Han Shizu

Chapter 364
After all, in winter, the sun slid westward very quickly, accompanied by the north wind sweeping southward, dusk gradually approached, and the land of the northern country was once again occupied by icy cold.

The bumpy road zigzags to the south. This is the official road leading to Yongqing. The road is not wide and has not been repaired, so it is inconvenient to walk.The road is empty and deserted, there is no travel, only a lot of messy withered grass swaying in the cold wind, a decadent and lonely scene.

In the howling north wind, a rumbling sound of horseshoes broke through the solitary coldness here. The vigorous horseshoes trampled on the ground, and the hoofs collided with the hard frozen soil, making a sharp knocking sound.

This is an elite cavalry force, judging by its size, there are more than a thousand cavalry, and the flag in the cavalry is the "Yan" flag. Obviously, this is the army from Youzhou.

But at present, in Yanqi formation, Yan Wang Zhao Kuangzan is being guarded.

As the most powerful feudal town in the north of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangzan still looks young. Compared with last year, the biggest change is his thick stubble.After more than a year of King Yan's career, his aura is obviously much stronger, and his promoted body always reveals a bit of restrained self-confidence, which is the blessing of being in charge of a powerful feudal clan.

Expressionless, looking calmly at the road stretching south, Zhao Kuang raised his hand and slowed down first, followed by Yan Qi, who was guarding him, also slowed down.The horses were restrained, and amidst a burst of rhythmic neighing, the team stopped.

The horse under his seat was snorting and puffing white steam, Zhao Kuangzan summoned the general who was in charge of scouting the road, and asked, "We're almost at Yongqing!"

"My lord, Yongqing is only ten miles away, before sunset, you can go to the city!" The general replied.

Asked, Zhao Kuangzan said in an inexplicable tone: "This is considered punctual, but I don't know if the emperor will blame me for being slow?"

Zhao Kuangzan came here because he was invited by Liu Chengyou to go to Yongqing for an audience. In the words of the book, it is called discussing the state affairs together to show the friendship between the monarch and his ministers.

In fact, Zhao Kuangzan hesitated a while on how to respond to the emperor's call.Before leaving, Zhao Kuangzan also convened close staff and generals to discuss the issue of whether to come or not.

Zhao Kuangzan wanted to flatter Zhizhi and went south to pay homage to the emperor, but many subordinates and generals dissuaded him, saying that the king was in charge of Youyan's military administration and had a heavy responsibility, and that the emperor of Han called him, the meaning of which was unclear, and it was inconvenient to move lightly.

All in all, he distrusted the imperial court and had doubts about the emperor, so he advised Zhao Kuangzan not to leave the thunder pool lightly and get involved in "dangerous places".

As for Zhao Kuangzan, he seemed to be affected and was biased.At this time, Liu Chengyou's former son, Quan Lulong's observation envoy Gao Fang, stood up and strongly rebuked the public opinion, and spoke to Zhao Kuangzan, advising him not to alienate the emperor and the court.And with his life as a guarantee, he will be safe when he goes south.

There was a gap between the high-defense antecedents and Zhaoyi Jiedu Changsi, the conflict was motivated, he was suppressed, and almost lost his life.Later, it was a blessing in disguise, relying on the little friendship with Liu Chengyou during the Hanxing period, he thought of it, took the opportunity to transfer away from Luzhou, and moved to Youzhou.

At that time, Zhao Yanshou, King of Yan, was newly mourned, Zhang Li, the former leader of the government, passed away earlier, and Zhao Kuangzan succeeded him, and Yan's soldiers were in chaos and instability.

Gao Fang was ordered by the emperor to go north, carrying the justice of the court, not only to supervise Youyan for the center, but more importantly, to assist Zhao Kuangzan in suppressing dissidents, and to stabilize Lulong, a powerful northern vassal for the Han, so that he can correctly perform the task of defending the northern Han Dynasty. fortress duties.

