On July 23, 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, who was sitting behind the curtain, opened her mouth and said to the hundreds of court ministers on both sides of the main hall: "All Aiqing should have known about the memorabilia sent to the imperial court by the Taishou of Qianzhou Ju'an County and the guerrilla general Liu Ji, what do you think of the few things that Liu Ji mentioned?" ”

Liu Heng, the son of heaven of the Great Jin Dynasty, who was sitting in front of the curtain, had a look of joy on his face at this time, and several things mentioned by Liu Ji in the fold this time made Liu Heng, the young son of heaven, feel sincerely excited. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, first came out and said: "The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, Liu Ji's play about the Eastern Fan Clan's return to the East and the matter of the four protectorates in the Western Regions, the minister thinks that people should be sent to the Western Regions to verify as soon as possible, and once this is verified, the Eastern Fan Clan and the four Protectorates who have been in the Western Regions for more than a hundred years should be rewarded immediately. ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, then came out of the ranks and said: "The eastward return of the Eastern Fan Clan, as well as the persistence of the four capitals of the Western Regions, are all feats that can be sung and wept. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal!" "The minister seconded the proposal!" ……

After Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, and Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the official department, finished speaking, dozens of ministers came out one after another to express their approval, the Donggui of the Dongfan clan and the four protectorates of the Western Regions have been holding on for more than a hundred years, which is equivalent to putting gold on the face of the Great Jin Dynasty, and these ministers are eager to immediately announce these two things to the world, so that everyone in the world knows.

Empress Dowager Zhou nodded and said: "Presumably Liu Ji will not fool the imperial court in these two things, but what should be verified, it still needs to be verified, so what do you think of Liu Ji's request to personally manage the land occupied by the Western Regions and the grassland occupied by the grassland?" There are also the people of the Eastern Fan tribe and the soldiers and civilians of the four protectorates in the Western Regions, how should our court settle them? ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, hesitated for a moment and said: "According to what Liu Ji said above, his army in the Western Regions has not only captured the eight subject countries of our Great Jin Dynasty in the Western Regions, but also Zhuqi Kingdom, Suju Kingdom, Shiqu Kingdom, Daosu Kingdom, Wenda Kingdom, Qiwu Kingdom, Dana Kingdom and Yuanba Kingdom, and captured ten provinces within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Governorate of Gaochang Kingdom, and on the grassland side, Liu Ji's army has occupied a large amount of grassland after defeating the combined army of the Ten Hu people led by the Khitan people, It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the army under Liu Ji is indeed very strong. ”

After a pause, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, continued: "But it is precisely because the army under Liu Ji's command is too strong and has a tendency to be overcome, the minister thinks that Liu Ji should not be given more authority, and should find a way to limit Liu Ji's power as soon as possible. ”

At this time, the Empress Dowager Zhou sighed and said: "Now that the situation in the southeast is erosive, there must be no more chaos in the north, and the mourning family feels that they can agree to Liu Ji's request and let Liu Ji deal with the Hu people of all ethnic groups on the grassland and the Gaochang Kingdom in the Western Regions, what do you think?" ”

Hearing Empress Dowager Zhou mention the situation in the southeast of the Great Jin Dynasty, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, sighed secretly, turned his head and glanced at his deputy, Han Renji, the secretary of the military department.

In April this year, the 200,000 forbidden troops in the capital led by the hussar general Li Hong, as well as the 150,000 Xiang troops and local troops in Suzhou, as well as the 150,000 Xiang troops in several states around Suzhou, were defeated by the hands of Zhang Mingqi, a giant in the southeast, and the 500,000 imperial army was annihilated 400,000 at once, and the hussar general Li Hong escaped from Suzhou with only 100,000 people, and almost all of these 100,000 people were forbidden troops.

Now the army of the giant Zhang Mingqi has not only occupied the entire Suzhou, but also captured half of Qiongzhou and a county in Lianzhou, and the strength has snowballed to more than 1.5 million.

The hussar general Li Hong led 100,000 forbidden troops and the 180,000 Xiang army and local army gathered to guard the remaining half of Qiongzhou, while the hussar general He Guangzong, who was sent by the imperial court, took the 200,000 forbidden army and 250,000 Xiang army and local army to fight a fierce battle with the army of the giant Zhang Mingqi in Lianzhou.

The hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong recently sent a request for help to the imperial court, hoping that the imperial court could send them additional reinforcements, because of the superiority of the army under the command of the giant Zhang Mingqi, the imperial army of Qiongzhou and Lianzhou fell into disadvantage in the battle.

