Under the bright sun, Chongzheng Hall looked upright and bright. Outside the hall, Li Jun, dressed in a decent military attache's court uniform, was wandering around, his eyes constantly peering into the hall through the doors and windows, with a little anxiety in his expression.
He had been waiting under the verandah for more than half an hour, but he still had not received the notice of summons from the emperor. My mood sank uncontrollably.
Last year, I went to Beijing with the military envoys to celebrate my birthday. When He Fujin died of illness, I originally thought it would be an opportunity to make a leap forward in his official career. I never thought that the result was not only unsatisfactory, but also the military envoy's job was lost. Finally, he was awarded the title of Lieutenant of Light Vehicles and lived in Tokyo.
At that time, due to the damage caused by Tokyo's expansion and the Kaifeng Prefecture, Liu Chengyou instructed Murong Yanchao to set aside a piece of land for him and provide him with money and food for building a new mansion. Nowadays, the longer we live in a new house, the less enjoyable it becomes, and even more and more uneasy.
After being reminded by his son Li Shoujie, Li Jun reflected on it and understood where the problem lay, but he regretted it too late. Until now, when he heard the news that the imperial court wanted to go south to Jinghu, he finally couldn't wait any longer.
Finally, after a year of leisurely living, my character has obviously improved a lot, and my energy-raising skills have improved. Although I have to wait for a long time, I can still endure it.
"Li Duwei, His Majesty is back. Please come to the palace to see him!" Finally, the minister came out of the palace to inform him.
To Li Jun, these words were like hearing the voice of a fairy. His sadness was relieved a little, and he politely thanked the deceased. Then he straightened his clothes and solemnly entered the palace to pay his respects.
The emperor didn't just meet him when he wanted to, but Liu Chengyou didn't deliberately treat him lightly. When he returned to Chongzheng Hall, he took a bath and changed into a dragon robe. The bright yellow color of his clothes and the golden dragon wrapped around him made him look divine and majestic, making him even more handsome. Compared with money, power can improve appearance more.
"Li Qing, long time no see. How comfortable is life in Tokyo?" Liu Chengyou smiled slightly as he watched Li Jun finish the ceremony in a dignified manner.
After hearing the question, Li Jun replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, Tokyo is the most prosperous in the world. Living here, I can feel the magnificence of Kaifeng, the strength of the Han Dynasty, and the wisdom of Your Majesty every day..."
"Okay, this kind of flattery doesn't sound like it comes from your mouth, General Li. You are not used to speaking, and I am not used to hearing it!" After waving his hand, Liu Chengyou looked directly at him with a smile: " Please tell me frankly, why do you think I am doing this?"
Hearing what Liu Chengyou said, the stiff smile on Li Jun's face softened a little, and he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have been idle in Beijing for a whole year."
"Oh?" Liu Chengyou simply responded and said, "It seems that Li Qing is thinking about it?"
Hearing this, Li Jun immediately held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty, although Tokyo is leisurely, I have been in the army for thirty years, so I am still used to it in the army. Recently I heard that the imperial court wants to invade Hunan, and troops and horses are mobilized frequently. I hope to serve your Majesty. Go into battle and kill the enemy!"
Liu Chengyou had expected the purpose of his visit, which was not surprising. He observed the expectation on his face and said with a smile: "I am very pleased that you have the ambition to contribute to the country. However, you are fifty after all." How old..."
Hearing that the emperor wanted to refuse and cited his age, Li Jun immediately became anxious and hurriedly expressed his position: "Although I am old, I can still eat enough meat and fight with swords. I have not lost my bow and horse in the house on weekdays. Still. Please make it happen, Your Majesty!"
In fact, it is indeed untenable to talk about age. Today, among the generals inside and outside the Han Dynasty, there are still many veterans in their fifties and sixties. The younger generals are mainly in the imperial army and important frontier armies.
His scrutinizing gaze fell on Li Jun. To be honest, if Li Jun hadn't taken the initiative to meet him, Liu Chengyou would have almost forgotten about it. Last year, he was very dissatisfied with this person's arrogance and arrogance, and deep down in his heart, he had even made plans to relegate him to the cold palace forever.
Speaking of Li Jun, he certainly has the talent to lead troops, but for today's Han Dynasty, he is not indispensable. There are many people who can play his role. However, the arrogance in this person's character and the arrogance of a warrior in power are something Liu Chengyou can't stand, especially as the emperor. The longer he is the emperor, the more unhappy he becomes.
However, judging from this person's current performance, Li Yunxian has changed. So, should we give him a chance?
Pay attention to the eagerness on Li Jun's face, the look of expectation mixed with sadness, which is still a bit touching when it appears on this half-hundred martial artist.
