Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 434: The rebels from the south and the north rebel (additional update)

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the ninth year of Xiantong, Li Cui felt inexplicably uneasy.

Kang Chengxun, the commander of the Jiangnan Circuit, had already led more than 27,000 soldiers from Tianping, Huainan, Xuanwu and other towns into Yuanzhou and surrounded Yichun County, where Huang Chao and his men were hiding.

Yuanzhou is located in the low mountain and hilly area of ​​western Jiangxi. The terrain is higher in the south, west and north, and lower in the middle, hence the presence of rivers passing through it.

Yichun County, the seat of Yuanzhou, is bordered by the Yuan River to the north, and has hills and low mountains to the west and south. Only the area east of the county seat is relatively flat.

Kang Chengxun set up his army camp in the southeast of Yichun County, where there was a mound more than ten feet high. Kang Chengxun set up his headquarters on the mound, where he could better overlook the entire terrain of Yichun.

"Sorry..."

At this moment, five hundred armored elite cavalry followed behind Kang Chengxun, and beside him was Song Wei, an old acquaintance of Wang Xianzhi and the Pinglu Army soldier who had instigated Wang Xianzhi to flee.

However, Song Wei at this time was no longer the general he once was, but the Left Military Commander of the Pinglu Army, who commanded 7,000 Pinglu soldiers.

With 27,000 troops stationed outside Yichun County, and the city wall, which was only four li in circumference and two zhang high, and was made entirely of rammed earth, Yichun County undoubtedly appeared extremely fragile.

The war in the west spurred the development of Tang army's siege tactics, and the counterweight catapult gradually spread from the northwest battlefield to the Guandong region.

Although they were using the old-fashioned counterweight catapults that Suo Xun had brought to Gao Pian and others years ago, these catapults were still much better than the catapults used by the Tang army in the past.

The reason Kang Chengxun was able to quell the rebellion in western Zhejiang so quickly was entirely due to the effectiveness of his catapults.

He conquered both Suzhou and Changzhou, not to mention that this city was not even as large as Yichun, the seat of Suzhou and Changzhou.

“Song soldiers, the enemy troops are all inside the city. As long as we break through this city, our army will be able to enter Hunan.”

"Once the bandits in Hunan are quelled, I will personally petition His Majesty for credit on your behalf!"

Kang Chengxun stroked his beard and spoke, while Song Wei grinned and said, "Then I'll thank you in advance, Your Excellency!"

The two men chatted and laughed, completely disregarding Huang Chao, who had been beaten and was now running away in fear.

Not only them, but also the more than 27,000 troops and the more than 40,000 laborers resting in the camp at this moment, did not take Huang Chao and his group seriously.

They fought Huang Chao for more than half a year, and all Huang Chao did was run away. Even if they wanted to take Huang Chao seriously now, they had no interest in doing so.

"Out of town!"

Faced with Kang Chengxun's disdain, the east gate of Yichun County suddenly opened, and soldiers clad in armor began to pour out of the passageway in droves and began to form ranks at the foot of the city wall.

Yichun County had not experienced war for a long time, and a stone bridge had been built over the moat. Therefore, Huang Chao's troops calmly crossed the moat and formed ranks on the opposite bank, as if they were about to have a real battle with Kang Chengxun.

"Has this sly fellow changed his ways?"

Seeing Huang Chao's tough side for the first time, Kang Chengxun was still hesitant, but when he saw Huang Chao's troops still forming ranks in a chaotic manner after crossing the river, Kang Chengxun felt relieved.

He couldn't help but curse himself inwardly for scaring himself, while at the same time feeling a bit contemptuous.

He did not choose to launch a surprise attack, nor did he use catapults to attack. Instead, he waited and prepared to defeat Huang Chao, who dared to confront him head-on.

As time went by, two quarters of an hour passed, and Huang Chao's troops remained in disarray.

"Heh, in just a quarter of an hour, you haven't even finished setting up your own formation."

"How dare such a vile creature be my enemy?"

Kang Chengxun lost interest and was about to wave his command flag to direct the three armies to attack when he saw Huang Chao's banner appear on the battlefield.

Beneath the great banner stood over three thousand well-organized armored soldiers, far superior to the ragtag rabble of armored men behind them.

"So this is the Yellow Bandit's tactic. He wants to use these few thousand elite troops to fight against my more than 20,000 elite troops?"

Kang Chengxun's gaze swept coldly across the battlefield, and he chuckled, saying, "A mere ten thousand armored soldiers dare to stand against our army in a grand manner?"

