Chapter 16 6. Manipulation: the shadow of the mastermind behind the scenes

In the seemingly peaceful but turbulent court in the later Zhou Dynasty, although Zhao Kuangyin held great power, the power he established at the age of only 30 years old was not the only one. In the hands of Han Tong, Li Chongjin, Li Yun and others Although his military power is not as good as his, if they jointly confront, it will also pose a threat to Zhao Kuangyin.And Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and important minister Wei Renpu, who are also Tuogu's ministers, all have an absolutely high prestige in the court, which is enough to match them.These people may become obstacles to Zhao Kuangyin's plan.After some planning, Zhao Kuangyin was able to successfully realize his plan, and he should be most grateful to a counselor beside him.

Before Sejong Chai Rong passed away, Zhao Kuangyin held a lot of power and had already started to build his own network of relationships. Among the "Ten Brothers of Yishe", Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi and others were in charge of the Forbidden Army, while Han Chongyun, Liu Shouzhong, and Liu Tingrang were divided into two groups. Serving as Jiedushi or military governor in various places is a powerful faction in the army.Among these helpers, Zhao Kuangyin relied most on the counselor Zhao Pu. He won the world for Zhao Kuangyin with "half of the Analects", and helped the Northern Song Dynasty stabilize the situation at the beginning of the founding of the country, and made great contributions to Zhao Kuangyin's founding of the country.

After the early deployment, Zhao Kuangyin obeyed Zhao Pu's suggestion.From "checking to be the emperor" to "two-day battle", every strategy of Zhao Pu can achieve unexpectedly good results, making Zhao Kuangyin's support rate rise in a straight line no matter whether it is in the army, the court or the people. Let him be overjoyed.And all this is just the beginning. On this day, Zhao Pu discussed with Shi Shouxin, Li Chuyun and others. Shi Shouxin said: "At present, our military strength is already sufficient. Basically, we can control more than half of the army in the country. It must be easy to win the world with such strength. Yes. We should advise the general to start the attack now."

But Zhao Pu said: "With our strength, if we want to fight, we will naturally win. But now there are Khitan in the north of the Great Zhou, and Tang, Shu, and Han in the south. Neither side will let us go easily. Once there is an internal war in the Great Zhou Disputes, maybe they will take advantage of the situation, and instead reap the benefits of the fisherman." Hearing Zhao Pu's analysis of the situation, everyone began to fall into contemplation again, and their hearts that were excited and looking forward to changes gradually cooled down.Li Chuyun said: "Do we have to wait?"

Zhao Pu nodded solemnly and said: "Yes, the cheetah can lie still in the grass all day and all night, it is waiting for the best opportunity. For us now, after such a long time of accumulation, it is even more difficult to take action easily. .Otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted.” Everyone nodded one after another, and no longer mentioned the matter. After a while, Liu Shouzhong rushed in through the door and said to Zhao Pu, "Sir, I have brought the person you are looking for." Zhao Pu was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly said, "Please come in quickly."

The visitor had a thin face, and when he saw Zhao Pu, he bent over and bowed. Zhao Pu quickly returned the salute and said, "I have been waiting for Master for a long time." His surname was Miao Mingxun. He was originally a monk, but under the strong invitation of Zhao Pu, he came to Kaifeng to assist Zhao Kuangyin, and became a right-hand man in Zhao Kuangyin's army.Because he is proficient in astronomy and geography, Zhao Pu hopes that he can provide some help for his decision-making. It was night, and the two had a drink in the garden.Zhao Pu said: "Mr. Miao is proficient in celestial phenomena. Although he is far away from the world of mortals, the affairs of the world of mortals cannot escape your eyes. What do you think of the current situation in the world?"

Miao Xun said: "Thunderstorms and national auspicious disasters are not created in a short time. It is bound to take a long time to show changes. But the world only sees the moment of change, and does not know how many undercurrents are there for this change. surge." Zhao Pu said, "I'm still not sure about one thing. I don't know if my husband can give me some pointers." Miao Xun said: "Recently, I watched the sky at night and saw the emperor star getting brighter and brighter. This indicates that a king is about to appear. This is the destiny. I don't know if my answer is in line with your wishes?"

Zhao Pu hurriedly said, "Thank you sir! With your words, I feel much more at ease." Miao Xun smiled and said: "Those who make big decisions have always needed to make decisions. I think the adults have already made up their minds. If my words can help you, that is my honor." Zhao Pu said: "To tell you the truth, I have been preparing for this matter for a long time, so whether it is a good omen or not, I will give it a try. I have reached this point, and there is no way out for me." Miao Xun said: "I don't know if the inspecting general understands your painstaking efforts?"

Zhao Pu said: "The general inspector is honest and righteous, and he is unwilling to do anything against him. But if this matter is really destined, I must do it for the general so as not to disappoint his trust in me. Now The inspecting general has been kept in the dark, not knowing that I and the soldiers are planning this matter. When the incident happens, I will naturally tell him all this. Even if he wants to go back on his word at that time, he will be scruples about the brothers lives, there is no turning back." Miao Xun said in amazement: "So, the inspecting general doesn't know what your lord is planning?"

