Chapter 11 The Sunset of the Long River On the afternoon of the ninth quarter, Li Hong returned to the Great Sima General's Mansion with a very tired expression.

Xian Yufu, Fu Gan and others hurriedly caught up and asked about the results of the discussion. Li Hong smiled bitterly,

"The most critical thing was not done. I asked to hear the case in person, but the Prime Minister and the Imperial Historian firmly disagreed, and refuted me with the Great Han Law. Lord Taiwei is not easy to support, and Lord Taifu is hiding at home and not coming out. ”

"Lord Taifu didn't participate in the discussion?" Fu Gan was very surprised.

"The Prime Minister urged me a few times, and I urged me a few times, but he just didn't show up." Li Hong was so angry that he shook his hand again and again,

"If he can support me, I can also have an advantage, this old fox ......" Fu Gan, Wang Ling and the others wanted to ask again, Li Hong waved his hand,

"I'm so tired, let me be alone for a while, I have to think about it." Li Hong was draped in a woolen mattress, leaning lazily on the desk, closing his eyes and pondering.

The charcoal fire in the brazier was a little bigger, and there was a faint smell of smoke in the room. The door of the study was gently pushed open, and Xian Yufu walked in.

Li Hong opened his eyes and sat up straight. Xian Yufu sat down next to him, reached out and picked up the tongs to stir the charcoal fire.

Li Hong covered the mattress on Xian Yu's auxiliary legs,

"It's too cold. I don't know what day this snow is going to fall? ”

"It's going to take three or four days." Xian Yufu said,

"I wonder what happened to Hexi? This winter, Ziyu (Yan Rou) and they are going to suffer. ”

"He's certainly better off than we are. Now I am probably drinking and having a good time while cooking on the fire. Li Hong said with a smile,

"We can't do it, we can't even sleep at night." Xian Yufu smiled, put down the tongs, and asked casually, "Look, do you want to meet Zhong Yuan again?" ”

"Is it appropriate?" Li Hong shook his head,

"This matter, although Zhong Yuan did it, who has the evidence? On the surface, this attack is against Ying and Rushi, but it is actually aimed at us. Now that I have taken the opportunity to coerce the imperial court and let Zhang Liao and them supervise the prefectures and counties, I have benefited from it, and many people in the court may think that I did it. ”

"And what are you going to do?" Xian Yufu asked,

"Once this matter is handed over to the Tingwei Mansion, Xin Ping and Xun Chen will have no way to live. The people of the Tingwei Mansion can cut off their heads with just a piece of evidence, and they can also implicate a large number of innocent people. ”

"Zhong Yuan's hand, the most powerful part is here. It was we who let Xun Yu, Xin Ping and others meet, it was Jing Zhaoyin who arrested people, it was Tingweifu who interrogated, it was Yushitai who convicted, and it was the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess who ordered the beheading, and it had nothing to do with him. Li Hong smiled helplessly,

"In the future, there will be chaos in the court, and he will benefit the most, followed by us, so Zhong Da (Sima Yi) agreed to Zhong Yuan's request. But how did Zhong Da know that the fighting in the court now is actually for the military power in my hands. If the case of the great rebellion is confirmed, Ying and Rushi will be hit hard, and we and the outer dynasty will immediately become mortal enemies, and the eldest princess will advance step by step. As for Zhong Yuan, he may get the support of the outer court and the eldest princess, and gradually control the entire court. In this way, the division of the northern Xinjiang system will be more serious, and we will be very passive. If Xiao Tianzi wants to govern smoothly in the future, it will be difficult to ascend to the sky. Xian Yufu hesitated for a moment, and said slowly: "Zhong Yuan's purpose is probably mainly to rescue Ding Li and Zhu Wei, and he is not necessarily aimed at us. Li Hong laughed.

