Outside Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, in a fairly good manor, Hu Cile, who was about to take up his post as the military commander of the Wuning Army in Xuzhou, was preparing a few side dishes in his room and warming a pot of good wine. He wanted some small dishes.
Have a few drinks.
In the Five Dynasties, it was a great good thing to be able to show off the moral integrity.
Of course, the same is true for Hu Zaile. From a small person in the Western Regions, he has become a big town in the Central Plains court in ten years. It can be said that he has reached the pinnacle of his life.
However, before Hu Cile could enjoy this contentment by himself, his son Hu Guang came in cursing.
Hu Guang had his head covered and looked a little sluggish. The Khitan Iron Harrier Army had beaten him hard.
If it weren't for the special composite helmet made by Liang Guo, which greatly reduced the power of this weapon, Hu Guang would have been killed on the spot instead of just having his head smashed.
Of course, the injury was not serious. Hu Guang had been lying on the carriage for more than a month, and the injury on his head was still not completely healed. Whenever it was windy or rainy, his head ached a little.
"What do Qilang and the others say? Are they still making trouble to go back to Hexi?"
Hu Cile asked softly. The Qilang he mentioned was also a member of the Hu Cile tribe, but now he changed the original tribe to a family, and the people in the original tribe were all named Hu.
Their tribe was originally the Dadan people of the grassland who submitted to the Guiyi Army. Later, they went to Khotan as Cao Yuanxin's dowry, and then were given to Zhang Zhao by Cao Yuanxin as a bodyguard.
After returning to the Central Plains, his son Hu Guang followed Murong Nobunaga to Tokyo. At that time, the Heavenly King was still a minister of the Central Plains Emperor. These hundreds of Liangzhou knights were also part of the deal between the Heavenly King and the court.
Later, Murong Nobunaga wanted to return to Hexi, so the King of Heaven sent him to Tokyo to command the hundreds of Liang cavalry.
They originally numbered 800 people. In the past six years, dozens of them died in battles, died of illness, and were wounded and retired. Now there are still more than 600 people.
Half of them are members of their Hu clan, and half are Xiaoqi from the Liugu tribe south of Liangzhou.
To be honest, the two generations of emperors of the Shi family still valued them very much.
After all, these Liangzhou knights have no roots in the Central Plains and can be recruited as personal guards.
Moreover, they are well-equipped and have superb riding skills. They are rare light-armored horse archers in the Central Plains and play a great supplementary role to the Jin army.
No matter how chaotic the Central Plains is, it is still much more prosperous than Hexi. In addition, after staying there for six years, many people began to get used to living in Tokyo and settled down in Tokyo.
Although I still have special feelings for Liang Guo, I don't miss him that much anymore.
This was the case with Hu Cile. When he returned eastward with Zhang Zhao, he just wanted to make contributions to the colorful world of the Central Plains.
But now, his dream has basically been achieved, and his sense of belonging to Zhang Zhao doesn't seem to be that strong anymore.
His attitude was that if the King of Heaven could enter the Central Plains, he would definitely try to help him, but if the King of Heaven did not enter the Central Plains, he would be in trouble and would not be prepared to go back.
On the other hand, the second son Torahiro and a group of younger people, such as Torashichiro, don't think so.
These young people watched Zhang Zhao's miraculous rise step by step, and followed Zhang Zhao in his conquests throughout the Western Regions.
Therefore, his feelings for Zhang Zhao are very strong. Even now, he considers himself a native of Liang State and has always believed that the King of Heaven will definitely take over the Central Plains.
Hu Guang angrily walked to sit in front of Hu Ci Le. He knew Hu Ci Le's plan, so there were many conflicts between father and son, and they quarreled not once or twice.
And as one of Zhang Tianwang's biggest fans, not to mention his father Hu Cile, who was in the prime of his life and married the former Princess Yongle of Tang Dynasty, Murong Nobunaga, as the eldest son of Zhang Tianwang, was a little obsessed with the prosperity of Tokyo.
, even Hu Guang dared to spray it in front of his face.
"Don't talk about Qi Lang, I want to go back to Da Liang. I will join Feng Yu and his eight generations of ancestors!
