The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 195

"Emperor Taizu of Liang was lacking in personal morality, so he was criticized a lot by historians. But personal morality is only personal morality. As long as he can protect the country, resist foreign invaders and save the people, he is a meritorious politician. During the Tang and Five Dynasties, Emperor Taizu of Liang was able to quell rebellions and comfort the people. Historically, most commentators have regarded him as a heinous criminal, and some even favored the Later Tang Dynasty. They were ignorant of the greater good of the nation." - said Lu Simian.

The sky was dark, purple lightning and blue frost. The wind and rain were violent, uprooting the jungle.

The donkey cart loaded with weapons and armor struggled in the mud.

Armies wearing straw hats and raincoats walked in the yellow mud with difficulty, their expressions were tortured and their voices were full of complaints. After suppressing Yanyun, they marched to Qingzhou. Linzi, Qiancheng, Jimo, Yidu, and Gaomi were all ancient cities and old fortresses. Although the Qi people did not have a strong desire to fight, their guard dogs were difficult to deal with. If they went there, they would inevitably have to fight hard and attack hard. How many people would die?

Ugh.

It would be better to fight against Li Ni, fill the Yellow River with human lives, and attack Pubanjin. At least there is hope in the face of confrontation across the water.

"Come out!" Shouts and curses were heard in the rain, and the soldiers turned around to look.

"Execute the people under this flag on the spot!" Du Yuhou waved his hand.

Amid a buzzing crowd, dozens of blindfolded Long Sword soldiers were tied up with their hands behind their backs, forced to kneel on the side of the road, and their heads were chopped off as they were pushed to the ground. The heads rolled into the mud amid the splattering blood, and the scene suddenly fell silent. The Bian army who were watching the excitement could not help but retreat.

"Brother, why were there also people killed in the Long Sword Army?"

"It is said that a commander has disappeared and fled to Wei Bo."

"Hiss, the swordsmen were all killed by the Ba team, what about us?"

"I'll bet the Double Ninth Festival reward that he'll be killed within three years."

"I should have expected this. This guy is a madman who kills without blinking an eye. He kills us without even cutting melons and vegetables. Just wait. If someone rebels one day, I will be the first to follow."

The soldiers stared with their eyes wide open, trying to gather their strength for a long time, wanting to make some noise, but finally they endured it.

The swordsmen are so stupid! The commander ran away, so run after him. Yuan Qingji, Wu Ziling, there are so many defeated soldiers, rioters, and gangsters in the country, so go and join them. At worst, you can go and join Li Ye and Li Keyong. Being beheaded like a criminal, despicable!

Yu Ziyan sighed secretly, wiped the rain off his face, and quickened his pace. He had to find a place to camp quickly, otherwise he would be soaked all night.

"Quick, stack the stones and look for them again when you are done."

"No laziness allowed."

The vanguard continued on their way, while the central and rear troops, which had stopped, were hastily setting up camp. Crowded men and women were felling trees, digging trenches, and collecting stones under the whips of the soldiers. The cries of widows and old men echoed in the typhoon, and it made people feel sad.

This is the "troublemaker" arrested by Zhu Wen.

The two cities of Yan and Yun resisted stubbornly from the Zhu brothers, so he massacred them after breaking into the cities and arrested the civilians. A total of more than 100,000 people were used as consumables to invade Zibo and Qinghai. Unknowingly, Zhu Sheng had become Sun Ru who "brought the people across the river", and the mask was basically unstable.

Of course, this is just the basic skills of the warriors in the late Tang Dynasty, far from Zhu Wen's limit.

In the second year of Qianning in later generations, he attacked Yun and massacred Juye. In the first year of Tianfu, he entered the pass to compete with Li Maozhen for the control of Zhaozong and massacred Zhouzhi County. In the third year of Tianfu, he attacked Qi and massacred Bochang. He killed people for a day and a night, and after the bodies filled the city, they threw them into the surrounding rivers and blocked the river. In the first year of Qianhua, he was blocked in Zaoqiang when he attacked Li Cunxu. When he conquered the city, he killed everyone, regardless of people or animals, and the blood flowed in the city.

According to his character, and his current relationship with Li Ni, if he could get through Tongguan, he would definitely slaughter Chang'an. Of course, the emperor would not show him mercy. If he won, no one in the Bian Song den would survive.

"Whoa!" Thunder ripped through the purple-black sky, and a horseman broke through the rainstorm. When he reached the imperial court, the knight pulled the reins, braving the strong wind that could almost blow people up into the sky, and ran towards the imperial court holding his bamboo hat.

