In the Fanyang Governor's Mansion, Li Keju received the news that Zhu Li had defeated the enemy, and hurried out to greet him.
Seeing his former superior from afar, Zhu Li hurriedly took a few quick steps, put his hands in front of his chest, and said humbly, "Mr. Li, I am sorry for being late and frightening you."
"Haha, young man, you are so thoughtful. I am very pleased. Don't be so formal." Li Keju hurried forward, helped Zhu Li up with both hands, and said happily.
Zhu Li's current achievements are inseparable from Li Keju's initial support, but the main reason is not his keen eye for talent and careful training, which everyone knows.
Li Keju simply accepted the advice of the Yuchi siblings and made use of Zhu Li at the right time, but the benefits brought about were immeasurable. Thinking of this, Li Keju could not help but admire the vision of the Yuchi siblings.
As the saying goes, people’s hearts are hidden in their stomachs. Who can tell loyalty from treachery at a glance
What's more, this is an era where the king is not a king, the minister is not a minister, the father is not a father, the son is not a son, people's hearts are not as they used to be, and violations of ethics and righteousness are rampant and not uncommon. It is no wonder that he was so hesitant at the beginning.
The group entered the front hall happily. As for the guards and soldiers of the Xiongwu Army who followed Zhu Li into the city, there were people to entertain them, so there was no need to worry.
"Young Master Zhu Li, weren't you guarding Juyong Pass? Why did you suddenly come to Fan Yang?" Li Keju asked curiously as soon as everyone sat down.
Li Keju had certainly heard of the bloody battle of Juyongguan.
But the incident of Zhu Li breaking into the Di camp at night and attacking Qingliang Valley with arrows happened recently, and he didn't know that Fan Yang was under siege, so he asked this question.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li immediately bowed and said, "Thanks to Lord Li, not long ago, I designed Qingliang Valley and made a big profit for the enemy. Yelu Sala, Murong Ba, and Bala all surrendered. In one battle, we beheaded more than 40,000 people. There are not many Di people outside the pass. Now it is enough to have General Pengju stationed there."
"The Xi commander Xia La Ge entered the pass and conspired with Li Quanzhong and his son to capture Fan Yang. I was caught off guard and felt deeply uneasy. I was worried about the safety of Lord Li and Madam Yuchi, so I rode here to help." Zhu Li said sincerely and apologetically.
In front of his own people, he was very direct. He would say directly what he was thinking about, which made Yuchi Xin, who was accompanying him, very jealous.
In addition, he was in a good mood after hearing that Zhu Li had defeated the Di people again. He pretended to be unhappy and said, "Hey, it seems that in the eyes of Brother Zhu Li, the safety of my elder brother is not important, right?"
"Hahaha, you monkey, you are jealous too." Li Keju was excited when he heard this. He laughed heartily and cursed Yuchi Xin. Then he said, "Zhu Li was able to defeat the Di people again in Qingliang Valley and then used fire bulls to attack Li Quanzhong's three battalions at night. I don't know how much pressure this has relieved you."
This uncle and nephew with different surnames get along very well and are as close as father and son. That heartwarming scene is something outsiders cannot envy. Zhu Li scratched his head with a silly smile, but in his heart he sincerely wished the two of them well.
"Oh, right." Li Keju's laughter had just stopped. He immediately looked at Zhu Li with a serious face and asked, "Zhu Li, young man, attacked the bandit Li at night. I wonder how the battle turned out?"
"Don't worry, Lord Li. Although I don't know how much damage Li Quanzhong and Li Kuangwei suffered, I can guess that the loss must be heavy."
"Not counting the number of bandits killed by the mad bulls, the night attack by the mad bulls alone caused chaos and mutual hatred.
If it were to happen, I don’t know how many people would die.” Zhu Li replied confidently.
"As for the Xi people, they have been annihilated. I have captured more than 10,000 prisoners, seized tens of thousands of horses, and rescued quite a few Han prisoners."
"Unfortunately, although I have repeatedly warned my subordinates to be careful, many of the captured Han people were accidentally injured in the dark night, and some even died tragically." Zhu Li felt sad again when he said this, after all, those people were innocent.
They were first attacked by the Xi people, their relatives died tragically, and they themselves were taken prisoner. During the night attack by the fire bulls, even though Zhu Li ordered his men to take care of them, when the oxen went crazy, they would not recognize their relatives, so naturally there were people who died tragically under the horns and hooves of the bulls.
Seeing Zhu Li's expression, Li Keju hurriedly comforted him, "It can't be helped. In this age of war, it's not easy to even live an honest life. Don't take it personally, young man. Wait for me to find out where they are. If they still have relatives alive, I will definitely provide them with generous compensation."
Li Keju's words cheered Zhu Li up, but the guilt in her heart could not be healed in a short time.
Seeing this, Yuchi Xin quickly changed the subject and said, "After this battle, I'm afraid Li Quanzhong will not be able to pose a threat to us before the New Year. The enemy originally had 120,000 troops, and Zhu Li's night attack caused the loss of 40,000 to 50,000 of them."
"With their current 70,000 to 80,000 troops, it would be a pipe dream for them to capture Fanyang, which has three or four defenders, before the New Year."
"That's right." Li Keju nodded in agreement. "What we need to worry about is that after the New Year, Li Quanzhong will fail to capture Fanyang and will definitely retreat to Jizhou. It is really hard to guess what tricks he will come up with next year."
