In the main hall of the palace, Yang Rui sat on the dragon chair, and in front of him were the ministers of civil and military affairs who came to worship. Yang Rui did not wear a crown like in the previous dynasty, but only dressed as an ordinary woman, and her bulging abdomen also showed that she had been pregnant for a long time, and she could no longer be an emperor who could be diligent and self-denying without worrying about herself as before.

The courtiers were divided into two classes with civil and military affairs, each lined on one side, among which there was no distinction between the Eastern Wangfu and the original faction of the imperial court, and the first were Han Jian, who was the king of the East, and Gu Weipan, who was the Lingshang Shutai, representing the current responsible person for the military and political affairs of the imperial court. Yang Rui sat on the dragon chair with a calm expression, and the civil and military ministers below each lowered their heads after saluting, and did not dare to look at her.

"Summoning the family of all the ministers today is an announcement that I have something to do." Yang Rui made an opening remark.

Previously, the little eunuch had read out two holy decrees, one was to reward those who had made meritorious contributions in the war in the north, and the other was to encourage the soldiers and horses who were entering the pass in the west, including Yang Xi. These two decrees are also basically formal, and there is no mention of specific rewards.

Yang Rui looked around at everyone, but finally looked at Han Jian and said, "King Dong, come up first." ”

Han Jian paused first, then slowly walked up the jade steps, and when he came to the side of Yang Ruilong's chair, Yang Rui waved his hand and motioned for the little eunuch to move the chair over, so that Han Jian could sit with Yang Rui.

When Han Jian sat down, the ministers below were still a little at a loss. Although they also knew that sooner or later Han Jian would appear in front of the courtiers as the "imperial husband", but now that the government and government are all controlled by the Eastern Palace, Yang Rui has become a puppet, how can they feel at ease?

"The great gift between me and the king of the east will be held on March 16." Yang Rui finally said the wedding date.

The hundred officials present were stunned, even the generals of the Dongwangfu faction were not happy about this, for the courtiers. The marriage of the empress and the king of the east is a situation of two evils, and no one will get any benefits. On the contrary, it is better to let the empress raise a few noodles by herself, so that nothing will be involved in the government and politics, and everyone will be at peace.

"Ministry of Rites." Yang Rui ignored the surprise and discussion of the people present, and said. Someone from the Ministry of Rites immediately came out to receive the order, Yang Rui continued. "The Ministry of Rites has drawn up a big gift, so be sure to prepare it."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yang Rui looked at the people present again, and said, "The Zhongqing family must have heard some rumors from the outside world, and I will clarify it here today." The East King is the backbone of the Wei Dynasty and the pillar of the current imperial court, no matter what rumors there are outside, I believe that the East King is dedicated to the court and for the Wei Dynasty. In the future, the king of the east will take my place in the military affairs. In terms of government affairs, my health will also be inconvenient, and I will also be handed over to the East King to deal with. Do you have any opinions? ”

There was silence in the hall, who would dare to openly collide with Yang Rui at this time? Even if some people think that Yang Rui was forced to say this, but now that Dongwang is here, coming out to speak is tantamount to death.

"That's good." Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction and said, "From today onwards, I will not be able to take care of the government for a period of time. The affairs of the upper and lower qiē in the imperial court can be decided by Gu Taishi of Lingshang Shutai, and if there is a major event, it is not decided. It can be handed over to the East King for disposal. You don't have to bother me with anything. ”

After speaking, Yang Rui also seemed to be very tired and wanted to stand up. Han Jian personally helped each other, and when Yang Rui got up, he looked at the ministers present with a slight smile and said, "The imperial court and the Dongwang Mansion are originally one family, and they are not separated from each other. If anyone takes advantage of this to stir up trouble, it will be when the court ignores the law. I won't be spared. ”

After that, Yang Rui walked out of the main hall with the help of Han Jian and went to the inner garden of the palace.

As soon as the people left, the pot exploded in the hall. The ministers, who didn't say anything before, are now talking about it, and some even want to do it. As a witness to the incident, Gu Weipan turned around and was about to go outside the palace, today's events have exceeded his expectations, originally Han Jian's attitude was very clear that he wanted to return the military power, he didn't know why he didn't even mention this matter in the end, but Yang Rui fixed his tone, saying that in the future, all military affairs would be handed over to the Dongwang Mansion, and even the government affairs would be taken care of by the Dongwang.

Gu Weipan had just left the main hall, and before he could take a few steps, a person behind him hurriedly followed, but it was Shang Shu Ning Yuan, the official who had not said anything in the main hall before.

"Master Gu, please stay." Ning Yuan stepped forward, first saluted, and then looked at Gu Weipan with a smile.

