Plan to cut off the nine states

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The assassination of the emperor caused a great disturbance in the city, and even outside Luoyang was affected. However, the emperor himself had forgotten the danger at that time and continued to travel at night, only changing a group of guards.

Before dark, Lou Chu rode to the outside of Zhuma Gate. The streets were empty and no one could be seen.

Zhuma Gate is located in the northwest of the imperial city. It is a towering archway without a gate. Not far away is the real gate of the imperial city. There are soldiers patrolling outside and no one is allowed to approach. Seeing Lou Chu, no one came to ask or drive him away.

Lou Chu waited for a long time under the archway. After it was completely dark, several people came. The first one asked loudly: "Are you Lou Chu, the son of the general?"

"It's me. What's your name?"

"My name is Shen Dan. My father is Shen Mushou of Bingzhou. We are old friends."

"It turns out to be Brother Shen. I'm sorry." Lou Chu bowed.

In their early years, General Lou Wen and Bingzhou Governor Shen Zhi jointly assisted the late Emperor Zhang Xi. Although one was a military officer and the other a civil servant, they were as close as brothers, had frequent contacts, and intermarried. Lou Chu had no chance to participate in this, but he knew that Shen Dan was Shen Zhi's fifth son, a few years older than him, and the most favored in the family. Because of this, he did not follow his father to an official position, but stayed in the capital to reassure the emperor.

Shen Dan jumped off his horse, walked a few steps to greet him, bowed and smiled: "Mr. Lou, you are here very early, you are the first one, right?"

"I should be, how did Brother Shen know I would come?"

"The news was sent to me by the palace. I wanted to send someone to inform Mr. Lou about the relevant matters, but I couldn't find out where your house is."

Shen Dan spoke gently and behaved properly, making people feel like they had known each other for a long time. Lou Chu smiled and said: "It's my turn to see Brother Shen. Brother Shen is in charge of the guards. I wonder what to call him?"

"Haha, we are all the same guards. I am just in charge of some chores. How can I call him? If you are not shy, you can call me 'Fifth Brother'."

"Fifth Brother Shen."

The two stood on the side of the road and chatted, and they had a good impression of each other.

More and more guards arrived. Shen Dan knew them all. He introduced them to Lou Chu one by one and taught him many rules. It turned out that the guards only had to arrive before 1:25 a.m., and the emperor never left the house before 2:25 a.m. They could bring one servant with them, but were not allowed to carry weapons. The inspection was not strict at first, but since the assassination, everyone had to be carefully searched, and not just once.

The guards all came from noble families, but they were no different from slaves at the station.

At nearly 2:25 a.m., more than a hundred guards mounted their horses and lined up on both sides, with the master in front and the servants behind. Lou Chu had no servants and was arranged in the middle of the right hand, which was exactly where his third brother Lou Ying used to be.

There was no movement at the imperial gate, but a few lights came from the other side.

The guards were not allowed to bring lanterns. In the darkness, the lights were very conspicuous. Shen Dan immediately led several people to meet them and asked loudly, "Who is trespassing at the gate?"

"Mr. Liang, the Minister of the Chancellery!"

The Grand Tutor Liang Zhao had been unemployed for several years. He was just called back to the court a few days ago to serve as the Minister of the Court and the Minister of the Chancellery. In the Tiancheng Dynasty, this position did not have the title of prime minister, but it was the prime minister in reality.

Shen Dan dismounted, and the other guards also dismounted, not daring to be rude in front of the prime minister.

"I wonder what the Minister of the Chancellery has come here for?"

"You leave, you don't have to worry about Mr. Liang's affairs."

Shen Dan did not dare to ask further, and led people back to the original place, standing and watching.

The sedan chair of Grand Tutor Liang was parked in the middle of the road, with servants holding lanterns on both sides, and the sedan bearers retreated to a distance, and it seemed that they did not want to carry the master away for a while.

The guards did not say anything, and everyone understood that Grand Tutor Liang was going to make a strong remonstration to the emperor.

The imperial gate opened, and several riders galloped out. Two people in front held torches, and the emperor himself was behind. This time, there was no mystery.

"Who is blocking the road? Where is Shen Dan? Why don't you clear the road?" one person scolded.

