people were either secretly purged and executed, died suddenly in office, or were stripped of their real power and reduced to nominal positions, or were persecuted and suppressed, or turned to other countries for self-protection.

Why are they targeted? Because they are not of the same kind.

What kind of people are in the mainstream? People like Feng Xingxi, Han Jian, Yang Shihou, Su Xun, Zhao Yan, Han Qing, Li Zhen, Kou Yanqing, Xiao Wenli, and Xue Yiju. Some of them are so disgusting that even Jing Xiang, whose face is thicker than a city wall, can't stand it: "The owls of the Tang Dynasty and the foxes of today are selling out the country for profit."

Fearing that the court would be occupied by upright gentlemen, he used cannibals, city-massacre experts, and slaves of three surnames to suppress them, so as to create a balance. Using evil to suppress good. Using bad to control good. Using incompetence to replace ability. What an outrageous thing! The power was consolidated. Who would govern the prefectures and counties? Who would fight the wars? Zhu Wen didn't care. Anyway, he had earned a fortune, so he could do it for many years even if he was crazy and committed suicide.

But there is a logic in this world - no regime or organization based on abstraction, speculative revolution, and sophisticated self-interest can last long. Evil can defeat justice temporarily, but not forever. Because people are people, and people are the measure of all things! People have the ability to reflect on themselves and make corrections.

It's too late to regret!

Zhu Sheng felt annoyed in his heart.

If I could do it again, be more sincere and build a good reputation, perhaps the situation would be very different?

"Your Majesty!" His thoughts were interrupted, and Li Zhen and Jing Xiang came together.

"Sit down." Zhu Wen didn't even turn his head, hugging his knees and continuing to enjoy the rainy scenery in the fog. After returning to Bian from the front line of Yuncheng, he still discussed politics with his confidants, but in fact he often discussed it with Li and Jing in advance. It's not that he didn't trust others, but after so many things, Zhu Wen had to be deeply worried about the mentality and position of many people.

The true emperor is the true emperor after all. The true emperor who has no authority and is treated as a puppet by the eunuchs can instigate the various towns in Bashu to beat Chen Jingxuan and Wang Jian to death, and can make the northwestern part of Beijing and Heshuo attack Li Keyong. The true emperor who has restored a certain degree of authority subdued Jing and Xiang without bloodshed, and made Lu Yanwei lose his position as the governor of Henghai with just one sentence. Although Daliang is still strong at the moment and the Li family cannot destroy him for the time being, no one knows whether any of the ministers are afraid, panicked, or shaken.

The only ones who can devote their whole heart to the good of Daliang and offer advice and have the wisdom to do so are Li and Jing.

"Your Majesty." Jing Xiang called out again, slapped a few official documents on the table, and said, "There's news from Wei Bo."

"Oh?" Zhu Wen turned around, looked at him expectantly, and said with a smile, "Did Lord Tian teach me anything?"

"Your Majesty..." Jing Xiang had read Tian Xide's reply and knew exactly what Zhu Sheng was hoping for, but...he organized his words a little and said, "Mr. Tian said that he was willing to give up the title of emperor and be called the governor of Xuanwu again, and return the invaded Xu, Shaanxi, Jiang, Heyang, Cao Pu to the Shi, Wang, Zhuge, and Zhu families. He will withdraw his troops and take back the garrisons, and make peace with Zhao, Cang, and Qi. Please return your majesty's official title and make peace with Bian."

Zhu Wen planned to stop the war in the East.

Two options were considered for this purpose.

Regarding Wei Bo, he secretly ordered Jing Xiang to send guests to ask Tian Xide what he wanted in exchange for a handshake and peace. Regarding Yan, Yun, and Qi, he sent people with money and beautiful concubines to propose to confer titles on Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, and Wang Shifan as the King of Jibei, the King of Jiaoxi, and the King of Qi, and to return Caozhou and Puzhou to Zhu Xuan, and the more than 100,000 Bian troops assembled in the east would also be withdrawn; the condition was to accept his title of vassal king.

At this time, the three towns had not responded yet, and they were probably still weighing the pros and cons. Wei Bo, who was committed to the peace of the six states, actually had very little desire to go abroad to fight. If they were not angry at Zhu Wen's greed, and the court's revival and Wang Shifan's fate gave them confidence, they would not have taken real action against Zhu Wen. So this time, seeing that Zhu Wen was inclined to bow his head, Wei Bo, who also wanted peace, was the first to give a response.