Now the 800,000 forbidden troops in Canglong City have been taken away by the two hussar generals 400,000, and 100,000 have been lost in battle, and the remaining 400,000 forbidden troops, the bigwigs of the Great Jin Dynasty are not ready to be sent to several southeastern states to quell the rebellion, in the face of the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong's request for help, the Great Jin Dynasty can only order the local officials in the southeastern states to recruit troops on the spot and participate in the battle to exterminate the giant Zhang Mingqi.

The reason why Zhang Mingqi rebelled at the beginning was because Zhang Mingqi, as the county commander, formed an army of 40,000 troops that fell into the eyes of a certain important minister of the thirteenth family, and this important minister of the court wanted to include this army of more than 40,000 people into his family's pocket, so he deducted Zhang Mingqi from a charge of fornication, and after preparing to punish Zhang Mingqi, he arranged for the children of his family to take over Zhang Mingqi's 40,000 army.

Unexpectedly, in the end, Zhang Mingqi was forced to rebel and came out with a southeast giant, as for this important minister of the imperial court, it was Han Renji, the secretary of the Ministry of War.

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said to the Empress Dowager Zhou: "It is still the Empress Dowager's thoughtfulness, and now the southeast giant Zhang Mingqi is the henchman of the imperial court, since the army under Liu Ji has actually occupied the land of the Western Regions and the grassland, the imperial court might as well be a favor, and the minister suggested the establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate of the Great Jin Dynasty and the Northern Court of the Great Jin Dynasty, the Western Regions Protectorate governs the entire Western Regions, and the Beiting Protectorate governs the northern grassland, and Liu Ji serves as the first protector of the two capitals. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou nodded and said, "Just do what Taiwei Dou said!" In addition, Liu Ji was promoted to the general of the conquest, and the Western Regions Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate had the right to appoint Zhenyuan generals, guerrilla generals and partial generals on their own, and they only needed to report to the imperial court! The people of the Eastern Fan tribe and the soldiers and civilians of the four Protectorates of the Western Regions directly let the Protectorate of the Western Regions resettle! ”

At this time, Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, came out and said: "The Empress Dowager, the emperor, and the ministers think that the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, the Jinshan Metropolitan Protectorate, the Kunling Metropolitan Protectorate and the Mengchi Metropolitan Protectorate should be retained, and these four Metropolitan Protectorates can be placed under the jurisdiction of the Western Regions Metropolitan Protectorate. ”

Captain Dou Yan of the Ministry of War immediately nodded and said, "Captain Zheng is reasonable, and the minister seconded it!" ”

Empress Dowager Zhou immediately said: "Quasi-play!" ”

Next, the Empress Dowager Zhou changed the topic, "Ladies and gentlemen, what is your opinion on the situation in the southeastern states now?" ”

At this time, Xiao Su, the only hussar general in the capital, opened his mouth and said: "Empress Dowager Qiqi, Emperor, now there are many troops under the command of the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi, and the army in the hands of the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong combined is less than half of the anti-thief army, so the minister thinks that General Li Hong and General He Guangzong should be sent reinforcements as soon as possible." ”

Empress Dowager Zhou said gloomily: "Now that half of the 800,000 forbidden troops in the capital have been dispatched, and the remaining 400,000 forbidden troops must protect the safety of the capital, where should the imperial court transfer troops to General Li Hong and General He Guangzong?" Do you have to transfer the border army? ”

The hussar general Xiao Su immediately suggested: "The queen mother, the border army cannot be used, the minister thinks that the box army of some states can be transferred to the southeast, and now the state pastor, Taishou and county orders of each state have basically prepared for the local army, so that the garrison tasks in various places can be handed over to the local army, and the box army of each state can support General Li Hong and General He Guangzong." ”

Empress Dowager Zhou pondered for a moment, and asked Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, "What does Captain Dou think of General Xiao Su's suggestion?" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, frowned and asked the hussar general Xiao Su: "Now the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army in each state has dropped sharply, the last time the hussar general Li Hong was in Suzhou, if he was not affected by the Xiang army, he would not have been defeated so badly, and now let the Xiang army of each state support General Li Hong and General He Guangzong, the minister is worried that it will repeat the mistakes of the past?" ”

Hussar General Xiao Su hurriedly said: "Captain Dou rest assured, General Li Hong and General He Guangzong have learned the lesson of the defeat in Suzhou, and are fighting against the army under the command of the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi on the one hand, while reorganizing the gathered box army and local army, maybe the box army of each state, after going to the southeast to exterminate the anti-thief Zhang Mingqi, can be reborn, let us Dajin get another million elites!" ”

According to the 24 states of the Great Jin Dynasty, the total strength of the box army registered by the imperial court exceeded 2.4 million, which was more than the forbidden army and the border army combined, but the box army was very seriously empty-paid, and the actual number was far less than 2.4 million.

