Chapter 341

Seventy: Holding the Deposed Emperor to Command the World

Xunyang City welcomed a large wave of strangers.

There were wealthy merchants from the western part of the Jiang Nan Circuit, heading southeast to take refuge.

There were also officials fleeing from the abandoned cities in the far south, in the western border of the Lingnan Circuit near Guizhou, rushing north in a panic.

These crowds of refugees, who did not stop for a moment, brought more detailed news from the southwest to the Jiangzhou Great Hall. As the information was aggregated, the full picture of the situation in the southwest gradually emerged.

"Lord Wang, Lord Ouyang..."

Inside the main hall of the Jiangzhou Great Hall, officials gathered in their caps. Chen Yishan, the Lychee Envoy who had fled from Lingnan and was specifically in charge of procuring lychees for the imperial palace, said with tears streaming down his face:

"This Li Zhengyan is despicable and shameless, possessing none of the martial virtue of his grandfather, the old Duke of England. I don't know where he obtained the Son of Heaven's handwritten edict and the seal of the imperial envoy.

"He first had people impersonate the Son of Heaven's private envoys and arrive in Guizhou. That very day, on the charge of negligence regarding the mutiny of the Guizhou garrison, he arrested Chief Clerk Lan and threw him into prison.

"A few days later, Li Zhengyan arrived by post carriage, falsely claiming to be the Yuan Sima of Guizhou, here to take up his post.

"He then said he was acting under the Emperor's secret decree, claiming that the Gao family, the chieftains of the neighboring Jimi Prefecture of Rongzhou, were plotting a rebellion and that he was to mobilize troops to suppress them.

"He then opened the treasury and drove out prisoners exiled from various places, issuing them armor and building an armed force. Subsequently, he colluded with the fake imperial envoy Hu Fu to behead Chief Clerk Lan in prison.

"With Guizhou lacking both a Prefect and a Chief Clerk, and holding the so-called secret decree from His Majesty, the entire military and political power of the prefecture fell into Li Zhengyan's hands.

"The resisting Record-Keeping Adjutant Qian Zhaodu and other prefectural officials were beheaded as a warning to the public, and no one in the Guizhou officialdom dared to resist again.

"Then, this rebel bared his fangs, conscripted the troops of the entire prefecture, and raised the absurd banner of 'Restoring the Previous Dynasty,' rebelling against our Great Zhou!"

The main hall was packed, yet it was deathly silent.

The voice of the Lychee Envoy Chen Yishan echoed against the rafters.

"Restoring Li Qian?" Wang Lengran asked in a lowered voice.

"That's right." Chen Yishan nodded bitterly.

"Did they also use the Sisi era name from when Xunyang Prince Li Lixian... previously ascended the throne?"

"Yes!"

Chen Yishan gritted his teeth and said:

"After seizing Guizhou, the largest prefecture in the western corner of the Lingnan Circuit, and raising the banner of rebellion, Li Zhengyan stopped pretending. He actually established three government offices: one called the Restoration Office, one called the Duke of England's Office, and another called the Guizhou Grand Protectorate Office.

"This rebel calls himself the General of the Restoration Office and holds the title of Guizhou Grand Protector. He appointed the former Investigating Censor Wei Shaoqi as Chief Clerk, the former Attendant Gentleman Du Shuqing as Yuan Sima, and a Hongzhou man named Yue Ziang as the Secretary.

"The latter even wrote a rebellious and slanderous manifesto against the Sage.

"In just over ten days, they have gathered over thirty thousand soldiers. They are raising the banner of welcoming Xunyang Prince Li Lixian back as Emperor, marching north in a grand manner from the southwestern border of Guizhou. They are being extremely arrogant, attacking cities and seizing land, wanting to restore Li Qian..."

"Where is the manifesto?"

"Here." Chen Yishan immediately took out a copied draft.

Wang Lengran took it and hurriedly opened it. As he browsed through it, the muscles around the deep nasolabial folds on his face began to tremble.

"This Yue Ziang is simply audacious, too audacious!"

A certain "manifesto" was fiercely thrown to the ground and stepped on twice.