But you can see it, it's not good.

Tian Xide and his men simply wanted Zhu Wen to take the initiative to remove his usurpation title, return the land he had occupied over the years, and send envoys to the court to apologize, just like Tian Yue, Li Na, Wang Wujun, and Zhu Tao did in the past. Then they could help mediate and get the emperor to restore Zhu Wen's official title. Then you can go your way and keep your distance.

Hmm, you can tell from the sound of it that you are an experienced mediator.

"That's all?" Zhu Wen stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.

"That's all." Jing Xiang nodded. Seeing that Zhu Wen was silent, he thought he was analyzing the feasibility, and hurriedly said, "Mr. Tian's idea shows sincerity. But success or failure depends on Chang'an. If the envoy is removed from office, it will be fine if the Tang Lord restores your Majesty's official title. What if he doesn't, or Tian Xide turns against him and refuses to acknowledge his fault. By then, everyone at home and abroad will be shocked, your Majesty's prestige will fall, and you will be laughed at by the world. How will you deal with it?" The Yicheng Army was in turmoil, the military and civilians mutinied, the Huaixi Youguo Army rebelled, the Zhongwu Army had ulterior motives, and Daliang's ability to control the directly affiliated areas was greatly reduced. It became increasingly difficult to expand outward. This is a bitter fact.

Although the army was not badly damaged, the soldiers were not fools. These things happening in the outside world would also subtly affect them. When "heaven's will" began to be questioned and things began to go wrong, the decline of combat effectiveness was inevitable. The local and wealthy military men in Xuanwu would probably not waver in order to defend their vested interests, but if these old foxes continued to fight for foreign annexation, they could just forget about it. Why fight so hard when the odds of winning are not high? Just shoot a few arrows and hit a few spears and you will deserve the reward.

Can't win? What does it have to do with us? Did I make you ambitious?

With more than 200,000 troops at home and abroad, Jing Xiang even doubted whether he could exert 70% of his previous strength. Wang Yanzhang's 30,000 troops were slaughtered in Juyangchuan. Isn't that a reflection? Your Majesty, have you suffered such a disastrous defeat since the second year of Zhonghe?

But in the current situation, this may not be a bad thing, because it can reduce and eliminate the princes' panic, vigilance, fear, and hostility towards Daliang, and hopefully make some people withdraw from the fight. If Daliang continues to decline, Li's sword of reducing the vassal states will be swung towards Guandong, and it can also build cohesion to resist Chang'an.

In short, it would be best to find a way to temporarily cease fire with the Eastern princes, but Wei Bo's plan is really...

Without the title of emperor, not to mention Xuanwu, who would guarantee the safety of His Majesty? At that time, he became a laughing stock, and his whole family was killed by the rebellion. Would Li Shu refuse to give it to the court for the governor? It was not that he cared about Zhu Wen's life or death, but that he was a traitor, and his ancestors had served as officials in the Tang Dynasty for four generations. Once he was caught, according to the convention, the package of beheading the willow tree, exposing the corpse on the dog ridge, and exterminating the family in the East Market would be issued.

He has become like Zhu Wen. The monarch and his subjects share a wife. The imprint is too deep. Even if Li Jun does not enter Bian, if Zhu Wen is killed by his subordinates, he will have to follow his family to be killed or be sent to Chang'an in prison. Not only him, but also Li Zhen, Pei Di, Xiao Fu, Kou Yanqing, Zhang Tingfan, Ge Congzhou, Shi Yanci, the Queen of Heaven, Zhang Cunjing and other core and senior party members will not be able to escape. Li Shu does not need to ask for people. By then, the chaotic army will take action.

"His Majesty?"

"Hmm." Zhu Wen responded, and slowly put down the letter, but ignored Jing Xiang, and looked at Li Zhen and said calmly: "The whole world is coming to attack us, and our power is declining. I think it would be better to ask Mr. Tian to mediate and close the door to serve as the governor."