Without further hesitation, he raised the command flag and waved it: "Issue the order that all commanders stand at the rear to supervise the battle, and those who fail to enter will be executed."

"If any member of a team fails to enter, and a member of the same team is able to behead the person who did so, the person who did so will be rewarded with fifty pieces of silk."

"Anyone in another squad who sees a person who cannot enter and is able to behead them will be rewarded."

"The leaders of the various squads are fighting each other with the bandits. The left and right flag bearers must urgently advance to their aid."

"If the people on the left and right are entangled by thieves, the next travelers must rush forward to rescue them."

"When he went to rescue the person, he was entangled by the thief. From then on, the passers-by should rush forward to rescue him."

“If a person ahead of them is killed by thieves and the person behind does not come to their aid, the officer in charge and the deputy captain shall be executed.”

“If a squad is entangled by bandits, the other squad must also rush to their aid. Those who fail to do so in battle will be executed.”

Although Kang Chengxun was arrogant and conceited, he still issued every single military order that needed to be given.

After he issued his order, the flag bearers behind him began to wave their flags, and the officers in the army who could read the flags and drums began to walk back and forth, raising their voices to issue the orders.

Half an hour later, Kang Chengxun's Tang army began to form ranks, and Huang Chao's troops also began to form ranks.

However, they were slow to form ranks, so Kang Chengxun waved his command flag, and immediately more than 20,000 Tang soldiers began to advance.

The two sides were about a mile apart. Kang Chengxun led the advance, naturally showing great confidence in his own side.

The Tang army began to form ranks and approach, their formation very stable. At that moment, Huang Chao, under the great banner, squinted and nervously looked in the direction of the Tang army.

As the Tang army gradually arrived, Huang Chao immediately looked at Shang Rang beside him. Shang Rang nodded and then picked up the ox horn in his hand and blew it.

"Uuuuuu——"

With the bugle sounding, the rebel army, which had been training for less than three months, began its advance after arriving in Yuanzhou, while Huang Chao's three thousand elite troops remained motionless.

"kill!!"

After a short while, when the two armies clashed head-on, the Tang army, with its solid formation, almost overwhelmingly crushed the rebel army.

"Nothing more than that!"

Seeing that the rebel army's vanguard was beginning to twist and turn, Kang Chengxun was already confident of victory.

Seeing his reaction, Song Wei quickly replied, "I am willing to personally lead the troops to the front lines and defeat this enemy!"

"Go!" Kang Chengxun did not stop him and decisively dispatched Song Wei.

Upon receiving the order, Song Wei immediately went to the vanguard and shouted, "Whoever breaks through the enemy lines will be rewarded with ten thousand coins and promoted two ranks!"

"Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo..."

Song Wei's words were amplified and spread by the officers, and more than 20,000 Tang soldiers shouted "Woo-hoo!" and pressed forward.

Upon seeing this, Kang Chengxun immediately raised his hand and waved with one arm: "The central army's banner advances, let the vanguard break through them in one fell swoop!"

"Yes!"

Under Kang Chengxun's military orders, the banner began to move, which gave the vanguard a great deal of courage.

After all, the head coach has already pushed forward to the front lines, so what else do they have to worry about?

Thinking of this, they became incredibly excited, as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and continued to get four kills.

In an instant, outside Yichun County, swords clashed and long and short weapons clashed constantly, but the overall situation was still that the government troops were suppressing the rebel army.

As the number of rebel casualties gradually increased, those rebels who watched their comrades fall couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

Gradually, their formation was breached by the government troops, and a large number of government troops poured into the rebel army through the gap, starting a rapid battle, cutting off communication between the rebel teams, and focusing on dealing with the flag bearers.

"Hold on! Hold on!!"

The rebel general, wearing a red turban, shouted loudly, but before he could call out a few times, an arrow pierced his face, and he fell to the ground.

Song Wei slowly lowered the powerful bow in his hand, and at that moment someone shouted, "General Zhang is dead!!"

"Zhang is going to die! Run!"

In an instant, the already collapsing vanguard of the rebel army began to rout, and before the vanguard could react, their comrades behind them turned and fled.

"You son of a bitch!!"

They only had time to utter a few angry curses before being swallowed up by the Tang army's "surprise attack".

"withdraw!"

Under the banner, Huang Chao turned his horse around and led three thousand elite troops to retreat to Shiqiao.

At the same time, the Tang army gradually lost its footing, and the government troops began to pursue and kill the fleeing rebels. The entire battlefield in front of Yichun City became like a hell, full of bloodshed and carnage.

