Guo Duanduo, a servant of the Liang State Rite Department, arrived in Jinling on October 16 with the letter of Emperor Zhu Yuguo of Liang to discuss the conclusion of a peace treaty.

Guo Duanduo, accompanied by the officials of Honglu Temple, lived in the Duting Station, which is equivalent to a state guesthouse.

Shangshu Province and Chongwen Hall are only separated by a palace gate, Shen Yang took Zhang Qian, walked through the palace gate to Chongwen Palace, the north wind blew, rolled the fallen leaves between the tall palace walls, and swirled on the road.

Zhang Qian's official robe only wore a thin jacket, he didn't expect this cold snap to come, in the afternoon in the cold government office was frozen enough, out of the cold wind blowing, he couldn't help but shiver, put his hands together and walked towards the Chongwen Palace.

"Smack!" Walking to the eaves of the main hall, Zhang Qian clearly heard the crisp sound of inkstones and other items smashing on the grinding stone floor from the depths of the main hall, and then heard Emperor Yanyou scream angrily:

"Since everything in Tangyi has been negotiated, the Liang army has also asked them to let them go through the border, and the benefits promised by Zhu Yu have also been included in their pockets, then let them continue to perform this drama with Liang Envoy, and they must pull me out to be a puppet? You are all as timid as a mouse, why didn't anyone run to him to ask if he was a courtier of Da Chu or a courtier of Liang State! ”

Zhang Qian glanced back at Shen Yang hesitantly, but Shen Yang pretended not to hear.

"Shen Xiang has arrived." Chen Ruyi, who was guarding the inside of the main hall door, saw Shen Yang and Zhang Qian coming over and greeted loudly.

Zhang Qian followed Shen Yang into the main hall and saw Emperor Yanyou sitting behind the imperial case with a black face, and several young eunuchs in Tsing Yi were hurriedly packing up the smashed inkstone in front of the imperial case, pen holders, paperweights and other objects.

Shen Yang just couldn't see it, walked to the imperial case and saluted: "Shen Yang has seen Your Majesty." ”

"Give Shen Xiang a seat." Yang Yuanpu ordered stiffly.

As soon as Shen Yang sat down, he was about to return to the situation where the officials of Honglu Temple met with Guo Duanduo, the envoy of Liang, when he saw Chen Ruyi sneakily and came over and said, "The Queen Mother and the envoy of Lu Gong have come over. ”

Yang Yuanpu was still angry, sitting behind the imperial case and not moving, while Shen Yang, Zhang Yang, Chen Ruyi walked out of the hall to greet the Queen Mother, Lu Qingxia and others.

"Why didn't Shen Xiang invite Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou to Chongwen Hall and ask them what they had negotiated with Liang Guo, and what else did we need to cooperate with them to sing this play?" Queen Mother Wang Chan'er looked at Shen Yang coldly and asked.

"The Queen Mother wants to summon Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou to ask for advice, they are also in Shangshu Province at this time, so don't bother to send someone to run." Shen Yang replied.

"......" Wang Chan'er hesitated for a while, waved her hand and asked the eunuch behind her to run to Shangshu Province outside the palace gate, and called Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou to Chongwen Hall together.

There is a palace gate on both sides, and after a cup of tea, Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou walked into the Chongwen Hall to greet Emperor Yanyou and the Queen Mother.

Yang Yuanpu's anger in his heart did not subside, but Jiang Yu, who was still serving in the palace, gave a look, and asked the eunuch to bring two brocade piers over, so that Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou could sit in the hall and talk - no matter what, Han Daoming's daughter Han Shuhui was a concubine in the palace, and no one else was sitting, but Han Daoming was asked to stand and reply.

In the end, Yang Yuanpu and Wang Chan'er couldn't help but not angrily denounce Tangyi for colluding with the enemy country, and they also turned a blind eye to Jiang Shu's unauthorized seat for Han Dao and Chen Jingzhou, after all, it was not the time to tear their faces, but the resentment in their hearts was difficult to eliminate, and seeing that Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou did not say a word, the atmosphere in the hall was extremely depressed for a while.

"I don't know what your majesty and the queen mother call each other, what are your orders?" Han Daoming waited for a while before he opened his mouth to ask.

Seeing that His Majesty and the Queen Mother were silent with dark faces, Shen Yang also lowered his eyebrows and looked at the newly changed official boots, Zhang Qian didn't even dare to sit on his ass, and of course he didn't dare to interject casually on such an occasion.

The eunuchs waiting in the palace, except for Jiang Shu and Chen Ruyi, who were quite comfortable, everyone else was also worried one by one, for fear that if something happened today, they would become the target of anger.

