Chapter 158 The Emperor’s Wrath, Must We Deal with the Rebel Army?

In Hanzhou, inside the Qianqing Palace, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead.

The hall was already extremely majestic and solemn, but now all the ministers stood on both sides with pale faces, silent and frightened.

The person who caused all this was none other than Lin Zhongyun, the man they thought was incapable of doing anything wrong.

News spread from all states and regions that officers and soldiers had accepted money from the rebels, causing an uproar in the city and becoming known to everyone. Most importantly, the morale of the army was greatly disrupted.

You know, the rebel army was already very powerful. Now that something like this has happened, wouldn't it just boost the morale of others and destroy our own prestige?

No wonder His Majesty was so angry.

At this moment, their hearts were filled with regret, but they were helpless and could only endure it.

Liu Wulie sat upright on the dragon throne with a gloomy face. The piece of memorial paper in his hand was shaking slightly, obviously because he had held it too tightly.

"My dear ministers, who can tell me what is going on?"

His voice was like the north wind in the cold winter, chilling and chilling.

There was silence in the hall. All the civil and military officials bowed their heads and remained silent. No one dared to touch the wrath of thunder.

Liu Wulie glanced at everyone, his heart filled with anger.

The news of the fall of Jialing County had not yet subsided, and scandals of officers and soldiers accepting money from the rebels were reported from all over the country. How could he tolerate this?
Daqian was already in a precarious situation, and now this kind of thing happened, wouldn't it just add fuel to the fire? How could he stay calm?

What was more important was that the matter had become widely known, and the previous large-scale arrests had become known to everyone, causing great chaos in the military's morale.

Should he arrest him now or not?
If we continue to arrest them, the army will be in panic and there is even a possibility that a mutiny will be provoked.

But what if we don’t catch him?
Who can guarantee that these people have no connection with the rebel army? If they turn against the rebels in the last minute, Daqian’s situation will be in danger.

Thinking of this, Liu Wulie's face became even more ferocious, his eyes were full of fierceness, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Lin Zhongyun, Lin Zhongyun, what a centrifugal plan, it has caused Daqian to lose one-third of its troops in one go."

Daqian's military strength had already become extremely insufficient due to the war in the northern border, and now being dealt with like this is simply adding insult to injury.

Now, although winter has arrived, Lin Zhongyun has no intention of resting.

In the past few days, they have captured several cities in succession, as if they are going to take over the entire Yangzhou in one go.

This means that they don't have much time left.

“It’s really abominable!”

When Liu Wulie thought of the consequences of losing Yangzhou, his heart trembled. He stared at the ministers below with his eyes wide open, and shouted angrily:
"It would be fine if you were just playing dumb in front of me on a normal day, but things have developed to this point. If anyone still bullies me, I will punish you with death. There is no forgiveness!"

"We must not allow the rebels to continue to develop like this, otherwise our country will be in danger!"

His voice echoed in the hall like rolling thunder, making all the ministers turn pale.

Liu Wulie's eyes swept across everyone's face, and all he saw were frightened faces, and the anger in his heart burned even more fiercely.

He knew that these people only knew how to flatter on a daily basis, but when it came to the critical moment, they would shrink back and show no sense of responsibility.

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true!"

At this time, the Minister of War stood up, looking nervous and trembling, saying: "It's just that the war in the northern border has not yet been settled, and the rebel army has just captured Jialing County. I don't know how many times their power has increased."

When Liu Wulie heard this, his heart sank even more.

He knew that the loss of Jialing County meant that the strength of the rebel army had been greatly enhanced, while the imperial court's military forces were dispersed due to the war in the north.

His eyes became even darker, as if a dark cloud was covering the hall.

"At this moment, with only the troops of General Yuan stationed in Yangzhou, it is probably difficult to resist the rebel army!" There was a tremor in the voice of the Minister of War. He knew that this sentence would most likely bring the emperor's wrath, but he had to say it because it was a cruel reality.

Now they have to admit that the rebel army is no longer what it used to be and can no longer be compared with the officials and soldiers of the imperial court.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this time, another person stood up and said with a worried look: "News came from Anshan County that General Chu has been unable to capture the city after a long siege and the battle is fierce."

"Once the rebels have time to maneuver in Anshan County, General Yuan and Yangzhou will be in danger!"

"Humph!"

Liu Wulie snorted coldly, looked at the people below, and shouted coldly: "Why didn't you say anything before you stood up now? You are a bunch of trash!"

When everyone heard this, their faces turned pale, and they trembled and crawled on the ground, not daring to breathe.

However, he also understood that now was not the time to be angry, and he must do everything he could to curb the further expansion of the rebel army.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in his heart and make his tone less irritable. "I know everything you said. Pass on my order, order other states to increase military service, and the garrisons of each Han state to go to Yang state and fully support Yang state."

"Send a message to the North, asking him to fight and resolve the battle quickly."

His tone paused slightly, "If it really doesn't work, we can buy time and pacify the Northern Wilds first!"