"kill!"

"Leave no one behind!"

Song Wei coldly surveyed the battlefield. Upon hearing this, the flag bearers beside him immediately began waving their flags, and the vanguard of over ten thousand Tang soldiers had already charged out.

The fleeing rebels scattered like a tide, their exposed backs pierced by spears, and countless fleeing rebels fell, only to be surrounded by the Tang army.

When they looked up, the rebels' eyes were filled with despair, while the Tang soldiers raised their golden maces...

"boom!"

"kill!!"

"I want to surrender! I want to surrender..."

"Auntie..."

The fleeing rebels fell like wheat in droves under the government troops' butcher's knife.

Cries of agony, pleas for mercy, and angry curses mingled together as nearly ten thousand rebels abandoned their armor and rushed madly toward the stone bridge.

But when they reached the stone bridge, the elite rebels on the bridge blocked their way.

"Get out of my way! Let me pass!"

"court death!!"

A rebel soldier, his face covered in blood, swung his sword at his comrade who was blocking his way, but before the sword could fall, he was shot in the face by an arrow from Huang Chao, who had a cold expression on his face, and fell dead.

The fleeing rebels looked at Huang Chao in astonishment, but Huang Chao said, "If you want to live, escape to the south or north gates. The east gate is closed!"

"kill--"

The shouts of the government troops grew closer and closer. The fleeing rebels looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally gritted their teeth and fled to the north and south gates respectively.

Upon seeing this, Song Wei, who was leading his troops in pursuit of the fleeing soldiers, immediately ordered: "Pinglu Army and Huainan Army, pursue the fleeing soldiers! The remaining officers and soldiers of the various garrisons, form ranks and prepare to break through their lines!"

"Uuuuuu——"

The bugle sounded again, and several thousand vanguard soldiers pursued the fleeing rebel troops toward the north and south gates, while Song Wei commanded more than five thousand men to form a battle formation, preparing to confront Huang Chao head-on on the stone bridge.

Kang Chengxun was also paying close attention to the situation on the battlefield. Seeing that Song Wei had divided his troops, he still felt that Song Wei was being a bit arrogant. Therefore, he said to the general beside him, "Zeng Sanqi, you will personally lead three thousand men to reinforce Song's troops."

"The last general takes command!"

Without delay, he immediately led three thousand infantrymen to rush to the stone bridge to provide reinforcements.

"Beep--"

"kill!!"

The battle cries rang out again, and Song Wei's five thousand infantrymen clashed with Huang Chao's three thousand infantrymen.

The two sides clashed with their spears, but due to the narrowness of the stone bridge and the wide moat of Yichun City, only about ten people could actually fight.

Song Wei initially didn't take it seriously, but as time went on, and the Tang army's formation failed to advance, and more and more corpses fell into the moat, he realized something was wrong.

This elite force under Huang Chao was in no way inferior to the Pinglu Army and the Huainan Army.

"Damn it! Break the formation immediately! Whoever breaks it will be promoted three levels and rewarded with 100,000 coins!!"

Cold sweat beaded on Song Wei's forehead, and he could only keep urging the vanguard to press forward.

When Zeng Yuanyu led his troops to this place, he immediately saw the fierce battle on the stone bridge and couldn't help but frown.

In his view, Huang Chao's main force had been defeated. According to Huang Chao's previous practices, he should have abandoned Yichun at this moment, led his elite troops to break through the encirclement, and sought to make a comeback. But why...?

"Beep--"

Before Zeng Yuanyu could reach a conclusion, countless whistles came from afar, and both Zeng Yuanyu and Song Wei's expressions changed.

"You bastard Huang Chao!!"

Kang Chengxun, on horseback, also realized what was happening. He quickly turned his horse around and looked left and right. Sure enough, he saw cavalrymen galloping towards him from the hills to the south and the mountains to the east.

"Do not linger in battle, form ranks and prepare for the enemy!!"

Kang Chengxun hurriedly gave the order, and the flag soldiers waved their flags vigorously.

Faced with this situation, the thousands of soldiers who had been fighting Huang Chao for more than half an hour and had been pursuing him for several miles were already exhausted.

Song Wei dared not move his feet at this moment, because Huang Chao had launched a counterattack against them as soon as the whistle blew.

"kill!!"

Huang Chao's expression was cold, and a hint of cruelty appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Before the government troops and cavalry could reach Kang Chengxun, tens of thousands of armored righteous soldiers appeared from the east and south, raising their banners as they approached.

"Uuuuuu——"

"Withdraw troops, form ranks, and prepare to break out!!"

