During the rainy season, the vegetation sprouts.
Tender green buds have already appeared on the willow trees, and the spring wheat has been sown for nearly half a month, and the pleasant green tips can already be seen in the fields.
God is particularly grateful. It is a rare sunny day. The yellow wind that blew for seven out of ten days has disappeared, and the sky is exceptionally blue.
Li Shao was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery at all. He leaned on the wall and looked south, with a sad look on his face.
"Shi Jun, here we come!"
The confidant shouted lowly and pointed to a line of smoke in the distance, "It's less than two miles away!"
Li Yun was over sixty years old, and her eyes were not that good. After squinting for a while, she vaguely saw a group of black dots running towards the town.
Finally here!
He felt a little relieved and breathed out slowly: "I'll go back to the Yamen first. You stay here. When people come, you can bring them to see me directly!"
"Promise!" the confidant responded solemnly and watched Li Shao go to the city.
In just a few breaths, those black spots ran nearly a hundred feet down the city, and the armor on the horses and knights could be clearly seen.
When he approached, he saw that the Li family's children who were leading the way kept waving flags, and his confidants loudly ordered: "No need to check, just let him go!"
Immediately after hearing the city gate open, A rides straight into the city without any hindrance.
But after entering the city, Li Xiu, the nephew of the clan, took the hundreds of horses to the other courtyard in the city, while his trusted aide quickly went down to the city, saying that Li Shijun had already told him to invite the imperial envoy to come to the town government office to wash away the dust.
Li Chengzhi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the big words "Bogu Lv" on the city gate.
Traveling day and night, not daring to take a break, I ran nearly two thousand miles in ten days and finally arrived.
He softly said "Huh", gently pinched the horse's belly, took only Li Cong and Li Xiaoxian, and followed the cronies to the town government office.
Hot soup had been prepared for him and there were maids waiting for him to take a bath, but they were all kicked out by Li Chengzhi.
After sinking into the wooden barrel, Li Chengzhi sighed comfortably as he felt the hot water stimulating his pores.
Anyone who has tried it knows how sour and refreshing it is to ride on horseback for ten days without stopping.
He has a strong physique and strong energy, but his bones still feel as if they are falling apart, let alone his female relatives?
Wei Yu had already softened into a puddle of mud, and even Gao Wenjun and Zhang Jingmo were at the end of their strength. If they ran for two or three more days, they would fall.
Fortunately, now that we have reached our own territory, we no longer have to worry about being surrounded and intercepted by the enemy. We can rest for as many days as we want. We can set off when we want.
Not daring to keep Li Shao waiting, Li Chengzhi finished washing hastily in just a moment and asked Li Cong to help him undress and put on his armor.
Ordinary Mingguang Doudou wears a face mask, so others can at most see his two glasses.
Moreover, Li Shao specifically confessed that the people who served him were all close confidants of the inner house, and the information was relatively unknown. Therefore, Li Chengzhi did not dye his hair or cover his face, and no one connected him with the world-famous Li Guogong.
It was less than a year after we were separated. When I saw Li Shao again, he seemed much older.
Li Chengzhi stood tall and tall, bowed his hands and said, "Uncle Shi, I've been waiting for a long time!"
"No problem!"
Li Shao waved his hand, and Li Xiu and his confidants who had been waiting for Li Chengzhi in the city brought food. Li Xiaoxian and Li Cong took a few bites first and stood guard outside the door.
It can be seen that Li Shaozhi was cautious and was afraid of leaking the news, so he did not even dare to let his closest confidants know.
"Why did Gao Zhao react so suddenly?"
Sudden?
Li Chengzhi’s hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly.
He had sent his confidants to inform Li Shao about the cause and effect. Li Shao naturally knew that it was not Gao Zhao who felt the time was ripe, but Li Chengzhi who forced him to rebel.
What Li Shao asked was, where did Gao Zhao get such strength?
