There was talk of the Northern Expedition in Jiangning, but Lin Fu, the governor of Haizhou, spent most of his time. It was not until September of the seventh year of Yongxing that any actual preparations for the Northern Expedition were made.

Although in the sea area south of the Shandong Peninsula, the navies of both sides had conflicts from time to time and suffered casualties on each other, in the Hehuai area where both sides gathered nearly 600,000 troops, the post-war calm period extended for twenty months.

It has to be so difficult for both the enemy and us to imagine

The calm period that lasted for one and a half years after the Battle of Jingxiang gave the Yanhu soldiers and horses, which had suffered heavy losses after the Battle of Jingxiang, a rare opportunity to recuperate.

Even when the fighting on the southern front was at its most intense, Yanhu did not stop its pace of westward expansion; in the sixth and seventh years of Tianming Yongxing, the Xihu and other tribes surrendered, causing the size of the cavalry directly under Yanjing to rise to another twenty

Wanzhong, part of the cavalry lost in the battle of Jingxiang has been replenished

At the same time, Huaidong was on the eastern front, and the two theaters of Xushou and Yihai under the jurisdiction of the Northern Army had been reorganizing their armaments. However, there was no large-scale expansion until late August of the seventh year of Yongxing, when autumn entered.

signs of armaments

Not only did Lin Fu be patient and not start the Northern Expedition, he also sent several cavalry into Guoyang and Xuchang after autumn and sent a military order ordering to reduce the size of the army in the six towns of Henan.

"What is this demon fox trying to do behind the scenes?" Yuan Guizheng, with frosty white temples, pressed his hand on the wall with confusion and looked solemnly at the wilderness outside Xuchang City. Lin Fu was in Xu Shou,

The troops in the Yihai direction have been holding back for a long time, so that they could not figure out Lin Fu's thoughts in Xuchang. "Isn't he afraid that the longer the time goes on, the more aggressive the Huaidong Army will be?"

Dong Yuan led his troops to march north, but Xuchang was still a ruined city. After more than a year, although it was difficult, it restored some appearance. The area near the city was also cultivated, and more than 100,000 acres of wheat fields were cultivated. After autumn, the wind blew, and the golden

Yellow waves

But compared to the nearly 90,000 garrison around Xuchang, cultivating more than 100,000 acres of wheat fields is nothing.

After more than ten years of war in Henan, there were no people left. Except for the small families who moved north with the army, Dong Yuan recruited exiles and adopted orphans in Xuchang for more than a year. The total number of young people was no more than 30,000.

In the old days, Xuchang Prefecture alone had nearly 300,000 households.

Under the current situation, it is absolutely impossible for Xuchang to restore its old views.

"Lin Fu imprisoned the emperor in the capital and no longer concealed his wolfish ambitions. For him, the current priority was to usurp the Yuan clan's world. He retreated to Haizhou to supervise the army, but he didn't have the slightest thought to reorganize the army.

He retreated to Haizhou to wait and see the situation in Jiangning," Governor Liu Ting sighed, "Now that he is so focused on killing dissidents, how can he think about the Northern Expedition?"

Yu Xinyuan and Cheng Yuqian both bid farewell to each other and left Jiangning; Yuan Hancheng was placed under house arrest in Shouzhou, and it was difficult to even leave the palace;

Although Zhang Yan and Shen Rong were still in Jiangning, it was difficult to actually do anything. They had no soldiers and food, and the decrees of Emperor Yongxing and the Queen Mother could not even leave the palace gate.

Although Dong Yuan still controlled the troops and horses of the four towns in Henan, Yue Lengqiu controlled the elites of the other two towns of the Henan Army and were behind Xuchang. Lin Fu had not relaxed the construction of the defense zone in the upper reaches of the Huai River and Nanyang, which made Xuchang's troops and horses difficult.

Isolated from the outside world, the imperial party was isolated in Jiangning and could not get support from Xuchang soldiers and horses.

Yuan Guizheng turned his head and glanced at Dong Yuan; Dong Yuan, who was about to know his destiny, had some frosty hair on his temples. His face was like water, solemn and majestic, and his brows were raised. He didn't know what he was worried about.

