The first lunar month has just passed, and most people in Chang'an are still immersed in the festive atmosphere. However, in the upper echelons of the imperial court, undercurrents are surging, and the situation is about to break out.
Zhaorenli Yang Mansion.
Yang Fugong lingered for a long time, sighing.
He thought of his deceased brother. If he was in this situation, his brother would be much calmer, right?
Although the elder brother was also a middle-ranking officer, he had always had a generous ambition and was good at caring for the soldiers. He had more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, all of whom were brave and difficult to control. However, when the elder brother was there, he was able to command with ease and execute orders and prohibitions. After his death, the army mourned many times.
In Japan, such prestige is rare even among military governors in feudal towns.
I am far inferior to my brother!
The two brothers were adopted sons. Shouzong served as the military governor of the Zhongwu Army in Xuzhou, Shouzhong served as the military governor of the Wuding Army in Yangzhou, Shouliang served as the military governor of Qiongnan, Shouzhen served as the military governor of Suizhou, and Shohouhou served as the military governor of Shuzhong.
The governor of Mianzhou, a large county.
Shouxin was appointed as the capital general of Youshen Cejun Yushan in the middle of the capital, and his military camp was near Yang Mansion.
He was stationed in Tianwei City as a general and held thousands of soldiers.
These are all grown-up children.
There are still nearly 600 adopted children, who are not very good. They cannot hold big positions and can only do dirty work.
But there is another Ximen family in the capital. This is also an old Zhongguan family. Fengxiang has been supervising the army for generations. It is a big tree with deep roots. Although it has lost the holy family, it controls Zuo Shence's army and has a very obvious restraint effect. What can I do?
.
"Sir, Ximen Zhongsui has sent people to guard outside the Daming Palace these days to confront our people." Yang Shouli walked in from the outside, came to Yang Fugong, bowed respectfully, and then reported.
Yang Shouli, whose real name was Hu Hongli, had a high prestige in the Shence Army and was the most brave among the three armies. Therefore, he was adopted as the adopted son by Yang Fugong.
Everyone tried their best to win over the generals of the Forbidden Army. When they saw a good young man, he would not be polite and would directly adopt him as his adopted son. Uncles and nephews such as Ximen Sigong and Simen Zhongsui also adopted many adopted sons, and the outstanding ones all served in the Forbidden Army.
Unfortunately, there is not much local help, probably because too many Shao Shude line commanders and governors were recommended at the beginning, so they can no longer intervene - the three towns of Xingning, Longjian and Kuixia are now in Zhezongben and Zhaojian respectively.
, in the hands of Li Kan and three others.
"Can you bribe him?" Yang Fugong stared at his adopted son with burning eyes and asked.
"That man's name is Ximen Wentong, whose real name is Song Wentong. He is the leader of all three armies of the Zuo Shence Army. He has thousands of soldiers and has good talents. I have sent people to win over him, but he can't get in. He is more loyal to the Ximen family."
"What kind of loyalty! It's just that I saw Shao Shu's great virtue and wanted to raise an army to find someone to blame, but I didn't want to get close to him." Yang Fugong sneered and said: "This kind of people have ambitions written on their faces. How can they be loyal?"
Yang Shouli blushed after hearing this. How many people who worship Zhongguan as their adoptive father have no ambition? Even he himself has no choice now. The mark of the Yang family is too deep on his body.
"Sir, Shao Shude only wants to kill Wu Dingjun's military governor..."
Yang Fugong stood up suddenly, kicked Yang Shouli over with a fierce kick, and said angrily: "My father is not dead yet, and the sons are going to kill each other? Stupid! Can you satisfy Shao Shude by just killing Shouzhong? How stupid can you be like this?"
Think about it! Isn’t it silly to practice martial arts?”
Yang Fugong walked around angrily.
In fact, Shao Shude's intention is very obvious, which is to take away the power of the Yang family and take advantage of it, whether it is territory, manpower or property.
Of course, the saint did not want to see the Ximen family becoming the dominant one. However, with Shao Shude gathering so many soldiers and horses, the saint had no choice but to abandon the Yang family. After the limelight had passed, he would help a middle-ranking official come out to compete with the Ximen family.
Now Yang's turning point is only in Hedong.
But Li Keyong's army was trapped in the three states of Zhaoyi and Hebei, and he actually believed Shao Shude's words that he only wanted to kill Yang Shouzhong and protect the Zhuge family.
At the end of the day, even if this is true. If Yang Shouzhong was killed in front of his eyes, what prestige would he still have? His adopted sons have abandoned their hearts, internal morale is low, and their momentum is no longer what it used to be.
"Send people to Hedong again to benefit Wang Xiao of Longxi County. Shao Shude not only wants to liquidate Shouzhong, but also wants to liquidate someone. Please send a large army into the pass quickly to persuade the Dingnan Army to go back." Yang Fugong called his close aides.
, did not avoid Yang Shouli and gave direct orders.
The staff responded repeatedly and left.
"Sir, would you like to contact the Prince of Lingwu County too? There are some things that can be discussed. Why make it so out of control?" After Yang Shouli got up from the ground, he stood aside in silence. Seeing that Yang Fugong was getting angry.
After a while, he stepped forward to suggest something.
This was not only for Yang Fugong, but also for himself. Hundreds of Tian Lingzi's party members died on the banks of the Weishui River. This was because the Lingwu County Prince was not bloodthirsty. If Zhu Mei were to preside over the liquidation, it would be possible to kill ten thousand people.
Yang Fugong raised his foot again to kick him.
