Xiaoqi

Watching Zhuge Liang's figure disappear into the bamboo forest, Li Lisui and Mengxin strolled forward, whispering softly as they walked, walking along the bluestone path to the depths of the bamboo garden.

"What madam said just now is indeed quite insightful, and my husband is very impressed."

"My husband's praise is too high." It was the first time that Li Li praised her talents unabashedly, and Meng Xin was very pleased with her.

However, when she was about to continue talking, she suddenly discovered that the four daughters Ren Hongchang and Xiao Qiao who had followed behind her had quietly left at some point, and she was the only one left with Li Li at this moment.

This discovery made Mengxin's delicate face change suddenly, and she suddenly realized that she had slipped her words just now. Although it was an unintentional mistake, it was a big taboo.As the lord of Wuchen Palace, and a daughter of a famous family, how could she not have heard about the story of Empress Lv's involvement in politics in the past, and how could she not have known the ancient saying that "women are not allowed to engage in politics" in the Han Dynasty?

Therefore, she is very clear why the four daughters of Ren Hongchang left quietly, and she also knows the reason for their avoidance.

Suddenly, Mengxin's expression was a little dazed, and an extremely complicated look appeared in her eyes, as if lost.

At this moment, her heart was extremely contradictory, both bitter and fortunate, and somewhat indescribably confused and lost.Bitterly, she regretted that she was outspoken, unable to maintain a normal mind in front of Li Li, and her mind was full of his shadow, so that she lost her mind, and even did the most taboo stupid thing for the kings of all dynasties.Fortunately, she has followed Li Li for so many years without seeking fame.He is still hovering outside Ren Hongchang and others, without any status, so naturally there is no need to worry about it.However, this happiness was only a momentary thought in her mind.Immediately, he was full of confusion and extremely lost.

In fact, Mengxin has become more and more infatuated with Li Li through getting along day and night recently.In the past six months, she has gotten used to Li Li's presence, used to sharing the same bed with him, resting at sunset and rising at sunrise.I don't want to be separated from him for a moment, longing to be with him forever and love him forever.The reason for this.It was because she had been alone for a long time before, she was alone and had no worries, and the only thing she could not worry about was the disciples of Wuchen Palace.And Li Li, who is married to her.

but.Ever since she was pregnant with Li Li's child, Mengxin has been concerned about it; the child is fettering her, but she always misses the child's father in her heart.With the pregnancy in October and the raising of the children day by day, Mengxin's originally peaceful state of mind also changed accordingly.Invisibly, her originally introverted and almost withdrawn personality became more and more cheerful, her original cold face gradually became smiling, and her rock-solid heart of seeking Tao quietly disappeared.No more indifference, no more indifference, no more indifference.Although she is still cold and severe in front of her disciples, she is still cold and severe in front of her own children.On the other hand, she smiled happily, with a loving smile on her face, and her whole body was full of maternal brilliance.

Accompanied by Li Li's stay in Wuchen Palace for half a year this time, Mengxin's ascetic temperament has been completely changed silently, making her become more and more gentle, entangled, and divorced. Do not drive Li Li.Right now, she has gotten used to the happy life of a husband and a child, and she has accepted the fact that she will serve a husband with Ren Hongchang, He Ying, Ma Yunluo and Xiao Qiao, and she is even willing to try to serve Li Li with them. sleep together.

Over time, Mengxin has been able to adapt to this kind of life, and has gained great satisfaction from it, as if she is addicted to it and cannot extricate herself.Therefore, she had already decided that after Li Liping pacified Xichuan, she would go to Chang'an with Ren Hongchang and others to meet many sisters.If the sisters did not reject her and got along very well with each other, she would consider staying in Chang'an, and move the Wuchen Palace to Zhongnan Mountain or Qinling Mountains, and settle down from now on, never to be separated from Li Li.

However, the scene just now woke Mengxin up suddenly, and she once again realized that the man she loved had an extremely prominent status.And this identity and status determine that many things cannot be done casually like ordinary people. Not only is he himself subject to many constraints invisibly, but even the wives and concubines who follow him also need to abide by the etiquette system.All the people around Li Li, especially the wives and concubines who are close to each other, must be extremely careful in their words and deeds, keep in mind many taboos at all times, and must not exceed the rules at all, otherwise they will give others excuses and cause disasters for no reason.

