To be honest, Yang Ze's behavior is quite out of line now. The whole world is looking at him with awe, and his ambition is obvious.
If Zhenquan's army and Prince Ji's army were led to Pingyang, Wei Jing would fight with them, and the soldiers would be exhausted and the military equipment would be greatly depleted. At this moment, the emperor issued another decree to denounce Yang Ze for his disloyalty, and then ordered the Northern Army and Prince An to join forces to encircle and suppress Wei Jing, with a high probability of catching Wei Jing off guard.
Being caught off guard is not the most important thing.
The most crucial thing is that Wei Jing has no time to build up momentum and will be completely at a disadvantage in terms of righteousness; in addition, the roads in Yizhou are narrow, and it is inconvenient to increase the troops and armaments. Wei Jing, who has just fought a great battle and has not had time to replenish his troops, may be in a worrying situation.
Weaken Wei Jing's strength to the greatest extent possible and take the opportunity to annihilate him in one fell swoop.
I have to say that this strategy is good. Qi Tian and others have been staying in the palace for many days, and it is not without effect.
But how could Wei Jing let himself fall into such a difficult situation?
He smiled coldly.
"Bo Yan is right."
The best way to break the impasse is to announce your identity to the world before the emperor takes action.
First, the injustice suffered by Empress Fu and her son was known to the world, and if the manifesto was well written, it would not be inferior in terms of justice.
Second, the Zhenquan Army and Prince Ji.
These two parties are now very powerful, so the emperor has a good idea to let them weaken Wei Jing's strength. But this idea can only be used if the two of them do not know Wei Jing's identity.
Even if the enemy of my enemy cannot become my friend, his existence will still bring more benefits than disadvantages.
There is no doubt that once the Zhenquan Army and Prince Ji know Wei Jing's true identity, they will definitely choose to sit on the sidelines and watch the fight.
Without these two powerful enemies, even if the emperor summoned the princes of the world for help, the effect would be far less effective.
Not united, not trying hard.
Wei Jing’s pressure will be greatly reduced.
This was his original intention, but he did not bring it up two days ago because Shao Qing's mother and brother had not arrived safely, and he did not want to irritate Wei Xian.
Wei Jing said in a deep voice: "I suggest that we draft a manifesto today and announce it to the world within three days."
…
After the countermeasures were agreed upon, Wei Jing was not in a hurry to discuss the content of the manifesto. He lowered his eyes, picked up a piece of letter and stared at it for a moment.
Shao Qing took a look and found it was the anonymous letter.
She asked, "I don't know who this messenger is."
Yes, who is it?
To be honest, this anonymous letter came at the right time.
Without it, they would certainly be able to unravel the clues and infer the truth, but it would take time and it would easily be too late.
It takes time to write a manifesto to build momentum; sending a message back to Yizhou and preparing reinforcements and food supplies all take time.
If you are slow in one step, all steps will be slow. Once you lose the initiative, the situation will become more serious.
Who is this? What was his purpose in delivering such accurate information at the first possible moment?
Why did Shao Qing use "he"?
Because she had seen this piece of letter paper many times, the brushstrokes on it were broad, vigorous and powerful, showing through the back of the paper, and only a dozen or so words were casually written, but the momentum of bending metal and breaking iron emerged.
If Shao Qing hadn't encouraged others to be more ambitious, it would be impossible for ordinary women to write words with such strength and vigor.
This is exactly in line with the original speculation that this person should be in Prince An's camp at the time, and he is not an ordinary soldier.
The question comes back to the starting point, who?
Zhang Yong couldn't help but say, "Uh, could it be Xu Cang?"
Xu Cang, whom Zhang Yong knew back then, was also a good brother whom he could trust. He is a man of great righteousness, a man of iron will, who is willing to sacrifice his life for the country. The friendship of the past is truly genuine, and it is very likely that the other party, feeling guilty and unable to forget his old master, secretly informed the other party.
Besides Xu Cang, Zhang Yong really couldn't think of anyone else.