Empress Dowager Zhou finally said: "Captain Dou, then your military department will quickly study a plan to increase the number of troops, and send more troops to General Li Hong and General He Guangzong." ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said: "The minister obeys the order! ”

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, and after Liu Heng entered the Ci'en Palace, he ordered the eunuchs and palace maids to retreat first, and then asked the Empress Dowager Zhou: "Queen Mother, why don't you order Liu Ji to lead troops to the southeast to quell the rebellion?" The southeastern states account for half of our imperial court's taxes, and now that there is chaos, our imperial court will not have a good time. ”

Empress Dowager Zhou shook her head and said: "Now that the war between Liu Ji's army and Gao Changguo's army is about to break out, and the Hu people of all ethnic groups in the grassland are also eyeing each other, it is impossible for Liu Ji to lead troops to the southeastern states to quell the rebellion at this time, and it is not so easy to let Liu Ji go to quell the rebellion." ”

Liu Heng turned his head to look at the dormitory, and found that the eunuch and the palace maid had indeed gone out, so he immediately lowered his voice and asked the Empress Dowager Zhou: "Queen Mother, didn't you secretly send someone to recruit Zhang Mingqi?" Does that Zhang Mingqi really want to be a thief all the time? ”

When Empress Dowager Zhou heard this, her face instantly became a little ugly, and she also turned her head to look at the dormitory, and then said in a low voice: "The mourning family has not had time to tell the emperor about this matter, and the people sent by the mourning family to recruit Zhang Mingqi have not been heard from, and the mourning family suspects that they have not seen Zhang Mingqi at all, and they are likely to be intercepted and killed halfway." ”

Liu Heng suddenly showed anger, "Queen Mother, those people must have done it, they must not want me to control the military power!" ”

Empress Dowager Zhou patted Liu Heng on the shoulder and said: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient, the mourning family has made new arrangements, as long as Zhang Mingqi is not bent on rebellion, this time the mourning family is likely to add one million male soldiers to the emperor's hands." ”

"Queen Mother, what about Liu Ji?"

"Liu Ji is not in a hurry, he still needs to block the counterattack of Gao Changguo's army, we just need to show him grace for the time being."

On the afternoon of July 23, in a study room in the yamen of the Great Jin Military Department, Dou Yan, the chief lieutenant of the military department, sighed and said to Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the military department: "The queen mother's recent actions are a bit too much! ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, snorted coldly, "A female streamer even wants to take back the power from the hands of our thirteenth family, she is simply wishful thinking, and she is in a hurry, the old man asked her to go below to accompany the first emperor!" ”

Captain Dou Yan shook his head and said, "No!" Not to that point! Her little bit of caution can't be hidden from us people, she wants to recruit Zhang Mingqi to get military power, it is impossible to achieve it! ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, frowned at this time and said: "That Zhang Mingqi's power is getting bigger and bigger, and the business of our family in the southeastern states has been greatly affected. ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, stroked his beard and said: "It's not important to lose a little money, this time it is just taking advantage of the rebellion in the southeast to let our thirteen families control some more troops." ”

Yang Zhong suddenly realized: "Xiao Suti's suggestion, could it be that you arranged it?" ”

Dou Yan said calmly: "Now in Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, the children of our thirteen families are here, this time there will be at least one million troops to divide, and each family will not suffer, as for how to divide, our thirteen families have to sit together and discuss it carefully." ”

Yang Zhong frowned again and said, "The officers of the state army have always been hereditary, can they hand over the military power?" ”

Dou Yan smiled slightly and said, "When you get to the front line, there are some things that you can't do with them. ”

Yang Zhong then asked, "What about that Liu Ji?" Did you really give him the position of protector of the Western Regions Metropolitan Protectorate and the Northern Courtyard Metropolitan Protectorate? ”

"That Liu Ji is just like a demonic figure, now he not only captured the Western Regions of Zhuqi Kingdom, Xuju Kingdom, Shiqu Kingdom, Daosu Kingdom, Wenda Kingdom, Qiwu Kingdom, Dana Kingdom and Yuanba Kingdom, but also captured the ten provinces within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Governor's Mansion of Gaochang Kingdom, until now Gaochang Kingdom still has no way to take Liu Ji, maybe we will have another top family in Dajin, we are just buying a favor now."

"Gao Changguo is not so easy to mess with, now that Liu Ji occupies so much territory in Gao Changguo, maybe it won't be long before he will be driven out of the Western Regions."

"At least now he is still in the Western Regions, according to the old man's news, he has established an army of more than one million in the Western Regions, and it is not so easy for Gao Changguo to drive him out of the Western Regions."