Gao Ying sat motionless on the couch, his eyes as blank as a wooden chicken.
Several ministers knelt at the foot of the steps, their expressions either sad, angry, or numb.
The huge Tai Chi West Hall was silent, and the atmosphere was extremely strange. The little emperor sitting on Gao Ying's side was so frightened that he didn't dare to move, but he didn't know what was going on.
After a while of silence, he couldn't help but moved his buttocks slightly and looked at several memorials on the cases.
They were all sent eight hundred miles away from Bing, Fen, Xia, Shuo and other prefectures. No matter which letter was sent, it was like a disaster from heaven, not to mention that as promised, bad news came one after another.
Gao Zhao defected to the North...
Gao Meng raised Xiazhou to rebel...
Gao Zhi raised Shuozhou to rebel...
Monk Ni from the four states of Heng, Yan, Ying, and Ding suddenly united and besieged Dingzhou...
The six towns are already in a state of instability...
Gao Ying felt like the sky was falling.
Half a month ago, Yuan Chengdu told her that the world was still at peace, and even if there was a slight fluctuation, it was just a scabies disease. Therefore, it was the time for the Queen Mother to make great efforts to cure the disease and make great achievements.
But in just over ten days, the situation took a turn for the worse. Almost half of the Wei Dynasty was already at war?
"Why...is this so?"
Gao Ying raised his head and asked numbly, his voice was hoarse and hoarse, like ripping a scarf and silk, it was extremely harsh.
All the assistants bowed their heads and remained silent.
It’s not that I don’t know, it’s that I’m ashamed to say it.
When we get to the bottom of it, everything is caused by Gao.
If it weren’t for Gao Zhao, Xiazhou would not have rebelled!
If it weren’t for Gao Zhao, Shuozhou wouldn’t have rebelled!
If it were not for the shortage of food in the four prefectures of Gaozhao, Heng, and Ding, it would not be so short. Therefore, even if there is civil unrest, it will not become an irreversible situation...
If it weren't for Gao Zhao's control, the six towns that had just settled down would never have been in turmoil again, at least not so quickly...
And all this has been predicted for a long time, and more than once, it was reported, swearing that Gao Zhao would rebel.
But both the Queen Mother and the court officials all regarded it as a joke.
Now I feel so regretful that I can’t even cry, and I am even more ashamed and angry.
The Queen Mother naturally knew it well, and the reason why she was so heart-wrenching at this time was just because she was extremely frightened, so she could talk to herself and have some peace of mind.
She thought very simply: since Li Chengzhi could predict this event a year ago, he must have thought about countermeasures. At least it would be better than the assistants in the palace who are panicking now and have no master.
But he forgot that not everyone is like Yuanying, who devotes all his energy to the Yuan family and leaves no room for retreat.
For example, Yuan Cheng and Yuan Jia, if they had not been fighting for power and gain, thinking that both Li Chengzhi and Gao Zhao would suffer losses, and even thought that Li Chengzhi's participation in Gao Zhao's performance was a frame-up, why would they have missed the great opportunity to correct the chaos and eliminate the rebellion? Frankly speaking, if Yuan Ying is the culprit, the two of them are the accomplices who helped Gao Zhao commit the crime. At this time, to mention Gao Zhao's crime would be to expose them and hold them responsible for condoning and condoning the traitor. p>
Therefore, the two talents are like iron mouth and copper teeth, refusing to speak.
As for Cui Guang, although he is not gloating about others' misfortunes, he secretly feels a bit happy: I have repeatedly told you that although Li Chengzhi is not a good person, he has an innocent heart. However, he is a traitor but seems to be loyal, and he is ambitious...
Is it because of the principle of balance? Li Chengzhi should be valued more than Gao Zhao, but a bunch of stupid pigs did the opposite?
Now that the bottom of the pot has been pierced, isn’t it too late to think about papering?
In Li Chengzhi's words, at this time, the court seemed to be eager to put out the fire, but in fact it was looking for someone to take the blame.
