As soon as it got dark, Dugu Lie's carriage slowly parked in front of a mansion. Two middle-aged men on the steps in front of the mansion hurriedly greeted him. The one with a medium build was named Dugu Ding. He was the head of the Dugu family in Luoyang. Behind him,
He is a tall, middle-aged man, the current right-guard general Dugu Jing.
Dugu Lie stepped out of the carriage and hugged the two clan brothers, "I should have come over to see you a long time ago. I have been busy until now!"
"You're welcome, my brother, come and sit in the house!"
The three brothers entered the house humbly to each other, sat down in the distinguished guest hall, and asked the servants to serve tea. Dugu Ding asked with concern: "How is the old mother's health? I plan to visit her in the next two days!"
"My body is okay and I feel a little better than last year."
The Dugu family holds a joint sacrifice every three years. The main characters of the four families will gather together to worship their ancestors, taking turns every time. Because the Anshi Rebellion interrupted the joint sacrifice twice, the joint sacrifice will be resumed next year, and it will be in Luoyang.
In addition, Dugulie's mother is the only living elder among the four families. Every year, the heads of the other families visit her, so everyone interacts with her a lot, and they are not the kind of relatives who have not been in contact with each other for more than ten or decades.
Dugu Lie pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, I have something to do today, so I might ask my second brother for help!"
Dugu Jing was startled, "Did I hear that right? Are you asking me for help?"
Dugulie nodded, "You have to do it!"
Brothers are always easy to talk to each other, not to mention that Dugu Jing had a problem with his position on the throne. From then on, he sat on the bench and became a sinecure general. It was simply a fantasy to expect him to be loyal to the emperor Li Heng.
Dugu Lie satisfactorily left with Dugu Jing's letter of persuasion. The two brothers watched Dugu Lie's carriage drive away before returning to the house.
"Second brother, why didn't you mention it just now?" asked the head of the family, Dugu Ding.
Dugu Jing sighed, "Let's talk about it after the matter is done! And after all, I have never been on the battlefield. How do you think King Qi will use me?"
Speaking of this, Dugu Jing laughed self-deprecatingly and said: "You want me to be the governor? It's obviously unrealistic. To be the deputy governor, I seem a little older!"
"Have you never thought about becoming a civil servant? Like Changsun Quanxu, who turned his military skills into civil servants and became a governor?"
"this"
Dugu Jing had never considered becoming a civil servant, but when his brother said this, he was a little tempted.
Dugu Ding patted his brother's arm, "You have to do something in your lifetime. If you can't enter Lingyan Pavilion, let's enter the local chronicles and leave a name in the world!"
Dugu Jing nodded silently, "Brother makes the decision in everything!"
"Okay! I'm going to visit my old mother in two days and tell Chengzhi by the way!"
Chengzhi is Dugu Lie's cousin. As Dugu Lie is the father-in-law of King Qi, he should be willing to help.
Li Chengshi is currently the deputy governor of the Tang Dynasty Navy and the military envoy of the Yangzhou Navy. The Yangtze River Navy territory is bounded by Poyang Lake. To the east of Poyang Lake is the territory of the Yangzhou Navy, which is Li Chengshi's territory.
To the west of Poyang Lake is the territory of Wang Xiaoru, the commander of the Jingxiang Navy. Of course, it is also the territory of King Qi.
The jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty navy included the coast and the Yangtze River. Originally, the navy's headquarters was in Mingzhou. After the Anlushan rebellion began, in order to prevent the rebels from crossing the Yangtze River and Huaihe River and entering the prosperous areas south of the Yangtze River.
The imperial court moved the navy's headquarters to Yangzhou, and almost all warships were concentrated on both sides of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou and Runzhou.
At that time, the navy trained every day, waiting for a battle with the rebels. Unfortunately, the rebels never went south. As the Anshi Rebellion subsided, the navy also released Manan Mountain.
Li Chengshi was sitting in an elegant room of Guangling Restaurant in Yangzhou, drinking without saying a word.
Sitting across from him was a middle-aged Taoist priest with a thin build, a few whiskers under his chin, a pair of small eyes darting around, and a sallow complexion. He was Zhang Luanzi, Li Xilie's staff advisor, who was sparing no effort to persuade Li Chengshi.
"Do you know how that letter of report fell into the hands of Huangfu? Huangfu had to pay 30,000 guan each to Yu Chaoen and Li Fuguo every year. How much did the general give Yu Chaoen and the others? Not even a penny! How much did he give each other?
Wan, if you can't get a penny on either side, what do you think Yu Chaoen will choose?
Huangfu Qian is a narrow-minded person to begin with, will he let the general go? To be honest with the general, he has already caught evidence of secret dealings between navy soldiers and water thieves. This is the biggest evidence for his impeachment of the general!"
Li Chengshi's eyes became sharp and he asked coldly: "Is the epidemic in Jianghuai over?"
"This is almost over!"
Li Chengshi suddenly turned around, catching Zhang Luanzi off guard.
Li Chengshi sneered and continued to ask: "How many people are left alive in Haozhou? They must all be dead! I wonder how many people Zhang Daochang has saved and how many salvations he has done for the souls of the dead?"
"This is a natural disaster and it is difficult to save it with human power."
Zhang Luanzi heard the sarcasm in the other party's words, and he felt unhappy in his heart. If he hadn't been on a mission, he would have walked away long ago. It's really difficult for this bastard to not get in.
Zhang Luanzi simply stopped trying to persuade him and said directly: "As long as General Li hands over the navy and warships to the king of Huaixi, regardless of whether General Li can join us or not, we will give General Li one million coins, which can be converted into silver and
Gold is fine, and General Li can go to Lingnan and enjoy more glory and wealth than he can in his lifetime."
Li Chengshi remained silent, with a sneer hanging from the corner of his mouth.
Zhang Luanzi's heart skipped a beat, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! I'll give you three days to think about it. If you really don't want to, I don't want to waste time anymore. I'll see you later!"
After saying that, Zhang Luanzi walked away.
Li Chengshi touched the short beard on his chin and sighed. A million dollars is tempting, but this Li Xilie is bad to the core. He is from Sizhou. Only after receiving a letter from his brother did he know that Li Xilie was afraid that the epidemic would spread to
All the refugees from Luzhou and Haozhou rushed to Sizhou. As a result, a plague also broke out in Sizhou. The brothers and their families fled to Yingzhou and received treatment from the imperial court.
If the navy and warships were handed over to Li Xilie, he would become a sinner of the Tang Dynasty and his spine would be broken by the people of the world. Li Chengshi shook his head decisively and could not agree no matter what.
After coming out of the restaurant, the soldiers came forward and said: "Captain, there is news from the military camp that the Governor's old friend is visiting!"
Li Chengshi was stunned for a moment, and quickly rode back to the military camp. The navy military camp was located in Jiangjin Bay in Jiangyang County. Hundreds of large and small warships were parked in Jiangwan, and the camp was on the shore. After various changes, there were originally
Of the 30,000 navy troops, there are now less than 20,000 left.
Quickly arriving at the guest tent next to his own tent, Li Chengshi raised the curtain. The light in the tent was bright, and a person was sitting at the table drinking tea. Li Chengshi recognized it at a glance, and it turned out to be his old colleague Liu Changning.
The two had been together for more than ten years and had a good friendship. The year before last, Liu Changning resigned in anger, and Li Chengshi even persuaded him.
At this time, Li Chengshi suddenly remembered that Liu Changning had pledged allegiance to King Qi, so if he came to find him now, could it be that he
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This chapter has been completed!