Zhang Yan was ready to return to Beijing, but the hot potato he threw burned all the emperors and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty to death.
Since Gao Baoxu and Nanping soldiers fled to Ezhou with thousands of people, the debate on how to deal with Gao Baoxu has never stopped.
In the Southern Tang Dynasty, Liu Renzhan, the military commander of the Qinghuai Army in Shouzhou, He Jingzhu, the military commander of the Wuchang Army in Ezhou, and Wang Chongwen, the military commander of the Yong'an Army in Jianzhou, all suggested that Li Jing should not miss the opportunity and seize the opportunity to capture Jiangling and then reject the river. Shou.
In this way, even if all the land in Huainan is lost, Nanchen can still be used to wait for the right time.
Well! It cannot be said that their strategy is wrong. In fact, it is still very feasible.
The core of this strategy is Jiangling City. Taking Jiangling City prevents the Zhou army from building a strong navy. Instead of competing with the Zhou army on land, it relies on the navy to build a defense line.
Then concentrate resources in Jiangling to support an elite imperial army to defend the capital.
And this should be said to be the only opportunity for the Southern Tang Dynasty, because everyone can see that as long as Zhou Guo gets Jiangling, it will immediately have a strong navy.
Coupled with the great righteousness of the Celestial Empire and the invincible land cavalry, it is difficult to say whether the Southern Tang Dynasty can survive the Li Jing period.
But doing this is also very risky. If you can capture Jiangling, it will be good. If you cannot capture Jiangling, it will be considered good if you wait for the Zhou army to retaliate and lose all Huainan. Otherwise, it may be captured by others. He went to Jiangning Mansion in the Western Capital.
Li Jing was also quite conflicted in his heart. From his heart, he hated Zhang Zhou far more than anyone else.
Because before Zhang Gao sent 50,000 infantrymen and cavalry to beat Li Jing, Li Jing was very prosperous.
The Tang Dynasty he inherited from his father Li Min, after being governed by three generations of heroes Yang Xingmi, Xu Wen, and Li Min, had 100,000 soldiers, 1.2 million households, 3 million households, mountains of money and grain, and a navy army Across the river, it can be said that he is not weak.
Later, he also recruited and surrendered Hu Cile, the Jiedu envoy of the Wuning Army in Xuzhou of the Later Jin Dynasty, and had all the land in Huaibei. He had just defeated Wang Min, and he looked like he was at the peak of the sun.
Li Jing himself still thought so, so when Du Chongwei, the governor of Songzhou's returned army to Germany, came to join him, everyone in the Southern Tang Dynasty thought that Li Jing would be his destiny.
As long as they defeat Hexi Zhang Xuan, who claims to revive the Tang Dynasty, but is actually just a Tibetan thief, the Tang Dynasty will be completely revived in the hands of Li Jing.
Unfortunately, in the end, the Southern Tang Dynasty spent millions of dollars on military expenditures, and what they got was two disastrous defeats at Meng Zhuze and Yizheng, which resulted in the loss of more than 40,000 soldiers. Even the eastern capital Jiangdu Prefecture (Yangzhou) was captured, leaving the western capital Jiangning with almost no usable soldiers. Guard.
Li Jing was beaten twice in a row. With a bruised nose and a swollen face, Li Jing had to cede the three states of Chu, Hao and Si in Huainan to Zhang Yan. The donations extorted every year put a heavy economic burden on Southern Tang.
Especially the angel who came from Zhou Kingdom a few days ago, grabbed his sleeve and screamed angrily, which made Li Jing want to kill someone just thinking about it.
However, even though the hatred in Li Jing's heart was higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea, he could not make up his mind when he thought of the fear that the Zhou army had brought to him the last time when the Zhou army came to the river.
It's just that this is the critical moment of decision-making. What's more terrifying than making the wrong decision is not making a decision.
Li Jing wanted to avenge his past humiliation and no longer be bullied by Zhou Guo, but he was still undecided.
