Chapter 5 5. Mud can't help

The change of dynasties in the Central Plains is like building a dam on the beach, and it collapses again.The reason is not only poor quality materials and weak foundation, but also unreliable thinking and continuous external invasion.The task of repairing the dam fell to Guo Wei, and he could only sigh in dismay. A few years after Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty Liu Chengyou came to the throne, the struggle between the ministers of the court and China reached a fever pitch. Courtier harmony is a dream, but courtier battle is a nightmare. Originally, Liu Zhiyuan, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, left behind four Gu Ming ministers, namely Su Fengji, Yang Bin, Guo Wei, and Shi Hongzhao.It should be said that these four people can basically act in the interests of the country, but they also have their own ideas in their political careers, and there are great differences in their governance concepts and governance preferences.

If Liu Zhiyuan was still alive, perhaps he could continue to maintain the joint governance of the four ministers.But Liu Chengyou was young after all, and he didn't know anything about it. He didn't know the power of the emperor, and he didn't know how to fight among the ministers.He could only watch helplessly as the big bosses pinched back and forth, but instead he was reduced to a pawn used by civil and military officials. Su Fengji, as a prime minister, dared to take charge, made decisions calmly, and handled affairs with high efficiency.Some things were done right, and some things were done wrong, but they didn't delay things. They were a few brushes, which played an important role in the operation of the later Han court, which was roughly determined in the world.However, in order to seize power, Su Fengji organized a group of people himself, promoted and hired cadres arbitrarily, so that good and bad were mixed together.Su Fengji relied on his own work for many years by Liu Zhiyuan's side, won Liu Zhiyuan's trust, bullied others, and did not take other generals seriously.This guy also has a problem, "Shenwen is easy to kill". He is not only greedy for money, but also good at weaving charges.Su Fengji is extremely narrow-minded, his heart is smaller than the nose of a needle, and he is extremely vindictive.In order to occupy the real estate of the former Prime Minister Li Song's family, he did not hesitate to instigate charges, deceive and extract confessions, and even beheaded all fifty members of Li Song's family.

Yang Bin hates evil and is good at organizing and deploying resources, but he is not good at operating bureaucratic institutions, let alone getting along with the emperor and his relatives. He often looks domineering when he is in power.Guo Wei is the junior among the four, but he is good at planning and planning, and is better at handling the relationship with the ministers. Now he has a reputation for being good at fighting. Yang Bin and Guo Wei once fought fiercely with Su Fengji and Su Yugui once, and with the help of the empress dowager, they effectively counterattacked the attack of the prime minister's group.Since then, Yang Bin has become the eldest brother in the Later Han Dynasty.However, Yang Bin was good at managing affairs, but not good at managing people. Under his leadership, the bureaucracy lacked personnel and overly pursued details, which resulted in low efficiency and the operation of imperial politics was as slow as a cow.As the days went by, Yang Bin felt strenuous.

Guo Wei was originally the deputy privy envoy, and the nature of his position was the same as that of Yang Bin, but his rank was a little lower.Although Guo Wei knows how to be a man and has always been respectful to Yang Bin, he is the one who divides Yang Bin's power cake after all.Guo Wei, who had returned from the victory over the San Francisco, was radiant, and seemed to surpass Yang Bin's status all of a sudden. Under the pressure of work and the threat of Guo Wei's prosperity, Yang Bin once resorted to concealment, offered to resign, and asked to go home for the elderly.It is a good strategy for Yang Bin to retreat bravely in order to avoid big conflicts in the future.But the resignation of the privy envoy was too sudden, and neither the court nor the emperor was mentally prepared.Emperor Liu Chengyou said: "Yang Aiqing, you have done a good job, what are you resigning from, and keep doing it, don't think about it."

The emperor played both soft and hard ways, and finally suppressed Yang Bin.But Shi Hongzhao and Su Fengji started working again. Shi Hongzhao was born in the army, quick-tempered, straightforward, usually not talkative, but he must count on what he says, and he can choke to death even if he raises a bar, and he will not allow others to challenge his authority.As a military general, Shi Hongzhao ran the army strictly, led the troops with strict discipline, and made many military exploits in marching and fighting.But he has a paranoid personality, is not good at cooperating with his colleagues, and even disdains to be with the courtiers around the emperor.While in charge of security work in the capital, although Shi Hongzhao eliminated all kinds of riots and bandits, he did too much, created many unjust, false and wrong cases, and killed many innocent people indiscriminately. Many people hated Shi Hongzhao in their hearts.If it weren't for his good and sensible son who often dissuaded him, he would almost have shrouded the capital Kaifeng in white terror.

Shi Hongzhao not only did his job earnestly and desperately devoted himself to criticizing and denying his relatives, but also made no secret of his participation in major decisions of the court and expressed his opinions, daring to confront anyone.What he can't stand the most is the civil servant's chirping and shaking his head, and he has a deep prejudice against the prime minister's group. In 950 AD, the Khitan invaded the Central Plains again. Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Later Han Dynasty planned to send Guo Wei, who was both civil and military, to guard Hebei. This time, he was not going to inspect and supervise the war, but to give a permanent residence on a piece of land.The emperor asked the civil and military ministers to discuss what kind of official position would be more appropriate for Guo Wei.

