The bald head and side teeth were not exactly what Li Yu looked like after his hair was cut off at the foot of Changzhou City. This was the untouchable pain in his heart. He screamed hysterically and angrily, "I'm going to kill Xu Xian!"

Li Yu tore the ugly portrait into pieces and beat the furnishings in the hall wildly. He almost kicked the chair table, the exquisite porcelain was smashed into pieces, and the gorgeous tent was torn to the ground.

The palace people had never seen Li Yu in such a crazy state. They all huddled aside and did not dare to approach him. Only Empress Zhou stepped forward and hugged him, crying and begging: "Your majesty, tell me what troubles you are having. Please don't get angry because of this."

Body."

How could Li Yu explain this kind of thing to Empress Zhou? He stretched out his hand to touch Empress Zhou's charming face and said, "As the emperor Xu Xian, how dare you insult me ​​like this? I will never let him go. I want to fight with Xu Xian."

Let the war begin!”

Li Yu was so angry that he couldn't sleep anymore. He ordered wine and food and drank until he was very drunk before going to bed. However, he got up on time to go to court at the fifth watch of the next day.

After the ministers had finished paying homage, Li Yu said: "Xu Xian from Huainan invaded our territory of the Tang Dynasty and humiliated the late emperor and me. I will personally conquer Xu Xian with my sword, so that I can relieve the hatred in my heart."

The ministers didn't understand what kind of madness Li Yu suddenly went crazy. Prime Minister Feng Yansi immediately went out to persuade: "Your Majesty, Xu Xianzong is hateful, but Huainan is now a barrier for the Tang Dynasty to resist the Central Plains troops. You must not start a war with Huainan."

Everyone who heard the words agreed.

Li Yu clapped his hands and said: "Xu Xian is ambitious. Being close to him is the misfortune of the Tang Dynasty. Instead of leaving the safety to others, it is better to take it into my own hands. I will retake the land of Huainan to comfort the late emperor's spirit in heaven."

Feng Yanlu, the censor Zhongcheng, came out and said: "Now that Huainan has fallen into the hands of the Central Plains, if I attack, I will definitely offend the Song Dynasty. If the Song emperor is blamed, what should I do? Furthermore, Your Majesty has not been on the throne for a long time, and the situation is unstable.

A defeat may lead to the destruction of the country!"

The two brothers tried their best to persuade each other, thinking that Li Yu would take care of it, but Li Yu laughed loudly and said: "Feng Zhongcheng is joking, Xu Xian has become a serious trouble to the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin is eager for me to attack Huainan, and he is a good fisherman to benefit.

It is true that I have only ascended the throne not long ago, but the former Emperor Shizong of the Zhou Dynasty also went on a personal expedition at the very beginning of his accession to the throne. He not only defeated the Song and Liao allied forces in Gaoping, but also killed Liu Chong. I can also follow suit today!"

Feng Yanlu prostrated himself and begged: "Your Majesty, it would be unwise to send an overwhelming army to conquer Huainan..."

"Bold! If your two brothers block it, are you taking Xu Xian's advantage?"

Feng Yanlu quickly clarified: "My visit to Huainan is just following orders, and it has nothing to do with my brother. Your Majesty must not wrong my brother, and it has nothing to do with my brother."

Once the label of collaboration with the enemy was thrown off, no one would object again. Li Jing firmly held the power during his lifetime, and left all his political legacy to Li Yu.

Li Yu was determined to fight and no one could stop him. Fortunately, he was somewhat self-aware. He had no experience in leading troops, so he let his uncle Li Jingda take charge of the expedition.

His uncle was Li Jingda who led more than 10,000 people to attack Chai Rong, but was defeated by Xu Xian with a thousand troops. Later, he continued to attack Chai Rong during the war in Huainan.

Defeated, lost several battles in a row.

Now that he has the opportunity to avenge his past humiliation, he is more active than Li Yu. After all, what he has to face this time is not the huge Central Plains dynasty, but just Xu Xian, and he is very sure of winning.

Xu Xian from Yangzhou had just seen off Zhao Ningxiu, and welcomed more than two hundred and a half young men, all of whom Erzhu brought back from Kaifeng. They stood in a row in front of the Jiedushi Palace for Xu Xian to review.

The team stood neatly and upright, but the equipment on their bodies was in a mess. They were probably weapons and armors that were discarded by their father and brother. Jiu Baoer joked at the side: "Where did you two pillars get these messy things?

