The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 209 Deterioration
Zhang Cunjing died for his country and the Western Route Army was basically destroyed!
This was too heavy a blow to the fake Liang.

You should know that the suppressed Zhu Wen is no longer the Zhu Wen who dominated the world in later generations. The most obvious manifestation is that Hubei, Wei, Cai, Shu, Jing, and Hunan did not become his vassals as in history. Under pressure from the court, Zibo, Henghai, Xiang, and Hezhong did not dare to appease his aggression or have illusions about him. The court, which had been purged several times, did not have any traitors or fools for him to use.

Economically blockaded, politically isolated, with deteriorating geopolitical relations and complex internal composition, along with the military weakness against Li, the Bian Rebels were no longer the entrepreneurial group of later generations that was united and had a deep foundation and could withstand the annihilation of 60,000 troops at Qingkou...

You are good to others, but they may not be good to you. Just because you have done me a favor does not mean I have to be loyal to you and work for you. Being loyal to you and working for you does not mean I will sell my life to you. These are two different things. Just because you have done me a favor does not mean I will not kill you.

In the late Tang and Five Dynasties when fence-sitters were mass-produced, in this dark society where rebellion, rebellion, and overthrow of superiors were as easy as drinking water, stories like the farmer and the snake, Dongguo and the wolf, and Tang and Li Maozhen were played out every day.

This is an era where it is popular to harm others for personal gain, and people generally believe that "a man of insight is a wise man". Being loyal, dying for one's integrity, and keeping one's promises are considered shameful, and the rulers' grace and power are only based on victory.

If you fail once, you may die, and your prestige will definitely be damaged. If your prestige is damaged, those who were originally loyal may waver, those who are somewhat loyal but not much will become disloyal, and dormant careerists and thieves will be ready to move, or even jump out.

If you continue to lose, even the greatest grace and prestige you have will be lost.

This was true for the Li family for three hundred years, for the feudal lords, and for the Zhu thief who ruled the Central Plains for twelve years. The backlash was exponentially more severe.

Has Zhu Wen forgotten what kind of people his subordinates are?
Doesn't Zhu Wen have the slightest idea of who he is?

The backlash came quickly. When the ministers looked at each other, the words hidden in their eyes, and Li Zhen's subconscious trembling in his report were the loss of confidence and the growth of fear.

"On the Hongshui River, from Shanzhou to Huazhou, thousands of miles away, strong men were deployed, and corpses floated eastward, numbering tens of thousands. Every family buried the dead by the river, and the cries reached the sky."

"You are the unworthy descendants of rebellious beasts. The despicable and shameless thieves of Zhao State have occupied Huaizhou and claimed that they will cross the river in the spring of next year!"

"Li's lackeys from Yi and Ding crossed Taolin Pass and joined forces with Yang Shouliang to besiege Shanzhou with 60,000 men."

"The three-surnamed slaves Xian Yumi and Wu Ziling joined forces with Zhao Kuangming and attacked Yancheng. Ge Congzhou called for help."

"The people of Henan Province found a letter in the belly of a fish, which said: The traitor Zhu is dead, and the holy Tang Dynasty is revived; the foolish men and stupid soldiers are all afraid."

"Seeing a monster, a woman named Yan from Chenzhou gave birth to four babies, and the governor drowned them."

"The bandits in Xu, Su, Si, and Yun are rampant! There is a bandit named Zhu Silang who has gathered 500 scattered Yun troops and called himself the Great General of Heaven and Earth Creation, the Great Commander of Revenge, and the Retainer of the Tianping Army. He has echoed with Yuan Qingji, Liu Hai, the bandit Shao, and Hou Song."

"A rebellion broke out in Ruzhou!"

Li Zhen, who was reading it out with gritted teeth, couldn't help but stop.

"Keep reading, I'm actually fine." Zhu Wen stroked his beard and used a little phrase that he thought could ease the atmosphere.

"Wu Tao, Ma Yin, Qian Liu, Wang Chao, Wang Rong, Tian Xide, Wei Quanfeng, Wang Ke, Wang Chucun, Jiaozhou Jiedushi Zeng Gun and other 15 princes have written letters one after another, asking Your Majesty... to give up the title of emperor, abdicate! Rename yourself as Xuanwu Army. If we follow the stories of Bi Yue and Tao, we will definitely clear their names so that the emperor will treat Your Majesty as before..." Li Zhen summarized the key points and passed them by.

The princes had written letters to each other many times, but this was the first time that they unanimously put forward the specific request of "abandoning the imperial title and abdicating the throne."

What does the change from symbolic verbal rebukes to "denunciations" that called for the king to return to the throne but did not involve sending troops, and now to the specific demands, pressure and mediation?
This means that they think you are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and are no longer useful. They may have to join the expeditionary army, just like the fifteen and eighteen armies that attacked the rebellious Wei Bo, Cheng De, and Li Xilie.

