Chapter 702: Scholar Rebellion
Chapter 702: Scholar Rebellion
Around 11:00 p.m., Duan Da returned to his mansion in a carriage. Although he was tall and handsome, he was a well-known man with a beautiful beard.
But at heart he was an absolute wimp, and was afraid of Wang Shichong like a tiger. If Wang Shichong told him to go east, he would never go west.
Wang Shichong also took a fancy to his timid character and appointed him as the Minister of Personnel and the Left Prime Minister. In fact, he was just a puppet and Wang Shichong made the decisions on all matters, big or small.
Wang Shichong even took away his official seal and gave it to his subordinates to stamp directly.
Duan Da never dreamed that he would actually participate in a rebellious meeting. The thought of rebelling and killing Wang Shichong made him tremble with fear.
After returning home, he immediately wrote a letter and asked his son Duan Wentai to tell Wang Renze the truth.
When Wang Renze received Duan Da's tip-off, he was horrified. He immediately sent someone to report to his uncle. At the same time, he personally led the inner guards and began to confiscate the properties and kill the ministers who participated in the rebellion.
Wang Renze was cruel and ruthless. He would not arrest anyone. He sent his troops into the mansion and killed everyone in the mansion, even a three-year-old child.
Yuan Wendu's entire family was killed, Lu Chu's entire family was killed, Zhao Changwen's entire family was killed, Wei Jin and Guo Wenyi's entire families were also killed, and no one was left alive.
At this time, Wuhouwei generals Pang Yu and Huo Ju received the news and immediately led the Wuhouwei soldiers out of the camp to fight fiercely with the inner guards. The two armies fought in a melee on Tianjie Street in Luoyang.
Yuan Wendu and others forgot that there were Wang Shichong's 30,000 troops stationed in Beimang Mountain, led by Wang Shichong's brother Wang Shiwei. Soon, Wang Shiwei led 30,000 troops into the city.
The Wuhouwei army was quickly defeated, Pang Yu and Huo Ju were killed in the chaos, and the remaining one thousand soldiers knelt down and surrendered.
At noon the next day, Wang Shichong, who had just arrived in Yanshi County, led his army back.
Although the situation in Luokou is critical, the situation in Luoyang is more important than Luokou. If Luokou is lost, it is lost, but Luoyang cannot suffer any loss.
When Wang Shichong came back, Wang Renze not only killed all the surrendered soldiers of Wuhou Guard, but also slaughtered more than 20 ministers and the entire families of those ministers who had a good relationship with these five people. The whole Luoyang city was in a panic and shrouded in a bloody atmosphere.
Wang Shichong also felt that his nephew's killing was too excessive and would affect his auspicious omen, so he ordered Wang Renze to withdraw his troops and return to the camp.
An unsuccessful mutiny resulted in the death of nearly 10,000 people.
This was the rebellion of the civil servants, who trusted someone they shouldn't have trusted and ended up being massacred.
The Luoyang mutiny shocked the world, and Xiao Xia also hurriedly sent people to Luoyang to deliver the message.
At present, the Jinzouyuan of the Jiangnan General Administration Office has been abolished, and the director of the Jinzouyuan, Wang Mei, was transferred back to Jiangnan to serve as the chief historian of Yuzhang County, leaving only a deputy director, Li Dewu, to establish an official contact point.
If Wang Shichong has anything to ask Jin Wang Xiao Xia, he can find the official contact point.
Li Dewu received a handwritten letter from Prince of Jin Xiao Xia to Wang Shichong early in the morning. He immediately found the Crown Prince Wang Xuanying, who was in charge of external liaison and was familiar with Li Dewu.
Wang Xuanying invited Li Dean to the Guest Hall. A few days ago, a fierce battle between the Neiwei and Wuhouwei broke out near the contact point. Li Dewu was inside the contact point at the time. The soldiers almost rushed in several times, which made him frightened all night.
Li Dewu sat down and asked worriedly, "Will there be another large-scale liquidation of the inner guards?"
Wang Xuanying smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It was a special situation before. Someone planned a rebellion, and the entire Wuhou Guard also participated in the rebellion, so the fighting was very fierce. Now the rebellion has been completely suppressed, and there will be no more reckoning. Envoy Li, don't worry."
Li Dean nodded, took out a letter from his bosom, handed it to Wang Xuanying, and said, "This is a handwritten letter from His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to your father. Please forward it as soon as possible."
