Chapter 416: Suspicion Grows
As soon as Li Bing's words came out, Murong Xue was stunned on the spot.
Princess Shang, unlike marrying a wife, is the etiquette of the royal family, which can be described as extremely noble. For the sake of Princess Shang, let the meritorious man turn his main room into a flat wife, isn't it funny?!
What kind of system will it become?
There have been precedents for this before. During the twenty-first emperor period, Zhu Jie, the new champion, was full of wealth, dignified appearance, tall and handsome, and was deeply loved by the eldest princess at that time.
The eldest princess committed a nymphomaniac, crying and making trouble that he would not marry, which made the emperor quite embarrassed. On the one hand, Zhu Jie did not dare to offend the eldest princess, and on the other hand, he was also greedy for glory and wealth, so with the consent of the emperor, he turned his original wife into a flat wife and officially welcomed the eldest princess.
But the problem is that although Zhu Jie became a colt as he wished, he was also scolded by the people for a lifetime. Even, there are good deeds who have made up their own people and things into a repertoire, portraying Zhu Jie as a villain and performing it in various troupes in turn, almost the venue is full, and everyone laughs.
And the eldest princess is not much better. Before the age of forty, he died of depression because he couldn't stand the long-term criticism of the royal family and the court.
Li Bing is now using them as a precedent to marry Li Jiangyao and Princess Fenyang, he really has the same attitude as his cousin, and he doesn't care about the reputation of the capital of the Zhenjiang Army.
Wei Zixuan glanced at Murong Xue triumphantly and said with a smile: "Your Majesty Shengming." The seventh princess is the pearl of the first emperor, and Li Jiangyao killed the enemy chief and recovered the imperial capital, which is equivalent to avenging the first emperor. The princess promised each other with her body, which shows that the royal family is affectionate and righteous, and she understands that Entu will surely become a good story for the ages. ”
Gong Chengze also joked: "That's true. The officers and soldiers of the three armies serve the country, and at most they are fighting for a wife and a son, and glorifying their ancestors. I can't even think of being able to welcome the princess. This honor is enough to envy everyone. ”
With them taking the lead, many ministers also hurriedly sang praises and praised the emperor's decision to reward him for being very wise.
Li Bing smiled and said loudly: "Then it's decided." The province of Zhongshu drafted the decree, the province approved it, and the edict rewarded Li Jiangyao, a meritorious minister who resisted the enemy, and the royal family gave marriage to welcome the princess of Fenyang! ”
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From the perspective of political power and politics, in the concept of Emperor Li Bing, the Zhenjiang Army is not much better than the Xuanjia Army.
Although the foundation of the Zhenjiang Army is the original Zhenjiang Protectorate, no matter the banner, military system, regulations, command system, and even military uniforms, they are all in the same vein as the Shengtang soldiers and horses. However, after all, this army rose in the midst of war, and had no close connection with the emperor himself or the imperial court, and its strength composition was mainly composed of the people of Western Xinjiang.
Therefore, it is difficult for it to be regarded as an orthodox descendant by the Central Plains Dynasty.
And the more important questions come from the commanders who command this huge legion.
Li Jiangyao, a lieutenant of the Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, was once convicted and wanted by the imperial court for the matter of Baron Metasequoia;
Xu Youchang, the former pioneer lieutenant of the Xuanjia Legion, was also wanted and arrested by the imperial court because he was involved in the assassination of the commander He Jingming;
Xie Tanzhi, a local minor official in Western Xinjiang, for some reason, was dismissed from office by the Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate and the Western Xinjiang Official Office.
It's really strange that the three giants of the Zhenjiang Army all have a holiday with the imperial court.
In addition, according to the secret agent, Li Jiangyao had frequent contacts with Tanli, the second prince of the Turkic Empire, and Tanli actually called Li Jiangyao his brother; Xu Youchang has a close relationship with the Turkic Eagle Yang princess He Sijia, and may have a personal relationship with his children; Shetanzhi maintained a long-term cooperation with the Persian Empire's important minister Aimeni, which involved a large number of military equipment and internal and external intelligence transactions; The female assassin who assassinated Cheng Kaiyang, the commander of the Long Knife Legion, was also hiding in the Zhenjiang Army at this time and had been protected by Li Jiangyao.
These things, no matter which one of them are found out, can be regarded as a shocking case of the dynasty. But for Li Jiangyao and them, these things seem to be ordinary and unscrupulous, as if they are not afraid of the court's inquiries at all.
In the final analysis, he still supported the army and respected himself, and did not take the emperor in his eyes.
Therefore, after the Turks were eliminated, the "status" of the Zhenjiang Army in Li Bing's heart was rapidly improved, and it was placed in the same important position as the rebels.
Of course, this can only be temporarily hidden in his heart, and cannot be explained to the outside world. After all, Li Jiangyao has no clear objection at present, and "suspecting loyalty and harming meritorious heroes" will seriously affect the prestige of the emperor, and even arouse strong dissatisfaction within the court and the common people.
Li Bing has now completed the reorganization of the Central Plains army, basically taking the military power into his own hands, and the next step is to try to deal with the Zhenjiang army. And marrying his cousin Li Xi to Li Jiangyao is a good move to test and differentiate.
If Li Jiangyao is willing to accept the princess of Fenyang and become a concubine, then use Li Xi's relationship to encroach and divide the generals of various departments within the Zhenjiang Army step by step, until they are completely paralyzed and dismembered, and solve the Western Army like they did with the Southern Army.