Thinking of these troublesome etiquettes and many taboos, Mengxin couldn't help being very distressed, and her face was full of sadness in a daze.

"Mengxin, what's wrong with you?"

After Mengxin didn't speak for a while, Li Li couldn't help but stop, staring at Mengxin who was full of worries, and said in surprise: "What is it that makes you worry? No matter what happens, just speak out, and my husband will definitely solve your problems for you!" Said After finishing speaking, Li Li looked at her eagerly, waiting for her to explain the reason and then solve it.In this regard, Li Li is full of confidence, because he firmly believes that there are only a handful of things in this world that can make him trouble, and he can solve all troubles by himself.

Mengxin came back to her senses when she heard the sound, and said softly: "Husband, don't worry, I'm fine, I just remembered something, and I'm a little sentimental." The sadness in his eyes, the melancholy in his eyes, seemed to be speaking the wrong words, not telling the truth.

This sad look fell into Li Li's eyes. Immediately, he frowned slightly, a trace of suspicion flashed in his pupils, and asked: "You never tell lies, let alone hide anything from me. Why are you so perfunctory this time?" Me? Tell me about your troubles. If the sky falls, there will be a husband who will take care of it for you. You don’t have to worry about it, just tell me the truth.”

Mengxin was shocked, she looked at Li Li affectionately, and after a while, she said in a low voice: "Does your husband think it is possible for me to become the second Empress Lu?"

"Empress Lu?" Li Li was stunned when he heard the sound, and said in surprise: "Empress Lu is Gaozu's first wife, Lu Zhi, right? There is no reason, why do you think of her?" At this moment, Li Li found that he could not keep up with Mengxin at all. train of thought.I was still talking about the situation in Yizhou just now, but it suddenly spanned to Liu Bang's empress Lu Zhi more than 300 years ago. This span is too big!The two are not close at all, and there is a difference of more than three hundred years, so where should we start?

Mengxin's face changed when she heard that, and she suddenly realized that her question was indeed absurd, and she was thinking too much.However, she really wanted to know what Li Li thought of Lu Zhi, and how she viewed her merits and demerits.So she lowered her head in shame, and said softly: "My husband insists on asking, and I should tell the truth. You should know that since the founding of the country, women have been forbidden to participate in politics. Just now Hongchang, He Ying, Yunluo and Xiao Qiao The reason why my younger sister left quietly was to avoid it deliberately, lest people would criticize me in the future and frame my concubine for meddling in politics without authorization. However, the concubine ignored this section in a moment of quick talk, and thus violated the taboo, which is really wrong. I am very disturbed, please punish me, my husband." After speaking, Mengxin bowed her head and saluted, as if waiting to be dealt with, very charming.

"Hehehe! So that's the case." Li Li was surprised when he heard the sound, and couldn't help laughing: "What am I supposed to do? It turned out to be a false alarm! You don't know, but I don't really mind." Laughing, Li Li blurted out He was about to express his true opinion, but when the words came to his lips, he suddenly stopped, and the laughter also stopped abruptly, and he swallowed the following words abruptly.

At this moment, Li Li had a flash of light in his mind, and he felt that something had shown signs of something, but this was something he hated deeply.This is: infighting in the palace, wives and concubines vying for favor, and princes vying for power and position.

Although his heirs are still young at present, the fact before him is that he does have more than a dozen wives and concubines, and each of them gave him two children, and they will continue to have children in the future.In this way, he is destined to have many heirs. If he is not handled properly, it will inevitably lead to a battle in the palace.This is by no means unfounded worry, but something that is very likely to happen, which cannot be avoided, let alone escaped.

Therefore, Li Lifan was awakened by Mengxin's words like enlightenment, and immediately became alert, so that he left half of his words, hiding his truest thoughts, and no longer speaking frankly.Because Mengxin is also one of his many wives and concubines, and she is very smart, she can understand everything, and she can draw inferences from one instance, and she is very clever.Therefore, Li Li must have some reservations, and maintain a high degree of vigilance for this matter, start preparations as soon as possible, and deal with it properly, so as to prevent the children from killing each other when they grow up.