In a short period of time, the ten prefectures and six towns from the north of the Yellow River to the east of Guanzhong, except for a few prefectures such as Xiang, Qi, and Qi, suddenly saw wars and uprisings everywhere.
At first glance, more than half of the Wei Dynasty has now fallen into the hands of rebels. Compared with Dong Yuanhuai and Yu Zhong’s rebellion the year before last, they are as different as fireflies and the sun and the moon.
Li Chengzhi chewed the tendons in his mouth, took another sip of the hot soup, and replied calmly as soon as he swallowed it: "Yuan Huai and Yu Zhong started the incident suddenly, but Gao Zhao planned it for nearly two years.
Years are not the same as days. Furthermore, it is not as it appears. Any state that is in trouble is an adversary. It is just because of the coincidence of time and place!"
Layout in the past two years?
Li Shao raised his eyebrows slightly: "What's the explanation?"
Li Chengzhi raised his chopsticks and pointed at the noodle cake on the plate: "Uncle Shi, have you ever remembered that there was a food shortage in the six towns from midsummer to autumn the year before last?"
Li Shao was naturally impressed.
Due to severe drought in the fertile fields of Wuchuan, the emperor ordered various ministries to raise grain and provide relief. This caused a financial panic in the court. The emperor had no choice but to ban strings and music in the palace and prohibit meat.
Yuan Ke wanted to force Gao Zhao to ban Buddhism in order to alleviate the money panic, but he couldn't get it. Later, Li Chengzhi took advantage of the opportunity and sold it to make ice, which solved Gao Zhao's urgent need.
But two years have passed since this incident. What does it have to do with today's chaos and Gao Zhao's rebellion?
"It must have been that time when Yuan Ke, in order to force Gao Zhao to ban Buddhism, even dismissed him from office and imprisoned him, which made Gao Zhao feel disheartened towards the emperor. It was also from that time that Gao Zhao had a disobedient heart.
..."
Li Chengzhi sighed sadly, "I came out of the Communist Party, and the journey was extremely boring, so I guessed a few clues: Just like after I returned to Beijing last year, Queen Mother Fang Yu hinted that Gao Zhao had disobedient intentions.
Gao Zhao found out within a few days...
Another example is the secret recipe of kerosene. As soon as we presented it, the secret envoy sent by Yuanhui to Xiazhou to investigate the oil lake could not leave the capital. Gao Meng, who was far away in Xiazhou, got the message and took all kinds of precautions.
.It can be seen that in the deep palace, beside the Queen Mother and the young emperor, and in Yuanhui's embroidered clothes and guards, Gao's eyes and ears have already been filled.
But since there are so many informants in the palace, why did Gao Zhao suddenly become deaf and mute at the time of the assassination of the late emperor, or the rebellion between Yu Zhong and Yuan Huai, and not even get the slightest hint of it in advance?"
Li Shao was shocked and speechless.
The former is fine, but Yu Zhongyu hastily mobilized tens of thousands of imperial troops to besiege the palace. As the emperor, Yuan Ke was not aware of it at all, which is really unbelievable.
Regardless of the rest, given the late emperor's great trust in Gao Zhao and Yuan Ke's secretive and suspicious nature, how could it not be possible for Yu Zhong, Liu Teng, Gao Zhao and others to check and balance each other?
Just like Gao Zhao's new army, Yuan Ying's cronies have long been buried.
Of course, including Yu Zhong's two guards of the imperial army, Liu Teng's imperial palace, and even Yuan Hui's secret envoys, there are all Gao Zhao's hidden spies.
But what was supposed to happen still happened. The rebellion between Yuan Huai and Yu Zhong went so smoothly that it is incredible. This episode is really worth pondering.
Not that no one suspected it afterward, but major events followed one after another, including the Qin and Liang rebellions, the Fertile Rebellion, Tuyuhun, Nanliang plotting against Guanzhong, and Rouran invading the border...the chaos was so confusing that it was difficult to see
Flaws connected, fundamentally flawless and thorough.
