Come, everyone toasts to Huan Gong's recovery of Zhongzhou! Zeng Hua raised his glass

Hearing this, everyone also raised their wine glasses and responded loudly: "Huan Gong's achievements for thousands of years, the ancient world, drink a big cup!" ”

In the thunderous response, Huan Chong, as the representative of Huan Wen, was flushed, and finally raised his wine glass and replied after holding it for a long time: "My brother just did a courtier's duty, how can he be worthy of your praise so much!" ”

"Shenzhou has fallen, and the people have been looking forward to Wang Shi for decades. Today, the Duke of Huan conforms to the will of the people, moves to the north, baths in blood for two years, tens of thousands of soldiers unite as one, wave their arms one after another, swear to die to the north, and finally be able to recover the old capital and build the ancestral mausoleum. Such deeds are not worthy of our admiration, such great things are not worthy of praise, then what else in this world is worthy of our rejoicing? Zeng Hua replied loudly.

When Huan Chong heard this, his heart moved, and he hurriedly continued: "How can you compare to Master Zeng if you want to say that you have meritorious deeds? Compared with Lord Zeng's achievements in sweeping the south and north of the desert and crisscrossing thousands of miles, how can my brother be embarrassed to say this? ”

At this time, Park walked out and said, "Major General Huan's words are bad! Although the homeland of Sizhou is only a thousand miles away, how can it be compared to such a desolate place as the desert south and the north? The recovery of the old is the long-cherished wish of the people of the world for decades, and today there is a hard blow of Huan Gong to be realized, how many old yellow hair are happy to tears, running and cheering, why should General Huan be so arrogant? ”

"Exactly, no matter how much my family returns to the jade seal and opens up the territory, how can such a small contribution be worthy of the immortal merit of Huan Gong recovering the old capital and recovering Shenzhou? The government and the opposition have their own opinions. The major general does not have to be so prevaricated. "It was Wang Meng who answered.

Hearing these two people open their mouths, they are still so praised, as if they have defected to Jingxiang. Looking at the unfathomable smiles of Che Yin and Mao Muzhi next to him, Huan Chong immediately knew in his heart, and he didn't dare to shirk his humility anymore, so he had to drink it all under the toast of everyone and be the main respect.

After a few glasses of wine, Huan Chong was a little dizzy. I couldn't help but say arrogantly: "General." Why don't we send troops together in Yongzhou and Jingzhou. Continue to march eastward, crusade against the pseudo-Zhou, and unify the world in one fell swoop. ”

"Major General, I'm afraid it's too early to unify the world." Zeng Hua took a sip of wine and replied.

"General, why do you say that?" Huan Chong asked strangely, "There are hundreds of thousands of strong soldiers and elite horsemen in Beifu, even the land of barbarian courage in the south and north of the desert has been trampled through." Now that the general only needs to point the flag to the east, why worry that the pseudo-Zhou will not be extinguished and the lost land will not be recovered? ”

"Major General, do you know how Mo Nan and Mo Bei were trampled by our army?" Zeng Hua squinted his eyes and looked at Huan Chong and replied slowly, "Nearly 300,000 cavalry from Shuozhou have been stationed in the Hebei region of Shuozhou for more than a year, and they have been fighting bloody battles for several months. The burden on the people in Yongzhou and other places is extremely light. And more than 100,000 cavalry of our army are in the south and north of the desert. After more than a year of war, tens of thousands of miles in length and bread, there was no supply of baggage except for some cattle, sheep and grain and grass brought in the early stage. Do you know why? ”

"I don't know!" Huan Chong couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, can he not eat grain and grass when he fights? In order to recover Luoyang, Sizhou, Jing Xiang was almost bankrupt. The people of Beifu recovered and merged the state, crisscrossing the desert in the south and desert in the north, others didn't dare to think about it, but they thought that the Beifu occupied Yong, Yi and other places, and they were so rich that they carried it down. Now listening to Zeng Hua say this, it turns out that the war in Beifu is not such a thing. Huan Chong thought about it carefully, and his face couldn't help but turn pale all of a sudden, and he ate the enemy!

