Li Chengqian was shocked at first, as if he couldn't believe that such a tragedy happened in the imperial capital of Chang'an. Then he became furious and stood up, his face turned red.
It’s enough to follow the laws of the throne, act selfishly and brazenly, but actually abandon the life and death of the people of Chang’an just to satisfy one person’s selfish desires, causing loss of life and harming the imperial capital. It is no better than the ancient Jie and Zhou!”
He naturally knew that Li Zhi would not be so ignorant. The reason why the current rout of troops was raging in Chang'an was probably because the private armies of the powerful families lacked military discipline and the people leading the troops did not have the ability to lead. The rout of troops rushed into Chang'an City in panic.
Leading to this military disaster...
But this did not prevent him from pinning the charge of "causing trouble to Chang'an" on Li Zhi.
Fang Jun had always cooperated with Li Chengqian tacitly, so he sighed and said sadly: "Hutu, King of Jin! Today, most of the people living in the streets on both sides of the street are princes, ministers, high-ranking officials and dignitaries. I don't know how many wealthy houses have been looted and looted under such a military disaster.
, how many lives of women and nobles have been ravaged and humiliated...I am afraid that in Chang'an City at this moment, 'the bones of public officials have been trampled on in the streets, and the heads of powerful people are hanging on the gates'."
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military ministers in the palace took a deep breath.
"The streets of heaven have trampled all the bones of noble officials, and the heads of dignitaries are hanging on the gates of every square"!
Otherwise, people say that Fang Er is "unparalleled in poetry and talent." Two lines of poems describe an extremely miserable scene. Although they are witnessed, it is as if they have seen it with their own eyes, which makes the officials in the court feel as if a rabbit is dead and a fox is dead.
, and it is said that many of them have residences in the inner squares on both sides of Tianjie. Maybe at this time, Jiajuan's wife and children were being massacred and humiliated by the rebels. You can imagine the sadness and indignation in his heart.
Many officials turned pale and were frightened and worried...
Zhang Liang looked around and said: "The rebels are raging and the emperor is in trouble. How can your Majesty sit here and be indifferent? Please also order Wei Gong Li Jing to lead the Sixth Army of the East Palace to enter Chunming Gate and quell the rebellion in the city!"
Those ministers who were worried about the property of their wives and children but were helpless were suddenly awakened. Many people immediately echoed: "Mr. Yun's words are reasonable. Please give me an edict from your Majesty!"
"The rebels besieged the city, the country was in danger, and the people of Chang'an were even more brutally slaughtered. However, Duke Wei supported his troops and stood still outside the Chunming Gate. Could it be that he was disloyal?"
"Now that Chengtian Gate has been captured by the rebels, it is time for Duke Wei to lead his troops into the city to exterminate the rebels. King Qin comes to his rescue!"
"Your Majesty, please issue the decree as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late!"
There was a commotion in the palace.
Li Chengqian was very calm and looked at Li Ji blankly.
When Li Ji received the hint from the emperor's gaze, he immediately cried out in his heart, and it was inevitable that he would feel a bit resentful. It was clear that Fang Jun was right there, so why did he have to offend me?
But he couldn't refuse the emperor's hint, so he coughed dryly and said: "Absolutely not!"
In fact, this issue has been raised many times, and Li Ji has also explained the reasons why Li Jing cannot lead his army into the city. He does not believe that these people can't understand, but he has repeatedly mentioned putting pressure on the emperor. One of them is indeed because of rebellion.
The army rampaged through Chang'an, burning, killing, and looting, which caused great panic. Moreover, there may not be any ulterior motives.
"To this day, the garrison troops stationed in various places in Guanzhong are still unwilling to send troops to serve the king. It is enough to show that they are disloyal to His Majesty and are hiding dirty things. If there is no Wei Gong waiting outside the Chunming Gate to prepare troops, who can guarantee that those people will not raise troops and rush to
Come from Chang'an and join the rebels to commit rebellion? No matter what, Duke Wei cannot move, let alone the Sixth Army of the East Palace outside the city."
If things go wrong in the Taiji Palace, at the very least, we can protect His Majesty from leaving the city through the secret passage at the last moment. At that time, Li Jing will lead the Sixth Army of the East Palace to the north to meet him, cross the Wei River and retreat to Hexi, and then make further arrangements.
But if Li Jing leads his army into the palace and Wude Palace is still captured in the end, even if His Majesty escapes from Chang'an at that time, where can he escape without an army by his side?
Even if they escape from Guanzhong, why should they make a comeback and counterattack Chang'an?
Of course, although his words are reasonable, they are bound to offend those ministers whose mansions are on both sides of Tianjie and may be being massacred by insurgents. This is why His Majesty hinted that he should speak out, but did not let Fang Jun speak out.
principle.
He tried his best to protect Fang Jun, but he offended all the ministers...
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, many ministers immediately rebuked him.
"Your Majesty, your words are wrong! Your Majesty ascended the throne according to the imperial edict and worshiped the heaven and the earth. This is truly a right and proper thing, and all the people in the world will be loyal to you. Although there are a few people with ulterior motives who ignore the righteousness and raise armies to rebel, they can't wipe out all the people in the world from now on.
Treat them all equally, I am suspicious today and be on guard at all times, otherwise wouldn’t it mean that I would push those loyal ministers and righteous men to the side of the rebels?”
"It is absolutely impossible to say that the entire garrison in Guanzhong is devoted to the rebels. However, most of them stayed put in order to avoid being regarded as comrades of the rebels. As long as Duke Wei led his troops into the city to attack the rebels, those who originally
Those who have scruples will definitely put down their guard, raise troops to respond, and go to the capital to serve the king!"
