The foundation is still shallow. Of course, Chen Sangliang could not know the content of the conversation between Yu Shiji and Emperor Sui Yang, let alone know that Emperor Sui Yang decided to discuss the candidate for the Eastern Capital the next morning. After speaking, let all the officials prepare to accompany Sui Yang Emperor to return to Daxing. As a result, Chen Yingliang, who was working in the imperial city, immediately thought of the important issue of candidates to stay in the Eastern Capital, and hurriedly put aside the few military affairs for the time being. , quickly ran to Shangshutai to find a distant relative Pei Ju to inquire about the news.
As an important official in the imperial court, now that Chen Sangliang came to see Pei Ju, of course he didn't have to wait in line to see him with a gift in his hand as before. He didn't even dare to accept Men Jing, so he rushed in to report to Pei Ju, and Pei Ju immediately agreed to meet Chen Yingliang. However, when Chen Sangliang entered the signing room and saw Pei Ju, Pei Ju was talking in a low voice to an ordinary servant, and beckoned Chen Yingliang to wait for a while. Stand by the door and wait patiently.
After chatting with the guard in a low voice for a while, Pei Ju waved him away and threw a silver pancake to the guard, and then asked Chen Yingliang to come forward to speak. As Chen Yingliang hurriedly saluted, Pei Ju smiled and said, "Nephew It’s just in time, there was something that my uncle thought about whether I should let you know, but since you came by yourself, let me tell you by the way, so that you can have a clear idea.”
"What does uncle want to advise my nephew?" Chen Yingliang hurriedly asked.
"I just received the news from the palace that something happened to Fan Zigai and Fan Liushou." Pei Ju told Chen Yingliang directly, saying, "Fan Liushou personally led the army to conquer Jing Banduo and Chai Baochang, the traitors in Jiangjun. Unexpectedly, he could not win after a long battle. His old man Because of overwork, unfortunately fell ill, and was forced to ask the court for help."
"How is Fan Liushou's condition? Is it serious?" Chen Sangliang, no matter how devastated he was, still cared a little about his benefactor Fan Zigai, so he hurriedly asked.
"It shouldn't be serious." Pei Ju said casually, "It's not like you don't know about Fan Liushou's temper. If he wasn't really seriously ill, with his old personality, how could he say that to His Majesty and the court?"
Chen Sangliang was somewhat worried, and Pei Ju said again: "Also, His Majesty decided to discuss at the court tomorrow about sending reinforcements to Fan Liushou. I know that Fan Liushou is kind to you, so you should take care of this matter. See what to do."
Of course, Chen Yingliang could hear Pei Ju's subtext, and wanted to decide whether he would take the initiative to ask Ying to help Fan Zigai, so he hurriedly cupped his hands to thank him, and then Pei Ju asked again: "By the way, nephew, you came to me in a hurry , what's the matter?"
"This..." Chen Yingliang hesitated for a while, and then said truthfully: "My nephew heard that His Majesty will return to Daxing in three days, but he doesn't know who His Majesty will stay in the East Capital, so I came to ask Uncle."
"What do you want to know about the candidate for staying in Dongdu?" Pei Ju was a little confused, and he really didn't expect that his distant nephew, who was not yet twenty years old, would dare to take up the important job of staying in Dongdu. Misunderstood Chen Yingliang's intentions, so he asked back: "Are you worried that someone from the Guanlongmen Clan will be left behind in the Eastern Capital? It's not good for you?"
Chen Yingliang nodded to admit his mistakes, and Pei Ju said: "This matter has not yet been decided. Your Majesty has no capable people to stay in Dongdu, so he has decided to discuss it with the court tomorrow morning. But don't worry too much, and it's not that His Majesty may not be able to use it." The Guanlongmen Clan is staying behind, so even if it is really used, Dongdu is not too far from Daxing, and the Guanlongmen Clan dare not mess around too much."
Chen Yingliang once again thanked Pei Ju for his guidance, and once again wanted to beg Pei Ju to recommend him to stay in Dongdu, but due to various considerations, he opened his mouth several times without saying a word. An official asked for an interview, Chen Yingliang had no choice but to leave, but Pei Ju didn't want to keep Chen Yingliang away with a wave of his hand.
"What's the trouble, why did we get together by chance? Fan Liushou suddenly fell ill, and his old man was so kind to me that I couldn't stand by, but it happened that His Majesty was going back to Daxing and was about to appoint a new Dongdu to stay behind." ? If I go to fight for the left behind in Dongdu, I will not be able to lead the army north to Taiyuan to reinforce Fan Liushou. If I go to reinforce Fan Liushou, I will not be able to fight for the left behind in Dongdu. Can I still have my share of the position? It’s a dilemma, it’s really a dilemma.”