"Why the Han Dynasty has come to this point, everyone in the court knows it, and the pain of its lesson is unforgettable. It has only been thirteen years since the death of Emperor Xiaoling, and these thirteen years have brought profound disasters to the Han Dynasty. We, the ministers of the court, the dead Yuan Shao, and the still stubborn Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others are thinking about this problem all the time, and they are always trying to save the Han Dynasty to avoid the continuation and recurrence of the disaster. Therefore, there is still a fight in the court, and there is still a fight on the battlefield. ”

"In the past, together with Zhong Yuan, Gongding (Zhu Mu), and Yiqian, we fought for the northern frontier and worked hard to save the Han Dynasty, and we maintained a high degree of consistency in strategy, and we had no fundamental differences in the concept of governing the country. However, with the continuation of time and the gradual development of the great cause of ZTE, we have differences in strategy and governing philosophy, and then there are contradictions and conflicts between the two sides in terms of interests. ”

"Last year, the people of Northern Xinjiang took control of the Central Scholar and controlled the decision-making power of national affairs, and then the people of Northern Xinjiang began to split. Why split? It's because someone has harmed our power, our interests. We believe that it should be our warrior......s who control the government and the military power," Li Hong said

When the word "warrior" was two, the voice suddenly raised,

"Zhong Yuan, they obviously didn't expect that we would react so strongly, even you probably didn't expect it, right? In the past, there was no difference between warriors and warriors among the people of Northern Xinjiang, and we have always been accustomed to making decisions together, or many times it is our warriors who make decisions, and Zhong Yuan and Gongding them carry them out. But last time, the situation changed, and things were reversed, and after Zhong Yuan and the others took control of the decision-making power in the court, they turned a deaf ear to our decision-making and forcibly demanded that we accept the decision-making of the imperial court. This was something that I couldn't accept, or rather most martial artists, so I decided to fight back. ”

"Zhongyuan, they were hit hard, and the people of Northern Xinjiang were immediately divided."

"There are reasons for this, as well as reasons for us. As I said earlier, ZTE has come to this point, and there are fundamental differences between us. Zhongyuan: They have their own ZTE strategy, they have their own interests, and we also have our ZTE strategy, we have our interests, so the split between the two sides is normal, very normal. There is nothing difficult to understand about this, we were not the same kind of people in the first place, we were able to come together in the past, we could work together, in fact, it was for this day, for the day of power. ”

"There are benefits to splitting, and the benefits of splitting are very clear. You see, the northern Xinjiang has been divided, the forces that pose the greatest threat to the court have decomposed, and the situation in the court has changed dramatically. ”

"Now that the eldest princess and Zhong Yuan and his wife are very close, some of the forces in the court are also quickly approaching Zhong Yuan. Now that Zhong Yuan is full-fledged, he has become a pivotal force in the court, which is very good. We are the same, after the split between us and the scholars in northern Xinjiang, the relationship between the scholars and us in various places has improved rapidly, and we are now the most powerful force in the court. Without Zhong Yuan's help and support, we could still control the government. ”

"Of course, we are still in the northern Xinjiang system, and if we join us, we will be invincible, and if we divide it, our strength will be greatly reduced. Whenever there is a critical moment, the people of Northern Xinjiang will naturally join forces to resist the enemy. For more than ten years, the relationship between us and Zhong Yuan and them with blood and life is difficult for ordinary people to understand. ”

"This time, Zhong Yuan has created a good opportunity for us to take advantage of the fierce contradictions between all parties in the court and let a large number of martial artists enter the court. If we can properly resolve this matter and control the impact of the case of conspiracy against the Great Rebellion within an ideal range, we will be able to further improve our relations with the scholars and advance the situation in the court in a direction that is conducive to our control of military power and government affairs. Xian Yufu nodded again and again, and said with relief: "People, you can still see it thoroughly." In the past, I thought you were only good at fighting, but now it seems that you are even more powerful in the court. ”

"As long as you treat the court as a battlefield, do your best to win the victory, rack your brains to achieve the maximum result at the minimum cost, and you will be able to gain a firm foothold in the court." Li Hong smiled and patted Xian Yufu's back,

"The court is actually very simple, it is a façade of the society, which is full of all kinds of interests. These benefits are like a big pie, you can only eat one bite, and the rest is given to others. If you take an extra bite, then others will suffer, and they will deal with you and fight with each other. If you don't beat it well, the whole loaf will break. But everyone has greed, they all want to eat more, they all want to take advantage of it and don't want to suffer, what should I do? ”