Kang Chengxun could only give a few words of explanation before leading his troops closer to the forces of Song Wei and Zeng Yuanyu.

The government troops who had been chasing the fleeing enemy were now exhausted and heading this way, but by the time they returned to their own lines, they had lost six or seven tenths of their strength.

More than 27,000 government troops formed a battle formation, dealing with Huang Chao at the stone bridge behind them on one side and the elite rebel army only two miles away on the other.

At this moment, even those who were not knowledgeable in military strategy knew what tricks Huang Chao was using.

The strategy was simply to use poorly trained troops to lure the Tang army into pursuit, and then launch an attack once the Tang army had exhausted their strength.

"In just a few months, Huang Chao has managed to muster so many veteran soldiers and elite troops?!"

Seeing that the rebel army, which was constantly approaching, had a firm footing, even if Kang Chengxun didn't want to admit it, he had indeed fallen into Huang Chao's trap.

When the rebel army came from both sides, Kang Chengxun immediately waved his command flag and ordered his troops to launch a strong attack to the east, attempting to break through the encirclement.

With only 20,000 troops, how could they possibly break through the encirclement with ease? Moreover, Huang Chao had gone to great lengths to create this situation, so how could he possibly allow Kang Chengxun to break through without paying a price?

In an instant, rebel forces from the southeast attacked the Tang army from both sides, with each side having more than 10,000 troops.

At this point, the two armies were evenly matched, so after the battle began, Kang Chengxun gradually calmed down.

"Stay calm and don't panic!"

"These mere bandits, even after several days of training, are no match for our army!"

"Commander Song and Cavalry Commander Cao, I humbly request that you two lead your troops to defeat the enemy, so that the rebels may know the might of the Heavenly Army!"

"Yes!!" Song Wei and Zeng Yuanyu responded without hesitation and immediately began to lead their troops in a counterattack.

At this moment, the area in front of Yichun City had become a bloodbath for tens of thousands of people. Swords and spears clashed, and soldiers used blunt weapons and crossbows to suppress the enemy, while garrison troops ran back and forth to put out fires.

The two sides fought from noon until dusk, more than three hours of battle, which caused the Tang soldiers, who had already exhausted a lot of energy, to begin to cramp and become weak.

The exposure of such weaknesses on the battlefield undoubtedly gave the rebel army a great opportunity.

Seeing that his soldiers had broken through a section of the Tang army's formation, Zhu Wen immediately took the lead and led his trusted men to attack the breach.

"Zhu Duyu is here!"

"Brothers, follow Zhu Duyu, kill!!"

Seeing that Zhu Wen, as the commander of the capital, dared to take the lead, the rebels who had fought alongside Zhu Wen for more than half a year were immediately filled with fighting spirit.

Following Zhu Wen, they quickly broke through the Tang army's defensive line, and the breaking of one line represented a breakthrough in the overall situation.

A stray arrow grazed past Zhu Wen's iron helmet, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. He couldn't help but curse, "Which scoundrel dared to stab me in the back?!"

"Damn it!!" Zeng Yuanyu, from the Tang army, was seen firing arrows continuously from his horse, a barrage of arrows aimed at Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen was so startled that he quickly leaned back, using a metal plank to dodge the arrows.

Even so, Zeng Yuanyu refused to let him go and dismounted to lead the Tang army to attack him, but they were all blocked by the righteous army that had formed a battle formation.

Zeng Yuanyu repeatedly attacked the enemy without success, and Zhu Wen dared not get too close to Zeng Yuanyu, so he quickly retreated. However, even though he retreated, the Tang army's formation was broken, and even though Zeng Yuanyu was brave enough, he could not stop millions of people.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, Kang Chengxun had no choice but to grit his teeth and order: "The entire army must break out to the east!!"

He had ordered a breakout to the east countless times, but the Tang army had always struggled to break through the encirclement.

"My lord!"

Zeng Yuanyu had somehow returned to the central army camp. Kang Chengxun, sweating profusely, looked at him and said, "Zeng Sanqi, today we're probably going to..."

"My lord, there is no need to panic. Although our army's formation has been broken, the rebel army's formation is also unstable!"

"If you, my lord, hand over these five hundred cavalrymen to me, I will surely be able to lead the army to break through the encirclement!"

Before Kang Chengxun could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zeng Yuanyu, who was covered in blood.

Although Zeng Yuanyu was a well-read scholar, his fighting spirit was no less than that of a valiant general who had spent years on the front lines.

