Chapter 242: The building is about to collapse, and it is difficult for one person to support it
Under the leadership of Zhonghuang Taiyi Daojun, the main force of the Yellow Turban Army conquered three states and nine prefectures in just a few days, seized the money, food, and armor from the warehouses of the vassal kings, and openly executed them.

The commanders of the thirty-six armies also responded in various places. For a time, all the prefectures and cities sent out emergency requests one after another, and memorials requesting the court to send troops for reinforcement piled up like goose feathers and snowflakes, filling the desk of the prime minister Zhang Julu.

"Send troops, send troops, and send troops. Where can the court get so many troops to send?"

Zhang Julu put down his pen, sighed, rubbed his dizzy head, and looked at these urgent memorials, feeling more and more overwhelmed.

He is really like a good cook who cannot cook without rice. Now there are millions of Yellow Turban bandits rebelling, just like weeds that can never be burned out.

Now, the imperial court has obtained the armor and fodder that were secretly hidden and concealed by the princes of various places. It has become a powerful force. Even if the imperial court wants to send troops, it must have food and wages to pay them.

The Ministry of Revenue is almost in deficit, and this year's autumn grain has not yet been harvested. The Ministry of War is collecting salaries without paying soldiers, and other ministries also have their own problems.

If Zhang Julu had not patched up the situation, provided careful support, and controlled the overall situation and grasped the right measure over the years, I'm afraid this huge Liyang Dynasty would have collapsed long ago.

He promoted the imperial examination system, opened up new doors for children from poor families, advocated reducing the power of the feudal lords, rectifying the administration of officials, promoting grain transport, and regulating salt and iron. It can be said that all the credit for military generals in the Spring and Autumn Period goes to Xu Xiao, while all the credit for civil officials goes to Zhang Julu.

But now, facing such a dangerous situation, Zhang Julu couldn't help but laugh at himself: "What a Liyang repairman, he is just tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall!"

The building will collapse and it will be difficult to support a single tree.

"Who can help me? I want to turn the tide, to support the collapsing building, to save the people from the water and fire, to save the people from the desperate situation. I only ask for your help now!"

Zhang Julu shook his head and looked at the mountain of memorials. He had no choice but to place the piles of memorials in the court and let officials from various departments discuss them together to see if they could find a way to make up for some of the deficit.

That’s right, Zhang Julu has set his sights on the aristocratic families behind these officials, but he cannot be the one to give the order to take action. He can be the knife, but there can only be one person who wields the knife.

As long as Your Majesty opens his mouth, Zhang Julu will be able to snatch a piece of meat from their mouths.

In the imperial court, Zhang Julu said:
"Your Majesty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion is imminent, but I am powerless to do anything. Your Majesty, please make your own decision on the current situation!"

Zhao Dun flipped through the memorials and felt a headache. He looked at the officials he relied on: Yin Maochun, the president of the Hanlin Academy, Huan Wen, the left servant of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao Youling, the minister of the Ministry of War, Gu Jiantang, Yang Taisui, Bai Guo, Wang Xionggui, etc.

He asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Yin Maochun thought for a moment and replied: "At present, our dynasty is short of money and food, and it is difficult to gather troops, but the Yellow Turban bandits must be suppressed. In my opinion, we can lead the troops of the three kings of the border into the country and drive the tiger to devour the wolf."

"Humph, stupid! How is this different from courting self-destruction? Are the three kings of the border really loyal to our dynasty?" Zhao Youling retorted, "We shouldn't have easily granted the thrones to those two kings of different surnames."

"The King of Northern Song and the King of Northern Han are waging war against Northern Mang without any declaration of war. They have no regard for the orders of the imperial court. Even if they have made great contributions in expanding the territory, their disobedient swords will only hurt themselves in the end!"

"The three great kings of the frontier have become too powerful to be eliminated. What's the point of talking about this matter now?" Zhang Julu scolded, "The most important thing now is to deal with these Yellow Turban bandits!"

Zhao Dun of the Liyang Dynasty inevitably frowned. Back then, Yue Fei and Han Xin gathered the people as soldiers, conquered the two states of Beimang, and were willing to return to the court. Many ministers sang praises of them and praised their good governance.

There is also the intention of restraining the King of Beiliang, Xu Xiao.

