Three hundred and ninetieth eight chapters: military division
After nearly three months of travel, the emperor finally arrived in Jiangdu. Jiangdu Prime Minister Wang Shichong welcomed the emperor with a very grand ceremony, which also made the emperor Longyan very happy. In addition, in the past few months, Wang Shichong, as Jiangdu's ambassador for arrests, .His achievements were also outstanding. The emperor directly made Wang Shichong a marquis.
Of course, this journey was not all smooth sailing. First of all, just after leaving Luoyang and arriving at Sishui, Prince Lang Wang Airen remonstrated with the emperor in public and asked the emperor to cancel the southern tour and return to Xijing Chang'an. The emperor was naturally furious. He directly ordered Wang Airen to be beheaded in public display. But when he arrived at Liang County, the prefect of Liang County actually mobilized the people to block the ride. The memorial said: "If your Majesty is lucky enough to be in Jiangdu, the world is not yours."
These words reached the ears of the emperor. It was not a big deal. He directly ordered the eunuch of Liang County and the people who blocked the carriage to be killed. Listening to the words passed down by Zhang Huaian, the chamberlain who served the emperor, the emperor was already very angry because of this matter. More than ten chambermaids and maids were killed. However, all this did not change the emperor's determination to tour the south. On the contrary, it made the emperor more determined to go to Jiangdu.
In addition to these two things, another thing happened that caused a sensation in the government and the public. That was when he was about to arrive in Jiangdu. General Xu Guogong Yu Wenshu, the general of Zuo Xiaowei, died of illness quietly.
If Liang Guogong Wan He was the most popular upstart in the dynasty, then Yu Wenshu was the most powerful official in the dynasty. Even before he set out for his southern tour, Yu Wenshu's health was already very bad. The emperor also proposed to let him go Yuwenshu did not want to participate in the southern tour, but Yuwenshu was very determined. He insisted on following the emperor southward and fulfilling his duties as a minister. The journey was tiring, but Yuwenshu could not resist it. As a result, he died of illness on the dragon boat heading to Jiangdu.
When Yuwenshu died, I heard that even the emperor was extremely sad. No matter how the outside world evaluated Yuwenshu, in the eyes of the emperor, Yuwenshu was an out-and-out loyal minister. After learning about Yuwenshu's death, the emperor immediately issued an edict. . Appointed Yu Wenshu's eldest son Yu Wenhua to inherit Yu Wenshu's title. He also appointed him as General Youtunwei to take charge of the Royal Forest Army. Yu Wenshu's second son Yu Wenzhi became a general and served as a young eunuch. For a time, the reputation of the Yuwen family was not only lost because of Yuwen The narration dropped steadily, but became louder and louder.
After the emperor came to Jiangdu, officials from Jiangdu and Huaihe came to visit one after another. However, the emperor did not ask about political achievements. He only asked about the number of gifts. The more gifts, the more valuable they were, and the higher the official's promotion would be. But the less gifts were given. .In that case, he would most likely have to be suspended from office. If he was successful, he would even be imprisoned. Jiangducheng Wang Shichong donated an extremely precious bronze mirror screen. All the engravings on it were words that flattered the emperor. He immediately won the emperor's great joy and was promoted again to Jiangdu Tongshou. Zhao Yuankai, the Prime Minister of Liyang County, searched for all kinds of exquisite delicacies from Jianghuai and Huaihe. He also won the favor of the emperor. He was immediately promoted to Jiangdu Cheng. There were countless other officials who were promoted because of gifts.
The arrival of the emperor made Jiangdu noisy for three days and three nights. It was not until the fourth day that Jiangdu became slightly calmer. After nightfall, the palace where the emperor lived gradually entered tranquility. In a house next to the palace .but the light was always on.
This house is the house of Wang Shichong, who has just been promoted to the governor of Jiangdu. Wang Shichong naturally had a plan when he chose this house as his residence. This house is close to the palace. As long as the emperor is lucky enough to visit the Jiangdu palace, then Wang Shichong must be the emperor. The ministers who were closest to the emperor. This created many prerequisites for Wang Shichong to please the emperor. In the past three days, many officials made a special trip to Wang Shichong's residence to find out the emperor's tone before going to the palace to pay homage. Son of Heaven.
But tonight, the guests welcomed at Wang Shichong's mansion were not officials from any county. On the contrary, several waves of officials who came to visit with heavy gifts were blocked by the servants at the door. In a wing in the backyard of the mansion As the owner of the house, Wang Shichong, Wang Shichong's younger brother Wang Shiwei, Wang Shichong's eldest son Wang Xuanying and second son Wang Xuanshu were all present. In addition to the four members of the Wang family, there were also several men in black. They sat in a circle with the Wang family. Their figures looked extremely strange in the flickering candlelight next to them.
"Elder Liang, thank you for killing Yu Wenshu's old fox this time." Wang Shichong's inverted triangular eyes narrowed into slits. He smiled at the man in black sitting opposite him. "Elder Liang. As soon as he made the move, he was unaware of it. Even Chao Yuanfang, the imperial physician beside the emperor, believed that Yu Wenshu died of illness. This shows how powerful Elder Liang’s methods are. I admire you. I admire you."
