Volume 3 Chapter 11: Sending the Sun and Moon Away with Elegance (Part 1)
Hu Yin, Wanqi Xie, County Magistrate Huang, and Commander Han were squeezed into a small cell. Although no one dared to neglect it and Wu Jie carefully sent people to clean it, it was summer and there were some things in such a place that could not be solved by just cleaning.
One is the stench brought by natural defecation, and the other is the mosquitoes, lice and other things that breed in the entire prison.
When Qu Duan entered the prison in full armor and sat cross-legged in front of the cell with a sword in his hand, four people inside were helping each other catch lice in the dim light of the cell.
Of course, when they saw this person coming in, Wu Jie and another high-ranking general stood behind this person on both sides with swords in hand. After knowing who it was, the four of them stopped immediately and became serious.
Commander Han and Magistrate Huang were particularly tactful and hid in the corner early, while Hu Yin and Wanqi Xie sat upright opposite Qu Duan and exchanged glances with each other... Just from the fact that Qu Duan came here and his weapons fell into Wu Jie's hands, they were able to infer a lot of things.
For example, the military in Guanxi was more inclined towards the imperial court;
For example, Qu Duan might just be too domineering and not rebelling, otherwise he wouldn't have come here so easily... Wu Jie came to inform him of his plan.
"What crime have I committed to deserve this humiliation?"
Unexpectedly, after both parties sat down, Qu Duan was the first to speak, and before he even introduced his name, he coldly asked the two people behind the opposite fence.
Hu Yin, who had prepared a lot of words, was caught off guard. Wan Qi Xie, on the other hand, twirled his beard and sneered, not at all flustered: "We are in prison, dirty and filthy, and can only catch lice to survive. You are outside the prison, wearing a golden helmet, silver armor and brocade robe, but you have lost your weapons. How can you be the one being humiliated?"
Qu Duan was slightly startled, then changed his words: "Well, I am the commander of Jingyuan Road and the governor of Yan'an Prefecture, Qu Duan. May I ask the Minister, what crime have I committed? Why am I accused of rebellion?"
Wanqi Xie turned his head to look at Hu Yin.
Hu Yin also reacted at this time, but he sat upright in the cell, expressionless and asked: "I want to ask General Qu, as the General Commander and the prefect of Yan'an, you detained your legitimate superior, the General Manager Wang Shu, and then wanted to kill him. When Yuwen Xianggong disagreed, he forcibly took the General Manager's seal and drove the General Manager out of the country. Is this true?"
"It's the truth!" Qu Duan answered proudly. At this point, these things could no longer be concealed from anyone.
"Why is that?" Hu Yin asked seriously. "Don't you know that doing this is tantamount to treason?"
"Wang Shu is incompetent, not me. I can't clean up the situation. What does this have to do with rebellion?" Qu Duan said proudly. "He lost his army and humiliated the country. I wanted to kill him to thank the world, but I let him go easily because Yu Wen Xianggong in Chang'an disagreed. I just expelled him from Fuzhou. Doesn't this just prove my loyalty to the country?"
The brothers Wu Jie and Wu Lin beside them, as well as the magistrate Huang and commander Han in the prison were all stunned... Well, let's not talk about the fact that Wang Shu was your superior in terms of rank. Let's just say that he was the governor of Yanfu Road, and you failed to kill him. When Yan'an fell, you stripped him of his official seal and drove him out of Fuzhou. Why can you still be so self-righteous and think that there is no problem?
"How can a subordinate put his superior under house arrest or expel him from his place of residence?" Hu Yin suppressed his anger. "Not to mention that you even have murderous intentions."
"He lost his army and humiliated the country!" Qu Duan still sat upright. "Everyone in northern Shaanxi wants to kill him!"
"Isn't it because you disobeyed orders and refused to join the war that he lost his army and humiliated his country?" Hu Yin finally couldn't hold back the expression on his face. It seemed that not everyone could learn Emperor Zhao's ability to act like a puppet.
