In Luzhou, Hedong, the weather in September is already very cold.
But it was very warm inside the governor's office, with a thickly padded curtain hanging at the door. Coal was burning inside, and the flames were raging, making the water in an iron pot hanging from the high beams gurgle and emit white smoke.
The middle-aged man with his hands behind his back on the north side and looking around is Li Yun, the governor of Zhaoyi Army. Li Yun has been here for several years and has been fighting against the Northern Han Army for a long time.
Li Yun was wearing a silk robe, and he was tall and strong, with two sword-like eyebrows that looked murderous. But perhaps because of his thin lips, white skin and few wrinkles, he did not look as big and strong as the generals around him.
The burly generals at the head were wearing very thick clothes. After staying in the room for a while, they could no longer sit still. Some of them began to sweat. It was very cold outside, but they felt very hot in their thick clothes. The other staff members were not wearing armor, so it was more convenient. Some of them had already taken off their coats.
People were sent from all three places, and my father asked a young general who he would see first.
A general wondered: Aren't there only people sent by Fu Yanqing and Li Jixun in the three places? Where is the other one from
Li Yun snorted coldly: There is another place, the envoy from Northern Han.
Haha, my lord is very popular now, the general laughed.
An aide suggested: The best strategy is to kill the Northern Han envoy and offer him up, reject Li Jixun's son Li Shouen, and form an alliance with the Fu family. The Fu family has the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou Dynasty and is related to the new noble of the Imperial Guards, Guo Shao; the lord can rest assured as long as he forms an alliance with Fu Yanqing.
Another person said in a deep voice: After the death of the previous emperor, we don't know what will happen to Tokyo.
Li Yun glanced at the person who had just spoken and understood what the staff member meant. If they wanted to raise an army to plot a big event, now that Li Jixun and Li Chongjin have joined forces to rebel, if the Northern Han army comes to help, their momentum and strength will be great, and victory or defeat can still be fought.
At this time, the general shouted: "Let's kill the people from Northern Han first. We have fought for so many years and lost so many people, and you still have the nerve to come to reconcile!"
Unexpectedly, Li Yun waved his hand and said: Let’s go, we’ll talk tomorrow.
Everyone had no choice but to say goodbye.
After everyone left, Li Yun said to his eldest son Li Shoujie: Li Jixun's son Li Shouen is settled in the government office.
The son said, "Yes, father. In order to prevent the three people from meeting each other, I settled them in the house behind the government office."
Come with me and take a look, Li Yun said immediately.
When he arrived at the reception area, Li Yun met Li Jixun's son. After exchanging pleasantries, Li Shouen came to propose marriage on behalf of his younger brother and brought many gifts.
Li Yun impatiently interrupted Shouen's nonsense of praising his brother for his talent in both civil and military affairs, and asked directly: Li Jixun is now sending people to propose marriage, is he asking me to join them in rebellion
Shou En was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and said in a deep voice: I have always heard that General Jie is loyal and righteous, and I always remember the kindness of Taizu. Today, adulterers and adulteresses in Tokyo are colluding with each other inside and outside, trying to kill the king and usurp the throne, and they are killing loyal and upright people; the country passed down by Taizu of the Great Zhou is in danger.
How to start a rebellion Li Yun became more and more impatient after hearing all the talk of moralizing.
Shou'en had no choice but to say: Li Chongjin, the governor of Huainan, is the nephew of Taizu. My father wants to support him and make him the ruler, while still following the name of the Great Zhou.
Li Yun laughed when he heard this and said: I'm willing to risk my life to support Li Chongjin, haha, Li Chongjin is my father or someone else to me.
Shouen was stunned. Fortunately, there was an aide next to him who immediately said: "Please be patient. Since ancient times, the strongest party has always been the leader of the alliance. My lord Li Jixun wants to protect himself and has no intention of fighting for power. As long as you are willing to join the army, you can first persuade Li Chongjin with the benefits; no matter what Li Chongjin's attitude is, my lord is willing to serve you as the leader."
Li Yun shook his head and said: When Li Chongjin was the commander of the imperial guards, Li Jixun was the commander of the infantry. They have worked together for many years and get along well. Li Jixun is not on the same page with Li Chongjin, but he wants to be of the same mind with me. I have never even seen what Li Jixun looks like. Ha, this is ridiculous. You just said that you will serve Li Chongjin as your leader, but you changed your mind immediately. Have you asked Li Jixun? Have you asked Li Chongjin? Can you keep your word
The Jieshuai's imperial army is powerful, no matter who is in power, they will not leave opportunities for the outside town; at this time, my lord and Li Chongjin are determined to start an army, and the opportunity is rare, and it will never come again. The staff urged anxiously, "Guo Shao is a young man, but you have to obey him. I really accept it."
Li Yun had lost interest and walked away rudely.
At this time, the staff whispered to Shouen: It's not going to work, let's find a way to escape from Luzhou
Shou En said: My father said that Li Yun’s matter is of great importance and we cannot be afraid of danger.
The staff members urged: "Li Yun is an arrogant person, and it is difficult to reason with him. If Wang Rao had not died of illness, he and Zhao Kuangyin had a marriage contract; we should first win over Wang Rao, and then we can try to win over Li Yun. Now there is nothing we can do."
After Li Yun left, he went directly to the front yamen ceremony hall, where Fu Yanqing's eldest son Fu Zhaoxu was settled. Now Li Yun has not said that he will rebel and still obey the imperial edict of Tokyo, so the people who receive Fu Yanqing are fair and square.
