After staying at home for several days, Zhou Jun enjoyed a rare period of family happiness.
On this day, the palace servant received an oral instruction from Li Longji, ordering him and Yin Yu to leave for the imperial palace for a banquet.
Since Li Longji fled to Liangzhou, many officials from all over the country rushed over after hearing the news, just to show their loyalty to the emperor.
Especially the officials from the eastern and western capitals, as well as the local wealthy families in Liangzhou, came to visit him one after another and vowed to be loyal to His Majesty.
Under the praise of many officials, while Li Longji felt relieved, his love for ostentation also appeared again.
The palace held a grand banquet in the imperial palace to entertain guests from all over the country, which lasted for several days.
Zhou Jun got the invitation, took Yin Yu with him, and went to the banquet in a carriage.
On the way, Zhou Jun opened the curtain and saw many ragged beggars gathered in many places in the city. He turned his head and asked Sun Aying, who was driving the car, "Are there still refugees in Liangzhou City?"
Sun Aying: "Going back to my master's house, although many of the refugees in the city have moved away, there are still many who are unwilling to move westward."
Zhou Jun: "Why don't you want to move west? Duan Xiu actually said that all Tang people who moved to Anxi will have resettlement expenses, and their residences will be provided by officials?"
Sun Aying: "I said it, but Anxi is far away after all, and most of the people are nostalgic for their hometown. Many people would rather stay than move away."
After Zhou Jun heard these words, he fell silent and looked out the window again.
Under the heavy snow, there are many frozen dead bodies. The bodies were buried in the snow, and their clothes were taken away. Only the blue and purple hands and feet were exposed.
Zhou Jun lowered the curtain and fell into deep thought.
Yin Yu saw Zhou Jun's solemn expression and said from the side: "Erlang, every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the government will give alms in the market... Now the number of refugees in the city has been much reduced than before."
After hearing this, Zhou Jun gently held Yin Yu's hand, changed the topic, and asked Sun Aying: "Aying, how many years have you followed me?"
Sun Aying: "Aying has been with the master's family for almost ten years..."
Zhou Jun: "Ten years ago, you were the leader of the Guards, and it's still the same today. Don't you want to change your position?"
Sun Aying was stunned and quickly asked: "Master, what wrong thing did Aying do?"
Zhou Jun smiled and said: "You have done your best and have never made any mistakes. It's just that a man is determined to fight in all directions, fight on the battlefield, and leave his name in history, so that he can live up to his lifelong wish... Don't you want to?"
Sun Aying was silent for a moment and replied: "Master, to be honest, Aying has also thought about it, but there must always be someone around you to protect you."
Zhou Jun: "You don't need to worry about this. I just want to ask you, if you have the opportunity to lead troops in battle, would you be willing to go?"
Sun Aying hesitated for a long time and finally said: "Yes."
Zhou Jun nodded and smiled: "That's good."
The carriage stopped in front of the gate of Liangzhou Imperial Palace. Zhou Jun helped Yin Yu, got off the carriage, and entered the main hall accompanied by the chamberlain.
The huge hall was filled with distinguished guests from all directions.
When the chamberlain loudly sang the names of Prince Consort Zhou and Princess Wanchun, the originally noisy hall suddenly became quiet.
Everyone unanimously turned their attention to the palace door.
Zhou Jun supported Yin Yu and walked straight to the innermost throne under the awe, flattery, envy, jealousy and hostility of others.
When they came to Li Longji, Zhou Jun and Yin Yu bowed down and called them father.
Li Longji laughed loudly, got up and left the throne, walked down the steps, personally brought Zhou Jun and Yin Yu to the center of the hall, and said in front of everyone: "I left Chang'an and went to Lingwu to quell the rebellion. Along the way, I tasted all the things in the world.
Leng Nuan. In the end, it seems that only my daughter and my son-in-law are truly caring people!"
When everyone in the palace heard this, they were a little surprised that His Majesty actually said this. It can be seen that the evaluation of Princess Wanchun and Zhou's Consort is unprecedented.
