Royal road

Although Wang Mi's camp was wiped out a month ago, Sima Yue did not return to Luoyang, but stayed in Xudu.There is only one thing for it, which is to remove those clan relatives who are a threat to him.

Sima Ying, the king of Chengdu, proclaimed himself emperor and tossed and tossed for a whole year, almost shaking the foundation of the country.But if you eradicate the King of Chengdu, will you be safe and sound?There are forty or fifty ethnic groups in Sima's lineage alone, and there are quite a few who stood on the side of the false emperor back then.Even if you don't show your attitude, if you have too much power, wouldn't you have a heart of rebellion?With the lessons learned from the past, how could Sima Yue let the threat lie in front of him!

Therefore, instead of returning to Luoyang, he also recruited many courtiers to Xudu.Orders followed one after another, replacing those potential threats with his own cronies.If these methods were placed a few years ago, they might have caused shocks in the government and the opposition.But now, with the power in hand, no one really dares to resist.

And this made Sima Yue even more complacent.Now Bingzhou has expelled the Xiongnu, and the bandits in Jizhou have been wiped out, and Jingzhou and Yuzhou have defeated the false emperor's rebels.In addition to the covetous eyes of the puppet Han entrenched in Hedong, there were signs of peace, which also made Sima Yue's actions more wanton.

Unexpectedly, this great mood did not last long.

"Gou Daojiang actually intervened in Yanzhou's affairs?" Sima Yue frowned, with displeasure already on his face.

Gou Xi is his confidant and beloved general. After the war, Sima Yue also promoted him many times and rewarded him generously.But the right to command soldiers, in the final analysis, still has to fall into their own hands.No matter how much you trust Gou Xi, it is impossible to give up important places like Yanzhou!

Pan Sima at the side said in a low voice: "General Gou may not be upset that the prime minister has led the state herdsman himself..."

Since Muzhou County was something Sima Yue wanted to do a long time ago, and enfeoffing Jing, Yu, and Qing prefectures was to reward his confidants.At the beginning, Sima Yue hadn't considered Feng Gouxi as the governor of which state. It was Pan Tao and others who persuaded him, saying that he had great ambitions and was not a pure minister, that made him change his mind.How can I ask directly at the door now?Isn't the reward of the general and the county prince not enough?

But anger is anger, Sima Yue still knows the seriousness in his heart.Gou Xi is a fierce general who can fight, and he also helps him suppress chaos and suppress bandits, no matter how you say it, you shouldn't treat him lightly.Gritting his teeth, Sima Yue said: "Jingwen's situation in Jiangdong is not good. It seems that he wants to make Wang Chuzhong an official. It's better to change Wang Chuzhong's Qingzhou governor to Yangzhou governor, and seal Qingzhou to General Gou Dao."

He was talking about General An Dong and Sima Rui, the governor of Yangzhou.Previously, Sima was more afraid of the chaos in the Central Plains, so he sent Sima Rui to Jiangdong, hoping that when the situation deteriorated, he would have a place to retreat.But Sima Rui went to Yangzhou, and he still failed to establish a good relationship with the Jiangdong clan.I have also sent letters many times, wanting to recruit virtuous and good people to help.Just taking advantage of this opportunity, let Wang Dun go over and give up Qingzhou to Gou Xi, which can be regarded as a solution to a trouble.

Pan Sima was stunned: "But Wang Dun is also very human. If he enters Jiangdong, he may have a different heart..."

Sima Yue snorted coldly: "Before you said Gou Daojiang was very human, but now you say Wang Chuzhong is very human. Is there anyone else available?"

These words were not in a good tone, and Pan Sima immediately shut his mouth.Recently, Sima is in power, and his temper has become more and more eccentric. If you want to persuade him, just one time is enough. If you talk too much, you may cause trouble to your upper body.

Seeing that Pan Sima stopped talking, Sima Yue nodded his head: "Trust Wang Situ quickly and get this matter done."

Wang Yan probably wouldn't refuse.After all, it's a governor for another governor, and Qingzhou is remote, and there are frequent wars, so it's not as safe as Yangzhou.As for Gou Xi, hmph, he is a reckless man, and he should be content with the land of Qingzhou.

Consciously arranging the rewards of his important ministers, Sima Yue concentrated on dealing with dissidents again.Unexpectedly, half a month later, a letter from the above letter made him jump from his seat in shock.

"You want me to kill Pan Tao and Liu Wang? How brave!" Sima Yue threw the letter on the ground and shouted angrily.

Gou Xi didn't appreciate it.Not only did he refuse to accept the commission of the governor of Qingzhou, but he also wrote a letter angrily denouncing Pan Tao and others, saying that they wanted to frame him with ulterior motives.These are Sima Yue's confidantes, how can he kill a foreign minister if he says so? !

