Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 315 Involvement
When the urgent report of the rebellion in the three states reached Luoyang, it was already evening.

When the messenger sped past on Tongtuo Street, he attracted the attention of the people of Luoyang.

This avenue is on the central axis of Luoyang City. When Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, he ordered the casting of a pair of bronze camels to be placed on both sides of the palace gate. The bronze camels are exquisitely crafted and are of top quality.

This pair of bronze camels was originally in Chang'an.

In the early days of Emperor Ming of Cao Wei's reign, he spent a lot of effort to build Luoyang City. In order to reflect the atmosphere of Cao Wei's new capital, Emperor Ming of Wei ordered the pair of bronze camels to be transported from Chang'an to Luoyang and placed on both sides of the palace gate. Bronze Camel Street became the central axis of Luoyang.

After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the pair of bronze camels were transported to Yecheng by Shi Hu and placed on both sides of the Yecheng palace.

Then when Fu Jian unified the north, the bronze camel was transported back to Chang'an from Yecheng.

Finally, when Emperor Xiaowen was building Luoyang, the pair of bronze camels were transported back to Luoyang.

It can be said that this pair of bronze camels have witnessed the rise and fall of countless dynasties.

Tongtuo Street is the main road in Luoyang. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, common people were allowed to use the auxiliary road of Tongtuo Street. However, during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, as more and more officials traveled in horse-drawn carriages, Tongtuo Street became congested, so the court forbade common people to use Tongtuo Street.

After the Xuanguang Rebellion, in order to show off his own status, King Jiangyang Yuan Yi ordered that ordinary officials were not allowed to walk on Tongtuo Street, and only princes and ministers were allowed to walk on it.

After Empress Dowager Hu came back to power, she stipulated that only the "Two Saints", that is, her and the young emperor, could travel on Tongtuo Street.

Of course, when encountering urgent military information or reporting victory, messengers can also ride on Tongtuo Street.

When the people of Luoyang saw the appearance of the messenger, they knew that he was not a messenger reporting victory, but probably that there had been unrest somewhere again.

Those merchants who had foresight were already preparing to pack up and leave Luoyang.

The messenger arrived at the Taiwei Mansion, but was told that the Taiwei Mansion no longer cared about military intelligence and asked the messenger to go to the Shangshu Terrace to report the news.

The clerk of the Secretariat also told the messenger that now the Shangshu Ling Gaoyang Wang Yuanyong was ill, and all important matters had to be reported to the Menxia Province for handling.

The messenger was sweating profusely and said:

"This is urgent news from three states! Can you afford to be delayed like this?"

The clerk in charge of reception said with a sad face:
"There is nothing I can do. The ministers have not come to the Secretariat for half a month. The Secretariat cannot even handle daily official documents. Only the prime minister can enter the palace."

The messenger was almost crying. He asked:
"Then where should I send this urgent report? The Gaoyang Palace?"

The clerk shook his head and said:

"Prince Gaoyang has been claiming to be ill for a long time. If you are really anxious to let the Supreme know, please send it to the residence of Zheng Yan, the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

"What?"

The clerk said without hesitation: "Only Zheng Zhongshu is qualified to enter the palace at night. You'd better go quickly. If you go too late, Zheng Zhongshu will probably go to the palace."

The messenger asked again:
"But where is the residence of this Zheng Zhongshu?"

The clerk said directly:

"Zheng Zhongshu's residence is the residence of King Yi of Jiangyang back then. As long as you go out of the South Court and head east, you will find the most luxurious residence in Luoyang."

The messenger sighed. He could only follow the clerk's instructions and go to Zheng Yan's residence to deliver the urgent news from the three states.

This messenger had delivered letters to Luoyang many times. This time when he came to Luoyang, he felt extremely unfamiliar. What happened to the Wei Dynasty?
Fortunately, although Zheng Yan was the favorite of Empress Dowager Hu, he was from the Zheng family of Xingyang and knew the importance of the military intelligence of the three states. He immediately entered the palace with the urgent report from the messenger.

