In Shouchun, hundreds of thousands of Han troops were still stationed here, preparing for war and digesting the fruits of victory. In Shouchun alone, the Northern Han Dynasty defeated 150,000 soldiers and civilians of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and seized grain and armor. many.
While organizing the troops, we did not forget to stabilize the people, implement Han systems, and implement Han laws. Of course, dividing the troops to attack the cities was also in progress. Along the river, Pan Mei led the army south, and Zhang Yongde and Zhang Yongde were ordered to go to Shu and Erzhou respectively. The attack was launched, and according to reports, it went smoothly.
The Han army was unstoppable with the momentum of a great victory, but the Tang army was afraid of fighting and was shrinking its forces southward. Except for a few forts in the north of the Yangtze River, it was not difficult to capture the rest.
Liu Chengyou sent Murong Yanzhao in advance and led the Longjie Horse Army and Longqi Army with about 10,000 cavalry southward to coordinate the attack on the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River in the Southern Tang Dynasty. In these three or two days, he might be afraid of the Han soldiers. Perhaps inspired by the "Letter to the Soldiers and People of Huainan" issued by the Han Emperor, Huainan counties and towns successively submitted letters of surrender and opened their gates wide to welcome the Han troops.
Regarding the capture of Yangzhou and the decision to seek peace with the Lord of Tang, news from both sides reached Liu Chengyou one after another.
Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Sirang led their troops southward, aiming for Yangzhou. Guo Rong reported it in the military report before. Liu Chengyou didn't feel anything wrong with this, and even had expectations. But after the good news came, he still couldn't help but feel a little worried. Surprised, I secretly sighed that it was indeed Zhao Da.
In response to this, Liu Chengyou immediately notified the entire army of the Huaihe River. At the same time, he ordered Zhao Kuangyin to be the governor of Yangzhou and temporarily in charge of military and state affairs, and Chen Sirang to be the inspection envoy of Yangzhou and Taiyang. This was regarded as temporarily handing over the land of Yangzhou and Taiyang to them.
As for the Southern Tang's request for peace, there were not so many surprises. If there was anything unexpected, it was that before the Northern Han spies in Jinling made their efforts, the Southern Tang's ministers made the proposal.
In view of this, Liu Chengyou simply stayed in Shouchun for one more day, waiting for the Tang envoy Sun Sheng to come from the north.
"Your Majesty, Huangfu Hui, the captured pseudo-Tang Huainan aid envoy, requested an audience!" Zhang Dejun reported to Liu Chengyou in the Shouchun Prefecture Office, who was thinking about the next national strategy alone.
After Shouchun City was broken, Huangfu Hui, who was captured in the Battle of Lai'an, was sent to the camp by Guo Rong and presented to Liu Chengyou. After all, he was nominally the commander-in-chief of the Tang Army in Huainan, but for Huangfu Hui, Liu Chengyou has no interest.
"Oh?" Hearing that he took the initiative to ask for a meeting, he finally got a little interested and said, "If you have a little leisure time, you might as well meet him. I just don't know what this famous general of the fake Tang Dynasty wants to see me for?"
"Probably asking for mercy or surrender!" Zhang Dejun guessed.
Soon after, Huangfu Hui was brought to the court, with two guards guarding him behind, guarding against the veteran general. He looked at the man, his face was quite upright, he looked old, his mood was slightly depressed, and he had many wounds on his body.
Waving his hand and signaling the guards to step back, Liu Chengyou asked: "Are you Huangfu Hui? You have been famous for a long time. Please ask me to see you. What can you do? Please tell me. I can agree at my discretion!"
Huangfu Hui also looked at Liu Chengyou, his old eyes shone slightly, and he looked quite emotional when he saw the Emperor of Han's majestic appearance. Without answering, Huangfu Hui said: "I am exhausted and unbearable. I wonder if I can sit down for a while?"
"Nothing is wrong!" After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and motioned for Zhang Dejun to give him a short prick.
Huangfu Hui didn't care, he just sat on the ground, took a few breaths, acted a bit pretentious, looked at Liu Chengyou, and said, "I wonder if I can lie down temporarily?"
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After saying that, without waiting for Liu Chengyou to say anything, he lay down on his own in the hall, seeming to have a carefree and unrestrained attitude.
