Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Xu Zhigao and Zhang Chong were sent to Luoyang in disgrace.

What a pity!

While walking in Huainan, although he was worried, nothing happened in the end, and finally crossed the Huai River smoothly and entered the border of Xia Kingdom.

It was okay at first, but when it came to Xuzhou, it was seen through.

The military academy first discovered that they did not look like merchants in appearance, and there were fewer guards on board.Then casually asked about the places of origin and prices of several commodities on the carriage, and the two of them made a mistake in their haste, confusing the two commodities, revealing their flaws.

Now the fun is big.

The two were beaten first, and then thrown into prison as spies.They didn't know their true identities and the purpose of their trip until the people from the hearing department took over the interrogation.

The Department of Listening and Watching lifted them out of the stinking prison on the spot, cleaned them up a bit, and sent them to Luoyang. It was already the first day of May.

Shao Shude, who had participated in the Shuo Wang Dachao Meeting, was taking a lunch break in Empress He's room. After hearing this, he was refreshed and ordered his left and right to summon Xu Zhigao and Zhang Chong in the Yuri Building of Guanfeng Palace.

Xu Zhigao is Xu Wen's adopted son, Zhang Chong is Zhang Hao's nephew, they are close friends, they are waiting anxiously at this moment, not knowing what their fate will be.

Among the two, the 22-year-old Xu Zhigao is more stable.

Xu Shi inherited his adoptive father's sinister and fierce character, Xu Zhigao forced himself to remain calm, sat there firmly, and waited silently.

Zhang Chong was a few years older than Xu Zhigao, although he was sitting steadily, his face was not very good-looking, and he was quite flustered.Zhang Hao even sent out such a person, and he was not noticed halfway, which is also a fate.

The sound of ornaments colliding could be heard outside the corridor.

The two looked terrified, and subconsciously straightened their backs.

Shao Shude entered the main hall, his eyes fell on the two of them.

"See King Xia." Xu Zhigao and Zhang Chong got up at the same time and saluted.

Shao Shude paid more attention to Xu Zhigao.

This person is very lucky.In history, Xu Wenquan devoted himself to the state of Wu and acted arbitrarily, and no one dared to complain.The eldest son, Xu Zhixun, became domineering. He was obviously learning the art of war from Zhu Jin, but in the end he missed his woman and wanted to take her by force.A person like Zhu Jin would not compromise just because your father is the number one figure in the Wu Kingdom, beat up Xu Zhixun on the spot, and the two sides became enmity.

In the 19th year of Tianyou (918), as the degree of grudge deepened, Zhu Jin killed Xu Zhixun again, which was reversed.

Xizi was killed, and the rest of the parents and children were young, so what could Xu Wen do if they did not pass on the throne to his adopted son Xu Zhigao?Do you want to bring disaster to the family?

Success sometimes requires a little luck.

Zhang Chong's reputation is not obvious, perhaps because his uncle Zhang Hao was killed by Xu Wen, and he also blamed the murder of Yang Wo on his head. The whole family suffered, so he died.

Shao Shude sat on the chair and didn't speak.

Xu Zhigao and Zhang Chong were under great pressure.It is impossible not to be afraid of being stared at by such a fierce man who sweeps the world and has countless grievances under his hands, unless Zhu Jin and Li Keyong are such ruthless people in troubled times, they can be calm and composed.

"Xu Wen and Zhang Hao are so courageous!" After a long time, Shao Shude finally spoke.

"Planting evil, committing chaos, how courageous!"

"The world is about to be unified, and you dare to negotiate terms with me, how courageous!"

"Such a confidential matter, to send two brats to do it, how brave!"

Subconsciously, Xu Zhigao was a little dissatisfied, but after being stared at by Shao Shude, his courage dissipated invisible again, and he kept silent.

"Tell me, what do Xu Wen and Zhang Hao plan to do?" Shao Shude waved his hand and asked to be seated.

Seeing that Zhang Chong's position was a little messed up, Xu Zhigao gritted his teeth and said: "My father is the commander of the right tooth of Wu Wang's army, and he has controlled hundreds of dead soldiers. He wants to join forces with Commander Zhang, and find a good opportunity to remonstrate and control Yang Wo. , and then take power in his name and submit to the imperial court.”

"Before Yang Xingmi died, he rectified the feudal lords and gathered elite soldiers in Guangling. He never thought that Xu Wen and Zhang Hao would benefit from it." Shao Shude smiled, and said again: "However, how did I hear that the commanders of left and right teeth are not considered in the Huainan army? What about high-ranking officials? Can your father and uncle command the Yamen army? Can they deter generals from other states? Liu Wei, Zhu Yanshou, Tao Ya, Li Yu, Li Jian, Li Chengnai and others occupy states and counties, and each has a large army. obedient?"

Xu Zhigao survived the initial panic, and now his thoughts are clear. He only heard him say: "Father and Commander Zhang work together, and under a surprise attack, they will definitely be able to control the palace. Afterwards, rewards can be issued to buy off the various yamen troops, so that they can sit on the sidelines." Yes. Yang Wo has no morals. He punishes and kills the heroes. The old officials are far away from virtue. He is not brave enough to be liked by warriors. Gathering in Guangling, as long as Guangling is not in chaos, the generals from other states will not be able to make any big waves. If someone really jumps out and assembles an army of Guangling, it is enough to attack a state, which is enough to deter others."

"According to what you say, what's the matter with me?" Shao Shude asked.

"My father has made an agreement with Commander Zhang that after controlling the Guangling army, Huainan will be divided equally and each will submit to the imperial court," Xu Zhigao said.

Shao Shude was noncommittal, still looking at the two of them.

