The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 558 Han Lingkun’s Xiao Jiujiu

Early the next morning, Zhu Xiu opened the door and saw Han Lingkun wandering in the courtyard with his hands behind his hands.

"Morning, General Han." Zhu Xiu greeted with a smile.

The guards brought hot water and green salt for washing, and Zhu Xiu squatted under the eaves to rinse her mouth and wash her face.

Han Lingkun took the tray from the guard and signaled that the guard could step back.

Seeing that Zhu Xiu didn't react much, the personal guard clasped his fists and retreated.

"I can't afford General Han to wait for me to wash myself." Zhu Xiu said vaguely with salt water in his mouth.

Han Lingkun laughed and said, half seriously and half jokingly: "I want to ask Deputy Commander Zhu for help. Of course, I must serve Deputy Commander Zhu well in advance!"

Zhu Xiu took a handful of hot water from the wooden basin and poured it on his face, without raising his head, he said: "I'm afraid it's not a small thing to make General Han condescend, I should pay more attention to it, so as not to be troubled by you." The rhetoric is coaxing everyone around."

"Haha~ Deputy Commander Zhu is really good at joking." Han Lingkun laughed unnaturally.

After Zhu Xiu finished washing, they went to sit in the courtyard.

The plants in the courtyard are emerald green, and the morning light pours down, illuminating the hall with a golden glow.

Zhu Xiu held the tea cup and tasted it slowly, while Han Lingkun frowned and sat there without saying a word.

After a while, Han Lingkun sighed, cupped his fists and said, "Han is here to apologize to Deputy Commander Zhu!"

Zhu Xiu put down the tea cup and said with a smile: "What's the crime?"

Han Lingkun hesitated for a while and whispered: "Tang Youwei General Lu Mengjun is dead!"

Zhu Xiu looked at him with a smile and said nothing.

Han Lingkun couldn't detect any clues from his expression, and he felt even more uneasy.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Lingkun gritted his teeth and said, "Today, I confessed to Deputy Commander Zhu that Lu Mengjun was killed on the order of a certain person!"

Zhu Xiu nodded, "Tell me the reason."

Han Lingkun hesitated, "Does Vice Admiral Zhu know that Ma Xichong, the former leader of Ma Chu, is also in Yangzhou City?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "After Ma Xichong surrendered to the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Jing moved his family to Yangzhou to settle down. Of course I know this."

Han Lingkun added: "After a certain person defeated the Tang army in Shaobo Town and captured Lu Mengjun, he led his army straight to Yangzhou. Pan Chengyou, the governor of the Eastern Capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, abandoned the city and fled. The Yangzhou gentry recommended Ma Xichong as their representative and opened the city to welcome the king's division."

"Haha, the Yangzhou gentry is quite aware of current affairs. I will inform your majesty to send officials to Yangzhou as soon as possible." Zhu Xiudao.

Han Lingkun blushed, rubbed his hands and said nothing.

Zhu Xiu suppressed his laughter and pretended to be curious: "I heard that Lu Mengjun was the surrendered general of Ma Chu. When Ma Xichong replaced his brother Ma Xi'e as the leader of Southern Chu, Lu Mengjun also contributed.

Why, is Lu Mengjun's death related to Ma Xichong? "

Han Lingkun blushed even more and murmured for a long time before whispering: "When Lu Mengjun attacked Shuzhou, he coveted the wealth of Yang Zhaoyun, the governor of Shuzhou, and rebelled against him on the pretext of Yang Zhaoyun's surrender, destroying his entire clan.

Yang Zhaoyun had a niece who was both talented and beautiful, and her reputation spread far and wide. After Yang Zhaoyun surrendered, he dedicated her niece to Ma Xichong, the lord of Southern Chu, and she was favored by Ma Xichong.
On the day when Han entered Yangzhou, Ma Xichong gave Yang's daughter to the general."

Han Lingkun's face turned redder and redr as he talked, and he rubbed his calloused hands vigorously.

Zhu Xiu pretended to be stunned and clapped her hands: "I understand! Yang's beauty is deeply loved by General Han! Knowing that Lu Mengjun was captured by the general, he remembered the blood feud between his family and his family. After pleading hard, the general did not hesitate to win the beauty's favor. Secretly ordered Lu Mengjun to be killed!
Haha, since ancient times, heroes have been saddened by beauty, what a romantic affair! "

Han Lingkun's face was so hot that he felt so ashamed that he wanted to open a crack in the ground and crawl in.

