The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 139 Mother-in-law and Daily Life

On August 14, the second year of Jingfu, the Daliang Zelu camp's envoys captured Huangfu Lin alive and arrived at Changping Pass. He landed at the ferry crossing in Xinxiang County, crossed the Taihang Mountains and headed north to enter Zhaoyi.

The customs of Hebei opened his eyes.

The counties and cities controlled by Wei Bo to the east of Huojia were densely populated, and the people lived a normal life. To the west, it was desolate. Bones were exposed in the wild, and you could walk for a whole morning without hearing a dog barking. The abandoned city was covered with vines.

"The river is full of poison." Huangfu Lin cut the weeds casually and cursed Li Hanzhi.

During the years this guy occupied Zezhou, there were no officials or people in the hundreds of miles around, and those who hid on the cliffs were caught and eaten. What is there to investigate in such a den of evil?
Catching ghosts?

Zhu Sheng is really out of his mind!
"Hey!" Huangfu Lin finally met a living person after running to Changping Pass out of boredom.

He was wearing casual clothes, so the hunter was not surprised. But he saw that he was strong and muscular, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a sword, standing with one foot on a stone, and turned around and walked away with the bloody rabbit on his back.

"What are you running for?"

"My guest, you don't know. Zhu Quanzhong is crossing the river to attack Shangdang. He has spotted at least ten groups of Bian bandit messengers in the past few days. The people of Lu are going to suffer again."

Calling the saint by his name directly, he was quite courageous... Huangfu Lin took out a cake and threw it to him, then sat down and ate it with mare's milk, and asked: "Zhu Quanzhong conquered Chao and pacified Cai, he punished the unjust and prohibited the unjust. Henan Province had abundant harvests every year, and every family enjoyed peace. How can you say that the people of Lu suffered because of the curse of Bian thieves?"

"Tao captives." A piece of cake stopped the hunter in his tracks. He said dejectedly, "Last time the Bian bandits surrounded Lu, they captured people everywhere. My wife was trapped at that time. If they are not bandits, then what are they? If they come back again, the people of Lu will suffer."

Huangfu Lin sighed and consoled him, "Once Li Keyong is executed, Hedong will be safe."

"It is difficult to satisfy one's desires. As the saying goes, if one gets Long, one will want Shu. After Quanzhong gets Hedong, he will want Hebei. It is difficult to give up such a thing as fighting for supremacy. I was an official in the state ten years ago and I have seen the world."

"This... Isn't the Emperor of Chang'an still here? What are you chasing after?"

"That's ridiculous." The hunter pressed his felt hat down and said, "Since the Chaos, the princes have been devouring each other. How can the Li family, who lives in a corner of the country, defend the world? If he sells leather in Luzhou, people in the market will say that Zhu Quanzhong is Su Jun or An Lushan. Who knows, he might break into the imperial city one day, kill all the officials, and rape the empress dowager and the princesses."

Huangfulin was suffocated.

The Marshal has a very bad reputation in Hebei.

The fact that they were categorized as An Lushan and Su Jun must have been deliberately guided by Taiyuan. Otherwise, ordinary people would know An Lushan, but who would know about Su Jun, who razed Jiankang to the ground, stripped all the concubines naked, and caused Yu Wenjun to die in humiliation?
"Alas." The hunter bowed to him, thanked him, and floated away into the afterglow.

Soon, a large group of cavalry and infantry galloped past.

On the post road where the smoke and dust gradually faded away, the sharp fangs of the iron horses were exposed.

Carts loaded with goods, food, clothes, armor, and war equipment came into view. Ten, a hundred, a thousand... just like camels on the winding mountain road, there was no telling how many there were.

His robe fluttered in the wind, he talked and laughed while throwing away his military token. He wiped the blood off the tip of his spear, turned around and went forward again.

The Konghe Army, the Wude Army, the Tianxing Army, the Luoyan Army... the Zhongwu Army, the Yicheng Army... one army after another, row after row, stretching to the horizon.

