In addition to Yang Zhitang's growing call to return to the center to pay homage to the prime minister, Gu Zhilong, the Yongjia defense envoy who escorted the prisoners of war back to the dynasty a month ago, is also a figure who is bound to enter the center this time.

After Gu Zhilong arrived in Jinling, although he had not yet been officially awarded the title of meritorious service, he and his family had already been given a luxurious mansion covering an area of more than ten acres and more than 100 houses to live in Huangyang Lane.

Although the Empress Dowager Changxin has repeatedly said politely to stay in office, it is a fact that she knows that the Privy Council envoy Zhou Bingwu's health is getting worse day by day; As a popular candidate for the new Privy Council, Gu Zhilong has been in Jinling for more than half a month, and there have been guests visiting Gu Mansion every day.

On this day, Gu's house is as usual the joy of silk and bamboo, and there are many large and small lanterns like stars, illuminating the huge garden as bright as day.

Under the wind of the late autumn night, it was quite chilly, but the people drinking in the pavilion were hot, and a table of wine was at its hottest.

After the case, in addition to Gu Zhilong and the children of the Gu family and several generals who accompanied Gu Zhilong to Luoyang to report on their work, there were also the representatives of the Xuanshe family, Fu Gengwen, Fanjun Xisheng, Xijiapeng and his father Xiying, as well as Zhang Xian, a guest of Shouwang's Mansion, Ruan Yan's son, Ruan Tao, who served as the left Sicheng of Xinwangfu after Ruan Yan, and Yang Cong, the son of Xinwang who stayed in Jinling in these years.

Under the leadership of the chief Xiying, the Xi clan made up their minds as early as the early years of Taihe not to stand under the dangerous wall, moved out of Chenzhou, and settled the clansmen in Jinling, Xuanzhou, and Chizhou for four or five years.

Because of the dedication of the land and the relocation of the clan and the southern expedition of the camp to make great achievements, Xiying was awarded the title of marquis.

Even if he was not sent by the imperial court except for the knighthood, he still tried his best to integrate into the elite circle of Jinling, but he was not very successful.

After the conquest of the Qingyuan army, the two brothers, although they were given the rank of deputy commander, did not stay in Xingwangfu (Guangzhou) with Zheng Hui, but continued to conquer Fujian with Huang Xi, Zhang Feng and others.

After the annexation of Fujian, Huang Xi was appointed to stay in Jianzhou, responsible for the subsequent digestion and rule of Fujian, and the Youwu Xiang army was led by Zhang Feng, the new commander of the capital, to return to Chizhou to garrison.

It is true that the sound of washing and shooting and washing and shooting Peng have repeatedly made military exploits, but the DPRK and the central government are not willing to use the two of them to independently control the military power, and they do not want them to stay in Fujian and Lingnan, where the people occupy the absolute majority, so this time they were summoned to the court together with Gu Zhilong to be used.

Zheng Hui used the camp to conquer the Qingyuan army, and did not treat the Xi clan and the camp as a descendant, and after washing the sound and shooting Peng, he had the opportunity to part ways with Zheng Hui neatly, and led his troops to follow Huang Xi to participate in the conquest of Fujian.

Huang Wei, who is proud of his noble birth, does not believe in the general and has an arrogant attitude, but Gu Zhilong values the Xi brothers quite a lot.

Not only did he carry a lot on the battlefield, but whenever there was a banquet in the Gu Mansion in Jinling, he basically invited the Xi father and son to come over for a banquet, and tried his best to promote the Xi family to integrate into the clan clan group of Xuanxi.

Han Qianchan succeeded to the position of the lord of the Great Liang State, and the Chen, Qiao and other clans took advantage of the honeymoon period of Liang Chu in the first two years, and they all moved north with the Han clan.

After the death of Fu Mo, the head of the old family, Fu Gengwen, the new head of the family, was not smooth, and he was transferred from Hunan Province to Hubu Langzhong, because he served under Huang Hua, and he has not been promoted in the Hubu.

At this time, it is impossible for the Fu family to be compared with the Gu family, which is incomparable, after Gu Zhilong returned to the dynasty, Fu Gengwen also visited the door every once in a while, and there was a posture that only Gu Zhilong was looking forward.

In the eyes of outsiders, this is also a natural choice for Fushi.

However, although Xiying moved most of the remaining clansmen to Xuanzhou two years earlier to buy farms and houses to settle down, in the eyes of the local clan lords, they were still outsiders and were not accepted.

It is also recently under the mediation of Gu Zhilong, the Xuanshu family who lives in Jinling can be regarded as a little more cordial when Xiying's father and son are concerned.

