Yecheng.
The cold wind blew through the city, and the fallen leaves rose with the wind, fluttering back and forth on the empty streets.
The walls on both sides were dirty and dark, and the road was full of potholes. Occasionally, knights galloped past, splashing muddy water on the ground, and trampling fallen leaves to pieces.
A donkey cart ricketyly appeared on the street.
A scribe was sitting in the car, wearing simple clothes. He was staring at the situation on both sides and shaking his head frequently.
At the corner, I saw several children rushing out. Their hair was disheveled and their clothes were torn. The leader was holding a chicken in his arms. The donkey cart hurriedly stopped. The children scattered around the donkey cart and rushed towards it.
The alley in the distance.
Soon, several strong slaves armed with sticks were seen rushing out.
They chased after them, cursing, and when they saw the donkey cart, they were stunned for a moment, then looked at the scribe in the donkey cart, slowed down slightly, bypassed the donkey cart, and continued to chase.
The scribe frowned slightly, and the old slave driving the cart slowly said: "It turns out there are still living people in Ye City."
"There's no one alive now. Let's catch the train, don't waste time."
The donkey cart continued to move forward.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the donkey cart finally arrived in front of a mansion.
The mansion is not big, but there are fully armed soldiers standing at the door, which makes people dare not approach easily.
The scribe was not afraid. He got out of the car, patted his clothes, and walked forward quickly.
"May I ask if this is the residence of General Wei?"
The soldier was stunned for a moment, "It's the Governor's Mansion. Well, General Wei also lives here."
"Excuse me, please tell me that a desperate old friend has come to seek refuge with General Wei. Please fulfill his original promise."
The soldier turned and walked into the house.
Shi Yao stood at the door and waited for a moment.
A scribe opened the door, and Shi Yao looked at the person in front of him.
This man was quite young, dressed unusually, and had a goatee. His appearance was nothing out of the ordinary, but his eyes were squinted, giving off a malicious feeling at first glance.
"Is it Governor Shi?"
"I am Zu Jue, the military advisor of General Wei's residence is offering wine to you."
Shi Yao suddenly realized, "It turns out to be my grandfather. Yao pays homage to my grandfather."
"Come with me, the Lord is waiting for you!"
Zu Jue pulled Shi Yao into the mansion. Zu Jue looked at the scribe Shi Yao, the prefect of Liyang, beside him.
I heard that when my lord was an official in Liyang, he was very close to this man, and the two of them did many things.
This man has a stubborn personality and is the kind of scholar-bureaucrat who is difficult to deal with.
Anyway, he and Zu Jue are definitely not the same person.
Zu Jue didn't care and led Shi Yao to the inner room with a smile.
"My lord, I have been welcoming many guests these days."
"Every day, many people come to pay homage. They are all high-ranking officials and powerful generals. They all hope to follow the lord to the frontier and make meritorious deeds."
Shi Yao said oh.
When the two of them walked into the inner room, there were indeed three guests sitting next to Liu Taozi.
These three people have extraordinary temperaments.
The person sitting closest to Liu Taozi is an old man.
He has gray hair, a thick beard, and sharp eyes.
The old man's dress and demeanor were not inferior to Liu Taozi's at all. Sitting there, it was really hard to look down upon.
The person sitting on the other side was much younger than the old man, and he was as high-spirited as a sharp knife being unsheathed.
The one sitting at the end was a child. He looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, but his hair was tied up and he looked high-spirited.
Liu Taozi looked at Shi Yao and nodded lightly.
Shi Yao hurriedly took a step back, saluted Liu Taozi, and signaled him to continue receiving these people, and then took Zu Jue's hand, "Grandpa, I don't have anything urgent to do. Let the master finish his work first."
Let’s do it.”
Zu Jue nodded with a smile, looked at Liu Taozi again, and with his consent, took Shi Yao to rest first.
"Grandpa, I see that the three people just now have extraordinary demeanor. I wonder who they are?"
Zu Jue gently stroked his beard and said, "That older man is a chariot-riding general."
"Ah? So it's him?"
Shi Yao was shocked, he was revealed to be a famous general of the older generation, with extremely high qualifications, even higher than Duan Shao. He had experienced hundreds of battles, and was famous. He belonged to the top group.