Pan Tao was asked for his head, and he lost his composure, and said bitterly: "I heard that an envoy from Luoyang Palace entered General Gou's tent, would you say that General Gou was moved to deal with the prime minister? ?”

"What?" Sima Yue was really shocked, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.When did the little emperor hook up with Gou Xi?He has arranged so many eyeliners in Luoyang, how come there is no news?If this is the case, what he is facing is not a loving general who can be called a brother, but an endless enemy!

"Send someone to Luoyang quickly to see what's going on in the palace!" Sima Yue sternly said with a pale face.

The little emperor cannot be killed yet.As long as the Son of Heaven is in his hands, if others want to rebel, they dare not be too blatant.If he murdered the little emperor ruthlessly, someone would show up immediately and attack him under the banner of the Qing emperor.What's worse, he just dealt with a bunch of relatives, how could he find a suitable candidate for the throne so quickly?

We must stabilize the palace and let the restless emperor settle down!As for Gou Xi... Sima Yue's eyes flashed a fierce light: "How can you kill your confidant alone because of your own selfishness? General Gou Dao is too arrogant! Dismiss this matter and order him to enter Qingzhou as soon as possible!"

If Gou Xi is so ungrateful again, he won't miss his past friendship!

■

"Your Majesty, the matter of Xudu is already raging. If it is not dealt with, Luoyang may be endangered..." Wang Yan persuaded in a deep voice with a worried expression on his face.

In fact, he has been home for several days to avoid disaster.Ever since Sima Yue wanted Wang Dun to step down as governor of Qingzhou and take over Yangzhou, the old fox Wang Yan became vigilant.This is clearly because Sima Yue and Gou Xi had a quarrel, and if one is not good, he will also be implicated in the middle.It just so happened that Wang Dun himself was not interested in going to Qingzhou, and he wanted to learn from Wang Dao and go to Jiangdong to assist Sima Rui.Wang Yan pushed the boat along the way and let him take over the appointment of the governor of Yangzhou, which was considered a face for both parties.

Who would have expected that they all backed down, but the anger between the two of them was not suppressed.In the past few days, Sima Yue's heirs have been stationed in the palace, and the guards in the palace have been changed all over, and all of them have been assigned to Sima Yue's own national soldiers.For a moment there was a lot of turmoil in the palace, how could anyone dare to stand on the side of the emperor?

And Wang Yan himself, under the instigation of Sima Yue, came to "persuade" the emperor.Wang Yan really didn't want to get involved in this matter, but as Sima Yue's spokesperson in the court, he still had to be famous and warned.

On the throne, the little emperor lowered his eyes slightly, and said in a low voice: "Situ is too worried. There may be a misunderstanding between the prime minister and General Gou. General Gou punished the puppet emperor first, and then put down the rebellious army. Important ministers, town Yanzhou is all right. Maybe there are villains with ulterior motives to sow discord."

Wang Yan frowned.The meaning inside and outside the words was to make Sima Yue take a step back, give up Yanzhou, and kill Pan Tao and others to calm down Gou Xi.This is not persuasion, it is clearly provoking the emotions of both parties!But the little emperor didn't show any calculations on his face, on the contrary, he still had a low-key attitude of asking for perfection.It seems that this yellow-mouthed child is afraid of trouble, and wants both parties not to offend, so that they can be quiet.

Is this his sincere words?Wang Yan also couldn't see through it, so he could only sigh softly: "Your Majesty can only rely on the prime minister at this moment. If your majesty is biased, I'm afraid it will make the prime minister feel cold..."

The meaning of these words is more straightforward, so I am not afraid that the little emperor will not understand.

However, the people in the seat were silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "Is there a famous general like General Gou in the court?"

Wang Yan was startled, and looked up at the emperor with a non-stop expression.The meaning of these words is too clear!He can be controlled by Sima Yue, but if Sima Yue falls out with Gou Xi, can the world still be saved?It is no longer Taikang, or even Yuankang years.At that time, even if one or two generals were killed, it didn't matter, there were plenty of people who could guard Luoyang.

And now?The chaos lasted for more than ten years, and seven or eight generals who were capable of fighting died.If it weren't for Gou Xi, a general comparable to Han Xin and Bai Qi, would Sima Yue be able to defeat the false emperor and wipe out the rebellious army?Jackals and wolves are rampant outside, and tigers and leopards are everywhere. It's not the time for bow and Tibetan dogs to cook!

But if he could say such a thing, wouldn't he not understand the meaning of his provocative words just now?

