After Liu Ji ate the two deputy palace masters of Guanghan Palace, Pang Wenyan and Chu Xiushu, it was already late at night, but Liu Ji did not sleep with Pang Wenyan and Chu Xiushu in his arms, but went to Su Ruoyu and Xie Fangfei's room, and rewarded the two personal disciples of Guanghan Palace on the bed.

Early in the morning of January 10, when Pang Wenyan, Chu Xiushu, Su Ruoyu and Xie Fangfei met, they couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed with each other, but under Liu Ji's mediation, the atmosphere between the four women quickly eased.

Pang Wenyan and Chu Xiushu also agreed to cover up the disappearance of the two elders of Guanghan Palace as much as possible, and strive to detain the charge to the head of the Xuanyang Dao Chief, Wang Chutong, in Wudang Mountain.

After the four girls accompanied Liu Ji to finish breakfast, they left together, and they will go to meet Liu Yueting, Lu Xueshan, Tan Ruofei and Lu Yaoyi, the four personal disciples of Guanghan Palace, and continue to lead the many inner and outer disciples of Guanghan Palace in the Red Turban Army.

After the four girls left, Liu Ji first used the four systematic lottery opportunities he got from Pang Wenyan and Chu Xiushu, and finally got three first-class generals in the Tang Dynasty and eight hundred tigers and leopards.

Then Liu Ji used up the two opportunities to summon the top generals with a success rate of 100%, and got the top military generals in the Sui Dynasty, the monk Xinwenli, and the apprentice.

Xin Wenli, the force value of 97, the intelligence value of 65, the commander value of 76, the Sui Dynasty Hongni Pass General Army, martial arts are strong, because of the power of pushing eight horses, so people call the eight horse generals, so that an iron lance, weighing 200 catties, Wagang rebelled to attack the Sui Dynasty checkpoint, Xin Wenli and Wagang Army fought and died.

Shang master and apprentice, force value 97, intelligence value 69, commander value 81, the Great Sui Tiger Prison Pass General Army, known as the "Four Treasure Generals", both civil and military, loyal and courageous, known as the first Confucian general of the Sui Dynasty, was assigned by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty to arrest Li Xiuning, but unfortunately did not succeed, and then defected to Wang Shichong to guard Luoyang, and tried his best to resist when the Western Wei Dynasty attacked the Tiger Prison Pass, because of a moment of verbal discord, forced to kill the master Qiu Rui, and then personally went to Wagang to mourn, and was finally defeated by Qin Shubao with a strategy, because he did not want to surrender, he drew his sword and killed himself, The four world-famous treasures were all obtained by Qin Shubao.

After Xin Wenli, Shang Shifu, three first-class generals in the Tang Dynasty and eight hundred tigers and leopards were revealed by Liu Ji, Liu Ji did not arrange them into various brigades, but prepared to let them, as well as Shan Xiongxin, who guarded the mansion in Qinhuai City, six first-class generals in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and nine hundred Wei military soldiers, escort the twenty-six stunning beauties from the Qinglou in the mansion back to Chengyin City.

Liu Ji was a little uneasy about leaving these twenty-six stunning beauties in Qinhuai City, so he decided to let them return to the Capture General's Mansion in Chengyin City first.

The two cavalry brigades and two infantry brigades sent by Liu Ji to pursue the Red Turban Army did not return to Qinhuai until 14 January.

These two cavalry brigades and two infantry brigades, when they arrived in Qinhuai City, also escorted back a large amount of grain and grass, which were captured from the recovered counties, in fact, these grains and grasses were basically scavenged from the local area by the Red Turban Army, the Red Turban Army retreated in a hurry, and a large amount of grain and grass looted could not be transported away, except for a small part that was burned by the Red Turban Army, most of the grain and grass fell into the hands of the various armies of the imperial court, and the Broken Army got the most grain and grass.

Although Liu Ji expanded 20 temporary infantry brigades at once, and the total strength of the Broken Army in Suzhou reached more than 1 million, Liu Ji did not lack food for the time being, and now the food in Liu Ji's hands is enough for more than 1 million soldiers of the Broken Prisoner Army to eat for more than three months.

Originally, Liu Ji planned to let more than half of the temporary infantry brigade also return to Ji'an County first, but Zhang Liang and several other top civil servants suggested that Liu Ji should leave behind twenty temporary infantry brigades worthy of a war to deal with the complex situation in the seven southeastern states.

On the morning of 15 January, the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the Grassland Legion, the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Western Regions Legion, the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Native Legion, the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the Guards Corps, and 20 temporary infantry brigades of the Guards Corps, as well as 60,000 auxiliaries escorting grain and grass, left Qinhuai City and went straight to Huai'an City, the state capital of Hangzhou.

Because there was too much grain and grass to carry this time, Liu Ji had no choice but to divide three temporary infantry brigades to help 60,000 auxiliary soldiers escort grain and grass together.