I, Cao Cao, risked his life with his sword, broke his muscles and bones, and defended himself against the enemy. Those who were seriously injured were only given three ends of silk.
The actors in the palace can fulfill the decree with just one word and smile, and can bestow brocade robes, silver belts, and hundreds of thousands of coins. How can such a country be guarded?"
Duan is the unit of cloth, to be precise, it is the unit of cloth coin.
At this time, silver and copper were insufficient, so cloth was often used as currency. One end was folded in half and then cut into two halves. This half was one end, that is, half a piece of cloth.
At this time, a piece of silk cloth was worth about two thousand yuan, which was two guan, and three pieces of silk was one and a half pieces, which was worth three guan.
It looks like a lot, right? But the price is serious injury!
What kind of injury can be called a serious injury? That is, if it is difficult to survive after a broken arm or leg, then it is called a serious injury.
Hu Guang, who was almost beaten out of his brains, could not be considered seriously injured.
For such an injury, the compensation received is three thousand dollars.
Hu Qilang's right hand was cut off at the wrist by the Khitans, and one eye was severely injured. The pension he received was three ends of silk cloth worth three guan of money.
Hearing this, Hu Cile couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. This stone is so valuable. Is there something wrong with his brain?
The soldiers had done a great job, and the Khitan people they killed were littered with corpses, but he sent them away with only tens of thousands of guan.
At the same time, there was a big celebration in the palace, and the actors and their attendants were often rewarded with hundreds of knives per person. What the hell is this?
If in Hexi, the King of Heaven only eats two dishes for a meal and wears burlap clothes, he must also ensure the pension of his soldiers.
"Go and persuade Qi Lang again, and also tell the subordinates below that although the emperor did not give much gold, silver, brocade and silk, he gave me the position of military governor of Wuning Army in Xuzhou with a tiger thorn.
When we get to Xuzhou, I will compensate you ten times, no! a hundred times, and the women will have all the property, and I will never let any son have the worry of hunger."
"Are you planning to use the gold and silver given by the King of Heaven to subsidize Qilang and others?"
The last glimmer of hope arose in Hu Guang's heart. In the six years since they arrived in Tokyo, the King of Heaven has never forgotten to give them military pay, and his father Hu Cile even received a special allowance of 30 kuan per month.
Although they bought land in Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo and often used this money to make friends and win over the Forbidden Army generals, a large part of them still remained.
If this money is used to provide subsidies to Toshichiro and others, the meaning will be different.
However, in Hu Guang's hopeful eyes, Hu Jile slowly shook his head.
"We have spent too much on purchasing land recently, and it is not enough to pay for our merits. Let's talk about it when we get to Xuzhou. Wuning's army is rich, and we will always get thirty to fifty thousand gold for our sons to support their families."
Huguang was stunned for a moment, looking at his father who was imitating the appearance of the king of the past and beginning to appoint officials and make wishes. He suddenly didn't want to say anything. He just nodded lightly, then got up and left.
Hu Zaile saw that his son didn't quarrel with him because of this matter for the first time. He thought it was Hu Guang who finally got the idea, and the wrinkles on his face relaxed with joy.
Yes, in the future, he will also be in the government office, and his mentality will naturally change, Hu Cile thought.
....
On the north bank of the Yellow River, there is an unnamed ferry. To say it is a ferry may be an exaggeration. In fact, it is just a small bay with a few fishing boats berthed.
On the dirt bunker to the north of the river bend, more than twenty tough knights were waiting quietly.
The leader was a strong man with a broken arm. He looked uneasily into the distance until he saw a man and a horse coming towards this direction. He breathed a long sigh of relief and seemed to feel a little uncomfortable at the same time.
"What kind of reward did San Bo promise me? It must be three hundred guan!" Toro Shichiro looked at Toro Guang and asked with a hint of ridicule.
Hu Guang sighed, not knowing whether to shake his head or nod.
"The prospect of releasing the vassal towns abroad has fascinated the Lord. He now regards himself as the leader of the Wuning Army and the commander-in-chief of the separatist regime.
It’s far more than three hundred guan, as long as you want, 3,000 guan will do.”