Seeing Zeng Yuanyu's confidence, Kang Chengxun replied without hesitation, "I entrust these five hundred cavalrymen to you; I can only place my hopes on you!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zeng Yuanyu readily agreed, then spurred his horse to the five hundred cavalrymen.

"If the iron cavalry charge is blocked, death is the only outcome."

"If you want to live, don't worry about anything else. I have already ordered the vanguard to prepare to break through the enemy's formation. All that's needed is for you to rush forward and break through the rebel army's lines!"

"Do any of you dare to come with me on this adventure?!"

Upon hearing Zeng Yuanyu's words, the five hundred cavalrymen raised their arms and shouted, "We dare! We dare! We dare!"

"Good!" Zeng Yuanyu didn't say anything more, but turned his horse around and immediately blew the wooden whistle.

"Beep--"

As the wooden whistle sounded, the soldiers on the east flank, who had already received their orders, immediately began to prepare.

Zeng Yuanyu led five hundred cavalrymen in a charge. Even though they were not fully armored, they could not care about anything else for the safety of the army.

Fifty paces is not a long distance; in just a few breaths, the five hundred elite cavalry will be charging towards the rebel army.

They were on high alert, but unexpectedly, the Tang army's infantrymen attacked from the same direction at the same time.

Caught off guard, the formation here inevitably fell into disarray, and Zeng Yuanyu led his elite cavalry in a charge.

"kill--"

"Bang!!"

"Hissing..."

The charging cavalry, which had already been unstable, was instantly overwhelmed by the momentum of the horses.

Zeng Yuanyu led 500 elite cavalrymen and directly broke through the rebel army formation led by Huang Kui on the east side.

Seeing this, Kang Chengxun, as if he had just escaped death, raised his arms and shouted: "Charge eastward! Don't let the gap close!!"

"kill!!!"

The shouts of battle suddenly rose, and more than 20,000 government troops swarmed forward. The rebel army on the south side and Huang Chao's few thousand men were simply no match for so many people.

The rebel army's eastern force was breached by the Tang army like a sieve. After breaking through, Zeng Yuanyu turned his horse around and led the remaining cavalry to launch a rear attack, disrupting the rebel army's formation on the east side and creating enough time for the government infantry to break through.

"Who is that?!"

Seeing that his plan to annihilate Kang Chengxun's troops had failed, Huang Chao couldn't help but raise his voice to question him, but few people could name Zeng Yuanyu.

At this moment, he was still unknown, but after this battle, the court and the public would get to know this Gentleman Attendant again.

"Asshole! Asshole!!"

Seeing his chance for revenge slip away, Huang Chao was extremely unwilling. However, he had no cavalry under his command, while Zeng Yuanyu was leading hundreds of elite cavalrymen, charging left and right through the formation, unstoppable. Even if they temporarily formed a cavalry force using the horses of their generals to pursue them, they would probably not be a match for them.

"The entire army must pursue them! Even if we cannot capture Kang Chengxun, this country bumpkin, alive, I will still slaughter the government troops!!"

With bloodshot eyes, Huang Chao gave the order, directing his army to pursue and kill the Tang army.

Zeng Yuanyu did not possess the courage to withstand ten thousand men, so when he saw the tens of thousands of rebels charging in with their formation firmly in place, he could no longer buy time and could only lead the surviving three hundred or so cavalrymen to break through the encirclement.

Without Zeng Yuanyu to cover the rear of the remaining Tang troops, these disorganized Tang soldiers could only become lambs to the slaughter under the command of the rebel elite.

They were caught up and cut down by the rebels, and before they could get up, they were trampled on.

In an instant, screams, wails, and pleas for mercy mingled together, but the weapons in the hands of the rebels fell without the slightest hesitation.

On the official road from Yichun City to Xinyu City, Huang Chao led his rebel army in a pursuit of the Tang army for dozens of miles, leaving corpses strewn across the fields and broken halberds and flags scattered everywhere.

Of the 27,000 government troops from various towns who were sent to quell the rebellion, less than 15,000 remained after this battle, with nearly half of them lost.

After Kang Chengxun led his troops to Xinyu, he dared not stay and retreated directly to Hongdu (Nanchang) in Hongzhou.

Huang Chao's forces also suffered heavy casualties, but still had 20,000 elite troops at their disposal.

Upon learning that Kang Chengxun had retreated to Hongzhou, Huang Chao ordered Huang Ye to lead 5,000 elite troops to garrison Yuanzhou, while he himself headed west to conquer and seize territory in Hunan.

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Huang Chao divided his forces into several routes, and he personally led his rebel army to capture Hengzhou.

