Chapter 622: Geshu's death

This was Zhang Weijin's subconscious. He had already regarded Li Heng as the emperor in his heart. Therefore, as soon as Li Heng's imperial edict arrived, he knelt down without hesitation.

Yang Shenjin said loudly: "I am deeply pleased to hear that Zhang Weijin, a loyal and righteous minister in Xiangzhou, wanted to return to the orthodox government. In order to commend his loyalty and righteousness, I specially named him the Prince of Xiangyang County, General of the Cavalry, and the Three Divisions of the Ministry of Rites. I was also named the Minister of Rites, and I am actually named Qianhu, Xiangyang, and I am honored by this!"

Li Heng spent a lot of money to buy Zhang Weijin. When An Lushan was named the prince, he did not have the position of Shangshu and Kaifuyi, and now he has given all of them to Zhang Weijin. It is because the situation is too urgent. If Jingzhou is not taken down, the entire army in Jiangnan will be wiped out.

Zhang Weijin was overjoyed and kowtowed three times and said, "My minister Zhang Weijin received the order!"

Yang Shenjin quickly helped him up and gave him the secret order, laughing and said, "Your Highness, Prince, we will be the ministers of the same palace now. I want to congratulate you first."

Yang Shenjin's words made Zhang Weijin feel excited. He stroked his beard and smiled: "Mr. Yang is so polite. He is eating the king's fortune and loyalty to the king. What is the emperor's order to me? Please tell me just."

"Well! The Lord has a task to you."

"Tell me! If the emperor wants Li Mao's head, I'll get it for you now."

Yang Shenjin shook his head and smiled, "Li Mao's head is not in a hurry."

"Don't want Li Mao's head, what does the emperor want?"

Yang Shenjin leaned forward and lowered his voice, "The Master wants to ask Ge Shuhan's head first."

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Yang Shenjin was taken down to rest. Zhang Weijin paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Although he had accepted Li Heng's title and was already the prince, he was not stupid. He knew that Li Heng was just using himself and named him the prince. Li Heng might not be willing to do so. Now they have something to ask for him, so they are so humble. But what will he do to him if he has finished using it? Li Heng is a person who refuses to let his son and grandson go, will he let him go?

Moreover, the Southern Tang would sooner or later be destroyed by the Northern Tang. Zhang Weijin knew even more about this. He doubted whether it was wise to surrender to the Southern Tang?

At this time, his cousin Zhang Zhong walked in. Seeing his brother's worry, he asked, "Are you worried that Li Heng will change his mind?"

Zhang Weijin nodded, "I am not only worried that Li Heng will regret it, but also worried that the Southern Tang will be destroyed sooner or later by the Northern Tang."

"Then why didn't my elder brother surrender to Northern Tang?"

"What can I get if I surrender to Northern Tang? Li Qing'an doesn't take Jingxiang seriously at all. He has a lot of talents. At most, I can be a general, and maybe I can only have one general. If I follow Wen, at most, I will be the prefect of Xiangzhou. Only by surrendering to Li Heng can I have the hope of becoming a prince, and I know it."

Zhang Zhong is a street gangster. Such people are incompetent in doing big things, but they are very cunning, more pragmatic, and more good at calculating and protecting their own interests. He thought for a while and said, "Brother, I don't think you have to worry. Only you have an army in your hands, Li Heng dares not touch you easily. In the future, if the Northern Tang Dynasty destroys the Southern Tang Dynasty, our Zhang family will surrender to Li Qing'an, and we can still enjoy wealth. Brother, right?"

Although Zhang Zhong's idea was simple, he said it to the point and reminded Zhang Weijin at once. He narrowed his eyes and smiled sly. That's the reason.

He looked at several letters on the table. These were those given to him by Yang Shenjin, and several letters of exchange between the two people when Li Qingan gave Geshuhan medicinal wine. These letters were left at Geshuhan's Chengdu home and were obtained when Li Heng raided Geshuhan's home.

The content in the letter is very ordinary, just reminiscing about old feelings. Li Qing'an was concerned about Ge Shuhan's condition, but these letters themselves were a big problem.

Since Li Heng wanted Zhang Weijin to kill Geshu Han, he naturally had to hand over the evidence to Zhang Weijin. When Zhang Weijin remembered that Geshu Han forced Li Mao to kill him, he couldn't help but grit his teeth secretly. It's okay! Non-toxic, but her husband. Since Geshu Han repeatedly wants to harm him, don't blame him for being ruthless.

"Okay! You treat Yang Shenjin well for me and tell him that I will go to see Li Mao now."

Zhang Weijin cleaned up briefly and hurried out.

