Late November.

Zhang Yanchao, the assassin of Ulzhou, was originally a native of Shatuo, and was once the adopted son of Li Siyuan, and had a lot of contradictions with Shi Jingjiao.

So after Zhang Yanchao meditated, he surrendered the entire city to the Khitan, and he went directly to Yingzhou and surrendered to the Khitan lord Yelu Deguang. Yelu Deguang took advantage of the situation to appoint Zhang Yanchao as the envoy of the Datong Festival.

This news made Emperor Li Siyuan extremely angry, and now not only the soldiers and horses on the frontier are useless, but there are even traitors to the enemy.

So Emperor Li Siyuan issued six edicts in a row, ordering Shi Jingjiao to hurry up preparations for war, and to send troops before the end of the year to exterminate the traitor Zhang Yanchao first.

Shi Jingjiao played that he was reorganizing his army for war, and on the other hand, he took the opportunity to ask the court for a large amount of money, food, and armor. Emperor Li Siyuan gave permission to this, and a large number of money, grain, and armor were transported to Taiyuan City, but Shi Jingjiao had no intention of sending troops at all, but began to secretly expand his power.

In December, Emperor Li Siyuan saw that Shi Jingjiao still had no sign of sending troops, and began to have doubts in his heart. So Li Siyuan ordered Kang Yicheng to be the envoy of the Heyang Festival, and also the commander of the guards and pro-army horses; With Zhu Hongzhao as the envoy of Shannan Dongdao, he hoped to put a little pressure on Shi Jingjiao through the appointment of these two people, and forced Shi Jingjiao to send troops north as soon as possible.

This is not counting, Emperor Li Siyuan at this time in the face of the aggressive offensive of the Khitans, as well as Shi Jingjiao's yang and yin violations, has lost his mind a little, thinking that only his princes are the real loyal ministers, so regardless of the dissuasion of Feng Dao and other courtiers, began to wantonly divide the princes, hoping to defend the world with the power of all the princes, and the world was shocked for a while.

Dengzhou Mansion.

Li Congyan had three pieces of information in front of him, all of which were personally sent by Bai Jixun, and none of them were good news.

Bai Jixun and the three of them sat on the side, Li Wei and Wu Conghan hurriedly came, and after saluting, they sat down together.

"Without further ado, here's three pieces of information to inform you."

Then Li Congyan told Shi Jingjiao about the information that Shi Jingjiao controlled the towns in Hedong, as well as the information about Zhang Yanchao's treason and surrender to the Khitan.

Li Wei was so angry that he scolded, although Wu Conghan's reaction was not so intense, but his face also became very solemn, and said: "The lord's worries have become a reality, and his subordinates estimate that Shi Jingjiao at this time has not taken the imperial court's instructions seriously, and it won't take long for Hedong Town to be Shi Jingjiao's family!" ”

Li Congyan said in a deep voice: "That's right, with Shi Jingjiao's means, those straw bales in Hedong Town and the surrounding towns have no chance of winning. Next, I estimate that the situation in the world will take a sharp turn for the worse, and the root cause lies in Shi Jingjiao! ”

Li Wei said angrily: "Lord, why don't you send someone to assassinate Shi Jingjiao, it's a hundred!" ”

Li Congyan shook his head, why didn't he want to be like this? It's just that with Shi Jingjiao's means, the possibility of the assassination failure is too great, and he can't risk the lives of his subordinates.

And once this matter leaks out, with Shi Jingjiao's current reputation and style, Li Congyan absolutely believes that he and Dengzhou will become the target of public criticism, whether it is the imperial court or the local festival envoy, they will attack Dengzhou!

Wu Conghan looked at Li Congyan's expression, and then shook his head slightly at Li Wei, Li Wei realized that he had lost his words, and hurriedly crossed his hands to confess.

Li Congyan didn't think about it, and said: "This is the third piece of information, the sage issued an edict to confer the princes as princes!" ”

Li Wei and Wu Conghan were shocked when they heard this, and they both thought that once Li Congyan was divided into princes, he would definitely go to the fiefdom to guard it, and everything in Dengzhou would be handed over, and their faces changed greatly at this time.

Wu Conghan blurted out directly and asked, "Where is the Lord sealed!" ”

Li Congyan picked up the information and read: "Feng Li Congke is the king of Lu, Li Congyi is the king of Xu, Li Congzhang is the king of Yang, Li Congrong of Henan Yin is the king of Qin, and Li Conghou is the king of Song......

Thinking of this, Li Congyan put down the information in his hand and said, "You don't have to worry, this time I will be crowned the prince, and I will not have my share!" ”

At this time, Li Wei and Wu Conghan's faces became even more ugly, and they divided the princes as kings, and they actually left Li Congyan behind, what does this mean!

"Lord!"

Wu Conghan stood up abruptly and said: "The sage has completely given up on the Lord, and in the future in the Luoyang Imperial Court, there will be no place for the Lord, and the ministers in the court will no longer regard the Lord as one of the princes!" ”

Wu Conghan said this very tactfully, Li Congyan himself is not a Shatuo person, but a serious Han person, just a righteous son adopted by Li Siyuan.

Now Li Siyuan has divided the princes, but Li Congyan has not been canonized, which is enough to show that Li Siyuan has given up Li Congyan, the righteous son, and from now on Li Congyan will also lose the identity of the prince!

Li Wei also saw this, and said anxiously: "Lord, this division has a huge impact, when the world is turbulent in the future, the lord will not have the identity of the prince, what will be the attitude of the envoys of various festivals towards Dengzhou and the lord?" Prepare Lord! ”

Bai Jixun on the side was also frowning, and he was very worried about the grim situation facing Li Congyan.

