Lord of the House

There was a discussion about the Northern Expedition in Jiangning, but the main time was Lin Fu, the governor of Haizhou, and it was delayed until September of the seventh year of Yongxing, and there was no actual action to prepare for the Northern Expedition.

Although in the waters south of the Shandong Peninsula, the navies of the two sides had frictions and casualties from time to time. In the Hehuai area where the two sides gathered nearly 600,000 troops, the post-war period of calm extended for a full twenty months. It must be unimaginable for both the enemy and us.

After the battle of Jingxiang, there was a quiet period of one and a half years, and the Yanhu soldiers and horses who were hit hard after the battle of Jingxiang were given a rare opportunity to recuperate.

Even when the war on the southern front was at its most intense, Yanhu did not stop expanding westward; in the sixth and seventh year of the Mandate of Heaven (Yongxing), the Xihu and other clans returned to the scale of the cavalry directly under the jurisdiction of Yanjing. Two hundred thousand people, some of the cavalry lost in the battle of Jingxiang were supplemented.

At the same time, Huaidong has been rectifying its armaments in the Eastern Front and the Xushou and Yihai theaters under the jurisdiction of the Northern Corps. Armament signs.

Lin Fu not only patiently refused to start the Northern Expedition, but also sent several horses to Guoyang and Xuchang after the autumn, and sent a paper order to reduce the size of the army in the six towns of Henan.

"This demon fox, what's the idea behind his back?" Yuan Guizheng, who had white temples, pressed his hands against the stacking wall with puzzled hands, and looked solemnly at the wilderness outside Xuchang City. The direction of Yihai was slow to move, telling them that they couldn't figure out Lin Bie's mind in Xuchang, "Isn't he afraid that the longer the time drags on, the spirit of the Huaidong Army will be frustrated?"

Dong Yuan led his troops northward, and Xuchang was still a ruined city. After more than a year, although it was difficult, it recovered somewhat. In the area near the city, more than 100,000 mu of wheat fields have also been reclaimed. After the fall, the wind blows, setting off golden waves.

It's just that compared to the nearly 90,000 garrison around Xuchang, the newly cultivated wheat fields of more than 100,000 mu are nothing.

Henan has been devastated by more than ten years of war, and there are not one hundred people. Except for the children who moved north with his troops, Dong Yuan recruited exiles and adopted orphans in Xuchang for more than a year. In the old days, there were nearly 300,000 households in Xuchang Prefecture alone.

In the current situation, it is absolutely impossible for Xuchang to restore the old view.

"Lin bound the emperor in the capital, and no longer hides his wolf ambitions. For him, the current priority is to usurp the world of the Yuan clan. He retreated to Haizhou to oversee the army, but he did not have the slightest focus on rectifying the military armament. , is nothing more than retreating to Haizhou to watch the situation in Jiangning," Governor Liu Ting said in a sigh, "Now that he is full of killing his dissidents, how can he think about the Northern Expedition?"

Yu Xinyuan and Cheng Yuqian both resigned and left Jiangning one after another; Yuan Hancheng was placed under house arrest in Shouzhou, and it is usually difficult to come up with a palace;

Although Zhang Yan and Shen Rong were still in Jiangning, it was difficult for them to actually do anything. Without soldiers or food, Emperor Yongxing and the Empress Dowager could not even get out of the palace gate.

Although Dong Yuan still controls the troops and horses of the four towns in Henan, Yue Lengqiu controls the elites of the other two towns of the Henan Army and arrives behind Xuchang, and Lin Fu has not relaxed the construction of the defense areas in the upper reaches of Huai River and Nanyang, making Xuchang's troops and horses to give. isolated. The imperial party was isolated in Jiangning and could not get the support of Xuchang troops.

Yuan Guizheng turned his head and glanced at Dong Yuan; Dong Yuan, who was about to know his destiny, also had a little frosty hair on his temples.

Liu Tingzhou said so categorically that Lin Fu no longer had the ambition to expedite the Northern Expedition, but put all his thoughts on usurping the throne and proclaiming the emperor-although this was also more and more speculation by people in Xuchang, Yuan Guizheng still had deep doubts in his heart. : Lin Fu is only thirty-two years later, so it is not that he has no patience for three or five years, but it is difficult to find other explanations for Lin Fu's delay in starting the Northern Expedition.