The man sitting opposite Wang Shichong, who was called Elder Liang by Wang Shichong, was dressed in black. He had white beard and hair, and looked like an immortal. He was none other than the great elder of Xiaoyao Sect, Demon Sword Liang Sheng. He heard Wang Shichong's praise. Liang Sheng also laughed and said: "The military advisor is too polite. I am just executing the plan made by the military advisor. If we want to achieve great things, we still need to rely on the military advisor's resourcefulness."
If Yi Fan, Gong Jie and other disciples of the Tianyin Sect were present at this time and heard Liang Sheng's words, they would definitely be shocked. As old enemies of the Xiaoyao Sect, of course they know the organization of the Xiaoyao Sect very well. Within the Xiaoyao Sect. The ten elders are not the most powerful. Above the ten elders and under the sect leader, there is also a military advisor. The military advisor of Xiaoyao Sect in the past. That is the most mysterious existence. At the same time, he is also the most powerful person. This person The most powerful thing is not his martial arts, but his resourcefulness. The battle decades ago was the plan of Xiaoyaomen's military advisor at that time. It almost caused Tianyinmen to fall into ruin. If Tianyinmen knew about it, it would be in charge. If Wang Shichong, one of the five most powerful soldiers in the world, was the military advisor of Xiaoyao Sect, then they would probably kill Wang Shichong at any cost.
After listening to Liang Sheng's words, Wang Shichong just smiled faintly. He turned to another man in black and said: "There is also Master Zhang. This time he can instigate the prefect of Liang County to pull up the people of Liang County to stop the ride. Zhang Duo The Lord's contribution is not small. Haha. If it hadn't been for such a fuss, I'm afraid the emperor would have really swayed his mind about the southern tour. But those sour scholars didn't expect it. The more they made a fuss, the more disgusted the emperor was. On the contrary, it strengthened the emperor’s idea of going on a southern tour.”
The man in black is tall and tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Although he is not handsome, he is full of heroic spirit. This man is the helmsman of the Luoyang branch of Xiaoyaomen who retreated from Luoyang half a year ago. Zhang Qianyi. Wang Shichong heard that Zhang Qianyi also quickly shook his head and said: "The military advisor is ridiculously complimenting me. I just hope that I can make up for my fault and make up for my responsibility for losing the Luoyang helm. I don't dare to take credit."
Wang Shichong shook his head and said with a smile: "Master Zhang, I have already said it. The incident in Luoyang is not Zhang's fault. We can withdraw the disciples of the Luoyang branch and reduce the losses. At the same time, we do not expose the intelligence of our mountain gate. For the mountain sect, that is a great achievement. I will report this matter to the sect master. When the time comes, the two merits will be rewarded together. Then I must congratulate Elder Zhang in advance."
Hearing Wang Shichong's words meant that he was likely to be promoted to one of the top ten elders. Zhang Qianyi couldn't help but be overjoyed. He immediately stood up, knelt down to Wang Shichong and shouted, "Thank you for your support from the military advisor. The only way my subordinates can repay me is by making a knot of grass."
"Haha." Wang Shichong smiled and stepped forward to help Zhang Qianyi up. Then he praised several other disciples of Xiaoyao Sect. Then he said with a smile: "This time our plan went smoothly. Thank you all for your hard work. Anyway, I will definitely say a few kind words for you all in front of the sect master."
"Thank you, Military Advisor." The disciples of Xiaoyao Sect all smiled happily and saluted Wang Shichong with clasped fists. They all knew that Wang Shichong had a very high status in the eyes of the sect leader. If they get his kind words, they will definitely be rewarded in the future.
After praising him a lot, Wang Shichong then started to talk about the business. He said in a deep voice: "This time the Yuwen family is cooperating with us. The purpose is to use our hands to seize the throne. Hmph, if that old fox Yuwenshu is still alive. .Perhaps this cooperation is still a bit difficult. But now that Yuwen Shu is dead, it is simply a dream for his three sons to seize the throne."
Everyone was stunned when they heard what Wang Shichong said. Zhang Qianyi couldn't help but asked: "Military advisor, isn't this plan to let the Yuwen family kill the emperor? If Yu Wenhuaji can't do it, then what is the military advisor's plan?" Isn’t it a waste of time?”
Regarding Zhang Qianyi's question, Wang Shichong chuckled, nodded and said, "That's right. Just relying on Yu Wenhua and the three brothers, even if the Yulin Army is now controlled by Yu Wenhua, they still don't have the ability to kill the emperor. .However, in order for our plan to proceed smoothly, we have to help their brothers, Xuanying."
The eldest son Wang Xuanying, who was standing behind Wang Shichong, immediately took a step forward. He cupped his fists and saluted Wang Shichong and said, "Father, the child is here."
Wang Shichong asked with a smile: "I asked you to date Yuwen Zhiji before. How did you handle this matter?"
"Report to father." Wang Xuanying immediately replied: "In the past three days, the child has taken Yuwen Zhiji to eat, drink and play all day long. Although Yuwen Zhiji was a little clever, he immediately lost his sense of proportion after being praised by the child. Now. This kid has regarded the kid as his best friend. He can listen to whatever the kid says."
"Very good." After hearing Wang Xuanying's answer, Wang Shichong smiled and clenched his fist, nodded vigorously, and said: "Continue to win over Yuwen Zhiji. At the same time, appropriately arouse his dissatisfaction with the emperor. But remember, don't Speak ill of Yu Wenshu and Yu Wenhuaji in front of him. According to the intelligence, this guy still respects his father and brother very much."
"Yes. I understand, kid." Wang Xuanying immediately nodded to express his understanding.