Chapter 65 Party Struggle (Subscription Request)

It is January 15th of the fifth year of the Zhengei era, and the New Year is approaching.

The uncle of Emperor Zhengyong, the fourth brother of the late emperor was assassinated and died in the Prince's Palace in Yancheng.

It's time.

Yancheng was under curfew for seven consecutive days, and one hundred thousand soldiers surrounded the city to capture the rebel assassin!

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Chen."

Capital city, Qiankun Palace.

Through Chen Liancang's narration, Zheng Yi learned about so many things that had happened to them in Yancheng.

Prince Yan is really planning a rebellion!

Fortunately, he was not too soft-hearted and led Chen Liancang and others to secretly assassinate King Yan in Yancheng.

Clean and neat, leaving no evidence.

Although this matter was somewhat disgraceful, it did cover up the Prince of Yan's rebellion and ensured the stability of Dayu. Zheng Yi did not think there was anything wrong with it.

"By the way, Mr. Chen, where are Xiao Guizi and the others?"

"Killed by the slave."

"What? Kill him!"

Zheng Yi was surprised and asked, "Why?"

"Xiao Guizi is loyal to me and works for me..."

"His Majesty!"

Chen Liancang said respectfully: "Those who do great things do not care about small details. The matter of assassinating the King of Yan is of great importance, so I have to be careful."

"Xiao Guizi brought five Jinyiwei with him on this trip. If the news leaks out, it will be bad for Your Majesty!"

"For the sake of your majesty and the people of Dayu, I can only make this decision."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I did it very cleanly. The bodies of Xiao Guizi and the others have long been devoured by wild beasts in the mountains."

After a few breaths, Zheng Yi could only sigh and say, "Alas... the facts have come to this point, and this is the only way."

"Pass the order down, bury these people with great ceremony in a cenotaph, and pay special attention to the distribution of pensions. Do you understand?"

Chen Liancang's heart tightened, and he immediately said, "Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Mr. Chen has been in Yan for more than a month. Has he been able to find out about the civil unrest in Youzhou?"

"Your Majesty, it is now the coldest time of the year, and most of the rioters have gathered in several occupied cities such as Guang'an City, Siping City, Shuncheng City, etc. to rest and recuperate, waiting for the coming year."

Chen Liancang said: "In the entire Youzhou, only a few large cities such as Yancheng, Yuyangcheng, and Linshuicheng are still in the hands of the soldiers."

"Who is in charge of Youzhou's military horses now?"

"Gongsun Bo. This man is from a local clan in Youzhou. He is skilled in military operations and has 6,000 dragon horse cavalry under his command. He is currently following General Xu Mujun to confront the Wu Kingdom's army at the Canglong River."

"Dragon Horse Cavalry?"

"The dragon horse is a fine horse produced in Youzhou. It is said to have dragon blood in its body. It is more than seven feet tall and can carry 500 kilograms as if walking on flat ground. It can travel a thousand miles a day. It is an extremely rare and fine horse."

More than two meters tall? A horse that can carry 500 kilograms?
"Wu State, Wu State again..."

Zheng Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, and a flash of murderous intent passed through his eyes.

If you want to completely quell the civil unrest, you must first drive out the Wu State.

Otherwise, Xu Mujun’s army has been held back by the State of Wu. When will the civil unrest in the six states in the northern border be resolved?

The main problem is that the states in the northern border are divided and the aristocratic families are powerful. Most of the rioters have close ties with these people.

It is unrealistic to mobilize heavy troops from the capital to suppress the riots.

In this case, we can only...

"Xuan Zhanliang."

"promise!"

Chen Liancang left quickly. Half a day later, Zhan Liang, exhausted, appeared in front of Zheng Yi.

"Your humble servant Zhan Liang pays respect to Your Majesty!"

"Get up."

Zheng Yi raised his hand slightly and said, "I want to ask you, what is the current output of the arsenal?"

