Three thousand miles in exile

The first month of the second year of Xuanhua, Emperor Wen of Chu.

Last year, the rites and ceremonies for the first emperor's filial piety were kept simple, and this year the new emperor issued an edict to benefit the people and amnesty the world on the first day of the first lunar month.

The thousand-year-old imperial capital is decorated with lanterns and festoons, lanterns are held high in front of every house, and the sound of firecrackers is continuous.

On the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first lunar month, there will be a parade of lanterns, which is very lively day and night. Dragon dances, lion dances, dry boats, walking on stilts, and the crowds on Central Street are spectacular.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Emperor Wen of Chu came to the Emperor's Mansion to visit his teacher.

Zhao Hengfu led hundreds of people from the whole family to set up an incense table outside the gate of the emperor's mansion to welcome him. This was the first time that the emperor had visited the mansion of a courtier in person since the reign of Emperor Ren.

When Emperor Wen entered the Emperor's Mansion, he first talked with the Emperor in the main hall. During the meeting, Zhao Jizhang mentioned that there was a scene of pine and snow in the back garden, and Emperor Wen became interested for a while.

Eunuch He immediately followed, and Emperor Wen raised his hand. "Eunuch He, you don't have to follow me, I want to tell the emperor what's on my mind."

Eunuch He hurriedly answered yes, but felt bitter in his heart.

He is the person Zhou Chan placed next to Emperor Wen, and every day he has to report in detail what Emperor Wen has done, even if he pays respects many times a day.

If Zhou Chan knew that he had left Emperor Wen and Zhao Hengfu alone, he would be scolded when he went back.

But Emperor Wen has already talked about this, if he insists on getting in, I'm afraid that tomorrow all the students in the capital will write words and scold him for not knowing what to do.

Zhao Hengfu took Emperor Wen to the backyard to visit the garden, and after a while, he used the cold weather as an excuse to invite Emperor Wen to serve tea in the back room.

At this time, Emperor Wen revealed a look of eagerness.

After a while, Zhao Jizhang came in with a little boy about five or six years old.

"Rui'er!" Emperor Wen hugged his son, tears streaming down his face.

"Father, my son hasn't greeted you yet."

Emperor Wen wiped his tears and watched his son kowtow to him in a standard manner, feeling very relieved in his heart. "Okay, come here and show Father."

The little boy in front of him has eyebrows and eyes that are [-]% similar to that of Emperor Wen. Big ears and big nose are the common features of the royal family. If Emperor Wen was still a little uncertain before, after seeing the person, he is completely convinced that this is his son.

Emperor Wendi darlingly hugged his son on his lap and sat down, casually quizzed him on some enlightenment homework, unexpectedly the child could answer the questions fluently.

"Master Emperor, I thank you! You have taught the First Prince very well, and I am very happy." Emperor Wen was sincerely grateful.

"I don't dare to be a minister, this is what an old minister should do." Zhao Hengfu said with emotion again. "The eldest prince is intelligent and early-wisdom, he can master the Three-Character Classic and Thousand-Character Prose as soon as he is taught, and he never makes mistakes in etiquette and rules. He is really a dragon and a phoenix among men."

Emperor Wen held his son in his arms, how much he liked it, and wished he could take him back to the palace to keep him by his side. Thinking of Zhou Chan and the past, Emperor Wen hated and annoyed in his heart.

"If it weren't for Liu Zhan and the emperor's teacher to protect each other, my only son would have been killed by Zhou Chan. Zhou Chan is so cruel, even the late emperor... I really... I really..."

No one could understand Emperor Wen's fear and helplessness. The people he served personally were all from Zhou Chan's people, and even the concubines in the harem were inextricably related to the Zhou family.

If it wasn't for Xu Muyuan's appointment as a Wei Wei to manage the imperial palace guards, Emperor Wen felt that sooner or later he would follow in the footsteps of the former emperor.

Zhao Hengfu, Zhao Jizhang and his son feel the same way, but now that the Zhou family is so powerful, they can only sigh helplessly.

"Father, don't be afraid, when the son grows up, he will definitely protect the father."

Emperor Wen held his son tightly in his heart, kissed and touched his son, and couldn't put it down.

On this day, Emperor Wen stayed in the Emperor's Mansion for three hours before driving back to the palace.

The news spread to Zhou Chan, who made Zhou Chan so angry that he summoned Eunuch He to ask, but Eunuch He didn't know what Emperor Wen had said to Zhao Hengfu, so Zhou Chan angrily smashed Eunuch He's osmanthus cake.