Palace officials, musicians, eunuchs, and guards supported the white leather carriage and slowly moved forward. There were more than 100,000 warriors, civilians, and various auxiliary forces, nearly 300,000. This was the largest military operation since the founding of Daliang.

Li Keyong and Li Ye, the father-in-law and son-in-law, why don’t they die?

……

At the foot of Longgang City, Li Siyuan, his face covered in blood, dragged his left leg pierced by an arrow and limped into the Big Buddha Temple with Xue Atan.

Li Keyong grabbed the whip and hit him on the head.

Li Siyuan was knocked to the ground, silently covering the wound from which blood was gushing out.

Xue Atan ran away with his head in his hands.

"You still dare to hide?" Li Keyong became even more angry and picked up the Huchuang and hit him on the head.

The generals dared not speak.

Xingzhou is located in the center of Jin, Lu, Wei, and Zhao. It has been fought over and over again over the years. No matter who takes office, the town will be reinforced again. It is completely an iron barrel. No matter who takes over, there is no way to solve the problem for the time being.

Li Keyong also understood that he could only prepare for the worst-case scenario of besieging the city for half a year. However, Li and Xue suffered thousands of casualties and did not even reach the battlements, which still made him furious.

Until the princess heard the news and rushed over, picked up a tile and hit him: "One-eyed dragon, are you crazy again?"

"Get lost!" Li Keyong kicked Xue Atan away and shouted, "Don't think I don't know that you and Cun Xiao's rebellious son are of the same mind and have a good personal relationship. If you can't bear to do it, I will kill your whole family."

Xue Atan bowed to Liu, nodded, and left.

The generals felt sympathetic and quietly went around and stood behind Liu.

Li Luoluo, who was studying with Li Keyong, looked at her father fearfully and went to help Li Siyuan, who was sweating on his forehead and almost fainting from the pain.

Yang Fugong was speechless. Why would he beat people up at the slightest provocation?

Because his brother Li Kexiu failed to collect money and grain in time, he was beaten up in public and died of anger.

Li Cunxu was a child at heart, so it was normal for him to listen to the maid singing a few lines of opera, but he still got bruised and battered...

My niece's husband Meng Zhixiang was in charge of the Loufanling Ranch. Several war horses died and he almost lost his life.

Among the generals, in addition to today's Li Siyuan and Xue Atan, An Jinjun, Shen Xin, Li Cunxin, Li Sixun, Li Siben, Kang Junli, etc.

As long as the anger rises, everyone except the princess and the second daughter Miaowei may be in trouble.

He has such a bad temper.

After a long while, Li Keyong called his personal soldiers and whispered, "Go and deliver medicine to Siyuan and Atan. Let them recover first, I will replace them."

"Here."

In fact, he regretted it right after the fight.

But let him fight, he will never give in to anyone. At worst, his subordinates will rebel, what's the big deal? If he doesn't like it, he can resign and leave, like An Xiuxiu did and leave Hedong, there are plenty of vassal states in the world.

"Everyone go out." Li Keyong said tiredly.

All the generals were granted amnesty.

Gai Yu stayed consciously.

The mother-in-law did not leave either, she sat down beside him, pulled his ear and scolded him. The mother-in-law was not a good girl, nor was she a vase - she was smart and wise, quite familiar with military strategies, and often taught her concubines to ride and shoot.

During the Shangyuanyi Incident, all the high-ranking officials of Hedong were wiped out, the army was in turmoil, and the generals did not know what to do. It was she who hunted down and killed those who wanted to cause chaos, and took charge of the overall situation until her husband returned.

Only in front of her would Li Keyong reveal his true self - he would be afraid and panicked.

Zhu Wen took advantage of his opportunity to attack his rebellious son!
He guessed that he would come, but everyone thought that it would be the same as the time when he responded to the imperial court and Youzhou - a lot of thunder but little rain, just wanting to take advantage of the situation. The lady also judged that Zhu Wen's focus was still on the saint and Xuan and Jin who were beside him.