Back to the Youwuwei General's mansion with a lot of worries, it was already halfway through the application time, Huangfu Wuyi, Dugusheng and others who had nothing to do recently were ready to go home from get off work, the yamen was relatively deserted, only the one in Youwu Fang Xuanling, who was in charge of the Zuo Division, came forward to greet him, saluted Chen Yingliang, and asked why Chen Yingliang left in such a hurry just now? Chen Yingliang, who was in a dilemma, also needed a think tank to help him make suggestions, so he led Fang Xuanling into his signing room, directly told Fang Xuanling what was on his mind, and also asked Fang Xuanling for advice.
After listening to Chen Yingliang's introduction, Fang Xuanling only made some calculations, and quickly said, "My dear brother, you have to help Fan Liushou. The reason is very simple. Fan Liushou is very kind to you. Even Pei Ju and Zuoxiang Pei hinted that you should fight for this job. If you refuse to decline again, you will not only be ashamed of Fan Liushou, but also Zuoxiang Pei will think that you are not reciprocating enough, and lower your evaluation, which is not good for your future. "
"Of course I know this." Chen Yingliang nodded, and said with a sad face: "But it happens that His Majesty will appoint a new Dongdu to stay behind tomorrow. If I volunteer to take this job, the Dongdu stay behind can still have me. share?"
"My dear brother, don't worry, this time the Dongdu will not stay in the position for long." Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "My dear brother, don't forget that His Majesty's Dragon Boat Water Palace is still under construction in Jiangdu, and it will not be completed until mid-June. It is at least the beginning of July to arrive at the Eastern Capital, and it is now the first ten days of March. There is enough time for His Majesty to go back and forth to Daxing once. The emperor’s preference for Jiangdu is well known, so Brother Yu predicts that this Eastern Capital will not stay here for long, at most not long. It will be more than three months, brother, you can give in for a while, and it will not be too late to compete for this eastern capital when His Majesty makes a southern tour of Jiangdu next time."
History is not so good that he can clearly remember every detail. Of course, Chen Yingliang doesn't know when Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty will visit the river next time. After listening to Fang Xuanling's analysis, although he thinks it is reasonable, he is still extremely worried, so he whispered again : "To be honest, brother, I have also considered this point, but what I am worried about is that if this Dongdu is appointed to stay behind tomorrow, he will perform well in just a few months and win His Majesty's trust and favor like Fan Liushou. , then when the emperor makes his next tour, wouldn’t it be even more hopeless for me to stay in this position in Dongdu?”
"That's right, this is indeed worth worrying about." Fang Xuanling nodded, and after thinking for a while, Fang Xuanling suddenly smiled, and said with a low laugh: "My dear brother, I don't know if you have heard a saying, One person is a dragon, and everyone is a worm?"
Of course Chen Yingliang had heard similar words, but he just didn't think that there was already a prototype of this sentence in this era, so he nodded first, and then asked: "Brother, why did you suddenly say this sentence?"
"My dear brother, don't you find something strange?" Fang Xuanling said with a smile, "Why can only one person be in charge of staying in Dongdu? Why can't several people be in charge together?"
"Brother, what do you mean, let a few officials of the imperial court jointly serve as the left behind in the Eastern Capital?" Chen Yingliang came to his senses.
"That's right!" Fang Xuanling nodded vigorously, and said viciously: "If there is only one person in charge of staying behind in the Eastern Capital, then he may indeed perform very well in this position and completely block your way forward! But if If a few people are responsible for staying behind in the Eastern Capital, then they will definitely fail their mission! Let His Majesty be completely disappointed in them, and they will definitely not have their share in staying behind in the Eastern Capital next time!"
"Brilliant plan!" Chen Yingliang slapped his thigh and said joyfully, "That's right, the more people staying behind to assist His Royal Highness King Yue to sit in the Eastern Capital, the better. It will mess things up, and it won’t work well!"
"What's even better is that this matter has a great chance of success." Fang Xuanling said in a low voice: "Brother Yu can see that in the current Eastern Capital, there is no court official who can gain His Majesty's absolute trust like Fan Liushou Yuwenzhu Kingdom, Laizhu Kingdom, and Pei Zuoxiang, whom His Majesty trusts most, will definitely go to Daxing to assist His Majesty in handling state affairs, and it is unlikely that they will stay in Dongdu, so His Majesty must be a little hesitant about the candidates who will stay in Dongdu, Xian Brother, you proposed that multiple people should be responsible for staying behind in the Eastern Capital, and His Majesty will most likely accept it."
