Yangzhou, the old city of Jiangdu, in the Hongqiao Station on the bank of Baoyang Lake (now Xiaxi Lake),

Liu Yanqing, who had a messy beard and a haggard face, sat in a pile of cups and jars piled up with old and new wine, and continued to anesthetize his daily routine with drunken dreams and deaths for another day.

Although he was in a state of internal and external isolation in solitary confinement, the level of treatment he should have during the "recuperation" period was not frugal or discounted at all, except for not arranging a woman to accompany him to sleep and wait, the other party could almost meet most of his daily needs.

Because, even the local government of the dynasty has been colluded with by these people in advance, and he can be isolated from this rather luxurious post house without going through his subordinates and subordinates in the army.

Therefore, time quickly lost its meaning to him, and he didn't know how long it had passed, so he could only be powerlessly placed under house arrest here to "recuperate", and sit back and watch the specious orders issued by the outside world in his own name and seal.

Then after the excitement and anger of the original joy and sorrow, he is now a little lost and lost, and he doesn't know what he did wrong, why he has been repeatedly frustrated and betrayed by these endlessly.

Obviously, as one of the few generals in the country, he can lie on the merits of his fathers and enjoy the shade and legacy of the door, but he is unwilling to follow the same old path as others; Therefore, with the help of the power and influence of his family background, he devoted himself to the newly formed model new army of the imperial court, and tried to make his own merits in the great cause of the Northern Expedition of the dynasty;

As a result, he has also been working hard to forge ahead and taking the lead, fighting bloody battles and being wounded many times; He is also very active in learning new things, regardless of the cost and payment; Treat subordinates and relatives with kindness, and do not hesitate to undress and push food.

But often the final result is always unsatisfactory, or far beyond their expectations;

As for those who believe in and follow them, they have either suffered misfortunes and lost their lives, or they have drifted away for various reasons or have taken the initiative to leave; On the contrary, those who have other calculations and ill intentions have stayed close to the side as cronies, but they have deviated and trapped themselves at a critical time.

Is this really the result of my own ignorance of people?

You must know that at first, he just wanted to be like his father, and continue to pass on the glory and title of this Jiangmen family to further glory, so he actually did not reject and resist at all, the help and help from the family;

It wasn't until later that he had a new goal and direction, hoping to learn the young Huai Shuai who had sincerely befriended him, the management and governance methods in the north, and open up a new world as a feudal vassal, or to find a new way for his own step-by-step life;

Then, he learned overnight that the object of his deliberate friendship and hard pursuit, who had been extremely favored by the imperial court overnight, suddenly became the number one rebel minister who wanted to get rid of him and quickly seize his army.

However, his most trusted uncle and the head of the family resolutely moved the incident and conspiracy to put him under house arrest, and forcibly turned him into a living puppet on the grounds of respecting the righteousness of the court and preventing him from bringing disaster to the Jiangmen Liu clan on the spur of the moment.

This is the impact on his concept and perception since childhood, which is incomparable and earth-shaking. Although there is no lack of outward performance of jumping out and wandering on his surface, the concept of loyalty and the heart of service that he has been cultivated since childhood are infiltrated into his bones;

Now, however, we are compelled to begin to deny ourselves and wonder whether the goals and ideals we have been pursuing are still so correct and honorable. Could it be that in the eyes of those people in the court, he is the kind of despicable person who does not care about the general righteousness and public heart, but only seeks personal gain and personal favor?

Is this a big mistake on my part, or is the world and environment out of place?

Everything and all that has happened to this makes people a little depressed and tired, and it makes the brain tangled and confused in the city, and I can't wait to indulge in the drunken country every day.

Thinking of this, he grabbed a large bottle with a round belly, shook the stock inside, and poured himself a bowl of wine again; Whether it is the best wine from the Western Regions, or the rich and moving Guangling Chun, or the worst cane head roast, as long as it can keep him paralyzed.

However, he couldn't help but sigh, because the wine in the bowl was shaking, and he hadn't picked it up yet, and then more rippled water streaks appeared in the calm wine cup; The last bit of vigilance and instinctive reaction of his perennial military career suddenly woke him up from his hazy drunkenness.

Then he noticed that the occasional greetings and inquiries outside the door had disappeared, and there was a faint and suspicious sound of cannons and a faint sense of vibration in the distance, and then there was a clamor and whistling sound one after another, and then a chorus of shouts like a mountain and a tsunami.

A moment later, it turned into a fierce and intense battle of swords and soldiers, and then suddenly disappeared from far and near, and returned to a brief silence and emptiness.

"Liu Tongzhi is here."

"God willing, the Lord is still alive."

"Lord, you have been well."

"These traitors have made their brothers miserable by falsely passing on orders."

However, it was just these few shouts and shouts full of joy that made him suddenly feel a little embarrassed, and he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to drill, these days, what did he do here to feel sorry for himself.

"Tell the Lord ,。。"

"Luo Shuai has returned safely from Jiangbei and has begun to set things right in the local area."

"The rebellious party in the army has been captured.

"Most of the minions sent by the traitorous party in the DPRK and China have also been taken down."

"Only Liu Guoying and a few other henchmen are on the run with their own smugglings."

Liu Yanqing couldn't help but sigh heavily, but he slowly stood up, sorted out his clothes a little and walked out of the door, facing the fate he had to bear.

。。。。。。。。。。。

For me, with enough troops to serve as my side and subordinates, and with the sailors and gunboats that roam the rivers, the journey after embarking on Jiangbei was like a solemn armed procession.

Because, the river communication for a long distance has been cut off, and even if the Jiangbei side has any forces that want to go to the imperial court in the short term, they will not get any support and echo.

The last news from the Nanyang Naval Division, which patrolled the river and was responsible for cleaning up and blockading this section of the river, was that the surrounding area of Jiangning seemed to be in chaos because of the threat of shelling from time to time.

Next, it's time to clean up some of the remaining hands in Jiangbei; In fact, the process is a little easier and easier than I imagined.

Under the encirclement of the many pro-direct battalions and naval corps accompanying them, coupled with the Sizhou water battalion stationed in the area of Gaoyou Prefecture in the north of Yangzhou, and the north-south encirclement that invaded Yangzhou along the canal waterway, the changes and abnormalities in the military headquarters after the pacification of the model were not a matter of time.

After seeing the honor guard of the main general and myself appearing, the six battalions and two regiments under the jurisdiction of the model rear army, and the four battalions of soldiers and horses stationed in Yizhen, Rugao, Haimen, and Baoying, turned against each other on the spot and tied up the subordinates of the suspected generals, and poured out to follow the left and right;

A battalion stationed in Jiangdu and a regiment stationed at Jieqiaoshuiguan fell into confusion and infighting on the spot before our troops arrived; In the end, under the pressure of the six centaurs in the north and south of the water, with only one round of demonstrative artillery fire, some people took the initiative to open the door to welcome my vanguard.

Thus joining the city to purge the city of superfluous internal noises, and clean up the many scuffles and fights of dissidents,

Only a battalion and a regiment of men and horses stationed in the city, because of the farthest distance and the latest news, hurriedly left most of the baggage and equipment after hearing the news, and hurriedly pulled out the camp and fled towards the direction of Taizhou in the west.

Then, in the process, the soldiers and generals of the 66th Continuing Small Brigade returned one after another with their weapons and returned to the banner of Ju and attached to me, adding up to six or seven hundred people in total.

In this way, I once again mastered the situation in Jiangbei and a relatively safe passage on the 6th, and maintained the situation of operating in Huainan.

At this time, the news from the nest in Xuzhou in the north was finally delivered.

(End of chapter)