After the meeting ended, Hsu Fengnian took Xu Beizhi to a small courtyard to visit the old general He Zhonghu. When they arrived, they found that Yan Wenluan was also there. The four of them sat around a stone table. Hsu Fengnian looked at the fatigued commander of the Left Cavalry and felt a little worried. He Zhonghu's health had suddenly deteriorated in the past two years, giving people a feeling that he was about to die. After the first battle of Liang Mang, the old general had privately submitted his resignation to Mount Qingliangshan and the Protectorate. At the same time, he recommended Yu Luandao to be the second deputy commander of the Left Cavalry to Hsu Fengnian and Chu Lushan. The reason why he did not let the young Beiliang commander directly take charge of the Left Cavalry was because of this old man's shrewdness. After all, the untamed Liangzhou border army had always looked down on the Youzhou army. Yu Luandao, who was born in a rich family of the Central Plains, had no connection with the Liangzhou border army. If he suddenly took charge of an army, he might not be able to convince the masses. If there was a mistake in the second battle of Liang Mang, not only would a great talent in the art of war be destroyed, it would also affect the situation at the border. He Zhonghu would naturally be unable to absolve himself from the blame.
However, the fact that He Zhonghu was able to abandon his views and suggest Yu Luandao to become the nominal third in command of the Left Cavalry was enough to show the magnanimity and foresight of this veteran general. Moreover, when Xu Fengnian made an example out of the Left Cavalry, he was suspected of robbing East to pay West to replenish the strength of the other cavalry, such as transferring troops to Cao Wei and the others. He Zhonghu was also the first to respond without any objection. On this point, the Right Cavalry General Zhou Kang, nicknamed Jin Partridge, was obviously much inferior and had a lot of complaints. Although Xu Fengnian had jokingly scolded Zhou Kang in private for being a stingy miser, Zhou Kang was after all one of the hundreds of old soldiers who sent him off back then. In a sense, Zhou Kang and the Crown Prince had gone through thick and thin together. Therefore, even if Zhou Kang was not straightforward enough, Xu Fengnian actually did not take it to heart. Moreover, Zhou Kang's reaction was human nature. Just like He Zhonghu's attitude of following the Huaiyang Pass Protectorate General's lead, there was some gossip within the Left Cavalry. Many young generals did not understand and felt that the old general was too easy to talk to. Not only did he reduce the power of the Left Cavalry, he also tarnished the reputation of the Left Cavalry. The reason Hsu Fengnian had specially come to this place was because of the internal strife in the Left Cavalry. Hsu Fengnian wanted to first hear He Zhong's thoughts. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Mount Qingliang would not interfere in the affairs of the Left Cavalry. He believed that Yan Wenluan had rushed over in such a hurry partly because he wanted to support his old friend and show the entire Beiliang border cavalry.
The four people in the small courtyard did not drink wine or tea. He Zhonghu seemed to have not expected the young king to grace him with his presence, and was pleasantly surprised. As one of the top ten people in the Beiliang cavalry, He Zhonghu suddenly understood the general process of the Dragon Eye Plains. He knew that Hsu Fengnian had personally killed the leader of the Rouran Cavalry, Hong Jingyan. He also knew that Chen Zhibao had come to Huaiyang Pass earlier. So Hsu Fengnian had tried to be concise in his speech in the meeting hall. His face was extremely pale, and this made the old general feel even more guilty. He felt that it was the fault of the Liang Province cavalry, that they had let down General Xu Xiao's nurturing. In the end, the general's eldest son had to attend to everything personally, and even personally kill people. Then what was the point of having the three hundred thousand Beiliang cavalry? As an old friend of Yan Wenluan, He Zhonghu had another hidden identity. The old man had once been a member of the Xu family's Supporting Dragon Sect. This group of people was led by the strategist Zhao Changling, with Chen Zhibao as the successor. Wu Qi, who was General Xu Xiao's brother-in-law and one of the main generals of the Xu family's cavalry, Yan Wenluan, He Zhonghu and the others were the backbone of the force. Yao Jian and Ye Xizhen's foster sons were also very close to them. Li Yishan's faction, which was ridiculed by the Supporting Dragon Sect as being of the anti-dragon faction, was much weaker overall. If not for the fact that at the last moment, Wang Fei Wu Su clearly expressed that she did not support Xu Xiao's betrayal of Liyang to rule over the river, the Xu family would not be called King of Beiliang. Maybe Hsu Fengnian was the ruler of the entire vast territory south of the Guangling River, but it was also possible that the Beiliang Frontier Army did not have any old people because they were all dead people who plotted against them and died. Because of this difficult relationship, He Zhonghu had some obscure thoughts about this young vassal king who had turned the tide. He did not promote a direct line of descent from within the Left Cavalry to be the next general, but chose an outsider, Yu Luandao, to take over the magpie's nest. This old man past his prime might have some thoughts of compensation and atonement.