Lu Qingxia, who was still sitting at the head of Shen Yang, slowly opened his mouth to break the silence and said: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother summoned Han Shangshu and Chen Shilang to come over, to ask you how much do you know about the Liang army's transit from Tangyi?" ”

"Did the envoy of the palace ask Liang to make Guo Duanduo arrive in Jinling by boat from the Beishui River?" Han Daoming pretended to be confused and asked, "Liang envoy took the opportunity to enter the Hajj to meet His Majesty and the Queen Mother, and wanted to make friends between the two countries, and Tangyi also sent troops to escort him according to the imperial court system, is there anything wrong with this......

Yao Xishui didn't expect that in the Chongwen Palace, Han Daoming, the old fox, was even more treacherous than his father Han Wenhuan, and he dared to believe the sophistry at this time, his apricot eyes were angry, and he asked sharply:

"Lord Han is really good at pretending to be stupid, Tangyi colluded with the enemy Liang, not only did 6,000 Liang troops go to Caizhou from Tangyi, Tangyi even secretly escorted Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang back to Hehuai, don't you really think that it is done seamlessly, and people don't know?"

"Yao Weaving originally wanted to ask this, but Liang Jun borrowed the Tao, could it be that the Marquis of Xinjin didn't report to the Queen Mother and Yao Weaving before?" Han Daoming asked suspiciously, "The Weaving Bureau has the right to spy on the prefectures and counties, and the Staff Division has the right to spy on the border military situation, could it be that the Marquis of Xinjin did not report it, and the Weaving Bureau and the Staff Division did not notice at all that there were 6,000 elite Liang troops from Nanyang to Caizhou?" How can this matter be relied on on Tangyi's head? ”

Han Daoming didn't care about Yao Xishui's face turned red, and before she opened her mouth to refute, he said to Yang Yuanpu:

"Your Majesty, in July, the scouts of Tangyi found signs of dense passage of people and horses in the direction of Fangcheng to the south of Caizhou, but at that time, Xiangbei was very well guarded on the periphery, and the Tangyi scouts could not get close to spy on more information, and at that time I thought that Xiangbei took advantage of the chaos in Hehuai to send troops to seize Cai Ru Erzhou - Han Qian also communicated with Weichen and Chen Shilang many times about this matter, and also wanted to advise Xiangbei Xinde Liangzhou not to be greedy, but at that time he did not expect that it would be secretly helping the Liang army in Guanzhong to cross the border to Caizhou."

"Han Shangshu, you are untrustworthy and slander the Marquis of Xinjin, do you really think that Your Majesty is a three-year-old child who is easy to bully?" Yao Xi smiled very angrily, but he didn't expect Han Daoming to dare to refer to the deer as a horse in front of Yang Yuanpu and Shen Yang.

"Yao Weaving is too excited, Han is a little shallow, I want to ask, why did Yao Weaving conclude that the Marquis of Xinjin did not deceive the Queen Mother and Your Majesty? Could it be that the Weaving Bureau does have Liang Jun transiting from Tangyi in its hands, but there is no real evidence of transiting from Xiangbei? Han Daoming asked, "Yao Weaving should also know, Han Qian will not tell me everything about this uncle, if Yao Weaving really has evidence in hand, let me know if I have been deceived......

Yao Xishui opened his mouth and stammered, and asked Han Daoming to ask where he lived.

At this moment, Lu Qingxia also looked at Han Daoming with sharp eyes.

Yang Yuanpu and Shen Yang both looked at Yao Xishui and Lu Qingxia hesitantly at this time.

Zhang Qian was also confused, they were full of speculation that Han Qian and Liang Jun must have colluded, but after listening to Han Daoming's words, they felt that there was no possibility of Li Zhihe colluding with Liang Jun, after all, it was more convenient for Liang Jun to pass through Nanyang and could be more hidden.

And don't say that it is no longer a terrifying secret that father and son cannibalism in the world for the sake of power, even if Li Zhihe and others belong to the same lineage as the Shenling Division of the former dynasty with the Late Red Mansion, it does not mean that Li Zhihe has never concealed the possibility of Yao Xishui and Lu Qingxia secretly trading with Liang Guo for his personal power.

It must be said that Your Majesty himself and Chen Ruyi, who is standing behind him and serving in the Chongwen Palace, are not considered to be in the line of the Shenling Division? When did their interests coincide with Lu Qingxia and Yao Xishui, and didn't Your Majesty and the Queen Mother have always been unhappy?

Besides, since the rise of the Linjiang Marquis Mansion, the relationship between Li Zhihe and many people here has not changed; Li Zhihe has made almost pragmatic choices every time, which is most conducive to his own transformation.

