Chapter 190 Intelligence Network
Luoyang.
In Luoyang City which was under curfew, the city inspector was patrolling the roads between the neighborhoods.
Today's summer is particularly hot, and many fires have occurred in Luoyang city.
The most serious fire spread to Chongjue Temple, which was built on the site of Qinghe King's residence.
The city patrol officer was responsible for rescuing firefighters. Although the nearby city patrol officer arrived in time, half of the monks' quarters in Chongjue Temple were still burned down.
The King of Qinghe considered this incident an ominous sign, and he severely punished the city patrol officer who put out the fire, and ordered him to remind people of fire when on duty at night to prevent people from catching fire.
This added new work to the city patrol officer.
Although he complained, he still had to pretend. The patrol captain held a clapper in his hand, reminding the residents to be careful with fire, and walked weakly on the street.
Life in Luoyang is becoming increasingly difficult.
The court distributed Buddhist money, and prices in Luoyang soared. Half of the city patrol officers were fined during the last fire, and life became even more difficult.
It's still summer now, so there's no need to pay for heating. But when winter comes, I wonder how many people will freeze to death in Luoyang.
At the same time, Luoyang's curfew has become increasingly "strict".
This strictness is reflected in the stricter law enforcement by the city patrol officers. Anyone who violates the rules will be arrested on the spot and put in jail, and then their families will be extorted to redeem them.
Others who need to act at night and wait until the early morning to do business only need to pay a monthly payment to get a special wooden sign made by the city patrol officer and act openly at night.
There's nothing we can do, everyone has to eat.
An old Qihu man was walking in the night, carrying a stall selling Hu cakes.
The old man's stall is in the corner of the Lifang near the Nan Yamen. This is the only way for officials to go to the yamen. It is very lively in the early morning. Because of its good taste, many officials will buy Hu Bing for breakfast on the road.
However, the business here is becoming more and more fierce. Nowadays, the only group with purchasing power in Luoyang City is officials. Every day, old men have to carry their loads on their shoulders and go to the stalls overnight to occupy stalls.
On the carrying pole was a "pass token" issued privately by the city patrol captain. When the city patrol captains patrolling nearby saw the old man's wooden sign, they tacitly turned a blind eye to his illegal behavior of violating the curfew. Before dawn, the old man finally arrived at the stall location.
He deftly put down the charcoal stove, set up a simple chopping board and started making Hu pancakes.
It is not time to go to the government office yet, but there are occasionally some guests. These are officials on night duty in various offices in the Southern Yamen.
A young official left the imperial city through a side door. He came to the old man's Hu Bing stall, threw out a few Taihe five-zhu coins and said, "Old man, buy two Hu Bing and a bowl of mutton soup."
"Wait a moment, my dear, it will be ready soon!"
The old man kept moving his hands and started making Hu Bing. After a while, a bowl of mutton soup and two Hu Bing were handed to the young official.
In the darkness of night, a piece of paper was handed from the clerk to the old man, who quickly stuffed the paper into his clothes.
If Su Ze were here, he would definitely recognize that this old man was the Qihu old man he had met in the market that year.
He was a spy left by Erzhu Rong in Luoyang, and this young clerk was the old man's bribed informant. He was in charge of the clerical work for the flow of military intelligence from various places in the Taiwei Mansion. Although he was just a minor clerk, he had access to a lot of important information.
Although Erzhu Rong returned to Xiurong, he was well aware of the importance of intelligence. This old Khitan man was just one of his spies stationed in Luoyang.
It’s a pity that he couldn’t insert spies into the palace, and could only rely on bribing these low-level officials to collect information.
Another advantage of the old man choosing to set up a stall here is that he can hear what the officials discuss while they eat, and thus obtain a lot of information.
After the morning market was over, the old man carried his load and returned home. He unfolded the note, which turned out to be the deployment of troops from the Taiwei Mansion.
"The Grand Commandant's Office has recruited 3,000 imperial soldiers to repair Tongguan?"
The old man didn't know the significance of this transfer order. He copied the intelligence he had collected in recent days and asked someone to send it to Erzhu Rong in Xiurongchuan by express horse.
There was nothing that could be done about it. In intelligence work, loyalty is more important than ability, and it is very difficult to train intelligence personnel who are both capable and loyal. The Erzhu Rong family has been around for a hundred years, and the only people under its command are herdsmen from border counties. So Liu Gui, a son of a scholar, joined him and was quickly valued by Erzhu Rong.
The old man's surname was also Erzhu. He was a rare and cautious, capable person in the Erzhu family, who was also proficient in literature and art. Most importantly, his loyalty to the Erzhu family had been tested.
The old man looked out the window, and his intuition told him that there was an undercurrent surging in Luoyang, and it seemed that something big was happening.
Erzhu Rong had a shallow foundation in Luoyang, and thanks to the court's excessive distribution of Buddhist money, he was able to bribe some hungry officials in the Southern Court.
