Speaking of which, less than two years after he ascended the throne, this was Liu Chengyou's third tour out of Beijing. At the beginning of his succession, he visited Luoyang in the west, went south to Xuzhou in the spring of the second year, and went north this winter. If you include the Battle of Pinghezhong, it was four times. Under Liu Chengyou’s solemn face, many people felt deeply enough about the restless heart.
Generally speaking, when the emperor goes on a patrol, it is certain that if he puts aside the emperor's guard of honor and makes a lot of pomp and wastes people and money, it is precisely because he knows this that this northern tour is much simpler than the previous one. It is not only stingy to himself. , the same goes for the dozen or so ministers accompanying him, and the number of child servants and guards they bring is limited.
The army guarding the camp was a horse army, equipped with many packhorse vehicles. Therefore, the northern patrol team was very mobile. Although the cold weather had an impact, the marching speed was not slow. According to the plan, we drove to Huazhou and passed by Cross the river at Baimajin, then go east and turn to Yedu.
Baima City is less than two hundred miles away from Tokyo. It departed from Tokyo in the early morning and arrived in the afternoon of the next day. When the imperial driver arrived, Huazhou officials and generals, led by Jiedushi Guo Congyi, braved the cold wind and went out of the city to greet them. Liu Chengyou called in advance He took precautions and did not disturb the people when he issued an edict to welcome him. Guo Congyi also did this. Therefore, in Huazhou, Liu Chengyou did not see the warm welcome of the soldiers and people of Huazhou.
In fact, Liu Chengyou is still a little "disappointed" in his heart. There are no common people who don't take shelter from the wind and cold, take the initiative to greet them, and want to see the holy face... pretentious!
At the foot of Baima City, Liu Chengyou stepped down from the imperial chariot, personally helped Guo Congyi up, held his hand, comforted the old minister of the Han Dynasty Yuan Cong with kind words, and praised him for his garrison. This was a great gesture and face for many ministers from Hedong. Among them, Guo Congyi was considered a middle-class talent, he knew how to advance and retreat, and he was quite obedient to Liu Chengyou, the young emperor.
He took the initiative to introduce the generals in Huazhou to Liu Chengyou. When Liu Chengyou proposed directly to inspect the defense of Huazhou, he did not feel any difference and was extremely respectful.
As an important place for fortification along the river to protect the safety of Tokyo, Huazhou's military strength is quite strong. There are only 5,000 forbidden troops stationed there. Of course, these 5,000 forbidden troops are now reorganized by the previous imperial court and are directly subordinate to the bodyguards. Although Guo Congyi held the position of commander of the Huazhou Horse Infantry Army, it was Wang Yin, the capital commander who was transferred here, who actually commanded the army.
Obviously, the existence of this forbidden army is the fundamental reason why Guo Congyi is so deferential to Liu Chengyou and the imperial court. In fact, a place like Huazhou is by no means an ordinary outer town. The imperial court has great influence and is not at all Have the strength to separatist power and fight against the imperial court.
Moreover, with Liu Chengyou's several actions, the imperial court's control over it is gradually increasing. The control of military power has become the basis, and the financial aspect is gradually disintegrating. Like Xuzhou, if Liu Chengyou wants to take back the power of Jiedu, he must of course start with Let’s start here in Kinkishu Town.
Guo Congyi did quite well as a military governor. Although he did not have any outstanding political achievements, he was more practical. He had been in the town for more than a year and had no bad reputation. In the previous period, he also actively cooperated with the court's policy of streamlining administration, calming the people, and recuperating.
During his tenure, Guo Congyi also led people to do all the things that should be done, including cultivating and encouraging farmers, dredging ditches, repairing city walls, strengthening river defenses, building roads, preventing and providing disaster relief... but the results were not particularly outstanding. However, for a martial artist, what else can be expected of him?
Without stopping, Liu Chengyou spent half a day on a brief inspection of Huazhou, mainly on the military garrison and civil affairs of the Baima generation. He was also concerned about the handling of the summer locust plague and the autumn harvest. The result was quite satisfactory, so he encouraged him a lot and gave Guo Congyi the title of "Taiwei" as a token of encouragement.
They camped outside Baima City. As usual, Liu Chengyou ordered not a single soldier to enter the city. There were not many complaints in the army because Liu Chengyou himself lived in the military camp and slept in a cold tent on winter nights.
