Wu Gongshan was scolded by Shang Jianxiong as a traitor because he was also an old subordinate of King Ning. Like Shao Dengyun, he had no choice but to defend himself against the purge of the imperial court. It was just that Shao Dengyun did not have such a strong backer and needed to rely on external forces to betray the country.
Wu Gongshan, on the other hand, got on the Tong Xian Pavilion's good side and got along well with them. With their background, and the tacit approval of the Purple Gold Cave, they occupied Cang Province and had their own troops.
Originally, the Tong Xian Pavilion was similar to the Heavenly Jade School. They established a relationship with the three major sects and occupied a small piece of land in the east and west of the Yan territory. Their sphere of influence was fragmented.
What was stronger than the Heavenly Jade School was that the Tong Xian Pavilion occupied more fragmented land and was much stronger than the Heavenly Jade School. The fragmented land could not satisfy the appetite of the Tong Xian Pavilion. However, the Purple Gold Cave suppressed them and did not allow them to act recklessly.
Wu Gongshan's subordinates were all King Ning's original troops. They were strong enough to cover an area and gave the Tong Xian Pavilion the capital to stand on its own.
The Tong Xian Pavilion quickly established a relationship with the Purple Gold Cave, and then divided their territory into parts, in exchange for an entire piece of land in Cang Province.
The Tong Xian Pavilion gained power because of the influence of the previous sect master of the Purple Gold Cave. To a certain extent, the three major sects also needed a secular power to balance the secular imperial power. Therefore, in places like the Tong Xian Pavilion in the Yan Country, it was because of the three major sects.
Without the tacit approval of the three major sects, it would be difficult to gain a foothold. For example, the Heavenly Jade School needed the approval of the three major sects if they wanted to take over Nanzhou.
As for Wu Gongshan, who had his own troops, those in the Yan Country were basically King Ning's old subordinates.
When Prince Ning was still alive, he ruled over the Yan Kingdom. Everyone refused to obey him, and all kinds of armies were used to strengthen themselves. However, Prince Ning had beaten them into submission. The cultivation sects everywhere also obeyed the rules. In exchange, the Yan Kingdom was strong for a while, and the surrounding countries were afraid.
Because he saw that the country was unified, he felt that there was nothing to worry about. In addition, there were some people in the imperial court who were not resigned to being suppressed by King Ning. They did their utmost to instigate Shang Jianxiong, such as Tong Mo and the others. This caused Shang Jianxiong to become restless against King Ning. As a result, after King Ning's death, King Ning's old subordinates who were unwilling to be executed started to stand on their own. As a result, Yan Yan had become like this.
The three great sects blamed Shang Jianxiong for his incompetence, while Shang Jianxiong blamed the three great sects for being the root of the disaster.
The interactions between people and interests were extremely complicated, and it was not something that could be explained in a few words.
No matter how humiliated he was by the three great sects earlier, when he heard that Qu Yunkong had been assassinated, Shang Jianxiong became highly alert. He realized that the problem was not simple.
After all, he was the emperor of the Yan Kingdom. At the very least, he was the one who guarded the legacy of his ancestors. He was also the one who didn't want to see the Yan Kingdom fall apart.
If something happened to Cang Prefecture when its enemies were watching covetously, it would not be a good thing!
The atmosphere in the great hall instantly changed. The three great sects started to move. Shang Jianxiong also ordered the Intelligence Division to take action. They quickly investigated the situation in Cang Prefecture.
The three sect leaders temporarily stayed in the palace and didn't return. They wanted to exchange information with Shang Jianxiong so that they could analyze the situation in time.
In the end, in less than two days, without analysis, the situation was already out.
Cang Prefecture had rebelled!
Not mentioning how Wu Gongshan died, Wu Gongshan's younger brother, Wu Gongling, was originally Wu Gongshan's deputy general. He also held a lot of military power in Cang Prefecture. He was also King Ning's subordinate. At this time, he completely took over the military power in Cang Prefecture. After killing some of Wu Gongshan's trusted subordinates, he led his troops to attack Yan Yuan Prefecture.
An elder of the Tong Xian Pavilion, Dan Dongxing, temporarily took over the position of sect leader. He also killed the wife and children of the previous sect leader, Qu Yunshan, as well as a group of Qu Yunshan's trusted disciples.
The reason he killed them was to avenge the sect leader. He said that Qu Yunshan's wife intended to usurp the position of sect leader and conspired with a group of people to murder Qu Yunshan.
Regardless of whether outsiders believed this reason or not, the people in the Tong Xian Pavilion seemed to believe it. After avenging the sect leader, they immediately cooperated with Wu Gongling's army to attack Yuan Prefecture.
Behind the scenes, there was also the cooperation of the three great sects of Han and Song.
Speaking of which, it was related to Niu Youdao. The people involved in this matter were Niu Youdao's sworn brother, Quan Taifeng, and sworn sister, Hui Qingping.
What the two of them didn't succeed in Nanzhou, they succeeded after moving to Cang Prefecture. They successfully set off a storm in Yan Prefecture.
In the face of the attack, Yuan Prefecture naturally resisted at the first moment.
However, Yuan Prefecture was like Dingzhou. They transferred a large number of people to the border to participate in the defense of the Han and Song Kingdoms. In such a situation, faced with King Ning's battle-hardened old subordinates, how could Yuan Prefecture be a match? They were beaten back step by step. They could only use harassment tactics to delay and wait for the court's reinforcements.
The matter of Nanzhou attacking Dingzhou had just set off an uproar in Jingdou. Before one wave had subsided, another rose. Cangzhou began to rebel, and Jingdou was in an uproar.
Before summoning the officials to discuss matters, Shang Jianxiong first summoned Tong Mo to the royal study.