Wang Xuanying took the letter and said, "I will give it to my father today. Is there anything else, Li Shijun?"
Li Dewu sighed and said, "The internal guards are searching every day. Our contact point has been searched twice. Every time they extort dozens of strings of money from me. If this continues, we will have to close the contact point. In addition, the shops of Xihai Trading Company have also been repeatedly extorted. If it is just the personal behavior of the soldiers, I still hope that you can introduce a protection system."
Wang Xuanying took out a silver medal from the drawer and handed it to Li Dewu. "This is the silver medal my father gave me. If anyone dares to search the contact point again, show me this silver medal. Also, let me discuss the protection system you mentioned with my father."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Li Dewu bowed and left. Wang Xuanying also knew about the extortion that Li Dewu mentioned, which had been getting worse and worse. Wang Xuanying had always been dissatisfied with Wang Renze's killing of innocent people, but his father thought that Wang Renze was capable. With his father's support, Wang Renze didn't take him seriously. It would be best if he could use promotion to take over Wang Renze's internal guards and hold them in his own hands.
Thinking of this, Wang Xuanying got up and hurried to find his father.
At this time, Wang Shichong's entire mind was thinking about how to ascend the throne. This was the most important thing in his life, and everything had to give way to his ascension to the throne.
The Sui Dynasty meant nothing to him. Yu Wenzhi's ascension to the throne strongly inspired him. If even a rubbish like Yu Wenzhi could become the emperor, why couldn't he? The auspicious signs had already appeared. Once Luoyang was stabilized, he could start the ceremony of abdication.
At this time, the guard reported in the hall, "Your Majesty, the prince has an urgent matter to ask for your audience!"
"Let him in!"
Soon, Wang Xuanying came in and bowed deeply, "My son greets his father!"
Wang Shichong was very satisfied with his eldest son in all aspects. His only shortcoming was that he was too honest and too soft-hearted. Such a person could not accomplish great things in troubled times.
But the second and third sons were rather mediocre and dull, which made Wang Shichong even more displeased. However, there were some talented people among his nephews, such as Wang Renze, who was decisive and ruthless in his actions, which suited Wang Shichong's temperament very well.
Although Wang Renze is a good person, he is not his son after all, so his career must be inherited by his son.
"Get up and talk!"
Wang Xuanying stood up and took out the letter and presented it to his father. "This is a handwritten letter from His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to your father. Li Dewu just handed it to me."
Wang Shichong was startled. This was the first time that the King of Jin had written to him! He quickly opened the letter, and the content of the letter was beyond his expectations. In the letter, the King of Jin supported him to set up his own family, but hoped that he would hand over Yang Zhao and his son to Jiangdu safely. In exchange, Xiao Xia promised to save the lives of his son and grandson in the future.
"Father, what did the King of Jin say?" Wang Yingxuan asked cautiously.
"He asked me to hand over Yang Zhao and his son to him, supported my ascension to the throne, and promised to protect the lives of my descendants."
"Will father agree to this?"
Wang Shichong glared at his son. "This isn't a pet cat or dog that you can just let go of because you're soft-hearted. Yang Zhao and his son are extraordinary people. We have to weigh the pros and cons of whether to let them go, understand?"
Wang Yingxuan stood with his hands down and bowed his head and said, "I understand, kid!"
Wang Shichong sighed again and said, "I am just worried about the sincerity of the Prince of Jin. He actually supports my ascension to the throne. This is really unusual!"
He turned around and ordered, "Find Mr. Wei for me!"
Not long after, a middle-aged man hurried in and bowed, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The man's name is Wei Shijie. He is currently Wang Shichong's number one military advisor and is deeply trusted by Wang Shichong.
Wang Shichong handed him the letter from the King of Jin and said, "This is a letter from the King of Jin to me. Please read it carefully for me!"
Wei Shijie took the letter and read it through, then said with a smile, "It's normal for the Prince of Jin to make this request. Does Your Majesty think there's something wrong with it?"
"He actually supports me to take the position? I can't understand it!"
Wei Shijie smiled slightly, "Your Highness, if you stand in the position of the King of Jin, it will be clear. Your Highness, think about it, who is the most uncomfortable with the Sui Dynasty emperor in Luoyang?"
Wang Shichong vaguely understood, "You mean the Prince of Jin is the most uncomfortable?"
(End of this chapter)