Emperor Zhenguan

Chapter 889
Dajiang waterways have always been the lifeblood of shipping.In wartime, it is a natural hazard.But in fact, the big river is really not a natural danger to the south.As we all know, to guard the river must guard the Huai.Once the front line of the Huaihe River is breached, there will be gaps everywhere on the north and south banks of the river, and it will be impossible to defend it even if you want to.

In ancient times, small countries in the south, such as Soochow of the Three Kingdoms, Song, Qi, Liang and Chen in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, all defensive forces were on the front line of the Huaihe River.If the Huaihe line is abandoned, it is tantamount to letting go of the bridgehead.It is no exaggeration to say that the Huaihe River is the "Tongguan" in the south.However, the Huaihe River is not as 'easy to defend but difficult to attack' as Tongguan.

For Dajiang, its more role is actually to hoard food, use the dense water network in the south to resupply the defense line of the Huaihe River, and fight a war of attrition with the northern powers.Therefore, the waterway of the great river has always been extremely prosperous.

Prosperous in times of war, even more prosperous in times of peace.

A ship of about [-] shi sailed in the middle and lower reaches of the river, and its destination was Jiangning, Runzhou. The ship was fully loaded with goods from the north, including a large number of high-end goods that were scarce in the south, such as furs, woolen clothes, and sugar.

"We have stopped at three ferries, and each time we sell a lot of goods, it is reported that the other party has noticed us. If Beizhi guessed correctly, the other party must plan to ambush us before we enter the next ferry."

On the bow, a young captain reported to Zhang Xuansu.

"Perhaps, it's not the ferry at the next moment, but tonight." Zhang Xuansu shrank his hands in his cuffs, facing the wind, and said softly.

"Tonight?" The lieutenant paused for a moment, then said solemnly, "If it's tonight, we need to notify General Wang immediately."

"Don't worry, General Wang has experienced many battles and has been prepared for a long time. It is enough for us to do our own things well. There is no need to add superfluous things to arouse the vigilance of the other party. However, you should also be more careful to avoid being tricked."

"Yes." The captain clasped his fists and stepped back slowly.

Zhang Xuansu exhaled lightly, a smile slowly appeared on his face.

"I want to see what kind of ghosts are making trouble."

"It must be a water ghost." Chu Suiliang walked to him with a smile, blowing the wind with him, enjoying the rare peace.

"Water ghost?" Zhang Xuansu frowned and said, "What does this mean?"

"In the south, we like to call water bandits water ghosts, and a few places also call them water monkeys. They are extremely powerful in the water. Once they are caught by them, even if you are King Xiang alive, you will not escape death. Later, enlisted in the army Zhishui masters are fierce soldiers, also known as water ghosts. Basically, they hope that the sailors can have the ability to turn rivers and seas like water ghosts in the water." Chu Suiliang explained softly.

Zhang Xuansu nodded, then remembered something, and asked, "I remember, Chu Siqing seems to be from the south, right?"

"To be precise, he is from Qiantang." Chu Suiliang had a look of reminiscence on his face.

"That's good, this time you cross the river, I have a solid foundation in my heart." Zhang Xuansu smiled.

"Don't." Chu Suiliang restrained his memory, and said with a wry smile: "To tell you the truth, I haven't been back to Qiantang for a long time. In the former Sui Dynasty, I went north for my future. Roughly speaking, I haven't been back for nearly 20 years. I visited my hometown. This time I came back and was ordered to kill people, but I really don’t have the face to meet the folks.”

"Why, what do you know?" Zhang Xuansu asked with a smile.

Chu Suiliang sighed: "You are not from here, maybe you don't understand very well. The clan power in the south is deeply intertwined. Due to differences in in-laws, regions, ideas, etc., they are divided into different factions. It is difficult to clarify. The sage's thorough investigation of Huainan Road and Jiangnan Road this time will definitely affect the whole body, I don't doubt anything, I am sure, and will definitely find out a large number of corrupt people."