After a moment of silence, the expression on Li Li's face did not change at all, and he still did not change his face and heartbeat, and said with a smile on his face: "Gaozu's empress Lu Zhi is actually a strange woman in the 400 years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, and she is also the first emperor who ruled the world. Afterwards, she was the first woman to be a queen mother. She was quite talented in politics, and she made remarkable achievements during her reign, many of which are commendable.

However, Empress Lu was cruel, ignoring the relationship between mother and child, killing the royal family and nobles wantonly, wantonly promoting the relatives of the Lu family, and monopolizing the court. As a result, the Han Dynasty has been harassed by foreign relatives for 400 years, and the court has been fighting endlessly. Until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world is in chaos .Therefore, my opinion of Lv Zhi is that there are both merits and demerits, and both good and bad! "

Speaking of this, Li Li changed the subject abruptly, and said solemnly: "However, I, Li Li, am not the great ancestor Liu Bang, and my wives and concubines are not lu pheasants who are obsessed with power, so such internal strife in the palace will not happen. Not to mention whether I am better than Gaozu, compared with my age alone, I have an absolute advantage that he can't catch up with, and I have ample time to cultivate heirs.

Therefore, Mengxin need not be so worried, our children will love each other and unite as one. "This last sentence is actually Li Li's self-comfort, and it is also his earnest expectation for his children. Perhaps it is too early to consider these things at this time, and it is too unreasonable to worry about it, but as the saying goes: "Those who do not plan for the world are not enough. Seek for a while; those who do not seek the overall situation are not enough to seek a domain. "After all, it is better to prevent problems before they happen than to hold Buddha's feet when you are dying.

Chapter 131 The wind and thunder are moving, and the soldiers are ready

In early summer, the grass is luxuriant, the forests are lush, the streams are flowing, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful.

When the situation in Yizhou changed suddenly, the weather also changed accordingly. A long-lost wind and rain suddenly fell overnight, covering thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.

Hanzhong County, Nanzheng County Shoufu.

After the rainstorm, there were still bean-sized raindrops on the eaves, falling one by one. At first glance, the raindrops seemed to be connected in a line, but in fact they scattered intermittently.Drops of rainwater fell on the stone steps, splashed in all directions, and hit the loess beside the stone steps, forcibly gouging out a puddle the size of a bowl, with faint yellow mud in the splashed water droplets.

In the lobby more than ten steps away from the stone steps, many generals of the Xiliang Army gathered at this moment, as well as the three counties of Jincheng County, Fufeng County and Wudu County, as well as a group of officials under Hanzhong.

At this time, there was a person sitting on the upper steps of the lobby, it goes without saying that he was the chief general of the over one hundred thousand Xiliang army who had secretly gathered in Hanzhong County this time, and he was also the highest military officer who dispatched troops to Yizhou this time.But he was not Li Li, nor Li Xuan, Li Ru, or Jia Xu, but Zhou Yu and Zhou Gongjin, generals of Pingnan who were defeated in the battle of Yecheng last year.

As of this time, the Battle of Yecheng had just passed a year ago.A year later, Li Li once again used Zhou Yu to take charge of the army, resumed his post as General Annan, and was promoted to the governor of Hanzhong, led the army of Hanzhong, and took command of Yizhou.And this is also Zhou Yu finally waiting for the opportunity after a year of dormancy to take over the military power again, and it is also an excellent opportunity for him to regroup and rectify his name.

In fact, when Li Li decided to send troops to Yizhou, it was not that there were no generals available. On the contrary, there were many generals to choose from, and there were not a few generals who could be the generals of the three armies.Among them, the most impactful candidates are Li Xian, the general who conquered the South, Zhuge Liang, the military adviser offering wine, Fazheng, the prefect of Hanzhong, and Ma Chao, the commander-in-chief of the Longxiang Battalion.Huang Zhong, Commander of Qin Gong Battalion, Zhao Yun, Commander of Wushuang Iron Cavalry, Ma Teng, Governor of Fufeng, and others were also popular candidates.Therefore, when the expedition to Yizhou was put on the agenda, especially after learning that Li Li was about to go to the hinterland of Yizhou.Who will be in charge of the Hanzhong army has become the focus of attention of all the generals. There are many private discussions, and they are all guessing who Li Li will eventually take command of the army.

