After returning from the Ancestral Temple, Zhu Yunwen first went to the Zhengxin Hall to rest for a while, change clothes, and then hold a state banquet. The same goes for civil and military officials. They cannot attend the palace banquet wearing the grand uniforms worn when worshiping at the Ancestral Temple, but most of them did not.
Back home, because the two edicts were issued at the same time, the officials had already prepared their clothes. After returning from the Ancestral Temple, they could just change into their own cars before entering the palace.
It was during this period that He Tianyang returned to his car and told Xia Xun the news about the Huichang victory he heard in the palace. Xia Xun did not know the news about the defeat of the army at this time. There were no telephones and telegraphs in this era.
It is unrealistic to maintain contact with the front line through the areas controlled by the imperial court and keep abreast of changes in the war situation.
Xia Xun was shocked when he heard the news. He asked carefully for a long time to understand all the news that He Tianyang heard in the court, and then frowned and pondered. He Tianyang said worriedly: "Sir, in this case, we will incite rebellion against Li Jinglong.
Should we postpone the matter until later? We have to wait until we win a big victory, otherwise, I'm afraid Li Jinglong won't submit."
Xia Xun thought for a long time and asked: "Today, the officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing visited the Ancestral Temple and entered the palace to participate in the celebration banquet. Is there Li Jinglong among them?"
He Tianyang said: "That's natural. How many princes are left in the Ming Dynasty? Of course he is among them."
Xia Xun nodded and said: "Calm down, everything... still goes according to the original plan!"
He Tianyang said worriedly: "Sir..."
Xia Xun smiled slightly and said, "No problem, just do as I tell you!"
The celebration banquet of the Communist Party of China did not break up until the evening. After the palace door opened, the ministers came out one after another. Li Jinglong was the last one to walk. The ministers talked about it as they walked, and they were still happy to talk about the war ahead. He had to
He slowed down his pace. No one would talk to him when he was standing in the crowd, and he would hear others laughing from time to time. Why bother.
If you lose on the battlefield, brothers Paoze will try their best to support you. If you lose in the officialdom, you will be completely isolated and abandoned.
Although the battlefield is cruel, there is still warmth and blood. The officialdom is more cold-blooded and cruel than the battlefield. There is only intrigue and naked struggle for interests.
When Li Jinglong slowly walked out of the palace gate, the palace gate quietly closed behind him. He raised his head and glanced at the gloomy sky. With a gloomy face, he walked towards his car. In the palm of his hand, he was holding tightly
He was clutching a ball of paper tightly, which someone had quietly pressed under his cup and plate when he was in the palace. There was only one sentence on it: "Your Excellency, an old friend is waiting for you in your carriage!"
During the banquet, he only left his seat once when he was toasting to the emperor. When he came back, the note appeared. He was very curious about who was waiting for him in the car. What was even more curious was how the news could be delivered to the palace.
Pass it to him.
"master!"
As soon as he saw Li Jinglong coming back, the groom quickly put down the pedal, and the guards who were basking in the sun under the wall quickly got on their horses and came one after another. The only people who still respect him, Li Jinglong, are his own servants. No matter how frustrated he is in the court,
No matter how much ridicule he received from both the government and the public, it was impossible for these people to change their attitude towards him, because these people depended on him for their livelihood.
Li Jinglong stepped onto the car and paused slightly when his fingers touched the sedan door. Is there really someone inside, or is it a joke that others made on him? If there is someone, who will he be? He is also one of the people who participated in today's celebration banquet.
Official?
He glanced at the groom standing under the car. The groom was looking at him blankly because of his hesitation. Judging from his expression, the groom didn't seem to be an insider. Li Jinglong smiled, and suddenly a weird idea came to his mind: "What's going on inside?"
, she can’t be a charming fox girl, right? A fox girl with great powers, a down-and-out scholar..."
The nervous expression on Li Jinglong's face disappeared. People have died and birds have turned to the sky, and they have been immortal for tens of millions of years. Now that everyone is screaming for beatings, what else is there to be afraid of?
He pulled the door open and got in...
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The carriage rolled and gradually slowed down.
Li Jinglong opened the curtains and saw the familiar street scene. He knew that he was almost at his residence, so he ordered: "Don't rush back to the house, just take a look around."
The groom was stunned and asked: "Master, where are you going?"
"random!"
Li Jinglong put down the curtains and looked at Xia Xun sitting aside.
He had thought about countless people, and even thought about whether Huang Zicheng, who had been in trouble in the past, was trying to win over him again, but he never expected that the person sitting in the car turned out to be Xia Xun, a person he had never expected
people.
Maybe if he just shouted at this time, Xia Xun would be stained with blood on the spot, or even capture him alive and send him to the emperor. But Li Jinglong did not do this, and Xia Xun gave up his idea with just one sentence.