In fact, if there were no foreign enemies, it would be possible for Xu Wen and Zhang Hao to control Huainan.First of all, Yang Wo can't die. If he dies, generals from other states will jump out, and the government army will be unstable, giving others opportunities in vain.Secondly, with the spirit of a lion fighting a rabbit, concentrate the elite main force, use the autumn wind to sweep away fallen leaves, and wipe out a foreign general who may jump out to accuse them, and kill chickens to make an example to monkeys.In this way, we will gradually map it out, and it may take ten or 20 years to make a smooth transition.

Of course, Xu Wen and Zhang Hao had to die first.The two were the commanders of the left and right teeth of the pro-army, and they went hand in hand, which is unreliable no matter how you look at it.Any slight disturbance may plant seeds of suspicion in the heart, so we must first fight and kill one before we talk.

That was the historical situation, and now there is a huge change.

There is no need for Xu Wen and Zhang Hao to fight, and it is meaningless to fight.Could it be that he really wanted to control Huainan?No chance!

Before Yang Wo became a puppet, the generals from other states might reluctantly unite under Yang Wu's banner for the sake of Yang Xingmi, even if they really looked down on Yang Wo.

But once he became a puppet, Xia Jun attacked again, and many states and counties immediately surrendered to the imperial court under the distraction of people's hearts. Who is so stupid to listen to you Xu Wen and Zhang Hao?How old are you?His qualifications are so low, when King Wu was alive, he still smiled in front of me and flattered him, and kept his head low, but now he wants to ride on my head and shit, there is no way!
This is the real dilemma of Xu and Zhang.

Historically, Zhu Quanzhong was busy usurping the throne.After usurping the throne, he concentrated his energy on attacking Hebei. During this period, Ding Hui defected to Li Keyong, and Liu Zhijun rebelled in Guanzhong. Xu Wen spent the most dangerous time by emptying the south.

Now Shao Shude has nothing serious, just staring at Huainan, how could he give you time to tidy up?
Presumably Xu Wen himself knew that he would never have the chance to control Huainan.

Perhaps Zhang Hao's mind is not very clear, and he may not realize this point, but it doesn't matter, he is missing a lot.

"If Xu Wen and Zhang Hao can control the Guangling army and submit to the imperial court, why should I be so generous in rewarding them?" Shao Shude said: "I think you all know that I am not a person who does not keep his promises, and I don't bother to use indecent means. , I even calculated with you. As long as you sincerely surrender, you will have everything you expect to find, such as titles, official positions, wealth, and beauties. The question is, which step can you achieve?"

After all, Xu Zhigao was still a little immature, and when asked, he didn't know how to answer.

Seeing him like that, Shao Shude stopped persecuting him, and changed his tone, saying: "How about this, if you can successfully remonstrate, kill or imprison Yang Wo, then control the army inside and outside Guangling, and order all states and counties to submit to the imperial court. If you drop a state, you will be credited with all the credit, how about that?"

Zhang Chong gestured with his eyes.

Xu Zhigao was also a little moved.Shao Sheng is really a kind person, who said he has a kind face and a dark heart?This condition is quite generous, and it can be said that it is already considering them as much as possible.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Xu Zhigao immediately changed his words.

"I also... I also thank Your Majesty Long En." Zhang Chong also said hastily.

Shao Shude nodded in satisfaction, and said: "This matter should not be delayed, I will not leave you in Luoyang, return to Guangling as soon as possible. Remember, this matter is of great importance, and it must not be leaked before it is launched, otherwise there will be no place for death .”

There are thousands of people in the Left and Right Ya Army, and Xu Wen and Zhang Haoneng's total trust is only a thousand.Yang Wo wanted to crush them to death, it was as easy as crushing ants.

If he wants to succeed, he can only take advantage of Yang Wo's stupidity and catch him by surprise.

After agreeing on the matter, Xu Zhigao and Zhang Chong secretly left Luoyang, and Shao Shude continued to govern in Guanfeng Palace.

The southern battlefield is steadily coming to an end.

After Ma Yin ordered the surrender, there was basically no rebellion in Hunan, and it was quite peaceful.Fu Cunshen, the deputy envoy of Yuezhou's battalion commander, led troops from Tielin, Baoning, Qinghai, Jinghai, and Ningyuan to the south to recover Wuguan's rebellious prefectures and counties, killing more than [-] thieves.

Subsequently, the army surrounded Yongzhou.

Chen Ji knew he was out of luck, so he resisted desperately.The army besieged the city for a month and pulled it out.

Chen Ji committed suicide by taking medicine. Dozens of generals and officials at the core of the rebellion were taken outside the city and killed by the Yongshui River.

So far, the five-management chaos has been completely settled.

On May [-]th, Shao Shude ordered the two armies of Baoning and Hengye to withdraw to the north for rest.

The Tielin Army and the Konghe Army withdrew to Changsha.There are still more than [-] people in Weisheng's army, and more than [-] strong and strong troops are dispatched to supplement the consumption of the second army of Tielin and Konghe. The rest are sent to Hunan and dispersed into state soldiers.

This famous miscellaneous "Zhejia Army", which was born in the northwest and later settled down in Jianghan, continued to shrink from more than 3 people in its heyday after more than ten years, and finally disappeared in the late spring of the 11th year of Jianji.

On May [-]th, Hou Sunba in Anbei County died of illness and stopped working for a day.

On May 20th, Shao Shude used Fu Cunju to make many achievements in the past [-] years. He also conquered the Bohai Sea, pacified Ma Yin, and quelled the southern rebellion.

This is the fifth Duke of Great Xia.

There are actually not many opportunities for meritorious service.Now the eyes of all warriors are focused on Huainan and the Western Regions.

(End of this volume)