Furthermore, the new emperor ascended the throne, the queen mother took over the throne, and all the assistants were appointed in times of crisis... The political situation of the government suddenly changed drastically. They were busy consolidating their positions and fighting for power and profit. By the time the chaos subsides, there may be clues.
It was wiped clean, even if I wanted to check it, I would have no clue.
Therefore, the truth has long been buried in the long river of history. Now we can only hope that Gao Zhao will be defeated and capture him alive to see if we can find out something.
But what’s the use?
"This is only one of them, the other is food!"
Li Chengzhi sighed sadly, "Now that I think about it, today's consequences have actually been laid two years ago: due to the monk rebellion in Jingzhou, Xi Kangsheng mobilized all the troops from all the states in Guanzhong to quell the rebellion, resulting in a huge harvest in Guanzhong."
Year after year, the people had no surplus food. After that, the imperial court had no choice but to first remove the food in Beijing and relieve the worries in Guanzhong.
A few months later, there was a severe drought in Beizhen. According to the old practice in previous years, relief would have been provided by the nearby Guanzhong. But at that time, Guanzhong was already in trouble, and there was no surplus food in Beijing. The imperial court could only order Hedong, Henan and other places to raise food.
.
However, when the house leaked, it rained continuously all night, and then there were rebellions in the Qin and Liang states, the Fertile Rebellion, a hundred thousand troops from Nanliang and Tuguhun invaded Guanzhong, and Rouran invaded the borders, causing the imperial court to send out Chinese troops.
When the troops and horses move, food and grass go first, and everything is indispensable. However, the relatively wealthy Guanzhong, Hedong, Henan and other places have already taken care of themselves. The imperial court had no choice but to carry out extortionate expropriations and exploit the Jin, Yan and other places.
Six towns...
It was at this time that Gao Zhaoying saw a good opportunity and deliberately laid the root of the turmoil: He concealed the opportunity and ordered Yuan Chen to seize the opportunity to hoard grain. He also secretly instructed Gao Meng and Gao Zhi to recruit troops and incite monks and people to rebel. Now Jin Dynasty
, the monks in Yan and other places rebelled, and Hebei, and Fen and other states responded to Congyun, which is where they came from. As the saying goes, if you hurt the enemy one thousand, you will hurt yourself eight hundred. Now, after successive battles, how many Chinese troops are there today?
How can we conquer such a huge disaster with an army that can fight?"
This is inevitably a bit taken for granted, isn’t it too far-fetched?
Li Shao was about to question, but he swallowed the words as soon as they reached his lips.
If he hadn't known that Gao Zhao was taking advantage of the opportunity of exploitation to gather troops and grain, how could Li Chengzhi have burned Gao Zhao with just a fire?
He frowned tightly: "According to your opinion, Gao Zhao will win?"
Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely: "It's not that Gao Zhao will win, but that the imperial court will lose!"
How similar is the chaos at this time to the late Northern Wei Dynasty in history?
At that time, it was only a rebellion in six towns that caused the Wei Dynasty to fall apart. If Hu Yunhua hadn't suddenly had the wisdom to open up the country and use Rouran's troops to drive away tigers and devour wolves, the Yuan and Wei Dynasties could have survived for several years.
Now, in addition to the six towns, there are more than a dozen states north of the Yellow River. Not to mention Rouran, Tuguhun, and Nanliang, the Yuan and Wei Dynasties have already been overwhelmed, and self-protection is a problem.
Even if Gao Ying, Yuan Cheng and other assistants want to become traitors and open up the country, these mortal enemies have no troops to send.
At this time, the Yuan and Wei dynasties were facing defeat, and all those with lofty ideals would protect themselves and wait and see. When the time is right, how can they rely on a state or a county to stand on their own?
If one Gao clan falls, tens of millions of countless clans will surely stand up. How can Yuan and Wei be invincible?
Li Shao said again: "Then what should we do now?"
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment and uttered four words: "Raise the invaders to respect themselves!"
"Where did the bandits come from?"
