Great Han Empire

Chapter 163

"Lord Zuo has worked so hard, we won't let you make this trip in vain. In such a cold day, you should rest here for the night." Li Hong also echoed.

Zuo Feng shook his head, and said very reservedly, "The ancestral tombs of my Han Kingdom are all in Chang'an, but now the Xiliang rebels are approaching, so Your Majesty is so anxious about this that he can't sleep at night. I want to go back immediately to serve around, I don't have time Delay here."

When Xian Yufu heard that Zuo Feng insisted on leaving Handan today, he slowed down, beckoned to Zhao Yun, and whispered something in his ear.Zhao Yun nodded again and again, and flew away.Zuo Feng saw it and felt very proud.He turned to look at Li Hong.Li Hong was worrying about the imperial decree, his face was worried, he was preoccupied, he forced a smile at him, he was no longer in the mood to tease him.

The imperial decree was very simple, requiring Li Hong to complete the task of clearing Zhang Yan of the Yellow Turban Army before April, and at the same time recruit [-] troops from Youzhou and Jizhou to go to the Xiliang battlefield before April.

Li Hong knelt on the ground and didn't get up for a long time.He couldn't imagine whether this imperial decree was drawn up by the emperor himself or these eunuchs secretly designed to frame him.This task is impossible to complete.Xian Yufu and Yushi knelt on the left and right of him, their faces were ashen, and their hearts were ashamed for a moment, they didn't know how things would suddenly turn out like this.Yesterday everyone was still happily celebrating the emperor's blessing to all the soldiers, but today they received an unimaginable imperial decree.If you can't fulfill the emperor's will, you don't know what will happen.

"Everyone don't need to kneel, get up quickly." Zuo Feng said with a smile, "Although Mr. Li's Zhonglang general is not official yet, but Li Zhonglang has become such a high-ranking official at a young age, which shows that the emperor favors you a lot." Plus, you are very favored. You should be grateful to Dade, and do things for the emperor in a down-to-earth manner."

Li Hong and the others were thinking about something, when they heard Zuo Feng speak, they quickly kowtowed listlessly to thank them.Immediately Li Hong accepted the imperial decree and invited Zuo Feng to dinner.

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The dishes are very simple.Zuo Feng was quite easy-going and didn't take it seriously, so he ate a little casually.

Tian Zhong hurried in and handed a roll of gift slips sealed in red silk to Xian Yufu.

Xian Yufu immediately stood up, walked to Zuo Feng's table, put the gift list on Zuo Feng's table, and said politely: "Your Excellency has come from a long way, and you have to leave in a hurry. It's very hard. This small gift is just like wine." Please accept it."

Zuo Feng picked it up bluntly, untied the red silk, and unfolded the bamboo slips.

Zuo Feng had a smile on his face at first, then put on a cold face, and then became angry.He smashed the bamboo slips in his hand to the ground, and sneered at Li Hong, "What did Li Zhonglang think of me as an official? Do you think I'm a beggar?"

Li Hongduan couldn't sit still, holding back his anger, and stared at the food and wine on the table.Xian Yufu's blood was rushing forward, his eyes were on the verge of tearing apart, and he was on the verge of roaring.He gritted his teeth, forced himself to be calm, let out a long breath with his back turned to Zuo Feng, and bent over to pick up the bamboo slips on the ground.

"My lord, we came from northern Xinjiang, and we were originally very poor. Your lord said that we captured a lot of spoils, which is indeed good, but after we captured Nulu, everything was handed over to Zhongshan, and we didn't take any of it. After taking Zhao State, there were 10,000+ refugees scattered all over Zhao State alone. To keep these people alive, the cost is staggering, far from being solved by a batch of spoils..." Xian Yufu stood at Zuo Fengxi Before, explained aloud.

After hearing a few words, Zuo Feng reprimanded sharply: "There are no rules. I'm talking to your lord, why are you interrupting? Is there a place for you to talk here? Get out of here."

The corners of Xian Yufu's mouth twitched, and his eyes almost burst into flames.

Tian Zhong on the side couldn't help cursing loudly: "Officer dog, it's too little to give you 300 million yuan. It's enough for our [-] soldiers to pay for a month. You're really black-hearted."

Zuo Feng pointed at Tian Zhong and cursed arrogantly: "Old man, get out of here."

Then he pointed at Li Hong and shouted: "Tell them to get out. Is this how Li Zhonglang leads troops? A military marquis dares to insult the imperial envoy. I think your subordinates are tired of work?"

Li Hong looked at him coldly without making a sound.

"Five thousand soldiers? Do you have five thousand soldiers to get the military salary?" Zuo Feng pointed at Li Hong angrily and said, "Li Zhonglang, I know everything about you. First of all, you falsely reported the number of soldiers to get the military salary. We all know. Hu Manzi don’t need to pay money at all, but you put them in the military and report to Jizhou government to get a large sum of money. Did you take this money for yourself? You have tens of thousands of Hu soldiers, and you can’t pay for this alone. At least tens of millions of dollars in military pay can be embezzled in a month. Also, what about the prisoners in Handan City? Where are the family members of the leader of the ant thief? Did you and the ant thief have a long-standing collusion or did you take the ransom from the ant thief?"

Xian Yufu's face changed again, and he was suddenly frightened.Tian Zhong's anger disappeared without a trace in an instant, and his face was horrified.The two of them didn't wait for Li Hong to speak, and hurriedly retreated to the side, so as not to touch Zuo Feng's bad luck again and annoy the plague god.

"Old man, how much more can we give? I don't think it will be possible today if we don't take the money. This Master Zuo came here prepared, as if he is here to blackmail us." Xian Yufu said dejectedly.

Although Tian Zhong was cursing in his heart, he knew how powerful the eunuch was, so he had to bow his head.

"Up to 500 million dollars."

Xian Yufu glanced at him and said, "What about this month's military salary?"

Tian Zhong stared wide-eyed and said, "Are you crazy? There is no military pay, will you still fight this month? The troops will go north tomorrow."

"Am I crazy?" Xian Yufu smiled wryly, "When Mr. Zuo goes back and complains in front of the emperor, the people will be beheaded according to the law, and you and I will also go to jail?"

"So what?" Tian Zhong rolled his eyes and said, "Everyone scattered, what should they do. The people will definitely go to Yanshan to be a horse bandit, so I will go with him to have a good time, so as not to be here Get angry."

"Old man, what are you talking about? Are you willing to watch those poor people suffer in misery and watch them die in batches?"

"I don't want to, but what can I do? The emperor doesn't care, we care about it for a useless purpose. Look at that eunuch, there are five people and six people, what the hell, but he is still holding it in his hand." What kind of troubled world is this for our lives?"

"Go and get the military salary and give it all to him. Let's get over the matter in front of us first. Don't talk too much nonsense."

Tian Zhong stood still, looking angrily at Zuo Feng in the hall, wishing he could rush up and kill him.

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Zuo Feng saw Li Hong sitting on the mat with a tense face and a murderous look, and felt very comfortable, thinking that he had frightened him, and gradually calmed down a little.

He had a good time and said slowly: "Li Zhonglang, don't forget that you can become a general of Zhonglang, and it is inseparable from the great help of Zhang Houye, Zhao Houye and other lords. Don't you have a little help?" A little bit of gratitude to Dade?"

Li Hong remained silent.

"Li Zhonglang, you have heard the emperor's edict. Do you think you can do it?" Zuo Feng asked triumphantly.

Li Hong smiled wryly.

"You can't do it, everyone knows you can't do it, but the emperor thinks you can do it." Zuo Feng took a sip of wine and continued, "If I go back and report Li Zhonglang's difficulties to the emperor in detail, let the emperor change his mind. , give you some time, should you be grateful to me?"

"There are so many people to be grateful to, and so many things to be grateful to me for helping you. Do you want to give something in return?" Zuo Feng laughed as if he was convinced of Li Hong.

"Li Zhonglang, it's better for us to be friends than enemies, don't you think so?" Zuo Feng finally laughed when he saw Li Hong nodding his head.

Li Hong looked at the smiling Zuo Feng, and really couldn't understand why this gentle-looking man was so shameless, and dared to threaten him in court.

"Lord Zuo, why do I feel that this decree seems to be someone deliberately framing me." Li Hong asked, "Is there someone in Luoyang who wants to kill me?"

"Smart." Zuo Feng praised, "Li Zhonglang has a brain."

"My lord, please make it clear." Li Hong bowed to Zuo Feng and said, "My lord's kindness, I will never forget it."

"After you went south, why didn't you join up with Lord Muguo's troops in Jizhou immediately, causing the entire army of Jizhou to be wiped out, and Master Guo died in Guhongling?" Zuo Feng asked.

"Master Guo rejected my request to go south to join him." Li Hong asked strangely, "I still have a reply letter from Master Guo."

Zuo Feng sneered and said, "After all, Li Zhonglang is young and energetic, and he doesn't know the insidiousness of officialdom. You know, after this incident, the documents that Jizhou denounced you flew to Luoyang like snowflakes. Look big."

Li Hong was stunned.

"Also, in Yingtao, why didn't you fight the main force of the ant thieves for so long, delaying time again and again, causing Yingtao City to fall into a bitter battle? After the battle, why didn't you try your best to attack the ant thieves, causing the main force of the enemy to retreat calmly?" Zuo Feng asked again.

Li Hong was tongue-tied and unable to answer.

Zuo Feng smiled and said: "Li Zhonglang has nothing to say? Why? Can you explain it to me? If you fight the ant thief as soon as possible and break the siege of Yingtao, will Mr. Feng die in battle? If you Tao Cheng is going all out to attack the ant thief, will the main force of the ant thief escape?"

"My lord, we have written a detailed document for the Yingtao War and sent it to the imperial court long ago. We have explained the cause and effect of it very clearly. Why do you still question us so much?" .

"Chi..." Zuo Feng looked at him with disdain, and sneered at Yushi's words.

"You bunch of northern Xinjiang barbarians, call you idiots, you are still not convinced, and you don't know how to repay your kindness after helping you out. You just know how to steal things and keep them for yourself, and you don't know how to leave yourself a way out .Did you explain it clearly? Who said you explained it clearly? You go to the court to listen, how many ministers have accused you? Zhang Taiwei even asked the emperor to order Li Zhonglang to be arrested immediately and go to Beijing for trial."

Li Hong and his subordinates were stunned and dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)