Of course, Gu Zhilong values not only the two Xi brothers.

In the early days of the war, the Xishi and Chenzhou camps suffered from the blows of the Wuling army, and suffered heavy setbacks again and again, so that they had to surrender to them, so that they became the vanguard of the attack on Tanzhou, and then participated in many wars to quell the Jinling rebellion, and in the past ten years, they have followed Zheng Hui's expedition to Lingnan, Fujian, and Chenzhou camps for many years, and the cumulative casualties are an extremely terrifying number, which also makes the scale of Chenzhou Fanhu men drop to a rather harmful point, so that Xiying has to take the initiative to give up Chenzhou and ask for internal relocation.

However, after nearly 20 years of hard fighting, the Chenzhou Fan Battalion, led by the two brothers of Xisheng and Xijiapeng, has bloodily cultivated a group of quite elite generals and military attachés.

Gu Zhilong still has the confidence to integrate surnames such as the Xi family into Xuanzhou, and make good use of these surnames; This will undoubtedly become the cornerstone of his power in the center with the generals and military attaches of the Yongjia Army he has cultivated over the years.

Today, Yang Cong, Ruan Tao, Zhang Xian, and others, the sons of the king of letters, came to visit him, and Gu Zhilong invited the father and son of the Xi family to come to the banquet as usual, and he regarded the father and son of the Xi family as cronies.

"It took less than three months for the Liang army to capture Guanzhong, but I don't know what Gu Hou thinks of this?" Shouwang Yang Zhitang is idle at home, and as a guest of Shouwang's mansion, Zhang Xian has not had an official title over the years, but this does not prevent him from entering and leaving the banquet of the powerful.

At present, Liang and Chu are divided into two countries, even if there are outsiders at the banquet, Zhang Xian does not need to avoid anything when he talks about Liang Guo.

Gu Zhilong's eyes swept to Zhang Xian and Yang Cong, the son of King Xin, who was beside Zhang Xian, and Ruan Tao, who succeeded his father Ruan Yan as the left of King Xin's mansion, and knew very well in his heart that Zhang Xian did not really want to ask his opinion on the Liang army's recovery of the battles in Guanzhong.

How he answers next determines the choice he will make; Or rather, his next answer will determine whether he can sit in the seat of the Privy Council.

As far as he knew, Sima should have made up his mind to raise Xu Si to vote; And the attitude of Sima and Xinwang Yang Yuanpu is also very clear, obviously hoping to use this matter to promote Yang Zhitang to return to the center, and even this is a prerequisite for Sima to raise Xu Si to vote.

Needless to say, Yang Yuanpu, the king of letters, had a close relationship with Yang Zhitang over the years, and the Sima clan urgently needed Yang Zhitang to return to the center of the Chu court, so that the Shaozhuang faction and the main battle faction of Great Chu, who had a tough attitude towards Liang, could completely gain the upper hand.

Only in this way can the Sima clan attach themselves to Dachu and receive truly strong support and protection, and can they truly gain a sense of security.

If the Lord and the faction continue to dominate the center of the Great Chu, the Sima clan's surrender is likely to be caught in a dilemma.

Gu Zhilong also knew these things, and said with a little mutter: "Wang Xiaoxian's Shu soldiers are lost dogs, and Wang Yuankui has not been able to really digest Yuzhou. ”

Gu Zhilong's implication is that the Liang army recovered Guanzhong so quickly, not how strong the Liang army is, but in fact, Wang Xiaoxian and Wang Yuankui in the Guanzhong have already been in chaos after the year.

Of course, Gu Zhilong did not say these words simply to get a position in the Privy Council, he was completely trying to figure out the intentions of the Xinwang Mansion and the Shouwang Mansion.

The Liang army is strong, and he was also planted in the hands of Han Qian back then, so he was forced to lead the Xuanzhou soldiers to accept the reorganization, but in any case, at this time, the center of gravity of the Liang army was on the northern front, and the garrisons in Huaixi and Deng Jun on the southern line were only 30,000 elites, which was not enough to be feared.

If Ma Si's clan raised the land of Xu Si to vote, the Great Chu would not only surround Huaixi from three sides of the terrain, but also the Great Chu soldiers and horses deployed around Huaixi would also be six or seven times as many as the Liang army in Huaixi.

The gap between the scale of soldiers and horses between the two sides in Jianghuai is so big, Gu Zhilong is still afraid, why don't he have to hide in his mother's womb and dare not come out?

"Gu Hou thinks that the Liang army at this time is strong or weak compared to the Liang army at Zhu Yu's time?" Zhang Xian asked again.