Shi Yao sighed with emotion: "Does even the general of chariots and cavalry want to come to pay homage to the lord??"
When it comes to military positions, Bao Xian should sit at the top and Liu Taozi should sit next to him.
Zu Jue stroked his beard and said, "You don't know something about this. General Bao is a Han and has very senior qualifications, but in these years, he has never been able to enter the center. After all, there is no mother named Lou, so he can only be found here and there.
Spin."
"He successively served as the governor of Northern Xuzhou, the governor of Guangzhou, the governor of Yingzhou, the governor of Zhengzhou, the governor of Zhaozhou, the governor of Luozhou, the governor of Shuozhou, and the governor of Hengzhou. Whenever a general was needed, he was allowed to go wherever he went. He was never regarded as a governor.
To be one's own man, to lead a chariot-riding general to lead the governor of Zhaozhou makes people laugh even just talking about it!"
"Now, the temple is planning to send him to the south as governor. General Bao doesn't want to go. He wants to go to the north. He grew up in the north and is not used to the south."
"Therefore, he came specifically to see the general, hoping to get the governor's position in the North."
Shi Yao shook his head. He understood this feeling of being rejected very well. He sighed and asked: "How pitiful the old general is. What did the lord say?"
"My lord is going to hand over several Yanzhous to him and let him recruit Han troops there."
Zu Jue's eyes flashed, "This general is a treasure to us."
Shi Yao couldn't help but laugh, and asked again: "Then who is the middle-aged man next to the cavalry general?"
"Pi Jinghe, the former governor of Liangzhou, is also a capable general. He is not very old, but he is also the founding minister of the country."
"The youngest one is Qinghe King Gaomai. Although he is young, he still has the ambition to make contributions to the frontier."
Only then did Shi Yao believe Zu Jue's previous words. There were quite a few people who came to see Liu Taozi now. I remember that when Emperor Xiaozhao was the prime minister, there were always guests in his house, and there were so many people. And now His Majesty
Before he ascended the throne, the situation was the same. Even before King Ping Qin rebelled, many guests came to visit him.
Now it's General Wei's turn.
The two of them continued to talk here, and on the other side, Liu Taozi had almost finished talking to these people.
Sitting aside with a serious expression, his eyes were filled with surprise.
"Beiyan, Dongyan, and Yanzhou will all be handed over to me?"
"These three states face the Turks directly and are often harassed by the Turks. There are also the Xi people. They were beaten before, but now they have begun to collude with the Turks, lead the way for the Turks, and actively move closer."
"There are not many people in the three states. I originally trained a Han army of 20,000 people in Beishuo Beiheng."
"They made many meritorious deeds in this battle. In terms of combat prowess, they are not inferior to the frontier soldiers. Their military discipline is even stricter. When fighting Yang Zhong and others, most of them were killed or injured, but they can still fight again and fight to the death."
"If the general is willing, I would like to ask the general to train another 20,000 Han army for me in Sanyan."
Bao looked a little moved, but he hurriedly said with a straight face: "General Wei, training the army is not difficult, the difficult thing is how to feed them."
"If you want to form an elite force, you cannot let them farm. As a result, many local farmers will be missing, and the frontier fortress is not rich. In previous wars, we cannot cause food shortages in the local area just to expand the number of troops."
Liu Taozi nodded, "What the general said is true. I have made preparations. There is no shortage of cultivated land in the frontier states, especially Yan'an and other areas. It is enough for the local people. I have already been raising food, and various places have also
We have started to distribute the land. Moreover, we are very close to the enemy. I will send people to get some baggage back from time to time. It is also regarded as training the troops. As long as we can last for a year, food will not be such a big problem."
Bao Xian immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "If the temple allows it."
"I will write to King Pengcheng."
"good."
Pi Jinghe watched them talk calmly. Pi Jinghe was a relatively peaceful person, with the physique of a military general and the character of a civil servant.
This does not mean that he is not good at fighting, he is also a fierce man who dares to lead more than a hundred people to charge into the battle and kill generals.
He is different from Baoxian, who wants to stay in the north.
And he wanted to leave Yecheng.
Pi Jinghe was a member of Xiaozhao's party and an old minister of Emperor Xiaozhao.
After Gao Zhan came to power, he was sent to the local government to serve as governor.