Xia Xun sat calmly, smiled and said only one sentence: "This little fish is worthless in the eyes of the Emperor. If the Duke of Guo needs a friend now, then I will be the Duke of Guo's best friend."
!”
Because of these words, Li Jinglong sat down in his seat calmly.
Li Jinglong put down the car curtain, smiled faintly at Xia Xun and said, "Li Jinglong is just a waste, what does His Highness King Yan want from me?"
Xia Xun smiled and said: "In the battle of Zhengcunba, the Duke was defeated by the arrogant soldiers and the weather; in the battle of Baigouhe, if the flag of the Duke had not been blown off by the wind, His Highness would have been defeated by the Duke.
It's in hand. The imperial court only judges heroes based on success or failure, but His Highness King Yan doesn't. His Highness has faced off against the Duke on the battlefield, so he naturally knows the Duke's abilities best.
His Highness admired the Duke's ability very much. His Highness once said to me: "The father and son of the tiger in Jiujiang lack only battle experience." Two times, if it weren't for the Duke's limited battlefield experience and his timing was not good enough,
And your Highness has been blessed by God. First there was severe cold, then there was strong wind, both of which were beneficial to our Yan army. Our Yan army has been completely defeated."
Li Jinglong, who was ridiculed for being incompetent, stupid, and a coward, was scolded all over the street. When he heard Xia Xun "recounting these fair words from King Yan Zhu Di," his nose became sour and he almost shed tears. He didn't want Xia Xun to let him go.
Seeing his embarrassment, he quickly turned his head, held back for a long time, and then sneered: "God bless you? So how come His Highness was defeated this time? Even his first general, Zhang Yu, was killed."
Xia Xun asked back: "Does the Duke think that Sheng Yong is better than you?"
Of course not! No one is first in civility or second in military power. Who is willing to admit that others are better than themselves, especially a person whose family background, qualifications and status are far inferior to his own, especially a conceited and proud person like Li Jinglong, but
He couldn't say it.
Xia Xun did not wait for him to admit, and continued: "His Highness's failure this time was also due to the arrogant soldiers! In His Highness's view, the Duke is the son of General Li Wenzhong, the God of War of the Ming Dynasty. He has great strategies and countless plans, and he has many people under his command.
There are 600,000 soldiers. Since Your Highness defeated Cao Guogong, why would you take Sheng Yong seriously? It is for this reason that we failed."
Xia Xun sighed and said regretfully: "Sheng Yong won this victory not because he was good at fighting, but because... the Duke... you... made him successful!"
Li Jinglong thought so.
Li Jinglong, who was already familiar with the details of the great victory ahead, heard that Zhu Difu was fighting, so he personally led his troops to attack Sheng Yong's left wing. After a few hits, he returned to the frontal confrontation. When Sheng Yong deceived him and lured him into the formation, he knew that Zhu Di was
Defeated by an underestimating enemy.
Let Li Jinglong deploy troops and generals to deal with the ever-changing battlefield situation, he is indeed mediocre, but when it comes to his mastery of military theory, let him sit down and talk about it, he is much better than most people.
Zhu Di had used similar tactics against him in the Battle of Baigouhe. If the commander's flag hadn't been broken that time, Zhu Di would have already broken it in his hands. This time Zhu Di used the same tactics again, wouldn't he be afraid of making the same mistake again?
The only explanation is that Zhu Di didn't take Sheng Yong seriously at all. His defeat was indeed due to arrogance and underestimation of the enemy.
And wasn't all this done by Li Jinglong for Sheng Yong? As a result, Sheng Yong, who was lucky enough to win, was touted as invincible and invincible, while he, Li Jinglong, became an incompetent waste who was even more ridiculed and ridiculed by others.
Jealousy and dissatisfaction were like a poisonous snake, biting his heart fiercely. Li Jinglong gritted his teeth tightly. It took him a while to calm down and said coldly: "Anyway, King Yan is indeed defeated. This defeat
He lost his troops and generals, even Zhang Yu died on the battlefield, the Yan army's vitality was severely damaged, but the morale of my court soldiers and horses was greatly boosted. What do you want to do when he calls you here? Do you want me, Li Jinglong, to join him, a defeated general?"
Xia Xun said: "His Royal Highness is indeed defeated this time. But victory and defeat are common things for military strategists. Do you dare to assert that Sheng Yong, who won by luck, will be invincible from now on? His Highness King Yan has no chance to stand up?"
Of course Li Jinglong didn't believe it, nor did he want to believe it.
He ended up in this situation because of his defeat at the hands of King Zhu Di of Yan, but in his heart, he did not hate Zhu Di. What he hated was Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, and Qi Tai who had made trouble for him. What he hated was the paving the way for his failure.
He defeated Zhu Dijiao's soldiers under certain conditions, but made him fall into an even more embarrassing situation, and Sheng Yong was ridiculed by the world.