"The strength of the soldiers and horses cannot be simply compared with the victory and defeat,"

Fu Gengwen took over the conversation on the side and said,

"When the Liang army surrounded Luzhou and the city was about to fall, they did not expect Liang Shixiong and Zhu Rang to fight back, leading the Mongolian army south, and they were disrupted by surprise, so that the previous achievements were wasted and defeated, but it was not that the Liang army was weak and vulnerable at that time, nor was the Mongolian army's combat strength invincible. At this time, the Liang army could inflict heavy losses on the Mongolian army at Yiguan, and then recover Guanzhong, and it could not be regarded as strong. As far as the current situation is concerned, the Mongolian army has suffered heavy losses, and the soldiers and horses cannot be adjusted in a short period of time, and it may be difficult to withstand Jinnan, but as long as the Mongolian army can hold Taiyuan and Heshuo, the situation may not have time to reverse. Of course, the method of warfare is to be single-minded, and Han Qian is an extremely difficult opponent to deal with, that is certain. ”

Gu Zhilong wants to enter the center to take charge of the Privy Council, and he also wants to form his own department, he has recruited generals such as Xijiasheng and Xijiapeng, plus the generals of the Yongjia army, his prestige and influence in the army are enough, but don't say that Fu Geng Wencai is only a household langzhong, but he is the only "minister" that Gu Zhilong can win over in the court.

Fu Gengwen's qualifications are old enough, and he hasn't been able to go to the next level, and to put it bluntly, there are still no strong people to push him.

Fu Gengwen will not be in vain, and at this time, he also regarded himself as Gu Zhilong's right-hand man, so he took over the conversation and expressed his opinions.

Gu Zhilong also nodded, agreeing with Fu Gengwen's opinion.

Zhang Xian smiled, thinking that maybe Gu Zhilong's attitude towards Liang Jun was more cautious in his heart, but what they wanted at this time was Gu Zhilong's attitude, of course, he could also imagine that Gu Zhilong had no choice.

Not to mention the old enmity of his son Gu Yao who died in the battle of Langxi City, Gu Zhilong wanted to enter the center at this time and become the leader of the Xuanshu family again, which determined that his attitude towards Liang Guo could not be weak.

Zhang Xian said with a smile:

"It's true that the Shouzhou Army was broken like that, didn't it hold on to Liang Jun for so long and be unharmed?"

Gu Zhilong did not answer Zhang Xian's words.

Although he has been in southern Zhejiang all these years, King Shou angered the Empress Dowager Changxin because he advocated secretly conciliating with Xu Mingzhen, and was then expelled from the court; At least until the Shouwang Mansion officially returned to the center, Gu Zhilong didn't want to touch this sensitive topic.

"In recent years, some people in Beijing have talked about moving the capital from time to time, I don't know what Gu Hou thinks about this?" Zhang Xian asked.

Xu Mingzhen and the Shouzhou Army were involved in the rebellion case of that year, Gu Zhilong was reluctant to talk about it, and Zhang Xian could understand it, but Jinling, the imperial capital of Great Chu, and Tangyi were across the river, which was equivalent to the blade of the soldiers and horses on the southern front of the Liang army, which was directly against the heart of Great Chu, and it was also a fact that everyone could not avoid with their eyes closed.

At that time, Yang Yuanyan, the king of letters, and even the Zheng family, advocated taking advantage of Han Qian's unstable foothold in Heluo, and sent troops to recover Huaixi with lightning speed, and pushed the northern defense line along the Huai River, so that the center of Great Chu would have a safe and buffer distance of sufficient depth between Jianghuai.

However, the voice of the Rapid War faction was not strong back then, and the Zheng family was forced to choose to advocate peace in the later period, and as a representative of the Slow War faction, Yang Zhitang was even expelled from the court.

Over the years, with a series of military victories of the Liang army on the northern front, the strength of the Eastern Liang Army and the Mongolian Army in the Liang Army had to take a defensive position.

At this time, if you still want to take a tough attitude towards the Liang State, move the imperial capital to the south, and open a certain buffer depth with the soldiers and horses of the southern line of the Liang army, it will become the consensus of a considerable number of generals in the court, and there are many people who discuss it in private, but for the time being, no one has publicly written a letter to directly uncover this layer of window paper.

Of course, Gu Zhilong also knew that the matter of moving the capital was extremely complicated.

First of all, the Lords and faction led by the Empress Dowager Changxin were absolutely opposed to moving the capital, and even the Shaozhuang faction, which was increasingly agitated and had a tough attitude towards Liang, there were many radicals who opposed the relocation of the capital.

