Chapter 90: Various Forces Stir Up Clouds and Waves

  Tokyo Bridge; Imperial Palace; Bun-tei-den Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The three sounds of the silent whip have passed, and Emperor Renzong sits in the Wen De Hall to hold court. He looks at the civil and military officials standing in rows below, and after shouting "Long live the emperor", he orders the attendants to roll up the curtains. At this moment, the official in charge steps forward and shouts loudly to the officials: "If there is any business, come out of your ranks and present it early; if not, roll up the curtains and dismiss the court."

  At this time, a man stepped out of the crowd with his hands holding a hu board and bowed. He then spoke loudly: "Recently, bandits have been rampant in Huazhou, Huayin County. The thieves gathered at Mount Shaohua early in the year to rob, and their scale has grown over the years. Many people have joined them, and many soldiers and civilians have been affected. Not long ago, they not only annexed neighboring Shijiazhuang but also occupied Huayin County, killing government officials and burning down the county city hall. Their arrogance is indeed overwhelming, and their harm is indeed profound! However, Meng Sen, the governor of Huazhou, led 10,000 soldiers to defeat repeatedly, showing a very negative attitude towards battle!"

  Ren Zong looked up, and the person speaking was Wen Yanbo. Bandits were everywhere these days, but recently, Ren Zong had been hearing rumors about a place called Shao Hua Mountain. Especially those officials, every morning they would report to the emperor, and each time they would start from the beginning, recounting the story of Shao Hua Mountain from its origins to its rebellion, as if reciting a familiar tale. Although their words were different, the versions were identical. And every time they mentioned the growing strength of the bandits, they would inevitably mention one person - Meng Sen, the military governor of Huazhou. In people's mouths, this man was always associated with negative words like "lazy" and "nurturing bandits".

  Emperor Renzong was uncertain and had doubts, at first there was a memorial from the governor of Hua Prefecture, Wang Yuantong, which was presented to him. The words were quite vehement and forcefully stated that Meng Sen, the commander-in-chief of the military in Hua Prefecture, was guilty of eleven crimes including being lazy with military affairs and forming cliques for personal gain. Afterwards, there were successive memorials from officials impeaching Meng Sen for not having the strength to command the army, mistakenly injuring soldiers and civilians in Huayin County, resulting in the loss of Huayin. Furthermore, it was directly stated that Meng Sen secretly colluded with the bandits of Shaohua, extensively extorting money. Then there were officials who began to report that Meng Sen deliberately allowed the bandits to wreak havoc, using this to coerce and intimidate local officials, disregarding the governor, and acting arbitrarily in the prefecture. However, Meng Sen was also a meritorious minister, his military achievements on the borders had been outstanding in previous years, and his prestige still existed today. Therefore, although Emperor Renzong had suspicions, he also had doubts, and at most would only reprimand Meng Sen a couple of times on court, without pursuing the matter further.

  But today, Wen Yanbo also stepped forward to report, and Renzong was a bit half-believing and half-doubting. The two cold and sharp eyebrows frowned, and he fell into deep thought.

  At this moment, the prime minister Zhao Zhe, who was standing in the crowd, stole a glance at Renzong and saw that he had already changed his expression. He was slightly delighted to see that the repeated memorials of the past few days were finally taking effect. Seizing the opportunity, he decided to strike while the iron was hot.

  Zhao Zhe stepped out of the classroom, bowed and said: "According to what I know, Meng Sen, the commander-in-chief of Hua Prefecture, is not as incompetent as Minister Wen Yanbo said. He has some achievements."

  As soon as these words were spoken, Renzong's eyes lit up and he regained his spirit, saying: "What is to be done? Tell me quickly, Ai Qing."

  Zhao Zhe continued: "Although Huayin County is still under the trampling of the Shaohua bandits, and the people are still in a state of panic, Meng Dujuan has already surrounded the prefecture and county with multiple layers after the bandits occupied Huayin County. Cutting off their water and grain supplies, they will be able to win without a fight in just a few days."

  Although Zhao Zhe's words sounded good, Emperor Renzong was still uncomfortable with them. Thinking carefully, the city of Huayin was already surrounded, and in a few days, the bandits inside would be starved to death, but what about the innocent civilians? Wouldn't they also fall victim to the bandits' cruelty and die before the city fell? In the end, the city might surrender without a fight, but by then, many civilians would have been killed or injured. How could this be considered a victory for the imperial court, or a demonstration of its benevolence towards the people? Nevertheless, Emperor Renzong found some justification in Zhao Zhe's words, and his mind began to turn against Yu Mengsun. This was the subtle danger of Zhao Zhe's words, which could lead people down a path of immorality without them even realizing it.

  Just as Renzong had not expressed his opinion, Wen Yanbo said again: "The Prime Minister's words are also different. Meng Sen surrounded the city, but it was not an active suppression of bandits, but a manifestation of his passive warfare. According to reports, the thieves on Mount Shaohua raised troops to occupy Huayin County, and the military strength on Mount Shaohua was empty. At this moment, he besieged Huayin County with a large army, but did not take the opportunity to divide his troops to destroy the old nest of the bandits on Mount Shaohua, which is his biggest mistake."

  Zhao Zhe listened and shook his head slightly, looking at Wen Yanbo: "Admire! Even a great talent like you has come up with the strategy of 'Surrounding Huayin County and beheading Shao Hua', but I think that Meng Du's intelligence must have also obtained it earlier. He deliberately did not go to behead the bandits at Mount Shao Hua, is it because he had a deep relationship with the thieves as people said? This old man dare not speak nonsense. But what this old man knows is that although he didn't behead the bandits, he trapped two leaders of Mount Shao Hua in the isolated city."

  Wen Yanbo sneered and said, "Then I'd like to ask the adults for advice. As far as I know, when the bandits of Shao Huashan attacked Huayin County, there was a damaged part on the city wall, which is the key to attacking the city. If Director Meng and the bandits had no secret collusion, then as you said, with his bravery and military prowess, wouldn't he have known to launch a fierce attack? But instead, he deliberately camped out and secretly allowed the bandits to repair the city walls. This is evidence of colluding with the bandits!"

  Zhao Zhe let out a sigh, turned to face Renzong and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, after falling into the bandits' hands in Huayin County, Meng Dujuan arrived at the city gate some time ago. After setting up the eight-layered ambush camps, he continuously sent troops to attack the city. Although they were defeated repeatedly, there were also achievements in cutting down enemies, and it's not that there was a traitor among them. Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly."

  At this moment, Tong Guan, the messenger of the Imperial Court, couldn't help but sneer inwardly as he stood in front of the Emperor. He watched as Zhao Zhe, that old fox, and his own party members sang in harmony, rendering Meng Sen's words useless and pushing him to the brink of disaster. The Emperor's face was also growing increasingly dark, and Tong Guan feared that if things continued like this, Meng Sen's position would be shaken. If he didn't step forward now, Zhao Zhe's play would be a complete success. As Tong Guan had always been at odds with Zhao Zhe, belonging to different factions with grievances against each other, now that Zhao Zhe was gaining the upper hand, Tong Guan also wanted to stir up some trouble in these murky waters.