On the 22nd, Zhu Wen led his army to capture the entire territory of Shaozhou, while Huang Kui captured Yongzhou.

When Chen Yanqian of Chenzhou learned that Huang Chao was attacking and heard that he had defeated Kang Chengxun, he immediately surrendered the city.

After occupying five states, Huang Chao did not rush north. Instead, he chose to divide his forces to conquer other states. At the same time, he forcibly conscripted all the artisans to make armor for himself and selected strong men from various cities to train 50,000 soldiers, claiming to have an army of 200,000.

"Crackling..."

As Huang Chao marched triumphantly into the south, the New Year arrived with the sound of firecrackers.

On the second day of the first month of the tenth year of Xiantong, when he learned that Kang Chengxun had been defeated in Yuanzhou and that Huang Chao had captured five prefectures in Hunan and then divided his troops to capture prefectures and counties in Lingnan and Jiangxi, the originally joyous New Year's Day suddenly became his day of making a fool of himself.

"On the day of Yimao, the rebels captured Jizhou..."

"enough!!"

Inside the Zhenguan Hall, Li Cui stopped Tian Yun from continuing to read the memorial. The eunuchs and palace maids, who were decorated with lanterns and streamers, also stopped what they were doing, for fear of angering the emperor.

Since the capital Chang'an was moved east to Luoyang, the emperor's temper gradually worsened, and many palace servants were punished as a result.

Throughout the entire Ziwei City, apart from Princess Tongchang, Li Meiling, who could persuade the emperor, no one else could do so.

"Father, please calm down..."

A figure emerged from the side hall, and the palace servants all breathed a sigh of relief.

The only person who could elicit such reactions from everyone was Li Meiling.

When Li Meiling spoke, Li Cui, despite his anger, had no choice but to suppress it and turned to Tian Yun, saying, "Summon all the ministers to the palace!"

"This servant obeys the decree..."

Tian Yun respectfully agreed, and then sent someone to summon Lu Yan and the others.

Li Meiling walked up to the platform, her gaze quickly sweeping over the memorial on the table. Combined with the news she had just heard, she knew what had happened.

She bowed to Li Cui and said, "Father, it is certainly infuriating that Governor Kang was defeated, but fortunately, the government troops managed to save 15,000 men."

"If the government troops are all lost, then both the eastern and western routes of Jiangnan will be in danger."

Li Meiling was good at looking at problems from other angles, and in just a few words, Li Cui gradually calmed down.

He looked his daughter up and down, and saw that she had almond-shaped eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, a slender and plump figure, and a rosy face with lips full of spring.

"Ugh……"

Seeing his daughter grow up so beautifully, Li Cui was overjoyed, but couldn't help but sigh, "My daughter will be twenty this year. Although your father wants to marry you off to a good husband as soon as possible, the imperial treasury and the national treasury are both empty, so it's really difficult..."

Li Cui stopped talking, feeling extremely sorry for her daughter.

Upon hearing this, Li Meiling chuckled and said, "Your subject finds this leisurely life quite tempting and doesn't want to be accompanied by others."

"She'll eventually have to get married..." Li Cui shook her head and looked at Li Meiling, saying:
"If the national treasury still has a surplus this year, then let's choose a young man to marry our daughter."

Seeing her father like this, Li Meiling didn't know what to say. At this moment, Tian Yun also bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Lu and the others have arrived."

"Your subject takes his leave." Upon hearing this, Li Meiling bowed and stepped down from the golden platform, heading towards the side hall.

Upon seeing this, Li Cui nodded: "Summon!"

At his signal, Lu Yan, Yu Cong, Qi Yuanshi, Qi Yuanjian, Yang Xuanjie, Ximen Jixuan and others entered the hall one after another and bowed to him.

Upon seeing this, Li Cui immediately instructed Tian Yun to hand over the memorials from Kang Chengxun and the people from Hunan and Jiangxi to them for review.

After reviewing the report, the group's expressions were not too good. After all, Kang Chengxun's defeat meant that whether it was redeploying troops to besiege Huang Chao again or doing something else, it would require money, food, and time.

Judging from Huang Chao's current situation, he doesn't seem to want to stop expanding, which is a headache.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, we can deploy troops in places like Hongzhou to prevent the rebel army from entering Jiangnan again. At the same time, we can continue to transfer troops from Huainan southward, and order Governor Kang to recruit another 10,000 new soldiers."

Lu Yan calmly offered his suggestion, and Qi Yuanjian frowned upon hearing it: "Leaving aside money and provisions, the most urgent matter right now should be the capital region."