Liu Tingzhou categorically said that Lin Fu no longer had the ambition of the Northern Expedition, but was putting all his thoughts on usurping the throne and becoming emperor. Although this was also increasingly speculated by people in Xuchang, Yuan Guizheng still had deep doubts in his heart.

: Lin Fu was only twenty-two years old, so he would not have lost his patience for three to five years. However, it is difficult to find any other explanation for Lin Fu’s delay in starting the Northern Expedition.

Lin Fu's delaying the Northern Expedition not only gave Beiyan a chance to breathe, but also gave the Cao family enough time to establish a foothold in Sichuan and Shu. It can be said that the slower Lin Fu delayed it, the more he lost the opportunity of the Northern Expedition.

At first, everyone thought that Lin Fu would start the Northern Expedition after reorganizing for half a year after the Battle of Jingxiang. At that time, Beiyan's vitality was severely damaged and its morale was low. The Cao family's foundation in Sichuan and Shu was not stable, so they did not dare to directly attack the Northern Yan.

Sending troops from the west wing to contain Huaidong's troops in the two lakes was undoubtedly a good opportunity to go all out with the Northern Expedition to regain the Central Plains - no one expected that almost two years had passed before Lin Fu showed any signs of taking action.

It has been two years since the entire Cao family retreated to Sichuan and Shu, especially after the Battle of Jingxiang. Although Bei Yan did not return Guanzhong to the Cao family, and the Cao family did not accept the title of King of Shu from Bei Yan, the secret alliance was

A discerning person knows it well

Northern Yan granted Chen Zhihu the title of King of Qin and sent him to guard Guanzhong, taking practical actions to reduce Cao's military pressure in northern Sichuan. Although it took seven years for Cao's family to conquer both Sichuan, in the early days Cao's focus was still on the north, not on the south.

Using surrendered ministers, the original Sichuan East system entrusted Qin Zongyuan to govern East Sichuan, South Sichuan and other places

In the past two years, the Cao family has been able to concentrate on developing its power in eastern Sichuan and southern Shu.

After the summer of this year, Cao Yiqu used the excuse of Qin Zongyuan to secretly set up soldiers, and had a rebellious intention. He did not mention Jiangning but killed the Qin family.

This incident actually showed that the Cao family had completely controlled eastern Sichuan; however, Lin Fu reacted surprisingly coldly to the annihilation of Qin Zongyuan's clan. He only ordered Cao Yiqu to move a branch of the Qin family to Jiangning, and had no intention of pursuing Cao Yiqu for the crime of killing without permission.

This series of events seems to indicate that Lin Fu has no intention of intensifying the conflict with the Cao family...

At this time, a group of about a hundred people's carriages and horses came slowly from the northwest.

To the northwest of Xuchang is Hezhong Prefecture. Although this team of chariots and horses came from Hezhong Prefecture, they were not envoys from Beiyan, but Ren Jiwei, the special envoy of the Cao family who came to Xuchang secretly from Guanzhong and Heluo.

Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng gathered at the top of Xuchang City, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Cao family's envoy

Countless people were riding Pegasus toward Xuchang City, and Ren Jiwei was indeed among them.

"Cao Yiqu relies on the four heroes of the Ren family, Tingzhou, and Guizheng for political affairs. Have you, like me, already had the desire to appreciate the four heroes of the Ren family?" Dong Yuan raised his eyebrows and asked Liu Tingzhou sideways, Yuan Guizheng.

Liu Tingzhou remained silent. Regarding Ji Wei's intention to secretly travel to Xuchang, the two parties had communicated beforehand and there was no tacit understanding. How could Cao Yiqu be so eager to send such an important person as a secret envoy to Xuchang?

Cao Yiqu killed the entire Qin Zongyuan clan in June. Firstly, he wanted to completely control eastern Sichuan. Secondly, he wanted to test Jiangning's attitude.

