After he listened to Shen Yi's question, he didn't speak at first, and then smiled.
He looked up at Shen Yi and said, "Brother Shen, no one has ever asked me this question before you."
"But many people have asked similar questions to this."
Shen Yi touched his chin, thought for a moment, and replied: "If I guessed correctly, others should be asking Mr. Hou whether Da Chen can last long."
"Brother Shen is really smart."
Zhao Lu clapped his hands and said, "It will work out in one click."
The general sat on a chair, rubbed his temples, then looked up at Shen Yi, and said quietly: "Brother Shen is young, do you know how many times I, the Huaihe Navy, have endured death for Da Chen?" Disaster?"
Shen Yi thought for a while and then replied: "If you include the time when Shizong traveled south, it should be three times."
"For the first time, it was General Zhao Chong who held the Northern Qi in check and prevented the Qi people from going south."
"The second time was in the early years of Emperor Xianzong's accession to the throne. The Northern Qi Dynasty once again marched southward. The second Marquis of Anping successfully blocked the Qi people, and Emperor Xianzong was able to secure his throne."
"the third time…"
Shen Yi said slowly: "It should be the thirteenth year of Yuanxi, when the late emperor died of illness."
In the thirteenth year of Yuanxi, the late emperor, who had been decadent for several years, passed away in indulgence. At that time, the prince was young and the government was unstable. The young and strong Prince Jin was eyeing the throne, and the whole country was in turmoil.
In the summer of the thirteenth year of Yuanxi, the Northern Qi Dynasty made its last large-scale march south, preparing to march south of the Yangtze River and unify the world.
The battle lasted for three full years, from the 13th year of Yuanxi to the 2nd year of Hongde. Only after the court gradually stabilized did the Northern Qi Dynasty have to retreat in anger.
Zhao Lu looked at Shen Yi in surprise, then clapped his hands and said, "Scholars are amazing, they can remember these past events clearly."
He sighed with emotion: "You may not even remember the treacherous son of mine, Brother Shen, clearly."
Seeing that Shen Yi did not speak, General Zhao continued: "The battle in the thirteenth year of Yuanxi was fought by me personally. It was not my Huaihe Navy who fought bravely to kill the enemy. Da Chen..."
"Even if we survive, I'm afraid Jiankang won't be able to stay any longer."
He raised his head very proudly and looked at Shen Yi: "In terms of loyalty and merit, no one in the entire Dachen can surpass the Huaihe Navy. It's a pity..."
He shook his head and said with emotion: "It's a pity that your Majesty misunderstood the slanderous words of the traitorous ministers in the court, and gradually lost trust in our Huaihe Navy."
When he said this, he kept staring at Shen Yi, looking at Mr. Shen and feeling a little scared.
Shen Yi coughed, breaking the awkwardness in the field. He looked at General Zhao with a smile and said with a smile: "The general has talked about the merits of the Huaihe Navy, so let me talk to the general about the sins of the Huaihe Navy. "
"Let's talk about the Zhao family first. I guess no one except the Marquis himself knows how many acres the Zhao family has in the capital."
"In the process of occupying a large amount of land, I'm afraid the Marquis himself doesn't know whether the Zhao family used their power to bully others, or even used their power to kill people."
"In addition to the acres of land in the capital, there is Fengyang Mansion..."
Zhao Lu had no expression on his face: "Fengyang Mansion is where the imperial court allows the Huaihe Navy to farm. This brother Shen also wants to take care of it?"
"Master Hou, don't be anxious, just listen to what I have to say."
Shen Yi said with a smile: "Indeed, the grain produced by the entire land of Fengyang Mansion is basically military ration to support the Huaihe Navy. However, these military rations are not under the direct jurisdiction of the Huaihe Navy, but under the jurisdiction of Fengyang Prefecture Yamen , and the Fengyang Magistrate’s Yamen will regularly escort them to the Huaihe Navy Camp every year.”
Zhao Lu was expressionless: "It's the same now."
Shen Yi sneered and said: "But the selection of the Fengyang magistrate's office is no longer decided by the court or the officials! Let's not talk about the affairs of the late emperor's dynasty for the time being. Just talking about this dynasty, at least three Fengyang magistrates died inexplicably. In Fengyang Mansion."