After a brief discussion, the ministers proposed that Guo Wei should be Tianxiong Jiedu envoy, guard Weizhou, the capital of Ye, and have the right to govern and coordinate all the troops in Hebei, and organize the resistance against Khitan according to the actual situation. As a feudal town Jiedushi, how can he have the authority to govern other feudal towns?If the name is not right and the words are not right, things are not easy to handle.Shi Hongzhao, the commander of the guards and horses, made a suggestion to the emperor that Guo Wei continue to serve as the privy envoy, so that he could uniformly dispatch all the troops in Hebei.This suggestion sounded reasonable, but Su Fengji objected.Su Fengji believed that according to past practice, there was no practice of local officials concurrently serving as central officials, and this gave Guo Wei too much power and was not conducive to the operation of the state apparatus.In fact, Su Fengji's worries were more clever than Shi Hongzhao's.Shi Hongzhao only considered the convenience of a local problem, while Su Fengji considered the safety of the country's overall operation.Despite Su Fengji's objections, Emperor Liu Chengyou finally adopted Shi Hongzhao's suggestion and asked Chengfu County of Hebei Prefecture to follow Guo Wei's orders immediately, whether it was dispatching troops or raising food and grass.

will be scattered. to eat. It is common for these guys to eat and drink together.Today you are the host, tomorrow he treats guests, drink every night, and get slightly drunk every day. On the second night after this court meeting, Situ Dou Zhengu hosted a banquet at home and invited a group of civil and military officials to have dinner.After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, I raised my glass frequently and drank with my neck up. After half a catty of wine, Shi Hongzhao had a fit of alcohol, and he was still brooding over the matter of Guo Wei's position being discussed by the court the day before.He poured a large glass of wine for Guo Wei, raised a large glass of wine himself, and said in a very high-pitched, emotional, and resentful tone: "Yesterday, when the court was discussing your appointment, brother, someone said Oppose! How unreasonable! Even so, the emperor still accepts my opinion. Come, let’s drink this cup today and express our congratulations!"

There was something in Shi Hongzhao's words, he was accusing Su Fengji. Su Fengji and Yang Bin also raised their wine glasses, smoothing things over and saying, "The court meetings are all for national affairs, and it's normal to have disagreements. Why do you care about it, Old Shi?" It is really inappropriate for Shi Hongzhao to make an excuse on this occasion.A business is a business, and now it's a private gathering, so we shouldn't make use of it.Although Su Fengji and Yang Bin tried their best to maintain the atmosphere of the banquet, Shi Hongzhao took advantage of the wine and insisted on it, and said in a stern voice: "Guo Wei's appointment as the local governor is an important job. The most important thing is to stabilize the country and stabilize the country. There is nothing that can be controlled by dancing with words!"

Shi Hongzhao originally said this to express his contempt for Su Fengji and other civil servants and prime ministers, but the blow was too big and all the civil servants were shot. At this time, before Su Fengji had time to answer the question, Wang Zhang, the envoy of the third department in charge of finance and taxation, didn't like to hear it, and retorted: "There is no one who writes and calculates, so where will the country's financial taxes be raised?" The owner, Dou Zhengu, felt that there was no way to help, so he just sat there, helpless.Seeing a few people quarreling, Guo Wei was worried that the matter would get too serious, so he hurriedly stood up and drank a large glass of wine with a raised neck, trying to quickly end the topic.Everyone followed suit.

The banquet broke up unhappy, and from then on, Shi Hongzhao, Su Fengji, Wang Zhang and others became suspicious of each other. A month later, another night banquet. These few people have the wrong temper, and they always get together, which is really wicked. On Mayday, this time it was Wang Zhang's banquet at home for the civil and military dignitaries of the court.To add to the fun of drinking, when the wine reaches halftime, someone proposes to guess the order of drinking to show rewards and punishments.This drinking order is similar to playing a game of five bosses, tigers and chickens.Shi Hongzhao didn't know how to play this game, he was always confused and couldn't figure it out, his face was red with anxiety, his neck was thick and his forehead was full of sweat. Yan Jinqing, Director of the Beijing Office, was sitting next to Shi Hongzhao. He was familiar with this game and had a knack for it.So Yan Jinqing taught Shi Hongzhao.After a while, Shi Hongzhao found the way and started on the road.Su Fengji, who was already drunk, saw Shi Hongzhao frantically learning from Yan Jinqing, so he joked and mocked Shi Hongzhao, saying: "There is a man named Yan by your side, so you don't have to worry about being fined for drinking, hahaha." Su Fengji laughed. At this time, spittle stars flew out of Lao Gao. Su Fengji never expected that he would make a big joke with this sentence, which would