It's the twelfth lunar month of winter, but the land in Hebei is getting warmer. Winter hangs high in the sky, lending the rare warmth of winter to the convoy heading north.
Li Shan had decided to return to Chang'an to prepare for the upcoming examination, but Wei Zheng repeatedly asked him to go north to Beizhou with him... Although Li Qianyou had returned to Beijing, Li Shan suspected that Li Dewu would do something.
Wei Zheng was a man who could assess the situation. After confirming Li Shan's key role in the Hebei War and discovering Li Shan's prestige in the Tang army, he naturally would not abandon him... despite Cui Hao's strong opposition.
The fight the day before yesterday caused Cui Hao to lose face. Wei Zheng had already asked clearly... It was just Ma Zhou's weird ridicule. Cui Hao, as a Shandong scholar, could not make the prince send troops as soon as possible, so that his hometown was destroyed by the Turks. Robbery, but now he has the dignity to patrol Shandong.
It cannot be said that Ma Zhou's words are too biased. Among the counselors in the East Palace, only Wei Zheng and Wang Gui suggested that Prince Li Jiancheng send troops. Cui Hao, for example, also insisted on delaying the time.
Of course, Ma Zhou was beaten so badly in the end... partly because of old grudges, and partly because Ma Zhou was too venomous.
Wei Zheng turned to look at Ma Zhou in front of him. He was still doubtful at first. After all, in his impression, Li Shan was not a hot-tempered person... But then Wei Zheng and Ma Zhou discussed the meaning of scriptures, and the latter was proficient in "" "The Book of Songs" and "Zuo Zhuan".
From this, Wei Zheng concluded that Li Shan was not lying and invited Ma Zhou to teach. It was probably the former who was preparing for the scientific examination.
"Beizhou and Weizhou are both the most beautiful places in Hebei Province, but it's unexpected that they are like this now." Wei Zheng sighed softly and looked around. There were many abandoned fields on both sides of the road.
"Although the Turks entered Koubeizhou very quickly, they still..." Ma Zhou said expressionlessly: "If the North Korea sends reinforcements... Oh, I made a mistake. Your Highness, the King of Qi, led tens of thousands of troops to the Yellow River. Woolen cloth."
Wei Zheng was a little embarrassed, thinking to himself, no wonder Cui Hao couldn't help but want to beat you... He was so angry, pointing fingers and scolding Huai, he was so naughty!
The crux of the matter is that Ma Zhou is from Beizhou, so you can't accuse him!
Even Cui Hao, who was not far away, had no shame in accusing Ma Zhou of talking nonsense.
"Times have changed, and talking about these things will only increase the sadness..." Li Shan sighed: "Brother Xuancheng is touring Shandong this time, I am afraid that the future will be bumpy."
After a pause, Li Shan glanced at Wei Zheng, whose expression remained unchanged, "Of course, I can let him go gently."
Wei Zheng pointed at Li Shan, "No need to test, you Li Huairen have a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. If Wei Xuancheng doesn't say anything else, you don't dare to retreat from this way."
In fact, anyone who cares can see that the continuous wars in Hebei in the past two years have been too brutal. After Liu Heitai's death, the comfort of Shandong lies both in the family and in the common people.
There has always been a situation of confrontation, cooperation, hostility, and various checks and balances between the imperial court and the aristocratic families. Under the current circumstances, do we expect those aristocratic families not to take the opportunity to annex the population and land?
However, when Wei Zheng inspected Hebei and appeased Shandong, the most important thing was not to disband the enemy soldiers and provide them with food and clothing, but to do next year's spring plowing, which required the support of Shandong's noble families.
There are so many prefectures in Hebei Province. Wei Zheng arrived at Weizhou first because the key battle started here, and also because a large number of surrendered soldiers were in Wei County and Guantao.
After Weizhou, Wei Zheng chose Beizhou for the simple reason that Beizhou was the state capital with the largest number of famous families in Shandong.
The Cui family of Qinghe, the Zhang family of Wucheng, the Fang family of Qinghe, and more than a dozen small aristocratic families attached to them, of course, the most important of them is the Cui family of Qinghe.
Therefore, it was difficult for Li Shan to understand why Wei Zheng, who had just had a conflict with Cui Hao, took him with him when he went north to Beizhou.