In response to Qi Yuanjian's words, Lu Yan calmly replied, "The capital region is certainly important, but it is fortified with 40,000 troops stationed there."

"Liu Xiang's newly formed 20,000 troops are stationed in Shannan East Road, guarding the southern gate of the capital region, so naturally there is nothing to worry about."

In the past, Lu Yan would never have dared to clash with the four nobles of Bei Si, but things are different now.

With the Shence Army suffering heavy losses and the Southern Army regaining its strength, Lu Yan naturally had the courage to challenge the Northern Army.

Qi Yuanjian didn't bother arguing with him. As long as the capital was safe, nothing else mattered.

In response, Li Cui asked, "Everywhere needs money and grain; can the Ministry of Revenue allocate any more?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Cong shook his head: "Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty..."

"Sigh..." Li Cui sighed upon hearing this, and after pondering for a moment, he spoke with a heavy heart:

"In that case, I will set an example by selling all the silks, brocades, gold, silver and jade artifacts in the palace to raise 200,000 strings of cash to allocate to the Ministry of Revenue to help Governor Kang train 10,000 soldiers."

Li Cui's stance clearly indicated that he intended to drag all the officials down with him, since the emperor had already donated, and they couldn't possibly remain silent.

It's important to know that before the Ming Dynasty, very few officials were shameless enough to ask the emperor to allocate funds from the imperial treasury.

In the Song Dynasty, an official who mentioned borrowing a phrase was severely reprimanded by the emperor.

Even the good-tempered Emperor Renzong of Song couldn't help but angrily retort, "Is my imperial treasury meant to provide for the famine relief of the officials?"

If this was the case in the Song Dynasty, one can only imagine how it was in the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, since the emperor had taken the lead in donating 200,000 strings of cash, his ministers could not refrain from doing so.

"Your Majesty, my family is poor, but I have served as an official for many years and have received the emperor's salary. I am willing to donate three thousand strings of cash!"

Seeing that the emperor had made his stance clear, Lu Yan immediately followed suit, while also complaining about being poor.

It should be noted that three thousand strings of cash is no small sum. Even with the current grain prices, it would take Prime Minister Lu Yan four years of not eating or drinking to save up three thousand strings of cash.

For this reason, Li Cui was deeply moved, while Qi Yuanshi and the others remained outwardly calm, but inwardly they were cursing.

Since becoming prime minister, Lu Yan appeared to be very honest and upright, but in private he accepted bribes on a large scale. He was called "Niu Tou A Pang" by the officials, meaning that he was as treacherous and terrifying as a ghost.

Privately, he was even compared to other notorious corrupt officials such as Yang Guozhong, Li Qi, Yu Chaoen, Li Linfu, and Yuan Zai.

It should be known that each of these individuals embezzled no less than a million strings of cash, with some even reaching several million strings. This shows how much wealth Lu Yan possessed in the eyes of the officials.

However, Lu Yan's actions were indeed beneficial to the officials, since Lu Yan was the prime minister and he only donated three thousand strings of cash, which represented the maximum amount.

Thinking of this, Qi Yuanshi and the others spoke up one after another, all expressing their willingness to donate three thousand strings of cash.

Li Cui was delighted upon hearing this and couldn't help but stand up and say, "Very good, very good, you are all my trusted ministers."

"If all officials were like you, why would the court be unable to return to the old capital?"

His words were sincere, after all, there were thousands of officials in the capital, and if each of them donated three thousand strings of cash, then three million strings of cash could be raised for military expenses.

However, he also knew that the officials would not donate that much money to him. Even though he knew that those officials from aristocratic families were all very wealthy, he could not force them to donate.

Thinking of this, Li Cui couldn't help but sigh, and at this moment Yu Cong spoke up:

"Your Majesty, the Southern Barbarians have invaded Annam. Cai Jing, the military commissioner of Lingxi, has been holding out for more than four months. Cai Jing, the military commissioner of Lingxi, said that if Lingxi is undefended, the Southern Barbarians will surely attack. Therefore, he refused to send troops."

"Now that Guangzhou and other places are under threat from the Yellow bandits, we cannot send troops. Therefore, we can only send troops from Qianzhong Road to the south to provide assistance."

"I suggest that 5,000 troops from Qianzhong Circuit be dispatched to aid Annam and relieve the siege of Jiaozhi and Luoping."

If Yu Cong hadn't mentioned it, Li Cui would have almost forgotten about Annam being invaded by the southern barbarians.

