Following Li Hongji's gaze, the generals immediately turned their heads, and all eyes focused on Meng Hua who suddenly appeared. There are only dozens of generals left in the Northern Expedition, including the famous Liu Yanzhen, and most of the military leaders of the Southern Tang Dynasty are here, not to mention one of the top leaders, King Yan Li Hongji.
Being focused and stared at by such a group of high-ranking people, Meng Hua's heart was churning. Although he had felt this way once in the Bagong Mountain Camp, the feeling at this moment seemed to be even stronger. Maybe it was because he had gone through so much hardship to get here. At this point, as a powerless civil servant, it is extremely difficult to go deep into the heart of the enemy's country to find the army.
When he first entered the city, Meng Hua did not have such a strong feeling, but now looking at the generals in the hall and His Highness King Yan who was thinking about him, he finally calmed down and realized that he had really done it.
What's even more surprising is that after a few years, His Highness Prince Yan can still remember himself as a young lecturer at the Dongdu Library.
Meng Hu didn't care about his embarrassment, he quickly straightened his clothes, walked with his head held high, and under the blazing eyes of the generals, he bowed his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Meng Hu, the Governor of Haozhou, pays homage to His Highness King Yan!"
"Get up quickly! Let me take a look!" Li Hongji looked very excited and went straight forward to help Meng Hua up. "Just now, I received a report saying that you, the Inspector Meng, came to Xiapi City. I am simply It’s hard to believe... Alas! I miss you so much when we say goodbye to Yangzhou! It’s a pity that we are busy with official duties and it’s hard to see each other!”
Meng Hua was stunned for a moment, then looked like he was crying with gratitude, and then bowed and said tremblingly: "I thank you for your concern, Your Highness! Ever since I heard that the Northern Expedition failed and the army was trapped in Xiapi City, I have not been worried about Your Highness's safety every day!" Seeing that Your Highness is safe today, I am finally relieved!"
When an old friend came to visit, the sudden memory seemed to bring Li Hongji back to the scene five years ago when Meng Hua patiently taught him the teachings of the classics, and he couldn't help but feel emotional.
Li Hongji immediately waved and ordered someone to bring a seat. He held Meng Hua's hands tightly and said movingly: "Meng Hu has come a long way. He must have gone through hardships and hardships along the way. It's been a hard journey! Sit down and drink tea." , by the way, tell me about the current situation in the court..."
There was some strange harmony in the lobby at this time. Liu Yanzhen felt deeply relieved by Meng Hua's arrival and stepped aside angrily at the right time. The generals just stood quietly on both sides, watching Li Hongji and Meng Hua sitting opposite each other and chatting. Although their expressions varied, almost all of them listened attentively, for fear of missing a sentence, and their hearts were filled with a long-lost passion.
Not only because of the familiarity brought by Meng Hua's official uniform of the Southern Tang Dynasty, but because of Meng Hua's appearance, they inexplicably ignited expectations in their hearts. This governor who came all the way from the south must have the emperor's orders. This may bring a change to this predicament.
Meng Hua did not talk about the hardships and dangers he had experienced along the way to show his merits, but truthfully told the situation in the Southern Tang Dynasty at this time.
Sure enough, when the generals heard that Li Jinquan had rebelled and swept across the three states, they were all shocked. Several veteran generals could not hold back and stepped forward to express their wish to return home and put down the rebellion. The scene became furious. It was not until Meng Hua mentioned that Liu Renzhan and Li Yuan had led their troops to Shouzhou that the mood of the generals relaxed a lot.
Needless to say, Liu Renzhan was very familiar to all the generals. No one in the fourteen states of Jiangbei knew the reputation of the three generations of the Liu family. What's more, coupled with Li Yuan, who is now famous and established as a teenager, this commander in his early twenties, all the generals present had witnessed his extraordinary achievements in the previous Western Expedition. After the defeat of the Northern Expedition this time, although The coach Chen Jue never mentioned it, but many generals in the army always felt inexplicably that if Marshal Li could accompany the army in the Northern Expedition this time, maybe the situation would not be so bad...
"Okay! Marshal Liu is fighting the rebellion alone, and Marshal Li is rushing thousands of miles to help. With these two loyal men in our Tang Dynasty, the rebellion will be put down in a few days!"
Li Hongji smiled cheerfully, and the generals also showed relieved smiles, and the atmosphere that had been slightly suppressed and tense suddenly relaxed. Meng Hua also quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. After all, those fierce generals roared at the same time, which was really oppressive.
At this time, Li Hongji's smile seemed to have a deeper meaning. He clearly remembered that before setting off from Runzhou to reorganize his army, Zhou Zong, who was left behind in the Eastern Capital, paid a visit. During a secret conversation, he revealed that Li Yuan was expanding his army and would try to help him with the Northern Expedition. This also made him full of confidence.
However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. It turns out that Li Yuan did not come to help.
Since the army retreated to Xiapi City and had a stalemate with the Zhou army for several days, Li Hongji would inevitably feel resentful towards Li Yuan when he was depressed, even though Li Hongji knew in his heart that it was his father who rejected Zhou Zong's request for Li Yuan to lead his troops north. , even if Li Yuan were to pursue this matter in the future, he would really not be blamed.
Therefore, when Meng Hua mentioned that Li Yuan was currently suppressing the rebellion in Shouzhou, Li Hongji finally felt a lot better. It seemed that Li Yuan did not break his promise, but just couldn't help himself.
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After a while, Li Hongji came back to his senses and finally spoke his mind: "Prince Meng, I sent a horse to deliver a memorial to the court. I wonder if your majesty has an edict?"
These words hit the heart of all the generals, and they all held their breaths, waiting for Meng Hua's response.
Facing everyone's expectant gazes, Meng Huan calmly took a sip of tea, then cupped his hands and said, "Back to Your Majesty, before I left Haozhou, even Shouzhou had not received your majesty's order to suppress the rebellion, let alone The Northern Expedition army far away in Huaibei? The rebellion in Jiangbei is still going on, and many important roads have been cut off by the rebels. Even if there is an edict, it will inevitably be delayed!"
"This..." Li Hongji was immediately frustrated, and then fell into silence.
The generals were even more disappointed, and many of them lowered their heads and sighed secretly.
A black-faced general couldn't hold himself back and muttered to Meng Hua, "Since we don't have a decree to bring you, why would Governor Meng take the risk of trekking here? If we come to rescue, we can even bring a troop of troops here!"
"Yeah! There's nothing, why are you here..."
"Oh, he is a civil servant after all, he knows nothing about fighting..."
Seeing that the generals began to express their dissatisfaction, but Li Hongji frowned and said nothing, Meng Hua took a deep breath, stood up and said calmly: "Now that Shouzhou is rebelling, except for the soldiers and horses of the two generals Liu and Li, where in Jiangbei?" Can I ask my generals to bring the elite troops? If my subordinates bring me troops, are you willing to fight the Zhou army?"
"We, why don't we want to-" The black-faced general was about to argue, but he quickly stopped when he met Liu Yanzhen's sharp gaze.
Li Hongji sighed and stared at Meng Hua's calm face, thoughtfully. Then he asked softly: "Prince Meng, in your opinion, where should our army go now? War or peace?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly!"
Meng Hua brushed his sleeves and said in a deep voice: "I am here to go north to persuade His Highness to lead the army back south!"
As soon as these words came out, Li Hongji's face immediately darkened.
