On September 25, 427 of the Great Jin Dynasty, in the Taiyuan Hall of the Imperial Palace of Canglong City of the Great Jin Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Zhou said to hundreds of court ministers on both sides of the hall with a sad face: "I didn't expect that a few days ago, the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong were both defeated by the thief Zhang Mingqi, which made the entire Qiongzhou fall, and Lianzhou seems to be more auspicious than lucky. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou is now completely dead to Zhang Mingqi, she finally sent someone to connect with Zhang Mingqi, hoping to recruit Zhang Mingqi, but as Zhang Mingqi's strength became stronger and stronger, Zhang Mingqi's ambition became bigger and bigger, and finally those people sent by the Empress Dowager Zhou to contact Zhang Mingqi were secretly killed by Zhang Mingqi.

After the Empress Dowager Zhou finished speaking, the Taiyuan Palace suddenly fell into silence, Zhang Mingqi, the southeast giant, is too powerful, the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong lost their armor, at present, Suzhou and Qiongzhou have been completely captured by Zhang Mingqi's army, and most of Lianzhou has fallen, because the army of the Great Jin Dynasty has given up Lianzhou, so the fall of Lianzhou is inevitable.

The hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong took the remnants of the imperial army and retreated to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhezhou and Fuzhou, but the combined army of these two hussar generals was less than 500,000, which also included the Xiang army and local armies in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and Fuzhou, and the army of the giant Zhang Mingqi has now snowballed to more than 2 million.

Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Fuzhou, plus Suzhou, Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, and known as the seven southeastern states of the Great Jin Dynasty, are the main sources of taxes for the imperial court of the Great Jin Dynasty, and the taxes handed over to the imperial court by the seven southeastern states every year are equivalent to half of the taxes paid by the entire imperial court, and even sometimes reach more than half.

Now Suzhou, Qiongzhou and Lianzhou have been occupied by the giant Zhang Mingqi, if Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhezhou and Fuzhou fall into the hands of Zhang Mingqi again, then the finances of the Great Jin Dynasty are likely to collapse, and the consequences of that will be unbearable for the bigwigs of the imperial court.

However, in the face of Zhang Mingqi, a giant who had more than 2 million troops, the imperial court almost reached the point where there were no troops to send, and relying only on the nearly 500,000 troops led by the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhezhou, and Fuzhou could not be defended at all.

Seeing that the hundreds of court ministers in the Taiyuan Palace were silent, Liu Heng, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, suddenly said loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, now there are only 400,000 forbidden troops left in our capital, but these 400,000 forbidden troops must stay in the capital, and the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army cannot be improved in a short period of time. ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, immediately came out and said: "The emperor must not, according to the good news sent by Liu Ji, and the news confirmed by our imperial court, Liu Ji has subdued the second strongest country in the Western Regions, Gaochang State, the twelve provinces and twenty-eight vassal states in the jurisdiction of the former Eastern Governor's Office, all of which were ceded to Liu Ji by Gaochang State, and on the grassland, Liu Ji conquered the Dangxiang clan and the Lou Fu clan one after another, and now the army under Liu Ji is at least more than two million, let Liu Ji lead the troops to the southeast states, although it can be regarded as driving the tiger and devouring the wolf, But it is likely to make Liu Ji's tiger stronger, if Liu Ji takes the opportunity to occupy the southeastern states, then the situation will be even worse! ”

Emperor Liu Heng of the Great Jin Dynasty frowned and said, "If Liu Ji's army is not requisitioned and sent south to quell the rebellion, what choice does the imperial court have?" You can't just watch Suzhou, Hangzhou, Zhezhou and Fuzhou fall into the hands of the thief Zhang Mingqi! ”

Empress Dowager Zhou nodded and said: "What the emperor said is reasonable, since all Aiqing can't think of any other way, then there is only one way to let the conquest general Liu Ji lead the troops south, and the conquest general Liu Ji defeated Gao Changguo this time, conquered the Dangxiang clan and the Lou Fu clan, and expanded thousands of miles for our Great Jin, which can be said to have made a great contribution to our Great Jin. ”

At this time, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, came out and said respectfully: "The Empress Dowager, the emperor, the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi must indeed be exterminated as much as possible, otherwise it is likely to shake the foundation of our Great Jin, and it is not impossible to send the general Liu Ji to the south!" This time, General Liu Ji defeated Gao Changguo, and conquered the Dangxiang clan and the Lou Fu clan, which did make a miraculous contribution to the Great Jin, but General Liu Ji is not yet 20 years old this year, and he was only promoted to the general of the conquest two months ago. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou immediately agreed and said: "Taiwei Dou is reasonable, so what title should the imperial court reward Liu Ji this time?" ”

"The minister thinks that a viscount should be suitable!" Captain Dou Yan said in a deep voice.

