The rise of the prince

Chapter 258 Prefect of Guazhou
Yang Hongzhao thought about it all afternoon, but he still had no idea about the situation in Luzhou.

In the evening, the soldiers brought the food, and everyone ate together in the big tent. The sky gradually darkened, but everyone still made no progress.

At this moment, the guard at the gate came in and said, "General, King Pingnan is here."

Yang Hongzhao frowned slightly, and clenched his fists, the one that should come is still here.

Everyone behind him became nervous, the king of the county, this is much higher than the people present, high above, unreachable, a nobleman that many people will never see in their lifetime.

"It's still a notification, quickly invite King Pingnan to come in!" Yang Hongzhao said deliberately loudly.

After a while, a tall young man in armor and a sword opened the tent and walked in. As soon as he entered, the light of the lamp was blocked in a large area, and an inexplicable sense of oppression enveloped everyone's hearts, because this young man was younger than him. , really tall.

Yang Hongzhao hurriedly led the crowd to kneel down on one knee: "Your Majesty has met King Pingnan."

"There's no need to be too polite." The young man nodded, acting more calmly than he had imagined.

Yang Hongzhao stood up, he rarely saw Li Xingzhou in his memory.

All I know is Li Xingzhou's reputation as the king of the capital, and his domineering and flamboyant deeds.

The few times I saw him was when he was young. At that time, Prince Xiao’s mansion was in full swing. Officials would go to the mansion to give gifts during the festivals. It's also blurred.

These are not the key points, he has his own concerns.

After the salute, everyone said a few polite words, most of which were greetings to please Li Xingzhou. After all, he is the king of Pingnan County now, a 16-year-old county king, as long as he is not a fool, he can understand that the weight is extraordinary.

Especially the magistrate of Guazhou, when he spoke flattering words, he wished to flatter people to the sky, even Yang Hongzhao couldn't bear it anymore, he frowned and coughed a few times, and then said: "My lord, please come and see, this is the recent situation in the south."

After he finished speaking, he deliberately paused to see Li Xingzhou's reaction, but the young prince nodded and followed him. His heart skipped a beat and he was a little on guard. This was not the result he wanted.

"Look, King Pingnan, this is Guazhou." Yang Hongzhao pointed to the map on the desk: "The water fortress has been set up, and warships are being built at the southern wharf, already."

However, Li Xingzhou waved his hand: "General Yang, you are the commander in chief here, and you can decide these matters. This king has no knowledge of the affairs of the three armies, nor does he have a hand in the affairs of the three armies. The previous incident with the prince is a great lesson.

This king is going south this time to supervise the army, but he will not directly intervene in the command. If he has any suggestions, he will ask the general first. General Yang has the full power to decide, so you don't have to worry about it. "

As soon as the voice fell, the audience fell silent.

Yang Hongzhao was stunned for a moment, his heart was filled with shame, he opened his mouth and couldn't speak, it turned out that King Piannan had already seen through his little thoughts, and quickly knelt down on his knees and said: "King Pingnan has a broad heart and vision. Brilliant, admirable, the veteran treats the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, really, really ashamed!"

The other party helped him up, and then said calmly: "General Yang's praise is just a lesson learned from the past. This king is not a wise man, but he understands this truth, so General Yang can rest assured to make his own decision, but I want to ask you about the recent situation in Luzhou. "

"Luzhou?" Yang Hongzhao was a little surprised. Luzhou was hundreds of miles away, so why did he ask Luzhou.

King Pingnan sat down, and then said: "To be honest, my sister-in-law Princess Qing'an married Luzhou far away, and Luzhou borders Suzhou Ansu Mansion, so I am a little worried."

Only then did Yang Hongzhao remember that Princess Qing'an got married many years ago. Few people remember the old events. He hurriedly said, "We are discussing this issue. The current situation in Luzhou is very...very confusing." Yang Hongzhao After struggling for a long time, I found such a word.

"blurred?"

Yang Hongzhao nodded, then pulled down the map and pointed to the location of Luzhou on the upper left of the map: "Pingnan King, please look, this is Luzhou, and Luzhou is north of Suzhou. here."

He pointed to a city sign on the map: "Hoard the army in Linyang County in the north of Suzhou."

"How many?" Pingnan Wang asked.

"I don't know very well. The east and west sides of this city are surrounded by mountains, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. The city is heavily guarded and interrogated strictly. Our spies had to pretend to be hunters and walk over the Mishan Mountain, and then walked south from Luzhou, pretending to be Luzhou Xiang. The army went to investigate.

But even so, there were still two people who did not come back. It must have been a bad thing. From this, it is inferred that the relationship between the traitor and Luzhou is also very tense. "Yang Hongzhao said.

He went on to say: "From Linyang City to the north and west, there is a river called Lengfengqing. The rebels camped by the river and gathered tens of thousands of troops, eyeing Luzhou. After passing Lengfengqing, go further You can reach the city of Luzhou by walking more than the day before."

"Are they going to attack the city?" King Pingnan asked.

