Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 168 Reply

Murong Chui's troops headed north, and Liu Daogui and Liu Yu also prepared to return home.

Mao Dezuo and Liu Guangzhi guarded Lucheng, Wang Zhongde guarded Pingyangcheng, and Wang Yuande guarded Zoucheng. Relying on the Si River, they formed a three-point and one-line defensive posture.

When one side was attacked, reinforcements from the other two cities arrived immediately.

Zhang Jing, a nobleman in Lu County, was from the same clan as Zhang Yuan. Even after Zhang Yuan was destroyed, the clan's influence remained. Liu Yu married his daughter as a concubine, which was considered to be the support of the local nobles.

Have a foundation to stand on.

Murong Long retreated tacitly to the area west and north of Si Shui, and seemed not to want to get entangled with the Northern Palace Army anymore.

Strictly speaking, Lu County was not captured, only Lu and Wenyang counties were captured.

But the fertile plains west of Si Shui were already in Liu Daogui's hands.

By simply building five docks along the Luqiao area, we can effectively resist the invasion of the Yan army.

In the south, Liu Laozhi, Huan Xuan and Yang Qunqi were still in confrontation.

After the imperial navy was destroyed by Sima Huizhi, the Northern Army lost the initiative to attack and could only defend the river bank.

The Western Army did not dare to go ashore and fight with the Northern Army in the field. For a while, neither side could do anything to the other.

Liu Daogui always thought that the imperial court was slow in doing things, but he did not expect that the Tianshi Dao rebellion was also hesitant and did not dare to take action, so he just waited for the Western and Northern armies to be defeated.

Anyway, the situation is at a stalemate.

Liu Daogui and Liu Yu returned to Pengcheng together.

It was the first time for him to return to his hometown in so many years. The Liu clan in the city actually came out to welcome him. There were no less than a thousand people, and they came up to introduce themselves to him very enthusiastically. They were either uncles or cousins, and they wished that even the dog at the city gate was related to him.

"Good job, Ji Nu, you didn't bring shame to the Liu family of Pengcheng."

"Oh, I'm your great uncle, and Gui has grown up so much."

"With Commander Liu above us and you two brothers below us, our Pengcheng Liu family will surely rise!"

Everyone was talking and arguing, which made Liu Daogui feel a little nervous about returning home.

But Liu Yu was carefree and said, "Needless to say, when we become successful, if you have any problems, just come to me!"

"That's great! Commander Liu is good in everything except supporting us..."

The more they talked, the more excited they became.

Liu Daogui smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that the Pengcheng Liu family still had a long way to go before it could rise.

Liu Laozhi was promoted, but he did not have much say in the court. Unlike Wang, Xie, Huan and Yu, whose disciples and hometowns were all over the world, he could only sit at the table and get a share of the meat, but whether he could keep his seat depended on his methods.

The Liu family of Pengcheng established their clan through military force, which made them an outlier among the noble families.

Once the Sima family and the noble families survive this period, they will definitely reject Liu Laozhi again...

Liu Yu accepted more than one hundred clan members on the spot, and Liu Daogui also accepted more than thirty people.

Of course, not everyone has the surname Liu. There are also children from the Zhao, Tan, and Xu families.

These families are all from humble backgrounds and are related to the Liu family by marriage.

Liu Yu originally wanted to stay for a few more days, but the soldiers were eager to return home, and Liu Daogui was also worried about changes in the Zhenglu Army Headquarters, so he advised Liu Yu to return as soon as possible.

Although the war was won, the appointment by the court was a fait accompli.

When he returned to Guangling, it was deserted and only Liu Huaishen came to greet him.

Everything is still the same, with basically no changes. Huan Hong and Yuan He went to Zhuli last month to attend a gathering of the gentry.

Even though Jiangzuo is in such chaos, it does not affect their happy life.

Liu Daogui waited anxiously for the court's appointment.

After waiting for two months, Liu Huaisu finally arrived with the appointment, and as expected, something unexpected happened.

"It's not the prefect of Lanling, but the prefect of Lu County?" Liu Huaishen was full of confusion.

Liu Zun said: "They are not the same. The Lu Commandery Governor is better."

The prefect was a fifth-rank official. In any case, Liu Daogui had broken through the bottleneck and jumped over the threshold of a humble family. However, the more he read the appointment letter, the more he felt something was wrong. "Who is the prefect of Lanling?"

Lanling is his base. He has been operating it for three years. Lu County was newly acquired, the wasteland was not cultivated yet, and most of the population had been lost.

Liu Huaisu said: "Dai Qizhi..."

