It was midsummer and the heat was soaring. Ice cubes had been placed in the palace. In the copper basins, as the heat gradually melted into water and the breeze came, there was an indescribable coolness in the palace.
Emperor Chongping was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, leaning on a soft couch beside the Nuan Pavilion. At this moment, it was midsummer afternoon, and the sunlight penetrated through the fence and fell on the middle-aged emperor. His body was thin.
.
Emperor Chongping held a volume of Three Kingdoms in his hand and was reading it attentively. Looking at the words on it, his eyes flashed under his two thin pine brows that looked like tree branches, as if there was a hint of thinking.
Did the Han family fall into the hands of the Cao family?
Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion of the Later Han Dynasty, the Cao family had usurped the Han Dynasty, and the Central Plains had lost its deer, which is not surprising.
Na Ziyu also started his career during the Civil War in the Central Plains...
It can be said that this is the inevitable reaction of an emperor after he grows old, that is, he starts to be suspicious and mean.
Especially as the pacification trend in Liaodong became more and more obvious, the emperor also began to "prepare for rainy days" for the country and the country of the Han Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, take the medicine." At this moment, Empress Song was dressed in a light blue palace dress with a tall bun, and a bright smile appeared on her fragrant and jade-skinned face.
A blue and white porcelain tea cup, under the shaving eyebrows, there is endless care in the soft and beautiful eyes.
"Zitong." Emperor Chongping called softly, put down the Three Kingdoms script in his hand, and sighed again: "Ziyu's Three Kingdoms script really writes about the divisions and unions of the world, and the rise and fall of dynasties."
Cao Wei replaced Han, and Sima replaced Cao Wei. Then who would replace Chen and Han?
Is it just as a recent nursery rhyme in Beijing said: "After the Yan and Huang Dynasties, three generations of kings, Xia Yu began, the family (Jia) the world, Liaodong was peaceful, the prosperous age was prosperous, and the leader of the Wei Kingdom..."
This was actually Chen Yuan's secret trick, which was to create rumors and drive a wedge between the emperor and his ministers.
The theory of prophecy has always been tabooed by the royal family. It can be said that Chen Yuan, as a descendant of the royal family, immediately hit the key point of the royal family, especially at such a sensitive time.
For a time, the capital was filled with tremors and silence.
Emperor Chongping naturally learned about this so-called rumor through the secret espionage system of Jinyi Mansion Guards and Internal Guards, and the suspicion deep in his heart quickly expanded.
Empress Song smiled softly, took the spoon in her hand, and stirred the porridge in the tea cup for Emperor Chongping. It was emitting steaming heat. There was joy in her gentle and graceful eyebrows, and she asked casually: "Your Majesty, this Eastern Han Dynasty
Isn’t it in the history books that the Three Kingdoms were divided?”
Emperor Chongping looked stunned for a moment and murmured: "Yes, it is recorded in the history books."
The lessons from ancient history cannot be ignored. Even though Ziyu is loyal, Ziyu’s sons and grandsons...
Especially since Jinyang also gave birth to a child for him, he naturally has royal blood...
It really makes people think a lot.
Empress Song held a cup of tea, her beautiful and bright cheeks were as red as clouds and as bright as fire, and she said softly: "Your Majesty, this is red dates and glutinous rice porridge. Your Majesty, please use some. It can also replenish your blood and vitality."
Emperor Chongping nodded, looked at the beauty, and said, "Thank you, Zitong."
Empress Song smiled and said: "Your Majesty said this. Isn't it right for me to cook for your Majesty myself?"
While the two were talking, Dai Quan's footsteps suddenly came from outside. Immediately, he walked around a screen and said: "Your Majesty, here are the military reports and memorials from Duke Wei."
When Emperor Chongping suddenly heard this, his heart skipped a beat. His thin, dark face was filled with joy, and he asked urgently: "Dai Quan, please bring the general's report."
Dai Quan walked a few steps quickly, delivering the military report in his hand, and said: "Your Majesty, I heard from the messenger that Duke Wei defeated Jinzhou City and killed Azige."
Emperor Chongping's sunken cheeks suddenly flushed. After receiving the military report from Dai Quan, the middle-aged emperor couldn't wait to read it.
On it, the marching register has recorded in detail the process of the fall of Jinzhou.
