Han Hai Tang Ergui

It is true that Zhang Zhao had not yet crossed the river in Hezhou, and the [-] army only crossed the [-] cavalry under Zhao Kuangyin and the [-] Wuning army and a small amount of water army led by Hu Guang.

This is because there were not enough boats to cross the river. At that time, in order to confuse the Southern Tang Dynasty, the naval warships in the Guabu area did not move.

Now there are only fishing boats seized along the road and some found in Hezhou.

Of course, the biggest reason was that Zhang Zhao didn't have the intention to completely win Nantang.

And this also has a taste of necessity.

It had been almost five months since he set out for the expedition, and the troops brought by Zhang Zhao, especially the Hexi elite from the headquarters, were not used to the heat and humidity in the south of the Yangtze River.

More importantly, Hexi soldiers and horses have not returned to Hexi for more than a year since they left Hexi and entered the Central Plains. The homesickness in the army is very serious.

It can be said that it is imminent to give them a holiday and let them go back to Longyou, Hexi.

But Liu Zhiyuan hadn't solved it yet, so Zhang Zhao couldn't continue wasting his fighting spirit on Jiangnan.

After a night of discussions last night, Zhang Zhao had actually made a judgment in his heart after taking into account the situation of the various armies.

If he made the appearance of crossing Caishiji, and the Southern Tang court still did not respond, he would not cross the river at all.

But in this way, his reputation must have been damaged. The soldiers who ran hundreds of miles down got nothing, and there must be resentment in their hearts, so they must use their own prestige to suppress their dissatisfaction.

But this is not a long-term solution, and it is impossible to always use this trick.

Zhang Zhao clenched his fists. Perhaps if he really had no choice, he could only loot all the wealthy households in Jiangbei in Southern Tang Dynasty, and then take away all the residents of Yang, Tai, and Chu counties, and then burn Yang, Tai and other counties. Wait for the state capital of the state.

Only in this way can he have enough wealth to feed the soldiers, and then he can severely damage the economy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and it can also make him look more like a victor.

It's just that if you get to this point, the effect of going south this time will be discounted by half.

He can win the hearts of Chuzhou and other places and even Huainan, but he will lose the hearts of Jiangnan. When he comes back next time, Nantang's resistance will be more determined.

I hope Li Jing can be smarter and come over quickly and beg for mercy, so as to avoid a lose-lose result.

So what Zhang Zhao is struggling with now is not whether he can cross the river or not, but whether he should do it so desperately, and lose the benevolence and righteousness that Zhou Jun, who took the Guiyi Army as his base, has painstakingly cultivated.

Is it worth it?
Of course, there is also a small worry, that is, the horse killer guarding Chuzhou came to report, and Liu Renzhan, the envoy of the Qinghuai Army in Shouzhou of the Southern Tang Dynasty, ran over secretly again.

The 5000 people of the Qinghuai army once again went to the village of Jiangjunling in the northwest of Chuzhou, and also captured a part of the Haozhou Dingyuan army who had fled into the mountains.

Ma Sha sent more than a thousand riders to attack. He found that Liu Renzhan was cutting wood and repairing the village in Jiangjunling like crazy, and the arrangement was very organized.

Except for killing hundreds of Qinghuai troops in the first raid, Ma Shacai could not find any flaws since then.

These 20,000 people seemed to be making their homes on the mountain, and they didn't attack, they just huddled on the mountain, there was no way to kill them, they could only send You Yiqi to monitor them at any time.

Bai Congxin frowned next to Zhang Zhao, "Saint, why don't you send ten thousand fine riders to go and cooperate with the horse to kill these Shouzhou troops."

Zhang Zhao touched his chin, "If we really went to beat them, we would fall into the trap. Unexpectedly! This Liu Renzhan's elder brother is Yang Xingmi's son-in-law, yet he is so loyal to Li Jing.

This guy knew we were going to cross the river, so he threw himself into the tiger physically.

It's just that we are not hungry tigers, but tigers who are about to eat. If we try our best to defeat the 20,000 people Liu Renzhan stands on Jiangjunling, we will no longer have the strength and thought to cross the river. "

Bai Congxin was startled when he heard this, and after a while he sighed and said: "This is a loyal minister! Unexpectedly, the Lord of Southern Wu has such a loyal minister if he does not practice virtue."

