From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 148

On the third day of August, the east was just getting bright, and the sky and earth were hazy.

The capital was better than the south after all, not too hot, but at this moment, the court was already very lively.

Empress Zhaojing sat on the dragon throne, looking coldly at the people below, with only annoyance in her heart.

These ministers were all knowledgeable, and they might not be really good-for-nothings, but they kept talking about the righteousness of the country, but they were more concerned about power and interests.

The matter of pacifying the rebellion in the two rivers actually withdrew from the dispute between the three parties. The Qi party denounced the corruption of officials in Jiangnan, the growth of evil sects, and the lax supervision, so that the rebels were rampant.

The Zhejiang party immediately fought back, saying that the Qi party was corrupt and caused the anger of heaven and people, so that natural disasters occurred frequently and millions of refugees were displaced.

But this sentence obviously angered the Chu party. After all, in terms of natural disasters and refugees, Huguang was the most serious, and they thought that the Zhejiang party was deliberately implying them.

The whole court was in a turmoil, and the essential topic was still around two aspects - the chaos in the two Jiangs and the bandits in the Central Plains.

"Your Majesty, I ask that the chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Guozhong, be punished! If it weren't for this official who watched the Zhejiang Party dominate, how could the Censorate be vague about Jiangnan? How could Han Tuo have the opportunity to rebel!"

Yang Guozhong didn't say anything, but just looked drowsy.

And the Minister of Works Wang Duo said coldly: "Lord Guo is essentially suing the Censorate, right?"

The Censor couldn't sit still again.

Seeing this scene, Empress Zhaojing couldn't help but press her forehead and said: "Have you quarreled enough! Do you still have me in your eyes!"

The hall finally quieted down.

Until this time, Yang Guozhong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I really don't want to argue with them. I only have state affairs in my mind. The situation in the two rivers is in danger. It is far from enough to rely on Qu Shaogeng's 50,000 troops alone."

"Huguang and Fujian still need to send troops. We can't let the rebels gain a firm foothold. Otherwise, the autumn tax can't be collected and everything will be over."

At this point, his tone became stern again: "It's a pity that Qu Shaogeng, 50,000 elite troops are stationed in the northern border of Zhejiang instead of going south. It is clearly a cowardly act. He should be punished!"

"This old minister begs Your Majesty to put the country first, and let Qiu Huan be the main general and lead the troops of Nanjing to the south."

His words sounded very nice, and he seemed to be doing it for state affairs, but the key is that Qu Shaogeng is a member of the Qi Party, and Qiu Huan is a member of his Zhejiang Party.

Is this promoting talents without avoiding relatives? This is clearly forming a clique for personal gain and excluding dissidents!

Anyone with a discerning eye could see it, so the Qi and Chu parties started to speak again and quarreled.

Empress Zhaojing said calmly: "There is no need to send troops to Liangjiang, the problem over there has been solved."

This calm sentence instantly froze the atmosphere in the court.

All the important officials looked at Empress Zhaojing in shock, their faces dull.

The problem of Liangjiang has been solved? How is it possible! Cheng Ping has more than 100,000 troops! Zhejiang is not short of money and food!

Without an army of 200,000 or 300,000 to force it over, it would be impossible to solve it in two or three years.

Empress Zhaojing laughed and said softly: "You are noisy and fighting for power in the court, while some people in Lin'an Prefecture rely on a thousand Jinyiwei Tiqi to turn the tide and mend the cracks in the sky."

"The latest intelligence shows that Li Zhaolu, the deposed ambassador of Liangjiang, appealed to the emotions and reasoned with the people, turned the tide, and persuaded the three major camps of Wurui, Wuwei, and Wuyong, with a total of 20,000 people to surrender. On the night of the first and second day of August, Lin'an Prefecture was recovered."

"The traitor Han Tuo, under the protection of 400 death warriors, fled in a hurry, and the situation was over."

