Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 584: Being handsome is useless

In the military training ground of the Konghe Army camp outside Yong County, the seat of Fengxiang Prefecture, several soldiers were practicing martial arts with a young general.

I saw the man who was surrounded in the middle, with his upper body naked and strong abdominal muscles, holding a stick in his hand.

Sometimes his stick strikes out like a dragon, sometimes it sweeps across thousands of troops. The soldiers besieging him can't even take a single blow.

In less than an incense stick of time, the man knocked down the soldiers who were sparring with him.

It can be described as clean and neat.

"Get up, get up. You two are too lazy in practicing martial arts."

He walked over and pulled up several soldiers who were lying on the ground pretending to be dead.

The young general who was speaking was Li Huaiguang, the son of Li Jiaqing, who was recognized as the next military commander of the Control Crane Army. Since he defeated the Hebei bandit army as a vanguard officer in Huayin last time, Li Huaiguang had won the support of many young officers in the Control Crane Army.

It can be said that, apart from the retired Fang Youde, no one can suppress Li Huaiguang. Including his father Li Jiaqing, whose prestige in the army is slightly lower than that of Li Huaiguang.

Li Huaiguang also learned Fang Youde's tactics of winning over the soldiers. He gathered a large group of capable confidants around him, and used these confidants to win over more confidants.

There was a large group of people speaking for him in the army, and those who remained neutral naturally had to stand on Li Huaiguang's side and give him face in most cases.

As for the bureaucrats in Chang'an... they were just the granaries and wallets of the Konghe Army. Every time the court sent people to Fengxiang Prefecture, they would be injured in the barracks for various reasons and finally flee back to Chang'an in fear.

"Stay, Marshal Jie is urging you to go to the Zichen Hall of Daming Palace to take up your duties."

A personal soldier came hurriedly and reported to Li Huaiguang.

Although it only took two or three hours to ride a horse from Yong County, the seat of Fengxiang Prefecture, to Chang'an, the Fengxiang Jiedushi was unwilling to perform his duty of protecting the emperor in Chang'an.

Every few days he would slack off under the pretext of changing guard and go back to Fengxiang Prefecture.

"Go to hell, how many people in Chang'an want to assassinate that damn emperor? Can this general protect them?"

Li Huaiguang retorted bluntly.

Everyone present was silent because Li Huaiguang was telling the truth.

Guarding Li Heng is like being ready to take the knife when surrounded by wolves. No matter how many lives you put, it will not be enough.

What benefit could Li Huaiguang get from being the head of the palace guards? He didn't have the ability to control the princes by holding the emperor hostage, let alone the idea. Is it fun to guard an emperor who killed his father and his lord?

Li Huaiguang is not stupid at all, he doesn't want to be a sucker.

The arrangement made by Yan Zhenqing and Li Mi was very good, but a good plan would only be useful if the “chess pieces” were willing to execute it.

"After that, how should I respond?"

The soldier asked with a look of grievance.

"Forget it. Go and cool off. I'll go talk to Marshal Jie."

Li Huaiguang wiped the sweat off his body, put on his clothes and walked towards the general's tent.

His attitude seemed very arrogant, but it seemed that the soldiers around him were not surprised, and no one thought of speaking for the court. Or it can be said that after Fang Youde retired, the Control Crane Army believed that the court had let them down.

Without me fighting bravely in the front, how can you, the dogs, enjoy the good life in the rear?

This idea has not occurred to just one or two people.

Li Huaiguang is a free and easy person who is capable of taking on responsibilities, and is very much loved by his fellow soldiers.

When Li Huaiguang arrived at the commander's tent, he found that in addition to his father, there was another young man. He had seen him before. He was Yan Zhenqing's confidant, named Li E.

Seeing Li Huaiguang coming, Li Jiaqing smiled and asked: "I was just looking for you. The court is planning to let us go out of Tongguan to attack Luoyang, seize the three cities of Heyang, and open up the canal transportation route. What do you think?"

Attack Luoyang?
Li Huaiguang was stunned, then looked dissatisfied.

