Chen Ping is the deputy envoy of the Southwest Recruitment. He can only control the power of the soldiers and horses of the five southwest states to suppress the bandits. Regarding the White Lotus bandits escaping into Jiangzhou, he entered Jiangzhou based on the principle of obeying the authority in a hurry. p>
But theoretically speaking, he has no restrictions on Jiangzhou's government. The only thing that can have an effect is the damage that the White Lotus thieves may cause to Jiangzhou.
It was also through this that Chen Ping persuaded the Jiangzhou government to cooperate with him in suppressing the bandits.
It's just that he didn't have much hope for these people from the beginning. After all, the lessons learned from Jingzhou were still vivid in his mind. The local officials were bloated and rigid, and even the local Xiang army was too weak to fight. p>
Of course, this is not an exception. In the nearly two hundred years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, except for the Northern Army and the Western Army in the north, which have been on the border and are responsible for fighting against foreign invaders, the other troops have long been degraded to a state of disgrace.
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Therefore, Chen Ping has not had much contact with the officials in various places. He only revealed his identity to them and did not expect the other party to cooperate with him, but he tried not to cause trouble as much as possible. This is enough.
After entering Xuan County, Chen Ping did not stay too much. He just informed the people in the city that the government would come to deal with it later, and then took a short rest before chasing north.
Different from the previous pursuit in the mountainous area, the White Lotus bandits are now escaping north, which will definitely threaten the security of Jinling City, the administrative center of Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou's officers and soldiers will definitely stop the thieves.
"As long as they can stop for a moment and delay the thief, we will have a chance to catch the thief."
"The north is the area where the White Lotus Sect operates. If they are allowed to cross the river to the north, I am afraid it will cause unnecessary trouble."
On the way, Chen Ping discussed the issue of the White Lotus Thieves with Luo Li. Luo Li also agreed with his point of view. If possible, it would be better to wipe out the White Lotus Thieves south of the river. Of course, this is just the best possible outcome.
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In fact, Chen Ping was already prepared for Jiangzhou officers and soldiers to lose to the White Lotus bandits and for them to break through the blockade.
However, things still went beyond Chen Ping's expectation. When he learned that Jiangzhou Zhizhou encountered the main force of the White Lotus bandits eighty miles south of Jinling City, and then led thousands of Jiangzhou officers and soldiers to collapse, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Get up.
He knew that Dayu had gone downhill, and even talked about the end of a dynasty's lifespan, but Chen Ping still found it incredible to see Jiangzhou Xiangjun's crotch-stretching performance.
After all, although these White Lotus thieves were cunning and tricky before, and could escape hundreds of miles away, his pursuit was quite smooth and he did not encounter any major setbacks.
I thought that the White Lotus thief who I had chased all the way would never sweep across the army like before, but who would have thought, this is still the case.
Thinking of this, Chen Ping glanced at Luo Li. As their eyes intertwined, they felt a little uneasy.
It's not a big deal for the White Lotus Thieves to break through the blockade. After all, the number of White Lotus Thieves is not too large, and he now has three thousand fine cavalry, and Lu Wei is also helping from the north.
The key is that this White Lotus thief has been running around for almost two months, and the places he has passed are full of incompetent officials. The problems exposed are not life-threatening.
Chen Ping could foresee that as long as the news spreads that the White Lotus bandits easily defeated the government troops in Jiangzhou, thieves from all over the world will definitely be eager to try. If they are not safe, some will be bold enough to rise up together.
He had already made such a fuss against a White Lotus thief. If other thieves swarmed up, he couldn't imagine how bad the situation would collapse.
"The White Lotus Thief must be exterminated quickly!"
Chen Ping frowned and looked north, his voice as dull as his mood at the moment.
Luo Li on the side was silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
As the sun set, Chen Ping led his more than two thousand cavalry to speed up, hoping to catch up with Li Feng who was leading the battle as soon as possible, and then join forces to attack the White Lotus bandits directly.
He could already see that Dayu's situation was taking a turn for the worse.
Time waits not for us!
At the same time, the capital.
Urgent reports from the border came one after another, all of which were about Bei Liao's provocations and tests at the border. This made the already gloomy capital even more gloomy.
On the originally bustling streets, pedestrians looked in a hurry and did not dare to stay long.
The officials from the Imperial City Department are also going around to find out the news. As for who the news is for, it is not known.
"To achieve knowledge, you need to examine things, and then you will know them. This is the so-called "knowing things by examining them."
"Only when the mind and body are clear can we receive the inspiration from heaven and man, correct our mind, and cultivate our body, so that we will not be polluted by evil thoughts, and we can purify our body and mind in this turbid world."
"...."
In Beiyue Academy, thousands of scholars were sitting cross-legged on futons, listening to a new Confucian thought, and everyone had a pensive expression on their face.
