With the establishment of provinces and governments in the Liangguang region, the Later Zhou court's conquest south of the Yangtze River also came to a temporary end. Although there is still the Dali state to the west of Liangguang, considering the geographical conditions, climate and environment, cultural differences and other factors, the crossing team and the local ministers in the Later Zhou court did not regard it as the first choice for the next expedition, but turned their attention to the north and to the Khitan people who had been recuperating for nearly ten years and seemed to have recovered slightly. Even since the Beiping Army implemented the "Overlord Operation" to seize most of the land in the Khitan Zhongjing Road, the Khitan people have always been very honest. Not only has there never been any provocative behavior in the border areas, but the rest of the Zhongjing Province, Tokyo Province, and even Shangjing Province, which are still under his rule, have often become the targets of the former Beiping Army's current border garrisons in Hebei, Shanxi, and even Shaanxi provinces to "fight grass valleys." After all, compared with the Dali Kingdom, which was in the southwest corner of An'an, and had always paid tribute to the Later Zhou Dynasty and was very respectful, the Khitan threat to Cheng Dù was much larger, the strategic position was much more important, the area under its jurisdiction was much broader, the population was much larger, and the various resources were much more abundant. In addition, the plan to pacify the world formulated by the crossing team at the beginning was also "first south and then north, and then south and then north", and after the recovery of the two Guangzhous, the strategic center of gravity shifted northward, and it was logical to put the complete pacification of Liao on the agenda.

Of course, being on the agenda does not mean that the Northern Expedition will be launched immediately. After all, the battle to extinguish the Southern Han Dynasty has just ended, and the newly recovered areas need time to digest and absorb, the grain and grass need to be produced and accumulated, and the soldiers participating in the war need to rest and replenish, especially at the current production speed of weapons and equipment (mainly firearms) of the crossing team, it is not yet possible to support continuous foreign operations, and it is really not appropriate to immediately launch another more difficult, larger, and more costly war to destroy the country.

You must know that although the crossing team currently has three weapons (firearms) production bases in Beiping, Taiyuan and Kaifeng, first, these three bases have a division of labor and cooperation relationship with each other rather than an independent production relationship, and it is a relationship between one-third plus one-third plus one-third equals one rather than a relationship between one plus one plus one plus one equals three. Speeding up the production of weapons (firearms) can only be achieved if all three bases increase production efficiency and speed up logistics between the three bases. The problem is that it may be possible to improve production efficiency, but it is very, very difficult to speed up logistics with the means of transportation in this era. Therefore, unless the crossing team builds more production bases, or expands the previous three production bases into all-round bases that can independently produce various types of weapons and ammunition, it is obviously impossible to speed up the production of weapons (firearms) in a short period of time. But whether it is to build more production bases or expand and improve existing ones, it is inconsistent with the idea that the crossing team will have complete control over the production of weapons and ammunition in the hands of the committee. Therefore, under the existing conditions, the crossing team committee would rather slow down the pace of conquest of the world than risk weapons and ammunition being out of their own hands.

The main energy of the brothers after the pacification of the Southern Han Dynasty was to focus on the intelligence work of the Khitan on the one hand, and on the other hand, to use the gap between the conquest to recuperate, accumulate national strength, relax the people's strength, and wait for the treasury to be full and well-prepared, and the newly recovered areas of the Jiangnan provinces were completely stabilized, and the gentry and people truly recognized the rule of the Later Zhou court, and then attacked with all their strength to cleanse all the enemies in one fell swoop. Truly restore the homeland of the Han and Tang dynasties and complete the great cause of Zhongxing in China.

It's just that the idea of "accumulating strength and resting with the people" of the crossing team is very good, but as the so-called "tree wants to be quiet and the wind does not stop", when the external campaign is behind for a while, those people with ulterior motives in the Hou Zhou will begin to move.

The fourth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar in the sixth year of Jianlong is the birthday of the seventeenth birthday of Chai Zongxun, the little emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Although Chai Zongxun at this time was just a puppet at the mercy of others, not only did he have no say in the government, but he also had no personal freedom. No matter where he goes, he is accompanied by a large number of attendant guards arranged by the crossing team, and even when he talks to his mother, the Empress Dowager Xiaofu, there will be two eunuchs from the "dark feather" to watch, so that it is impossible for him to say a few words to his mother. But Chai Zongxun is still the titular Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty after all, and the Wanshou Festival, which is his birthday, naturally has to be solemnly celebrated and organized. Moreover, at this time, it was not far from the traditional Chinese festival of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Zhou army had just won the heavy victory of pacifying the Southern Han Dynasty, so the entire imperial palace and even Kaifeng City were shrouded in a jubilant atmosphere, with lights and laughter everywhere.