The imperial court's campaign against Keyong was defeated, Jingzhao Yin Sun Kui was captured and killed, the Shence Army was stripped of its skin, and the consequences were so serious that even the eight garrisons in the northwest of the capital disobeyed orders.

The situation in Heluo is now deteriorating. The rulers and ministers of Daliang will slowly realize the terrible impact of Zhang Cunjing's death.

These days, it's not just Guanzhong's warriors who are domineering, nor is it just Guanzhong that produces Li Maozhen and Han Jian.

Everyone in the Jiade Hall had a gloomy expression. Zhu Wen, who had been calm about the disastrous defeat in Hezhong for many days, lost control of his emotions for the first time in front of everyone: his pupils lost focus and the corners of his mouth twitched subconsciously.

The loss of tens of thousands of soldiers is a small matter.

What matters is people’s support and the strength of their confidence.

The rebellion in Ruzhou was a new landmark event, a beginning. The local landlords and common people began to distrust you. Will Zhengzhou and even Bianzhou rebel after the next defeat? Secondly, once the people are skeptical about Zhu Wen's future, it will become increasingly difficult to recruit soldiers. Warriors are not born and raised, but are born and raised by the common people.

In addition, the disastrous defeat on the western front, with Li's army pushing to the northern gate of Luoyang, caused unprecedented damage to the morale of the army and the people.

Most importantly, Zhu Wen no longer dared to trust any general or official.

His head represents a prince in action, the governor of Xuanwu.

Especially after the news spread that the princes asked him to give up the title of emperor, abdicate, and restore the name of Xuanwu Army.

He also understood what this meant - the emperor had announced to the world and offered a reward to the whole country, and the princes had guaranteed that they would "clear their names for him." There were also cases where Tian Yue and Wu Shaocheng had their official titles restored under the mediation of the various towns. If he was killed, he would be the governor of Bian Song Yingbo, and the war would be over.

Li Zhen, Jing Xiang, Kou Yanqing, Pei Di and other confidants were already pale. It was obvious what would happen to them after Zhu Wen's death.

Zhu Wen forced himself to suppress the fear and chill in his heart, and said with a smile: "Why panic? Qin Zongquan attacked at Suanzao Gate, but I was able to turn danger into safety. Do Li the thief and his lackeys think they can defeat me with a letter of complaint?"

Ha ha.

When I first took office, it was like going from zero to one hundred, making progress every day. As long as they survived, their foundation would grow stronger. Of course, Zhu Sheng, a startup company, was full of courage. Now, it is in the process of being cast down from heaven to the earth, just like a Fortune 500 company declining step by step. Can it be the same thing? Using "starting a business is so difficult, but I have survived it" to boost morale is just a trick to deceive middle and lower-level employees. "I still have the surging Yellow River to separate us, and Luoyang still has Mangshan and Jinyong City, and Xingyang and Hulaoguan can also make it difficult for Li the thief to advance. Bian Song still has millions of people, and the entire Guanlong is not as rich as me. Although Hezhong lost tens of thousands of soldiers, it did not hurt the foundation, and Daliang still has more than 100,000 elite soldiers. Give me time to adjust the situation, and I will let Li the thief taste the pain of Qin Zongquan." Zhu Wen changed his tone to a humorous and relaxed one.

"Issued an order: All prefectures, from 16 to 60 years old, are called men, and one out of every ten men shall be selected to form militia."

"Recall the army that will attack Qi, and spare Wang Shifan's life."

"Let Ge Congzhou abandon Yancheng and withdraw to Xuchang, not to fight with Wu, Mi, and Kuangming, and to prevent the Zhongwu Army from causing chaos."

At this point, Zhu Wen looked at Jing Xiang and said, "When sending an envoy to Taiyuan, your words must be humble and your gifts must be precious. Li Keyong always compares himself to Yi Yin, Huo Guang, and Gao Huan, and calls himself a hero. He also likes to save face and will repay a favor. Give him what he likes and try to make him happy first. Also, seal the bones of the Shatuo people killed at Shangyuan Posthouse and more than 300 civil and military officials in Taiyuan with fragrant wood and send them back to Li Keyong. Find the Hedong soldiers captured in previous battles and bring them alive as well."

"Your Majesty, there is another important task. Why not buy horses from Youzhou and recruit tens of thousands of Xi, Khitan, Tatar and Yan people who are proficient in riding and shooting?" Li Zhen said, feeling a chill on his back.

A good horse requires a good rider!

This is the lesson Li Zhen learned from the Battle of Jishuiyuan.

The suggestion is good, but your understanding of the towns in Heshuo is obviously superficial. What can you do when those people in Fanyang kill people, rob them, kill your envoys and take your funds?

