After all, in winter, the sun slides westward very quickly, accompanied by the north wind that sweeps southward. Dusk is approaching, and the northern land is once again occupied by the freezing cold.
The bumpy road winds towards the south. This is the official road leading to Yongqing. The road is not wide and unmaintained, making it inconvenient to walk. The road was empty and deserted, there was no travel, only a lot of messy withered grass swaying in the cold wind, creating a scene of decadence and loneliness.
In the howling north wind, a rumble of horse hoofs broke through the lonely cold here. The powerful horse hoofs trampled the ground, and the hoofs collided with the hard frozen soil, making a sharp knocking sound.
This is an elite cavalry. Judging from its size, there are probably more than a thousand cavalry. The flag among the cavalry is the "Yan" flag. Obviously, this is the army from Youzhou.
At the moment, in the Yan Cavalry Formation, Yan King Zhao Kuangzan is being guarded.
As the most powerful vassal town in the northern Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangzan still looks young. Compared with last year, the biggest change is his thick stubble. After more than a year of serving as King of Yan, his aura has become significantly stronger, and his lifted body always exudes a bit of restrained confidence, which is the blessing of being in charge of a powerful vassal.
With an expressionless face and calm eyes looking at the road that stretched southward, Zhao Kuang raised his hand and took the lead in slowing down, followed closely by Yan Qi who was guarding him and also slowed down. The war horses were restrained, and amid a burst of neighing sounds, the team stopped.
The healthy horse under the seat was snoring and snorting white steam. Zhao Kuangzan summoned the general responsible for exploring the road and asked: "We are almost to Yongqing!"
"Your Majesty, Yongqing is only ten miles away from here. You can reach the city before sunset!" the general replied.
When asked, Zhao Kuangzan said in an inexplicable tone: "This is considered punctual, but I don't know if the emperor will blame me for being slow?"
Zhao Kuangzan came here because he was summoned by Liu Chengyou to go to Yongqing to have an audience. According to the words in the book, it was called discussing the affairs of the country together to show the friendship between the king and his ministers.
In fact, Zhao Kuangzan hesitated for a while on how to respond when the emperor called him. Before leaving, Zhao Kuangzan also summoned close staff and generals to discuss the issue of coming or not coming.
Zhao Kuangzan wanted to flatter Zhi and went south to pay homage to the king, but many of his subordinates and generals dissuaded him, saying that the king was responsible for the military and political affairs of Youyan and had a heavy responsibility. They also said that the Han emperor summoned him, but his purpose was unclear and it was inconvenient to act lightly.
All in all, he did not trust the court and had doubts about the emperor, so he advised Zhao Kuangzan not to leave the thunder pool lightly and enter "dangerous territory".
And Zhao Kuangzan seemed to be affected and biased. At this time, Liu Chengyou's son, Quan Lulong, the observation envoy Gao Fang, stood up, denounced all the opinions, spoke to Zhao Kuangzan, and advised him not to alienate the emperor and the court. He also guaranteed with his life that he would be fine going south.
There was a gap between Gao Fang's antecedents and Zhao Yi Jiedu's Chang Si, and the conflict aroused, causing him to be suppressed and several people lost their lives. Later, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With his little friendship with Liu Chengyou during the rise of the Han Dynasty, he thought of him and took the opportunity to transfer him away from Luzhou and move to Youzhou on the right.
At that time, the king of Yan, Zhao Yanshou, was newly mourned. The original leader Zhang Li left earlier, and Zhao Kuangzan succeeded him. The Yan army was in chaos and instability.
Gao Fang followed the emperor's order and went north to carry the imperial government's righteousness. He not only supervised Youyan for the central government, but more importantly, assisted Zhao Kuangzan in suppressing the rebels and stabilizing Lulong, a powerful northern vassal for the Han Dynasty, so that it could correctly fulfill its duties of defending the north of the Han Dynasty. Fortress duties.
