It was from Qi Nanhua that they learned that after Jinling was captured, the Holy One wanted to recruit peace.
"Qi Nanhua did a good job indeed." Zhou Xu thought about what Qi Nanhua did. In a short period of time, Min Ting, the Jinzou official who betrayed Youzhou, was ransacked and beheaded. His home was searched for armor. Naturally, the armor It was Qi Nanhua who designed and framed him, framed him, and put the blame on others. Qi Nanhua was very good at using official methods and would bend to flatter him.
However, he disguises himself well and has always been a clean figure.
"My lord is wise enough to know people. After learning that the Holy One was interested in recruiting people, he immediately asked Qi Nanhua to volunteer to take over the job." Cui Shizi said: "With him as an internal correspondent and a lot of advice to the Holy One, we can persuade the Holy One to recruit Liu." Hui recalled Luoyang and escorted him to recruit the lord, so that Xuzhou could be defeated quickly."
Otherwise, Liu Hui and his army would have returned sooner or later, but they would have returned at this juncture.
It's a pity that Liu Hui was fooled all over.
But this time, the imperial court stabbed Wei Guogong firmly in the back.
Cui Shizi was convinced by the master's manipulation of the city.
Zhou Xu looked at Cui Shizi. He was a staff member he promoted. Although he had white hair, he was still a young man.
There will be young people in every generation, but he is no longer young. It seems that his old friends are getting fewer and fewer.
Zhou Xu looked at his hands again. Countless heavy and bloody lives had disappeared in his hands, and there was a calm murmur in the river wind.
"If I really know how to recognize people, why can't I see the Xun family's wolf-like heart and dog-like behavior?"
Zhou Xu sighed and laughed at himself: "Maybe I'm old."
Cui Shizi was startled. He looked at his lord: "My lord, you are in your prime now. You know people and faces but not hearts. What happened to the Xun family is not your fault."
Zhou Xu didn't say anything. The wine was warming in the small stove, and the aroma of wine filled the air. However, he had no idea of drinking. He smiled and accepted every state that wanted to surrender. Then the first thing he did was to send people into the city to find his wife. But from Nothing to gain.
After all, He Jin, Zheng Yuxin's followers were too few in number, and it would take a lot of time to search for a place in detail. They now arrived at the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Luoyang.
Sometimes, Zhou Xu would also wonder whether his wife was in the direction of Heluo, and whether he had gone in the wrong direction, but the final destination of the floods along the way was Heluo in the Jianghuai area, and it could not be in Liangzhe.
Cui Shizi always knew that the lord could not let go of the disappearance of the princess. This incident was like a huge wound across the lord's heart.
It's not something that can be explained away by others with just a few words.
Cui Shizi took a sip of wine alone.
The speed of the capture of Xuzhou was quickly reported. Pang successfully occupied Xuzhou and beheaded Pang Taiqiu in public. The Xuzhou soldiers in the city did not punish them severely. Wei Guogong and Cheng Quanhai withdrew from Xuzhou and went to Luoyang, where they were attacked by the Luzhou navy.
Zhou Xu led his troops to fight against the Wei army again on the river.
In Luoyang, Han Fu was furious when he learned that the imperial court had withdrawn its troops. He ignored Liu Hui's tragic return and immediately discussed with Shi Zhi to lead elite troops to rescue Wei Guogong, and deployed a large number of troops in Ruzhou, Zhengzhou, Nanyang, and Yingchuan around Luoyang. Horses, and then sent out from Xuchang with 100,000 naval troops.
After three days and three nights of fierce fighting, Han Fu successfully received Wei Gong. After reuniting, he did not dare to stay in Jiangdong. Even in this situation, his retreat was cut off several times by people sent by Zhou Youzhou, making it full of dangers.
Finally, they evacuated Jiangdong.
Zhou Xu stood on the boat. They were now in the Lujiang River. After the battle, Xu Huaicei of Guangling failed to completely cut off Wei Yanshan's retreat and allowed them to escape.
