Luoyang - Since Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented Sinicization and moved the capital to this point, it has become the political and economic center of the northern continent, and its prosperous and prosperous scene is no less than Jiankang in the south.

Even in the land of the Northern Wei Dynasty today, wolf smoke is everywhere, but Luoyang is still immersed in an atmosphere of dogs and horses, drunken gold.

The real person in power in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Hu, had just had breakfast, and the internal officials hurriedly came to report, "Empress Dowager Qi, Your Majesty has arrived." ”

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old young man walked in, with a thin face, handsome facial features, and skin as transparent and white as a girl, but his eyes were deep-set, his eye circles were black, and the whole person looked tired, and there was a faint sadness in his cloudy eyes. This is the grandson of Emperor Xiaowen Yuan Hong, the son of Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke, and the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty - Yuan Xu.

After respectfully kowtowing to the Empress Dowager Hu, Yuan Xu asked softly, "Can the Queen Mother go to court today?" ”

Empress Dowager Hu glanced at her son, and did not answer, but asked lightly, "Why is the emperor so tired?" Is it because you can't sleep? Do you want to send the imperial doctor? ”

"The son is fine, and the queen mother doesn't have to worry. It's just that now my Great Wei Jiangshan rebellion is everywhere, the wind and rain are shaking, and my son is so anxious that he can't sleep at night......"

"Stormy?" Empress Dowager Hu interrupted Yuan Xu's words, "Is it that serious?" It seems that you are blaming your mother for not taking care of this great river and mountain for you. ”

"How dare my son!" Hearing Empress Dowager Hu's words, Yuan Xu hurriedly knelt down and explained, "My son was the crown prince at the age of three and ascended the throne at the age of six. ”

"It's good that you understand. My dynasty has always pursued the death of the noble mother, but the palace risked death to give birth to you. Fortunately, God has mercy and the Buddha blesses, and you and my mother and son can stay together to this day. ”

"The queen mother is bitter, and the son remembers it. It's just that these turmoil should be eliminated as soon as possible. The queen mother has not been in court for many days, and today the son came to ask the queen mother for an edict, can the child arrange his own counterinsurgency strategy? ”

"The son of this palace has grown up! This is to ask the queen mother for the power of the court! ”

"The queen mother misunderstood the child, the child is just ......"

Empress Dowager Hu interrupted Yuan Xu's defense again, "This palace has not been in court for many days, it is because I pray for the Buddha in Yongning Temple, and pray for the eternal stability of my Great Wei!" ”

"Pray to God and worship Buddha, can these rebellions not be extinguished?"

"Presumptuous!!" Yuan Xu's words angered Empress Dowager Hu, "You are a little child, what do you know about military affairs?" The palace has already arranged for Zheng Yan and Xu Su to coordinate the counterinsurgency, how can you be a little kid! ”

Zheng Yan, Xu Su! Hearing these two names, Yuan Xu couldn't help but grit his teeth. The whole dynasty knows that these two people are the faces of the queen mother's favor, and they are in power and act recklessly.

Although he was resentful, Yuan Xu could only endure it.

"What about Xiao Liang in the south? It is impossible for them to give up such a good opportunity, and they will inevitably raise troops to attack. ”

"Xiao Liang." Empress Dowager Hu sneered contemptuously, "The only Wei Rui who can make my Great Wei jealous is dead, and the other wine bags and rice bags can't make any waves." ”

"What about the Six Towns? There have been several urgent reports, and several waves of troops sent to suppress them have been defeated by the rebels of the Six Towns under the command of Baling of the Six Hans. Now that the rebel army is growing, the rebellious parties in Guanlong, Hebei and other places have also taken the opportunity to respond, and north of Luoyang, it has almost fallen! ”

"Fall? That's an exaggeration! Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and those chaotic parties are just a rabble, so they can get some advantage for the time being, and sooner or later they will be exterminated by my Great Wei Iron Cavalry. ”

Yuan Xu came out of the palace of the Empress Dowager Hu, bowed his head all the way, and sat sullenly on the dragon chariot.