However, in the midst of this festive atmosphere, which can be called a universal celebration, there was a discordant note, and the cause of the incident came from the banquet held in the palace to celebrate the Tianshou Festival.

As a banquet for the emperor's birthday, it was naturally very grand and grand, in addition to the indispensable delicacies of the mountains and seas, drum music, singing and dancing, and all the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty in Beijing, envoys from various countries, and all the local political leaders who had been captured in Beijing, including Liu Gang, the lord of the Southern Han Dynasty who had just arrived in Beijing, were present to congratulate, and the atmosphere was now very warm and festive. The people participating in the banquet toasted each other, you came and went, pushed the glass and changed the lamp, and the wine was very hot and the interest was very high.

But as the saying goes, "the wine is less than a thousand cups, and the wine is even more sorrowful", just as the atmosphere of the banquet was gradually pushed to the top by everyone, there was a burst of crying from the main hall of the banquet where the generals of the Zichen Hall gathered. At first, it was just a sobbing cry, which was not noticed by anyone other than the one or two people sitting at the table or two sitting next to the weeper. But as the weeping person poured the wine into his stomach cup after glass, the depressed and resentful feelings in his heart also accumulated more and more, until he could no longer suppress it, and finally was completely released. As a result, the original sobbing turned into a howling cry, which was heard not only by the people in the main hall, but also by those officials of lower rank who could only eat in the makeshift tents built outside the hall.

On a festive day, there was a sudden burst of sorrow, which naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. As a result, the originally noisy and lively banquet scene suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked in the direction where the crying was heard. In the end, the focus of everyone's attention fell on the same position and the same person - the first lieutenant of the inspection school in the second row of the military generals area, Tongping Zhangshi, and Han Tong, the deputy commander of the Ma Bujun of the guard.

As an old minister of the Later Zhou Dynasty and a military general who was absolutely loyal to the Chai family, after the Beiping Army went south to Kaifeng, although Han Tong was neither dismissed, nor was he arrested, beheaded, or killed like in his previous life, he was persuaded to go home to recuperate in the name of being seriously injured and not overworked. Therefore, although he was the deputy commander of the Tongping Zhangshi and the Ma Bujun of the guard, he could not meddle in government affairs, let alone have the opportunity to contact the military, and after a few years, he had no real power and was completely marginalized. If it weren't for the fact that every time there is a big court meeting and a heavy festival like today, as a so-called important minister of the imperial court, he needs to show up to attend, and he is afraid that he will be forgotten by everyone long ago.

But the problem is that being deprived of real power, marginalized, and put on hold for a long time does not mean that Hantong is depressed, and it does not mean that he has forgotten the trust of Sejong Chai Rong back then. In fact, since the Beiping Army entered Kaifeng and the "Qingyuan" brothers took control of the government, Han Tong has been thinking about how to expel these "chaotic ministers and thieves" all the time and return to power as the emperor of the dynasty. It's just that the strength of the Beiping Army is too strong, and the "Qingyuan" brothers control the key departments of the imperial court one after another, so it is difficult to overthrow them for a while, so they have to temporarily hibernate and die down, waiting for the opportunity. However, with the passage of time, the "Qingyuan" brothers and the officials of the Beiping Army gradually infiltrated all aspects of the Great Zhou court, coupled with the successive wars launched in recent years to quell the local separatist regime all won a great victory, the "Flying Dragon Army" and "Security Army" under the command of the "Qingyuan" brothers can be said to be invincible, invincible, invincible, not only made its control over the Great Zhou court more and more solid, but also made its status and prestige in the eyes of other officials and the gentry and the people of the world increasingly high. So much so that many ordinary people only know that it is the Duke of Song and the "Qingyuan" brothers who preside over the national affairs, open up the territory for the Great Zhou, and pacify the Quartet, but they don't know that today's son is actually surnamed Chai. In time, I am afraid that if Wang Kunjun and the "Qingyuan" brothers do not take the initiative to seek the usurpation of the throne, they will be pushed by the people to the position of dominating the world because of the will of the people. At that time, when the son of today may lose more than just a throne, he will even lose his life.