Qin Zongyuan, the envoy of the former Sichuan East System, was defeated and surrendered to the Cao family in the first year of Yongxing, losing the separatist control of the two Sichuan. However, the Cao family's control over Sichuan and Shu was very limited at that time. Only general Wei Shiyan led 10,000 elite troops to garrison in Yuzhou, while he was stationed in Guanzhong.

At that time, Jiangning proposed the strategy of joining forces with Cao to fight against the invaders, and Cao accepted the appointment as governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Against this background, Qin Zongyuan's defeat and surrender to Cao Cao was deliberately ignored by both sides. Instead, he was able to serve as the envoy to the two Sichuan provinces after the year of Yongxing. Although his military power was weakened to the extreme, the Qin family had great power in the two Sichuan provinces, especially in Sichuan.

The foundation of the East is still deep; the 10,000 troops and horses stationed by the Cao family in Yuzhou in the early days were actually far from enough to "cruel the local snake to death".

In the later period, Jiang Ning also deliberately wanted to help the Qin family regain its power to check and balance the Cao family - Cao Yiqu used thunderous means to kill the entire Qin family this time. To put it bluntly, it was a provocation to Jiang Ning, and he wanted to be the first to make a move to see what Jiang Ning would do.

Handy

If Lin Fu was not eager to proclaim himself emperor, how could his attitude towards the Cao family be so weak this time?

Of course, this is not the only sign; Cheng Yuqian's resignation and self-preservation are also a clear signal. Although Cheng Yuqian did not have any great achievements at this time, he occupied the position of Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall after Chen Xiyan. This is exactly what he has been watching and watching for half of his life

Ability that no one else can match

It was precisely because he judged that Lin Fu might depose the Yuan Dynasty and proclaim himself emperor in the near future that Cao Yiqu rushed to send Ji Wei to secretly pass through Guanzhong, and Heluo detoured back to Xuchang to contact

Liu Tingzhou, who returned to power in the Yuan Dynasty, followed Dong Yuan down to the city to welcome Ren Jiwei into the city.

There are very few merchants in Xuchang, so they are not afraid of Huaidong's informants infiltrating. Moreover, the Cao family is still a minister of Yuan Yue. The Cao family sends people to Xuchang. Even if the news leaks out, there is nothing to worry about. No matter how well it is concealed,

, Huaidong really believes that they have no contact with the Cao family?

The Four Masters of the Ren family became famous quite early, but Ren Jiwei was only a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing an ordinary green robe, with a sparse goatee, and his appearance was unremarkable.

If it weren't for Yuan Jinsheng who had secretly sneaked into Yuzhou before, Yuan Guizheng would have suspected that this man in front of him was actually a Guanzhong talent who was as famous as Wang Chengfu, who was in charge of the colonial bank in his youth.

Liu Tingzhou, Yuan Guizheng and Dong Yuan looked at Ren Jiwei, and Ren Jiwei also took the opportunity to look at Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng. Although Ren Jiwei had not seen Yuan Guizheng, his father was the censor of Zuodu.

Ren Yan, the leader of the Qin Party, had a very high opinion of Yuan Guizheng. He believed that if he had not been born into a noble family, his achievements might not be as good as those of Su Hu. It was precisely Yuan Guizheng who had talents and high self-esteem. These things

I have been struggling so much in recent years, and I am willing to live in wealth and wealth until the end of my life.

Dong Yuan was able to rise up as a small official and take charge of the feudal territory. Naturally, he was definitely not a figure to be underestimated - for such a talented person, especially the military power that Dong Yuan had in his early days was always more important than that of Lin Fu. However, over the years, under the influence of

Huaidong was still unable to raise his head under the pressure of Huaidong, which made Ren Jiwei not think that Sichuan and Shu could take Huaidong lightly because of the danger of occupying the Xiajiang River.

"Governor Cao sent Ji Wei to Xuchang, and there is something he wants to present to all your lords for review." After Ren Jiwei followed Dong Yuan into the city, he just sat down in the post house. Without much probing, he got straight to the point.