"Hearing your words, I know you are another useless soldier like Li Gang and Wang Shu!" Qu Duan pointed at Hu Yin and said sternly. "Wanyan Loushi has tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and Wang Xie is a bandit who can only run away when fighting. I only have more than 10,000 elite soldiers, who are the seeds of Guanxi troops. We should deploy defenses along the mountainous areas and retreat layer by layer to protect them... How can we really do what Wang Shu wants and destroy them in Yan'an? Do you know that if you and Wang Shu had followed your logic and rashly joined the war that day, the entire Guanxi would have been taken by Wanyan Loushi! You useless man would not even have a place to sit in a cell!"
Hu Yin was stunned by the scolding, and the people around him were also stunned, but Qu Da continued to vent:
"Why don't you understand that the current situation in Guanxi was preserved by me?! And for useless people like you, Wang Shu, and Li Gang who don't know how to fight, every time you say something in the military, the front line will lose thousands of lives, and the country will lose ten years of national fortune?! The country is in such trouble, the people are suffering, and the royal family is humiliated. The Jin people are only three-tenths of the reason, and you, useless civil servants who only talk about military affairs on paper, are more than seven-tenths! Without you, there wouldn't even be the Jingkang Incident, and now you blame me?!"
Hu Yin's face flushed and he was breathing hard, but he didn't know how to refute. Inside and outside the prison, not to mention the seven or eight people here, even the Privy Council attendants and imperial soldiers sitting in other cells were completely silent.
Finally, Wanqi Xie couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help but interrupt: "How can you be so rude to the Zhongcheng?"
When these words came out, Qu Duan was immediately stunned, then he stood up, put on his armor, and faced Wu Jie. He pointed at Hu Yin in the cell and asked, "Is this young man the Chief Censor Hu Yin? Isn't he the Military Assistant of the Privy Council Wanqi Xie?"
"No!" Wu Jie answered helplessly. "The one who just spoke was the military officer Wanqi. As for the Zhongcheng, Xue Feng mistakenly thought he was a fake because he was young..."
"Xue Feng is really innocent." Qu Duan looked back at the shackled Xue Feng in the cell behind him. He couldn't help but breathe in and laugh, but his voice was trembling. "If I were him, I would have killed this kind of Zhongcheng with a knife long ago. Why would I stay and bring disaster to the world?"
Hu Yinlian's eyes were already red.
Qu Duan ignored the people in the cell and continued to talk to Wu Jie: "Big Wu, do you see... I have been in the army for twenty years, and you have been in the army for seventeen years. You have fought for the country and risked your life many times, but you are only a general and a supervisor. And this person, just because he read a few sentences of books, although he is of no use to the country, he can become a prime minister at the age of thirty, and can decide our life and death with a single word... How unfair is that?"
Wu Jie wanted to say something but stopped.
But Qu Da immediately shook his head and corrected himself: "No, if we talk about studying, you and I are both educated people, and I can write poems and verses, so why can't I become a deputy envoy of the Privy Council at the age of 40? People like this most likely get high positions by being close to the emperor, and today you brothers have entrusted my life to such a person?"
Not to mention Wu Jie, everyone else in and outside the prison didn't know how to respond, and Hu Yin, the person involved, had already become breathless and couldn't even speak.
"Well." Qu Duan sighed again, but seemed to have calmed down, then turned his head to face Hu Yin in the cell. "I, Qu Da, boast of my military talent and loyalty. If I meet a serious minister, I will voluntarily argue with him, but if I meet someone like you, I am not willing to argue at all. If you say I am a rebel, then I will rebel. If you want to find an excuse to kill me, then you can kill me. I have nothing to say... I just want to tell you one thing. Between me, Wang Shu, and Wang Xie, who is the one who harms the country, who is the useless and incompetent one, and who has tried his best to stabilize half of Guanxi. The people of the five routes of Guanxi naturally know this, and the five routes of Guanxi also naturally see it clearly... People like you can't stop the gossip! And the history books will give me an explanation in the future!"
At this time, seeing that Wanqi Xie covered his face and remained silent, Hu Yin was still angry. Wu Jie finally took a step forward and knelt on one knee for the first time towards Hu Yin, who was angry:
"Zhongcheng, Qu Da's crime is clear, but he is just domineering and wants to get rid of Wang Shu to monopolize the military power. He is definitely not a traitor, otherwise he should have colluded and been on guard. Why did he come here so easily to see Zhongcheng today? I just ask Zhongcheng not to punish him directly because of his offensive words..."