Liu Chengyou is not a soft-hearted person, but after thinking about it, he decided to give him a chance: "That's all, the general is so sincere, how can I take away your wish!"
With that said, Liu Chengyou wrote a note, printed it and asked Zhang Dejun to hand it to him, and said: "Go to the Privy Council to see Guo Rong and let him arrange it!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely die in repayment!" Holding the note as light as a feather in both hands, Li Jun bowed down to express his gratitude as if he was facing a great loss.
With Li Jun's qualifications, as long as he is placed in the Southern Expedition Army, his military position cannot be lowered. No matter how bad he is, he can still command an army.
After what happened to Li Jun, Liu Chengyou's attention shifted south again, focusing on the Jinghu affairs. Since the news of the death of Cao Yin, the defense envoy of Lizhou, spread northward, in the past two days, the imperial court and the upper and lower departments have fully cooperated to speed up preparations for war.
The Xiaodi Army has already started to march south, and the default coach Murong Yanzhao has already gone south to Xiangyang.
...
As the mobilization of troops and horses in the Han Dynasty became more and more urgent, they were no longer hidden, and the dark clouds of war began to hang over Jing Lake. From Jiangling to Liyang, from Wuling to Changsha, even ordinary people can feel the tension in the air.
The storm was about to come, and in this atmosphere, Zhou Xingfeng, who was at the center of the storm, did not take charge of the overall situation in Changsha, but quietly went south to Hengzhou.
Just like the situation detected by the Han court, in order to deal with the pressure from the central court in the north, Zhou Xingfeng was fully prepared during this period and actively responded to it.
Zhou Xingfeng was helpless and aggrieved. Although he had some ambitions to roughly control Hunan, his goal was to be the "King of Wuping" and he considered himself to be submissive to the Han Dynasty. However, the Emperor of Han intended to flatten the world, and his ideas were destined to run counter to it. Anyone who stood in the way would be removed.
In fact, when they heard that the imperial court intended to take over Hunan, most of the civil and military officials in Hunan were worried. During the first discussion, half of the staff directly suggested to Zhou Xingfeng that he should surrender to the imperial court, remove his power and go to Beijing to ensure wealth and peace.
However, Zhou Xingfeng has always been a gangster, and he has a strong temperament and surrendering without a fight is not his personality at all. Furthermore, for him, it was not easy for him to get ahead, eliminate the hostility, and occupy Hunan. Within two years of peaceful life, the Northern Han Dynasty was so forced that they wanted to seize his inheritance, so how could they be willing to do so.
On that day, Zhou Xingfeng ordered that all the dozen civil and military personnel who had surrendered be arrested. Later, the more I thought about it, the more angry I became. It was just a rumor that the Northern Han Dynasty wanted to go south, so the people under my command urged them to surrender. What would happen if the Han army really went south?
Therefore, within one night, Zhou Xingfeng ordered all the people to be killed to show his determination to resist the Han and reluctantly "unify" his civil and military ideas. As for the military and political situation in Hunan, even if it is as tough as Zhou Xingfeng, I dare not be optimistic.
In fact, Zhou Xingfeng also knew that Hunan had been in chaos for too long and suffered huge losses in population and wealth. As of now, the total population of Hunan does not exceed 90,000 households, and even fewer of them are under his rule. With a population of 70,000 households, they maintained an army of nearly 30,000 people, which was already a militancy.
In the past two years, Zhou Xingfeng implemented a series of measures in Hunan, such as exempting taxes, reducing military strength, implementing farming, and encouraging reclamation. But last year's famine wiped out all his efforts.
In order to win people's hearts, he opened a large warehouse to relieve the hungry people and recruited young men to join the army to survive. Although he won people's hearts, the warehouses were empty. Nowadays, the Northern Han Dynasty's aggression is getting stronger and rumors are spreading in the country, which does not give him a chance to digest the fruits of that political victory.
It's quite disappointing to think about using the broken Hunan to fight against the powerful Central Plains.
So far, what makes Zhou Xingfeng feel most helpless is Jingnan's attitude. He sent an envoy to contact him, but the answer he received was ambiguous and hesitant. This made Zhou Xingfeng cursed, because Gao didn't know the meaning of lips dying and teeth cold!
In Zhou Xingfeng's view, if the two parties could unite, there might be a chance to fight against the Northern Han Dynasty. If the Gao family sits back and watches success or failure, they will be wiped out together.
However, I don't know whether his envoy was too eloquent or Jingnan was too stupid, so he was indifferent. This result made Zhou Xingfeng very angry.
However, no matter how difficult it was, Zhou Xingfeng did not intend to sit still and wait for death. This time, Zhou Xingfeng came south to Hengzhou in person, intending to take his first step against the Northern Han Dynasty.