Xia Xun smiled, like a devil who bewitched others to sell their souls, and said in a seductive and provocative tone: "His Royal Highness, King Yan, still has a chance to turn around, but as for you, the emperor will not give you this
Opportunity, Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng will not give you this opportunity. What they will give you is to push down the wall and add insult to injury. But His Highness King Yan is willing to give you a chance to stand up. Duke, do you... want it?"
He couldn't help but be tempted by Xia Xun's conditions. Li Jinglong was like a man who was about to drown. Even if someone threw just a straw, he wanted to hold on tightly; like a traveler lost in the desert,
Even though he knew that what others gave him was just a glass of poisonous wine, he still wanted to drink it down first to moisten his bloody throat.
Because Li Jinglong is burdened not only with the humiliation of others, but also with heavy pressure, pressure from his family and the interest groups that belong to him. He has his own factions, his own connections, and his own subordinates. His power and his frustration are not just a matter of him alone, but of his family and his entire power group, both prospering and losing.
If he continues to sink like this, the Li family will suffer all-round attacks from the court and the people, and the Li family will gradually decline, and eventually become an ordinary wealthy family of the lower class, and even the status of an ordinary wealthy family will be difficult to protect. This kind of A political status that is neither high nor low may be destroyed at any time by the power of the court, and the hozen may be scattered at any time.
Li Jinglong was like a standard gambler who was red-eyed after losing. He glared at Xia Xun and said, "Then, Your Highness, King Yan, what do you want me to do? What else can I, Li Jinglong, do in this situation... Woolen cloth?"
As soon as the words came out, he was shocked. Did that hoarse, sad voice really come from his mouth?
Xia Xun said leisurely: "Does the Duke really think that you are like a rat crossing the street in the court and everyone shouts and beats you? Do you really think that all the civil and military officials in the court have abandoned the Duke like a worn-out shoe?"
"Isn't it?"
"Of course not!"
Xia Xun enlightened him earnestly and seductively: "Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng are a professor of Hanzhong Fuxue and a gentleman of the Imperial College. Wen can't stabilize the country, and force can't rule the country. Do you really think that two people like them can win the favor of the emperor?" Can you cover the sky with one hand? Can the civil and military officials of the dynasty be convinced? What a joke! Even though Jing Qing, Lian Zining, Zhuo Jing and others who are leading the war to reduce the feudal vassal have the same political views, they have no regard for their actions and abilities. , are you sincerely convinced that they have climbed to such a high position?
In addition, Ru Chang, Yu Xin, Gao Wei and other officials of the peace faction who opposed the reduction of the vassal state, and even a large number of anti-war generals in the army. Once this force is united, how huge it is. The reason why they are now scattered and fighting on their own is that Because they lack a respected leader, these... are all your potential allies..."
Li Jinglong's eyes gradually lit up. It turned out that he was like a bat. Birds regarded him as an animal, and animals regarded him as a bird. As a result, he became the object of ridicule and ridicule by both parties. But the real difference between these two groups was The opposition faction with irreconcilable contradictions and the harmonious faction that opposes the reduction of vassals lacks a strong leader in the court. If he is willing to stand up with a clear-cut stand, without taking the initiative to recruit, these people will naturally stand up. Under his banner, he, Li Jinglong, has the right to speak in the court. Will he still be a clown who can be laughed at?
With this opportunity, he could not only maintain and strengthen his power, but... he could also attack Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng. He would never forget the time when he was cruelly treated as an abandoned son by these cold-blooded politicians who desperately wanted him to die. That kind of humiliation, sadness and despair, as long as there is a chance, he will definitely take revenge.
Li Jinglong felt his throat was a little dry, and he swallowed hard: "King Yan, do you want me to... let me surrender to him?"
"Of course not!"
Xia Xun spoke sternly: "The Duke is a subject of the Emperor, and His Highness King Yan is also a subject of the Emperor. His Highness has never thought of opposing the Emperor. It's just that there are traitors in the court, and in accordance with the ancestral precepts, His Highness has no choice but to raise troops to appease the emperor." How could His Highness, who is also a minister of the Emperor, recruit the Duke of the State for his own use? However, once the war breaks out, it will be the people who suffer after all, which will only lead to the corruption of the place and unrest in the country. Your Highness hopes that the Duke of the State can stand up and Lead the ministers to finally punish the traitor, negotiate a peace between the two parties, and solve the problem through literary means."
Xia Xun smiled and added an annotation to his words: "Of course, in order to help the Duke achieve this goal, His Highness will try his best to cooperate on the battlefield. The more victories His Highness wins, the more likely Fang Huang and his ilk will live."
The sadder he is, the more weight the Duke's words will carry in the court.
Therefore, in order to gain more support for the Duke's proposition, and to achieve the ultimate goal of peacefully resolving disputes, I think... the Duke would not mind revealing some information to His Highness, so that Sheng Yong would suffer a small loss, everything...
…It’s all for the imperial court and the Ming Dynasty!”