Lin Fu's delay in the Northern Expedition not only gave Beiyan a chance to catch his breath, but also gave Cao enough time to gain a firm foothold in Sichuan.

At first, everyone thought that Lin Fuhui would start the Northern Expedition after half a year of rectification after the Battle of Jingxiang. At that time, Beiyan's vitality was severely damaged and morale was low, and Cao's foundation in Sichuan and Shu was unstable, so he did not dare to directly follow. The dispatch of troops from the west wing to contain Huaidong's troops in the two lakes is undoubtedly a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition to recapture the Central Plains - no one thought that Lin Fuyituo had almost two years passed, and he still did not look like he was about to start.

It has been two years since the entire Cao clan retreated to Sichuan and Shu, especially after the battle of Jingxiang. Although Beiyan did not return Guanzhong to Cao, and Cao did not accept the title of Beiyan's king of Shu, the secret alliance was The discerning person knows.

Beiyan named Chen Zhihu the king of Qin and entrusted him to guard Guanzhong to relieve Cao's military pressure in northern Sichuan with practical actions. Although it took seven years for the Cao clan to gain the two Sichuans, the early Cao clan's center of gravity was still in the north, not in the south, and Qin Zongyuan managed the eastern and southern Sichuan by subordinating ministers and the original Chuandong system.

In the past two years, the Cao clan has been able to concentrate on developing forces to eastern and southern Sichuan.

After entering the summer this year, Cao Yiqu even used the excuse of Qin Zongyuan's secret placement of armored soldiers and scheming rebellion, and instead of playing Jiangning, he executed the Qin family.

This incident actually showed that the Cao clan had completely mastered East Sichuan; it was just that Lin Fu reacted surprisingly coldly to the annihilation of Qin Zongyuan's clan. He only ordered Cao Yiqu to move the Qin clan to Jiangning, and he had no intention of prosecuting Cao Yiqu for the murder.

This series of events seems to indicate that Lin Fu has no intention to intensify the conflict with Cao's...

****************

At this time, a group of chariots and horses of about a hundred people came slowly from the northwest.

The northwest direction of Xuchang is Hezhongfu. Although this group of chariots and horses came from Hezhong Prefecture, they were not envoys of Beiyan, but Ren Jiwei, the special envoy of the Cao family who secretly came to Xuchang from Guanzhong and Heluo.

Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng gathered at the head of Xuchang City, looking forward to the arrival of the special envoy of the Cao family.

There were several galloping horses to Xuchang City, and Ren Jiwei was indeed in the convoy.

"Cao Yiqu relies on the four heroes of Ren's family, Tingzhou and Guizheng. Are you, like me, in the mood to appreciate the style of the four heroes of Ren's family?" Dong Yuan raised his brows and asked Liu Tingzhou and Yuan Guizheng sideways.

Liu Tingzhou remained silent, and the intention of letting Jiwei go to Xuchang in secret had been communicated by both parties in advance. Without a certain degree of tacit understanding, how could Cao Yiqu be in such a hurry to send Xu Chang, the secret envoy of such an important figure?

In June, Cao Yiqu executed Qin Zongyuan's entire clan. One was to completely control the east of Sichuan, and the other was to test Jiangning's attitude.

Qin Zongyuan was defeated and surrendered to the Cao clan in the first year of Yongxing, losing the separatist rule over the two Sichuans. However, Cao's control over Sichuan and Shu was very limited at that time, and only the general Wei Shiyan led 10,000 elites to be stationed in Yuzhou. And its foundation in Guanzhong was threatened by Yanhu. Jiangning put forward the strategy of uniting Cao to fight against captives, and Cao took the opportunity to accept the appointment of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

In this context, Qin Zongyuan's defeat and surrender to Cao was deliberately ignored by both parties, but he was able to serve as the Minister of Xuanfu of the two Sichuan provinces after the Yongxing year. Although the military power has been weakened to the extreme, the Qin family still has a deep foundation in the two Sichuans, especially in eastern Sichuan. .