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Li Mao is also quite troubled these days. He knew that Li Qing'an sent troops to attack Jiangnan three days later than Li Heng. Despite this, he was still very nervous. Will Li Qing'an turn around and attack Jingxiang after seizing Jiangnan?

However, his concerns were quickly lifted. An official in Chang'an wrote to him that Li Qing'an attacked Jiangnan only because of the soaring prices in Chang'an and the difficulty in transporting materials in Jiangnan to Chang'an north. An Lushan, Hebei was not destroyed, and Li Qing'an could not fight on multiple fronts.

But Li Mao's concerns had just been lifted, and news came that Li Heng was personally in charge of the army and the 100,000 troops had already arrived, which made Li Mao's heart that had just fallen to him hang up again.

He immediately ordered Geshuhan to march into Zhijiang and prepare to fight against Li Heng's army. However, Geshuhan reported that Zhijiang was small and it was difficult to defend against the army of Southern Tang. It was better to defend Jingzhou. He refused to obey the order and stationed in Jingzhou.

Soon, a secret report from Jingzhou came over and said that Geshuhan was resentful because he refused to kill Zhang Weijin and Zhao Fengzhang, so he stopped moving. This made Li Mao very angry, but he had no choice. At this time, Li Mao also realized that he was too dependent on Geshuhan, and Geshuhan didn't take him seriously at all.

Li Mao was not in the mood to listen to music and dance. He locked himself in his study to study maps. He was very worried. The last time Li Heng's army advanced eastward, he received Li Qing'an's help, and Li Heng was forced to withdraw back to Bashu. This time, Li Qing'an himself was attacking Jiangnan, and he would not help him again no matter what. Li Mao had no confidence.

At this time, the guard's report came from outside the door: "Your Highness, General Zhang is here, and I'm urgently asking for your Highness."

Zhang Weijin came just in time, and he was about to discuss with him the solution to Li Heng, so he said, "Let him come in!"

After a moment, Zhang Weijin walked into the study, knelt down and bowed, "My minister Zhang Weijin bowed to your highness."

"Please get up, General Zhang!"

Li Mao's princess is in Chang'an, and he has two beloved concubines in Xiangyang, both of whom are Zhang Weijin's sisters. Therefore, Zhang Weijin can be regarded as his brother-in-law and his most trusted confidant. Although the Zhang family is a bit domineering in Xiangyang, Li Mao does not take it seriously. As long as Zhang Weijin can solve his problems, other things will not matter.

Li Mao sighed and said, "General Zhang, the situation is not good for me, I am very worried!"

Zhang Weijin smiled and said, "Your Highness, why do I think the situation is beneficial to us?"

Li Mao was excited and hurriedly said, "How do you say this?"

"The key is that Your Highness attaches great importance to Li Heng's strength. In fact, when Gao Xianzhi falls, the Jiannan Army is not worth worrying. Xi Yuanqing and Zhao Chongyan surrender to Li Qing'an, Jia Chongyan was demoted to Nanzhao, and the three powerful generals of the Jiannan Army no longer exist, so why are you afraid?"

Zhang Weijin's words were very impressive. It was indeed the case. Li Mao's nervousness was greatly relieved. He nodded and smiled: "And we have 150,000 troops in terms of military strength, Li Heng only has 120,000 troops. What Geshuhan said makes sense. Jingxiang army is good at water battles, and Jiannan army is good at mountain wars. We should fight against the other side in the Jingzhou area. This is a strategy to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses."

Zhang Weijin shook his head, "Your Highness is wrong. If Your Highness believes Geshuhan's words, he will die without a place to bury him."

"What do you mean?" Li Mao asked unhappily. Zhang Weijin said it too badly. What does it mean to die without a burial? This made Li Mao very upset.

"Your Highness, he refused to go to Zhijiang, so he said that Li Heng would attack Jingzhou. This is his wishful thinking. Li Heng's Jiannan army is not good at water warfare, so why should he go to Jingzhou? Can't they directly attack Xiangyang? Will Geshuhan come to save Your Highness at that time? No, never will. He will take the opportunity to lead the navy east to join his new master."

"Why lead the army eastward? Why do you defect to the new master? You have made it clear to me!"

"Your Highness, why did I hurry back from Shouzhou? I got the top secret information. Geshuhan had colluded with Li Qing'an. He wanted to betray Your Highness and give the Jingzhou naval army to Li Qing'an."

Li Mao was shocked, "What is the basis for what you said?"

"Yes! I have evidence."

Zhang Weijin handed the letter between Geshuhan and Li Qing'an to Li Mao, and said, "This is a letter stolen by Geshuhan's personal soldiers. He was seriously injured and rushed to Shouzhou to hand over the letters to his ministers and told me..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Weijin deliberately stopped talking. After Li Mao finished reading the letter, Li Mao’s face turned pale after reading the letter, and the evidence was as strong as a mountain. Geshuhan and Li Qingan had already colluded.

