In the past, Ning Emei was able to jump from a lower class sixth-rank general in the Phoenix Battalion to a lower class third-rank Iron Buddha deputy general with real power. This was clearly because he was close to Hsu Fengnian. This time, he was able to be the first to meet the young king. Although it was unexpected, it was within reason. After all, Ning Emei represented all the young generals that Hsu Fengnian had promoted in the Beiliang army in recent years. Hsu Fengnian was especially fond of Ning Emei. In the eyes of others, it was naturally intentional. Chen Yunchui and Zhou Kang, the two highest ranking deputy generals of the border army in the military town of Serious Tomb, followed closely behind and appeared to follow the rules. Following this, Hsu Fengnian met with Qi Dangguo, Yuan Nanting, and the others. In the end, he summoned the generals who were stationed in the military town of Serious Tomb all year round. Hsu Fengnian was always lukewarm in these closely linked meetings. The generals of Serious Tomb were not familiar with the temperament of the young king. During this period, there were people who wanted to use bold words to express their loyalty and determination to Hsu Fengnian. In the end, Hsu Fengnian just laughed it off and casually changed the topic. This made these people, who had left the traditional officialdom of Beiliang for many years, still feel uneasy when they stood up and left their chairs. They were afraid that their flattery had hit the wrong horse. Fortunately, Hsu Fengnian personally sent them to the entrance of the courtyard, which made them feel much more at ease.
They could not be blamed for thinking too much. Ever since Hsu Fengnian came to power, there had been a saying in the upper echelons of the border army that the new King Liang was "ruthless and generous". And the target of his ruthlessness was precisely them, the generals of the border army. For example, the Huaihua General Zhong Hongwu, who treated Lingzhou as his own back garden, did not even have the chance to die of old age? As for the General Yan Wenluan, who was entrenched in Youzhou, it was said that a lot of his sharpness had been suppressed. Hsu Fengnian took over the Tiger Pounce Camp and supported Yu Luandao. It was obvious that he wanted him to replace Tian Heng as the general of the Youzhou cavalry. And before this, he transferred away the Provincial Governor Tian Peifang, who was obedient to Yan Wenluan and replaced him with Hu Kui, who was not heavily factionalized and whose faction was unclear. In addition, Hsu Fengnian's trusted aide, Huangfu Xiong, was placed in Youzhou's military. And the relationship between Great Ancestor Gu and Zhou Kang and Chen Yunchui, who were deeply rooted in the border army, was so strained. Was there really no incitement from the young King? Otherwise, how could an outsider who had just entered the border army for a few years speak so boldly in the meeting hall of the grave? It was said that now that Wei Tieshan, Liu Yuanji, Lin Doufang, and the other elders had returned to the border army, it would undoubtedly weaken the military power of Zhou Kang, Chen Yunchui, and the others to a certain extent.
But no matter what, with and without Hsu Fengnian in charge of the grave, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. Regardless of whether or not this shrewd King Liang would take the opportunity to purge the left and right cavalry armies of Liangzhou, as long as he sat in that small courtyard, even if he did not give any specific orders, then the following big battle could be fought.
Among the many guests in the small courtyard, only Great Ancestor Gu was missing.
In the end, Hsu Fengnian did not wait for the deputy commander of the infantry army to take the initiative to visit. After weighing the pros and cons, he gave up the idea of summoning Great Ancestor Gu. Hsu Fengnian felt somewhat regretful. Regardless of victory or defeat, in the future, the relationship between Great Ancestor Gu and Zhou Kang and the other local generals was destined to be difficult to return to how it was before. This kind of parting was not the same as the struggle for benefits between the factions of officials in the imperial court. On the contrary, it was more similar to the apparent unity caused by conflicting political views. The more it was like this, the harder it was to mend it. It was just like how Huan Wen and Zhang Julu, at the last moment of Li Yang, had gone against each other. It was impossible to determine who was right and who was wrong.
Hsu Fengnian slowly paced back and forth in the small courtyard that had returned to silence. Wang Sui led Beimang's elite cavalry on the eastern front to suddenly advance to the west, causing Beiliang to be in a rather awkward situation. This was probably what it meant when the heavens did not fulfill one's wishes. Yan Wenluan had no choice but to split up troops to guard the eastern gate of Youzhou, where the troops were currently leaning to the north, in order to prevent a fire in the backyard. She was afraid that the entire Lingzhou would be engulfed in smoke. In this way, a few big fish would definitely slip through the gourd's mouth. Perhaps it would be Zhong Tan's private army, or perhaps it would be the Rouran Cavalry of Hong Jingyan, or even Yang Yuanzan himself. However, judging from the current situation, even if Dong Zhuo had realized that the situation at the gourd's mouth was not good and hurriedly sent troops to the gourd's mouth to coordinate with Yang Yuanzan's troops, it would not change the outcome of the destruction of Liang Mang's main force on the eastern front. Yang Yuanzan would definitely suffer the consequences of his radical actions of demolishing Huogong and Luanhe cities and burning all the forts and fences. Without these defensive forts that could be used as temporary strongholds of Beimang, the pincer attack from Beiliang cavalry and Youzhou infantry was enough to be fatal. The situation at the gourd's mouth was already set. The key was how many Beimang fish Yuan Zuozong and Yu Luandao could catch in the end.
One could foresee that Gu Jiantang would take the initiative to attack, and the Cainan and Heji border armies would also block Wang Sui's path back to the east. Everyone could see that this was an opportunity that Beiliang had created for the entire northern front of Liyang. However, while Great Peace City was singing the praises of the Emperor and Gu Jiantang, they would pretend to be blind and only focus on the fall of Hutou City in Liangzhou. Previously, the new Huai Administrator Han Lin had vaguely reminded Hsu Fengnian that the Imperial Court was pushing to set up Jiedushi in the territory of the dynasty. Although they only added one Deputy Jiedushi to the territories of the various vassal kings to restrict the vassal kings who had always been Jiedushi, the person who had the chance to become the new Deputy Jiedushi was very likely to be Yang Shenxing, who was covered in dirt at Guangling Road.
Hsu Fengnian muttered Yang Shenxing's name a few times.
Yang Shenxing was one of the eight great generals of Liyang and was once the local emperor of Jizhou. In the second year of Xiangfu, he lived with his tail between his legs. This time, he risked his life to become the Deputy Jiedushi of Beiliang. He wanted to atone for his crimes with the young emperor and the Liyang imperial court. He also wanted to help his eldest son, Yang Huchen, as the new Deputy Jizhou General. Northern Liang, Li Yang, as well as Yang Shenxing herself, the three parties were well aware that if they went to Northern Liang Dao to be a Jiedushi, regardless of whether they had the title 'deputy' or not, their real power would not be comparable to a Duwei with the size of a sesame seed mung bean. Maybe Yang Shenxing's request to be demoted to the northwest was because he was prepared to die.
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