Speaking of which, less than two years after he ascended the throne, this was Liu Chengyou's third tour out of Beijing. At the beginning of his succession, he visited Luoyang in the west, went south to Xuzhou in the spring of the second year, and went north this winter. If you include the Battle of Pinghezhong, it was four times. . Many people felt deeply enough about Liu Chengyou's restless heart under his solemn face.
Generally speaking, when the emperor goes on a tour, if he puts aside the imperial guard of honor and makes a grand show, it is a waste of money and people, that's for sure. Precisely because he knew this, this northern tour was much simpler than the previous one. Not only was he stingy about himself, but the dozen or so ministers accompanying him were also stingy, and the number of servants and guards they brought was limited.
The escort army for the camp was a horse army, equipped with many packhorse vehicles. Therefore, the northern patrol team was very mobile. Although the cold weather had an impact, the marching speed was not slow. According to the plan, he drove to Huazhou, crossed the river via Baimajin, and then headed east to Yedu.
White Horse City is less than two hundred miles away from Tokyo. It departs from Tokyo in the early morning and arrives in the afternoon of the next day. When the emperor arrived, the officials and generals of Huazhou, led by Jiedushi Guo Congyi, braved the cold wind and went out of the city to greet him. Liu Chengyou took precautions in advance so as not to disturb the people when he issued an edict to welcome him. Guo Congyi also did the same. Therefore, in Huazhou, Liu Chengyou did not see the warm welcome of the soldiers and people of Huazhou.
In fact, Liu Chengyou is still a little "disappointed" in his heart. There are no common people who don't take shelter from the wind and cold, take the initiative to greet them, and want to see the holy face... pretentious!
At the foot of Baima City, Liu Chengyou stepped down from the imperial chariot, personally helped Guo Congyi up, held his hand, comforted the old minister Yuan Cong of the Han Dynasty with kind words, and praised him for his garrison, which showed his gesture and gave him enough face. Among the many ministers from Hedong, Guo Congyi was regarded as a middle-class talent. He knew how to advance and retreat, and he was quite obedient to Liu Chengyou, the young emperor.
He took the initiative to introduce the generals in Huazhou to Liu Chengyou. When Liu Chengyou proposed to directly inspect the defense of Huazhou, he did not feel any difference and was extremely respectful.
As an important place for fortification along the river to protect the safety of Tokyo, Huazhou's military strength is quite strong, with five thousand Imperial Guards stationed there. Of course, the five thousand forbidden troops today were reorganized by the previous imperial court and were directly under the control of the Guards Department. Although Guo Congyi held the position of commander of the Huazhou Horse Infantry Army, the real commander of the troops was the capital commander who was transferred here. Envoy Wang Yin.
Obviously, the existence of this forbidden army was the fundamental reason why Guo Congyi was so deferential to Liu Chengyou and the imperial court. In fact, a place like Huazhou is by no means an ordinary outer town. The imperial court has great influence and does not have the strength to fight against the imperial court.
Moreover, with Liu Chengyou's several actions, the imperial court's control over it is gradually increasing. The reduction of military power has become the basis, and the financial aspects are also gradually disintegrating. Such a prefecture is like this. If Liu Chengyou wants to take over the power of Jiedu, of course he must start from the town of Kinki Prefecture.
Guo Congyi has done quite well as a military governor. Although he has no outstanding political achievements, he is more reliable. He has been in the town for more than a year and has no bad reputation. The previous chapter also actively cooperated with the imperial court's policy of streamlining administration, calming the people, and recuperating.
During his term of office, Guo Congyi also led people to do all the things that should be done, such as cultivating and encouraging farmers, dredging ditches, repairing city walls, strengthening river defenses, building roads, preventing and providing disaster relief... The results were just not particularly outstanding. However, for a martial artist, what else can be expected of him?
Without stopping, Liu Chengyou spent half a day on a brief inspection of Huazhou, mainly on the military defense and civil affairs of the Baima generation. He also paid attention to the handling of the summer locust plague and the autumn harvest. The result was quite satisfactory, so he encouraged him a lot and gave Guo Congyi the title of "Taiwei" as a token of encouragement.
They camped outside Baima City. As usual, Liu Chengyou ordered not a single soldier to enter the city. There were not many complaints in the army because Liu Chengyou himself lived in the military camp and slept in a cold tent on winter nights.
