Han Hai Tang Ergui

Chapter 574 Who is loyal and who is traitor
Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu's journey back to Jiangning was not easy, because the Southern Tang Navy, who still controlled the river, was already extremely nervous.

When they saw two small boats coming out from Jiangbei, they panicked as if Zhou Jun was coming.

The boat was still in the river, and the water army camps at Bailuzhou and Xinlinpu on the riverside were blown up.

Some warships even sailed out of the port and ran downstream, and some of them gathered around in fear to fight to the death, but all the arrows were shot out, only to find that it was two small boats.

The Southern Tang navy breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhou Zong was so frightened that his ghosts froze. If he didn't die in Zhou Jun's hands, but died in his own hands, it would be ridiculous.

In desperation, Zhou Zong took off the silver-white gown around him and kept waving it. Feng Yanlu also made several servants shout loudly, so they were not shot to death by his own men.

But when the two arrived at Jiangning City, they found that the city had fallen into chaos.

A large number of people, the old and the young, fled from the city, and even the officials in many places almost escaped.

Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu were extremely puzzled. It was not uncommon for common people to flee, and it was even foreseeable for officials to flee.

But the first battle of Yizheng has been over for five days, why did they come out to run away at this time?Shouldn't he have run away long ago?
As a result, the two found out after inquiring that the imperial court originally wanted to conceal the result of the Yizheng battle, so as not to cause large-scale chaos.

I think so, but the whole court has long been a sieve for air leakage, and after only a few days, the news has spread to everyone.

Moreover, due to the concealment in the early stage, the people began to distrust the government's news, and the result was that the more the news spread, the more terrifying it became.

Zhou Jun originally just occupied the Eastern Capital again and defeated all the military forces of the Southern Tang Dynasty in Jiangbei.

Now the rumors have become that the Zhou army massacred Jiangbei, Yangzhou has been emptied, and there are few living people in Taizhou. The next step is that Zhou army will cross the river and kill everyone in Jiangning City.

This rumor is completely an enhanced version of Sun Ru's attack on Yangzhou back then!
Zhou and Feng, who had just been baptized by Zhang Zhao, looked at each other, and they both had deep doubts about the court's ability to respond and govern.

Compared with the one-hearted and orderly people in Zhou Guo, the Jiangning court looks like a grassroots team.

Not to mention the system, but the temperament, there is a world of difference.

It was getting late at this time, Zhou Zong was a veteran of the former court, and he had some face in this court, but he was not very close to Li Jing.

Feng Yanlu's elder brother, Feng Yansi, was the imperial court's number one favorite, but he was not Feng Yanlu.

So neither of them had the ability to enter the palace at dusk, so they had to wait until tomorrow to be summoned.

And Feng Yanlu will definitely go back to discuss with his brother Feng Yansi, what should be said and what should not be said, must be considered by Feng Yansi.

Zhou Zong looked at Feng Yanlu and smiled wryly. Originally, he was an old man who didn't stick to anything, and only wanted to be rich for a few more years, but this time, he would inevitably be labeled as Feng Yansi's party.

But Zhou Zong didn't care much about it, because he could sense the change in Feng Yanlu's heart.

If it wasn't for the fact that the psychological defense line had not been torn a big hole, Feng Yanlu would not have been able to say those words if he stayed behind in the office in the Eastern Capital of Yangzhou.

Most of his wry smile came from this.

That Zhou Guo Shaoming Emperor is amazing!He will not say a word of solicitation to you, let alone threaten with punishment or even life and death.

But it's such an approachable treatment, and simply clarifying his ambitions, people can't help but want to follow him.

"The world here has been in dire straits for 200 years since the Swallows invaded China. Emperors of the Xian Temple and Wu Temple tried to cheer up, but they were unable to recover.

After that, Li Yazi of Zhuang Miao was brave and powerful, and had the ambition to unify the world. In the past, he defeated the king of Shu, and there were three out of four in the world.

Even Emperor Yizu had the intention of returning to the Central Plains, but it was a pity that he died in Xingjiaomen before the world was settled.

Today, the emperor of Zhou has the intention of unifying the world. Shuwen sees the difference between Emperor Shao of the Great Zhou and Emperor Zhuangmiao? "

Feng Yanlu took a look at Zhou Zong. Before this, his relationship with Zhou Zong was not close, but at this moment, the fate of the two has been bound together to some extent.