From the flooding of the city with water to the capture of the city with artillery, although there were some twists and turns in the whole process, under the leadership of Jia Heng, there were no dangers.
Emperor Chongping was agitated and murmured: "As soon as Jinzhou City is destroyed, Ziyu will march into Shengjing City."
If you add in the water-soluble soldiers and horses besieging Jinzhou City, it means that Liaodong City is already under siege by the Han soldiers, and the city will be broken only overnight.
The time to annihilate Liaodong is not far away.
That was the day he had been waiting for for a long time.
When Empress Song heard this, her fair and jade-skinned face seemed to be covered with a bright smile, and she said softly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty."
With a prosperous smile on his fair face, Dai Quan said, "Your Majesty, here is a memorial from Duke Wei, which I present to Your Majesty."
After Jia Heng delivered the military report, he wrote another copy of "Pingzhi Liaodong Shu" and delivered it to him.
While Dai Quan was speaking, he bowed and handed over the memorial in his hand.
Emperor Chongping nodded and said, "Bring it over and let me have a look."
This is Jia Ziyu, who always puts state affairs first, is excellent in both literature, Taoism and military strategy, and has talents in music and pipes. However, it is precisely because of this that he feels uneasy.
The talents of all the scholars are mediocre, and none of them can compare with this son-in-law.
After a hundred years, will he really be able to suppress Zi Yu?
Empress Song curled her lips, put down the tea cup in her hand, and wondered secretly, did the little fox do it on purpose, and always delivered military reports to His Majesty when he was eating porridge?
Emperor Chongping took the memorial and read it.
Above all, Emperor Chongping put forward several strategies, namely, immigrating to the border areas, reclaiming wasteland and farming, and at the same time, the court could also establish farmlands in the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of War.
In addition, it is to excavate the mineral resources stored in the underground, and to set up a port near the sea to transport Denglai by sea to contact North Korea and the Japanese country.
Because Jia Heng came from a later generation, he knew that the land of Guandong had many mineral reserves, which could be described as fertile black land.
After reading the memorial in his hand, Emperor Chongping praised: "Zi Yu's strategy is prepared for rainy days and comprehensive, and can lead to a peaceful world for a hundred years."
Empress Song smiled and joked: "Your Majesty, please don't praise him anymore. Xianning said a while ago that if he gives birth to a child, he will be a widow every day."
So why isn't she?
After the little fox returned to Beijing, everyone didn't look for her a few times.
When Emperor Chongping heard this, he frowned, looked deeply, and scolded: "It is possible to say such ominous words? Especially when Zi Yu is leading the troops to fight on the front line, how can he make such ominous words?"
The outcome of the Liaodong battle has not yet come out, and the frontline cannot be separated from Ziyu's control.
Under the rosy eyebrows of the Empress of Song Dynasty, her crystal-clear beautiful eyes seemed to be as moist as water, glowing with soft waves. She said in a delicate voice: "Your Majesty, I came back to talk about Xianning, and Xianning also talked about my wife.
Yu."
At this moment, Emperor Chongping came to his senses and realized that he had gone too far. He sighed and said: "Xianning and Ziyu have spent less time together and more separation in the past few years. When Ziyu comes back this time, he will spend more time with Xianning's mother."
Two of them."
A smile appeared on Empress Song's beautiful face, her eyes were full of soft light, and she said softly: "What your Majesty said is that after this war is over, the world will be peaceful. The rivers will be clear and the sea will be peaceful, and the world will be peaceful and prosperous."
In front of me, Your Majesty is regarded as one of the most wise kings in the past three generations."
When Emperor Chongping heard this, his face flushed, he waved his hand and said: "It's over, it's over."
For three generations, it can be said that this is a very high evaluation, and Emperor Chongping was embarrassed to accept it calmly.
Emperor Chongping thought for a while and said in a low voice: "Dai Quan, call the cabinet military aircraft to the side hall of Hanyuan Hall. I want to discuss important military matters."
After hearing this, Empress Song quickly said: "Your Majesty's body has just recovered, why don't you rest a little longer?"
Emperor Chongping waved his hand and said: "I have nothing to do. I just want to tell all the cabinet ministers about this good news and discuss how to deal with it in the next step."
