When the King of Shu heard that the Crown Prince was being held hostage by the barbarians, he fainted in shock and anger. Pure Heart Pavilion was thrown into chaos.
Yang Ling and Zhu Rangjin were the closest to the King of Shu. They hurriedly rushed over and supported the King of Shu.
Zhu Rangjin held her father in her arms. She was so anxious that the veins on her forehead were bulging. Her original elegant demeanor was completely gone. She shouted in a hoarse voice, "Quickly call the imperial physician. Quickly, quickly!"
Yang Ling actually had an ulterior motive. Because he still had doubts, he was worried that this was another trick of the King of Shu. But Yang Ling reached out to support him and his right hand grasped his wrist tightly. Although it was only for a short while, Yang Ling was relieved.
His skin was cold and his pulse could not be felt. The King of Shu had really fainted. Fainting could be faked but his pulse and body temperature could not be faked unless he was a legendary martial arts master. According to Yang Ling's knowledge, even Wu Hanchao's authentic internal energy could not control the King's body temperature and heart rate.
Li Sen rubbed his nose and secretly sized up Yang Ling with a strange expression. He thought to himself, "The people are saying that Sir Yang is a killer, a jinx that has descended into the mortal world. It looks like it is true. He brings death wherever he goes. The people he wants to deal with will definitely be in deep trouble. I have chosen the right side this time."
The doctor came and pinched his philtrum and administered medicine. After a long while, the King of Shu slowly regained consciousness. The moment he woke up, he said anxiously, "Quick, send me to Xuzhou immediately. I want to negotiate with the Governor of the Barbarians personally."
Zhu Rangjin, An Wentao and the others tried to dissuade him. With the King of Shu's current condition, how could he travel such a long distance? If they sent him to Xuzhou, he would probably die before the Crown Prince could be rescued.
The King of Shu shook his head and said impatiently, "No, unless I go personally, I cannot gain the trust of the Governor of the Barbarians. Then the Crown Prince will be in danger. Quick! Prepare the carriage immediately. "
Yang Ling quietly listened to this point; he opened his mouth and said, "Wangye, since the Duzhang Barbarians are holding the Heir Apparent as a hostage, they want the Han people and the Han officials to withdraw from their territory, they must be thinking that the rare commodity is worth hoarding. Although the Heir Apparent is in the hands of the barbarians, he should not be in any danger. Your Highness's health is worrying, how can you travel such a long and arduous journey? Why don't you send an emissary to first pretend to be courteous and subservient to them, then we can plan our next move? "
After a while, the King of Shu's complexion had worsened. He laughed bitterly and said, "The Barbarians have always been cruel and have never taken the Imperial Court seriously. Since they have captured the Crown Prince today, they have no more scruples. I'm afraid … I'm afraid that it will be too late for me to rush over now."
At this point, the King of Shu coughed violently and fainted again. The palace's imperial physician anxiously said, "Your Highness' body is weak and cannot be disturbed again. This one will first use medicine to stabilize Your Highness' condition, but if Your Highness faints again, Your Highness' life will be in danger."
Zhu Rangjin sucked in a breath of cold air and grabbed him, saying, "Imperial Physician Wang, no matter what, you must save Father's life. You must think of a way."
Imperial Physician Wang's expression was troubled as he said, "This … unless we temporarily do not let Your Highness wake up, this one may be able to stabilize Your Highness' condition, otherwise … even if Hua Tuo is alive, I'm afraid he will not be able to do anything."
Zhu Rangjin was stunned and let go of his hand. He hesitantly looked at Yang Ling, An Wentao and the rest. The King of Shu was the ruler of Shu, and now that the Crown Prince had fallen into the hands of the Barbarians, how could they not let the King wake up to discuss the matter? If the Crown Prince died because of this, who could bear the responsibility?
Although Zhu Rangjin was the second son of the King of Shu, he was a bastard son. If the Crown Prince was no longer alive, he would be the only candidate for the Crown Prince. It could be said that if the Crown Prince died, it would be most beneficial to him. Therefore, Zhu Rangjin did not dare to recklessly agree to it. But if he did not agree, what would happen to the King of Shu?