Although Zhou Zong himself was old, he still had children and grandchildren. If he wanted to preserve the wealth and honor of his descendants, it was impossible to stay out of it completely.

Feng Yanlu knew that Zhou Zong wanted to confirm his thoughts through these words, but it was inconvenient for him to speak too clearly.

And he also knows that it doesn't matter what he thinks, what matters is what his brother Feng Yansi thinks.

"A certain heard that in the past, the emperor of Zhuangmiao was very concerned about others, and he wanted to take away the power of soldiers and generals at all levels before the world was settled, but he refused to bestow wealth, gold and silver.

He was also close to actors and pursued his confidantes far away, which made the inside more important than the outside. Empress Liu in the harem was mean, ungrateful and greedy.

But now Shao Tianzi holds righteousness in his hands, uses Hexi Xiaorui as his minions to rule the inside and outside, uses the guards in brocade clothes as his eyes and ears, visits the four directions, uses the bank to collect gold and silver from all over the world, and protects the body with gods and Buddhas. "

When Feng Yanlu said this, he stopped talking and looked at Zhou Zong, who nodded in agreement.

"200 years have been chaotic, from top to bottom, the Central Plains is getting weaker and weaker, the Khitan people can enter Kaifeng is a proof, people feel at ease!"

Speaking of this, Zhou Zong didn't say anything. Both of them knew each other's intentions. There must be no such thing as taking refuge in Zhou Guo, but in their hearts, both of them were more optimistic about Zhang Zhao.

Feng Yanlu saluted Zhou Zong, Zhou Zong returned the salute, and said to Feng Yanlu: "This time, if the sage can forgive me for losing the Eastern Capital, I will build a new business on Jiangshan Mountain, and Shuwen can come here often in the future." get together."

Feng Yanlu nodded, and the two parted immediately. Of course Zhou Zong went home to write a memorial and report to Li Jing, while Feng Yanlu didn't even go home, and ran directly to his brother Feng Yansi's house.

. . . .

What Zhang Zhao didn't understand was that the real Feng Yansi in history was not the Southern Tang Five Ghosts he was familiar with.

On the contrary, although Feng Yansi's ability to govern is not top-notch, he also has the ability to be a prime minister of peace, Xiao Gui Cao Sui.

Feng Yansi was not a treacherous minister, on the contrary, he was magnanimous and filial to his mother.

Politically, he attacks political opponents fiercely, and is good at catching others in the wrong.

But just drive it away from its position, never put people to death.

In history, the reason why Feng Yansi and others were labeled as "five ghosts" was because he lost power later and had no successors.

On the other hand, the faction of political enemies Sun Sheng and Han Xizai produced a large number of talents, and there were still a large number of officials in the Northern Song Dynasty.

When Lu You and others compiled the "Book of the Southern Tang Dynasty", the sources of information were all descendants of Han Xizai's school, and Feng Yansi's reputation can be imagined.

Feng Yanlu entered Feng Yansi's mansion quietly through the back door without anyone notifying him.

Although the two brothers are only half brothers, they have a very good relationship.

Feng Yansi was also very filial to Feng Yanlu's mother, his stepmother.

Seeing his younger brother return safely, Feng Yansi was so excited that tears almost came down, while he asked people to guard the inner courtyard to prevent outsiders from entering, and at the same time arranged for someone to take Feng Yanlu to wash and change clothes.

"How did Goro come back from Yangzhou?"

Feng Yansi asked excitedly, Feng Yanlu took off his hat and showed Feng Yansi his scabies.

When Feng Yansi saw it, the tears of excitement were suddenly replaced by tears of laughter.

"Hahaha! It really is my younger brother Feng Zhengzhong, with a new face, not bad! Not bad!"

Feng Yanlu prevented Feng Yansi from arranging for him to wash up, but signaled Feng Yanqing to retreat to the left and right again.

Feng Yansi understood in seconds, and immediately asked the eldest son to drive everyone out. After only a few Feng brothers were left in the inner courtyard, Feng Yanlu said with a wry smile.

"This hair-raising method can only be used once and cannot be used a second time. My brother was still caught by Zhou Jun. I was able to come back this time. In fact, Lord Zhou let me back."

As he said that, Feng Yanlu also took out the Yishan crown that he had been keeping close to him.