At the same time, it can also destroy the relationship between Li Jiangyao and Xiahou Ninghan.
If Li Jiangyao refuses to be the princess, he can lay a foreshadowing for the government and the opposition: the emperor sincerely praises the commander of the Zhenjiang army, but the other party refuses to be kind, which may imply that he is not subordinate. In this way, Li Bing will be able to gradually make a big fuss about morality and public opinion, and press Li Jiangyao step by step.
As long as the struggle is not completely put on the table and the two sides directly tear their faces, then as the monarch of the dynasty, Li Bing will always be the more dominant side.
With this idea, the will of the royal family to give marriage was sent from Luoyi and passed all the way to the imperial capital.
After hearing this, the bosses of the Zhenjiang Army were all stunned.
You're going to say it's not a reward, right? The dignified princess Fenyang is the daughter of the first emperor, the purest royal family, married to a general from a civilian background, which dynasty and generation can be regarded as the honor of honoring the ancestors.
But you're going to say it's a reward, right? The seventh princess Li Xi is the sister of the rebel king Li Kui, and Dadu Hu already has a wife. Let Xiahou Ninghan change to a flat wife and make way for the traitor's sister, how outrageous is it!
Xu Youchang felt that something was wrong, so he hurriedly pulled Xie Tanzhi and went to see Li Jiangyao together.
Looking at Dadu Hu, who was lying his legs on the table and was leisurely plucking his ears with a straw stick, Xu Youchang couldn't help but say in a deep voice: "Jiang Yao, I don't think you're in a hurry at all?" ”
"In a hurry?" Li Jiangyao was a little puzzled: "What should I be anxious about?" ”
Xu Youchang glanced at Xie Tan helplessly, and then said: "There is a holy decree from the imperial court, saying that in order to reward you for your contribution to defeating the Turks and recovering the imperial capital, you will marry Li Xixu, the princess of Fenyang, to you, don't you have any idea about this?" ”
Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "Oh, it turns out that you are talking about this." I have already sent a reply to Luoyi, thanking the emperor for his love, but I really can't accept it, so I should ask Her Royal Highness the princess to choose another virtuous son-in-law. ”
"You really refused?" Xu Youchang said curiously: "Straightforward, refuse to accept the emperor's reward?" ”
Li Jiangyao dropped the straw stick and asked rhetorically, "Do you think I should marry Her Royal Highness the princess?" ”
Xu Youchang shook his head: "That's not it. To tell the truth, the court is doing this, it is too cold for the hearts of the soldiers, you don't accept it, and no one can find fault with it. Purely based on merit, it is not an exaggeration to seal the pillar country, even if it is a knight, what kind of thing is it to be a nondescript princess? ”
Xie Tanzhi also said: "What's more, the emperor knew that Dadu already had a wife, and he deliberately proposed to refer to the precedent and have a wife, which is not a reward at all, but deliberately making things difficult." Whose family has a good life, and has nothing to do to change the wife of the main house to a flat wife? ”
Xu Youchang muttered and scolded, and asked, "What is Ning Han's reaction, aren't you angry about this?" ”
Li Jiangyao smiled: "I wrote that letter of rejection in front of her." Not only was she not angry, but she was worried that I would get into trouble by doing this. ”
"Don't be afraid to get into trouble!" Xu Youchang waved his hand: "Insincere rewards, we are not rare." I really don't know what Li Bing's mind is thinking? It's also the same as when I was a child! ”
Xu Shuai said cautiously. Xie Tanzhi kindly reminded: "After all, he is the emperor, and we are courtiers, so we can just keep our duties, and there is no need to discuss them." ”
Xu You glanced at him: "Old Xie, you don't have to be afraid." I grew up in the imperial capital since I was a child, and I often fought cocks, hunted, and played polo with Li Bing. Jiang Yao, there is something wrong with the imperial court's attitude towards us, I'm afraid we have to prepare early. What do you say, Lao Xie? ”
Xie Tanzhi saw that Xu Youchang had already made his words clear, so he no longer had any scruples, and nodded and said, "Dadu Protection, what Xu Shuai said makes sense." Since our soldiers came out of the two levels, the imperial court has been behaving very strangely, and then issued a whole army order, and now the marriage of Princess Fenyang is used as a reward, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that the emperor does not trust you and the Zhenjiang army. ”
Li Jiangyao said with a smile: "You said that you should prepare early, how to prepare?" ”
Xu Youchang and Xie Tanzhi glanced at each other and said, "I think about it with Lao Xie, there are three things next, and we must discuss the countermeasures in advance." One is the imperial capital, the second is the whole army, and the third is the rebel army. Now, there is one more case, you rejected Princess Fenyang's marriage, what will be the impact after that. ”
Xie Tanzhi explained: "The issue of the imperial capital is probably the most important thing in the world at present. Our army took control of Tongguan, including the Gyeonggi region, and the entire Guanzhong was under control. Does the imperial court want to return the capital? How to get back? How is the defense zone handed over? It's all a big problem that affects the whole body. ”
"Whether Li Bing dares to run to our territory is still unknown." Xu Youchang laughed and said, "There are also the two things of the whole army and the rebels. At the critical moment of the decisive battle with the main Turkic force, our emperor not only did not send reinforcements, but instead changed us to the Phoenix Legion in a hurry, and the establishment given by the military department clearly stated 120,000 soldiers. So, how do you count the remaining more than 300,000 people? Disbanded? Now that the Turks are finished, the next thing is Lao Jianhua, will we be transferred to fight the rebels? ”