Zhan Liang said excitedly, "Your Majesty, with the addition of more than 3,000 skilled blacksmiths from Yujian Villa, the daily output of the arsenal has increased at least tenfold!"

"Now the arsenal contains more than 23,000 thunderbolts, 72 red-coated cannons, and more than 3,000 divine fire spray guns and poisonous dragon divine fire spray guns."

"These red cannons are much more powerful and durable than before, thanks to the improvement of Yu Jian Villa's metallurgical technology."

"And thanks to the efforts of my colleagues in the Ministry of Industry, we have finally developed the latest model of matchlock gun!"

"The matchlock gun has been successfully developed?!"

Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly lit up. He had experience from his previous life, so he directly abandoned the plans of fire guns, bird guns, etc. and directly handed the plan of matchlock guns to the Ministry of Works.

After several months of research, they finally figured out something.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhan Liang said: "This matchlock gun is about three feet long, straight on the outside, with a tube inside, made of metal; the inside is through and the bottom is closed; there is a curved rod on one side for the fire."

"This spear has a range of about thirty feet. It can shatter leather armor and even iron armor. It is truly a great weapon for a major battle!"

"it is good!"

Zheng Yi immediately said: "Thank you for your hard work, I will reward you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"It is now the beginning of the fifth year of Zhengyong. After April, how many thunderbolts and red cannons can your arsenal develop?"

"This……"

Zhan Liang calculated silently in his mind, and after a few breaths, he said, "Your Majesty, if there are enough raw materials, the arsenal can produce 100,000 thunderbolts, 200 red cannons, and about 10,000 other firearms in three months."

"One hundred thousand thunderbolts? That's enough!"

"If you can hand over so many firearms in three months, the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works will be yours!"

Zhan Liang immediately knelt down excitedly and shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Go down."

"promise!"

"Cheng En."

"The servant is here."

"It is said that... Chen Hongxiu and Zhao Tieshan."

"promise."

Soon, two newly promoted palace guards walked in one after another.

"I, Chen Hongxiu/Zhao Tieshan, greet your majesty!"

"Be flat."

Zheng Yi raised his hand and said, "I have a task for you two dear ministers. What do you think?"

Chen Hongxiu immediately said: "Your Majesty, please give your orders. No matter what it is, I will do my best to complete it!"

Zhao Tieshan followed closely behind: "Me too!"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "It's a very simple mission. It's not to ask you to kill the enemy or anything like that, but... to train the troops!"

"Troop training?"

"good."

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "I have privately set up a personal guard, named 'Shenjiying'. It is composed of elite soldiers in the army. Although there are only more than a hundred people, they are equipped with the most advanced firearms of our Great Yu Dynasty, which is enough to defeat a hundred with one!"

firearm?

what is that?
Zhao Tieshan was confused, but Chen Hongxiu's eyes lit up and asked, "May I ask your majesty, was that firearm able to break through the thunder of Yujian Villa?"

"good."

Zheng Yi continued, "I intend to give the Shenji Camp to you two to lead. What do you think?"

Chen Hongxiu immediately knelt on the ground and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty! I will be loyal and dedicated to your majesty, and will serve you until my death!"

Zhao Tieshan also scratched his head, then simply knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I feel the same way!"

"Hahaha……"

Zheng Yi laughed out loud at Zhao Tieshan's simple and honest expression, and said, "The Shenji Battalion only has over a hundred people now. I need you to expand it to three thousand within three months!"

"And you must undergo my special training so that you can handle firearms. Do you understand?"

"promise!"

Three thousand people was Zheng Yi's initial plan for the Shenji Camp.

In the previous life, it was just the size of a reinforced regiment.

But in Dayu, the Shenjiying, equipped with advanced firearms, is the nightmare of all armies!

Even facing a charge of 30,000 or 300,000 men, the Three Thousand Divine Machine Battalion could completely resist it.

After all, advanced firearms are a deadly weapon for ordinary armies.

