Chapter 356 Using the Deposed Emperor to Command the World
Xunyang City welcomed a large influx of strangers.
Some wealthy merchants from the western part of Jiangnan Province fled to the southeast to seek refuge.
Further south, in the direction of Guizhou, on the western border of Lingnan Road, officials fled and abandoned their cities, running north in panic.
These tireless refugees brought more detailed news from the southwest to the Jiangzhou government hall. As the news was compiled, a complete picture of the situation in the southwest was gradually pieced together.
"Lord Wang, Lord Ouyang..."
Inside the main hall of the Jiangzhou Grand Hall, officials in turbans gathered, and Chen Yishan, the Lychee Commissioner who had fled from Lingnan and was in charge of purchasing lychees for the imperial court, said with tears in his eyes:
"This Li Zhengyan is despicable and shameless, lacking all the martial virtue of his grandfather, the Duke of Ying. I don't know where he got the imperial edict and the seal of the imperial envoy."
"He first sent someone to impersonate the emperor's private envoy to Guizhou. On the same day, he arrested Chief Clerk Lan and imprisoned him for failing to supervise the mutiny of the Guizhou garrison soldiers."
A few days later, Li Zhengyan arrived by post carriage, falsely claiming to be the Prefect of Guizhou, and came to take up his post.
"It is also said that by His Majesty's secret decree, troops will be dispatched to suppress the rebellion of the Gao family, the chieftains of the neighboring Jizhou and Rongzhou."
"So he opened the treasury, drove out the prisoners who had been exiled from various places, gave them armor, and established an armed force. Then, he conspired with the fake envoy Khufu to behead Chief Secretary Lan in prison;
"Guizhou has no prefect or chief administrator, and he also possesses a so-called secret edict from His Majesty. All military and political power in the prefecture has fallen into the hands of Li Zhengyan."
“The registrar Qian Zhaodu and other state officials who resisted were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public. After that, no one in Guizhou dared to resist anymore.”
"Then, this rebel bared his fangs, conscripted troops from an entire province, raised the absurd banner of restoring the previous dynasty, and rebelled against our Great Zhou!"
The main hall was packed with people, yet completely silent.
Lychees made Chen Yishan's voice echo from the rafters.
"To restore the lost territories?" Wang Lengran asked in a low voice.
“That’s right.” Chen Yishan nodded resentfully.
"They even used the reign title of Prince Xunyang, Li Xian... when he ascended the throne?"
"right!"
Chen Yishan gritted his teeth and said:
"After taking control of Guizhou, the largest prefecture in the western part of Lingnan Road, and raising the banner of rebellion, Li Zhengyan stopped pretending and set up three prefectures: one called Kuangfu Prefecture, one called Yingguo Gongfu Prefecture, and one called Guizhou Grand Governor's Prefecture."
"This rebel called himself the General of the Restoration Office and the Grand Commander of Guizhou. He appointed former Imperial Censor Wei Shaoqi as his Chief Secretary, former Attendant Censor Du Shuqing as his Military Advisor, and a man from Hongzhou named Yue Zi'ang as his Secretary."
"The latter also wrote a treasonous and slanderous proclamation against the sage."
"In the past ten days or so, they have gathered more than 30,000 soldiers. They are raising high the banner of welcoming back Li Xian, the Prince of Xunyang, as emperor. They are marching north from Guizhou on the southwestern border, acting very recklessly, attacking cities and seizing territories, intending to restore Li Gan..."
"What about issuing a proclamation?"
“Here it is.” Chen Yishan immediately took out the manuscript.
Wang Lengran took it and hurriedly opened it. As he browsed it, the muscles in his deeply lined face twitched.
"This Yue Ziang is simply outrageous, utterly outrageous!"
A certain "declaration of condemnation" was thrown hard on the ground and stomped on twice.
Wang Lengran's nostrils trembled as he glanced sideways at Ouyang Rong, who was frowning and pursing his lips.
