The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 4: Who is the Emperor?

The wind and rain have just stopped, and the sky is bright with rosy clouds.

The three palaces were shrouded in mist. Soldiers were deployed in the Yanxi Tower for self-defense. The court officials who arrived discussed the chaos of last night.

"That night, the capital was closed, the armies fought back, more than 10,000 people died, and blood flowed like a river."

"Yang Fugong retreated to his residence and summoned the Yushan Army to come to his aid."

"Li Shunjie fought with the foreign house man, but could not win. The army was in chaos and some of them killed and looted the people and fled the city."

"The Shen Ce Army was in chaos, looting the market warehouses."

A breeze blew on his face. Li Ye stood with his hands behind his back, observing the people coming and going at the city gate in deep thought.

The general trend of the world is unstoppable. If you follow it, you will prosper; if you go against it, you will perish.

The so-called momentum may seem illusory, but it actually exists and changes at any time.

The tyrant ministers annexed the Central Plains, claiming that they had already obtained the Nine Cauldrons. Jiangnan, Sanchuan, Liaodong, and Longxi could always be conquered by sending letters. In fact, these places have beautiful mountains and rivers, many strong passes and large cities, and the people are tenacious, so it is extremely difficult to conquer them by force. If he accepts the order, the world will be at peace. If the name is not right and he likes cruel policies, then even if there are strong generals, powerful crossbows, and millions of people holding spears, it will be difficult to pacify the world.

This is called momentum, and the people’s support is the general trend.

Wealth is not used for the state, but for those who are in power to buy the hearts of their subordinates. The six armies did not fight for the emperor, but for the servants, killing each other for profit. Politics is not for the king, but for the villains, and for the party to attack the dissidents and consolidate themselves; therefore, every time there is a civil strife in Chang'an, it loses its power.

He lost the power of the eunuchs, the power of the court, and the power of the Li family.

There is only so much power in the world, and as some grows while others decline, it becomes increasingly difficult for the common ruler of the world to issue orders, and the princes want to be subjects but are unwilling to submit.

Of course, Li Ye is not a great historical figure, but the aftermath of this civil strife is generally clear.

The Yang family had been running the business for a long time, and they had several military governors as external support. Even if the eunuchs joined hands to oppose them, they could not destroy them. In history, after a fierce battle, due to the public outrage, the Yang family fled to Hanzhong. Soon after, Shannan, Longjian, and Dongchuan "jointly refused the court", stopped the two taxes, and refused to accept the imperial edict. The court had lost the financial revenue of dozens of states and counties, and was looked down upon by the princes within the pass. Some people even mocked: "The saint is a noble man, but he can't kill Fu Gong? He is respected in all the nine states, but he can't protect his uncle Yuan and his wife and family?"

Who is this emperor?

Finally, they attracted the attention of ambitious people. Li Maozhen, Li Maozhuang, Han Jian and others all submitted petitions, asking for the title of envoys for the expedition on the grounds that the towns in Shannan harbored traitors. In fact, their intention was just to annex the land occupied by Yang Fugong's fake son. Under the fierce aggression of these people, the so-called court became the governor of Chang'an.

In Li Ye's opinion, Yang can be killed or not.

Facing the unanimous hatred of the Southern Court and the Northern Court, and suffering a heavy blow last night, it is already a dead dog that can never turn over. The next problem to be dealt with is how to deal with Li Maozhen and his people who raise troops to the imperial court in the name of suppressing rebellion and ask for advice from Shannan. Secondly, once Yang dies, the Shen Ce Army will fall apart, and the vassal states under his command will also "reject the court together" as in history.

Although he hated the eunuch, this was not what Li Ye wanted.

At present, the Ximen family and the Yang family are evenly matched, and the best countermeasure is to stop the war immediately. But these people have already killed each other and blood has flowed like a river. Even if Li Ye can accept the humiliation before, will the eunuchs listen to him and stop fighting?

How should this matter be resolved?
"Everyone, Grand Commandant Du Rangneng and Minister of the Imperial Court Liu Chongwang request to see you." Zhao stepped forward to report.

"Call." Li Ye immediately called the two up.

Grand Commandant Du Rangneng, with a slightly frosted face and temples, said, "I heard that there was a change in the palace, so I came to see you."

Li Ye pondered and said, "Thanks to Shunjie's sincerity, the small rebellion has been settled. What do you want?"

"I heard that the eunuchs were in turmoil and treated the saint as a rare treasure, snatching him away. There were corpses everywhere inside and outside the Daming Palace." Du Rangneng was sad and unhappy.

