Shi Zhongtang carried out the rebellion very secretly.
First, he climbed up. To this end, he seized every opportunity. First, he attracted Zhang Huan's attention. Then, by chance, he hooked up with Liang Jing and then contacted the imperial concubine.
Being the adopted son of an emperor and a noble concubine is a guarantee of rapid success.
At that time, Liang Jing felt that Shi Zhongtang was a stickman, and he became alarmed after Zhang Chumao's death.
Liang Jing's instinct as a villain in Shu made Liang Jing ponder what Shi Zhongtang had done, and found that this man was like a poisonous snake, dormant in southern Xinjiang, and gradually won the favor of his superiors.
This is no problem, ninety-nine out of a hundred officials will do this.
But Shi Zhongtang was cultivating his own direct lineage and expanding his army. There was no problem. The emperor had given instructions to expand the southern Xinjiang army to form a check and balance with the northern Xinjiang army.
But why are most of them foreign races?
Boss Liang thought for a while, and there used to be such young men in Shu. They would please their elder brother while cleaning up the bad boys under their command. Those who were loyal to the boss would find an excuse to drive them away or kill them. Then they would recruit a group of bad boys and train them into
One's own confidants.
More than a year later, the younger brother, who had reassured the older brother, suddenly became violent and launched a civil strife on the grounds that the elder brother was unfair and treated the younger brothers harshly. After a scuffle, the older brother was hacked to death, and the younger brother succeeded in taking over.
This is a living example!
Boss Liang feels that this is the situation in southern Xinjiang now.
So he ordered the messenger to come and scold him.
But he could only scold and couldn't do anything else. The emperor was there!
In the emperor's view, Liang Boss and Shi Zhongtang were two vicious dogs he kept in captivity. The role of Liang Boss as a dog was to cheer for the emperor in the court and to check and balance the state leader.
The role of the dog Shi Zhongtang is to check and balance Northern Xinjiang.
Jealousy between two dogs was so common that the emperor even felt in a good mood.
Therefore, moving cannot be moved.
But Shi Zhongtang was stopped by the messenger's sharp shout and was stunned.
"What an injustice!"
Shi Zhongtang said subconsciously: "Have I ever rebelled?"
The messenger sneered, "I was ordered to deliver a message. As for what the Duke is thinking, only the Duke himself knows. However, Prime Minister Liang ordered me to warn the Duke that if he makes a mistake, he will be surrounded and suppressed by the army!"
"Farewell!"
The messenger finished speaking and left.
This style of work is so smooth that it makes people feel chilly.
He Zun watched the envoy go out and then entered the lobby.
Shi Zhongtang was sitting there, still maintaining his forward explaining posture, with sweat stains on his forehead.
"horrible!"
Shi Zhongtang sighed in a rare way, "Liang Jing can actually see through my mind, but I underestimated him in the past."
When he first welcomed Liang Jing, Liang Jing was so rough and arrogant that he was just a bad boy and couldn't even be called a knight-errant.
But in an instant, the evil young leader became the right minister, and his ambition was immediately apparent.
"The army from Chang'an has arrived, and there is no place to bury the dead!"
Shi Zhongtang broke into a cold sweat.
He Zun said: "My lord, the guards of Chang'an are like watchdogs and are vulnerable to attack."
Shi Zhongtang shook his head, "Since last year, the guards of Chang'an have been practicing, so we should not underestimate them now. By the way, prepare a gift and send it to Liang Jing later."
This person actually lost his square inch. He Zun knew that this was due to too much pressure, "My lord, if you give me a gift now, you are just asking for it!"
"That's true." Shi Zhongtang gradually calmed down, "Since Liang Jing can detect something wrong in Southern Xinjiang, according to his temperament, he will definitely report it."
"But your Majesty has deep faith in the Duke." He Zun felt that the emperor was just a stick.
"I'm not afraid of the emperor." Shi Zhongtang's eyes showed contempt, "That man is greedy and has no country in his eyes. That's why he allowed me to look for opportunities."
"My lord, Liang Jingneng sent an envoy to scold me, which shows that the prejudice against my lord is deep-rooted." He Zun said, "In this case, we must prepare for important events as soon as possible."
"I know." Shi Zhongtang thought for a long time and said: "If I launch an attack here, the first opponent will be the guards of Chang'an, and the second one that I can't judge the most is Northern Xinjiang."
"Is the Duke worried that when the emperor is in danger, he will order Yang Xuan to lead his army south?"
"Yes! Although our Southern Xinjiang Army has grown in strength in recent years, it is a formidable enemy after all!"