Wang Lengran's nostrils flared as he looked sideways at Ouyang Rong, who was frowning and pursing his lips.

"Chief Clerk Ouyang, if I remember correctly, this rebel named Yue Ziang shares the same name as a certain scholar in the prefectural school under your management. This rebellious person is also from Hongzhou, right? This shouldn't be a coincidence, should it?"

Ouyang Rong looked straight ahead and nodded:

"Hmm, it should be the same person."

He then said softly:

"However, if I remember correctly, I am the Prefect's deputy, and this prefectural school is also under your jurisdiction, Prefect."

"Don't push the blame and quibble. I trusted you, which is why I handed the livelihood affairs of Xunyang City to you. I am not familiar with things like the prefectural school."

In front of everyone present, Wang Lengran flicked his sleeves with an air of righteousness, widened his eyes, and pointed his finger directly at Ouyang Rong, who was sitting upright:

"Moreover, this batch of rebels led by Li Zhengyan passed through Xunyang City previously. I remember it was you who received them throughout their stay. You associated with them too closely, and you didn't miss a single banquet, night after night of music and song...

"Heh, Chief Clerk Ouyang, were you aware of their plan to rebel?"

The whole hall was silent.

Under the quiet gaze of the crowd, Ouyang Rong's expression remained calm:

"It wasn't just me who attended the banquets for Li Zhengyan in Xunyang City. More than half of the officials in the Jiangzhou Great Hall, as well as the famous scholars from Mount Kuanglu, all attended. There were many who were more active than me, and there was even the famous monk Si Hui, who associates closely with you, Prefect."

"If we follow your standard for identifying accomplices of rebels, Prefect, you are already surrounded by rebels."

"Since everything is still peaceful now, it seems you are also an accomplice of the rebels, Prefect."

"You're talking nonsense." Wang Lengran laughed in anger: "I haven't even met the rebel Li."

Ouyang Rong nodded:

"So many people in the Jiangzhou Great Hall have met him, but you are the only one who hasn't, Prefect. Among the mud everywhere, you are the only white lotus flower. It's hard not to believe that Li Zhengyan and the others didn't do it on purpose, deliberately avoiding suspicion for you, Prefect."

Except for the outsider Chen Yishan, the Lychee Envoy who was confused and looking around at the rebel nest, the surrounding Jiangzhou officials looked at each other. A sense of agreement actually emerged in their eyes, feeling that someone's logic was quite reasonable.

"You, you... glib-tongued, a pack of lies!"

Ouyang Rong ignored Wang Lengran, who was the first to shift the blame and draw a line, and asked Chen Yishan with a frown:

"Guizhou is in the western corner of the Lingnan Circuit. It is the core prefecture where the most Han people in the southwest gather, and it is also home to the most military garrisons in the Lingnan Circuit, with a large number of garrison troops stationed there.

"Besides Lan Changhao, there are many high-level officials and generals of parallel rank, as well as Investigating Censors... How was it easily seized by Li Zhengyan?

"And what about the people of Guizhou Prefecture? How could they let Li Zhengyan gather so many troops in just a few days and follow him to rebel?"

Chen Yishan immediately replied: "It's all Li Zhengyan's demagoguery."

"It's not just that." Ouyang Rong shook his head and suddenly asked: "After Lan Changhao was ordered to die, how did the military and civilians of Guizhou Prefecture react? Was there any cheering?"

Chen Yishan choked.

Wang Lengran scolded: "What does Chief Clerk Ouyang mean? Lord Lan died unjustly, and you are still asking such malicious questions. With such offense, what is your intention?"

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and stared straight at Chen Yishan.

The latter hesitated, looked away, and said in a low voice:

"There were bad people among the commoners who took the lead, and there were indeed cheers, but Chief Clerk Lan was absolutely loyal to the imperial court..."

"I have one more question."

Ouyang Rong interrupted, his question hitting the pain point: "What happened to the Great Buddha built by Lan Changhao?"

This question made the whole hall fall silent.

Wang Lengran also frowned, his gaze hesitatingly cast toward Chen Yishan.

