The news of Zhu's capture made Liu Xiu restless in the palace.
He has a close relationship with Zhu that no other minister can match. They were childhood friends and classmates. They rebelled together in Chung Ling and fought through life and death until now. From childhood to adulthood, the two have been almost inseparable.
This time Zhu was captured alive by Deng Fengjun. Liu Xiu did not dare to think about what would happen to him.
In the Qingliang Hall, Liu Xiuzai, Wu Han, Song Hong, Fu Zhan, Wang Chang, Pi Tong, Li Tong, Fu An and other important ministers were also there.yyls
The huge Qingliang Hall was completely silent. Liu Xiu looked ugly and said nothing. All the ministers also lowered their heads and remained silent.
Song Hong took a deep breath, suddenly knelt down, kowtowed forward, and said: "I failed to recommend the minister well, please forgive me!"
Liu Xiu glanced at Song Hong, waved his hand and said, "Now is not the time to talk about this!"
Wu Han glanced at Song Hong and said: "Your Majesty, General Cen has a bad start, and the next battle will be difficult to fight. I think your Majesty should send a message to General Cen in time that it is not suitable to fight again for the time being. He needs to stay still and recuperate."
Charge up!"
Liu Xiu nodded slowly, Wu Han's words made some sense.
The two armies fought, and after a battle, Zhu was captured and nearly 30,000 soldiers were lost. The Southern Expeditionary Army had indeed lost its vitality and morale. It was not appropriate to fight Deng Feng again in a short period of time.
Although Wu Han was repeatedly impeached by Song Hong, Wu Han could not say that he hated Song Hong. To be more precise, he did not take Song Hong seriously at all.
When he followed His Majesty to conquer the north and south, and galloped on the battlefield, Song Hong didn't know where he was!
Wu Han pondered for a moment and then said: "The most urgent matter is that your Majesty needs to send an envoy to Nanyang to negotiate with Deng Feng and try to get General Zhu back."
Wang Chang shook his head and said: "This... I'm afraid it won't be easy! Deng Feng is very aware of the relationship between His Majesty and General Zhu. He wants Deng Feng to release him, but I'm afraid..."
He did not finish what he said, but the meaning was clear: Deng Feng would never release Zhu.
Wu Han frowned and said: "If Deng Feng wants money, we will give him money. If Deng Feng wants food, we will give him food. He will always have what he wants most, right?"
Wang Chang looked at Wu Han and hesitated to speak. Fu Zhan answered: "What if Deng Feng wants the throne?"
Wu Han was shaken, frowned, and then stopped talking.
Liu Xiu suddenly thought of something and asked, "Where is Ziling now?"
Now Liu Xiu thought of Yan Guang again. Deng Feng's sister, Deng Zijun, had a special liking for Yan Guang, and word had spread long ago that she would never marry anyone other than Yan Guang.
Through the relationship between Yan Guang and Deng Zijun, Zi Ling can now go to Deng Feng to see if he can get Zhu out. At the very least, he can ensure that Zhu's life is safe.
For those who knew the relationship between Yan Guang and Deng Zijun, their eyes suddenly lit up when they heard Liu Xiu mention Yan Guang. Li Tong said excitedly: "Yes! The relationship between Zi Ling and Deng Zijun is extraordinary. If Zi Ling is willing to come forward, for
Zhongxian begged for mercy. Even if Deng Feng did not release Zhongxian, Zhongxian's life would not be harmed! But," he looked at Liu Xiu and whispered, "Your Majesty, Ziling lives in no fixed place and travels everywhere.
I don’t know where he lives now!”
Liu Xiu frowned, pondered for a moment, and said to Fu Zhan: "Situ, post notices in the counties under our jurisdiction!"
"Capture Yan Guang?" Fu Zhan asked subconsciously.
Liu Xiu glanced at Fu Zhan and said, "Looking for someone." Although Yan Guang always traveled around, he would eventually enter the town. When he saw the notice and knew something happened to Zhong Xian, he would definitely rush to Luoyang.
