Zhang Xutuo died in battle, his subordinates were forced to retreat south to Qian County, the soldiers cried all the way, the twelve provinces of Henan County were bleak, and the Wagang army was greatly boosted, counterattacking all the way, not only occupying the entire territory of Xingyang, Xuchang County, Liang County, Dong County, Jiyin County, Jibei County, Huaiyang County, and Dongping County were all occupied by it, and the county officials looked down on the wind, and the entire hinterland of the Central Plains became the territory of the Wagang Army.

The strength of the Wagang army was restored to 400,000 again, but the force structure was tilted, Li Mi's strength increased to 250,000, while Zhai Rang's strength was reduced to 150,000 due to the defeat of Dahai Temple, and at the same time, Li Mi's prestige increased greatly due to the capture of Luokoucang and the killing of Zhang Xutuo, and he faintly became the leader of the Central Plains, while Zhai Rang resented Li Mi because of the defeat of Dahai Temple, and the contradiction between the two eventually began to intensify due to the change of leadership.

The sky of Jiangdu became gloomy because of Zhang Xutuo's death and the rapid expansion of the Wagang army, and the morale of the three armies was even more sluggish.

In the imperial study, Yang Guang silently listened to Pei Yun's report.

"Li Mi established himself as the Duke of Wei, and set up three divisions and six guards in the Marshal's Mansion, and set up Changshi, Sima and Cao in the Marshal's Mansion to join the army, restrain military discipline, reduce taxes, and county officials all served in their original positions......"

This time, Yang Guang was unexpectedly not angry, he sighed lowly. Angry, "It's not terrible to rebel recklessly, it's terrible to rebel against the aristocracy, they know how to establish political power and govern the world, without Li Mi, Wagang is just a plate of scattered sand, a rabble, the world is in chaos, how can I be good?" ”

Yang Guang looked out the window worriedly, his eyes were full of helplessness and sadness that he had never felt before, at this time, Yu Shiji bowed down and said: "Although Zhang Xutuo is dead, the person who can lead troops in the world is not Zhang Xutuo alone, and the minister can recommend a few generals for His Majesty to select." ”

"Say it! I listened. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister first recommended Jiangdu to guard Wang Shichong, this person suppressed the Jiangnan rebellion and made many miraculous feats, and the means were extremely ruthless, sweeping Jianghuai, and also winning a hundred battles, he can be called Zhang Xutuo's second, he can lead the rest of Zhang Xutuo to suppress the Wagang Rebellion."

Yang Guang nodded, although Wang Shichong is good at leading troops to fight, but this person is good at welcoming officials and being exquisite, and Zhang Xutuo's Geng Zhi loyal soldiers cannot be compared, but Wang Shichong is indeed the best candidate to replace Zhang Xutuo, at this time, it is the time to urgently employ people, and Yang Guang can't take too much care of it.

"I am approved, pass on my will, and crown Wang Shichong as General Zuo Tunwei, Doctor Zuo Guanglu, and Henan Provincial Ambassador for Arrest, and under the royal system of King Yue, I will immediately go to the Central Plains to suppress bandits."

Yang Guang gave the order and asked, "Who else can recommend?" ”

under

"The minister recommends Wang Rengong of Mayi County again, this person has been on the battlefield for decades, and he can fight as well as Yang Yichen, if His Majesty can use it, he can level the bandits in Hebei."

"But I heard that he indulges in the contents of the cup all day long and ignores political affairs, is this person usable?" Yang Guang asked suspiciously.

"Your Majesty, all the talented people are frustrated, most of them indulge in a glass of wine, or place their affection on the landscape, if Wang Rengong can use it, he will work hard to repay the king."

Yang Guang pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, "I can appoint him as the general guard of Ye County first, and if the suppression of bandits improves, I will appoint him as the ambassador of Hebei Province to suppress bandits." ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

'Shengming? ，

Yang Guang showed a wry smile on his face, and he sighed slightly: "The chaos in the north has been completed, I have no choice, and now Lin Shihong's rebellion in the south is the trouble of my henchmen." ”

He turned around and asked Pei Yun and Yu Shiji, "Both of you are ministers of the Southern Dynasty and are familiar with the Southern Dynasty, can you recommend one person to quell Lin Shihong's rebellion?" ”

Pei Yun stepped forward and bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the minister recommended General Zuo Keywei to protect his son, he is good at water warfare, and loyal to the country, he is in Jiangdu at this time, but he can be ordered to go to Danyang to build a ship, and quell the rebellion of Lin Shihong." One

Yu Shiji also said: "Your Majesty, the third person that the minister wants to recommend is to protect his son, and he is the most suitable thief to pacify Poyang Lake." ”

"That's exactly what I wanted, exactly!"

