Chapter 160 Sending troops to attack
"That Chen Changshi was imprisoned and executed." Chang Kuo said.
Chang Suining's expression changed slightly: "Someone is framing me and spreading a false imperial decree?"
The position of Chief Secretary of the Grand Marshal's Office was of great importance, and his power was equivalent to that of a Governor of a superior state. The various government offices and prisons in Yangzhou did not have the power to execute Chief Secretary Chen privately, so the only possibility left was that he falsely conveyed the imperial edict.
Chang Kuo was slightly startled, and looked at the girl with some surprise: "Sui Ning guessed it right, that's exactly it."
Seeing that the girl was still waiting for him to continue, Chang Kuo put aside his other emotions for the time being and said, "The Duke of Ying, Li Zhengye and others went to Yangzhou and sued the Grand Commander Chen Changshi for treason to the Inspector Xue Ren, claiming that they had irrefutable evidence. As a result, Chen Changshi was arrested and imprisoned."
Chang Sui'an was shocked and asked, "Did the inspector trust Li Zhengye so easily and execute the chief official of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office?"
Even someone as rash and impulsive as him felt that the imperial envoy had gone too far!
He was the chief officer of the Grand Military Governor's Office. He could be imprisoned or executed at will? Even if Li Zhengye and his men forged the imperial edict, they were not from the capital, so why would they carry the imperial edict with them? As an inspector, he should have at least verified something before killing anyone!
Chang Suining said, "Because the forged imperial edict was not meant for the inspector censor to see. On the contrary, it was meant to cooperate with censor Xue and to have a pretext to get rid of Chen Changshi."
Chang Sui'an was shocked: "Sister, what you mean is... that inspector is also an accomplice of Li Zhengye?!"
Chang Kuo nodded solemnly: "That's right, Xue Ren has been secretly connected with Li Zhengye for a long time."
"This Imperial Censor Xue Ren was sent to Jiangdu as an envoy three months ago. He recommended himself." Chang Suining said, "It seems that Li Zhengye and others had been secretly planning this a long time ago."
This uprising may sound sudden, but the planning and preparation behind it was by no means a one-day effort.
"How did Sui Ning know... that Xue Ren went on a diplomatic mission to Jiangdu three months ago to recommend himself?" Chang Kuo couldn't help asking.
From the moment he talked about this matter, it was clear that this child had a very detailed knowledge of official affairs in various places and his mind was extremely quick.
"I heard all this from the Juju Club. My classmates would talk about this in their casual conversations."
Chang Suining answered without hesitation. This was actually true. She made friends with those students in order to collect information from various places. This was also one of the reasons why she became Qiao Yang's apprentice and entered the Imperial College.
Chang Kuo nodded in understanding, and then thought for a while, it turns out that forming a polo club has this kind of use...
He looked at the girl and said, "What they said is fine, but Sui Ning was able to pay attention and remember it, and to be able to skillfully apply it to current events... that's also a skill."
After praising his daughter, Chang Kuo continued speaking.
After Chen Changshi was executed, Li Zhengye and the imperial envoy Xue Ren colluded with each other and once again falsely passed on the imperial decree, allowing Li Zhengye to take over the post of Changshi of the Yangzhou Grand Marshal's Office, and thus took over the military and political power of the Marshal's Office.
Before the news reached the capital, he ordered officials from all parts of Yangzhou to gather their forces and send troops to suppress the rebellion under the pretext that "the governor of Gaozhou is plotting a rebellion and the sage has secretly ordered troops to suppress it."
"…Some officials noticed something was wrong, but those who raised questions were all accused by Li Zhengye of being 'accomplices of Gaozhou's rebels' and were ordered to be executed on the spot." Chang Kuo said, "Even the Yangzhou recorder was executed, so other officials dared not disobey."
Chang Sui'an: "Are they really going to attack the Governor of Gaozhou?"
Chang Kuo sneered, "How could the governor of Gaozhou sit at home and have any intention of rebellion? This is just a cover-up made up by Li Zhengye and his party. They used this as an excuse to gather troops and control various places. After opening the treasury, they changed their excuses-"
"Li Zhengye claimed that the current sage Ming family has been monopolizing power and has been in control of government for many years without the intention of returning power to the crown prince. In order to restore the Li family's rule, he sent troops on behalf of the crown prince to eliminate the Ming family in order to rectify the country!"
Once these words were spoken, they quickly spread everywhere.
Li Zhengye has proclaimed himself the Grand Commander of Yangzhou and set up the Yinggong Mansion in Yangzhou, appointing Xue Ren as the Chief Clerk. In addition, Luo Guanlin, the Censor Luo who was demoted two months ago for denouncing the Empress Ming's autocracy at the morning court, has also gathered with Li Zhengye and has now become his military advisor.
"Now they control all parts of Yangzhou, opening the treasury to mint coins, recruiting soldiers, raising food and grass, and spreading inflammatory articles everywhere..." Chang Kuo's tone was a little heavy: "I heard that there are also many people who respond outside Yangzhou."