This time the enemy came to attack Jinyang, and he was ordered to come to the rescue. Halfway through, the enemy left, his army went back, and he was called to the temple.
Gao Rui has looked for him, Gao Yun has looked for him, and even people named Hu and Lou have looked for him.
Pi Jinghe really didn't want to get involved in these things anymore.
He continued walking up without asking for anything, left the temple, and went to the border fortress to find a place where he could continue to be a general and fight with the enemy. If he couldn't be a general, it would be okay to become a prefect. He accepted it.
Liu Taozi reached an agreement with Bao Xian, and then contacted Pi Jinghe.
King Qinghe was eager to try.
Gao Mai was still very young, but he had always had great ambitions, wanting to help the country and pacify the world.
He believed that the only person who could accomplish this task at the moment was General Wei Liu Taozi.
After the first two people finished speaking, he bowed to Liu Taozi. Facing this prince, Liu Taozi was really a little stunned.
There have been many people looking for him these days, including Xianbei people, Han people, fierce generals, big families, good people and bad people, but this is the first time that a young boy has come to pay homage to him.
Judging from his age, he is younger than Gao Yanzong, just a half-grown baby.
However, he was holding a trump card and came as the king of the clan, so Zu Jue could not block him at the door.
This boy is the son of Gao Yue, King of Qinghe. Gao Yue is Gao Huan's cousin and is very good at fighting. As for his moral character, well, let's not mention this. In short, he was killed by Emperor Wenxuan. Although Emperor Wenxuan killed Gao Yue, he was not interested in Gao Yue.
Ma was very fond of this guy and thought he would be a promising person, so he gave him an official position at a young age, when he was just over ten years old.
Most of the ministers and generals of Da Qi started working as child laborers. Many of the civil and military officials were young. Those like Lou Rui, who was thirty years old, looked old-fashioned.
"General Wei!! Please take me with you! I am willing to follow the general, even if it means leading a horse and holding a spear, I am also happy!!"
Before Liu Taozi spoke, Baoxian beside him started laughing.
"At such a young age, King Qinghe, can he carry a horse?"
Gao Mai said seriously: "I heard that the old general went into battle to kill the enemy when he was my age. If the old general can carry it, why can't I?"
Bao Xian glanced at Liu Taozi and asked in confusion: "King Qinghe is a member of the royal family, and he is considered important in the temple. In the future, he may be able to serve as a servant and accompany the emperor. Why go to the frontier to endure hardships?"
Gao Mai didn't look like a little kid at all. He said seriously: "In Ye City, traitors are running rampant and killing indiscriminately. There is no law and order. Neither King Pengcheng nor King Zhao can rule it."
"Only after the arrival of General Wei, the city suddenly calmed down, traitors did not dare to go out easily, and evil people did not dare to run rampant."
"I am willing to follow General Wei and learn how to deal with these traitors, so as to govern the world well and help the country."
Looking at the other party's extremely serious face, Bao Xian was silent for a moment. He looked at Liu Taozi and said, "General Wei, why don't you let him take a position under your command."
The three of them left here. All three of them had achieved their goals and were in a good mood.
Liu Taozi stood up and walked to the other courtyard.
Shi Yao was still discussing the guests with Zu Jue when Liu Taozi suddenly walked in and interrupted their conversation.
"General!"
When Shi Yaoxing bowed to see him, Liu Taozi came to him and looked him up and down.
"Long time no see, Mr. Shi, are you okay?"
"It's okay. Long time no see. The general is getting stronger and more powerful!"
A few people sat down here.
"I thanked the prefect for taking care of my old friend Cheng'an before, but I still haven't thanked him."
"I don't dare. Doing things for the general is a matter of course."
Shi Yao said, and suddenly said with emotion: "General, now I have no choice but to come to you."
Liu Taozi frowned, "I heard that you are doing very well in Liyang and the local government is in great trouble. Why do you say you are desperate?"
"Useless, everything is useless."
Shi Yao raised his head and said with some sadness: "Even if Magistrate Lu has brought great peace and order, there will still be traitors rushing into the city and killing wantonly."
"Also if I govern Liyang, if the temple sends a new governor and leads the knights, my two years of hard work will be wasted."
"What else can I do?"
Shi Yao shook his head, "I don't want to watch them do harm to the place anymore, and I don't want to hide in the house and not come out."