For some reason, Wan Qixie, who had been covering his face, almost wanted to laugh: "Wu Dujian, I just want to ask you, even if General Qu is as you said, he has no intention of rebelling, and we want to kill him today... then killing him is certainly unjust, but considering his character, can't we also say that he brought it upon himself?"
Wu Jie on the ground was unable to refute.
Qu Duan, on the other hand, could not help but sneer when he saw that it was not the young Zhongcheng who was speaking: "You civil officials, do you all treat us military commanders at the front as grass? If I had not rebelled, you could have killed me, a great general, but you cannot humiliate me so easily..."
"He is stubborn and domineering, he looks down on his colleagues and humiliates his superiors, he often violates restraint, he makes big claims and boasts about himself, but he has no military achievements at all... How can you say he is humiliated?" Wanqi Xie also sneered in the prison.
"Are you civil officials qualified to talk about your military achievements?" Qu Duan became furious again.
"How did you defend Nanyang? Who fought at Changsha, Yanling?" Wanqi Xie pointed out. "While you were wasting time in northern Shaanxi, the people you mocked in your poems fought bloody battles in the Central Plains and drove the Jin army out of Henan! Are you qualified to talk about your military exploits in front of the two of us?!"
"You two defended Nanyang? You two fought at Yanling-Changshe?" Qu Duan was getting more and more angry. "If you dare to answer me in person, where would Han Shizhong and Yue Fei be? Moreover, you boasted of your great victory at Yanling-Changshe, saying that you wiped out more than a dozen Meng'an, but you don't know how many Jin soldiers you killed, and whether you killed innocent people to take credit for it?"
"Qu Da!" Wu Jie was also driven mad by Qu Duan. "Is it true that the Jin army escaped from Henan? Is it true that Wanyan Loushi gave up the advance and turned to Hedong? With your temper, you deserve to die today!"
"What do you know? Am I afraid of death?" Qu Duan was still fearless, still raising his armor. "I just want to tell you that although the Central Plains win, it will win, but it may not be such a big victory. And if the Central Plains win, won't the people in Guanxi have no hardship? Why reward so many generals, but be stingy with official positions in Guanxi? Isn't it because it's next to the government, everyone can be a lucky person!"
"In that case, how about you also go to the emperor's house and be a lucky little man?" Hu Yin, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, but he didn't know when he had calmed down. "I, Hu Mingzhong, don't know military affairs, but there are always people in the court who know military affairs. You say I am not worthy of talking about military achievements, but there are always people in the court who are worthy of talking about military achievements in front of you... When I came, the emperor allowed me to make an arbitrary arrangement. I can give you the highest standard and allow you to go to the emperor in Tokyo and be the deputy commander of the imperial camp. How about that?"
Wu Jie breathed a sigh of relief.
Qu Duan was slightly startled, but then he shook his head and smiled: "They are just afraid that killing me here will shake the morale of the army, so they coaxed me to Tokyo to kill me!"
Wu Lin, who had been silent, couldn't stand it any longer: "Qu Da! This is not okay, that is not okay, do you have to do everything in the world? If we really want to kill you, based on your nonsense just now, the Zhongcheng forced us brothers to fight here, can you really survive?"
Qu Duan opened his mouth to mock, but Wu Jie stood up and pushed him: "Qu Da, don't push your luck. The court has won a great victory in the Central Plains, and the people are loyal to it. If they really want to kill you, why do they have to go through so much trouble? Whether it's the Zhongcheng or Yuwen Xianggong, if they really want to kill you, you won't have any luck. And when we get to Tokyo, it's the emperor who makes the decision. If the emperor wants to kill you, it's the emperor's will, and it has nothing to do with Zhongcheng Hu."
Although Qu Duan was known to be both a scholar and a warrior, he was still no match for Wu Jie, not to mention Wu Lin was beside him. So, the two sides pushed and shoved each other for a while, and Qu Duan was pinned down, and someone tied his hands.
