Zhang Xutuo was killed in battle. His troops were forced to retreat south to Qiao County. The soldiers cried all the way. The twelve roads of Henan County were bleak. The morale of the Wagang Army was greatly boosted and they counterattacked. Not only did they occupy the entire territory of Xingyang, Xuchang County, Liang County, Dongjun, Jiyin County, Jibei County, Huaiyang County, and Dongping County were also occupied by them. The county officials surrendered and the entire Central Plains hinterland became the territory of the Wagang Army.

The Wagang Army's troops were restored to 400,000 again, but the force structure tilted, Li Mi's troops increased to 250,000, while Zhai Rang's troops decreased to 150,000 due to the disastrous defeat of Dahai Temple. At the same time, Li Mi's reputation increased greatly due to the capture of Luokoucang and the killing of Zhang Xutuo, and he had become a leader of the Central Plains. Zhai Rang resented Li Mi because of the defeat of Dahai Temple. The conflict between the two eventually began to intensify due to the change of leadership.

The sky in Jiangdu became bleak due to Zhang Xutuo's death in battle and the rapid expansion of the Wagang army, and the morale of the three armies was even more sluggish. In the palace, Yang Guang ushered in one sleepless night after another. Although he posthumously named Zhang Xutuo as Duke of Xingguo and posthumously named "Zhong", this still could not boost morale and replace the impact brought by the Wagang army's attack on the Central Plains.

In the imperial study room, Yang Guang listened silently to Pei Yun's report.

"Li Mi established himself as Duke of Wei, and set up the Wagang Army Office of the Marshal, set up the third department and the six guards, and set up the chief secretary in the Marshal's Office, Sima and each Cao joined the army, restrained military discipline and reduced taxes, and all county officials all served as their original positions..."

This time, Yang Guang unexpectedly did not get angry. He sighed softly, "The rebellion of rampant people is not scary. What is scary is the rebellion of the nobles. They know how to establish a regime and govern the world. Without Li Mi, Wagang is just a mess, a mob, and the world is in chaos. What should I do?"

Yang Guang looked out the window worriedly, his eyes filled with helplessness and sadness that he had never felt before. At this time, Yu Shiji bowed and said, "Although Zhang Xutuo was destroyed, Zhang Xutuo is not the only one in the world who can lead troops. I can recommend a few generals for Your Majesty to select."

"Tell me! I'll listen."

"Your Majesty, I first recommend Wang Shichong, the guardian of Jiangdu. This man suppressed the rebellion in Jiangnan and made many extraordinary achievements. He was extremely ruthless in his methods. He also won every battle. He was the second in Zhang Xutuo. He could lead the rest of Zhang Xutuo to suppress the Wagang Rebellion."

Yang Guang nodded. Although Wang Shichong was good at leading troops to fight, he was good at welcome and respecting the officials, and was versatile, which was incomparable to Zhang Xutuo's honesty and loyalty. However, Wang Shichong was indeed the best candidate to replace Zhang Xutuo. At this time, it was a time to urgently use people, and Yang Guang couldn't take too much care.

"I am approved and pass on my will to grant Wang Shichong the title of General of Zuotun Guard, Zuo Guanglu Dafu, Henan Province ambassador to arrest him, and was controlled by the King of Yue, and immediately went to the Central Plains to suppress the bandits."

Yang Guang issued an order and asked again: "Who else can recommend it?"

"I would like to recommend Wang Rengong, the prefect of Mayi County, who has been on the battlefield for decades. He is no less capable than Yang Yichen. If Your Majesty can use it, he can pacify the bandits in Hebei."

"But I heard that he was addicted to things in the cup all day long and ignored political affairs. Is this person available?" Yang Guang asked in confusion.

"Your Majesty, all those with great talents are disappointed. Most of them are addicted to glasses of wine or express their feelings to the mountains and rivers. If Wang Rengong can be used, he will work hard to repay the emperor."

Yang Guang pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "I can first appoint him as the governor of Ye County. If the bandit suppression improves, I will then appoint him to the bandit suppression ambassador of Hebei Road."

"Your Majesty's wise!"

‘Saintly?’

Yang Guang smiled bitterly on his face, and he sighed slightly, "The chaos in the north has been completed, and I am helpless. Now Lin Shihong's rebellion in the south is my confidant."