For Tong Mo to be able to hold the position of Prime Minister of Yan Prefecture, he was greatly trusted by Shang Jianxiong. Whenever there was a major matter, Shang Jianxiong would first summon him to discuss it and come up with a general plan.
The ruler and officials talked in secret. Tong Mo was worried that there were wolves ahead and tigers behind. The matter of Dingzhou had not been resolved, and now there was chaos in Cangzhou. He couldn't help but ask how the Dingzhou matter would be resolved.
Shang Jianxiong didn't hide it from him. He told him of the matter of the three great sects forcing them to cede three provinces. Shang Jianxiong deeply hated this matter.
Hearing this, Tong Mo thought for a long time. Slowly, he said, "The border army has gathered to defend against the Han and Song Kingdoms. It is the foundation of a country. No matter what happens, it cannot be shaken. Once it is shaken, Yan Prefecture will fall into chaos."
Shang Jianxiong said, "King Ning's former subordinates are tigers and wolves. The people in Yuanzhou will find it difficult to stop them. The people on the periphery will also find it difficult to stop them. If we sit and watch, I'm afraid there will be a huge change."
Tong Mo said, "It is time for the three great sects to do something."
Shang Jianxiong didn't understand and asked, "What do you mean?"
Tong Mo said, "They blame the Emperor for stirring up the chaos in Nanzhou. Can the Emperor not blame them? Cangzhou is a future threat raised by the Purple Gold Cave. The Emperor can use this reason to blame the Purple Gold Cave. Cangzhou is already openly rebelling. It is time for the Emperor to speak reason. It will be difficult for them to shirk their responsibility. At this time, it is time for the various feudal vassals that they have indulged in to do something. " At this point, his eyes slightly narrowed and he said in a low voice, "The large number of soldiers gathered at the border must not be moved. We can use this opportunity to weaken the forces of the three great sects in the secular world."
Shang Jianxiong looked pensive and understood his meaning. He nodded slightly and said, "The border army must not move. The people around Yuanzhou will use all their strength to delay the Cangzhou rebel army. The three great sects will force the feudal vassals to send troops to suppress the rebellion. Let them and the rebel army fight until both sides suffer!"
Tong Mo nodded. "Isn't Shang Chaozong good at fighting? This is the best reason. If the war situation is not good, then we can force the three great sects to force the people of Nanzhou to suppress the rebellion. We can use this opportunity to ruthlessly exhaust the remaining forces of King Ning! "
"Very good. Let's do it this way!" Shang Jianxiong nodded and then said worriedly, "No matter how we force them, they will be willing to send troops, but they may not be willing to pay with money and food. I'm afraid the court will still have to provide the provisions. The affairs of the country are difficult. The heavy responsibility of collecting provisions will have to be thought of by the Minister of Public Works."
Tong Mo bowed. "This old subject is duty-bound to think of a way. It is just that the common people of Yan will suffer!"
After a series of secret talks, Tong Mo left first. Shang Jianxiong also had to participate in the temporary court discussion.
As she straightened his clothes, Tian Yu said, "Previously, the entire country gathered a large number of troops to rush to the Han and Song borders. The large amounts of provisions gathered were already too much for the common people to bear. After the Battle of Dingzhou, they were plundered again. Now that they have gathered again, the common people will no longer be able to squeeze anything out of it. This time, the Minister of Public Works will probably move against the rich families in the capital and various provinces!"
Shang Jianxiong said, "Other people cannot make the rich and powerful families spit out anything, but he knows it. There are many ways to do it by hook or by crook. If he wants to keep his position, he must do it! There are some things that those loyal officials cannot do. Once they do, there will be a violent backlash. If he goes, he can suppress those people and not cause chaos! "
Tian Yu nodded. "That is true."
…
In the quiet room, smoke curled up. The white-haired Shao Dengyun stood quietly in front of the table, looking at the portrait of King Ning hanging on the wall.
There was a knock on the door. Housekeeper Yang Shuang's voice came from outside. "Master."
Shao Dengyun said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Yang Shuang poked his head in to take a look. He was slightly surprised. Usually, the master would not allow him to talk in here. What was going on today?
He entered and closed the door. Walking behind Shao Dengyun, he bowed and replied, "Master, according to reliable information, there should be no more twists and turns in the battle in Dingzhou. The three major sects have already forced Shang Jianxiong to cede three provinces to Nanzhou, but they have not made it public."
Shao Dengyun said, "The Little Prince's wings have hardened."
Previously, he had been worried that if there were some twists and turns in the battle, Shang Chaozong would order this side to respond. Once it reached that point, he would be in a dilemma.
Most importantly, it would be difficult to respond. First of all, he had the heavy responsibility of confronting the Han. Once his army moved south, the Yan's defense against the Han would have a large gap, which would endanger the entire Yan Army. Second, Tianyu School would not let it go!
Fortunately, from beginning to end, Shang Chaozong had no intention of making a move against him. Now that the situation had settled, he could finally put one of his two worries to rest.
As for the other worry, it was not his son, Shao Pingbo. He was already exhausted and had given up on his son.
He could not make the decision for his son. His son was more capable than he was. He believed that there was no need for him to worry. Whether his son was doing well or not in Jin, he did not want to care anymore.
He was worried about the Cangzhou side. After hearing the news of Wu Gongshan's death, he was moved. After all, they were once subordinates of King Ning and had fought side by side on the battlefield. How could they not be friends?
"How is the Cangzhou side?" Shao Dengyun asked.
Yang Shuang said, "It's still the same. They attacked Yuanzhou and forced the troops of Yuanzhou to retreat. The troops of Yuanzhou have no choice but to avoid the battle and use harassment to delay. They probably want to delay until the court's reinforcements arrive. The current situation has not changed much."
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