Li Shan looked at Cui Hao who was running away with his chin in boredom, "Then why did Brother Xuancheng drag his little brother to Beizhou... The packages have been packed. If we don't set off, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with the county government examination."
"Huairen has done great things in Hebei. If you don't dislike it, I can recommend it to you as a brother..."
"That's all." Li Shan yawned greatly, "Mr. Cui Hao mentioned that Cui Hao is famous in Hebei for his unyielding retribution."
Wei Zheng's expression did not change, and he smiled and said: "It may not be to go to the East Palace, with Huairen's ability..."
"That's all, that's all." Li Shan repeated, "My mother ordered me to prepare for the exam."
Wei Zheng stopped persuading him and was thinking about whether to go to Xindong Palace to let the prince pay attention to next year's scientific examination.
Li Shan, on the other hand, was uneasy and thinking... It seemed that the kick the day before yesterday was not enough.
This kind of tightrope walking...well, although the bottom is not empty, but is supported by Li Shimin, Li Shan also feels a little uncomfortable.
The group went north along the Yongji Canal, and their first stop was the famous Qinghe County.
Su Dingfang stepped forward to inquire. He reined in the horse and stopped beside Li Shan's horse. "King Huaiyang, Mr. Ling and Mr. Zhang are outside the city."
Li Shan nodded slightly. Ling Jing followed Li Daoxuan, Su Dingfang, and Zhang Xuansu to the east and north to recover Yanzhou, Gongzhou, Shenzhou, Yingzhou and other places. With his reputation, he summoned many civil and military officials under Dou Jiande's command, making Li Daoxuan almost all Didn't get any military exploits.
Two days ago, Li Daoxuan went north to station in Beizhou, and Ling Jing followed him to settle in Beizhou. One of the reasons why Li Shan followed Wei Zheng northward this time was to pick up Ling Jing.
Wei Zheng glanced at Su Dingfang, then at Cui Hao... He was still thinking of recruiting this person. He saw with his own eyes yesterday how close the relationship between the Su family and Li Shan was.
However, Wei Zheng could also understand that by helping his mother to survive, Su Dingfang followed Li Shan. This was a move that no one could fault.
Not long after, a group of people dismounted outside the gate of Qinghe County.
Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan, Xue Zhong, Zhang Xuansu and Qinghe Ling all came out of the city to greet them... After all, Wei Zheng and Cui Hao were inspecting Shandong under the orders of the saints.
After the high-sounding words, Wei Zheng looked at Li Daoxuan with a serious look. This nineteen-year-old young man was usually elegant and brave in battle, but now he had a dignified aura. After this battle, he will definitely become a famous general in the clan in the future.
Thinking of this, Wei Zheng had a headache. Among the clan members around Li Shimin, Li Shenfu and Li Shentong were considered to be of average talent, but Jiangxia King Li Daozong and Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan were both leaders of the clan.
As for the prince Li Jiancheng... Li Yuan, the king of Lujiang County, abandoned the city and fled. A few days ago, many courtiers wrote letters of impeachment. Recently, the prince tried to recruit Li Xiaogong, the king of Hejian, but he didn't know whether he could succeed.
In this formal occasion, Li Shan, who had not yet become an official, stood far away, but Li Daoxuan had no choice but to walk over and say hello.
"Brother Daoxuan, I will be returning to Beijing in a few days." Li Shan rushed ahead and said, "You need to arrive in Beijing before mid-December, otherwise you will miss the county government assessment."
Li Dao
Wei Zheng glanced sideways and didn't take it seriously. He knew in Wei County that it was Li Shan who replaced Li Daoxuan from the Turks... This was also what worried him. During the Hebei war, although Li Shan had no choice but to The relationship with the generals of King Qin's line is too close.
But then Wei Zheng's eyes narrowed and fell on the old man walking towards Li Shan, "Ling Jing?!"
Qinghe Ling Cui Ze, a direct descendant of Qinghe Cui, explained: "In these days, Ling Jing accompanied King Huaiyang to pacify the states and made great contributions. Many of the old troops of King Xia were restrained and even captured the leaders of the rebellious thieves as sacrifices."
Wei Zheng was originally a famous figure in Shandong and had served as an official in Dou Jiande. He didn't know the importance of Ling Jing in Hebei, so his expression changed drastically.