They claimed that "the Son of Heaven guarded the society", thinking that since Han Qian was able to set the Liang capital in Luoyang back then, and did not take half a step back in the face of the strong Mongolian army, how could Da Chu weaken his momentum?

In the eyes of these people, since they are worried that the depth between the center of Great Chu and the soldiers and horses of the southern front of the Liang army is not enough, the generals of Great Chu should fight bravely to take back Huaixi and Deng Jun, let alone the decision to move the capital to fear the enemy and cowardly the enemy.

And even among the officials who approve of moving the capital, there is still controversy about where the national capital will be moved, whether it is Hongzhou, Jiangxi, or Hangzhou, Jiangdong.

Seeing that Gu Zhilong had been silent for a long time, Fu Gengwen took over the conversation again, but he did not directly answer Zhang Xian's question, but looked at Ruan Tao and Yang Cong, and asked, "But I don't know what His Royal Highness King Xin thinks about the relocation of the capital?" ”

Xinwang Yang Yuanyan personally led 30,000 elites to sit in Chuzhou, and it is not difficult to imagine that if Xinwang Yang Yuanyan is really asked to come by his own temperament, he must hope that the 200,000 soldiers and horses of Dachu will rush up and recapture Huaixi first, but the problem is not that Xinwang Yang Yuanyan can make a decision.

In this matter, the attitude of Shouwang Yang Zhitang may be more critical.

Fu Gengwen didn't think that Zhang Xian would directly tell Shouwang Yang Zhitang's attitude.

He asked Ruan Tao and Yang Cong at this time, thinking that the two of them had close contact with Shouwang Mansion, and they should have long understood what Shouwang Yang Zhitang's attitude was towards moving the capital, so in front of Zhang Xian in Shouwang Mansion, whether they answered this question in a firm tone or not, it was not difficult to see what Shouwang Yang Zhitang's true attitude was.

"No matter how strong the combat effectiveness of the Liang army is, there are only 30,000 soldiers and horses in Huaixi, and the Sima clan raised the land of Xu Si to vote, and I have 200,000 elite soldiers available outside Huaixi, which is seven times more than the Liang army, is it really as fearful as a tiger?" Yang Cong, the son of the king of letters, said unabashedly.

Fu Gengwen glanced at Zhang Xian, and seeing that he did not show any impatience or contempt for Yang Cong's tough tone, he turned his head to look at Gu Zhilong and the three fathers and sons.

Gu Zhilong obviously had doubts in his heart, but Xiying was thoughtful, but the sound of washing and shooting and washing and shooting Peng looked shocked, as if he was extremely interested in the implied meaning of Yang Cong's words.

Although Fu Gengwen regarded himself as Gu Zhilong's right-hand man at this time, in front of Zhang Xian, Yang Cong and others, he couldn't take the limelight from Gu Zhilong, and looked at Gu Zhilong intently to see how he responded to Yang Cong's words.

"That's true," Gu Zhilong said hesitantly, "but when it comes to the attitude towards Liang Jun, it goes without saying that Empress Dowager Changxin has said it, and Shen Xiang and Yang Houye seem to have advocated compromise with Liang Jun in recent years. In this case, even if my Da Chu has twice as many elites outside of Huaixi, what use can it be worth? ”

"If you want to say how strong the Liang army generals are, it may not be, whether it is strong or strong is that the military and political affairs of the Liang State know that the Liang master is alone, but the military and political affairs of Great Chu are involved in too many places, it is difficult to make a decision, and it is difficult to make a big deal." Fu Gengwen said.

"The first emperor was thirteen years old and left the palace to enter the palace, who would have thought that only one year apart, the first emperor would lead the dragon bird army to defend Xichuan City at the age of fourteen and severely damage Emperor Liang - Your Majesty has turned fourteen years old this year." Zhang Xian said with a smile.

Zhang Xian's words were more obvious, and Gu Zhilong looked at Fu Gengwen hesitantly.

Although Gu Zhilong also pays attention to the movements of the court at any time, his youngest son Gu Xiongchang has also been serving in the court as a "proton", but Gu Xiongchang's ability and ability are far inferior to his second son Gu Zhao, who died in Langxi City, and he is also unruly and unruly in Jinling, and he cannot help him master the details of the palace ban.

And Gu Zhilong returned to Beijing, although he participated in two court meetings, and he had to go to the palace to meet once, and the court meeting and the palace were all led by the Empress Dowager Changxin, and he did not leave a particularly deep impression on the new emperor.

Fu Gengwen nodded, indicating that Zhang Xian's hints were true, and he could vaguely know what King Xin's Mansion and King Shou's Mansion were planning behind their backs......