Looking at the thin and dull child on the throne, Wang Yan felt a chill in his heart.Sima Yue suspected that the emperor sent envoys to incite Gou Xi to oppose him, but he couldn't find any evidence.If this plan was really ordered by the emperor, what kind of psychological means should it be?

Can Sima Yue kill the emperor?At least not at the moment!The more dissatisfied Gou Xi was, the more he accused him of monopolizing power, the more he could not act lightly.Once Sima Yue attacked the emperor, others could immediately raise the banner on the Qing emperor's side.Gou Xi can raise troops, but Wang Jun of Youzhou can't?Can't Liang Zixi from Bingzhou?Without this puppet in his hand, Sima Yue is the only way out, there is nothing he can do!

Therefore, he could only strictly control this unsafe emperor and try his best to eliminate hidden dangers.The more trouble Gou Xi made, the safer the emperor would be!So to provoke Gou Xi and Sima Yue to be at odds, wouldn't it be a harmless thing?

No one knows better than Wang Yan what this young emperor is facing.There are no cronies, no virtuous ministers, and even no relatives.Who can advise him?If he had come up with this method alone, his thoughts would be no less than those of their long-standing veterans.Such a scheming emperor, but three or five years earlier, would the world still be in chaos?

Unfortunately, it's too late.

Wang Yan suppressed his facial expression and sighed softly: "Your Majesty is right. I just hope that the two of them will put aside their differences."

Wang Yan didn't plan to take care of it anymore.Regardless of whether it was the little emperor's conspiracy or not, and to what extent Sima Yue and Gou Xi would quarrel, he was not interested in asking.The most important thing is to save your own life.Anyway, Wang Cheng is already in Jingzhou, and Wang Dun is also serving as the governor of Yangzhou. The three caves of the cunning rabbit that he has been planning have been realized.Even if the dynasties were really serious, the Langya Wang family would not be implicated by it.And Wang Yan is also confident that he can use his tongue to win the trust of the winner.Whoever wins and who loses has nothing to do with him?

Looking at Wang Yan's calm expression, the little emperor suppressed his eyes, and also suppressed the thousands of thoughts in his heart.

Ten days later, Gou Xi did not take office in Qingzhou, but instead sent out a letter to denounce Sima Yue's various evil deeds, saying that he had deceived the saints and monopolized power.Afterwards, Gou Xi directly prepared an army and attacked Xudu.

Sima Yue was startled and hated, and quickly sent Liu Kun and other confidants to stop him.In Luoyang City, the little emperor didn't criticize Sima Yue, but issued a verbal order, saying something that the prime minister puts state affairs at the top of his list.But anyone can see that this is to let Sima Yue spit out some rights.There are no fools in the court, and everyone knows that the emperor is getting more and more dissatisfied with Sima.If the prime minister who pastures the five states can take a step back, how much power does he have to show through his fingers?

There are countless people who are dissatisfied with Sima Yue's domineering.Many people are even more fearful, for fear of being murdered in the next moment.The voices against Sima Yue also rose, and together with the flames of war, it ignited fiercely.

The hinterland of the Central Plains has been quiet for less than two months, and it once again fell into a boil.In the far north, some people have moved their minds.

"Gou Xi is going to beat Sima Yue?" Wang Jun looked at Yu Xi playfully, with a cold smile on his lips, "It's fine to beat him. I'm afraid this person doesn't know where his authority comes from."

Wang Jun had long been dissatisfied with Sima Yue.If he hadn't taken Yecheng and Chang'an back then, how could Sima Yue be where he is today?But he has made great achievements, not to mention the matter of Daijun, but Jizhou made him furious.After all, the imperial court did not allow him to concurrently serve as the governor of Jizhou, but Sima Yue led the state shepherd himself, and appointed Yiyan, the general of Najie, as the captain.Now, all the hard work to destroy the rogues turned out to be a marriage for someone else!

In the past, Wang Jun might send troops to attack Yiyan.But the Jienu didn't know whether he was timid or satisfied with the imperial court's reward, so he stopped in the southeast of Jizhou, and didn't intend to get involved in other counties.Now Wang Jun is not in a hurry to do anything, it seems that Yiyan and Liang Zixi have a falling out, it is true, why push him into the arms of the enemy?

Therefore, in addition to rectifying the territory he had acquired in Jizhou, Wang Jun turned his attention back to Bingzhou.Now that Jizhou has been settled, it's time to raise troops.

When is the best time to start a war?Before he could make a choice, the opportunity came to him.Sima Yue actually wanted to borrow troops from him?It's a pity that his family's soldiers and horses are also lacking in skills!

"Immediately raise food and grass, march into Bingzhou!"