lead to his death.Shi Hongzhao's wife was also surnamed Yan. Mrs. Yan was originally a wine seller, and she used to sing and perform in taverns, and she came from a humble background.Hearing what Su Fengji said, Shi Hongzhao thought that Su Fengji had openly insulted him and his wife in public, exposing his weaknesses and pain points. With a voice of "Aw", Shi Hongzhao stood up, pointed at Su Fengji and yelled, all kinds of ugly words came out in a roaring style. Su Fengji was so scolded that his face turned red to the base of his neck, and the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.He didn't know that Shi Hongzhao had a wife named Yan, let alone that Mrs. Yan used to sing in a wine shop.Su Fengji thought that Shi Hongzhao couldn't stand jokes, he was small-bellied and lacked courage, so he simply responded with an eye for an eye, scolding for scolding, roaring for roaring. Shi Hongzhao's martial arts background was rough and rough, and he could say all sorts of nasty things, Su Fengji couldn't scold him.But the more Shi Hongzhao scolded, the more vigorous he became, and the more he scolded, the more annoyed he became, he stepped across the banquet table and wanted to punch and kick Su Fengji.Su Fengji was a civil servant, so he couldn't beat Shi Hongzhao.Seeing that the situation was not good, Lao Su turned his head and ran away, got on his horse and fled home. Shi Hongzhao's eyes were red with anxiety, he refused to let go, he lowered his head to look for the sword, he wanted to chop Su Fengji up with his own hands.The general is going to kill the prime minister, and now the situation is messed up.Yang Bin ran over in a hurry, took Shi Hongzhao's arm tightly, and tried to persuade him: "Old Su is the head of all officials, and he is the prime minister of the court. If you kill him, what position will you put the emperor in? You have no right to do that." Ah! The general should think twice." After being persuaded by Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao became more emotionally stable. With the wine situation like this, who still has the mind to continue drinking? End! Shi Hongzhao has always been decisive and merciless, capable of anything.Although Yang Bin did not approve of Su Fengji's political views on employment and other aspects, as the chief minister of the imperial court, Yang Bin had a clear stand in front of right and wrong, and he was still principled in doing things.He was worried that Shi Hongzhao would go crazy with alcohol and continue to cause trouble at Su Fengji's house after leaving the banquet, so he had to hold the reins of Shi Hongzhao's horse with his own hands, and the two walked side by side.Yang Bin escorted Shi Hongzhao all the way back to Shi Hongzhao's mansion, handed it over to his family, watched him fall asleep, and then dared to return to his home. A tragedy of cannibalism was spared. Su Fengji and Wang Zhang always felt that Shi Hongzhao and Yang Bin looked down on civil servants and civilian work, and felt that working in the court was boring, so they had the idea of ​​leaving the court and becoming local officials, and they also considered avoiding political struggles.Later, Su Fengji thought about it again, and gave up the idea again, because he thought that going somewhere would kill him faster.As the current prime minister of Su Fengji, Shi Hongzhao had already dared to insult Su Fengji wantonly and even wielded his sword. If he got to the place, Shi Hongzhao could grind Su Fengji into tofu with just a flick of his little finger.Because the imperial court really couldn't do without Wang Zhang, a money-making master, and Shi Hongzhao and Yang Bin were unwilling to leave him, so Wang Zhang couldn't be released as an official for a long time. Among these heavyweights in the later Han court, the only one who was able to go was Guo Wei. Guo Wei left at the right time. In the court of the Later Han Dynasty at this time, not only deep contradictions arose among the four Gu Ming ministers who rose from Hedong, but also the emperor Liu Chengyou became more and more arrogant, appointed many treacherous villains and brothers of the queen mother, and speculative politicians went At the front desk, conflicts with the North Korean Minister of Chinese and Military Affairs are also fermenting.The court of the Later Han Dynasty was heading towards a great vortex full of crises and disasters.Guo Wei expressed deep concern about this.And Liu Chengyou, the helmsman who drove the boat, hummed a ditty and felt good without realizing it. Guo Wei left the central government to take up his post in Weizhou, the capital of Ye. Before leaving, there was a necessary procedure to talk with the leaders. During this period, Guo Wei said to the emperor: "The Empress Dowager Li has followed the late emperor for many years. She has experienced the world and has profound knowledge. Your Majesty is still young, and you should consult the Empress Dowager more when encountering important events. Then do it again.” Guo Wei’s words meant something, two years ago, the new prime minister Li Tao’s party had encouraged the emperor to push out Yang Bin, Guo Wei and other ministers who were committed to life.Later, the queen mother found out and stopped it in time. Liu Chengyou nodded when he heard what Guo Wei said, but did not speak.I don't know if the young man understood or didn't understand. Guo