"He's actually an acquaintance. How could he have taken down the Lanling prefecture?" Liu Daogui fought a bloody battle with the Hu people in the north, even losing Liu Heibi in battle. He only got the position of prefect by relying on the connections of Liu Laozhi and Liu Jingxuan. But Dai Qizhi was easily within his grasp.

Anyone would feel psychologically unbalanced.

Moreover, this person... had a grudge against him in the past, and this time he came for Lan Ling, obviously with bad intentions.

Liu Huaisu sighed, "After Wang Gong's defeat, this man defected to Sima Yuanxian, the crown prince of Langya, where he indulged in eating, drinking, and having fun, and was quite trusted..."

Snakes have snake paths, rats have rat paths.

There are many people who are scheming these days.

Liu Zun cursed, "Sima Yuanxian is only thirteen years old this year, his hair hasn't even grown out yet, how can he have fun?"

Since it was not a formal occasion and everyone was among Liu's family, his true colors were revealed.

But what he said was wrong. People at this age are at the age of being unscrupulous.

Liu Huaisu's expression was stern. "Don't underestimate this prince. He's the youngest, but he's incredibly resourceful. He was the one who instigated the rebellion against Commander Liu and saved Prince Xiang from a desperate situation!"

Liu Daogui was stunned. After all these years, the Sima family actually produced a child prodigy...

It is truly extraordinary that he could come up with such a strategy at such a young age.

Liu Huaishen said, "Dai Qizhi is vying for the position of Lanling Governor and harbors evil intentions. Ah Dingyi must be careful."

Struggle is everywhere. As soon as Liu Daogui leaves the battlefield, he will go to another battlefield.

However, after working in the officialdom for a few years, I have already adapted to this rhythm.

Dai Qizhi is a petty, sinister and cunning person, and he must be brooding over what happened before.

Liu Daogui thought about it for a while. If he guessed correctly, he must have discovered clues that Yandu was robbed, but he didn't have time to report it to Wang Gong before Wang Gong fell.

He simply used this as a token of his allegiance to Sima Daozi.

After all, Yandu is Sima Daozi's property.

"He's here to settle old scores." Liu Daogui sneered.

"Leave this matter to me. I will bring a few brothers to rob him on the way and make sure he dies without anyone knowing!" The flesh on Liu Zun's face trembled.

Liu Huaisu frowned and said, "Absolutely not. Dai Qizhi was Sima Yuanxian's man. He died on his way to take office. Agui is not unrelated. Although the prince is young, he is very wise."

This is where the trouble lies.

Dai Qizhi is nothing, but Sima Yuanxian stands behind him.

Once he takes office in Lanling and sees through the Eight Buildings' secrets, the disaster will be serious. This kind of thing can be big or small. If the eight words "expel the barbarians and recover our mountains and rivers" are used, even Liu Laozhi may be in trouble.

As soon as Liu Laozhi took charge of the Northern Palace, some people from the Liu family in Pengcheng shouted, "Drive out the barbarians and recover our country." Isn't this an slap in the face of the Sima family?

The Sima family hates it most when someone launches a Northern Expedition...

If it succeeds, wouldn’t he be another Huan Wen?
"It doesn't matter. Since he dares to come to Lanling and fall into the trap, I can deal with him!" Liu Daogui didn't believe that Dai Qizhi was a tough guy with iron will and indomitable spirit.

Lanling is no longer the Lanling it once was, and Liu Daogui's foundation is already solid.

Just because the court appointed him as a governor, he would not really be a governor...

In fact, from another perspective, it is a good thing that this person took the initiative to jump out.

What I fear most is that he would quietly bring people to Lanling for a secret visit.

Times have changed. Jiangdong is about to be engulfed in war. The Sima family is now unable to take care of themselves and has to rely on the Liu family of Pengcheng. Even if Sima Yuanxian knows something, he has to pretend not to know and turn a blind eye.

Liu Huaisu said, "I'm relieved that Ah Gui has a way to deal with it. If anything really happens, send someone to inform me as soon as possible. Don't forget that we are all family."

"Yes, we are a family!" Liu Zun opened his eyes wide and looked at Liu Daogui and Liu Huaishen.

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "It's not that serious, just a clown. By the way, what is your current position, brother?"

"A Shou and General Sun are planning to recommend Ji Nu to Commander Liu as a military officer. There's no need to worry."

Joining the army as a soldier in the expeditionary force and joining the army as the governor of the Northern Palace are two completely different concepts. It is equivalent to Liu Yu directly becoming Liu Laozhi's confidant, and his future is limitless.

Liu Daogui was really happy for his brother.

It's not easy for everyone to get to this point. We have paid countless blood, sweat, and even our brothers' lives...

(End of this chapter)