Li Congyan pondered for a while when he heard this, and then suddenly burst out laughing, Wu Conghan, Li Wei, and Bai Jixun were all stunned when they saw this, and they didn't know why Li Congyan suddenly laughed.

"Do you all think that this time only I am not crowned king, which is a bad thing for Dengzhou?"

The three of them all nodded, and Li Wei asked rhetorically, "The Lord's meaning, isn't it?" ”

Li Congyan said: "Well~, in the short term, it's a bad thing, the envoys of all towns in the world, Li Congke and others will treat me as nothing, and even bastards like Shen Tan, the envoy of Pinglu Jiedu, may make some small moves." But in the long run, it may be a good thing for the saint to alienate me! ”

"A good thing?"

Li Wei and Wu Conghan looked at each other, and they didn't understand where this good came from.

Bai Jixun asked, "What does the Lord mean by saying good deeds?" ”

"What is your understanding of the four words "chaos in the world?"

The three of them thought for a while, and then Li Wei said: "The envoys of various regions attack each other, and the Hu people take advantage of the chaos to invade, and the world is in chaos." ”

Wu Conghan said: "The people of the world are displaced, they don't have enough to eat, and thieves and rebels are looting, burning, killing and looting, which is a great chaos in the world. ”

Bai Jixun thought for a while, and then said: "The world's festival envoys are all traitors like Shi Jingjiao, and the ministers of the court and central government are all powerful ministers like An Chongyu, or mediocre talents. ”

Li Congyan nodded and said, "What you said is right, the chaos in the world is what you say, even worse than what you said, and even darker!" In such a world, how long do you think the imperial court can hold out? ”

"This ......"

The three of them didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Li Congyan continued: "Now that Shi Jingjiao has been born, his power is expanding in northern Xinjiang, and most of the envoys from all over the country have ghosts, can the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government have talents? Maybe, but it certainly can't control the situation! You know very well what the officials of various families and states are like. ”

Speaking of this, Li Congyan asked again: "In such a world, will the situation of people being displaced and hungry, thieves and rebels looting, burning, killing and looting everywhere?" In my opinion, the imperial court will not last long, and even the saints will not last long, and the world is about to be in chaos! ”

Li Wei, Wu Conghan, and Bai Jixun were all silent, they understood that Li Congyan's words were right, now that the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse today, the sage Li Siyuan no longer has the wisdom of the past, maybe there is only one opportunity left from the chaos in the world, maybe it will not be tomorrow!

"So, what do you think is the role of the prestige of the imperial court and the prestige of the saints after the chaos in the world? How much of a role does the status of a prince have? ”

Wu Conghan and Bai Jixun fell into deep thought, Li Wei frowned, suddenly understood, and said: "I understand, the imperial court will be impacted at that time, and the identity of the prince will not only not help, but will also be a shackle!" ”

Li Congyan corrected: "It's not just a shackle, it's even a burden!" ”

At this time, Li Congyan naturally couldn't tell the three of them that the Later Tang Dynasty was about to die, and Shi Jingjiao was about to establish the Later Jin Dynasty, but the general trend of the world was here, as long as Li Congyan started from this aspect, he could make the three of them recognize the situation and understand that this time the king did not have much substantive effect. It can even be said that this time the king is more comforting to Li Siyuan and the princes!

Wu Conghan forked his hand and said: "We have understood the meaning of the Lord, and we have also understood the general trend of the world. Just ......"

Li Congyan didn't wait for Wu Conghan to finish speaking, then waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's just that not everyone in Dengzhou understands these truths, right?" ”

Wu Conghan said with a smile: "The lord is wise, and his subordinates mean exactly that. ”

"This is a big deal, and if you don't get it right, it will affect the morale of the people in Dengzhou."

Bai Jixun said: "The lord is right, this does have a great impact on the morale of the people, and his subordinates think that the news can be blocked." The matter of the imperial court dividing the prince will definitely pass the decree to Dengzhou City first, and then the shogunate will directly detain this decree and prevent the officials and people from all over the country to know about it. ”

"No! If the shogunate did not convey the will of the imperial court, wouldn't the people and officials know about it from other prefectures? You must know that businessmen from all over Dengzhou come and go, and there are many businessmen coming and going between Dengzhou and other places every day. ”

At this time, Wu Conghan, Li Wei, and Bai Jixun had no idea.

Li Congyan thought for a while, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he said with a sneer: "I have an idea!" ”

"What's the Lord's plan?"

"After the imperial court's decree was delivered to the shogunate, it was revised and conveyed in the name of the shogunate: just say that I, Li Congyan, am dedicated to the people, because I have offended the powerful people in the court by dividing land, giving relief, and developing workshop commerce, so I don't have my share in this king!"

Li Congyan said with a smile: "The general meaning is this, the Household Registration Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is responsible for polishing it, and then distributing it to all counties and posting it!" ”

The three of them were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and then they all laughed and clapped their hands, Bai Jixun even smiled and said: "The lord's move is very wonderful, with the lord's reputation in Dengzhou, this time the saint will not be crowned the lord of the king, and the people and officials everywhere will definitely be extremely disappointed with the saint and the court, and sympathize with the lord!" ”

Wu Conghan said: "The Lord's move is simply to turn decay into magic, so that the morale of the people of Dengzhou will not decline, but will be even more vigorous because of the anger and injustice of the saints!" ”

The three of them complimented Li Congyan, and Li Congyan said with a smile: "I just thought of this method by chance, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will prepare to implement it tomorrow." ”

"In addition, the Zhenfu Division has to be busy, in addition to continuing to collect major events in the DPRK and China, Luoyang must also strengthen the collection of the situation of the princes, focusing on Li Congke, Li Conghou, and Li Congrong!"