Eunuch He dared not speak out, so he got out of the prime minister's mansion and got into the carriage. He yelled in the direction of the gate of the prime minister's mansion, scolding Zhou Chan as an old beast in his heart.

When the time came to late February, the queen gave birth prematurely and gave birth to the little princess. The mother and daughter were safe and sound.

The aristocratic family received the news more gloatingly, Zhou Chan only felt that the ministers looked at him with sarcasm, and his temper became increasingly irritable.

This is not the only bad news. Zhou Sui casually mentioned in his routine greeting letter that Liu Zhan captured Hecang County and asked Zhou Chan how to deal with it. Only then did Zhou Chan know what happened.

Zhou Sui didn't expect that Liu Zhan didn't report victory to the court at all. Zhou Chan got the news and confirmed again and again that Liu Zhan was really lying.

This incident surprised Zhao Hengfu and the others.

Emperor Wen was even more uncertain.

Zhao Hengfu said: "Your Majesty, it will not be too late to punish this matter after the investigation is clear. The northern border is frozen for thousands of miles in winter, perhaps it is because the road is blocked."

Zhou Chan snorted coldly. "Liu Zhan took Hecang County in early November. The Cangxia Plain is not as cold as in the mountains. It will be blocked before the heavy snow falls."

You and I can't argue with each other.

"The old man has made a clear investigation. Since last year, Liu Zhan has recruited refugees and expanded his army. His strength has approached [-], but he has never reported to the court."

Zhou Chan looked directly at Zhao Hengfu with great momentum.

"Liu Zhan took back the lost land but concealed it and did not report it. Cangxia Plain is not his vassal town. He occupied Hecang County to garrison and leave. Isn't this an intention to rebel? If Liu Zhan is not fledgling now, it will be later. when!"

Zhao Hengfu froze. He didn't know the inside story of Hecang County, but Liu Zhan did step on the court's bottom line this time. This matter can be big or small.

At this moment, Fang Shouting, who had been silent all this time, spoke. "If Qi Yun's army really has [-] soldiers, Prime Minister, how are you going to take his general's seal?"

Zhou Chan already had countermeasures. "Naturally ordered the soldiers of the Northern Army Battalion to recover."

Fang Shouting stroked his gray beard. "What if he doesn't follow?"

Zhou Chan sneered. "Does he dare to obey?"

"Why not?" Fang Shouting asked back.

In the end, Zhou Chan didn't understand military affairs, and he didn't lead troops in northern Xinjiang. He was fighting with the Yan family all day long. Fang Shouting would ask Fang Shouting about this from the perspective of using troops, but he was really caught.

Fang Shouting said solemnly: "He has a feudal town, people and soldiers in his hands. Qiyun Mountain is uniquely blessed with being easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is also located in a border area. One hundred thousand troops guard a Qiyun Mountain. The Prime Minister thinks how many troops you send can take it down." ?”

Zhou Chan was startled for a moment, but Fang Shouting broke through the confusion in his mind with a single word.

These days, Zhou Chan's eyes are only focused on the position of Prime Minister and the struggle for power in the court. He thinks that sitting in the position of Prime Minister, one person is under one person and one person is above ten thousand people, and everyone should be controlled by him.

Zhou Chan was wrong. All he could control was the sky in the capital, and Liu Zhan had already occupied a place in northern Xinjiang!

Even Zhou Chan himself didn't realize that his inherent impression of Liu Zhan was still that of the young general who knelt on the ground and shivered.

He thought that he could still control the life and death of the young general, even though Liu Zhan had already put on the golden lacquer beam crown, Zhou Chan was not alerted.

Fang Shouting's words awakened not only Zhou Chan, but also all the officials in the court, a general with an army of [-] in his hands, how could he get him?

Hundreds of officials discussed and looked serious.

On the contrary, Emperor Wen was very calm, his heart is not just a county. As for being so nervous, Emperor Wen did not understand the concerns of the courtiers from the beginning to the end.

"Is the Prime Minister still insisting on taking back General Qi Yun's military power?" Fang Shouting looked at Zhou Chan.

Zhou Chan's complexion was livid.

Over there, Zhao Hengfu took a sneak peek at Liu Tongxin, and he was obviously frightened when he saw Liu Tongxin's face turned pale.

Zhao Hengfu sighed inwardly, thinking that he still underestimated this grandson.

At this time, a minister stood up. "Even if General Qi Yun can't be moved, His Majesty should issue an edict to reprimand one or two, and Hecang County can order the Northern Army to take over and let General Qi Yun return to Qiyun Mountain."

This plan can be regarded as a step for Zhou Chan, and the ministers all agreed that this plan is feasible.

After that, the imperial decree arrived in Jinyang.