As a Confucian literati, he certainly knows the significance of this stuff, so he just said it for now, it is also a good story!It is to leave a name in history.

For thousands of years, history has been terrified, and being able to leave one's own name, or to leave one's name with a good story, is something that many people can't hope for in a lifetime.

As soon as Yi Shanguan and Zhang Zhao let them go back to Jiangning, Feng Yansi immediately noticed the change of Feng Yanlu's mood very keenly, and he looked at his brother very seriously.

"Wulang, you and my brothers are worthy of the imperial court when they eat the salary of the Great Tang Dynasty. My Feng family lived in the south of the Yangtze River for two generations and received the favor of three generations of emperors. I must be worthy of the saint."

"There is a brother who is a loyal minister and a righteous man, how can there be a brother who betrays the country and seeks glory? I, Feng Wulang, have never thought of eating inside and outside, and Shao Tianzi has never said that I want to recruit someone.

But brother, the world has been in chaos for hundreds of years today, and people feel at ease. Son Shao Tian is indeed a heroic and benevolent lord whom he has only seen in his life.

As for Emperor Baoda, it is hard to be called benevolent, let alone wise.

The state of Zhou has inherited the virtues of the Tang Dynasty, and it will never tolerate us, a peaceful country that claims to inherit the Tang Dynasty.

You and my brother, our Feng family doesn't need to seek refuge, we just need to cooperate with Shao Tianzi for the sake of all the people in the world.

In this way, one can restore the peace of the world, and the other can reduce the number of murders. In the future, if the emperor loses his throne, he can also be treated like Emperor Huai of the Han Dynasty. "

Emperor Huai of the Han Dynasty was the successor Liu Chan. Among the subjugated kings of all dynasties, this master was treated very well and lived a very comfortable life, so Feng Yanlu took him as an example.

And Feng Yanlu's words also proved that the relationship between the brothers is very good, because this is extremely bold, Feng Yanlu clearly said righteous words, but what he has to do is actually to betray the country.

The expression on Feng Yansi's face changed twice, and then he gave Feng Yanlu a hard look.

"Today's words come out of your mouth and into the ears of our brothers, so don't have such thoughts.

I, Feng Zhengzhong, have been greatly favored by His Majesty, and I will never do such a thing of betraying His Majesty. If you dare to do it, don't blame a certain righteousness for killing relatives. "

After finishing speaking, perhaps because he felt that his words were too heavy, Feng Yansi looked at Feng Yanlu and said softly.

"If my ministers are not loyal, how can the king value them?
There are hundreds of members of my Feng family in Jiangning, if anything goes wrong, won't the family be affected?
Finally, if Shao Tianzi is really as wise and powerful as you said, with the talents of you and my brothers, if we want to stabilize Jiangnan, can we still go around? "

Feng Yanlu was convinced, his elder brother is worthy of being a great man who can be the prime minister of the Southern Kingdom, with a long-term vision and clear organization.

"Since my brother said so, I won't say these things any more. It's just about the matter of asking for peace. My brother would like to advise you to be a saint. The Zhou army is so powerful that we can't beat it."

Feng Yansi thought about it for a while, then nodded slowly. He would not refuse this, because Li Jing was already frightened, and if he could ask for peace, that would be his wish!

. . . .

The next day, after receiving the news that Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu had returned from Jiangbei, Li Jing immediately summoned them.

Feng Yansi understood Li Jing, this young master who had been living under his father's wing had never experienced much at all.

The greatest danger he has ever seen was when his third uncle Xu Zhixun wanted to fight his father Li Min for power.

But Xu Zhixun didn't even support his younger brother, but supported Li Min, a righteous brother. It was said that it was dangerous, but it didn't even count as a crisis.

So when suddenly faced with the situation that the Central Plains army had conquered the Eastern Capital and faced the Yangtze River, Li Jing was terrified and at a loss what to do.

He suddenly discovered that everything he thought was strong suddenly became so fragile.

Now Li Jing even wants to go to Hongzhou, change Hongzhou's name to Nanchang, make Jiangning the eastern capital, and Nanchang the western capital.

It's just that now he's still a bit speechless, hinting at his confidant Wei Cen, but Wei Cen pretends not to understand, and refuses to come forward.

So today Li Jing originally wanted to call Feng Yansi, and then let Feng Yansi take the lead in handling this matter.

