The sky is getting brighter, and the people who have slept soundly all night have no idea what happened last night. The merchants still open their shops to sell goods, and the business is as usual. Only the people living near the palace feel something abnormal, but what exactly happened is unknown.
can not say it clearly.
Li Xiao, the fourth son of King Zhao, was not at the city gate yesterday. He left the city on the pretext of going hunting with a group of friends. Li Yu did not take him to heart. In fact, no one in the palace took him to heart.
, no one cares about his life or death.
But when it came to taking Li Xiao back, the Yuchi brothers had conflicts.
Yuchiqing had a bad temper. When he heard that Li Xiao was going to be the leader, he immediately jumped up and shouted: "Our Yuchi family is an upright and powerful Lingnan family. Can't we be the lord of Lingnan? We have to kneel down and worship that man who only knows how to drink and play with women."
, a person who can even look down on a dog, I, Yu Chiqing, am not that despicable!"
Yuchi Hu said angrily: "I don't want to make him the leader, but we have to face the reality. Li Si has been operating in Lingnan for more than ten years and has won the hearts of the people. Our Yuchi family only has 5,000 troops directly under its control, but only in Hezhou and Fuzhou.
We have no influence in Guangzhou, so we can only rely on Li Si's son to gain a firm foothold. Besides, isn't it good for Li Xiao to drink and play with women? Are you satisfied only if he is wise and powerful? Then our Yuchi family still has nothing to lose.
Opportunity?"
Yuchi Hu's brother-in-law, General Huang Jixiang, advised from the side: "Second brother, don't be so angry. The so-called holding the emperor hostage to command the princes. There are Luo Huaiqing's five thousand troops in Zengcheng, and Liu Changji has also gone to join him. Xinhui
There are also Zeng Jinghai's two thousand troops. These people claim to support the Li family, but in fact they are ambitious. By controlling Li Xiao, we actually control morality. Those people do not dare to act rashly. They must either evacuate Guangzhou or have to
Follow Li Xiao's orders."
Yu Chiqing lowered his head for a while and said: "It's okay to support Li Xiao, but I have a condition. After Li Xiao has finished using him, he will be handed over to me. I will cut him to pieces with my own hands, and let out a breath of evil in my heart."
Yuchi Hu chuckled and said, "Okay, you can use his head as a urinal!"
........
Surrounded by a thousand soldiers, Li Xiao entered the city anxiously. He knew very well that Yuchi Hu had captured Nanhai County and only used himself as a puppet, but he had no choice. If he didn't want to die, he had to be obedient.
To obey Yuchi Hu's orders.
At this time, Yuchi Hu led a large group of officers to greet him, knelt down on one knee and said: "We are humble, Yuchi Hu, please refer to the New Economic Envoy!"
Li Xiao was a little at a loss. Wang Jian, Yuchi Hu's aide next to him, reminded him: "Just say General Yuchi has worked hard and you should rely on him more in the future!"
Li Xiao nodded and said with a trembling voice: "General Yuchi... thank you for your hard work. From now on... I will have to rely on the general a lot more!"
Yuchi Hu grinned and said, "Your Majesty has given orders, how dare Yuchi disobey your orders? Please get in the car, your Majesty. We want the people in the city to admire your magnanimity!"
Li Xiao did not dare to disobey, so he had to get into an open carriage. The tall Yuchi Hu stood behind him, making Li Xiao look very thin and dry. Thousands of soldiers surrounded the carriage and paraded through the city, but the people in the city were full of people.
Their attitude was very cold. Although there were many people watching the excitement on the street, no one cheered. Most people just shook their heads and walked away. Li Xiao did not pay homage to his father, and the person behind him was clearly an evil tiger.
Yuchihu didn't care about the people's attitude. He just wanted the people of Lingnan to know that the current Lingnan military envoy was Li Xiao, but the real master of Lingnan was him, Yuchihu.
.........
All this happened ten days ago, when the situation in Guangzhou gradually calmed down, 30,000 Jin troops arrived at Lingding Yang on 200 ships.
In the night, Kang Bao stood on the bow of the ship and stared at the sea in the north. Li Yang stepped forward and asked, "Is the general worried about the situation in Lingnan?"
Kang Bao shook his head, "I'm just worried that I won't be able to complete the tasks assigned by His Highness. How many naval forces are there in Guangzhou?"
Li Yang smiled slightly and said: "The characteristic of the Guangzhou navy is that there are many warships and few soldiers. In Panyu, Bao'an and Xinhui, there are at least 300 warships worth more than 2,000 stones, and hundreds of patrol boats.
, but the navy in Guangzhou only has 2,000 men, led by Zhonglang General Zeng Jinghai. Zeng Jinghai is very loyal to my father, and I can find him."
"Why are there so few naval forces in Guangzhou?" Kang Bao asked puzzledly.