Those who don’t know better would think you are beggars or deserters.”

Xu Xian scolded: "Where can I find the soldiers who came to join the camp with this guy's job? I accepted them all."

Erzhuzi said happily: "So I can be the head of the personal soldiers beside the Taiwei?"

Xu Xian patted Er Zhuzhu on the shoulder, "You're going to give yourself an official title. I'll give you a try no matter when I promise to ask you to do it!"

Erzhu said: "Back to Taiwei, Old Uncle Zhang said that if I bring over ten people, I will be made the leader of the team, and if I bring over a hundred people, I will be made the leader. Now I have brought over two hundred people.

Can’t you still be the leader?”

Xu Xian smiled and said: "What's the use of a boss who can only take care of a hundred people? How about asking you to take care of five hundred people?"

"Five hundred people? Doesn't that mean I should be the commander?"

Xu Xian shook his finger and said, "No, I want you to be the secretary!"

"Secretary? What does a secretary mean?"

"I usually help the soldiers write letters home, listen to their voices, and care about their lives. Of course, if you are marching and fighting, you have to obey the commander's orders."

It's hard to find more than two hundred soldiers who can read and write. It would be a pity to just stay around as soldiers. It would be best if they were given up on the task of being "instructors" and "instructors". I don't know what these young boys are.

Is it okay? I'm really afraid that it will be misguided by those veterans.

Erzhuzi said happily: "So we are all secretaries?"

"You have to choose people who can write, calculate, and speak well. Only those who are qualified can be clerks. Those with elm-headed heads who can only wield knives and kill people should stay with me as personal soldiers. Jiubao, take them in first and make them in Jiedushi

Stay in the house, give them good food and drink, equip them with armor and weapons according to the standards of the Red Scarf City, and train them hard for two months first."

As soon as Jiubao took the people away, Han Wei came up and said, "These people will be the Taiwei's eyes and ears from now on. Put the supervisors in the camp. The Taiwei really has a way."

"Haha... I really can't hide anything from you. I'm afraid these young guys can't deal with that old veteran."

"That's hard to say. As long as I can help the sergeants in the army write letters home, over time I'm afraid my weight will be comparable to that of the commander."

Xu Xian smiled and said: "Then it depends on each of their abilities. How is the situation in the south? Is there no movement from Li Yu yet?"

"My subordinate was about to tell the Lieutenant about this. News just came that the navy of the Tang Dynasty has been tentatively attacking. They just had a small battle with our navy on the Yangtze River, and our soldiers were defeated for a while!

"

"Then lose another battle and withdraw the navy so that the Tang army can come ashore!"

——————————

It is not a lie that Li Yu personally went on the expedition. When Li Jingda was commanding the naval forces in the Yangtze River, he would sit in a dragon boat on the south bank and observe the enemy's situation. Although he did not take risks in person, he also went to the front line in person, which played a big role in boosting morale.

He stood on the bow of the ship, with the north wind blowing his cloak behind him. Seeing that the few remaining Huainan ships were completely surrounded by the navy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he waved his fist in excitement, "We won again.

A while! A sneeze!"

Xu Kejian, who was standing behind him, said: "The wind in the river is too cold. Your Majesty, you should go back to the warehouse and rest. Don't get cold from the wind."

Li Yu nodded and told the general on the side: "Report the detailed results to me immediately."

He turned back to the cabin and went straight into the back cabin. The back cabin was as warm as spring, and a small charcoal basin was burning brightly. Queen Zhou was sitting by the side to warm herself up. When she saw Li Yu coming in, she immediately handed over the hand stove in her arms.

He went over and said, "Your Majesty's face is turning white from the cold. Please sit down and warm yourself up."

Chai Rong could take the queen to Huainan, and there was nothing wrong with Li Yu. Zhou Hou was really worried about the pampered Li Yu, so he insisted on coming with him.

"I'm not cold!" Li Yu said happily: "Queen, I have won again, I have won again, and Xu Xian is no better than me."

Empress Zhou smiled brightly and handed over a cup of hot tea, "I congratulate Your Majesty on winning another game."

Li Yu took a sip of hot tea and said, "I have realized a truth in the past two days. Huainan is not easy to fight. The reason why Shizong of the Zhou Dynasty went south for three times was because he was fighting against the Tang Dynasty. It is the same for me to attack Huainan today.

