Youzhou was the capital of the ancient Yan Kingdom. It was backed by Yan Mountain and faced the "North China Plain". It has had an extremely important strategic position since ancient times. Especially in the Sui Dynasty, Youzhou's strategic position was particularly prominent because it had to defend not only the Turks and the Xi people in the north, but also the Goguryeo, Khitan, and Mohe in the northeast. If Youzhou is lost, the enemy can easily sweep across Hebei in the south, and then threaten the Central Plains on the other side of the Yellow River.
In view of the heavy defense tasks and severe situation in Youzhou, Yang Jian built Linyu Pass (Shanhaiguan Pass) at the west entrance of the Western Liaoning Corridor to defend against the enemies of Liaodong as early as the founding of the People's Republic of China. This pass is like a natural barrier in the Yanshan Mountains. Between the coast of the Bohai Sea and the coast of the Bohai Sea, the Sui Dynasty was suddenly attacked by the Turkic and Goguryeo coalition forces many times. It was this "natural danger" that prevented the invading enemies from Youzhou and created the most basic guarantee for the Sui army's counterattack. In terms of personnel arrangements and military deployment, Yang Jian also set up the Youzhou General Administration Office to supervise and manage more than 50,000 standing troops capable of recruiting and fighting, according to the needs of combat missions, to control You, Yi, Xuan, Tan, Ping, Ying, Yan, Liao Eight states military.
The current general manager of Youzhou is Dou Rongding and Dou Kang, the son of Princess Wan'an. Although the Dou family in Guanzhong where he belongs is known as the Guanlong noble family, in terms of inheritance time, the eight pillar families combined are not as good as the Dou family.
However, such a noble status did not make Dou Kanggaoli superior, but put him in a very embarrassing dilemma: on the one hand, he once followed his family to favor the former prince Yang Yong in state affairs, and joined forces with the Guanlong nobles to suppress Yang Guang. Now that Yang Guang has successfully counterattacked, Dou Kang, his cousin, has fallen into a panic.
On the other hand, because Dou Yi, the patriarch of the Dou family, was originally involved in the assassination of He Ruobi and was eventually ordered by Yang Jian to commit suicide at home, the vacated head of the family became the object of competition among the three major branches. Dou Kang was not only the eldest grandson of Dou Shan's family, but also the steward of Youzhou with royal blood, so he became the most popular candidate for the new head of the family. He also tried hard to win the position of head of the family, but in the end it was his Clan uncle Dou Wei. In order to consolidate his position, Dou Wei suppressed Dou Kang in all aspects within the clan.
If that was all, that would be it. The key point is that Dou Kang had close contacts with Han Wang Yang Liang after the battle for the inheritance was settled. This is not to say that Dou Kang supported Yang Liang's rebellion, but that Youzhou belonged to the large, medium and small general manager's palace. The middle class is directly under the control of the Bingzhou General Administration; as Yang Liang is his boss and his cousin, he gives gifts to his subordinates and cousins during every year and festival. In normal times, it is just a normal exchange of courtesy, but now Yang Liang has The letters he had exchanged with Yang Liang and the gifts he had received and given had become evidence against Yang Guang. What should he do?
What's even more terrible is that because he had a record of firmly opposing Yang Guang's becoming the prince, he was also taken advantage of. Rumors are now spreading in the city, and the most deadly theory is that he is loyal to avenge the "old master" (Yang Yong). , portraying him as a "loyal minister", and speaking in a clear-cut manner, as if it were true. If Dou Kang hadn't been a person in the game and knew what was going on with him, he would probably have been moved by the benevolent emperor and loyal minister in the story.
Dou Kang knew that there were only two sources of such rumors. The first was Yang Liang. In order to force him to take sides, he had people spread rumors to alienate him and the court. The second was the new head of the family, Dou Wei, who had always been dissatisfied with him. Don't worry, so he used this rumor to drag himself into the dispute between the imperial court and Yang Liang, and then used the imperial court to kill himself.
But Dou Kang couldn't care about any of this now. Just more than ten days ago, Yang Liang sent someone to deliver news that Yang Guang, who had just ascended the throne, secretly sent his young cousin Yang Ji to arrest him. This frightened him and sent more than 20,000 elite soldiers to seal him to death. Business travelers entering Youzhou will be strictly inspected at all passages into Youzhou, and anyone encountered carrying long weapons will be arrested.
However, more than ten days have passed, and the troops everywhere have found nothing. This makes Dou Kang suspicious. He suspects that this is the rumor deliberately spread by Yang Liang, in order to use the false news of Yang Guang's arrest to force him to He supported his rebellion.
In the steward's house, Dou Kang was pacing back and forth uneasily, but he couldn't think of any good ideas, so he stopped and asked Fa Caoyan: "Baoshou, do you think this is true or false?"