Zhu Xiu rubbed a layer of fine, hard stubble on his chin and said in a very embarrassed tone: "Lu Mengjun is a general of the Tang Army. Logically speaking, I am not qualified to punish him without permission, so I can only leave it to His Majesty.

General Han killed him, which makes it very difficult for me~~"

Han Lingkun gritted his teeth, knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists and said: "Everyone is responsible for what he does. It is a temporary obsession of the general, which is against military law. I am willing to bear all the responsibilities!"

"Oh my! I'm too serious! General Han, please get up quickly!" Zhu Xiu helped him up and persuaded him to sit down.

Han Lingkun lowered his head and sighed, looking worried.

Zhu Xiu comforted and said: "As the saying goes, 'A sword is given to a righteous man, and a beauty is matched with a hero.' General Han is a hero of the world, so naturally there are many beauties who favor him! I can also understand personal relationships."

Han Lingkun glanced at him, lowered his head and smiled bitterly.

Zhu Xiu thought for a while, "It's just that Lu Mengjun was captured alive and brought back to Yangzhou. There were many people who witnessed it. When the court sent people to take over the prisoners, they found that he was dead. It is really unjustifiable if we don't find a suitable reason."

Han Lingkun was stunned and couldn't believe it: "The implication of Vice Admiral Zhu's words is that he will not hold the general responsible for his crimes?"

Zhu Xiu smiled: "This matter can be big or small, it depends on how to operate it. In my opinion, Lu Mengjun's death is not a pity, and there is no need to feel guilty about it! General Han has made many contributions in the Huainan War, that Yang’s beauty should be given to General Han as a reward!”

"Deputy Commander Zhu," Han Lingkun clasped his fists and pursed his lips. He felt quite pleased and was too excited to speak.

Zhu Xiu added: "Of course, Lu Mengjun's death should be reported to the court truthfully. It cannot be said that it was because of Mrs. Yang, let alone that he was killed by General Han."

Han Lingkun opened his eyes wide and said, "Then how should I explain it to the court?"

Zhu Xiu rubbed his stubble, and said with a smile: "That's all right, let's say that I came to Yangzhou to interrogate Lu Mengjun, and that guy was full of obscenities and insults. I will show his head to the public in a fit of anger!"

Han Lingkun never expected that Zhu Xiu would be willing to take the blame for him. He was startled and said hurriedly: "No, no! Absolutely no! This matter all happened because of Han. How can you ask Deputy Commander Zhu to take the responsibility for Han?"

Zhu Xiu smiled nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter. If Lu Mengjun dies in my hands, if His Majesty finds out, he will only reprimand me and fine me a year's salary."

Han Lingkun wanted to say something else. Zhu Xiu waved his hand and said: "The focus of this matter is not whether Lu Mengjun is dead or alive, but about military law and court rules! Disposing of enemy captured generals without the permission of the court is a violation of military law at best. At a serious level, it could be said to be contempt of the imperial court or even deception!

Therefore, General Han had to hide Yang's daughter better and try not to let her appear in public. After the news passed, no one would pursue the matter. "

Han Lingkun's eyes were full of gratitude, and he clasped his fists heavily: "Deputy Commander Zhu is so kind to me, I will never forget it!"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "You and I are both colleagues in the front office of the palace and colleagues in the Southern Expedition. We should share weal and woe! This matter has been decided. General Han does not need to take it too seriously. The war in Huainan has not yet been decided, and I am not here. We still need to rely more on the general!”

Han Lingkun said in a deep voice: "As Vice Admiral Zhu ordered the flag, the general will go through fire and water and die in the service of His Majesty and the imperial court!"

After solving a big problem that was weighing on his heart, Han Lingkun felt much more relaxed both physically and mentally. The sadness on his face disappeared, and he felt as if he was in high spirits at a happy event.

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "The Yang family will inevitably attract attention if they stay in Yangzhou. I ordered Wu Desi to send someone to take the post road in the name of an official family member and send him back to General Han's house in Kaifeng."

Han Lingkun said: "It all depends on Deputy Commander Zhu's arrangement. I will thank Yang on my behalf!"

"Haha, but General Han needs to write a letter and send it back to Kaifeng in advance to let his wife know about it, so as not to know how to get along when they meet." Zhu Xiu joked.

Han Lingkun said sheepishly: "My wife, Mrs. Li, has always been frail and sickly. After giving birth to a son and a daughter a few years ago, she has been bedridden to recuperate. For many years, she has been persuading me to have more concubines in order to expand the family. Regarding Yang's affairs, The general has already sent his generals back to Kaifeng to report the incident."