Until the eve before Li Li's departure, the candidate for the coach who had been hanging in the air finally came to light, and the answer was revealed.But the result was beyond everyone's expectation, but it was reasonable. This is Zhou Yu who has been in charge of the Chinese army many times.

While officially confirming the main general.General Li Xian of Zhengnan was appointed as the deputy commander of the army, and Zhuge Liang and Fazheng were also entrusted with important tasks, serving as the left and right commanders of the army respectively.also.The four battalions of Longxiang Battalion, Wushuang Iron Cavalry, Xiongyingwei, and Qin Gong Battalion accompanied the army and equipped with 15 heavy infantry.Therefore, the Xiliang army that went to Yizhou this time has a strong force, consisting of [-] infantry and [-] cavalry, with a total of [-] cavalry.

It is worth mentioning that.These 15 troops are all elite soldiers and strong generals.It can be called the most elite army of the Xiliang Army after the Battle of Jizhou.

The first to bear the brunt is the Longxiang Camp, Li Li's starting team.This is a long-renowned army of hundreds of battles, and it is also one of the top three war cavalry in the Xiliang Army; the leader of this elite cavalry is the "Shenweitian General" Ma Chao and Ma Mengqi.

The second is the Peerless Cavalry led by Zhao Yun.This is also a battle-tested division of hundreds of battles. It has successively experienced the Battle of Sili, the Battle of Youzhou and the Battle of Jizhou. Although the Battle of Jizhou ended in failure, the casualties of the Peerless Cavalry were not large. After a short rest and replenishment, you can fight again.

again.It is the only crossbow battalion of the Xiliang Army that is fully staffed, and it is also an elite infantry that is extremely good at mountain warfare.Its chief commander is Huang Zhong Huang Hansheng who is known as the "God of Arrow".Speaking of which, Qin Gongbattalion has not had any outstanding achievements since its formation, the only achievement that can be achieved is to follow Li Li to capture Hanzhong, and there is no other achievements.However, this does not mean that the Qin Gong Battalion's combat strength is low and unusable, but that it has never had a chance to show its edge. It has been staying behind for many years, guarding the Jiameng Pass, the gateway from Hanzhong to Yizhou.Therefore, this expedition to Yizhou can be said to be an excellent opportunity for the Qin Gongying to show their talents for a long time, and it is also their first battle to rectify their name and make contributions.For this reason, Qin Gongying's [-] soldiers, from Huang Zhong to Cao Xing, were all sharpening their swords, eager to try, full of ambition, impatiently looking forward to the arrival of the attack order.

The last war cavalry was the Eagle Guard under the tent of Li Li's younger brother Li Xian.This is a newly formed light cavalry, with 3 horses in the whole battalion, plus 5000 subordinate soldiers and horses composed of logistics supplies, scouts and personal guards, for a total of [-] people.It is quite noticeable that about [-]% of the cavalry of the Eagle Guards are from Wuhuan and Xianbei, and the remaining [-]% are from Qiang and Xiliang.It is precisely because of the complexity of the cavalry that Li Li sent more than a dozen powerful generals to supplement it. Hu Che'er and Shi A served as lieutenants, and Zhang Fei was specially dispatched to come to Li Xian's tent to wait for dispatch.

All of this was done in secret, and no news was leaked from beginning to end, so the princes of the towns were unaware of it.They all thought that after Li Li's defeat in Jizhou, his military strength had been greatly reduced, so they had to shrink their troops and withdraw their cavalry battalion to the hinterland of Xiliang to supplement their rest.Little do they know that this move is just to deceive people, but it actually has another purpose, which is to shrink the troops to seize Yizhou.

Last winter, Zhuge Liang followed Li Li and entered Yizhou ahead of schedule. Since then, he has kept in close contact with Zhou Yu, Fazheng and others who are in Hanzhong, and sent the information he found back to Hanzhong camp in time.

In February of this year, the prefect of Hanzhong Fazheng set out again, sneaked into Yizhou secretly, and went to Chengdu to secretly contact some Yizhou aristocratic families and gentry who were willing to transfer to Li Li's command, including many high-ranking Yizhou generals and civil servants.

