Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 482 The Chaos in Weibo (A long chapter of 10,000 words)
"What did you say?"

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of the first year of Qianfu, after Ge Congzhou attacked halfway across the river, defeated Husi Guang and rescued more than 4,000 soldiers including Zhang Guihou and Pang Shigu, he learned from Zhang Guihou about the power of the Han army's magic arts during his retreat south.

"If Liu Jilong's men are truly capable, it's no wonder that the imperial court has repeatedly failed to gain the upper hand in its battles against them and even lost five of the Guanzhong Plains."

Ge Congzhou's expression was solemn; he had never heard of such a siege tactic before.

Seeing that they remained silent, Pang Shigu took the initiative to speak, saying, "Their methods are somewhat similar to the fireworks of Huainan."

"However, fireworks are not very powerful and can only be used to burn down houses inside the city, while this method can directly blow up the city walls."

"With such power, I'm afraid only the prefectural capitals in the town can withstand it, and the government troops are exceptionally elite on the battlefield, so I'm afraid they will have a hard time fighting them."

Pang Shigu's words made Ge Congzhou and Zhang Guiba's already solemn expressions even more serious.

If the government troops are indeed using such methods, then the various prefectures and counties will find it difficult to stop them, and they will have to find other ways.

Where should we retreat to now? Po Tai?

Zhang Guihou looked slightly nervous, but Ge Congzhou did not hesitate: "No, if Bohai cannot be defended, Putai certainly cannot be defended either."

"The government troops have already captured Cangzhou and Dezhou, and there are tens of thousands of people in Dizhou who supply them with money and food. Fighting them in Dizhou would be disadvantageous for our army."

Zhang Guiba nodded in agreement, saying, "It is indeed unfavorable. Why not fortify the city and relocate the people to Yanzhou?"

“No!” Ge Congzhou continued to shake his head and said, “Not only can we not relocate the people, we must also find a way to drive them north of Zichuan and Yidu.”

"Why is that?" Zhang Guiba was quite familiar with Ge Congzhou, but he didn't understand why Ge Congzhou did this.

Seeing this, Ge Congzhou explained, "The government troops' provisions are currently entirely supplied by Qizhou, Cangzhou, and Dezhou."

"More than 100,000 people from Dizhou were relocated to Zizhou and Qingzhou, which already had hundreds of thousands of people."

"As long as our army forcibly requisitions grain and fodder from various prefectures and counties and sends them to Zichuan and Yidu, then the government army will only be able to feed these hundreds of thousands of people."

"If the military commander can launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou and achieve great success, the government troops will inevitably run out of food and supplies. However, the snow is difficult to melt now, and the government troops will inevitably run out of food and supplies."

"Our army held firm in Yidu and Zichuan, waiting for the government troops to lose morale before launching a counterattack and defeating them."

Ge Congzhou prepared to launch a defensive counterattack. Upon hearing this, Zhang Guiba nodded and said, "In that case, I will lead 10,000 troops to garrison Yidu."

“Good!” Ge Congzhou nodded, but then instructed, “Although the city walls of Zichuan and Yidu are made of brick and are extremely sturdy, they are not thick enough.”

"If we are stationed in Yidu, we should dig tunnels in advance and set up more trenches. We can pour water on them to freeze them, so that the government troops will slip into the trenches without any warning."

"I understand." Zhang Guiba nodded in agreement, and then discussed the division of troops with Ge Congzhou.

Finally, after discussion between the two, Zhang Guiba led his own troops, along with Zhang Guihou, Pang Shigu, and other troops, totaling more than 12,000 people, to retreat to Yidu.

Ge Congzhou gathered troops within Zizhou and amassed 12,000 men to retreat to Zichuan to hold the line.

After agreeing on their plans, the two parted ways and headed to Zichuan and Yidu respectively.

The following day, Wang Shi led his army south to occupy Putai and sent out cavalry to scout out Ge Congzhou's whereabouts.

Upon learning that Ge Congzhou had divided his troops and retreated to Zichuan and Yidu, he did not rashly divide his troops, but instead steadily advanced towards the counties north of Zichuan and Yidu.

While he was leading his army into Zibo and Qingzhou, Zhu Wen had already led his troops into Yunzhou.

"kill!!"

"Um..."

Zhu Wen traveled a hundred miles overnight and rested briefly in Zhongdu for four hours before launching a surprise attack on Shouzhang in Yunzhou under the cover of darkness.

Ten thousand troops arrived at the walls of Shouzhang at dawn. Zhu Wen surrounded Shouzhang with five thousand armored soldiers and sent five thousand light soldiers to plunder the people near Shouzhang and demolish their houses to build cloud chariots, battering chariots and Lü Gong chariots.

When noon arrived, Zhu Wen dispatched light troops to escort the abducted people towards Shouzhang City in cloud-borne chariots.

The walls of Shouzhang were no more than ten feet high and no more than fifteen feet thick, and the garrison numbered no more than a thousand.

For a time, they could only hold the city walls and dared not go out to fight.