In the later stage, Jiang Ning also deliberately wanted to help the Qin family to restore power to check and balance the Cao family. This time, Cao Yiqu killed the entire Qin family with thunder. Handy.

If Lin Fu was not in a hurry to become emperor, how could his attitude towards the Cao family be so weak this time?

Of course, this is not the only sign; Cheng Yuqian's bid farewell to old age and prudent protection is also a clear signal. Although Cheng Yuqian did not have any great achievements at this time, his position as the Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall after Chen Xiyan was precisely his ability to watch the wind and watch the situation for half his life, which no one else can match.

It is precisely because it is judged that Lin Fu may abolish Yuan and become emperor in the near future, that Cao Yiqu is eager to send Ji Wei to secretly pass through Guanzhong and Heluo to Xuchang to contact him.

Liu Tingzhou and Yuan Guizheng went down to the city with Dong Yuan to welcome Ren Jiwei into the city.

Xuchang has very few merchants and citizens, so they are not afraid of Huaidong's infiltration of eyeliners; moreover, the Cao family is still a minister of Yuanyue, and the Cao family sent people to Xuchang, even if the news leaks out, there is nothing to worry about. Could it be that no matter how well they cover it up, Huaidong really believes that they have no contact with the Cao family?

Ren's four heroes became famous quite early, but Ren Jiwei was only a middle-aged man in his 40s, wearing an ordinary green robe and a very sparse goatee, his appearance was unremarkable.

If it weren't for Yuan Jinsheng, who had previously secretly sneaked into Yuzhou, Yuan Guizheng would have suspected that the person in front of him was really a talented Guanzhong who was as famous as Wang Chengfu, who was in charge of Yinzhuang, a manufactory in his youth.

Liu Tingzhou, Yuan Guizheng and Dong Yuan looked at Ren Jiwei, and Ren Jiwei also looked at Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng on the occasion of the salute. Although Ren Jiwei has never seen Yuan Guizheng, his father, former censor of Zuodu, and the leader of the Western Qin Party, Ren Min, has a very high evaluation of Yuan Guizheng. Under the protection of Su. It is also precisely because Yuan Guizheng is talented and has high self-esteem, that he has been tossing a lot over the years, willing to be resigned, and becoming rich and old.

Dong Yuan's rise to power as a minor official is definitely not someone who can be underestimated - it is such a talent, especially Dong Yuan's early military power, which has always been more important than Lin Fu. Under the suppression of Huaidong, there was no way to raise his head, so Ren Jiwei did not think that the danger of Sichuan and Shu would be able to take Huaidong lightly.

"Duke Cao sent Ji Wei to Xuchang, and there is really something to present to all of you adults for reading." After Ren Jiwei entered the city with Dong Yuan, he just sat down in the post house, without too much temptation, he went straight to the point.

What's going on in Xuchang now? After Ren Jiwei left Hezhong Mansion, he went south all the way, and he could see it with his own eyes; Dong Yuan couldn't put on a pretense in front of Ren Jiwei, but said, "I also ask Sir Ren to show me..."

Ren Jiwei took out a piece of bright yellow brocade silk from his possessions and unfolded it on the table, but there were dazzling three lines of blood in the eyes: "The governor of Shu Cao Yiqu and the generals of Shu know that Duke Chongguo and the privy envoy Lin Fuxuan Gu Huangen , specializing in government affairs, appointing people to their own interests, bullying the clan, forbidding the marriage of clan daughters, intending to privately occupy..."

Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng were shocked when they saw it, but they didn't expect that what Ren Jiwei brought was the blood edict of Qin Wang.

The so-called prohibition of marrying clan daughters refers to the fact that the Empress Dowager intends to promise Princess Yangxin to the Prince of Chong'an as his wife. It was rumored that Lin Fu sent a knife to the Marquis of Chong'an's mansion to congratulate him. He was so frightened that Marquis of Chong'an led his family to kneel in front of the palace gate to refuse the marriage, and quickly made the newly grown prince marry Lin Xulu. 's young girl, so that this matter can not be resolved.

Although Dong Yuan was startled, he could still sit still, but looked at Ren Jiwei suspiciously.