“Prefect Ouyang, if I remember correctly, isn’t this rebel named Yue Zi’ang the same name as a scholar in the state school under your jurisdiction? This traitor is also from Hongzhou. This shouldn’t be a coincidence, right?”
Ouyang Rong nodded without looking to the side:
"Yes, it should be the same person."
He then said softly:
"However, if I remember correctly, I am the governor's deputy, and this state school is also under your jurisdiction."
"Don't try to shift the blame or make excuses. I entrusted you with the management of Xunyang City's livelihood affairs because I trusted you. I'm not familiar with the state school or anything like that."
In front of everyone present, Wang Lengran defiantly flicked his sleeves, his eyes wide, his gaze fixed on the upright Ouyang Rong:
"Moreover, when Li Zhengyan and his band of traitors passed through Xunyang City, I remember that you were the one who received them the whole time. You had too close a relationship with them, and you were always present at their banquets, indulging in revelry every night..."
"Ha, does Chief Secretary Ouyang know about their planned rebellion?"
The entire room fell silent.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ouyang Rong remained calm and composed.
"Li Zhengyan's banquet in Xunyang City was not attended by only me. Most of the officials in Jiangzhou's main hall, as well as famous scholars from Mount Lu, were all present. There were many who were more enthusiastic than me, including even the famous monk Sihui, who had a close relationship with the governor."
"If we follow the standards by which the governor identifies traitors and their accomplices, then the governor is already surrounded by rebels."
"Nothing has happened yet, so it seems that the governor is also an accomplice of the rebels."
"You're talking nonsense." Wang Lengran laughed angrily: "I've never even seen that scoundrel Li."
Ouyang Rong nodded:
"Among all the people who have seen the main hall of Jiangzhou, only the Prefect has not seen it. Amidst all the mud, you are the pure white lotus. It's hard not to believe that Li Zhengyan and the others did it on purpose, deliberately trying to avoid suspicion for the Prefect."
Aside from Chen Yishan, the bewildered outsider who looked around at the rebels' den, the Jiangzhou officials listening nearby exchanged glances, their eyes surprisingly showing a hint of agreement, finding the logic of the man's argument quite reasonable.
"You, you... you're all smooth talkers, spouting complete nonsense!"
Ignoring Wang Lengran's immediate attempt to shift blame and distance herself, Ouyang Rong frowned and asked Chen Yishan:
"Guizhou is located on the western border of Lingnan Circuit. It is the core prefecture where the most Han Chinese people gather in the southwest. It also has the most military prefectures in Lingnan Circuit, and a large number of garrison soldiers are stationed there."
"Besides Lan Changhao, there are quite a few high-ranking officials and generals of the same level, as well as censors... How did Li Zhengyan manage to seize them so easily?"
"And what about the people of Guizhou Prefecture? How could they allow Li Zhengyan to amass such a large army in just a few days and have them all follow him in rebellion?"
Chen Yishan immediately replied, "It's all Li Zhengyan's fallacious lies."
“That’s not all.” Ouyang Rong shook his head, then suddenly asked, “How did the soldiers and civilians of Guizhou react to Lan Changhao’s execution? Did anyone cheer?”
Chen Yishan choked.
Wang coldly rebuked, "What does Chief Secretary Ouyang mean? Lord Lan was wrongfully killed, and you still ask such a malicious question. What are your intentions in being so offensive?"
Ouyang Rong ignored him and stared straight at Chen Yishan.
The latter hesitated for a moment, looked away, and whispered:
"There are indeed cheers when a villain leads the way among the common people, but Chief Secretary Lan is absolutely loyal to the imperial court..."
"I have another question."
Ouyang Rong interrupted, his question hitting the nail on the head: "How is the giant Buddha statue that Lan Changhao built doing now?"
This question silenced the entire room.
Wang Lengran also frowned, his gaze hesitantly turning to Chen Yishan.
The latter, feeling awkward, had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer truthfully:
"On the day Li Zhengyan rebelled, he immediately sent people to overthrow the Buddha statue, and many people gathered to watch the event..."