In addition, there are rumors in Beijing that should be dealt with by Dai Quan, otherwise it will not be good if they spread like this and affect the war on the front line.
Empress Song nodded, responded softly, and said: "Then I will send your Majesty over."
With the support of Dai Quan, Emperor Chongping left Kunning Palace and quickly came under the eaves.
Dai Quan said: "Your Majesty."
A gloomy look surged on Emperor Chongping's dark face, and he said in a cold voice: "Recently, the rumors in Beijing will be rectified. Anyone who talks nonsense will be arrested and put to death in secret!"
Dai Quan's heart trembled, and he lowered his voice and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongping's face paused slightly, and as he spoke, with the support of Dai Quan, he went to Hanyuan Hall.
Hanyuan Hall, inner study room——
At this moment, several cabinet ministers and several military ministers were waiting in the study.
For example, Li Zan, the first assistant of the cabinet, Gao Zhongping, the second assistant, Qi Kun and Lu Jiang, the cabinet ministers, in addition to Lin Ruhai, the cabinet minister in charge of customs, and Shi Jie, the minister of war of the Military Aircraft Department, etc.
Not long ago, Lin Ruhai went to Weiningwei, Shandong, to inspect the preparations for the establishment of additional customs in coastal areas proposed by the governor of Shandong, and had just returned.
Lu Jiang asked: "Mr. Gao Ge, why did the Holy Master summon me to come over?"
Gao Zhong showed a thoughtful look on his face and guessed: "Based on the current situation, there should be a new situation in the frontline war."
In fact, Gao Zhongping was quite critical of Jia Heng's reports on military intelligence, which often went without going through the cabinet and the Military Aircraft Department, leaving many secret boxes.
Li Zan twirled the three locks of black beard under his chin with his hand. Under his thin, loose eyebrows, his eyes were clear and sharp. He took over the conversation and said, "For your Majesty to be so solemn, maybe the city of Jinzhou has been destroyed."
Gao Zhongping said: "It's not impossible."
Just as the officials in the palace were thinking about it, suddenly, the voice of the eunuch came from outside: "Your Majesty has arrived."
The several important officials in the court who were talking had serious expressions and their faces were straightened.
After a while, Emperor Chongping was seen coming from outside. He was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe. His body was as tall and straight as a pine tree, but his originally sunken and thin cheeks had an abnormal blush. He fell on several pavilions.
In my eyes, my heart is clear.
Seeing that the emperor is looking happy, this is probably good news.
However, Li Zan turned around and became a little worried.
The holy dragon body is getting worse and worse, and now that the Han Dynasty has not yet been established, I am afraid that it is a recipe for disaster.
But at this time, no one dared to persuade Emperor Chongping to establish a heir, because anyone with a discerning eye could see that he probably had to wait until Liaodong was pacified and the final assessment results of the Wei and Chu vassals came out.
While Emperor Chongping was speaking, he had just sat down behind a lacquered wooden table.
Several ministers in the inner study saluted each other and said in unison: "I have seen Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongping was in a good mood, and his voice was much lighter, and he said: "Everyone please get down."
After hearing this, several cabinet ministers thanked him and then stood up.
Emperor Chongping's face was extremely solemn. Under his thin and loose eyebrows, his eyes were piercing. He said: "Jia Ziyu just sent a military report from the front line. Jinzhou City has been captured by our Han army. In this battle, Jia Ziyu's formation will kill Azige and pass through Shengjing."
The door has been opened since then.”
As soon as these words came out, even though all the military planes had expected it, there was still a hint of joy on their faces after hearing this.
Once Jinzhou City is destroyed, Shengjing is indeed right in front of us.
Once Shengjing is destroyed, Liaodong will be recovered from then on, and a peaceful and prosperous age will soon come.
Among the cabinet ministers and court officials, Lin Ruhai's elegant and fair face also showed a look of joy.
Emperor Chongping looked calm and said: "Dai Quan, give the military reports and memorials delivered by Duke Wei to all your ministers for review."
Dai Quan responded softly, and then delivered a military report and memorial to each minister.
Li Zan took the military newspaper and finished reading it. Then, he reached out and handed the general newspaper to Gao Zhongping who was standing aside. He picked up the memorial and quickly read it.