But that was where it ended. The Erzhu family was still too low in status. In the eyes of the nobles in Luoyang, Erzhu Rong was just a country bumpkin who specialized in providing fine horses, or at most a country bumpkin who was generous and rich.
-
At the residence of Danyang Duke Xiao Baoyin, he was anxiously discussing matters with Su Liang in the study.
The maid came to the study and said, "Your Highness has returned from the palace."
Xiao Baoyin immediately stood up, walked out of the study and personally greeted Princess Nanyang who had returned home. He changed his previous indifference and asked enthusiastically, "Your Highness, is there any news from the palace?"
Princess Nanyang shook her head and said, "I didn't see the Queen Mother when I entered the palace today. She was discussing matters with the Ministry of Personnel."
Xiao Baoyin asked disappointedly, "Did Your Highness hear any other news in the palace?"
Princess Nanyang shook her head and said, "I returned from the palace without seeing the Queen Mother."
Xiao Baoyin was disappointed, but he still hoped that his wife would go to the palace to find out what was going on. He suppressed his anger and said, "Your Highness must have worked hard in the palace today. Go back and have a rest."
After saying this, Xiao Baoyin took Su Liang back to the study.
Princess Nanyang was not a fool. After the incident with the Buddha's money last time, her husband Xiao Baoyin would treat her more warmly whenever she entered the palace.
She also realized that Xiao Baoyin was just relying on her royal status and wanted her to gather intelligence in the palace.
The once loving couple had become like this. Princess Nanyang bit her lip and returned to her empty room sadly.
"Something big must have happened in the palace!"
Xiao Baoyin slammed the table and said firmly.
Su Liang also nodded. The atmosphere in Luoyang had changed recently, and he noticed something was wrong in the court.
It is totally abnormal that Empress Dowager Hu, who has always been lazy in her work, is discussing matters with the Ministry of Personnel so late at night.
However, the people Xiao Baoyin sent to inquire about the opinions of the officials under his command did not get any useful information. The prime ministers were very tight-lipped this time, and ordinary officials under his command were simply excluded from decision-making. And he was never a member of the core circle of Jiangyang Prince Yuanyi, and there was no movement from the Jiangyang Palace.
This is definitely a sign that something big is going to happen in the court.
Xiao Baoyin paced back and forth anxiously. He suffered a loss in the last incident involving the Buddha's money, but he was still outside the decision-making core and could not get first-hand information.
In the court, information is the most important resource.
Information is distributed from top to bottom, and the higher the level, the more likely they are to get a glimpse of the full picture of the matter, creating an information gap for the lower levels.
Xiao Baoyin was also a political veteran, and he knew the importance of making arrangements in advance.
Many personnel appointments and major decisions often have candidates decided before they are announced. If you want to compete for some positions, you must get the news in advance and get support from the top.
Who would play with you if you don’t know anything about it?
What exactly is the matter that could make Prince Qinghe and Prince Jiangyang put aside their fight and keep a secret together?
Xiao Baoyin was even more anxious. What on earth was going on?
In the Menxia Province, Empress Dowager Hu sat behind a pearl curtain, holding her forehead, listening to the quarrel of officials below.
Hou Gang, who was demoted to a soldier in Qinzhou, killed the governor Li Yan and rebelled. He occupied the entire Qinzhou within ten days. Then Zhang Changming, a soldier in Nanqinzhou, beheaded the governor Cui You in Nanqinzhou, responding to Hou Gang's rebellion in Qinzhou. The two sides had a combined force of 100,000 and issued a manifesto demanding that Empress Dowager Hu abdicate, clear the court and support the young emperor to rule the country.
The rebellion in Guanzhong was different from the previous Mahayana rebellion in Jizhou, and also different from the Rouran invasion of the Six Garrisons.
Guanzhong is very close to Luoyang, and Luoyang can be attacked from Tongguan in Guanzhong. This is a rebellion that threatens the heart of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
This time the court acted decisively. It blocked the news from Guanzhong and sent 3,000 imperial troops to Tongguan to repair the fortress and block the exit of Guanzhong.
The issue that the Menxia Province is arguing about today is who should be sent as the commander-in-chief to lead the troops to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion.
However, this meeting lasted from the morning to the afternoon, and the discussion of personnel appointments and dismissals turned into personal attacks and verbal abuse.
The reason why this matter has not been decided for a long time is that the rebellion in Guanzhong is too embarrassing.
First, the rebel leader Hou Gang and his son Hou Yuan led the Yulin Rebellion. Hou Gang was originally sentenced to death, but it was Jiangyang King Yuan Yi who saved him and sent him to Qinzhou to serve as a soldier. Hou Gang was also related to Jiangyang King Yuan Yi.
Secondly, the rebellion in Qinzhou this time was caused by the brutal exploitation of the deceased Qinzhou governor Li Yan. Li Yan was a person protected by Qinghe King Yuan Yi. He was able to be so arrogant in Qinzhou because Qinghe King supported him behind the scenes.