"Make the cake bigger, only if you make the cake the largest, so that everyone can eat more, then the problem will be solved. But making the pie bigger takes time and requires concerted efforts, and some people may not be willing to. As a result, some people are making bigger cakes, some people are lazy and slippery, and some people are eating this piece of cake alone, so that all kinds of tricks will come out, which is national politics. The best state policy is to use all kinds of methods to make everyone make a bigger pie, and the worst state policy is that everyone quarrels endlessly and breaks the current piece of cake. In order to do the best in national politics, many means are needed, and the most used means is fraud. ”

"Since ancient times, soldiers have never tired of cheating, as long as they can defeat the enemy, even if they deceive the opponent against their conscience, it is acceptable and can forgive themselves." Xian Yufu was secretly surprised, and felt a chill in his heart, and his hands involuntarily pulled the mattress on his legs upward.

"So, you have a solution?" Li Hong frowned,

"The idea is not very mature. I'll tell you, don't you see if it's okay. "The ultimate goal of the current battle in the court is to regain my military power.

After the recovery of Luoyang, the cornerstone of the great cause of Zhongxing has been laid, it does not matter what kind of counterinsurgency strategy is adopted, it is our court, our Zhongxing strategy, and our new policy that directly affects the great cause of Zhongxing, and the most harmful to the great cause of Zhongxing is the military power in my hands.

As long as the military power is in my hands, the court will sleep and eat restlessly.

"So, I plan to resign from the post of Great Sima or be my Great General." Li Hong said calmly.

Xian Yufu was shocked, and just wanted to say something to stop it, but suddenly thought that Li Hong must have a back hand, this must be a strategy to retreat as a delaying strategy, or continue to listen to what Li Hong said.

"In the army, the eldest princess trusts Zilie (Xu Rong) the most, and Zilie is also the most recognized by the ministers of the foreign court, so ......" Li Hong glanced at Xian Yufu,

"I plan to recommend Zilie as the Great Sima." At present, the most senior in the DPRK and China, there is no official position for the time being, and the only general who can be recognized by all parties is Xu Rong.

Xian Yu is supplemented by Hu Renxueliu, and Ko Yi's personality is flying and domineering, and neither of them is suitable for the position of Grand Sima.

In the morning, I told the Prime Minister that during the period of the Taiwei's avoidance, the Taiwei affairs were temporarily handled by Feiyan.

Lord Xun You, the captain, can't do it for a few days, and no matter what the result of this matter is, he has to take the initiative to resign.

In this way, in the future, Feiyan will be the Tai Lieutenant, Zilie will be the Great Sima, you will replace Feiyan as Guangluxun, plus the guard Fengxian (Lu Bu), and the Zhijin Wu Zilong (Zhao Yun), the six of us will be in the court, and we can completely control the military power.

I really don't need to be the official title of a big Sima and become the target of public criticism.

“

"If ......" Xian Yufu hesitated for a moment and hesitated,

"Zilie obeys the eldest princess, if he obeys the eldest princess in military decision-making, things may be ...... in the future" Xian Yufu and Xu Rong were a little conflicted.

A few years ago, when she was in Jinyang, the eldest princess was forcibly implemented in northern Xinjiang

Xu Rong, who was in charge of the military and political power in Hedong at that time, resolutely supported it, and Xian Yufu almost turned against him for this, thinking that Xu Rong betrayed Li Hong.

Now that Li Hong wants to retreat behind the scenes and push Xu Rong to the front of the screen, Xian Yufu is very worried, afraid that the same thing will happen again.

"I just need Zilie (Xu Rong) to support the eldest princess." Li Hong said with a smile,

In other words, at the right time, the eldest princess can use Zilie to have some military power to solve the thorny problems encountered in national policy decision-making, so as to greatly alleviate the constraints caused by the shortcomings in the current official system on national policy decision-making. At the same time, through Xu Rong's participation in Shangshu affairs, he further helped the warriors to influence and control the decision-making power of national affairs. "If Xu Rong participates in Shangshu affairs as the Great Sima, then there will be six ministers and the eldest princess to make decisions on state affairs together.

The prime minister, the Taiwei, the imperial historian, the Taifu, the great Sima, and the general, of which the northern Xinjiang warriors accounted for half, which obviously had a decisive impact on the final decision of the eldest princess.

