After Liu Ling took back Yuzhou, he sent more than 20 scouts to always pay attention to the movements in the direction of Tanzhou. Although the Zhou army was defeated in the Yuzhou battle, it definitely did not damage its roots. Although more than 50,000 enemies were killed, the Zhou army still had
The 150,000-strong army was still far superior to the Han army in terms of military strength.
Moreover, the Later Zhou Dynasty was very powerful, with 98 states and 72 battalions of troops and horses. If pressed hard, it would not be impossible to raise a million troops. In addition to the troops stationed in various states, the number of troops that could be mobilized by the Later Zhou Dynasty should be fifty.
Battalion, that is, an army of half a million people!
In other words, Chai Rong can now mobilize at least 150,000 troops without touching the root cause or endangering the national security of the later Zhou Dynasty. Three hundred thousand troops, for the Northern Han Dynasty, it is a decisive step to devote the whole country's strength.
No. The Fuyuan Army in the south has seven battalions of soldiers and horses, and the Jianxiong Army in the north has nine battalions in name, but in fact there are only more than eight battalions. Including the capital defenders, they add up to less than 200,000.
If the later Zhou Dynasty attacks with all its strength, it is not impossible to dispatch an army of 500,000. Even so, there will still be more than 200,000 troops in the later Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, although Liu Ling has a victory in hand, he definitely does not dare to be careless.
Be careful. There are currently more than 40,000 Fuyuan troops in the Fuyuan army, plus the remnant troops in Yuzhou, the total number is less than 45,000. Even if Cheng Yihou takes part of the Fuyuan army in Yingzhou, plus the Han soldiers who went south
The army is only about 40,000, and the combined number of both sides is only 80,000 or 90,000.
Compared with the Zhou army's 150,000 troops, it was still slightly insufficient. As long as the Zhou army stopped advancing rashly and fought steadily step by step, Liu Ling would not be able to find an opportunity. Liu Ling knew Chai Rong, and since then
Judging from the historical data of later generations, Chai Rong was a talented and strategic monarch, and was known as the most wise monarch in the Five Dynasties.
If this man had not been short-lived and died of illness after only serving as emperor for less than six years, with his military talents and country-governing strategies, it would not have been Zhao Kuangyin's turn to unify the Central Plains. Having said that, if Chai Rong had not helped Zhao Kuangyin conquer the
Without a solid foundation, it would be extremely difficult for Zhao Kuangyin to unify the Central Plains and establish the Song Empire.
Thinking of this, Liu Ling felt a little depressed again. In theory, Zhao Kuangyin, who has already appeared on the stage of history, and the famous Song Taizu, why haven't they appeared yet?
This person may be a variable. Liu Ling knows that the trajectory of history is irreversible. The establishment of the Song Dynasty cannot be stopped. The national strength of the Northern Han Dynasty is not enough to protect itself, let alone dominate the world? At this time, Liu Ling has no way to unify the Central Plains.
He only wanted to do his best to save the Northern Han Dynasty and preserve the rare family relationship between himself and his second brother. It was enough to save Liu Meier, Zhao Da, Zhao Er, Hua Sanlang, Ji Chengyun and other important people to him.
.
Once Zhao Kuangyin appears, he may face even more unpredictable changes.
On the third day, shortly after Liu Ling ordered the execution of eight thousand Houzhou prisoners of war, the imperial envoy Xiao Liuzi's father-in-law, who flew all the way from Taiyuan with a dusty appearance, finally arrived at Yuyu under the protection of more than a dozen imperial guards.
Zhoucheng. Looking at the miserable state of these dozen of them, one can tell that they have endured a lot of hardships along the way.
In fact, it was exactly like this. Xiaoliuzi and his party who set out from Yingzhou planned to take a shortcut to overtake Cheng Yihou's army and arrived in Yuzhou to meet Liu Ling first, but they got lost. They wandered around in the mountains and forests for a long time before turning around.
When I got out, I wasted a lot of time.
When he led people into the Yuzhou city gate, the dead bodies of the eight thousand prisoners had not been cleaned up, and the eight thousand heads had not been burned. There was a river of blood outside the city gate. The scene might scare the timid people.
die!
Unfortunately, Xiaoliuzi's father-in-law is not very courageous. Seeing the tragic scene outside the city gate, Xiaoliuzi's first reaction was...he vomited. He was vomiting so hard that he was hysterical. He had been hungry and thirsty for food these past few days.
I didn't eat anything, and I vomited it all out without hesitation. In the end, all I vomited was acidic water, and my stomach felt extremely uncomfortable.
Although the Ouchi guards have seen people kill people, they have never seen such a killing scene, they have never thought about it. So when Xiao Liuzi was vomiting, these usually majestic Ouchi guards were very disappointed.
Vomited.