The two largest factions in the court were each responsible for the Guanzhong rebellion. Empress Dowager Hu didn't know who to trust or who to recommend as a general to go to Guanzhong to quell the rebellion.
Prince Jiangyang and Prince Qinghe both remained silent, unusually, allowing their respective subordinates in the province to quarrel with each other.
But no matter how foolish Empress Dowager Hu was, she knew that the rebellion must be suppressed without delay.
Hou Gang's rebellion this time was different from that of the Mahayana Sect. The slogans he raised shook the ruling foundation of Empress Dowager Hu.
Clear out the imperial court and return power to the emperor!
The thing that Empress Dowager Hu regrets the most now is that she was soft-hearted and pardoned Hou Gang. She should have executed all the traitors in her family!
As the little emperor grew up, Empress Dowager Hu's ruling foundation was gradually weakened.
Empress Dowager Hu and the little emperor did not have much affection for each other, and as the little emperor grew up, the fear of losing power also spread in Empress Dowager Hu's heart.
In fact, Empress Dowager Hu herself understood this, so her behavior became even more reckless, and she only wanted to enjoy the happy time as much as possible.
As the little emperor grew up, more and more ministers tried to take advantage of him, and an undercurrent of returning power had already emerged in the court.
Therefore, Hou Gang’s slogan can be said to be quite deadly. This is also the reason why Luoyang blocked the news of the rebellion in Guanzhong as quickly as possible and wanted to send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.
If Hou Gang really makes a big fuss, the court will respond to his manifesto and force Empress Dowager Hu to abdicate.
But the news cannot be blocked for too long, and Empress Dowager Hu must decide on the candidate to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.
Really fed up with the quarrels among the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, Empress Dowager Hu finally said:
"King Qinghe, King Jiangyang."
"I am here, I am here."
"You two each recommend a commander to suppress the rebellion, and we will discuss the candidate in two days."
-
In Princess Chenliu's mansion, the [ordinary female news envoy] did not leave Luoyang with Princess Chenliu, but stayed in the mansion as a female historian, controlling Princess Chenliu's intelligence network in Luoyang.
Although this intelligence network lost its access to first-hand information from within the palace due to the departure of Princess Chenliu, creating a huge gap, this gap can be filled with the intelligence analysis capabilities of an [ordinary female news envoy].
First of all, there is the Imperial Guards. This is where Su Ze started his career and it is also the system in which he has the deepest roots. The female historian has been receiving intelligence from the Imperial Guards continuously in the past few days.
First, 3,000 elite troops were reorganized and immediately set out for Tongguan. This was definitely not the repair of Tongguan as the court said. These soldiers were prepared with armor and weapons. There were also a large number of craftsmen, laborers, and food and fodder accompanying the army. This was clearly a deployment of troops to stay in Tongguan permanently.
Secondly, the imperial guards began to impose martial law. All the imperial guards that followed Su Ze in the last northern expedition were assembled and mobilized, and the scale of the mobilization was not small. The female historian judged that the scale of the army this time was several times larger than the last time that escorted Princess Shouyang to marry. This meant that the court was preparing for a war.
Then, the secret agents that Su Ze left in Jinyang and other places received orders to requisition war horses from Bingzhou and other places, as well as Erzhu Rong's Xiurong territory. This also verified the speculation that the court was mobilizing for war.
After summarizing all this information, the historian has concluded that such a large-scale mobilization in Tongguan can only be a rebellion in Guanzhong.
However, the female historian was unable to analyze which states in Guanzhong rebelled and how large the scale of the rebellion was.
The female historian summarized all the news and reported it to Su Ze. When Su Ze in Dunhuang saw the [Emergency Intelligence from the Female News Envoy] in the system, he actually had a feeling that it was as he expected. History has its own inertia, and what is supposed to happen will still happen.
However, in the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, the Guanzhong Rebellion occurred after the Six Garrisons Uprising, and the first rebellion occurred in Gaoping County.
However, because Su Ze changed history, the current prefect of Gaoping is Yu Jin. With Su Ze's reminder and according to the reports from Su Ze's followers who stayed beside Yu Jin, there has been no rebellion in Gaoping yet.
It’s not Gaoping, it’s somewhere in Guanzhong that’s in chaos?
Qinzhou? Qizhou? Or Yongzhou?
No matter where, if there is a rebellion in Guanzhong, the Northern Wei court in Luoyang will definitely not sit idly by.
In the history before Su Ze traveled through time, the commander-in-chief appointed by the Northern Wei court to suppress the rebellion was Xiao Baoyin, Duke of Danyang. This member of the Southern Qi royal family, who had already had ulterior motives towards the Northern Wei, occupied Chang'an and rebelled after fighting a few years of fierce battles in Guanzhong.
However, after the Six Garrisons Rebellion was quelled, Erzhu Tianguang, who had freed up his hands, sent people to kill Xiao Baoyin and took him back to Luoyang to be executed.
This accidental yet inevitable rebellion in Guanzhong gave Su Ze a huge opportunity.
(End of this chapter)