"In the first ten days of the seventh month, there was a mountaineer who crossed the Shu Mountain and entered Yuzhou, claiming to have been sent by Zhang Yan, an internal envoy, and asked to see the Governor Cao; when the Governor Cao saw him, he had to read this edict. The Governor Cao knew that this was no trivial matter, and he dispatched Ji Wei to Xuchang to meet with him. Discuss, gentlemen..."

Hearing what Ren Jiwei said, Yuan Guizheng knew that most of the blood edicts were fake. No matter how stupid Zhang Yan is, if he can send someone out of Jiangning, he should come to Xuchang first. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if this blood edict is true, Lin Fu will not abolish Emperor Yongxing and establish himself. What is the difference between this blood edict and a piece of waste cloth? Lin Bie has a heavy army in Jingxiang, does Cao Yiqu dare to lead his troops eastward along the Xiajiang River?

Cao Yiqu asked Ren Jiwei to carry the blood edict with him, which undoubtedly showed his contempt for the blood edict.

"Lin Fuzhuan is good at provoking complaints, and it is well known in the world, but this blood edict is no trivial matter. Although it is written by the emperor, it has no seal. Outsiders say it is fake. How can we tell if it is true?" Dong Originally asked.

"Although the imperial edict can no longer leave the capital at this time, but I want to come to you, you should have the edict issued by the emperor before. Even if there is no seal, it is true or false, you can tell by comparing," Ren Jiwei said, "Furthermore, the truth of the edict is Fake, not in what outsiders think, but in Master Dong's heart, thinking that this edict is true or false."

Dong Yuan couldn't help laughing. Ren Shuda, the third-eldest of the four masters of Ren's family, was famous for forging ancient books and pens; at this time, it was meaningless to entangle the authenticity of the blood edict.

Ren Jiwei brought the blood edict, just to show that the Cao family intends to take the initiative in the future development of the situation.

Dong Yuan did not intend to talk directly with Ren Jiwei. After the banquet, he left with Liu Tingzhou first, leaving Yuan Guizheng in the post house to accompany Ren Jiwei.

After his son, Yuan Guizheng said goodbye to Ren Jiwei and came to Xingyuan to see Dong Yuan; Liu Tingzhou was also in Dong Yuan's Xingyuan, waiting for Yuan Guizheng to come over.

"If Lin Fu abolishes the emperor and establishes himself, the Cao family intends to establish a new emperor in Yuzhou, hoping that Xuchang can jointly embrace him..." Yuan Guizheng said.

"Ren Jiwei said who the Cao family intends to establish?" Liu Tingzhou asked anxiously.

Although Emperor Yongxing and his two sons were both placed under house arrest in Jiangning, the lineage of the ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty has gone through thirteen generations of reproduction and inheritance. Although the ancestors of the "Jian" generation had killed most of them after Yanhu's invasion, there were still hundreds of people scattered all over the place.

Although they are closely related to Qingyu, Delong, Chongguan, and Yongxing four emperors, these ancestral sons are at least descendants of Yuanyue, so there is no need to worry about finding someone to support.

Liu Tingzhou remained loyal to the Yuan clan, and even wanted to plan to make the second son of Emperor Yongxing escape from Jiangning, but the plan was very dangerous. The object of establishment, no matter who is just a puppet.

Dong Yuan stared at the map spread on the long case.

The Cao family consolidated its foundation in Shu, and it only took two or three years. It was not even deeply entrenched, and the number of soldiers and horses under his command had recovered to 134,000 to 134,000. It was not even as good as when it was at its peak in Guanzhong, let alone with Huaidong. Compared with 400,000 elites. However, the Cao family dared to have the ambition to establish a new emperor. In the final analysis, it still relied on the special terrain of Sichuan and Shu.

Chuan and Shu are the real four fortresses. Huaidong cannot defeat Guanzhong. If you want to use troops against Chuan and Shu, you can only enter Shu from Jingzhou and Yiling along the Yangtze River and Jiangxi. The Xiajiang passage to the east of Yuzhou is very narrow and steep. As long as the Cao family fills the upper reaches of the Xiajiang and the cities east of Yuzhou with 30,000 to 50,000 elites, they can block the Huaidong elites from Sichuan and Shu.