Yan Wenluan, the number one soldier in the Northern Liang Army, had a gloomy expression on his face. He said bluntly, "Your Highness, there is something that you must have heard. Li Yanchao, that brat, is an ingrate who forgets favors and violates justice. He Zhong brought him to his current position and is even closer to him than his own son. The only reason he didn't give him the position of the Left Cavalry Commander was because that brat dared to rebel and wanted to become Zhou Kang's assistant! This little bastard's ability to lead troops into battle is indeed not bad, but his conduct is improper. In the future, we must use him, but not too much. At most, we can only make him a deputy general of an army! "
Hsu Fengnian really did not expect that Yan Wenluan, who rarely revealed his emotions, would be so angry. For a moment, he did not know how to respond. Rebel, ungrateful, improper conduct, these were extremely heavy words. Coming from the mouth of Yan Wenluan, one of the few high-ranking officials of Beiliang, these words were enough to make any Beiliang's middle or high-ranking military officer completely lose their chance to have any real power or high position. In fact, Hsu Fengnian was no stranger to Li Yanchao's reputation. He was one of the Four Fangs of Beiliang, sharing the same fame as Dian Xiongchao, Wei Fucheng, and Ning Emei. His military service was outstanding. In the border army, other than Yan Wenluan, Chen Yunchui, and He Zhonghu, this group of old men, he was second only to Liu Jinu and a handful of other valiant generals. Because he was in the prime of his life, he was the kind of important general who could fight for the Xu family for another twenty years. However, he was similar to the Long Xiang Army's deputy general Li Mofan and Youzhou's Cao Xiaojiao. His personality was extreme, and he was arrogant because of his achievements. Both of them were famous troublemakers with mixed reputations.
He Zhonghu glared at Yan Wenluan and then turned to Hsu Fengnian to say with a bitter smile, "Wang ye, if the sky wants to rain and the mother wants to marry, we can't stop it. Since Zhou Kang has promised that Li Yanchao will succeed as the commander of the Right Cavalry, then let him go. Yanchao, this child, has fought in the Left Cavalry for many years. The military merits he has made are enough for this future. There is nothing wrong with people walking towards greater heights. "
Yan Wenluan was helpless. Actually, it wasn't that he didn't like Li Yanchao, but he just wanted to help He Zhonghu raise the topic. If he, Yan Wenluan, was the bad guy, then He Zhonghu, who couldn't put down his face, would just nod his head. It wasn't that Li Yanchao couldn't leave the Left Cavalry, but he couldn't encourage this trend. Otherwise, wouldn't Jin Partridge's little hoe fly away? He Zhonghu's illness was not light. Would he really have to lie in bed in the future and hear the grievous news of the Right Cavalry falling apart? Was he really not afraid of dying with grievances? Yan Wenluan sighed. He had known He Zhonghu for most of his life and admired this old man. He didn't have a family in his old age and only raised a few lame old horses. He managed the army like a long-winded auntie. He treated the soldiers like his own children. They ate, drank, and peed in the army, no different from normal soldiers. There was no special treatment to speak of. Therefore, young people like Li Yanchao could be said to have been trained by He Zhonghu from small pawns to meritorious generals. Hearing that Li Yanchao was going to leave the Left Cavalry, how could Yan Wenluan not be angry? It was difficult for an upright official to resolve family matters. It could be seen that even if it had reached the stage where father and son had a falling out, He Zhonghu still couldn't bear to delay Li Yanchao's official career. He was afraid that the young vassal king would have a bad impression of Li Yanchao, to the extent that it would be difficult for him to be promoted in the Right Cavalry.
Hsu Fengnian thought for a moment and slowly said, "To be honest, as long as Li Yanchao remains outside the Great Pass, it doesn't make a difference to me whether he works for the Left Cavalry or moves to the Right Cavalry to climb up. Moreover, the Left and Right Cavalry's extreme xenophobic tradition is indeed not beneficial to Beiliang. After all, flowing water does not rot and the pivot does not rust. Even without Li Yanchao's matter, I originally wanted to let the Left and Right Cavalry carry out some exchanges of generals. Back then, when I integrated the armies of the three provinces within Beiliang, I only set up 14 captains with real power. However, the first Great Battle of Liang Mang is imminent. I was afraid that too much of a commotion would cause the border army to become unstable and affect the war situation. That was why I didn't move the border army outside the Great Pass."
Yan Wenluan narrowed his one eye and didn't say anything.
Yan Wenluan did not oppose the border army restructuring.
However, what this Beiliang infantry commander was not used to was that the young King did not hesitate to bring it up in front of him. Especially at this time when the Left Cavalry was in chaos and He Zhong was about to leave the border army due to illness. These words seemed a little cold and solemn.
He Zhong was filled with emotions and did not know where to start. The old man's face was dejected and lonely, and his eyes were in a daze.
Some rich old people in their twilight years, only when they were sick and had lost all hope would they start to envy the poor and healthy.
However, He Zhong was different. Although he had a high position in the Beiliang Border Army, he did not have any children to inherit the family business. He did not even have a house within the Beiliang Pass. He was completely different from Huaihua Great General Zhong Hongwu, who treated the entire Lingzhou as his backyard.
He Zhong's old and sickly appearance was that of a hero past his prime.
Hsu Fengnian was very familiar with this kind of helpless hero past his prime.
— —
Hsu Fengnian and Xu Beizhi left the courtyard. Xu Beizhi's brows were tightly furrowed.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked, "Ju Zi, are you curious why I did not help He Zhong calm down the Left Cavalry?"
Xu Beizhi looked back at the courtyard door, "Forget about He Zhong, aren't you afraid of angering Yan Wenluan? Aren't you afraid that the two old people will think that you are cold-hearted? That you are a cruel and merciless King? "
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