Stop being funny.

"Your Majesty, I have another plan. Gather monks and Taoists to perform a ritual and use witchcraft to curse the thief Li." Li Zhen said again.

This is also a method with a long history. From the time when Duke Zheng cursed and shot Doctor Xu to the Tang and Song dynasties, it has been popular.

"Book of Sui·Geography": "Jiujiang, Linchuan, Luling, Yichun and other southern counties often raise Gu. The method is to gather hundreds of insects and snakes on May 5th, fight and eat each other, and keep one alive."

In the second year of Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, “326 families of people who kept poisonous insects in Hunan were relocated to remote places and were not allowed to return to their hometown.”

From the ruling class to the common people, it is used, there is nothing to be ashamed of. But for someone like Li Zhen to talk about this in such an occasion, it is a bit desperate.

"You can try." Zhu Wen was discouraged by the unorthodox ways of the sect after sending assassins to the pass to commit crimes without success. He encouraged Li Zhen and then pulled Jing Xiang over and whispered in his ear: "The princes should write letters and give proper replies. Focus on stating your grievances and that it was the Saint who suppressed and suspected me first, so I had to protect myself. Then fabricate some crimes and portray the Saint as Jie and Zhou. When you reply to the letters, give gifts to the generals one by one according to the strength of their armies, and delay for a while."

Jingxiang nodded.

"Who shall we choose as the palace guards?" Zhu Wen asked again. He even wanted to replace the generals on the left and right, which showed that he was really scared.

Jing Xiang frowned.

Zhu Youwen, Zhu Youyu, Zhu Yougong, and other biological and fake sons definitely won't work. Kou Yanqing used to be very loyal, but now he may have his own ideas. He is an extremely insidious, cunning, and cruel warrior.

Ding Hui? Forget it, he's already sick.

I am quite suitable... but it's a pity that I can't fight and kill people.

Wang Yanzhang is a very honest and pure person. With him guarding the palace, the emperor and empress have nothing to worry about. The only flaw is that he is not very close to His Majesty. He is more loyal to the Empress than to His Majesty. To His Majesty, he may not be very loyal... This is why Jing Xiang wants to recommend him. As long as the Empress is there, Wang Yanzhang is basically reliable. However, the relationship between the emperor and the empress is not harmonious, what can be done!

If one day the Emperor and the Empress fall out with each other, and the Empress orders Wang Yanzhang to kill His Majesty, will Wang Yanzhang obey the order?

Jingxiang didn't dare to gamble.

After much thought, Jing Xiang could not find a reliable general who could lead the guards to defend the palace. In the end, he set his sights on a brother-in-law who was close to Zhu Wen: "Shi Yanci is fine."

"Not appropriate." Zhu Wen refused directly.

He had beaten Shi Fei several times and did not dare to keep Shi Yanci by his side.

Jing Xiang twitched and sighed.

Zhu Wen's mind was full of imagination, and he skipped the topic and whispered, "I suggest sending someone to Chang'an to retrieve Cunjing's body."

Upon learning that Zhang Cunjing had died in battle, the Queen Mother cried for a whole day. Upon learning that Zhang Cunjing's head was hanging from a willow tree and his body was exposed on the Dog Ridge, the Queen Mother's tears had dried, but he had bleeding, miscarriage, and was bedridden, which made Zhu Wen feel bad. Moreover, Zhang Cunjing's death alone also made Zhu Wen's hatred for him turn into love, and he dropped a few drops of cat urine with the Queen Mother. So if possible, he still wanted to bring Cunjing back and bury him.

"I will do my best to welcome Mr. Zhang back." Jing Xiang stated.

"After the Lantern Festival, I will go to Luoyang to deploy military forces and fight against the enemy." Zhu Wen finally said: "Our prosperity and wealth will depend on next year. Gentlemen, work hard!"

In the spring, the war would come again. This time he planned to do it himself. If he could seize the opportunity to defeat Yuwen Tai like Gao Huan did between He and Luo, he would have a chance to coexist with Zhou and Qi.

I hope it will come true.

The generals sat there in a daze, their minds still in a daze.

As the fighting went on, it was clear that there were no casualties, the military and civilians were still alive, and they had even captured the seven states of Yan and Yun. How could the situation suddenly deteriorate to this point?
why?
Why? Because strong soldiers and horses are only one of the prerequisites for hegemony, not the decisive condition. If you don't understand this logic, everyone from top to bottom will feel good about themselves and think they can make it all the way. This is why the people of Bian in later generations suffered a series of ridiculous defeats in Qingkou, Luzhou, and Baixiang, lost hundreds of thousands of troops, and were eventually overthrown by others with little effort.

(End of this chapter)