Back in the imperial study, Yuan Xu paced back and forth restlessly, and after thinking about it, he whispered to the internal officials, "Go, call Yang Zhao to me." ”

Yang Zhao is now no longer what it used to be - he used the head of his brother Yang Baihua to pave his own path to heaven, from an unknown person, to the most elite and powerful armored cavalry in the Northern Wei Dynasty - the commander of the Ce Lei Army, and also inherited the title of the Yang family, which can be described as a prominent moment!

In the mansion in Luoyang, Yang Zhao politely said to the internal officials who came to summon him, "Please wait a while, let me change my clothes." ”

Back in the inner room, Yang Zhao was changing into court clothes. The strong man standing on the side asked puzzledly, "General, this little emperor summons you every once in a while, I'm afraid it's not appropriate." ”

This strong man is Li Jia'er, the deputy general of the Celei Army promoted by Yang Zhaoxin. A long time ago, because of the ferocity of the battle and the unstoppable bravery, he was favored by Yang Zhao, promoted from the small soldiers, and always carried it with him, and he was also loyal to Yang Zhao.

"What's wrong?" Yang Zhao asked with a smile.

"The general's glory and wealth today are all given by the Queen Mother, if you have too close contact with the emperor, I am afraid that it will arouse the suspicion of the Queen Mother."

"Hehe, yes, you can actually think of this, it seems that I am going to be impressed by you." Yang Zhao said teasingly.

"Oh, the last general is also thinking about the general's future."

"Although the Queen Mother is in power, the real Son of Heaven is still the emperor. Now there are only some small frictions between His Majesty and the Queen Mother, but it can be seen that this little emperor will never be slaughtered by others and is willing to be fish. ”

"Is the general going to be on His Majesty's side?"

"Your Majesty is getting older now, and his mind is becoming more and more mature, sooner or later he will tear his face with the Queen Mother." Yang Zhao stared at Li Jia'er, with a cold light in his eyes, "Power will destroy human nature, look at it, the bloody wind and rain are still behind......

"Then aren't we going to be enemies of the Queen Mother? Your Majesty is alone, I'm afraid I can't fight the Queen Mother. ”

"Now everyone is just afraid of the power of the Queen Mother, but in their hearts, they still believe that Your Majesty is orthodox. When necessary, as long as someone raises their arms and shouts, the world will respond. ”

"The general is trying to ......"

"Yes, I'm going to be the one who raises my arms! Once successful, I will return to power, I have the merit of supporting it, wouldn't I be a great minister! ”

"But in case the Queen Mother notices ......"

"The Queen Mother is now in addition to worshiping the Buddha, that is, to be happy, where do you have the heart to care about other things. I have always bribed Zheng Yan and Xu Su with a lot of money, as long as these two don't speak ill of me between the Queen Mother's bed, you can rest easy. Yang Zhao said with a sly smile.

"Your Majesty is in a hurry to summon Weichen, what is the matter?" Yang Zhao arrived at the imperial study, and after bowing, he asked softly.

"Now I am worried about internal and external troubles, I am so anxious that I can't sleep at night. Fang just went to ask the queen mother to personally deal with the counter-rebellion, but the queen mother ...... Ay! Yuan Xu let out a long sigh.

"Now the counterinsurgency is coordinated by Zheng and Xu Ergong, but it is really not optimistic."

"If this continues, won't the rivers and mountains of Great Wei be lost in my hands!" Yuan Xu was in a hurry, and tears flashed in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"I'm in a hurry, I'm out of shape, I'll forgive me."

"If Your Majesty is really worried, it is better to let Weichen lead the troops to quell the rebellion and share your Majesty's worries."

"This must not be!" Yuan Xu hurriedly objected, "If Aiqing leaves, I really have no support for this Luoyang City!" ”

"Then what is Your Majesty going to do? Do you just sit back and watch Zheng Xu and the others do nothing? ”

"Above this court, I can't do anything, but outside the court, there seems to be available soldiers."