After saying that, Li Longji summoned his personal servant and wanted to have a drink with Zhou Jun and his wife.
Zhou Jun bowed to thank him, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the eunuch who was bringing him wine was not the usual Gao Lishi, but Fan Jinian, who was familiar with him.
Zhou Jun didn't understand at first why Gao Lishi didn't serve Li Longji.
It wasn't until he saw Yang Yuhuan next to the throne that he understood.
After finishing the glass of wine with His Majesty, Zhou Jun and Yin Yu entered the table.
Zhou Jun saw that the banquet was filled with delicacies from both mountains and seas, which were so dazzling that he could not see them all at a glance. Then he recalled the scene of the refugees in the city, and felt a little depressed, so he slowly put down his wine glass.
Yin Yu watched the singing and dancing in the palace with great interest. She smiled at Zhou Jun and said: "Liangzhou music is not like Chang'an. It echoes in Hu tune and has a unique sense of humor. I will find the music score another day and let Song Ruo'e and Xu Hezi have a look."
Zhou Jun hummed absentmindedly.
There were officials at the banquet who stood up to toast Zhou Jun. Among them were many officials from Chang'an, such as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Tongping Zhangshi (the same prime minister) Fang Guan, Huangmen Shilang Cui Huan and others.
A group of people came to Zhou Jun, first greeted him with courtesy, and then praised the latter's achievements.
Zhou Jun just smiled, knowing in his heart that this group of people wanted to say more than that.
Sure enough, Fang Guan said: "The prince-in-law now has an army of 300,000 men, and the recovery of the two capitals will be just around the corner."
Zhou Jun was confused. Even the 150,000 troops near Lingzhou could barely gather together. What happened to the 300,000 troops?
Fang Guan: "Since we have many soldiers and generals, why not march as soon as possible and recover the capital?"
Zhou Jun looked at the officials around him and saw the same thoughts written on everyone's faces.
He knew in his heart that most of these people were civil servants and had never been on the battlefield, so they did not know the plight of the Tang army and the strength of the rebels.
Therefore, Zhou Jun explained: "There is insufficient food and grass, and military pay is still lacking, so we can only temporarily rest and recuperate. After the issuance of the Quanyan Law, the financial pressure has been greatly relieved. Therefore, troops can be used in early spring."
Cui Huan, the minister of Huangmen, said at the side: "Cui heard that when the Quan Salt Law was implemented, the army exploited people's wealth and robbed private property. If this move is not observed, it may lose the support of the people."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Hearing this, Zhou Jun glanced at Cui Huan, then raised his head and glanced at Cui Mian, the deputy envoy of Hexi Jiedu not far away, with something in his heart
Understood, waiting to speak.
Fang Guan said at this time: "If you don't offer some benefits to those illiterate soldiers, how can you use them to fight in battle? This is an extraordinary period, so we should act cheaply!"
Fang Guan's words made Cui Huan choked and speechless.
When Zhou Jun saw this, he found that even this group of civil servants who were working together had different factions, and the relationships among them were complicated.
The banquet was getting late, and Zhou Jun planned to take Yin Yu home.
When bidding farewell to Li Longji, Zhou Jun saw Fan Jinian, the chamberlain on the side, winking and remembered it in his heart.
On the way home, Zhou Jun asked Sun Aying to take Yin Yu back to the mansion first, while he stayed outside the imperial palace to wait.
Not long after, a young eunuch went out and asked Zhou Jun to go to the cabin in the outer verandah.
Zhou Jun entered the room and found Fan Jinian sitting in the room. After exchanging words, he sat down.
When Zhou Jun saw Fan Jinian wearing a purple shirt, he congratulated him on his success in officialdom.
Fan Jinian smiled reluctantly and said: "Your Majesty loves the imperial concubine deeply. After Ma Weipo, he was worried that the latter would have a grudge, so he transferred Gao Lishi to the inner palace, and the old slave took over... The reason is that Zhou Erlang is naturally
know."
