Chapter 635: Wishing to Be Together
The majestic palace was hidden in the shadows.
Some of the elderly people stared at the palace in silence. Ever since Emperor Ling ascended the throne, the Han Dynasty had been changing so fast that they felt a little at a loss as to what to do.
How did the world suddenly become like this?
How did we suddenly become remnants of the old times?
"Isn't this the prince?"
Wang Yun walked out of the palace and suddenly heard someone calling him with a hint of sarcasm.
He looked up and found that many people were looking at him, some with obvious gloating, and some with worry.
Wang Yun knew that in the eyes of many people, he had become a joke.
He tried his best to please Zhang Jue and even wanted to offer his adopted daughter to him. However, Zhang Jue died, and all his efforts were wasted.
If his reputation was already pretty much ruined before, now he had a hint of ridiculousness about him.
Wang Yun even knew that he would soon become the talk of the town in Luoyang.
But in fact, Wang Yun didn't care. What he always wanted in his heart was to restore the Han Dynasty.
Now that Zhang Jue has passed away, the biggest obstacle to the revival of the Han Dynasty is gone.
Although Crown Prince Bian and Prince Xie were both taken away by Marquis Wushuang, Prince He was still in Luoyang City. As long as he could revive the Han Dynasty, who would be able to blame him at that time?
Bear humiliation and bear heavy burdens.
Since ancient times, those who wanted to do great things always had to go through countless misunderstandings. Among the old Han ministers now, the relationship between him and the Taiping Army commander is the closest. Even if he cannot convince one of them to rebel, it will be easier for him to regain control of Luoyang City than with others.
Seeing that Wang Yun ignored him completely, he shouted again: "Are you going to flee? You want to seek refuge with the new master but failed."
Wang Yun suddenly stopped, turned around, looked at everyone and said coldly: "This is really ridiculous.
Why didn't you die when Minister Lu and others committed suicide in the palace that day?
How many of you are still alive because of me, Master Wang Zi?
When King Su was regent in the past, some people even said that he wanted to usurp the throne.
My Master Wang Zi has not yet passed the age of 50 and his life has not yet ended. How can he be judged by someone like you?
We will find out the answer in the future!"
After saying that, he turned around and left. Wang Yun's words made many people blush, but more people looked at Wang Yun's departing figure thoughtfully.
"This Prince Master has great ambitions!"
When Wang Yun returned home, he immediately thought of Diao Chan.
Now, even in the mansion, no one can get close to Diao Chan's courtyard. The maids sent by Zhang Jue are the ones who go in and out to take care of Diao Chan every day.
Um……
Let's just call them maids. After all, each of them is stronger than a strong man and can easily knock down his guards. It's really rare to see such maids in his life.
Then he saw Diao Chan hurriedly walking out of the courtyard, her beautiful face full of anxiety, and she asked directly: "Father, is the Taoist master really dead?"
Wang Yun was stunned. Diao Chan lived in the mansion. How could she know the latest news? "How did you know?"
As soon as Diao Chan saw Wang Yun’s reaction, she knew it was true, and the redness on her face disappeared immediately and turned pale.
She now understood why Zhang Jue had said in the mansion that day that they were not destined to be together, and asked her to wait for the destined person. He also asked her to bring her husband to burn a stick of incense for him when the time came. It turned out that Zhang Jue knew at that time that he would not live long.
Time went back, and the spiritual soldiers guarding the house suddenly moved. Diao Chan, who was taking a nap, was awakened from her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw those strange maids looking at her.
"The Taoist master has passed away."
Diao Chan was dazed, then she sat up and asked in surprise, "What are you talking about? Is someone spreading false information?"
Ling Bing said directly: "The Taoist master is our master. He really just passed away. We can sense it.
But our mission is to protect you, don't worry, miss, no one can hurt you."
Diao Chan naturally would not believe it, so she kept waiting for Wang Yun to come back, but the news she received was so disappointing. Diao Chan was a calm and extraordinary woman, so naturally she had no feelings between men and women for Zhang Jue.
But Zhang Jue was still very different to her. He was a gentle man, without any of the arrogance that would overthrow the Han Dynasty, nor did he have the desire that almost all men had after seeing him.
Even though those desires were hidden deep in his eyes, Diao Chan could still feel that Zhang Jiao did not have any desires at all, which surprised her. After all, when she looked in the mirror, she was amazed by her own beauty, let alone men.