As for Liu Fang and You Zhao, they are naturally watching the fire: If they suggest re-employing Li Chengzhi at this time, they are not only harming him, but also harming themselves...
Only Xi Kangsheng, who had just joined the center not long ago, was quite aloof and unconventional. Moreover, his foundation was still shallow, so naturally he would say whatever the Queen Mother wanted to hear.
Seeing that no one answered, he took a step forward on his knees and played loudly: "I have something to play!"
Gao Ying's face softened slightly and he said in a deep voice: "Speak!"
"Since Li Guogong knew the enemy in advance, why not ask him to come to Beijing immediately to discuss countermeasures?"
Gao Ying felt relieved and glanced briefly, landing on the faces of Yuan Cheng and Yuan Jia: "What do the two princes think?"
Intuition seemed to be hidden in the Queen Mother's eyes, which made Yuan Cheng and Yuan Jia feel cold.
If you dare to say "no" at this time, Gao Ying is afraid that he will immediately turn his face and accuse them of their guilt. Otherwise, why not ask "the princes" but "the two princes"?
Yuan Cheng braced himself and replied: "I second the proposal!"
Yuan Jia hurriedly followed up: "I also second the proposal!"
Cui Guang, Liu Fang, and You Zhao looked at each other, exchanged glances, and then bowed helplessly: "I have no objection!"
If you continue to object at this time, you will offend Gao Ying to death...
"Okay!" Gao Ying nodded solemnly, "Without any further delay, we immediately issued an edict to summon the Duke of Lu (Lu Long, the governor of Pingzhou, and the feudal state was the state of Lu) to the capital!"
"Promise!" Cui Guang and Liu Fang responded in unison. They also knew that the power was urgent and that the submission was of great importance, so they did not call the officials, but drafted the imperial edict with their own hands on the spot.
Liu Fang wrote and You Zhao polished the ink. Cui Guang asked again: "If it is an edict, where should it be sent?"
Liu Fang paused for a moment: "We passed Jianxing County (today's Gaoping, Shanxi Province, south of Shangdang) seven days ago. Now that we have passed seven days, we should have reached Wei County (today's Anyang) no matter how late we are. However, the northern states suddenly broke out."
There is no guarantee that he will not take a detour to rebel, so he will first go to Jianxing and then decide based on the actual situation..."
That’s all it can do.
Cui Guang nodded, and played to Gao Yingbing again, saying that he would send an order to the province, ordering him to prepare a fast horse immediately. When the edict is written, and the seals of the Queen Mother and the Emperor are used, Babaili can be on the road in a hurry.
.
Gao Yingzhun played and Cui Guangzheng was about to leave the palace, but he bumped into Qin Song who was running towards him in a hurry.
Seeing him sweating profusely and looking anxious, Cui Guang's heart skipped a beat: "Why is Qing Changqiu so panicked?"
Qin Song probably wanted to say hello with a smile, but his grin turned out to be uglier than crying.
Seeing that all the assistants were looking at him eagerly, and Gao Ying also had a questioning look in his eyes, Qin Song sighed sadly: "Please invite the minister to enter the palace first, and I will give it to the Queen Mother!"
It seemed that something big had happened again. Cui Guang was naturally curious. But after a moment of hesitation, he still stepped out of the hall.
Nowadays, it is urgent and urgent, so it is important to convey the order to Li Chengzhi first. If something big happens, it is naturally impossible to hide it from him, the Minister, and it is not too late to ask again later.
With such thoughts in his mind, Cui Guang couldn't help but quicken his pace. But before he had walked three feet, he suddenly stopped. His feet seemed to have nails, and he couldn't move even half a step.
I don’t know how Qin Song followed the performance, but the Queen Mother’s exclamation pierced his ears like a needle: "Li Chengzhi was assassinated by the Shangdang?"
Like thunder on the ground, Cui Guang shook violently and turned his head without fear.
I saw that the Queen Mother's face was pale and pale, with a pair of phoenix eyes bulging outwards, as if she had been infected with malaria, and her whole body was shaking like chaff.