Li Zhihe wanted to resist the counterattack of Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaosu in Liang, wanted to digest Liangzhou well, and even had the ambition to seek Shu, and he also had the motive to collude with Liang Jun.

After all, at this time, after the Mengwu people occupied the Jin land, the soldiers were very strong, and he was Li Zhihe, even if he occupied Liangzhou, he would not be in a hurry to insert it into Guanzhong, so secretly allied with the Liang army was undoubtedly more in line with the interests of Xiangbei.

Yao Xishui's pink face turned red, and only then did she understand more deeply what it meant to be difficult to argue.

Of course, it is impossible for her to admit the most secret relationship, and at this time, it is not appropriate to say that the Weaving Bureau and the Staff Division have a closer connection with Xiangbei, and can keep abreast of the movements of Xiangbei at any time, and can confirm that Liang Jun has no possibility of crossing through Xiangbei.

The Xiangbei Army colluded with them very closely, which was originally Yang Yuanpu's hatred, and she admitted this at this time, not only could she not explain anything, but she was more likely to be beaten by Han Daoming again, and they had already been involved in the crossing of the Liang Army.

"I really didn't expect Lord Han to speak so sharply," Lu Qingxia said, "Liang Guo took the three cities of Shouchun, Fengtai, and Huoqiu to negotiate peace this time, but these three cities have now been captured by Tangyi, doesn't this confirm that Tangyi has long secretly colluded with Liang Guo?" ”

"Of course not," Han Daoming said loudly, "Han Qian had already formulated a detailed battle plan for mobilizing 100,000 soldiers and horses to recover the three cities of Huoqiu, Shouchun, and Fengtai in the autumn long before the beginning of summer. Don't say that Hehuai is in chaos, even if Hehuai is not chaotic, Huoqiu, Shouchun, and Fengtai are already in the bag of Da Chu. Liang Guo must have seen this at this time, and it was just a favor to give up these three cities, Wei Chen really couldn't imagine it, why did Han Qian need to bear the name of collaborating with the enemy to exchange these three cities? Or did Lu Gong make him think that these three cities were really some great bargaining chips? ”

"......" Lu Qingxia saw that Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou were prepared, and it was difficult to fight for any words, so he stopped talking.

Han Daoming continued: "Even if the situation really necessitates a temporary easing of relations with the Liang army, as long as time permits, Han Qian will definitely ask the imperial court first. ”

"......" Shen Yang couldn't help coughing when he heard this.

However, Han Daoming was able to climb to this position, how could he blush for opening his mouth and talking nonsense, and saluted Yang Yuanpu and said, "Please Your Majesty be clear." ”

"Tangyi can mobilize 100,000 soldiers and horses, it's really majestic!" Yao Xishui couldn't help but sneer and mocked.

"In the same sentence, Weichen just wants to show that the Great Chu soldiers are strong and strong, and there is no need to bend the knee to curry favor in exchange for Shouchun, Fengtai, and Huoqiu, but he doesn't want to say it from Yao Weaving's mouth, but it seems that Weichen is ill-intentioned, this is probably the so-called terrifying words,"

Han Daoming sighed and said with emotion,

"Wechen has long heard that the government and the opposition have been rumored to have secretly colluded with Tangyi before the usurpation of the throne by the Marquis of Changxiang, but in fact, after the success of the usurpation of Shu, the Marquis of Xinjin and the old Jinzhou, and Kipzhou were also merged into Hunan Xingshangshu Province, what did Tangyi get? Han Qian knew that there was no interest in participating in this matter, but after knowing that the Marquis of Linjin was determined to lead his troops into Liangzhou in Canglang City, he still sent people to persuade Tan Yuliang to lead his troops to aid Shu as soon as possible. In addition, Shu could not take out 200,000 yuan of annual tribute, but Han Qian was soft-hearted, thinking that Shu would also be a vassal state of Great Chu in the future, and when he forgave the difficulties of Shu, he finally agreed to accept a small piece of barren land in southern Chongqing, in addition to paying this annual tribute on behalf of Shu every year, he also squeezed out an additional 300,000 yuan from the official money bureau to lend to Shu, so as to stabilize the tense and enemy-moving situation in Shu as soon as possible. Han Qian was willing to do these things, in the final analysis, because he was loyal to Da Chu. Weichen thinks that if he continues to connive at the gossip of the government and the opposition to provoke the public, it will not be a blessing for the community! ”

Yao Xishui didn't expect Han Daoming to be black and white, he really opened his eyes and said nonsense, but Han Daoming's every word was not allowed to be refuted.