"Now the decision-making of national affairs is mainly the middle secretary, and the middle secretary is actually controlled by Zhong Yuan (Li Wei), and the ministers of the upper prince do not have much influence on the eldest princess." Xian Yufu felt that Li Hong's method might not be able to produce the expected results.

"Do you know why Zhong Yuan refused to serve as the middle secretary and became a great secretary of agriculture in the outer court?" Li Hong asked with a smile.

"He's not just like you, worried that he will be too sharp and become the target of public criticism." Xian Yufu said with a smile,

"That kid is very cunning, and he won't be a good bird easily."

"No, his real purpose is to establish power in the outer courts, and then control the outer courts." Li Hong shook his hand and said,

"His goal is the prime minister."

"He wants to be prime minister?" Xian Yufu looked at Li Hong in surprise, shook his head again and again,

"He doesn't have enough qualifications, and it's absolutely impossible unless it's another ten years."

"How could it be impossible to ......" Li Hong waved his hand vigorously and laughed loudly,

"Driving down all the ministers who have the qualifications to be prime ministers in the court, isn't it logical for Zhong Yuan to enter the Prime Minister's Mansion?" Xian Yufu was dumbfounded,

"What do you want to do, people?" If Li Wei becomes the prime minister, he controls both the outer and inner dynasties, and what he is most afraid of is not others, but the eldest princess.

The first thing the eldest princess had to do was to drive Li Wei's people out of the middle secretary, or get rid of the middle secretary, and restart Shangshutai, using Shangshutai as the decision-making center of national politics.

If Li Wei wants to achieve this goal, he needs our full help. In other words, he wants to open the door of the outer court to the northern Xinjiang warriors, and let the northern Xinjiang warriors enter the court as much as possible.

"Let's make an assumption, if this pattern is formed in the court, the eldest princess can only give up her authority without help, and she has no room for resistance. But it is precisely because we set up the move of Zilie (Xu Rong) in advance that the eldest princess has the strength to fight back, and she can respond quickly, with Shang Shutai as the center of power, and continue to control the authority. "Xian Yufu suddenly realized,

"You want to regain control of Shang Shutai?" Hiroshi smiled slightly,

"Last time, in order to weaken my power, the eldest princess and the imperial court revised the official system, set up the middle secretary as the center of power, threw Shangshutai aside, and turned it into a place for retirement. No one pays attention to Shangshutai now, and no one will notice Shangshutai until the situation is clear. ”

"Recently, the eldest princess issued an order to adjust a group of officials, Zhao Jian, Zuo Yan, Wang Lie and others were all transferred to Shangshutai, while Yu Peng was worshiped as Jing Zhaoyin, and Chen Deng also served in Zongzheng Mansion. Obviously, Zhong Yuan is increasing the strength of the foreign dynasty for himself, and transferring our people to Shangshutai for retirement. Okay, it's a good thing......" Li Hong said with a smile,

"This time, I took the opportunity of resigning from Da Sima to transfer more people to Shangshutai, and in the future, as soon as the situation changes, the national policy decisions will be in our hands, and it will be effortless."

"By that time, the warriors of Northern Xinjiang had not only gained a firm foothold in the outer courts, but also controlled the center of power, Shangshutai, and the government was under our control." Li Hongxi smiled and asked very excitedly, "Brother Yu Xing, what do you think of this strategy?" ”

"I'll take a step back first, confuse them, and let the crisis in the court ease for the time being, so as to win the favor of all parties and gain the support of some scholars."

Then help Li Wei enter the Prime Minister's Mansion and force the eldest princess and Li Wei to split. In this way, we can form a check and balance between the forces of all parties in the foreign court, effectively restrain Li Wei, and weaken Li Wei's strength; In the Inner Dynasty, he could control Shangshutai and control decision-making power, laying a solid foundation for Xiao Tianzi to govern in the future. Xian Yufu thought for a long time, and suddenly asked, "How many people are you going to kill?" ”

"No, no, no......" Li Hong shook his hand again and again,

"I'm not going to kill. Not only do I not kill, but I try to protect all those who may be killed. Only in this way, after the success of this plan, can I stabilize the situation in the court, can I stabilize the ZTE strategy, and can I fight for a long enough time to wait for the little Tianzi to grow up. If there is such a fierce fight in the court, not to mention that the counterinsurgency strategy will be repeatedly delayed, even the fledgling Zhongxing cause may not be able to be saved. "On the end of December, Liyang.

