Now that the northwest has basically been pacified, as Miao Xun and others expected, now the threat in the north is basically lifted, although Han Liao occupies Shanxi, Hebei Prefecture and county, but can not go south for the time being, and the difficulty of the Northern Expedition of Zhou is also relatively large.

Guo Rong asked the minister to discuss, marching and fighting the war plan, and looked at the surrounding situation from the map, but the Bianshui from the end of the Tang Dynasty since the embankment burst, the bridge to Sizhou has been blocked, and then the edict went down, and ordered Wuning Jiedu to make Wu Xingde levy the people to dredge the river, open up the waterway from Tokyo to the southeast, and after the Tang Dynasty in the future, the benefits of Cao Yun.

Immediately, the ministers in the palace discussed the state of the country

The ministers' impression of the Tang Emperor was that Li Jing was inferior to his father Li Yu, Li Jing was kind and weak by nature, liked to write articles, and his lyrics were a must, if he was a literati, he would be even better. He drank and had fun with the literati, loved poetry and flattery.

As a result, the five ghosts were in power, the dynasty was chaotic, and the country was in decline. Tang destroyed the Min and Chu states, and the land increased greatly, and the strength also greatly increased.

And the arrogant Li Jing even had the idea of annexing the world, and when Shu asked them for assistance in attacking the Great Zhou, Li Jing agreed without thinking about it. Previously, Li Jing sent envoys to bypass the Zhou State by sea and go to Liao and Han, and negotiated with each other to send troops to attack the Zhou State. When Li Shouzhen and Murong Yanchao rebelled, the Southern Tang Dynasty supported them.

Because Zhou Guo was too busy to take care of himself, he didn't care about the Southern Tang Dynasty for the time being.

The courtiers expressed their opinions, and the prime minister Wang Pu said: "In the past, in winter, the water level of the Huai River would be greatly reduced or even cut off, and the Tang army was stationed here, calling it "shallow". Wu Tingshao, the superintendent of Ranshou Prefecture, thought that our Great Zhou was busy with the war in the north and northwest, and thought that "shallow" was a waste of military food and military spending, and "put shallow" to stop. Qinghuai Jiedu made Liu Renzhen object, but Li Jing did not reply. Therefore, the minister thought that this battle was feasible. ”

When Guo Rong and the ministers thought about it, they felt that there was a reason to send troops.

Subsequently, the imperial court made some deliberations and predictions on the domestic situation in the Tang Kingdom.

At this time, Wang Pu got up from his seat and said: "Your Majesty, after Li Jing of the Tang Kingdom ascended the throne, he said that his brother and brother were Li Sheng's last photos, so he issued an edict to crown Li Jingsui as the emperor's younger brother. Back then, the emperor's younger brother was established for the stability of his own country, but throughout the previous generation, there were very few imperial brothers who could inherit the throne, or no, and the people who were canonized as the crown prince at the beginning did not end very well.

Then the emperor had a son who gradually grew up, and he did not compromise his means for the sake of the throne. Moreover, Li Jing's son and Li Jing's younger brother are not a few years apart at all, which makes Li Jing's eldest son Li Hongji very unconvinced. Li Hongji is a man of deep and quiet words, but he has extraordinary military talents, and his prestige in the army is very high. And the villains around Li Jing are all at odds with Li Hongji and are Li Jingsui's henchmen, so his subordinates have the courage to guess that the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty will definitely start because of the struggle between Li Jingsui and Li Hongji for the throne. ”

"Wenbo's analysis makes sense!" Guo Rong nodded.

Guo Rong compared the suggestion of Wang Pu in "Pingbian Strategy": "First the easy and then the difficult, first the south and then the north", that is, to unify the southern Han region first, and then concentrate on dealing with the more powerful northern enemy. Then the army prepared to move south, aiming at the Huainan region.

In November, Yiweishuo (the first day of the new year), Guo Rong sent Prime Minister Li Gu to deploy Zhilu, Shou and other state affairs for the former military camp of Huainan Province, led Wang Yanchao as the deputy of Xuzhou Jiedu, and led the guards and horses to command Han Lingkun (Zhao Kuangyin's good friend) and other twelve generals to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Guo Rong made people create public opinion again, and issued an edict to Huainan, claiming that the Southern Tang Dynasty "pretended to be false", "enmity with me, and the crime is difficult to name". The smartest thing is that Wu Yueguo, who has a small number of soldiers in the country, sent troops north to jointly crusade against Tang.

He also ordered the Zhou army to "commit no crime in autumn, like the rain of the season, the people and the elders live in peace, and the abduction and burning must be forbidden." ”

In the Kaifeng Liangcheng Inn, when Yang Meng heard the news, he was very happy, if Zhou Guo's southern expedition could destroy the pseudo-Tang, then his national hatred and family hatred would be avenged, and Wan Song was also happy for him.

However, Zhao Dezhao knew that the pseudo-Tang could not be destroyed this time, after the Zhou State conquered the Tang State, after the Tang State was conquered three times, he only let the Tang State surrender, and did not destroy the Tang State, but went north to recover the land of Yanyun. He had no choice but to pretend to be happy and make his father-in-law feel comforted in his heart.

