Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 697
As soon as Zhao Dezhao's expression eased, Cao Bin's words changed, and he said again: "But I think that rewards and punishments are clearly defined, and there must be a degree. Rewards without scale will breed arrogance and indulge surly behavior; if punishment is unreasonable, it will also be exiled." Being rude, biased, and missing the original intention of rewards and punishments, honesty is not advisable. Only by distinguishing between rewards and punishments and reasonable rewards and punishments can people be convinced, and they can also warn others. Gao Huaide followed the former emperor in the southern and northern wars and made great contributions. I am a veteran of the founding state, please think twice before acting, Your Majesty."

Zhao Dezhao's face suddenly turned cold, and he said solemnly: "Cao Bin, are you teaching me a lesson?"

"I don't dare!" Cao Bin bent his waist again, his voice became more respectful, but he still said stubbornly: "I have read the military newspaper carefully, and asked myself, if it was Gao Huaide who was replaced by the situation at that time, I had to send troops first." .”

Zhao Dezhao sneered: "This is called sending troops? This will send [-] troops into the tiger's mouth, and also send them to Ye Chen's dog thief, the land of the Three States."

Cao Bin owed his body again, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, is it true that the 1 elite soldiers in the six military villages will be annexed by Ye Chen?"

Xue Juzheng, Lu Yuqing, Luo Gongming and others all broke into a cold sweat for Cao Bin, only the old god Zhao Pu was there.
Zhao Dezhao was furious. Since he ascended the throne, he felt that his authority was constantly being challenged by Zhao Pu. These days, he had suppressed it to the extreme. Now Gao Huaide made his own claims before his own will, and this is what he hates the most.And it would be fine if Gao Huaide could really save 1 elite soldiers, but he failed to save them, and more than 3 people were lost, and Ye Chen took the opportunity to take away the land of the Three States.

Zhao Dezhao wanted to say something else, but suddenly remembered that Zhao Pu formed a clique for private interests these days, and his will was often unable to get through in the Zhongshu Zhengshitang. At this time, he looked at Cao Bin's face again, and he couldn't help but tremble in his heart: "The old thief Zhao Pu has already started to fight with me. Against me, I even want to hold me empty, if Cao Bin, who is in charge of the Privy Council, doesn't listen to me, will I still be able to sit on the throne?"

Thinking of this, Zhao Dezhao suddenly realized another question: "Cao Bin speaks so hard for Gao Huaide, is it purely out of public interest? Hmph, it seems that they are not so harmonious, right? These former court officials, No matter what the personal relationship is, now they are embracing and fighting against me, so damn..."

Thinking of this, Zhao Dezhao suddenly became anxious. Compared with losing the land of the three states and killing [-] to [-] troops, he valued the stability of his throne more. In fact, because Zhao Pu began to monopolize power in the past two or three months, he valued it more. What is more important is the movement of the forces in the DPRK and China.Also, Zhao Pu monopolizes power but will not usurp the throne, but if these veterans who hold military power have a different heart, once something happens, it will be a civil strife.Although he was still young during the troubled times of the Five Dynasties, he knew that most of the emperors since the Five Dynasties did not die at the hands of outsiders. Eighty-nine out of ten they were killed and replaced by their own generals.How could Zhao Dezhao not be afraid.

When Zhao Pu saw that Zhao Dezhao didn't get angry when he heard Cao Bin's words, he became pensive instead. His face was cloudy and he didn't know what he was thinking. Ban Zou said: "Your Majesty, there is some truth in what Master Cao said. Gao Huaide is a veteran of our dynasty, and he has made great achievements in the past with the late emperor. There is also a reason for sending troops to attack Ye Chen without authorization. He was defeated by Ye Chen. Although Gao Huaide was wrong, but as Gao Huaide said in the memorial, Ye Chen's wolf ambition, the next step must be to build a country and proclaim himself emperor, and it is very likely that he will plot against me. So the top priority is still to deal with Ye Chen, of course Gao Huaide fights After losing the battle and losing the land of the three states, this punishment still needs to be punished, so the minister thought that Gao Huaide could be demoted to the rank and title, but he still commanded the Northwest Frontier Army and made him perform his crimes and meritorious deeds..."

First there was Cao Bin, and now there is Zhao Pu who interceded for Gao Huaide. If I punish Gao Huaide severely, I am afraid that I will lose the morale of the army and make these veterans renounced.

"Hahahaha..." Thinking of this, Zhao Dezhao let out a long laugh, shook his head and said, "After hearing what Cao Aiqing and Zhao Xianggong said, I suddenly realized that although Gao Huaide made a big mistake, there was indeed a reason for it. The most urgent thing is how to deal with Ye Chen, that dog thief , Gao Huaide is familiar with military affairs in the Northwest, and has experience in fighting Ye Chen's thieves. He is loyal to my Great Song Dynasty. Just like what Zhao Xianggong said, he demoted Gao Huaide to the rank and title, but he still led the Northwest Frontier Army and made him perform crimes and meritorious deeds... "

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The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying.

Shangguan Bingyun organized a mutiny to subdue 2 elite troops in six military villages; Yang Jiye defeated Gao Huaide's Northwest Frontier Army again, killing more than [-] and taking [-] prisoners.As the news spread, the morale of Ye Chen's forces was immediately boosted.Immediately following Ye Chen took the opportunity to seize the three cities of Jingzhou, Shunzhou, and Huizhou with a clever plan. Not only did Ye Chen already have eleven states under Ye Chen's rule, but these eleven states were connected together. On the face of it, the defense line at the border between Ye Chen and the Great Song Dynasty became rounder and firmer, even as solid as a rock.