"I want to follow the general to the frontier and contribute to the general. I just hope that one day I can kill these traitors who are harming various places."
Shi Yao actually had a lot to say, but when he really saw Liu Taozi, he didn't really want to complain.
He recalled the place he had governed for a long time, and he just shook his head at this moment.
Without an earth-shaking change, no matter how you try to treat it, it will be useless.
Zu Jue still had a smile on his face.
In the current Daqi, except for the clan and some nobles, it can be said that the rest of the people have completely lost their hearts.
Yang Min's death began to make the Han people and officials become disloyal and unwilling to be loyal ministers who died for the sake of the state. During these days of struggle, the Han ministers in the court mainly stayed on the fence and watched.
They do not support any party, nor do they participate in any fights. They will support whoever wins.
Even if someone like He Shikai appeared, none of the Han ministers would impeach him. If this had been done before Yang Min, the impeachment documents would probably be piled up in the temple.
Not only did he not object, he even actively moved closer to him. He didn't care about someone with a great reputation like Wei Shou. He would serve whoever was in the upper position.
Zu Jue suddenly remembered what happened when Gao Rui came that day.
Gao Rui and other clan members are still fighting for state affairs, which can be regarded as the last line of defense. But Gao Rui probably knows in his heart that the temple that has alienated everyone and has lost its prestige as a temple will most likely be difficult to save.
.
The Lord stayed in Yecheng for a few days, and nearly a hundred people came to visit him.
Da Qi has lost people’s hearts.
Liu Taozi's face became more solemn after listening to Shi Yao's words.
He was not happy because Shi Yao came to join him.
"Okay, come with me to the frontier fortress."
Liu Taozi spoke, and he slowly looked in the direction leading to Liyang.
"Don't worry, it won't be long."
Shi Yao seemed to know what he was talking about and nodded heavily.
"Thank you, lord!"
The Liu Mansion became busy again. Liu Taozi was eager to leave Yecheng and return to Wuchuan. When he came, he came with hundreds of knights, but when he was leaving, he came with a mighty army.
big team.
The ministers who had been dismissed from their posts in the court were busy preparing to follow Liu Taozi to the frontier fortress.
Of course, there are also those generals who decided to 'defect' him.
In the name of Liu Taozi, Zu Jue wrote letters to the ministers who had performed in the past, hoping that they could go to the frontier fortress.
It would be unrealistic to transfer these people through the temple, and Gao Wei would not agree.
Before leaving, Zu Jue calculated that there were more than 20 civil servants who followed Liu Taozi, including Wei Shou, a minister who was a former Grand Tutor, and a minister of the Third Duke level, and Yuan Yuxiu, Lu Sidao, who was a former Santai Shangshu.
Among the ministers, there are also hard-working officials such as Shi Yao, Yuan Xiubo, and Tang Yong. Not all of them are traitors with faults. Some of them really want to do great things with Liu Taozi, and some simply hate the fighting in the temple.
The military generals are even more extraordinary. One of them can defeat all the civil servants. Plus there are other Han generals, big and small, there are more than ten of them.
Zu Jue was responsible for representing them one by one. Liu Taozi, the governor of the six states, had considerable real power. He had his own right to recommend officials and generals in each state, and Gao Jun was not likely to oppose the candidates he recommended.
As long as we can restore stability there as soon as possible.
In addition to those who followed Liu Taozi and left openly, there were actually many people who were resigning because they wanted to go to the frontier secretly.
Zu Jue was very satisfied with the result.
My lord, this trip was not in vain.
Almost all the best things in Yecheng were taken away by the lord.
Just when Liu Taozi was preparing to leave the city and return to his homeland for a big fight, Liu Taozhi hurried back to the mansion.
His face was extremely ugly. As soon as he came back, he asked Liu Taozi to come alone to discuss important matters with him.
In the inner room, a family of three sat together. Liu Taozi failed to sit in the upper seat, but Liu Taozhi moved one step ahead.
Liu Taozhi frowned, "Just now, the prince summoned me."
"The prince rewarded me a lot and ordered me to control the imperial army as soon as possible."
Zhang Caiyu was not surprised at all. She asked: "Is it one of the wet nurses beside the prince?"
"good."
"I think she is an extremely ambitious person. She instigated the prince and seemed to want to take action against the queen."
Chapter completed!