The titles of the Great Jin Dynasty are from low to high, they are barons, viscounts, earls, marquis and dukes, and these titles are not only the royal relatives and the children of the thirteenth family, but the rest of the Great Jin Dynasty is difficult to obtain.

Empress Dowager Zhou hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then do as Captain Dou said, and reward Liu Ji with the title of a viscount." ”

Immediately Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said again: "The queen mother, the emperor, although General Liu Ji has a huge army, but he has to guard against the Hulu of all ethnic groups in the grassland, as well as the Gaochang country, maybe it can be brought to the southeastern states to quell the rebellion army, the strength will not be too much, so the minister suggested that it is better to send a message directly to all parts of the Great Jin Dynasty, and recruit soldiers and horses from all over the country to gather in the capital to fight against the thief Zhang Mingqi, which not only enhances the strength of the counterinsurgency troops, but also the soldiers and horses called from all over the country can also contain General Liu Ji, It will not be so that Liu Ji will do things that are painful to the relatives and enemies after the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi is killed. ”

At the beginning, the Great Jin Dynasty saw that the bandits in various places were getting more and more serious, and the Xiang army in various parts of the court was very unfavorable to the clean-up of the bandits, but the more the bandits were cleared, the more serious the trouble, so the Great Jin Dynasty ordered the state pastors, Taishou, and county orders to form local armies belonging to the states, counties and counties to exterminate the bandits in various places, and as for the military expenses of the local army, a part of the local taxes could be withheld.

Now that more than two years have passed, there are really many local officials who have formed an army that is very impressive in terms of combat effectiveness and strength, especially in the four northern states and the southwestern states, and several forces with more than 100,000 troops have appeared.

Empress Dowager Zhou frowned and said: "Captain Dou, didn't the imperial court recruit a lot of Xiang troops from all over the country to the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong, but the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army was too embarrassing for the imperial court. ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, explained: "Empress Dowager Qiyu, the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army is weak, it does not mean that the armies everywhere are weak, many local armies can be regarded as strong armies, and the predecessor of the army under the command of the thief Zhang Mingqi is also a local army. ”

Liu Heng, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, interjected and said: "Taiwei Dou's idea is good, I am a great Jin people, and I don't know how many fierce generals and handsome people there are, if you can gather these fierce generals and handsome talents together and pacify the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi, it must not be too difficult, not to mention that there is also the captured general Liu Ji among them." ”

Empress Dowager Zhou weighed it carefully before saying: "Then, in the name of the imperial court, send a letter to all parts of the Great Jin Dynasty, and recruit soldiers and horses from all over the country to gather in the capital and jointly go south to crusade against the thief Zhang Mingqi." ”

After the end of the early dynasty, Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, Wang Zhihuan, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Rites, Zhao Boran, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Works, Sun Mingtao, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Households, Zheng Kai, the secretary of the Ministry of Soldiers, Han Renji, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Wu Ziyu, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, Zhang Shunran, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Chen Sikai, and the hussar general Xiao Su, these eleven important ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty, did not return to their mansions, but came to a study in the Yamen of the Ministry of War.

These eleven important ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty represent the eleven top families of the Great Jin Dynasty, while the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong, who are in the southeast, represent the other two of the thirteen top families of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, asked Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, in confusion: "Captain Dou, at the court meeting today, you suggested to the Queen Mother that you recruit soldiers and horses from all over the country and follow Liu Ji to crusade against the thief Zhang Mingqi, what is your intention?" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, stroked his beard and said: "The old man has no other meaning, he recruited soldiers and horses from all over the country to go to the southeast together, just to prevent Liu Ji from occupying the southeastern states, and the strength of Liu Ji's forces has grown too fast, and our thirteenth family has never had a relationship with Liu Ji, so we have to find a way to limit it, after all, our thirteenth family has a lot of arrangements in various places, and it is time to contribute to the imperial court at this time." ”

