The author said: Without further ado (what did you say?) I will update it immediately!
————————————————————
After all, Yiran and Yelu were foreigners, and it would be inconvenient for them to stay in Henan for a long time, so they crossed the floating bridge and returned to Youyan Road that night. Qiu Yizhi personally sent them across the river without saying another word.
Walking back to his tent, Qiu Yizi couldn't fall asleep anymore, tossing and turning all night. The next morning, he was just feeling sleepy, but a soldier came in to report: The first and second princes' troops had already reached the Hutuo River.
Yizi did not dare to be negligent. He cheered himself up, changed his clothes and washed up, then went out to greet him.
The vanguard was none other than the third prince Zheng Sen, who, under the order of Zheng Xin, led 5,000 cavalrymen to investigate so that they could retreat calmly. Zheng Sen was half of the Hu people, and he was big and strong, with a straightforward and rough personality. He had some prejudice against Qiu Yizhi, but after the battle of Yuhuangding, he had great admiration for his brother. Therefore, when he saw Yizhi coming out of the tent from a distance, he did not show any arrogance and dismounted and walked over.
The two brothers had only been separated for a few days. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qiu Yizi took Zheng Sen to the river to check the floating bridge.
The water level of the Hutuo River had risen quite high, and the current had become very turbulent, making several floating bridges twist and turn. The wooden boards kept making "squeaky" sounds when they collided and rubbed against each other. Qiu Yizhi pointed at the river and said, "The rape flower flood of the Hutuo River has not been delayed for a single day this year. It has already started to rain upstream. If the rain gets heavier in a few days, the floating bridges will not be able to hold up. If we want to cross the river, we may have to go hundreds of miles upstream."
Zheng Sen saw that the water level was exactly the same as Qiu Yizi had described, and it seemed to have risen a few inches while he was talking. He quickly called his confidant and asked him to inform his eldest brother as soon as possible and ask him to come as soon as possible and cross the river as soon as possible.
Zheng Xin received the report and knew that the situation was urgent, so he ordered the army to travel day and night, and finally arrived at the Hutuo River within a day and a night. Fortunately, the western army led by Zheng Xin was different from the eastern army. There were only a few thousand prisoners in the army, and dozens of Tianzun Sect backbones were also blindfolded and imprisoned in prison cars. The rest were elite soldiers from Youyan Road.
So more than 20,000 people followed orders and acted vigorously. In just half a day, they trotted across the floating bridge and entered the territory of Youyan Road. However, the northern army was not used to water battles, and several soldiers were unstable on the shaking wooden boards, slipped and fell into the water, and were immediately rescued by several companions who were good at swimming, which was considered an episode.
Since Zheng Rong took charge of the Youyan army, there has always been a tradition of the commander personally going to the front line to command the battle, and every time there is a retreat, the commander is the last one to leave. Therefore, after seeing that the entire army had retreated to Youyan, the three brothers Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Qiu Yizhi calmly gathered up their elite soldiers, looked back at the Central Plains behind them, and returned to their homeland.
After crossing the Hutuo River, they arrived at the territory of Bozhou on Youyan Road. Everyone thought that since Bozhou was close to Henan, there must be camps of surrendered soldiers everywhere, but after counting again and again, they only saw seven or eight large camps, which only took in 40,000 to 50,000 refugees.
After asking around, I learned that once the more than 100,000 Henan surrendered soldiers entered Youyan, they were sent to various states by special personnel, guarded by local officials and soldiers, and after careful screening, they were gradually sent to the northern border to open up land. This treatment was coordinated by Zhongli Kuang, and the general order of the Youyan Palace was used. Therefore, no military and political officials in various states dared to be perfunctory and negligent. Within a few days, most of the more than 100,000 surrendered soldiers had been evacuated, and even the 40,000 to 50,000 refugees temporarily stranded in Bozhou would soon go north.
After hearing this, the three brothers looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh that Master Zhongli was a great talent. He had accomplished such a big thing without making a fuss. No wonder their father always listened to him.
As they were talking, a man came riding over from a distance. It was Zhang Long, an acquaintance. Zhang Long was the leader of the guards trusted by the Prince of Youyan. Military intelligence from all over the country was delivered to Zheng Rong through him. He was an extremely important figure in the palace. Although he held an important position, he was very prudent. He got off his horse early and led the horse towards the three princes.
Zheng Sen was sharp-eyed and saw at a glance that Zhang Long was already wearing the rank of a captain, so he smiled and said, "Old Zhang, I haven't seen you for two months and you're already a captain. If you get promoted two levels, you'll be a lieutenant general, and you can call me 'General Zhang'!"
Zhang Long heard this and said modestly, "No, no. It was thanks to the victories won by the princes, generals Cui and Wei that the prince was very pleased. As for me, I was just busy with military affairs these days. The prince saw that I was busy and had worked hard, so he promoted me. I am really ashamed..."
Zheng Sen laughed loudly and said, "Come on, stop talking nonsense. Everyone knows that the closer the father is to someone, the stricter his requirements are. If someone with the same qualifications and achievements as you were sent out to manage the army and horses, at the very least he would be a general. I don't believe you wouldn't be suspicious!"
