Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 171: The Alliance of Tanyuan

Because of Gao Zhi's incident, Emperor Longqing was not in a good mood towards Zhao Shihong.

However, Zhao Shihong did have some merit in pacifying the Jin bandits, and Gao Zhi's surrender to the enemy could not be entirely blamed on Zhao Shihong, so Emperor Longqing finally let Zhao Shihong come in and make his statement.

Zhao, a surname that sounds dignified!

The same is true for Zhao Shihong, who has a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and is full of righteousness.

As soon as he came in, Zhao Shihong knelt down and said:

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

Emperor Longqing asked:

"What's the matter?"

Zhao Shihong narrated the strange things that happened in the capital during the past two days and sang the nursery rhymes.

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing said impatiently:

"What's so good about such a trivial matter?"

Zhao Shihong said seriously:

"Your Majesty, this is not a trivial matter, but a major matter involving the country!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing asked in confusion:
"What does this mean?"

Zhao Shihong said:

"The leader of the Huaiyin bandits, Fang Yong, has two generals under his command, one named Niu Jin and the other known as Ma Laohei. These two assisted the leader of the Huaiyin bandits, Fang Yong, in starting an uprising in Huaizhou, conquering cities and territories, causing heavy losses to our Daxi."

"If it were an ordinary country fool, how could he have such a skill? Your Majesty, do you know the origins of these two people?"

Emperor Longqing shook his head and asked:
"What are the origins of these two people?"

Zhao Shihong said:

"Niu Jin was born in the Zhenguo Mansion, and is the nephew of Niu Jizong. Ma Laohei's original name was Ma Qing, and he is the younger brother of Ma Shang. The two of them originally served in the Taihu Navy, but they colluded with the White Lotus Rebellion, which led to their defeat, and they fled afterward out of fear of punishment."

"In order to prevent any involvement, the Duke of Zhenguo and the Duke of Zhiguo removed the names of these two from the family tree. However, even though their names have been removed, their bloodline cannot be severed. These two have blood ties with Niu Jizong and Ma Shang. Can Your Majesty rest assured?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing widened his eyes and said in shock:

"I didn't know this happened!"

At that time, he had just ascended the throne, and his first reform triggered the Suzhou Rebellion. The retired emperor took the opportunity to seize power. The Suzhou Rebellion, including the incident of Xue Dacui, was handled by Zhang Tingzheng, the retired emperor's confidant and chief minister. Emperor Longqing really did not know the specific circumstances.

Zhao Shihong said:

"At first, I was just as ignorant of this as Your Majesty. It was not until I heard the nursery rhyme that I became suspicious and investigated. Only then did I learn of this secret. It seems that God is using these two common people to warn Your Majesty!"

"If Your Majesty lets it go, Niu Jizong and Ma Shang will have a large army, connecting with the grasslands outside and the Huaiyin bandits inside. Our Daxi country will be like the one in the nursery rhyme, with horses riding on our backs and cows pulling us in front. By then, Your Majesty will regret it, it will be too late!"

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing's face became gloomy.

Cui Shu and Cheng Fan looked at this scene and wanted to say something, but after opening their mouths, they finally gave up.

As soon as Zhao Shihong opened his mouth, they knew what kind of fart it smelled like!

This guy most likely took refuge in the grassland.

This is the keenness of being a treacherous minister!

However, the fall of Daxi had nothing to do with them.

They just need to ensure the prosperity of their family.

Just as they knew that Guo Bai was in collusion with the Huaiyin bandits but would not offend Guo Bai, they would not offend Cao Yuan either.

Who knows who will rule the world in the end?

Juyongguan.

This pass is known as the most important pass in the world.

Since ancient times, countless heroes and generals have died at the pass, and few people have been able to break through this pass by force.

However, despite its strong defense, Juyongguan has been opened many times throughout the dynasties.

The reason is simply that it is impossible to break through from the outside, but someone else is able to break through from the inside.

For example, today is the ninth day that Niu Jizong and Ma Shang have been defending the city.

Wang Ziteng showed no sign of coming to the rescue as planned.

But fortunately they can still hold on.

