By the time Ning Ke entered Luoyang, the Emperor had already sternly rejected the Khitans' conditions for peace talks. The Khitans, having their conditions rejected, once again invaded Hebei. At the same time, they raised a clear political slogan: "Return our Prince of Xiang and Luling!"
The Prince of Luling, Li Xian, and the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, were the only two surviving sons of Emperor Li Zhi. Both of them had once been crowned Emperor, but they had been deposed by Wu Zetian. Li Xian had been demoted to the Prince of Luling and had actually been placed under house arrest in Fangzhou. Li Dan had become the Crown Prince from Emperor, but everyone knew that he was just a decoration.
For Wu Zetian, the Khitans had raised the banner of injustice for Li Xian and Li Dan. This was far more damaging than the complete annihilation of the 160,000 soldiers. She impatiently wanted to reorganize the army and fight again to exterminate these rebels, but she had never been able to gather enough soldiers.
When Princess Taiping heard the news of Yang Fan's disappearance, she was also deeply worried and secretly ordered people to search for him. She deeply regretted that she had recklessly suggested that Yang Fan should return to the army, resulting in a grave mistake.
But when the Khitans announced their political program, even though she knew that this was a slogan meant to reduce resistance and bewitch people, it was not impossible to use it. Even though Princess Taiping's mind was in a mess, she still keenly sensed this opportunity. She immediately put her disorderly mind in order and began to make arrangements.
In the last few years, Princess Taiping had used her brilliant political skills to gradually subdue a group of people and secretly control a number of positions in the court. However, on the one hand, she needed to continue to conceal her own strength, and on the other hand, she truly did not have the strength to openly compete with Wu Chengsi, Wu Sansi, and Zhang Erzhang, so the positions she obtained were not particularly important.
But these positions, which were usually not particularly important, played an extremely important role in times of war. These positions were all related to logistics, supplies, armaments, provisions, and even household management. Under normal circumstances, these positions were neither glamorous nor powerful. Most importantly, they were in charge of personnel, finance, military, and justice.
However, at this critical moment, Princess Taiping's instigation of those who were placed in these positions to slack off and reduce the efficiency of the court's operations played a great role.
Wu Zetian had no idea what had happened. She had entered the palace at the age of fourteen and had spent the last sixty-some years in the depths of the palace. She was skilled in palace politics and had little understanding of the operations of the outside world. She only knew that ever since the Khitans had raised the slogan of justifying the Prince of Luling and the Prince of Xiang, the massive and effective war machine of the Wuzhou Imperial Court had fallen into a difficult situation.
The aristocratic families quickly discovered that this political slogan of the Khitans could be used, but they needed to add fuel to the fire to make this slogan have practical effects, expand its influence, and sound the alarm for the high and mighty empress. As a result, they immediately began to make arrangements.
They controlled the local economy, and the influence of a large clan could cover an entire province. It was extremely easy for them to do something in the dark to counteract the influence of the imperial court's decree. Thus, even though the Imperial Court had repeatedly issued edicts to urge them on, the collection of provisions and the recruitment of soldiers had never made any progress.
Besides the secret efforts of Li Tang's imperial clan and aristocratic families, the officials of Li Tang's faction who had been banished to the local regions over the last few years had undoubtedly played an important role. They had been demoted precisely because they were branded with Li Tang's brand. The empress did not trust them, and they were also determined to restore Li Tang. It would be strange if they did not give Wu Zetian a hard time.
They had originally been high-ranking officials of the court, and when they went to the local regions, they were either the main officials of a province or a county, or they could rely on their prestige and seniority to use their status as deputy or idle officials to exert a major influence on the local officials. Under their influence, these provinces and prefectures had also been severely delayed in collecting provisions and recruiting soldiers for the court.
The entire Empire, for some undeclared reason, continued to move at a slower pace. The Emperor, who was in the center and never left the Palace, was completely unaware of this secret and obscure resistance and was completely powerless against this inexplicable delay. She could only attribute the reason to the people's longing for Li Tang.
The power loyal to Li Tang was still so great and so deep in the hearts of the people?
This made her secretly panic.
She did not understand. Her Zhou Dynasty had been established for so long. Why were people still unable to forget Li Tang? Was it just because she was a woman?
She was not convinced!
She had to completely defeat the Khitans. She had to pass down the Zhou Dynasty forever. She had to be the founding ancestor of the country for generations to come!
…
There was a house in Jiaqing Lane in the south of Luoyang. The common people in the lane all knew that the owner of this house was not from here and rarely came to Luoyang. Even during the holidays, it was rare to see the owner of this house appear. There was only one old family member who often went out to buy vegetables, so everyone was familiar with him.
This house belonged to the Dugu Family. And, it had been empty for many years now. But, it had finally welcomed its new owner.
Ning Ke had lived here quietly for three days.
Under the moonlight, a faint sound of zither came from the elegant and quiet garden. The sound of the zither was like the thin clouds in the sky covering the moonlight, indistinct and indistinct.
There was a faint night fog in the garden. Under the window, a zither lay in front of the moon. Ning Ke gently plucked the strings. The sound of the zither was mournful but not hurtful. It was just and elegant. All the indescribable thoughts were transferred into the sound of the zither and rippled into the graceful fog.
Hatred and thoughts could only be expressed to the moon. It was difficult to express them to others.