Zhu Xiu nodded and sighed: "My wife is virtuous and reasonable. The general is really a blessed person."

The two briefly chatted from their parents' home about the war in Huainan, the changes in ancient and modern times, civil and military affairs. The more they chatted, the more they seemed to get along, and they even forgot about the passage of time. Even breakfast and lunch were delivered to the hospital by the guards, and they ate while chatting.

In the afternoon, Ma Xichong and several parents of prominent Yangzhou families came to visit.

Zhu Xiu met in the hall and chatted all afternoon. It was a great time for both host and guest.This meeting also represented the Great Zhou court to appease the hearts of the Yangzhou gentry, saying that the Great Zhou Dynasty would attach great importance to the regional development of Yangzhou and protect the wealth of the local gentry and landlords.

Ma Xichong and a group of Yangzhou gentry patriarchs were naturally full of joy and rushed to express their support for Zhou's legal rule in Yangzhou. They also hoped that the imperial court would dispatch officials to govern Yangzhou as soon as possible.

The former King of Chu, Ma Xichong, is now a fat, middle-aged man with a big belly. He no longer has the majesty of the past. He looks like an ordinary rich man with a cautious smile.

Back then, the Ma clan was so powerful and prestige in Hunan. When Southern Chu was at its peak, it occupied 29 states, and even the Southern Tang Dynasty had to give way to three points of its prosperity.

Unfortunately, since the death of Ma Yin, the old king of Chu, the Ma brothers have fallen into internal fighting, and the political situation in Southern Chu has become more and more corrupt day by day.

Li Jing sent Bian Hao to attack several times, and finally completely defeated the Ma family's regime, and Southern Chu fell into pieces.

The last King of Chu, Ma Xichong, surrendered to the Southern Tang Dynasty and moved to Yangzhou to settle. The other Ma clan members were displaced and could not escape their bad luck.

Zhu Xiu looked at Ma Xichong who was like a frightened bird, and couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

This is the final fate of most princes in troubled times.

As for Ma Xichong's ending, it was pretty good among the various family separatist forces in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Just over 100 miles east of Yangzhou City, there is the Yongning Palace in Hailing City, Taizhou, where the Yang family of the Southern Wu Dynasty was imprisoned by Li Jing in the past.

For more than twenty years, the Yang clan has never set foot outside Yongning Palace.

Li Jing did not even allow the Yang clan members to marry outsiders. Over the years, the marriages between men and women in the Yang clan gave birth to many freaks and deformities. Yongning Palace was regarded as a ghost place by the local people in Hailing, and they talked about it with disgrace.

Even Wu Yue Kingdom could not stand the tragic end of the Yang family. Qian Hongchu, the king of Wu Yue, also took the initiative to express his willingness to accept the Yang family, but it was a pity that Li Jing ignored it.

At that time, Yang Xingmi, the Taizu of the Southern Wu Dynasty, came from a humble background. He traveled across the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers with his bravery and proficiency in warfare. After countless bloody battles, he laid the foundation and created decades of peace for the Jianghuai area.

To this day, people in Jianghuai even secretly hang portraits of Yang Xingmi and worship him devoutly during the four seasons to express their gratitude for the benevolent policies he implemented during his administration, which allowed the people to live a good life for several years.

It's a pity that after his death, the Yang clan members were treated like livestock.

At the end of July, Li Jing, the lord of the Tang Dynasty, was afraid that the Zhou army would capture Taizhou and rescue the Yang royal family. He sent Yin Yanfan, the envoy of Yuanyuan, to lead a forbidden army to Hailing secretly, killing more than [-] Yang men and bringing the remaining women and children back to Jiangning to serve as emperors. Military prostitute.

The Yang family of Southern Wu was exterminated.

Compared with Yang, Ma Xichong is undoubtedly much luckier.

In early August, Han Lingkun successfully captured Taizhou, and Taizhou governor Fang Ne fled back to Jiangning with his family.

The Wuyue navy stationed troops in Jiangyin and was heavily besieged by the Tang army. Qian Hongchu, the king of Wuyue, wrote a personal letter to Zhu Xiu asking for help.

Wu Yue was a vassal state, and under the orders of the Emperor of Zhou Dynasty, he attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty, captured Changzhou, and restrained the Southern Tang navy from landing on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and heading north, which can be regarded as an outstanding achievement.

Qian Hongchu begged for reinforcements, but Zhu Xiu could not sit idly by and led his army to Jiangyin to rescue.