The person who preached to the disciples in the courtyard and solved their doubts was Cheng Cheng, a concubine of the Hanlin Academy.
I saw him wearing dark clothes and a square scarf on his head, concentrating on explaining the truth. Although this truth comes from Chen Ping's theory, compared with Chen Ping's theory, it seems a bit messy and chaotic. It comes from Cheng Cheng's mouth
What he said became a lot clearer.
In the university hall, the academic atmosphere was so strong that the lecturers watching on the sidelines couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"This boy should have the appearance of a great master!"
"I have heard a bit about Chen Zhuangyuan, but Bachelor Cheng is better than his master, and his future generations are to be feared!"
"..."
Hearing the lecturers in the academy commenting on Cheng Cheng like this, Wu Changzhou, the dean of Beiyue Academy, had an expression of relief on his face. He slowly stroked his white beard, as if he saw that the languid ideological world of Dayu was about to blossom into a bright future.
Flowers come.
How could he not be happy about this?
However, the current situation in Dayu is not optimistic. Wu Changzhou can't help but feel a little worried and even regretful.
However, he is only the dean of Beiyue Academy. Although many officials in the court came from Beiyue Academy, he is not in a position to intervene in the current situation.
He had previously heard that envoys from the Northern Liao Dynasty were coming to ask for coins or even land, so he called on the scholars in the capital to kneel down in front of the palace, hoping to change something.
But looking at it now, all these were in vain. The situation in the court was already beyond his imagination. The collapse of the court caused by the open break between the Regent and Emperor Yongxing was unprecedented.
"I hope Dayu can survive this test..."
Wu Changzhou sighed, thinking in his mind.
...
At the same time, under the constant high-pressure environment in the capital, many senior officials of the Chu Party were gathering together in the residence of the Minister of War.
"This matter involves the survival of the country and the safety of the imperial court. His Highness has tried his best to avoid conflicts. However, His Majesty is young and energetic and does not know what to say. Think about it, what serious things has your Majesty done since he came to the throne?"
"In order to construct the late emperor's mausoleum, collect taxes, and set a precedent for Chen Ping, a boy from Huangkou, to serve as deputy envoy to the southwest and be given the title of Minister of War. This is simply ridiculous!"
"Furthermore, he ignored the late emperor's order, openly refuted His Highness, and even went to war with Beiliao out of the blue. This is to push Dayu into a pit of fire!"
"So, I think Your Majesty should delegate power to Your Majesty now, and Your Highness should preside over government affairs. After leading Dayu through the difficulties, he will return the power to Your Majesty."
"I don't know, what do you think?"
What do you think?
Upon hearing this, all the officials present turned their eyes around, and no one stood up to express their position.
After all, this is a major matter to seize power. Although they are all members of King Chu's party, they do not dare to make easy bets in the face of such a big right and wrong.
You must know that if you make this wrong step, you will ruin everything you have worked hard for over the past few decades, even the nine tribes are involved.
But when these words were spoken, it meant that the King of Chu also held a positive opinion on this. After thinking about this, many of the King of Chu's followers chose to take sides.
Of course, no one would be stupid enough to object. They have already been bound to the King of Chu, not to mention that the current situation is indeed very serious, and it has reached the point where each other is constantly doubting whether the other will take action.
In this situation of attacking first, whoever dares to take the risk first will have a clear advantage.
Obviously, King Chu didn't want to wait any longer. He was tired of playing with Emperor Yongxing, or he was fed up with this reckless boy.
Royal Palace, the palace where the regent temporarily resides.
The King of Chu meditated with his eyes closed, and various scenes since he learned that Emperor Tianqi wanted him to come to Beijing to assist the government appeared in front of his eyes, flickering past like a revolving lantern.
It took him a while to open his eyes. The bloodshot eyes in his pupils showed his nervousness these days.
After he took a deep breath, he finally came back to his senses.
"Is there anything going on outside?"
"Back to Your Highness, there hasn't been much movement yet. However, the activities in Northern Liao have become more and more frequent in recent days. The border generals all say that the Liao people are preparing to invade."
King Chu blinked his eyelids a few times when he heard this. He gritted his teeth and cursed: "You bastard! You actually said that you want to regain Yanyun in front of others, you don't know whether to live or die!"
In the eyes of King Chu, Beiliao's actions were like the sound of a trumpet, shaking his heart all the time and preventing him from sleeping.
And in the view of King Chu, the culprit of all this is not Beiliao, but the boy Yongxing Emperor.
After all, Beiliao has always been like this, and he would not expect these Hulu to change their ways.
But Emperor Yongxing, that is, the little bastard Shi Jiachi, was different. He had clearly succeeded to the throne and became the emperor of Dayu, but he had not yet changed his identity. He used his power arbitrarily and unbridledly, and put Dayu, who was already in turmoil, into trouble.
, pushed into the pit again.