Even though Li Zhen was always arrogant, his face turned pale at this moment, and he did not dare to answer immediately. He was really afraid of death, afraid of being killed by swords and axes. Now there were fires everywhere, and the situation was getting worse and worse, so Li Zhen could not sleep well. He often had nightmares at midnight, seeing the chaotic soldiers shouting and burning the Xingjiao Gate, rushing into the imperial city, and seeing the emperor, empress, and ministers like himself being pushed and taken to the gate of Jiade Hall, and then a group of vicious killers waved their hands and the murderous weapons fell on his neck, completely ignoring his and the two saints' pleading and crying.

So he was inclined to change his strategy to maintain the status quo. But Zhu Wen's words were obviously a test for him.

"Yanzhou and Yuncheng are under siege, and they will fall within a year at the latest. Wei Bo is not aggressive enough, and they can't cause any trouble if they don't take the initiative to attack. Shaanxi and Pu have stockpiled heavy troops, and Li Ni is unable to break through the pass and attack Henan along the highway between the two capitals. Generals Ru, Shen, and Cai Niu have just led their troops to set out to fight. The situation is unclear, so how can we talk about retreat? This is a treacherous plot of the Wei thieves." Li Zhen said cautiously, with a weak tone.

Zhu Wen heard this tone and knew that Li Zhen knew what was going on, but he just didn't dare to say it, pretending to have it all figured out. How can we talk about leaving when the situation is not clear? This... shows that Li Zhen secretly agrees, and feels that the situation is not over yet. Zhu Wen's eyes flashed with a hint of sadness, and then he laughed without warning and said, "Tian Xide treats me like a child. Let's wait and see what Wang Shifan, Zhu Jin and my sworn brother have to say. If you don't want to be my vassal king, then I will fight you until you are willing."

If they are unwilling, is it possible that no one in the Three Towns Military Office is willing to do so? Li Ni can use the ambition of a warrior to make him deserted by his friends and relatives, so can't he use the same method to treat the enemy state in return?

"Today, many soldiers are homesick and tired of fighting, so they run away. What can the general do?" Jing Xiang talked about another thing.

There are more and more deserters. In order to avoid fighting, some people mutilate themselves and are forced to retire. Some people set fire to their homes and pretend to be burned to death. Some people hire someone to take their place. Some people run away during the march. Some people apply for sick leave ten times a month. Today their feet hurt, tomorrow their back hurts, and the day after tomorrow their nose hair hurts. Some people hire assassins to kill their parents and force them to go home under the pretext of mourning. There are also cases of soldiers who died under the rule of Li Keyong, Li Ni, and Yang Xingmi, and there are also cases of collective disappearance of soldiers when they go out on missions... There are all kinds of cases.

"Heh." Zhu Wen exhaled a foul breath, and his shoulders and belly twitched. He inexplicably recalled Li Shu's evil army. To deal with disobedient warriors, you have to trample them like pigs and sheep. Since the soldiers don't want to fight for me, they are not my soldiers. I'm too lazy to pretend. Rather than being abandoned and betrayed to death, it's better to strike first and behead, dismember, and dig out the hearts of a group of beasts for fun.

"Except for the eight armies of Changjian, Changzhi, Konghe, Wude, Tingzi, Yulin, Qincong and Baima, the rest will have their names and military titles tattooed on their faces. Those who escape will be put to death. Order all checkpoints and cities to conduct strict inspections. Every ten households in the prefectures, counties and villages will be investigated together. Anyone who allows a deserter or knows about it but does not report it will be slaughtered." Zhu Sheng said with a grim expression.

what?
Jingxiang's blood pressure rose instantly.

When asked how to curb deserters, you start with tattooing and killing deserters? Can this solve the problem from the root?
Damn, this emperor can’t stay for long!

He was full of bold words before he became emperor, he was silent when he became emperor, and now he has started talking nonsense.

Zhu Sheng's brain capacity is really worrying. If this guy can conquer the world, Li Sheng will eat it directly.

Jing Xiang's heart sank, and he silently found a copy of the report and handed it over: "The list of officials recorded by Zhao Yu, the governor of Shanzhou, in Yanxiang."

Zhu Wen took it and took a look at it - "The Order to Punish Zhu Wen".

