Chapter 828: The wind is strong and the clouds are low, there is an enemy coming!
Zhou Shizhong was the eldest son of the famous general Zhou Jinan, and was also the current actual controller of the Southern Conquest Army, as well as a general of the imperial court. Logically speaking, it was completely unnecessary to be told what to do by a prince from the imperial court.
He could even ignore King Wei's orders.
This fourth prince can't do anything to him.
Especially now, when the reinforcements from the imperial court have not yet arrived and almost all the troops along the Huaihe River are marching to the south, Zhou Shizhong naturally does not have to obey Zhao Kai's orders.
But after all, the imperial court does not all act according to the rules, and there must be some favors involved.
Wei Wangkai's mother's surname was Lang, which was Zhu Li's real name, and Lang's surname was also Zhu Li's surname.
Although Zhou Jin'an, the general of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was not Zhu Lizhen, his family surrendered to Zhu Lizhen and became a slave when China was in Luchen more than sixty years ago. The head of the family was the Lang family.
Although General Zhou later became prosperous and became a famous general in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the Zhou family was almost its own sect and became a famous "general" in the Northern Qi court, it was this "pedigree" that Zhu Li valued most internally.
In Zhu Li's view, the Zhou family will always be inseparable from the Lang family. Even if they are now prosperous, when they see the Lang family, they still have to lower their heads and call them "Master".
The Zhou family will naturally be regarded as members of the Lang family by those Zhu Li Zhenren in the court.
That's why King Zhao Kai of Wei told Zhou Shizhong that they were one of his own.
From the perspective of the Zhu Lizhen clan, they are indeed one of their own, and can even be said to be "intimate".
Therefore, even though Zhou Shizhong didn't really want to implement Zhao Kai's idea, considering this relationship, he could only pinch his nose and accompany Zhao Kai to fool around.
Anyway, at most…
It's just a few deaths.
Da Qi has occupied the Central Plains, and the Southern Dynasty in the south has only room for defense and no possibility of attack. At most, it will take some time to recruit new soldiers and it will be restored.
Seeing Zhou Shizhong nodding in agreement, Wei Wang Zhao Kai was overjoyed. He stood up, clasped his fists and saluted Zhou Shizhong, and said with a smile: "Before coming, I went to see my mother and concubine. She said that several of my uncles' families have people of the right age.
The general is willing to help the daughter who is getting married on behalf of her. After I return to the capital, I will definitely be a matchmaker so that my uncles can get married to the Zhou family."
When he heard the word "mother concubine", Zhou Shizhong's face twitched slightly.
He is a "second generation general".
When I was a child, I followed my father to visit Lang's house.
I once had the chance to meet the little princess of the Lang family several times. When I was young, I inevitably had some ripples in my heart.
Later, the little princess of the Lang family married into the palace, and Zhou Shizhong slowly gave up his thoughts.
After hearing what Zhao Kai said, the general of the Southern Conquest Army thought for a while, and then said: "Thank you, Your Highness. We can only wait until His Highness returns to the capital to talk about anything."
At this time, the dust has not yet settled.
To be honest, Zhou Shizhong didn't particularly want to make a big bet, nor did he want to marry the Lang family. After all, although the Lang family still had a high status in the court, the Zhou family was not far behind.
Of course, if Wei Wangkai can sweep away other opponents and become the new king after returning to the capital, then Zhou Shizhong will ask for this marriage even if he asks for it personally.
After the two people chatted for a while, Wei Wang Zhao Kai took a deep breath and said: "Unknown General, when are you going to attack?"
Zhou Shizhong thought for a while, looked at Zhao Kai, and asked: "Your Highness is ordered to accompany the army and supervise the army this time. Shouldn't he just return to Yanjing after the first battle?"
"Of course not."
Zhao Kai spoke slowly: "This time, I should be fighting against the Southerners by the Huaihe River until..."
Having said this, he did not continue.
But the meaning of the words was obvious until the old emperor died.
"Although I have been on the front line for a long time, I can't wait for half a year without any achievements at all."
"This king needs a steady stream of military exploits. Please report to Yandu."