The imperial envoy arrived and was quickly welcomed into the camp. Liu Ling did not live in the city, but in the Fuyuan Army camp outside the city. More than a dozen generals gathered in his tent and were discussing how to respond.
Regarding the possible next offensive of the rear army, Liu Ling had someone make a large sand table, using blue flags and red flags to mark the positions of the Zhou Army and the Han Army respectively.
More than a dozen people looked at Liu Ling. Listening to his analysis of the current strength comparison between the two armies, everyone kept nodding and their faces were very solemn.
Just as he was talking, the soldiers outside came in and reported that an imperial envoy had arrived in Taiyuan City and asked Liu Ling by name to take over the order.
Hearing that his second brother had sent someone, Liu Ling did not dare to neglect, and led his generals to welcome him out of the tent. As soon as he went out, he saw Xiao Liuzi, with a sallow face and a pale face, being helped away by two Fuyuan Army soldiers.
Come here. Originally, the majestic Ouchi guards who were supposed to be standing on both sides of the imperial envoy were supported by others and rested on one side with blood-red faces.
Liu Ling thought that they must have been frightened by the scene outside. She understood in her heart, and then greeted them with a smile.
"It turns out to be Eunuch Qi. Thank you for your hard work coming from afar!"
Liu Ling ordered: "Go and get a bucket of hot water. After Eunuch Qi announces his decree, he needs to take a good bath and rest."
What he said touched Xiao Liuzi's heart. The biggest pain for these eunuchs was the stinky smell that was hard to cover up. Because some important places were cut, it was always hard to control when urinating.
There is always a fishy smell, especially in summer, which makes people speechless. Even they themselves can't bear it, so they apply makeup and powder like those palace ladies, even more generously.
After running around for several days, let alone taking a shower, he didn't even have a hot meal. The smell on his body was really strong at this time, and the two Fuyuan Army soldiers who were supporting him frowned, but it was just not good.
Just show it.
Liu Ling walked closer and said solemnly: "Weak minister Liu Ling, kneel down to receive the imperial edict."
A dozen generals behind him also knelt down, and Xiao Liuzi said quickly: "Your Majesty, please get up quickly. Your Majesty has already given an order. You don't have to kneel down to listen to the decree."
He broke away from the support and crawled down weakly.
"Xiao Liuzi, please give your regards to the prince. I really can't hold on. Please don't blame me for being rude."
As soon as he knelt down, a smell like the rhino hall of Beijing Zoo went straight to Liu Ling's nose. In his previous life, his father and mother took him to the Beijing Zoo in a wheelchair. He was only eight years old at that time, and his memory
The most profound thing was the stench that wafted through the nose in the rhinoceros hall of the Beijing Zoo at that time.
Fortunately, Liu Ling had some rhinitis and it had some effect at this time.
"Eunuch Qi, let's announce the decree. Liu Ling can just kneel down and listen."
Xiao Liuzi said helplessly: "That slave is so impudent, well... Prince Zhong Liu Ling accepted the order!"
He immediately took out the imperial edict with a serious face, cleared his throat and read it, which roughly means: "By the fate of heaven, the Emperor of Han Dynasty issued an edict: Prince Liu Ling of the loyal army led the army to march south. He is not afraid of hardships and has achieved great results through hard work. I specially sent him
The imperial envoy came to express condolences in front of the army. I miss Prince Zhong very much and hope that Prince Zhong will take care of himself and win an early victory."
(Note: The full version of the eight-character imperial edict of Emperor Fengtian Chengyun first appeared in the Ming Dynasty. The first person to propose the term imperial edict was Qin Shihuang. He felt that his own achievements could no longer be satisfied with the word king.
So he proclaimed himself emperor. What the emperor said was an edict. On his imperial seal, there were eight words engraved on his imperial seal: "I am commanded by heaven, and he will live forever and live long." He called himself "I" and was the son of the emperor. The first two words in the edict were in the Han Dynasty.
It appeared and was used by later emperors. The word "Fengtian" was actually first proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the highest-standard Chaohui Hall in the Nanjing Palace was called Fengtian Hall. Yu Yue, a great scholar of the Qing Dynasty, wrote in "Tea Fragrance Treasure"
It is recorded in "Xuanchao": "Fengtian Chengyun" refers to the name of "Fengtian Temple". Readers should laugh it off as used in this book and do not delve into it.)
Liu Ling kowtowed respectfully and said, "I thank you, Lord, for your kindness."
He took the imperial edict with both hands respectfully and sincerely, and handed it to the guard on the side to collect it. Then he stood up and said with a smile: "Eunuch Qi has worked hard all the way, come to the big tent and have a rest."
Xiao Liuzi smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, please call me Xiao Liuzi. I can't stand it when Eunuch Qi calls me Eunuch Qi. I have been working hard all the way just to announce the decree before the imperial envoy arrives. I am really exhausted."