The grassland people could not shake this pass.

The food and grass in the city were running low, and Niu Jizong had urged people to go get them. As long as there were enough food and grass, Niu Jizong was confident that he could defend the city until the ice and snow melted and the wild geese returned north!
Suddenly, there was a noise outside.

"Has the food arrived?"

Niu Jizong looked delighted.

But then a sharp gong sound was heard, "The imperial envoy has arrived!"

Niu Jizong's heart skipped a beat.

Texas.

Today is the third day that Fang Yong has been resting here. News came from the rear that Xue Ke has arrived with his horse.

This was the warhorse that Fang Yong had tricked over from the grassland before.

Although it seems now that Fang Yong was fooled...

Xue Ke originally entered Xuzhou from Henan, but when he heard that Fang Yong was heading north, he rushed over with his horse.

While Fang Yong sent people to receive the horses, he continued to prepare for the journey north.

After three days of rest, the soldiers' fatigue eased and it was time to continue marching north.

The next day, Fang Yongqi gathered his troops and left Dezhou and entered Zhili!

Compared with Shandong, the Zhili military and civilians put up a stronger resistance to Fang Yong.

The people here had not received help from Fang Yong like the people in Shandong had. They knew very little about Fang Yong, and coupled with the court's vilification of him, they were afraid of Fang Yong's arrival.

Some officials took advantage of the people's mentality and slandered Fang Yong as a bandit who would lead troops to rob the people, and called on the people to resist Fang Yong's army.

Fang Yong’s response to this is very simple.

He held high the banner of serving the king, strictly observed military discipline, and did not harm the people. He destroyed all the towns and counties that resisted him on the pretext of colluding with foreign races, and confiscated all their gold, silver, grain and fodder, and their fields and houses.

The army marched all the way into Hejian Prefecture, and Zhang Yuan's navy also rushed to Cangzhou in Hejian Prefecture.

The officials in Cangzhou naturally did not welcome Zhang Yuan. They organized a lot of people to block the canal in an attempt to prevent Zhang Yuan's navy from entering.

Zhang Yuan was also ruthless. He used force to break through the Cangzhou wharf and occupied Cangzhou.

All the officials in the city were detained by him.

If it were someone else, such as Zhou Shuan, who was born in Lishu, he would have inevitably carried out a bloody massacre in Cangzhou at this time to prevent chaos in the future.

But Zhang Yuan would not do that.

Perhaps because he was born into a family of imperial generals, Zhang Yuan generally would not kill all the officials of Daxi, but would spare their lives, unless there was a direct order from Fang Yong.

After Zhang Yuan's navy captured Cangzhou, Fang Yong's army followed closely and rushed to the city of Hejian.

Hejian Prefecture City is a very strong city, standing between Shandong and Zhili. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was a place of contention among the three kingdoms of Qi, Yan and Zhao.

In the past, the Jin thief Wu Sheng was defeated here.

But now, Fang Yong should not have to worry about this fortified city.

Because here, Fang Yong met someone who surprised him a little.

"Guo Bai greets the General!"

"Zisheng, please get up quickly!"

Fang Yong kindly helped Guo Bai up.

He had never met Guo Bai, but he had been in spiritual communication with him for a long time and had seen Guo Bai's portrait a long time ago.

Compared with Wu Yuan, who was born ugly, Guo Bai had a first-rate appearance, with a square face, a slightly long face, and a scholar's beard, which was the stereotypical image of an official.

As for Fang Yong, Guo Bai had made great contributions to him many times.

Even Fang Yongdu, who considered his former rival a formidable opponent, was defeated by Guo Bai.

Although for some reason, Fang Yong could no longer employ Guo Bai after gaining control of the world, this did not prevent him from rewarding Guo Bai handsomely.

Moreover, Guo Bai's son Guo Shuo and nephew Guo Yu also held important positions in his army.

Fang Yong is not the kind of person who would abandon a donkey after it has done its job.

Even if you really want to get rid of the donkey after it has served its purpose, there must be a sufficient reason so that others cannot see it.

"Please enter the city, General!"

Guo Bai said respectfully.

(End of this chapter)