Xu Huaance looked remorseful. There were many captives on the ship. These prisoners were either minions under Wei Yanshan or large Chu officials who followed the court's call and devoted themselves to serving the country.
When the mountains and rivers are in turmoil, some people are cowardly and surrender, and naturally there are also people who are loyal to the emperor and patriotic.
Jin Ben walked over a pool of blood, followed by Cao Heilong. Although Lu Cong and Fang Yuhuo from Luzhou made great efforts in this battle, Wei Yanshan still escaped. After all, when facing Zhou Youzhou, they were a little Lack of confidence.
Zhou Xu looked at them, calmed down the atmosphere, and said, "Everyone should be happy. Wasn't Xuzhou captured? Jinling is ours now."
Among the prisoners, an old official in soap clothes with white beard and hair and a face covered with blood suddenly stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Those traitors who have caused chaos in the country, if I had been born thirty years earlier, I would have given up my writing and joined the army, just like when I met you on the battlefield. , I will tear you into pieces!"
This small official of Da Chu, whose face could not be seen clearly, knelt heavily in the direction of Chang'an and cried out loudly. He turned to look at Zhou Xu: "Da Chu treats you well, Zhou Xu, Zhou Youzhou! King of Zhenbei! General!"
"You broke the earth in Youzhou to make you a king, and established the three departments of ritual. In the court hall, you can enter the court without paying attention, praise and worship without name, and go to the palace with swords and shoes. What else do you want?!" The old official roared: "Jianghuai is the life of the people. Burning with charcoal, it becomes a hell on earth."
"But they..." The old official burst into tears: "They are also the people you once wanted to protect."
There was no sound around.
Zhou Xu looked at him without saying a word, his expression as silent as a statue.
He sat above and watched coldly as the old official drowned himself in the river in despair.
Chapter 292 (Transition Chapter)
Luoyang.
Qi Nanhua, who arrived late, was blocked by Liu Hui as soon as he arrived in Luoyang. Liu Hui was waiting for him specially. When he returned to Luoyang from Xuzhou, he was severely beaten by the Youzhou rebels. The court gave him two thousand yuan. There are less than a hundred elite soldiers left.
As the nominal military supervisor of the Fayou Alliance, he almost died in the river. The vanity in his heart of commanding thousands of troops as a eunuch was shattered to pieces. When he arrived in Luoyang, he was even stared at by Han Fu. Seeing his sudden tragic return, I almost immediately realized that Xuzhou might be in trouble, and discussed with Shi Zhi overnight to support Wei Guogong.
Before leaving, Han Fu deployed a large number of troops in the prefectures and towns under the jurisdiction of Luoyang. The pass gates in Luoyang were more strictly guarded than ever before. Liu Hui knew that the situation was not good even if he no longer knew the soldiers.
Now Han Fu and Shi Zhi have gone to Jiangdong, I don't know what the situation is like?
The soldiers in the imperial court looked at him with bad connotations.
Liu Hui often had nightmares about whether those soldiers would chop off his head when he wasn't paying attention.
Now, Qi Nanhua finally arrived. Liu Hui's skinny cheeks were even thinner, almost like a skeleton. He held Qi Nanhua's hand tightly when he got off the boat: "Brother Qi, you have to save me this time. "
When he was in Chang'an, he deliberately made friends with Qi Nanhua, and Qi Nanhua didn't care about his status as an eunuch. The two had a very good relationship in private, so they became brothers.
Liu Hui actually had no confidence in his heart. He was deeply afraid that Qi Nanhua would throw away his sleeves and break up with him, and then say something disdainful about being associated with an eunuch to enhance his reputation. This happened in Dachu.
Fortunately, Brother Qi was still an upright man, and he didn't have the villainous attitude to add insult to injury when he saw that he was about to lose power. He frowned and put the cloak on him: "Brother Liu, don't worry, I already know about you. I will ask the Holy One to intercede for you.”
"Come on, let's go to the restaurant first." Qi Nanhua led people to lead Liu Hui to a restaurant, ready to listen to what happened.