Zhang Zhao was not surprised by Bai Congxin's sigh. The Bai family was moved to the Qingtang Plateau by the Tubo people, and they lived in the circle of horse thieves since they were young. It is very normal for Yamato to hug the thigh of the strong.

After following Zhang Zhao, although he also knew loyalty, but along the way, Shi Jingtang betrayed the country, Du Chongwei bowed his knees, and tiger stabs and betrayal happened around him.

In Bai Congxin's heart, he just felt that he should be loyal, but he didn't have a concrete feeling of what loyalty looked like.

He didn't understand until the city of Chuzhou was broken and everyone surrendered, even the governor Guo Tingwei surrendered, but Li Yanzou, a small officer who joined the army, jumped from the city wall to commit suicide and died for his country.

Of course Zhang Zhao would not let go of this opportunity to educate everyone, he pointed to the broad Yangtze River and said to the surrounding generals.

"Jiangnan is a rich place, with outstanding people and many loyal people. It's a pity that Lord Wu Li Jing can't use it. If I have Jiangnan in the future, I will definitely use it!"

However, just when Zhang Zhao was about to carry out some loyalty education, the good news finally came.

He didn't have to worry about it anymore. Zhao Kuangyin sent a message that Southern Tang was headed by Shangshu Youpu Shesun, with Feng Yanlu and Han Xizai as deputy, and had arrived at Caishiji across the river.

Zhang Shengren breathed a sigh of relief, just as the civil servants and generals around him were all around, he waved his hand.

"All the ministers and workers went back to the camp separately, and ordered all the guards and soldiers to wear iron armor and ride horses, so that these Southern Wu people can see and see the majesty of my Great Zhou soldiers."

Although Sun Cheng is from the north, his stature is not tall. He is about the same size as Feng Yanlu, about 1.6 meters in height.

On the contrary, Han Xizai, who is a big man in Shandong, lived up to this title, at least 1.7 meters five or more.

However, among the three, in terms of understanding of military affairs, Sun Chengyuan beat Han Xizai and Feng Yanlu who had no experience at all.

When they disembarked from the wharf of Hezhou, they saw that from the wharf to the city of Hezhou, the soldiers along the way were wearing red, white, and blue cloth and iron armor, holding spears and knives. Generally cast iron.

In the meantime, I saw thousands of fine riders, all walking in unison. The war horses were decorated with gold, silver and brocade, and they jingled every step they took.

Feng Yanlu, Han Xizai and others led the envoys passing by thousands of troops. They were so frightened that they couldn't speak, sweated profusely, and their legs were fighting. Only Sun Cheng looked calm.

When they entered Hezhou City, Man Xiong was ordered to meet the Southern Tang Mission at the gate. Behind him, dozens of Shandu armored soldiers were not only as strong as bears and tigers, but also had the confidence to fight thousands of miles and their murderous aura. His face turned pale with fright.

When they approached the Hezhou Office, the talents of the Southern Tang Dynasty seemed to see the sun through the clouds, and the murderous aura that suppressed them was also dissipated a lot.

At the gate of the government office, the guards were all dressed in brocade robes and personal guards in golden armor. Sun Cheng knew that this was Jin Yiwei, the personal guard of Emperor Shaoming of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The three of them were waiting outside the door to be summoned. It was only time for a cup of tea, but they felt like walking through hell, Sun Cheng couldn't help sighing.

"In the past, under the command of Zhugong Shouyin, a certain man saw that Li Yazi in Zhuangmiao was invincible, that's all.

When the Central Plains were in chaos, although the imperial guards of the Tang and Jin Dynasties were brave, they were not as good as those of the Zhou masters. "

Han Xizai was so frightened that he was dripping with cold sweat, and nodded, "The Sixth Army of the Imperial Guard of the Tang Dynasty is not as far away as Master Zhou. From now on, I will serve the country as a lowly servant, and don't cause trouble."

Feng Yanlu nodded with sympathy, he was captured twice because of Master Zhou's strength, that was deeply felt.

Not long after, Zhang Zhao ordered to be summoned, and the three hurriedly followed into the office.

This is not as big as the state office, and Zhang Zhao is not in the mood to transform him into a palace or something, but just occupies the state office and uses the hall of the state office as a meeting place.