No matter how many and elite Huaidong soldiers and horses are, it is extremely difficult to forcibly break through the natural dangers of the Xiajiang River, not to mention that Huaidong in the north has to be restrained by Beiyan's troops and horses in Shandong and Guanzhong, and it is impossible to use all forces against Sichuan and Shu. .

In addition, Chuanshu is much richer than Guanzhong.

Although Guanzhong was the capital of the six dynasties, from the Chen Dynasty onwards, Guanzhong became increasingly ruined due to excessive farming. There was a small drought in three years and a severe drought in five years. In the past two or three hundred years, it has become a bitter and cold place in the northwest.

Although Guanzhong had a population of 8 million people at most, its actual military potential was not strong. In the two Sichuan provinces, Bazi in western Sichuan alone has 3 to 4 million mu of fertile fields and 300,000 to 400,000 households.

After the Cao family entered Shu, they were not short of food to support their troops, but lacked the foundation. Therefore, Cao Yiqu only considered that after Lin Fu usurped the Yuan, he was not in a hurry to stand on his own, but wanted to establish the descendants of the Yuan clan as the new emperor and win over the hearts of the two Sichuans - Lin Fuxing's new policy almost completely offended the old gentry forces. The gentry class in Jianghuai, Zhejiang, Fujian and Lianghu was unable to resist the new policy introduced by Lin Fu, but the gentry in Liangchuan and other places had a heart of resistance, which actually caused Cao Yiqu to establish a new emperor in Yuzhou, and had the foundation of people's hearts.

Dong Yuan is also very envious of the natural advantages of the Cao clan. If he can occupy such a powerful terrain as Sichuan and Shu, and rule four or five million people in Shu, even if he cannot take the world, he can still secure a corner.

Regarding Cao Yiqu's intention to establish a new emperor in Yuzhou after Lin Fu usurped the throne, Dong Yuan just smiled bitterly and said, "Cao Yiqu has a lot of ambitions, and he also wants to learn from Huaidong's 'Fengtianzi to make no ministers'!"

"Lin Bie has the heart to usurp the throne, and the world can attack him together!" Liu Tingzhou said.

Liu Tingzhou would not be naive enough to not know Cao Yiqu's ambitions, but Lin Fuzhen wanted to abolish the emperor and set up a new dynasty, so he could only count on the Cao family, who was in danger of Sichuan and Shu, to establish a new emperor and preserve the orthodox blood of the Yuan family——

Dong Yuan raised his head and glanced at Liu Tingzhou, and he also had a slight headache for Liu Tingzhou - this old guy even wanted to instigate Xuchang Qingjun's side. Dong Yuan didn't ask Liu Tingzhou to have more contact with Ren Jiwei, because he was afraid that Liu Tingzhou would take the initiative to sell Xuchang's foundation clean.

It's not that Dong Yuan didn't want to set up a new emperor, but the south of Xuchang was a flat horse, and Huaidong used troops from Nanyang, Shouzhou, and Huaiyang to Xuchang without any cover. Although Yue Lengqiu's attitude is still ambiguous, but with Yue Lengqiu's temperament, he will never take risks, otherwise how could Lin Fu let Yue Lengqiu go out of the town of Guoyang to contain them? Dong Yuan knew that if he established a new emperor in Xuchang, he would not be able to stop Huaidong's concentrated attack.

More importantly, Xuchang is still far from being self-sufficient in food and grass. With only 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers and horses, it is far from qualified to establish a new emperor, let alone the side of Qingjun.

However, once Lin Bie usurped the throne and proclaimed the emperor, and the Cao family established a new emperor in Yuzhou, whether Xuchang would continue to forbear, or should he stand up for the new emperor established by Yuzhou, is a person who cannot easily make a decision, but must The choice to make a decision now.

In the past, Dong Yuan might have chosen to be forbearance, but the military order that Lin Fu ordered Henan towns to reduce the number of troops came. It was also that Dong Yuan could not be forbearance if he wanted to forbear. Make another choice?

