"Don't people say that my master is vicious and merciless, and that he likes to exterminate people? Hong Jia went north because he exterminated the potential scholars in the Central Plains, and then he went to Beiliang. Those hundred thousand refugees were just a small part of his plan. Next, it's probably Beiliang. "
Yan Wenluan sighed, then laughed heartily. "Your Highness, the knot in my heart is gone. It's funny. When I first came to Yanzhi County, I wanted to be thick-skinned and flatter you. You and Yu Luandao fought beautifully in those battles outside the gourd! The establishment of No Retreat Camp boosted the morale of the entire Youzhou! I didn't expect things to change. Just now, I almost wanted to flip the table and beat you up. Of course, the end result would be me being casually beaten up by you. Although Your Highness didn't make it clear, I, Yan Wenluan, believe in the Great General and Sir Li. After confirming this, I also understand why Sir Li didn't look favorably on Chen Zhibao from the beginning. With Hong Jia going north and leaving Beiliang to him, after the battle with Beiliang, there will definitely be another unjust war in the eyes of scholars in the future. "
Hsu Fengnian didn't say anything. He looked somewhat tired.
Yan Wenluan hesitated, but still said, "Your Highness, there's something I can't say. It's uncomfortable to keep it in my stomach! Although Chen Zhibao left Beiliang, I, Yan Wenluan, can guarantee that after staying in Beiliang for so many years, he has never rebelled. He's definitely dissatisfied with you, but he definitely doesn't have any malicious intent to kill. I believe that he's just waiting. If after the Great General leaves, Hsu Fengnian can't support Beiliang, then he'll come out and let Beiliang take the surname Chen. As for what the world will take in the end, whether it's Murong, Zhao, or Chen, it'll depend on Chen Zhibao's ability. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled. "I know."
Yan Wenluan asked softly, "Really?"
Hsu Fengnian turned his head. "Then I don't know?"
Yan Wenluan laughed heartily. "Looks like you really do know. It's Yan Wenluan who gauged the heart of a gentleman with her own mean measure."
Hsu Fengnian laughed along with him. "Isn't it just scolding people?"
Yan Wenluan was startled at first, but after thinking for a while, the smile in her single eye became even brighter. However, she deliberately said helplessly, "The eloquence of a scholar is indeed impressive. I have no choice but to be impressed."
In the end, the commander of Beiliang's infantry rushed over and cupped his fists. "Your Highness, let's go! Like what we said when we met in Youzhou Province, if there's a chance, even if I, Yan Wenluan, am lying in a coffin, I will also be carried to the palace of Beimang. "
Without waiting for Hsu Fengnian to say anything, the old man turned and strode away. When he passed by the table, he stopped and shouted, "Catch it." He picked up the wine pot and threw it to Hsu Fengnian. "Just treat it as this general treating Wangye to a drink."
Hsu Fengnian raised his hand to catch the wine pot. Looking at the figure that had already crossed the threshold, he was astonished and muttered to himself, "There's actually a guest who uses the host's wine to treat others to a meal?"
Yan Wenluan strode down the corridor. At that time, the old man had wanted to say, "I believe in you, Xu Fengnian," after "I believe in the Great General, I believe in Mr. Li." But at that time, he held himself back. Now, he was muttering to himself, "Great General, fighting a war like this is interesting. Just like when I followed the Grand General in the past, I'm not afraid of anything but death! "
— —
Hsu Fengnian, who hadn't drunk a single drop of wine from beginning to end, sat back in his seat with a somewhat solemn expression.
That cultured and refined Fourth Prince, Zhao Zhuan, wasn't someone to be trifled with after becoming the emperor. If Zhang Julu's death was ordered by his father, Zhao Zhuan, then Yuan Benxi's silent death was completely caused by Zhao Zhuan's cold-blooded methods. However, Hsu Fengnian wasn't surprised by this. Which of the three emperors of the Zhao Clan wasn't an expert in cooking the hound after the rabbit had been caught? The reason why this Prince of Li Yang, who had just ascended to the dragon throne, secretly opened the door to Ji City was not because he had nothing better to do than to give the two Generals of Beimang some military exploits. It was because after Li Yang and Beiliang both changed their heirs, Hsu Fengnian was the first to go against the imperial edict and took the initiative to express the bottom line of the Beiliang. After Zhao Zhuan ascended to the throne, he quickly returned the favor by using the incident where You Province's ten thousand cavalrymen invaded Ji City, telling Hsu Fengnian that the bottom line of the Liyang imperial court was not low either. Meanwhile, after Yuan Tingshan 'lost' Silver Sparrow City, he atoned for his crime with military exploits. Like his father, Zhao Zhuan, who paid close attention to the military affairs of Ji City, Hsu Fengnian had just received intelligence that apart from the Ji City Cavalry, the man who had transformed from Mad Dog Yuan to General Yuan also brought along more than seven thousand elite cavalrymen that were given to him by one of his two fathers-in-law, the Head of the Yanbao Clan. They waited patiently for the opportunity to strike, and defeated the eight thousand cavalrymen of Beimang, Great Ru Shiwei and Wang Jingchong. The report of victory that was delivered to Tai 'an City stated,' We lost less than three thousand men, but we beheaded more than ten thousand enemies'. Naturally, Hsu Fengnian knew very well that the two thousand cavalrymen of Yanbao Li Family that had been accumulated by generations of Yanbao Li Family was definitely not included in the three thousand casualties. However, after this battle, Zhao Zhuan, who had just ascended to the throne, would surely be pleased. The Ministry of War in the Capital City, which was already badly battered by Guangling Dao, would also be happy. The morale of the two Liao soldiers on the eastern front would also be boosted. In fact, if it weren't for Hsu Fengnian being the biggest target in the world, even if Yuan Tingshan had achieved several times more military exploits, he would only attract mockery and suspicion.