Meanwhile, Fazheng has another mission.That is, when he sneaked into Yizhou, he took an elite team composed of rangers. Although there were only 500 people, he shouldered the important task of cooperating with the main force to fight and seize the pass.Therefore, Fazheng, the right army division, not only shouldered the mission of rebelling against the Yizhou aristocratic family and leading the ranger detachment to seize the pass, but also the think tank of the right army after entering Yizhou, responsible for assisting the right army leader in attacking the city.

However, who is the leader of the Right Army and how to dispatch the 15 troops in Hanzhong still needs to be decided by Zhou Yu. This is his due right as the commander of the three armies.

On this point, Li Li has always adhered to the principle of "employing people without doubting others".As long as he chooses a candidate for the commander-in-chief, he will fully delegate power and give him the right to make decisions on the fly.During the war, he will not dictate to the commanding general, will not interfere midway, and will not change the battle plan without authorization.

In the lobby of Hanzhong County Sheriff's Mansion, the pre-war discussions have been going on for half an hour.

In addition to the coach Zhou Yugao sitting on the upper stage, there are more than [-] civil servants and military generals related to the expedition to Yizhou sitting on both sides of the lower hall.On the left side of the hall, Li Xian, the general who conquered the South, is at the top, followed by more than [-] generals including Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Xia Houlan, and Cao Xing; on the right is Ma Teng, the prefect of Fufeng, followed by Wudu Prefect Pei Qian, Jincheng prefect Wei Kang, Jincheng prefect Yang Fu and other more than forty civil officials.

At the beginning of this meeting, Zhou Yu conveyed the military order sent back from the Lord Li Li from Shu County on behalf of Zhou Yu, and passed the letter to everyone to show his sincerity.Immediately, Huang Zhong notified the news of the latest scouting report and detailed work, so that everyone could clearly realize that now is the best time to send troops, and the opportunity cannot be missed, and the time will never come again.

So far, after the initial military report, the discussion has entered a substantive stage, which is also a critical moment for Zhou Yu to dispatch troops.

"The army is about to go out. I wonder how the three eunuchs are raising food and grass. Can they provide enough for our army?" Just when everyone in the hall thought that Zhou Yu was about to give orders, unexpectedly Zhou Yu was calm and took it easy. Slowly ask about the preparation of food and grass.After he finished speaking, he looked at Ma Teng on the right side of the hall with a smile on his face, because Ma Teng was the chief officer of the rear army supplying food and grass to the rear of the army, that is, the quartermaster.

After Ma Teng heard the words, he said without hesitation: "The governor can rest assured. The first batch of 30 shi of grain and grass has been transported to Nanzheng City, of which 20 shi of grain and grass have arrived at Jiameng Pass the day before yesterday, which can supply two hundred thousand troops. The second batch of grain and grass is still 30 shi, all of which have been collected and transported to Wudu County yesterday, and it will be delivered to Hanzhong within ten days, which can completely supply the needs of the army."

Zhou Yu nodded when he heard the sound, and said with a smile, "It's so good. With Huailihou sitting in Hanzhong this time, he will have nothing to worry about. Hehehe!" While speaking, Zhou Yu was smiling, but in fact he secretly felt relieved Breathe a sigh of relief.

And this is all because of Ma Teng's special status, he himself is a veteran general of Xiliang, he was once a powerful prince, but now he is under Li Li's command, but he is still full of dignitaries and his status is aloof.Not only is he the prefect of a county, but he is also the biological father of Ma Chao, a mighty general in the army. The other three sons are all senior generals in the army. Most importantly, he is also Li Li's father-in-law.Because of this, even though Zhou Yugui was the governor of Hanzhong and the commander-in-chief of the first army, he could not call him by his first name, but still had to call Ma Teng "Huai Lihou".Therefore, if Ma Teng procrastinates on purpose or obstructs it, then Zhou Yu will be in trouble.

Seeing Zhou Yu's humility and politeness, Ma Teng stroked his beard and said with a smile: "You don't have to be polite, the governor. This is my job. It's my duty. I should serve my life."