But since Zhou Zong and Feng Yanlu were released, we might as well listen to their opinions first.

With the presence of the old God Zhou Zong, Feng Yanlu got Feng Yansi's suggestion, so naturally he didn't dare to talk nonsense, so he told Li Jing the truth.

When Li Jing heard this, Zhou Jun had the idea of ​​retreating north, so he was very happy!
As for letting him cross the river to pay homage, Li Jing's IQ is still online, so he knows that it can be negotiated.

So he set his sights on the Crown Prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty, his second younger brother, Marshal of Zhudao Bingma, and King of Qi Li Jingsui.

Um!Li Jing nodded, he had already thought about it, if he really wanted to negotiate, it would be better to appoint his second brother as the emperor's younger brother, and let him cross the river to pay homage to Lord Zhou instead.

When Li Jingsui saw Li Jing's eyes, he knew that something was going to happen, he really didn't want to be such an emperor's younger brother!
This King Qi of the Southern Tang Dynasty has no other skills, but he is very clear-headed. He knows that the end of a brother does not mean great wealth, it must be a great danger, so he has always wanted to shirk his status as the crown prince, but Li Jing just refused.

It's all right now, if he is really going to be sent across the river, is there still life left?
Just when Li Jingsui wanted to find some excuse to dispel Li Jing's idea, the imperial guards guarding the palace ran in ecstatically.

It turned out that Chen Jue, the privy envoy and the Jiedu envoy of Zhaowu Army in Fuzhou, returned with [-] sailors from Wuchang Army and [-] troops from Fujian.

Among the Fujian-conquering army were the famous Southern Tang general Zhu Kuangye and his son Zhu Lingyun, who was known as the invincible sharpshooter, as well as He Jingzhu, Huangfuhui and other mighty generals.

In addition, Minister Pan Chengyou recruited Xu Wenzhen, the former governor of Yong'an Army in Jianzhou, Jianzhou, Chen Huo, the governor of Jianzhou, Zheng Yanhua, Lin Renhan, and Lin Renzhao, the former generals of Jianzhou, and recruited the three prefectures of Jianzhou, Jianzhou and Tingzhou. Athletes 5000 people.

At this time, Wang Min's defeat was actually due to the lack of internal affairs, the brothers attacked each other, the civil servants and generals were attacked and destroyed, and the soldiers did not suffer a lot of losses.

Therefore, after the destruction of Wang Min Kingdom, a large number of Wang Min soldiers will return to their hometowns in Jianzhou and other places as the main source of Wang Min's soldiers.

Among them, Chen Huo, Zheng Yanhua, and Lin Renzhao were the main players. These three were all rare fighters.

Not to mention Lin Renzhao, Zheng Yanhua is also a fierce man who can single-handedly kill a nearly adult tiger.

In history, Chen Huo was nicknamed Zhonglie in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and he was very good at using water troops. In the First Battle of Fuzhou, he led the water army to sail hundreds of miles along the river to defeat the Wuyue water army. He was a rare water warrior.

This Li Jing was thinking about sending his younger brother Li Jingsui across the river to beg for mercy just a second ago, but now that he has received reinforcements, he feels that he has something to rely on, and he doesn't want to bow his head so soon.

He looked at the dusty Feng Yanlu, others Li Jing didn't trust him, but Feng Yansi and Li Jing trusted Feng Yansi very much, and even trusted Feng Yansi's younger brother Feng Yanlu.

"Since Lord Zhou intends to return to the north, but has not mentioned any conditions, how dare the Qing family make another trip? Go and ask Lord Zhou, what are the conditions?"

People would be terrified if they said Jiang, but Feng Yanlu was not afraid at all, but he still made a look of embarrassment, and finally said through gritted teeth.

"Since it is sent by a sage, I am willing to cross the river again, but if Lord Zhou asks about the conditions of our country, I will not be able to deal with it. Please draw a boundary."

Before Li Jing said anything, Feng Yansi raised his eyebrows. He felt that his younger brother Feng Yanlu seemed to be tricking the saint, but after hesitating again and again, Feng Yansi still didn't come out to stop him.

Li Jing didn't think much of it, he looked at Chang Mengxi, Minister of the Household Department, this person is the most upright, so if he speaks first, there will be no deviation.

Chang Mengxi also went out without hesitation. At this time, there are not many courtiers in the palace, and he is not afraid of leaking the news.