Wei continued: "Your Majesty, as a king, you should be close to loyal and upright subjects, and stay away from treacherous and wicked people. You must carefully distinguish between good and evil, and treat them with prudence." Liu Chengyou asked thoughtfully: "In Guo Aiqing's opinion, who should I trust?" Guo Wei replied: "Su Fengji, Yang Bin, and Shi Hongzhao are all old ministers of the late emperor. They served the country loyally. I hope that your majesty will trust them and reuse them. There will be no major mistakes. As for the matter of killing the enemy on the battlefield, I am willing to do my best Live up to His Majesty's love." After hearing what Guo Wei said, Liu Chengyou straightened his clothes, affirmed Guo Wei's faithful words with a solemn expression, and expressed that he would be self-reflective and vigilant, and treat the emperor well. The Central Plains has been in war for many years, the people's livelihood has declined, the land is barren, the villages are empty, and the population has dropped sharply.After Guo Wei arrived in Yedu, he judged the situation and took some effective measures.Due to the inability of the later Han Dynasty to take the initiative to fight, Guo Wei decided to adopt a defensive strategy.He issued an order to warn the guards in the cities and counties of border states to strictly guard and stick to their duties, not to plunder and disturb the people, and not to take the initiative to provoke Khitan.If the Khitans come to attack, the common people will be summoned into the city, the walls will be fortified and the fields will be cleared, and the Khitans will come and nothing will be gained. Guo Wei left with a restless heart. The court was even more restless. Greater disasters are about to happen. Misfortune will start within the Xiao Wall. Empress Dowager Li has a younger brother named Li Ye, and Empress Dowager Li loves him very much.When Liu Zhiyuan was emperor, he asked Li Ye to be responsible for the income and expenditure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.After Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, he also liked this uncle very much, and planned to let Li Ye be the envoy of Xuanhui.Xuanhuishi is an important position, an official who announces, communicates and supervises the implementation of the emperor's orders, equivalent to the emperor's chief of staff.However, there are strict selection procedures for the vacancy and replenishment of official posts.According to the general procedure, the vacancy of Xuanhui envoy this time should be replaced by Yan Jinqing, the director of the Beijing Office. Besides, Yan Jinqing has been working for many years, so he should be promoted.But Li Ye wanted to get in the way.Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao disapproved of foreign relatives intervening in politics, but it was not convenient to coordinate these difficult relationships for a while, so the matter of this personnel transfer was temporarily put on hold. Nie Wenjin, the secretary of the Privy Council, Hou Kuangzan, the flying dragon envoy, and Guo Yunming, the Hanlin tea and wine envoy, were all celebrities around the emperor, who were good at catering to the emperor's preferences and won favor.Although these people are young, they can't stand loneliness. After working in their positions for a few years, they always want to make a fortune.They felt that their official promotion was slow, and they resented the ministers in power such as Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao. Liu Chengyou has a beloved wife Gunn.Liu Chengyou intends to promote Mrs. Geng to be the queen of the palace.Although the queen is the wife of the emperor, she is also a role similar to an official position in the country, with an independent promotion and selection system.Yang Bin thought that Mrs. Geng was too young and inexperienced to be promoted so quickly, and she was not qualified enough to be the mother of the country.Unfortunately, this Mrs. Geng's beauty was unlucky, and she died soon, and she will never have the chance to be a queen.Liu Chengyou deeply regrets this.In order to express his feelings of compensation, Liu Chengyou planned to bury Mrs. Geng with the etiquette of a queen.Mrs. Geng cannot be a queen while she is alive, but she can always enjoy the treatment of a queen after she dies, right?Yang Bin, a stubborn old man, still objected.This greatly stimulated and hurt the heart of the young widowed emperor Liu Chengyou. Liu Chengyou's age is growing year by year, and his mentality of independent governance is about to change. He is unwilling to be subject to the assistant minister in everything.It's normal to say that, a young emperor always has to go from being supported to a mature period of independent power.The key is whether the emperor has mature ability.If the mind is greater than the ability, and the mental age grows slower than the biological age, it is likely to cause unexpected dangers. Yoo Seung-woo's dislike for the minister in power has been accumulating and growing, and he will show it from time to time.The subtle change in the emperor's mood was noticed by a group of small political animals around the emperor.People like Li Ye and Nie Wenjin took the opportunity to say to the emperor: "People like Yang Bin are domineering, arrogant, and don't even take the emperor seriously. They will definitely