The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 168 Loyalty
Jinzhou, West City.

It is not the Xicheng where Zhuge Liang retreated Sima Yi. At the end of Jian'an, Cao Cao divided the area east of Mi Cang Mountain in Hanzhong into Xicheng County. In the Northern Dynasties, it was called Jinzhou because of the golden sands that appeared in the water. The Sui and Tang dynasties followed this name. After Feng Xingxi was appointed as the defense envoy, he moved his base from Wudang Mountain to this place. There was no other way. Junzhou was too close to Xiangyang, and Zhao Kuangning had always wanted to annex him and Chengli in Jingnan. Considering his strength, Feng Xingxi felt that he could not afford to offend and could only stay away.

He only had more than 20,000 soldiers, the core of which was the more than 3,000 Cai bandits who were taken in after the collapse of Qin Zongquan. The remaining 10,000 people who had expanded over the years could not be said to be incompetent, after all, they had defeated the invasions of Li Maozhen and Wang Jian in history. But how to say it... The Cai bandits he relied on the most, Zhao Kuangning, had ten times more than him, with a full 20,000. The entire Shandong army, including various miscellaneous soldiers and naval forces, had a total of 50,000. If the two families turned against each other, how to fight?
Fortunately, the Zhao family seemed to be somewhat loyal. Not only did they lose money every year, but they also sent people to defend the king when the Bian army invaded the pass twice. Especially after the Li family was revived, they strictly abided by the loyalty between the monarch and the minister. As soon as the court issued an edict that the princes should not devour each other, they immediately extinguished their ambitions. This made Feng Xingxi laugh at him even though he was sitting on his laurels. He owns five states but does not think about making progress, what a bastard! He even sent his own sister to Chang'an to be beaten.

A dignified shepherd, but he has lost all his dignity!

How could Zhao Ruozhao, a woman from the Huaixi military family who was skilled in archery and horse riding, serve the frail sage? Besides, Zhao Ruozhao was fierce by nature, ate meat, hunted, and had no virtues as a woman, so how could she be a concubine? Just wait, one day Zhao Ruozhao would beat up the sage in her boudoir or fight with the equally fierce Shatuo woman, Zhao Fei, and Yuwen Rou, and the Zhao family would be blessed. This is not the way to flatter.

The saint is quite weird, what kind of shrews do he favor?
It was a bright spring day, Feng Xingxi was sitting by the pavilion, his concubine was limp, her ugly voices were getting louder and louder. Two maids were kneeling beside him, taking turns to serve him, but they were not enthusiastic and their mood was completely ruined. The saint was so unlucky that he chose Jinshang as the first stop of his eastern tour. After arriving in Shangluo on February 12, the defense deputy envoy Lu Chongju, who was caught off guard, had to go out to greet him.

It is true that the sage is going to punish Wang Yanzhang, and it is also very likely that he will take the opportunity to eliminate the Jin merchants. Although he has not shown any signs of doing so, Feng Xingxi has always been willing to speculate on others with the greatest malice, and Li Ni's consistent attitude towards the vassal states is to reduce them whenever possible.

He is the same as Zhu Quanzhong, both of them hold all power in their own hands.

The former was relatively better, as the generals could go out on their own from time to time, but Li Ni would rather not fight than give military power to his generals. He was afraid of the military men rebelling to the bone. Sending the military governors out of the city? What a pipe dream!

"Brother!" Feng Zhu led a group of civil and military officials into the mansion and shouted from afar.

Hearing that it was his second brother, Feng Xingxi dismissed Mei Ji and waited for everyone to take their seats. He then asked frivolously, "The messenger is back? How is it?"

Feng Zhu shook his head and sighed heavily, "The envoys sent did not see the emperor, but only met the Northern Privy Councilor. From her words, the saint did not seem to have any intention of reducing the power of the vassal merchants. But she hinted that if you are willing to lead the three states back to the court, you should be treated as a marquis or a palace official. Given the close relationship between the Privy Councilor and the saint, this should be the saint's intention. A powerful dragon is coming to spy, but we are inferior to it, what can we do?"

"How dare you, a mediocre dog, deceive me like this!" Feng Xingxi was furious when he heard this, and slammed the table and said, "I have already paid homage once, and I also agreed to let my son study in Chang'an, and I also refused the request of the people of Bian to pass through during the Jingfu period. If it weren't for us to defend Wuguan, I would have never expected that the emperor would have moved to Fengxiang, Longxi, and Taiyuan! I paid tribute on time, and the Southeast Gangyun sent troops to escort me when I passed through. He still coveted my foundation. I, I, a dog-foot I! If it were someone else, I would have rebelled long ago!"

Marquis, Langguan, he disdained this condition, it was just a lie.

A marquis without a Tangmuyi, if you are given it today, the Sili Xiaowei will arrest you and put you in jail tomorrow. Innocent? Is it difficult to seize the marquisate by paying jiujin? The three states of Jin, Shang and Jun are not ten thousand times more practical than your marquisate! As for leading a certain department of the Shangshu Province. The salary is low, and you have to look at the prime minister's face all day long. An impeachment by the censor can push you to the ground and you will never get up again. There is no right to participate in politics, and you are really a complete beast of burden. And defending Jinshang, you have your own power and wealth, and the military and politics are self-contained. If the situation is not right, just follow the wind, be loyal to whoever is strong, give money and send troops to a limited extent, and keep warm with others. If the situation is favorable or the world is changing, you can start a business if you want.