Although it was in the hinterland of the Han Dynasty, Murong Yanzhao arranged the camp in a very orderly and high-level manner, and the camp was firmly established. Everything showed the seriousness of marching and fighting, without any slightest care or neglect. In the evening, when Liu Chengyou personally inspected the camp, he expressed great praise to Murong Yanzhao in front of the generals.
Guo Congyi allocated some supplies from the Baima treasury, and "raised donations" of a batch of wine and meat from the wealthy merchants in the city, and sent them to the military camp to receive labor rewards.
In a simple tent, the red-hot charcoal fire dissipated the cold air, and the steaming heat and the smell of wine made the atmosphere lively.
Several generals of the Forbidden Army gathered here, sitting cross-legged casually, drinking and talking. They were all young people favored by Emperor Liu Chengyou, rising stars in the army. Gao Huaide, Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Yongde and Zhao Kuangyin are all there.
Looking at the situation in the account, it seems that Gao Huaide is the main one. He is respected in terms of military position and status. After all, he is the emperor's uncle and the son of King Linqing. Compared with others, they are always weaker.
Of course, it would be impossible for Gao Huaide to convince these people and gain their approval based on his identity alone. In fact, even excluding the advantages of status, Gao Huaide's resume is very good. After all, when he was still a boy, he started his military career with his father Gao Xingzhou, fighting against the Khitan and quelling the rebellion. Before the founding of the Han Dynasty, he was able to He was awarded the title of governor based on his military merits, which was several levels higher than his previous generation.
Zhao Kuangyin had the lowest background during his time, but his ability, character, and charisma were outstanding, as well as his good communication skills. When he interacted with people like Gao Huaide and Zhang Yongde, he was recognized by them. Chatting and joking, getting along well.
The two tribesmen opened the tent curtain and carried in half a roasted fat sheep. The cold wind rolled in through the curtain, which made the young generals in the tent sober up.
Zhao Yanjin rubbed his hands, couldn't wait to pick up the knife, cut off a piece of roasted mutton and stuffed it into his mouth. After chewing, he wiped the oil from his mouth and muttered: "Choose this time of year to patrol the north. Your Majesty is not afraid of the cold..."
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin said in a reminding tone: "We are the emperor's personal school. Your Majesty has an order, and we will go through fire and water, and we will not dare to resign. General Zhao, you must not criticize your Majesty!"
"Haha!" After hearing Zhao Kuangyin's words, Zhao Yanjin was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Brother Yuen Long, don't be nervous. I have served your Majesty for a long time. With his magnanimity, he will never offend us for this, and may even laugh at it. "
Zhao Yanjin was a man of talent, knowledge, and courage. He was usually a casual person with a rather heroic demeanor. He has a pretty good idea of Liu Chengyou's temperament.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin reluctantly agreed, singing praises to the emperor's mind, but he had no intention of relaxing his own prudence and self-discipline.
Zhao Kuangyin does not have the confidence of everyone here. His father Zhao Hongyin is also considered a senior general in the Forbidden Army, but there is a limit to how high he can be. He was promoted to Liu Chengyou and felt lucky. It was the time when he was striving forward, establishing achievements, and realizing his ambitions. He did not want to give the emperor a bad impression because of his words and deeds.
"Yuen Long is right. His Majesty has the world in mind. In order to understand the people's sentiments, he did not take shelter from the wind and cold. What do we have to complain about? This time, Your Majesty did not bring any meritorious veterans with him when he went north, but he chose me and other younger generations to serve as guards. This is Your Majesty's regard and trust in us..." Gao Huaide also spoke, and after opening his mouth, he spared no effort to gather military morale for his brother-in-law.
How the military spirit is united, how loyalty is cultivated, it is so subtle and repeatedly emphasized...Liu Chengyou has placed many generals like Gao Huaide in the army. Gao Huaide is more implicit, some The flattery of the middle- and low-level officers and the civil servants deployed by Liu Chengyou into the Forbidden Army was enough to make Liu Chengyou blush.
Seeing that Gao Huaide had already spoken, Zhao Yanjin hurriedly said: "I made a mistake. I will punish myself with three drinks!"
As he spoke, he took the jug and poured wine.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin joked again at the right time: "You are not punishing yourself, you are clearly rewarding yourself..."
