Volume 3 Chapter 54: Force the Emperor to Abdicate
As we all know, before making up one's mind to take action, politics has always been an art of language, which emphasizes deception and trickery, and hopes to link forces through deception and trickery to continue deception and trickery. But sometimes , choosing a recognized honest person to speak the truth can have a surprising effect.
For example, right now, for example, in Loushi.
In fact, after more than half a year of political struggle, the top leaders of the Jin Dynasty gradually became tired and exhausted, and the three major factions also saw the limits of their own power... Nianhan won a great victory, but as a person who was chosen by Aguda to be in the succession sequence, he could never get involved in the throne himself, nor could he eliminate the other two families; and this time, the other two families were beaten by Nianhan to the point of being on the verge of death, and were already in a state of peace.
In other words, people, both above and below, inside and outside, all desire to stop fighting and restore stability.
At this time, Wanyan Loushi, a man with flawless political ethics and personal character, came over to serve as the final connector and announcer for Yin Shuke's long-planned compromise plan, and it immediately produced miraculous results.
Wuzhu was willing to help his brother fight for the throne at first because he had failed before and needed political struggle to divert his attention. He himself had no spontaneous willingness because it was unprofitable. Later, when his position was stable, he just wanted to go south to start a war.
Now, Lou Shi's arrival greatly catered to Wuzhu, who now had the same great motivation as Lou Shi to end this matter. Moreover, to be fair, Yin Shuke's plan was also quite beneficial to him (making his own nephew the king was even more beneficial than making his two elder brothers the king), so after Lou Shi reported the names of Yin Shuke and Talan, he immediately joined this temporary political alliance.
Not only that, unlike Lou Shi who was forced to do business, Wuzhu, as the fourth son of Aguda, had far greater political activism than others. In order to avoid any further complications, the determined fourth prince personally stepped forward that night and mobilized several of his brothers who had just reached adulthood but did not have enough say. They united and forced his two brothers to abdicate in his own mansion.
They were all rough men, and the process of forcing the emperor to abdicate was straightforward but unremarkable.
The split between the eldest prince Wanyan Ouben and the third prince Wanyan Erlido caused unrest within the entire faction, and the external control was greatly weakened. Moreover, since the two men were divided, the probability of winning was not high... Ouben was betrayed, and he was angry and a little depressed, while Erlido did not expect that the situation would be so difficult under Nianhan's pie-dividing tactics. If he failed to attack, he was in a dilemma. At this time, replacing him with another nephew was an acceptable compromise for both of them.
After all, the meat is still rotten in the pot.
And in the final analysis, this is precisely the fundamental reason why Yin Shu could be so calm... He had endured until now, and suddenly made a move. On the one hand, Lou Shi's sudden attack had caused the overall situation to be unstable, and there was no time to delay; on the other hand, the method he heard from Talai was indeed very feasible, and it took into account the fundamental interests of Aguda's direct lineage and Nianhan's core needs.
After all, as a powerful official who controls half of the country and is known as the Western Court, if Nianhan really has to choose to attack one of the other two families in the final decision, of course, attacking the king is the most realistic and profitable.
So, that night, Aguda's sons reached an agreement in the residence of the Fourth Prince in Yanjing and decided to accept "Nianhan's proposal" and formally merge with Nianhan's line on the condition of enthroning their own orphaned nephew.
This matter is not only of great importance, but more importantly, if it is delayed for too long and the decision is changed, it will be useless. So Wuzhu feasted with his brothers at home, ready to detain these people all night long. At the same time, he asked Lou Shi, who was waiting in the other courtyard, to go and see Yin Shuke as soon as possible.
At this time, Yin Shuke's identity as the garrison commander of Yanjing played a huge role - the news came in late at night, and according to the rules, even the prince would have difficulty traveling, but the garrison commander who controlled the armed forces of Yanjing could travel freely.
Therefore, Yin Shu went straight to see Wanyan Xiyin first, and easily convinced the Marshal's Right Supervisor, whose mind was full of sinic reforms, with the theory of "eldest son". Then he went to visit the Marshal Nianhan together with Lou Shi and Xiyin.
Let’s say that Nianhan’s faction, in terms of territory, includes Shanxi, Shaanxi, the western part of the former Yanyun area (now Yanjing is also in his hands), and the western states of the Hebei Plain; in terms of foundation, it is the 100,000-strong Western Route Army; politically speaking, it is the so-called distant branch of the Wanyan faction... But no matter how you look at it, the three leaders of this faction from Nianhan are none other than Wanyan Yinshuke, Wanyan Loushi, and Wanyan Xiyin.