Yang Hongzhao shook his head: "This is also a strange thing. The rebels have been stationed for more than 20 days, nearly a month. It stands to reason that Anxiakou has won a big victory. Their troops are in full swing. Our army has no large ships and is blocked by mountains, so we cannot rush to rescue them. Luzhou, this is a good time to march, but they didn't make any movement, could it be that they are stupid?"

After finishing speaking, he glanced at the young Pingnan County King, saw that his brows were tightly frowned, and then shook his head: "It's unlikely to be stupid, after all, the assassination of the emperor was also arranged by the rebels in Suzhou, Wu Desi, Kaiyuan Mansion, City Hall Bosi and Shangzhi's personal guards have been fooled by them, and people with these methods should not be so stupid."

After hearing this, Yang Hongzhao also had a quick brain, yes, that's true, they can plan such a tight assassination plan seamlessly, if it wasn't for King Pingnan who saw through it at the last moment, the emperor might have met with an accident.

The prefect of Guazhou and several lieutenants also quickly flattered.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glanced at the calm and young Pingnan King in front of him, yes, he is such a pig brain, Pingnan King couldn't even see through such a sophisticated plan back then, how can he be an ordinary person, how can he be an incompetent person, How can it be said by ordinary people that he is just a sensual dog and horse? I am really confused.

In my heart, I quickly paid more attention to the young King Pingnan, "Then, in the opinion of King Pingnan, how is it possible?"

"I don't know either. These are all things Mr. Yang considers, and I don't ask too much."

"Yes, please don't worry, my lord, as soon as the big ship is built, I will let the traitor die without a place to die!" Yang Hongzhao was happy in his heart, and at the same time looked at the young King Pingnan differently. After flattery, King Pingnan left.

As soon as he left, Yang Hongzhao called his adjutant: "Please prepare twenty sheep and twenty pigs. Tomorrow I will personally go to the prince's camp to work as a soldier."

The adjutant nodded and sent people down to prepare.

Li Xingzhou walked out of the big tent, Yan Shen was already waiting outside holding "Mei Xue", he took the horse and said: "Let's go, go back."

Yan Shen didn't ask too many questions, but nodded and followed. The sooner many things are clarified, the better, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble.

In fact, Yang Hongzhao understood what the old general was thinking as soon as he opened his mouth. He said he wanted to let himself look at the map and report the situation, but he deliberately paused after he finished speaking. In fact, he wanted to let himself give up on his own initiative. will show up.

Of course he didn't come to seize power with Yang Hongzhao. He has his own way to deal with this kind of person. What he cares about is the situation in Luzhou. After all, even though her sister-in-law, whom she has never met, is pregnant, she always misses him when the current situation is chaotic, and writes frequently. He can't sit idly by when he sends something.

The most worrying thing at the moment is that the leader of the rebel army has no political vision and brains, and only relies on his temporary preferences, and the sister-in-law may be doomed.

Just like Liu Bang and Xiang Yu back then, their eyes and minds have already been seen at a glance.

After Liu Bang invaded Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty, he did not kill Qin Shihuang's grandson Ziying, made three chapters with the people, and was not rewarded by the people.Later, when Xiang Yu came, he directly set fire to the Qin Palace, killed Ziying, and slaughtered Xianyang City. The political vision and mind of the two were in stark contrast at that time.

Li Xingzhou was afraid that the leader of the rebel army would be someone like Xiang Yu. Although the rebel army would be easier to deal with, but if it was true, the sister-in-law's family would have suffered a long time ago.

Conversely, if the leader of the rebel army had political savvy and foresight like Liu Bang, he would definitely not kill my sister-in-law's family, or would not kill my sister-in-law's family himself. In this way, my sister-in-law might still be saved, but dealing with the rebels would be even more difficult.

This is a kind of contradictory mentality. Li Xingzhou actually found that he didn't know what to look forward to. He has been in this world for almost half a year, and he has gradually integrated into it, started to take root, and started to have concerns.

He didn't want Jing Chao to fall apart, and he didn't want his sister-in-law to die.
On the river's bank, the tents stretched all over the sky and you couldn't see the edge at a glance. Dust and shouts of killing were everywhere, echoing in the mountains on the river's surface.

The next day, Yang Hongzhao personally brought people to greet the new army, the magistrate of Guazhou, and several commanders came. They were very surprised by the way the new army was trained, but they didn't dare to ask more questions, thinking they were just children Play around.

In the afternoon, Li Xingzhou led Yan Shen and Di Zhi into Guazhou City. Yang Hongzhao's lieutenant general came to stop them immediately after hearing about the incident, and let them enter the city with more than [-] armored cavalry for personal protection.

He was a little puzzled. After questioning himself, the deputy general told the truth. In fact, Li Xingzhou had roughly guessed that this kind of thing would happen before.

When they retreated here from Anxia, ​​they lost not only warships, but also all the ships transporting food and supplies in the rear. There were more than 3 people who fled to Guazhou together.

Some drowned in the river, a few were captured by rebels, and most were lost in the vast mountains.

