Chinese New Year

Chapter 583 Scared
Zhongshu Shilang Yan Ding hurried into the palace and soon entered the Taiji Hall.

There is no court meeting today, but the emperor still summoned his close ministers here to ask questions.

When Yan Ding entered, the noise in the hall was still very loud, as if they were not worried about being eavesdropped at all.

This left him speechless.

Shao Xun did not take the initiative to replace the guards in the palace. These were recruited by Liang Fen on behalf of the emperor.

Shao Xun also did not replace the palace maids. They were all old people left over from the previous emperor's era. There had been occasional replacements in recent years, but not many.

But there might be someone who is on his side and is secretly reporting the matter to him.

Even if they didn't inform Shao Xun, what about Wang Yan? What about Yu Min? These two people were either very famous or had real power. Wouldn't they bribe people in the palace?

Yan Ding just felt helpless.

"More than 30,000 soldiers and horses have gathered in the three cities of Heyang. With the valiant Silver Spear Army as the backbone, they drive troops from various directions to besiege the cities of Henei. On the 13th, the refugee leader Guo Mo led his troops to attack first and conquered Wen County. On the 16th, the Zhuosheng Army went north and fought with the Hun cavalry..." The voice of General Jiao Qiu of the Light Chariots came from inside.

"Is it possible for Shao Xun to capture Hanoi?" This was the voice of the emperor.

"I don't know about that. Judging from its strong momentum, it seems that it intends to attack the Wild King directly."

"How dare he?" The emperor was a little furious, and said, "In the past, General Wang Kan went north to Hebei, but was defeated by the Xiongnu due to lack of food and grass, and most of his 30,000 soldiers died. If Shao Xun goes north from Heyang, won't the Xiongnu find a way to cut off the food supply?"

No one could answer.

The emperor was still angry and said to himself, "Shi Le suffered a great defeat last year and does not seem to be able to stop Shao Xun. If he captures all of Jizhou, we will no longer be able to control him."

"Your Majesty, the Huns will definitely intervene in the war in Hebei." This was the voice of Guanglu Doctor Li Shu.

"What's the point of intervening?" The emperor said dissatisfiedly, "Back then, we defeated Wang Kan, Cao Wu, Wang Kuang, and even Xun Song, all of which were quick and easy. Why is it so difficult to defeat Shao Xun now? Are his soldiers more powerful than the Luoyang Central Army?"

After hearing this, Yan Ding secretly thought that the Luoyang Central Army eleven or twelve years ago was really powerful. At least Wang Hu led the cavalry to defeat the Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Wuhuan soldiers brought by Sima Ying, but it was a pity that they were all gone now.

Of course, he also knew that the current Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Wuhuan soldiers were much stronger than the Hu soldiers more than ten years ago. If you let the Luoyang Central Army from that time fight the Xiongnu soldiers today, it is hard to say what the result will be, and they may even lose.

Everyone was making progress, except the central army in Luoyang, which was regressing.

"Your Majesty, Liu Yao suffered a loss last year. This year, he may go to another place. Shao Xun may not be able to stop him. Maybe there is a chance." Someone else said.

"Liu Yao is a veteran on the battlefield after all, alas." The emperor looked very angry.

Yan Ding was sweating profusely after hearing this.

This is a bit outrageous. Are you hoping that the Huns will win?
"Forget it, let's think it over carefully." The emperor heaved a sigh of relief and said, "What Li Qing said a few days ago was right. In this world, change is the key..."

Yan Ding wiped his sweat subconsciously.

A few days ago, Li Shu put forward an opinion. He was present and listened to it in its entirety.

Li Shu believed that judging from the current situation, if there were no major changes, Shao Xun would gradually tighten his control over Luoyang.

Up to now, he still had some concerns and did not do it openly, but only relied on Wang Yan, Yu Min and others to indirectly influence the court.

But as he continued to capture cities in Hebei, Shao Xun's reputation grew, and the next step was to control Luoyang.

If he takes Xuzhou and Qingzhou next, he might do whatever he wants and keep the emperor firmly in his hands.

Li Shu asserted that if Shao Xun was allowed to accomplish this goal step by step, he would most likely usurp the throne, and no one could guarantee what the emperor's fate would be - maybe he would kill the emperor of the previous dynasty?
Li Shu feels that "change" is needed now.

If you don't change, you will die.

Change may mean death, or it may mean the clouds will clear and you will get an opportunity.

The conversation ended here, and Li Shu did not continue. But in fact, he pointed out two paths for the emperor and let him choose.

Yan Ding was terrified after hearing this.

I just want to take a chance and get a government post. Aren't you guys fooling around? How do you plan to implement it? Have you considered the consequences?
At this point, Yan Ding really regretted his decision and was planning to jump ship - if he continued to play with this group of people, he would die sooner or later without a burial place.

"Minister Yan, please follow me in." The palace servant who led him in finally waited until the emperor finished his talk. After informing the emperor, he got his permission to lead Yan Ding in.

"Your Majesty." Yan Ding bowed respectfully, then knelt down under the guidance of the palace servants.

"Mr. Yan, what is going on outside?" the emperor asked anxiously.

Yan Ding glanced at the emperor's expression.

Excitement, impatience mixed with worry, fear, and a hint of anticipation?

"Your Majesty, Lord Chen set out from Xuchang, passed through Yangdi and Yangcheng, entered Huanyuan Pass, crossed the Luo River in the southern suburbs, and headed towards Jingu Garden in the west of the city. If everything goes well, we will arrive tomorrow afternoon." Yan Ding said.

The emperor swallowed his saliva and his face did not look very good.

