Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 164

Thanks to the widespread use of carrier pigeons, the exchange of information between Chang'an and Xishu is much faster than before.

The news of the emperor's great victory and the pacification of Sanchuan does not need to be kept secret. The people of Chang'an and the troops stationed in various places also need the news of the great victory to stabilize people's hearts.

As far as the various towns are concerned, I don't know when the court's every move has touched the heartstrings of too many people.

It is not easy to inquire about news from Shu, but it is much easier to inquire from Chang'an.

Wang Chongying heard the news before the court announced it to the world.

"Win, win, why win again!"

Although Wang Chongying is not aggressive enough, he thinks about his family's one-acre three-point land all day long, but after all, his age is here, he has experienced many things, and naturally he has gained a little knowledge.

"The imperial court took Xishu in the south, Longyou and Hexi in the west, and Xia and Sui in the north. The use of troops in these three directions has reached the extreme. The next step should be to go east!"

Gao Sishan, the military officer of the Jiedu Division, said: "What does the commander-in-chief mean, that the imperial court is going to use troops against the river?"

Wang Chongying shook her head and said, "You must guard against it!"

Wang Gongdao: "Father, don't worry. In the past, Tian Lingzi summoned eight towns to attack me in Hezhong. My uncle joined the river east and the vassals outside. They won the first battle. In the end, the court didn't add officials to rank. You should send money, food and grass to become an ally with Hedong, and if the imperial court is not good for Hezhong, you should follow this example!"

Wang Chongying nodded, looked at Wang Ke, and said, "Wang Ke, what do you think?"

Wang Ke thought for a while and said: "Father commander, I heard that the Hedong army robbed Xing, Ming, and Ci states, and the court did not convict them, so I thought that the army was in Shu at that time and could not go east.

I also heard that the imperial prime minister Zhang Jun contacted He Lianduo, the defense envoy of Yunzhou, and Li Kuangwei, the envoy of Youzhou army, and restored Zhu Wen's official position. Do they want to crusade against Li Keyong?
If Hezhong rashly forms an alliance with Hedong and the imperial court attacks Li Keyong, what will we do?

My son thinks that we should wait and see what happens. If the imperial court attacks Hedong, the imperial court will ask me to be in Hezhong. "

Wang Chongying nodded and said: "Wang Ke is right. Don't give away money, food and grass, just wait and see!"

Wang Gong glanced at Wang Ke from the corner of his eye, but didn't speak.

And Wang Ke naturally felt the unkindness in his brother's eyes.

The actions of the two are under Gao Sishan's eyes, Jie Shuai's condition hasn't improved for a long time, if anything...

Gao Sishan took a long breath and said to himself: "The disaster in the river is not outside, but inside Xiaoqiang!"

……

Hedong, Taiyuan

Li Keyong was quite moved by the passionate personal letter from His Majesty the Emperor. Li Keyong had already decided to discuss money and food with the prime minister sent by the imperial court.

But Li Keyong never expected that Prime Minister Zhang Jun would not let go of the number at all, and was still under his nose, sending envoys to Yunzhou.

If the gate guards hadn't checked carefully, they would have allowed him to escape.

The envoy had Zhang Jun's own letter on it, saying that Xianggong Hedong meant it.

At that time, Li Keyong's temper came to the fore, and when he caught Zhang Jun, he was about to cut him down with a knife. Fortunately, Kang Junli advised him: "Your Majesty killed the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. Although there is a reason, what will the world think of your Majesty?"

That's why Li Ke used his sword to drive Zhang Jun, Xu Yanruo and others out of Hedong overnight.

The next day, troops were dispatched to the three prefectures of Zhaoyi, and they robbed countless money and food.

Xue Zhiqin, Chief of Soldiers and Horses, said: "The emperor has returned to his army from West Shu. I'm afraid he will punish Hedong?"

Li Keyong doesn't really want to see the emperor now, and the emperor who knows from the bottom of his heart says one thing and does another.

"So what about the crime? Could it be that this king is afraid."

It's not that he has never done rebellion. When Li Ke was 16 years old, he killed Duan Wenchu, the defense envoy of the Datong Army, occupied Yunzhou, and broke with the court.

At that time, he attacked Weizhou, occupied Shuozhou, and turned against the court again.

Four years ago, Li Keyong drove Emperor Xizong out of Chang'an, and returned satisfied after plundering Chang'an.

There is nothing to be afraid of rebellion, as long as your fist is big enough, the more rebellious you are, the higher the promotion and the heavier the title.