cause trouble in the future." It caters to the emperor's feelings. Once the emperor suspects the chancellor's signs, it is often difficult to extinguish, but will burn like crazy. Liu Chengyou's suspicion of Minister Gu Ming quickly reached the level of paranoia and nervousness, especially after Li Ye, Nie Wenjin and others' instigation, the emperor's resentment towards Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao quickly escalated.Not only that, Prime Minister Su Fengji started from the interests of the small group of party struggles, and also added fuel and vinegar to fan the flames. The apex of resentment means physical annihilation. The emperor wants to kill with a knife. The emperor called Li Ye, Nie Wenjin, Hou Kuangzan, and Guo Yunming, held a secret meeting, studied the plan, and decided to hunt and kill the domineering Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao.The plan has been decided, and Liu Chengyou reported his plan to Queen Mother Li.Empress Dowager Li was shocked when she heard this, and then regained her composure. Although she was well-versed in the world, she wanted her son to be in charge one day earlier, and she didn't completely trust the four ministers who were responsible for life.Empress Dowager Li said very maturely and solemnly: "How can such a big matter be done hastily? You should discuss it with Prime Minister Su Fengji." Li Ye said next to him: "The late emperor said that important court affairs should not be discussed with scholars, and scholars who are timid will make mistakes." Empress Dowager Li still did not agree with Liu Chengyou's plan, and still insisted on her own opinion. Liu Chengyou did not get the support of the Queen Mother.If it was a few years ago, Liu Chengyou would immediately change course and follow the Queen Mother's advice.But now Liu Chengyou's young and competitive heart has gained the upper hand, he is not willing to be controlled by ministers, and at the same time he is not willing to be controlled by the queen mother.Liu Chengyou left angrily, leaving a sentence: "Women should not interfere with national affairs!" The next day is the court meeting.Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang walked into the side hall next to the Guangzheng Hall early in the morning, sat down to drink tea and chat, and after the emperor went to work, they waited for the order to go to the hall to participate in political discussions.Suddenly, a group of heavily armed warriors rushed in and slashed down with their knives. In an instant, the heads of the three powerful ministers fell to the ground in a daze, and their blood spattered the court. Nie Wenjin took out the imperial decree and announced to the prime ministers and civil and military ministers who had just arrived at the Guangzheng Hall: "Yang Bin and others have rebelled and have already beheaded to subdue the law. The emperor's sages discovered and eradicated the traitors in time. It is really a blessing for our dynasty." The news was completely silent, and no one dared to speak. In fear, they quickly thought about whether they had past ties with Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao, and whether they would be implicated. All of a sudden, the city of Kaifeng was covered with dark clouds, and bloody storms broke out everywhere.The government army sent a brigade to ransack the homes of Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang, massacred their family members and relatives, and arrested their aides, followers, and close colleagues of the party. Life.Hundreds of people were implicated, killed, and wronged.A political massacre massacre crisis broke out, and the ruling and opposition parties of the Later Han Dynasty were shaken, and people were panicked. Although Su Fengji hated Shi Hongzhao, he had no intention of killing him.Hearing that the emperor did such a thing, Su Fengji was shocked, and said to himself in a daze: "This is done too hastily, too hastily. If the emperor can consult the humble minister, it will not be like this. To come out There's a big mess, there's going to be a big mess." Among the four Gu Ming ministers, Su Fengji and Li Ye had a better relationship.Therefore, in this massacre, Su Fengji survived.But everyone secretly speculated that it was Su Fengji who participated in and led this political struggle and bloody cleansing.In fact, this massacre had nothing to do with Su Fengji directly, even though Su Fengji had repeatedly instigated the fight between Li Ye and other Gu Ming ministers. Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao are dead, who else is there?Among the ministers of Gu Ming, Guo Wei is the most powerful. Emperor Liu Chengyou originally had a good attitude towards Guo Wei and had a certain favorable opinion.But things have evolved to such a point that the situation has gotten out of control.People like Li Ye and Nie Wenjin didn't like Guo Wei. They regarded Yang Bin as a party and wanted to put him to death. Under the planning of the uncle Li Ye, the assassination of the accomplices of Minister Gu Ming who was far away in the field was carried out.Liu Chengyou issued a secret order to instruct Zhenning Jiedu envoy Li Hongyi to kill Wang Yin, the commander of the guard infantry who had a good relationship with Shi Hongzhao in Chanzhou, instruct Liu Zhu to massacre Guo Wei and Wang Jun's family members in Kaifeng, and