Zhongli Kuang took out a folding fan that he got from somewhere, slowly opened it, and fanned his chest twice, saying, "Your Highness has now escaped from Luoyang City. No matter what, he has been convicted of treason, so the emperor will immediately send troops to suppress him."
Zheng Rong lay on the bed, sighed and said: "I never thought that I would be a traitor after being loyal to the king all my life... Alas! As the saying goes, things in the world are unpredictable, I just realized it today!"
Zhongli Kuang put away the folding fan in his hand and said, "Your Highness is originally a relative of the Han Dynasty. When the late emperor was choosing the crown prince, he was fond of you. It was because you took the overall situation into consideration and put loyalty and filial piety first that you gave up the throne and came to Youyan, a bitter and cold place, to guard the country. The current emperor is immoral and incompetent, has killed the emperor and his brother, appointed villains, and listened to flatterers. Your Highness's use of troops is just to suppress rebellion for the country. There is no need to mention the word "treason" again."
As the saying goes, "If the name is right, the words will flow; if the name is wrong, the words will not flow." Zhongli Kuang used just a few words to put the righteous cause on his side, which made Qiu Yizhi applaud: "Master is indeed a man of broad knowledge and grace. This speech, with a little polish, will become a well-founded anti-rebellion manifesto. If it is promulgated throughout the country, we will have won half the battle before the battle even began."
Zheng Miao, however, was always cautious and careful. He frowned and said, "It's not that simple. There are ten regions in the world, and we only have Youyan. There are more than one million soldiers in the country, and we only account for one tenth. If we really go to war with the imperial court, how can we say that we can easily win? I think that the Imperial Army Marshal Dai Luanxiang is very difficult to deal with."
Zhongli Kuang shook his folding fan and said with a smile: "What you two said is not wrong, but not entirely correct. For example, as Zheng Miao said, does the court really control the millions of troops in the other nine regions of the world? I don't think so. Now, except for the 300,000 imperial guards, the rest of the military forces are all vulnerable, so there is really no need to worry." He paused and said, "Besides, there is Lingnan King Zheng Gui occupying the south and controlling the military and political power of Lingnan. My Prince Youyan is far superior to him in terms of merit, loyalty, and power, and the court wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. I'm afraid that he has become a frightened bird after seeing this, and he is afraid of becoming the second Prince Youyan. It's good enough that he doesn't take the initiative to raise the banner of rebellion. How can he help the court team us?"
Zheng Miao nodded after hearing this: "Master, I appreciate your instruction."
Zhongli Kuang ignored him and continued to speak: "Yizhi's words are the same. You must know that the current emperor's position is not legitimate, and there must be people inside and outside the court who are dissatisfied, but they are confined to the status of monarch and ministers and keep silent. Once the power of the court declines, all kinds of opposition voices will breed. The current emperor has no appearance of a monarch and no tolerance for others. In order to protect the throne, he will definitely do all kinds of perverse things. At that time, the court and the people will be in panic. If the prince waits for an opportunity to start a rebellion, the whole world will follow him, and the big thing will be settled!"
The three people present were moved to tears by Zhongli Kuang's words.
Zheng Rong, in particular, tried his best to support his upper body and said with a gasp: "When I resigned the throne, it was for the long-term stability of the Han Dynasty. I didn't expect that I would end up like this. Now after listening to your words, I know that this destiny may not be unrelated to me. If you have any good ideas, please teach me!" As he said that, he was about to bow to Zhongli Kuang.
When Zhongli Kuang saw this, he was immediately terrified and hurriedly supported Zheng Rong, saying, "I was originally a down-and-out scholar. Your Majesty has been very kind to me. For more than ten years, I have always listened to your words and followed your advice. How can I hide my selfishness in front of your Majesty?" As he spoke, he helped Zheng Rong lie down again with the help of Zheng Miao and Qiu Yizi.