Under the delay of the Lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, undercurrents surged in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
. . . .
Is Zhang Yan afraid that Nan Tang will suddenly intervene at this time? If he is, he is not very afraid.
He said he was not afraid because Zhang Yan was very confident in the army under his command.
Since ancient times, no large city like Jiangling could be captured by naval forces alone. The Southern Tang army only caused trouble and could not capture Jiangling.
I am afraid that it is because the Nanping navy has not been fully digested. The Ezhou Wuchang Army Jiedushi and the Jiangzhou Fenghua Army Jiedushi (Jiujiang) in the Southern Tang Dynasty both have very strong naval forces. Last time, Zhang Hao did not dare to use the whole army. When crossing the river, I was worried about being cut off by these two people.
If they go upstream now, they will drag a large number of troops in Jiangling. If they delay for a few more months, Zhang Yan will have to withdraw his troops as soon as the twelfth lunar month of winter arrives, and the golden opportunity to deal with Ma Chu will be lost.
More importantly, if, as in history, the Southern Tang army did not come to Jiangling, but entered Ma Chu and got involved with Ma Xi'e, there would be some trouble.
At this time, Hunan had denser water networks and swamps than Jiangling. Marching in most places had to rely on boat ferries. If there was help from the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Ma Xi'e, a local snake, just to capture Tanzhou, I am afraid it would have been necessary. Calculated annually.
"Where are Zhang Shaodi and others?" Zhang Yan summoned Li Xiaojie, the deputy commander of the Jinyi Guards who was responsible for Jingnan and Hunan, and asked.
Li Xiaojie said to Zhang Yan with a stern face: "Not only Zhang Shaodi, but also the soldiers from Ma Chu gathered around Ma Xiguang, and they were all vague about my probing and wooing.
Thinking about it, the biggest wish of these people is to return to Tanzhou to drive away Ma Xihe, and then serve Ma Xiguang as the leader and strive to protect the Chu State. "
Zhang Hao nodded, "It seems that there are still many mediocre people in Ma Chu Kingdom!
They feel that with a strong saint like me weighing down their heads, it is better to support a mediocre and cowardly leader like Ma Xiguang, so that they can at least continue to be the master in the territory of Chu. "
After a short pause, Zhang Yan said to Li Fang beside him: "Call Ma Xiguang here. To solve the problem of Chu State, we still have to start with Ma Xiguang."
When Zhang Gao summoned Ma Xiguang, he was chanting the words "Bao Sheng Tathagata".
This is the southern Buddha among the five Buddhas of Buddhism. It corresponds to where Ma Chu is. Therefore, the people of Chu believe in Buddhism and mostly believe in the southern Tathagata who gathers treasures of merit and wealth.
Historically, when Ma Xiguang was forced into desperation by Ma Xi'e, he personally put on silk robes and gathered monks to sing Buddhist sutras at the top of the city, hoping that the Buddha would help defeat the enemy.
When he was captured and killed by Ma Xi'e, he kept chanting Baosheng Tathagata and was a devout Buddhist.
However, the more he believed in Buddha, the more alienated he became from Zhang Hao. Don't think that even those who believe in Buddhism will be close to Zhang Hao. On the contrary.
Since the Six Dharma Sects developed by Zhang Gao were borrowed from the three desert religions, the principle of the law is to worship the Buddha from a high place and then use the Supreme Heaven to speak for the mortal world. Therefore, the more proficient in Buddhism, the more resistant Zhang Gao is.
Because Zhang Yan is just a layer of Buddhism, the inner layer is the three desert religions, and the innermost layer is actually a monotheistic religion that is a mixture of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in Chinese thought.
Compared with the current Buddhism, which still has a strong Indian style, they are completely two extremes.
Except for some Buddhist sects in Hexi, Anxi, and Qingtang who had ulterior motives or always felt threatened by other sects, few Buddhist monks could get used to Zhang Gao, and privately regarded Zhang Gao as a heretic.