"Lin Bie ordered the towns in Henan to reduce their troops. Yue Lengqiu has arranged for Deng Yu and Tao Chunzhuoqing to reduce their troops in Guoyang and Zhengyang," Dong Yuan said. "Tingzhou and Guizheng, what do you think about this?"

"Deng Yu and Tao Chun's two divisions are not blocking the front, they want to cut their own military power, let them go," Yuan Guizheng said, "However, the delay of the Eastern Front and the Northern Expedition has given Beiyan a chance to breathe, and Beiyan not only The army on the east line increased greatly, and it was the enemy that Xuchang blocked on the west line of Hehuai. Zhou Zhizhong's troops also increased to 60,000. In addition, Beiyan also prepared 20,000 elite cavalry in Luoyang. Conquering the enemy... I think, just ignore it."

"I'm afraid that Jiangning's side will directly deduct food," Dong Yuan said with a frown. "You can't force yourself to bear it when you are hungry; the Cao family occupies the rich land of Sichuan and Shu, but you don't have to worry about the lack of food and grass... …”

"What is Director Dong thinking?" Yuan Guizheng could understand what Dong Yuan meant, but he also hoped that some words would be explained directly by Dong Yuan.

In the past two years, Xuchang has been cultivating farms, lacking strong, iron tools and animal power, so they have cultivated more than ten acres of wheat fields. The annual harvest of wheat is less than 200,000 stone. In addition to the consumption of villagers and small households, it can be supplemented as military food, which is only 100,000 per year. It was just stone grain, far from enough to feed 90,000 soldiers.

With such a big difference, if Jiangning's neck gets stuck, Xuchang will be paralyzed there, and there is no room for struggle.

All the prefectures in Henan were disabled, but the Hezhong prefecture closest to Xuchang, due to the long-term rule of Liang Chengyi, the farming was not greatly damaged, and it also accommodated a large influx of refugees. previous population level.

It is not particularly difficult for Hezhong Prefecture to squeeze an extra 200,000 to 300,000 stone grains to supply Xuchang every year. In the final analysis, Dong Yuan wanted the Hezhong Prefecture to secretly supply food to Xuchang - but ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Xuchang and Henan were hostile sides, when Lin Fu did not formally usurp the throne, and he was still "following the emperor to make no ministers" How could Dong Yuan dare to let Huaidong fall into the hands of Huaidong, and how dare he make the first rafter and ask Huaidong to seize the excuse and beat him?

Of course, there are no compromises.

The Cao family quit Guanzhong, but they were not really willing to give up Guanzhong. More than two years ago, in addition to the main force Ma Nan withdrawing from Sichuan and Shu, the Cao family also left a few elite soldiers and horses in the mountainous area between Guanluo for guerrilla attacks and containment.

Even if the Cao family made a secret peace with Beiyan at this time, the Cao family did not intend to withdraw all the troops between the Guanluo mountains. Friction is reduced. Chen Zhihu and Zhou Zhizhong were in Guanzhong and Heluo. Although they no longer sent troops to suppress them, the blockade was still not lifted. After all, everyone wanted to take the initiative in their own hands.

To the south of Hezhong Mansion and to the west of Xuchang, Funiu Mountain had a band of 5,000 bandits entrenched, and was actually secretly controlled by the Cao family. If the Cao family wanted to establish a new emperor in Yuzhou, they would naturally have a tacit understanding with Beiyan. Dong Yuan did not want the handle to fall into the hands of Huaidong. The army, if they get the grain they have stored in the Funiu Mountains, they can completely make Huaidong fail to grasp the cause...

However, if he had what to say, Dong Yuan still wanted Yuan Guizheng to come forward. The soldiers he had deployed at the foot of Mt. Funiu Mountain earlier were also under the control of Liang Chengdong, who was controlled by Yuan Guizheng.

Yuan Guizheng thought about it for a long time, and knew that Xuchang would not be able to take the initiative back if he did not solve the food problem, and the Cao family had the intention to establish a new emperor in Yuzhou, and there was no Beiyan and Xuchang in the north to contain the main force of the Huaidong Army, and he was also worried. Huaidong will move the main force west to deal with them... My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter