Chapter 611: It's better to be broken than broken tiles
"I will give you a banner and a golden order, allowing you to do things expediently... first declare the decree to Xiazhou, and when you see Gao Zhao, no matter whether he surrenders or not, you will immediately go south and go to Guanzhong first. Then you can send Jingzhou to leave.
Yang Shu was sent as an envoy to the West Sea..."
After a pause, Gao Ying gritted his teeth fiercely: "If Li Chengzhi doesn't respond, or Yang Shu is like Cui Guang, or Wei Zijian is like a stone sinking into the sea, and there is no news, you will first arrive in Tuyuhun, and then go to Rouran from Dunhuang... If you are sweating ugly
If I don't agree, you can get into Gaochang again and go to Gaochang..."
Even though the arrow was on the string and had to be fired, Gao Ying still had a trace of fantasy left: What if Li Chengzhi misses the old relationship between the two, or is unwilling to die together?
But Yuan Cheng gave up thinking about it long ago, and instead said with determination: "I obey the Queen Mother's orders!"
Gao Ying, Yuan Cheng, and Yuan Quan discussed sending Cui Guang to Liang three months ago countless times. If Li Chengzhi surrendered, naturally everyone would be happy, but if he didn't surrender, then this was the only solution.
Logically speaking, the Tuoba clan of the Yuan and Wei dynasties, the Murong clan of Tuyuhun, and Yu Jiulu of the Rouran royal family all came from Xianbei. The Tuoba clan was gradually Sinicized, but compared with Nanliang, the Yuan and Wei royal families were different from the other two families.
There is a natural sense of closeness.
Therefore, Gao Ying, Yuan Cheng and Yuan Quan all tended to borrow troops from the Hu people.
As for the bargaining chips for borrowing troops, they were brought from Guanzhong and later pieced together from here and there, more than 10 million grains of stone, more than 20 million pieces of flax, silk, etc. In addition, there were more than 10,000 pieces of armor, with scriptures attached.
Li Chengzhi's improved weapon forging techniques.
Food and armor are just that. The key is the art of forging weapons, which is as close as a treasure to the uncivilized Rouran.
This move of the imperial court is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst and giving power to the enemy. However, the situation has reached such a situation that if we do not borrow troops, the world will be lost, and the Yuan and Wei Dynasties will be destroyed. If we borrow troops from the Hu tribe, we can at least survive for a while.
Both Gao Ying and Yuan Cheng couldn't care less.
Seeing Yuan Cheng agree, Gao Ying looked at Yuan Quan again: "King Anle!"
Yuan Quan trembled slightly and responded quickly: "I'm here!"
"After King Ren Cheng leaves the capital, you will temporarily take charge of the military and political affairs. If there is any undecided matter, it must be reported immediately. You must not make your own decisions or deliberately slack off..."
"I will handle all matters, no matter how big or small, and report them to the Queen Mother every day!"
"Um!"
Gao Ying nodded slightly, "If the Gao family surrenders, and the Northland and the six towns are stabilized, you will start transporting the grain from Beijing to Guanzhong. When the Hu army enters, you will be moved to oversee the army and be in charge of everything.
Liaison with foreign armies..."
Yuan Quan's mouth felt bitter.
Is this because he is afraid that Yuan Cheng can’t carry the blame alone, so he uses himself as a back-up?
But the situation is not up to anyone. How can Yuan Quan dare to say "no"?
He cursed secretly in his heart, but his face remained calm and he responded respectfully: "I will do my best!"
“So best!”
As if wearing a mask on his face, Gao Ying didn't see any trace of sadness or joy, and looked at Yuan Cheng with a smile: "At this time when life and death are in danger, Uncle Wang Wang will attach great importance to the country, the country, and the foundation of our ancestors..."
If you take care of the country, the country, and the inheritance of your ancestors, you will naturally not care about personal gains and losses. As for reputation, it is even worse.
Queen Mother, is this what you mean?
Yuan Cheng's heart was ashen and his emotions were mixed. He wanted to respond, but it felt like there was a piece of cloth stuffed in his throat, and he was so choked that he couldn't say even a single word.
With an unconscious "uh" sound, Yuan Cheng bowed down heavily.
"It's better to set off sooner rather than later!"
Gao Ying forced out a smile and watched Yuan Cheng and Yuan Quan leave the palace. When the two of them just stepped down the steps, the yellow door outside the palace was about to close. It was as if all the muscles and bones had been removed. Gao Ying was like a
He collapsed on the main hall like a puddle of mud.
His facial features were distorted, as if they were squeezed into a ball. Tears seemed to well up in a spring, flowing down continuously. His mouth was open like the mouth of a jar, the uvula on the roof of his mouth trembled, and a strange "uh-uh" sound came from his throat.
At first glance, he looks crazy, stupid, and ferocious like a ghost.
The little emperor was startled, screamed "Ah" and crawled back in a hurry.
Qin Song stood on one side, took three steps and two steps at a time, and hurriedly helped Gao Ying up: "Queen Mother...Queen Mother?"
He called three or four times in succession, but Gao Ying made no move. Qin Song was anxious and frightened, gritted his teeth, curled his thumb and pinched Gao Ying's middle.
After three or four breaths, Gao Ying heard a cry of "Wow". His two hands grasped Qin Song's arms like iron pliers.
The old eunuch felt as if his arms were about to be broken, but he didn't dare to cry out the pain, so he could only endure it.
He called out in a low voice again: "Queen Mother...Queen Mother?"
Gao Ying still seemed lost, his eyes fixed on the roof of the palace, and he cried hoarsely: "Li Chengzhi, why are you forcing me like this?"
…
The birds in thousands of mountains have disappeared, and the traces of people in thousands of paths have been wiped out.
The surrounding fields are all covered in white. It is afternoon, the sun shines on the snow, and the white light reflected makes it hard to open one's eyes and makes one feel cold.
Jinming County was less than two hundred miles away from Tongwan City, Xiazhou Prefecture City. Xi Kangsheng and Cui Yanbo led their troops and sent Yuan Cheng a hundred miles away.
A few miles ahead is the Great Wall, and the width of the side wall can be vaguely seen. Xiazhou's Qingqi are roaming inside the wall.
If we move forward, we will not be appeasing, but pressing forward.
"I've sent you thousands of miles away, but I'll say goodbye eventually. You two, please come back!"
Yuan Cheng clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Xi Kangsheng and Cui Yanbo. Without waiting for the two to return the greetings, he stepped on Jin Dun and boarded the cart.
Li Daoyuan also clasped his fists and boarded the next car. Hearing another "drive", hundreds of armored cavalry guarded the guard of honor and moved northward in a mighty manner.
The first one is carrying the Holy Festival flag, the second one is carrying the Zhishi flag, and then the five-color flag, golden melon, and treasure top.
There are as many as eighteen cars in front and behind them. In terms of size and size, they are already at the level of "the emperor's little car", which can be said to be a great honor to Yuan Cheng.
But like a person who drinks water and knows whether it is warm or cold, Yuan Cheng decided to be like the late emperor, who was trapped in the capital and became an idle clan, and did not want the glory of this moment.
The two sat on their horses and watched Yuan Cheng go away. After walking two or three miles, Xiazhou Jiaqiu came up to meet him. After a pause, two or three thousand horsemen guarded him on the left and right, and entered Suicheng.
Xi Kangsheng frowned and said suspiciously: "I don't know if it's a misunderstanding. During the past two days together, I always felt that the first assistant's words were both inside and outside, and there was a hint of wind and water. Could it be that he was afraid that Gao Zhao would become angry in shame and the fish would die?"
How is it possible?
"Gao Zhao is scheming and cunning like a fox. He has always made plans before taking action. Now that we know that Chao Yanning is a piece of jade and not a piece of brick, how can he dare to make a desperate move?"
Cui Yanbo stroked his beard and said in deep thought, "According to my official opinion, King Rencheng is not worried about this matter. He must be worried about something else?"
That was because he was worried about persuading Li Chengzhi to surrender.