He turned around and asked Pei Yun and Yu Shiji, "You two are ministers of the Southern Dynasties and are familiar with the Southern Dynasties. Can you recommend one person to suppress the Lin Shihong Rebellion?"

Pei Yun stepped forward and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I recommend the General of Zuo Yiwei to protect the other party. He is good at water warfare and loyal to serving the country. At this time, he is in Jiangdu, so he can order him to build a ship in Danyang to quell the rebellion of Lin Shihong."

Yu Shiji also said: "Your Majesty, the third person I want to recommend is to come to protect the others. It is the most suitable for him to pacify the thieves in Poyang Lake."

"It's exactly what I want, it's accurate!"

It was rare that Yang Guang even listened to advice today, and his frustration gradually recovered. He gave Yu Shiji a wink and ordered him to retreat first. At this time, he and Pei Yun were the only ones left in the imperial study room.

Yang Guang glanced at Pei Yun and asked, "I just saw that I wanted to speak but stopped. What do you want to say?"

Pei Yun bowed and said, "I want to talk about Li Yuan."

Yang Guang was stunned, "What's wrong with Li Yuan?"

"I just received the impeachment from the Hedongdao Censor. When Li Yuan wiped out the bandit general Wu Duaner, he received 60,000 surrendered soldiers. He rectified the 60,000 surrendered soldiers into an army, thinking that it was for personal use, and did not report this to the court."

Yang Guang was stunned. At this moment, he suddenly remembered something. He received a secret report from Gao Junya in the morning and had not had time to read it.

Yang Guang immediately found the secret letter from the table and tore open the letter skin and read it. He was shocked and exactly what Pei Yun said. Moreover, Li Yuanchao recruited more than 20,000 troops. In this case, he actually had 100,000 troops in his hands.

Yang Guang suddenly remembered the prophecy. He took a breath of air conditioning. Could it be that the prophecy actually refers to Li Yuan, not Li Hun and Li Min. He gritted his teeth with hatred and said, "I have been deceived by his loyalty!"

Yang Guang was about to issue an order to arrest Li Yuan, but Pei Yun said: "Your Majesty, you must not break this matter. If you break this matter, Li Yuan will rebel!"

A sentence reminded Yang Guang. He pondered for a moment: "I can give him the right servant of the Shangshu, enter the cabinet and coax him to Jiangdu. At the same time, I can secretly order Gao Junya. If Li Yuan does not come, I can arrest him on the spot!"

"Your Majesty, that's what I mean."

Yang Guang stayed Pei Yun not for Li Yuan, but for another purpose. He stared at the roof and stared at it for a while before slowly saying: "Actually, I know that the most suitable general to fight bandits is Yang Yuanqing. I really want to use him, but he always disappointed me. If he can really wipe out bandits in the world for me, I can take him as a royal family and make him king, and his descendants will have the opportunity to ascend the throne in the future. Pei Aiqing, this is my greatest sincerity."

Yang Guang's greatest sincerity was scared Pei Yun so hard that he was sweating profusely. This was not the sincerity. It was clearly forcing the Pei family to express his opinion. He knelt down, "Your Majesty, I have not had any contact with Yang Yuanqing, so I cannot contact him."

Yang Guang's words are true, three-pointers are false, and three-pointers are tests of Pei Yun. Or one point is his sincerity.

Yang Guang suddenly felt extremely tired, and he waved his hand, "I am a little tired, please leave!"

"I'm going to leave!"

......

At noon, Pei Yun usually had to go back to the house for dinner and take a nap, but today Pei Yun didn't have the heart to take a nap. He returned to his mansion worriedly. Yang Guang's last few words really confused him. He didn't understand Yang Guang's thoughts. Did he really want to make Yang Yuanqing the king? But Pei Yun then denied his thoughts, the nature of an emperor. How could he tolerate Yang Yuanqing to divide his country? If it was true, it would be at the end of his life.

Pei Yun knew that Pei Ju was hiding in Fengzhou now. Pei Ju also wrote a letter to invite him to Fengzhou, but Pei Yun could not let go of his immediate interests. Now he served as the Minister of Shangshu Zuo Pushe, the first prime minister of the court. All the memorials were reviewed by him and Yu Shiji. Although there were not many memorials, this kind of glory was his lifelong dream. He could not do it for the time being.

As soon as he returned to the study, he ordered to write a letter, found a confidant family member, and handed it to him, "Go to Jingxiang Road to the capital and hand it to the eldest son."

