Country color

Chapter 443 Alliance
The Hall of Yonghe in Linshuo Palace.

Guard soldiers in bright yellow armor stood on both sides of the corridor holding Ge.

On the corridor, a civil servant in his 30s wearing a Sui official robe held a yellow silk in his hand, and walked slowly surrounded by two generals.

"Message envoy Xue Deyin comes in!"

There is no feminine and sharp voice of the eunuch, but the charismatic and majestic voice of a soldier, passed down one by one from the top of the hall.

The envoy from the Eastern Capital strode forward.

Above the Yonghe Hall, dozens of courtiers of the Zhao Kingdom held wat boards and sat on a wooden stool in two rows, looking at the three envoys from the Eastern Capital in the hall.

In the hall, Li Chongjiu was dressed in a crown suit and sat on a wide seat.

When the three envoys arrived in front of the hall, the gate official came forward and said: "Stop, untie the sword and remove the shoes!"
Ten golden-armored guards stood in front of the door with spears, three envoys stopped, and a burly military general behind the civil servant said loudly: "My tile-faced golden mace never leaves my body."
The palace gate official said: "This is the law of my Great Zhao. Please respect it, the two generals."

The leading civil official said: "We are here to make peace with Zhao, not to cause trouble. General Qin and General Luo might as well listen to it."

As the two generals behind him breathed in and out of their nostrils, the Qin general put down the two tile-covered gold maces in his hands, and there was only a bang, and several pieces of green bricks on the ground suddenly shattered into four petals.

"You." The captain of the guard guarding the gate of the palace was furious.

The golden-armored guards took up their spears at the same time.

The general surnamed Qin laughed and said: "I'm sorry, I was negligent for a while and forgot that this pair of tile-covered gold maces is very heavy. Fortunately, it didn't smash the threshold of your house."

"Forget it, Lao Qin, you still have such a fiery temper. You forgot what Big Brother Shan told you when you came here." After another general surnamed Luo finished speaking, he removed the long sword from his waist and took off his shoes.

The general surnamed Qin said: "I just lost my temper."

The official at the gate of the palace said: "Xue Deyin, the envoy of the Xuan, came to see you."

After speaking, the three walked slowly, and stopped thirty steps before Li Chongjiu's throne.

The head of the civil servant said: "Xue Deyin, the servant of the Huangmen, met Zhao Wang on behalf of my lord, and asked Zhao Wang, Queen Zhao is well!"

Li Chongjiu nodded slightly, and said: "The emperor and the lonely are not outsiders. Logically speaking, when the emperor sees the lonely, according to the folk rules, he should say something to his uncle!"

All the ministers laughed together.

The civil servant Xue Deyin said calmly: "My lord is very happy to hear that Princess Changle is marrying Zhao Wang. It is often said that Zhao Wang is a rare hero in the world. I wish I could see him and say some commonplace things."

Li Chongjiu laughed when he heard the words, and said: "You are very good at talking, Xue Deyin, I know you alone, Sanfeng from the Xue family in Hedong, your brother Xue Shou is the eldest chick, you are the duckling, and your nephew Xue Yuanjing is the youngest. It’s just that I don’t know why your clan brothers and nephews are serving Li Tang, but you are serving Luoyang.”
Xue Deyin said: "Everyone has their own ambitions. Zhuge Kongming and his younger brother served in Shu and Wu. It is also a good story. But now my lord inherits the rule of the Great Sui Dynasty, while Li and Tang are false dynasties. They are already irreconcilable. If we When I meet my brothers and nephews on the battlefield, it is only the masters who fight each other."

Li Chongjiu nodded and said: "That's right. Back then, Mr. Xue Daoheng was extremely talented and famous all over the world. It's a pity that he didn't have the chance to meet him. Now that he sees his nephew like this, we can know that Dong Sanfeng really lived up to his reputation."

Xue Deyin said: "Thank you King Zhao for your praise. In addition to the orders of the emperor, you have also followed the orders of King Zheng. Since the defeat of Wagang, Li Tang in Guanzhong has repeatedly violated the frontier, which is really a serious problem."

"King Zheng? But Wang Taiwei?" Li Chongjiu asked.

"That's right. Right now, the Son of Heaven is entrusting all the power of the country to King Zheng."

Li Chongjiu knew in his heart that Yang Ehuang's poor nephew, Huang Taizhu, had already been ostracized by Wang Shichong, and now he became a puppet.

Li Chongjiu said: "You said that the Tang army repeatedly invaded the border, but I don't know how the battle is going?"

Xue Deyin replied: "Three months ago, Li Yude, the governor of Zhizhou in Tang Dynasty, attacked more than [-] camps in Henan. King Zheng led his army to fight back, and beheaded Li Yude and his three younger brothers. He was commended."

"Two months ago, King Zheng led his army to attack Yiyang, and defeated the generals Shi Wanbao and Sheng Yan of the Tang Army."

"Last month, King Zheng sent General Gao Bi to attack Yizhou, but the outcome was unsuccessful."

Li Chongjiu nodded when he heard the words. It seems that Wang Shichong is indeed capable. After defeating Li Mi, he has won consecutive battles in Henan. Now he is coming from the north to unite with Zhao, and put pressure on Li Tang from both sides.

Xue Deyin said: "King Zheng said that Li Tang is an enemy, but with the land of Luoyang alone, he is powerless. But King Zhao and my lord are relatives by marriage, that is, a family, and they can help each other."

Li Chongjiu said: "So, what King Zheng means is to join forces with Zhao to fight against Tang."

"Exactly."

All the ministers took a turn, Wang Shichong's power was equal to that of Zhao Guo now, not to mention that he was coercing the emperor to order the Quartet, under the banner of enshrining the Great Sui clan. When the envoy came, he didn't mean to be condescending at all, and the condition he proposed was an equal alliance between the two.