Even warriors will fall when facing an attack from firearms.

I just don’t know if the first-grade warriors, the grandmaster warriors, and even the innate warriors... will die?
In the next few days, Chen Hongxiu and Zhao Tieshan, following Zheng Yi's orders, began to select qualified soldiers from the imperial guards in the capital, the Jinyiwei, and even the soldiers from the capital area and the surrounding counties such as Jizhou and Youzhou to form the Shenji Camp, and then began training to control firearms.

Zheng Yi also devoted himself to the construction of Shenjiying.

He taught Chen Hongxiu and Zhao Tieshan all the modern military knowledge he knew, such as some modern training methods from his previous life, exercise methods, and the three-three system tactics.

Although Chen Hongxiu didn't understand it by accident, she still tried hard to learn and memorize.

And Zhao Tieshan...just let it go completely.

After seeing the Thunderbolt and the Red Cannon, the kid was shocked beyond words.

After that, he spent every day in the Shenji Camp, becoming familiar with the operation of artillery and muskets, and it was very exciting.

The most exaggerated time was when he was covered in armor and used his body to resist the red cannon from a distance of a hundred feet.

He dodged at the critical moment, but was also hit by the blast from the artillery fire, and fell flat on his face, looking very miserable.

"Red Cannon! Red Cannon! This is simply a method used by gods..."

Afterwards, Zhao Tieshan said excitedly: "Even if I, Old Zhao, was hit by a cannon, I would be crippled if not dead!"

The news that Zheng Yi had massively organized the Shenji Camp and was developing artillery could not be concealed and spread.

But under Chen Liancang's secret control, the secret of the artillery did not spread on a large scale.

Some spies who wanted to investigate were also easily dealt with by him.

Some ministers knew that Emperor Zhengyong had established the Shenjiying and the arsenal, but they did not know what they were specifically doing.

As for the incident at Yujian Villa, everyone thought it was a trick of the immortals and just a rumor. The Dongjishi Factory was still established.

With Chen Liancang as the factory supervisor, a terrorist organization covering the entire Dayu gradually took shape.

However, their most important task now is to protect the arsenal and prevent spies from other forces from investigating.

Half a month later, with the New Year approaching, another major event occurred, forcing Zheng Yi to return from the Shenji Camp to hold a grand court!
February 1st, the fifth year of Zhengei.

Zheng Yuantao, the third son of Prince of Yan, killed the crown prince Zheng Yuanyuan and the second son Zheng Yuanjiang without any imperial edict, and proclaimed himself the King of Yan!

Under his command, he gathered an army of more than 100,000 and began to capture cities and occupy territory in Youzhou.

The rioters entrenched in the surrounding big cities also began to gather under Zheng Yuantao, and in a short period of time they had occupied one-third of Youzhou's cities.

While conquering cities in Youzhou, he also rode a fast horse to present a letter of surrender to the imperial court, offering his duties such as "avenging his father and guarding the border" and asking the court to recognize his status and be named King of Yan.

And, restore the power of the princes!
In Zheng Yi's opinion, Dayu's vassal system is actually similar to that of the Ming Dynasty in the previous life.

The princes had no military or political power in their respective fiefdoms, and might even be held hostage by local county soldiers and chief officials.

Youzhou is located on the border, bordering Wu and Wei, so the vassal king has slightly greater power and is responsible for guarding the northeastern border, so he has some military power.

What he didn't expect was that he had someone assassinate Prince Yan, thus extinguishing his intention to rebel.

His three sons actually fought each other in Youzhou for power and profit.

Each of them raised an army and attacked each other.

In just over half a month, the third son of Prince Yan won, killed his two royal brothers, and proclaimed himself Prince Yan!
This King of Yan is not an ordinary vassal king, but a real prince!

Hall of Supreme Harmony, where grand court meetings were held.

Many ministers were arguing with each other, expressing their opinions with spit flying.