"I am Murong Zhang, the tenth general of the Hezhong Camp, and I am here to report confidential information to you on the orders of the Recruiting Envoy." Murong Zhang shook his shoulders under the eaves, took out his identity token, and shouted to the guard, "Is Your Majesty at the post station?"

The guard glared at him and said, "I'm in charge of this? You're one of the Ten Commanders after all, and you don't know the rules. All urgent matters are sent to the court, and then the Privy Council sends them to the emperor, and then they go back to where they came from and wait for approval."

Murong Zhang was stunned for a moment, and was about to curse, but then he remembered Zhang Cunjing's instructions and put on a stiff smile: "Well, then can you please point out someone to take charge? I ran back from the river, and the officials passing by outside wouldn't recognize me. I have received General Zhang's instructions, and I must present them in person. It's too irritating to look for this and that... In an emergency, I'll take the initiative and report to the Saint."

The guard waved his hand impatiently, "I can't report it! Huaixi, Ruzhou, Hezhong, Shanzhou, Luoyang, Heyang, Huazhou, Xuzhou, the capital... Every day there are dozens of envoys and hundreds of documents coming in and out, and everyone comes to ask, is this gate still guarded? It's already annoying to be in Qingzhou and eat vinegar cakes, and you still have to feed a Maozhuizi (a derogatory term for civil servants in the late Tang and Five Dynasties)? Privy Council, go find them! Go and shout. Someone will answer you."

Murong Zhang stamped his feet, turned around and found a place to sit down leisurely with his legs crossed. There were people everywhere, where could he find a ball?

...

It was a cold and rainy day, and there were two braziers in the newly cleaned room.

The crackling sound of the charcoal drove away the moisture.

A man with a round belly and a hairy chest sat on the bed, with two women kneeling in front of him. They were heavily made up and had flattering expressions. At first glance, they turned out to be Zhu Jin's wife and daughter.

That’s right, Zhu Sheng was enjoying the spoils with his confidants.

"How does Madam Yan feel?"

"General, there is no need to say more. I can understand..."

The girl's saliva was flowing, and her eyes and cheeks were red and swollen from crying.

How many rounds have we had? Kou Yanqing frowned and grabbed his shoulder and slapped him twice.

Zhu Wen held Qian's loose hair and took a long breath. He had worked hard for most of his life, and this seemed to be what he was looking for.

It's a pity that Rong Zhu was missed.

Zhu Sheng had met this sister-in-law once. She was beautiful and graceful, and she was so attractive, but she actually hanged herself! Zhu Xuan even burned her body cruelly, leaving no room for people to secretly admire it before it stinks. How sad!
And Li Ye, so——

"Oh!" Zhu Wen's train of thought was interrupted, and his whole body trembled.

"You guys play." After taking a deep breath, Zhu Wen sat aside.

After entering the sage state, he felt guilty as usual and began to repent.

The three armies trudged through the rain and camped in the wind, but I was relaxed in the warm post station. Xuan Jin saved my life, but I seized their territory and humiliated their families. The Li bandits have not been destroyed, and Shatuo is still strong. I should have devoted myself to starting a business...

But he comforted himself immediately. Some people live in the palace, some people sleep in the ditch, and men always have to endure hardships. Shi Pu and the two Zhus were destroyed because of their own faults. I have tried to persuade them to surrender more than once. As for playing with women...

Li Keyong has two concubines. Li the thief is playing with his sister-in-law——

Well, it seems to be a rumor. I only heard that the two sisters-in-law were placed in the Taoist temple in the harem for training. But since the story of the Tang Dynasty palace romance that this boy slept with his sister-in-law, the emperor's brother came to bed every night, and Concubine He stood outside the door crying has spread to the Central Plains, it is probably true. After all, things like the father sleeping with the son and the father-in-law holding the daughter-in-law's hand are not uncommon in the Li family.

"Knock knock!" There was knock on the door.

Kou and He paused, threw away the meat bag, picked up the clothes and put them on.

Zhu Wen came to his senses, pulled the blanket over his body to cover his shame, and asked, "What disturbed you?"

The reply came from outside: "Zhang Cunjing is here, and he claims to have something confidential to report."

Zhu Wen was displeased when he heard this.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, Zhang Cunjing sent congratulatory messages to both emperors, but only sent gifts to the Empress, which hurt Zhu Wen's self-esteem. Fortunately, Zhu Wen got used to it. Zhang Cunjing often sent gifts to Zhang Hui, although he always used the name of "I heard that you are not in good health and I respectfully ask the emperor about your kindness", but how could Zhu Wen not know what was going on?