This was something the King of Chu could not tolerate. What he wanted was not a shabby reputation, which would do him no good at all.
If Emperor Yongxing could honestly follow Emperor Tianqi's orders, he might even share power with his eldest nephew. Who has kept him childless?
In the final analysis, the great reputation must belong to the Shi family. The King of Chu did not mind retreating after he enjoyed the power and completely handing the great reputation to Shi Jiachi.
But the current situation forced him to make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise this situation of two saints standing side by side and hostile to each other would be extremely bad for Dayu.
"By the way, there is also Chen Ping, the White Lotus thief has made a mess in Jingzhou, what is he doing?"
With the rules set in mind, King Chu turned to ask Chen Ping.
After learning that Chen Ping was leading his army to pursue the White Lotus Bandits and entered Jiangzhou, King Chu's face darkened, and the slight sound of teeth grinding was particularly harsh in the empty palace.
"Good boy, after Gudao succeeds, if he sincerely joins Gudao, he can be reused, but if he is stubborn and stubborn, humph..."
King Chu looked out of the palace, with a fierce look in his bloodshot eyes.
......
With the situation in the capital so tense, all forces are secretly observing and gathering strength.
General Nangong's Mansion, Beidaying, Sanya, etc., surrounding the two people who hold the highest power in Dayu, the King of Chu and Emperor Yongxing, are so turbulent that it is almost suffocating.
However, this is just the capital. Although Chen Ping, who is still in the south of the Yangtze River, knows that the situation in the capital is not optimistic, he can't care about that, just because he has immediate matters to deal with.
Jinling, Jiangzhou Administrative Office.
Both sides of the prosperous Qinhuai River should have been crowded with pleasure boats and boats, and scholars and courtesans were playing and playing, but now this scene no longer exists.
As for the reason, it must be attributed to a battle eighty miles south of the city.
It was said to be a battle, but in fact there were only a few battles, and then with the fierce attack of the Bailian thief and Jiangzhou Zhizhou sneaking away, thousands of Jiangzhou Xiang troops were quickly defeated and began to flee. This made the officials and people of Jiangzhou, who originally didn't think the White Lotus bandits were scary, feel unprecedented fear. The cities, villages and towns that the defeated officers and soldiers passed along the way were all on tenterhooks and were on guard.
Not only to protect against thieves, but also against government troops!
As the saying goes, bandits are like combs and soldiers are like grates. The officers and soldiers are sometimes more terrifying than thieves. After all, thieves only seek money, but after the officers and soldiers seek money, in order to avoid the leakage of the matter, they will kill people and silence them.
When Jiangzhou Zhizhou ran back to Jinling City with dozens of soldiers sweating profusely and brought the news that the White Lotus Bandits were fierce and unstoppable, the entire Jinling City instantly became panicked.
It was not until the Jiangzhou magistrate came forward, organized manpower to appease the people, and then climbed up the city wall to assume a posture of coexistence and death with the city that the city was reluctantly settled.
"Thousands of officers and soldiers, all gone in one battle?!"
"I heard that there are only a few thousand thieves. Even if they are defeated, they will not be defeated in such an embarrassing manner!"
Faced with the scolding and accusations from the Jiangzhou magistrate, Zhou Zhizhou hurriedly excused himself and frantically poured bitter words on the officials and gentry in Jinling City.
"Mr. Lin, I don't know, but the thieves are all extremely fierce, as if they are not afraid of death, and their equipment is not much worse than that of the official army. In addition, our army was attacked halfway out of the city not far away. I led the troops to resist until they could no longer bear it.
That’s why we ordered the retreat.”
"Think about it, these thieves were able to run all the way from Jingzhou to Jiangzhou, with Deputy Chen's 3,000 cavalry chasing after them. How could they not be thieves?"
"Besides, the military pay from the imperial court has been delayed for several months. The morale of the officers and soldiers is low. I have tried my best."
After saying this, he almost described the White Lotus Thief as a ghost with three heads and six arms.
As soon as these words came out, it was naturally effective. At least the officials and gentry no longer blamed him for his faults. Instead, they were frightened by the terrifying fighting power of the White Lotus Thief.
"Your Highness, I don't think Mr. Zhou is to blame for this matter. The fact that the thief was able to kill from Jingzhou to Jiangzhou shows how ferocious he is. Now we should think about how to guard against this thief so that Jiangzhou will not be harmed by the thief."
"Yes, I wonder how many soldiers are left in the city and how much supplies are there to defend the city?"
"If the master of the palace is in need of anything, we are willing to help with all our resources. I just want Jinling to be worry-free!"
Facing a life and death crisis, Jinling Shenjin, who accompanied Magistrate Lin on the city wall, suddenly became generous and no longer stingy.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhizhou sneered in his heart. If these guys hadn't refused to pay, the army wouldn't have been defeated so quickly and miserably. He might even be able to repel the enemy.