First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 376

...

Jingzhou, Jiangling City, Governor's Office.

Li Xiaogong sat high on the main seat, his face was gloomy, and he didn't say a word.

The generals in the hall were divided into two rows, Zhou Faming, the general manager of Huangzhou, bowed his head and remained silent.

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat depressed, Gao Chong coughed lightly, "Your Majesty, Zhang Shan'an has always been treacherous. No one expected that he would smuggle across the Yangtze River and attack Xiakou by surprise. This is not entirely the fault of Manager Zhou."

Hearing that someone finally spoke for him, Zhou Faming breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Gao Chong with gratitude.

Li Xiaogong's face also softened a little, and he still snorted coldly, "You don't need to intercede for him, the king sent someone to remind him as soon as he received the news, be careful, but he lost Xia after all. mouth".

Zhou Faming was also a little unconvinced when he heard the words, and immediately said bluntly: "When I received the urgent report from the king, Xiakou had already fallen."

Although Li Xiaogong is kind, it doesn't mean he has no temper. Seeing Zhou Faming arguing to himself, he slapped the table, "That's because your daily defense is not in place, why dare you argue here."

His great-grandfather, Zhou Qiang, was the governor of Liangzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty. His grandfather, Zhou Lingqi, was the General of Chariots and Riders of the Southern Liang Dynasty. His father, Zhou Jiong, was the Governor of Southern Chen Dynasty. His elder brother, Zhou Faseng, was the former governor of Xuancheng in the Sui Dynasty. , and several nephews are now in high positions, the most famous of which is Zhou Shaofan.

With such a family background, Zhou Faming's personality is also arrogant and upright. Seeing Li Xiaogong mercilessly, he reprimanded him in public.

Zhou Faming was angry in his heart, and his face was angry, "I will lead the army to Xiakou, and I will not destroy Zhang Shan'an, and I will not return to the camp."

After speaking, he turned and left angrily.

Seeing Zhou Faming leaving in a rage, Gao Chong was worried, "I raise troops in anger, lest there will be disaster."

Seeing Zhou Faming being so rude, Li Xiaogong felt very unhappy.

Hearing Gao Chong's words, Dang even said: "For the sake of Youzhi's face, this king will not punish him. If he hurts the army and humiliates the country again, I will not spare him lightly."

Gao Chong had no choice but to stop talking, Zhou Faming didn't have a deep friendship with him after all.

After all, Li Xiaogong's temperament is not suitable to be the commander of the three armies, and he cannot allow anyone to offend his majesty.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look down at a strong man standing there, this man died at the hands of Li Xiaogong.

The dignified Mo Dao General died unjustly at the hands of his own people after the victory in the war. How sad, Gao Chong decided in his heart that he must be saved this time. The famous general of Mo Dao.

Kan Leng is the adopted son of Du Fuwei. He is eight feet tall, with big arms and a round waist. He holds a large knife in his hand, which is one foot long and has two sides. , It's really a humanoid meat grinder.

However, Gao Chong knew that the power of Mo Dao was extraordinary. If he formed a Mo Dao team of 300 people to deal with the cavalry, it would be unstoppable, and Kan Leng, a Mo Dao master, was the best candidate.

After Zhou Faming left angrily, Li Xiaogong had no intention of discussing, after sorting out his thoughts, he ordered to follow the established strategy.

"The king personally led the navy to Jiangzhou, and Youzhi led the Lingnan soldiers and horses and Ji Liang's troops straight to Xuanzhou, and ordered the rest of the troops to march according to the established plan, without any mistakes."

After the words fell, Li Xiaogong waved his sleeves and left.

Gao Chong and the others looked at each other.

"Yuzhi, what should I do?"

Lu Zushang, governor of Gwangju and Duke of Yiyang County, was at a loss.

Lu Zushang was named Jiliang.

Speaking of which, this is also a tragic figure, a native of Guangzhou, who came from Jiangmen, and his father Lu Xi was a tiger general in the former Sui Dynasty, and Lu's family is a wealthy family in Guangzhou.