Li Ye sighed: "I am under the control of others, what can I do?" Huh?
Du Rangneng was suspicious. In his impression, a saint could not stand being wronged. How could he be so calm after being humiliated and imprisoned? Could it be that he fainted several times last night due to shock and was mentally damaged? Could it be that destiny really no longer favored the Tang Dynasty?
Thinking of this, he felt a little sad.

But the old man's usual rationality overwhelmed his momentary sensibility. He bowed and got down to business.

"Now that the Yang family has retreated to their residence, the armies are still fighting fiercely, causing chaos in Chang'an. I wonder how the sage can control it?"

"The eunuchs were so arrogant and self-centered that I almost lost my life several times. Shunjie came to my rescue in time, but it was also out of self-protection. He bossed me around like a string. I was so ignorant that I didn't know what to do." Li Ye sighed and asked, "The commander-in-chief has no plan. Do you have any good ideas?"

"We can't fight anymore. Yang should be executed, but..."

There were only three people at the scene, the king and his ministers. Du Rangneng said frankly: "I think the country is in trouble, and the war has been going on for more than 20 years. The princes have the intention to succeed each other, which has caused the disaster of conquest. Bashu changed hands, Heluo was shaken, and the fields were filled with killings. The imperial edict can only control a few dozen states in Shannan, Lingnan, and Hexi. The ancestral business is in danger! Surrounding Guanzhong, Maozhen and others are not good people. Since Dashun, they have gathered soldiers and gathered heroes, claiming to be alone and wanting to take over Liang and Han. Yang's crime should be punished, but we still need to use his military power so that the ministers dare not ask for the throne lightly, otherwise they will surrender in the morning and lie down in bed in the evening. Shannan rebelled, Dongchuan rose. Maozhen and others will surely take advantage of the situation, but I have measured the national wealth and military strength. The royal army has been defeated many times and cannot attack the powerful vassal. Fengxiang is also close to the capital, it is easy to be in danger but difficult to regret. Therefore, Yang cannot move for the time being."

Liu Chongwang, the Minister of the Imperial Court, also nodded and said, "It is just as the Grand Commandant said. Whether Yang dies or leaves, the Shen Ce Army will disintegrate, and the vassal states under its jurisdiction will rebel, and Mao Zhen will take the opportunity to expand. In times of trouble, it is not appropriate to create chaos, and it is best to maintain the status quo. When the sage takes control of the army, there will be a chance for a turnaround in the future. Moreover, keeping Yang will also prevent the Ximen family from doing whatever they want. The sage will be the fisherman and profit from it."

This is the truth.

But the key point is that none of these people listen to Li Ye's command now.

Du Rangneng had already made up his mind and said, "Don't worry about the eunuchs. They will fight among themselves and stop if they find that they can't win. The only one we need to consider is Li Shunjie. He betrayed Yang. As long as Yang is alive, he will be worried."

"Why not devise a plan?" Liu Chongwang pointed his finger in the air, his old face twitching inexplicably.

Du Rangneng looked at his smile and figured out his intention. He pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Why not devise a plan? Let's use a eunuch to summon Shunjie to the palace and sentence him to death... If Shunjie dies, his people will be furious and attack the Ximen family."

Li Ye understood.

Doing so can, firstly, stir up the hatred of the soldiers against Ximen and weaken their power. Secondly, it can quell the Yang Fugong incident. The prime ministers can consider that the vassal states will use the eunuchs' rebellion as an excuse to raise troops, and Yang can do the same. And this thief will not dare to act rashly in the short term after his strength is greatly damaged. Finally, it can also get rid of Li Shunjie, the warrior who entered the palace with a sword and shoes, to avoid being attacked by him in the future.

but……

Li Ye sighed and said, "Shun Jie saved me from danger. I am a new king, how can I sit back and watch my meritorious officials being killed? What can I do to the world?"

This matter still needs to be thought about.

a long time.

Du Rangneng also suggested: "Some people say that this is not necessarily the case. If you don't kill him, you can give Shunjie a town as the commander, which will both calm his mind and drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger."

"good!"

This is exactly what Li Ye wants. How will people see if he plots against me like this? And it's a pity. You must know that Chang'an is surrounded by wolves, and Li Maozhen and others are all humiliating the royal family. Why not choose a weak one and order Shunjie to replace him? As for this candidate, Li Ye has already considered it, that is, Han Jian, the governor of Huazhou. Fuji Shangcheng, where the people are prosperous and the households are substantial, should be able to make Shunjie tempted.

Of course, the imperial edict only gave Li Shunjie a legitimate reason to go to the town.

Whether it will be successful or not depends on whether Li Shunjie can make Han Jian willing to move.

"Since this is the case, order Shunjie to withdraw his troops and come to the palace to see him," Du Rangneng said.

Li Ye nodded in agreement.

……

(End of this chapter)