The newly built Runan County Government House is located at the west end of East Street in Biyang City, Nanyang Prefecture.
All the houses within fifty steps outside the county government were demolished and paved with stones. Special watchtowers and sentry houses were built at the four corners of the house, and soldiers were stationed there. It was strictly forbidden for idlers to stay around, let alone approach without reason.
, took a peek at the county government mansion.
In addition to the ancient trees with withered leaves that stretch their strong branches into the dark night sky, the rows of buildings in the Duke's Mansion are blocked by the towering walls, making everything look so solemn and mysterious.
Runan County Duke Zheng Huaizhong and his wife and concubines usually live in the West Cross Courtyard; Zheng Cong, who usually leads the army in Shangluo, was granted the title of Marquis due to his military exploits but has not yet built a separate marquis mansion in Biyang City. His wives, concubines and children usually live in the East Cross Courtyard of the Duke's Mansion.
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The middle courtyard of the Duke's Mansion is rarely opened unless there are important ceremonies or other events, but today is the day to welcome the Holy Envoy to deliver the edict. After dark, the candles are burning brightly, making the courtyard and hall light up into the night like day.
In addition to the dozens of servants waiting attentively in front of the corridor, there are also two rows of sharp soldiers wearing bright armor standing in the courtyard, showing even more majesty.
However, in the lobby, Runan County Duke Zheng Huaizhong heard the imperial edict read out by the emissary. He took the edict with a gloomy face and remained silent for a long time.
The Duke of Runan did not invite the edict envoys and the officials from Nanyang Prefecture and Shenwu Army to listen to the announcement as usual. He also did not discuss with Ning Ci and other Nanfu Yang officials about how to reply to the imperial edict. He just sat silently under the lamp.
He lowered his head and slowly rubbed the wrapped imperial edict with his fingers; Wuyang Marquis Zheng Cong looked around at the generals and officials sitting in the hall with a gloomy face and remained silent.
Zhao Fan sat under Zheng Cong, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of the high chair, his eyes rolling on the faces of Ning Ci, Cheng Lunying and other Nanyang officials, wondering if they had known about this edict before.
I heard something commotion.
After a while, seeing that the stalemate was not a problem, Ning Ci, the prefect of Nanyang, yelled and said:
"The Duke and Marquis Wuyang are working hard on military affairs; the envoys are also tired from traveling, so Ning Ci will accompany the envoys to the post house to rest. We will discuss everything tomorrow..."
"Mr. Lao Ning, Mr. Zheng is really tired, so he won't send the envoy to the post house in person!" Runan County Duke Zheng Huaizhong just said something, but he didn't even lift his buttocks and watched Ning Ci and other officials get up.
He bowed and walked out of the hall together with the messenger.
Cheng Lunying walked into the courtyard and felt a tightness in her chest for no reason. She took a long breath and looked up at the waning moon in the night sky. When she stepped out of the courtyard, she heard a "crash" behind her, like a porcelain cup being hit hard by someone.
On the tiled floor.
Cheng Lunying's heart trembled, and she resisted the urge to look back. She did not look at the expressions of Ning Ci and others in front of her. She just lowered her head and continued to walk out. It seemed that if she took half a step slower, she would be attacked by the fierce man who broke out in the night.
Like a beast devouring it.
Compared with the imperial edict sent to Xu Huaichu of Ruzhou, this time the edict sent to Zheng Huaizhong, the Duke of Runan County in Biyang, was in clearer and more severe terms:
In addition to Zheng Zhitang and other generals leading their troops to guard Shangluo, Lushi and other places, and to contain the enemy forces in Heluo from the upper reaches of Luoshui River, Emperor Jianji ordered Zheng Huaizhong, Zheng Cong and his son to personally lead the main force of the Shenwu Army of 30,000 people after receiving the imperial edict.
The group assembled within five days and boarded the ship at the mouth of the Tangbai River on the east side of Fancheng.
At the same time that the envoys carrying the edict left Beijing, hundreds of warships from the Jianye navy also officially set off from Jianye, Luzhou and other places, and are expected to arrive at the mouth of the Tangbai River east of Fancheng in five days.