After the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Lu Zushang, who was 19 years old at the time, occupied Gwangju and claimed to be the governor. Later, he became attached to Yang Tong, Emperor Gong of Sui Dynasty in Luoyang, and became the governor of Gwangju.

After Wang Shichong usurped the throne, Lu Zushang returned to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan appointed him as the governor of Guangzhou, and he was named Yiyang County Duke. He was a real founding father. At this time, Lu Zushang was only in his early twenties.

However, after Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, Li Shou, the governor of Jiaozhou and Duke of Sui'an County, was convicted of corruption. Because Jiaozhou was mixed with Han and barbarians and the situation was complicated, the courtiers recommended Lu Zushang, who was both civil and military, to take over as the governor of Jiaozhou.
Li Shimin immediately issued an order to appoint Lu Zushang as the governor of Jiaozhou, and he will take office immediately. Lu Zushang accepted the order to thank him.

It's just that Lu Zushang regretted it not long after, because Jiaozhou is a remote and barren land with difficult conditions.

Li Shimin tried his best to persuade: "If you have the ability to stabilize the frontier, don't refuse it because of the remoteness. I will call you back to the court in at most three years."

As a result, Lu Zushang still refused to take up the post, and Li Shimin was furious.

Emperor Zhenguan who had just succeeded to the throne did not allow anyone to resist the edict. This was provoking his authority, so he ordered him to be executed at the age of only [-] years old.

Lu Zushang, who became famous at a young age, was unruly and rebellious, which eventually cost his life.

"According to the order," Gao Chong sighed secretly, cheering up and laughing.

"Then when will we leave?" Lu Zushang pursed his lips and said indifferently.

"Leave early tomorrow morning."

Lu Zushang was startled, seeing that it was getting dark outside, he couldn't help frowning and said, "It's so early? Why don't you train the soldiers and horses?"

"A soldier's speed is precious," Gao Chong said bluntly: "One day of procrastination is an extra day for Fu Gong Er to rectify Jianghuai."

Lu Zushang pouted, noncommittal.

On the other side, Zhou Faming was full of displeasure, and returned to the camp indignantly, "bring some wine."

The entourage was a little hesitant, after all alcohol is not allowed in the army, Zhou Faming stared, the entourage had to bring a jar of wine, Zhou Faming drank alone to get drunk, to vent his unhappiness.

The next day, Zhou Faming shook his swollen head and was in a daze for a long time.

"Decree, soldiers enter Jingkou, I will twist Zhang Shan'an's head and drink," Zhou Faming said sternly.

The Huangzhou government soldiers immediately went straight to Jingkou along the waterway, and Jingkou and Xiakou faced each other across the river.

Xiakou, the place where Xiashui (that is, Hanshui) flows into the Yangtze River, is Xiakou, guarding the Yangtze River waterway.

After Zhang Shanan attacked Xiakou by surprise, he stationed troops here to fulfill his promise to Fugong Er and resist the Tang army in Jingchu.

Although Zhang Shan'an was born as a bandit, he has a flexible mind. After stationing troops in Xiakou, he saw that there are many rivers and lakes here, so he vigorously recruited fishing boats and asked scouts to inquire about news from the waterways.

On the day Zhou Faming set off, Zhang Shan'an got the news.

Facing Zhou Faming, who was born in a famous general family, Zhang Shan'an was also a little apprehensive in his heart. While ordering strict defense, he begged for help like Gong Er.

At the same time, Zhang Shan'an narrowed his eyes and began to think secretly how to deal with Zhou Faming, a formidable enemy.

Taking the five-tooth battleship to the big river, the sun was setting on the long river, and the river was rushing. Zhou Faming's mood improved slightly.

Looking at Xiakou on the other side, he wished he could kill the bandit army in one fell swoop, but Zhou Faming, who had received good military training since childhood, did not lose his mind because of his unhappiness.

Immediately ordered to stop the boat in the river.

(End of this chapter)