In Lingzhou, Lingwu Jiedu envoy's office, Zhang Xichong, who always advocated simplicity, was good at poetry and writing, was not good at wine and music, and did not keep servants, for the first time, placed thousands of jars of fine wine, countless fat sheep and fresh fish in the office.
Countless Lingwu Army generals and commanders drank with their faces flushed and their mouths were full of oil. They just didn't understand why Commander Jie was so happy today.
Zhang Liecheng came forward with wine, and saw Zhang Xichong and Pei Yuan sitting opposite each other, surrounded by several civil servants and officials, only hitting bowls with chopsticks and singing songs to commemorate each other, which formed a sharp contrast with the drinking and carnival generals outside.
Zhang Liecheng suddenly understood why this commander-in-chief was so rigorous in running the army that he could revitalize the Lingwu Army in just a few years and improve the people's livelihood through farming, but he was unable to unite the Lingwu Army and prevent Lingwu's decline.
Because this handsome man from his own family is so out of tune with the times.
If this person were in the Han Dynasty, he would be the prefect of Yunzhong like Wei Shang, and the prefect of Yanmen like Zhidu.
In the Tang Dynasty, he should be an important minister like Pei Xingjian who served as general and prime minister.
But it is a pity that in these troubled times, it is no longer popular to appear as a general or a prime minister with a bit of arrogance from aristocratic families.
Even for Zhang Liecheng, compared to Zhang Xichong, he preferred his adoptive father Zhang Zhao's "all-round talent" who could recite poems with literati and fight with warriors.
Zhang Xichong saw Zhang Liecheng coming over with a wine bowl, but stretched out his hand to signal him not to invite him to drink. Instead, he tapped the edge of the wine bowl a few times before speaking.
"A certain person grew up in Youzhou, but he didn't know his master. He mistakenly joined Liu Shouguang of Jie Yan. Fortunately, he got lost and returned. In the second year of Tiancheng (927), he killed Khitan generals and returned south with 20,000 people. It has been ten years now!"
Zhang Liecheng didn't know why Zhang Xichong said that, but he still praised it with a smile.
"Jie Shuai returned to the south, just like Su Wu of the first Han Dynasty, and Ban Dingyuan of the later Han Dynasty. His loyalty, righteousness and courage are known to the world! Although a certain person was born in Anxi, he is a son of Tang Dynasty. He should be respected by Jieshuai!"
Zhang Xichong and Zhang Liecheng drank from the same bowl, but he did not let Zhang Liecheng leave. Instead, he asked him to sit next to him, and then continued.
"When I returned to the south, I successively served as governor in various states. Although I did not have great achievements, I still had hard work.
My lifelong wish was to live high in a temple and fulfill Du Gongbu's ambition to serve the emperors Yao and Shun. But heaven has not fulfilled my wish, and now I will die of old age in a deserted place."
As he said that, the dignified Lingwu Jiedushi had tears in his eyes and said in a sad tone, "A certain person returned to the south in the past, but he just didn't want to be a Khitan slave and couldn't bear to lose my Chinese clothes to the barbarians.
But that Shi Jingtang betrayed his country for glory and dedicated his hometown to the Khitan thieves. I, Zhang Xichong, after ten years of hard work and risking my life to return south, do I want to become a Khitan again?
A person who was betrayed by his own lord, has a grudge but cannot seek justice, has a grudge that cannot be avenged, how is he any different from a dead person?"
As soon as Zhang Xichong finished speaking, the scribes and officials recruited around him were so frightened that they knelt on the ground. However, Pei Yuan was thoughtful and Zhang Liecheng was shocked and confused.
If Zhang Liecheng and Pei Yuan knew the historical process like Zhang Zhao, they would know that Zhang Xichong would die of depression next year.
He was the most unlucky and depressed person among the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
A heroic figure who did not want to be a slave of the Khitans, who was willing to give up his official position as the governor of a town and led 20,000 people back to the south, was betrayed by the king to whom he was loyal in his later years.
His hometown of Youzhou fell into the hands of the Khitans. At this moment, all Zhang Xichong's efforts and glory were completely destroyed by Shi Jingtang.