Everything was within Liu Zhan's expectation.

For Liu Zhan, this imperial decree, which was only short of pointing at his nose and scolding, was not painful or itchy.

"To be honest, Qiyun Mountain is barren and impoverished. After the Hecang was taken down, the general couldn't afford the food and pay, and the soldiers under his command refused to withdraw from Hecang County because they didn't pay the food. This has dragged on until now." Liu Zhan said nonsense.

"This general also wants to deliver the good news to His Majesty immediately. I feel ashamed that something like this didn't happen, so it has been delayed until now. If Lord Li doesn't believe it, you can go to Hecang County to verify it."

Liu Zhan sighed for a long time, but stopped the imperial envoy who announced the decree.

Master Li who announced the decree was just a junior official of the Ministry of Officials, and he came here to scold people according to the decree, but General Qi Yun instead asked him for food, and said that the court was stingy.

Master Li's face was red and white, and his stomach was full of cursing, and Liu Zhan kept saying that he had no food, and the court never gave food.

Liu Zhan sent the man out of the yamen with a smile on his face.

Master Li only stayed for one day, and set off for Beijing the next day. He saw the fertile fields along the way. Although the snow hadn't melted, he could still imagine the scene of a good harvest. General Qi Yun said that Qiyun Mountain was barren and poor?

When he returned along the road, he saw a large number of refugees going north along the way. He was very surprised and sent someone to ask, only to find out that Liu Zhan had given the refugees tax exemption for two years, and there were various settlement policies.

Mr. Li shared what he saw along the way with his relatives and friends when he returned to the capital, and the aristocratic family was amazed and incomprehensible.

These words quickly reached Fang Shouting's ears.

"Grandpa, do you think this Liu Zhan is a fool? It's all right for him to settle down for refugees, but he has been exempted from taxes for two years. I heard that exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes have been banned. What do the people below eat? What do they rely on to work for him? I see, this is all General Yun will soon kill himself."

Fang Shouting stroked his beard with a gloomy expression. "Confused."

It was his eldest grandson who he scolded, and the eldest grandson of the Fang family who could get it wrong scolded Liu Zhan even more vigorously.

Spring plowing in Qiyun Mountain is in full swing in April.

The returning refugees this year are all arranged in the area from Furongpingding to Hecang County. Song Fenglin planned dozens of new villages, each of which has a watchtower and beacon tower, and stipulates that each household has a strong man who takes turns to guard the militia.

Liu Zhan's cavalry would walk around the border between Hecang County and Lufeng County every other day, one for training and the other for awe.

Su Heke, who was stationed in Lufeng County, was so frightened that he could not leave the city. He asked for help from the nobles of the surrounding Yan Kingdom, but no one responded. Now he can only wait for his father to lead troops south.

So in May, Liu Zhan didn't wait for Yan Bing to come, but he waited for Chu Bing to come.

Zhou Sui led [-] cavalry to challenge Liu Zhan.

"His Majesty ordered this general to take over Hecang County, and you should withdraw quickly!" Zhou Sui came to collect Hecang County with the latest imperial decree, his face full of confidence.

Cao Zhuang also led [-] cavalry to confront him, and Sen Leng's Mo Dao was flipping in his hand. "I want to fight the city you want? Does the general think this is a candy for children?"

"This general has an imperial edict, who are you, let your general come out in person." Zhou Sui's face was cold and hard.

Cao Zhuang rode his horse back and forth, watching Zhou Sui like a monkey. "Our Qi Yun army's rules, you have to beat us to be eligible to meet our general."

"There is no kingly law, the following offends the above, are you Qi Yunjun planning to rebel?" Zhou Sui was very angry.

Cao Zhuang played with the Mo knife in his hand. "Our general said that if we want to rebel, it is the Prime Minister's turn to rebel first and it will not be our turn."

"Okay, you want this general to be tough?" Zhou Sui was so angry that he lost his mind, and the lieutenant next to him couldn't stop hinting him not to be impulsive.

"The general thinks that our Qi Yun army's [-] elites are just a display?" Cao Zhuang laughed. "The general wants to fight the city himself, why don't you think about other people's things all day long, don't be ashamed and we will blush for you."

"You! You!!" Zhou Sui was almost manic.

He didn't know how many times he came to ask for it in the past month or so. Liu Zhan can always humiliate him in various ways, and now he is directly showing his elite, making it clear that he doesn't take him seriously.

"This general will join your rebellion against His Majesty, just wait and see!"

The result of the final confrontation ended with the retreat of the Northern Army.

In the evening, what happened in the afternoon was reported back to the General's Mansion.