Facing Zhu Rangjin's helpless eyes, An Wentao, Lu Zheng and the other senior officials of Shu all avoided him. Although they could not bear the responsibility of letting the Crown Prince die, they also could not bear the responsibility if the King of Shu died because of this. In the end, all eyes were focused on Yang Ling.
Among these people, he had the highest status and could almost compete with the King of Shu. Moreover, his status was superior. The officials of Shu and the various interest groups of the King of Shu's family had nothing to do with him. Only when he appeared, no matter what decision he made, no one would secretly criticize him.
This time, Yang Ling came to Sichuan, racking his brains thinking about how to find out the King of Shu's weakness and at the same time to prevent himself from being plotted against. Unexpectedly, the situation had changed and he had to make plans for the King of Shu.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Ling said, "Is it possible to save the King of Shu again? I still have something to ask him. If the King of Shu is agitated and unable to control himself again, ask the imperial physician to immediately make the King of Shu unconscious."
Everyone knew that this meant that the imperial envoy was preparing to take over the affairs of Shu. Therefore, he needed to first obtain the King of Shu's authorization and understand his basic limits. Everyone held their breath and looked nervously at him and the imperial physician.
The imperial physician's face was pale. At this moment, the situation was no less than saving an emperor and using medicine to prolong his life. Pressing him to reveal the nervousness of the arrival of the successor, he pursed his lips and then nodded his head.
The King of Shu was saved and woke up. Just as he opened his eyes, he saw Yang Ling lean over and say with a solemn expression, "Your Highness, I have been ordered by the Emperor to patrol the world. If there are any urgent matters, I have the authority to handle it on behalf of the Emperor. Your Highness is sick and unable to work. I believe Your Highness also knows this. I have three important things that I need Your Highness to tell me. I hope Your Highness can give me a clear answer in front of all the officials in Shu. "
The King of Shu's eyes dimmed and his breathing quickened. After a moment of silence, he nodded his head with great effort and said in a hoarse voice, "Speak."
Yang Ling said, "Your Highness is currently unable to take charge of the overall situation. Once the barbarians start a riot, the situation will be no small matter. I wish to share Your Highness's burden and bear this responsibility. Will Your Highness allow me to?"
The King of Shu's gaze swept across the faces of the people around him. An Wentao and Lu Zheng were his left and right arms. However, between the two of them, one was in charge of civil affairs and the other was in charge of law. This time, in order to rescue the Crown Prince, Nineteen was going to use weapons and they would have to use Li Sen. Furthermore, no matter how much power and prestige these two had, they ultimately could not represent the King of Shu. As for those brothers of the Jun Wang, thinking of the complicated relationship between the Jun Wang, the King of Shu immediately threw them to the back of his mind.
His second son, Rang Jin, was now his only blood relative. This child was indifferent to fame and fortune and would not covet the position of Prince. However, he was after all a son of a concubine and it was difficult for him to convince the public. In addition, he was still young and usually only saw him reciting poems, painting, and singing songs to entertain himself. He probably knew nothing about government affairs. Of course, he had never assigned him any government affairs.
Ai! The King of Shu sighed slightly. In order to prevent brothers from fighting, all the princes, except for the Crown Prince, were given titles once they grew up. They were not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial edict. It was the same for the vassals. In the end, they could not even find a trusted relative to help them. He nodded his head sadly.
Yang Ling continued, "I will do my best to ensure the safety of the Crown Prince. However, the Barbarian Commander requests that Your Highness move the Han officials and people out of Xuzhou as a condition for the release of the Crown Prince. What does Your Highness think?"
"I understand …" The King of Shu said weakly. He took a few deep breaths and continued, "I understand what you mean. Under the heavens, there is no land that belongs to the King. You cannot … cannot leave Xuzhou as a condition … Once this precedent is set, all the tribal chiefs will follow this request. Ba and Shu will no longer have a day of peace. As for the other conditions, you can … you can agree to them. Even if I … the King of Shu has everything, it doesn't matter … "
"Yes, but we will do our best and leave it to fate. If it is not possible, I hope Your Highness will forgive us!"