Yang Zhong's brows furrowed even tighter, "Captain Dou, the arrangement of our thirteenth family in various places has taken a lot of effort, and now that Zhang Mingqi not only has an army of more than two million, but also has a large number of martial arts strong people, if it weren't for Zhang Mingqi's army, several super fierce generals suddenly appeared, and the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong would not have been defeated." ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, sighed and said: "Our thirteenth family can have today's glory and wealth, in the final analysis, it is inseparable from the Great Jin Dynasty, and now that Zhang Mingqi is making too much trouble in the southeastern states, if it is not exterminated as soon as possible, maybe the situation will develop to the point of no return!" Ladies and gentlemen, if the Great Jin Dynasty is gone, then it is difficult to say whether the glory and wealth of our thirteenth family can be kept! ”

Wang Zhihuan, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Rites, nodded and said: "What Taiwei Dou said makes sense, our thirteenth family has shared the glory and disgrace with the Great Jin Dynasty, and to keep the Great Jin Dynasty is to keep our thirteenth family, the old man does not believe that a dynasty that replaces the Great Jin Dynasty will give us such a high status of the Thirteenth Family, maybe the Great Jin Dynasty is gone, and our Thirteenth Family will also disappear!" Our Wang family will fully support the crusade against the thief Zhang Mingqi this time, ask for money for money, and ask for people to give people! ”

These eleven important ministers of the imperial court, or the eleven top families of the Great Jin Dynasty, quickly reached an agreement that Zhang Mingqi should be exterminated as soon as possible at all costs, and Zhang Mingqi could no longer be allowed to shake the foundation of the Great Jin Dynasty.

After the end of the early dynasty, Liu Heng, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, returned to the Ci'en Palace where the Empress Dowager Zhou lived with the Empress Dowager Zhou, Liu Heng said with some excitement: "Queen Mother, this time the thirteenth family seems to really do their best to exterminate the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi, the so-called conscription of soldiers and horses from all over the world, most of them should be the army controlled by the thirteenth family in various places." ”

Empress Dowager Zhou's face at this time showed a hint of a smile, "Originally, the thirteenth family still had the idea of raising thieves and self-respect, but they never thought that the strength of the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi was unexpectedly strong, the army led by the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong was defeated in the face of the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi, of course the thirteenth family should be anxious, their thirteenth family can have today, relying on the Great Jin Dynasty, if the Great Jin Dynasty is gone, what can their thirteenth family be!" ”

Liu Heng, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, suddenly sighed and said gloomily: "It's a pity that the people sent by the queen mother did not succeed in recruiting Zhang Mingqi, if I can have Zhang Mingqi's army of two million in my hands, then Dou Yan and them will not dare to stop my pro-government anymore!" ”

Empress Dowager Zhou waved her hand and said: "Zhang Mingqi, that anti-thief, don't worry about it in the future, in the heart of this anti-thief, there is no longer a teacher of heaven and earth, this time if Liu Ji can bring troops to the capital by order, the mourning family is ready to find a way to accept a minister of humerus for the emperor." ”

Liu Heng hesitated for a moment and said, "Queen Mother, will Liu Ji bring troops to the capital?" ”

"If he can come to the capital, he is the emperor's minister of the humerus, if he doesn't come, then my Great Jin country will be in danger, alas-" Empress Dowager Zhou said and let out a long sigh.

"Liu Ji will definitely come to the capital, we have been established in the Great Jin Dynasty for more than 400 years, and we will never die in my hands!"

"I hope Liu Ji can come, God bless!" Empress Dowager Zhou said in a slow voice.

"Queen Mother, if Liu Ji brings troops to the capital, we must recruit this person at all costs, he can let Gao Changguo cede twelve provinces and twenty-eight vassal states, and conquer the Dangxiang clan and the Loufu clan, once I can get his support, our mother and son will not need to be so scruples about the thirteenth family."

"The emperor can rest assured, as long as Liu Ji can come to the capital, the mourning family is ready to marry Princess Xiangcheng to Liu Ji!"

"Ah-queen mother, you want to marry your sister to Liu Ji, this is ...... This ......"

"For the sake of the Great Jin Dynasty, I can only let Qingmei make sacrifices!"