At the end of the year, after losing several games in a row, the four southern kingdoms were able to hold on due to the geographical advantage of one man being in charge and not being able to open the gates of ten thousand men, and the exhaustion of Yong's army from continuous battles.
Seeing that the war situation was at a stalemate, Wen Yaozi decided to resolve the matter of identity first.
The royal family of the Wei Dynasty was no longer a puppet for a day or two. Although both Shen Zangfeng's Prince Ding and Wen Yaozi's Prince Yong were recognized by Emperor Xingping, the actual person in charge was Huo Zhaoyu. Emperor Xingping himself only knew after the fact which king he had granted the title of "again".
Therefore, everyone believed that the only obstacle to this matter was a reason to hide their shame.
… In fact, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a reason. Do you need a reason after the last emperor died suddenly? Therefore, in the eyes of almost everyone, it was just a matter of Wen Yaozi returning to the imperial capital.
But what no one expected was that Wen Yaozi, who originally went south to visit the front line to boost morale, was actually blocked by the imperial guards stationed in Gyeonggi when he arrived in Gyeonggi.
The commander of the imperial army who was responsible for blocking the road said, "Why did King Yong return to the capital without the emperor's order?" When asked, Wen Yaozi and his party all looked at him as if he was crazy - but this commander of the imperial army sounded like he had not taken any medicine. His serious look doesn’t look like someone who hasn’t taken any medicine!
The emperor has changed!
After hearing that Yaozi and others were laughing and crying, they all immediately thought of this!
The first person to be suspected was Shen Zangfeng, the master who was originally considered to be the most likely to win the world. If not for bad luck, even Wen Yaozi would have been prepared to surrender after the defeat. He returned to Gyeonggi to recuperate early due to poor health, and by the way, he helped look at the south... Could it be that he was designing a plan here
At this time, even if there was no imperial army to stop him, Wen Yaozi did not want to enter Gyeonggi easily. He immediately summoned spies from Gyeonggi to inquire and learned that everything was normal since Shen Zangfeng returned to Yuzhu Town. There was nothing strange in the past two days. It is said that the day before yesterday, he took his wife, children, niece, and adopted daughter to the mountains for a day of hunting, and returned happily in the evening carrying the fox and rabbit... No matter how you look at it, it is true. I am taking care of my body with peace of mind.
If it weren't for Shen Zangfeng... Wen Yaozi didn't wonder for too long before he learned that Huo Zhaoyu incited the Wei ministers in the capital to seal off the imperial capital and send imperial troops along the way to stop him.
Huo Zhaoyu... is this because he has lost his mind and gone crazy
This result is even more shocking than what Shen Zangfeng did.
Shen Zangfeng gave up because the Xiliang army suffered too many losses and he had health problems. He was worried about his beloved wife and young son and did not dare to take risks. And Huo Zhaoyu...he has been destined to be a minister from the beginning to the end, okay
Not to mention that Huo Zhaoyu has been hooking up with Wen Yaozi for a long time. How can he pretend to be a loyal minister at this time... He doesn't look like this without winking!
He just didn't want to lead hundreds of officials out of the city with jade seals to welcome them without moral integrity. He wanted to save some face, so he closed the warehouse and went back to Princess Anji's mansion, waiting for Wen Yaozi to invite him to come out. You can say that you are unable to save Wei, but you are worried that the world cannot bear to do things for the people of the world! Anyway, the change of dynasty is imminent, and he is not the only one who is changing the family!
Now, instead, he sent his imperial troops to seal the city and come along the road to stop Wen Yaozi...
Even Wei Xinyong was a little confused!
However, Wei Xinyong was far more resourceful than ordinary people. After a moment of confusion, he woke up and asked, "Where are Gu Xinian and others?"
The spy was sweating profusely and said: "The city gate was closed in a hurry, and my subordinates haven't found out yet..."
"Why did Huo Zhaoyu do this?" Liu Rong said in surprise, "Your Majesty planned to give him a generous reward!" Wen Yaozi returned to the imperial capital this time to proclaim himself emperor on Wei's behalf, and the people around him changed their ways on the way back just to get some luck. Hearing that Yaozi became more interested, he also revealed some arrangements for rewards after becoming emperor.
Among them, Huo Zhaoyu is unofficially scheduled to be Wei Xinyong's deputy in the future - and then succeed Wei Xinyong in the future, which is equivalent to an accurate future where one person can have a better future than ten thousand people.
This is because Wei Xinyong's health has become worse and worse in the past two years. Even if Wen Yaozi gives him a high official and a generous salary after he becomes emperor, I am afraid that he will not be able to preside over political affairs for a few more years. The Yunxia Huo family from which Huo Zhaoyu was born was not very outstanding among the noble families in the world. There were also two enemies, Qingzhou Su and Xiliang Shen. If he did not rely closely on the imperial power, he would have no way to survive.
What's more, he has been in charge of the imperial capital for many years. Although he has been in troubled times, he has also managed the area around the capital in order, which shows his talent in this matter.
... In Wen Yaozi's heart, Huo Zhaoyu may not be able to compare with Shen Zangfeng and others in terms of title and rank, but in terms of trust and reliance, as well as the actual power given to him, Huo Zhaoyu must be far superior to the latter.
After listening to Liu Rong's words, Wen Yazi said expressionlessly: "Order someone to send word to Shen Zangfeng!"
"No." Wei Xinyong frowned, but stopped him, "The city gate was closed last night, and yesterday Shen Zangfeng went out hunting with his family and returned after enjoying themselves. It is reasonable to say that he doesn't know anything now. !”