General Li Hong insisted on hearing the case in person, and it was played three times in a row, which made the eldest princess feel embarrassed.

She first approved the plea of Taiwei Xun You, allowed him to recuse himself, and worshiped Guangluxun Zhang Yan to temporarily lead the affairs of Taiwei and preside over the daily affairs of Taiwei's mansion.

At the same time, she convened a meeting of the Minister of the Central Library. Chen Qun, the supervisor of the Central Committee, tried his best to go to Chen, believing that it was most appropriate for the case to be tried by the Son of Heaven in person, and strongly recommended the Taifu Yang Biao and the general Li Hong to co-preside over the trial.

Prime Minister Cai Yong, Imperial Historian Liu He, Imperial Servant Kong Rong, and Imperial Lieutenant Zhang Miao strongly opposed and repeatedly played exhortations.

Zhang Miao, the court commander, also personally rushed to Liyang to explain the reason, thinking that it was not in accordance with the law. The eldest princess refused to make a decision, and privately summoned Li Wei, the chief farmer, and Zhang Fan, the young mansion, to ask for advice.

The two ministers also agreed that the case should be heard by the Imperial Governor's Office. Li Wei said that if it really doesn't work, it will be tried by His Royal Highness himself.

His Royal Highness went to Chang'an, showed up, and handed over the rest to the Tingwei Mansion to handle. By the end of the year, the case will definitely come to light.

The eldest princess then made a decision and asked the middle secretary to draft the decree. When Chen Qun heard the news, he was shocked and sent someone to report urgently to Li Hong, the general of Chang'an, overnight.

In mid-December, on the fifth day of the assassination of the Son of Heaven, the Great Sima General Li Hong played the Son of Heaven and resigned from the post of Great Sima.

Li Hong burst into tears in the recital, saying that for the stability of the court and the success of the great cause of Zhongxing, he would not hesitate even if he was broken.

Today's ministers are determined to march westward, and if the western frontier is uneven, the ministers will not return. The minister may be shrouded in horse leather, and there is no return date, so he resigns from the post of Grand Sima so as not to delay state affairs.

The court was shocked. The eldest princess sent an edict to the general and tried her best to comfort her. She carefully discussed with the Central Shujian, Shang Shutai and other ministers, but no one could guess Li Hong's thoughts.

Is he really going to give up his military power? What does the general want to do? Early the next morning, more than 20 ministers and ministers, including Prime Minister Cai Yong, Guangluxun Zhang Yan, who was acting as the chief lieutenant, and Liu He, the imperial historian, gathered in Liyang Palace.

This time, Taifu Yang Biao came, and he was the first to arrive. The ministers urgently discussed countermeasures. Prime Minister Cai Yong applauded and congratulated, believing that this performance showed the loyalty of the general, and that the Son of Heaven and the imperial court should accept the general's resignation and recommend that the post of Great Sima be abolished.

No one responded. At this moment, the general suddenly resigned from the Great Sima, it was by no means such a simple matter as handing over the military power, and it could be a bloody killing if it didn't make a good scene.

Thinking about Dong Zhuo's atrocities in Luoyang back then, the ministers shuddered. For now, it is better to keep absolute silence, and it is better to leave these problems to the eldest princess to solve.

Wei Wei Lu Bu played, although Luoyang was pacified, but it was still far from the day when the world was pacified, and at this moment it was absolutely impossible to take away the general's military power, so as not to shake the army's heart.

Xian Yufu, Xu Rong, Lu Yi, Zhang Yan, Zhao Yun, Yuan Yao, Jia Xu and other ministers also hurriedly played and advised the eldest princess not to accept the general's resignation.

Except for Xian Yufu and Xu Rong, no one knew what the general's true purpose was, including Zhang Yan, who was extremely shocked when he heard the news.

Taichang Xu Shao, Dasi Nong Li Wei and other ministers also followed, thinking that the eldest princess should be cautious. Even if the general tries to resign, it is best to wait until the world is calm before accepting it.