They really don't know many people in Prince An's camp. When the upper echelons of the Northern Army were subjected to a major purge, a few people were lucky enough to survive and were demoted to the southwest. After King An was ordered to take over the troops in the southern border of Jingzhou, these people naturally became military officers under his camp.
But among them, the only one that people in Yizhou were familiar with was Xu Cang.
After all, the closer one was to Wei Jing, the worse his fate would be. Not everyone has Xu Cang's background. The Xu family was well-established and had deep roots, so he was lucky not only to survive, but also to continue serving as a military officer after being demoted.
"I don't think it's Xu Cang."
It was Ji Huan who answered the call.
It was because of Xu Cang's background that Ji Huan thought it wasn't him.
The Xu family has five generations living together, with hundreds of people in the house. At the beginning, Xu Cang searched for Wei Jing on both sides of Qianshui River because his family was not allowed to obey King An's orders. Now, at this critical moment, can he still send a message to Wei Jing at the risk of his entire family being overthrown?
From the perspective of the imperial court, Wei Jing was a rebellious king. Once the news leaked out and touched the sensitive nerve of Emperor Luojing, the Xu family would be destroyed.
Yizhou and others already knew that Xu Cang had assisted in the search for Wei Jing, because this was the biggest reason why Prince An had appointed Xu Cang in the first place. Everyone in Prince An's camp knew about it, and there was no secret at all.
Zhang Yong and Ji Huan each held their own opinion. After a few words of argument, Zhang Yong scratched his head and said, "Well, then, sir, who do you think it could be?"
"I don't know either." Ji Huan shook his head.
But he said: "It's just that no matter who it is in this world, what they do will not be without reason. This person has three kinds of thoughts. First, he is dissatisfied with Prince An; second, he is dissatisfied with the emperor and the court. Third, ..."
His voice became serious: "The third is to plot against us."
Don't assume that accurate news is necessarily a good thing. It’s accurate the first time, the second time, the third and fourth time. When you let your guard down, a piece of false news can be fatal.
"Bo Yan is right."
Wei Jing threw down the letter and said, "No matter who this person is or what his purpose is, if there is another letter in the future, we should not trust it easily."
You have to trust your own judgement on everything.
Wei Jing has always been cautious about the messenger. Since there are no clues, he will put it aside for the time being.
He raised his eyes to look at Zhang Yong: "If you face Xu Cang in the future, you must not let your guard down."
After saying that, Wei Jing looked at Chen Qi and others again.
Although there was no father and son involved in the match, in order to prevent everyone from developing a subtle fondness for the letter, he deliberately knocked it.
Zhang Yong and the others stood solemnly and bowed, saying hurriedly: "We will follow the Lord's orders."
Ji Huan agreed, and after that, he asked again, "My Lord, how would you like to draft this proclamation?"
Ji Huan originally thought that he was responsible for drafting the manifesto, but Wei Jing paused after hearing what he said, and then said, "I drafted it myself."
Like dark clouds covering the sun, his eyes were instantly covered with darkness, so gloomy, cold and sinister that one could no longer see into their depths.
…
On March 16, Wei Jing issued a proclamation to the world.
The whole world was shocked.
"I have heard that wise men do not mourn their own death, but worry about the decline of the country and the difficulties of the people. I am the heir of the Wei family. It is my responsibility to support my father and brothers and keep the people safe at home, and to suppress foreign invaders and protect the country. I have worked hard for this for twenty years. However, I did not know the wickedness of human hearts..."
"…My loving mother and brother were brutally slaughtered, and the Eastern Palace was burned down. How tragic and painful it is. My mother was virtuous, and my brother loved the people and worked hard, but they still couldn't have a good end?…"
Wei Jingxian recalled his past ideals and explained the efforts he had made to achieve them. Changing the subject, he lamented the tragic deaths of his mother and brother, and the betrayal he encountered after he tried his best to drive out the enemy.
All of the above actions were done by the late emperor, but there is not a single sentence in the manifesto that mentions the late emperor.
The draft that Wei Jing wrote in one go was actually not like this. He hated his beastly father the emperor so much that he criticized him verbally and pen-and-mouthed, wishing he could dig up his coffin and whip his corpse.