The imperial edict also stated that Zuo Xiaosheng's army would be directly transferred to Xiangyang to rest and replenish troops, and they would be under the control of Wen Hengyue who stayed behind. In addition to strengthening the defense of Xiangyang, they could also reinforce Nanyang at any time, and ordered Runan County Duke Zheng Huaizhong not to worry about the undefended troops in Huaishang. Jingxiang, Nanyang is worried.
In addition, in the past, when Emperor Jianji issued edicts to Zheng Huaizhong, Xu Huai, Gao Junyang, Gu Jiqian and others, he would arrange for ministers or higher-ranking ministers in the palace to carry the edicts and read them out. In addition to expressing their importance, there was also some discussion. The meaning of lobbying is included.
This time, they changed the tradition and arranged for an ordinary palace eunuch to deliver the imperial edict directly to the Runan County Duke's mansion.
Cheng Lunying and other officials could clearly feel from the various subtle changes in this edict that the DPRK or Emperor Jianji had a strict and even ferocious attitude in bargaining.
Cheng Lunying couldn't help but worry, if the Duke of Runan County disobeyed the decree and refused to send troops from Nanyang to reinforce Huainan, how would the situation evolve? Where would the many officials of Nanyang Prefecture go in this dangerous and turbulent wave?
As a scholar, Cheng Lunying assisted the prefect Dong Cheng in presiding over the suppression of bandits in Tongbai Mountain. He knew a little about the art of war and military affairs, and was rewarded with merit. Therefore, when the Tang and Deng states merged Nanyang Prefecture, he was promoted to Nanyang Prefecture soldier Cao Shenjun, and was promoted to military officer. He supervises the military affairs of the military affairs department, and actually assists the prefect Ning Ci in presiding over the recruitment, organization, and training of the Nanyang Prefecture Army.
In the past few years, he has led Zhong He and other generals to train the government army constantly, and participated in the construction of many cities and villages. He has some military commander's bearing on him, but when Zheng Huaizhong, Zheng Cong, Zheng Zhitang and other generals led the army, they were crawling in the sea of blood in the mountain of corpses. In the face of a domineering general, he would never be able to stand firm.
Of course, Ning Ci is the head of Nanyang Mansion's officials, and he also directly takes orders from the central government. No matter how difficult the matter is, no matter how complicated and vicious the situation is, Ning Ci is the one who takes the lead, and Cheng Lunying will not be too busy to say anything.
However, some people couldn't keep their composure. When they walked out of the Runan County Government House, they couldn't help but murmur in a low voice: "It's true in the court, hundreds of thousands of enemy troops are pressing down on Huaishang, Xiangcheng, Zhaoling, and Ye County at any time. There was a possibility of losing the position, but he still used such harsh words to order Duke Zheng to send troops from Nanyang. There was no room for discussion. He also didn’t want to think about how the general would end up if the general was outside and the emperor’s orders were not given. If it caused embarrassment inside and outside, ah……"
Everyone in Nanyang Mansion was worried about the loss of Huaishang. From the bottom of their hearts, they never wanted the imperial court to transfer the main force of the Shenwu Army away at this juncture.
If the imperial court sent ministers to discuss the matter of troop deployment, everyone in Nanyang Mansion would definitely side with Ru Nan Gong Zheng Huaizhong. However, the wording of the edict was so severe that Zuo Xiaosheng's army was transferred from Ruzhou to Xiangyang to rest and replenish troops. There is also a hint of ferocity, and everyone in Nanyang Mansion is even more worried that they will be involved in a more dangerous and vicious whirlpool, making it difficult to stay out of the situation.
"The war in Ruzhou is very tight, and there are heavy enemies in Xiangcheng and Zhaoling. There is still debate on whether Marquis Jingsheng will receive an order to send Zuo Xiaosheng's army south to Xiangyang. Why are you panicking at this time? "
Ning Ci looked back at the Runan County Duke's Mansion in the deep courtyard and reprimanded the official who could not calm down. Then he glanced at the edict messenger, and in a slightly slower tone, he continued to speak to the officials around him,
"Of course, as ministers of the imperial court, we should share His Majesty's worries in everything. We still have to do our best to persuade the Duke of Runan..."
Cheng Lunying glanced at Ning Ci, but she didn't expect that he would not hide his inner dissatisfaction in front of the edict. Then he looked towards the dark sky in the north. He felt that the cold wind was blowing like a knife, and he couldn't help but think that Xu Huai would do it alone.