At this point, Li Keju frowned and his face darkened. He had no goodwill towards Li Quanzhong. Ever since he took the position of Jiedushi of Lulong, this guy had never had a peaceful life. How could he not hate Li Quanzhong
Li Keju said this, and Yuchi Xin also became worried: "Mr. Li, Li Quanzhong and his son are ambitious. Not only are they colluding with Bohai Sumo, they also have an ambiguous relationship with Wang Chucun of Yiwu Army."
"If Su Mo and the Yiwu Army support him together, Fanyang will be in danger."
Hearing this, Li Keju's expression became even more gloomy, but he tried to comfort Yuchi Xin, saying, "Don't worry, young man. I know Wang Chucun well. He was born in a wealthy family and was blessed by his father and grandfather. He became the governor of Yiwu Army."
"This man grew up in a favorable environment. He is good at making plans without decision and is ambitious. Even if he attacks, there is no need to worry. In addition, he is loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Some time ago, when Huang Chao broke through Chang'an, if Li had not ordered Li Quanzhong to attack Cangzhou, he would have gone south to suppress the bandits."
"Such a person would not attack other vassal states without reason. If he wants to attack Youzhou, he must first take Dingzhou. In name, that is the place under his control."
"Unfortunately, there are several states between Dingzhou and Cangzhou, and there is also the Zhongwu Army in between. After Wang Jingchong died, his son Wang Jicheng became the governor of Chengde. Although this boy is young, he is extremely smart and will definitely not ask Wang Chucun to pass through."
"Between Cangzhou and Dingzhou, there are two states, Mozhou and Yingzhou, both of which are now under the king's jurisdiction. Once Wang Chucun obtains Dingzhou, how can he be willing to let the areas under his control be disconnected? He will definitely plot to take over Mozhou and Yingzhou.
"The two states, those two states, have always been the territory of the Yiwu Army. For Wang Chucun, it is obviously a thankless task for the king."
Zhu Li and Yuchi Xin nodded repeatedly when they heard this. History had taught countless future generations a vivid lesson. Everyone knew the origin of the siege of Guo by pretending to be someone else. Naturally, the king would not be so stupid.
"So what do you think, Lord Li, will Su Mo lead his troops south?" Since Li Keju is so sure that Wang Chucun will not go north to support Li Quanzhong, then what they need to worry about now is their clan.
The tribe occupied Bohai Sea and had a total of seven tribes: Sulu, Baishan, Boduo, Anchegu, Funie, Haoshi and Heishui.
Don't underestimate this race. In the early days, they were called the Wuji. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Wuji wiped out the Buyeo people. The Buyeo people were the ancestors of the Goryeo people. This shows how powerful this race was.
The clan radiated from Taihuang Mountain to the surrounding areas. In the late Tang Dynasty, they were entrenched in the Bohai Sea area. As for the Taihuang Mountain mentioned by people, it is actually the Changbai Mountain in later generations. This mountain is the sacred mountain of the clan.
When he heard the word "tribe", even Li Keju frowned. People in the Tang Dynasty called the ethnic minorities in the north "Northern Di" or "Di people". In Li Keju's eyes, these Di people were the most difficult to control.
Sometimes, even if we have made an agreement, as long as they are unhappy, they will completely break off the relationship, no matter what the agreement is or not, as long as there is no advantage to be gained, they will turn against you.
"It's okay." Seeing the worries of Li Keju and Yuchi Xin, Zhu Li spoke to comfort them: "This autumn, the Di people marched south with an army of more than 200,000, but now there are less than 50,000 left. The cold winter in the north is coming quickly. I predict that the Di people will return north soon."
"As long as there are no Khitans to hold you back, Brother Pengju can let go. I will let Gao Yuan and Zhang Guimou stay in Youzhou to help Lord Li and Brother Yuchi resist Li Quanzhong's attack. Even if they attack, I believe we can handle it."
"Gao Yuan?" Li Keju was very happy when he saw Zhu Li promised to leave troops to help him resist Li Quanzhong.
He also knew Zhang Guimou. After all, this person had been staying in Beikou. Although he had not done much, he had not made any mistakes. He should be a general who was mediocre.
As for Gao Yuan, Li Keju didn't know much about him. In fact, he didn't know that Gao Yuan was once his subordinate. However, Gao Yuan at that time was just a small brigade commander assigned by Li Keju to Beikou and did not attract his attention at all.
But now Gao Yuan is the most outstanding general in Shuozhou. With 3,000 brave guards under his command, he is a powerful figure in Shuozhou. Who doesn't know that
No matter how others comment on Gao Shun's life in this life, Zhu Li himself is very satisfied. During the Three Kingdoms period, many people's abilities were seriously underestimated, and Gao Shun was undoubtedly one of them.
Let me ask, besides picking up girls, superb martial arts, and killing his godfather, does Lu Bu have any other abilities
Maybe there were, but they were very few. Living in the chaotic era at the end of the Han Dynasty, even the heroic Liu Bei had abandoned his wife and children, which shows how chaotic that era was.
And every time Lu Bu acted wild and caused trouble everywhere, he was able to keep his family safe. It has to be said that Zhang Liao and Gao Shun definitely made great contributions in private.
"The determination to break through the enemy's lines is to die rather than live." This is not only the spirit of the Xianzhen Camp, but also the aspirations of Gao Shun as a general who is willing to die on the battlefield. His ability is definitely not much worse than Zhang Liao's.