It was Ji Huan who persuaded him that he could express his grievances and protest, but it would be more appropriate to state the facts. No matter how vicious the late emperor was, he was still a king and a father. If he spoke too harshly, he would easily be criticized by the moralists. This goes against the purpose of issuing the manifesto and will not achieve the best results.
There has to be a limit, causing people to be indignant but not disgusted.
Wei Jing understood the truth, but he just couldn't get over it in his heart. After repeated persuasion from his confidants and his wife, he finally compromised.
But the part that follows concerning the current emperor is not so polite.
Wei Jing then focused on the assassination and search for Ji at Qianshui. He bitterly denounced the current people as being sinister, vicious and untrustworthy, and deceiving the officials and people of the world. The Yellow River embankment affected millions of people, but for some selfish reasons, he cut short the good river management plan, causing the embankment to collapse, the country to be flooded, corpses to float everywhere, plague to be everywhere, and hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced.
Such a dishonest and immoral person is unfit to be a king. He should follow his brother's will, conquer the world and save the people.
It is a long and eloquent article, and at the end, it is no longer just about personal hatred. For the sake of the late crown prince's will and for the sake of all the people in the world, Wei Jing should break the old and establish the new, and restore a bright sky to the nine provinces.
Passionate and thought-provoking.
The second legitimate prince born to Empress Fu treated the people like his own sons and was like the Crown Prince. He was diligent in government affairs, employed talented people, and pacified the country with his culture and virtue. He was brave and good at fighting like the King of Qi, who drove out the Tatars and destroyed the Hu people, and his military exploits were famous throughout the world.
How many people were heartbroken and beat their chests when these two people passed away in the past.
Although the monarch's power is supreme and his subjects must die if the monarch orders them to, how can such behavior not make people secretly indignant?
Especially in the past few years since the new emperor ascended the throne, wars have been frequent and people have been living in misery. The contrast between the two makes people feel more sorry for the former.
As soon as Wei Jing's manifesto was released, it spread rapidly like radiation, causing huge waves wherever it passed.
A single call will attract many to respond.
There was a man who admired the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, and was worried about the chaos in the country and the suffering of the people in recent years. He was overjoyed and immediately packed up his belongings and went to Pingyang.
There were also those who sought a wise ruler in troubled times, and believed that the King of Qi was the best among all the heroes and could give full play to their ambitions.
There were also those who had resigned in anger because they were dissatisfied with the actions of the previous emperor, or retired old ministers who disagreed with the new emperor. Some were decisive, while others were slightly hesitant. A large number of them brought their families, young and old, and rushed to Pingcheng.
One of them was Pang Zeng, the former teacher of the crown prince and a veteran of three dynasties.
Pang Zeng was in his sixties. He was seriously ill in bed when the incident happened. Upon hearing the shocking news, he almost recovered and struggled to get up and go to court to argue. At that time, the new emperor had just ascended the throne and was determined to kill Wei Jing once and for all. It was Pang Zeng who led a group of loyal ministers and fought hard for a compromise of exile 2,000 miles to the southwest.
Upon hearing that he had arrived, Wei Jing came out to greet him in person.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
Pang Zeng, with his hair and beard all white, knelt down to greet him. After being helped up by Wei Jing himself, he burst into tears: "The heaven has eyes, the heaven has eyes!"
Although the crying was sad, it was also full of joy. It was old and hoarse but touched people's hearts. Wei Jing suddenly remembered what his wife had said to him on the banks of the Qian River, "You are not alone. At least you have me and a group of loyal ministers who are trying their best to protect you."
His heart was pounding, and he looked back at her.
The corners of Shao Qing's eyes were slightly moist, but her gaze was bright, and she was looking at him with a smile.
Wei Jing looked at him deeply, then turned around and comforted Pang Zeng.
After all, Pang Zeng had gone through three dynasties. Although he was old, his mind was strong. He quickly stopped crying, looked serious, and said to Wei Jing: "Your Highness, I heard that the emperor is furious and there will be a war. You must be very careful!"
Not everyone cheered at the news that Wei Jing was not dead.
The first one is the current emperor, Wei Xian.
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