Hsu Fengnian sneered, "Compared to me, who is widely acknowledged to be the Beiliang's son of His Royal Highness, you, Yuan Tingshan, have quite a good life."
What truly gave Hsu Fengnian a headache wasn't Yuan Tingshan and Jizhou, but two other matters. In reality, Zhao Zhuan had done many things after the beginning of spring. For example, the relocation of the Hanlin Academy and the suggestion of a small minister from the Ministry of Revenue to rewrite the world's records into the 'small court' he and the central government officials had established. Compared to the former, Beiliang's situation was completely different. The people of Beiliang had temporarily stabilized. Those who should leave and those who could leave had already left. They were mainly concentrated in the Beiliang Circuit in Lingzhou, so there wasn't much of an impact. If the records were changed at this time, it would be the same as opening a big hole. Even though Beiliang's military households were the majority, it involved the people at the bottom of the hierarchy. If they could leave, who would be willing to 'wait for death' within Beiliang's borders?
Hsu Fengnian closed his eyes. "The Minister of Revenue, Yuan Guo, who was the most talkative on this matter, kept his mouth shut. His silence was already a very clear stance. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy for him to make a comeback. He'd only been an 'Earthly Court Disciple' for a few days before he'd probably be banished to the Cold Palace again. The Head of the Secretariat, Qi Yanglong, supported it. Tantanon, the Minister of the Gate, opposed it. Yin Maochun, the Heavenly Official, supported it. However, he said that this matter should be slowed down rather than rushed. Tsk tsk, this wording was really meticulous. 'Not rushed', 'easy but not suitable'. It was really exquisite. The Second Head of the Secretariat, Zhao Youling, really did sing the opposite of Yin Maochun. As expected of someone who didn't have any future in the same year as the imperial examination. He became an ally, and the promising became a political enemy. "
If this wasn't an urgent matter, then there was a 'small matter' that was hidden among all the other important matters. It was the real unexpected surprise and urgent matter for the entire Beiliang Circuit.
The unexpected surprise was another hidden move of Zhang Julu's after his disciple, Wei Jingtang. If it weren't for the cheating case of the Liyang transport that was deliberately downplayed by the imperial court, Hsu Fengnian wouldn't have been able to follow the vine to the melon and figure out Zhang Julu's intentions. It turned out that for all these years, Zhang Julu and Tantanon had been keeping an eye on the transport, especially on the matter of the cooling grain. They seemed to be creating difficulties in every possible way, but they actually secretly had people 'privately' store grain. The granaries in the grey area were all along the Guangling River, further northwest of Xiangfan City. Hsu Fengnian dared to say that Zhang Julu was waiting. He was waiting for Beiliang to really be willing to fight to the death with the Beimang army, then these grain that originally belonged to Beiliang would be smoothly delivered into Beiliang's territory. If Beiliang was hiding its strength, Xu Xiao and Hsu Fengnian had the intention to preserve their strength and set up a separatist regime. In that case, these grain provisions would be impossible to obtain. Zhang Julu had once decided to reform the transport, the Xu officials, and the Guangling floods. In the end, they all died without a result. It might have been because of this kind of 'selfish motives' that he had to cut them off. How difficult and complicated it was to govern a country. Just the matter of secretly storing grain involved a series of cumbersome appointments for the officials in charge of the transport of grain. It also involved the relatives of the emperor who lay on the lifeline of the country and the merit of the 'founding of the country'. In the game of interests with these vermin and rats, Zhang Julu not only had to ensure that the blood of the country flowed without hindrance, but he also had to ensure that after Beiliang really did fight to the death with Beimang, the court or his current Grand Secretary Zhang Julu could also show some sincerity. More importantly, he had to maintain a balance between the Emperor and the nobles.
Now, Zhao Zhuan had personally turned this unexpected surprise into an urgent matter. The transport officials that Zhang Julu had arranged for were all wiped out. Their official ranks were not high, and the nobles did not care about these unimportant officials who were not their lackeys. Perhaps without these people, they would gain even more in the future. Furthermore, the Emperor's iron fist and determination to deal with corruption received praise from the court. After this turmoil, who would dare to go against the Imperial Court? In the future, it would only be more difficult for Beiliang to obtain grain.
Hsu Fengnian bent his fingers and knocked on the table again and again.
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