Although the Tang Kingdom cannot be destroyed now, it will eventually be destroyed by the Great Song Dynasty in the future, Zhao Dezhao is comforted when he thinks so, but the top priority is to assist his father-in-law to rescue the Yang clan.

Then, Yang Meng sent the people below to step up the contact with the people of Changchun Hall in Jiangning Mansion of Tang State, and assassinated Li Jing after Zhou went south, and tried every means to rescue the Yang clan people who were imprisoned by Li Jing.

However, at the moment, Zhao Dezhao has no powerful henchmen around him, they are all people in the hands of his father-in-law, and Guangwei Group is planning to open a store in Jiangning Mansion now, but the war ahead is urgent, I don't know if Tang Guo heard that the restaurant in Kaifeng of Zhou Guo suddenly appeared at his feet, and I don't know if Tang Guo thinks it is a secret agent or something.

However, Bai Gucheng's family is in Wu Yueguo, and Zhao Dezhao has discussed this with him before, so he plans to start the Guangwei Group in Bai Gucheng's hometown and secretly develop the power of Changchun Hall.

After the order went down, Yang Meng's heart felt a lot better, and Zhao Dezhao and Wan Song comforted their father-in-law and said: "Father-in-law, rest assured, this operation will be successful!" The child wished his father-in-law an early revenge. ”

Wan Song is estimated to be going to go with the army after a while, after the last time he went to the northwest, he only returned to Kaifeng in the past few days, and then stayed in the inn to accompany Yang Meng for the past few days, since he is now under Zhao Kuangyin, but Lao Zhao does not know that Wan Song is Zhao Dezhao's brother-in-law.

Zhao Dezhao said goodbye to Yang Meng, and told Bai Gucheng about it the next day. Bai Gucheng thinks this is a good idea, and the Bai family is powerful today, enters the market quickly, and is easy to be recognized. With such a total, the two immediately decided.

A few days later, the Great Zhou Dynasty officially sent troops south to Li Gu's army.

The Zhou army was in the forward and marched to the outside of Shouzhou.

Shouzhou City, known as Shouchun in ancient times, the Spring and Autumn Cai State, the Warring States Chu State, and the Western Han Huainan State were all built here. Many wars have taken place here in history, and now there is a big war coming soon.

……

And at this moment, Jiangning Mansion of the Tang Kingdom, on the banks of the Qinhuai River, drunk and golden, literati lingering in the Qinglou.

Jiangning Mansion, in the palace, is still singing and dancing at this moment, Li Jing and other courtiers are sitting above the court, and singing and dancing performances are being performed above the court.

Suddenly, the military horse in front of the hall hurriedly returned and said, "Your Majesty—it's not good! ”

Li Jing suddenly lost interest, he stopped singing and dancing, pretended to be serious, and said, "What's the matter?" So panicked. ”

The military horse guarded and said: "The Zhou army marched to the city of Shouzhou. ”

Li Jing stood up abruptly from the dragon chair and asked, "What?" Reliable messaging? ”

"The quick news I received today." The military horse guard said in fear, he was afraid that if he accidentally offended the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor, his life would be lost.

"Your Majesty, the Qian clan of Wu Yue also sent troops to the north." There was another military intelligence report at the door.

"Ahh

Li Jing heard about this and had no clue, now the two countries are fighting from the north and south, and the Tang Kingdom is surrounded by two sides, and it is caught in the center and cannot move, how can this matter be good, isn't this lifting a stone to shoot himself in the foot, he did it himself back then.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of resisting the army of the Zhou State!" Li Jing sat in his position again, but he was uneasy in his heart, he knew that the four northwestern states were now almost recovered by the Zhou State, and Guo Rong was a man of great talent, unwilling to be lonely, capable of literature and martial arts, if he was ...... He glanced at the ministers, the emperor's brother, and his son.

At this moment, the imperial brother Li Jingsui saw his imperial brother's eyes asking for help, and immediately got up, went out to the center, and arched: "Your Majesty, the Zhou army has invaded the land north of my Jiangbei,"

"Your Majesty, the Zhou army is leading our army to invade my Jiangbei, Wu Yue's Qian Yu is going north, and the courtiers feel that this matter is a little tricky."

"Why is there a war between the north and the south all of a sudden, and he Qian Yu has such courage? It's not Guo Rong'er's conspiracy. Li Jing actually asked these questions at this time, the key is how to deal with it.

He frowned, and then looked at his son, Li Hongji, the king of Yan, for help.

About Li Hongji, folk legend says: The carp of the East China Sea flies to the sky, and the ancestor of the Lie Zu is bred in the Xu family, because of the belief in the prophecy, there is a prophecy: there is a real person in Jizhou, open the bow to the left, Yuanzong wants his son to respond, it is the name of Hongji, the first title of Dongping Gong, the king of Nanchang, and the king of Yan. However, the real person in Jizhou is actually Zhao Hongyin.