Yan Xun, also known as Baoshou, was a handsome man with fine features and calm temperament. He was also a talented man with both civil and military skills. He was born in the Yan family of Changping, a traditional military family in the Northern Dynasties. His father was Yan Rong, the former general manager of Youzhou and Duke of Luocong County with outstanding military exploits. However, Yan Rong was harsh and cruel, and often committed bullying and abuse. Later, he was tortured due to revenge. Yuan Hongsi was sentenced to death by the late emperor Yang Jian last year after the incident. However, Yang Jian was more kind in this regard and did not deny Yan Rong's past achievements because of his current fault. Therefore, after giving Yan Rong death, he not only let his eldest son Gao Xun inherit his title, but also in order to appease the Yan family, he also He changed his name to Changping County Duke, and was awarded the post of Youzhou Law Cao.
The so-called power surges to the sky, and the father worships the sky, it is nothing more than this.
Although Yan Xun inherited his father's military talent and title, his personality was completely opposite to that of his father Yan Rong. He was a good young man with both talent and virtue and honest conduct.
In addition, he is also the son-in-law of Ande King Yang Xiong. It is also for this reason that Dou Kang, who is also half-royal, values him extremely. After hearing Dou Kang's inquiry, Yan Xun still expressed his thoughts: "If the sage sent King Wei to arrest the manager secretly, the sage would naturally not disclose it in public. How could the king of Han possibly know such secrets? Is not this contradictory?"
"This is also my suspicion." Dou Kang sighed: "Based on the rumors in the city, I suspect that all this was fabricated by the King of Han himself. His purpose was to make me completely despair of the court and make me desperate. Under the circumstances, I wholeheartedly supported his rebellion. But..."
Dou Kang glanced at Yan Xun and said with a wry smile: "But I am very passive now. If this is true, I will be miserable."
"I believe that no matter what is true or false, the manager must treat it with caution. Only if nothing happens to him can he be qualified to talk about the future." Yan Xun was very aware of Dou Kang's worries, but the predicament in front of him was entirely caused by Dou Kang's manipulation and profit-seeking. Yes, when things came to pass, he was helpless!
When Dou Kang heard the comforting nonsense, he couldn't help but sigh again. He thought for a while and couldn't help but ask: "So, does Baoshou think I should side with the imperial court or the King of Han?"
"Actually, this is another battle for the throne between brothers. The difference from the former is that the civil fight has turned into a physical fight. Judging from the current strength and preparation in advance, Beiji believes that the two are evenly matched. But when it comes to general ability, war potential, overall strength, and popular support, the King of Han has no advantage. After all, he is just a prince who owns a state, so how can he defeat a saint who owns the entire world?" Yan Xun met Dou. Kang listened silently and continued: "Of course, the King of Han has no chance of winning. If he can capture Guanzhong in lightning speed and kill the saint, then the matter is settled; but if the war reaches a stalemate, then he will be dead. One thing. But I am not optimistic about the King of Han because my opponent is too strong. With the few old soldiers in his hands, there is no way he can defeat the imperial court with many famous generals."
At this point in the analysis, Yan Xun turned the topic to Dou Kang: "However, the terrain of Bingzhou is difficult, easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are mountains and rivers in all directions as natural barriers, coupled with some passes that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Han king can occupy it." Bingzhou has been independent for a period of time, but during this period, it is more than enough to deal with Youzhou. If the general manager clearly supports the imperial court, in order to ensure the security of the northeastern part of Bingzhou, the King of Han will definitely take the lead in dealing with Youzhou, and then occupy Bing, You, and Jizhou. Even if he ends up being defeated in the imperial court's confrontation, the steward cannot hold out for that moment, so he feels that it is safer to remain neutral and sit back and watch the success or failure. If the court fails, the steward will raise his troops to respond to the King of Han and gather all the strength of Youzhou to the south. Conquer Jizhou and exchange You and Jizhou for extraordinary achievements; if the King of Han fails or the war reaches a stalemate, the general will quickly attack the central and northern parts of Bingzhou. Even if no achievements are made, there is no fault. At most, the merits and demerits are equal to each other and the matter is left alone. .”
Dou Kang nodded and said with a wry smile: "This is the safest and only way. Other than that, we have no choice."
"Duoduoduo!" Suddenly there was a rapid knock on the door, and a guard said outside: "General manager, I have something important to report to you!"
Dou Kang said quickly: "Come in and talk."
"Here!" A guard pushed the door open and saluted: "I'm reporting to the steward, there is an army of 500 people outside the city escorting the King of Han's envoy. It is said that there are extremely urgent matters that need to be discussed with the steward."
"Messenger from the King of Han?" Dou Kang had frequent contacts with Yang Liang during this period, so he was not surprised by the arrival of the King of Han's envoy. It was just that he and Yan Xun had just decided to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and Yang Liang's envoy arrived. It was obvious that Yang Liang sent someone to force him to express his position.
The guard cupped his hands and replied: "Exactly!"
Dou Kang asked again: "But who is the messenger?"
The guard said: "It's Xue Cui, a soldier in the Han Dynasty's palace."
When Dou Kang heard this, his expression became solemn. Although the rank of the Prince's Mansion Soldier Cao Shen was only from the seventh rank, which was the lowest rank since he and Yang Liang had been together, the person who held this position was Yang Liang's confidant. It is enough to show the importance of what is going to be discussed.