Some advocated mobilizing the entire army to capture Zheng Yuantao, the third son of King Yan, alive.

Youzhou has been the land of Dayu since ancient times, and it is very close to the capital, so it must not be left to the hands of others.

Some people advocate agreeing to the request of the third son of King Yan and enfeoffing him as King Yan, allowing you to lead the army to join forces with Xu Mu's army to resist the army of Wu.

Some people even suggested moving the capital, and were almost drowned by the spit of many ministers.

Looking at the court that was as bustling as a vegetable market, Zheng Yi shook his head helplessly.

Today, Dayu is in a precarious situation.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty in the previous life, it is very similar.

Natural disasters, man-made calamities, aristocratic families, separatist regimes, and foreign invasions.

With Wu State in the north and Nanzhao State in the south, plus internal unrest, Zheng Yi seemed to be able to foresee the end of the dynasty.

Zheng Yi believes that there are also a large number of hidden troublemakers in the world of Dayu and the Thirteen States.

It only takes one spark and the entire Dayu will explode.

Corrupt officials, aristocratic families, landlords, separatist regimes, vassal kings and governors...

Dayu was established for more than 300 years, and the doomsday scenes that should be expected at the end of a dynasty were everywhere.

Prince Yan's rebellion was just a prelude.

The difference is that he is not Emperor Chongzhen, and Dayu is not the Ming Dynasty!

Dayu has powerful warriors and hidden immortal cultivators.

As for him, he also has the Yin-Yang Treasure Mirror and the firearms that he values!

As long as he is given enough time, he can calm the war.

Whether it is strong suppression, or... letting it go and recreating the world!
After more than three hundred years of development, class contradictions are so huge that they cannot be completely resolved.

It can only be chaotic first and then calm down.

This was not the case for more than five thousand years of history in the past.

Feudal private ownership and uneven land distribution.

Divided for a long time must be together, long together must be divided.

Only after a group of people die and some space is vacated can the world be at peace again!

After a full stick of incense, the entire court finally calmed down.

Zheng Yi also rubbed his head and said, "My dear ministers, have you come up with any good ideas?"

Lu Xiangqing immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the actions of Zheng Yuantao, the third son of the King of Yan, are truly disrespectful and a rebellion. I, your humble servant, advocate war!"

"Dispatch the imperial guards, together with the armies from Jizhou, Xuzhou and other places, to wipe out the pseudo-Yan rebels!"

"No!"

As soon as Lu Xiangqing finished speaking, he was rejected by Cui Jinghao.

He stepped out and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Yancheng is too close to the capital. If we lead the battle, the fake Yan cavalry can reach the capital in less than three days."

"Who can stop me then? Who can fight me?"

"So I suggest that we first agree to the request of the third son of King Yan and make him the King of Yan!"

"After the King of Yan is conferred the title, he will certainly be grateful to the court. Then the court will order him to lead his troops to Canglong River to resist the invasion of Wu State together with General Xu. This is the best strategy!"

"I second the proposal!"

As soon as Cui Jinghao finished speaking, seven or eight ministers stood up and echoed him.

Then, the quarrel started again.

Zheng Yi felt a bit overwhelmed. It is said that three women make a drama, but this group of men are not at ease either.

Still a bunch of old men!
The most important thing is...party strife!
The Lu family represented by Lu Xiangqing and the Cui family represented by Cui Jinghao finally stood on opposite sides and fought for power for their own interests.

This move is not good for the country, but Zheng Yi welcomes it.

As they were talking, they started fighting and it was a fierce fight.

Zheng Yi was too lazy to think about it and started reading with great interest.

The one who was most excited among them was Tian Wenjing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

It was a miracle that this person, who worked in the Ministry of Personnel, was not affected by Yang Ni's rebellion.

At this moment, he was grabbing a peace-loving official, beating him and cursing at him:

"I fuck your mother, the fake Yan is plotting rebellion, and you guys actually want to acknowledge its status. Where do you put your majesty and Dayu?"