"What did he tell you?" Li Mao asked viciously.

"He told me that Li Qing'an's biggest weakness in attacking Jiangnan this time was that there were no naval forces in warships, so Li Qing'an wrote a letter to Geshuhan, asking him to bring 80,000 naval forces and warship owners to help with the war. Unfortunately, the soldiers were found and injured without stealing the letter. He escaped from Jingzhou overnight to find Weichen. After saying these things, he was seriously injured and died."

Zhang Weijin knew Li Mao's character well, and Li Mao was very suspicious of Geshuhan. Now, as long as he could understand the source of these letters, Li Mao would not ask the details of who the soldiers were. Just like Li Mao was already filled with tincture oil that was dissatisfied with Geshuhan. These letters were the sparks that ignited this basin of tincture oil.

Sure enough, Li Mao was furious and threw the letter to the ground, pointing to Jingzhou and cursing: "Brother Shuhan! You are ungrateful and deserve to die."

Zhang Weijin took the opportunity to add another fire, "Your Highness, Geshuhan has been ungrateful for a long time. He first betrayed the late emperor and surrendered to Li Heng, and then betrayed Li Heng and re-submitted to the late emperor. After the late emperor passed away, Li Heng ascended the throne. Geshuhan was afraid that Li Heng would settle the old accounts with him, so he surrendered to Your Highness. However, he did not regard His Highness as his lord. All of us below could feel that he was the prince of Lianghu, not the general under King Jing...."

"Enough!"

Li Mao interrupted Zhang Weijin in anger. He was so angry that he paced back and forth in the room with his hands on his back. He slowly figured out some things. The last time he said that Li Qing'an would give him face, he wrote a letter to Li Qing'an. Li Qing'an indeed sent troops and didn't know how his letter was written.

If Brother Shuhan doesn’t agree to Li Qing’an, will Li Qing’an send troops?

Needless to say, he could guess that Ge Shuhan must have agreed. If Li Qingan attacks Jiangnan, he will come out to help him. Humph! I really don’t know who is the Jingxiang Army who is making the decision, is it himself, or his Ge Shuhan?

Thinking of this, Li Mao was full of murderous intent, and he said gloomyly: "If the internal thief is not eliminated, how can the external enemy be? I want to tolerate him, but he doesn't tolerate me. Very good. General Zhang can do anything to kill this ungrateful villain for me."

"Yes! I have a plan to kill Geshuhan."

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Five days later, Geshuhan led a thousand personal guards to Rudao County, about a hundred miles away from Xiangzhou. Geshuhan received an order from Li Mao, ordering generals from various places to rush back to Xiangyang immediately and discuss strategies to deal with the Jiannan Army.

Geshuhan did not doubt that the enemy is in front of him, and even if Li Mao is dissatisfied with him, he would not dare to kill him at this time. He was very arrogant. Now, there are anyone else Li Mao can rely on besides himself. Besides, he has a thousand elite cavalry teams. These are all veterans of Longyou who have been fighting with him for many years. With them here, what about Li Mao’s dare to do to himself?

When Geshuhan went to Xiangyang, he had to find Li Mao to settle the accounts clearly. Li Mao promised him to thoroughly investigate the sale of official positions in the army, but later there was no news. Li Mao might have no idea, but his Geshuhan refused. If he didn't find out the matter clearly, why would he explain to his subordinates?

Just as the Jiannan Army was attacking, Li Mao had a request for him, and this was the best opportunity. He could send troops, but he had to give him an explanation.

Geshuhan was filled with grief and anger. He ran along the Han River and entered the territory of Rudao County that afternoon. Five miles ahead, a river blocked the way.

This is an important ferry on the Han River, called Shukou Du. A tributary of the Han River flows into the Han River. Geshuhan does not need to cross the Han River, but he needs to cross the Shu River here. Of course, he can also take a detour to Yiqing County, thirty miles away to cross the river, but Yiqing County is a small ferry with no large ferry. It takes at least one day for his thousand cavalry to cross the river. He couldn't wait, so Geshuhan immediately decided to cross the river at Shukou.

The Shukou Ferry is very wide, just at the mouth of Shuhe River entering the river. You can cross the Han River to the east, and to the north, you can cross the Shuhe River. Three or four large ships are parked at the ferry terminal. A large ship is already full of ferries and is sailing towards the opposite bank of the Han River.

"Master!"

His personal lieutenant rushed back to report: "I have already negotiated with the boatman. There are two large ships available. Each ship can cross the river with sixty people with people and horses at a time. It is probably before dark, all of them can cross the river."
To be continued...