The latter was in a difficult position and had to bite the bullet and answer truthfully:

"On the day Li Zhengyan rebelled, he immediately sent people to topple the Great Buddha, and many commoners watched the event..."

He explained:

"Lord Ouyang, Lord Wang, this Li Zhengyan is too good at buying people's hearts. How could a rebel harboring evil intentions know the painstaking efforts of the imperial court? He is just bewitching the ignorant commoners."

Everyone in the main hall remained silent.

Chen Yishan was a bit embarrassed.

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly to him: "Understood, thank you for your hard work."

Ouyang Rong took the manifesto and lowered his eyes to browse through it again.

After putting down the manifesto, he looked at the sky outside the main hall and sighed to himself:

"Morning glow means no going out, evening glow means traveling a thousand miles."

Ouyang Rong had to admit that Lord Li was indeed good at "choosing the day" and grasping the timing.

Seeming dissatisfied with the strange atmosphere in the main hall, Wang Lengran frowned and took over the conversation for Chen Yishan:

"It's more than just bewitching people's hearts. The old Duke of England was venerable and respected. I don't know how such an unworthy descendant came to be. It is the misfortune of the family. The connections of the Duke of England's Office were all used by him as the foundation for rebellion.

"I don't know how many of the garrison generals in Guizhou, Lingnan, were once promoted by the old Duke of England or served under his command. It was originally a blessing, but it was used for rebellion, harming thousands!"

Yan Liulang put down the intelligence report from the southwest in his hand, passed it to the people around him, and muttered without lifting his eyelids:

"Li Zhengyan's army is sweeping through the southwest like a hot knife through butter. Along the way north, responders are like clouds, and those who surrender are constant. It looks like they are almost at the border of Lingnan Circuit and Jiang Nan Circuit.

"This kind of morale is far greater than Cai Qin's army. It's not something that can be explained by just the connections of the Duke of England's Office."

This muttering sound was particularly harsh in the deathly silent main hall.

"What does Adjutant Yan mean?"

Wang Lengran glared, his tone dissatisfied:

"Are you criticizing the imperial court? Do you think the imperial court has lost the hearts of the people?"

Yan Liulang said lightly: "How would a minor official dare."

Seeming to remember something, Wang Lengran suddenly restrained his expression, shook his sleeves, and said sinisterly:

"Want to know why the rebel Li is so arrogant and smooth-sailing?

"Isn't it because the Xunyang Prince's Office helped a lot, giving him a righteous name for nothing.

"Actually, I think this is good. It can let Her Majesty the Empress see clearly who is thinking of Li Qian and responding to the rebel Li..."

This meeting ended unhappily.

The crowd dispersed in the cold atmosphere.

Ouyang Rong tucked his sleeves and walked out of the main hall.

He could clearly feel that after the news came that Li Zhengyan had raised the banner of rebellion under the name of the Xunyang Prince's Office, the looks Wang Lengran and others gave him had changed.

At the entrance of the Jiangzhou Great Hall, after taking the reins handed over by Yan Liulang, Ouyang Rong suddenly thought of the reason why Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi, and others had stayed in Xunyang City for a long time a few months ago.

He also thought of the reason why Li Zhengyan had visited the Xunyang Prince's Office repeatedly.

"Prefect, are you alright?"

Yan Liulang called out with a worried look to Ouyang Rong, who was staring blankly at the horse's back.

Ouyang Rong looked at him and shook his head.

He mounted his horse, and before whipping it to leave, the young Chief Clerk looked back at the cloudy sky in the west toward Hongzhou.

"So they were waiting for this."

Yan Liulang's puzzled voice came from beside him: "Waiting for what? What is the Prefect talking about?"

Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sighed, opened them, whipped the horse, and left behind two words before riding away:

"Righteousness."

The rebellion launched by Li Zhengyan in Guizhou had already swept through half of the Lingnan Circuit, and the momentum was still expanding rapidly, advancing triumphantly all the way.