From this angle, it is enough to see Nianhan's strength and ability. Lou Shi is currently the best general of the Jurchens, Xi Yin is the best internal affairs strategist of the Jurchens, and Yin Shuke is the second most powerful member of the Jurchen royal family and the second best general of the Jurchens. He is also recognized as a person with great talent in internal affairs strategy.
But these three people were just vassals and subordinates of Nianhan.
However, this can also be said the other way around. If he had not controlled these people completely, how could Nianhan have been able to establish his own faction as early as the time of Aguda, and beat the king Guguai with a stick as early as when Wuqimai ascended the throne, and how could he now have such power that he could put the legitimate king and Taizu's direct descendants under great pressure to the point of suffocating them?
But no matter what, no matter what Nianhan had in mind and what his attitude was, facing the three people who came to visit him late at night, the Marshal still chose to open the door to greet them... Otherwise? Was it really because of those three provinces and six ministries and the dispatch of troops to the south that he had to remove two of the three legs of his chair?
The Grand Marshal is not some ignorant emperor of the Zhao Song Dynasty.
In this way, the four of them sat down in the hall. Yin Shuke spoke first, but he concealed all the details and only said that it was those 'princes' who took the initiative to negotiate peace.
"Oben and Erliduo can't hold on any longer and want to give up Anban Bojilie's position, so they took the initiative to ask for peace with me?" Nianhan, who had just taken a sip of tea to refresh himself, seemed to be unable to believe it for a moment, but directly poured the steaming hot tea on the floor in the hall, and then stared at Yin Shuke and questioned. "Why are you asking for peace all of a sudden?"
"It was Wuzhu who instigated it." Yin Shuke responded immediately. "After the court meeting today, Wuzhu held a banquet at his home and gathered many young brothers to accuse Oben and Erliduo of the division. The two were already under pressure from the commander-in-chief, but they just went along with it and obeyed Wuzhu..."
"Wuzhu..." Nianhan seemed to be thinking about something, and then looked at Loushi. "I didn't expect that Wuliyan (Loushi's nickname, real name) would have such a miraculous effect when he came here this time."
Lou Shi said nothing, just lowered his head slightly.
"Captain Marshal." Yin Shuke continued to chuckle. "Wuzhu has now dragged all his brothers to his house and sent someone to find Wuliyan to tell him that his condition is to establish Hela, the grandson of Taizu and the son of the deceased son Shengguo, who is only eleven or twelve years old this year... The three of us think that this is also very good for the commander-in-chief. After all, Hela not only has a title and can make the king speechless, but the key is that he is young. After the king passes away, it will be convenient for the commander-in-chief to handle the important affairs of the court."
This statement was extremely explicit, causing Xi Yin to frown for a moment, but it also pointed out the key point, causing Nianhan to burst out laughing.
After laughing, Nianhan calmed down and twirled his beard, saying, "It's not impossible to establish Hela. I have actually had this thought before. It's obvious that I have been thinking about this for more than a day or two this year. But if this is all, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the king. After all, he is the king..."
"What does the commander-in-chief mean?" Xi Yin had no time to react after hearing this, Lou Shi remained motionless, but Yin Shuke became slightly stern.
"Let Oben, Erliduo and Wuzhu, the three relatives of Taizu, go with me to see the king!" Nianhan said coldly while sitting in his seat, twisting his beard, and even his own title suddenly changed. "Go tonight! I won't agree to it in the morning!"
The three people below looked at each other, and even Lou Shi's expression finally changed slightly.
It should be noted that the significance of Nianhan's move itself may not be any less than that of appointing a crown prince... Meeting with the king at night and forcing him to appoint a designated successor is a strong act of forcing the king to abdicate. Once successful, the king's authority will be severely damaged. Not only that, the three direct descendants of Aguda who are in power followed Nianhan's ass and participated in such behavior, which is not only a gesture of betrayal to their uncle's lineage, but also a gesture of submission to Nianhan.
In a word, Nianhan highly approved of this solution to the succession problem, but he was not satisfied. He also wanted to use this incident to establish his absolute position as a powerful official!
The three people present were not stupid, and they figured it out almost immediately. After figuring it out, Yin Shuke seemed the most flustered: "Marshal, isn't this a bit inappropriate..."
"What's wrong with that?" Nianhan greeted Yin Shuke coldly. "Wuzhu is only allowed to bring his brothers to force his two elder brothers. Maybe the three of you came to my house to force me today, but you don't allow me to force the king? In my opinion, our Great Jin Kingdom is a case of insubordination!"
Yin Shuke stood up in panic and stood in front of the seat, feeling increasingly flustered. Xi Yin and Lou Shi also did not dare to say much. They just stood up and lowered their heads to look at each other.
