Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 121 I'm Not Here to Break Up This Family
Jinyang.

The weather is turning cold and the wind is blowing.

Li Shuang returned to Jinyang City, where he was most loyal, with his retainers and followers.

After not coming back for several months, what changed was not only Dugu Ru's growing belly, but also the ever-changing scenery in the city.

The huge building complex stands in the north of the city. Except that it does not have the regulations of a prince's residence, its scale is actually almost the same as that of the royal palace.

This mansion was built to establish a hegemonic government, and it was fully equipped with all necessary facilities such as government offices, barracks, stables, etc., as well as mansions for the Erzhu clan to live in and flower gardens for them to enjoy.

Erzhu Rong moved in his core 7,000 Khitan soldiers and their families to facilitate the mobilization of troops to control the entire Jinyang city.

In the back garden, Erzhu Rong, Yuan Tianmu and Li Shuang were drinking around the fire in the winter waterside pavilion.

All three of them were wearing thick round-collar robes and the finest fur coats from the north, which made them very comfortable in the winter.

In the first year of Xiaochang, Empress Hu regained control of Luoyang and the Rebellion of the Six Garrisons was put down.

However, the world did not become peaceful as the nobles in Luoyang had hoped. Instead, it soon fell into chaos again.

Xiao Baoyin was defeated in Anding, and Du Luozhou rebelled in Shanggu.

Guanzhong and Hebei were both in turmoil, but the city of Jinyang was unusually peaceful, like a paradise on earth, with no major disturbances.

One reason was the strong troops under Erzhu Rong. Although the number of these elite soldiers was small, they possessed enough power to crush the enemy.

The second is the terrain.

The Taiyuan Basin is sandwiched between the Taihang Mountains and the Luliang Mountains, like the roof of the world, exerting a strong sense of oppression on the surrounding areas.

If you stand on the Hebei Plain east of Taihang Mountains and look at the towering cliffs, even those who don't know the truth will inevitably feel a little fear in their hearts.

"Third brother, let me tell you something. I have handed Shangdang County over to Tianmu."

Li Shuang listened to Erzhu Rong's words, looked at Yuan Tianmu, and said with a bow:

"Congratulations brother!"

Yuan Tianmu is now the governor of Bingzhou, and nominally controls the administrative rights of all the counties in Bingzhou.

However, Jinyang, the capital of Bingzhou, had already become the seat of the hegemony envisioned by Erzhu Rong, and the governor of Bingzhou was only in name only.

At that time, the three of them gathered 9,000 soldiers and captured Jinyang City. Yuan Tianmu also contributed people and participated in the investment.

Erzhu Rong handed Shangdang County to Yuan Tianmu, naturally not to let him serve as the county governor, but to actually give it to Yuan Tianmu.

Erzhu Rong dared to act in this way. His ambition did not come out of thin air, but changed with the situation in the world.

After Du Luozhou rebelled, he called himself the True King and took over the banner of Po Liu Han Baling. Not only did the surrendered soldiers from the original Six Garrisons respond to him, but even the local forces of You and Yan states got involved.

After Xiao Baoyin's defeat, the situation in Guanzhong was in chaos. He could only barely stabilize the situation and prevent the bandits from expanding further.

In other words, there was no force on either the east or west side of Taiyuan that could threaten Erzhu Rong.

The imperial court still had troops, but Erzhu Rong was certain that the imperial court would not give up Hebei and turn against him.

That's why he dared to be so unscrupulous.

"From now on, one of us brothers will be the King of Shangdang, one will be the King of Taiyuan, and the other will be the King of Pingyang."

Pingyang County was not within the jurisdiction of Bingzhou, so logically it was not obtained by Li Shuang's participation, so Erzhu Rong made some compensation and gave part of the land in Hengzhou that originally belonged to the Erzhu family to Dugu Ru's Dugu tribe.

Erzhu Rong's seemingly righteous behavior actually has profound meaning.

Today, the forces of the three states of Heng, Shuo, Bing, Si and Fen are intertwined, forming a close alliance.

Erzhu Rong occupied most of the land in Bingzhou and was the strongest, followed by Li Shuang. Yuan Tianmu only occupied a small piece of land in the southern part of Sizhou and a Shangdang County and was the weakest.

Erzhu Rong was unable to go south for the time being, and his sights had long been set on the north.

"Second brother has set his sights on Pingcheng?"

Li Shuang asked, and Erzhu Rong smiled. "To be honest, Third Brother, I have been thinking about this. Now is the best opportunity to take Pingcheng."

Pingcheng stands in the northern border and is huge in scale. As a capital, it needs all the supplies it needs, and local supplies alone are not enough.

The grain from Hebei and the salt from Hedong are both important supplies needed by Pingcheng.

Du Luozhou rebelled, cutting off the route from Hebei to Pingcheng. Naturally, Hebei's grain supply to Pingcheng was difficult. As for Hedong's salt, the route from the Hedong Salt Lake to Pingcheng was now controlled by Erzhu Rong and Li Shuang.

"Don't worry, second brother. Hedong is in chaos right now. The salt officials appointed by the court mistreat the salt workers, and the powerful are closing the borders to defend themselves. The salt production in Jiechi is very low, and not much can be transported to Pingcheng."

After listening to this, Erzhu Rong nodded.

"In that case, I am relieved. However, to capture Pingcheng, we must first remove that nail."

Wei Qingbin, the governor of Sizhou!
At this moment, Erzhu Ying'e ran over in a hurry.

"Ying'e, why are you so flustered?"

Erzhu Ying'e was panting.

"Third Aunt...is about to give birth!"

After hearing this, Li Shuang's expression changed and he bowed to his two brothers and said goodbye.

Erzhu Ying'e followed behind and saw Li Shuang flying like a flying bird and shouted:

"Wait for me!"

Yuan Tianmu looked at this scene, stroked his beard unconsciously, and said with a smile:
"Ying'e actually has a very harmonious relationship with my third brother and his wife."

After hearing this, Erzhu Rong smiled bitterly.

"Ying'e is such a wild girl, she doesn't behave like a woman at all. She's busy with other people's affairs all day long and never thinks about herself. I'm almost worried to death!"
-
At the Duke of Tang's mansion, Li Shuang was waiting anxiously outside the house. From inside the house, he could hear faint cries of women.

An experienced midwife from the Li family was busy in the house, and the maidservant was constantly changing the red blood.

In this era, having a first child is the most dangerous.

This is also the reason why widows after giving birth are so popular.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Shuang, who felt somewhat numb, seemed unable to hear any sounds in the room.

The maid in the room ran out with joy on her face.

"Congratulations, Lord. Mother and child are safe."

After hearing this, Li Shuang, who felt like he was facing a great enemy, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He heard the cheers of Gao Gao, Yang Kan, Hou Jing and others.

In the winter of the first year of Xiaochang, Li Shuang became a father for the first time and felt a feeling he had never experienced since coming into this world.

In the room, Duguru was very weak after giving birth. When she saw Li Shuang, a smile appeared on her face.

"Husband, see, this is our child."

Li Shuang sat next to her and touched her face with some pity.

"Thanks a lot!"

Dugu Ru shook his head and said:

"Husband, give him a name!"

"Just call me Li Heng!"

Li Shuang had just finished speaking when Erzhu Ying'e walked in. She didn't treat him as an outsider at all. Looking at the baby in the cradle, a look of joy appeared on her face.

If someone didn't know her, they would think she was the child's mother.

(End of this chapter)