As time passed, my heart began to express emotions similar to those of Emperor Chongping.
After a while, it was completed after being circulated to the ministers.
Emperor Chongping said loudly: "My dear friends, our army is now confronting the enemy in Shengjing. We must prepare all the food, fodder and ordnance."
Li Zan put on a facelift and calmed down his expression. He cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the capital of the Jurchen Dynasty is high and strong. If you want to attack it, it will not take a day. It is already late August. After two months, it will enter the winter month. The weather in Liaodong
It's getting colder and the roads are blocked by heavy snow. It's very inconvenient for me to transport food, fodder and ordnance by carriages and horses."
Gao Zhongping also put away the memorial at this moment and said: "It needs to be prepared in advance, escorted by heavy troops, and stored in Ningyuan, Jinzhou, preferably Jinzhou."
This is the advantage of a "knowing the military cabinet", it can even check for leaks and fill them.
Emperor Chongping asked: "Li Qing, what does Gao Qing mean?"
"From Datong, Xuanfu mobilized troops and horses to escort the grain and grain north to Ningyuan and Jinzhou. If the war is prolonged and unstoppable for a long time, and the Tatars send cavalry to harass, our frontline army will be worried about running out of grain." Li Zan said.
.
Gao Zhongping nodded and said, "Mr. Li Ge is right."
Emperor Chongping nodded and said loudly: "In that case, the Ministry of War immediately sent a message to the general in Xuanfu in Datong, instructing him to dispatch iron cavalry to escort the grain, fodder and military supplies transported from the capital."
Li Zan and Gao Zhongping claimed that it was.
Emperor Chongping glanced at the cabinet ministers below and said: "Zi Yu's memorial to the Ping Dynasty in Liaodong has been seen by all the ministers. How should they discuss it?"
Li Zan's face became solemn, he cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, what Duke Wei said is feasible. Just as what Duke Wei said in his memorial, if there is peace without rule, there will still be bandits in Liaodong within thirty to fifty years."
, infesting the frontiers, and thus becoming a nuisance to the people of the Han Dynasty in later generations, how to control it? Or we should be self-sufficient and pay taxes to the center. Only in this way, future generations of monarchs and ministers will not have the thought of abandoning Liao."
It can be said that Jia Heng always analyzes things very well. One word is money.
Sometimes, what Bald Mimeng said is quite right, because starting from economic problems, the root cause can often be found.
If Liaodong is not a governance burden for later generations of courts, but becomes a place where financial resources gather like the three southeastern provinces, then no future king will give up.
Emperor Chongping pondered for a moment, looked sharply, and said: "In this case, after Liaodong is pacified, we can implement policies according to the words of Duke Wei. When you are free, you should also plan and discuss how to establish an official system to govern Liaodong in the future.
.”
In fact, this is a bit like opening champagne in advance.
All the ministers were moral gentlemen who adhered to the golden mean. At this moment, it was not easy to dampen the interest of the middle-aged emperor.
Lin Ruhai, who was below, had just read the memorial over and over again and handed it to Dai Quan aside, but there was a sense of solemnity in his heart.
Ziyu was on horseback to manage the army, dismounted to calm the people, and was excellent in both literature and military strategy. Now that he has made such great achievements, I am afraid that it will not be easy for him to have a good death in the future.
Especially some recent rumors in Beijing are even more shocking.
This is clearly someone secretly trying to drive a wedge between the emperor and his ministers.
Fortunately, the Holy One knows the principle of harmony between the king and his ministers, but it is unknown what the situation will be like when Liaodong is leveled. I hope there will be no trouble.
Emperor Chongping turned around and said: "In one month's time, the autumn grain expedition will begin. The Ministry of Revenue should take care of this matter carefully. The army is going to the northwest, and a lot of grain and fodder will be consumed. The Ministry of Revenue should make more preparations."
It can be said that today's Han Dynasty has a lot of money and has consumed a lot of food and fodder in several wars, but it can still sustain itself.
Qi Kun, the Minister of Household Affairs, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I will obey your decree."
Emperor Chongping was obviously a little tired at this moment. He waved his hand and said, "That's it for today. Let's all go down."
Upon hearing this, all the cabinet ministers and military aircraft bowed their hands and then slowly retreated.