And the "Manifesto Against Wei Zhao" written by Yue Ziang at Li Zhengyan's behest was spread to various prefectures and counties along the way, and soon reached the imperial court in the Divine Capital of Luoyang.

Ouyang Rong had read this manifesto. The general content was to first recount the numerous crimes of the Empress Wei Zhao, revealing them layer by layer, like pearls on a string.

Then it pointed out that the Wei clan was the root cause of the nation's destruction, thereby stating the necessity of Li Zhengyan's campaign to crusade against the Wei clan...

Anyway, Ouyang Rong knew at a glance that it was Yue Ziang's writing style.

Who else could write such a righteous, generous, and impassioned piece of rhetoric?

However, there should have been Li Zhengyan's instruction and guidance. The manifesto also fiercely criticized the Great Zhou's construction of the Praise Center and the Buddha statues in all directions.

It proclaimed to the world that this was a harsh policy that wasted money and manpower, and the Guizhou military and civilians who were deeply exploited by local officials to build statues were the proof.

The manifesto reached the Divine Capital of Luoyang, and the Great Zhou imperial court was shaken.

The Empress was slightly angry, issued an edict to strip Li Zhengyan's grandfather and father of their official titles and enfeoffments, abolished the Duke of England's Office, dug up their graves, smashed their coffins, and changed their surname to 'Ugly'.

And a few days later, successive news came from the western corner of the Lingnan Circuit, spreading north:

Li Zhengyan not only raised the banner of crusading against the brutal Wei Zhou, restoring the old Li Qian, and opposing the construction of statues by the central government,

But also publicly claimed that when he was in Jiangzhou, he had secretly met with Xunyang Prince Li Lixian.

He claimed that the former deposed emperor, Xunyang Prince Li Lixian, was being monitored, imprisoned, humiliated, and abused by the brutal Zhou.

This former deposed emperor had secretly passed a belt edict to him, ordering Li Zhengyan to crusade on his behalf and go to Jiangzhou to save the emperor.

When the news came, the court and the public fell into a brief silence.

No one was a fool. The incident of Li Zhengyan impersonating the Son of Heaven's private envoy Hu Fu had just happened. The so-called belt edict, not being from the person himself, was naturally half-believed and half-doubted.

Moreover, there were pro-Li factions in the court, such as Master Di and the Prince Xiang's Office, who spoke for him.

Xunyang Prince Li Lixian in Jiangzhou also immediately submitted a memorial to apologize and explain the rumors.

However, Li Zhengyan still went his own way, using the so-called belt edict to command the world.

Immediately afterward, something that caught everyone off guard happened. Hongzhou, which had been silent for a long time, actually had someone respond immediately.

Besides the garrison generals like Cai Qin who responded first.

There was actually the Prince Teng's Office, which had not resisted much when Hongzhou fell quickly.

That young Prince Teng Li Lou and Hongzhou Protector Zhu Lingxu stood out together, publicly responding to Li Zhengyan's call, calling on the ambitious people of the world to welcome back the deposed emperor and restore Li Qian.

The sudden addition of the Li clan royals immediately added fuel to the fire of this rebellion.

However, what was more significant was that something called 'righteousness' was endowed within it.

It caused some "undercurrents" in the world that were already thinking of Li Qian to begin to waver.

People's hearts were changing rapidly.

Simply put, Li Zhengyan was competing with Wei Zhou for legitimacy.

Don't underestimate this light change.

Rebellion and restoration/crusade are worlds apart.

For example, Cai Qin's army, which was originally a mutinous rebel nature, gained a certain legitimacy.

The surrounding areas that were originally resisting desperately began to waver, and those with weak will to resist surrendered directly.

The resistance within Hongzhou and its surroundings was disintegrating, and there were also prefectures and counties along Li Zhengyan's northern crusade route that surrendered upon hearing the wind.

Because in this world, clear-headed people are rare. Most are rural villagers, merchants, and citizens who listen to public opinion and are easily brainwashed.

And right now, in the Jiang Nan Circuit and Lingnan Circuit, a front line resisting Wei Zhou is gradually forming, with great momentum...

Sorry for being a bit late...

(End of chapter)