Yangzhou, Jiangdu Palace.
The old palace has become the residence of the emperor of the Han Dynasty as the emperor came eastward. In the palace, Liu Chengyou leaned on the desk, holding a pen in his hand, and sketched on it the arrangements for the garrison left behind, basically on the tip of the pen. There is nothing better than this to point out the country and outline the world.
"Li Deming is dead?" Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised when he heard Li Shaoyou's report.
"Exactly!" Li Shaoyou reported: "Just yesterday, Li Jing issued an edict to behead all of Li Deming's family and abandon the market! Your Majesty, Tang Ting's move clearly shows that he has something strange about this peace negotiation, so he must be on guard against it!"
Liu Chengyou thought for a while, then waved his hand and said: "Don't be too nervous. Jinling has suffered a huge defeat this time. It is a radical humiliation. What if we don't let others vent their anger and complaints? Let's accept the reality." ?”
"It's a pity! Although Li Deming is a young minister, he has worked hard for me before and after the peace talks. Regardless of his virtues, just counting his merits is not a small one. I have to share his love!" Liu Chengyou He sighed: "Thinking about the raw material, leaving it in Jinling after retreating to the north can be considered a good chess piece! Now it seems that I didn't think it through!"
"Li Deming could not fulfill his duties as a minister in life, but he could make His Majesty sigh with regret in death. Even if he descends from Jiuquan, it is also a blessing!" Li Shaoyou said.
Liu Chengyou asked: "Will the whole family be killed?"
"Except for one grandson who was made an official slave because he was too young, the rest of the family, more than 20 people, were all killed!" Li Deming replied.
After sighing softly, Liu Chengyou raised his finger and ordered: "Send someone to bring his son to Tokyo. I will give him a title and a mansion. This can be regarded as a reward for his service. Let's keep some incense for him!"
"Yes!" Li Shaoyou responded immediately: "Your Majesty is merciful!"
For Takeshi, this is not a difficult task.
"Is there anything else going on over there in Jiangnan?" Liu Chengyou asked.
Li Shaoyou reported: "At present, the Jiangnan side is actively raising the first batch of annual tribute goods. It is reported that our army is staying in Huainan, which still makes the emperor and his ministers uneasy. In addition, Li Jing suffered from this big change and was depressed. He is also ill. There is news in the Tang Palace that Li Jing intends to abdicate!"
"Oh?" Liu Chengyou became interested and straightened up: "Abdication! Li Jing's successor is his younger brother Li Jingsui!"
Seeing the strange look on the emperor's face, Li Shaoyou immediately reported: "Indeed! Li Jingsui is the heir, but his personality is mediocre, cowardly and indifferent, even worse than his brother. He has no ambition and has long wanted to retire. And Li Jing's eldest son, Li Hongji, has a personality He was perverse and strong-willed, good at martial arts and used strength. This time he defeated Wu Yue in Changzhou and made military exploits, attacking and defending along the river. He was the deputy commander of the Tang Army, and he also showed his skills, and his reputation greatly increased.
Originally, this was supposed to be a battle for the right to inherit the throne, but he took the opportunity to disrupt his politics again. It's a pity that due to the current situation in the Tang court, Li Jing really wanted to abdicate, but Li Jingsui had no chance. "
"It would not be a good thing for our government if Li Hongji, such a radical and staunch leader, is allowed to take office!" Liu Chengyou muttered.
"In addition!" Li Shaoyou reported again: "Li Jing seems to have the intention to move the capital!"
"Ha! I see that Li Jing is already a frightened bird!" Liu Chengyou smiled and said, "If I continue to stay in Huainan, I don't know how many thoughts this person will have!"
"The situation in the Jinling court, whether it's succession, military affairs, or party struggles, no matter how big or small the matter is, I have to keep a close eye on the Wude Division!" Liu Chengyou said seriously.
Seeing this, Li Shaoyou hurriedly said: "Follow your orders!"
"Your Majesty, there is news from Hefei!" After Li Shaoyou retreated, Zhang Dejun came to report again: "Then the Tang envoy Sun Sheng is dead!"
"Huh?" Liu Chengyou, who was still thinking about the aftermath of Huainan, couldn't help but be surprised and asked: "What's going on?"
Zhang Dejun replied: "Your Majesty, it is said that after Sun Sheng learned about the peace treaty between the two countries, he was so sad and angry that he went on a hunger strike and died."
"Hmph!" With a slight snort, Liu Chengyou stood up and walked around, shaking his head and saying: "Look, Jianghuai doesn't have good ministers. With such ministers, Li Jing has been in such a situation and completely defeated!"
"The Lord of the Tang Dynasty is ignorant, and your Majesty is wise. For this reason alone, the Pseudo-Tang Dynasty will definitely not be a match for the Han Dynasty!" Zhang Dejun said with a chuckle.
"I have ordered Hefei to send people to bury Sun Sheng's body. This person must be from the north. Turn off the defense and return it to his hometown for burial, so that the fallen leaves can return to their roots!" Liu Chengyou sighed and ordered.
"yes!"