There is absolutely no reason to come and attack Hedong.

Unexpectedly, he really came up with the idea of reinforcing Li Cunxiao and Wang Rong, in order to boost the confidence of both sides in fighting against him.

Wang Rong, who was just frightened by his beating, heard that Zhu Wen had taken action and immediately withdrew his decision to "offer troops and food to help in the war." But fortunately, it was not fatal.

However, the urgent report from Luzhou that "hundreds of thousands of Zhu's troops have passed the two immortal palaces. They are accompanied by servants like clouds, with five-time carriages, nine flags hoisted, and thousands of chariots. The pomp and circumstance is comparable to that of a saint." made him a little uneasy.

"Where does he get hundreds of thousands of soldiers? A hundred thousand soldiers at most." Liu stared at the map and said softly, "Don't worry."

The person she sent to guard Luzhou was the cautious Li Sizhao, who brought more than 20,000 poor people from Sandu and newly recruited Khitan, Uighur, and Dangxiang tribes. Together with Zhaoyi's own troops, they could hold out for at least one or two months.

But this is also where my mother-in-law is anxious.

Luzhou was besieged.

If Xingzhou also fails to be conquered after a long siege, Zhu Wen will besiege Luzhou, leaving some troops to continue the confrontation, and he will lead the main force to fight a decisive battle. At that time, with an exhausted army, should he fight or flee?
This was the fundamental reason why her husband was furious with Li and Xue for their unsuccessful attack on the city - the situation was too passive and could not stand being dragged on.

"I am not afraid of Quanzhong coming." Thinking of that fight, Li Keyong's anger surged again, and he hammered the table: "Zhu Ni dared to come to Xingzhou, so we should defeat him. If we can't win, we can go back to Chi Le Chuan to herd sheep!"

Liu's face changed slightly.

My husband is——

Would beating Helian Duo and Qi Mi Zhang lead to Youzhou's interference? He didn't care. He would first kill these two bastards who bribed the chieftain with a large sum of money to murder him while he was taking refuge in Tatar.

Zhang Quanyi and Li Hanzhi fell out, but Zhang Quanyi turned to Zhu Wen because Li Hanzhi helped him in times of crisis.

It is good to avenge a grudge and repay a favor, but it is not a quality that those who achieve great things should possess.

When fighting for the world, one cannot talk about the pleasure of revenge and chivalrous heart.

And if things don't go his way, he'll just fight it out and go back to the grassland to herd sheep. Is this how a Jiedushi should be?

"Is there any response from Chang'an and Hezhong?" Liu looked at Gai Yu.

"A letter has come from Hezhong. Chang'an..." Gai Yu had no hope. How could a saint gamble his throne and three hundred years of rule on the life and death of Hedong? It was just hard to say it out loud.

"Wait a little longer." Liu wiped the sweat from her forehead.

I really don’t know what I would do if my son-in-law didn’t come to help.

Later generations lost Zhaoyi in the first year of Guanghua, which was six years later. Zhu Wen was determined to destroy it after failing to fight for Hezhong and Zhaoyi. In the first year of Tianfu, Wen led Shi Shucong, Zhang Wengong, Ge Congzhou, Zhang Guihou, Wang Chuzhi and Hou Yan to attack the Jin Dynasty.

Under the powerful offensive, Qin, Ze, Lu, Fen, and Liao were successively lost, and Cai Xun, Gai Zhang, Meng Qian, Li Shenjian, Wang Zhou, and Zhang E surrendered one after another. Now, because they became baits for Zhu Wen to lure Qin and Pu to come to the rescue, the disaster came ahead of time.

Liu fell into deep thought. Was she fooled by her son-in-law and used as a shield by him? Otherwise, why would Zhu Wen leave Yan, Yun, Qing, Wei, and Xiang alone and attack Hedong head-on?

……

"Open your mouth."

"This is the last time." The Privy Councilor tried hard to suppress his nausea.