A person walked out of the sedan chair and said from a distance: "This old minister is blocking the road, it has nothing to do with others."

The emperor found that the person blocking the road was Liang Taifu, who had just become an important official from an idler. He stopped and the torch holders stepped aside. The emperor said: "It's so late, why doesn't Taifu rest at home?"

Liang Taifu was old and had difficulty walking. As he walked, he said: "This old minister has been thinking about it at home and can't fall asleep. I must come to see Your Majesty."

"I don't know how to coax people to sleep. Old Taifu should find a bed warmer at home." The emperor said jokingly.

Liang Taifu came to the emperor's horse panting, knelt down, kowtowed respectfully, "Your Majesty must know why I came, but I still have to say: Your Majesty is responsible for the whole world, how can you take risks easily? If something happens, where will the subjects go? Even if Your Majesty doesn't care about yourself, you should think about the Queen Mother."

"I am the emperor of the world, not the emperor of the inner palace. It is precisely because I care about the safety of the Queen Mother that I have to personally inspect the capital to ensure that everything is in place."

"If Your Majesty trusts the ministers, you should send officials to inspect the city. If you don't trust them, you should dismiss the officials and replace them. Why do you have to ride a fast horse and gallop through the streets?"

"It is indeed convenient to leave everything to the ministers. It saves effort and trouble, and seems safer, but I feel uneasy. "

"Why is your majesty uneasy?"

"Throughout the dynasties, there have been many cases of power falling into other people's hands. The emperors in the palace could not escape the word "incompetent". Even the previous emperor shared the government affairs with the Liang emperor, which led to the Tiancheng Dynasty today. I have not forgotten the past. How can I feel at ease staying in the deep palace and entrusting the affairs to the ministers?"

Teacher Liang kowtowed continuously, "The Liang Dynasty has run out of luck. The previous emperor followed the will of heaven and accepted the throne. Then he unified the world in a few years and achieved a great feat that had not been seen in three hundred years. This was beyond human power and was granted by heaven. How can your majesty attribute it to the four words "sharing the government affairs"? "

"Haha, I thought the old man was not energetic enough, but I didn't expect him to have such abilities. Well, I have understood Taifu's intention. I will never leave the palace easily in the future, but I have already come out tonight. You will not do anything lightly. Anyway You can’t let me go back, can you?”

"Every mistake must be corrected. It is the way of the sages. Today's return trip will not damage your majesty's reputation. I ask your majesty to turn back."

The emperor was silent, and Taifu Liang prostrated himself, "If you are not in your position, you will not seek political power. Now that you are in your position, you will not retreat even if you die. I would like to ask your majesty to turn back and fight for this broken body, not daring to give way."

The emperor laughed and said to the guards on both sides: "Old minister, I dare not go against my will, I am a great treasure of the country. Well, I will make an exception and go back."

"Your Majesty will look back, and the world will be peaceful. I have no regrets, and risk my life to plead guilty."

The emperor really turned around and returned to the palace. Taifu Liang kept kneeling until the emperor entered the palace gate, then he struggled to get up. Several guards with quick eyes and hands rushed forward to help him.

The guards had nothing to do and did not dare to leave immediately, so they had to stay under the gate of the station and wait for news from the palace.

Shen Dan walked to Lou Chu and whispered: "Jiang is still old and hot. Taifu Liang started his career as prime minister. There are quite a few dissatisfied people in the court. If there is such a fuss tonight, no minister will be able to compete with Taifu tomorrow."

"It's rare that His Majesty is willing to cooperate."

"Hey, it's really rare." Shen Dan nodded to the foundation of the building, turned and walked away.

A quarter of an hour later, Taifu Liang left in a sedan chair. Someone came out of the palace again, dismissed the guards, and left only six people to enter the palace, including the foundation of the building.

Lou Chu was very surprised. Shen Dan was also one of the people who stayed. He came to Lou Chu again and whispered: "This opportunity is rare, Mr. Lou cherishes it."

Lou Chu could only smile. He did need a chance, but not the one Shen Dan thought he had.

The emperor was used to traveling at night, so even if he returned to the imperial city, he had to do something.

As soon as you enter the imperial city, you must strictly abide by the etiquette of monarchs and ministers. In a small hall, Lou Chu and others lined up, kneeling and kowtow, saying "Long live the meeting".