Taifu Yang Biao suddenly spoke. The main reason for the general is that he is too tired, and he has been fighting outside again and again, even if he is an iron man, he will be exhausted.

And after he returned to Chang'an, he dealt with government affairs day and night, without a day off. Especially recently, there has been a major case of assassinating the Son of Heaven, can he not be worried and anxious to go to the western frontier?

Therefore, the minister believes that His Royal Highness accepts the resignation of the general, that is the real cherishing of the general. As for the post of Great Sima, it cannot be abolished, and it is better to let a meritorious general serve as it, so that he can share the sorrows of the great general, and secondly, he can maintain the stability of the court and contribute to the advancement of the great cause of Zhongxing.

The eldest princess consulted with the ministers for three days. During this period, the general sent another earnest letter, once again begging the Son of Heaven and the eldest princess to accept his resignation.

The eldest princess finally accepted Yang Biao's proposal and accepted the general's resignation. On the same day, the eldest princess issued an order to worship Xu Rong, the general of the right chariot, as the great Sima and the secretary of the Shangshu.

After receiving the holy decree, the general thanked the Son of Heaven and His Royal Highness the eldest princess for their holy grace, and once again pleaded with him to try the case of the assassination of the Son of Heaven.

This time, no minister raised any objections. The eldest princess issued an order, and the general Li Hong and Zhongshu ordered Liu Fang to preside over the trial of the case of assassinating the Son of Heaven.

When Xun Yu, Xin Ping, Xun Chen, and Xianrong walked into the lobby one after another, they first saw the sumptuous wine and food.

The four of them were shocked and angry, and it seemed that they were going to be killed after eating, and they died unjustly. Ten days ago, they were arrested at a wine feast, and they slept in a cell for more than ten days, and no one saw a single one, did not say a word, and then they had to eat a severed head meal and leave.

At this time, they saw the great general Li Hong walking in. Li Hong smiled and warmly beckoned them to sit down.

Xun Yu asked coldly, "Is this a guillotine feast?" Li Hong smiled,

"The Son of Heaven decreed that I should preside over this case." The four were overjoyed. Xianrong was probably so excited that he actually shed tears.

They probably all know about Chang'an, and it is definitely not Li Hong who designed to frame them, but Li Hong's opponent.

Kill them, the situation in the Central Plains is immediately tense, and no one believes in Li Hong anymore, and no one dares to surrender Li Hong, and the battle in the south will be very difficult in the future, which Li Hong absolutely does not want to see.

Now that Li Hong is presiding over the trial, this case may be completely reversed, and not only can their lives be saved, but even their clan relatives in the Chang'an court can also be spared an unwarranted disaster.

After Xin Ping sat down, he said gratefully: "In the past ten days, thanks to the care of the general, otherwise we would ......"

"I'm ashamed that I couldn't keep my promise, I'm sorry for you." Li Hong shook his hand,

"You stay here for a while, and after the New Year, I will find a way to exonerate you." Xin Ping and others thanked them repeatedly.

Li Hong pointed at Xun Yu: "Lord Xun, I want to ask, if Lord Cao knew that you were arrested and put in a cell because you were involved in the assassination of the Son of Heaven, and your life was in danger, what kind of countermeasures would he make?" Xun Yu laughed,

"What does the general think?"

"I think the peace envoys from Xiangyang will soon arrive in Chang'an." Xun Yu was slightly stunned, and then suddenly, his face showed admiration.

In late December, Li Wei found an excuse and personally rushed to the General's Mansion to visit Li Hong. After Li Hong chatted with him for a few words, he suddenly said, "Zhong Yuan, should you be the prime minister?" Li Wei was taken aback and shook his hand again and again,

"General, I still want to live a few more years, don't scare me." Li Hong laughed,

"You should think about it, this is a good opportunity, otherwise, let alone revise the "Tian Law", even the lives of Ding Li and Zhu Wei are in danger." Li Wei's heart was dark, and the smile on his face was a little stiff.

sent Li Wei away, Li Hong hurriedly wrote to Yuan Yao, and came to the General's Mansion to meet. After Yuan Yao received the letter, he was overjoyed and hurriedly drove over.

He waited for the letter for more than ten days, and finally arrived. Jump to