Chen Yingliang was overjoyed when he heard that, he quickly nodded his head, and then hurriedly wanted to discuss with Fang Xuanling who to recommend as the left-behind of Dongdu, but Fang Xuanling refused with a smile: "My dear brother, who should you recommend as the left-behind of Dongdu?" , we can discuss this matter after we go home at night. Now that we have some time, you should quickly start arranging for the reinforcement of Fan Liushou. Go to the Ministry of War to collect information about the battle in Taiyuan, understand the specific situation there, and make sure that you have a bottom line. By the way, let everyone in the imperial city know how much you care about state affairs, dear brother, and how you are anxious about His Majesty's needs and thinking about His Majesty's thoughts."
Chen Yingliang applauded and laughed, hurriedly led Fang Xuanling to the Ministry of War, stopped the Minister of the Ministry of War, Duan Wenzhen, who was about to get off work, and asked him for the military report on the battle of Fenyang. Duan Wenzhen of General Hou Wei did not refuse, and immediately asked Chen Yingliang to check and sort out various military reports. At the same time, Duan Wenzhen naturally asked Chen Yingliang if he wanted to reinforce Fan Zigai. Chen Sangliang didn't hide it, and said straightforwardly: "Yes, Fan Liushou has been kind to me. Since there is something wrong with him, I will try my best to share it for him. By the way, Uncle Duan, tell me tomorrow morning When your majesty volunteers, you can give me a few words and beg your majesty to agree."
Fang Yanqian's words are still correct, no one doesn't like loyal ministers and filial sons, even though he is not on good terms with Chen Yingliang, Duan Wenzhen still agrees, and said with a smile: "My nephew is doing this to repay his kindness, of course uncle will try his best to fulfill it. But my nephew, this Uncle can't guarantee whether the matter can be done."
"What does uncle mean by that?" Chen Yingliang asked doubtfully.
Looking around, Duan Wenzhen lowered his voice and said: "To tell you the truth, my nephew, Dr. Pei Renji also came here just now, and he also asked to check the military report on the Fenyang War, do you understand?"
Hearing this, the military report in Chen Sangliang's hand dropped immediately, and Fang Xuanling next to him couldn't help but frowned, and said to himself, "Trouble, why did Pei Renji also take aim at this job? He has won the virtuous brother Ying Liang, but in this way, the gap between him and virtuous brother Ying Liang will only be further deepened."
No matter how troublesome it is, there is nothing to do. Chen Yingliang and Fang Xuanling can only quickly read the battle report and carefully understand the various situations on the Fenshui battlefield. As a result, Chen Sangliang and Fang Xuanling soon discovered that the bandits on the Fenshui battlefield were actually It is not difficult to pacify, and it is not even necessary to mobilize reinforcements to go north for reinforcements. The Taiyuan Sui Army under Fan Zigai's command alone is strong enough to deal with Jing Banduo and Chai Baochang. Too rough, blindly killing and suppressing, not knowing how to appease, and changing someone to command the counter-insurgency, as long as the strategy is changed, Huairou and appeasement are two-pronged, it is not difficult to suppress this bandit army.
After they got their minds together, Chen Yingliang and Fang Xuanling hurriedly bid farewell to Duan Wenzhen and asked him to go off work, and when they rode back to Lushunfang together, Chen Sangliang couldn't wait to discuss with Fang Xuanling on the road, and asked Fang Xuanling He said: "Brother Yu, it's not difficult to put down those bandits in Fenshui. Even if I go north to Taiyuan to take over the army by myself, I'm sure to deal with those bandits, but Pei Renji also takes credit for this, what should I do?"
"Brother, forgive me for speaking bluntly, you must not back down in the slightest in this matter." Fang Xuanling replied in a deep voice: "Temporarily withdraw from the competition to stay behind in Dongdu, seize the opportunity to reinforce Fan Liushou and leave Dongdu temporarily. It is in your best interest to do so, if you give in because of scruples and let Dr. Pei lead the army north to reinforce Taiyuan, then you are likely to be restrained and suppressed by the new Dongdu appointed by His Majesty, and you will be even more in a dilemma."
Chen Yingliang nodded, and said rather sullenly: "It would be great if Uncle Pei discussed it with me beforehand. He will go to reinforce Fan Liushou, and I will fight for this Dongdu to stay behind."
"My dear brother, you want to fight for Dongdu to stay behind now, but your chances are still too small." Fang Xuanling shook his head, and then said in a low voice: "But if you follow our established plan, you can solve Fenshui quickly and beautifully." The thieves are in chaos, and at the same time, the situation in the eastern capital is in chaos. Then you will have a lot of confidence when you try to be the left guard in the eastern capital. In addition, Fan Liushou is old. After the war in Fenshui subsides, your majesty may not consider The new Taiyuan left-behind candidate, if this happens, the military exploits of Fenshui will be the most powerful capital!"
Chen Yingliang thought for a while, then nodded, and said: "But what if Uncle Pei must compete with me for the credit for Fenshui? In addition, Uncle Xiao Guo and the others will definitely make trouble with me, and I don't necessarily have to." Are you sure you can beat him?"