Faced with the people pushing the siege engines, they fought back with bows and crossbows, urging the people to abandon their siege weapons and flee to the base of the city walls.

Many civilians did as instructed, and the light infantrymen who pursued them were killed by the Han army with crossbows.

In a short time, tens of thousands of people gathered at the foot of the Shouzhang city wall.

"General, these light soldiers are indeed cowardly and dare not advance."

"There are only a thousand or so government troops in the city. Why don't I lead two thousand troops to launch a strong attack?"

Outside Shou Zhang City, the two generals behind Zhu Wen spoke one after the other, but Zhu Wen looked sharply at the low-lying Shou Zhang City and shook his head, saying, "No!"

"How much food do you think the Han army in this city has?"

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged glances and nervously replied, "I'm afraid there won't be much. After all, most of the government troops are in the east, and Shouzhang is not an important city in Yunzhou. Even if there is food, it probably won't be much."

“That’s right!” Zhu Wen nodded, then said, “They don’t have much food, and most of their troops are in the east. If they take in tens of thousands of civilians, how many days can the city hold out?”

Their eyes lit up, but then they said sadly, "How can we convince them to accept these tens of thousands of people?"

"Naturally, it will be our army that withdraws," Zhu Wen said calmly, then, before the two could speak, he raised his hand and said:
"Order the three armies to retreat and set up camp fifteen miles to the southwest. There is no need to leave any troops behind."

"In addition, five hundred cavalrymen from the army were divided into garrison cavalry and stationed in places such as Xuchang, Yuncheng, Fanxian, Yanggu, and Dong'e to investigate the movements of the government troops."

"Yes!" Both of them agreed, while Zhu Wen gazed at Shou Zhang City with ambition.

He intended to use this low-lying city as a lure to draw in troops from various counties in Yunzhou, and even from Caozhou, Puzhou, and Qizhou, severely damaging all the troops surrounding Yunzhou, and then cutting off the retreat of Wang Shi's tens of thousands of troops.

Zhu Wen began to withdraw his troops, but the surrounding counties were unaware of this until noon when merchants from the direction of Shouzhang did not appear as usual. Only then did the counties realize that something was wrong.

Each county dispatched its own outpost troops, and after suffering heavy losses, they quickly learned that Shouzhang County was surrounded by Zhu Wen's large army, numbering nearly ten thousand.

The Han army stationed no more than 5,000 troops in Yunzhou. After learning of Zhu Wen's surprise attack on Shouzhang, the garrison commander Zhang Wen immediately sent a fast horse to Luoyang and Zizhou to deliver the news.

At the same time, he gathered troops from Xuchang, Yanggu, and Dong'e counties, and assembled 3,000 Han soldiers to march south, stationing them 15 li north of Shouzhang County.

Upon receiving the news, Zhu Wen, who had led his army to camp, immediately summoned his generals and gave instructions in his tent:

"Li Tangbin, you shall lead five thousand light soldiers to drive away the civilians captured by our army today and proceed to attack Shouzhang."

"If the Xuchang government troops come to attack, you should fight them and then retreat in defeat."

"If you are defeated, flee along the Ji River towards the Great Wild Marsh. Don't worry about the light soldiers being killed, understand?"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Li Tangbin bowed and accepted without hesitation, while Zhu Wen then looked at another person:
"Zhu Zhen, you shall lead two thousand armored soldiers and bypass Fan County to Yanggu and Dong'e in the north. If there are no defenders in the city, attack and capture it."

"If the government troops return to reinforce, you shall lead your troops to fight them. If you are at a disadvantage, retreat and do not linger."

"This subordinate obeys!" Zhu Zhen accepted the order without question.

Seeing that Li Tangbin knew what he should do, Zhu Wen instructed again: "There is no need to hide your whereabouts along the way. I just want the government troops to know that our army is taking a detour to attack Yanggu and Dong'e."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Wen's eyes flashed: "If this battle is successful, it will cut off the throat of the government troops!"

"Yes!!"

Upon receiving the order, the two immediately began to organize their troops and led them out of the camp.

Seeing them lead their troops away, Zhu Wen immediately led his troops to the northern part of Dayeze.

However, unlike his instruction to the two not to conceal their whereabouts, he concealed his whereabouts completely, leaving troops specifically to clean up the traces left by the army's march.

An hour later, as Li Tangbin led 5,000 light soldiers and brought tens of thousands of civilians back to the walls of Shouzhang, the civilians who had been driven to the city walls the day before were indeed taken into the city by the garrison.

Seeing this, Li Tangbin used the same tactic again, and the city's garrison, seeing this, also used crossbows to repel the Yanzhou navy, just as they had done the day before.

Li Tangbin dispatched 5,000 light soldiers to the four gates, intending to completely surround Shouzhang City.

Zhang Wen, who lived more than ten miles north of Shouzhang City, soon learned that Shouzhang had been besieged again.

How many soldiers do they have?

Inside the tent, Commandant Zhang Wen asked the cavalry captain in front of him, who bowed and said, "The number will not exceed five thousand, and most of them are light soldiers wearing battle jackets and fur coats. I did not see any soldiers wearing armor collars."