It is rare that Yang Guang even listened to the advice today, and his frustration gradually recovered, he gave Yu Shiji a look and ordered him to retreat first, at this time, only he and Pei Yun were left in the imperial study.

Yang Guang glanced at Pei Yun and asked, "I just saw that Aiqing wanted to speak and stopped, what did Aiqing want to say?" ”

Pei Yun bowed and said, "The minister wants to talk about Li Yuan." ”

Yang Guang was stunned, "What's wrong with Li Yuan?" ”

"The minister has just received the impeachment of the Hedong Provincial Inspector Yushi, Li Yuan got 60,000 soldiers when he exterminated the thief and marshal, and he reorganized the 60,000 soldiers into the army, thinking that it was for personal use, and the matter was not reported to the imperial court."

Yang Guang was stunned, at this time, he suddenly remembered something, he received Gao Junya's secret report in the morning, and he didn't have time to read it.

Yang Guang immediately found the secret letter from the table, tore open the cover and read it, he was immediately surprised, it was exactly the same as what Pei Yun said, and Li Yuanchao recruited more than 20,000 troops, in this way, he actually had 100,000 troops in his hands.

Yang Guang suddenly remembered that proverb, he took a breath of cold air, could it be that the proverb was actually referring to Li Yuan, not Li Hun and Li Min, he gritted his teeth with hatred and said: "I was deceived by his loyalty!" ”

Yang Guanggang was about to issue an order to arrest Li Yuan, but Pei Yun said: "Your Majesty can't stab this matter, Li Yuan will rebel if you stab this matter!" ”

A sentence reminded Yang Guang, and he pondered for a moment and said: "I can make him the right servant of Shangshu, enter the cabinet as the prime minister, coax him to Jiangdu, and at the same time secretly order Gao Junya, if Li Yuan does not come, he can be arrested and beheaded on the spot!" ”

"Your Majesty, that's what the minister meant."

Yang Guang left Pei Yun behind, not for Li Yuan, but for other purposes, he stared at the roof, stayed for a while, and then said slowly: "Actually, I know that the most suitable general for the bandits is Yang Yuanqing, I want to use him very much, but he always disappoints me, if he can really exterminate the bandits in the world for me, the alliance can accept him as a clan, crown him as the king, and his descendants will also have the opportunity to ascend the throne in the future, Pei Aiqing, this is my greatest sincerity." ”

Yang Guang's greatest sincerity was scared to Pei Yun to sweat, where is this sincerity, this is clearly forcing the Pei family to make a statement, he knelt down, "Your Majesty, the minister has no contact with Yang Yuanqing, and the minister can't contact him." ”

Yang Guang's words, three points are true, three points are false, three points are to test Pei Yun, or one point is his sincerity.

Yang Guang suddenly felt extremely tired, he waved his hand, "I'm a little tired, Aiqing retire!" ”

"Retire!"

At noon, Pei Yun usually has to go back to the house to eat and take a nap, but today Pei Yun didn't have the heart to take a nap, he returned to his house worriedly, Yang Guang's last few words really confused him, he didn't understand Yang Guang's thoughts, did he really want to crown Yang Yuanqing as the king? But Pei Yun immediately denied his thoughts, the nature of the emperor, how can he tolerate Qi Yuanqing to divide his country, if it is true, it will also reach the point of exhaustion.

Pei Yun knew that Pei Ju was now hiding in Fengzhou, and Pei Ju also wrote to invite him to Fengzhou, but Pei Yun never let go of his immediate interests, and now he is the left servant of Shangshu, and he is the first minister of the imperial court.

As soon as he returned to the study and sat down, he ordered to write a letter, found a confidant family member, and handed the letter to him, "Go to the capital on Jingxiang Road and give this letter to the eldest son." ”

Pei Yun has three sons, all of whom are talented and learned, the eldest son is called Pei Lun, the current Taifu Temple, staying in the capital, the second son Pei Shuang, was convicted of participating in Yang Xuangan's rebellion in the ninth year of the Great Cause, and was imprisoned for a year.