The two sentences seemed unrelated, but in fact they were related. Looking at Torahiro's face, Tora Shichiro couldn't bear to tease him any more.
"I, Hu Qilang, am an upright man. Shi Chonggui used three ends of silk cloth to insult my desire to serve the country. I will not stay in the Jin Kingdom any longer.
Although my uncle had some savings, it was far from possible that he would be able to come up with 3,000 guan. He could only search the Wuning Army's territory.
I'm afraid that using that kind of money will bring disaster to my descendants. Erlangjun, will you come with us?"
"From now on, if you go west, someone will pick you up when you reach Shaanzhou." As he said this, Hu Guang patted Hu Shichiro's right arm that had no wrist.
"When you go back, you must tell the King of Heaven that Hu Guang's heart can be learned from the sun. We have not forgotten the oath we made to rebuild the Tang Dynasty when we were in the Western Regions. I will go to the Wuning Army, where I will be better than returning to Hexi.
it works."
....
Almost at the same time, in Guizhou City, a father and son were having an extremely important conversation.
Zhao Kuangzan is nineteen years old this year, and he has matured a lot compared to the first time he met Zhang Zhao.
Zhao Kuangzan actually spent these years in suffering.
This is a proud young man. He has always been proud of his bloodline of the Tang Dynasty royal family, although in fact this Tang royal family is not so real.
After following his mother to Khitan, Zhao Kuangzan quickly lost his maternal love because his mother, Princess Yan, could not adapt to the Khitan climate and died of illness not long after.
In the eyes of those Khitan dignitaries, the slight contempt towards the Han people made the arrogant Zhao Kuangzan even more uncomfortable.
As for his father, Zhao Yanshou, who put him through all this, Zhao Kuangzan has not spoken to him for a long time, or even seen him in person.
So at this time, when he saw that his father Zhao Yanshou had replaced the Han bun on his head with a Khitan-style braid, he was still shocked for a long time.
"It seems that the adults have made their choice. You still don't believe the child's judgment. Is the child too young?"
After the shock, Zhao Kuangzan became surprisingly easy to talk to, as if he had made some kind of decision.
He analyzed for his father why Zhang Zhao was more successful, but it seemed that it had no effect at all.
Zhao Yanshou did not expect Zhao Kuangzan to be so calm, and then he thought that his stubborn son must have made some kind of decision.
"There are some things that King Zhang Tian cannot give. Only His Majesty can give them. Your Majesty already allowed a certain Kunfa yesterday."
Zhao Yanshou pointed to the Khitan-style comb hair on his head and said, he seemed a little proud of it, because in the Liao Kingdom, Han people were not allowed to have comb hair.
Zhao Kuangzan shook his head, "Your Majesty would not give it to you before, and he will not give it to you after you get your hair back. From now on, you don't have to tell me this."
Zhao Yanshou's cheek twitched and he looked like he was about to get angry, but he still held it back.
"I have been following His Majesty for six years, and I know exactly what he thinks.
But you, did you make your decision so quickly? Alang must be so much better than his brother?"
Alang refers to the younger brother. Who are the Alang and elder brother mentioned by the father and son? The answer is obvious.
Zhao Kuangzan nodded, and he replied slowly and clearly: "My brother is indeed a wise king, but Alang is a wise master! When placing bets, of course you have to bet on the one with the most promise."
Saying that, Zhao Kuangzan raised his hand and said, "Some people want to follow me, please make it easier for me."
Zhao Yanshou's face was already very ugly, and he suddenly felt a sense of strangeness and betrayal.
"Does this have to be the case between father and son?"
"The Zhao family will never hang themselves on a tree. This is my lord, oh no! Ah Weng often said this when he was still alive."
Zhao Kuangzan had an extremely formulaic smile on his face, "Please forgive me, sir."
"You traitor! You will definitely regret it in the future. What you lost today is the position of prince." Zhao Yanshou was completely furious.
"The adults will definitely be happy in the future, because the child has continued the Zhao family's incense and wealth."
Zhao Kuangzan looked directly into Zhao Yanshou's eyes. Normally, it would be very disrespectful to look directly at his father.
What a picture of a loving father and a filial son.