Seeing his performance, Zhang Dejun immediately scolded: "How impudent! How dare you, a defeated general, behave so disrespectfully in front of the Emperor!"
Liu Chengyou became a little interested. He always felt that this veteran was a bit pretentious, and he didn't know where he learned the "famous general style". He stretched out his hand to stop Zhang Dejun and watched his performance quietly.
But seeing that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty was sitting peacefully, as if watching a monkey show, Huangfu Hui finally couldn't lie down anymore, raised his upper body, sat cross-legged, and said: "Your Majesty, maybe you think that I am asking for permission to beg for mercy from Your Majesty and to spare my life?"
"Isn't it?" Liu Chengyou responded casually.
"Then you are underestimating me!" Huangfu Hui sighed: "I am here to see with my own eyes what the Han emperor who defeated me looks like. As expected, he is as divine as the sun, majestic and precious beyond words! "
Liu Chengyou couldn't help but smile and responded calmly: "The one who defeated you was my great Han Huaidong Economic Envoy, Guo Rong!"
"If there is no emperor of the Han Dynasty, how can there be a Han army?" Huangfu Hui said: "The defeat of Lai'an was not because I did not do my best in national affairs. It was because Guo Rong was too cunning, and because the Han army was so elite that it was difficult to stop it, I was exhausted. , so I was captured. When I was young, I had seen the strength of the Khitan people, and fought with them, but I was not afraid of them. However, looking at the powerful soldiers of the Han Dynasty, few soldiers and horses in the world can match them! Our dynasty has not fought with the Central Plains for many years. In the battle, I don’t know how capable the Northern soldiers are, and they are defeated repeatedly. It’s not surprising!”
"I and the Han army don't need you as a prisoner to recognize and praise us!" Liu Chengyou still looked calm.
Seeing this, Huangfu Hui smiled happily, sat like that, cupped his hands and said: "When I was in the Tang court, there were often people who underestimated me and doubted me because of the frivolity of the generals in the north and when they were young, so they tried to throw themselves into the river to clarify their ambitions. I have seen it today. The Emperor of the Central Plains has no regrets in his heart, and all he wants is a short dagger to show his last loyalty."
After hearing this, he found that Huangfu Hui's eyes were full of calmness. Liu Chengyou looked at him seriously for a few times, seeming a little confused and thinking about his intentions.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to doubt that the defeated general has nothing else to ask for!" Huangfu Hui said, "Does the Emperor of Han still begrudge a dagger?"
Facing his request, Liu Chengyou raised his hand, pointed directly at a guard, and ordered: "Take Huangfu Hui down, find the imperial doctor, and treat his injuries first!"
After listening to Liu Chengyou's instructions, Huangfu Hui didn't say anything more. His eyes were calm and his expression was calm, and he followed the guards down. But within a quarter of an hour, the guards hurriedly came to report: "Your Majesty, that Huangfu committed suicide!"
"Huh?" Liu Chengyou was suddenly surprised. He paused for a moment with the ink pen in his hand, then put it down and asked, "What's going on?"
"The younger one took Huangfu Hui to seek medical treatment for his injuries. Before the diagnosis was made, this guy took advantage of my unpreparedness and hit the wall and died!"
"This man was disrespectful in front of the emperor and uttered arrogant words. Your Majesty ignored his guilt and healed his injuries. He was so ungrateful and bent on seeking death. How uninteresting!" Zhang Dejun said: "This man behaves strangely because he does not know what he did before and after. , what’s the purpose?”
Liu Chengyou thought for a while, suddenly smiled, and said: "This General Huangfu wants to use me to promote his reputation for loyalty, but it is also embarrassing for him. However, this person is really not afraid of death, and he is indeed not afraid of death." It’s beyond my expectation!”
"This old man has such a cunning idea!" Zhang Dejun seemed a little angry and couldn't control himself.
Liu Chengyou said: "That's all, since the person is dead, do I still have to care about the dead person? Let's give him a good burial!"
"Your Majesty is benevolent!" Zhang Dejun said respectfully.
Shaking his head, Liu Chengyou thought about it again and recalled Huangfuhui's words and deeds. Although he didn't take it seriously, he always felt like he was being touched. However, Huangfuhui used his life.
If you think about it carefully, Huangfu Hui can be considered a wonderful person.