"Most of the cattle, sheep, grain and grass consumed by our army's Shuozhou garrison come from the north and south departments of Yinshan, such as Helan Department, Bai Department, Dugu Department, Moyeda Department, etc. The major general may not know that in addition to those who fled north with Tuoba in the north and south of Yinshan, there were originally more than 100 tribes and clans, and more than 500,000 troops, but later in Shuozhou and Jingning, when our army was completely stationed in Tun, there were less than 50 troops and more than 200,000 people left. "The next explanation for Zeng Hua is Shuozhou Thorn Shi Xie Ai, he returned to Chang'an with Tuoba Shi Yijian's family, and he is also the most qualified to explain the details of the Shuozhou front line for Zeng Hua.

The general waved his army to the north to attack Mobei, first 30,000 iron cavalry, and then 60,000 iron cavalry, galloping back and forth, but did not transport a grain of grain from Shuozhou to the north, and completely ate locally. When Xia Guan came back from Shuozhou, he received the latest battle report that hundreds of thousands of people in the northern part of the desert died directly in the hands of our army, and the rest of the people in the northern part of the desert who died indirectly because of our army are probably countless. ”

Hearing this, Huan Chong's heart was cold, this Shuozhou Thorn Master looked gentle and elegant, and he was tepid when he spoke, but he didn't expect that hundreds of thousands of people had been wiped out in a few words, and it seemed that he was also a strong man. I heard that Beifu Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, can carry buckets, most of them are recruited from the north, and I heard that there is a school in Beifu that specializes in training official talents, and the world used to say that Beifu is out of Jingxiang, but now you look at it again, how many people are related to Jingxiang in Beifu? is to mark out Che Yin and Mao Muzhi under the mark of Huanfu, I am afraid that there may not be many people who are inclined to Jingxiang.

Huan Chong thought about it for a long time, and finally figured it out. Beifu's indiscriminate way of attacking is really terrifying, it is simply a locust combat method, in a place like Mobei and Desert South, there are many "benevolent" people who will nag the heavens to have the virtue of a good life, if it is used in the Central Plains, what is the difference between it and the Hu people?

But if this method is not used, then who will bear the food and grass needed to crusade against the rebellion of the pseudo-Zhou? And those people in Forte, since it is the king who is here, then you have to take over their mouths and stomachs together. In this way, Beifu and Jiangzuo together can barely cope with it, but the fact is too far away, Beifu does not say, Jiangzuo alone has two-thirds of the grain concentrated in the hands of the Haoqiang family, and there are not many that belong to the imperial court. You didn't see that this two-year Northern Expedition almost bankrupted the Jiangzuo court.

As soon as his mind was gone, Huan Chong let go of his mind and drank, and after a while, he was drunk by everyone. As soon as Huan Chong fell, everyone targeted Zeng Hua, and the atmosphere was even more lively than just now.

"Order. This Beifu is really full of talents, plus you, Zeng Zhenbei is really like a tiger, I'm afraid there will be a big move again. "Yes, in this environment, Yu Gui will naturally whisper to Xun Xian if he has something to say.

"There are already four giants in Beifu, and there are not many more than me." Xun Xian said indifferently.

"The Big Four?"

Xun Xian quietly told the story of Zeng Hua and the Big Four, which was widely circulated in Beifu. Hearing this, Yu Gui's face was solemn.

"Zeng Zhenbei is really not simple!" After being silent for a long time, Yu Gui sighed.