Chang Suining's mood also fell along with Chang Kuo's words.
Among those who responded to Li Zhengye, in addition to officials who were dissatisfied with the Ming Queen's power, there must have been many people with their own ulterior motives.
Since the Queen's power was out of orthodoxy, anyone could take advantage of it and get involved with it with righteous indignation. Now that Duke Yingguo Li Zhengye has taken the lead in stirring up this matter, there is no shortage of people following him.
But even without mentioning those followers, even if it was Li Zhengye himself who started the rebellion, was his purpose really to so-called restore the Li Dynasty?
At this juncture, we should not be too optimistic about human nature.
Chang Suining thought of the inspector Xue Ren again: "This Xue Ren is really a talent. He recommended himself to go to Jiangdu for inspection early on. Others are just the thief crying "catch the thief", but he is shouting "catch the thief" but in fact he is running to be a thief..."
Chang Kuo: “That’s right!”
"Li Zhengye has inherited the title of Duke of Ying for many years. He was born here. The people he has made friends with over the years cannot be just Xue Ren and Luo Guanlin... Since he is planning such a big thing, he will definitely find ways to win over the people he can use." Chang Suining thought for a while, raised his eyes and asked Chang Kuo: "Father, I heard that Xue Ren seems to have some kind of in-law relationship with the Changsun family?"
Chang Kuo paused. There really is all kinds of news in this Juju Club.
He nodded: "Yes, Xue Ren is the cousin and nephew of the wife of the Left Prime Minister Chang Sun Yuan."
Chang Suining: "Since there is such a relationship, does Your Majesty suspect that the Changsun family has something to do with Li Zhengye's uprising?"
The Changsun family has always been opposed to the Queen's monopoly of power and is determined to support the Crown Prince to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
Now, the cousin of Changsun Yuan's wife has become Li Zhengye's follower and started a rebellion in Yangzhou.
"The Saint did not show any suspicion towards the Changsun family today." Chang Kuo said, "Lord Changsun was also present during the meeting today, and the Saint specifically ordered him to discuss with the officials of the Secretariat to decide on a plan to attack Li Zhengye as soon as possible."
I am always calm and thoughtful.
Asking Chang Sun Yuan to discuss the strategy of attack might not be a test by the Queen. Under the premise that there is no evidence to prove that Chang Sun Yuan is involved in the matter, this is a way to test Chang Sun Yuan's attitude towards the matter.
"How long will it take to come up with a countermeasure?" Chang Suining asked.
"Today, those officials said all kinds of things, and they were about to blow the roof of Ganlu Palace off..." Chang Kuo got a headache just thinking about that scene: "But the saint said that we must formulate a response plan in three days. We must fight. Now all camps have been summoned for preparation. The imperial edict has also been sent to all places, ordering Huainan Road and the east and west roads of Jiangnan to prepare troops to resist the enemy."
Chang Suining nodded.
The war is spreading like wildfire and there can be no delay at all. However, these three days are not a delay. A war cannot be started immediately by simply saying it will start.
Although light cavalry can go first, there are too many things that need to be prepared for the main army to set out, such as food, fodder, weapons, and baggage. Even if these are prepared urgently, they cannot be prepared in one day.
The correct approach is to first order each battalion to prepare for dispatching troops, while at the same time agreeing on a more feasible strategy.
She asked again: "Father, do you know who the Saint intends to send to lead the troops?"
Chang Kuo shook his head: "It has not been decided yet, but I recommended myself in the palace today."
"Father..." Chang Sui'an said anxiously, "How can father go to the battlefield again!"
Dad has a leg injury and is no longer fit to go to the battlefield. The last time he followed General Cui to fight the Southern Barbarians, it was an exception. Although General Cui took care of him, he has aged visibly in the past two years... What's more, he has only been back for half a year and has not recovered yet! "What nonsense are you talking about? Why can't I go to the battlefield again!" Chang Kuo glared at his son: "I still have legs to ride a horse and walk!"
Chang Sui'an dared not say anything more.
There was also worry in Chang Suining's eyes. After all, Old Chang's health was not as good as before.
Facing the girl's hesitant eyes, Chang Kuo's voice softened, "The situation this time is special... If we can't put down this internal trouble in time, I'm afraid there will be external trouble soon. And Li Zhengye is not an ordinary person, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with him. It just so happens that I have dealt with him before, so if I go, I'll have a better chance of winning."
He was not concerned about the current saint, but about the stability of the Great Sheng Empire.
This was the ambition of the late Crown Prince, and it is also his own. As long as he serves in Xuan Ce's army, he must keep this ambition until his death.
Besides, he was a general, and it was normal for a general to go to the battlefield when a war broke out. What was there to say? After hearing what Chang Kuo said, Chang Suining did not say anything to dissuade him.
She couldn't dissuade a general from going to the battlefield, and if she were Lao Chang, she would have made the same decision at this time.