At this time, Li Hongji, the king of Yan, stepped forward and said: "Father, the son thinks that this is Zhou's north-south flanking policy, which is intended to contain our army. Now Zhou Guocai is the number one strong enemy of Tang State, and Wu Yueguo is just here to join in the fun. Therefore, after breaking the Zhou State, Wu Yue did not retreat and die. ”

Li Hongji has a unique vision, and he hit the nail on the head at once, and now everyone in the court is also coming back to their senses, or King Yan is powerful, and the important ministers are secretly looking at Li Hongji.

Li Jing nodded with satisfaction, he felt that his son was speaking well and had the demeanor of a military advisor.

However, the imperial brother Li Jingsui saw that his nephew Li Hongji had stolen his limelight, he drooped a black face, unable to be angry, temporarily suppressed the fire in his heart, and planned to continue to look at his appearance.

At this time, Li Hongji, the king of Yan, said again: "Father, the son of the emperor asked for the order to lead the troops to Jiangbei to resist the Zhou army, and the son will definitely send troops for my Tang Dynasty to exterminate the Zhou army, and then go north to kill Guo Rong Xiao'er." ”

At this moment, Li Jing nodded with satisfaction, but after all, it was his own son, although he was brave, but he was not familiar with the situation in Jiangbei, in case ...... Li Jing's sons all died early, and now there are only the eldest son, sixth son, and seventh son, so he still cares about his son very much. "You're not familiar with Jiangbei, just in case you ......."

Li Jingsui thought hard and had no countermeasures, at this time he heard that his nephew Li Hongji planned to send troops in person, and his imperial brother seemed to be afraid that his son was inexperienced, and he didn't know how to answer, he had a plan in his heart, so he said: "Your Majesty, since King Yan wants to make meritorious contributions to the court, then let King Yan lead the troops to defend Wu Yue, it's good." ”

The front line is urgent, and the waves above the court are turbulent.

When the young and vigorous Li Hongji heard Li Jingsui's words, he said angrily: "Uncle Huang, do you think my nephew is pinching soft persimmons?" Wu Yue is just a small flea, like a grasshopper after autumn, and he can't jump for a few days. ”

Li Jingsui did not show weakness and competed against each other, and said: "King Yan, you have too much heart, Wu Yueguo is easy to deal with, and Uncle Huang is worried that you are inexperienced, Wu Yueguo can just let you take it." ”

Immediately, Li Jing said, "The younger brother suggested sending Yao Feng and Huang Fuhui to lead the troops to Jiangbei!" ”

"Erchen is willing to go!" Li Hongji was not to be outdone.

Li Jing has long known about the fight between his brother and son, but he always turns a blind eye, and sometimes reminds them to pay attention to proportion, but today the two are fighting to the death. Now that Zhou and Wu Yue have sent troops, is Tang going to die in his own hands?

He was immediately displeased: "Enough, you two. As for the dispatch of troops, I have my own opinions, and it is not your turn to speak. ”

Immediately, Li Jing asked the courtiers again: "If you have a good suggestion, just say it." ”

"Sun Sheng, what do you think?" Li Jing stopped the quarrel between his younger brother and son, and turned his face to ask his minister. Sun Sheng is Li Jing's favorite minister, he was studious when he was young, good at writing poetry, and good at writing, but he had a slight stutter. When he was young, he was a Taoist priest and went to Wu more than 20 years ago. After Li Sheng established the Tang Dynasty, he was appointed as the same as the prime minister. Li Jing has held this position since his accession. However, he insisted on appointing Li Hongji as the crown prince.

Hearing Li Jing ask him at this time, Sun Sheng immediately got up and said: "Your Majesty, the minister agrees with the suggestion of the imperial brother, and sends Yao Feng and Huang Fuhui to Jiangbei, and the king of Yan leads his troops to resist Wu Yue's army. Sun Sheng turned to support Li Jingsui, but he had his own motives.

And Prime Minister Feng Yansi also nodded yes.

So Li Jing ordered: "Huang Fuhui and Yao Feng are the commanders of Jiangbei, Feng Yanlu and He Yanxi are the capital supervisors, and Hongji leads the troops to break Wu Yue." ”

Immediately, Li Jing appointed Liu Yanzhen, the commander of the Shenwu Army, as the capital of the northern camp, and led 20,000 troops to Shouzhou to garrison to assist Liu Renzhen, the envoy of the Qinghuai Festival stationed in Shouzhou; At the same time, the envoy of Fenghua Jiedu and the emperor of Tongping Zhangshi were appointed as the envoys, and Yao Feng, the envoy of the Changzhou regiment, served as the capital supervisor of the reinforcements, and the two led an army of 30,000 to Dingyuan to cooperate with Liu Renzhen and other troops to defend the Zhou army.

In addition, Li Jing recalled Song Qiqiu, the envoy of Zhennan Jiedu, and discussed with him the command of the army, and then sent the sixth prince, Li Congjia (Li Yu), the prince of Anding County, as the governor of the Yangtze River, to be responsible for the defense of the line along the river. He also appointed Hanlin Chengzhi and Yin Chongyi, the secretary of the household department, as the secretary of the ministry and the management of the Privy Council.

The battle of Zhou and Tang broke out.

ps. There is a real person in Jizhou, opening his mouth and opening his bow to the left.