Song Fenglin put down his pen and suddenly lost the mood to approve the documents. He stood up and went to the bedroom to look for Liu Zhan.

I saw Liu Zhan coming out of the room with his naked upper body just after taking a shower. Song Fenglin didn't like the smell of sweat, and Liu Zhan had developed the habit of taking a shower first when he came back from the barracks.

"I heard that Zhou Sui came again today?" Song Fenglin took off the cloth towel from the shelf to wipe the water off his back.

Liu Zhan hummed. "It doesn't matter, left and right can't help me."

"It's been a hindrance to reputation for a long time." Song Fenglin said worriedly.

Liu Zhan turned around.

Song Fenglin looked at him and said seriously: "I know you don't care, but if the crime of betraying the Lord is carried out, the scholars and scholars of the world will not care about your achievements, they will definitely attack you, and even distort right and wrong, and list you as heinous disciples."

Liu Zhan sat down with thought in his eyes. "How did the founding emperor of Great Chu usurp the throne and stand on his own to make the world submit?"

"The founding emperor of the Great Chu has resorted to military tactics, if he doesn't follow suit..." Suddenly Song Fenglin looked at Liu Zhan in surprise, but saw Liu Zhan's mouth with an inexplicable smile.

Knowing that Liu Zhan must have other ideas, Song Fenglin's head was like a bucket.

"You need to get to know me again." Liu Zhan stretched out his hand and pulled him to sit on his lap. "Do you think that once I get the northern border, I will obediently serve as a courtier to Da Chu? Even regard him as the upper kingdom?"

Song Fenglin was stunned.

"I plan to send troops to seize Lufeng County next month and I plan to discuss it with you." Liu Zhan circled him.

"Now our troops are expanding too fast. How can we afford to rely on your business alone? The only way to survive these two years is to capture the cities occupied by the Yan army and their supplies."

Song Fenglin quickly calmed down, he knew that it was not Liu Zhan who was willing to follow the crowd and be at the mercy of others.

Great Chu respected Confucianism alone, and Chu people were deeply influenced by Confucianism of loyalty to the emperor, especially the younger generation of students.

Why did Zhao Hengfu go through four dynasties, no matter how the new emperor eradicated the former emperor and old ministers, he still treated him with courtesy, because Zhao Hengfu's mentor was the direct descendant of Confucius, and Zhao Hengfu was a great Confucian after a famous family.

After 40 years, Da Chu spared no effort to promote Confucianism, which was quite effective. Even Song Fenglin, even if the Song family was destroyed, Song Fenglin never thought of breaking away from Da Chu to stand on his own.

This was the second time the two of them talked about this topic, and Song Fenglin was much calmer than the last time.

"Giyangguan has nearly [-] northern troops, and Yan State is eyeing it. There are two big cities in Daizhou and Ruichang to the south, and we are caught in the middle of the enemy. It is not easy for you to annex northern Xinjiang." Song Fenglin raised practical questions. .

"I don't want Daizhou and Ruichang. With Huangchuan as the boundary, first recover the lost land along the north coast of Huangchuan, and cut off the retreat of the Northern Army." Liu Zhan had a clear idea.

"Now the refugees are returning in a steady stream. We are not short of people, but we are short of money and food. If we advance north along the Huangchuan River, we will have food and grass in the cities occupied by the Yan army."

Liu Zhan dragged Song Fenglin across Langfang to the study room. Seeing that he was shirtless, Song Fenglin hurriedly asked Li Asan to get it.

"Look here." Liu Zhan pointed to the map. "My ultimate goal is to win Hecang County, Lufeng County, Baoping County, and Fengtang County."

Liu Zhan's fingers slid across the Cangxia Plain, drawing most of the Cangxia Plain. "I don't move to Yangguan, Liyangguan, Fanyangguan, and fight on the plain when the enemy comes."

"The line of defense is so long, will the enemy come and lose sight of it?" Song Fenglin immediately saw the problem.

"The last time we fought in Hecang County, nearly [-] horses were seized. Our cavalry can exceed [-], and [-] cavalry are enough to move around."

Liu Zhan ordered Yangbeiao again. "Yangbeiao is right in the center of our defense line. I will build a Chinese army camp here. No matter which side I send troops to help, it will not take more than half a day. The cavalry can arrive in an hour or two."

"Not only that." Liu Zhan put his arm on Song Fenglin's shoulder. "Lufeng County has a piece of fertile water and grass land, which is very suitable for raising horses. I plan to build a racecourse to breed horses after taking Lufeng County."

All these decisions were made by Liu Zhan after careful consideration, and Song Fenglin was finally convinced.