He explained:
"Lord Ouyang, Lord Wang, Li Zhengyan is too good at winning people's hearts. The court has put in a lot of effort, but how could he, a treacherous rebel, know that he is just bewitching the ignorant people?"
Everyone in the main hall remained silent.
Chen Yishan felt somewhat embarrassed.
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly to him: "I understand, thank you for your hard work."
Ouyang Rong picked up the document demanding the surrender of the prisoners and glanced through it.
After putting down the document he was handing over, he looked up at the sky outside the main hall and sighed to himself:
"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailors' delight."
Ouyang Rong had to admit that Li Gong was indeed good at "choosing the right day" and seizing opportunities.
Seemingly dissatisfied with the strange atmosphere in the main hall, Wang frowned and spoke to Chen Yishan:
"It's more than just bewitching people. The old Duke of England was a highly respected man. I don't know how he could have produced such an unworthy descendant. It's a misfortune for the family. He has used all the connections of the Duke of England's mansion as a basis for rebellion."
"There are countless military commanders in Guizhou, Lingnan, who were promoted by the old Duke of Ying or served under him. This was originally a blessing, but they used it to commit treason and bring disaster to countless people!"
Yan Liulang put down the intelligence report from the southwest, handed it to the people around him, and muttered something without even looking up:
"Li Zhengyan's army is advancing rapidly in the southwest. Along the way north, there are many who respond and many who surrender. It is clear that they are about to reach the border of Lingnan Road and Jiangnan Road."
"This morale is even greater than that of Cai Qinjun. This cannot be explained by the mere connections of the British Duke's mansion."
The muttering sound was particularly jarring in the otherwise quiet main hall.
"What does Military Advisor Yan mean?"
Wang glared at him coldly, his tone displeased:
"Are you suggesting that the court is making unwarranted criticisms of the government's policies and His Majesty's wise decisions? Are you implying that the court has lost the hearts of the people?"
Yan Liulang said calmly, "Lord Wang, you flatter me. How could I, a lowly official, dare to accept such a heavy burden of criticism?"
"Hmph." Without comment, as if remembering something, Wang Lengran suddenly composed himself, flicked his sleeves, and said in a sinister tone:
"Want to know why Li Ze is so arrogant and has such a favorable wind?"
"It's all because the Prince of Xunyang's mansion helped him a lot, giving him a great title for free."
"Actually, I think this is good. It allows Her Majesty the Empress to see clearly who these people are, who are plotting against the emperor, and who are supporting the traitor Li..."
The meeting ended unhappily.
After a moment of awkward silence, everyone dispersed.
Ouyang Ronglongshou walked out of the main hall.
He could clearly sense that after the news of Li Zhengyan's rebellion under the banner of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion spread, the way Wang Lengran and the others looked at him changed.
At the entrance of Jiangzhou Hall, before mounting his horse after receiving the reins from Yan Liulang, Ouyang Rong suddenly remembered why Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi, and others had lingered in Xunyang City for so long a few months ago.
He also realized why Li Zhengyan had been so persistent in visiting the Xunyang Prince's Mansion so many times.
"Prince, are you alright?"
Yan Liulang, his face filled with worry, called out to Ouyang Rong, who was lost in thought in front of his horse.
Ouyang Rong glanced at him and shook his head.
He mounted his horse, cracked his whip, and before departing, the young official glanced back at the overcast sky to the west, towards Hongzhou:
"So that's what you were waiting for."
A slightly puzzled voice came from beside him: "What do you mean by waiting for this? What is Your Excellency talking about?"
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sighed. Suddenly, he whipped his horse and rode away, leaving behind only two words:
"The greater good."
Since Li Zhengyan raised the banner of restoration in Guizhou and launched the rebellion, more than half a month has passed. The restoration army has now swept through a small part of Lingnan Road, and its momentum is still expanding rapidly, advancing triumphantly all the way.
Li Zhengyan had Yue Zi'ang write a proclamation against Wei Zhao, which was spread to various prefectures and counties along the way and soon reached the imperial court in Luoyang, the capital.
Ouyang Rong had read this proclamation. Its main content was to first enumerate the numerous crimes of Empress Wei Zhao, revealing them layer by layer, like a string of pearls.
Then it points out that the Wei clan was the root of the country's downfall, thus explaining the necessity for Li Zhengyan to raise an army to attack the Wei clan...
In any case, Ouyang Rong could tell at a glance that it was written in Yue Zi'ang's style.
Who else but him could write such a powerful and impassioned statement, brimming with a sense of justice? It's just perfect.
However, it must have been at Li Zhengyan's behest that the document also harshly criticized the construction of the Great Zhou Songde Central Government and the Four Directions Buddha statues.
They proclaimed to the world that this was a tyrannical act that wasted the people's money and resources, and the people and soldiers of Guizhou, who suffered greatly from the exploitation of local officials, were proof of this.
When the imperial edict was sent back to Luoyang, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the court was shaken.
The Empress was slightly angered and issued an edict posthumously stripping Li Zhengyan's grandfather and father of their official titles and ranks, abolishing the Duke of Yingguo's mansion, exhuming their graves and cutting off their coffins, and changing their surname to Chou.
A few days later, more news traveled north from the western part of Lingnan Road:
Li Zhengyan not only raised the banner of punishing the tyrannical Wei Zhou, restoring the old regime, and opposing the central government's creation of statues, but also...
He even publicly claimed that he had secretly met with Prince Li Xian of Xunyang while in Jiangzhou.
They claimed that Prince Xunyang, Li Xian, was being monitored, imprisoned, humiliated, and abused by the tyrannical Zhou dynasty.
The former deposed emperor secretly passed him an edict, ordering Li Zhengyan to lead the campaign and go to Jiangzhou to rescue him.
Upon hearing the news, the government and the public fell into a brief silence.
Nobody is a fool. The incident of Li Zhengyan impersonating the emperor and secretly sending Hu Fu had just happened. The so-called imperial edict in the belt was not from a real person, so everyone was naturally skeptical.
Moreover, there were loyalists in the court, such as Master Di and the Prince Xiang, who pleaded for him.
Li Xian, the Prince of Xunyang in Jiangzhou, also wrote a letter of apology and refuted the rumors immediately.
However, Li Zhengyan continued to act as he pleased, using the so-called imperial edict to command the world.
Then, something unexpected happened: in Hongzhou, which had been silent for a long time, someone immediately responded.
Besides Cai Qin and other garrison commanders who were among the first to respond.
Surprisingly, the Prince Teng's Mansion, which offered little resistance during the rapid fall of Hongzhou, was still there.
The young Prince Teng, Li Lou, and Zhu Lingxu, the governor of Hongzhou, stepped forward together, publicly responding to Li Zhengyan's call and urging patriots across the land to welcome back the deposed emperor and restore Li Gan.
The sudden involvement of the Prince of Li Shi added fuel to the fire of this rebellion.
However, what is even more significant is that something called righteousness is imbued within it.
This has caused some of the "undercurrents" in the world who were already harboring ulterior motives to begin to waver.
People's hearts are changing rapidly.
Simply put, Li Zhengyan is vying with Wei Zhou for legitimacy.
Don't underestimate these seemingly minor changes.
Rebellion and treason are worlds apart from restoration and suppression.
For example, Cai Qinjun, who was originally a mutinous rebel, gained a certain legitimacy afterward.
The areas that had initially put up a fierce resistance began to waver, while those that had already shown little will to resist surrendered outright.
Resistance within and around Hongzhou is crumbling, and some counties along the route Li Zhengyan is conquering in the north are surrendering at the mere sight of him.
Because in this world, people with clear minds are extremely rare; most are rural villagers, merchants, or city dwellers who are easily swayed by public opinion and can be easily brainwashed.
At present, a front against Wei Zhou is gradually forming in Jiangnan and Lingnan provinces, and its momentum is enormous...
Sorry for the lateness...
(End of this chapter)
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