Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 784 The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn’t stop

After Zhao Guangyi finished speaking, Chai Yuxi and Mi Dechao bowed and saluted. It was their job to gather intelligence and find spies in the city of Bianjing.

Zhao Guangyi took charge of Kaifeng Prefecture and became the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, which was known as the Southern Court. The prosperous Tokyo City was under his control. This Kaifeng Prefecture had officials, many county magistrates, and soldiers, and had considerable power.

Although there were many royal relatives, military generals, and playboys in the capital, no one dared to be rude to the Southern Court. Because of Zhao Guangyi's identity and the possibility of succession, those ministers did not dare to act too rashly and offend this royal brother who might become the crown prince in the future.

But Zhao Guangyi was still not satisfied. He had already started planning. Many talents, warriors, and others from the online world gathered together. He had a large number of talented people and aides, and placed many secret sentries in the capital city from all walks of life, and developed it into his home turf.

Chai Yuxi suddenly remembered something and said, "There is one more thing, which is a bit strange!"

Zhao Guangyi was a little impatient: "What else?"

Chai Yuxi hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "General Pan Mei's family members have all disappeared. Just two days ago, the servants were disbanded one after another. Pan Mei's sons, Pan Wei De, Pan Wei Gu, Pan Wei Zheng, and his old mother left the capital one after another. It is said that they returned to their hometown. However, scouts reported that the Pan family members disappeared halfway. I don't know if they met with an accident."

"Is it such a coincidence?" Zhao Guangyi frowned, a little confused, but his intuition told him that things should not be that simple.

"I also found it strange, so I sent people to investigate in Daming County, General Pan's clan's home."

Zhao Guangyi nodded and said, "Keep investigating! If General Pan Mei's family members are missing, we must find them alive or dead. After all, Pan Mei carried the Wu captives and has not released them yet, but he has not beheaded them either. He is still in custody! Now that Pan's family members are missing, let's find out if it was done by Wu's spies!"

"I understand!" Chai Yuxi bowed.

Zhao Guangyi looked out the window, watching the sycamore tree outside being blown by the wind, and suddenly sighed: "The tree wants to be still, but the wind does not stop!"

As the day of sending troops to Southern Han was getting closer, Su Chen became busier. Han Xizai, Xu Xuan and others recommended several young generals to him, and they gradually came to visit Su Chen, willing to follow under his command. For example, Bian Zhanyu, the son of Southern Tang minister Bian Hao, Li Saidong, the son of Li Zhenggu, and Chai Songyun, the son of general Chai Kehong, all came to join him.

Su Chen was very happy. These people were all sons of ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Their fathers had passed away and their families had fallen into poverty. Now they could sincerely serve Su Chen, hoping to be promoted and valued by him and revive their family fortunes.

On this day, Lin Renzhao came to see Su Chen in person, followed by two young men with handsome appearances.

After meeting, Lin Renzhao said in a cheerful voice and with a smile: "General Su, I am visiting you today and would like to introduce two heroes to you!"

Su Chen faced it with a smile, glancing at the two young men out of the corner of his eye. They were in their twenties, and were indeed tall and strong, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, and they looked extraordinary.

"Oh, are these two?"

Lin Renzhao replied, "That's right. They are the orphans of General Ma Chengxin of the Tang Dynasty, the sons of a general, the brothers Ma Donglin and Ma Zhanchao!" Su Chen nodded slightly. He had heard of their father's name. Ma Chengxin, the defender of Southern Tang, and his brother Chengjun were both the chief military officers of the Palace Army. Later they were promoted to the garrison generals of Jinling City. When the Song army attacked the city, the two Ma brothers led hundreds of elite soldiers and put up a tenacious resistance. In the end they died in battle, which was also a heroic act.

"You are all talented people. As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog son. I have heard about your father's heroic deeds. You were comrades in arms in the past. You are the children of heroes. You must also stand up and serve the new court. In the future, you will fight against the Song army and avenge your father!"

"General Su is right. We think so too. We are willing to join the army and follow General Su into battle to kill the enemy!"

"We are willing to follow General Su!"

Su Chen was very happy in his heart, because it was just when he was short of people. With these young talents, he could train and cultivate them, and use them for his own purposes in the future, and they would all become his trusted generals.

"Okay, then you will follow me on this expedition to the Southern Han Kingdom. If you perform well, I will make an exception and employ you."

"Thank you, General Su!" The two were very excited. They looked at Su Chen, who was only a few years older than them and exuded a strong aura. The other party was too famous and had great power in the Wu Kingdom, so they were very happy to hear that Su Chen was willing to accept them.

Lin Renzhao smiled. He respected Su Chen very much. At such a young age, he had the demeanor of a great general. He was not worried at all about the southern expedition to Han because Su Chen was also very capable of leading troops. After these days of relaxation, Lin Renzhao had extra confidence in Su Chen.

"When does General Su plan to send troops?" Lin Renzhao asked with concern.

Su Chen did not hide anything, but answered directly: "We are almost ready now. We will send troops to attack Southern Han in half a month!"

"Have you got the detailed information about the Han army's deployment and the court's situation?" Lin Renzhao was also very concerned about this issue, because the use of troops was a major national event and had to be prepared with caution.

Su Chen nodded. He had already sent secret agents of the Qingyiwei to the south to find out the situation of the Southern Han court, its armaments, national strength, etc., so as to know both ourselves and the enemy.

Southern Han was a small regime located in the Lingnan region of China. It owned the current provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and the northern part of Vietnam. Its territory was not small, but the court of Southern Han was corrupt and dark. It was ruled by the last king Liu Yan, who was a king who brought about the fall of his country and was incompetent and unjust. It can be said that among the regimes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, no other regime could compare to it.

In fact, the ancestors of Southern Han had been the governors of this area in the late Tang Dynasty. During the warlord period in the late Tang Dynasty, Liu Xian's grandfather followed the trend and established his own dynasty, "Han", as a descendant of the Liu family. It is known in history as "Southern Han", to distinguish it from the Northern Han regime which was too distant.

As the founding ruler of Southern Han, Liu should have worked hard to govern the country and established a career in the chaotic times. However, he was a complete playboy, extravagant by nature. In order to meet his material needs, he levied heavy taxes, collected all the treasures in the country, and built a large number of palaces. The palaces he built were decorated with gold and jade, and he was filled with perfume day and night, which was extremely extravagant.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. The successors of the Southern Han Dynasty were all short-sighted and licentious, and they were incompetent in governing the country. This was especially true during the reign of Liu Yan. If history had continued, the Southern Han Dynasty would have been destroyed by the Northern Song Dynasty in three years.

Therefore, Su Chen did not find it difficult to send troops to Southern Han, and he had great confidence that he could destroy this regime within a year!