Ren Jiwei could see with his own eyes what the current situation of Xuchang was like when he left Hezhong Mansion and headed south. Dong Yuan could not pretend to be in front of Ren Jiwei, so he only said: "Please tell me, Master Ren..."

Ren Jiwei took out a piece of bright yellow brocade silk from his pocket and unfolded it on the table. What caught his eye was three lines of dazzling blood words: "Instruct Cao Yiqu, the Governor of Shu, and the soldiers in Shu to know that I respect the Duke of the country, and the Privy Council envoy Lin Fuwang Gu Huangen

, specializes in government affairs, appoints people for personal gain, bullies the clan, prohibits marrying clan girls, and wants to take advantage of himself..."

Dong Yuan, Liu Tingzhou, and Yuan Guizheng were shocked when they saw it. They didn't expect that what Ren Jiwei brought was the blood edict of King Qin.

The so-called prohibition on marrying a daughter of the clan refers to the fact that the Queen Mother intended to marry Princess Yangxin to the prince of Chongan Hou later in her life. It was said that Lin Fu sent a knife to the house of Chongan Hou to congratulate her, and she was frightened.

The Marquis of Chong'an led his family to kneel down in front of the palace gate to refuse the marriage, and quickly arranged for the newly grown prince to marry Lin Xulu's young daughter, so that the matter could not be settled.

Although Dong Yuan was shocked, he could still sit still. He just glanced at Ren Jiwei doubtfully.

"In early July, some mountain people crossed Shushan Mountain and entered Yuzhou. They claimed to have been sent by the emissary Zhang Yan and asked to see Governor Cao. When Governor Cao saw this, he saw this edict. Governor Cao knew that this matter was not a trivial matter, so he sent Ji Wei to Xuchang to talk to you all.

Your Excellency, please discuss..."

Hearing what Ren Jiwei said, Yuan Guizheng knew that this blood edict was probably fake. No matter how stupid Zhang Yan was, if he could send people out of Jiangning, he should come to Xuchang first. How could he sacrifice the near and far away and send people to Yuzhou first to contact him? Ten thousand people back

Bu said, even if this blood edict is true and Lin Fu does not abolish Yongxing Emperor and establish himself, what is the difference between this blood edict and a scrap of cloth? Lin Fu has a heavy army in Jingxiang, Cao Yiqu dares to lead his troops eastward along the Xiajiang River.

?

Cao Yiqu asked Ren Jiwei to carry the Blood Edict with him, which undoubtedly showed his contempt for the Blood Edict.

"Lin Fu is good at causing complaints, and it is known to the whole world, but this blood edict is not a trivial matter. Although it is said to be the emperor's personal gift, it has no seal. Outsiders say it is false, so how can we tell whether it is true?" Dong

Yuan asked

"Although the emperor's edict can no longer leave the capital at this time, I think all of you should have the edicts issued by the emperor before. Even if they are not sealed, you can know whether they are true or false by comparing them," Ren Jiwei said, "Furthermore, the authenticity of the edicts

Falseness does not depend on how outsiders see it, but on whether Mr. Dong thinks this edict is true or false."

Dong Yuan couldn't help but laugh. Ren Shuda, the third of the four masters of the Ren family, was famous for forging ancient Tengbi. At this time, there was no point in worrying about the authenticity of the blood edict.

Ren Jiwei's blood edict only showed that the Cao family intends to take the initiative in the future development of the situation.

Dong Yuan had no intention of having an in-depth talk with Ren Jiwei directly. After the banquet, he left with Liu Tingzhou first, leaving Yuan Guizheng behind in the posthouse to accompany Ren Jiwei.

After a while, Yuan Guizheng said goodbye to Ren Jiwei and came to see Dong Yuan in the palace. Liu Tingzhou was also in Dong Yuan's palace, waiting for Yuan Guizheng to come.

"If Lin Fu deposes the emperor and establishes himself, the Cao family intends to establish another emperor in Yuzhou, hoping that Xuchang can support him..." Yuan Guizheng said

"Did Ren Jiwei say who the Cao family intended to appoint?" Liu Tingzhou asked anxiously.
To be continued...