Yang Shouli looked sincere and said with a crying voice: "Sir! The child is full of filial piety, as can be seen from the sun and the moon, he is thinking about you!"
Yang Fugong gently kicked Yang Shouli.
Yang Shouli rolled away all the way, got up and cried again: "Sir!"
Yang Fugong sighed, his mood waning.
******
Fengxiang Mansion, Tianxing County. Zhu Mei finally returned from the palace outside the city.
The previously issued orders have been transmitted to all armies, including Fengxiang Prefecture, Qinzhou, Longzhou and Chengzhou, which are temporarily under his control. Soldiers and horses from all over the country are gradually gathering.
Once she got rid of the drunkenness, Zhu Mei quickly regained her former battlefield state.
The warriors of the dynasty can be greedy for money, lustful, bloodthirsty, or ignore political affairs, but they must be able to fight.
The imperial court established the towns in the northwest of Beijing to deal with Tibet. The first requirement for generals and sergeants was to be able to fight, and other aspects were almost completely laissez-faire.
No matter how strong your political ability is, no matter how good your political skills are, no matter how good your conduct is, what's the use? Facing the Tibetan army that swarms in, massacres the people, and robs women of their property, these are too powerless.
Well, if a vassal is good at managing territory, has a good reputation, and can fight wars, then the court will kill you.
Zhu Mei doesn't have much interest in managing the territory, and entrusts everything to the shogunate's assistants. He is only responsible for collecting money to support the army and provide for his own enjoyment. If you meet this condition, it doesn't matter what your subordinates do! If you don't meet this condition, you will be killed without discussion.
Fengxiang Mansion has now gathered nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses, accounting for almost 80% of the town. Zhu Mei plans to lead 15,000 people south to attack Wu Dingjun.
"Commander!" In the festival hall, all the generals arrived one after another.
Zhu Mei glanced at it.
Everyone in the yamen knew that Zhu Shou, the military envoy, was Zhu Mei's eldest son.
Zhu Xiu, the military envoy in the backyard, is the adopted son.
Yamen general Wang Xingyu, a confidant, was brought here from Pingning.
Yamen general Zhang Xingshi was also an old friend of Xing Ning.
Yang Sheng, the general of Dashanguan Town, was from Fengxiang. When he came to Beijing, Zhu Mei loved his bravery and took it into his account.
Wang Xingyue, the general of the Great Zhenguan Town, was an old man of Xingning and the younger brother of Wang Xingyu.
These generals he trusted the most and were also the highest ranking generals in the military government.
"Shao Shude has written many times and sent envoys to invite me to go south." Zhu Mei sat on the commander's seat and said: "Zhuge Shuang, I am also an old friend. How can I not help the old people when they are in trouble? I have made up my mind to raise troops.
Go south."
"I will obey the command of the commander-in-chief." All the generals responded one after another.
Zhu Mei nodded with satisfaction.
The past few years have been full of life and death. Of course, there is a reason why he comes from a low background and cannot stop once he comes into contact with the wealthy life. But more importantly, is it because he has no hope of progress?
Fengxiang is a big town, a rich town, and a strong town. Based on it, we can attack Jingyuan, Xingning, Shuofang, and Xiasui in the north, and attack Shannan West Road in the south. Once they are all captured, more than thirty states will be in hand. Wouldn't it be great?
Are the heroes of the world horrified?
Zhu Mei had fantasized about it before, but the battle into Chang'an more than two years ago left such a deep impression.
The morale of the Dingnan Army was high and they were unstoppable in battle. Li Changfu's troops were actually pretty good, but they could not break through the Dingnan Army's formation no matter how hard they charged. In the end, their morale declined and they were defeated.
In fact, the imperial court also intended to support the Fengxiang Army and fight against the Dingnan Army.
For this reason, Chengzhou was also transferred over. Unfortunately, Zhu Mei thought again and again and felt that her military strength was only half of Shao Shude's and was not as good as others who could fight. Why bother?
So he took over Chengzhou, and then went to enjoy the fine wine and beautiful women.
This time Zhuge was in trouble and sent an envoy to ask for help, which immediately brought back many memories of Zhu Mei.
The two men once served in Pang Xun's army and rebelled against the imperial court, but they later returned to justice. One went to Pizhou to join Li Kan's army, and the other served as a defense envoy in Ruzhou.
When Hedong was fighting against Li Guochang and his son, Zhu Mei was transferred to Hedong by Li Kan and served in Daizhou. Later, she was awarded the title of governor for her merits. Zhuge Shuang came with the Dongdu sergeants to recruit deputy envoys for the northern camp. The two had met before.
We met, drank wine, talked about old friendships, and expressed many emotions.
The subsequent development was actually very good. After fighting for Huangchao, Zhu Mei got the position of commander-in-chief of Yingning. Zhuge Shuang took control of Shannan West Road. In the year before 2000, Zhu Mei moved to Fengxiang, adjacent to Shannan West Road. Isn't this God's will?
?
When Zhuge Shuang is in trouble, the old brother has to help no matter what. As for what will happen after the help is finished...
Alas! Zhu Mei let out a long sigh, it would be better if there was no Shao Shude!
It's not too much for an uncle to help take care of Zhong Fang's nephew's family business. What a pity! What a pity!
"We will prepare food, grass, equipment, and baggage tomorrow. When Shao Shude arrives, we will send out troops." Zhu Mei shook her head, feeling very helpless.
Now that the matter has come to this, let’s help Zhuge Shuang.
Li Keyong, why don't you enter Guanzhong and drive Shao Shude away?