Without the support of the Song State, Xu Xian may not be able to survive for long, and the recovery of Huainan is just around the corner."

Empress Zhou did not want to refute Li Yu's fallacy, for fear of damaging his confidence, "If your majesty can regain Huainan, it will be enough to comfort the late emperor's spirit in heaven. However, Xu Xian's outstanding military exploits are not in vain. Your majesty should listen to the emperor's advice when it comes to the attack."

"I know it well! This time, Queen Xunxin will accompany me on the expedition!"

"It is my duty to serve Your Majesty. I heard that when Zhou Shizong was conquering Huainan, Queen Fu also accompanied him, and she took care of the wounded soldiers with the dignity of a queen. I am much worse off."

"Don't compare yourself to anyone else, Queen Fu. She passed away early when she was only in her twenties. You and I are going to grow old together!" He said and put his arms around Queen Zhou's slender waist. The two of them had just snuggled together.

, I heard a slight knock on the door.

I only heard Xu Kejian saying outside the door: "Your Majesty, King Qi has returned in triumph!"

Zhou Hou quickly sat up straight and said, "Your Majesty, you'd better go out quickly."

"Well!" Li Yu patted Zhou Hou and stood up and walked out of the back warehouse. He saw Li Jingda wearing a helmet and armor already waiting there and said: "Uncle, thank you for your hard work!"

Li Jingda cupped his hands and replied: "Recovering Huainan is also my long-cherished wish, and I am willing to go through fire and water, let alone hardship! This war minister captured more than 1,800 Tang soldiers and captured more than ten enemy ships, large and small. Finally, he lived up to your majesty's trust.

."

"Okay! Let's see how arrogant Xu Xian is! Once we break through the enemy's water stronghold, we will go ashore and head north to take Yangzhou!"

As soon as Li Yu finished speaking, he heard someone shouting outside: "The enemy's water stronghold seems to be on fire!"

The uncle and nephew looked at each other and immediately ran out of the cabin. They saw the Huainan Army's water stronghold in the north of the Yangtze River, filled with flames and thick smoke. Ships of all sizes fled from the water stronghold and went down the rolling river.

Li Yu asked doubtfully: "The enemy's water stronghold is on fire?"

Li Jingda said: "No, they probably abandoned the water stronghold and fled. They probably knew they were invincible on the water, and they probably wanted to return to defend Yangzhou."

"Now that there are no obstacles, I will land as soon as possible!"

Li Jingda said, "I thought that since our navy has the upper hand, we might as well advance both by land and water to Yangzhou!"

When the generals heard the words, they all agreed. Li Yu nodded and said, "It all depends on my uncle!"

Li Jingda said, "I have fought against Xu Xian before. He is cunning and difficult to deal with. There is only thirty miles of waterway from the mouth of the canal to the east of Yangzhou City. Xu Xian can easily control this thirty miles with his light cavalry."

, once the army is defeated by your majesty, it will be very dangerous, so your majesty will stay here and wait, and leave the rest to the ministers."

But Li Yu said with a straight face: "Uncle, do you think I have no courage? Zhou Shizong can come to Shouzhou City in person to boost morale. I have a large army to protect me on Juzhou. What do I have to fear? If I don't capture Yangzhou and cut off Xu Xian's head, I will

I vow not to give up. I have made up my mind. My uncle and you all should not try to persuade me any more. We should be ready to set off at any time."

Looking at Li Yu's stubborn expression, Li Jingda couldn't help but sigh inwardly that he had underestimated his nephew in the past. With such courage and courage, maybe the Tang Dynasty would be resurrected, and he had a little more confidence in his heart. The only thing that made him murmur was the legend.

Is the thunder in the sky really as miraculous as others say?

Li Yu was actually pretending to be fat. He had never led an army to fight in his entire life. The only chance he had to relieve himself from the battlefield was given by Xu Xian. He was still very afraid of the cruelty of war. If it weren't for the bad breath in his heart, he would not be able to swallow it.

I really won't do any personal conquests when I go down there.

He turned back to the back warehouse and said to Queen Zhou: "The Huainan navy has withdrawn. The army will enter Yangzhou through the canal tomorrow. It is only thirty miles from the mouth of the canal to Yangzhou. As long as we wait for the shore, it will be a dangerous place. The queen should return to Jinling immediately.
To be continued...