He said impatiently: "The Control Crane Army has just expanded and recruited a lot of new people. It is time for training. Going out of Tongguan to fight at this time is no different from seeking death. If any sir wants to go to the battle, go ahead. The soldiers of the Control Crane Army will not go!"

Unexpectedly, Li Huaiguang would say such ugly words so directly. Li Jiaqing couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It's not that you shouldn't say this, but you should be more tactful.

Li Huaiguang has always regarded Fang Youde as his idol and learned from him, but now it seems hard to say whether he has learned the ability to fight a war, but he has learned the arrogant and straightforward character to the fullest.

Li Jiaqing looked at Li E and said:
"General Li, you don't know that I was injured in the last fierce battle with the Hebei bandits led by Huangfu Weiming. I have no problem giving advice now, but taking up my sword and going into battle... well, let's not talk about it. Now the command of the Konghe Army depends entirely on Li Huaiguang, who stayed behind.

If Li Canjun has anything to say, just tell him directly. Sooner or later, I will retire and return home. In the future, Li Huaiguang will have the final say in the Control Crane Army."

Li Jiaqing's words were like a hidden needle in cotton wool, and it was very difficult to respond to them.

He said that he was injured in the last fierce battle, and that his words were no longer trustworthy. In fact, he was implying that the court wanted the horse to run away but did not let it eat grass.

The rewards for the last fierce battle that determined the fate of the country have already been discounted, and now you still want to order the soldiers to fight outside the Great Wall?
Haha, whoever wants to go can go.

Li Jiaqing is smiling but has a dagger hidden in his heart, Li Huaiguang is unmoved by any persuasion, and all the soldiers just follow his lead. This is the attitude of the Konghe Army.

"Marshal Li Jie, this is all for the country, we can talk it out if we have something to say."

Li E persuaded helplessly.

What else can he say? If he could lead troops, if he had a strong army under his command, he would have used it long ago!
Why bother coming here pretending to be a grandson and asking for help?

"fart!"

Li Huaiguang suddenly pointed at Li E and yelled:
"Last time, we went through so much trouble and finally defeated the Hebei bandits and killed Huangfu Weiming. We thought the world would be at peace, but guess what? The emperor actually killed his father and the emperor!
When General Fang retired, what were you doing?"

Li Huaiguang didn't care whether Yan Zhenqing was the prime minister or not. Even though he knew that Li E was Yan Zhenqing's staunch aide, he could still curse him however he wanted.

"In that case, I will go back and report this to Lord Yan."

Li E clasped his fists and bowed to Li Jiaqing and his son, then turned and left.

If you don't agree with each other, what's the point of talking?
Li E also didn't want to spoil Li Huaiguang.

The main thing is that in this matter, there is only a stance but no right or wrong. If we continue to dwell on it, we will only bring shame upon ourselves.

What else is there to talk about?
After Li E left, Li Jiaqing sighed and taught his son Li Huaiguang a lesson: "In life, there are often things that you have to endure, and speaking your mind is a taboo. This is the truth, but you shouldn't say it so harshly."

However, Li Huaiguang seemed not to hear this.

He looked at Li Jiaqing and asked, "Father, the most loyal person in the world is Marshal Fang. Look at what happened to Marshal Fang in the end? If he didn't retire, he would be pestered by Yan Zhenqing and his gang every day, and he would be exhausted or annoyed to death."

Li Huaiguang looked at Li Jiaqing without showing any weakness.

In the end, Li Jiaqing was defeated and just shook his head and sighed.

These soldiers are not ungrateful people. They know who is doing them a favor and who is taking advantage of them.

If Fang Youde were still alive, as long as he ordered to fight out of Tongguan, the soldiers of the Konghe Army would definitely follow without hesitation.

But now Fang Youde has retired, and the reason is well known to everyone.

Now that the imperial court is in trouble again, they think of these soldiers and want them to go out and fight.

Why!

The Konghe Army doesn't owe these bastards anything!
Li Huaiguang spoke harshly and didn't care about face, but his point was not wrong. I'm afraid there are more than one or two people in the Control Crane Army who think like him.