When Empress Dowager Hu heard the news that the soldiers and civilians of the Six Garrisons had rebelled again, she was so frightened that her face turned pale. She looked at Zheng Yan and said:

"I regret not listening to the advice of Prince Guangyang (Yuan Shen) at the beginning. Now the six towns are rebelling again. Does Zheng Qing have any good plan?"

Zheng Yan frowned and did not answer, but Xu He, the male favorite who served Empress Dowager Hu, became anxious.

The military and civilians of the Six Garrisons were resettled in the Three States because Xu He accepted bribes and made slanderous remarks to Empress Dowager Hu. He was also afraid that this matter would be used by the ministers to settle accounts with him.

Xu He immediately said:

"The insurgents in the Six Garrisons are unruly and barbaric, and they do not consider the mercy of the Supreme Lord. If they are placed in the Three Prefectures, they will rebel. If they are kept in the Six Garrisons according to King Guangyang's method, they will also rebel."

Empress Dowager Hu nodded. Only one minister in the court, Yang Yu, supported Yuan Shen’s resettlement plan.

Xu He continued to attack Yang Yu and said:
"At that time, the court sent Yang Yu to resettle the remaining people in the six prefectures. I heard that he had many complaints about the court's orders and handled the resettlement process improperly, which led to the rebellion of the people in the three states."

Empress Dowager Hu immediately said:
"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten about this! Yang Yu is resentful of the court, so you should immediately draft an edict to remove him from office and let him return home to retire!"

The Secretariat was an inner court agency responsible for drafting imperial edicts for the emperor and the empress dowager, which was originally Xu He's job.

Although Xu He was somewhat disappointed that Empress Dowager Hu merely dismissed Yang Yu from his post and sent him home, Yang Yu was, after all, a descendant of the Hongnong Yang family, so this result was acceptable.

But the "accountability" issue was completed, and the rebellion in the three states still needed to be dealt with. Xu He continued:

"Your Majesty, although the Six Garrisons have rebelled again, the Hedong Prefectures are the most fertile lands of our Great Wei, surrounded by elite troops. The rioters in the Six Garrisons are not a threat at all. It's just that the governor of Dingzhou, Yang Jin, was lax in his military preparations, which allowed the rebels to take advantage of the opportunity."

Hearing Xu He say this, Empress Dowager Hu felt relieved a little.

What Xu He said was indeed correct. The Hedong region had always been a source of high-quality military personnel for the Northern Wei Dynasty, and soldiers from this region were recruited in several wars with the Southern Liang Dynasty.

In order to reassure Empress Dowager Hu, Xu He cited the example of the Mahayana rebellion and said:
"When the Mahayana sect in Jizhou rebelled, the court put down the rebellion in less than a year."

Empress Dowager Hu nodded and also felt that the Three States Rebellion was not that terrible. She asked:
"In your opinion, who should be the leader to lead the suppression of the rebellion?"

Xu He kept his mouth shut. After all, he was a civil official and knew nothing about military affairs, nor could he come up with any solutions.

Empress Dowager Hu looked at her new old lover Li Shengui.

After all, Li Shengui was Li Chong's son and had led troops to war before. Facing Empress Dowager Hu's gaze, Li Shengui said honestly:

"Now, the one who can pacify the three states is also King Guangyang."

Prince Guangyang Yuanshen was left in Pingcheng, responsible for offering sacrifices at the Northern Wei ancestral tomb to pray for the locust plague to subside.

But now, in terms of prestige and qualifications, Yuan Shen is the only prince in the court who can lead troops to war.

Because Yuan Shen had once cheated on Chengyang Prince Yuan Rong, Yuan Rong had been slandering Yuan Shen to Empress Dowager Hu after Yuan Shen went to war.

After experiencing what happened with Yuan Yi, Empress Dowager Hu was very wary of prestigious members of the royal family and was still wary of Yuan Shen.