Therefore, when Han Tong saw the little emperor Chai Zongxun sitting behind the imperial case smiling in front of Wang Kunjun and the other "Qingyuan" brothers, he was helpless to push the cup and change the lamp with the other party, and saw that except for a few old ministers, most of the civil officials and military generals in the hall had a "flattering" smile, and went to toast Wang Kunjun and his brothers to congratulate them, and to sing praises to them, but when he ignored today, his heart was full of irritability and resentment. Under the stimulation and anesthesia of alcohol, this irritability and resentment soon turned into grief and unwillingness, and was finally vented in the form of crying.

If Han Tong was just sobbing there, it would make the people around him feel strange, surprised, or worried, but it would not cause anything else. After all, everyone is very aware of Han Tong's psychological state at this time, even if this matter finally reaches the ears of the "Qingyuan" brothers, the other party will at most see this as a natural reaction of Han Tong to his inability to save the situation and be ashamed of Chai Rong's original kindness, and he will not take it seriously. However, Hantong is not in a state of sobriety right now. As the saying goes, "wine is more sorrowful", a few glasses of high-grade liquor made Han Tong turn his anger into grief, and at the same time, he gradually lost his ability to control his feelings, and finally broke out completely. So, the original secret sobbing first turned into a howling cry, and then Han Tong stood up and pointed to Wang Kunjun, who was not far from him and sat in the first seat at the top, with his hand, turning the dissatisfaction with Song Guogong and the "Qingyuan" brothers that was originally hidden in his heart into a face-to-face accusation and even scolding, "chaotic ministers and thieves", "thieves and traitors", "Cao Cao in the world", "wolf ambition", "disaster and chaos", "control of the government", "no king", "ill-intentioned", "conspiracy" and even "bullying orphans**", " There is no shame" and other vicious or condemning words filled the entire hall with Han Tong's loud voice.

If Han Tong was just crying or even howling there, although Wang Kunjun, Zhang Weixin and other traversers would be unhappy in their hearts, they would not have other thoughts. But now that this Han Tong denounced himself as "chaotic ministers and thieves" in front of so many people, saying that he was a "traitor who steals the country" with the intention of usurping the throne, even Wang Kunjun, who is generous and usually unwilling to clash head-on with the old ministers of the court, can't help but be angry and murderous. After all, even if the "Qingyuan" brothers want to replace Zhou with "Sima Zhao's heart - everyone knows it", everyone will only discuss it in private at most, and will never pierce this layer of window paper in front of the "Qingyuan" brothers. Because once this matter is revealed, it means that the person who spoke has decided to tear his face with the "Qingyuan" brothers, and there is no room for maneuver between the two sides. As a result, either the "Qingyuan" brothers gave up their positions of power under the pressure of public opinion, or the people who broke the matter were used by the "Qingyuan" brothers to sacrifice the flag, so as to deter the court and suppress opponents. Judging from the current distribution of forces in the Zhou court, I am afraid that Han Tong will not have a good end. Therefore, not only did the colleagues around Han Tong who sympathized with his behavior pull his sleeves one after another, hoping to stop his similar crazy behavior, but even the little emperor Chai Zongxun kept making his eyes look at him, signaling him not to say any more, and repeatedly excused him in front of Wang Kunjun, Zhang Weixin and others under the excuse of "Han Taiwei drank too much and became drunk and crazy".

Considering that today is the birthday of the little emperor Chai Zongxun, even if you don't take this puppet emperor in your eyes, it is still necessary to maintain the harmony between the monarch and the minister in this kind of scene. Yes, although Wang Kunjun's face sank like water, and the cold light flashed in his eyes, he did not attack on the spot, but forcibly suppressed his anger and glanced at Zhang Wei's messenger beside him. And Zhang Weixin got up willingly, followed the words of the little emperor Chai Zongxun, pointed at Han Tong, who was still scolding there, and shouted: "Come on, take this Han who has drunk too much wine and talks nonsense out, and find a place for him to sober up." ”

When the guards in front of the hall heard this, they immediately stepped forward, and couldn't help but say that they would set up Han Tong and leave. Although Han Tong struggled to the death, he had been in poor health since he was shot and injured back then, and he had just drunk a lot of alcohol, so how could he be the opponent of those strong and well-trained palace guards. In the blink of an eye, he was subdued by several guards, and carried out of the hall with his arms on his shoulders and barely touching the ground. Moreover, after leaving the palace gate, his mouth was blocked by a rag, and he couldn't even scold, so he was whined all the way to a remote room far away from Zichen Hall to sober up.