"Your Majesty's intention to borrow the power of those tribes?"

"Aiqing has noticed that Xiurong's Erzhu clan recaptured Xiurong County from the chaotic army, and with only a few thousand cavalry, it broke tens of thousands of enemy troops."

"Weichen heard about this, but after the Naerzhu clan recaptured Xiurong, he actually killed the county guard, as if he wanted to occupy the mountain as the king......"

"The incompetents of the county almost let the whole county fall into the hands of the rebels, and it is not a pity to die."

"Your Majesty is trying to recruit the Erzhu clan?"

"The leaders of the Erzhu clan have always had a good relationship with the imperial court, and I would like to reward them and use their power to deal with the rebels in the Six Towns."

"But if you want to reward it, you can't get around the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother will definitely not allow Her Majesty to cultivate her own power! ”

"That's why I summoned Aiqing to come and discuss what to do."

Yang Zhao thought about it for a long time, "Weichen doesn't know about this Erzhu clan, if he makes it bigger, he won't be able to control it in the future, which is tantamount to driving the tiger and devouring the wolf." But if you have to rely on Zheng Xu and the others to quell the civil strife, I'm afraid it's impossible......"

"Now Xiao Liang is also ready to move, if he can't extinguish the rebels in the north as soon as possible, then the north and south will attack, and my Great Wei will be difficult to take care of!" Yuan Xu said bitterly.

"In that case, we can only gamble!" Yang Zhao finally made up his mind, "Your Majesty can personally write a letter of resignation, and promise the Erzhu clan a high-ranking official Houlu, and let him conquer the rebels of the Six Towns in the name of the imperial court; And let it be used as an external response, in case of accidents, and after promising to be pro-government, he will be allowed to take the position of the pillar country! ”

"Wechen will select a reliable person, go there secretly, and ensure that it will be delivered to the hands of the Erzhu clan commander in person. In this way, the Queen Mother can be bypassed. But the risk is too high, Your Majesty must think clearly! ”

"If you don't give it a go, sooner or later it will be a man-made sword, and I will be a fish. I vow to protect the foundation laid by my ancestors and ancestors, even if I am broken to pieces! ”

Under Yang Zhao's careful arrangement, Yuan Xu's handwritten letter was safely delivered to Er Zhurong's hands.

Er Zhurong opened the seal, read the letter, and said to the messenger who sent the letter, "Please tell Your Majesty that Er Zhurong will do his best to share His Majesty's worries." ”

After speaking, the secret letter was burned in front of the messenger.

After the envoy left, Erzhu Shilong on the side asked, "My lord, the little emperor of Luoyang wrote a letter to you?" ”

Er Zhurong nodded with a smile and sat down in his seat, "The little emperor asked our Erzhu clan to conquer the rebels of the Six Towns in the name of the imperial court, and also said that after he became in power, he would grant me the status of the Pillar State." ”

"That's a good thing!" Erzhu Shilong said happily, "In the future, we can justifiably conquer the city!" ”

"What do you think is a good thing?" Er Zhurong squinted at Er Zhu Shilong, with a smile on his face, "This little emperor is not simple, he wants to use us to deal with the six towns, and he also wants to use us as his pawns in the power struggle with the Queen Mother." ”

"But we can also take advantage of this opportunity in reverse!" Er Zhu Shilong said, "The ambition of the lord is to gallop the world, the soldiers of the six towns are fierce, if they can be collected under the command of the lord, with the heroism of the lord, who in the world can compete?" As for the position of the pillar country, whether he wants it or not, it is not easy for the lord to get it. ”

"Those who know me, Shilongya!" Er Zhurong's face was calm, and his eyes looked ahead, "I, Er Zhurong, how can it be a knife in someone else's hand, what I want to do is the one who holds the knife!" ”