As far as the matter of encouraging the township marquis to usurp Shu is concerned, Tangyi's profit seems to be the least profitable, so that they dissipated the news that Han Qian had secretly colluded with the Changxiang Marquis for a long time, and under the guidance of Han Daoming and others, some questioning voices also appeared in the government and the opposition one after another.

It's just that she didn't expect that Han Daoming would muddy the water in front of Yang Yuanpu's eyes at this moment.

"Han Shangshu said this, so he had to ask Shen if he believed it." Yao Xishui sneered.

She knew that Yang Yuanpu was very wary of them, but she would be inclined to listen to Shen Yang's opinion.

Seeing that the two factions were arguing, they still kicked the ball to his side at this time, Shen Yang swallowed bitterly and said: "The prosperity of the Mengwu soldiers is indeed a bit unexpected before, and at this time, peace with the Liang State will enable the Liang army to concentrate on opening up the communication between Heluo, Hangu Pass and Guanzhong, and contain the Mengwu troops from the north, which is also beneficial to Dachu, and Your Majesty should make a quick decision." ”

Seeing that Shen Yang still had an attitude of calming things down and putting aside the controversy, Yao Xi kept his mouth shut.

"Okay, Shangshu Province is fully responsible for the matter of making peace with the Liang envoy, and will come up with a statement as soon as possible to discuss it again. The queen mother should also be tired, and she will be tired of the Lu palace envoy and Yao weaving guards, and the child will not send the queen mother back to Cishou Palace. Yang Yuanpu was like a trapped beast, locked in a cage, not knowing who else to trust at this moment, and at this time he could only drive everyone else away with his haggard heart.

The Queen Mother Wang Chan'er and Lu Qingxia left, and Han Daoming and Chen Jingzhou also left.

Shen Yang stood up, but did not leave, but said to Jiang Yu and Chen Ruyi, who were waiting in the palace: "Please also ask Lord Jiang and Lord Chen to avoid it for the time being." ”

Jiang Shu and Chen Ruyi looked at Yang Yuanpu, although it was not in accordance with the rules for Shen Yang to ask the eunuch to avoid a secret conversation with Yang Yuanpu, but if Yang Yuanpu allowed it, they would not insist on staying in the palace to be bored.

Yang Yuanpu waved his hand and motioned for Jiang Xu, Chen Ruyi and others to go outside the hall.

"Rather than vainly guessing what the truth is behind the scenes, what Your Majesty needs more at this time is to identify who can be trusted and appointed," Shen Yang said, "Anyway, Your Majesty is the lord of Great Chu, even if some people have the intention of not being subordinate, but more scholars and generals of Great Chu will pin the idea of fame and fortune on Your Majesty, and Your Majesty must not give up on himself." ”

"Master Shen taught me." Yang Yuanpu said.

"Your Majesty's top priority should first transfer Zuo Wuxiangjun and Li Changfeng back to Beijing to ensure that Gyeonggi is safe......" Shen Yang said.

"Han Daoming said that Tangyi can mobilize up to 100,000 soldiers and horses in Huaixi, isn't it an exaggeration?" Yang Yuanpu asked solemnly.

"If necessary, it should be more than that." Shen Yang said.

Not counting Xuzhou, the population of the five prefectures of Huaixi at this time was close to 1.2 million, and there were more than 3.67 million young and strong men.

Unlike other states and counties where conscription and military service are drudgery, the young and strong people in Huaixi compete for recruitment.

Han Qian implemented a new policy in Huaixi, and set up the prefecture to the county and then to the township department, and the organizational control system at the grassroots level was extremely tight. Although it is impossible to last too long, when necessary, it is by no means unimaginable for Tangyi to draw one and mobilize and gather 1120,000 soldiers and horses.

At this time, Gyeonggi only had two guards and the Right Dragon Army stationed in Jiangdong, with a total strength of no more than 50,000.

The strategic focus of Xiangbei was successfully transferred to the west flank by Han Qian, and the gap between Tongbai Mountain and Huaiyang Mountain in the north of Suizhou was only stationed with seven or eight thousand elite soldiers and horses.

This is also where Han Daoming's confidence lies in daring to talk nonsense in the main hall just now.

Yang Yuanpu was silent.

Shen Yang continued:

"In addition to transferring Zuo Wuxiang's army back, Your Majesty should also take advantage of the fact that there is nothing to do in the west and north, and send a group of young generals from the guards and pro-army who have nothing to do with the various departments, and under the leadership of Du Chongtao or Zhou Bingwu, go south from the Gan River to carry out the Qingyuan army, and at the same time ensure that the wealth of Liangjiang and Hunan is under the control of Your Majesty, and no matter how bad the situation is, it will not be bad there......"