The King of Shu's body shook and his eyes widened. He stared at Yang Ling for a while. Yang Ling faced him calmly. The King of Shu finally closed his eyes and nodded his head in pain.
Yang Ling heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thirdly, regardless of whether or not the Crown Prince can be rescued, the Barbarian Commander will detain the Crown Prince and cause chaos in the court. There has to be a solution to this matter. How should we deal with the aftermath? Your Highness, please advise."
The King of Shu said in a low voice, "It is easy for disputes to arise when the various races live together. In the past, Emperor Taizu enfeoffed the world. The vassals all … trained their horses and soldiers to guard one area. Only my ancestors guarded the western border with etiquette. They were grateful for the teachings and received peace. The people of Shu lived in peace and became richer day by day. Everyone was indebted to this. Unless … unless it is absolutely necessary, do not use weapons! Che … remember! "
Yang Ling nodded his head and said in a clear voice, "Weapons are lethal weapons. There will be backlashes from time to time. Therefore, it is most taboo to be restrained and hesitant. If one is indecisive, there will be chaos. Therefore, before the matter in Xuzhou is settled, the Qingyang Palace is a pure land. No one is allowed to disturb it! "
He stood up and said proudly, "Yang Ling has been entrusted by the King of Shu. From now on, he will be in charge of the affairs of Bashu. In the Qingyang Palace, no one is allowed to disturb His Highness's cultivation. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded by the Emperor!"
His words meant that, unless the King of Shu recovered from his illness, no one was allowed to enter the Qingyang Palace and report any news to the King of Shu before the matter in Xuzhou was settled. However, he was doing this for the sake of the King of Shu's life. Moreover, when dealing with military affairs, the most taboo thing to do was to have someone in the rear constantly giving orders and interfering with the generals in the front. It could be said to be a dignified reason. Although some officials were dissatisfied with him occupying the magpie's nest and monopolizing power, they did not dare to criticize him.
In fact, Yang Ling's decision was also because he realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 'Take your life while you're sick'. There was no better opportunity than this to legitimately monopolize the power of Bashu.
He turned around and transferred his bodyguards to guard the Qingyang Palace, isolating the King of Shu from the outside world. This immediately turned the passive situation into the active one. He held the Emperor to order the feudal vassals, and his personal danger was reduced to the minimum. If he found evidence of the King of Shu's rebellion, he would simply be captured without a fight.
However, looking at the situation, Yang Ling was becoming more and more suspicious of the King of Shu's rebellion. Although it was an accident, it was still difficult for a person with a guilty conscience to hand over the hilt to him.
Unless this Zhu Binhan was as shrewd as Yue Buqun, but if he had that kind of scheming and shrewdness, when the Crown Prince went to Xuzhou, he would have already secretly instructed him. How could the matter of the Crown Prince being kidnapped occur, to the point where he was in such a passive position?
When the King of Shu heard Yang Ling's words, he only laughed bitterly and did not say a word.
Yang Ling gave a long bow and said, "Your Highness, please rest in peace. I will handle everything."
With that, Yang Ling took three steps back, cupped his hands and left.
Li Sen picked at his fingernails and bowed, "Your Highness, please rest." After a while, all the officials took their leave one by one, leaving only Zhu Rangjin supporting her father in the empty main hall.
The King of Shu looked at the door and said slowly, "I had just agreed to give up power, and Yang Ling was able to make a prompt decision and seize this fleeting opportunity. He did not avoid suspicion and took all the power in his hands. This is a character. Perhaps this person is really the best candidate to solve the crisis in Xuzhou. "
Zhu Rangjin also had a look of admiration on her face as she said, "There are many tribes in Shu. Although the imperial court has the intention to appease them, these tribes have not been civilized for more than a hundred years and are unwilling to integrate. Some of the chieftains are worried that the Han people will continue to occupy their land and weaken their authority. Some have the ambition of an independent state and are like a state within a state. As a result, the flames of war are incessant and there are frequent conflicts.
From Mr Yang's suppression of the East Sea pirates and bandits, it can be seen that Yang Ling is the best at using both carrot and stick. Those that can be pulled, those that cannot be pulled, beat. The barbarians have always been arrogant. Mr Yang is most likely going to use his troops to suppress them and intimidate the tribes in Shu. I only hope that Mr Yang can rescue my brother first. Otherwise, if the army starts … "
When the King of Shu heard this, he said nervously, "We must not use our troops if we can. These barbarians live in dangerous places. A hundred thousand soldiers fighting for ten years may not be able to defeat one tribe. During the Hongwu dynasty, I, Ming Destiny, wanted to 'change the land' of these barbarians and set up officials to move the Han people. In the end, there were years of unsuccessful campaigns. Only then did I set up the chieftains to govern the barbarians. Now some tribes are already stirring up trouble. How can we change our ways and cause trouble?"
After saying so much, he was exhausted but he still held onto Zhu Rangjin tightly and said, "If we really go to war, Shu … Shu will not have a peaceful day. Although I gave him power, I did not say that the King of Shu will not interfere. You must go quickly and accompany Yang Ling to Xuzhou. Act according to the circumstances and try to avoid war. "
Zhu Rangjin said worriedly, "Father is so sick. How can I not be by your side? This … "
"Bastard! You are not a doctor. So what if you stay here? Go fetch the Princess and Xiang 'er. Let them stay by my side. "
"Yes, yes." Zhu Rangjin saw that her father was angry and did not dare to say anything else.
※ ※ ※
"I object to Your Excellency going to Xuzhou personally!" Wu Hanchao, who had just heard Yang Ling confess to the real purpose of the trip to Sichuan, said worriedly, "Your Excellency has a more important purpose in coming to Sichuan. If I am the King of Shu and have the intention to rebel, but am not ready in all aspects, I know Your Excellency's real purpose in coming to Sichuan. In a panic, I will retreat in order to advance. I will hand over the military power and borrow the hands of the Barbarian Governor to kill Your Excellency. Or I will use this to show that I am magnanimous and have no selfish motives.
And in this way, Your Excellency will focus on suppressing the rebellion and will not have time to investigate the King of Shu's rebellion. You can't stay in Sichuan for a long time and drag it out until you leave … I think the King of Shu has this in mind. "
"Oh? Hehe, it seems that telling you this is not without benefits. Three heads are better than one. Hanchao's idea is very good. It seems that you and General Song have made great progress in suppressing the bandits in Jiangnan. You are no longer a martial artist who only knows how to use force, "Yang Ling said with a smile.
Wu Hanchao said embarrassedly, "This lowly official … does not have any strategy. It is just that Your Excellency often says to analyze a person's psychology from their behavior. This lowly official remembered that when I was young, I was mischievous at home. I once went to play in the room and broke the roof tiles. I was afraid that my father would beat me, so I pretended not to know.
When my father returned home, I pretended to go to the room to get some dried fruits to dry. Then, with a face full of surprise, I told my father that the roof tiles were broken, as if I didn't know. When my father went to the room to check, I seemed to have just remembered and told him that the Chief Patrol Officer Yu was looking for him for urgent matters. In the end, my father forgot about this. Later, when he thought about it, he just found someone to fix it.
This lowly official feels that if the King of Shu has a guilty conscience, this series of seemingly open and aboveboard actions is quite in line with his mentality. "
Yang Ling listened with interest. He couldn't help chuckling and said, "That's right. Now that you mention it, I also feel that if the King of Shu does have rebellious intentions, doing this is a pretense of being magnanimous and then diverting attention. However, from my observation, the King of Shu's fainting is not fake. Furthermore, using the Crown Prince as bait is too risky. "
Song Ai became angry when she heard him say 'my father'. After An Wentao left the Qingyang Palace, he harshly reprimanded Wu Wending. Song Ai saw that her future father-in-law was being reprimanded in public and felt remorseful. When Yang Ling returned to the imperial envoy's residence, she bought a gift and went with Wu Hanchao to apologize to him.
Old Wu did not come out with a knife to cut people again. However, the door was tightly shut and he completely ignored them. Even when his wife interceded, he refused to budge. This caused the neighbors to come out to watch the commotion. Song Ai was angry and embarrassed. Her anger flared up again.
In her hometown, although the marriage of a man and a woman had to be arranged by their parents, the love between a man and a woman was completely independent. How could there be so much interference? Song Ai felt that the old man was deliberately making things difficult for her and that Wu Hanchao was afraid of his father. Even so, he also felt resentment towards him.
Hearing Wu Hanchao's words, Song Ai immediately disagreed. "I agree with you going to Xuzhou. Just like you said, once you control the King of Shu, even if he really wants to rebel, he will become a toothless tiger. The danger to you will be reduced to a minimum. Taking advantage of the mobilization of the army and commanding the battle, you can let the soldiers form a habit of obeying you. You can also quickly establish your prestige in the army and control the military.
As for the danger, you are wise and invincible. Whether it is the Tartars, the Wokou pirates or the Western pirates, they are all easily defeated. The total number of men, women, old and young in the Duzhang Barbarians is no more than 30,000. If the King of Shu really has the intention you said, I'm afraid he will only make a fool of himself. "
Liu Biao coughed lightly and said, "Everyone, please listen to me. The real soldiers of the Duzhang Barbarians, including the Han refugees, bandits, bandits and escaped military criminals, are only about 10,000 people. They are stationed in the three cities of Jiusi, Lingxiao and Duduzhai. Each city has only about 3,000 people. However, the terrain is dangerous. One man can hold the pass against ten thousand people. This is the reason why the small Duzhang Barbarians dare to oppose the court."
Yang Ling calmed himself down and slowly sat down behind the table. "I have already sent Da Bangchui to guard the Qingyang Palace with my 300 personal guards. This guy is stubborn. Unless I personally appear and cancel the order, no one will be able to enter or leave. There is no need to worry about the King of Shu. Regardless of whether he is magnanimous or deliberately trying to show his innocence, the handle of the knife is in my hands. Now, I am in charge of Bashu.
Let us first consider the situation in Xuzhou. The dignified Crown Prince is being held hostage. This matter must be resolved. Official Li, do you know anything about the Duzhang Barbarians? "
Li Sen nodded and said, "After I took office, I have looked through the military records and made a detailed understanding of the various tribes in Sichuan. It is said that the Duzhang Barbarians are descendants of the Han Dynasty's Hou people. They have 100 people in a village and have lived in the Xuzhou area for generations. They worship the 'Frog God' and like to paint on the cliffs. The dead hang their coffins on the cliffs.
The Duzhang Barbarians are wild and difficult to tame. They have never been civilized. Even if they surrender, they often rob the border and invade the surrounding counties. Ming Destiny has been established for more than a hundred years. The Hongwu, Yongle, Zhengtong and Jingtai dynasties have all used troops against them. Lingxiao City, which they were entrenched in, was a castle built against a mountain during the Song Dynasty to resist the Mongolian army. It was surrounded by cliffs and was extremely dangerous.
The lair of the Barbarian Du Zhang, Jiu Si City, was surrounded by steep cliffs, steep and difficult to climb. Within a radius of more than thirty miles, there was only a rugged Taoist Path that allowed the soldiers to enter and exit. It was difficult for the soldiers to walk, but the Barbarian Du Zhang could walk as if they were walking on flat ground. They shuttled back and forth among the bushes and thorns. During the reign of Chenghua, the imperial court sent an army of 200,000, but they were obstructed here. After fighting for four years, they returned without any results. "
When Yang Ling heard this, he sucked in a breath of cold air. He was, after all, a modern man. Modern armies did not have any natural strongholds to rely on. Airplanes, cannons, missiles and rockets, no matter where it was, could be bombarded into scorched earth in four days. But a thirty-mile road, with 200,000 troops fighting for four years and still not being able to take it, what kind of dangerous path was that?