Li Keyong said disapprovingly: "Having fought with that dog thief Zhang Jun for half a month, I only got 20 shi of grain and grass. I ran around Xing, Ming, and Ci and got a million shi of grain. If the court convicts me Even better, I will lead the army to Chang'an for a walk, and you won't have to worry about food for three years in Hedong."

Xue Zhiqin had nothing to say, in fact, he felt that what Li Keyong said was very reasonable.

Since the formation of the army, the Hedong army has suffered some losses in front of Zhu Wen's Xuanwu army. Looking at the world, the others are really arrogant. Even the three towns of Heshuo have confronted each other many times and have never been defeated.

Li Keyong has the capital to look down on the world, and Zhu Wen also has it.

The imperial court pardoned Zhu Wen's crimes and restored Zhu Wen's official position as Xuanwu Jiedu envoy, which greatly relieved Zhu Wen.

Wearing the hat of a traitor, even if he recruits troops, not many people will follow him sincerely.

After hearing that His Majesty the Emperor had entered Shu, the Xuanwu Army has been very quiet during this period of time, and did not continue to attack Xuzhou. Except for those who stayed behind at various passes, the Xuanwu Army withdrew to Bianzhou for rest.

Zhu Wen asked: "The emperor has returned to his teacher, the three rivers are flat, and the king's prestige is growing. What should we do?"

He finally understood that even a year ago, no matter how weak the imperial court was, with a few edicts, Xuanwu could be driven to death. how is it?

Li Zhen's complexion was very bad, and he didn't speak. After handing the album in his hand to Zhu Wen, he said, "I just received Jiang Gong's album, please take a look at it."

Zhu Wen looked at Li Zhen suspiciously, took the album, and unfolded it on the case table.

"Is this a map?"

Li Zhendao: "Jiang Gong spent a lot of money to transcribe it in the household department. This is the administrative division map of Guanzhong and Shu."

Zhu Wen inspected it carefully, frowned, and said: "Isn't this just nonsense? Yangpingguan is divided to Fengxiang, two hundred miles away, and it's still a difficult slope. Let the governor take care of it, and this Jianzhou is even more outrageous." , five or six hundred miles away from Xingyuan Mansion, rowed to Xingyuan Mansion management, it may take a month or two to go back and forth, who would have thought of such a crooked idea..."

Li Zhendao: "Jieshuai, although it is not easy to manage in this way, Hanzhong and Shu cannot be separated. Please look at Jieshuai. The most prominent part is the fishhook that separates Hanzhong and the West. Shu bites tightly, and the one who pulls the string is the imperial court."

Zhu Wen also realized that the point of view is different, and the conclusions drawn are also different. From the perspective of preventing separatism, this is simply a stroke of magic.

"Jie Shuai, not only that, but look!"

Zhu Wen looked in the direction of Li Zhen's finger.

"Next to each state, there is always a piece of land belonging to the neighboring state, and it is precisely in this enclave that the army of that state is still stationed."

Zhu Wen nodded and said, "If that's the case, what can we do?"

Li Zhenchang sighed and said: "Jieshuai, in the past, when the imperial court pacified a place, they often re-appointed Jiedushi in that place, or borrowed soldiers from the vassal towns to be occupied by the vassal towns. If things go on like this, although the Tang Dynasty is rich all over the world, the actual control Not even a town."

Zhu Wen nodded. A year ago, apart from Jingzhao Mansion, the imperial court really had no other directly controlled lands.

"If it is divided in this way, the states will not be separated, the court will be divided into civil and military affairs, and Guanzhong and Sanchuan will no longer have Jiedushi. This is what I am worried about!"

Zhu Wen was also solemn, and it took a long time before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Why haven't I met the great talent who came up with this method? So what should we do now?"

"Li Keyong plundered Xing, Ming, and Ci prefectures, and Cai's thief Qin Zhongquan attacked Hao prefecture. These are all serious problems for the imperial court. As long as Jie Shuai thinks about what the imperial court thinks and is anxious about what the imperial court is anxious about, we will have a chance!"

Zhu Wen nodded. It was an old routine. During the period of Emperor Dezong, the imperial court recruited 20 forbidden troops. The forbidden troops at that time were not like what they are now, and many of them were frontier troops who had experienced many battles.

But so what!

At that time, Emperor Dezong's confidence increased greatly, and he directly left the feudal town to go it alone. After a few battles, the 20 troops disappeared in smoke.

Going to war against the imperial court is indeed an opportunity for Xuanwu.

(End of this chapter)