"This is the method of Zeng Zhen Beidi. Wang Jingluo is upright. Worry about diligence. Zeng Zhenbei is important to the law; Che Wuzi is talented, talks about tranquility, and Zeng Zhenbei respects him; Mao Wusheng is resolute, wise and brave, has a degree of advance and retreat, and has been in the north of the town to be safe;

After reaching the power change, he was deeply resourceful and wise, and Zeng Zhenbei soothed him with affection. Since then, knowing people and loving talents and fame, and the four of them have done their best to serve Zeng Zhenbei under this fame. Xun Xian shook his head, sighed and continued, "I'm just a mediocre talent, not as talented as Wang Jingluo, not as good as Che Wuzi, and not as good as Mao Wusheng." Resourcefulness is not as good as usual. It's just that the reputation of a celebrity is empty, but this position of Yongzhou teaching is very much in line with my heart, and I can learn with peace of mind. It would be nice not to ask about the world. ”

In the end, Xun Xian took a long sip of wine and said lonely: "The game of dominating the world may really not be suitable for me. ”

Hearing Xun Xian say this, Yu Gui didn't dare to say more, and hurriedly changed the topic.

"Ling Ze, why did you say that Zeng Zhenbei would give up the credit for recovering Luoyang this time? If he sent troops to recover Luoyang, together with the merits of recovering the jade seal, wouldn't he be able to suppress Huan Jingzhou and show the government and the opposition alone? ”

"Lord Yu, do you really think that Luoyang's merit is so easy to receive? As Zeng Zhenbei and Xie Bingtai said earlier, for now, no matter how much credit is given to the imperial court, the old capital has not been recovered, and the ancestral tombs have been repaired. Zeng Zhenbei's move was his benefit, but his name was all attributed to Huan Jingzhou. Xun Xian replied leisurely, "And it is easy to recover this Luoyang, but it is not so easy to hold it." Beifu now lost Luoyang to Huan Jingzhou, and also lost Luoyang's defense to Huan Jingzhou. If you think about it, although the recovery of Luoyang has a great credit, if you lose Luoyang, the sin will be even greater. ”

"No wonder, I understand what you mean, Zeng Zhenbei deliberately gave Luoyang to Huan Jingzhou, and Beifu was safe as a reinforcement. Luoyang is in difficulty, Beifu can rush to Heluo to share the credit, and retreat can avoid the sin of defending the land. It seems that there is also a gap between Huan Jingzhou and Zeng Zhenbei in their hearts. Yu Gui was a little helpless, but he said a little happily. Now Huan Wen and Zeng Hua are the two largest members of Jiangzuo's court, and Zeng Hua's strength is the largest, only stronger than the princes of the Central Plains, but fortunately, he is in a remote position and is not very harmful to Jiangzuo's court; And Jingzhou Huanwen is different, he is next to Jiang Zuo. Since the recovery of Luoyang, Huan Wen can be said to be powerful and powerful. If there is a contradiction between Zeng and Huan, this Jiangzuo court will have hope.

"Master Yu understands this, then it will be clear why Yin Yangzhou and I must be demoted." Xun Xian said indifferently.

Yu Gui nodded, raised the wine glass in his hand, and silently toasted Xun Xian.

At the same time, Wang Meng also mentioned Yin Hao to Zeng Hua: "My lord, it didn't take long for Huan Jingzhou to impeach Yin Yangzhou after recovering Luoyang in October this year. After hearing the news, his subordinates arbitrarily went to the court, echoed Huan Jingzhou's proposal, and asked the court to govern Yin Hao to uphold the world. ”

Zeng Hua nodded, and on the way back, he began to focus on reviewing the information of the Beifu and the imperial court that had been interrupted for more than half a year. Since he went to Mobei to fight "behind enemy lines" in October last year, Zeng Hua has basically lost contact with Beifu, and only later has several urgent military orders and official documents been transmitted, and most of the rest of the information was only sent by Gan "together" after entering the state.

As early as last year, that is, in the autumn of the eighth year of Yonghe, Huan Wen, with the cooperation of Hongnong Zhao Fu and Bingzhou Gan, broke through the southern cities of Sizhou and opened up the main road to Luoyang. Huan Wen could hear the sound of Luo and Yishui at that time, and he had to desperately seize this opportunity no matter what. In the eighth year of Yonghe, Jing Xiang was almost smashing pots and selling iron throughout the winter, preparing for an attack on all fronts in the coming year.

In March of the ninth year of Yonghe, as soon as the earth thawed and became smooth, Huan Wen led the Jingxiang army to the north and desperately attacked Luoyang.

