Dou Lu Qinwang, Tao Wenjie, and Yang Fan were discussing how to completely destroy the ruthless group of officials gathered at the Censorate.
Among these three people, Yang Fan and Tao Wenjie were on Princess Taiping's side, while Dou Lu Qinwang was on Li Zhaode's side. Li Zhaode and Princess Taiping both wanted to destroy the Censorate, a powerful enemy that had been working hard to kill hundreds of officials and attack the royalists for many years. Dou Lu Qinwang and Tao Wenjie had already received their master's signal, so the discussion between the three went very smoothly.
This meeting was actually a detailed division of labor based on Li Zhaode and Princess Taiping's instructions. The result of the discussion was that in the future, Dou Lu Qinwang would use his eloquence to "smooth things over", "play the good guy", and "push the Tai Chi." Tao Wenjie would be responsible for drawing up the specific strategy and action plan to attack the Censorate.
As for Yang Fan …
Yang Fan would naturally be the chief thug of the Ministry of Justice, the Double Flower Red Rod!
Well, in Dou Lu Qinwang's words, Yang Fan was "the vanguard of the fight against evil, the nemesis of evil!"
…
Those who were chosen by Princess Taiping naturally had extraordinary skills.
Tao Wenjie quickly drew up a meticulous, detailed, and comprehensive plan to attack the Censorate.
Many of the methods in this plan were similar to the methods Lai Junchen had used to collect evidence and attack the officials. It should be known that the methods listed in Lai Junchen's "Weaving Scripture" were not imagined out of thin air. They were examples of the Censorate collecting evidence and attacking their political enemies. Lai Junchen had only compiled them into a book.
At the same time, Yang Fan also learned from Zhao Yu that Young Master Jiang had suffered a great loss in Chang 'an. His many years of foundation in Chang' an had all fallen into Shen Mu's hands. At this time, he had already moved to Luoyang, determined to rise again there. In other words, Young Master Jiang would be stationed in Luoyang.
Because of this, Tin Aino did not dare to hide anything from Yang Fan. She told Yang Fan everything she knew about Young Master Jiang. After learning how powerful Young Master Jiang was, Yang Fan became cautious.
Of course, in view of Young Master Jiang's power, it was unlikely that he would openly go against the government. The one he was most afraid of was still Lu Boyan, who was said to be much more intelligent than Situ Liang. However, ever since Situ Liang inexplicably appeared, Young Master Jiang didn't make any moves, and Yang Fan could only bide his time.
At the moment, A Nu was hiding in the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice and spending time with him. This feeling was extraordinarily sweet. Whether it was Yang Fan or Tin Aino, they were not in a hurry to change this relationship.
This kind of relationship was very special. There was both sweetness and ambiguity, but it was completely different from that of a wife or a lover. Mixed in between love and ambiguity was their working relationship. Yang Fan and Xiao Man had also worked together in the palace before, but now that A Nu's identity was Yang Fan's attendant, the feeling was different.
In these days, the relationship between the two had gradually recovered. Now, it was the powerful pressure from Young Master Jiang that had become a powerful force that prevented them from joining together. Yang Fan did not know what plans Young Master Jiang had for coming to Luoyang, nor did he know how much power he had hidden in Luoyang. He could only deal with the changes by not changing.
However, on the other hand, after Tao Wenjie's plan was drawn up, there were difficulties in carrying it out.
In order to encircle and annihilate a group of powers, they had to take into account the time, location, people, and other factors.
It was close to the end of the year. For the people of China, the New Year was a very important holiday. It was not a suitable time to encircle and annihilate the censorate. Once they did so, the efficiency of the various yamen would slow down due to the New Year. This would give the censorate ample time to react.
Dou Lu Qinwang, Tao Wenjie, and Yang Fan had yet to come to a decision on whether to attack before the New Year or after the New Year. However, an accident caused them to completely give up on the plan to attack the censorate before the New Year.
This accident was the triumphant return of Master Xue Huaiyi!
Xue Huaiyi did not fight. This friend of his was truly a lucky general. He led the army to the Western Regions in a grandiose manner. However, he was only halfway there when he stopped advancing. This was because his opponent had disappeared again, just like last time.
Mo Duo, who led the army to invade Spiritual State, did not know whether it was because of some internal changes, or because he heard that the Great Zhou Dynasty had sent out 200,000 soldiers and thought that it would be too risky for him to go deep into the desert alone. In any case, he retreated.
Since he retreated to the Great Prairie, Xue Huaiyi naturally had no more battles to fight. Xue Huaiyi would not ask for trouble by going deep into the desert and initiating an attack.
For a long time, the Great Prairie had been a natural moat set up by the Heavens to help the nomadic people against the farming people. The farming people rarely had the ability to send armies deep into the desert. Before the invention of the stirrup, the Xiongnu cavalry was not as powerful as the people of the Great Prairie. When Emperor Wu of Han attacked the Xiongnu, his country was almost destroyed. Today, Wu Zetian was no match for Emperor Wu of Han, and today, Xue Huaiyi was no match for Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
Therefore, just as Li Zhaode said when he was bidding farewell to Xue Huaiyi, Xue Huaiyi succeeded when the horse arrived. In fact, he succeeded before the horse even arrived. Without firing a single arrow, Xue Huaiyi had made a great contribution. Excitedly, Xue Huaiyi reported to the Imperial Court, "Mo Duo fled as soon as he heard my name. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to return to the Imperial Court!"