Withstanding the military pressure exerted by the enemy forces in the west of Beijing and Heluo, was Zuo Xiao's victorious army ordered to return south to Xiangyang?
If Xu Huai also refuses to obey the edict, how will the situation evolve? Will the Nanyang Mansion be able to stay out of the matter, and the court must first hold Chushan accountable for his disobedience?
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"Why should the young general be so impatient and reveal his true colors in front of Ning Ci and others? If you ask someone to secretly read the Duke's copy, it will be troublesome after all!" Zhao Fan waved his hand, indicating that he wanted to go into the lobby to clean up.
The waiter continued to stay outside and waited. He slowly leaned down and picked up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.
"The imperial court's edict is completely nonsense. Is it possible that we can't have any temper at all?" Zheng Cong said angrily.
"Major General, since he knows that the imperial court's edict is arbitrary, he should calm down," Zhao Fan said slowly and logically, "Major General, think about it, the first one in Chushan will not obey the edict, otherwise Xu Huaifang
Zuo Xiaosheng's army has left, and dares to use 30,000 to 50,000 troops to stand alone against the enemies in the west of Beijing and Heluo? According to me, the envoy and Ning Ci will be found early tomorrow morning and declare that as long as Zuo Xiaosheng's army goes south to Xiangyang, we will
He immediately boarded a ship from Fancheng to reinforce Huainan. Zuo Xiao's victorious army did not go south, and the Duke did not move his troops. No one can say that the Duke was resisting and disobeying the decree!"
"Then just do as Mr. Zhao said," Zheng Huaizhong waved his hand and said, "All ministries are also ready to mobilize. Your Majesty is not that easy to deceive. If anything happens, let Chu Shan take care of it first..."
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The messenger who delivered the edict was a little-known eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and this time he was only responsible for delivering the imperial edict. Ning Ci was also dissatisfied with this edict, so she walked out of the Runan County Duke's Mansion and led the officials away.
Go and let the meritorious officer join the army and accompany the envoy to stay at the post house.
Cheng Lunying saw that Ning Ci had no intention of convening everyone to discuss the response, so he left with two followers.
However, Cheng Lunying returned to the house and sat down in front of the brazier not long after. Before his body could warm up, Ning Ci sent a servant to summon him: "The messenger sent by Marquis Jingsheng has just arrived at the government office. Please ask Cheng Langjun to come immediately."
Went over to discuss matters..."
If Jingsheng Hou Xu Huai had received the imperial edict earlier, or if there were any other changes, he would have informed the Nanyang government office as soon as possible - and because Xu Huai disliked Zheng Huaizhong and Zheng Cong and his son, he would only turn to the Nanyang government office for many matters.
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The part of the money and grain paid by the imperial court to Chushan that was transferred through Nanyang was also the responsibility of the government office, and Zheng Huaizhong had no intervention.
Not knowing why Marquis Jingsheng sent a messenger into the city late at night, Cheng Lunying couldn't wait for his retinue to harness the carriage, so he directly led a horse and rode out of the mansion, followed quickly by two retinues, and rushed all the way to the government office.
Seeing Tang Tiande sitting in the lobby of the government office, drinking tea with Ning Ci, Cheng Lunying raised his hands and asked, "Why do you bother Mr. Tang to come to Biyang in person?"
In his early years, Tang Tiande was just a low-level military official in the Huaiyuan Inspection Department, and was not qualified to sit in front of Cheng Lunying. However, after joining Xu Huai, he was recommended by Xu Huai to be the magistrate of Luoshan County last year, and his status was no longer lower than that of Cheng Lunying.
And since he was here on behalf of Chushan, he was qualified to chat and laugh with Ning Ci.
Cheng Lunying was curious why Tang Tiande came to Biyang to run errands for Xu Huai when he was not in Luoshan?
"Cheng Langjun came here just in time," Tang Tiande said, "Xu Hou, Yang Tongzhi, according to your majesty's imperial edict, Zuo Xiaosheng's army will be transferred to Xiangyang to rest and recuperate. The first batch of sick and wounded generals will go ahead in the near future. We specially invite the Nanyang Prefecture Army
Send a team of troops to Ye County to protect everyone..."