"......" Yang Yuanpu asked suspiciously after a long time, "Li Changfeng, Li Xiu, Li Zhihe, and Lu Qingxia are so close, and the Queen Mother is also obedient to them, can they really be appointed with confidence?" ”

Seeing Li Zhihe's betrayal, after all, Yang Yuanpu was like a stalk in his throat, Shen Yang sighed in his heart, before the destruction of the left and right Wuya Army Naval Divisions, how good the situation was to be reduced to this?

Of course, Yang Yuanpu did not question whether Du Chongtao and Zhou Bingwu were available, whether they could be trusted, and it could be regarded as progress.

Shen Yang sorted out his thoughts a little and continued:

"Jiangyin Marquis Huang Huang has the affection of Uncle Lang with His Majesty, and he has never had any great ambitions, and Bao Guogong Huanghua hopes that the situation in Jiangdong can be stabilized, which is worthy of His Majesty's trust. Although Zhang Feng did not follow Li Yu to retreat back then, he has been keeping to himself all these years, which shows that he has seen the situation very thoroughly, and in the end he will think more about Mingzhe to protect himself, Zhang Feng has nothing to take special precautions for, not to mention Du Bingbu and Zhou's secret envoy - and the Changguo Mansion and Li Changfeng's deceased are close to Li Zhihe, mainly because the second prince was taken to Cishou Palace to support, in the final analysis, they pinned their hopes on the second prince, not on Li Zhihe or Lu Qingxia, there is a difference. First, His Majesty will not be able to appoint the second prince as his heir in the future, and secondly, Li Zhihe and Lu Qingxia really have any unsightly ambitions, and Li Changfeng, Li Xiu and others, who are influenced by the prince of the county, will not be attached at will. This time, the Right Shenwu Army was stranded in Canglang, and then entered Liangzhou, Han Qian was able to make Li Changfeng and Li Xiuxian go west together, and he should also see through this......"

"Master Shen also thinks that the matter of Changxiang Hou's usurpation of Shu is because Han Qian has long been involved in the conspiracy behind the scenes?" Yang Yuanpu asked.

"Yes or no, it doesn't matter," Shen Yang said, "Han Qian can fight for people's hearts without taking his benefits, so why should Your Majesty ask yes or no?" ”

Yang Yuanpu groaned, and asked again after a long time: "When Master Shen said this, he specially asked Jiang Shu and Chen Ruyi to avoid it, right or wrong, they can't be trusted?" ”

"It doesn't matter whether you can trust or not, the key people's hearts will change, Your Majesty will also use more people in the palace, and you can't pin trust on two or three people," Shen Yang said this, and hesitated for a while before making up his mind and said, "If the first emperor really has any secret edicts left for Your Majesty, I also hope that Your Majesty will destroy them as soon as possible." Shen Yang didn't say that there was anything wrong with the first emperor, but after missing the opportunity to prosper, His Majesty should no longer think about the secret edict......"

Yang Yuanpu's eyes were gloomy as he looked at the twilight outside the main hall.

Shen Yang quietly looked at the bright candles lit up early in the hall, and wondered if Yang Yuanpu understood the meaning of his words.

In terms of the current situation, as long as Yang Yuanpu can let go of the suspicion of people in his heart, whether it is Yang En, Du Chongtao, or Zhou Bingwu, they are all veterans who can be used by Emperor Tianyou and can be called pillars when they are used.

In the current situation, it is necessary to make real use of them, so that they have the opportunity to take charge of the army and power, so that their lineage and cronies, sons, nephews, and protégés have the opportunity to serve in the guards, pro-army, privy envoys, and military departments, instead of making them vain names as military department secretaries and privy envoys, and there are few people under them who can be used.

In that case, how can they really control the power of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War?

In particular, Zhou Bingwu and Du Chongtao have been fighting horses for half their lives, and they have a group of capable generals who can be trusted, and they can also ensure that the soldiers and horses they master will not be inferior in combat effectiveness.

As long as this is done, Shen Yang believes that the situation in Da Chu will not be so bad.

Looking at Yang Yuanpu's hesitation and hesitation, Shen Yang could not avoid a sense of powerlessness in his heart, but he believed that Yang Yuanpu would still transfer Zuo Wuxiang's army back to Gyeonggi, and would not let Han Qian's plan succeed and leave Li Changfeng, Li Xiu and others in Liangzhou to put nails on Li Zhihe.

"Weichen retired first......" Shen Yang tilted slightly and withdrew from Chongwen Palace.