Otherwise, Li Huaiguang would not dare to speak so nonsense here.

"Wait two days. Don't go to Chang'an for the time being. Wait two days and the court should send someone."

Li Jiaqing said in a deep voice.

He knew very well that he had to send troops. The military pay and food for the Konghe Army all came from Chang'an. And most of the food in Chang'an had to be transported through the canal.

Opening up the canal route is an inevitable choice, as it also concerns the military rations of the Konghe Army and cannot be completely left out.

However, we cannot just let the court fool us without any conditions. If we do not provide enough rewards for sending troops, it will be impossible to send troops east of Tongguan. ...

Early in the morning that day, the ferry crossing outside Kaifeng County, Bianzhou was extremely busy.

The grain boats from Dengzhou were unloading at the ferry. One after another, the horses slowly walked down from the boats. These horses looked very majestic.

In fact, people have the impression that the Tang Dynasty did not produce horses except in the border areas, which is not true.

Not only did the Tang Dynasty have horse farms all over the country, but the horse production was extremely high. During its heyday, the production exceeded 500,000 horses a year.

Horses have become popular among wealthier farmers, so how can we say there are no horses?

However, horses and war horses are two completely different concepts.

The custom of the Tang Dynasty was to import good horses from the grassland peoples for "breeding" in order to obtain good horses for war. However, after these horses were raised in the Central Plains for one or two generations and fed with feed, they would degenerate due to various objective conditions and eventually could only be used to carry things but not to be ridden.

Nowadays, it is easy to find slow horses for carrying loads, but it is hard to find war horses that can be used by cavalry.

The merchants and common people in Bianzhou had rarely seen so many fine horses. They were stunned for a moment and stood around looking at them as if they were seeing something special.

"Get lost! Don't just stand there and watch!"

He Changqi brought his personal soldiers and drove away the crowd like they were driving away flies.

They were in a good mood today and were too lazy to use force against these troublemakers.

Fang Chongyong once told him that it is human nature to watch the fun and have fun. These people are like flies, and you can never kill them all. There is no need to ruin your reputation because of this.

Just drive them away directly, don't always think about fighting and killing to show off your power.

"Wow, this horse is pretty good."

Fang Chongyong also came to the ferry with a few civil servants. The group's originally calm faces immediately turned into smiles.

"General Jie, there are a total of one thousand horses sent from Dengzhou!
It must be said that Che Guangqian is very efficient in her work. "

He Changqi hurried forward to greet him, his tone filled with joy.

These horses will be given priority to his troops.

Of course, although Fang Chongyong has sent several of his generals out, he has to wait until Li Lin ascends the throne and becomes emperor before he can do so. Otherwise, it would be hard to convince the public without proper justification.

So now these people are still in Bianzhou and have not gone to other places to take up their posts.

"Your father is very capable."

Fang Zhongyong turned around and spoke to Da Congming, who was dressed as a personal soldier behind him.

Daqinmao said he would send the fine horses from Bohai, and he sent them immediately without any delay. His daughter Dazhenhui was also a wonderful person, and she could be considered as a concubine.

Fang Chongyong was quite satisfied with the relationship with the Bohai Kingdom. It was difficult for such a powerful ally that had nothing to do with his own troops to interfere in political and military affairs, but the help they provided was great.

Fang Chongyong felt that in the future he could consider supporting Daqinmao to interfere in the dethronement and enthronement of the King of Bohai, as long as the current King of Bohai, Damen Yiga, was gone.

He looked at the hostage sent by the great Qin Mao behind him. His face looked a bit like Takeshi Kaneshiro when he was young. He was usually a taciturn person and didn't say anything.

So much so that Fang Chongyong once thought that this person was secretly in love with Da Zhenhui and wanted to go into orthopedics.

However, Dae Jung-hye said that she had never spoken to this guy whose original name was "Da Yingjun". The two were not familiar with each other at all and were not even born from the same mother.

Probably just a little bit better than a stranger.

As expected, when Da Congming heard Fang Chongyong praising Da Qinmao, he just saluted very cautiously, lowered his head and said nothing.