"Yuan Chen!"
Li Shao was puzzled at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Although the imperial court is in dire straits now, both Gao Ying and the courtiers know that this is the moment when their survival is at an end. Even the whole country vows to kill Gao Zhao, otherwise the Yuan and Wei world will be in danger. p>
However, after successive battles, Chaoyan has suffered more than just injuries. The Chinese army alone has been unable to quell the rebellion. Moreover, the two states of Bing and Fen, which are only a few hundred miles away from the capital, are already in chaos. Where can Chaoyan still fight?
Dare we all be in the army?
Therefore, only soldiers from prefectures and counties can be recruited, including food and grass.
But besides Guanzhong and Hedong, where else can we go to conquer Zhao?
But now that Hedong has become a barrier between Hebei, Jin and the capital, how can the imperial court dare to move lightly?
After counting, there is only one Guanzhong left!
No wonder Gao Ying made the final decision and appointed Xi Kangsheng as the marshal of the expedition?
No wonder, when Li Chengzhi withdrew his troops from Chencang last year, he said: As long as there is no chaos in Guanzhong, the world will be safe!
But now, all we have to do is wait for Xi Kangsheng to come with his decree...
If he didn't want to issue an edict, didn't want to put millions of people in Guanzhong into dire straits, or even commit treason and wait for a good opportunity, Li Shao had no choice.
The sects in Guanzhong form their own system. Even if they are not connected with each other, they at least share their needs. If you want to resist the decree, no matter whether it is Xi Kangsheng or Yuan Cheng, I guarantee that he will not recruit a single soldier.
Less than a grain of rice can be collected.
The king and Sima share the world, which does not only exist in the Southern Dynasty. If it were changed to the Northern Dynasty, it would be "the family and the Yuan family share the world"...
I won't mention the rest, just look at Yuan Ke's persecution of the Guanzhong clan during his lifetime. Be it the Longxi Li family represented by Li Shao, the Hong family Yang family represented by Yang Shu, Yang Jun and other aristocratic families, there are ten thousand reasons to resist the decree.
Not complying.
What's more, as Li Chengzhi said, it's not that the teacher came from nowhere: just one Yuan Chen can make Xi Kangsheng return without success.
As long as it is surrounded but not suppressed, and suppressed but not extinguished, Guanzhong will be in "unprecedented internal strife", and even more so "it will be outside but the emperor will not grant his orders".
What's more, just like Gao Zhao, he secretly made the powerful people in Guanzhong pretend to be monks and thieves, and like the war in the northern states, how can the imperial court recruit troops and levy food in Guanzhong?
Even if there is suspicion, there is nothing the court can do?
No wonder Li Chengzhi said that he didn’t know whether Gao Zhao would win, but the imperial court would definitely lose...
The road has been shown to you, it’s up to you whether you dare to do it or not.
Li Shao clenched his fists and stared at Li Chengzhi closely, with a gloomy expression on his face and a gleam in his eyes.
Li Chengzhi drank the soup calmly.
Now that the cake has been drawn to Li Shao, Li Chengzhi can no longer control whether he believes it or not, as well as whether he does it or not.
After a long silence, Li Shao asked in a hissing voice: "What is the situation like in the West Sea now?"
At this point, there was no need to hide anything. Li Chengzhi said slightly calmly: "Now there are nearly 50,000 households, and there are more than five soldiers. We have armor, food and grass, countless cattle and sheep, and we have firearms..."
Li Chengzhi paused for a moment and then said: "When the younger generation went to the west, Li Liang was ordered to send an armored cavalry and a guard to pretend to be Rouran soldiers to invade, and first capture the three counties in Hexi. Ignore the rest, and then
Just the racecourse in Hexi can increase the number of war horses in the West Sea by tens of thousands..."
Li Shao was extremely puzzled: "Why hide your head and show your tail, and why not take Guanzhong first?"
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment, then laughed softly: "Firstly, the opportunity is not there, and secondly... the teacher came out of nowhere!"