Of course, he already knew almost everything he needed to know.
He deliberately pretended to be sick and waited for more than half a month on the road. He had already known that Liu Hui was ambushed by Youzhou soldiers. He also knew that Governor Shi Da in Luoyang City and Han Fu, the Secretary-General of the Shenwu Army, set out from the mouth of the Xuchang River with a large number of soldiers. The navy went to rescue Wei Guogong who was trapped in Jiangdong, but he has not returned yet.
As for why he knew so clearly, it was thanks to the Xie clan's Xie Wanjun who sent him a letter.
Xie Wanjun's brother-in-law is an envoy to Ruzhou Biejia. Ruzhou is also an important military area. He is fully aware of the transfers in the direction of Luoyang. The Xie family and the Tang family are brothers-in-law, and the two families have a very good relationship. Therefore, what Xie Wanjun knows clearly, Qi Nanhua While listening to Liu Hui's complaints and drinking tea, Zhou Youzhou, who was on the imperial court's side, turned out to be the Xie family of Chang'an.
I really couldn't tell. Qi Nanhua thought of those people in the court who were kept in the dark by Xie, and secretly felt that Xie's secrets were really deep.
It was also after he corresponded with Zhou Youzhou that Zhou Youzhou mentioned that the Minister of Rites was his superior and that he could have more contact with him if nothing happened. Only after tacit contact little by little did he truly confirm the cooperative relationship between Xie and Zhou Youzhou.
At the court, the Duan Party, represented by the Wei family, could not stand the Xie family who did not join them in the crusade against Zhou Youzhou. The relationship between the two parties became extremely bad. Xie Wanjun was dismissed from his post last year. His reputation allowed Xie Wanjun to join Qi Nanhua's team. Qi Nanhua could guess what the Duan Party members were thinking.
He thought that if they failed to recruit him, they would have the reputation to get rid of Xie Wanjun.
But from the beginning to the end, he never thought that he would be successful in recruiting people.
Everything is just to capture Xuzhou.
"...Ever since I returned to Luoyang, I feel like I'm in jail." Liu Hui continued: "Han Fu, after Shi Zhi left, Wei Erlang strictly prohibited me from leaving Luoyang. Judging from his appearance, if Wei Gong has any shortcomings, I'm afraid I will also live. No."
"Brother Liu has an imperial order, and when he returned to Luoyang, he also obeyed the emperor's order. If Wei Erlang really attacks you, I will take part in him immediately." Qi Nanhua said.
Liu Hui gave up his hope: "If Brother Qi can meet the Holy Spirit, I hope you can say a few kind words for me. The guards who escorted Brother Qi are almost dead now. How will Brother Qi get to Jinling when he arrives?"
"Although the front is a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, I will go all out. If there is really no one left, then I and Mr. Xie will go to the meeting alone to live up to His Majesty's grace and favor for us." Qi Nanhua said seriously.
Liu Hui said with admiration: "Only when the national crisis hits us do we know who the pillars are."
While he was talking, Qi Nanhua's cronies knocked on the door and announced: The Tang family is inviting guests.
Liu Hui stood up and said, "Then I won't disturb brother Qi. I'm currently living in Dutingyi in the city. If brother Qi has anything to do, he can go and find me there."
Tang Wulang stood outside the door, waiting for Qi Nanhua. When he saw the eunuch Liu Hui coming out, he was a little surprised. The Qi envoy had a good reputation in Chang'an. His only shortcoming was that he was closer to the eunuch Liu Hui, but they didn't Seeing that Qi Nanhua had gained little benefit from Liu Hui, neither getting promoted nor getting rich, some people privately called them friends of gentlemen.
Now it seems that it is actually true?
Tang Wulang felt a little ridiculous.
Of course he didn't like people like eunuchs. If the second uncle of the Xie family hadn't strongly asked him to pick them up, he wouldn't have wanted to pick up all the envoys.
However, after receiving the person, Tang Wulang found that Envoy Qi was quite polite to him.