And all the ministers of His Highness seemed to have been struck by lightning, with their mouths wide open and motionless.
Cui Guang turned around and walked into the hall step by step like a zombie. It wasn't until the threshold tripped him that he seemed to be in a dream.
Li Chengzhi is dead?
How is it possible...
"Nonsense, talking nonsense..."
Xi Kang stood up violently, the sound was like a bell, and the hall was buzzing, "Shang Shu also said a moment ago: Li Guogong arrived in Jianxing seven days ago, now seven days later, how can he still be stranded less than a hundred miles away?"
Shangdang?
Furthermore, Shangdang is only about 500 miles away from the capital, and the rush can only take one day. Why is it that the Duke of Guoyu was killed six days ago, and only today is the urgent report arriving in the capital?
Even if it is Gao Zhao who conspired to kill the Duke of Yu, then who is the traitor who is openly raising the flag of judgment and causing trouble in Xiazhou now?"
He is more than seven feet tall and as strong as an iron tower. He has a reborn leopard head with eyes and a swallow's chin and beard. Now his beard and hair are spread out, just like a yaksha descending to earth. Qin Song was horrified and fell back again and again.
After taking three or four steps back, Qin Song was suddenly shocked when Cui Guang pressed his back. He quickly took out two urgent notes from his sleeves and quickly presented them to Gao Ying.
"The envoy said: Six days ago, Gao...Gao Zhao suddenly arrived in Bingzhou under the guise of patrolling flood control. Then he deceived Wei County Bo (Wang Xian) and the Shangdang Party, and tried to murder the Duke of Guo at the inn that night, but failed. Because Gao Zhao
The generals of the feudal state were publicly summoned and secretly informed. Therefore, the Duke of the state was cautious and sent the central army of the feudal state outside the city. He only brought his family members to stay in the county government residence...
The next day, under the guise of patrolling the river, Gao Zhao sent Bo Wei County to the north and left a brigade of Gao's tribe in the city. At dusk that day, Gao's tribe suddenly attacked and Shangdang County soldiers were unable to rescue them.
, which led to the death of the Duke...
It was because there were members of the Gaozhao Party in the army of the feudal state who were bewitched by them and openly rebelled, and besieged Shangdang for five days in order to dedicate the city to Gaozhao, so Shangdang's urgent memorial could not be carried to the capital.
After a long period of failure, the rebels fled north in panic. Li Xiancai, the governor of Shangdang County, sent an envoy to report..."
Not only was Li Chengzhi, whom he regarded as a life-saving straw, dead, but the rebels had even attacked Shangdang?
Gao Ying felt his eyes go dark and shook violently twice.
The ministers were still horrified and did not notice anything strange about the Queen Mother. Qin Song was still sharp-eyed and hurriedly supported her.
Gao Ying bit the tip of his tongue hard and shed two lines of tears in his eyes: "He is the leader of the three armies and is invincible. How could he... be plotted by the thieves?"
"Kerosene...just because the assassin used kerosene..."
Qin Song responded in a hissing voice, "The thieves fired all their rockets and threw them into the cans at the same time. The fire started to grow in the wind. In just a few breaths, the official residence was like a sea of flames and no one could get close. By the time the county governor Li Qin summoned the yamen soldiers, he had been rescued.
Not as good as..."
"Haha... kerosene, kerosene again?"
Gao Ying smiled sadly and stared at Yuan Cheng closely, "Back then, you and the King of Zhongshan kept saying that how could such a powerful weapon of the country be hidden in the hands of Han officials? Then we tried every possible means to force him to hand over the formula.
What's good now, not only did he get killed, but he also became the basis for the thieves to start a rebellion? Are you guys happy?"
These words were so heartbreaking that Yuan Cheng and Yuan Jia turned pale and knocked their heads heavily.
Li Chengzhi said more than once that although the fire oil is hidden underground, it is like a river and must have branches. Therefore, there must be more than one oil clearing in Jinming County, at least six or seven.