Her slender fingers pressed on the zither and the lingering sound suddenly stopped. Ning Ke sighed with melancholy. Her pretty face was like frost under the moon.
With light footsteps, the boat girl walked quietly behind her.
Ning Ke asked softly, "What did you hear?"
The boat girl said, "Since the Khitans rebelled, the neighboring Turks have stationed their troops at the border, eyeing them covetously. After the Khitans defeated the imperial court's rebel-suppressing army, the Khitans mounted their cavalry and invaded Liangzhou, then Lingzhou, and then Shengzhou. They killed their way to Shengzhou before they were blocked by the Deputy Envoy of the Ping Di Army, An Daomai.
Now they have stationed a large number of troops outside the city of Shengzhou. It seems that they want to take Shengzhou in one fell swoop and invade the Central Plains. Therefore, there is no need for anyone to deliberately delay the Western Region and the provinces near it. It is impossible for them to send a single soldier to participate in the northern expedition. We must reserve troops there to guard against the Turks. "
Ning Ke lightly responded and asked, "What about the Tufan? It is impossible for the Tufan not to take advantage of the situation, right? "
The boat girl smiled and said, "Miss is right. The Tufan will certainly not let go of this opportunity. However, the Tufan king is fighting for power and their internal strife is in full swing. They do not want to fight with the imperial court for the time being. Therefore, they have sent messengers to negotiate with the imperial court. The contents of the negotiation include the four towns of Anxi and some border areas between the two countries."
Ning Ke hit the nail on the head. "The imperial court has already eaten the four towns of Anxi and will not spit it out. This is the greatest martial art that the imperial court is proud of. The Tufan also know this. They are using the four towns of Anxi to make concessions. What they want are those border areas that are difficult to divide. "
The boat girl said, "Miss is right!"
Ning Ke casually plucked the strings of the zither and pondered for a while before saying, "The Empress is old and lacks energy. She can no longer fully control the empire. In this time of internal and external troubles, she will definitely make concessions! "
The barge lady asked cautiously, "In this case, our family's business in the Western Regions will be affected. Should we tell Young Master about this analysis?"
Ning Ke shook his head. "No need. Eldest Brother is the head of the family. There are some things that he should know. I should try my best to reduce the impact on him."
The boat girl answered in a low voice and said, "Yang Fan … is still missing. Madam Yang is devastated. The strange thing is that there is no news about the second madam of the Yang family. It seems that she is not in the mansion. Miss … do you want to visit her? "
Ning Ke's eyes dimmed. He said faintly, "What for? No one can help her unless there is news about Yang Fan. Besides, who am I to visit her? "
Ning Ke said faintly, "Everyone will die sooner or later. Sadness can only make oneself sad. What can it do to help the dead? Since it can't help, why should I be sad? Hehe, actually, I'm a very fickle person. Not just affection, I'm very, very indifferent to everything else … "
Two clear teardrops silently fell from her eyes and landed on her dress.
Ning Ke gently stood up and looked back with a smile. "If I die one day, you must not be sad!"
The boat lady looked at Zhang Qingsu's thin face and her heart ached. "Miss!"
Ning Ke smiled faintly and said, "Everyone will die eventually. Don't you think so?"
The boat girl silently watched Ning Ke's figure walking towards the door. Her figure was as slender as the moon and extremely weak.
The boat girl said in a low voice, "Doctor Jiang Yechun will return to Luoyang tomorrow. I will invite him to treat Miss."
Ning Ke made a noncommittal sound and gently closed the door.
…
Before the second northern expedition army had gathered, the Turks had launched an attack on Helong. The Tubo did not let go of this opportunity in the midst of internal strife. They sent envoys to exert diplomatic pressure on Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was troubled by both internal and external threats. Furthermore, her health had been deteriorating over the past few years and she was severely lacking in energy. She could not handle such a complicated situation.
In desperation, Wu Zetian had to make some concessions.
She ordered Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong to return to the capital and appointed Assistant Minister of War Yao Chong as the Prime Minister. These few people were clearly on the side of protecting the throne. Their decision to reinstate Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong was to send a strong political message to the people, "The Crown Prince must belong to the Li family. The Emperor will not appoint a nephew of the Wu family as the Crown Prince!"
In this situation, the Khitans in the north were in a mess, the Turks and Turks were taking advantage of the situation in the west, and the barbarians in the south had just calmed down …
Moreover, Wu Zetian also received news that the Khitans seemed to be in contact with the Xi people. The Xi people were not as respectful as during the time of Taizong and Gaozong. In recent years, they often paid lip service to the Wuzhou court. If they also participated in the rebellion, it was tantamount to stabbing the seriously ill Wuzhou court in the heart.
In the face of such a situation, Wu Zetian, who had always been strong and never bowed down, had to show her attitude. However, she still held a glimmer of hope, so she only transferred Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong back to the capital. She did not change the situation of her two sons at all.
She still hoped that after the Khitans' rebellion was quelled, the threat from the Turks and Tubo was solved. At that time, she would turn her hand over and suppress the Emperor's succession party. Now, she temporarily endured it and took advantage of this crisis to make some ambiguous Emperor's succession party jump out. At that time, she would catch them all in one fell swoop.
However, she didn't expect that today's predicament was caused by the little fox, Yang Fan, whom she had sent to Liaodong. How could she expect that the old fox, Di Renjie, whom she had invited back to the capital, would bring her some surprises …
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