Diao Chan could see that Zhang Jue liked her very much, but he was just admiring her, as if he was looking at a junior. It was a very novel experience.
Diao Chan returned to her courtyard in a state of despair. She couldn't help but wonder in her heart, "My destined one? Who will be my future husband? Will he be willing to go with me to burn incense for the Taoist master?"
…
In the palace, Empress He felt more and more annoyed the more she thought about it. She hugged the only child who was still by her side tightly and whispered to herself: "My son, we will be fine. You will become the emperor."
Her husband was Emperor Ling, so not only could he not enter the emperor's ancestral temple, he would even be removed from the family tree. As his wife, her posthumous title must include the word "Ling". However, Empress He wanted to give it a try and at least add the word "Xiao". Otherwise, both his parents would not be included in the family tree, and it would be too embarrassing for the emperor's son.
If the throne finally went to Liu Xie, Empress He would be so angry that she would vomit blood just thinking about it.
"We must do a good job of burying Zhang Jiao in Luoshui. As for the six generals of the Taiping Army, Zhang Yan and Guan Hai don't seem to want to stay in Luoyang, but the other four are very ambiguous. If we can get one of them to support us, we can gain a firm foothold, control Luoyang internally, and make vassal states externally."
Although Empress He had poor political ability, she had been at the political center for many years. She could see that Zhang Jue had never thought of letting the Taiping Army's leaders take over from him. Otherwise, Luoyang would now have a well-deserved leader who would become the center of everyone.
Empress He was thinking about what she should use to show her sincerity. It didn't matter whether it was money, beautiful women, or wealth and glory.
Especially the beautiful women. After entering Luoyang City, the generals got everything except the beautiful women.
After all, even the Taoist master is alone, how can they enjoy it alone?
But now that the Taoist master has passed away, can these generals really restrain themselves from taking action against the beauties in the palace?
Which man in this world has not dreamed of spending the night in the palace?
While Empress He was thinking about this, the six people were also discussing the future. Zhang Yan spoke first: "The Taoist did not choose a successor from among us because he did not want us to become princes fighting for the world. The Taoist believed that we were not capable enough.
The Taoist master has the ability to know everything. Since he said that we don’t have this ability, then we definitely don’t have this ability. Brothers, you must give up this idea. "
The other five people nodded at the same time and said, "Of course, even if we don't believe in God, we still believe in the Taoist master."
Zhang Yan added: "Since you don't want to be a prince fighting for the world, you will eventually have to be a minister.
We all come from the Taiping Dao. Although the Taoist master has laid a lot of foundation for us, it is still a bit difficult to integrate.
Now Empress He wants to win us over. She must have seen that the world is without a ruler, and she wants to support her own prince to ascend the throne and become the emperor of the Han Dynasty again. What do you think, brothers?"
Guan Hai suddenly interrupted and said, "Let's not talk about this for now. As the Taoist master said, even if you want to be a minister, you must be a vassal in the early stage. Who among you has the vision to pick a hero who can unify the world?"
Several people were startled and shook their heads, saying, "We are not sure."
Guan Hai said in a deep voice: "It is probably inevitable to change the affiliation in the future, but how can it be so simple to change the affiliation? If there is no introduction from acquaintances, once the army is defeated, there will be no way to heaven and no way to hell!
If there were six of us, and we became sworn brothers, and one of us became rich and powerful in the future, we could use our brotherhood to persuade the other to surrender, wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?
This is what the Taoist master said. The world is made up of circles. The gentry have their own circles, and it is difficult for outsiders to enter. The current situation of the world depends on my Taiping Army.
The six of us have all received guidance from the Taoist master. As long as we are of the same blood, we can go anywhere in the world."
The five of them looked at each other, their eyes lit up, and they all clasped their fists and said, "That's right, there is no time to lose. The Taoist master is about to die, and we will report to the Emperor of Heaven and the Taoist master, and become sworn brothers."
So the six of them immediately took action, prepared all the things needed for the oath, and then knelt on the ground together, "God is above, the Taoist master is above, the six of us, Guan Hai, Zhang Yan, Bu Cai, Zhao Hong, Liao Hua, Zhou Cang, today become brothers of different surnames. From this day on, we will share happiness and difficulties together. If we violate this oath, we will be punished by heaven and earth!"