"That's right!" Liu Chengyou thought for a moment and then said: "Is there anything wrong with Zhong Mo? Let me take care of him. I still need to meet him. We still have a camp in Hefei, so we can head back north first. , go to the Huaihe River and meet up with Luan Jia!"
...
From the city walls of Jiangdu, as far as the eye can see, the wind is sunny and the spring scenery is bright. The city is peaceful and orderly. The people of Yangzhou seem to have recovered from the war disaster. At least there is still prosperity in the market.
"Fireworks descended on Yangzhou in March, but now, even though it is only February, you can already see the prosperity of Yangzhou!" Liu Chengyou said with emotion as he specially greeted Zhao Kuangyin and escorted him to Jiangdu.
Zhao Kuangyin was one position behind and followed him, saying: "Your Majesty, the land of Yangzhou is rich in resources and people. Its wealth has been famous all over the world. There is a saying of 'promote one and benefit two'. We only need to stabilize the order and cultivate the two." If you stabilize people’s hearts, you can restore their prosperity!”
"The city that was conquered by the army can recover so quickly, but it is not as easy as you said!" Liu Chengyou said, with a smile on his lips: "Yuan Long, during this southern expedition, you have repeatedly Many achievements have brought me many surprises, such as the great victory at Wukou, the cold night attack on Chuzhou, the Baili reinforcements at Shanyang, and the southward raid on Gaoyou. One after another, among the generals of the Southern Expedition, few can achieve this in terms of military achievements. Comparable to you, Zhao Kuangyin. But, do you know what I like most?"
Without waiting for Zhao Kuangyin to speak, Liu Chengyou patted the female wall at the back of Jiangdu and said: "This is the city at your feet. The whole city is under your feet to protect the peace of the city! I have always been aware of the destructive power of war. I can make Yangzhou intact and hand it over to me and the imperial court." , far exceeded my expectations.
I heard that when Yangzhou first fell, there was chaos in the city, which almost led to a military disaster. It is your timely response and proper handling that can eliminate the disaster. With the wealth of Yangzhou, women have no luck and have nothing to gain..."
When Liu Chengyou said this, Zhao Kuangyin's face changed slightly, and he cupped his hands and said: "I don't dare to act like this, I just follow your majesty's order!"
Liu Chengyou was slightly surprised, and then thought of something. He seemed to have used the wrong allusion. He waved his hand and said: "I heard that there are thousands of prisoners in Yangzhou City, and there are many wrongdoers. You can identify them clearly in a few days, release the good ones, and punish the evil ones. To make the people happy?"
"At the end of the prison inspection, I learned about the situation and found that among the prisoners, there were some who had been wronged. However, it was more because of the harsh laws of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, they were sentenced again!" Zhao Kuangyin said.
Nodding, Liu Chengyou suddenly said: "It seems that just asking you, Zhao Yuanlang, to lead the army in battle is still a humiliation of talent! The next day, it is still unknown whether you will be a general or a prime minister!"
The emperor's words contained both encouragement and expectations. Zhao Kuangyin was slightly happy, but he still expressed his humility respectfully.
"When Luan Jia returns to the capital, you will serve with him, deploy the imperial camp, and guard the imperial tents! In addition, the Suzhou regiment is training, and those with outstanding military merit and strength will be selected to join the Tokyo Forbidden Army!" Liu Chengyou ordered, which was a favor to Zhao Kuangyin and the Suzhou soldiers. .
"yes!"
From Liu Chengyou's words, we can know that Zhao Kuangyin was not among the generals stationed in Huainan.
The conversation between Liu Chengyou and Zhao Kuangyin was heard truly by Dang Jin, who was fortunate enough to be in the entourage and followed behind. At this point, I finally understood why Zhao Kuangyin ordered the plundering in the first place. Otherwise, the emperor would never say these words today.
In the fifth year of Qianyou's reign, on February 20th, Emperor Luan of the Han Dynasty set off from Yangzhou and returned north to Tokyo, officially returning his troops to the court.
In the land of Huainan, Wang Pu was appointed as the envoy of Huaidong Road, and he was in charge of the seven states of Bingyang, Tai, Chu, He, Hao, Si and Chu. Yangzhou was promoted to Jiangdu Prefecture, and he used his authority to govern Jiangdu Prefecture. Chen Sirang, a former Yizhou regiment commander, was appointed as the commander of Huaidong Road to lead the garrison.
In the six states of Huaixi Road, Shou, Lu, Shu, Huang, Guang, and Qi, former prime minister Dou Zhengu was transferred from Xuzhou to the south as the chief envoy, and former Yingzhou regiment Lian Sichao was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Huaixi capital.
As for Haizhou in Huaibei, it is not included. The remaining troops were drawn from the three armies of Fengguo, Xiaodi and Husheng, totaling 10,000 people, and were stationed in important places, supplemented by the recruited Tang troops.
Huaide's army, which was temporarily deployed during the war, was directly withdrawn by Liu Chengyou, and the soldiers were assigned to the two command departments. Among them, the generals who are from Huainan can rest assured, and the Jiangnan generals are also relieved after their families were sent to the north.