Gu Weipan frowned and said, "Ning Shangshu has something?" ”

"I just want to talk to Master Gu about today's events, it seems ...... It's not easy. ”

Gu Weipan didn't say anything, he didn't have a good impression of Ning Yuan, and he didn't have any bad feelings, in general, he just treated Ning Yuan as a colleague, as for whether Ning Yuan sent a woman to Han Jian to take the throne, that was a matter of concern to outsiders, he only knew that his daughter was doing well in the Dongwang Mansion, and this was enough.

"It's better for Ning Shangshu to say anything directly, the old man has to go back to Shangshutai to deal with some things." Gu Weipan knew that he shouldn't discuss some things without permission at this time, after all, Yang Rui should announce it. Now that Han Jian and Yang Rui have even set a wedding date, Han Jian and Yang Rui have left at the same time after a simple court, and they will deal with conflicts by themselves, and it is not their turn to worry about being courtiers.

Ning Yuan was a little surprised: "Don't you know that the people of the Southern Dynasty took advantage of the fire to rob and approached Yuzhou with soldiers and horses, and now the soldiers and horses have crossed the river and will arrive in Yuzhou in the near future?" ”

Gu Weipan, as the first assistant, how could he not even know about this?

"What does Ning Shangshu want to talk about?" Gu Weipan glanced at Ning Yuan, who was following beside him, but his pace did not slow down.

"Then it seems that Master Gu doesn't know something. Originally, the East King returned to the military power to test His Majesty, and it was clear that the East King wanted to take advantage of the imminent chaos in the north to straighten out the military and political affairs, but he didn't want His Majesty to see the East King's intentions clearly and persuade the East King to take back his order. will have today's play. ”

Ning originally thought that Gu Weipan would have an epiphany when he said this, but he didn't expect that in the end, Gu Weipan just nodded, and then didn't even say anything.

"Master Gu, the situation looks very strict now." The words didn't work, so Ning Yuan had to continue.

"How can you say that you are strict?" Gu Wei Pan said, "Even if Yuzhou is in an emergency, it should also be the worry of the people of the King of the South, now that the Marquis of Zhennan is leading his troops to suppress Luoyang, is it possible to relieve the siege of Luoyang?" ”

Ning Yuan smiled and said, "Master Gu's words are different. Could it be that Taishi Gu thinks that the most worrying thing for His Majesty and the East King now is the Marquis of Zhennan. Or maybe it's a Southern Dynasties? It is thousands of miles away, even the Xiwangfu is not enough to worry about it, after all, the Xiwangfu is now guarding the Guanzhong to wait for work. I am afraid that what His Majesty and the East King are most worried about is General Su, who is about to return from the north. ”

"Su Tingxia?" Gu Weipan called him by his name.

"Exactly." Ning Yuan nodded, and said in his heart that the old guy should believe it at this time, right?

Gu Weipan nodded slightly and said, "If you are worried, you should be worried." That was the matter of His Majesty and the King of the East, and it had nothing to do with our courtiers. ”

Ning Yuan couldn't help but admire Gu Weipan a little more in his heart, and thought that he was worthy of being the first assistant, and his political consciousness was high, that is, now that there are wolves and tigers in front of Luoyang, Gu Weipan can still be so calm and put on a posture that has nothing to do with himself. He can't.

Ning Yuan said: "Master Gu, it's not that the lower officials want to take the opportunity to say something, but now that the big waves are about to rise, should Master Gu know how to protect himself?" I'm afraid it won't be long. At that time, even if the imperial court still had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses of General Lin, and some were transferred from Jiangdu, I am afraid that they could only witness others fighting for this territory in the Central Plains. might as well say that it is a frustration, I am afraid that it is the number of qi of the imperial court...... It doesn't last long. ”

There are words in the words, no matter how dull Gu Weipan is, he can hear the sound outside the strings.

Ning Yuan has always been known as a minister of the imperial court, but he is too close to Han Jian, the king of the East, and it is difficult to say which side his heart is heading. But now listen to Ning Yuan's words. It seems that Ning Yuan still has some secret hidden in his heart, and what Ning Yuan said today. It was clearly admonishing him to do something that was contrary to the current situation.

"Ning Shangshu doesn't need to say any more, if you say too much, you will lose. The old man has never heard of the bento, if he says it again, I am afraid that the old man will have to go to His Majesty Xià to participate in your copy. Gu Weipan said in a proud tone.

Ning Yuan smiled, didn't say anything more, and was still following Gu Weipan step by step. At this time, he stopped and watched Gu Weipan leave.

When they left, a few ministers chased after them, and as soon as they came, they hurriedly asked, "Ning Shangshu, how is the matter?" ”

Ning Yuan shook his head and said, "Stubborn." Don't mention it. ”

Several ministers glanced at each other, these are all people from the Ningyuan faction, who were originally in the court, and now Gu Weipan has come out as the first assistant, but the status of these people has not changed much, mainly because Gu Weipan has no one at the moment, and can only rely on the people of the original Ningyuan system, and some people from the side branch system to maintain the basic structure of the court officials.