secretly ordered Yedu to camp the horse army The commander of the capital, Guo Chongwei, and the commander of the infantry, Cao Wei, killed Guo Wei and his supervisor, Xuanhui envoy Wang Jun.In order to prevent accidents, the emperor ordered to summon the Jiedu envoys of various feudal towns to go to Beijing to obey orders.A series of secret orders were issued from the palace, and secret envoys on fast horses galloped in all directions from the capital. The first stop of the emperor's secret envoy arrived at Chanzhou.Li Hongyi was timid and afraid of getting into trouble, and did not dare to carry out the order to assassinate Wang Yin.Although Li Hongyi and Li Ye were brothers, they did not agree. He did not approve of this plot to kill the minister.Li Hongyi neither dared to carry out the secret order, nor did he dare to resist the secret order, he was in a dilemma with the secret order in his arms.After a fierce ideological struggle, Li Hongyi simply took the initiative to report the secret assassination order to Wang Yin because he was worried that many things about Ye Changmeng would be revealed, so that Wang Yin could take care of himself.Wang Yin was shocked. In order to protect himself, he immediately arrested the emperor's secret envoy, and then sent his confidants to Yedu overnight to deliver a letter to Guo Wei. Guo Wei was about to go to bed, when he suddenly saw the emperor's secret assassination order, he broke out in a cold sweat.Secretly startled: "Fortunately, I left the town of Yedu. If I stayed in the capital, I might be decapitated." He roared angrily: "Foolish Lord! Faint Lord! A group of traitors, a group of traitors, have committed such evil. thing!" Guo Wei hurriedly found Wei Renpu, a trusted subordinate, and handed him the emperor's secret killing order.Wei Renpu was also shocked by it.Guo Wei asked, "What do you say?" Wei Renpu was silent for a moment, and said firmly: "My lord, you are a high-ranking official of the country, with great prestige, and you hold the military power in the world. You are guarding the important town of Weizhou. It is not a trivial matter to accuse you of accusations. Relying on pleas and accusations will not help. The matter has come to this point, and we must not sit still." Guo Wei nodded, he knew the stakes.At this time, people are swordsmen, and he is fish and meat. Instead of sitting and waiting for death, it is better to take risks.Guo Wei continued to ask Wei Renpu: "If you don't defend yourself, can you fight against the separatist regime? What if the generals don't support it?" Wei Renpu's eyes turned to focus, and he said: "How about this, let's revise the secret decree to read that the emperor wants to kill all the generals in Yedu, so as to anger the generals. In order to protect themselves, they will definitely sit on the same table as you, Commander-in-Chief." From a boat." Guo Wei gave a thumbs up and praised Wei Renpu for his clever plan.After discussing with Wei Renpu, Wei Renpu swapped the secret edict and used the seal left by Yedu upside down, pretending to be the jade seal, and affixed it on the fake edict.Guo Wei ordered the beating of drums to raise the account and gather generals to discuss matters. After a while, Guo Chongwei, the commander of the horse army in Yedu, Cao Wei, the commander of the infantry army, Wang Jun, the supervisor of the army, and Chai Rong, the commander of the Ya army, arrived one after another.Inside the handsome hall, the red candles with thick arms were brightly lit, and the guards of the Chinese army were fully armed, with swords out of their sheaths, and a lot of spears and spears, creating a murderous atmosphere as if they were facing an enemy. Guo Wei's tall body was sitting behind the desk, with a serious expression, burning eyes, tight lips, and brows.In the middle of the night, the tent was urgently raised and the generals were assembled. Everyone felt the tension and solemnity in the hall of the handsome mansion, and they secretly guessed that something big was about to happen.Guo Wei glanced at the crowd, and said solemnly: "The day before yesterday, three adults, Yang Bin, Shi Hongzhao, and Wang Zhang were killed, and they were slandered by Li Ye, Nie Wenjin and other traitors as treason, and their whole family was killed. They were afraid of the ministers who followed the late emperor and wanted to kill them all. These traitors encouraged the emperor to issue a secret order to assassinate General Yin, the king of Chanzhou, and the commander-in-chief, and also to eradicate all the generals in Yedu, so as to avoid future troubles." As he said that, Guo Wei took out the fake edict and waved it in front of the generals. No one could see that the edict and seal were fake in a hurry. When the civil and military generals heard this explosive news like a bolt from the blue, they were all stunned, and after a while they quarreled, shouting and arguing.Guo Wei didn't stop everyone, letting the excitement vent freely.After waiting for a while, someone shouted: "Marshal, what do you say? We will listen to you." Guo Wei burst into tears and cried out: "Master Yang Bin and I have braved all kinds of hardships, fought through all kinds of battles, and conquered the world with the late emperor. Later, I was entrusted by the late emperor to serve the country wholeheartedly and loyal to the imperial court. Now Master Yang