In the early morning of January 17, 428 of the Great Jin Dynasty, in the Taiyuan Hall of the Imperial Palace of Canglong City of the Great Jin Dynasty, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said in a deep voice: "The Queen Mother, the Emperor, now the army of our imperial court, although it has achieved a brilliant victory in Qinhuai City, but in Huai'an City, our imperial army has suffered a fiasco, losing nearly 400,000 troops, and the remaining imperial army in Huai'an City has all retreated into Huai'an City, and Huai'an City has once again been surrounded by the thieves of the Red Turban Army. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou immediately asked: "Isn't the broken army of the conscription general Liu Ji already rushing to Huai'an City?" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, nodded and said, "General Liu Ji did lead the Broken Army to rescue Huai'an City, but it was ......"

"But what? Could it be that the captive army under Liu Ji couldn't relieve the siege of Huai'an City? Empress Dowager Zhou frowned and asked.

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, hurriedly said: "Queen Mother, Zhao Lianjin, the leader of the Red Turban Army and bandits in Huai'an City, has a lot of tricks and made a fire bull array, which caused the imperial army to lose nearly 400,000. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou's brows furrowed even tighter and asked, "What does Captain Dou mean?" Don't you let Liu Ji lead the troops to rescue Huai'an City? ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said loudly at this time: "Empress Dowager Qiqi, Emperor, recently, the Kaiyang Fairy of Guanghan Palace came to Canglong City and conveyed to the court that the puppet king Zhang Mingqi has the willingness to accept the court's recruitment. ”

As soon as Dou Yan's words fell, Liu Heng, the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, said angrily: "That Zhang Mingqi has already been crowned king, how can our court recruit such a rebellion, otherwise I don't know how many imitators there will be in the future!" The imperial court must use thunderous means to completely exterminate the puppet king Zhang Mingqi! ”

Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, suddenly sighed and said: "Your Majesty, the rebellion in the southeast has made the imperial treasury empty, and the fiasco of Huai'an City indicates that this rebellion cannot be quelled in a short time. ”

Emperor Liu Heng of the Great Jin Dynasty snorted coldly and said: "I don't believe that the pseudo-king Zhang Mingqi will be willing to hand over millions of troops, even if he is willing, can those of his subordinates be willing?" ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, said: "Your Majesty, now the puppet king Zhang Mingqi only has the will to accept the court's recruitment, and as for the conditions for recruitment, we need to negotiate with both sides. ”

Emperor Liu Heng of the Great Jin Dynasty wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by the Empress Dowager Zhou, "Since all Aiqing agree to recruit the Red Turban Army, then you might as well talk to the puppet king Zhang Mingqi, the mourning family also hopes that the seven states in the southeast will return to calm as soon as possible, as for the negotiation, leave it to Captain Dou and Captain Yang!" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, and Yang Zhong, the captain of the military department, immediately clasped their fists in unison and said, "Yes, the queen mother!" ”

After the end of the early dynasty, the Great Jin Emperor Liu Heng and the Empress Dowager Zhou returned to the Ci'en Palace where the Empress Dowager Zhou lived, and as soon as she entered the Ci'en Palace, Liu Heng hurriedly asked the Empress Dowager Zhou: "Queen Mother, how can you agree to recruit the puppet king Zhang Mingqi?" Zhang Mingqi proclaimed himself the king of Yue, which is already a heinous crime, if the court let Zhang Mingqi go, the prestige of the court in the hearts of the people of the world will be gone! ”

Empress Dowager Zhou smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, haven't you understood it yet?" In the matter of Zhao'an puppet king Zhang Mingqi, those important ministers of the court of the thirteenth family have reached an agreement, once the mourning family forcibly opposes, maybe there will be a worse situation in the southeast, in order to force the mourning family to agree to Zhao'an. ”

When Emperor Liu Heng heard this, he immediately said with a gloomy face: "Queen Mother, didn't the Thirteenth Family also hope to exterminate the pseudo-king Zhang Mingqi?" ”

Empress Dowager Zhou sighed and said: "At this time and that time, the fiasco of Huai'an City made the thirteenth family a little afraid, and at this time, Zhang Mingqi, the representative of the puppet king of Guanghan Palace, proposed the matter of recruiting An, and the thirteenth family happened to get off the donkey. ”

"But isn't there still Liu Ji's broken army in the southeast, in Qinhuai City, Liu Ji's broken army can defeat a million Red Turban Army, and I believe that the more than one million Red Turban Army in Huai'an City is not the opponent of the Broken Army."

"If the mourning family is not mistaken, the thirteenth family should also be afraid of the combat effectiveness of the broken army under Liu Ji, and your sister will marry Liu Ji, the thirteenth family has to think about the future, maybe the thirteenth family wants to use Zhang Mingqi's red turban army to contain Liu Ji's broken army."

"Queen Mother, I am not reconciled!"