There are more than 3 people, and the food they eat every day is a big problem. The prefect of Guazhou emptied the treasury, but Guazhou is not a rich continent like Suzhou, Jiangzhou, and Luzhou. The treasury is poor and not enough.

In desperation, Yang Hongzhao could only force the people in and around the city of Guazhou to hand in their food. They said it was handing in, but in fact it was robbery. Many people were killed for this. The people now hate the soldiers very much, and people in the surrounding villages have ambushed and killed them. The situation of the single sergeant.

Yang Hongzhao has no choice but to try to be more biased towards the common people when something happens later.

Li Xingzhou nodded without commenting.

In fact, Yang Hongzhao could not be wrong. If more than 3 soldiers turned into robbers all over the mountain because they had nothing to eat, it would be a catastrophe for the people of Guazhou, and he could only do this.

But for the people of Guazhou, it is simply an innocent disaster that fell from the world. They are living a good life, but suddenly so many soldiers come, and they want to take away their hard-earned food for survival for free. Who would do it?

The lieutenant general only said that he had killed quite a few people, which Li Xingzhou knew after thinking about it. It must not be one or two, ten or eight, but hundreds.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the city, the people were terrified and ran away. The surrounding houses all closed their doors and windows. The doors were closed in broad daylight as in the night. Seeing them coming and not avoiding the horse, even if they were trampled to death, they probably wouldn't struggle.

Life is better than death is probably like this, Li Xingzhou took the lead to stop the horse, and then avoided them. Seeing this, the adjutant quickly turned his head to signal with his eyes, and the 20 or so riders behind him immediately stopped their horses and avoided them.

Li Xingzhou understood that if he was not there, these cavalry would have stepped on them. He knew that death might be a relief for these people, but unfortunately he is still a modern person, and the meaning of life in his heart is different from that of everyone in this era. of.

From the street to the end of the street, there are almost no people, desolate and desolate, most of them avoid them, and a few men who are not afraid also have bad eyes.

It didn't take long, Li Xingzhou saw the Zhizhou of Guazhou, who had been busy flattering him last night, wearing ordinary clothes, sitting in front of a small stall under a willow tree by the street, eating something.

Li Xingzhou rode his horse over. Hearing the sound of hooves, he turned around to meet him.

"I have met King Pingnan!" He was about to kneel, Li Xinzhou hurriedly said: "Excuse me, I didn't ask the name of Lord Zhizhou."

"Reporting to the lord, the official's surname is Shi, and the single name is Gong."

Li Xingzhou nodded, and got off his horse, he saw clearly that what Shi Gong ate was batter, and there was a plate of pickled chili beside him.Eating rough batter with chili, it is really rare for a dignified magistrate to be in his position, but he didn't talk much, not wanting to embarrass him.

"Mr. Shi, if you have nothing to do, just walk with me and visit Guazhou City." Li Xingzhou said.

Shi Gong nodded again and again, happily said: "This is the job of a subordinate official!"

Saying that he didn't want to eat his batter anymore, he said hello, and a middle-aged woman with a still charming charm came out, and took away the bowl and chili dish.

Although the two tried their best to act like they didn't know each other and didn't speak, Li Xingzhou saw that the relationship between the two was not simple, they had a tacit understanding, and they knew what each other meant even without speaking.

Lai Xingzhou waited for the others to get off their horses, and led the horses to follow him. While walking Shi Gong, he introduced to Li Xingzhou the ancient sites in Guazhou City.

Li Xingzhou could see that he really liked this place. Sometimes when he talked about the disadvantages, he would hide a few words, and sometimes he would extend many stories while talking, telling the truth clearly and in great detail.

"Where is Master Shi from?" Li Xingzhou asked.

Shi Gong quickly bowed his head and replied: "Reporting to King Pingnan, the next official is a local. He won the second place many years ago, so he asked for his life to return to his hometown. He has been in Guazhou ever since."

Afterwards, he introduced that the road was sparsely populated and almost lifeless. He was a little embarrassed and concealed a few words, saying that everyone went out of the city to work during the day, but he was still very responsible.

Gradually, Li Xingzhou also understood why the magistrate of Guazhou had flattered him more relentlessly than others since he first met last night, tried his best to please him, and groveled and flattered him.

It's not because of his nature, but because he wants to save his homeland, Guazhou, which he has been running for many years, so it's obviously the only thing he can do to please his prince.

Li Xingzhou couldn't help sighing: "Prosperity, the people suffer; death, the people suffer."

Hearing this, Shi Gong froze for a while while talking, opened his mouth, and couldn't help but burst into tears
"Don't blame the lord, don't blame the lord, I will be dismissed from office for a while, for a while."

Li Xingzhou looked at the empty street, felt the vigilant and fearful eyes behind the doors and windows, and patted him on the shoulder: "Master Zhizhou, you can cry if you want to. I know a lot about Guazhou. The world is unpredictable, and the situation is unpredictable. Who I thought about it again."

Now, Zhizhou knelt down on the muddy ground and cried like a helpless old man.

As the saying goes: War never changes.

Indeed, perhaps the way of war has been changing, but the core of war is eternal, primitive and bloody.

(End of this chapter)