He Changqi and other Silver Spear Filial Piety Army generals standing by felt that this guy was cool and arrogant on weekdays. In addition, his appearance made the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army's generals, who were tall and strong, disgust these soldiers.

You are so handsome and yet you like to pretend. Why don’t you become a bunny god?

You don't even know how to compliment the boss when he praises you. I guess you must be very good at fighting.

"Zhang Shouyu, go find out his background."

He Changqi said to one of the ten generals beside him.

Zhang Shouyu joined the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army very early, but his promotion was always slower than others. He Changqi was about to become a military governor when he was promoted to the rank of Tenth General.

The reason is very simple. He had caused a mutiny in Longyou and was a key target on the "blacklist" drawn up by Fang Chongyong.

Those with criminal records will be promoted slower than others in the army because the superiors are afraid that you will cause trouble. The army is very taboo about this.

If those who cause trouble can be promoted normally, then what will people like He Changqi, Che Guangqian, Wang Nande and others who usually carry out military orders honestly and execute tactics meticulously think?

If you don't put obstacles in the way of troublemakers, then loyalty becomes meaningless.

Fang Chongyong was strict in military discipline, but everyone in the army was convinced of his leadership because he paid great attention to the details and always treated everyone equally.

Therefore, the soldiers in the army have always obeyed him.

Although Zhang Shouyu was slow to get promoted, his personal martial arts skills were among the best in the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army.

He walked over, stopped Dacongming and said, "You are new here, and you follow Marshal Jie. Marshal Jie usually takes good care of us, and we are all willing to take the knife for Marshal Jie. We don't believe that you can protect Marshal Jie's safety with your cowardly look, so you have to fight me for a few moves first."

After saying that, he drew out his sword, pointed it at Da Congming and said, "You also draw your sword, but stop when you have done enough."

Eh? It's fun to watch!
The soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army, who usually liked to watch people fighting, immediately formed a large circle to separate them from the rest of the people around them.

"Come on, what are you standing there for?"

Fang Chongyong saw that Dacongming looked troubled and urged him.

In fact, Fang Jieshuai also wanted to know how strong the young man, who ostensibly served as his bodyguard but was actually a hostage of the Bohai Kingdom, was.

However, he was not too optimistic about Dacongming, because from the situation of Dazhenhui, Bohai State obviously attached great importance to literature and reading. In other words, Dazhenhui had a strong aura of a scholarly family. This made Fang Zhongyong not believe that Dazhenhui's brother was very good at fighting.

In places where martial arts are highly valued, the local women will all have a bit of wildness in them.

For example, Anaye had seen broken arms and limbs at the age of six, and could skillfully bandage and apply medicine to wounded soldiers with broken arms and legs at the age of nine. Such a woman must be much more accustomed to murder and arson than ordinary women.

So she usually speaks and acts in a wild manner, which is a result of the environment.

"General Jie, I..."

Dacongming wanted to say something, but felt he couldn't say it.

"If he tries to steal your wife, won't you draw your sword? Go ahead! A man should dare to draw his sword!"

Fang Chongyong gave Dacongming a push.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Da Congming drew the sword from his waist and faced Zhang Shouyu, looking relatively calm.

However, Fang Chongyong knew that this man must be a rookie just by looking at the way he held the knife and the steps he took towards Zhang Shouyu.

He could probably compete with the prefect of Shazhou Fang when he was ten years old, Fang Chongyong secretly complained in his heart.

A few seconds later, Zhang Shouyu took a quick step and used the move of "seizing a sword with bare hands" and pinned Dacongming to the ground with a back throw.

He was as swift as a tiger, but his moves were measured. He didn't hurt Da Congming at all, but subdued him with one move.

That’s it?
He Changqi and others who were watching the battle were greatly disappointed.

They also thought that Da Congming should be quite capable, just like Che Guangqian, who, although handsome, had subordinates with strong martial arts skills and would not be looked down upon by other generals.

How can this so-called smart guy be an embroidered pillow?

"It's all gone."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, personally helped Dacongming up from the ground, and brushed the dust off his body.

(End of this chapter)