Zhongli Kuang fanned his folding fan a few times and continued, "The plan now is to resist the first wave of attacks from the court, dampen the enemy's morale, and then advance slowly. Our Youyan Road is adjacent to the sea in the east and the Bohai Sea and the Turks in the north. There are only two directions leading to the heartland of the Central Plains, the south and the west. The Youyan Road in the west is separated from the Guannei Road by a natural moat of the Yellow River, which is extremely inconvenient for both attack and defense. Moreover, it is now the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, and the autumn flood is about to come. After winter, it will be the ice flood. The court will never attack rashly from here. In this way, if the court wants to send a large army to attack, there is only one passage, the Henan Road. The first thing our army needs to stabilize is the southern Henan front."
Zhongli Kuang sat and spoke for a long time. His legs and feet felt numb, so he stood up and paced in the cabin, saying, "Therefore, the first thing to do when we return to Youyan is to ask the prince to rest and recuperate, and strive to recover his vitality as soon as possible, so that..."
Zheng Rong did not expect that the first urgent matter was not military affairs, but his own health. He asked hurriedly, "Sir, what do you mean? Is my illness more important than military affairs?"
Zhong Li Kuang explained: "The prince is the backbone of our Youyan Dao. Please forgive me for being blunt. If anything happens to the prince, not only will our army be without a legitimate reason, but it will also be in chaos before the battle, and it will be a disaster!"
Seeing that Zheng Rong had no objection after careful consideration, he continued, "The second thing is to mobilize all of our 100,000 troops in Youyan, divide them into two routes, north and south, seize several key positions in Henan, and strive to fight with the imperial army in Henan to prevent the war from spreading to Youyan. You must know that our army's rear depth is not as deep as the entire Han court. If the court invades Youyan, we will be in a very passive position."
Qiu Yizhi, who was standing aside, heard this and said, "Yizhi is willing to lead the army south to help my adoptive father!"
Zheng Miao said hurriedly: "I feel the same way."
Zhongli Kuang waved his hand and said, "There is no rush for this matter. We can discuss it calmly after returning to Youyan." He then changed the subject and said, "In addition, we must expand our army as soon as possible. We can select elite troops from the local area and the rebellious people who migrated from Henan to the north, train them strictly, and then form an army of 100,000 to prepare for future advances. I have already calculated that the grain reserves in various places in Youyan are more than 6 million dan. This year is expected to be a bumper harvest. As long as we don't send troops on a long expedition, it will be enough to cover the expenses of an army of 200,000 or 300,000 for several years."
Zhongli Kuang was a little tired from walking, so he sat down again and said, "There is a fourth thing. If Your Majesty wants to accomplish great things, you must stabilize the rear. The so-called rear refers to Korea in the east and the Bohai Turkic countries in the north. Korea is a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. For hundreds of years, the people have not known soldiers and the soldiers have not known war. Your Majesty only needs to send a general to lead three to five thousand soldiers to garrison on the Yalu River and there will be no need to worry. As for the north, you must give more rewards and carefully restrain Dali Khan of Bohai, and then use his troops to resist the Turkic forces. In this way, you can stabilize the situation in the north without wasting a single soldier." Having said this, Zhongli Kuang finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped talking.
Zheng Rong had long been immersed in Zhong Likuang's farsightedness. It took him a while to react. He said with joy, "Sir, you are indeed a man of extraordinary talent. With a helper like you, I am invincible."
After hearing this, Zhongli Kuang bowed and said humbly, "This is all God's will, Your Majesty!"
Zheng Rong was even happier after hearing what Zhongli Kuang said. He even reluctantly stood up from the bed and said to everyone, "If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences. Since God has given me the heavy responsibility of supporting the world, I can no longer refuse, otherwise I will be going against God's will. You all remember, when I return to Youyan, I will give myself the Nine Gifts and change my name to 'Gu'. My three sons will be promoted to the title of king, and Mr. Zhongli will be appointed as the prime minister. Cui Nan and Wei Hu will be appointed as the generals of suppressing rebellion and pacifying difficulties, both of which are of the first rank." He glanced at Qiu Yizhi and said, "As for Yizhi, since ancient times, those of the opposite sex who were appointed as kings have not had a good end. You and I have a relationship like father and son, and I don't want you to suffer misfortune. As long as the mission is completed, whether it is entering the cabinet to be appointed as a prime minister or ascending the altar to be appointed as a general, it is up to you to choose, what do you think?"
