Chapter 494: Everyone Rebelled
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
In the imperial study, in the Nine Dragon Cauldron, incense that calms the mind is burning, and the smoke is wafting in the air.
Song Mo sat at the top, and below him were Prime Minister Chen Wan, Shangshu Ling Sang Baiqing, Taiwei Xiao Qun, Duzhi Shangshu Wu Chunyu, Dali Temple Minister Yao Songwen and others.
The ministers of Dali are not all incompetent good-for-nothings, especially the several important ministers appointed by Song Mo, who are quite capable.
Song Mo had just let them discuss the matter in the west room, and he himself did not participate. The ministers brainstormed and worked together, and soon came up with two of the most effective solutions.
When they entered the Imperial Study to meet the Emperor, Xiao Qun, acting as their representative, said, "There are two options. The first is to directly send troops to attack Pingzhou. Ideally, we can quell the rebellion in Pingzhou with lightning speed."
Wu Chunyu became anxious when he heard this. If he chose the first solution, everything would be his responsibility from then on!
"That's easy for General Xiao to say. Where does Dali get its troops from now? Where does it get its food and fodder?"
Xiao Qun glared at him, "This is your business! You can't just yell every time the emperor wants to use you as the Minister of Finance! Otherwise, what's the point of the emperor having you as the Minister of Finance?!"
Wu Chunyu choked. Xiao Qun's words were too harsh. They made him sound like a drunkard. He could yell all the time, but when had he never failed to work?
Song Mo knocked on the table and asked, "What's the second solution?" As for the old minister who had followed him from the Qiandi Residence, he had to protect him when necessary.
Xiao Qun hesitated for a moment and said, "The second option is to sacrifice the chariot to save the king and retreat in order to advance. However, in this case, the emperor will have to suffer a little."
"How to do it specifically?" Song Mo asked.
Xiao Qun said, "Pingzhou's rebellion against Dali was sparked by the Pinggang negotiations. Your Majesty and I have no way of knowing what transpired during the negotiations. Yet, Your Majesty was humiliated by the Pingzhou edict. Prince Gong, Zuo Anmin, Lin Ran, and the others are undeniably responsible."
"Your Majesty, at this point, we can only sacrifice the rook to save the king. This is also the first step of the second solution."
The ministers thought that who to abandon and who to protect depended on the emperor's choice. There were three options.
After a while, Song Mo asked, "What about the second step?"
The second step is, "The emperor issued another edict of apology, stating that he had been deceived, and then requested that the Qin and Lu families return to Dali, promising to make use of them."
This is done for the world to see.
What a vicious plan. Yao Songwen thought to himself that even though he had just learned two specific solutions, it still seemed very vicious when he heard it again.
The return of the Qin and Lu families means the return of You and Ping states. This is a great deal.
Once this plan was used, Pingzhou would defeat the emperor's army at first, but later the emperor would defeat them.
If the emperor can bend and stretch and use this strategy, then the next one to be in trouble will be Pingzhou, and the pressure will also be on them.
After hearing this, Song Mo remained silent for a long time.
Apparently, no decision has been made on which method to choose.
Xiao Qun still preferred the second method. The emperor could not afford to make any major decision-making mistakes, and it would be best to shift the blame for forcing the Lu family to rebel against Qin.
At this time, Shangshu Ling Sang Baiqing said, "Your Majesty, I believe that these two methods are not necessarily a one-or-the-less alternative. In fact, both strategies can be implemented simultaneously. If method one doesn't work, we can initiate method two. While Prince Gong and the others are still here, Your Majesty can explain it by saying, 'I was deceived.'"
Song Mo's eyes lit up when he heard this.
Yao Songwen's body trembled slightly.
Ministers such as Xiao Qun were all smart people. When they saw the emperor's expression, they knew that he had been persuaded by Sang Baiqing.
Xiao Qun immediately said, "Your Majesty, we must send troops to attack Pingzhou as soon as possible. We must prevent other forces from following the example of Qin and Lu and rising up in rebellion."
"Do they dare?" These words made Song Mo think of his two brothers, Prince Cheng and Prince Jin, who had already returned to their respective fiefdoms.
But he still listened to what the ministers said.
Seeing that it was getting late, Song Mo waved his hand and asked the ministers to disperse.
Among all the ministers, Yao Songwen had the least experience, so he walked last. When he left the palace, he looked up to the northeast and shook his head in his heart. After all, everyone's positions were different.
After dismissing the ministers, Song Mo sent someone to ask the Censorate whether the manifesto had been written.
Zhou Chengzhong and Zhang Xian were indeed in the Censorate. They both knew that the emperor urgently needed the edict to attack Qin and Lu, so they did not dare to delay and wrote it quickly.
The eunuch took it back to the palace.
Song Mo opened it and found that compared with the majestic and awe-inspiring Pingzhou Manifesto, the one jointly written by Zhou Chengzhong and Zhang Xian seemed a bit lukewarm.
Song Mo was not very satisfied, but he had to make do with it.
"Send the order to all the counties!" Song Mo ordered.
The common people of Chang'an were the first to see the imperial edict issued by the court to attack Lu Desheng. In the edict, the court called him a traitor.
He condemned Pingzhou for deliberately letting Tuoba Lian go and for not being sincere in expelling the Xianbei barbarians.
It reveals that the Qin and Lu families were harboring evil intentions and trying to steal the sacred artifacts, but they used high-sounding words to cover up their filth!
Warn the followers of Qin Lu not to be stubborn anymore, stay away from the rebels as soon as possible, and do not help the tyrant to commit atrocities, otherwise they will bear the consequences.
…
The plan to deal with Pingzhou was finalized, and Song Mo just breathed a sigh of relief when the imperial court issued an edict to attack the Qin and Lu families.
Then he saw the eunuch Liang An stumbling into the palace.
"Your Majesty, this is bad news! Prince Cheng of the Southwest, Prince Jin of the East Sea, and Xie Zhan of the Lingnan have rebelled."
"What?!" Song Mo's voice was full of disbelief.
"Tell me clearly, is it just Xie Zhan who rebelled? Or is it Prince Cheng, Prince Jin, and Xie Zhan who all rebelled?"
Liang An had a sad face, "Your Majesty, all three parties have rebelled. They have all rebelled."
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