The distribution of clothes was imminent and the rainstorms became more frequent.

Under the eaves, listening to the sound of the rain, the sage and the privy councilor sat and talked. "Sanfu, Qinfeng... we have more than ten counties." Zhao counted on her fingers and cheered in a rare way.

The saint sat there and listened to her counting the family assets.

"The more than 31000 cavalry and infantry soldiers of the Imperial Guards are elite soldiers recruited by Ximen Junrong in Guandong and Beidi. They are skilled in martial arts and have high morale. They are the key to stabilizing the country."

"The foreign army of Guangrui, Huorui, Longxiang, Longwu, Feixian, Feiqi, Tuqi, Sheying, Kongxian, and nine schools with 28000 soldiers guarded Tongguan and attacked Longxi. They are beginning to show their strength. The important thing is that there is no risk of rebellion, and the financial burden is small."

"Gadebei led the Golden Sword Army with 4,000 men, and Lunjiqiong led the Mist Dew Army with 2,000 men, all of them are Tibetans."

"The 2,700 troops led by Yeshi Changming to pacify the barbarians were the Tanguts and other Qiang people."

"Ashina Luoxue's 3,300 Moli troops, Turkic."

"Zhao Chong brought 61000 Red Army and Puluheini's 15000 Divine Power Army, including both Han and Tibetan people."

"These six envoys together number 19600 infantry and cavalry."

"Ten thousand skilled Dangxiang people from the seven tribes of Pingxia."

"Hiss..." The imperial court actually had 80,000 soldiers. Zhao couldn't believe it and checked it twice.

"How about it? When you saved me, did you ever think of today?" Men always like to show off in front of their beloved women and enjoy their admiring eyes. The saint is no exception. He swung his legs and looked at her with some pride.

"That's just fulfilling my duty as a subject." Zhao said calmly.

The saint smiled and clasped his fingers with his wife: "I want the pearl to return to its rightful place, and Concubine De has a master."

Among all the concubines, his feelings for Zhao Ruxin were very special. It was not about the two pieces of meat, but the fact that Zhao stayed with him all the time, accompanied him day and night, and comforted him in various ways when he was in the most difficult time. When he saw her, it was as if he saw the young, immature, helpless, and stupid Li Ye.

"I don't care about empty reputation, and what can ten thousand gold coins do to me?" Zhao shrugged and said, "I was appointed as the commander of the army, and was promoted to the secretary of the Secretariat. I was favored and became the red-robed envoy. I am the chief privy councilor and I am involved in government affairs. If I am promoted to the third concubine, I will be criticized for the story of the Han Dynasty, the Wu family endangering the Tang Dynasty, and the expedition of Guang, Ji, Jin, and Liang. This is not beautiful. Although I say I love them, I actually harm them."

"If all the beauties in the palace were as virtuous as you, I would have nothing to worry about." That's it, I won't force it.

"Don't be sad, career is the most important." After counting the family assets with her husband, the Privy Councilor was very excited. It seemed that the revival of the country was really possible.

"The cavalry sent an emergency message, and Chongying also attached a memorial detailing the pros and cons. How should we respond?" Zhao opened the memorial.

It is foreseeable that there will be many vassal states involved in this war.

Seeing Zhu Ni's main force heading north, do Xuan and Jin have any ideas?
Will Kuang Ning and Shi Fan respond to the court's call to attack Zhu Nizhou County?
Zhao and Wei hated Li Keyong's intrusion. Would they put aside their past grudges and help the sage fight Zhu Ni, or would they sit back and watch the fight and wait for Li Keyong's demise before joining the emperor's forces?

...

If we can use this opportunity to give Zhu Ni a good blow, great things can be done.

"Don't worry." The sage put down the memorial and asked, "What do you think of the Wen invaders in Shangdang this time?"

"I want to fight. Even if the enemy has high ramparts and deep trenches, they will have to fight with me. I should attack the place they must defend." Zhao replied.

As long as Tang does not perish, Liang will not be at peace.