But no one has killed anyone so far.

On the one hand, Zhang Cunjing is a man of many talents. Apart from his secret love for his wife, everything else is impeccable.

Zhu Sheng likes to pursue excitement, and normal ethical relationships between men and women are in conflict with his increasingly perverted spiritual needs. This is the second reason.

Whether it was Zhu Youwen who wanted to kill him but could only look at his wife's back in silence every time Wang Yu went out, or Jing Xiang who pretended not to know, Zhu Sheng couldn't stop. How could his own wife be as exciting as someone else's? Whether it was him and his daughter-in-law having sex in the future, or Zhang Quanyi's house full of females in the court. All these phenomena showed that he was a person who was addicted to taboo pleasures.

Every night, Zhu Sheng couldn't help but feel elated when he thought that the queen he was ravaging was the one that others loved but couldn't have. But Zhang Cunjing had no other choice but to endure the pain silently, smiling at him and working for him.

It is a complete double satisfaction both physically and psychologically.

How sad and tormenting is it for the beloved to be crawling on a pig? Zhang's pain is one of Zhu Wen's sources of happiness. The criticism he casually made is something that others can't get even if they spend their entire lives. For Zhu Wen, it has an alternative emotional value and helps to fill his vanity.

Thirdly, he could use Zhang Hui to indirectly monitor and control Zhang Cunjing, so he was not in a hurry for the time being. When Zhang Cunjing was no longer interested in the Queen, that would be the day for him to die.

Ugh!
It's so difficult to do anything.

After putting on his clothes, Zhu Wen walked out of the room excitedly.

In the hall of the post station, Xiang, Zhen and others had been waiting for a long time. When they saw him, they all stood up and greeted him: "Your Majesty."

Zhu Wen raised his hand in return, and then everyone sat down.

At this time, Li Zhen shouted to the interpreter: "Call the envoy from Hezhong just now."

After a while, there were footsteps outside, and then more than ten guards were seen trotting into the hall with Murong Zhang, who had been stripped of his armor. "Murong Zhang, the secretary of the Hezhong Camp, the commander of the imperial army, the military commander of the Deployment Army, and the Puzhou Youyi Envoy (temporary dispatch from the camp), pays homage to the saint."

"You've worked hard coming here in the rain! Bring him a Huchuang so he can sit down and answer the question." Zhu Wen encouraged and gave the order.

"Thank you, saint."

The emperor and his ministers looked at Murong Zhang as he took out the file from the sheepskin bag and handed it to the usher, then sat down.

Zhu Wenfu opened it and started reading.

Murong Zhang bowed and commented repeatedly: "The Li thief has gone east! The outposts in Longmendu, Hancheng, Fenglingdu, and Cizhou have reported the enemy situation. Boats are being collected day and night on the west bank of the Yellow River to build floating bridges. The overwhelming Li army is being mobilized quickly, with no less than 100,000 people. The Uighur Khan has already come to help. Pingxia leader Tuoba Sigong also sent his grandson Li Yichang, Ya General Gao Zongyi, and Ye Lichan to lead more than 10,000 soldiers across the river to respond. Wang Ke of the National Protection Army, Chen Xiong, the general of Yanchi Town, Xifeng Shuolihe, the defense envoy of Tongguan, and Yang Shouliang, the defender of Guozhou, are also ready to move. There is a constant flow of people and horses transporting food and materials from Guanzhong all day long. It seems that the Tang Lord will cross the river and fight with us soon. He wants to capture Jinjiang and even drive troops to Heyang to attack Tokyo. The recruiting envoy asked me to be present in person to avoid scaring people!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Xiang and Zhen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Well, this is indeed a big deal, almost like the thief Tsai knocking on the door of Suanzao. No wonder this man refused to say anything and had to tell His Majesty in person. If it were known by the court and more people knew about it, I'm afraid the anti-war wave would surge again, and the memorials advising His Majesty to return to the battlefield would be everywhere.

Besides, where did thief Li get so many troops?
Well, we can't speculate with common sense. Zhang Xiong expanded his army from 300 soldiers to 50,000 in just over a month. Sun Ru traveled around the Central Plains and claimed to have 500,000 soldiers. What is most lacking these days is people who want to be soldiers. Li Ze's troops are probably similar to Zhang Xiong's. A few elite troops and a mob. But this man controls Guanzhong and Guanxi, and has a large number of good fighting barbarian slaves and Huhua Han people available. He has the same advantages as Jin and Yan, which Daliang can't compare to. But that's it. Henan's athletes swept across the world, who did they lose to?
What is annoying is that the Li bandits are in high spirits, and it is like walking a tightrope for Zhang Cunjing to rely solely on his existing military strength. However, he is currently busy with matters in Qi, and his main force is in the east. Niu Cunjie, who is in charge of the battles in Huaixiang and Ru, and Zhao Keyu of Xuzhou have each taken away 10,000 to 50,000 troops. The remaining troops either have untransferable tasks to do, or their morale is low and their combat effectiveness is weak, and they can no longer squeeze out sufficient and effective additional forces to reinforce them.