"Yangzhou!"

"This is my final bottom line!"

Liu Wulie's eyes were like torches as he scanned the ministers in the hall. "We must contain the rebel army in Yangzhou at all costs. Otherwise, I will take your heads myself, instead of the rebel army."

His voice was like a knife, cutting the air in the hall. All the ministers bowed their heads, sweating profusely.

"Didn't Yuan Chenghuan ask for an order? I have granted your permission!"

His voice rang out again, with unquestionable determination, "I appoint him as the Grand Marshal of the Yangzhou Army, in charge of all military and political affairs in Yangzhou. No one is allowed to obstruct me, and those who violate the rules will be executed first and then reported to me!"

After saying these words, he looked around at everyone present, paused for each word, and shouted in a deep voice: "The Great Qian Kingdom has existed for more than 500 years. You all must have received a lot of protection from the court to be able to stand here."

"Now we are all in the same boat. I hope you will work together. As long as Daqian is here, your prosperity will also be here!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" All the ministers responded in unison.

Liu Wulie looked at their backs, his heart still unable to calm down.

He knew that the storm had just begun, and he had to stand in the center of the storm and firmly grasp the fate of Daqian.

From now on, he must make decisions carefully.

Because every order he gave was like walking on the edge of a cliff; one wrong step would lead to eternal damnation.

he,
Liu Wulie,
He is the emperor of Daqian.

Not the king who destroyed the country!!!
He must protect the Daqian kingdom at all costs, no matter how great the price, even if he has to become a tyrant, he will do it.

"I will not let Daqian perish in my hands."

Liu Wulie muttered in his heart, with a crazy light flashing in his eyes. He knew that no matter what, he was the only one in control of Daqian.

Thinking about this, Liu Wulie looked directly at Lan Shuyan, who had been silent the whole time, and asked in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Lan, what do you think of my arrangement?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Lan Shuyan walked out without changing his expression, and bowed to Liu Wulie calmly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Speak." Liu Wulie's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I am old now. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me. I am willing to retire!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was shocked!

Everyone looked at Lan Shuyan, their faces filled with shock.

Lan Shuyan actually wants to beg for his bones? ?
Why is this? ?
Even Liu Wulie was a little confused. As a minister of state appointed by the late emperor himself, Lan Shuyan's identity was extremely special.

Although he now has some power.

But if there were no Lan Shuyan, there would be chaos in the court!
This old fox wants to use this to pressure me? ?
Thinking of this, his eyes immediately turned cold. Although he wanted to agree to this matter directly, reason still suppressed him.

Then he walked down and took Lan Shuyan's hand: "What are you talking about, Prime Minister Lan? I am still young and still need your help."

"This is the will of the late emperor. You can't abandon me!"

Looking at this scene before their eyes, the atmosphere in the entire hall couldn't help but change again.

On the other hand, Lan Shuyan's expression did not change at all from beginning to end, as if he had already thought of everything.

...Chenliu County, Hanyang City.

Yangzhou is very close to Hanzhou, and Chenliu County directly borders Hanzhou. Taking into account the actual distance, there is not much distance from Hanyang City to Yangzhou.

Therefore, the news of the court's appointment was first delivered to him through military pigeons.

"Congratulations, General, for becoming the Grand Marshal of the Army."

When Fei Junzheng saw the news in the secret report, he was immediately very excited and congratulated Yuan Chenghuan with a flattering smile on his face.

Yuan Chenghuan has a special identity, as he was personally conferred the title by the Empress Dowager.

Although he was a governor, he was still not as good as him.

And in his opinion, he and Yuan Chenghuan are now grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

If Yuan Chenghuan got promoted and became rich, he would definitely be able to have a share of the spoils by following behind.

Now that Yuan Chenghuan has become the Grand Marshal of the Yangzhou Army and has the authority to control an entire state, it means that he will be able to manage across counties in the future and his power will become even greater.

Another benefit of having greater power is that he can appear in front of the court more frequently and reverse the previous mistake of losing Jialing County.

However, he was so happy at the moment that he didn't notice Yuan Chenghuan's gray face beside him.

"The Grand Marshal of the Army?"

A bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, his heart was filled with mixed feelings, and he didn't know what to say at this moment.

Rather than a promotion or wealth, this is more of a hot potato, a death warrant for Yuan Chenghuan?
Now Yangzhou is of utmost importance to the imperial court. By appointing me in this way, the imperial court obviously means that all the treasures are placed in my hands.

Once Yangzhou was lost, the consequences could be imagined.

Before this, he might have been a little excited to hear this news, but now there is only endless panic in his heart.

panic!

That's right, panic!

Previously, he thought that the reason why Lin Zhongyun could have the current reputation was just because of his mouth and the volunteers who were willing to fight for him. However, the facts now show that this is not the case.

At first, no one was able to react, and they took huge risks by launching a lightning attack on Leling City, catching the imperial court off guard.