It was not just Yuan Cheng who believed that Li Chengzhi would not be recruited by the imperial court, as anyone who knew him even remotely, such as Xi Kangsheng, Li Shao, and Yang Shu.
Otherwise, he would never refuse Cui Guang. When Wei Zijian met, he defeated Yuan Zhi and Luo Jian first.
Moreover, he is well-known for retribution and punishment. Although Yuan Cheng is not like Gao Zhao, Yuan Ying often put him to death, but he is also one of the chief culprits. Therefore, Yuan Cheng has no worries about his life if he leaves.
, and will inevitably suffer some humiliation...
Thinking about it this way, it seems to make sense!
Xi Kangsheng sighed secretly: "If you are not in your position, you will not seek to govern. You and I only need to obey Yanjun's order: if King Ren Cheng does not return in three days, we will use all our troops and burn them all..."
Do you really want to fight to the death?
Cui Yanbo's heart skipped a beat, and he raised his head again and looked around.
Except for the snow, it was still snow. The side wall in the distance was like a reptile on the white curtain.
It's such a cold winter, and we don't dare to stretch out our hands, how can we set up formations and attack the city?
But in a war, the number of people who freeze to death and suffer from frostbite is definitely several times more than those who die in battle.
Are the Queen Mother and the Dukes crazy?
Thinking to himself, Cui Yanbo saw Xi Kangsheng had already gotten into the car, shook his head and sighed, and walked towards his car.
…
"Brother Daozhen, I haven't seen you for a year. How are you?"
Gao Zhao's face was full of smiles, as if he had met an old friend for many years, and he was not ordinary enthusiastic.
Yuan Cheng, however, had a solemn expression on his face and didn't answer a single word. Seeing that Gao Zhao only slightly handed over his hand without showing any respect, he said coldly: "Gao Shouwen, you are claiming that this army is just for the sake of the Qing emperor, to control the treacherous ministers, and to restore the peace of the world."
Qiankun, then why don’t you pay respects during the festival?”
Did you show off your power as soon as you came up?
Seeing Yuan Cheng pointing at the emperor's banner and speaking sharply, Gao Zhao's heart sank slightly and he laughed loudly: "King Rencheng, don't be anxious. Even if you want Gao Zhao to kneel down, you should have seen the imperial edict and know how the Queen Mother and Her Majesty will deal with Gao.
Look again..."
This means that if there is any one of them that is not in line with Gao's wishes, this is the king's courtesy and it should be ignored.
Seeing him holding his head high, his face full of arrogance, and seeming confident, Yuan Cheng smiled coldly.
Death is imminent but you don’t know it?
Anyway, let’s see how long you can keep your words.
Yuan Cheng was too lazy to say another word, and followed Gao Zhao's guidance and entered Tongwan City.
This was originally the palace of the Helian family. When Emperor Taiwu destroyed Daxia, it was completely burned down, but the main part is still there. It was later slightly repaired and became the capital of Xiazhou.
Entering the Yamen hall, Yuan Cheng did not want to exchange a word with Gao Zhao. As soon as he settled down, he pointed at Li Daoyuan and said: "There is no need to waste words on this traitor. Give him those two holy edicts. Just ask
He should not!"
The clay figurine still has some anger, not to mention that the imperial court is now weak, which gives Gao Zhao more confidence.
His face suddenly sank: "Since you don't want to waste words with Gao, why would King Ren of City brave the severe cold and go thousands of miles away? It would be better to issue an edict and order Xi Shangshu to pacify me..."
Yuan Cheng said expressionlessly: "Don't worry, it won't be too late to discuss it after you read the edict!"
While speaking, Li Daoyuan took the imperial edict from Zhongshu Lang without reading it out. He only took two steps forward and laid it out in front of Gao Zhao.
This move can be described as disrespectful, but Gao Zhao knew it: it was not the imperial edict that Yuan Cheng and Li Daoyuan despised, but Gao Zhao.
Nameless anger suddenly arose in his heart, but the imperial edict had been laid out, and with just a few glances, Gao Zhao suppressed his anger again.
Just look at the first sentence, Gao Zhaomeng was overjoyed: Don't remonstrate, let bygones be bygones... Gao Zhao was given the title of Duke of Xia, hereditary, and he was not replaced. His subordinates who were rebellious were given the title of Duke and the like...