And Zhou Guofujian also made a big move in the ninth year of Yonghe. In March, he first lured Yin Hao to capture Chen County, Yuzhou, and then led 100,000 men and horses to surround Yin Hao with Prime Minister Fu Xiong as the main commander. Xie Shang sent troops to Chen County in order to rescue Yin Hao, but was ambushed by Fu Xiong in Wuping and returned defeated. In order to rescue Yin Hao, Xun Xian also sent troops to Chen County, but was attacked by Fu Xiong in Ku County, and was defeated in three battles, so he had to retreat to Xuzhou.

In July, Yin Hao was besieged in Chen County for three months, seeing that foreign aid was hopeless, he had to start to break through, and finally only more than 1,000 people of 60,000 troops fled back to Shouchun.

;; He Gan was very cooperative with the shouting next to him, Fu Jian couldn't bear it after holding on for three months, so he had to lead the army to retreat eastward, "move the capital" to Puyang, and achieve the "immortal achievement" of Huan Wendi.

In August, Huan Wen led the army into Luoyang, and finally realized the "purpose" of the Jiangzuo Northern Expedition for decades, and the court all worshiped the north and wept. Originally, Huan Wen wanted to take advantage of the trend to move eastward, and then make every effort to fight against the pseudo-Zhou rebels. But the rabbit is in a hurry and bites, not to mention that Fu Jian, who is forced to be anxious, is hundreds of times more powerful than a rabbit who is in a hurry. In addition, Huan Wen fought hard for more than three months, and the blood capital was almost exhausted, so he had to return to Luoyang to make plans again.

After Huan Wen returned to Luoyang, before the reward of the imperial court arrived, he first went to the table to denounce Yin Hao's defeat and loss of his teacher, misleading the country and the people.

On the one hand, it is to recover Heluo, famous all over the world, and on the other hand, it is just a big defeat, gray head and gray face, which is more important and which is lighter at first sight. Wang Meng, who received the news, immediately made a judgment, using Zeng Hua's authorization and the Great Seal to the imperial court, and echoed Huan Wen's proposal.

In this way, no one can protect Yin Hao. So the imperial court issued an order to degrade Yin Hao and Xun Xian as concubines, and Xie Shang was only demoted several levels because of his "deep foundation", and the leader of the North Zhonglang will be stationed in Shouchun to make meritorious contributions.

After dealing with Yin Hao, the imperial court began to reward Huan Wen and Zeng Hua. Huan Wen was named the founder of Haixi County, Kaifu Yitong Three Divisions, Da Sima, Envoy Governor Division, Jing, Xiang, Jiang, Guangzhou, Jiao, and Henan Prefecture Military. Zeng Hua should have been rewarded when he returned to the jade seal last time, but the imperial court delayed it until now, and he was awarded the title of the founder of Wuchang County, Kaifu Yi and the three divisions, the generals, and the envoys of the festival to supervise the military of Yong, Yi, Liang, Qin, and Shuo Prefectures.

So after listening to Wang Meng's words, Zeng Hua just smiled and said indifferently: "I can trust Mr., Mr. doesn't need to report in detail." ”

Wang Meng also smiled and arched his hand: "Thank you, General." Today is the time for a feast, but Wang is abrupt. However, all the documents on the table are archived in the Secretariat of the Wuchang County Mansion and the General's Mansion, and the adults will know the details at a glance. ”

Zeng Hua waved his hand and raised his wine glass, and said to Wang Meng and the others: "These days have been hard for you, gentlemen, and the people of Beifu can live a good year safely, thanks to you." ”

Wang Meng and the others hurriedly picked up their wine glasses and said respectfully: "Don't dare, this is what I should do." ”

That night, this feast for Zeng Hua was until late at night, at least half of the people were drunk, Zeng Hua wanted to go home to "rest", but was carried back.

On the fourth day, which was the auspicious day of the zodiac, Yu Gui officially proclaimed the will of the imperial court and awarded Zeng Hua a gold seal and a gold medal with a purple ribbon. After all this, everyone finally began to prepare for the New Year.