This is the case with Ma Xiguang. Before he got to know him in depth, he was attracted by Zhang Xi's identity as the Supreme Merciful Buddha (Dharma King). However, after getting to know him, Ma Xiguang immediately didn't want to get close to Zhang Xi.
However, in this matter, Ma Xiguang, who did not have much capital, did not have much room for bargaining.
He didn't want to get close to Zhang Xi, but if Zhang Xi wanted to get close to him, he had to obey.
As soon as he entered the door, Zhang Xi came over and held Ma Xiguang's arm, saying with a slight sadness: "Depi! I'm very sad to hear that your wife, Wang, and their two sons were killed.
Now I have ordered my subordinates to carry out the imperial edict and plan to posthumously give the Wang family the title of Madam of Changsha County. Your two sons will each be given the title of Sikong and Sima of the Inspection School. What do you think? "
Ma Xiguang's arm was held so that he could not salute, so he could only lean forward slightly. He looked at Zhang Yan with red eyes and thanked him: "I have thanked the saint for his kindness. If I can get a posthumous gift from the county's wife, my wife will be able to rest in peace." "
Zhang Gao patted Ma Xiguang's arm to express comfort, and then continued: "I heard that your eldest daughter died young, but your second daughter is still alive and was not harmed by that thief Ma Xi'e.
My fifth son, Zhao Yanjin, and his wife died young. If Depi doesn't dislike her, we can become in-laws. "
Ma Xiguang's second daughter had just turned sixteen and was cute and charming. This time Ma Xiguang took her to Tokyo with him and did not stay in Tanzhou, so she was not killed.
Ma Xiguang didn't hesitate at all, and said hurriedly with great joy, "I don't know the etiquette, I'm afraid I will give in to Marquis Baoyi."
Of course he was happy. Except for Li Congyi, all of Zhang Zhan's seven adopted sons were good at both civil and military affairs. Although Zhao Yanjin was not as good as Murong Nobunaga and Li Cunhui, he currently looked much more promising than Zhe Deyuan and Yang Jiye.
The Flying Tiger Army, which still controls Zhang Zhou's navy, is more than enough with his Ma Xiguang's daughter, no matter in terms of status or ability.
Zhang Yan was also very happy. Just as he was about to say something else, Zhang Lieming on the side quickly interrupted, "Uncle, did you forget something?"
Zhang Yan looked at Zhang Lieming pretending to be confused, but in fact he already knew what was going on, "What's the matter? Tell me."
Zhang Lieming quickly replied: "Uncle Seventeenth came to tell me the day before yesterday that my eighth aunt saw Ma Jieshuai's majestic figure, which looked very much like her late husband. He wanted to ask you to do something good for her."
"Ah!" Zhang Hao let go of Ma Xiguang's arm and patted it lightly with both hands.
"How come you almost forgot about this, Depi! The late husband of a certain eighth sister was a brave general under a certain subordinate, and unfortunately he died in battle.
Today, the eighth sister has two sons. Although she is not as charming as a fish and a goose, she is diligent and thrifty in running the family, gentle and virtuous. Do you want to be someone's brother-in-law? "
Ma Xiguang's face suddenly turned pale. He was just a little cowardly, but he was not a fool.
He knew that if he married Zhang Yan's sister, although it would be an extra layer of protection, it would also be an extra layer of prison.
In this way, the daughter of the Zhang family who married him halfway and had two sons would definitely turn to the Zhang family if something big happened. As long as she married him, it would be equivalent to Zhang Xi's control of Ma Xiguang's movements.
Moreover, no matter how you look at this arrangement, it seems that he does not want him to return to Tanzhou to take charge, and that he is going to swallow up the Chu State.
Ma Xiguang mustered up the courage to look at Zhang Yan. He was about to speak, but his mouth felt extremely dry and his throat seemed to be stuck with a ball of rags. He wanted to say something, but he always felt blocked and couldn't speak. .