After Li Yunxian met Li Jixun's men, he admitted in his heart that a statement made more sense: it was an opportunity to start an uprising together with Li Chongjin and Li Jixun, so that they could expand the territory and have more troops.
But this opportunity is not very good. The three Lis are arguing with each other, and Li Yun cannot see who will get the biggest benefit. Fu Yanqing in Daming Prefecture in the east is very close and very powerful. There are also 20,000 troops in the left wing of the Longjie Army in Hebei. Once an uprising breaks out, the left wing of the Longjie Army may be transferred south to Fu Yanqing to strengthen his strength.
It would be better to sit back and watch the fight between Li Jixun and Li Chongjin and the Tokyo Imperial Guards, so as to estimate the current situation of the Imperial Guards.
When Li Yun arrived at the posthouse, Fu Zhaoxu and others came out to greet him at the gate, calling themselves juniors one by one and being very respectful.
Zhaoyuan loved reading since he was young, and his eldest sister, the Empress Dowager, and his second sister, Guo Shao's wife, loved him very much. Fu Zhaoxu was in his thirties, and he didn't use many exaggerated words, but directly hinted at the real things.
Li Yun looked at it and laughed, saying: Prince Wei's son is more sensible than Li Jixun's son.
I, the younger generation, thank Mr. Li for his kind words. Fu Zhaoxu bowed.
Li Yun added: Li Jixun has also sent someone to propose marriage, but I feel that since we share the same surname, we would be laughed at by the world for a marriage, so I have already declined.
Fu Zhao wrote in the preface: "Mr. Li is wise. My father was also sincere to his immediate neighbors and colleagues. When General Wang Jie of Zhangde Army died, my father sent people to Xiangzhou to help his children with the funeral. He also felt sorry for the young children of General Wang Jie and wanted to adopt them as his adopted sons and daughters and treat them like family members."
The prestige of the King of Wei is very high, and everyone respects him. Li Yun agreed kindly. This attitude was completely different from the one he had just shown to Li Shouen.
Li Yun stood up and said: Zhao Xu came with me, it would be impolite not to reciprocate. I accepted the gift from King Wei, so naturally I should present a share.
The younger generation refused disrespectfully. Fu Zhaoxu followed him out.
Li Yun did not even bring his guards with him, and went straight to the back door of the government office with Fu Zhaoxu. Li Shouen and the others heard the report and hurried out to greet them. They looked at Fu Zhaoxu's dress beside Li Yun and were immediately a little confused. The four people present introduced them.
At this moment, Li Yun suddenly drew his sword from his waist and stabbed forward. The eldest son's staff exclaimed. Even Fu Zhaoxu was shocked and his face changed. They had just been talking and chatting, and there was no sign of violence.
Li Shouen screamed and squatted down, holding his abdomen.
Li Yun pulled back and yanked out the sword, blood splattered all over the floor. He immediately kicked Li Shouen again, knocking him to the ground. He ignored his body curled up in pain, grabbed his hat and tore it off, grabbed Li Shouen's hair, and swung the sword to chop his neck.
The aide stood there trembling, and suddenly turned around and ran. The man Li Yun then shouted, and the guards outside rushed in, and ordered a general to kill everyone in the room and throw them out of the city.
The general clasped his fists in response and then waved his hand.
Li Yun had already cut off Li Shouen's head and handed it to Fu Zhaoxu, saying: "Li Jixun's eldest son, I just introduced him." Fu Zhaoxu had to reach out and grab the bloody hair, suppressing his shock and said: "Thank you, Mr. Li, for your generous gift. I have to send this gift to Tokyo to ask for credit for you."
Li Yun said calmly: How much merit can a head have? I attacked Liaozhou and other places and killed more than this number of Northern Han soldiers.
Mr. Li is a hero. Fu Zhaoxu praised him.
Li Yun talked for a while, then asked someone to send Fu Zhaoxu back to the ceremonial hall. He returned to the lobby of the government office, and saw Li Shoujie, so he said in a deep voice: After nightfall, send the envoy of Northern Han away.
Shoujie was puzzled: I just heard that my father killed Li Shouen. If he had killed him, why not chop off the Northern Han people as well
Li Yun smiled and said: "You are too young and still need experience. You will understand in the future. Now just do what your father says."
The son obeyed his father's order. Li Shoujie had no choice but to bow.
After Fu Zhaoxu got the head, he quickly cleaned the blood and flesh from it and pickled it with salt, even though it was cold. He sent a fast horse back to Daming Prefecture to deliver a letter and report, and at the same time he said goodbye to Li Yunfu, took the head and headed straight to the southeast, crossed the Taihang Mountains from Hebei, and then went to Tokyo. Because the three towns of Heyang on the north bank of the Yellow River in the southwest were in the hands of Li Jixun.
Luzhou is not far from Dongjing. As long as there is a suitable crossing of the Yellow River, it can be reached in three days by fast horses. Therefore, the terrain of Luzhou is very advantageous and important, just like a sword hanging over the head of the Zhou Dynasty. After crossing the Taihang Mountains and the Yellow River, it can attack Dongjing without any difficulty. However, this place can not only threaten Dongjing, but also be a key town to resist the invasion of the Northern Han Army from the south. Without the Zhaoyi Army of Luzhou, the Northern Han Army cavalry can drive southward, and the Zhou Dynasty will not even have room for early warning and buffer.