When he arrived at the Tang family, Xie Wanjun didn't ask why Qi Nanhua came so late. He took Qi Nanhua to the Tang family's study, where the Tang family's mistress and Xie Qingwu were also there.
Qi Nanhua was slightly shocked and then smiled and greeted Xie Wanjun's sister and Xie Sanniang.
"But what's the result of the Lujiang Water War?" Qi Nanhua asked, sitting on his seat.
"Xuzhou has been lost and Lujiang has been slightly defeated. Secretary Han Zhang, Governor Shi and Cheng Quanhai have escorted Duke Wei back to Luoyang." Xie Wanjun said.
Qi Nanhua was convinced.
"There is another matter in inviting Envoy Qi here this time." Xie Wanjun frowned: "It is about Princess Youzhou."
Qi Nanhua's hand holding the tea shook, and the tea splashed on the back of his hand. He put down the tea cup, not expecting to hear this at all.
Xie Wanjun asked someone to bring Yu Dalang over and asked him to talk about the process of picking up Ying Niang. Yu Dalang changed into a pair of good clothes. He told the story skillfully. In the past half month, he had been asked many times by Mr. Xie. , everything was detailed, under his eyes, Yu Dalang panicked a few times at first, but was later forced to do everything possible.
The reward given by the Tang family was also very generous, but after Yu Dalang finished speaking, he felt unhappy every time. This time he couldn't help but ask: "I went to Master Cunzhen's house, and Lingbao said that someone was using arrows on the Flower Chao Festival." Shoot them, Ying Niang is gone, may I ask what happened to her."
Xie Wanjun glanced at this bastard.
It's hard to say that if it weren't for this family's random concealment and deception, Princess Youzhou would have fallen into Luoyang and fallen into the hands of her enemies.
After Yu Dalang was taken away, Xie Qingwu talked about the dispute between Xue Si and the eldest son of Luoyang Ling. The final result was that Xue Si stole Ying Niang's ornaments, while Xun Yan took Ying Niang away.
Qi Nanhua was confused when he heard this. When he realized what he was doing, his face turned pale: "Do you think that Ying Niang is a princess?"
"It's not suspicion, she is." Xie Qingwu said: "I have a portrait of Princess Youzhou in my hand. Yu Dalang once met Lady Ying, and I asked him to identify her. Lady Ying is Princess Youzhou."
"And that Xue Si, he told me before that he came from Youzhou in the north. He must have met the princess, so he reacted so badly. Luoyang City has long been under martial law and ordinary people are not allowed to go there. He must still be here." In the city.”
Xie Qingwu paused for a moment and said: "Princess, perhaps due to serious injuries, the princess lost her sight and her memory was damaged. She was taken away by Xun Yan. I am worried that Xun Yan will be harmful to the princess."
Xie Qingwu whispered: "My uncle and cousins are putting pressure on Luoyang Ling, hoping to let Xun Yan take the initiative to release him."
After Qi Nanhua heard everything, he felt confused for a moment. This matter is really difficult.
Luoyang, Luoyang belongs to Duke Wei. To put it bluntly, if Duke Wei notices their relationship with Zhou Youzhou, they will be the first to be beheaded.
It's like being in the enemy camp.
But the princess couldn't ignore it. Qi Nanhua was pacing in the hall, sweating anxiously.
"It's better to try to see the princess first." Qi Nanhua said, he had to meet someone. As long as he confirmed that the princess was okay for the time being, he and Xie Wanjun would immediately go to Jiangdong as envoys.
"I think so too. Now that Luoyang City is taken over by Wei Erlang, the security is very tight. He can't even send letters. He is very guarded against the Luoyang family. He patrols the city all day long to prevent Luoyang from hearing about the Lujiang scandal and causing trouble. ." Xie Wanjun said.
While everyone was discussing, they heard Tang Wu happily push open the door, with a look of joy on his face.
"Mom, daddy and the others are so powerful. Xun Yan really came to plead guilty."