"Master Hou, am I right?"
Zhao Lu raised his eyebrows: "Without any evidence, the imperial envoy can't put this hat on the Huaihe Navy?"
"Well."
Shen Yi said in a deep voice: "Then let's talk about what happened in the past few years."
"In the seventh year of Hongde, the imperial court went to war with the Northern Qi Dynasty. The imperial court allocated 30,000 forbidden troops to assist the marquis and put them under the command of the marquis. It took one year to defeat the enemy. The Huaihe Navy suffered thousands of casualties, and only over a thousand were killed!"
"Of the 30,000 Imperial Guards, less than 20,000 have returned!"
He looked at Zhao Lu and said in a deep voice: "The general said, is this a sign of self-respect for the troops, or is it harboring different intentions?"
"The two countries are at war."
Zhao Lu remained expressionless and said: "It is normal for each other to have casualties. The Forbidden Army has casualties. Could it be that the Qi people have no casualties?"
Mr. Shen laughed angrily: "How many casualties did Qi people suffer in the seven years of Hongde?"
Zhao Lu looked at Shen Yi as he should, and said, "That's because the Forbidden Army was not elite enough. When they encountered the Qi army with almost the same number, they were severely defeated by the Qi army."
Mr. Shen took a deep breath and was too lazy to argue with him anymore.
At this point, it has become an established fact that the Zhao family has its own troops and is a faction of its own, and there is nothing to argue about.
He found a chair and sat down by himself, then looked at Zhao Lu and said: "General, there are some words that are useless to talk about. You and I both know it very well. Now, even if we leave aside the Zhao family's problem, the water of the Huaihe River The division's internal problems have also become very serious, and the imperial court hopes that the Ministry of War can reorganize the Huaihe Navy Division."
"General, do you agree?"
Zhao Lu did not hesitate and shook his head slowly.
"You guys from the Ministry of War, all you have in mind is money. I leave it to you to sort out the Huaihe Navy. I'm afraid those vacancies will have to be collected one by one."
"We brothers in the Huaihe Navy don't have that much money to give to the men in the Ministry of War."
"Well."
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said, "Then you and I have nothing to talk about. The general is busy in the army, so please come back. Shen will go back to Jiankang tomorrow."
"No."
Zhao Lu shook his head slightly and said: "Although the Qi people in Huaibei are making frequent moves, they should not take action within ten days and a half. I still have some time."
He looked at Shen Yi and said, "You and I will go back to Jiankang together."
His eyes were calm, and there was no wave in his tone: "Zhao knows clearly what you Shen Ziheng is thinking, as well as His Majesty's. You are just thinking about the collapse of the Zhao family, and the imperial court will officially take over the Huaihe Navy."
"But in the past few decades, if the Zhao family was not in the Huaihe Navy, but the imperial court was resisting the Northern Qi Dynasty, I am afraid that Da Chen would not be the Da Chen he is today!"
"Zhao is really worried about handing over these 100,000 troops to the imperial court."
General Zhao stood up from his chair. He looked at Shen Yi with a smile on his face: "Brother Shen, Zhao knows exactly what the purpose of the so-called coastal capital you created in the southeast is."
"It was not difficult for Zhao to destroy this coastal capital at the beginning. The reason why he waited quietly for you to raise this army is because Zhao knew it."
"It's useless."
By the dim candlelight, General Zhao looked at Shen Yi, his voice a little low.
"This year, Qi people should have some changes."
"There may be another war between the two countries at any time."
"Since you, Brother Shen, have brought out a navy, after I return to Jiankang, I will write to Your Majesty and hand over the defense of one section of the Huaihe River to this so-called coastal capital."
"It doesn't take much."
Zhao Lu put his hands behind his back and looked calm: "Once a fight breaks out, as long as Brother Shen's coastal capital can withstand three Qi attacks, then in the future, no matter what the court wants the Zhao family to do, the Zhao family will do it."
"The imperial court wanted me, Zhao Lu, to return to Jiankang for retirement. Zhao immediately disbanded his troops and returned to the fields to farm on the outskirts of Jiankang without saying a word."
Having said this, he paused and looked at Shen Yi,
"But if the coastal capital is unable to withstand the attack of the Qi people, there will be a gap in the defense along the Huaihe River."