Gao Fang has always been a well-organized person, with a long-term vision and general knowledge. Before taking office, he went south to Tokyo and was received by Liu Chengyou. The monarch and his ministers talked for an hour and a half.

After fulfilling his duties, Gao Fang also actively assisted Zhao Kuangzan in defending Khitan outside and comforting the army and civilians inside, and acted as a link between him and the court to eliminate misunderstandings and ease conflicts.

Prior to this, when Youzhou was under heavy pressure from the Liao army, it was able to get the support of the Han army on the southern front, which would have contributed to the coordination of high defense.Of course, relying on high defense alone doesn't have this energy, but standing behind him is the big man emperor.

It can be said that Zhao Kuangzan was able to quickly take over the power of Youyan, settle internal disputes, and his power became more and more stable, and Gao Fang played a big role.For High Defense, Zhao Kuangzan is grateful.Coupled with the high defense and good governance ability and character and integrity, there is a bit of admiration.

So Gao Fang tried his best to remonstrate with reason, Zhao Kuangzan finally put aside the doubts in his heart, made up his mind, and followed suit.Of course, in this process, the opinion of another important person in the Yan army also played a decisive role.Lu Long Jiedu judge, Li Shu, he and Gao Fang have the same opinion.

Mr. Li Shu is an old man who has followed Zhao Kuangzan for many years, and has always been his confidant.When Zhao Kuangzan was still serving in the Jinchang Army (changed to the Yongxing Army when Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne), he was ordered to go to Tokyo to inquire about the situation and surrender.

With the endorsement of Gao and Li Ergong, the opinions of the generals under Zhao's command are not so important.After making a decision, Zhao Kuangzan packed up his luggage, guarded his honor, and led his army to the south.

Even so, in order to prevent accidents, Zhao Kuangzan also brought thousands of elite cavalry with him when he went south this time, including a "stabbed face capital" soldiers. Grow into the most elite and most powerful soldiers in the Yan army.

Thirty miles behind this cavalry, there are another [-] Yan troops on foot to support them.In a word, King Yan's trip was a big battle, even bigger than that of the emperor Liu Chengyou.

However, the speed of going south was not fast, and even a little procrastinated. When passing through the checkpoints and passes set up by the Han army, they deliberately stayed for a while.Even though it was stuck on the time of the Yongqing military meeting, I didn't attend the meeting when it arrived, but it was still here as the evening was approaching.

At this time, the horse was sitting beside him, and Zhao Siwan couldn't help answering the words of Zhao Kuang's praise, saying, "Your Majesty is not far away for hundreds of miles, and he has come to meet you in such a cold weather. According to the meaning of the last general, the Son of Heaven It's not too much to go out of the city to meet him in person, how can you blame the king."

After Zhao Kuangzan went north to Youzhou, Zhao Siwan became more and more arrogant. Hearing his wild words, Gao Fang, who was on the other side of Zhao Kuangzan, couldn't help but raised his brows, and glanced at this person with cold eyes.

Recently, a force has gradually emerged in the Yan army, dominated by a group of generals and local military elites. The political idea is to encourage Zhao Kuangzan to stand on his own, with the intention of recovering the land, property and other interests lost during the see-saw confrontation between the Han and Liao Dynasties.

It's a stupid idea, but it has a market, and Zhao Siwan is the backbone of it. This person seems to have an "anti-Han" factor in his bones.

For this point, Gao Fang was deeply worried, and he had already made a plan in his heart to communicate carefully with the emperor about the situation in Youzhou this time.At present, listening to his words, he immediately scolded him mercilessly.

Before Zhao Siwan got angry, Zhao Kuangzan interjected and said in an unquestionable tone: "Don't be presumptuous, as a minister, how dare you despise the Son of Heaven!"

"Continue to go south, and before sunset, we will reach Yongqing!" After saying this, he waved his hand and took the lead in riding his horse to the south.

(End of this chapter)