Since they wanted to destroy Tang, Wuguan was difficult to pass and prone to ambushes. Tongguan would be a disaster if they didn't pile up tens of thousands of lives. As long as Wang Chongying, the governor of Puguan, was not dead, the Bian army would not be able to pass Zhongtiao Mountain. So, wouldn't they have to find a way to attack them and force Qin and Pu to leave the pass and fight openly?

Who is the one who must be saved? Ke Yong. He is the most impulsive, the closest, and has the most enemies. Even a saint has reasons to save him.

This is a very simple conspiracy.

"The thieves are so strong, how can we rescue them so that we can achieve twice the result with half the effort?"

"It's better to besiege Wei to save Zhao." Zhao was helpless. She was not a warrior, nor a woman who could make decisions on military matters like Zhang Hui and Concubine Liu. Why did they chase her and ask her what she was doing? But her body was honest: "I have two plans, just listen to them."

"You said."

"First, we should send all the cavalry out of Shanzhou, and sneak into Zhengzhou and Bianzhou along Xiashi, Mianchi, Xin'an, and Luoyang, burning wheat fields and villages. The Bianzhou bandits are good at fighting on foot but not on cavalry. As long as we don't get entangled with the enemy, and run away after doing something bad, what can the bandits do to us? If my hometown is attacked, the bandits will definitely be uneasy."

Well, that's bad enough.

"Second, we will send a small army out of Wuguan, Danfeng, and Nanyang to join the army in Xiangyang to attack Yuzhou."

The sage was stunned. It was not because he thought the strategy was not good, but if he did so, the military power would have to be given to the generals, and they would have to be allowed to do what they wanted.

What should the general do if he incites the warriors to revolt when food, weapons, and rewards are sent? ——"There are many unowned lands in the world. We can take a county and live happily! Why should we fight to the death for the saint?"

Even if the general is loyal, what can be done if the lone army without the restraint of other troops causes trouble?

A farce just happened in Hunan.

Liu Jianfeng, Ma Yin and others led their troops to Liling and said to the defenders, "We have 100,000 men. You might as well start a rebellion, gain wealth and honor, and return to your hometowns." Upon hearing this, the Chu army disbanded on the spot and left with cheers.

So the Cai army rushed to Changsha, encountering no resistance along the way. The funnier things were yet to come - when the Cai army entered Changsha and strolled into the official residence, the governor Deng Chu'ne was convening a banquet for civil and military officials to discuss how to resist the thieves...

The internal and external troops, who had followed Deng Chu'ne through life and death, turned around and sold out the generals and officials.

Before he died, Deng must have been thinking: Is it because I don’t have enough prestige, or have I let the soldiers down in some way?

"Let me think about it again." The saint said worriedly.

Because of its defense against the Heshuo River, the defense of Luzhou City was very strong. As long as Li Keyong did not go crazy and fight a decisive battle with Zhu Wen, it would not be difficult for him to defend for a year or two. If he found an opportunity, he could win a field battle.

My father-in-law's military power has not declined. He is just poor, not without soldiers or weak fighting ability.

But we still have to save it, as it concerns the reputation and long-term development of the two companies. We still need to carefully think out the plan on how to save it.

Send troops immediately?

Should I wait for my father-in-law to be defeated and weakened by Zhu Wen before sending out the troops? Or should I wait until he dies before sending out the troops...

Where to rescue? Go straight to Zhaoyi? Go around Luoyang?

These are all details that need to be considered.

Humanity is warm, politics is dirty and vile.

Zhao then talked about another matter: "The peace envoy Yang She reported that the governors of Qiongpeng Yang Sheng, Jiazhou Zhang Qianyu, Longjian Yang Shouzhen, Suining Yang Shouhou and others were willing to follow the imperial edict and withdraw their troops and return to their respective towns. They should be promoted to higher positions to show the emperor's favor. The Secretariat has drafted the edict, please review it."