The six people kowtowed three times with solemn expressions on their faces. When they sat back in their original seats, the atmosphere suddenly changed drastically, becoming more relaxed than before.
Talking about Zhang Yan's question again, Zhao Hong, who was the most politically savvy among them, said: "We, the Taiping Army, came here to break the Mandate of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, and do you remember what the Taoist Master once said?
The difficulty of receiving a new mandate is far greater than that of receiving a new mandate. The Han Dynasty has already received a new mandate once, and it is basically impossible to receive a third mandate. It can be said that Empress He's ship is doomed to leak."
Zhao Hong's words made the others fall into deep thought. Liao Hua and Zhou Cang were typical brainless generals, and Guan Hai was a charging general. The only one who could discuss with Zhao Hong here was Zhang Yan.
"But the Taoist master also said that what we have done is to plant seeds in the hearts of the princes of the world. In a short period of time, the Han Dynasty is still the most acceptable. This kind of appeal that has lasted for hundreds of years cannot be eliminated in a short period of time.
In other words, the official titles of the Han Dynasty are still universal throughout the world. If we can join Queen He's camp, we can truly clear our name, and no one will ever mention our identity as the Taiping Army again."
Guan Hai pouted and said, "The world cannot be without a master for a day. The six of us are unwilling to be the master, and the others dare not to be the master. In the end, we have to support the prince of the Han Dynasty. What kind of thing is this?"
All five of them had bitter smiles on their faces. This was the biggest problem. According to normal procedures, the Taiping Army should have declared themselves emperors at this time. However, the Taoist leader had died early and had warned them not to try to declare themselves emperors, which resulted in the current situation.
Bu Cai said directly: "How can a three-year-old child rule the world?
Just let him be a puppet, who wants to stay in Luoyang?
I want to stay here. Neither Yizhou nor Yangzhou is where I want to go. The Five States are too dangerous. It might be a better choice to stay in Luoyang and wait and see what happens."
The others were still hesitating, and Zhang Yan said directly: "I am going to Qingzhou. There are many rebels in Qingzhou, and the power of the nobles is relatively weak. I can quickly strengthen my strength there, and then we can serve as external aid to each other.
Moreover, Qingzhou is not a place that is surrounded by wars. You can advance to Jizhou, Yanzhou, or retreat to Xuzhou and Yangzhou. It is a good place to go.”
Guan Hai also did not plan to stay in Luoyang. He said, "I plan to go to the Huai and Si regions. It is the easiest place for separatism. If I can hold on to a piece of territory, I can rely on the princes from all directions and become an extremely important character."
Zhang Yan and Guan Hai have always been very opinionated and are among the most respected generals in the Taiping Army. Their decisive choice of destination did not surprise many people.
Zhao Hong thought for a while and said, "I'd better go back to Jingzhou. The situation in Nanyang County is still very complicated."
Zhou Cang and Liao Hua both chose to stay in Luoyang City with Bu Cai, mainly because they really hadn't decided where to go. Besides, Luoyang was such a dazzling world, and it was not something that most people could do to give up the prosperity here and leave.
Zhang Yan said: "Brothers, if you stay in Luoyang, you must be very careful. Luoyang City is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. These people are vulnerable on the battlefield, but when it comes to playing politics, they are not our match.
If you want to help Queen He, you must be careful of those people. If you want to help those ministers, you must also be careful.
To be honest, the three of us who left Luoyang City are actually safer, while you are in danger."
Bu Cai and the other two said solemnly, "Brother, we will remember what you said and be careful. If there is any problem, we will leave Luoyang City and go to join you."
None of them were children, so they just stopped talking and started to discuss the matter in a hurry.
————
After Jiao died, the Taiping Dao was like a person without a spine. All the leaders were like fragrant flowers that had all dispersed. Some became princes in a certain place, while others were appointed as high officials by imperial decree. Their fates were different. Some disappeared from the world, and the historians could not even find their names. Among them, there were six people, Guan Hai, Zhang Yan, Bu Cai, Zhao Hong, Liao Hua, and Zhou Cang. They formed different surnames and each claimed their own territory. Some were even granted titles and passed down their kingdoms. They were those who were found in the Taiping Dao. - "Book of the Later Han: Biographies of the Taiping Army"
(End of this chapter)
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