Gao Fang has always been a well-organized person, with a far-sighted vision and general knowledge. Before taking office, he went south to Tokyo and was received by Liu Chengyou. The emperor and his ministers talked for an hour and a half, and after analyzing their missions clearly, they paid their respects and drove north.
After fulfilling his duties, Gao Fang also actively assisted Zhao Kuangzan in guarding the Khitans externally and appeasing the army and people internally. He also acted as a link between Zhao Kuangzan and the imperial court, eliminating misunderstandings and easing conflicts.
Previously, when Youzhou was under heavy pressure from the Liao army, being able to get the support of the Han army on the southern front would have contributed to the coordination of high defense. Of course, high defense alone would not have this energy, but standing behind him was the Emperor of Han Dynasty.
It can be said that Zhao Kuangzan was able to quickly take over the power of Youyan, settle internal disputes, and his power became increasingly stable, and Gao Fang played a big role. Zhao Kuangzan is grateful for Gao Fang. Coupled with Gao Fang's excellent political management ability and moral integrity, he has a bit of admiration.
Therefore, Gao Fang relied on his rational advice, and Zhao Kuangzan finally put aside his doubts and made up his mind to obey. Of course, in this process, the opinion of another important figure in the Yan Army also played a decisive role. Lu Long's judge, Li Shu, held the same opinion as Gao Fang.
Li Shu is an old man who has followed Zhao Kuangzan for many years and has always been his confidant. When Zhao Kuangzan was still in charge of the Jinchang Army, he was ordered to go to Tokyo to inquire about the situation and offer his surrender.
With the endorsement of Dukes Gao and Li, the opinions of Zhao's generals are not that important. After making the decision, Zhao Kuangzan packed up his luggage and honor guards and led his army south.
Even so, in order to prepare for unexpected events, Zhao Kuangzan also brought thousands of elite cavalry with him when he went south this time, including a group of "Jianmiandu" soldiers. The Qianmiandu commanded by Yan Army general Zhao Siwan, with Zhao Kuangzan's intentional support, has been Grow into the most well-trained and most powerful soldiers in the Yan army.
Thirty miles behind this cavalry, there are another 5,000 Yan army infantry and cavalry to provide support. In short, King Yan's trip was a huge battle, even greater than that of Emperor Liu Chengyou.
However, when setting off to return, the speed of going south was not fast, and it was even a little delayed. When passing through the checkpoints and passes set up by the Han army, they deliberately stayed for a while. Even though the time for the Yongqing military meeting was stuck, I didn't attend the meeting. However, as evening approached, I still arrived.
At this time, the horse was standing nearby. Hearing Zhao Kuang's words of praise, Zhao Siwan couldn't help but answer the words, and said very rudely: "Your Majesty is not far away for hundreds of miles, and has traveled through such wind and cold to come to see you. According to the general's wishes, the emperor will forget it It’s not too much to go out of the city to welcome him in person, so how can you blame the king?”
After Zhao Kuangzan went north to Youzhou, Zhao Siwan became increasingly arrogant. Hearing his arrogance, Gao Fang, who was on the other side of Zhao Kuangzan, couldn't help but frown and glanced at this person with a cold look.
Recently, a force has gradually emerged in the Yan army, which is dominated by a group of generals and local military tycoons. The political idea is to encourage Zhao Kuangzan to stand on his own feet, with the intention of using both sides to restore the land, property and other interests lost in the tug-of-war between Han and Liao.
It's a stupid idea, but it has a market, and Zhao Siwan is one of the backbones. This person seems to be born with an "anti-Chinese" factor in his bones.
Regarding this point, Gao Fang was deeply worried and had already made plans in his heart to communicate with the emperor in detail about the situation in Youzhou. Now, after hearing what he said, he immediately scolded him mercilessly.
Before Zhao Siwan could get angry, Zhao Kuangzan intervened and said in an unquestionable tone: "You must not be presumptuous. How dare you despise the emperor when you are a minister!"
"Continue to go south, and we will reach Yongqing before sunset!" After saying this, he waved his hand and took the lead in riding his horse towards the south.