Wen Yaozi said happily: "He is in Gyeonggi, how can he not know anything?"
"Your Majesty, Rong Chen will report this privately." Wei Xinyong noticed that Wen Yaozi's attitude towards him had become much more dignified recently. He was no longer as warm as before and even asked for advice. He frowned in his heart and said calmly on his face. .
After all, he had made great contributions to Wen Yaozi. Although Wen Yaozi did not trust and rely on him as much as before, he still had to give him the dignity he deserved.
After dismissing the rest of the people, Wei Xinyong asked slowly: "Does Your Majesty want others to say that Your Majesty is not sure of opening the Imperial Capital in person and must rely on Shen Zangfeng's prestige?"
Wen Yaozi was startled by these words, and then he was horrified: "That's right! We really can't call Shen Zangfeng here now..."
"Actually, Shen Zangfeng did not intervene this time for this reason." Wei Xinyong said calmly, "Otherwise, since he has decided to submit to Your Majesty, and even his younger brother is leading the Xiliang army to fight for Your Majesty... how could he still want to fight with Your Majesty? Are you angry? Shen Zangfeng is not a petty person. He will not repeat his decision easily - so this time, your Majesty must take back the imperial capital himself! "
Since there are no outsiders now, Wen Yaozi can also say something: "Mr. Wei may have guessed what Huo Zhaoyu meant by this move? Then if Huo Zhaoyu was a truly loyal person, how could he be willing to serve the Su family in his early years? Even if he later turned against Su Don’t you still regard the Wei family as a puppet?”
Wen Yaozi's face turned a little ugly when he said this. He obviously thought that the Qingzhou Su family was a noble family with a higher family status than Yunxia Huo. Could it be that Huo Zhaoyu was forced to collude with him privately due to the situation, but he really looked down on himself in his heart? This is not because he has excessive inferiority complex, but this is the general view at this time.
Even among the common people, many people are accustomed to this concept.
Wei Xinyong said calmly: "I have no clue now. The news sent from the imperial capital did not mention anything unusual about Huo Zhaoyu. However, this may be due to Huo Zhaoyu's deception. This person has extraordinary talents in handling political affairs. Over the years, the imperial capital seems to be riddled with hidden spies from all sides. In fact, Huo Zhaoyu’s hands are truly pervasive in the imperial capital and the capital! This time, he sealed off the imperial capital and sent people to stop His Majesty. I can see it without knowing anything!”
After a pause, he added, "As for what his plan is, it's not difficult. Even if the imperial capital has a forbidden army to seal the city, how can it be difficult to get His Majesty? Your Majesty directly sent people to take down the city, tied him up and asked , that’s it.”
Wen Yaozi originally had this intention, but Shen Zangfeng's lesson last year made him hesitate: "The severe epidemic caused by the great sacrifice of the Rong people last year..."
That can't be stopped by thousands of troops! You must know that in the early years, when I heard that Yaozi was on the road, I had to go into battle in person, and I often rode a horse. Now that he has an identity, he also pays attention to whether the son of a rich man can sit down in the hall, and travels in a sedan or a chariot...
Besides, there was a serious epidemic in Gyeonggi Province last year. If Huo Zhaoyu wanted to trick him, he would have nothing to lose. Wen Yaozi is now only one step away from that position, so it is human nature not to take risks.
"Your Majesty has forgotten that the weather is getting cold now, so where are the fleas?" Wei Xinyong sighed, "Besides, if Huo Zhaoyu has the intention to assassinate Your Majesty, why should you put Your Majesty on guard? In my opinion, I am afraid that this is his way of helping Your Majesty, especially Just unique.”
"Even so, it's just an exchange for a bloodline to be expelled from the family and live a secret life." At the same moment, in Yuzhu Town, Shen Zangfeng, who was wearing a cyan robe, was playing chess with Zhang Luoning, who was visiting with his wife, and said calmly, " It’s just that he is really capable and can drag so many families into trouble.”
Zhang Luoning said: "I told you that you might not believe it. Do you think Huo Zhaoyu came up with this idea by himself? He actually listened to what others said. I'm afraid you may not be able to guess this."
Shen Zangfeng hesitated and said, "I can't guess? So it must be that he is not the candidate according to common speculation?" He thought for a moment and said, "Could it be my cousin-in-law, Su Da?"
"Did you really guess it?" Zhang Luoning was very surprised and laughed, "Yes, it's him!"
"Although Cousin-in-law Su is called the weirdo of the family, he actually has no bad intentions. How could he come up with such a ruthless plan?" Shen Zangfeng said dumbly, "That's not what he said. Huo Zhaoyu got it based on what he meant. ?”
Zhang Luoning muttered: "As soon as we retreated to the Huxiao Gorge in the south, we estimated that if Yong's army could not break through the barrier in a short time, Wen Yaozi would definitely return to the imperial capital to determine his identity. At that time, Huo Zhaoyu was too preoccupied to deal with official matters. Gu Ziyang and others knew that he was afraid of you and the Su family's revenge, but they didn't have any good ideas. One day after getting off work, they invited him to have a drink together to relieve their sorrows - but they drove Gu Zilie to find Gu Ziyang. After hearing about it... You also know what he is like How could we not go together?"
Whenever Gu Naizheng appears, no matter it turns out to be a good thing or a bad thing, it will definitely become strange because of his appearance in the end...
This time is no exception. (To be continued)