Yan Ding stopped paying attention to him and secretly observed the others, but he saw that everyone looked worried, as if they were afraid that Mr. Chen would do something horrific after entering the capital. But he also understood them.

At the most recent court meeting, Grand Marshal Wang Yan told a terrible fact: the amount of grain imported into the capital from other places was decreasing.

The reason is simple: war.

Jingzhou and Xiangzhou have stopped supplying grain to the court in order to quell the rebellion.

The grain transport to Yangzhou and Xuzhou was also suspended due to the fierce fighting in Xia Pi.

So far, only Jiangzhou and Shouchun are still transporting grain to Beijing, and the amount is much less than in previous years.

The reason for the decrease is that people no longer recognize the imperial court.

Sima Rui had the support of the Jiangdong scholars, so he could "take control" as much as he wanted. Even if you send an envoy to Jianye now and ask the court to take back Sima Rui's power to "act at his own discretion", it is impossible and useless, because the Jiangdong nobles recognize him and want him to lead the south to secede and live in peace in a corner.

This is the pursuit and mentality of the people of Wu. As the situation has developed to this day, many things have gradually become clear.

The people of Wu understood, so they were no longer so obedient.

Shao Xun also understood, so he went to Luoyang.

The food problem raised by Wang Yan has been a chronic disease of the Luoyang court in recent years and has always been difficult to solve.

Today, Henan County has become somewhat stable, and the imperial court can also collect some grain.

The governors of Yanzhou and Yuzhou also paid taxes to the court. Now that Jizhou has been recovered, taxes can be collected immediately, but the grain and silk delivered by these regions are too little, far less than the amount sent by Jiangdong. From this incident, it can be seen that Sima Rui is undoubtedly much more loyal than Shao Xun.

The food issue is the most realistic one.

The emperor wanted to mess up Shao Xun's territory, which was undoubtedly against the trend. In other words, they were destined to have difficulty getting support from other court officials.

So, when Wang Yan encouraged the court officials to propose an attack on Hongnong and hinted that this was the opinion of Chen Gong, it received almost overwhelming support - this is not to say that the court officials supported Shao Xun, they were just loyal to their own stomachs.

But even though the situation was like this, the emperor was unwilling to give up and was obsessed with "seeking change", which made Yan Ding very scared and he didn't want to play with them anymore - just this morning, he had quietly sent his family out of the city.

"Your Majesty." Henan Yin Diwuyi said, "Since Shao Xun did not enter the city, he must have some concerns and dare not openly disrespect Your Majesty. For now, we have to be tolerant and let him be proud for a while. When the grand plan is successful, we can make plans later."

The emperor hesitated a little after hearing this. He glanced at everyone and saw that they all had the same opinion. He finally nodded and said, "I'll do as you say."

His only hope now was that there were other princes who could defeat Shao Xun. Even if the Xiongnu defeated him several times, it would not be unacceptable.

In short, although the Huns were his enemies, they were far less urgent. Shao Xun was the shackle around his neck, which was very uncomfortable.

"In the matter of attacking Hongnong, who did Wang Yan mention to lead the army?" Sima Chi suddenly asked.

"Never."

Sima Chi was stunned, but said nothing.

"Your Majesty." The attendant Xu Xia cupped his hands and said, "Shao Xun led his people into the capital, but camped outside the city, which shows that he is not yet so crazy. I think we can summon him to the palace to meet him. There is no harm in giving it a try..."

"Will he come to Beijing?" Sima Chi said quietly.

Yan Ding felt his heartbeat slow down a beat, and immediately said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the meeting at Tianyuan Pond?"

Sima Chi reacted, but soon his expression was tinged with even more shame and anger.

Xu Xia and the others stopped talking and just sighed.

Yan Ding glanced at him and thought to himself that no matter when, there would always be people who repeatedly tested the edge of danger without considering the consequences.

Who is Shao Xun? Can he be fooled so easily? Damn it, I'm leaving today without saying goodbye. If I wait any longer, I might be killed by them.

As for where to go - actually there is nowhere good to go, let's find a way to sneak back to Guanzhong and see if there is any chance.

The group then talked about some other things until noon.

The emperor invited everyone to have a meal in the palace to show his closeness. Yan Ding ate a little hastily and found it tasteless, so he bowed and left in the afternoon.

After returning to the mansion, he hesitated for a while, and finally made up his mind. He first dismissed the servants, then packed up his belongings, took more than ten trusted guards and servants, and went directly out of the city to reunite with his family.

He is afraid!

At this time, Wang Yan, who was living in Jingu Garden, received a letter from Shao Xun.

He unfolded it and read it, only to see the words: "Since the Yong'an period, wolves and jackals have been rampant and the palace has been desolate. When eating, I can't help but sigh; when going to bed, I can't help but be filled with righteous indignation... The soldiers left their gardens and relatives, braved the arrows and went to the front, and they have conquered cities and strongholds, and pursued the enemy to the north. They fought day and night, wearing helmets and following the expedition, which was the most difficult and I feel pity... Now I think about it, maybe I can promote their official rank, transfer their ranks, confer titles on their mothers and wives, and honor their parents... The Taiwei is familiar with the source of governance and chaos in ancient and modern times, and understands the way of civil and military affairs. Maybe you can teach me? If this is accomplished, the achievements will be recorded in the history books, and the grace and honor will be bestowed on the generals and soldiers..."

Wang Yan picked up his beard and read it three times. After reading it three times, he had broken off three tufts of his beard.

Quanzhong, you actually want me to be cursed by scholars all over the world? Lao Deng is really scared!

(End of this chapter)