Pei Yun's idea was that even if he didn't go to Fengzhou, he could let his son go on his behalf, and he planned to let his eldest grandson Pei Yao and second son Pei Shuang go to Fengzhou.

The confidant's family left, and as soon as Pei Yun picked up the bowl to eat, a porter came to report, "Jiang Dutong guarded Wang Shichong and asked to see him, and he also brought a group of craftsmen." ”

Pei Yun wondered in his heart, what did he bring the craftsman to do? He walked out of the mansion, in front of the gate, Wang Shichong was full of spring breeze, he had just returned from the cellar, he was officially promoted to Henan Provincial Arrest Ambassador, General Zuotunwei, and Guanglu Doctor, and his life had reached a turning point.

When he saw Pei Yun coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "Humble Wang Shichong, see Pei Xiangguo." ”

Pei Yun squinted and smiled: "General Wang, congratulations." ”

Wang Shichong said respectfully: "This is Pei Xiangguo's usual cultivation, and I am grateful in my heart." ”

Wang Shichong is sleek and exquisite, which is well-known in the imperial court, but his words are really comfortable to listen to, Pei Yun nodded, he saw a group of craftsmen, about thirty or forty people standing not far away, so he asked strangely: "General Wang, what are these craftsmen doing?" ”

Wang Shichong said with a sneer: "I see that the exterior wall of Pei Xiangguo's mansion is a little mottled, so I will find these craftsmen to repair it, the weather is good today and tomorrow, so I can repair it." ”

Pei Yun suddenly realized that the house he lived in was an old house, some years, there was a winter rain the day before yesterday, which made the skin of the outer wall fall off in a large area, which was quite ugly, Pei Yun complained twice, I didn't expect Wang Shichong to bring a craftsman today, this person's ingenuity is amazing.

Pei Yun remembered something again, and said with a smile: "The fish pond in my back house has been leaking recently, can you please ask the workers to repair it together." ”

Wang Shichong hurriedly bowed down and said: "I have also heard of the lowly position, so today the craftsmen have brought tools to repair the fish pond, but the lowly position is worried that the craftsman will enter the mansion and disturb Pei Xiang's family." ”

"It doesn't matter! I'll ask my family to clean it up today, and tomorrow we can start construction, first repair the fish pond, and then repair the exterior wall. ”

Pei Yun's eyes were slitted with a smile, Wang Shichong was so understanding, if he couldn't be promoted, it would be intolerable.

"It's... How embarrassing is that? ”

"It is an honor to be able to serve Pei Xiangguo, others have no chance to serve, if Pei Xiangguo does not give this opportunity, then the humble position can only blame the ancestral grave for not being buried.

This kind of explicit flattery made Pei Yun uncomfortable to hear, and this mansion was also found by Wang Shichong for him, it was the best mansion in Jiangdu, and Wang Shichong even dedicated it to his two beautiful singers, these favors have accumulated, and he also knows that if he doesn't express it, it is really a bit too much to say.

"Then thank you General Wang, I don't know if General Wang has any difficulties and needs the old man's help, just mention it, don't be polite."

Wang Shichong is a very realistic person, he is about to go to Henan to suppress bandits, and he is controlled by King Yue, as soon as he leaves, Pei Yun has no meaning to him, usually so many favors are given to Pei Yun, and now he is leaving, of course he has to bring the favors back, today he came to make up for the outer wall, in fact, it is to remind Pei Yun that he should return his favors.

Wang Shichong said respectfully: "Actually, there is no big thing, and I want to share the worries of the saint as soon as possible, but I want to take over Zhang Xutuo's army for a while, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to convince the public for a while, and I want to bring a little Jianghuai's army over, but the holy decree does not mention this, can you please ask Pei Xiang to tell the saint about this?" ”

Pei Yun understood what Wang Shichong meant, he wanted to bring some henchmen over, this is also human nature, the problem is not big, Pei Yun nodded happily, "General Wang, don't worry, I will go to the saint in the afternoon and say: Tell me about it." ”

"Thank you Bae Sang-kook!"