Li Sen continued, "In the third month of the first year of Chenghua, the Barbarian Du Zhang's strongholds rose up and captured Jiang An and other counties. The imperial court sent Governor Rui Cheng to pacify them. Governor Rui announced that the Barbarian Du Zhang's stronghold leaders would be given official positions and enjoy the imperial court's salary. The chief of the Barbarian Du Zhang was very pleased and led nearly 300 stronghold leaders to a banquet to accept the surrender.
Unexpectedly, the Imperial Envoy Wang Hao rushed to Xuzhou. He thought that these stronghold leaders were ambitious and ruthless on the battlefield, one against a hundred, so he should take the opportunity to kill them to prevent future troubles. Therefore, he killed all 270 of the chiefs and stronghold leaders who came to pay his respects. From then on, the Barbarian Du Zhang and the imperial court formed an irreconcilable enmity, and no longer believed in the imperial court's intention to enlist.
In the tenth month of the same year, the Barbarian Du Zhang went to Guizhou to pretend to surrender. The Guizhou Governor Ding Shi did not know that Imperial Envoy Wang had lured the Barbarian Du Zhang's nearly 300 leaders to surrender, so he went out to welcome him. In the end, ambushes were set up everywhere, and the entire army of 5,000 was annihilated. The Barbarian Du Zhang's hatred was not appeased, so the next month they schemed to lure Imperial Envoy Wang to Changning at night. In the end, the imperial army got lost in the mountains at night, and many of their men and horses fell off cliffs and died. The Barbarian Du Zhang's army did not even have to send out a single soldier before the army collapsed.
The imperial court was furious, and sent a large army to Xuzhou, and adopted a gradual encroachment method. Within five days, more than 700 villages were burned, and the Barbarian Du Zhang's army was forced deep into the mountains. Both sides were in a deadlock, and although the Barbarian Du Zhang's army suffered unspeakably, the imperial court's army could not sustain the long term siege, and in the end both sides came to a tacit understanding and left the matter unsettled. "
Yang Ling was dumbfounded, and sat there for a long time. Suddenly, he remembered that in his era, before the founding of the country, when two armies fought, it was often at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. As long as the strategy was appropriate, within two or three days, the enemy would be defeated like a hot knife through butter, and the enemy would be routed a thousand miles away. What kind of majestic army was that?
But it was this kind of army, when facing the existence of a few bandit troops deep in the mountains and forests, they had to put in a lot of effort. The army could not enter, and the heavy weapons could not be transported in. It was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, and there was no use. They also had to constantly guard against their sneak attacks and robberies. What kind of method did they use to exterminate them?
Yang Ling stood up and paced back and forth in the room, but after thinking for a long time, other than 'the Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger, the Pagoda subdues the River Demon. Moha moha, talking in the middle of the day, nobody has a home ', it was the marvelous tortoise box spear that the bandit Tian Dazi used to shoot left and right. He had no choice, he was just watching the show, who would pay attention to this at that time.
But in Yang Ling's mind, at least it left a correct impression: attacking the Barbarian Du Zhang was different from fighting the Tatar army, and it was also different from suppressing the pirates in the Jiangnan waterways. No matter how many troops the government had, it would be difficult to rely on. In the art of war, it was important to win by surprise. To deal with the Barbarian Du Zhang, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that they would have to take an unorthodox approach.
Thinking of this, Yang Ling ordered, "Liu Biao will go to Xuzhou first, and gather as much intelligence as possible. In this battle, there is an eighty or ninety percent chance that we will need the intelligence from your men. Official Li, please return to the camp immediately and gather all the generals. Assemble all the Bashu and Shu armies to Xuzhou. Whether we fight or not, the bigger the momentum, the better. Wu Hanchao, immediately summon the Commissioner, the Inspector, the Prefectural Magistrate of Chengdu, and other civil and military officials to the Imperial Envoy Palace for a discussion. I want to collect rations and supplies. "
Everyone hurriedly stood up and cupped their hands in obeisance.
Song Ai stood up and blinked her big eyes. "Official, what about me?" she asked.
"You …" Yang Ling smiled slightly and said, "Come with me to the inner study. I want to talk to you alone."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