Liu Ling said in surprise: "Why, the imperial envoy your Majesty mentioned is not you, the little six son's father-in-law?"
Xiao Liuzi was startled and quickly explained: "Your Majesty has misunderstood, what is the status of a slave? How can she be qualified to serve as an imperial envoy? The late emperor had a strict decree that no one in the harem could interfere with politics, otherwise they would be killed without mercy, and the nine clans would be implicated. Your Majesty, this
Those words will scare the slave to death."
Liu Ling suddenly realized that this was indeed the case. The most powerful eunuchs were in the Ming Dynasty, and they haven't arrived yet.
"Then? Which important official from the imperial court is coming?"
Liu Ling was surprised. Why did his second brother send an imperial envoy to supervise the battle just after arriving in Yuzhou? Does he not trust me? Or is there something else?
Xiao Liuzi glanced at Liu Ling hesitantly, and then said with a wry smile: "It is... the apple of Prime Minister Lu Sen's eye, Miss Lu Mansion Yuzhu. Before the slave came, His Majesty had already recognized Miss Lu Family as his adopted sister.
, granted the title of Princess Yongning."
After hearing this, Liu Ling took a breath of air-conditioning, feeling suddenly stunned, dumbfounded, and sad.
"It turns out...they are here to force us into marriage."
He sighed with a bitter smile in his heart.
It turned out that just when Liu Ling was leading his army southward, Prime Minister Lu Sen received a report from his family that Miss Lu Yuzhu was missing. Lu Sen sent people to find her but could not find her, and suddenly realized that his daughter loved Liu Ling wholeheartedly.
When Ling went south, his daughter must have followed the husband in her heart. Now the old prime minister Lu Sen was so anxious that he sent his family to chase him. How could he find her among tens of thousands of troops?
The young girl who has not yet left the court is chasing a man. If word spreads about this, how can Lu Sen have the face to face the emperor and the civil and military officials? He is too lazy to think about food and has a lot of gray hair. He originally wanted to write a letter to
Liu Ling asked him to help find his daughter. But Liu Ling was leading the army in a battle, so how could he be distracted by this matter? Besides, how could Lu Sen talk about such a family scandal?
For two days in a row, he was living without food and getting haggard. Emperor Xiao noticed his depression. So he asked. Lu Sen was a loyal and rigorous man who did not dare to deceive the emperor, so he could only tell the truth. When Emperor Xiao heard this, he burst into laughter and said
: "What's so difficult about this matter? I can just give her a fair and upright reason."
As a result, Lu Yuzhu, an extremely rare female imperial envoy in history, was released. It’s just that she was a sixteen-year-old girl who had not yet left the cabinet. How could she deserve the position of imperial envoy? Emperor Xiaolongen, who had never accepted this
The girl I met was my adopted sister and was granted the title of Princess Yongning. She represents the royal family and expresses condolences to the armed forces. This is probably a good reason.
He deceived himself, even Emperor Xiao himself wanted to laugh. He left several younger brothers who were crowned princes, an adult nephew, and several county princes without using them. Instead, he used a adopted sister whom he had just recognized to travel a long distance to represent the royal family.
Who can help but wonder about Lao Jun's condolences? As long as the emperor said so, no one dared to question it.
In this way, Lu Sen's face was saved. It also showed that the emperor was kind-hearted and favored. Lu Sen was also grateful and finally felt a little at ease.
Liu Ling sighed and asked, "Where is Princess Yongning now?"
Xiao Liuzi was stunned for a moment, and said as bitterly as Coptis: "This... I don't know this."
"Um?"
Liu Ling was surprised again. The imperial envoy sent by the emperor and the dignified princess, who represented the royal family to express condolences to the soldiers at the front, did not know where they were?
Xiao Liuzi smiled awkwardly and said, "That... Princess Yongning... went on patrol incognito."
"oh……"
Liu Ling understood that this little girl had secretly come out to find him. The so-called imperial envoy and the so-called princess were just remedial measures taken by the emperor to take care of Lu Sen's face. This little girl
Man, you are so brave.
When he thought that she was just a sixteen-year-old girl who had never traveled far away and yet ran all the way to look for him regardless of the dangers and hardships, Liu Ling felt moved in her heart. At the same time, she also felt a deep worry.
, she went out first, and it took a few days for Xiaoliuzi to come. Now that Xiaoliuzi has arrived, where is she? If something happens on the way, how can she explain it to Mr. Lu Sen?
When I think of that little girl with a stubborn face, she might meet a bad person on the way, she might get lost, she might not be able to bear the long journey and become ill, she might lose her money and suffer from hunger, or she might not know where to go.
Liu Ling's heart clenched tightly when encountering ferocious birds and beasts and it was difficult to protect himself. The more he thought about it, the more he became afraid and worried. (To be continued)