……

……

In a blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the first month of March, and there were only six days left before Han Jian and Yang Rui got married. According to the preset plan, Yang Rui will live in the palace even if he marries Han Jian, and Han Jian's wife and children do not need to move into the palace, and they will still maintain the same status. In this way, marriage is only a formality.

In more than half a month, Su Tingxia's troops were almost on the Yellow River, and this time Su Tingxia's troops withdrew slowly, and they only traveled fifty or sixty miles a day, mainly because the soldiers and horses on this road were too large, and there were too many Bohai prisoners of war with the army, and everywhere they went, they were like a bloated tumor, which made the local area uneasy. The local area is to provide grain and grass, and the crying father and mother who have already paid for it, and even a lot of cases have happened when the army robs the people's food, but under the overall situation, the court chose to remain silent about this, and the bento incident has not happened. Although Su Tingxia also ordered the punishment of some people, he knew that now in the Wei Dynasty, if he couldn't feed the war with war, and there was no supply of grain and grass supplies from the imperial court, there was no other way but to rob it.

During this time, the soldiers and horses of the Southern Qi Dynasty marched very slowly, the soldiers and horses were divided into several routes, and the factions of the Southern Dynasty were clearly defined, and it was also obvious that the army sent troops. The soldiers and horses of each family were sent out separately, and a total of four roads were divided into four ways to march in the direction of Yuzhou, and the first line was the department of King Hui, who had always been indisputable with the world. This road is estimated to have more than 10,000 people, which is not considered an elite, but it is the one with a relatively large number of troops in this dispatch.

The rest, even Xie Rumo, who advocated sending troops, only allocated less than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and the Southern Qi went to Yuzhou, with a total number of troops and horses of only about 40,000. It is no wonder that Huang Shilang, the Marquis of Zhennan, thought that the people of Southern Qi were not worried, so that he still stationed troops outside Luoyang City and had no intention of withdrawing his troops.

During this time, the Xiwangfu had completed the garrison of Guanzhong, and all the soldiers and horses had withdrawn to Guanzhong, building a very solid defense line, waiting for the people of the imperial court and the Dongwangfu to throw themselves into the net. The people and horses in the western part of the imperial court are mainly old and weak soldiers, and the number of soldiers and horses is not very large, and the supplies are a little unable to keep up.

In general, all the men and horses of all stripes were either stationed at ease or marched slowly. Everyone seems to be waiting for the others to strike first.

Han Jian was also a little helpless about this, he originally hoped that Su Tingxia's troops could go to the front line of Guanzhong on the west side as soon as possible to complete the supply of fighting to support the war. However, Su Tingxia is an old and cunning person, as if he is deliberately dragging with the court, so that the court will have to feed this road, which is also to prevent mutiny in the army. But now the imperial court has long been empty of treasury, where is the supply of grain and grass to be allocated to the soldiers and horses with a total of more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians along the way?

Although Su Tingxia's soldiers and horses have a trend of moving westward, they are also gradually moving south, and by early March, they are only more than 200 miles away from Luoyang, and there is a sense of going south to the Yellow River to threaten Luoyang at any time.

Now Han Jian must take into account whether it is a matter of advancing or retreating, there is Su Tingxia's department in the north of Luoyang, this road is strong and strong, and the momentum is also very strong, just destroyed the Bohai State and thwarted the Silla soldiers and horses, such soldiers and horses are also very terrible, once they go south to Luoyang, Luoyang City will fall into a great passivity. But if you want to withdraw from Luoyang, there are still Zhennan Hou Huang Shilang's soldiers and horses stationed in the south of Luoyang, and Zhennan Hou has been holding his troops, as if he is waiting for Luoyang City to reveal its flaws. The withdrawal from Luoyang now is a good opportunity for the Hou soldiers and horses in Zhennan.

During this time, Luoyang was calm, and even a pool of stagnant water.

After the city gate was confined, Luoyang's contact with the outside world was much less, and the killing of messengers also happened repeatedly. Han Jian also arranged some fake information to go out, deliberately letting others know, and there were true and false pieces of this information, so that people could distinguish the specific situation that did not appear in Luoyang City.

By the tenth day of the first month of March, there was a change in Luoyang City. Han Jian sent a team of envoys led by Lin Ke to personally go to the military camp of Huang Shilang, Hou of Zhennan, as envoys.

After all, Lin Ke was a member of the imperial court faction, and as soon as he came out, everyone felt that it was time for Han Jian to complete the internal purge. (To be continued......)