"That's what I said." Seeing the three people's expressions, Nianhan suddenly sneered. "I don't know how you guys are colluding with each other, and I don't want to know, but if you want me to promise this, I want to see Wuben, Erliduo, and Wuzhu in front of my house before dawn, and I also want to see the three of you come back. The seven of us will go to the old palace of the Liao people together, and this will be considered a success! You guys hurry up and do it!"
Yin, Shu, and the other two looked at each other again, but did not dare to refute at all. They could only go out obediently and prepare to go to Wushu's mansion to look for someone.
However, when he came out of the door, another servant suddenly followed him out and called Lou Shi and Xi Yin back, leaving Yin Shuke alone to do this. At the same time, he also reminded Yin Shuke that the Du Marshal had said that he might as well call the Right Deputy Marshal to bring Talan as well...
Now, Yin Shuke knew that all the little tricks he had planned in Yanjing City had been seen through by Nianhan, so he became more and more panicked. He could only gallop and rush to help Nianhan.
It must be said that Nianhan's power had reached a certain level at this time. Yin Shuke found Talan first. Talan, who was awakened from his sleep, heard the message and his heart was in turmoil for a while, but he did not stop for a moment and immediately followed Yin Shuke.
When they went to Wuzhu's mansion again, Wuzhu was also pale... After all, as the fourth prince, if he forced his two elder brothers today and failed, he would suffer backlash, and he had already lost his way out.
Therefore, Wuzhu had no choice but to grit his teeth and take Yin Shuke and Talan to find Woben and Erlido who were resting at home.
But when Oben and Erlido woke up from their dream and heard the words, they became hesitant again... This was too shocking.
Wushu, Yinshuke and Talai pressed him hard. First Talai kowtowed on the spot, then Wushu cried and swore that he was only doing it for the public. If he failed today, he would be punished by the king and Nianhan. At the same time, Yinshuke hinted at coercion, saying that the marshal had made up his mind and it was the last chance. If the two princes did not do it, the throne would be lost to Taizu!
After using both soft and hard tactics, Oben and Erliduo were at a loss. When Wuzhu saw that his two brothers were wavering, he simply stepped forward and dragged them to see Nianhan with Yin Shuke, and Talai went out early to lead the horses...
The poor eldest and third princes were in a daze that night, three parts frightened, three parts forced, and four parts bewildered, and they were unexpectedly dragged all the way to Nianhan's gate by Wuzhu and Yin Shuke.
At this time, Erlido came to his senses and felt that something was wrong. He wanted to leave, but it was already impossible... Because when Nianhan heard that the three brothers had arrived, he opened the gate of the mansion and led the entire government to welcome them!
Under the bright lights, Nianhan was seen holding the eldest prince Oben and the third prince Erlido in each hand and walking towards the palace. Behind the three of them were Loushi, Talan, Xiyin, Wuzhu and Yinshuke, and behind them were countless armored knights carrying lanterns.
That was not all. As the team moved forward, Nianhan dispatched Yin Shuke to mobilize the soldiers in the city and "call" countless old subordinates, friends, and relatives. When the team arrived in front of the palace, it was still dark, but the lights in front of the palace were as bright as day. Then, countless Jurchen nobles brought their relatives and attendants with Nianhan to this place.
"Don't disturb the king!"
Seeing the guards and attendants in front of the palace trembling with fear and rushing forward to greet him, Nianhan simply let go of the two Aguda sons and called out to the Jurchen officer guarding the palace from a distance, as if the Jurchen officer was not ordered to pick him up, but to disturb the king. "We are adhering to the righteousness of our ancestors and come to discuss important matters with the king... I am enough to go in alone!"
The palace guards and the many Jurchen nobles who came with Nianhan faced each other again and again. They didn't know what to say or do, so they could only stand still and watch Nianhan enter the palace alone, which was also brightly lit.
Just a moment later, Nianhan emerged, and then stood in front of the palace gate, announcing proudly: "The king has already known what you mean. He said that the family law of our ancestors cannot be changed. Those who came today are all loyal ministers. Let's make Taizu's grandson Hela the Anban Bojilie!"
There were countless Jurchen nobles in front of the palace, some of whom knew what happened tonight, and some of whom were still confused, but all of them were overwhelmed by Nianhan's momentum, and they whistled in unison to celebrate, which then led to shouts in front of and inside the palace, like a victorious army.
As the sky gradually brightened, behind the crowd, Lou Shi looked at Nianhan, who was surrounded by many Jurchen nobles, and was amazed, but he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart... No matter if some people were clever and managed to escape, or Nianhan was more skilled and intimidated the country, no matter what, he should be able to send troops now, right?
He doesn't want to stay in Yanjing for even a moment!