Upon hearing this, the generals on either side all looked at Zhang Wen, who frowned slightly: "Since I joined the army in the third year of the lunar calendar, I have fought alongside Your Highness and the Commander-in-Chief for more than ten years, and I have never seen anyone dare to attack a city without armor."

"Moreover, General He in the city once said that the enemy force he saw on the battlefield numbered no less than ten thousand. Now we only see five thousand enemy soldiers. What does that mean?"

Zhang Wen was cautious and did not immediately send troops to attack the Yanhai Army outside Shouzhang City. Instead, he instructed the Tangqi Colonel:

"You lead your cavalry to Shou Zhang and see if you can find their camp and how many soldiers are left behind."

"Yes!" The captain bowed in response, then stepped out of the tent and led the cavalry to search.

Half an hour later, the cavalry headed south and found the Yanhai Army's camp, but the camp was empty and all the tents had been taken away.

In addition, there were two trails outside the camp, one heading northwest and the other towards Shouzhang.

The scouts, having ascertained the information, hurriedly returned to camp to report to Zhang Wen. Upon learning this, Zhang Wen immediately sensed something was amiss: "Those bastards! They're using a feint!"

He immediately stood up and looked at the two subordinate generals: "Liu Zong, you lead your troops north to reinforce Yanggu and Dong'e. You must not lose these two counties."

"Zhao Mingru dispatched a fast horse to summon the troops from Yuncheng to the north, so that they can join forces with our army to launch a pincer attack on the enemy forces in Shouzhang at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

"Yes!" The two agreed. Subsequently, half of the three thousand troops were taken away, leaving less than three hundred elite cavalry and one thousand two hundred infantry to continue garrisoning on the east bank of the Ji River.

Li Tangbin, who was besieging Shouzhang, tried to send troops to investigate the situation of the Han army, but they were all shot and killed by the patrolling cavalry outside the Han army camp.

The day passed quickly, and just before dusk, an urgent report came from the north.

"At noon, more than two thousand enemy troops suddenly appeared outside Yanggu County, and Yanggu County was captured by the enemy."

"When Liu Zong led his troops to fight the enemy in Yanggu, the enemy saw that the situation was unfavorable and set fire to Yanggu County before retreating. Many civilians in the city were killed or injured."

Upon receiving the military report delivered by fast horse, Zhang Wen's face turned grim. He knew that Yanggu County had been burned down and he would definitely be held accountable, which made him somewhat anxious.

"Send an order to Liu Zong, instructing him to lead his troops to hold Dong'e and Yanggu, and not to march south to reinforce them."

After giving his orders, he looked at General Zhao Ming and asked, "Why haven't the troops from Yuncheng arrived yet?"

Yuncheng is only about forty li away from Shouzhang. Given the speed of the Han army's march, they should have arrived long ago, but they have yet to be seen.

Just as Zhao Ming was about to speak, he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from outside the tent again.

A fast horse, its rider covered in mud and snow, entered the tent, panting heavily. "The troops from Yuncheng marched north, but were ambushed by several thousand enemy soldiers while passing through Dayeze. They suffered heavy casualties. General Li Zhi has led his troops south to retreat to Yuncheng."

"You pig-dog bastard!!"

Upon hearing this, even if Zhang Wen was slow to react, he knew that he had been tricked by Zhu Quanzhong.

Seeing how angry he was, Zhao Ming worried that he might do something irrational, so he quickly said:
"There are no reinforcements at the moment, and there are several thousand enemy troops in Dayeze to the south, and enemy troops in Yanggu County are also moving south. Our army should withdraw to Xuchang to avoid being attacked."

After Zhao Ming calmed him down, Zhang Wen gradually quieted down and could only order a retreat to Xuchang.

After they retreated, the Han army, whose morale was originally high in Shouzhang City, was inevitably taken aback.

Upon his triumphant return, Zhu Wen led his army north. After learning of Zhang Wen's withdrawal, he immediately withdrew Li Tangbin's troops, intending to continue using the city of Shouzhang to draw Han troops to their aid.

"Nonsense!"

The fast horse sent from Yunzhou to request reinforcements arrived first in Songzhou, the closest city. Li Yangchun, who had just returned from the military warehouse, frowned upon hearing the news and immediately began to reprimand them.

He took the military report, and after reading it, he couldn't help but curse, "The enemy has ten thousand men. They should have asked for reinforcements and held their ground. Who told them to lead their troops out of the city?"

Li Yangchun was unaware of the outcome of Zhang Wen's army's rush to aid Shouzhang, but he had already guessed it.

"Commander, our army is valiant, and Zhang Dalang is a veteran general. Three thousand against ten thousand is not without a chance of victory..."

The captain behind Li Yangchun couldn't help but speak up, but Li Yangchun looked at him coldly:

"The bravery of our army depends on who commands it. If Zhang Wenruo is so capable, why did he only barely become a captain after ten years of military service?"

"If he leads three thousand troops to charge into battle overnight and catches Zhu Quanzhong off guard, I will naturally not reprimand him."

"However, after they gathered their troops and marched south, instead of taking advantage of the high morale of their army to launch an attack, they set up camp on the Ji River. What is the reason for this?"

"Although Zhu Quanzhong is young, he is cunning and resourceful. He has been in the army and fought as many battles as Zhang Wen. What makes him think he can defeat Zhu Quanzhong?"

Li Yangchun's words caused the three captains in front of him to lower their heads, because they knew that Li Yangchun was right.

Ten years ago, the Han army was still confined to Longyou, but starting from the time they broke ties with the court six years ago, all the capable generals have risen to prominence through their military achievements.

An Pohu, Zhang Wu, Li Yangchun, Ma Yi, Gao Huai, Gao Shu and others rose to power by taking advantage of the situation.

Zhang Wen was more senior than Li Yangchun, but Li Yangchun was now the military governor of Tianping Army, while Zhang Wen was only a captain.

Seeing that the three of them no longer objected, Li Yangchun, who rarely lost his temper, took a deep breath. Knowing the importance of Yunzhou, he quickly gave the order:

"Issue the order: Commander Zhang Jing will lead 5,000 cavalry and infantry to attack Yanzhou, while I will personally lead the remaining troops to rush to the aid of Yunzhou."

Upon hearing this, the three captains hurriedly said, "His Highness only ordered our army to hold Tianping and protect Songzhou, but did not order our army to attack Yanzhou. Is this...?"

Li Yangchun interrupted him, saying, "When a general is in the field, he may disobey orders. The strategy of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' is a good one."

"If Your Highness wishes to punish me, I will bear the consequences myself; there is no need for you to share the burden!"

Since Li Yangchun had said so, the three captains had no choice but to follow his orders and begin breaking camp.

Two hours later, 15,000 troops outside Songcheng County split up and headed towards Yunzhou and Yanzhou.

As Li Yangchun set off, Zhu Wen, holding a torch, gazed at the tent in front of him at the Yanhai Army camp, more than ten miles south of Shouzhang City.

Inside the tent were more than three hundred sets of Han army armor. Many of the armors were twisted and deformed, but it was still clear that they were of very high quality.

"General, this armor is thicker than that worn by company commanders and colonels. Why not give it to your men?"

Li Tangbin offered his suggestion with envy, but Zhu Wen shook his head and said, "No!"

"I intend to give these armors to Han Junxiong of Weibo and Wang Jingchong of Chengde."

"What?" Li Tangbin was puzzled. Such fine armor would take at least two months to forge, given the craftsmanship of the artisans in Yanhai Town. Now, it was being given away as a gift.

“That’s right!” Zhu Wen answered without hesitation, then ordered, “Have the brothers prepare carts and horses and send them north of the Yellow River tonight.”

"Tell Han Junxiong and Wang Jingchong that if I perish, they will not fare well either!"

Zhu Wen never believed that he could win with his meager strength. Even if he won in Yunzhou, the casualties of a few hundred men were nothing to the Han army.

If no one helps him, once Liu Jilong and Wang Shi realize what's happening, they will surely gather tens of thousands of troops to attack.

He had a general idea of ​​the strength of the Han army.

Today, he led 3,000 troops to ambush 1,000 Han soldiers in Yuncheng. Even though the Han soldiers were already surrounded, they were still able to break through the encirclement and head south.

Although they killed more than 340 Han soldiers, they suffered more casualties than the Han soldiers, with more than 460 dying in battle.

With such quality, Ge Congzhou and his men in the north would probably find it difficult to hold out, and may have already begun to retreat.

If no other regional warlords intervene, he will certainly find it difficult to continue.

"This is a letter from me. Make several copies and send them to the governors of the various prefectures in Weibo and Chengde. It would be best if the officers and soldiers also knew about it."

"Yes." Li Tangbin didn't understand why Zhu Wen would do this, but since Zhu Wen had led them to victory in this battle, he could only do as he was told.

Soon, the three hundred sets of armor were sent north by more than one hundred Yanzhou naval soldiers and three hundred captured laborers.

The following morning, as dawn broke, memorials were received from Yunzhou and Songzhou in Luoyang.

In addition, Zhu Wen ordered a fast horse to secretly deliver the document to Luoyang. Subsequently, under Xie Tong's influence, the "Memorial Requesting the Execution of Liu Jilong to Rectify the Foundation of the State" also appeared in Luoyang.

"Your Majesty has succeeded to the throne and has been working diligently to govern the country. However, the world is in turmoil and the people are suffering. This is all because the treacherous minister Liu Jilong has usurped power and obscured the wisdom of the Emperor."

“After Emperor Long’s persecution of loyal officials, he monopolized power, excluded dissidents, appointed scoundrels, reformed the two-tax system, exploited the people, arbitrarily changed old regulations, and undermined the defenses of the provinces.”

“Whenever Ji Long presented a memorial, he would dismiss those around him, isolating the emperor and his ministers. He would outwardly claim to be reforming the government, but inwardly he would be usurping power, thus preventing Your Majesty’s virtuous influence from reaching all corners of the land.”

"If Your Majesty recognizes our foolish loyalty and eliminates this scourge of the nation, we will immediately surrender and return to the court, forever upholding our loyalty as subjects."

"If we continue to believe slanderous and treacherous officials, the soldiers will be resentful and may even take drastic measures to eliminate dissidents, which is not what I desire!"

"I respectfully submit this report and await Your Majesty's decision."

Inside the Prince of Han's residence, Xiao Gou, Liu Zhan, Gao Jinda, and others remained silent, while Lu Guimeng read the memorial with cold sweat pouring down his face.

To show his stance, Lu Guimeng suppressed his discomfort and spoke sarcastically:

"Does Zhu Quanzhong think that a single memorial can incite the various towns to rebel?"

Seeing that Lu Guimeng was the first to express his opinion, Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan hurriedly bowed to Liu Jilong: "Your Majesty has not seen this memorial, please make a judgment."

"Your Highness, should the court issue a rebuttal?"

The two were genuinely worried that Zhu Wen would make Liu Jilong suspicious of Li Yi, ultimately leading to an undignified end for Li Yi.

Amidst the worried gazes of the two, Liu Jilong remained calm and composed.
“I know His Majesty’s temperament well and know that he has no intention of doing so, so you two need not worry.”

After comforting Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan, Liu Jilong picked up the military reports from Yunzhou and Li Yangchun, and Gao Jinda also spoke up:

"Zhu Quanzhong must have had a plan when he led his troops to launch a surprise attack on Yunzhou."

"Although Li Qiebiao is currently leading his troops towards Yunzhou, should we mobilize more troops?"

Qie Biao is Li Yangchun's courtesy name. Gao Jinda was obviously worried that Li Yangchun couldn't handle Liu Jilong, but Liu Jilong was well aware of his student's strength.

Compared to cavalry generals like Gao Huai and Ma Yi, who were known for their bravery, Li Yangchun and Gao Shu were known for their military strategy, with Li Yangchun being far superior to Gao Shu.

Otherwise, Liu Jilong wouldn't have allowed Li Yangchun to lead his army eastward and appoint him as the military governor of Tianping. Liu Jilong was quite supportive of Li Yangchun's decision to divide his forces to attack Yanzhou.

"Zhu Wen's army numbered no more than ten thousand. As the military governor of Tianping, Qie Biao could control the various prefectures of Tianping, and the four prefectures of Tianping still had twenty thousand troops that could be dispatched from the city, which was enough to defeat Zhu Wen."

"What I am worried about right now is that Weibo and Chengde will be misled by them and cause trouble."

Zhu Wen's methods of forming alliances and counter-alliances are among the best in history; otherwise, given the strategic locations he rose to power in, he would have been conquered long ago.

Although Zhu Wen has not yet reached his peak, judging from his experience and methods over the past few years, leaving him alone could indeed lead to great things.

This is also why Liu Jilong immediately attacked the Tianping Army and the Yichang Army after he had sufficient food supplies in the Central Plains, in order to completely isolate Zhu Wen.

This fellow has many tricks up his sleeve, but lacking strength is simply a lack of strength. With the Han army now fully assembled, Zhu Wen's defeat and death are only a matter of time.

The only two variables are the towns of Weibo and Chengde, while Lulong certainly has no energy to get involved in matters in the south.

"Your Highness, why not feign permission to grant favors to the subjects of Weibo and Chengde, promising their military officers high-ranking positions and generous salaries, thus temporarily appeasing them?"

Liu Zhan offered his advice, but Liu Jilong shook his head after listening.

Although Liu Jilong has not yet dealt with the powerful families of Guandong, he has been taking down one after another the military commanders and soldiers of the Guandong warlords.

It could be said that his reputation was fairly good among aristocratic families, but among the regional military governors, his reputation was utterly infamous.

The military governor and his generals might want to surrender, but the soldiers would never.

Liu Jilong wanted to take back the land but also wouldn't let them join the army. Since they were not good at managing or farming, the conflict between the two sides was destined to be a vicious cycle.

The soldiers were unwilling to surrender, and if the generals and governors dared to speak up, given the prevailing customs in Hebei, a new batch of generals and governors would likely be replaced the very next day.

That's why, and given Zhu Wen's methods, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the customs and practices in Hebei, so he would definitely have made multiple preparations.

As long as the soldiers make a fuss, even if Han Junxiong and Wang Jingchong don't want to fight, they will have no choice but to go to war.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong took a deep breath: "Order Cui Shu to guard the surroundings closely and urge Cao Mao to go to Daibei as soon as possible."

"In addition, 10,000 infantrymen from Guanzhong were transferred to Luoyang, and then the Left and Right Feathered Forest Army, the Dragon Martial Army, and the Divine Martial Army were transferred to Zhengzhou to garrison."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda replied respectfully, while Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan exchanged a subtle glance.

Clearly, Liu Jilong believed that Wei Bo and Cheng De were very likely to take this opportunity to cause trouble.

Lost in thought, the two were at a loss for words, while Liu Jilong offered them tea, gesturing for them to leave.

"Your subject (so-and-so) takes his leave..."

The others withdrew one after another, leaving only Lu Guimeng beside Liu Jilong.

Seeing them leave, Lu Guimeng took the initiative to speak, "Your Highness, if Chengde and Weibo rebel, are you confident in your ability to quell the rebellion?"

"What do you think?" Liu Jilong asked Lu Guimeng in return. Lu Guimeng only thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "With Your Highness's abilities, you will surely be able to defeat them."

"That's exactly right." Liu Jilong was not modest at all, after all, he knew the background of Weibo and Chengde all too well.

The three towns of Hebei, like the Tang Dynasty under Li Chen and Li Cui, were actually using the facade of the past to cover up their current reality.

From the moment Chengde Town was defeated by Li Keyong and Weibo was defeated by Huang Chao, Liu Jilong became clear about the strength of the two towns.

If the two towns hold their ground, Liu Jilong might find it troublesome.

If they really dare to leave the town to fight, Liu Jilong will not let go of this opportunity to wipe out his soldiers and generals in one fell swoop.

First, take advantage of the peace to resolve the issue of the military and civilian officials, and then, when you are in power, resolve the issue of the powerful families.

"The funds and provisions of the towns in Guandong are still sufficient, especially in Guandong."

Liu Jilong inquired about the matter of money and provisions, since he needed enough laborers and sufficient food to attack Weibo, Chengde, and even Lulong.

"The grain and fodder in the various towns are still enough to last until the summer harvest next year. Even if they are not enough due to the war, they can be transported by water from Jiannan Road and Shannan West Road to Henan, and then transferred to Hedong and Hebei."

“Very good.” Liu Jilong nodded in response, then lowered his head to continue looking at the memorials.

But shortly after he lowered his head, he suddenly looked up at Lu Guimeng and said, "Lu Wang, you shall personally go and deliver a book to His Majesty."

"Send a book?" Lu Guimeng asked in confusion, but Liu Jilong got up and took a book from the study, handing it to Lu Guimeng.

Lu Guimeng's initial doubts vanished instantly upon seeing the book, and he nodded, saying, "Your Highness, rest assured, this book will surely be delivered to His Majesty."

He walked out with the books in his arms, and Liu Jilong watched him disappear before sitting back down and continuing to handle government affairs.

While he was handling state affairs, Gao Jinda and the other two also left the Han Prince's residence by carriage.

Gao Jinda returned to the Southern Office, while Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan headed towards Ziwei City without hesitation.

Half an hour later, as they entered the Zhenguan Hall, Li Yi, who was sitting restlessly on the golden platform inside, immediately stood up.

"How is it?" Li Yi asked anxiously. Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan felt a little disappointed, but still bowed and said, "The King of Han did not pursue the matter."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi exhaled the pent-up anger in his chest: "Excellent...excellent..."

Li Yi's current anxious and uneasy appearance is truly unlike that of an emperor.

Even though the two of them had given up on him, seeing him like this still made them feel unbearably sad.

"It is good that the King of Han knows me."

Li Yi felt as if he had survived a calamity, and his hatred for Zhu Quanzhong intensified.

If Zhu Quanzhong's memorial had fallen into the hands of someone with a narrow mind, it certainly wouldn't have allowed him to continue to feel comfortable.

Fortunately, Liu Jilong was magnanimous enough to save himself from suffering.

While relieved, Li Yi couldn't help but worry, saying, "How many more rebels like Zhu Quanzhong are there in the world?"

"If everyone were like this, how should I conduct myself?"

When will the marriage between the Prince of Han and my elder sister be settled?

Li Yi was somewhat anxious, while Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan bowed and said, "The Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices are already performing the Six Rites, and it will be at least February..."

"Can't we hurry?" Li Yi was indeed very anxious and urged, "It would be best to finish after the Lantern Festival, without any further delays!"

It is already the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which means that Li Yi has only given them one month to complete all the procedures.

This was naturally against etiquette, but they also knew that Guandong was becoming increasingly chaotic, so it would be best for Li Meiling to marry there as soon as possible.

"I will go to the Ministry of Personnel and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to urge them on this matter later."

Xiao Gou forced himself to speak, while Li Yi nodded in satisfaction and then waved his hand, saying, "I'll trouble you two gentlemen to get things done as soon as possible."

"We take our leave..."

Seeing Li Yi like this, the two could only sigh and leave. However, they had only been gone for a short while when Li Yi, who had just entered the side hall, heard the chanting outside the hall.

"Lu Guimeng, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Acting Gentleman of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, requests an audience with Your Majesty."

"Xuan!"

Li Yi spoke without hesitation, because he knew that Lu Guimeng's arrival must have been on Liu Jilong's orders.

He straightened his clothes, and then saw Lu Guimeng carrying a book walk into the side hall.

"Is Physician Lu here on the orders of the King of Han?"

Li Yi acted very kindly, but it was this kindness that made Lu Guimeng shake his head.

Li Yi's performance was truly unworthy of being the ruler to restore the Tang Dynasty; it seemed that Heaven intended to destroy the Tang.

"These are His Highness's annotations to the Records of the Three Kingdoms. If Your Majesty likes them, you may keep them and read them carefully."

"Well, I do like it. Thank you for your trouble, Prince Han."

Li Yi was taken aback. He hadn't expected Liu Jilong to send Lu Guimeng to deliver the book to him. After accepting the book, he wanted to ask something, but then he saw Lu Guimeng bowing respectfully.

"Your subject takes his leave..."

Lu Guimeng did not linger. He had already carefully read through the book on the way, and Li Yi was sure he could understand it.

Seeing him leave, Li Yi couldn't help but lick his dry lips, then picked up the book "Records of the Three Kingdoms" and began to read it.

As expected, although it is called a commentary, there are not many comments. The most comments are on Liu Shan, Cao Huan, and Sun Hao.

Even though Li Yi disliked governing, he could still sense that Liu Jilong was reminding him.

Li Yi felt his mouth was dry and a sense of powerlessness gradually rose in his heart.

He was well aware of the thoughts of the officials in the court and the countryside, but what could they possibly accomplish on their own?
Putting aside everything else, Liu Jilong's spies are basically everywhere inside and outside the palace. Even if he can win over some soldiers and officers, what use is it?
Following in the footsteps of Yuan Ziyou? But Liu Jilong was always guarded by more than a hundred armored soldiers whenever he went to court, not to mention that he was as brave as Xiang Yu, so how could he be stopped?

Li Yi had resigned himself to his fate; marrying his sister to save his life was his last hope.

He could only pretend not to understand the thoughts of these officials in the court, and spend his days playing to avoid their requests for an audience.

After a long while, Li Cui could only slowly close the book, looking frightened, and sat in his seat, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

His performance was soon reported to Ximen Junsui, Yang Gongqing, and Zhang Ying.

The three sat in a hall within the palace. After listening to the report from below, Ximen Jun said, "Zhang Lang is still too cautious. I observe that the young emperor lacks real talent and will certainly not dare to act rashly."

"Better safe than sorry." Zhang Ying nodded slightly and said to the kneeling eunuch in the hall, "Go down and receive your reward."

"This servant takes her leave..." The eunuch carefully left the hall, and Zhang Ying sent someone to deliver the message to the Prince of Han's residence.

After receiving the news, Liu Jilong did not lower his guard because of Li Yi's performance.

While he was testing the young emperor, the armor that Zhu Wen had sent to Weibo had already arrived in front of Han Junxiong.

Not only Han Junxiong, but also the governors of Weibo and other prefectures, as well as dozens of generals and officers with disdainful expressions.

"The armor of these mixed-race people from Guanzhong is quite thick."

"So what if it's thick-skinned? It can't even handle this group of traitors, and Zhu Quanzhong even drove it into Yunzhou."

"Hey! How many troops do you have, and how did you manage to get into Yunzhou?"

The officers and soldiers of Weibo spoke arrogantly, and some even asked questions, but their tone was very dismissive.

Upon hearing this, the captain of the Yanzhou Navy responsible for escorting the convoy immediately recalled Zhu Wen's instructions before the departure, and then took out the Yanzhou Navy's memorial and Zhu Wen's handwritten letter and handed them over.

"Our army has only 30,000 men. Now, our 20,000 troops are facing off against the government army of 50,000 men in Zibo and Qingzhou. 5,000 are defending Xuzhou and Sizhou, and only 5,000 are following the commander to attack Yunzhou."

"Thirty thousand?"

"Damn it, 30,000 men have already dealt with that Liu slave like this. If we were to fight him, wouldn't the Liu slave have to send over 100,000 troops to attack?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The officers and soldiers of Wei Bo kept laughing, while Han Junxiong frowned as he took the memorial and the handwritten letter. After briefly reading the memorial, he opened the handwritten letter and began to read it.

The letter, spanning three pages, simply stated that Zhu Wen claimed the Han army's strength was not as great as he had anticipated. He asserted that his meager 30,000 troops had withstood nearly half a month of fierce attacks from the 70,000-strong Han army, and that if Chengde and Weibo joined forces, they would surely be able to restore their former glory.

During the century-long tug-of-war between Chengde and Weibo and the Tang Dynasty, the Tang court did indeed weaken them considerably through various means.

They simply don't want to restore their so-called glory; they just want to hold onto their current territory.

However, what Zhu Wen said in the letter was indeed true. Liu Jilong destroyed many regional warlords during his eastward advance. If you count carefully, more than twenty regional warlords were not in his hands.

Today, only eleven regional military governorates remain: Bohai (Gao Pian), Lulong, Chengde, Weibo, Yanhai, Ganhua, Zhaoyi, Huainan, Jiangdong, Zhedong, and Annam.

Liu Jilong clearly intended to separate the north from the south, then conquer the north before unifying the country.

Now, Zhu Wen is the obstacle separating the north and south for Liu Jilong. If Chengde and Weibo do not take action, then after Zhu Wen is defeated, the next one will be Zhaoyi, and then Weibo and Chengde.

Judging from Liu Jilong's past methods of suppressing regional warlords, the lands of his generals and soldiers would definitely be taken back, and Liu Jilong did not need the warlords' troops; they would basically be dismissed.

Since the soldiers only know how to fight and have no experience in farming, if they are laid off, they will probably only continue to squander their family property and eventually die in poverty.

Zhu Wen's analysis was mostly reasonable, and Han Junxiong couldn't help but nod in agreement.

But as he continued reading, the content that followed made his face turn ashen.

"Since the An Lushan Rebellion, we have only heard of military governors fleeing to the imperial court, but have we ever heard of soldiers surrendering to the imperial court?"

A single sentence was enough to make the soldiers wary of Han Junxiong.

"General, what did the letter say? Why do you look so pale?"

"Yes, what did the letter say?"

"Why worry about so much? Now that the commander has finished reading, it's our turn!"

Before Han Junxiong could even speak, Youya snatched the letter from his hand and read it aloud.

Han Junxiong's face was grim, but he did not stop him. The voice of the yaman, which had been growing louder and louder at first, gradually became softer and softer.

He was speechless, especially when he read the last sentence, which made the officers around him anxious.

"Damn it! You're so slow reading a letter. If you're going to be so slow, go find your woman!"

"You coward, let me read it!"

These anxious clerks soon stopped reading after seeing the last part of the letter.

This angered the officers and captains around the perimeter, who snatched the letter and quickly read its contents aloud.

"You scoundrels, Zhu Quanzhong is right. That Liu slave has never given us Guandong soldiers a way out. If that's the case, when else should we seize this opportunity to rebel?!"

"The land that so-and-so acquired was already obtained by so-and-so's great-grandfather back then. Just because his army is strong, you want to take it away? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt and making a fool of yourself!"

"You worthless wretch, what kind of beast was born of some barbarian bastard and foreign dog, that you dare to shout in Weibo!"

"Damn it! Why didn't Commander Han tell us that this barbarian bastard was treating us from Guandong so badly!"

"Han Junxiong, did you perhaps receive some benefits from this bastard?!"

In an instant, these colonels, along with the military leaders, began threatening Han Junxiong. Seeing this, Han Junxiong could only frown and curse:

“When I usually ask you to come to the gate for a meeting, you’re either playing polo or going to the brokerage. Even if I wanted to talk to you, it’s difficult to get you all together.”

"Having read someone else's handwritten letter today, you've started drawing your sword against me?"

Han Junxiong knew that these people were stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason, especially on this kind of issue. If he were to be submissive, these guys would really dare to take action against him. Therefore, he stood up to them firmly.

"You scoundrels, shut your mouths! We haven't drawn our swords yet!!"

"Then tell me, does this Liu, this dog slave from Longyou, treat us as mistreated as he claims in the letter!"

"Yes! If you don't explain yourself clearly, I'll burn these teeth today!"

"Burn! Burn! Burn..."

The numerous military leaders kept making a fuss, which attracted even more soldiers. The crowd grew larger and larger, causing Han Junxiong to break out in a sweat.

He was initially unwilling to become a military governor because these guys were difficult to manage, but he never expected that they would become even more arrogant after killing He Quanhao.

If he doesn't explain himself clearly, he might not be able to leave today.

Thinking of this, he disregarded everything and simply said, "Since you are all here, I will say a few words."

"Liu Muzhi is indeed like that. You all decide what to do!"

Han Junxiong, having given up all hope, thought that at worst he would just take his family and leave Weibo, heading south to join Liu Jilong.

"What else can we say? If this bastard surnamed Liu doesn't give us a reason, we'll just raise an army and rebel against him!"

"Look at him, he can't even handle Zhu Quanzhong, how could he possibly handle someone like me!"

"That's right, exactly!"

The scene in front of the yamen was chaotic, and the soldiers sent by Zhu Wen were squeezed to the back.

Seeing this, Han Junxiong had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I will now submit a memorial to question him!"

"That's all?!"

The soldiers were still not satisfied, and Han Junxiong was annoyed, but dared not say anything too harsh. He could only ask, "What do you want?"

"Currently, there is a food shortage in the six prefectures. I have heard that there is plenty of grain in the south. If you lead us south, we can use the money and grain that the court provides for relief!"

"The corrupt government hasn't paid any money or grain to the town for years, and now this scoundrel surnamed Liu is causing trouble. It's time for them to make a scene!"

Seeing that this group of officers and soldiers were determined to take advantage of Liu Jilong's main force being in Qilu to harass his rear, Han Junxiong immediately lost his temper.

"If that's the case, then please, Governor and officers, stay and see how to proceed south!"

"it is good!!"

"What a righteous general!"

When the soldiers saw him give the order, they all praised him as a "good commander," while Han Junxiong could only be roasted over a fire.

Upon seeing this, the officer sent by Zhu Wen immediately instructed the man beside him, "Horse south quickly and tell the commander about this."

"Yes!" The captain beside him didn't dare to delay and quickly squeezed through the encirclement, rushing towards the city gate.

(End of this chapter)