In the face of danger, everyone has a family, and no one wants their family to be the one in danger, but if everyone is like this, even if we don’t talk about the country, where is the family?
Chang Sui'an is different. He has not yet become a soldier general. Even though he has the desire to serve Dasheng, he has never experienced it and therefore cannot truly empathize with Chang Kuo.
At this time, he was more selfish. He was worried about his father's health and was afraid that something might happen to him. There were more than one general in Dasheng who could lead troops to fight against Li Zhengye, but he only had this one father.
But he didn't dare to argue with Chang Kuo, so he chose to burn incense secretly, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless the saint not to choose his father! The young man knelt in his own small Buddhist temple, and did not forget to explain the reason: "Bodhisattva, you don't know... My father is old and confused, has a bad temper and doesn't listen to advice, has bad legs and feet, is inconvenient to move, eats too much and wastes military rations, and is really not suitable to lead the army..."
"I have passed the preliminary selection of the Xuan Ce Army. I only need to take one more test to join the Xuan Ce Army's Vanguard Camp... If my father is destined to fight a certain number of battles and kill a certain number of lives, then I will owe him that. I will fight and kill for him in the future!"
After saying this, he kowtowed with great piety: "Please grant me the blessing of the Buddha!"
"..." The sword boy standing by looked at the statue of Bodhisattva silently.
That is to say...it is really difficult for a Bodhisattva to fulfill this request.
These words are full of murderous sins. After hearing them, Bodhisattvas should reflect on why they are sitting here.
The man is a very filial person, but his merits will probably be deducted directly.
The "retribution in this life" for all his merits soon befell Chang Sui'an.
The next day, Chang Kuo discovered his son's sneaky behavior in the small Buddhist temple, dragged him out, threw him to the ancestral hall, and made him kneel for a whole day.
The rain stopped and the sky cleared up, but as the news of Li Zhengye's uprising spread, the court inside and outside seemed to be shrouded in silent clouds.
That night, Chang Sunyuan returned to his residence from the palace. As soon as he arrived at his residence, his wife Kuang came to greet him: "My Lord, I heard that Xue Ren followed Li Zhengye to start a rebellion... Has the Saint made trouble for you?"
Xue Ren was the son of one of her cousins. Although the two families did not have close ties, the relationship was there...
Chang Sunyuan had stayed in the Secretariat last night. He looked exhausted and raised his hand to signal his wife not to say anything more: "Help me change my clothes first."
Kuang had no choice but to change his official robe for him.
Not long after, Chang Sunxuan came over and said, "I heard that father is back."
She entered the hall and bowed, looking somewhat uneasy: "Father, I heard that the Xue family..."
"I have my own ideas on this matter, so you don't need to ask any more questions for now." Chang Sunyuan interrupted his daughter and said, "You need to be extra careful about your words and actions these days. After the Double Ninth Festival, I will have someone bring up the matter of selecting a crown princess again. By then, it should be decided."
No matter how the outside world changes, the prince will not change. Even if he changes, he will only change from a crown prince to the king.
Chang Sunxuan responded "yes".
Chang Sun Yuan asked someone to call his eldest son over, and the father and son went to the study to talk.
Chang Sunxuan and her mother Kuang went into the inner room.
The maids and servants were all dismissed. Chang Sunxuan lowered her voice and asked, "Mother, does father know about the Xue family's affairs?"
The word "knowingly" is of course an implicit statement. She wanted to know whether her father was secretly involved in the uprising in Yangzhou.
Kuang shook her head and said sternly, "I don't know either, but since your father won't tell me, let's not ask any more..."
She patted her daughter's hand and said, "You just need to listen to your father and brother's arrangements. The Chang family girl can no longer compete with you. Although there have been disputes over the selection of the Crown Princess in the court over the past few days, most of the arguments are in your favor. Even though the Saint has not yet agreed to compromise, your father's words just now show his confidence, so this matter is safe..."
"As for the rest, leave it to your father and brothers. We can't make the decision and can't help." Kuang looked through the window lattice in the direction of the study, hiding the worry in her eyes.
…
Three days later, a strategy to attack Li Zhengye's party was drawn up, and Emperor Shengce announced to the world that he would send an army of 200,000 to attack the rebel Li Zhengye, and take away his bestowed surname, making him return to the surname Xu.
The person who will lead the troops in this battle was decided at the morning court session today.
Chang Sui'an had been waiting for news since before dawn. It was almost noon when he finally saw Jian Tong coming back from outside.
Chang Sui'an asked hurriedly: "...Has it been decided? Who will lead the army to fight?"
Chang Suining also looked at Jian Tong.
Before the sword boy opened his mouth, she had already guessed the answer from his expression.
Number One, I bow and beg for a monthly ticket!
I would like to recommend to you a food article written in ancient Chinese characters, mainly about food, “The Little Chef of the Imperial College” by Erqian. I don’t want to study, I just want to eat!
(It was just released today, but she updated ten chapters today!! Outrageous!! I'll give her a push and then suck her saved manuscripts over...
(End of this chapter)
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