Zhang Xuansu said coldly: "They deserve it. Isn't the sage not generous enough to treat them? He tried to woo and appease them everywhere, but he didn't expect that they got worse. If they don't punish them severely this time, why would the court face the people of the world?"

"Yes." Chu Suiliang nodded, looking very melancholy.

After a while, Zhang Xuansu asked again: "Chu Siqing, don't you feel soft-hearted?"

Chu Suiliang's face darkened.

"Absolutely not."

"That's good." Zhang Xuansu clasped his fists and said, "I'll go back to rest first, and I'm sure we're going to make a fuss tonight. I'm sorry."

"Zhang Yushi, please help yourself."

When the two parted, Chu Suiliang's face was not very good-looking.

As a former minister of the Emperor's Shence Mansion, he is actually very depressed now.The same batch of colleagues who were loyal to His Majesty the Emperor back then were either prime ministers, such as Du Ruhui, Xue Shou, and Dai Zhou.Either it is a Shangshu, such as Cen Wenwen, Wei Zheng, Qin Qiong, etc.

He was the only one who had never moved from the position of Minister of the Taifu Temple.Moreover, the titles of these years are still the county dukes conferred by His Majesty the Emperor when he ascended the throne.

The root cause, he knew that his attitude towards Fanbang had offended the saint.

In his external thinking, there are mainly three points.First, China first and then Yidi.Second, fear Wei Mude.Third, caress the Rong and barbarians with faith.

The core of his thinking is to put China first and then barbarians.When the sage exterminated Turks and burned more than [-] Turks to death, he thought that such a huge killing should not be caused, so he impeached Li Jing.Afterwards, he went to the sages and said that the states and counties under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty were "one body", in which Luoyang, the eastern capital, and Chang'an, the imperial capital, were like the heart, and the other states and counties were like the limbs.The Turks are things outside the body, or they are brothers of others, so there is no need to contact them too much.As long as they are honest, you don't have to talk to them.

As a result, the sage scolded him for being stupid, ignored what he said, and set up the Metropolitan Government to govern the grassland.

This is the beginning of his annoying saint.

Afterwards, he went to the Shu and wanted to use 'wei', which made the Turks afraid.Use kindness to educate the Turks, moralize them, and let them be grateful to the Tang Dynasty through the way of establishing a khan, so that they will always be attached to the Tang Dynasty.

As a result, the emperor scolded him for being insane, and asked him to copy [-] times the former Sui Wendi Yang Jian's policy of splitting up and enshrining the Khan, and the later historical documents of Xieli and others' invasion of the Central Plains.

He was dumbfounded at the time, but he had nothing to say.Because of the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, most people scolded him for lack of understanding, saying that Yi Di could not believe that they could be educated.The emperor even told him bluntly that the barbarians are animals. If the empire is strong, they will be housekeeper dogs. If the empire is weak, they will tear off their disguise and turn into tigers and wolves, endangering the people of the empire.

After those two events, he didn't realize how wrong he was at the time.When the emperor was oppressing and killing the barbarians, he went to the court to state the pros and cons.

That is to say, his last thought is to caress Rong Yi with faith.

He believes that faith is the foundation of the country, and keeping promises to the barbarians can fully display the image of the empire, and keeping promises is an effective way to avoid foreign wars.As long as the empire can treat people with trust, then the troubles of barbarians and didi will no longer exist.

As a result, this time he was directly hit on the head with the memorial by the emperor, and he never paid much attention to himself after that.

Later, the emperor's series of actions made him fully understand that his thoughts were completely different from the emperor's.

The emperor didn't intend to let Yi Di go, he didn't treat Yi Di as a human being, but as a livestock.The attitude of not letting go if you don't kill them all.

The empire's deceitful, broken appointments and other actions against Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje and the Three Kingdoms trampled his thoughts under his feet.

(End of this chapter)