"At the same time, Xiong Kuohai of the Jinyiwei Southern Pacification Division reported that according to the intelligence of Qianhu Ye Mianzhi, an unprecedented gathering of scholars and candidates broke out in Jiangxi, and slogans such as suppressing the rebellion and killing Cheng Ping were raised, which set off a turbulent tide of people. "

"Cheng Ping's army was in great chaos, and soldiers were fleeing. They no longer had the fighting power."

"Last night, I ordered Qu Shaogeng to go south overnight and defeat Cheng Ping within half a month."

"Within a month, the overall situation in the two Jiangs will be stable."

After saying this, the important officials below were dumbfounded.

Persuading 20,000 troops to surrender? Recovering Lin'an Prefecture overnight?

Scholars' parade? Turbulent tide of people? Military chaos?

What is this? How is this possible!

And seeing the expressions on the faces of many important officials, Empress Zhaojing felt extremely happy!

How many years have I been aggrieved for so many years, and now I finally let out a breath of anger.

These high officials and corrupt scholars are obsessed with factional struggles and fighting for power and profit. The court cannot do without them, and Empress Zhaojing has endured them many times.

Now it can be said that a little bit of the situation has been restored.

Yang Guozhong murmured: "Your Majesty, is the information true? Will there be any mistakes?"

Empress Zhaojing still looked calm and said slowly: "The head of the Internal Guard Department also sent a letter, the content is exactly the same, there is no need to doubt the authenticity. "

"This battle can be said to be a great victory. As the ambassador of Liangjiang, Li Zhaolu was able to deal with such a crisis calmly, which can be said to be a great contribution. "

"I am going to promote him to Shenjing and give him the key points. What position do you think is good for him?"

This sentence made everyone silent.

One carrot, one position. Everyone present is from the three parties. Who is willing to give up their position!

For a while, everyone was in danger and couldn't help sweating.

And Empress Zhaojing was very happy. She liked to see these ministers being humiliated.

Zhou Yuan, Zhou Yuan, you made me happy this time.

As the person behind the scenes, how should I reward you?

Empress Zhaojing fell into deep thought.

...

"The Southern Pacification Envoy is the most likely. ”

Lin’an Prefecture, Kuixingfang, Xiong Kuohai gave his own judgment.

“Because of Yunzhou’s merits, I should have been promoted to the position of Northern Pacifier. This time, I have made merits again. I am afraid that I will have to do the third-rank collection work.”

“Although Ye Mian has also made merits, Lin’an Prefecture needs him to maintain stability and will not promote him for the time being.”

“In this way, the position of Southern Pacifier is vacant.”

Li Zhaolu shook his head and said, “It is impossible to be the Southern Pacifier. Your Majesty is wise and will definitely transfer Ziyi to Shenjing. It is very likely that he will enter the Five Cities Military Division or the Beijing Camp.”

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, “Don’t guess, Master Zhuang is here, do we still need to guess?”

“Hahaha!”

Xiong Kuohai laughed and said, “That’s right, Master Zhuang may have exchanged secret letters with Your Majesty, right?”

Zhuang Xuansu covered his mouth and said softly, “When the imperial edict comes, you will naturally know. "

"What I can reveal is that Zhou Yuan is now in the emperor's heart and is no longer the same as before."

"His every move is watched by His Majesty, and His Majesty has also assigned him a new task."

Zhou Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "I just hope that His Majesty will let me have a good rest for a few months and don't transfer me directly to the Central Plains."

Hearing this, Zhao Jianjia was shocked and said in surprise, "Your Majesty will not let my husband go directly to wipe out the bandits!"

Zhou Yuan said seriously, "It is very likely! At that time, life or death will be left to fate."

Zhao Jianjia's face turned pale and murmured, "How can that be! The bandits in the Central Plains have been around for seven or eight years. Even if my husband has the power of a bodhisattva, he can't wipe them out!"

Everyone looked at each other with a strange look on their faces.

But Zhou Yuan said, "It doesn't matter. A real man is not afraid of life and death!"