Sun Cheng took the lead, and the three of them prostrated themselves on the ground in an orderly manner. None of them dared to pretend not to kneel down to the lord of another country, not even anyone who dared to look directly at Zhang Zhao.

"Foreign minister Tang Guoshangshu's right servant shoots Sun Cheng. By the order of the emperor of Tang Kingdom, he pays homage to the emperor Zhou of Shang Kingdom and wishes the emperor a long life!"

Zhang Zhao gently stepped down from his seat, came to Sun Cheng's head, and asked indifferently: "I was elected by the clans of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Later Dynasty, and I have the support of all the people in the Guanzhong capital. I take the restoration of the country as my mission. Only inherit the virtues of the Tang Dynasty.

Your lord lives in a corner and acts recklessly. Where does the name Tang come from? "

Sun Cheng put his head on the ground, and replied loudly: "The emperor of Shangguo upholds righteousness, so he inherits the virtues of the Tang Dynasty. My descendants of the Tang Dynasty inherit the virtues of our ancestors."

"I'm a little quick-witted, but I heard that Li Min claimed to be a descendant of Jian Wang Ke. Then Jian Wang Ke is only the ten sons of Xianmiao, and he didn't become emperor. Li Min, Li Jing and his son, how can He De be called the emperor?"

Cold sweat rolled down Sun Cheng's face, but he still tried his best to argue: "Since the decline of the great dynasty Guo Zuo, the world such as Wang Min, Nan Han, and Ma Chu can all be called emperors. .”

"Okay!" Zhang Zhao immediately grasped Sun Cheng's handle, "Since it was the great dynasty's decline and fall, the clan barely called the emperor, but now the virtues of the great dynasty are inherited by me, my lord, would you like to go to the title of emperor and return to the country? ?”

Sun Chengcheng couldn't answer this question, because when Li Jing left, it didn't matter what Li Jing meant, ceding the land and paying compensation, but he still tried his best to keep his position as the emperor.

Seeing that Sun Cheng was speechless, Han Xizai hurriedly went out to pay his respects and replied: "The virtue of the Son of Heaven and the ownership of artifacts are the exclusive power of the emperor. Non-human ministers can discuss it, and it is up to my lord to decide."

Zhang Zhao narrowed his eyes. This time, Sun Cheng and the others came quickly, and they must have seen his army of only a few thousand people in Caishiji, and they had no intention of crossing the river in a big way for the time being.

This side will aggravate their sense of urgency and make these people want to make an agreement with Zhang Zhao before the soldiers come to the city.

On the other hand, it will definitely increase their confidence. After all, Zhou Jun, who did not cross the river in a big way, and approached the Qinhuai River, seems to be easier to deal with.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shengren was furious, and pointed at Han Xizai with his halberd, "The three of you are envoys, but you didn't even ask for instructions on matters of national morality, which shows that Li Jing has no intention of peace talks, and is still as mad as ever.

That being the case, there is nothing to talk about, let's go back and ask for clarification before coming back. "

As soon as Zhang Zhao finished speaking, before Sun Cheng and the others pleaded for mercy, Murong Xinchang, who had been arranged earlier, jumped out at once.

"Everyone, this person is the Prime Minister of Southern Wu, and he must know the inside story of Jiangning City, so it is better to keep this person and ask Jiangning about the truth.

It can't be said that Lord Wu had already changed his clothes and fled away, and he was no longer in Jiangning City. "

"That's right! Sun Cheng, let me ask you alone, how many soldiers are there in Jiangning City, and is Li Jing in the city?" Zhang Zhao immediately pointed at Sun Cheng and asked loudly.

Sun Cheng felt dizzy for a while. He just felt that the situation was changing too fast. He was clearly here as an envoy. Why did he become a traitor now?

At that moment, Sun Cheng was anxious and regretted, "The minister is the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Can he betray the master for glory? The sage has to cross the river after winning Yangzhou. How is it different from the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty?"

Zhang Zhao immediately pretended to be furious, "Put Sun Cheng and Han Xizai in prison, if you don't tell me, I insist on you."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Zhao pointed at Li Cunhui again, "Cunhuier, drive Feng Yanlu out, let him go back and tell Li Jing, and choose someone who can make the decision."

Li Cunhui understood, and immediately set up Feng Yanlu himself, and walked outside.