There were sounds of wailing inside the tent, and the Lingwu army generals and generals outside the tent were struggling, but no one noticed the changes in the tent. The Lingwu Jiedu commander was torn apart from top to bottom, nothing more than this.
"Pei Yuying! Let me ask you, what kind of person is the King of Han in Hexi?" Zhang Xichong suddenly stood up and asked.
Pei Yuan was stunned for a while, then suddenly smiled and said loudly: "After the loyalty of the King of Han, he is majestic and heroic. He can condense the ambition of the generals at the top and win the hearts of the common people at the bottom. He is the true lord!"
"Let me ask you! What are the ambitions of King Han?" After asking Pei Yuan, Zhang Xichong suddenly turned around and asked Zhang Liecheng.
Zhang Liecheng was shaken, but he did very well on the surface. He slightly cupped his hands and answered very calmly.
"Although I came from Hexi, I have never seen the King of Han as a star in the sky. I only see that the government in Hexi is harmonious and harmonious, the superiors and subordinates are well-ordered, the wealthy have no worries about destroying their families, and the common people do not have to suffer the pain of swordsmanship. It should be a paradise in troubled times."
"Hahaha!" Zhang Xichong laughed three times, "That's a good answer, but don't lie to someone!
Hexi has already begun to secretly control the camels you brought with you when you entered the city, and even recorded them by number.
If it weren’t for the close confidants of the King of Han in Hexi, how could he have more than ten Bactrian camels with just a vendor selling sugar for the Sogdian Chamber of Commerce? Why don’t you tell me quickly!”
Zhang Liecheng gritted his back molars. Although he had been training with Zhang Zhao for many years, he was still a bit young.
He couldn't help but glance at Pei Yuan just now. It was these few glances that almost confirmed Zhang Xichong, who was already a little suspicious.
Thinking of this, Zhang Liecheng stopped pretending. He straightened his somewhat crooked back, stood up, and answered Zhang Xichong proudly.
"The King of Han wants to lead the world's heroes to mend the cracked sky after the Kaiyuan Dynasty!"
"What a man who can mend the sky with one hand! If you are not a hero, you cannot say this."
Zhang Xichong was obviously also stunned. He stood there for a long time before saying: "You go back and report to the King of Han. Just tell Zhang Defeng of Youzhou, please have a moment with the King of Han!"
....
At this moment, the King of Han mentioned by Zhang Xichong is in Dunhuang City, getting drunk one after another, because today is the day of King Zhang's wedding.
She had been betrothed to him since she was twelve years old, and she had been waiting for seven years. Now she is nineteen years old, and she is about to become the old girl Cao Jiuniang Cao Yanxi.
Finally, she put on a green long-sleeved dress with flower hairpins, draped in layers of silk, and wore various gold and silver hairpins on her head to marry Zhang Zhao.
This was such an important wedding that even Shi Jingtang, who was disgraced by Zhang Zhao, sent officials from the Ministry of Etiquette to congratulate her on the spot.
Among the Guiyi Army, except for Zhang Liecheng who had to go to Lingwu and Pei Yuan who could not come back, even Murong Nobunaga returned with his wife Princess Yongle.
Zhang Zhao's aunt Princess Fengtian of Khotan, Prince Li Congde of the Jin Kingdom of Khotan, and dozens of officials from Khotan, large and small, who congratulated him, were present with gifts worth more than 100,000 guan.
The governor of Suiye who is far away in the governor-general of Suiye, the prudent great virtue Guo Xuanli, and the deputy governor of Talas Li Guoshou.
Hamid Emir of Saman Persia, Sadid of Anyuan Kingdom in Kabul, and Rashid Saliman, Governor of Hunduz, all sent envoys to congratulate him.
In every town in the country, whether they were elders like Kang Fu or upstarts like Yang Guangyuan and Liu Zhiyuan, they all sent their close associates to bring congratulatory gifts.
After getting in touch with Zhang Zhao, Meng Chang of the Later Shu Dynasty, who had just succeeded to the throne and still wanted to make a difference, also sent a secret envoy.
This king of Shu made a generous move, including five thousand pieces of colorful silk. The price was hoping that Zhang Zhao could help him win Fengxiang Mansion and enter Guanzhong.
After the promise is fulfilled, he will be rewarded with the territory of Yingning and Jingyuan.
