The tens of thousands of Ji Province's old soldiers led by Yang Shenxing were lured into a great trap, setting a bad example for the Li Yang Dynasty that was previously invincible on their way south. Before Cao Zhangqing even made an appearance, they already lost close to a hundred thousand elites at Guangling Path's borders. This made those Spring and Autumn Period people who had finally managed to integrate into Zhao Family's imperial court with great difficulty feel complicated emotions. They were worried about Li Yang's true strength, wondering if they really had the national strength to contend against Northern Mang, and then defeat them in one go. Deep in their hearts, they more or less had an indescribable feeling. Back then, Liyang had relied on a large group of generals, including Xu Xiao, to conquer the world. Twenty years later, didn't they still have to suffer defeat in West Chu? As the old saying goes, the river flows east for 30 years and west for 30 years. The Central Plains had been stable for 20 years. It was about time. Could it be that the sky was really going to change? After Yan Zhenchun's army was completely wiped out, the nominal commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, Lu Shengxiang, was still suffering. Although he had not been reprimanded by the Emperor, he still had very little military power. It was difficult for him to leave his tent. He was not even as good as another veteran general who had meritorious service in the Spring and Autumn Period. Among them, the Dragon General Xu Gong, who had been the pillar of the Gumu Xu family, was regrettably defeated and continued to be "frozen" by the court and the Ministry of War. Probably to compensate this valiant general, there was a rumor in Tai 'an City that Xu Gong was expected to be appointed as assistant minister of the Ministry of War to patrol the two Liao provinces. Following the second large mobilization of troops from Liyang's capital, West Chu was not willing to fall behind. Riding on the east wind of two consecutive great victories, a young man named Kou Jianghuai, who had risen to fame in the western frontier, followed closely behind, and fought a series of dazzling and beautiful battles. In the eastern front, in a confrontation with the Prince of Guangling, Zhao Yi, who had a unique understanding of military strategy, he actually had a firm grasp of victory. Within twenty days, he had conquered Huangyan Pass, Dijize, and six other places, including Huangyan Pass and Dijize. In particular, this man's three thousand personal guards, called the Flying Ape Army, were able to cross rivers and streams with their armor, as swift as apes. They shone brightly in the battle of Xipeng Mountain on the eastern front. Moreover, Kou Jianghuai's military strategy was treacherous. Not only was he good at long-distance raids, every time he captured a city, he did not defend it. He had intercepted and killed Zhao Yi's reinforcements four times. Except for one time where he failed, all three times he wiped out the reinforcements. Until now, he had already beheaded more than ten thousand people, and his military service was illustrious. As a result, on the eastern front, a large area of transition zone that originally belonged to Zhao Yi to delay West Chu's eastern advance had been cut into pieces. It had fallen to the point where no one dared to defend it, and no one dared to save it, allowing Kou Jianghuai's troops to come and go like the wind, slowly nibbling away.
Unfortunately, Zhao Yi's right-hand man, Lu Shengxiang, had already been promoted to assistant minister of the Ministry of War and could be considered a member of the imperial court. Moreover, he was the main general of the southern expedition, so he definitely could not contribute to the Spring Snow Building. The infantry general, Zhang Erbao, stayed in the southern border. Zhao Yi did not feel that a fledgling Kou Jianghuai was really worthy of Zhang Erbao's crusade. Cao Changqing was more suitable! In the end, Zhao Yi used the Five Hundred Li Express to order his trusted subordinate, General Heng Jiang, Song Li, to immediately return to the Spring Snow Building from the northern gate of Guangling. The famous general of Guangling, who took advantage of the rich merchants and profited without restraint, seemed to be in no hurry. It was said that General Heng Jiang, who had a hobby of collecting beauties, had also taken in two beautiful women who had met with misfortune on his way south. That was not all. In order to urge this person to quickly head south to defend against the enemy, the Guangling Prince even sent his eldest son, Zhao Yuang, out of the city to receive him grandly. It was obvious how much he relied on this "general of fortune".
If this was only the internal problem of Liyang, then the external threat was like a black cloud pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it. Beimang's million-strong army had begun to head south. Not only were they eyeing Beiliang covetously, but they were also eyeing the fertile land south of Beiliang, the Central Plains.
In the first year of Xiangfu, this eventful period, it seemed like there really couldn't be any more trouble.
Great Peace City was bustling with noise and excitement. A white-clothed monk who had previously traveled ten thousand li to the west alone left, and then came Qi Yanglong whose knowledge was as high as the heavens. During this period of time, there was another nameless small figure who occasionally popped his head out, but he quickly returned to silence. Meanwhile, the reason why he was remembered and chatted with for a bit was all thanks to Grand Secretary Zhang's comment, "The Bureau of Weapons is not enough to accommodate talent." Regardless of how high or low the Grand Secretary's comment was, this youngster who caught a glimpse of the imperial court was called Sun Yin, a Beiliang person who Great Peace City loathed the most. Now, he held a post in Menxia Province, and could barely be considered a low-ranking person. However, the reclusive Sun Yin was quickly forgotten by the capital, to the extent where he couldn't even compare to the little Daoist Master Wu Shizhen who came down from Green City's mountains to the capital.
After Tantanon kicked up a ruckus in the Ministry of War's Lu Baijie, not only was Huan Wen not blamed by the imperial court, there were instead rumors that Tantanon might very well become the first great figure who completely grasped control of the entire Menxia Province in Liyang Dynasty. His official rank would also begin to truly be on equal footing with Zhang Julu, rising up into the top few first rank in the dynasty! Not only that, there were also people who said that Tantanon's exceptional promotion this time was the emperor's move to kill two birds with one stone. Not only was it to pave the way for Qi Yanglong to become the head of the Hall of Secretaries, but if the rumors were true, then the two departments of the Hall of Secretaries, which were only nominally divided between the two departments of the Hall of Secretaries, would completely break away from the control of the Grand Secretary. At that time, the situation where the blue-eyed girl could cover the sky with one hand in the Spring of Eternal Hui would obviously be gone forever. As for whether this was true or not, there were probably only a few people in the entire Liyang Dynasty who dared to pat their chests to confirm it. In fact, one of the two main parties involved, Huan Wen, also didn't know what the situation was like. However, Tantanon, who was about to be trampled on in front of his house, didn't seem to care at all. On the other hand, the noble men of the Menxia Province couldn't sit still and used various methods to bring wine to the "temporary" Left Servant She's mansion to ask for the inside story. Tantanon didn't pretend to be profound and only told them that this was a wonderful thing, and that if he got it, he would be lucky. Tantanon also bluntly said that if he, Huan Wen, could be promoted, his original position would definitely not flow into the field of others. Even if he had to go to His Majesty and make a scene, he would shamelessly promote him from his own Menxia Province. As soon as these words came out, everyone in the Menxia Province was delighted.
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