This gang of villains finally had a plan. If there was another chaotic fight, he could only use his remaining influence to support more warriors to rebel, just like he did with Wang Jian, and let these people kill each other until they were scared. Loyal ministers were hard to find in this world, so there shouldn't be too many ambitious people who wanted to be Jiedushi.

The so-called promotion means becoming a regular employee.

Just wearing a Jiedushi hat does not make you a Jiedushi.

To hold an official position - such honors as Jianxu Sanqi Changshi, Pingzhangshi, Shangshu, Pushe and so on.

He glanced at the official documents.

"Approved. Then let Yang Sheng and his ilk deliver their goods. Weapons, farm tools, grain, jewelry, and salt are all fine."

Zhao took the jade seal and stamped it.

"Hanzhong is an important place that controls the three rivers. We must make plans early." Seeing the additional title of envoy and prime minister given to Yang Shouliang in the memorial, Zhao reminded.

Shannan has always been an important gateway and fiefdom for the imperial court. It would be uneasy if it was not in its hands.

"Yang Fugong is still alive, it's hard to deal with his fake son."

He remembered the various states in Shannan.

But Yang Fugong was not dead, and the gang of foreigners were still united. No matter whether Yang Shouliang or anyone else lost power or status, the others would not give up; don't forget that they had just joined forces to do a big thing in Shuzhong.

It’s not that we can’t win.

The main opponent at present is Zhu Wen, and other wars should be avoided if possible. Sanchuan can maintain the status quo - no strong vassal appears, the towns pay tribute from time to time, and maintain superficial obedience to the court.

When the heads of Zhu Wen, Zhang Hui and their three clans were hung on the national gate, would they still be afraid that Sanchuan would not come to the court? After Li Yazi invaded Bianliang and massacred the Zhu family, Li Maozhen, Gao Jixing and other old foxes immediately knelt down.

"There's one more thing." Zhao handed over another petition.

Zhang Jun, the governor of Jingyuan, was critically ill.

The Zhang family expressed their loyalty, but it was hard to say what the attitude of the Jingyuan warriors would be; Zhang Jun was established by them. Will they continue to promote the general this time? The Jing army had made great contributions in the battle against Helong. He did not want to start a massacre unless necessary.

Apart from the 2,000 warriors who were transferred to guard Shancheng County, there are still more than 10,000 soldiers in Jingyuan. Try to bribe them with money to bring their wives and children to Liangzhou and Zhangye to guard the border. Give them enough travel expenses and resettlement fees, and give them a generous reward when they arrive at the garrison. Is that okay?

"I'm tired." The saint stretched and said, "We'll talk about the rest tonight."

There are 365 days in a year, and 300 of them are either spent working outside or busy with various daily domestic affairs. It is more tiring than working in the previous life. I am afraid I will not live past 40.

The saint lay on the Privy Councilor's lap and teased his good son.

"Jincheng is currently practicing in the palace. When it's finished, I'll take you and your son to live there when I have time."

"There are monsters everywhere, how long will it take to conquer them? By the time you have time to indulge in immorality, I will probably be gray-haired too." Zhao lowered her head, pulled out his white hair one by one, and sighed.

"If I don't die suddenly, there will be peace in the next twenty years, and you will be in your forties by then."

Thinking that few emperors lived past sixty, Zhao's heart trembled, and her nails dug deep into the thin flesh on his arm: "Can't you play with fewer women? The three Turkic women you brought back, Lai Mei, Ran Xiang, and Jia Xi--"

"Not yet." The saint held up his son and asked, "My son is one month old. Have you thought of a name for him?"

"Small name Lingfu, name Zhengyang, is that ok?"

In theory, since the middle Tang Dynasty, princes have all had single names, and it doesn't matter if the heir to the throne is a member of the royal family, either odd or even names are acceptable.

"Zhengyang..." The saint repeated it twice and felt it was quite smooth: "That's fine."

If you become an emperor in the future, you can change it. Didn’t the sage himself change his name three times - Jie, Min, and Ye?

(End of this chapter)