This is caused by the typical slow transmission of information in this era.
Zhang Zhao made a huge splash in the Central Plains in Guanzhong, but Meng Chang, who was far away in the Chengdu Plain, just regarded him as a small northwest warlord like Zhang Gui in Liang Dynasty in the past and Lu Guang in Liang Dynasty in the past.
However, Meng Chang's view is actually correct, especially Lu Guang, who is very similar to Zhang Zhao in that they both led the army back after running the Western Regions.
Moreover, before Lu Guang went to the Western Regions, he was already a famous figure in the world, and he was much more famous than Zhang Zhao.
Meng Chang thought Zhang Zhao was Lu Guang, but actually he felt that he was looking down upon him.
Of course, no matter what Meng Chang thought, how could he possibly extrapolate the generous gift that came to his door?
So Zhang Zhao accepted Meng Chang's 5,000 pieces of colorful silk with a smile, and was noncommittal about the cooperation in attacking Guanzhong, neither saying it was okay nor saying no.
To whet Meng Chang's appetite, it would be great if he could get thousands more pieces of colorful silk from Shu!
Even if Meng Chang is not prepared to give it, Shuzhong is also an important sales area for Hexi rock sugar, white sugar and spices. There is no reason not to coax such a big customer into buying some.
Anyway, Meng Chang is a boastful person. He can maintain the status quo and manage the country carelessly, but making progress, especially in the use of troops, is very embarrassing and should not be feared.
At the same time, King Zhang Han's wedding was also very interesting. Others worshiped their parents, but he worshiped his two mothers. Zhang Zhao also made some mistakes in handling his aunt, Princess Fengtian.
It was the Song and Ming dynasties, especially the somewhat conservative ethos of the Ming Dynasty, that affected Zhang Zhao's judgment of the Tang Dynasty.
In the eyes of people at this time, if he wanted to rule the world, marrying a Scythian as his queen would not work.
But having a Scythian aunt and a aunt who helped him a lot was nothing at all.
What's more, according to the concubine ethics at this time, Princess Fengtian should have a higher status than her biological mother, the Song family.
So when worshiping the parents, Princess Fengtian was on the left, with a higher status, and the Song family was on the right. There was no father present, but there were two mothers.
....
It was night! Against the backdrop of several pairs of red candles, the delicate Nineteenth Niang jumped onto Zhang Zhao's back with a single stride and started laughing crazily.
Zhang Zhao, who was already a little drunk, was caught off guard. He dodged and stabilized his body, and then pinched the slender Nineteen Niang in his hands.
"Can't you be more reserved, little lady? You make me feel like a prey!" Zhang Zhao looked at the girl in his arms and smiled.
Nineteenth Niang is not an oval face with baby fat like Sanniangzi, but an authentic oval face. Her eyes are not round and cute, but slender red and phoenix eyes. With the evil smile on her face, she looks like an eccentric person.
Little goblin.
The little fairy wrapped his legs around him and hung directly on Zhang Zhao.
"Reserved? Am I not reserved enough? I have been reserved for seven years from the age of twelve to now!
Zhang Erlang, a hero in the world, finally belongs to me today!"
As she said that, the little girl rolled her pink tongue and started to unbutton Zhang Zhao's collar with a blushing face, "Li Qiniang said, it feels good to touch you! Come on, let's not waste time!"
Zhang Zhao suddenly couldn't laugh or cry. How could these women say anything?
"Why are you so anxious? From now on, we will be one husband and wife, and there will still be decades left."
"Hmph!" Seventeenth Mother's delicate nose twitched, "Are you not in a hurry? Before I even entered the house, Mr. Lang had six children, and I don't know how many more there will be in the future.
The world is in troubled times now. Once the king leaves, you don’t know when he will come back. If you don’t hurry up now, that won’t work!”
Zhang Zhao was right when he thought about it. The Cao clan, Cao Yanmian, and Ayiguli and others are here, and he is now the king of Han who rules Longyou in Hexi Province. He doesn't have much time at home, so he really needs to be in a hurry!
Immediately, he threw it gently and called Li Xiuyun, who had been eavesdropping outside, to come in and help clean the bride in the complicated dress.
Amidst the playful sounds, the red candle was suddenly blown out.
This chapter has been completed!