Therefore, the ministers sound very useful.

Xue Deyin continued: "King Zheng said that Li Tang is in Guanzhong, while Zheng Wang is in Henan, and Zhao is in Hebei. If you want to preserve the three-legged power, we must unite in Henan and Hebei to preserve it."

Li Chongjiu nodded, and said: "The words of King Zheng are indeed heartfelt, what do you think?"

All the ministers whispered to each other for a while, and Lin Dangfeng, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, stood up and said: "My minister thinks that it is a good deal to unite Wang Shichong to fight against Li Tang."

"The ministers seconded the proposal." More than a dozen ministers stood up and echoed.

At this time, Ji Chuan, Zhongshu's assistant, stood up and asked, "If we are to unite against the Tang Dynasty, what should we do? And what should you do?"

Xue Deyin said: "If there is a war between Li Tang and Henan, then Youzhou can send troops out of Taiyuan and cut off Taixing Road, so as to block Li Tang's reinforcements going south and north of the river. If Li Tang attacks Hedong, then King Zheng can send troops to Tongguan to knock on the pass. To threaten Chang'an. This way of one retreat and one advance can make it impossible for Li and Tang to look after each other."

After Xue Deyin finished speaking, everyone nodded after discussing for a while.

The right servant of the Shangshu shot Chen Xiaoyi got up and said: "I think it is feasible, but King Zheng must draw a clear line with Liu Heitai, and cannot provide any help, otherwise it will be regarded as a breach of contract."

Xue Deyin said with a smile: "It's natural. King Zheng said that there is no conflict in our country of Zhao. In the future, the north will be determined. The land of Hebei will belong to Zhao, and the land of Henan and Shandong will belong to Henan. We will use the Yellow River as the boundary. Well water will not violate river water."

"If this is the case, I will have no objection." Chen Xiaoyi returned to his seat, and then several officials from the Shangshu Province expressed their support.

Zhang Xuansu, a member of Zhongshushe, stood up and raised his head, and asked Xue Deyin: "I heard that King Zheng has great ambitions. Is there a matter of adding Jiuxi?"

Xue Deyin said: "There is indeed such a thing."

Zhang Xuansu asked: "Jiu Xi, who is not a powerful minister, can't accept it. Dare I ask if King Zheng has the intention to usurp power?"

Xue Deyin said: "Prince Zheng is loyal to the country, he probably won't."

Zhang Xuansu asked: "Could it be that you are King Zheng, why do you think King Zheng can't? Can you make decisions for him?"

Xue Deyin replied: "I don't dare, but this is a matter in our country. What is the ambition of King Zheng, and what does it have to do with you?"

Zhang Xuansu sneered, and said: "Of course there is a connection. My Lord and Huangtai Lord are in-laws, and it is natural for them to be assistants to each other. But if King Zheng abdicates and proclaims himself emperor, should my Lord launch an army to attack? Or should we still be an alliance? "

Xue Deyin was at a loss for words when asked by Zhang Xuansu.

Li Chongjiu praised secretly, the way of thinking is really a good question.

In history, the alliance between Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong was often repeated.At the beginning, Dou Jiande wanted to crusade against Yu Wenhuaji and made an alliance with Wang Shichong. Later, after Wang Shichong killed Huang Taizhu and proclaimed himself emperor, Dou Jiande took into account the pressure from the internal Sui officials and broke off diplomatic relations with Wang Shichong. Yang Zhengdao, the posthumous son of the king, was regarded as the Duke of Yun. Internally, he played the banner of supporting the Sui Dynasty, and externally sent Empress Xiao to outside the Great Wall to proclaim himself a minister to the Turks.

There was no contact between the two immediately.So that afterward, in the battle of Hulaoguan, when Li Tang's army attacked Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande's subordinates believed that they would rather plunder Hedong and attack Li Tang's Hebei land in the north than go south to rescue Wang Shichong.This is simply not profitable.

But Li Chongjiu's current situation is very similar to Dou Jiande's. He married Queen Yang'e himself, and won the support of Youzhou gentry and former officials, especially Princess Yicheng who married Turkic far away. conflict.

Therefore, once Wang Shichong usurped the throne and killed the emperor, Li Chongjiu should draw a clear line with Wang Shichong more than Dou Jiande did back then.

So even if two alliances are negotiated right now, what's the point? Instead of reaching an alliance, it is much better than the consequences of the alliance breaking down in the future.Of course, if Wang Shichong can endure for a while, learn from Cao Cao, and can't abolish the establishment, Li Chongjiu also has a reasonable reason to make Zhao Guo and Wang Shichong reconcile and jointly defend Li Tang.

But in fact, can Wang Shichong really do this?Tell Li Chongjiu from the perspective of a traveler, and answer no.

Li Chongjiu said: "Xue Huangmen, go back and tell King Zheng that the reason why the Quartet galloped back to the Eastern Capital is that King Zheng can rejuvenate the Sui Dynasty. In the land of Kyushu today, one of them is not clear. At this time, we may usurp the throne and become emperor. Everyone wants to go. If King Zheng promises to honor Emperor Taizhu as the emperor forever, then Xue Huangmen is invited to come to Youjing again, otherwise the two families will never have to see each other again."

Sweat dripped from Xue Deyin's back, while the two generals beside him nodded together, showing approval.

"Retreat!"

All the ministers stood up together, saluted Li Chongjiu, and then stepped back.

Xue Deyin was left at a loss in the lobby.

That night Li Chongjiu was dealing with official business in Linshuo Palace, but he was told by the gate official that the two generals who accompanied Xue Deyin to the palace during the day came to visit.

Li Chongjiu couldn't help being secretly surprised.

(End of this chapter)