He Zun smiled and said: "The latest news from Northern Xinjiang is that Yang Xuan destroyed Governor Helian's army, and Ning Xing was only blocked by Jiangzhou.
Ningxing was in danger. This rival of the Tang Dynasty was facing the crisis of destruction for the first time in hundreds of years. However, it was not the fault of the court, but the fault of the rebels who were hated by the emperor.
Duke, think about it, if our southern Xinjiang army approaches the pass and the emperor orders King Yang Xuanqin, will he send troops?"
Shi Zhongtang squinted his eyes, "I have been thinking about Yang Xuan for a long time. When he was in Chang'an, he was an ignorant young man who acted based on his preferences and had a stupid sense of justice."
"A foolish sense of justice?"
"Does Yan Cheng know?"
"I know, that idiot who knocked on the door."
"Yan Cheng was killed outside the imperial city, and later Yang Xuan sent people to offer sacrifices."
He Zun was startled, "Yan Cheng proposed to weaken the family members. On the surface, he was stabbed to death by a madman, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that the family members were behind the scenes. Such people are beyond stupid. Yang Xuan actually sympathizes with him?"
"Yes." Shi Zhongtang said with a smile: "It shows that this person has justice."
"When the world is in chaos, the Duke's sense of justice is the cheapest and most dangerous. Just like Yan Cheng, who was full of justice and eventually died an untimely death. It is said that the family is living a difficult life now?"
"In the past, people from Northern Xinjiang would be sent to visit and send money and food every year."
Shi Zhongtang said: "I have always felt that Yang Xuan couldn't see clearly. On one side, he has a sense of justice, and on the other side, he is a famous general who attacks cities and territories and kills people. He is a traitor who dares to fall out with the emperor. A person with a sense of justice cannot do this.
Waiting for something."
"contradiction!"
"Yes, he is a very contradictory person."
He Zun said: "So I thought that when the army came to Guanzhong, he would not listen to the emperor's order. He would even rush to attack Bei Liao."
"Destroy Beiliao, and then sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight!" Shi Zhongtang said solemnly: "If this is the case, he must be expecting me to destroy the Tang Dynasty!"
"Oath!" He Zun smiled.
"Yes, his oath!"
Yang Xuan once vowed to live up to the Tang Dynasty in his life.
"After the Tang Dynasty fell, he vowed to be unrestrained, and then he would become the Duke's opponent." He Zun said with a smile: "But at that time, the Duke captured Guanzhong, and the army under his command was strong. If he did not go south, the Duke would have to
Go north, destroy him, and unify the Central Plains."
Shi Zhongtang took a deep breath, "That's exactly what I thought. But now Liang Jing is my trouble."
He Zun said: "Although I don't know why Liang Jing was able to detect that something was wrong with the Duke, there is still a way to do this."
"Oh! Tell me."
He Zun pointed to the direction.
"Rebels?" Shi Zhongtang shook his head, "The rebels won't be able to recover in a year or two. If the rebels attack as an excuse, Chang'an will be in an uproar."
"I'm talking about the Southern Zhou Dynasty!"
Shi Zhongtang took a deep breath and slapped the table, "Wonderful!"
He Zun stroked his beard and said calmly: "The new policies of the Southern Zhou Dynasty not only cut the flesh of the common people, but also the flesh of the scholar-officials. The common people dared to be angry and dare not speak out, but the scholar-officials were bold. They incited the Southern Zhou army to raid our southern Xinjiang city and massacre
Killed countless people."
Shi Zhongtang smiled, "The scholar-bureaucrats of the Southern Zhou Dynasty wanted to use this to anger the Tang Dynasty. When the Tang Dynasty sent troops, Sun Shi could only retreat sadly. In this way, the New Deal was naturally abolished.
This lord is really keen!
He Zun was happy, and Shi Zhongtang was even more happy.
He has no shortage of warriors or generals under his command, but he lacks counselors.
As Zhang Chumao's staff, He Zun made several plans to make Shi Zhongtang quite embarrassed. Later, after killing Zhang Chumao, Shi Zhongtang specially kept He Zun and successfully made him a confidant.
"What I'm glad about right now is not that I killed Zhang Chumao, but that I got you, He Zun, as my brain trust!"
"The luckiest thing that happened to me in this life is that I took refuge with the Duke of the country!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The two laughed at each other.
Amidst the laughter, the military orders from the Jiedushi Mansion were quietly issued.
Groups of sergeants assembled.
Set off immediately.
big
Will Wei Ming be the leader.
He Zun went to see them off and whispered outside the city, "Change your clothes when you get there. Be ruthless and don't hesitate."
Wei Ming smiled and said: "The people who are going this time are all foreign soldiers. I am worried that they will be too cruel."