What should we do? Divide some of the troops to attack Qi to the west? But in this case, should we still fight Zibo and Qingzhou? Wei Bo, who had just been suppressed, might rebel again.

Everyone didn't know what to say. Just now they were full of confidence in the attack on Qi, and even talked about how to deal with the diplomacy between the three towns of Qi and Lu and Hebei after the war. Unexpectedly, reality soon gave them a blow. Li the thief was crazy to sit back and watch Daliang's unstoppable advance in the east.

This Changan kid is so fucking disgusting.

After reading the report, Zhu Wen remained motionless, expressionless, and slowly closed the memorial.

He understood more clearly what Li Zedong's departure meant.

This means that there are sudden changes in the business. If you go to rescue him, you can only drive this bastard back to Pu Tong, and then you can sleep peacefully. One day when you are busy, you may be taken advantage of again.

If we don't rescue them, the situation could develop in three ways.

They were helpless against the two camps of Pu and Shaanxi, and ended up running away in disgrace, just like Sun Quan did when he attacked Hefei.

Second, and the worst, Zhang Cunjing, Zhu Yougong, He Wei, and Zhao Yu were defeated, the gates of Pu and Shaanxi were wide open, and Li's army rolled eastward along the two capitals, sweeping across Henan Prefecture, Zheng, Chen, Xu, and Bian. Zhu Wen had seen the heart of Li the thief, and the common people could not threaten him. He would not be soft-hearted towards the civilians who paid taxes and served him. Kill them, and that's it. It was too painful, and Zhu Wen did not want to experience the disaster of horse thieves again.

The best scenario is that Li the thief and the two camps are in a standoff, staring at each other, buying time for him to capture Wang Shifan. But this is not a good bet. If the east is not settled and the west is breached first, it would be ridiculous to rush back to Luoyang to defend the city.

Why did this kid go on the Eastern Expedition?

Is my sister-in-law having too much fun?

A cornered dog would do something desperate? That's not his style.

There are also the remnants of the Uighurs, who came to join in the fun even after their country was destroyed.

"Don't worry!" Zhu Wen's victory over the two Zhus restored his long-lost confidence. He stroked his beard, glanced at the chattering crowd, and said with a smile, "Destroying Li and the traitors will take more than a year or two. Since the traitor Li dared to approach Bo, we should give him a duel. I'm really afraid of him defending the city. If he comes out of Pu and Tong to fight me hand-to-hand, that's what I want. Although the enemy is numerous, most of them are a motley crowd. How many years has he been emperor? How many years has he been leading the army? He has over a hundred thousand troops and fifty thousand elite soldiers. He is a blessing from his ancestors. He has fifty thousand troops stationed in Hezhong and Shanzhou, all of whom are veterans. The traitor Li's murderous aura is ominous. Although he hides dangers, the situation is still critical enough to immediately dispatch reinforcements. If Li Keyong doesn't help, I may not even see Luoyang even if I knock out all my front teeth."

Zhu Wen was very happy. At this time, in sage mode, his mind was very flexible: "Even if we need to send aid from the west, we have to make proper arrangements, depending on the overall situation. If Niu Cunjie can pacify Cai and repel Li Cunxiao and Zhao Kuangming, we can withdraw troops from the Huaixi camp. If Zhao Keyu can pacify Yuan Qingji and Liu Hai, we can withdraw troops from the Xuzhou camp. If the attack on Qingzhou goes smoothly, most of the troops in Hua and Bian that are blocking Wei can go to Shaanxi and Pu to resist the bandits. Isn't Li Keyong fighting in Youzhou? If he doesn't come back before autumn, all the garrisons in Heyang, Huai, Meng, and Zheng can be mobilized. Are you still afraid that the kid will turn over? As long as I am alive, he and Li Keyong can't get out of my palm."

Well, ask the Queen to write another letter to humiliate and anger Li the thief. Hey, young people with hot blood may not be able to control their temper. If they are easily provoked and do impulsive things like Li Keyong, Zhu Xuan, and Qin Zongquan, wouldn't it be wonderful?
(End of this chapter)