Although it was in the hinterland of the Han Dynasty, Murong Yanzhao arranged the camp in an orderly manner, with high standards and strong camp tents. Everything showed the seriousness of marching and fighting, and there was no slightest carelessness. In the evening, Liu Chengyou personally visited the camp. At that time, in front of all the generals, he expressed great praise to Murong Yanzhao.
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Guo Congyi allocated some supplies from the Baima treasury, and "raised donations" of a batch of wine and meat from the wealthy merchants in the city, and sent them to the military camp to receive labor rewards.
In a simple tent, the red-hot charcoal fire dissipated the cold air, and the steaming heat and the smell of wine made the atmosphere lively.
Several generals of the Forbidden Army gathered here, sitting cross-legged casually, drinking and talking. They were all young people favored by Emperor Liu Chengyou, rising stars in the army. Gao Huaide, Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Yongde, and Zhao Kuangyin were all there.
Looking at the situation in the account, it seems that Gao Huaide is the main one. In terms of military position and status, he is respected. After all, he is the emperor's uncle and the son of King Linqing. Compared with him, the others are always weaker. One-of-a-kind.
Of course, it would be impossible for Gao Huaide to convince these people and gain their approval based on his identity alone. In fact, even excluding the advantages of identity, Gao Huaide's resume is very good. After all, when he was still a teenager, he He started his military career with his father Gao Xingzhou, fighting against the Khitans and quelling the rebellion. Before the founding of the Han Dynasty, he was able to obtain the title of governor for his military merits, which was several levels higher than his predecessors.
Zhao Kuangyin had the lowest background during the period, but his ability, character, and personality charm were outstanding, and he also had good communication skills. When he interacted with people like Gao Huaide and Zhang Yongde, he was recognized by them. He chatted and joked, get along well.
The two men opened the tent curtain and carried in half a roasted fat sheep. The cold wind rolled in through the curtain, which made the young generals in the tent sober up.
Zhao Yanjin rubbed his hands, couldn't wait to pick up the knife, cut a piece of roasted mutton and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed it, wiped the oil from his mouth, and muttered: "Your Majesty also chose this time of year to patrol the north. not afraid cold......"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin said in a reminding tone: "We are the Emperor's personal school. His Majesty has orders to go through fire and water, but he does not dare to resign. General Zhao, you must not criticize your Majesty!"
"Haha!" After hearing Zhao Kuangyin's words, Zhao Yanjin was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Brother Yuen Long, don't be nervous. I have served your Majesty for a long time. With his magnanimity, he will never offend us for this, and he may even laugh at it. "
Zhao Yanjin was a man of talent, knowledge, and courage. He was usually an informal person with a rather heroic demeanor. He had a good idea of Liu Chengyou's temperament.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin reluctantly agreed, singing praises to the emperor's mind, but he had no intention of relaxing his own prudence and self-discipline.
Zhao Kuangyin does not have the confidence of everyone here. His father Zhao Hongyin is also considered a senior general in the Forbidden Army, but there is a limit to how high he can be. He was promoted to Liu Chengyou and felt lucky. It was the time to strive forward, build achievements, and realize his ambitions. I wish to give the emperor a bad impression because of my words and deeds.
"Yuen Long is right. Your Majesty has the world in mind. In order to understand the people's sentiments, he did not take shelter from the wind and cold. What do we have to complain about. This time, Your Majesty did not take any meritorious veterans with him when he went north, but he chose me and other juniors to serve as guards. This is Your Majesty's regard and trust in us..." Gao Huaide also spoke, and after opening his mouth, he spared no effort to gather military morale for his brother-in-law.
How the military spirit is united, how loyalty is cultivated, it is so subtle and repeatedly emphasized...Liu Chengyou has placed many generals like Gao Huaide in the army. Gao Huaide is more implicit, some The flattery of the middle and low-level officers, who cooperated with the civil servants assigned to the Forbidden Army by Liu Chengyou, was enough to make Liu Chengyou blush.
Seeing that Gao Huaide had already spoken, Zhao Yanjin hurriedly said: "I made a mistake. I will punish myself with three drinks!"
As he spoke, he took the jug and poured wine.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin joked again at the right time: "You are not punishing yourself, you are clearly rewarding yourself..."