Pei Yun has three sons, both of whom are talented and the eldest son is Pei Lun. He is currently the chief of Taifu Temple and stays in the capital. His second son Pei Shuang was sentenced to be punished for participating in Yang Xuangan's rebellion in the ninth year of Daye and was imprisoned for one year. He is now at home, and his third son Pei Yan is following him. Ren Shangnian is in charge.

Pei Yun's idea was that even if he didn't go to Fengzhou, he could ask his son to go on his behalf. He planned to let his eldest grandson Pei Yao and his second son Pei Shuang go to Fengzhou.

The confidant family left, and Pei Yun had just picked up the bowl and wanted to have a meal, and a concierge came to report, "Wang Shichong, the guard of Jiangdu, asked for a meeting, and brought a group of craftsmen."

Pei Yun was surprised in his heart, what did he bring the craftsman to do? He walked out of the mansion and in front of the gate, Wang Shichong was full of youth. He had just returned from the palace and was officially promoted to Henan Dao's ambassador to arrest the ambassador, Zuotun Guard, and Guanglu Doctor. His life reached a turning point.

When he saw Pei Yun coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "I am humble in power, Wang Shichong, please see Pei Prime Minister."

Pei Yun narrowed his eyes and smiled, "General Wang, congratulations."

Wang Shichong said respectfully: "This is all the cultivation of the Prime Minister Pei, and I am so grateful to you."

Wang Shichong is sleek and versatile, which is famous in the court, but his words are indeed comfortable to hear. Pei Yun nodded. When he saw a group of craftsmen, about thirty or forty people standing not far away, he asked strangely: "General Wang, what are these craftsmen doing?"

Wang Shichong smiled flatteringly and said, "I saw that the exterior walls of Pei Xiangguo's mansion were a bit mottled, so I asked these craftsmen to repair them. The weather will be good today and tomorrow, so I can repair them."

Pei Yun then suddenly realized that the house he lived in was an old house. It was a while ago. A winter rain the day before yesterday caused the walls of the exterior wall to fall off large areas, which was quite ugly. Pei Yun complained a few times, but he didn't expect that Wang Shichong would bring craftsmen today. This person's ingenuity is amazing.

Pei Yun remembered something again and said with a smile: "The fish pond in my back house has leaked recently. Can you ask the craftsmen to repair it together?"

Wang Shichong hurriedly bowed and said, "I have heard of it, so today the craftsmen have brought tools to repair the fish pond, but I am worried that I will let the craftsmen enter the mansion and disturb Pei Xiang's family."

"It's okay! I'll ask my family to clean up today. I can start construction tomorrow. I will first repair the fish pond and then repair the exterior wall."

Pei Yun's eyes were filled with a crack. Wang Shichong was so understanding that if he could not be promoted, it would be difficult for heaven to tolerate it.

"Why are you so embarrassed?"

"It is an honor for the job to serve Pei Xiangguo. Others don't have the chance to serve him. If Pei Xiang doesn't give him this opportunity, then the job can only blame the ancestral tomb for not being buried."

This explicit flattery made Pei Yun feel uncomfortable, and this house was also found by Wang Shichong for him. It was the best mansion in Jiangdu. Wang Shichong even offered him two beautiful singers. After these favors accumulated, he knew that it would be a bit unreasonable if he didn't express it.

"Then I'll thank General Wang. I don't know what difficulties General Wang has, I need my help. Just mention it, don't be polite."

Wang Shichong is an extremely realistic person. He is about to go to Henan to suppress bandits, and he is controlled by King Yue. As soon as he leaves, Pei Yun has no meaning to him. He usually gives so many favors to Pei Yun. Now that he is leaving, he has to take back his favors. Today he comes to repair the outer wall, which is actually just a reminder that Pei Yun should pay back his favors.

Wang Shichong said respectfully: "Actually, there is nothing big. Bei Yi wants to share the worries for the emperor as soon as possible. But Bei Yi takes over Zhang Xutuo's army, afraid that it will be difficult to convince the public for a while. Bei Yi wants to bring some of the Jianghuai army over, but the imperial edict did not mention this. Can you ask Pei Xiang to tell the emperor about this?"

Pei Yun understood what Wang Shichong meant. He wanted to bring some confidants over. This was normal. There was no big problem. Pei Yun nodded happily, "Don't worry, General Wang, I'll go to tell the emperor about this in the afternoon."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Pei!"

...........

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Chapter completed!