"Saint, since ancient times in the Southern Dynasty, the Huaihe River must be guarded. If there is no Huaibei, there must be Huainan. Now that Chuzhou and Haizhou are all in the hands of Zhou, the entire Huainan is like a hole bitten by a tiger and wolf.

It's better to give more gold, silver, brocade and silk, even if you go to the emperor to pay tribute and become a minister, but you must have Huainan. "

At this time, Huainan formed a chain of defense points from Shouzhou to Haozhou, Sizhou and then to Chuzhou.

With all four states present, the defense power will naturally double. If one of the states is absent, the defense power will decrease.

Among them, Shouzhou is the most important, followed by Chuzhou. It can be said that without Chuzhou, Huainan's defense is indeed like a big hole in the fence that can be pulled out by a beast.

However, everyone knows that this is a fool's dream. Zhou Guo even occupies Yangzhou, the eastern capital, and he is still thinking about Chuzhou. How is it possible?This suggestion is just as if it was not said.

However, to everyone's surprise, Feng Yansi, who was bound to attack with these words on weekdays, did not speak.

Han Xizai thought it was because they restrained themselves at the moment of life and death, so he rushed out to make amends.

"Saint, I think that the most important thing now is to take back the Eastern Capital, and the second is to take back Taizhou.

If these two cities are in the hands of Zhou Guo, even if the Zhou division returns to the north, as far as our country is concerned, it will still be like a stick in the throat.

Although Chuzhou is important, Master Zhou will definitely not let it go. This time Master Zhou went south, using me as an excuse to offend Song and Xu Erzhou. His intention was to stretch his hand into Huainan, and Chuzhou would definitely not come back.

However, although Huainan's defense is followed by Chuzhou, it is not as indispensable as Shouzhou, because without Chuzhou, we can still build fortresses in the Tianchang area to stop the enemy. "

After Han Xizai finished speaking, Feng Yansi finally stood up. Of course, he had to wait for Chang Mengxi, Han Xizai and others to express their opinions first, because if he came out to agree with this opinion, it would not be easy to be caught.

"Saint, I think that whether there is Chuzhou or not is not the most important thing. The most important thing now is to let Master Zhou return to the north as soon as possible, because Master Zhou is in the south for a day, and the court will be more dangerous.

And once Master Zhou returns to the north, even if there is no Chuzhou, if we can unite as one in the Tang Dynasty, we will not give excuses to the Zhou people, cultivate moral government internally, refine our armored soldiers, and build more fortresses. If it is contained, it will be able to restore its strength and protect the country forever. "

What this said, sounds like a high-rise building, and its vision is not limited to one city and one place.

But in fact, it is too vague. Whether it is unity or internal morality, it is not so easy to achieve.

But I can't help but Li Jing likes to listen!And Li Jing also suddenly realized that the most important thing now is not the gain or loss of a city or a place, but to send away the plague gods of Zhou Guo as soon as possible.

So in Li Jing's ardent expectation, Feng Yanlu once again 'adventurous' crossed the river, and took his own letter to Zhang Zhao to beg for peace.

. . . .

For Feng Yanlu's arrival this time, Zhang Zhao was very pleasantly surprised, because Feng Yanlu still dared to cross the river, which proved that he was no longer afraid of himself.

As a minister of a foreign country, he is not afraid of an enemy monarch like Zhang Zhao who hits the door of his house.

This is either an extremely loyal minister who has taken life and death lightly, or has a bias in his heart.

But this time, because it was an official mission, Zhang Zhao treated Feng Yanlu well at the banquet.

Zhang Zhao gave Feng Yanlu and the envoys and officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty fifty pieces of Hexi white cotton cloth, ten catties of rock sugar, and three catties each of fragrant leaves, cardamom, and olive oil.

Feng Yanlu and all the envoys bowed and danced to thank them.

Zhang Zhao once again bestowed famous Hexi dishes such as cheese lamb chops and rock sugar braised pork, especially rock sugar braised pork, which was invented by Zhang Shengren himself.

The grateful envoys and officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty immediately wrote poems of congratulations, and the two sides talked very harmoniously for a while.

Sure enough, after the banquet, Jin Yiwei carefully searched Feng Yanlu's leftover roast chicken, and there were two wax balls.

(End of this chapter)