In fact, the courage to abandon one's own base camp and launch a surprise attack on Leling City with all one's troops is not something that ordinary people can possess.

Afterwards, he used psychological warfare tactics to incite public sentiment and cause panic, thus easily taking over the entire Jialing County. Such achievements are enough to go down in history.

And now, he has used the strategy of sowing discord to the fullest extent, spending all his huge wealth to force a rift between the court and the officers and soldiers, causing them to dislike each other and causing great chaos in the military morale.

Ever since Lin Zhongyun's surprise attack on Leling City, these actions no longer relied on the bravery of the rebels, but on the strategy in his mind.

If it was just the bravery of the rebels,

He was confident that he still had the strength to fight.

after all,

No matter how brave those rebels are, even if they are outnumbered by a thousand, what does it matter?

The Daqian nation has existed for 500 years and has a very deep foundation. Even if it has to sacrifice human lives, it can completely wipe out the rebel army.

But the fact is that
The rebels now have not only courage, but also strategy.

How can a brave, resourceful and battle-hardened army resist?

As the rebel army has grown, the difficulty of the whole matter has exceeded his imagination.

But even so, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he still needs to use his own strength and be loyal to the emperor.

Moreover, now that we have the support of the imperial court, there may be a chance for a turnaround.

Thinking of this, he immediately looked at Fei Junzheng standing beside him, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Lord Fei is the governor of a county, so he must know something about the generals of each county."

"Now that the imperial court has issued an order, I hope you can go there on my behalf. This time, we must contain the rebel army within the borders of Yangzhou."

When Fei Junzheng heard the news, he was stunned at first, then the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a look of fear, "General, this..."

……

Just as the clouds were moving in all directions, Lin Zhongyun stood on the city wall of Jianghua County, looking at Chenliu County opposite.

They have been keeping their troops on hold for the past few days, and there are two main reasons why he did not attack rashly. First, Jianghua County borders Chenliu County, and the reinforcements sent by the court are stationed in Chenliu County.

If we attack rashly, it will inevitably give the imperial reinforcements an opportunity to take advantage.

That was the result he didn't want to see.

Another reason is that he was waiting for news.

Just as he had expected, although Jianghua County was finally conquered, the resistance they encountered became increasingly intense towards the end.

This is not because their previous psychological warfare strategies did not work, but because the people in Jianghua County are all branches of the aristocratic families.

Unlike ordinary poor people, they are part of the upper middle class of society. Their ancestors have more or less had glorious pasts. They have the protection of their ancestors in the Daqian Dynasty and enjoy certain privileges.

For them, they would not join the ranks of the rebels and would not watch Daqian perish, because the demise of Daqian would mean the disappearance of their privileges and the sharing of their wealth with the common people.

Let me ask you, how can anyone want someone to take a piece of the pie they already have?

So they are the last supporters of Daqian.

This situation became more and more obvious especially as we got closer to Hanzhou.

After all, most of the aristocratic families gathered in Hanzhou, bowing and bowing to the emperor and accepting his protection.

However, where there is privilege, there is also oppression, and this oppression will only be stronger.

The reason why it has not erupted now is that the aristocratic families still controlled considerable resources at that time. Of course, they also lacked the final spark.

That's when.

Yuan Jingxin, who was in charge of intelligence, came up and whispered, "Your Majesty, the officers and soldiers we sent to various places have responded one after another."

"Now they just need to wait for the order from King Wu, and then they can rise up in rebellion and follow King Wu through thick and thin!"

"Ok!"

When Lin Zhongyun heard the news, he smiled with satisfaction.

This was exactly the result he wanted. In fact, the main purpose of this strategy was not to make those people follow him, but to create a gap between the officers and soldiers and the court.

He had also heard a lot of news from other cities these days. Compared with before, the defenses of various cities had already become empty and the morale of the troops was even more demoralized.

At this time, as long as he took the initiative and added fuel to the fire, the fire of anger would be completely ignited.

He believed that those who were originally hesitant and wavering would make the right decision when they saw the enemy approaching the city.

Lin Zhongyun's actions were very decisive.

That night, he led his army and divided it into several groups to attack the entire Jianghua County at night.

That night.

The night is dark and lonely, and the war is raging.

By the time they reacted, the rebel army had already arrived and was unstoppable.

Everything happened just as Lin Zhongyun had expected. Those who had previously accepted money from the rebels but were still hesitating were frightened by the scene and fled, dropping their weapons.

Even those who had not received any reward, when they saw their companions fleeing, no longer had the slightest desire to fight.

Before the rebels attacked the city, the soldiers defending the city were already in chaos from inside to outside. Even if they were lucky enough to organize a defensive offensive, how could they be a match for the rebels when their morale had already been broken?

Just like before, the rebels took over most of the cities in Jianghua County overnight, and now only Yunfu City, which borders Hanyang County, remains.
Ps: I beg for monthly tickets, and I beg my brothers to support me! I beg you!!!

(End of this chapter)