Banzai seemed to still miss the horseback, sitting in a chair in a daze. He didn't speak, and no one dared to get up.

Not long after, a scribe in his thirties walked into the small hall. He walked quietly to the emperor without being informed by the eunuch and whispered in his ear.

The emperor finally regained consciousness and smiled at the people kneeling on the ground: "Your Majesty, you are of equal height, there is no need to be polite."

Everyone stood up to express their gratitude and stood with their hands tied. The courtesy that should be restrained had to be restrained.

"Taifu Liang is an old minister in the court, and he is a new minister. I don't want to be on the same level with him. Let him win for a while. It's not that I am persuaded by him. Do you think there is any loophole in Taifu Liang's words?"

Now that the emperor has made a decision, everyone is ready to answer, claiming that Taifu Liang's words are "big and unreasonable", "for fame and reputation", "pretending to be God's will, extremely disrespectful" and so on.

When it was the turn of the building, he said: "For example, a general can lead the troops, but cannot go into battle alone and show off the bravery of an ordinary man. As the prime minister, Taifu Liang is the head of hundreds of officials. He is not comparable to the imperial censor. If you want to give advice, you should lead the ministers They came together to Zhumamen to show that all the officials were united. If Taifu Liang came alone, his dignity would be undermined, and if he won, he would make all the officials feel resentful.

The emperor laughed and said to the scribes beside him: "Can you imagine? The general also has a son who is very articulate."

The scribe looked at Lou Chu more and more, and said with a smile: "This Mr. Lou is really similar to the general of the Chinese army when he was young. He is indeed his brother."

The emperor tilted his head and took a closer look, "There is one thing. If you don't mention it, I will almost forget what the fat man looked like when he was young. Lou Chu, be careful and don't grow up to be a fat man like my father and brother in the future."

"Grass people work hard."

"You are the son of a general. You should have been awarded a title long ago. Why do you call yourself a 'grassroots citizen'?" The emperor was a little confused.

The scribe whispered a few more words, and the emperor suddenly realized, "So you are the son of Princess Wu! No wonder, you look familiar to me, but you have nothing to do with the general or the tough fat man. In fact, you look more like Princess Wu."

At this time, most people would ask the emperor whether he had seen Jia Ci? Lou Chi didn't answer, just handed over.

The emperor said: "Among the six of you, Lou Chi has the best answer. It's a pity, it's a pity."

The people who were imprisoned by the former emperor cannot be used by the current emperor.

"It's a blessing to be able to serve His Majesty. Common people have no other hope." Lou Chu was used to hearing the word "pity" and didn't take it seriously.

The emperor nodded, suddenly lost interest, leaned on his chair expressionlessly, and motioned to the scribe next to him to speak for him.

The scribe took two steps forward, raised his hands to the six of them, and said with a smile: "I'm Shao Junqian, the servant of Huangmen. Some of you recognize me and some don't. It doesn't matter. I'll just say a few words."

Shao Junqian, Huangfu Jie, and Lou Gang were what Zhang Sheduan called the three great sycophants. The latter two were all sons of nobles. Only Shao Junqian was born in a poor family and was good at writing. He rarely accompanied the emperor at night. Therefore, after the assassination, he quickly Get rid of suspicion and keep favor and trust.

"All six of them are descendants of the founding fathers of this dynasty. Their father and elder brothers are either in charge of military affairs or guarding the town. They are relied upon by the imperial court and relied upon by the world. However, there are rumors from the outside world claiming that you are called guards but are actually hostages, alienating the friendship between the monarch and his ministers. People are angry.”

Someone wanted to speak and show their loyalty, but Shao Junqian raised her hand to stop him and continued: "People's words are scary, even the Supreme One should think twice. Therefore, His Majesty has decided to give a year's leave. You can go back to your father and brother, and temporarily avoid the pain of being a guard."

The six people were all shocked, wondering why the emperor suddenly showed such kindness.

Shao Junqian said again: "Mr. Lou and Mr. Huangfu, your two brothers are still in the imperial city. You can take them away later."

Lou Chu couldn't help but glance at the emperor, and he became more and more confused about his true intentions.