"Zhu Wen was born with a violent temper. He was orphaned by his mother's maid when he was young. He learned to steal when he was young. He used his talent as a jackal and fox to steal generals and ministers. He was in the vassal state for ten years and was fond of evil ways. He bordered the four directions and repeatedly reported conspiracies. His gluttonous desires increased day and night. He was extremely extravagant and indulged in all kinds of lust. He raped the wife of the heir, took the wife of the neighboring general, and favored the ugly subordinates. He bullied and committed evil, and killed those who said they could... He occupied the land in his hands and relied on the number of ants to claim the throne. He prayed to the sky many times, and the sky covered him. The descendants of the former officers and officers of Xuanwu and their left and right... Those who captured his head will be rewarded as the governors of Zheng, Bian, Song, Bo, Yinghua and other states, and will be given the title of King of Chenliu. He still entrusted the Hedong, Yiwu, Cang, Yan, Yun, Qi, Wei, Cai, Xiang, Deng, Wu, Hezhong, and Guide troops to advance on the road and work together to eliminate the rebellion. Announce it to the whole country and abroad, and make it clear that I understand my intentions."

Bang! After reading more than a thousand words, Zhu Sheng looked as if he had eaten a dead mouse. He threw the newspaper to the ground, stomped on it and cursed: "Little dog, how dare you insult me!"

"Your Majesty..." Defei Shi Shaoyuan was so frightened that her face turned pale, and Zhu Youzhang, who was barely sleeping in her arms, also cried loudly.

"Cry, cry, cry!" Zhu Wen got impatient and grabbed the child and threw him to the ground violently. Concubine De fell down, covered Zhu Youzhang's mouth and shielded her son under her body. The mother and son curled up, suppressing their sobs.

"Dog slave!" Zhu Wen snatched the horse-hide belt from the guard's waist and hit the Xuanhui Envoy Jiang Xuanhui and Ye Ting Ling Li Yi who were watching the show on the side.

Soon, all kinds of fruits, cakes, tea, writing brushes, incense burners, and flags were scattered all over the ground. From the Suanzao Building, there were constant voices of women begging for mercy, Jiang Xuanhui crying, and Zhu Wen cursing. People around were used to it, and no one stood up to persuade them.

Li Yi, whose face was covered in blood, was beaten so hard that he went straight under the table. Zhu Wen then grabbed his hair and pulled him out from under the table. He was held in his hands and punched and kicked, shouting that he would kill his entire family.

Jingxiang closed his eyes.

Go ahead and beat him, at least beat the retainers to vent your anger, so as to avoid killing people indiscriminately.

It was not until Li Yi's skirt was stained red, a large amount of smelly blood oozed out between her legs, and she rolled around on the ground with her hands on her lower abdomen and disheveled hair, sobbing and wailing, that Zhu Wen's mood was slightly relieved. He kicked away Jiang Xuanhui, who was like a dead dog, and went to find Zhang Hui. He needed to crawl on Zhang Hui and squirm, venting his anger by forcibly attacking the queen of heaven and suppressing the turmoil of killing.

"You only remember to eat and not to be beaten? How many times has this happened? If you want to escape, we can all help you." After Zhu Wen left, silence returned to the Suanzao Tower. Looking at the mess on the ground, several warriors squatted on the ground and helped to clean up, while saying angrily.

Li Yi lay there, crying silently.

"Hey! Think about it carefully. If you keep going like this, he will beat you to death. If he gets mad again one day, he might even kill you with a sword."

"I just don't understand. Why do you still suffer from such a person? Would you rather cry in the palace? You let me beat you, and I treat you as a treasure. You work like a cow or a horse for him, so what does he treat you as? It's just a ball kicked back and forth! It's just a polo hit back and forth!" Several soldiers were more excited than the person involved. They helped Li Yi up and tore strips of cloth to stop her bleeding, while persuading her: "Come with us, we will send you out of the city immediately."

"I understand..." Li Yi wiped the blood from her nose with her palm and adjusted her sleeves to cover her bruised arms: "I am from Fengqiu. I can run away, but I can't run away from the temple. I will also implicate you. I am a woman, and it is not easy for me to run away in such a chaotic situation."

"It's so annoying. Why hasn't this old ghost died yet?" The soldiers sighed and watched Li Yi and Jiang Xuanhui limping down the stairs.

(End of this chapter)