But now there is really no one in the court who can lead the army, so Empress Dowager Hu could only say reluctantly:
"Then issue an order to continue to let Prince Guangyang lead the army to quell the rebellion in the three states."

Empress Dowager Hu added:
"Zheng Qing, you should personally draft the decree and severely reprimand Yuan Shen. Letting him lead the troops this time is to allow him to make up for his crime and make meritorious contributions."

After discussing with her favorite ministers, Empress Dowager Hu remembered to follow the procedure. She said:

"Just send a copy of the decree to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Secretariat, and have the officials carry it out."

Just as Empress Dowager Hu was about to let her male favorite into the palace to sleep with her, Li Shengui said tentatively:

"Your Majesty, since entering Guanzhong, King Yuan Hao of Beihai has been defeated repeatedly by the rebels and has retreated to Huayin City, causing more than half of Huazhou's counties to fall into the hands of the rebels."

Empress Dowager Hu frowned. Guanzhong's poor performance in suppressing the rebellion had led to the court investing manpower and material resources in Guanzhong for a long time.

In addition to Xiao Baoyin, Beihai King Yuan Hao also suffered repeated defeats, and the impeachment memorial against him was the same as Xuehua's.

Li Shengui thought of the valuable gift that Su Suan (the envoy who is proficient in human nature) had sent to him. Su Ze could be considered half a disciple of his father, so he took the opportunity to say, "General Su Ze of Pingxi has made many military achievements in the northwest and also stopped the locust plague in Xiazhou. Why not transfer the King of Beihai back to the court and let Su Ze take over the defense of Huazhou?"

Empress Dowager Hu nodded. In fact, King Yuan Hao of Beihai himself did not want to continue fighting in Guanzhong, and repeatedly claimed to be ill and asked to return to Luoyang.

Su Ze did perform well in the northwest. After Princess Chenliu got married, he often sent treasures from the northwest to the palace as tribute.

It would be a good idea for Su Ze to take over Huazhou, and Empress Dowager Hu nodded in agreement.

The three male favorites of Empress Dowager Hu looked at each other and saw the light in each other's eyes.

Since Empress Dowager Hu came to power, she has become increasingly distrustful of foreign officials, and even distrusted Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong, who helped her restore the throne.

The Menxia Province, which used to be a decision-making body, became an executive body just like the Shangshu Tai. Empress Dowager Hu was more willing to discuss matters with her favorite ministers.

This also means that the three of them can control more power.

The three of them also had a tacit understanding. Li Shengui only got involved in military positions, Zheng Yan was in charge of important positions in the central government, and Xu He was mainly responsible for local positions.

Li Shengui successfully recommended Su Ze. Zheng Yan and Xu He also secretly prepared their own people and proposed it when Empress Dowager Hu was in a good mood.
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The news of the rebellion in the Six Garrisons spread quickly, and the person who knew the news before the court was Erzhu Rong in Bingzhou.

With the financial support of Erzhu Rong, his sworn brother Yuan Tianmu got the position of Governor of Bingzhou.

Yuan Tianmu had received the imperial appointment a month ago, but he did not go to Jinyang, the capital of Bingzhou, to take up his post. Instead, he stayed in Xiurongchuan and spent the whole day hunting with Erzhu Rong.

It was not that Yuan Tianmu did not want to take office, but the power of the powerful families in Bingzhou was too great, and the previous governors had been sidelined by them. Yuan Tianmu had no choice but to move the governor's office to Xiurong.

Erzhu Rong raised his hand and shot an arrow, accurately hitting a fleeing doe. His elite knights quickly stepped forward to surround the doe that was shot by the arrow, and soon brought the deer to Erzhu Rong's horse.

The messenger jumped into the hunting ground and galloped to Erzhu Rong's team. The rider waited until the horse slowed down, then nimbly dismounted and delivered the secret letter to Erzhu Rong.

After reading the secret letter, Erzhu Rong said to Yuan Tianmu beside him:

"Brother Tianmu, it's finally time for you to return to Jinyang!"

(End of this chapter)