When everyone heard that Zheng Rong had made up his mind and had already secured the throne, they all bowed to the ground and thanked him loudly.
More than a dozen warships from Youyan drifted on the surging Yellow River for a whole day and night, and finally arrived at the border of Xingzhou in Youyan Road on the afternoon of the next day.
As soon as everyone got off the boat, they saw the heavily fortified camps and fluttering battle flags on the bank of the Yellow River. Generals Cui Nan and Wei Hu had already been waiting at the dock to greet Zheng Rong. They also said that the eldest son Zheng Xin and the second son Zheng Sen knew that their father had died, and had set out from Guangyang to greet him.
Zheng Rong was weak and dizzy after being rocked on the boat for a day and a night. After talking to Cui Nan and Wei Hu for a few words, he ordered people to carry him down to rest. The governor of Xingzhou was very sensible and had already vacated the government office for Zheng Rong to live in.
Zheng Xin and Zheng Sen came to Xingzhou to see their father that night. Although Zheng Rong was still weak, he thought that now was the time to use people, especially his sons, who were all outstanding people and could not be separated from them, so he barely supported his body and encouraged them. Afterwards, he called Zheng Miao, Qiu Yizhi, Zhongli Kuang, Cui Nan, Wei Hu and others to have dinner together before going back to rest.
In the following days, Zheng Rong rested and recuperated in the Xingzhou government office, but the military deployment was carried out in an orderly manner.
First, generals Cui Nan and Wei Hu led an army from Dezhou and occupied Dengzhou, Henan; Zheng Sen and Zheng Miao led an army from Bozhou and occupied Bianzhou, Henan; Zhang Longti was appointed General Zhendong and led an army of 3,000 to garrison on the Yalu River to suppress North Korea; Zheng Xin returned to Guangyang first to preside over the mobilization of troops and the supply of food and grass; Zhongli Kuang and Qiu Yizi accompanied Zheng Rong to assist him in military affairs.
Zheng Rong rested in Xingzhou for more than ten days. Only when he saw the autumn flood coming and the water level of the Yellow River rose sharply, making it impossible to cross the river, did he feel at ease and rush back to Guangyang.
Zheng Rong had practiced martial arts since he was young, and had led troops in battles for more than ten years. He was already in good health, and after more than ten days of rest, he had recovered 70% to 80%. Therefore, he specially selected a tall and fine horse, ordered people to set up a full set of ceremonial guards, and added the "Nine Gifts" ritual vessels that could only be used by the emperor. He traveled through Xingzhou and Dingzhou in style and returned to Guangyang.
Although Zheng Rong walked leisurely along the way, intelligence from the front line in Henan was continuously transmitted to his ears by express horses with a speed of 800 miles. It turned out that the Youyan army was very fast, and with the experience of going south to quell the Tianzun Rebellion at the beginning of the year, they were very familiar with the terrain of Bianzhou and Dengzhou in Henan. They occupied these two prefectures without any effort, and then posted notices to pacify the people and set up a defense line.
The imperial court, however, remained unhurried. First, it dismissed and imprisoned the Minister of the Central Secretariat Cao Kang and the Minister of War Fu Kui, who had some friendship with Zheng Rong. Then, it recruited a group of new officials to fill the vacancies.
Former General Dai Luanxiang was originally a subordinate of Zheng Rong. This time, he was accused by the military supervisor eunuch of a serious crime of letting the enemy escape. He was originally going to be imprisoned pending trial. However, the court had no one to use, so they simply did a favor and the emperor personally issued an order to confer the first-rank military title of General of Cavalry, and led 150,000 imperial troops to set out from Henan to the north to quell the rebellion. However, the emperor and the court were still worried, and still sent the fat eunuch to Dai Luanxiang to monitor his every move.
Within a few months, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were deployed in Henan, and it seemed that a war was imminent. (To be continued)