But when he looked at the second passage, Gao Zhao's eyes suddenly bulged, and even though his city was as big as a mountain, he couldn't help but tremble all over.
He was just the Duke of the country, but Li Chengzhi directly made him the king, and even gave him an iron deed to live with the country?
And this was only the second thing. What shocked Gao Zhao even more was: the Queen Mother and everyone knew that there was no possibility of reconciliation between him and Li Chengzhi. It was either you or me who would die, so why did they act like this?
Killing someone with a borrowed knife, two peaches and three soldiers?
Gao Zhao's pupils shrank sharply, and he asked in a leisurely voice: "What does this mean?"
"You used to claim that you had a perfect plan, why don't you understand what you mean?"
Yuan Cheng looked at him coldly, "Let's be honest, the Queen Mother has another message: You are only allowed to think about it for three days. After three days, all the rebels in the five states and six towns in the North must surrender on the spot, and be confident with your hands and
Surrender outside the city, and Shangshu Xi will compile it at that time... And if you, Gao Shouwen, want to inherit the title of Duke, you need to go to the capital for an audience. The rest of the Gao family, as well as the eldest grandson Dao, Yuan Rong and other rebellious ministers, will do it by
Li Shaoqing requested the emperor's imperial edict to escort him to the camp, and sealed the four prefectures of Ping, Guang, and Qing..."
Gao Zhao's heart suddenly jumped.
Whenever I go to Beijing for an audience, I am afraid that I will never leave the capital again for the rest of my life.
It turns out that Duke Xia is just a virtual noble, just like Li Chengzhi after Chen Cang's victory. He has neither official nor position, and anyone can step on him.
And how is this different from imprisonment?
By analogy, can the titles conferred by Gao Meng, Gao Zhi and others still be real titles?
But the rest of the Gao family's descendants and rebellious ministers didn't even have the chance to enter the capital to meet the Holy Spirit. They had to be sealed directly, and they were all in the four prefectures of Ying, Ping, Guang, and Qing?
These four states are all desolate land near the sea. Only guilty officials and defeated generals will move here to take office, just like Yang Dayan after Zhongli's defeat.
That is, Yang Dayan was sent to Yingzhou, where he at least still had an official rank and a military position, and could lead the army and govern the people, while Gao Meng and others were granted the title here, but only had a virtual title?
This is like building a pigsty for pigs. I only feed them and you just eat them. If you no longer want to raise them, you can kill them with one knife...
And it was still sealed under the escort of Li Daoyuan?
Hahaha!
Who is Li Daoyuan?
If later dynasties compile history, Li Daoyuan will definitely be the most cruel official. It can be said that he was harsh and harsh, and both humans and gods were angry.
Such a person has absolutely no face at all. If he is caught on the way to the seal, or is caught in the seal, he is afraid that he will be cut in two parts, with his body and head in a different place...
The more Gao Zhao thought about it, the more frightened he became: Why was Gao Ying so vicious that he left no way for the Gao family to escape?
"Isn't that reasonable?"
Gao Zhaoteng stood up suddenly and asked angrily: "What if I don't answer?"
"If we don't respond, we will both die together..."
Yuan Cheng slowly rolled up his sleeves and said, "The Queen Mother ordered: Wait for only three days. If Gao Zhao doesn't respond, Xi Kangsheng will be ordered to mobilize all the troops. Even if the country is destroyed, Gao's chickens and dogs will not be left behind!"
Rather Stick to your guns?
Gao Zhao suddenly had a realization in his heart: These were definitely Gao Ying's original words, and they were definitely not threats?
Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so ruthless...
He was frightened and angry, and obscene words were on his lips, but he did not dare to curse them out.
The two were called uncle and nephew, but the second brother died young and Gao Ying was raised in Gao Zhao's house since he was a child. Therefore, Gao Zhao understood his character very well.
Unruly and willful, domineering, acting in a shady manner, leaving no room for error...
This obviously made him hate his uncle to the core, and he no longer cared about any blood ties.