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Deng Yu, Zhu, Yan Guang, and Liu Xiu were classmates and close friends of each other. If something happened to Zhu, as long as Yan Guang knew about it, he would not be able to sit idly by and ignore it.
Yan Guang was indifferent to fame and fortune, and was unwilling to serve as an official in the court. After Liu Xiu became emperor, he never saw Yan Guang again. He could only occasionally receive letters from Yan Guang's entrusters to report that he was safe.
Tell me what you have learned about the world. Yan Guang lives a free and easy life, free and unrestrained.
According to Liu Xiu's decree, missing persons notices were posted in the most conspicuous places in towns and cities in all counties and counties belonging to the Jianwu imperial court, looking for Yan Guang, and rewards were offered to anyone who could provide valuable clues.
, you can also receive generous rewards.
Not to mention, Liu Xiu's trick was quite effective. Yan Guangzhen saw the notice posted. At this time, Yan Guang was in Jizhou, Hebei. His goal was the Taihang Mountains. He started from Qingzhou and passed by Jizhou.
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Yan Guang was stunned when he saw a notice in the city looking for him, and then went to the county government to inquire about the situation. The city where Yan Guang was located was Yiyang. When Yiyang ordered Yiyang to hear Yan Guang's request, he almost jumped up and ran away in person.
After leaving the county government office, Yan Guang was welcomed into the government office.
Yan Guang looked puzzled, looked at Yi Yangling, and asked: "But the county magistrate is looking for ordinary people?"
"Oh, Mr. Yan, I'm not looking for you, but His Majesty is looking for you!"
"Your Majesty?" Hearing this, Yan Guang became even more puzzled and looked at Yi Yangling blankly.
Yi Yangling said: "Some time ago, the Southern Expeditionary Army sent by the imperial court was defeated in Nanyang. General Zhu Zhu, the general of Jianyi, was captured alive by the rebel Deng Feng. Now his life or death is uncertain. Your Majesty is looking for Mr. Yan in the hope that Mr. Yan can go
A trip to Nanyang..."
Before he finished speaking, Yan Guang stood up and asked, "When did this happen?"
"It's been... half a month, right?!" Yi Yangling said cautiously.
"I understand!" After Yan Guang finished speaking, he raised his hands to Yi Yangling and said, "Your Excellency, the county magistrate, the common people have to retreat!" After saying this, he turned around and walked out.
Yi Yangling quickly stood up, caught up with Yan Guang, and asked stammeringly: "Yan...where is Mr. Yan going? Your Majesty is now looking for Mr. Yan!"
"Go to Nanyang!" Yan Guang said: "At the moment, Mr. Zhong's death is unknown, so we cannot delay for a moment."
"Then...then your Majesty..."
"When I return from Nanyang, I will go to Luoyang to meet His Majesty." Yan Guang walked out of the county office quickly.
He had already walked out of the gate of the county government office, suddenly stopped, turned around and went back, and said to Yi Yangling, "Your Excellency, county magistrate, can you lend me a horse?"
Yi Yangling nodded repeatedly and said to the government servant next to him: "Quick! Go and find a horse for Mr. Yan! Remember, you need a good horse!"
Yan Guang borrowed a horse from Yi Yangling and rushed to Nanyang overnight.
Along the way, Yan Guang slept in the open, traveling day and night. When his horse collapsed from fatigue, he asked the nearby county government to borrow a horse. But even so, it took him ten days to get from Yiyang to Nanyang.
Now, the Southern Expeditionary Army headed by Cen Peng is stationed in Ye County, Nanyang.
Ye County is located near the junction of Nanyang and Yingchuan. On the other side of Yingchuan, across the border from Ye County is Kunyang, where Liu Xiu became famous in his first battle.
Cen Peng stationed the Southern Expeditionary Army in Ye County, where he could advance and attack, and retreat and defend. With Kou Xun as a backup behind him, he could make his side invincible.
After Yan Guang arrived in Nanyang, he did not go to Ye County to find Cen Peng, but went directly to Xinye. Although Wu Han massacred Xinye City, not everyone in the city died, there were still many people in the city.