Zhao Kai took two steps closer to Zhou Shizhong and whispered: "Father seems to value this very much."
Now, because His Majesty the Emperor is ill, the competition for the throne in the capital has become increasingly fierce, and Zhao Kai, who has a large family, naturally tried every means to find out his father's preferences.
According to reliable information provided by the Lang family, after His Majesty fell ill, he paid more and more attention to military merit.
Therefore, the fourth prince took the risk and took the initiative to apply to leave Yandu and became the "supervisor" of the Southern Conquest Army along the Huaihe River.
The purpose is to gain military exploits and show it to the old man in the palace.
In addition to showing off, Zhao Kai even has some other bold ideas...
Zhou Shizhong was silent for a long time. Finally, he slowly raised his head and glanced at the young prince in front of him. He also lowered his voice and asked: "Your Majesty, your Majesty's body..."
"how?"
"Not very good."
His Royal Highness King Wei shook his head slightly and said helplessly: "Otherwise I wouldn't have left Yandu."
Having said this, he paused and then smiled at Zhou Shizhong.
"But it's not too bad."
His Royal Highness King Wei spoke softly.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to leave Yandu."
………………
In October of the eleventh year of Hongde.
The weather is getting colder day by day, and the autumn wind blows across the Huaihe River, taking away the autumn tiger that lasts for several months.
As time passed day by day, both Ling Su and Xue Wei...even Su Ding and Shen Yi slowly let down their guard.
Because once the weather gets cold, it is basically impossible to continue the battle.
It's unbeatable in every sense of the word.
The equipment of the Qi people is not much better than that of Da Chen. Although the northerners are indeed better able to withstand the cold, it is hard to say how much more combat effectiveness they will have than the southerners in really cold weather.
On October 27th, Shen Yi was inspecting a section of the defense line along the Huaidong line. The early winter wind blew, and Mr. Shen couldn't help but tighten his clothes.
Xue Wei followed Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Mr. Shen, it seems that there will be no more wars within this year. The Qi people in the north have already sent two groups of reinforcements, but they haven't done much."
"The next battle should be after the beginning of spring."
Having said this, General Xue looked at Shen Yi with great enthusiasm.
"Mr. Shen, you said last time that you would take us to the North Bank next year to have a look."
The big man lowered his voice and asked, "Can we really go to the north and have a look?"
Shen Yi looked back at him and said with a smile: "As long as the first battle in early spring goes well, we will really have a chance to go to the north and take a look."
Master Shen squinted his eyes and looked across the river.
"How many years has it been since General Chen set foot on the border of Hebei?"
"Many years."
Xue Wei also followed up and said: "I heard from General Su in private that General Su said that no one has set foot in Hebei since the late Emperor came to General Yuan."
"It's rare that he is willing to tell you this."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "General Su is a very good teacher. It will be of great benefit to you to learn more from him."
"I've learned a lot from General Su."
Xue Wei grinned and said: "There were many things that I didn't understand in the military manual before, but now I understand everything."
While he was talking, another strong gust of wind blew in, making Xue Wei's clothes rustle.
He couldn't help but look at Shen Yi and said, "Mr. Shen, the wind is too strong. Why don't you go back to the camp first? General will continue to patrol the defense from now on."
Shen Yi turned a deaf ear and continued walking forward.
Xue Wei had no choice but to follow Shen Yi and said with a smile: "It's okay if we don't fight within the year. It won't delay Mr. Shen from returning to Jiankang to visit my wife. After all, my wife is about to..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Shen Yi walking in front of him stop and look to the north with his binoculars.
He also stopped, took out the telescope from his arms, and looked at Shen Yi in the direction.
At this time, the wind was strong and the clouds were low, and the surface of the river was covered with fog blown by the strong wind, so visibility was not very high.
Moreover, when it is about to rain, the visibility becomes even lower.
On the other side of the Huaihe River, it was pitch black and hard to see clearly.
Only some ships can be seen vaguely.
Suddenly, Shen Yi put down his telescope and looked back at Xue Wei. His voice was low.