"I have millions of lions in Dayu, how can I allow the fake swallow to sleep soundly on my bed!"

As the fight went on, two bloody scratches appeared on Tian Wenjing's face. However, he still shouted angrily: "Your Majesty! You must not agree to the request of Pseudo-Yan...Ah!"

"I fuck your mother...kick me in the lower third and I'll kill you!"

Zheng Yi couldn't help laughing and finally burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, hahaha...quickly, quickly separate the ministers."

At the command, the surrounding eunuchs and guards rushed forward and separated the ministers who were fighting.

Many people had bloodstains on their faces, their court robes were disheveled, and they glared at each other angrily.

There were boots belonging to someone else on the ground, making it a mess.

Zheng Yi patted the table and said, "Okay, my dear ministers, I know you are all loyal to the emperor and the country, but I have a plan."

He stood up and said, "We, the Great Yu, have been a nation founded on military power for more than three hundred years. Have we ever bowed to foreign powers?"

"Although I am not talented, I will follow the example of my ancestors and fight for every inch of land!"

"From today on, you must pass on my words."

"During the Yu Dynasty, there was no marriage alliance, no cession of territory, no compensation, no tribute, no vassalage, and they strictly followed the teachings of 'the emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country'!"

"Anyone who disobeys this will be expelled by both heaven and man!"

In the court, many ministers were shocked, excited, and disdainful, but in the end they all stood on both sides, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I obey your order!"

"Chen Wannian!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

Chen Wannian, former commander of the Shenjiying.

After Zheng Yi transferred Chen Hongxiu and Zhao Tieshan to the Shenji Camp, this person was transferred back to the Imperial Guards and became one of the three commanders of the Imperial Guards.

"Reorganize the imperial guards, purge the city, and capture all criminals, spies, and spies in the city. Once their identities are discovered, they will be executed immediately to ensure the safety of the capital."

"promise!"

"Also, send guerrillas out on patrol to keep an eye on the movements of the pseudo-Yan army in Yancheng."

"promise!"

"Call the skilled soldiers from Jizhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou and other counties to rebuild the imperial army!"

Zheng Yi wants to reorganize the imperial guards and increase their number to 100,000!
Lu Xiangqing suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, should we recall General Xu? With General Xu in charge, the capital will be safe!"

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "General Xu has known about this for a long time and has already sent a group of troops to the pseudo-Yanyan City to contain their army."

"That's great. Your Majesty is very thoughtful and far-sighted. We can't catch up with him."

"Where is the Minister of Rites?"

"Wei Chen is here."

Kong Xiangsi immediately stood up and said respectfully.

"Draft an edict for me and send it to the pseudo-Yanyan City."

Zheng Yi said: "Tell Zheng Yuantao that this action is outrageous to both heaven and man. Order him to immediately disband his royal fiefdom, disband his army, depose himself and become a civilian, and come to the capital to be dealt with."

"Otherwise, the royal division will destroy Yancheng and turn its bones into ashes!"

Kong Xiangsi immediately said: "Yes!"

"Retreat~!"

The ministers left, and Zheng Yi, surrounded by many eunuchs and palace maids, headed towards the Qiankun Hall.

Halfway through the journey, he suddenly noticed that a young eunuch was looking at him, and he looked familiar.

Shadow Guard?
He waved his hand, motioning him to come over, and then signaled the other eunuchs and palace maids to stay away.

"Your servant, Shadow Guard Anhe, greets His Majesty!"

"What's the matter?"

"Mo Ying, who works in the Pepper Palace, handed me a booklet and asked me to personally deliver it to Your Majesty."

"Pepper Room?"

Zheng Yi's heart moved. Concubine Cui?
"Bring it up."

"promise!"

Zheng Yi grabbed a booklet that recorded everything about Concubine Cui.

"Empress Cui...what secret do you have?"

(End of this chapter)