Li Yang thought for a while and explained: "There are many reasons for this, but there are two main reasons. One is that during the Anshi Rebellion, 200,000 Persians and cannibals looted Guangzhou, which severely affected Guangzhou's overseas trade.
Without recovery, overseas trade was transferred to Quanzhou. Without large-scale maritime trade, there was no need for naval escort.
Another reason is that the threat to the Lingnan Economic Strategy Mansion mainly comes from the north. There are many local wealthy families like the Yuchi family in various places, and rebellions have occurred one after another. Therefore, our troops are mainly used to suppress rebellions, and the navy is only responsible for destroying offshore pirates. Two thousand
There are enough people.”
Kang Bao frowned, "Aren't all the warships abandoned?"
"After some repairs, it should still be usable. After all, it's not an old ship."
Just as he was talking, a sentry ship approached from a distance. It was the man Li Yang sent to find out the news...
In the cabin, Kang Bao and several important civil servants and generals listened to the report on the situation in Nanhai County. Li Yang sat down slumped and held his forehead in pain with his hands. His brother Li Yu was actually killed by Yu Chiqing, and he was on his mother's deathbed.
I promised to take good care of my younger brother, but he was killed. How could I see my dead parents?
Li Yang finally choked up and shed tears. Kang Bao looked at him sympathetically and said softly for a while: "I completely understand your feelings, but the deceased has passed away. Only by severely punishing the murderer can we, the living, comfort the deceased."
spirit!"
Li Yang wiped away his tears and gritted his teeth and said: "If you catch Yu Chiqing, let me kill him with my own hands!"
"Yes, I will hand him over to you. If he dies in battle, I will also give you his head."
Kang Bao encouraged Li Yang, and then told everyone: "There are three troops now, one is Yuchi Hu's army in Nanhai and Panyu, one is Luo Huaiqing's army in Zengcheng, and the other is Zeng Jinghai's army in Xinhui. This
Inside, our enemy is Yuchi Hu, and Luo Huaiqing and Zeng Jinghai may be allies."
Li Yang said calmly: "Go to Zeng Jinghai. He has followed my father for more than ten years and has always been loyal. Since my father returned to the court for burial, he should support the court. I will go find him personally."
Kang Bao shook his head, "You don't have to take risks. You can take a token and let your followers find him. If he is loyal, he will come to see you."
Li Yang pondered for a moment, then found a jade pendant from his father's belongings, handed it to his entourage and said, "This jade pendant was given to my father by Zeng Jinghai. He knew it as soon as he saw it and it can be used as a token."
Li Yang then wrote another letter and gave it to his entourage, and the two followers took a boat to Xinhui.
.........
Li Yang was in a depressed mood. He almost didn't sleep all night and didn't even eat breakfast in the morning. He had a deep relationship with his brother. His brother's murder made him cry all night. At the same time, he was also worried about the fate of his wife, concubines and children, and whether Yuchi Hu would let him go.
they?
Kang Bao walked to the bow of the ship, sat down next to him, and handed him a hot meat pie, "Eat whatever you want! Otherwise, how will you avenge your brother if war breaks out?"
Li Yang took the meat pie and ate it slowly. He sighed again and said: "Now I understand why my father dragged his illness to Chang'an. He was not in good health. He knew that our brothers could not defend Lingnan, so he dedicated Lingnan to
The imperial court is also giving our brothers a way out. If he does not go to Chang'an, I am afraid that all of us brothers will be killed by Yuchi Hu and his like."
Kang Bao was silent for a moment and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin said that the closer the border areas are, the easier it is to become independent and divided. If the court is left to its own devices, it will not be able to explain to its descendants in the future. This is why His Highness the King of Jin decisively sent troops to Lingnan. His Highness the King of Jin hopes that
After we become officials in Guangzhou, we must also pay attention to the unity of all ethnic groups and safeguard the authority of the imperial court and the integrity of the territory. I hope you and I can encourage each other!"
In the afternoon of the next day, one of the two sent out followers returned first. He brought good news. Li Yang's wife and children were all in Xinhui County and were taken out of the palace by Zeng Jinghai. This news made Li Yang cry with joy.
Another day later, Zeng Jinghai took a thousand-stone warship and arrived at the fleet anchorage. Zeng Jinghai was from Yuzhou, and his original name was Zeng Shuilang. After following Li Si to Guangzhou, Li Si changed his name to Zeng Jinghai and asked him to command the navy.
Zeng Jinghai knew that he could not defeat the local snake Yuchi family, so when he heard that the eldest son was coming with the imperial army, he was overjoyed and came to join him without hesitation.
Li Yang's family was finally reunited, and Kang Bao received Zeng Jinghai politely. What they were most lacking now were naval talents, and Zeng Jinghai came at the right time.