Zhao Pu nodded, Miao Xun couldn't help frowning, and said to him: "For such a big matter, the general as the chief general has never been aware of the progress of the plan. Don't you think this is inappropriate? Is it because you are afraid that he will not allow it after he knows it? My lord Dare to keep him in the dark?" Zhao Pu said, "This is also a helpless move for me." Miao Xun said: "I dare to advise you that there is something wrong with this matter." Zhao Pu hurriedly said: "I would like to hear the details." Miao Xun said: "Since ancient times, monarchs have not required much from their ministers, nothing more than loyalty. In their eyes, talented people can be found everywhere in the world, but a loyal person is very rare. My lord this time Everything you do is planned for the general, which is also the general's trust in you. But you plan to let the general know at the last moment, it will inevitably make people think that you are unfathomable, sir. If this impression continues, if some villain in the future wants to To frame you, wouldn't it be the root of disaster?"

Hearing this, Zhao Pu couldn't help but fell into deep thought. He had been making arrangements for every aspect of the whole thing, but he never thought about himself.Miao Xun's words enlightened him, and he woke up suddenly, only to realize that what he had done was really wrong.If Zhao Kuangyin is worried about everything he planned behind his back, maybe he will become a grudge in the future. Everyone is smart, and Miao Xun's words were so clear, Zhao Pu hurriedly thanked him, sent someone to send Miao Xun to rest, and went to see Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi and others by himself. When he came to the study, everyone had been waiting for him for a long time.Zhao Pu said: "The Forbidden Army is the key to this incident. The guards in the city, the city defense, and the palace gates are all under the control of the two generals Shi and Wang, so we must arrange suitable candidates for these guards in advance. Avoid any mistakes." Shi Shouxin nodded and said, "Don't worry about this matter. I have already sent my confidantes to the main places such as the city gate and the palace gate. Others will also obey my orders and there will be no problems." Hearing what he said, Zhao Pu couldn't help but smiled and said: "General Shi is a rough but fine person. I didn't expect to be so thoughtful in planning, and he has already arranged people." Wang Shenqi laughed and said: "He is a big bastard, it is difficult for him to think of these things. It is only with the guidance of an expert that he suddenly becomes smarter." Zhao Pu hurriedly asked: "Where is the expert who instructed General Shi?" Shi Shouxin said with a smile: "I have been fighting with General Inspection for many years, and I have some understanding of marching and formation, so you can't always underestimate me like this." Wang Shenqi said: "That's right, the expert who instructed him is naturally the inspecting general. If there is no general, he probably only knows how to wield a knife and stick!" Under his ridicule, everyone laughed, which made the tense atmosphere a lot easier.Zhao Pu said: "Everyone's swords are out of their sheaths now, so there can be no mistakes. The deployment of the army is the most important link. As long as the soldiers are in their positions, we can control the overall situation. The odds are within our grasp.” Zhao Kuangyi, who had been silent at the side, suddenly said: "We all admire your thoughtfulness, sir. As long as you arrange it, we will do our best to do it well." Zhao Pu hurriedly said humbly: "After all, my ability alone is limited, and we still need to plan big events together." Just after he finished speaking, he yelled again: "Oops!" Everyone hurriedly asked: "Why are you surprised?" Zhao Pu said anxiously: "I have been deploying, but I forgot one important thing: the dragon robe has not yet been sewn, what should I do?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi said with a smile: "My lord is devoting himself to planning big things, it doesn't matter if you neglect such small things for a while." Zhao Pu said: "Dragon robes are a big deal, it's about prestige. Do you want generals to wear yellow flags like Taizu Guo Wei?" Seeing how anxious he was, Zhao Kuangyi smiled and said, "I've already sent someone to do this, and it's probably almost done by now!" Zhao Pu looked at Zhao Kuangyi in surprise, unexpectedly, he had already prepared the dragon robe secretly.With Zhao Kuangyi's personality, such details are definitely not something he could think of in advance.If anyone can be so meticulous, then this person can only be his elder brother - General Zhao Kuangyin, the inspector general. Thinking of these, Zhao Pu took a deep breath. Guo Wei, the Taizu of Zhou who established the Later Zhou regime, had his soldiers put a yellow flag on their bodies as a symbol of electing him as emperor when he was about to raise an event.When Zhao Kuangyin started the incident, many historical materials use the fact that he was put on a yellow robe by the soldiers while he was drunk as the reason why he did not know beforehand, and wanted to use this plot to prove that Zhao Kuangyin did not participate in the prior planning of the incident. It was purely forced by the soldiers to ascend to the throne of God.However, the difference between the "yellow robe" and "yellow flag" has already explained the similar but absolutely different nature of Guo Wei and Zhao Kuangyin in this matter. is it the same?