Zhang Yan once again grabbed Ma Xiguang's arm and almost pulled Ma Xiguang, who was more than a head shorter than him, to his chest.
Zhang Gao was condescending, and the breath he exhaled from his nostrils hit Ma Xiguang's face directly. His hands were like iron pliers, and Ma Xiguang could not move at all.
"What? Is Depi so happy that he can't speak?"
Zhang Hao spoke slowly one word at a time, each word seemed to pop out from between his teeth.
Ma Xiguang looked up at Zhang Yan, and suddenly felt that the normally smiling Holy Emperor seemed to have flown to the nine heavens and had turned into a divine dragon. The golden light from his body surged, locking him tightly.
A sense of extreme danger of impending disaster pressed towards Ma Xiguang, and every pore of Zhang Yan seemed to be exuding the question, 'Do you want to be cut in half or Ling Chi?'
In an instant, all Ma Xiguang's thoughts disappeared in an instant. The Chu Kingdom, the throne, and the Buddhist heresy were absolutely not more important than being alive now.
He couldn't help but knelt down on his knees, and tears of 'joy' welled up in his eyes, "I'm afraid that I am not worthy of the imperial family because of my poor fortune and shallow virtues."
"Hahahaha!" Zhang Hao laughed a few times, let go of Ma Xiguang's wrist, and patted his shoulder approvingly.
"King Wumu of Chu started his career as a carpenter and owned thirteen states. He is worthy of being called a hero.
My brother, today's Virtue Pi, understands the overall situation so well, how can he be blessed with little virtue and little virtue? I immediately conferred the title of Princess Yutan on my eighth sister, and gave my brother the courtesy of being the Commander-in-Chief of the Consort. "
Yutan is the northern gateway to Tanzhou, which is the area around today's Yutan Town, Ningxiang County, Changsha City. It has a very important position in Ma Chu.
It was a great honor to make Ba Niang the princess of Yutan Princess and to treat Ma Xiguang as the princess's consort and captain.
At this point, Ma Xiguang was naturally weak, so he just went with the flow.
Zhang Yanze immediately asked him to summon Zhang Shaodi, Liu Yantao, Li Yanwen and other Ma Chu army generals to come here.
Soon, Zhang Shaodi, Liu Yantao, Li Yanwen and others were summoned to Zhang Zhang's palace.
Unlike the last few times when Zhang Gao sent people to recruit them and refused to accept them, this time the Ma Chu generals actually bowed down to the king for the first time.
Zhang Yan returned the bow salute lightly, and then looked at the Chu soldiers and generals and shouted loudly.
"I ordered people to comfort you, and you watched in silence. Now I have ordered Madepi to summon you, how can you come so quickly?
Could it be that this Chu vassal is not a vassal of the Celestial Dynasty? I, the Emperor of China, am not your lord? "
Well! Ma Xiguang's courtesy name is Depi. It was also the first time that Zhang Hao called him this. He suddenly realized that De Pi was a good name, but the surname Ma seemed inappropriate, right?
Seeing the emperor's rage, Liu Yantao, Li Yanwen and other generals were so frightened that they prostrated themselves on the ground and dared not speak.
Only Zhang Shaodi looked normal, looked at Zhang Yan and asked: "May I ask the saint how to arrange the successor king?"
The heir king mentioned by Zhang Shaodi is of course Ma Xiguang, because Zhang Yan has not officially canonized Ma Xiguang as the king of Chu, so he is only qualified to succeed the king of Chu, but he is not the king of Chu yet, so he can only be called that.
Zhang Gao replied blankly: "I have become in-laws with De Pi, and we have married as a noble daughter of the clan. From now on, we will be one family."
Zhang Shaodi, however, refused to give in. "The barbarians from outside the vassal state boldly asked the emperor whether the successor king will guard Tanzhou from now on, or will he accompany the emperor?"