Xue Huaiyi's return to the Imperial Court would not have any effect on the Ministry of Penalty's plan to encircle and annihilate the Imperial Envoy Station. However, after the news of Xue Huaiyi's' great victory 'reached Luoyang, Empress Wu Zetian suddenly had an idea. She thought that since the army had already set out, there was no need for them to go back and forth and waste resources. It was better to have the army continue the campaign but change the target to' recapture the Four Towns of Anxi '.
After several years of preparation, the Imperial Court had made preparations to recapture the Four Towns of Anxi in terms of supplies, armor, arrows, and training of soldiers. If not for the sudden invasion of the Turks, Wu Zetian would have also planned to use the army. She had planned to send troops to recapture the Four Towns of Anxi after the end of the year, but now, she was simply taking advantage of the situation and pushing the plan forward by a few months.
Because of this matter, the Imperial Court once more engaged in a fierce debate. Some agreed to send troops, others believed that the original plan should be carried out, and still others opposed the expedition. All sides had differing opinions. This was clearly not the time for the Ministry of Penalty to attack the Imperial Censorate. The Imperial Court had no time to devote its attention to matters of state and military affairs.
Dou Lu, Qin Wang, Tao Wenjie, and Yang Fan discussed the matter and decided to put the plan on hold until the dispute in the court was over. After another round of heated debate, Wu Zetian herself was in favor of the expedition, so the opinions gradually reached a consensus and they agreed to send troops. But the funds and provisions they had originally been raised to attack the Turks and recapture Lingzhou had been changed to an expedition to the Four Towns of Anxi, and it was also the end of the year, so the finances were somewhat tight.
Dou Lu Qin Wang impatiently proposed to the emperor that all officials of the Great Zhou above the ninth rank should contribute two months' worth of their salaries to the army. Wu Zetian was somewhat tempted, but there was no precedent for this, so she first released this news to test the reactions of the officials. As expected, this matter had aroused the dissatisfaction of the officials.
Dou Lu Qin Wang wanted to express his support for the emperor and show off his noble character and unquestionable integrity as an official, but if he took the limelight, it would only be a loss to others. There were some officials who did not work outside and relied entirely on their salaries to maintain their relatively decent lives. Contributing two months' worth of salary was not something they could bear.
For example, the supervising imperial censor Wang Qiuli had only been transferred to the imperial censorate after Lai Junchen and the other officials of the imperial censorate had been killed, demoted, or exiled. This imperial censor was rather incorruptible and his family did not have much savings. If two months' worth of salary were deducted, he would not be able to bear it. As a result, this imperial censor immediately wrote a righteous and stern impeachment memorial, quoting the classics to refute Dou Lu Qin Wang's absurd claims.
A large number of officials responded to Wang Qiuli's rebuttal. Seeing that the backlash was too strong, Wu Zetian could only give up on this plan.
At this time, Wu Sansi was still busy with the construction of the Heavenly Pivot. The craftsmen of the Three Yang Palace and Xingtai Palace were already on their way to the construction site, cleaning up the ground, drawing up the blueprints, and purchasing the bricks and wood. These three projects were extremely costly, but no one suggested halting the construction in order to provide for the army. Wu Zetian herself seemed to have intentionally or unintentionally ignored it.
In the end, the military expenditure problem was solved by the Ministry of Revenue. The method they used was nothing more than living beyond one's means. Great General Xue Huaiyi received the Emperor's decree and retired, returning to the Imperial Court. Meanwhile, the army continued to advance westward. The Imperial Court appointed Great General Wang Xiaojie, who was familiar with the situation in the Western Regions, to be the commander-in-chief. The war to reclaim the Four Garrisons of Anxi officially began.
…
Wang Xiaojie was appointed as the Chief Steward of the Martial Might Army. He was travel-worn as he chased after his expeditionary army. At this time, Luoyang City had already ushered in the new year's day.
This year's New Year's Day was November 1st.
During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the Xia Dynasty used the first day of the first lunar month as New Year's Day. At that time, New Year's Day and Spring Festival were on the same day. The Shang Dynasty used the first day of the twelfth month as its New Year's Day, while the Zhou Dynasty used the first day of the eleventh month as its New Year's Day. After Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng unified the world, he thought that his achievements were not inferior to the ancient emperors, so he came up with an ingenious idea to make the first day of the tenth month as New Year's Day.
From then on, the New Year's Day of each dynasty was based on the calendar established by the first unified dynasty of China, the Xia Dynasty, with the first day of the first month as the New Year's Day. However, after Wu Zetian established the Great Zhou Dynasty, everything followed the rules of the Zhou Dynasty. As a result, New Year's Day became November 1st.
A new beginning, everything was renewed.
On New Year's Day, the Emperor would lead the civil and military officials in offering sacrifices to the heavens and the earth.
Wu Zetian gathered all the officials of the fifth rank and above in the Wanxiang Divine Palace to hold a grand ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heavens and the earth. Wu Zetian was dressed in a black imperial robe decorated with twelve emblems. She was also wearing a knee-covering, a leather belt, a large belt, and many other accessories. She wore a crown on her head, and the twelve rows of crown studded with precious jewels covered her aged face, making her seem even more dignified.
Yang Fan was a fifth-rank official, and he happened to be one of the officials qualified to participate in the ceremony to the heavens and the earth. He was also dressed in a solemn ceremonial robe. The entire Wanxiang Divine Palace was filled with a dense mass of people. Following the loud chanting of the Great Honglu, they prostrated themselves in worship to the heavens and the earth, listening to Wu Zetian recite the prayers to the heavens and the earth.
After the Emperor's first offering, it was the Crown Prince's turn. However, after Wu Zetian recited the prayers to the heavens and stepped to the side, an unexpected scene occurred.
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