and the others I was murdered, my life died, my family and my family in the capital were all killed, even my young grandson was not spared. I have no intention of living alone in the world. You should act according to the emperor's secret decree, Cut off my head and bring back my life. I won’t hurt you.” Guo Wei’s tall body couldn’t stop shaking from the pain. Before Guo Wei could finish speaking, Guo Chongwei stood up with a loud shout, grabbed the emperor's secret order and pulled it hard with both hands, the imperial decree was shattered into pieces.He said angrily: "The Son of Heaven is young and ignorant. These things must have been done by a group of treacherous ministers and villains. If these traitors succeed, there will be no peace in our Han country! I am willing to follow you to the capital to plead my grievances. Clear the side of the king and rectify the court. You must not be killed by a secret envoy in a daze, so that you will be infamous for a thousand years." Guo Chongwei clearly expressed his position through practical actions. He rejected the emperor's order and stood by Guo Wei. After the generals had quarreled, the Hanlin Zhao Xiuji among the civil servants said: "Commander, you gave up your life for nothing, what good is it? Why don't you follow the hearts of the people and lead the army to the south to attack Kaifeng and replace the world. This is a great mission from God." For Zhao Xiuji's words, Guo Wei was very helpful.Back then, he had planned and persuaded Liu Zhiyuan to proclaim himself emperor, and the method he used was to anger the generals. Back then, he was forced to be helpless and excited.Therefore, Guo Wei is very familiar with these routines.He needs such a person to stand up and speak at critical moments. Guo Wei made an expression of reluctance, and said sadly and helplessly: "The most urgent thing at the moment is to follow everyone's advice, so as to have the possibility of redressing my grievances." Today, Guo Wei left his nephew and adopted son, Chai Rong, to guard Yedu, and ordered Guo Chongwei to be the vanguard. He himself led the Chinese army to attack Kaifeng.This Chai Rong later became the wise emperor of the Five Dynasties period.This is a later story, we will not show it for the time being. Among the various envoys, Murong Yanchao acted the fastest.After receiving the emperor's edict, he put down his half-eaten rice bowl and immediately dressed up and entered Beijing.Emperor Liu Chengyou handed over the entire military command to Murong Yanchao and asked him to preside over the overall situation. The sentry quickly reported the news that Guo Wei led the army to the south to Emperor Liu Chengyou.At this time, Liu Chengyou was completely in a daze.He said bitterly: "Okay, Guo Wei, you are really rebellious! Murong Aiqing, I order you to lead the army out of the city to suppress the thieves." Murong Yanchao is brave and warlike, although he is old, he is not convinced by anyone.Murong Yanchao, Yan Jinqing, Wu Qianyu, former Baoda Jiedu envoy Zhang Yanchao and others led the imperial army, left Kaifeng, and rushed to Chanzhou to meet Guo Wei. Guo Wei was in full swing all the way, and arrived in Chanzhou that day.The king of Chanzhou, Yin Kaicheng, greeted him and led his troops to join Guo Wei's army.Guo Wei arrived in Huazhou the next day, and Song Yanwo, the governor of Yicheng, surrendered.The grandfather of Song Yanwo was named Song Yao, who was the envoy of the Tiande Army in the Later Tang Dynasty and the order of Zhongshu. His father Song Tinghao was the son-in-law of Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu of the Later Tang Dynasty.Later, Song Yanwo became Liu Zhiyuan's son-in-law.Later, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin married Song Yanwo's daughter as queen.The Song family has been distinguished for generations and is unparalleled in the world. Guo Wei took out all the money in Huazhou's treasury and rewarded the soldiers.While working hard, Guo Wei deliberately used the method of aggressive generals and said: "The imperial army will arrive soon. If we go to war with them, it will be regarded as a rebellion. If we don't fight, we will die without a place to die. In my opinion, it is still to protect you Kill me, even though I die, I have no hatred." At this time, when Guo Wei said such words, there could only be one answer.The soldiers of the army shouted unanimously: "It is the country that has failed the Taiwei, it is not the Taiwei that you have failed the court, we are united as one, willing to follow you, and fight with them!" further firmed up. Hearing that Guo Wei had reached the Yellow River, Emperor Liu Chengyou regretted and was afraid.Uncle Li Ye still insisted on eradicating Guo Wei and continued to fight.Li Ye mobilized the court to reward the army with money from the treasury, and wrote letters to lure the sergeants whose family was in Kaifeng and who were in Guowei's camp. On the third day, Guo Wei led his army to Fengqiu. Fengqiu is the gateway to Kaifeng. The Wei army crushed the city, and the capital was in chaos. Emperor Liu Chengyou also dispatched Zuo Shenwu Commander Yuan Fang and former Weisheng Jiedu envoy Liu Chongjin to lead the forbidden army and Hou Yi to station troops in Chigang, and Murong Yanchao sent a large army to station Qilidian.The two armies of the North and the South met in Liuzibei, and