Entering Xinye City, Yan Guang found the tavern belonging to Yuan Feier's house.
The tavern was now reduced to scorched earth. Looking at the black ruins, Yan Guang couldn't help but sigh softly.
He had met Yuan Fei'er once, and he could tell at that time that Yuan Fei'er didn't look like a person with a long life. As a result, his words really came true. He faced the ruins of the tavern, cupped his hands, and prayed deeply.
A gift.
Just when he turned around and was about to leave, a young man came out from behind a broken wall. The young man looked Yan Guang up and down and asked, "Brother, do you know the owner of this family?"
Yan Guang nodded and said, "We had a chance encounter!"
The young man groaned, turned to look at the ruins, and said, "What a pity, they are all dead."
Yan Guang said: "If Yuan Zhi could stick to his point of view, Miss Yuan... would not end up like this."
The young man trembled, looked at Yan Guang in surprise, and asked in surprise: "You... do you know General Deng?"
When he heard the young man call Deng Feng General Deng, Yan Guang secretly thought that he was right!
Although Deng Fengjun is not in Xinye at present, Yan Guang is sure that Deng Feng must have a lot of spies in Xincheng. No matter how damaged Xinye is, this is his hometown after all.
If an acquaintance came to look for him, they would definitely come to Xinye. Yan Guang looked at the young man, cupped his hands and said, "I'm Yan Guang, courtesy name Ziling!"
The young man stared blankly at Yan Guang, unable to recover for a long time. Yan Guang? He... isn't he Liu Xiu's person?
Regardless of whether the other party was surprised or not, Yan Guang said bluntly: "I came to Xinye to meet Yuan Zhi! I wonder if this little brother can lead the way for me?"
The young man finally reacted and subconsciously took a step back and said, "I...how can I know where General Deng is now?" While speaking, his eyes wandered and he kept looking left and right, obviously trying to run away.
Yan Guang smiled and said: "Little brother, I don't mean any harm, I just want you to help me lead the way."
"General Deng is here!" The young man suddenly looked behind Yan Guang and raised his finger to point over. Yan Guang looked back cooperatively and saw that there was nothing behind him, not even a ghost.
When he turned around again, the young man had already run a long way away.
Yan Guang did not pursue him and shouted loudly to the young man: "I'm waiting for you here. Come quickly!"
The young man grinned secretly as he ran. How did he know that he was looking for help?
He looked back and saw that instead of chasing him, Yan Guang found a half-broken wall, sat down, and muttered something. He didn't know what he was mumbling.
Yan Guang was just reciting the Tao Te Ching silently. In the past, Xinye was such a prosperous city, but now, it is in ruins and filled with resentment, like a dead city, which is embarrassing and pathetic.
He sympathized with the suffering of the people in Xinye, but he did not resent Wu Han. No one was right or wrong about this kind of thing. To be wrong, it was in this troubled world where human life was regarded as nothing.
He waited for less than two-quarters of an hour. The young man who ran away just now came back, but behind him, there were still more than ten people.
The distance was so far, so the young man pointed at Yan Guang sitting on the broken wall and said, "It's him! He hasn't left! He's still there!"
The dozen or so men following the young man quickened their pace. In an instant, people rushed to Yan Guang and surrounded him. One of the big men, holding a wooden stick, took a step forward and asked in a loud voice: "Who are you?"
Someone sent by Liu Xiu?"
Before Yan Guang could reply, another big man's face darkened and he yelled, "Don't be rude!" Then, he cupped his fists and raised his hands to Yan Guang and asked, "Is your Excellency Mr. Yan?"
Yan Guang came down from the broken wall, returned the salute with his hands, and said: "I am Yan Guang, Yan Ziling!"
The big man who spoke was obviously the leader of the crowd. He looked Yan Guang up and down and asked, "I wonder why Mr. Yan came to see my master?"
He called Deng Feng his lord, which was equivalent to making it clear to Yan Guang that they were Deng Feng's people.