Zheng Sen's words touched the heart of Zheng Xin who was standing aside. The King of Youyan established a government office and could appoint military assistants of the rank of Lieutenant General and below by himself. The four generals of the four towns and four expeditions only needed to inform the Ministry of War, and there had never been any objection. But Youyan had an army of 100,000. In addition to the King of Youyan who was in charge of the overall situation, there were only two generals, Cui Nan, who was in charge of the Northern Expedition, and Wei Hu, who were in charge of the Eastern Expedition. All of his sons had outstanding military exploits and political achievements. If they were in other places, they would have been promoted to higher positions. But under their father, King Zheng Rong, they did not even have an official position, let alone a title. Zheng Xin, as the eldest son, was very puzzled that his father would go to such an extent to promote virtuous people and avoid relatives. However, he said in a high-sounding manner: "Of course, my father has his own reasons. How can we understand them? My second brother is talking nonsense here. Have you forgotten the loyalty and filial piety of the saints?"
Zheng Sen had always respected his elder brother second only to his father. When he heard what he said, he immediately lost his spirit and shrank aside with a red face.
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become awkward, Zhang Long smacked his lips and said, "The prince is now in the government office of Bozhou Prefecture. He sent me to invite you princes to come in to discuss matters. Now that you have understood, I will go back to report." After saying that, he did not dare to stay for a moment. He turned around, mounted his horse and rode away in a flash.
Qiu Yizhi had always known that Zheng Xin was a modest gentleman in both Guangyang City and Youyan Palace. She had never seen him scold others like this, let alone teach his own brother a lesson, so she stepped forward to smooth things over and said, "Since our foster father has given the order, we cannot delay. Please take my two brothers to see him!"
After hearing this, Zheng Xin looked at his resourceful brother with a very complicated look, and finally nodded. Without saying a word, he mounted his horse and went to Bozhou Prefecture.
It turned out that King Youyan Zheng Rong was inside the government office of Bozhou.
A large banner with seven five-clawed golden dragons embroidered with silk thread was raised on the flagpole in front of the government office. On it were written a row of large characters: "Zheng, the General of the Army and Horses of the King of Youyan of Han Dynasty". No one else in the world dared to use this banner except Zheng Rong. He was truly "second to none and above ten thousand people".
The three brothers Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Yi Zhi knew that the flag was raised for official business, so they dared not walk under it and dismounted early. The guards of the Bozhou government office had been taken over by the Youyan Palace. Among the officers and soldiers patrolling around, there were those who knew the three princes and hurried forward to take the reins and lead them to the stable to feed them.
The three brothers straightened their clothes and respectfully announced their names outside the door. Then they entered the government office one by one in order of seniority.
The government office was indeed heavily guarded, with a sentry every three steps and a sentry every five steps. Most of the soldiers knew the princes, and no one dared to joke at this time. They just exchanged glances as a greeting.
The three of them finally reached the main entrance of the Bozhou government office, and just then they saw Yiran running out of the office quickly, as if he had just spoken to King Youyan.
Yiran was very familiar with them, and there were not so many rules in the palace. She said casually: "The prince is waiting for you to go in to discuss matters! Zheng Miao and two generals are also in there, why don't you go quickly!" After that, she made a face at Qiu Yizi who was walking at the end.
The night before yesterday, Yiran talked to Qiu Yizi, which made Qiu Yizi very uneasy. When he saw Yiran today, he wanted to talk, but he didn't know what to say, and he didn't even have the courage to look at her. He stole a glance at her and she seemed fine, as lively as usual. He even doubted whether he really talked to Yiran that night, or it was just an illusion. But it was not easy to stop Yiran and ask her in detail, so he had to calm down and follow his two brothers into the hall to see his father.
There was a plaque with the words "A Bright Mirror Hanging High" hung high on the beam in the lobby. Below the plaque was a large desk. Behind the desk was a painting of "Sea and Rising Sun" in extremely bright colors. On both sides, wooden signs such as "Silence" and "Avoid" were lined up - this was exactly the arrangement that a Han government office should have.
Youyan King Zheng Rong has the air of a royal noble, a son of a dragon and a grandson of a phoenix, and is naturally awe-inspiring. How can this mere government office be confined? Today, he wore a crimson purple dragon robe, a bo crown on his head, and a jade belt around his waist. He was dressed like a prince, and he looked out of place sitting in the lobby of this state government office.
The three brothers also felt strange and awkward when they saw this, but they did not dare to be presumptuous. They knelt down together and kowtowed three times on the blue brick floor. Then they knelt straight and said in a loud voice: "I am an unfilial child. I pay my respects to my father here!"
Zheng Rong seemed to be in a very good mood. He smiled and raised his hand to let the three people stand up and take seats. He also asked someone to go to the back hall to summon counselor Zhongli Kuang, general Cui Nan, Wei Hu and his third son Zheng Miao to come to the hall to discuss matters.
Soon, several people came to the hall and kowtowed without saying anything. The three brothers who had just sat in the hall for a while could no longer sit still, so they stood up and stood aside with their hands hanging down. Zheng Rong sat in the middle and also smiled and asked everyone to stand up and sit down. After all this trouble, everyone finally sat down, but a layer of greasy and smelly sweat had already seeped out of their foreheads.
At this time, Youyan King Zheng Rongcai said: "Everyone present here is my capable adviser, trusted general, or my son, the closest person to me. I have always disdained these red tapes, you all know that. However, the sages established etiquette and laws, which have their own uses. I am practicing them today, and I have my own intentions."
Except for Zhongli Kuang who nodded slightly, everyone else in the hall looked confused and could only pretend to be in deep thought with a blank expression while listening to King Youyan continue to speak. (To be continued)