Yan Xun, who was standing next to him, saw Dou Kang frowning and not speaking for a long time, so he said, "As long as the steward doesn't agree to anything, I think it's okay to meet him, so that the King of Han will not be wary."
"Yeah!" Dou Kang nodded when he heard this. This Xue Cui was a descendant of the Xue family in Hedong. He had met him a few times. He felt that he was an armchair Zhao Kuo. He had no practical talent, but the other party was just a "soldier of the Han Dynasty." He could not avoid Cao's official position of "military officer".
"There is another piece of news." The guard glanced at Dou Kang and said hesitantly: "The imperial envoy has passed through Liangxiang County and is heading to Jixian County."
"What?"
"Isn't this a bit too coincidental?"
Dou Kang and Yan Xun jumped up from the couch at the same time. When they looked at each other, their expressions changed.
The room suddenly became silent. After a long time, Dou Kang asked: "Who is coming from the court? And where are they coming from?"
The guard felt something was wrong in the atmosphere and said cautiously: "The envoys from the imperial court are King Wei Yang Ji! They are coming from Jizhou."
The guard's words were like a thunderbolt from the blue, causing Dou Kang's head to explode. He felt dizzy, and stars were flying in front of his eyes.
It was not that he was afraid of Yang Ji, but that Yang Ji's arrival was completely consistent with the news revealed by Yang Liang. Yang Guang really planned to deal with him, rather than Yang Liang spreading lies to force him to rebel.
"How many troops does King Wei have?" Yan asked.
"There are about 1,500 people." The guard glanced at Dou Kang, who started breathing fire, and stammered: "It is said that this army is under the banner of Yanzhou Army, and King Wei's guards seem to only have about 200 people. .”
"I understand, please step back." Upon hearing this, Dou Kang impatiently waved the guard to step back, but the fire of anger burned in his heart.
If Yang Guang didn't want to arrest himself and use the Youzhou Army to fight against the Bingzhou Army, why would he send Yang Ji, a prince who was good at fighting, deep into the tiger's den?
If Yang Guang believed in him, why would he let Yang Ji come in secret? The reason why Yang Ji didn't raise his flag until now was because he obviously knew that his whereabouts had been exposed, so he borrowed troops from Yanzhou in an attempt to force himself to submit by force.
"I didn't agree to rebel with Yang Liang, but Yang Guang didn't believe me and actually sent people to arrest me. This is simply too much bullying." Dou Kang was so angry that he kicked the soft couch down and kept gritting his teeth. : "In that case, why should I be secretive? I might as well express my support for Yang Liang and rebel against this foolish king together."
Yan Xun persuaded in a low voice: "Please suppress the fire of thunder for the time being, and don't make a big mistake out of temporary anger."
"I'm not angry, I'm not angry at all." Dou Kang was furious and furious, but he didn't dare to speak too loudly for fear of leaking. The suppressed noise made the atmosphere seem gloomy.
He tried hard to suppress the anger and panic in his heart, and asked in a deep voice: "Yang Ji will arrive in Jixian tomorrow at the latest. According to Baoshou, what should I do now?"
Yan Xun said: "Being humble means remaining neutral and watching the fight between tigers and tigers. But now that the situation has evolved into this, some things must still be done."
"What should I do?" The sudden change made Dou Kang angry, frightened and confused, so he quickly asked after hearing this.
Yan Xun said in a deep voice: "King Wei will arrive in Jixian tomorrow. During this period, the manager has a lot to do. The first thing is to meet Xue Cui. In addition to finding out his attitude, he also needs to tell him the news of King Wei's arrival, and to Putting the King of Wei under house arrest and putting forward some appropriate demands can make the King of Han feel the sincerity of the General Manager. As for whether the General Manager sends troops, he will not care. The King of Wei can be placed under house arrest but not killed. After the matter is over, he will be released. It’s not too late to kill him.”
"This..." Dou Kang frowned and said, "If I capture Yang Ji, there will be less room for maneuver with the court. If the King of Han is defeated, how should I deal with myself?"
"Besides this, does the manager have any other choice?" Yan Xun continued with a gleam in his eyes: "If Xue Cui, who represents the King of Han, has a bad attitude or refuses to make any promises, the worst he can do is hand over the military power happily. Give it to King Wei. In this way, the saint can see the attitude of the steward through King Wei. Even if the steward is temporarily arrested, the saint will make some compensation in the future. Otherwise, wouldn’t it chill the benevolent people who are loyal to the imperial court?"
Dou Kang nodded slightly and asked, "What if the King of Han wins in the end?"
"If the King of Han wins, the manager can be said to have fallen into King Wei's trick in the future." Yan Xun smiled slightly: "And the King of Han is not in the right position, and he urgently needs the support of the Longmen clan and other military families. What can he do to the manager? Maybe for Showing the courtesy and kindness of a corporal, the manager will be rewarded generously."
Yan Xun's words dispelled Dou Kang's last worry. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go see Xue Cui right now."