Li Chengzhi even said that this thing is poisonous and extremely poisonous. Gao Zhao and Gao Meng already have a disobedient heart. When they see this sharp weapon, they will feel like they have found a treasure. Nine times out of ten, they will drain the fish and take human lives to fill it.
.
At that time, the Queen Mother and the court officials were both dubious. Although they sent people to check, they were sent by idiots like Yuan Hui. Mao didn't even find a single thing and didn't say anything. He was also fooled around by Gao Meng.
It wasn't until Gao Zhao defected to Beidi that urgent news came. Not only did the oil lake have seven mouths, Gao Meng also ignored human life and forced to death a total of fifty or sixty thousand men in order to extract kerosene.
How many men are there in the entire Xiazhou?
Every time they recalled it, the Queen Mother and all the ministers shuddered, and even felt regretful: Every incident was not what Li Chengzhi expected?
Gao Ying regretted it so much, why didn’t all the ministers regret it?
Yuan Cheng looked like crazy and murmured to himself: "Why is it such a coincidence that Li Chengzhi died as soon as Gao Zhaofang went to the army? What's more coincidental is that as soon as Li Chengzhi left the capital, Gao Zhao pretended to be on patrol.
The name of flood control followed closely, and Li Chengzhi's father and brother were sent to the north first?"
Gao Ying was confused at first, but after a few breaths he realized what Yuan Cheng meant.
Li Chengzhi is definitely not dead, but is acting in a play with Gao Zhao. The two have long been in cahoots...
"That's enough..."
Gao Ying shouted sharply and punched the table with a heavy punch. The porcelain lid on the soup cup jumped suddenly, rolled twice, and fell to the table.
The "crash" sound was crisp and harsh, frightening the little emperor.
Gao Ying has never been so out of his mind since he came to power...
If Li Chengzhi and Gao Zhao were in cahoots, it would have been a God-given opportunity when he won a great victory over Guanzhong last year when Gao Zhao was leading his troops.
If he wanted to rebel, he would rebel together with Gao Zhao.
Thinking back again, Li Chengzhi seemed to be sitting in front of her.
At that time, apart from the two of them, only Qin Song was the only one in the palace. Gao Ying recalled the past with emotion and a rare tenderness:
"Now I am about to leave Beijing, thousands of miles away from Pingzhou, I don't know when I will see you again... What are your unfulfilled wishes?"
"I have no other wish, I just have one thing: Please ask the Queen Mother to take back my order, and don't send my father and brother to transport grain northward!"
"Why?"
"Gao Zhao's move was intended to coerce my father into submission and serve his purpose!"
Gao Ying was in disbelief, but he was not angry either. He just smiled warmly and said: "You and the Taiwei should be in harmony with each other and do your best to assist her and the young emperor. Why do you work so hard and insist on swearing an oath with him?"
If you stand up, you will rebel if you falsely accuse him?"
Seeing that she didn't respond, Li Chengzhi didn't argue with his reasoning, but just smiled: "Everyone in the world is clear, I am alone in the turbidity, everyone is awake, and I am alone in drunkenness... I will treat it as a moment of ignorance and confusion."
Now that I think about it, what Yuan Cheng said is so ironic?
Gao Ying felt regretful and resentful, and was trembling with anger: "Although the King of Zhongshan has acted foolishly, he is devoted to the country and has extenuating feelings. But now, at this critical moment of life and death, I have no intention of turning the tide."
What’s the purpose of using such a policy but spurting people with blood?”
Yuan Cheng was stunned and looked at Gao Ying in horror.
I thought I had to settle the old and new accounts together, but then I heard Gao Ying suddenly sigh: "In recognition of your great contributions and hard work, I will punish you in isolation for three days... Qin Song, send King Rencheng back to his home!"
Qin Song trembled in fright: "I... obey the order!"
"Uncle Anwu!"
Xi Kangsheng hurriedly bowed: "I'm here"
"Recruit the army immediately and go north to quell the rebellion..."