It's a bit interesting. Zhang Yan took one look at this guy called Young Enemy, but he was already over forty years old, and was known as Ma Chu Dongliang. He was not going to hide it at the moment, and said in a deep voice: "Since we are a family, of course you must always accompany me. about."
After saying this, Zhang Yan was already prepared for Zhang Shaodi and others not to cooperate. There are some people in this world who are just stubborn. They know that big things cannot be stopped, but they always want to use their arms as a chariot.
Unexpectedly, when Zhang Shaodi heard what Zhang Yan said, he suddenly prostrated himself on the ground and said, "I, Zhang Shaodi, bow to the Holy Emperor."
This operation stunned Zhang Yan. He looked at Zhang Shaodi who was prostrating on the ground and asked: "You refused to bow to me before, why do you want to bow to me now?"
Zhang Shaodi raised his head and said loudly: "The reason why I didn't go to court before was because I was a minister of the Chu vassal. Is there any reason to go beyond the vassal king and go to the emperor?"
Now your Majesty definitely wants to accept the Chu vassal and return to the country. Without the Chu vassal, the ministers are the emperor's ministers, and they must come to pay homage.
Moreover, I and my two generations have been supported by the people of Chu for decades. If Your Majesty just wants to send them back to the heir, I still have to persuade the saint not to send large armies, so as to avoid the loss of life.
Because Ma Xi'e has established a strong influence in Chu and has no intention of returning to the country, he should not move lightly. Today, the sage decided to follow the story of Nanping, and only then did the ministers dare to serve the imperial court. "
Zhang Gao was stunned, wasn't it said that there were few loyal ministers and even fewer famous ministers in the Five Dynasties? Why are you here? Good guy, there is no shortage of loyal people everywhere.
Those who know understand that this is the Five Dynasties, but those who don’t know think that this is the era when all the heroes came together at the end of the Han Dynasty and the end of the Sui Dynasty.
All right! Under the banner of Zhang Shengren holding high the banner of loyalty, filial piety and justice, another famous minister with great vision appeared.
So Zhang Hao quickly helped Zhang Shaodi up with a face of ecstasy, and regardless of Ma Xiguang's embarrassment, he praised loudly.
"I originally thought that the Chu vassal was located in the south of the world, and the loyal, filial, and righteous people could not compare with the Central Plains. However, I did not expect that there would be such great talents as Qing and others. The rebel Ma Xihe was defeated the next day. I should make use of Qing and others."
Zhang Shaodi also cooperated with Zhang Yan. He said with emotion: "Xi'e is cruel and plunders Tanzhou. It is not allowed. I wait for the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court like a baby waiting for Ye Niang.
Now that I see the sage, I know the benevolence of the sage emperor. I invite you to be a pioneer and help the sage to pacify the Chu land. "
Zhang Hao immediately asked: "What's the plan?"
But before Zhang Shaodi could answer, Zhang Cheng came outside to report that Peng Shisong, the envoy from Ma Chu, had arrived.
Zhang Shaodi was overjoyed and said, "I congratulate you as a saint! Peng Shisong comes from the Peng family, the leader of the Tuman chieftains in Chen and Xi. He has an eccentric temperament, but he is loyal and kind."
He has been guarding Tanzhou for a long time and is quite famous. He is from the Peng family, which is also a wealthy family in Chudixi cave.
The saint gained Peng Shisong's support. Not only was Tanzhou within reach, but he could also take the opportunity to pacify the barbarians west of Huxiang. In this way, the Chu land would be returned to the country! "
I was a little panicked today, so I updated a little later because a family member was infected.
Book lovers, it’s better to buy some pain-relieving and fever-reducing drugs. The toxicity is indeed weakened a lot, but it is definitely more severe than a common cold. Of course, this is based on my personal observation. I don’t know if the tiger will be asymptomatic after being infected.
(End of chapter)