"Moreover, Chang'an, the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, is the foundation of the country. If the rebels are allowed to wreak havoc and poison the good, it will surely shake the world and damage your majesty's reputation!"
…
The crowd was furious, and his words were as sharp as a knife, but Li Ji drooped his eyelids, drank tea slowly, and turned a deaf ear to the accusations and questions.
He has already done something to offend people, but there must be a limit to this kind of thing. The emperor can't let him do it to the end alone, right?
It's okay to suppress him Li Ji, it's okay to dislike him Li Ji, but it's absolutely impossible to push Li Ji out to become a broken drum that can be beaten by thousands of people...
Sure enough, Xu Jingzong, as the new number one "eagle dog" under the emperor's account, did not let Li Ji bear all the firepower and stepped forward: "What a joke! The King of Jin raised an army to rebel. It was the King of Jin who set up his troops to harm the entire Guanzhong. It was the King of Jin who poisoned Chang'an."
King Jin, are you confusing right and wrong and trying to shift the blame for this crime to His Majesty? His heart is to be punished!"
Zhang Liang said hurriedly: "Xu Shangshu, don't talk nonsense! When did we say this?"
Xu Jingzong sneered: "The army of the Sixteenth Guards followed Emperor Taizong to pacify Goguryeo. After returning, they did not remove their armor and stayed stationed in various places in Guanzhong. When the King of Jin rebelled, they did not rush to Chang'an King Qin as soon as possible. This shows that he had ulterior motives. The King of Jin himself
Tongguan entered Guanzhong and advanced all the way to Chang'an. The journey was more than a hundred miles, and no army took the initiative to stop it... The thoughts of such a group of people have long been exposed in front of the world, but you, Duke Yun, keep saying that these people are loyal to His Majesty.
, do you want to ask Duke Wei to release the four taboos of Chang'an, wait for these people to march straight in to join forces with the King of Jin, and then overthrow His Majesty in one fell swoop, making you rely on the King of Jin to seize the merit of following the dragon?"
As soon as these words came out, there was silence in the main hall. All the ministers were trembling with fear and hurriedly apologized. Zhang Liang even got up and knelt down in the hall to apologize.
"Your Majesty is wise, and the loyal heart of a humble minister can be learned from heaven and earth! Otherwise, when the rebels are close at hand, you can still accompany your Majesty to defend the Wude Palace, regardless of your own safety, honor and disgrace? Xu Jingzong is a man of words, treacherous, insidious, and wanton slander
I would like to ask your Majesty for your warning!"
Whether it is the army of the Sixteenth Guards or the military ministers of the government and the public, it is no secret what their stance is and what intentions they have in mind. Everyone can see it clearly. But it is one thing to see it clearly. It is one thing to make some clear.
Putting it on the table is another matter.
Everyone is completely at odds. Not only does His Majesty face a more serious crisis, but everyone also loses room for change. Both sides will inevitably suffer losses.
After all, more people are willing to go with the flow when the overall situation has been decided, rather than follow the King of Jin all the way to rebellion...
Li Chengqian looked blank and noncommittal.
Why do the ministers in this palace dare to stay with him when the emperor is facing a desperate situation? Don't talk nonsense about wise emperors and loyal ministers. Li Chengqian is self-aware. When he was the prince, he did not know how to win people's hearts, even the closest ones.
The master is often in trouble, and now that he has only been on the throne for a short period of time before he has time to show mercy, who would be willing to be his minister and accompany him to death?
He had never thought that he was narrow-minded, and he could treat the ministers of the court equally, but except for Fang Jun and a few other ministers who followed him loyally when they were in hiding, he did not trust any of the others.
Except for a few of the Gong Gong princes in the main hall who sided with him as the emperor because of their political ambitions, most of the others were just trying to get a chance. After all, they would never leave in times of desperation, and after the emperor put down the rebellion, he would lavish rewards
, these people will also gain a lot and benefit a lot.
The so-called "life and death" does not exist at all. Even if the rebel rebellion succeeds in the end, he, the emperor, will die, but no one will kill these ministers. There is a shortage of talents in the Pheasant slave account, and he will still have to rely on these ministers to help him after all.
To govern the world, one can at most be demoted, demoted, and given some minor punishments. Compared with the benefits that can be obtained by supporting the emperor, they are nothing.
Besides, who knows whether the powerful people behind these ministers have already sent people to secretly contact the pheasant slaves and take sides?
Zhang Liang repeatedly mentioned asking Li Jing to abandon Chunming Gate and lead his army into the city. Who can tell whether he had the intention to clear the way for the garrison in Guanzhong?
Therefore, when Li Chengqian faced the cross-examination of the officials in the palace, he turned a blind eye to the discussion and calmly picked up the cup and took a sip of tea.
Kneeling on the ground, Zhang Liang's passionate words did not attract the emperor's attention at all, so naturally he was extremely embarrassed...
Fang Jun glanced at the ministers in the palace and whispered to Li Chengqian: "The war is going on outside the palace. There are many rebels. The outcome is really unpredictable. Your Majesty, please sit here and wait for the ministers to go out and lead the army to conquer. It will be early."
Some suppress the rebels."
Li Chengqian said with concern: "You have been leading the army in battle since you sneaked back outside Xuanwu Gate. Have you ever been tired? Have you ever been injured? You are now the commander of an army. You must always pay attention to protecting yourself. Don't act like usual.
Nonsense.”
Now that his throne is supported by Fang Jun and Li Jing, there must be no accidents for these two people.
Fang Jun said gratefully: "Your Majesty's concern is deeply felt by Wei Chen... Please rest assured, Your Majesty, Wei Chen only sits in command and will not tread lightly in dangerous places."