At the same time, Chuzhou Cha Baojing asked Jiang Ning for help.

Several months after the Zhou army invaded Chuzhou, the entire Jiangning court thought that the Tang army in Chuzhou had been destroyed. Unexpectedly, they suddenly received a request for help from Zha Baojing.

It turned out that the Tang army was still struggling to support Chuzhou, relying on the advantage of the water network to deal with the Zhou army.

Li Jing was overjoyed. He never expected that the humble Chuzhou became one of the few bright spots in the entire Jiangbei war in the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Li Jing immediately thought of building Chuzhou into the second Shouchun and using it as a nail wedged in the rear of the Zhou army to contain the Zhou army.

Therefore, at the suggestion of Xu Wenzhen, the envoy to the west camp, Jianyong was recruited and the Forbidden Army generals Zheng Yanhua and Lin Renhan were sent to lead a force of more than [-] troops across the river from Baisha Ferry and secretly rushed to Chuzhou for rescue.

Zheng Yanhua and Lin Renhan were both known for their bravery. They had previously defeated Wang Kui's troops in Langzhou, and were urgently transferred back to Jiangning by Li Jing to participate in the Huainan War.

Lin Renhan is the elder brother of Lin Renzhao, the new military governor of Zhenhai.

Lin Renzhao led the Tang army to fight steadily in Luzhou, Shuzhou and other places, and approached Shouchun step by step. Li Jing put all his hopes of rescuing Shouchun on him.

A few days later, a fast horse rushed to Liuhe to report the Tang army's movements.

After Zhao Kuangyin won the great victory in Liuhe, he left Han Chongyun to garrison here, and he and his father Zhao Hongyin led the army back to Chuzhou to garrison.

When Zhao Hongyin came to Liuhe, he brought one person, Zhao Kuangyi, to join the army as counselor.

Zhao Kuangyi also requested to stay in Liuhe, and Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Hongyin agreed after discussing it.

At the head of Liuhe City, Zhao Kuangyi is holding a sketch and is supervising the repair of the city defense by the peasants.

This is the first time he has really participated in military affairs at the age of 17. Zhao Kuangyi is very excited and studies hard, making rapid progress.

With his assistance in handling the garrison affairs, Han Chongyun felt much more relaxed.

"There is an urgent military situation, please see General Han!" Under the city, a fast horse rushed into the city, and the sergeant shouted.

Zhao Kuangyi lay on the wall and looked down, while Han Chongyun also walked down from the tower.

"Erlang, what happened?" Han Chongyun asked.

Zhao Kuangyi shook his head: "I don't know either, it seems to be Tan Ma rushing back from Baisha Ferry."

"Oh? Could it be that we found traces of the Tang army?" Han Chongyun ran down the road to the city in excitement.

Zhao Kuangyi followed closely behind.

"Report to General Han that a large group of soldiers and horses were found fifty miles north of Baisha Ferry, suspected to be Tang troops!" The sergeant knelt on one knee and raised his hands to report urgently.

"What do you mean by suspicion?" Han Chongyun cursed, took the emergency report and opened it to read.

Zhao Kuangyi also leaned over to take a closer look.

"Thousands of soldiers and horses, under the banner of Suzhou Zhenhuai Army?"

Han Chongyun murmured suspiciously.

The sergeant who reported the news swallowed his saliva: "General, it seems that the troops crossed the river from Baisha at night, and then went all the way north to the west of Tianchang County."

"What tricks is Zhu Xiu up to again?" Han Chongyun snorted heavily in his nose.

Since it was the banner of the Suppressing Huai Army, he was naturally Zhu Xiu's subordinate, and Han Chongyun had no doubt that he was there.

Zhao Kuangyi frowned and said, "Could it be that Tang Jun is pretending?"

Han Chongyun sneered and said: "Impossible! The Tang army retreated to Jiangning, how could they dare to cross the river! It must be Zhu Xiu who is up to something!
He is the head coach, so if he has any merit, he must first think about suppressing the Huai Army. After all, he is his biological son.Without prior notice, I understand that I don’t want us to interfere. "

Han Chongyun tore up the emergency report and threw it away, scattering the scraps of paper in the air.

Zhao Kuangyi felt something was wrong, "In my opinion, it's better to send someone to report it to Chuzhou."

Han Chongyun said carelessly: "No need, we only need to guard Liuhe, there is no need to worry about the rest. Let's go, Erlang will play a few games of chess with his brother."

(End of this chapter)