Even so, Qu Da was still unconvinced, and kept on saying annoying things...One moment he said, 'I know, you, Wu Jie, want to get rid of me, so that you can take charge of the military power in Guanxi'; the next moment he said, 'This Zhongcheng sent me away, and if I stay here, I'm afraid I will destroy the elite troops in Guanxi given his ignorance of military affairs'.
When Wu Lin pushed him out, he still looked up and sighed: "It's a pity that I, Qu Da, had such a heart to serve my country, but was harmed by such a villain!"
Finally, he even remembered to send another horse to Wu Lin!
Let's not talk about how this person was being naughty and unyielding. When the rebellion was quelled, Hu Yin, Wanqi Xie, along with Magistrate Huang, Commander Han, and their former entourage, were released from prison. Then, Hu and Wanqi were arranged to bathe in a separate courtyard. Seeing that there was no one else around, Wanqi Xie finally couldn't help himself:
"The chancellor shouldn't have let this fellow control his words and let him go. Just based on the arrogant remarks made by this man in prison, even the Wu brothers are angry. Let's kill him."
"It's not that I was controlled by his words, but when I was furious, I felt that there was some twisted logic in what he said." Hu Mingzhong was able to get out of jail, and he also relied on Wu Jie to deal with Qu Duan, but he still looked unhappy. "Besides, as a minister who was ordered by the emperor to inspect the country, I shouldn't use the emperor's authority for personal gain... After all, this man has made great contributions and is the best general in Guanxi. I always feel that it would be a pity to kill him. It might as well be handed over to the government for training."
"Whatever." Wanqi Xie shook his head and sighed. "Let's take him back to Tokyo first... But what about Kansai? Does the Minister think Wu Jie is useful?"
"Wu Jie is certainly available." Hu Yin answered casually, then suddenly stopped. "Wanqi, I would like to trouble you to take this man back to Tokyo to take orders. I will not go."
Wanqi Xie also stopped in astonishment, dumbfounded: "What does Zhongcheng mean? What do you mean by 'not going'?"
"To be honest with you, Brother Wanqi, when I traveled this time, I saw the broken mountains and rivers, and I felt the same emotions as Du Gongbu who left the capital during the An-Shi Rebellion, but I just regretted that I didn't have the literary talent of an official to express my feelings." Hu Yin said seriously. "And when I felt that way, I wanted to be appointed to a post outside the capital... I felt that being a prefect or staying in Guanxi as a clerk was better than standing in the court of Tokyo!"
Wanqi Xie wanted to say something but stopped himself.
It is said that when a dignified Yushi Zhongcheng was sent out to a town, it was impossible for him to be just a clerk, or even just a prefect... What a joke? Even a waste like Wang Xie was the prefect of Fengxiang Prefecture, even a domineering person like Qu Duan was the prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, and even Wu Jie, who was below Qu Duan, was the prefect of Huaide Army. How could Hu Yin be on the same level as these people? Therefore, since he was asked to stay in the post outside this time, at least he would replace Wang Shu as the general manager, and at most he might even replace Yuwen Xuzhong to take up important tasks such as staying in Chang'an.
But what does this have to do with him?
"I will write a letter about the reasons and what happened today. I will only say a few words. I would like to ask General Wanqi to present it to the emperor on my behalf... I will say that Hu Yin knows that the overall situation of the court's anti-Jin war is now unshakable. He is not only useless in the court, but also repeatedly hinders the court's major policies because of his pedantry. Once he is posted outside, Hu Yin also knows that he does not understand military affairs, so he will never act on his own. In terms of military affairs, he will only listen to the words of veteran generals... Please give me a chance." As he said this, Hu Mingzhong, wearing a dirty middle-class shirt, bowed heavily to Wanqi Xie, who was also in a mess in the courtyard. "No matter what, after Jingkang, Hu Yin's heart to serve the country and his determination to break off with the Jin people have never wavered."
For some reason, when facing the other party, Wanqi Xie actually felt ... and the last time he was so panicked was when he carried the dragon flag and followed Emperor Zhao out of Nanyang at night.
If you calculate the time, it was only three or four months ago.