"Your Majesty, now our mother and son can only endure it, and when your sister pulls Liu Ji to the side of our royal family, the power of the court can truly belong to the emperor."

Just when the Great Jin Emperor Liu Heng and the Empress Dowager Zhou returned to the Ci'en Palace, Dou Yan, the Tai Lieutenant of the Military Department, Yang Zhong, the Tai Lieutenant of the Ministry of Rites, Wang Zhihuan, the Tai Lieutenant of the Ministry of Rites, Zhao Boran, the Tai Lieutenant of the Criminal Department, Sun Mingtao, the Tai Lieutenant of the Ministry of Works, Zheng Kai, the Tai Lieutenant of the Household Department, Han Renji, the Shangshu of the Military Department, Wu Ziyu, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, Zhang Shunran, the Shangshu of the Household Ministry, Chen Sikai, the Shangshu of the Criminal Department, and Xiao Su, the Hussar General, all gathered in a study room in the Yamen of the Military Department.

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said in a deep voice: "Our thirteenth family, only the Li family and the He family, because the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong are leading the troops, no one is here, and the people of the other eleven families are here, let's sum it up, the bottom line of the negotiation with Zhang Mingqi!" ”

Zhang Shunran, the head of the household, sighed and said, "Captain Dou, do you really want to recruit Zhang Mingqi and his Red Turban Army?" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, nodded and said: "The fiasco of Huai'an City, the nearly 400,000 troops lost, almost all of them are the men and horses of our thirteenth family, and the broken army under Liu Ji annihilated millions of Red Turban Army in Qin Huaicheng, and what is even more shocking is that Liu Ji directly incorporated at least 900,000 prisoners of war of the Red Turban Army, and now Liu Ji's army in Suzhou has more than one million. ”

After a pause, Dou Yan continued: "The Kaiyang Fairy of Guanghan Palace has brought a message to our Thirteenth Family for Zhang Mingqi, as long as our Thirteenth Family can promote this recruitment, Zhang Mingqi is willing to take the lead of our Thirteenth Family!" ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, continued: "The matter of Princess Xiangcheng's marriage to Liu Ji has been decided, although our thirteenth family is trying our best to win over Liu Ji, but it is not ruled out that Liu Ji will still fall to the queen mother and the emperor, recruiting Zhang Mingqi, on the one hand, it can restrict Liu Ji's broken army from expanding its power in the seven southeastern states, and on the other hand, it can also tie Zhang Mingqi and our thirteenth family together." ”

Chen Sikai, the secretary of the Criminal Department, frowned and asked, "Taiwei Dou, Taiwei Yang, will Zhang Mingqi really take refuge in our thirteenth family?" He's not just going to be a white tooth, is he? ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, and Yang Zhong, the captain of the ministry, looked at each other, and a wry smile appeared on the corners of their mouths, and then Dou Yan said: "No one knows whether Zhang Mingqi is sincere or not, but now the situation in the seven states in the southeast, recruiting Zhang Mingqi is the most beneficial to our thirteenth family." ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, also said: "We can only let the seven southeastern states settle down first, and as for Zhang Mingqi's problem, we can only solve it later." ”

Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, coughed and said: "The queen mother has agreed to Zhao'an, so don't worry about anything else, let's study the bottom line of Zhao'an Zhang Mingqi and the Red Turban Army!" ”

Immediately, the hussar general Xiao Su said loudly: "Zhang Mingqi's title of the pseudo-king must be removed, this is a prerequisite for Zhao'an, you must know that in our Great Jin Dynasty for more than 400 years, there has never been a king with a different surname!" ”

The hussar general Xiao Su's words were approved by the other ten important ministers of the court, and then the hussar general Xiao Su said: "Let the Red Turban Army accept all the reorganization of the imperial court, Zhang Mingqi will definitely not agree, but we must limit the number of troops under Zhang Mingqi's command, preferably under 300,000." ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, shook his head and said: "Although the Red Turban Army has lost millions of troops in Qinhuai City, the strength of the Red Turban Army is still more than two million, and Zhang Mingqi will definitely not agree to let Zhang Mingqi maintain 300,000 troops." ”

Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, said categorically: "Regarding the question of how many troops Zhang Mingqi should keep, we can negotiate with the other party to reduce the number of troops under Zhang Mingqi's command as much as possible. ”

The hussar general Xiao Su then said: "Now that Zhang Mingqi's Red Turban Army occupies almost half of the seven states in the southeast, he will definitely not hand over all the territory he occupies, and we had better limit him to one state." ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, nodded and said: "The old man thinks that it is very cost-effective to let Zhang Mingqi serve as the state pastor of a state, and exchange the land of a state for the peace of the other six states in the southeast." ”

Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, immediately said: "It is best to be the governor of Lianzhou or Fuzhou, among the seven states in the southeast, the taxes of Lianzhou and Fuzhou are relatively small. ”