Thinking that You Shilong was someone who had long opposed him since he ascended the throne, Li Cui couldn't help but snort coldly: "Send an edict to Gao Qianli, ordering him to send 5,000 troops to aid Annam."

"Yes……"

Tian Yun agreed, and Yu Cong continued, "Your Majesty, three days ago, Wang Juesi led more than 6,000 troops from the Shatuo and Shenwu tribes to garrison Taiyuan."

"General Dou Huan led his troops in a commotion. Wang Juesi ordered Li Guochang, Li Keyong, and Zhang Huaiding to lead troops to suppress the commotion. More than 700 soldiers from Hedong died, Dou Huan was killed, and Hedong was at peace."

"Wang Juesi and Cui Shixiang mobilized 5,000 cavalry and infantry and 7,000 infantrymen from Hedong to follow the army northward, while Zhang Huaiding led the Left and Right Divine Martial Army to garrison Taiyuan, the northern capital."

Yu Cong brought good news: the arrogant Hedong soldiers had been suppressed, and their general Dou Huan had died.

Although only a portion of the arrogant and fierce generals of Hedong were suppressed, the fact that the imperial court was able to suppress this group of officers and soldiers so easily shows that the officers and soldiers within the Hedong army still depended on the imperial court.

From this perspective alone, Hedong Town is far better than those warlords who arbitrarily reduced the amount of supplies they were transporting.

Li Cui felt somewhat comforted, so he couldn't help but ask, "Is Zhang Yunshen of Lulong Town in Youzhou willing to assist the imperial court?"

“Your Majesty…” Yu Cong bowed in return, and then said, “The Duke of Yan is willing to provide 7,000 troops and transfer them to Huai’an to await the court’s orders.”

"It is only a matter of mobilizing troops, which still requires setting out and rewarding them. The national treasury is empty, so we can only allocate funds from the money and grain donated by Your Majesty and your ministers."

"No problem!" Li Cui waved his hand and immediately agreed.

After all, in his view, if he, as the emperor, had donated 200,000 strings of cash, then the thousands of officials in the Eastern Capital should be able to raise 600,000 to 700,000 strings of cash.

Kang Chengxun recruited 10,000 soldiers, which would cost a maximum of 500,000 strings of cash. The remaining 100,000 to 200,000 strings of cash would be enough to reward the Lulong army.

His optimism was palpable, and Yu Cong could only sigh inwardly, thinking that the officials were likely to disappoint the emperor.

He only dared to say these words in his heart, but not out loud.

"Do any of you gentlemen have anything else to say?"

Seeing that everyone was alright, Li Cui waved his hand and said, "If there's nothing else, then you may all leave."

"We take our leave..."

Seeing that the emperor was driving them away, they tactfully bowed and sang, then withdrew from the Zhenguan Hall.

After they left, Li Cui looked at Tian Yun and instructed him, "Keep a close eye on them and see who donated more and who donated less. Record all the details and send them to me."

“This servant obeys the order…” Tian Yun replied respectfully.

Based on his understanding of this person, if any official donated too much, this person would probably become suspicious of them.

These matters were none of his concern, and he did not want to get involved. Therefore, carrying Li Cui's decree, he carefully left the Zhenguan Hall.

As he walked out of the Zhenguan Hall, a figure who had been waiting for a long time hurriedly ran over.

"Aye!"

Tian Lingzi looked at his father and immediately knelt down to kowtow. Tian Yun helped him up, patted the dust off his knees, and asked, "How's the job at the horse stable?"

“Yes, I like it very much.” Tian Lingzi nodded quickly, and at the same time told about the recent situation of Xiaoma Workshop.

“Recently, Prince Pu has often gone to Xiaomafang to ride his ponies (fruit-shaped horses), and I often tease him.”

“Prince Pu?” Tian Yun thought for a moment before remembering that Prince Pu, Li Yan, was the emperor’s fifth son. Although he was only seven years old, he loved cockfighting, goose gambling, horseback riding, archery, and other recreational activities.

Although the emperor had no intention of establishing an heir, Prince Pu would probably not be chosen, since his mother was just an ordinary palace maid and could not possibly be a candidate for crown prince.

However, his own son is not very talented, so it would be good to let him get close to a prince and thus gain wealth and status.

Thinking of this, Tian Yun looked at Tian Lingzi and said, "Since His Highness Prince Pu is pleased, you should serve him well and not neglect him."

"Don't worry, Father." Tian Lingzi flattered Tian Yun as they walked out, their figures gradually disappearing at the edge of the palace walls...

(End of this chapter)