"Too."
He Zun nodded, "Go early and come back early, the Duke is waiting for your good news!"
"rest assured!"
Wei Ming asked in a low voice: "Has the Duke set a date?"
"We still need money and food." He Zun also lowered his voice, "You are going this time to create signs of oppression in the Southern Zhou Dynasty, so that the Duke can reach out to Chang'an to ask for money and food. Without money and food, how can you recruit more warriors?
Without weapons, how can we let warriors conquer the country with their bare hands?"
"Take the money, food and weapons given by the Li family to rebel against the Li family. Think about how happy it will be for you!"
Wei Ming set off.
He Zun stood outside the city, watching them go away with his hands behind his hands, and suddenly said quietly: "If we go here, we will definitely commit murder. Those people are also from the Tang Dynasty. If I do this, I am afraid there will be divine punishment!"
"Mr. He, the Duke invites you to go."
He rode out of the city and found He Zun.
"knew."
He Zun turned around and stopped riding, just walking slowly.
A father and daughter were carrying baggage into the city. The daughter was six or seven years old. She looked up at her father. The two girls were very cute. "Yeah, will we have enough to eat when we get here?"
Her father touched her forehead lovingly and said, "The Southern Zhou Dynasty couldn't defeat the Tang Dynasty, and the rebels are gone. It's peaceful here. If I have the strength, I will farm the land, and I can keep you fed and clothed."
"OK!"
The girl held her father's sleeve and skipped into the city.
He Zun stopped and looked at the father and daughter.
He said softly: "I am wrong?"
Once Shi Zhongtang raises his troops, southern Xinjiang will not be peaceful. Victory is fine, but once defeated, southern Xinjiang will be purged and become a battlefield.
How many people will be slaughtered?
How many people will starve to death?
Perhaps, there was that girl among them.
"Mr. He!"
The clerk in front reined in his horse and turned around to urge He Zun.
He Zun clenched his fist and punched his chest several times, "Here we come.
A county town near Southern Zhou Dynasty.
The Northern Liao Dynasty was almost unable to take care of itself after being severely beaten by the Duke of Qin. The Southern Zhou Dynasty lost its support. Recently, it is as honest as the quail that the people of Bianjing like to eat most.
The rebels were also beaten severely and are now huddled in the mountains licking their wounds.
For a time, the land of southern Xinjiang was peaceful with singing and dancing.
The soldiers guarding the city were also lazy because of this, and they only knew how to exploit the passing merchants.
"There are prohibited items!"
A sergeant shouted.
The businessman's eyes widened, "That's not my thing!"
The sergeant found the contraband from the carriage and sneered: "In full view of everyone, how dare you say it's not yours?"
"Take it!"
The businessman knew what he had encountered. He took out a bunch of copper coins and handed them over heartbroken.
"roll!"
Once the money is in hand, people can leave.
The businessman entered the city, turned around and sighed, "I travel all over the country. As long as you abide by the rules in northern Xinjiang, no one will make things difficult for you. Damn, it's my first time in southern Xinjiang. I didn't expect to encounter blackmail. Sure enough, this southern Xinjiang is like this.
It won’t last long!”
Ta-ta-ta!
Dozens of cavalry came.
"Dismount! Wait!"
More than a dozen sergeants lazily continued to inspect the business trip.
The cavalry had no head start and could not extort money, so they put it aside.
Ta-ta-ta!
The sound of horse hooves suddenly accelerated.
"Mom, I told you to wait!"
The sergeant raised his head impatiently.
The war horse rushed in front of him, its mouth opened and it neighed.
The long knife waved.
"Kill!"
Dozens of cavalry took control of the city gate, and immediately, more than a thousand cavalry came from a distance to kill.
The defenders, who had been slacking off for a long time, arrived late and were ambushed immediately.
The defenders were defeated, and the cavalry wearing Southern Zhou armor massacred the city.
It wasn't until half a day later that he took the money and ran away.
A young girl was lying naked on the street, looking at the sky with eyes that had lost all color.
A dog owned by someone unknown walked around among the corpses, sniffed several times, looked up again, and finally bit it.
It bit the flesh and blood, and its eyes gradually turned red.
The Southern Zhou Dynasty sent troops to raid southern Xinjiang and massacre the city!
The messenger quickly went to Chang'an with the news.
In Jiedushi's house, Shi Zhongtang was so angry that he ordered the county magistrate who had escaped to be taken out and beheaded.
"Want revenge!"
Shi Zhongtang was roaring.
"revenge!"
Civil and military officials were roaring.
He Zun's voice seemed a little out of place, "But, we are short of money and food!"