In short, he could attack or defend, a true lord, and everything was up to him. Feng Xingxi was absolutely unwilling to give up his life as a local tyrant in the three states and go to Chang'an to kneel at the feet of the saint, flatter and fawn on him, and charge into battle in exchange for a few pieces of silver.

After all, although the Li family has revived, the situation is still unclear. Zhu Wen, who occupies the Central Plains, is still wreaking havoc and has no signs of decline. Everyone still has choices. As for Feng Xingxi, he will serve whoever can protect the interests of his "feudal princes". Of course, if the saint allows him to move his town, he can also obey the edict. But obviously, this is impossible.

"The saint is reluctant to give it to the Jiedushi, and just wants to get a loyal minister out of nothing. How mean. He doesn't even think about the fact that there are no loyal ministers out of thin air in today's world. Even Zhao Kuangning, didn't he want to occupy Shandong and Jingnan? It's hard for me to be loyal even if you give me these things." Feng Xingxi lay sideways, supporting his head with his hands, and smiled lazily.

"Wang Congxun, Zhao Fu, Mo Zangqiqi, Zha Zhu and other imperial army generals fought for the saint but could not even get a command position. I don't know what they are trying to achieve, they just do stupid things!" "There are barely 20,000 soldiers. Even if we recruit young men, we can only get 50,000 or 60,000 at most. The imperial court spans Han, Long, Liang, and Ling, with hundreds of thousands of infantry and cavalry. I'm afraid the rebellion will not last long."

"Come on! Should we send troops to Puguan and Tongguan? Should we leave troops behind in the capital? I estimate that we can only bring about 30,000 or 40,000 troops."

"Even if 30,000 infantry and cavalry come to attack, how long can we hold out? They are called armored warriors, not random people."

"How dare the Jin Shang betray the imperial court! Just because the commander-in-chief did not come to the imperial court, he was punished. Everyone in the world heard about it. Who would not be afraid to protect themselves? How dare he risk the world's disapproval? You must know that the four kings and two emperors have set a precedent. Don't let Xianzong fail and become Dezong first."

"How could it be false? The envoy from Wuguan reported that all the narrow paths were filled with men and women transporting soldiers, food and supplies. He said they were here to attack Wang Yanzhang, do you really believe him?"

"That's enough!" Feng Xingxi waved his hand, interrupting the noisy chatter of the crowd, and said, "Before the royal army leaves Wuguan, tell us what to do."

Feng Zhu thought for a moment and answered first: "If the sage did not leave Wuguan, he would fight against the Bian thief Wang Yanzhang in Shangzhou. I would be very respectful and obey the emperor's orders. I obeyed all the imperial edicts. Feng is very loyal. Now that the court has been revived, it would be best if we can resolve the issue peacefully without taking risks."

Feng Xingxi did not comment and continued to ask: "What if he is determined to seize the three states of Jinshang and force me and everyone here to death?"

Is it even necessary to think about it?
Feng Zhu thought without hesitation: "We should join forces with Cheng Li of Jingnan, Wang Jianzhao of Qianzhou, Zhao Wu of Kuimen, Zhao Kuangning of Xiangyang, Wu Tao of Eyue, Ma Yin of Changsha, and Lei Man of Wuling to resist the king's army."

In this matter, the princes have the same core interests. Even if it is Zhao Kuangning, the most loyal person in the south, it would be difficult to make him willingly join the court through non-military means. At that time, Jin Shang would pay tribute to Zhu Wen in exchange for the help of Zhao Yu of Shanzhou, Zhu Yougong of Guozhou, Niu Cunjie of Heyang, Deng Jiyun of Dongdu, Wang Yanzhang of Ruzhou, Zhang Cunjing of Hezhong and other Bian generals. What else can the saint do if he does not give in?

As for being a minister of Zhu Wen… although it was just a change of oppressed master, the difference was that the Zhongwu Army submitted to him, and the Zhao family still inherited the throne from father to son. As long as they could continue to rule, who was the emperor was important?

"First, increase the number of troops at Wuguan Pass to prevent the bandit Li from reaching the hinterland." Feng Xingxi thought for a while and finally added, "Also, strengthen training, store food supplies, and then order the conscripts to train."

"Here!"

Feng Xingxi looked at everyone with satisfaction: "Tonight, I will let my second brother go to see Wang Yanzhang and ask him to join Liang. If Li the thief dares to come out of the pass to seek a base, we will unite with the people of Bian to fight him."

As for the son who was held hostage in Chang'an... a mere son is really insignificant compared to the power of the individual and the family, and he has many children, so this one is not a big deal. If Li wants to kill him, then kill him. As long as he can keep his position as commander, it doesn't matter if he gives his wife and daughter to Li and Zhu to attack. A real man never has to worry about not having a wife. With power, he will have mountains of gold and silver, beautiful wives and concubines.

Mrs. Lu, who was standing by, was struck by lightning.

(End of this chapter)