"It's too simple." Fang Xuanling laughed, and said in a low voice: "It's true that His Majesty is in a situation where he hesitates to make a decision. Brother, you don't need to say a word of nonsense, just cry and cry. The more you cry, the sadder you will be. The more Dr. Pei can't compete with you."
"Brother, this is teaching me to be a rascal." Chen Yingliang smiled, and said with a smile: "Fan Liushou's kindness to me is well known in the whole court. I cried and acted like a baby, but His Majesty would not let me help Fan Liushou. Just because of this, Uncle Pei must hate me even more."
"Those who achieve great things don't stick to small details, let alone be fettered by family affection." Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "Besides, Dr. Pei doesn't seem to have much family affection for you."
Hearing this, Chen Yingliang remembered an incident that happened during Zuo Tunwei's quarrel, and Chen Yingliang could only smile bitterly, and then said: "Uncle Pei is ruthless to me, but I can't be unjust to him. , if possible, I would like to recommend him to be one of the left behind in the Eastern Capital."
"My dear brother decides on his own." Fang Xuanling smiled, and said, "There are two more things that my dear brother should consider. First, my dear brother must never say anything about going north alone for reinforcements. Doing so would make it look like a left-behind lady." You are incompetent, so you must lead the army northward. Second, your hometown, Yiyang County, Henan County, has been a bit uneasy recently-the garrison there is your former Qiao Peng army. You are mobilizing reinforcements to go north. When the time comes, don’t forget to bring that army with you.”
Taking a sideways look at Fang Xuanling who was smiling, Chen Yingliang said with a wry smile: "Brother, fortunately you are on my side. If you are on my opposite side, I will suffer."
…
The night passed quickly, and at Maoshi the next day, Chen Sangliang and all the officials entered the palace city to participate in the early court. In the early court, Emperor Sui Yang really took the initiative to bring up the matter of sending reinforcements to Fan Zigai, saying: "Everyone loves you!" Qing, Fan Zigai, who was left behind in Taiyuan, was overworked and unfortunately fell ill during the campaign against the bandits in Fenshui. Now there are no leaders in Taiyuan, and the bandits are rampant. I intend to send an army from the Eastern Capital to reinforce Fan Aiqing in the north and preside over the level of Fenshui. Regarding the matter of treason, I wonder if that love minister is willing to take on this important task?"
"My minister is willing to go!" Pei Renji and Chen Yingliang stood out of the train at the same time, and said in unison with Chen Yingliang: "Your Majesty, my minister is willing to go to Taiyuan to assist Fan Liushou in suppressing the bandits!"
"Chen Aiqing, if you know it, you must be there." Emperor Sui Yang smiled and said to Chen Yingliang, "What? Miss your Grandpa Fan?"
"Return to Your Majesty, that's true." Chen Yingliang nodded quickly, and said respectfully: "When I heard that Fan Liushou fell ill, it was like a bolt from the blue sky. I was worried about Fan Liushou's illness, and even more worried that the Fenshui bandits would take advantage of the opportunity. My minister wishes Lead 10,000 troops north to Taiyuan, assist Fan Liushou to put down the bandits, and also share the worries of His Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to agree."
Seeing that Chen Sangliang had seized the opportunity, Pei Renji became impatient. He didn't care about giving face to his cousin Pei Hongce, who was also at court, and immediately held up his wat and said, "Your Majesty, I don't need ten thousand troops. I only need your majesty's help." The imperial edict, go north alone to take over from Fan Liushou to preside over the Fenshui war, and ensure that the Fenshui rebellion will be quelled within two months! If not, I will be charged with lying and deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, I think that Dr. Pei should be appointed to this position." Unexpectedly, Uncle Xiao Yu and Xiao Guo came out to disgust Chen Sangliang, and held up his wat and said: "Dr. Pei has been a soldier for half his life, and he is highly respected. A good candidate, besides, Dr. Pei is confident that he can put down the rebellion with only the strength of Taiyuan troops, and save money and food for the court, killing two birds with one stone, wouldn't it be wonderful?"
The Great Uncle Xiao took the lead, and the little Uncle Xiao and the eight major powers naturally had to come out to support him, and instigated Emperor Sui Yang to send Pei Renji north to reinforce Fan Zigai. Drilling into their ears, when everyone followed the sound in amazement, they saw that Chen Sangliang had already knelt down to Emperor Sui Yang Jishou, holding his wat and weeping, but he didn't say a word.
Seeing this scene, Pei Renji, Uncle Xiao Guo and the others wished to kick Chen Sangliang to death, and they all cursed in their hearts, "Shameless! You can use such a rogue trick! Your shame is simply worse than Dong's!" The walls are still thick!"