the war was about to break out. Seeing this situation, Empress Dowager Li knew very well that the situation was serious. She advocated strict military defense and waited for changes. She planned to write to Guo Wei and ask him to plead his grievances. The emperor Liu Chengyou and Murong Yanchao both advocated going to war, especially Murong Yanchao repeatedly boasted in front of the emperor that he could capture Guo Wei in one battle. On the fourth day, Emperor Liu Chengyou personally supervised the army to fight.Guo Weiyan ordered that the deployment is not allowed to go to war. Once he goes to war, it is tantamount to making an enemy of the emperor, and the actions of the Qing emperor will become a naked rebellion.After a confrontation for a while, Murong Yanchao led his cavalry to Guo Wei's camp.Guo Chongwei in the Wei army stepped forward to meet the enemy.Suddenly, Murong Yanchao's horse tripped and fell to the ground, throwing Murong Yanchao off the horse.Wei Jun huffed and surrounded him, using both knives and guns, almost capturing Murong Yanchao alive.Murong Yanchao lost his troops and returned to the base camp, and the morale of the officers and soldiers suffered a great setback. The official army saw the strength of Guo Wei's army. That night, generals Hou Yi, Wu Qianyu, Zhang Yanchao, Yuan Hao, and Liu Chongjin among the officers and soldiers quietly ran to the Wei army camp to meet Guo Wei.Guo Wei said to them: "The Son of Heaven is in a dangerous situation, surrounded by villains, you are all close ministers, you should go back and escort them." That bragging Murong Yanchao fled back to his hometown, Yanzhou, with more than a dozen cronies.The other escorting troops scattered like birds and beasts and fled separately.Only the emperor Liu Chengyou and dozens of accompanying officials were left, living alone in Qilizhai. The night wind blew, and I shuddered. The huge army camp was empty and deserted. On the morning of the fifth day, the emperor woke up and found that the surrounding camp was empty. He sighed and dared not stay for long, so he rode his horse and whipped his whip and ran back to the palace.When Liu Chengyou walked to Xuanhua Gate, Liu Zhu stood on the gate tower, refused to accept the emperor back to the palace, and opened his bow and arrows.Emperor Liu Chengyou was about to vomit blood from anger, so he turned his horse's head and fled. Liu Chengyou ran in the field with deep feet and shallow feet, and the smell of soil penetrated into his nostrils one after another.Liu Chengyou saw a private house in the distance, and he hurried to avoid it.Liu Chengyou stepped into the gate of the courtyard, and several stragglers rushed out in front of him.Liu Chengyou has long since lost his emperor's style, his clothes are disheveled, his helmet and armor are discarded, and his hair and face are unkempt.These rebels came to loot their houses, and when they saw Liu Chengyou suddenly, they thought Liu Chengyou was their arrester.In the panic, without any explanation, the rebel army raised their knives and guns, and dismembered Liu Chengyou's body. Liu Chengyou stared at the sad, remorse, helplessness, fear and puzzled eyes, and died at the door of the dirt wall with yellow dust and grass. Early in the morning, Guo Wei went to the army camp to meet the emperor.When he arrived at the official army camp, Guo Wei discovered that the emperor had disappeared.So Guo Wei led his troops into the city. The army fell apart, and the capital fell into terror. Whether it is an official or a citizen, they are already familiar with the situation of the change of dynasty and the entry of troops into the city, and the nightmare-like experience of the past is vividly remembered. Some people with ghosts or no ghosts in their hearts committed suicide in panic, such as Su Fengji, Yan Jinqing, Guo Yunming and so on.Nie Wenjin fled alone, but was chased and beheaded by soldiers.Li Ye fled to Shanzhou, but his elder brother Li Hongxin did not dare to take him in.Li Ye continued to flee to Jinyang, and halfway there, he was robbed by robbers and killed.后匡赞逃奔兖州，慕容彦超不敢收留，抓捕后匡赞，将其献给了郭威。 魏军即将入城之，刘铢死守玄化门。他既不接纳皇帝，也不接纳郭威，不知道这小子是哪一伙的。郭威只好从迎春门入城。进城之后，和早年的李嗣源、李从珂、石敬瑭一样，郭威先住进了自己家，以表示没有冒犯朝廷的意思，做做样子给外人看。郭威的府宅早已失去了往日喧哗鼎盛的气象，老婆、女儿、儿子、孙子全被朝廷杀害，家中财物被洗劫一空，门窗家具破败不堪。看到这些景象，郭威眼泪纵横，哭昏死过去好几次。 魏军入城大肆剽掠，直到下午，郭威才下达死命令，制止乱军，恢复秩序。刘铢被抓捕，砍了头。 郭威让人找到了皇帝尸体，收入棺椁。 这时候，来了一个老头儿求见郭威。 此翁不是别人，正是冯道。 冯道总是能在恰当的时机、恰当的地方，拜见恰当的人。 恰当的时机是指，造反的人控制住了局面，但还未正式取得名头之前。如李从珂、郭威。 恰当的地方是指在新实权人物尚未进入皇宫大内之前。 恰当的人自然是指日后登基做皇帝的新强人。 太师冯道颤巍巍地率领百官来拜见郭威。郭威也按照正常规矩还礼。冯道泰然接受，并说道：“郭侍中，你这来一趟很不容易啊。”冯道此话意味深长。 第六天，郭威率领百官到皇宫大内明德门向李太后问安，所谓的“问安”实际是逼宫。郭威向太后提出建议：“国家事务繁重，请太后早立继位新君。”此时此刻的太后不过是封建国家礼法程序中的傀儡而已，虽必不可少，但作用有限。 李太后以她的名义颁布了命令：“河东节度使刘崇，忠武节度使刘信，都是高祖皇帝的弟弟；武宁节度使刘承赟，开封尹刘承勋，都是高祖皇帝的儿子。可请百官商议，从中选一个合适的继承皇位。”由于刘承勋病弱起不来床，郭威和百官只好建议由刘承赟继位。其实刘承赟是刘崇的儿子，刘知远很喜爱这孩子，一直视作自己的儿子养。 郭威建议由冯道带人去徐州请刘承赟来京继位。新皇帝到任之前，请李太后垂帘听政。 冯道斜着眼睛问郭威：“侍中，你真有意要请刘承赟进京继位？” 郭威露出不易察觉的一丝尴尬的笑，点点头说道：“国不可一日无君，还望太师辛苦一趟。” 冯道表情沉重地说道：“侍中，我辛苦不怕，我担心我老头子成为忽悠大王。侍中非诚勿扰，你可不要令我成为信口雌黄的人啊，让天下人笑。” 此时的后汉国不仅缺皇帝，头班大臣也都死光了。李太后下旨，封授官爵。实际体现的都是郭威的意图，只不过是通过太后的嘴说出来而已。以王峻为枢密使，袁鳷为宣徽南院使，王殷为侍卫马步军都指挥使，郭崇威为侍卫马军指挥使，曹威为侍卫步军指挥使，宋延渥为左监门卫将军。以陈州刺史李谷任代理三司使，以范质为枢密副使，窦贞固、苏禹珪为左右宰相。 没几天，镇州、邢州送来八百里加急战报，契丹皇帝耶律阮亲自率军来犯，内丘、饶阳陷落，前线战事吃紧，请求朝廷支援。 内忧未定，外患又来。 李太后下旨，由郭威率大军出师河北抗击契丹。 这时候的郭威肯定恨死契丹了，早不来晚不来，这个节骨眼上来打仗。李太后借此机会支走郭威合情合理，郭威只好领命离开京城。 在郭威离开京城北伐的同时，候任皇帝刘承赟正兴冲冲赶来开封汴梁。 郭威走得了吗？ 刘承赟能顺利入京吗？ 这一走一来之间，又将爆发新的故事。