Zhou Jun nodded slightly.
Fan Jinian: "Since August, your Majesty has received many court officials from the south, and the desire to return to Chang'an is increasing day by day."
Zhou Jun: "In today's banquet, Prime Minister Fang Guan is one of them."
Fan Jinian: "Yes, after Prime Minister Fang came to Liangzhou, he wrote a memorial at the end of September, asking himself to be a vanguard, and wanted to go south to recover Chang'an and Luoyang. His Majesty rejected this proposal on the grounds that Zhou Erlang was the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses.
I made a request, but the thought of going back was planted in my heart."
Zhou Jun: "I heard from Fang Guan today that there are 300,000 troops. What's going on?"
Fan Jinian: "Cui Mian, the deputy envoy of the Hexi Festival, and the court officials who came to persuade many wealthy families. Those with money provided money, and those with grain provided grain. In Liangzhou, Shanzhou, Ganzhou, Lanzhou, etc.
land and raised about 100,000 new soldiers."
Zhou Jun was stunned after hearing this. Hexi was recruiting 100,000 new soldiers, but no one had ever reported this matter.
Fan Jinian saw Zhou Jun's expression and said softly: "Let's be honest, Zhou Lang must not forget this."
Zhou Jun: "Fan Gong and a certain person are life-and-death friends, but there is no harm in saying so."
Fan Jinian said: "Although Zhou Lang is the consort, according to etiquette, whether he is a commander or a leader, it violates etiquette. Therefore, many people in the court feel conflicted, and..."
Zhou Jun saw Fan Jinian hesitating and said, "Mr. Fan, please speak frankly."
Fan Jinian said cautiously: "Zhou Lang was born in a poor family and became an official. In the eyes of those people, he was an alien. Now he is married to Princess Wanchun and is appreciated by the saint, which makes them even more jealous. In addition,
In order to raise food and wages, Zhou Erlang introduced the Quanyan Law and turned private businesses into official businesses, which has violated the taboos of many noble families and wealthy households..."
Zhou Jun frowned.
Fan Jinian sighed: "We are taking the risk to meet this time just to remind you. Zhou Lang must not sit back and relax just to win His Majesty's approval. Many people in the court are pointing at the reasons to arrest you. If you just send troops,
That’s one of them.”
Zhou Jun: "Has anyone told Your Majesty that Zhou's unwillingness to send troops is an act of cowardice and fear of the enemy?"
Fan Jinian nodded: "It is true that some people have fallen into such a trap, but the sage also knows that what happened at Tongguan is a lesson from the past. If you rush it too much, you may make a big mistake."
Zhou Jun: "Cui Mian, the deputy envoy of Hexi Jiedu, and many officials in the court, privately recruited 100,000 soldiers, but did not report to me. Does your Majesty also know about this?"
Fan Jinian hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded lightly.
Zhou Jun knew in his heart that Li Longji was making his old habit again.
Since Wang Zhongsi, Li Longji has been playing a balancing act, supporting the weak and suppressing the strong, ensuring that no one in the DPRK will dominate.
After Zhou Jun took the post of marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, Pei Mian, the deputy envoy of Hexi Jiedu, and a group of court officials contributed money and food to recruit troops. Li Longji saw it but said nothing, which was tantamount to tacit approval.
The purpose is to cultivate a force headed by Fang Guan and Cui Mian to fight against Zhou Jun, ensuring that the two sides fight against each other, and the emperor can balance the power and benefit.
Seeing Zhou Jun's unkind expression, Fan Jinian advised him: "Don't take it seriously, Mr. Zhou. Your Majesty has great trust in you, but this is how the emperor always treats his ministers."
Zhou Jun said to Fan Jinian: "Your Majesty's thoughts, please don't spare me... Mr. Fan is so kind, I will keep it in mind."
Fan Jinian said with a smile: "It's best if Zhou Lang thinks like this."
This chapter has been completed!