Now, when something went wrong, it was my fault as the Emperor. He knew that many ministers had accepted bribes at that time, and the mistake was made by everyone. Why should I be the only one to be blamed?

It was because I was blinded at the time and gave away the throne so easily in my joy. I regret it now!

Zhao Dun narrowed his eyes and looked at Gu Jiantang again, and asked, "Minister of War, tell me the truth. Apart from those sent out to suppress rebellions in various places and guard the princes, how many soldiers are available in Liyang now?"

"Your Majesty, the troop movements have been so frequent in recent days that it is difficult to give a specific number, but even if the imperial guards guarding the capital are included, there should be less than 200,000." Gu Jiantang also had a worried look on his face. The three provinces issued edicts one after another, and military affairs were urgent. There was not even enough time to send out the documents for dispatch. The Ministry of War had not seen a war for many years, and it was already a mess. There was no time to count the food, fodder, weapons, horses, bags, personnel, etc.

"Why not delegate power to local princes and noble families and recruit local soldiers to protect themselves?" At this time, someone proposed a solution that was not a solution.

However, when he opened his mouth, almost everyone looked at him coldly, including the emperor sitting on the dragon throne.

Although this move can quench thirst temporarily, it will cause endless harm!

The man was met with several cold looks and quickly shrank his neck and retreated.

"Wine gourd, what do you think?"

The nickname "Drunkard" was given to Huan Wen by Zhang Julu. When Huan Wen failed to get things done, he called him a drunkard. However, Huan Wen had another nickname, which was also given by Zhang Julu, namely: Tan Tan Weng.

That means tumbler!

The fact that he was given the name of an untouchable man is enough to show that he was a good official. Among the important officials in Liyang, the only one who could check and balance Xu Xiao was Zhang Julu, and the only one who could check and balance Zhang Julu was Huan Wen.

Huan Wen was a man of great learning, well-versed in both ancient and modern times. He was recognized in the literary world as someone who knew everything, or one could say he was thorough in everything. He was truly a national treasure.

No matter how his colleagues in the same dynasty changed, this Tan Tan Weng always sat firmly on the Diaoyutai of Menxia Province.

Huan Wen had two favorites.

At the daily court meetings, one thing to do was to watch the coming and going of civil and military officials in the court, which was a dazzling sight; the other thing to do was to listen to the jade pendants on their waists striking, ding-dong-dong, which was crisp and pleasant to the ears, and one never got tired of watching or listening to.

But over the years, he has seen too many stories of old jades being broken and new jades being born. In his words, there are two big mountains in the Liyang Dynasty.

On one mountain, there is Xu Xiao, whose achievements are so great that they shock the lord, and whose name is known as a butcher; on the other mountain, there is Zhang Julu, who is the chief civil official and has great power in the court.

Unfortunately, the two people, Zhang Julu and Huan Wen, who were originally from the same school, finally chose to go their separate ways.

Tan Tan Weng Huan Wen was calm and composed, listening quietly to everyone's discussion. When he heard Zhang Julu's question, he slowly opened his eyes and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I issued an order to withdraw the troops. I wonder who among the three kings over there will carry out the order?"

Zhao Dun was a little impatient, but he still managed to remain calm and replied, "Only Xu Xiao!"

Huan Wen chuckled and said, "It seems that our Great Pillar still has Li Yang in his heart. The other two are obviously not trustworthy."

Zhang Julu narrowed his eyes and said, "Jiuhulu, what do you mean? Do you really want Xu Xiao to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion?"

Huan Wen nodded and said, "Since ancient times, those who rebelled against their emperors were all extremely vicious and evil. Only by killing to stop killing can we deter the world. The King of Northern Liang is indeed the best candidate to bear this notoriety."

Speaking of Xu Xiao, everyone couldn't help but feel a little fearful. Would they really let that barbarian lead those 300,000 Beiliang cavalrymen to the south openly?

Li Yang is in danger now. If Xu Xiao has any ulterior motives, he will be the last piece of wood that crushes Li Yang!
This matter concerning the fate of the country cannot be gambled on!

Liyang Emperor Zhao Dun pondered and weighed the pros and cons, then suddenly cast his eyes on the sick tiger Yang Taisui.

(End of this chapter)