In addition, the addition of 3000 elite troops from the Six Villages, [-] captives from the Northwest Frontier Army, and more than [-] surrendered troops from the Three States. [-] Han troops were captured.In this way, not counting the party cavalry, Ye Chen also had fifty thousand Han troops under his command.

However, Gao Huaide returned to Gyeongju under the desperate escort of his own soldiers, and gathered more than [-] routs. After the imperial court and Zhao Dezhao's decree to commit crimes and meritorious service arrived, they began to build fortresses and beacon towers on the border with Ye Chen's rule, and began to fight steadily. Prepared for a protracted war.Yang Jiye, on Ye Chen's side, also relied on the dangers to build fortifications such as military strongholds, and both of them entered the period of rest and preparation. However, both Ye Chen and Gao Huaide, and even Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Pu in Kaifeng knew that Ye Chen had already had a relationship with those in power in the Song Dynasty. Regardless of whether Gao Huaide accumulates strength, or the court sends an army over, or Ye Chen's army continues to grow stronger, one day, the two sides will inevitably fight again.

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Ye Chen rushed back to Xiazhou, and immediately summoned [-] captives of the Northwest Frontier Army and [-] officers above the commander of the surrendered army in three states, and then met with the officials who surrendered in Jingzhou, Shunzhou, and Huizhou led by Ma Wentao. The identity gave some promises, completely reassuring these people, and began to work under Ye Chen's command.

Then, Ye Chen summoned Yang Jiye, Han Xizai, Ma Wentao, Hu Sanguang, Zhang Bo, Bai Canghai, Lian Jicheng, Li Junhao and other confidant generals to discuss in secret for a whole day, and then Ye Chen issued a series of orders --- to disrupt the situation again. After the reorganization, the 2000 elite troops in the six army villages, with [-] people as a team, were stationed in Lingzhou, Longzhou, Shengzhou, Yanzhou, and Huaizhou.The [-] garrisons in these five states were divided into three branches, stationed in Xinde's Jingzhou, Shunzhou and Huizhou respectively.

Of course, the wounded and remnant soldiers, no matter they were from the party or the Han army, were transported back to Xiazhou to treat and recuperate in the military-civilian dual-use hospital that Ye Chen had just established when he first arrived in the northwest.The military fort built in the direction of Qingzhou in the Song Dynasty and the gold mine in the Sancha Valley are still stationed by the party army led by Li Guangshun and Tuoba Gelu.However, Jia Xian, who manages the finances under Ye Chen, arranged for the party members to send food, supplies, wine and meat in a steady stream. At the same time, he arranged for craftsmen to build high forts and dig deep trenches. Build a layer with grass, trees and soil in the middle to make it extremely thick. It looks like this, not only makes the fort extremely strong, but also has the function of keeping out the cold in winter.

At the same time, there was a constant exchange of military documents and official letters between various places under Ye Chen's rule and Xiazhou. Within a day, red flag couriers shuttled non-stop. We all know—Xiangfu King Ye Chen is about to establish a country and proclaim himself emperor.

Ye Chen's governing body, which has just begun to take shape, has already been running at full capacity, and it has begun to operate in various aspects such as military affairs, politics, economy, culture, and propaganda. It is for Ye Chen to build a country and proclaim himself emperor, and for Ye Chen to rule the eleven states in peace. This winter's natural and human enemies have made various strategic preparations.

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At the foot of the mountain, the weeds are all withered and yellow, and the green shade of the tall trees is gone. When a gust of wind comes, the dead leaves fall with the wind, and the branches seem to be trembling. On the endless plain, although the sun is shining, there is not much warmth. , The world is chilling and cold.

well deserved......

There was a crisp sound of horseshoes in the valley, and a few birds who were looking for grass seeds and wild valleys in the withered grass flew up, spread their wings and flew up to the branches, picked their feathers with their beaks, looked under the tree, and waited patiently. Passers-by in the mountains passed by, but the two men and horses stopped under the tree.

A stone's throw away, Hei Yue led a group of black riders to rein in their horses and stopped. The guards and rangers had already been dispatched, scanning the left and right sides, and Hai Dongqing circled back and forth in the sky.Under the big tree, Ye Chen had reined in his mount, and stood there side by side with Yu Daoxiang.

"Yu'er, after all, the Khitan Empress Dowager Xiao is your biological mother. No matter what happened between her and your father back then, blood is thicker than water. She is now seriously ill. After you go, spend more time with her. Hurry back to Xiazhou!"

Yu Daoxiang nodded lightly: "She is my mother, even though I feel very strange to her, but during those days when I was in Khitan Shangjing, I can feel my mother's care for me from the bottom of my heart. Therefore, I will spend more time with my mother-in-law."

She glanced at Ye Chen again, with tenderness in her eyes: "Husband! Since you want to establish a country and proclaim yourself emperor, the matter of the emperor's bloodline is a major event for the country, and it is not easy to surpass the status of a concubine, but no matter how many women you have, the position of the queen must be Concubine, otherwise, whoever becomes the queen will be killed by concubine."

Ye Chen gave a wry smile, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her reins, and said with a smile, "Don't worry! The queen's position is definitely yours, no one dares to take it."

(End of this chapter)