Time passed quickly, and by the time Zheng Changshi sent people to Guangnan with the Jiaolong Army fleet, it was already late autumn.
However, in Guangnan, if it doesn't rain or blow for three to five days, the temperature will rise, and people will sweat even if they sit still. Cao Bin hurriedly walked into the central army camp, and the heat in his body turned into sweat coming out of his head, and also turned into an irritable expression between his eyebrows.
Cao Bin walked through the hall full of civil and military officials and sat down on a chair behind the desk. Next to him sat Prime Minister Li Gu.
Cao Bin waved his hand, and a civil servant stepped out and bowed, saying: "Reporting to Lord Cao, Zheng Changshi, the military governor of the front camp of Jiaozhou, reported that the Taiping army camp was attacked by the enemy and the Jiaozhou army was defeated. The vanguard commander Feng Jiye, despite everyone's dissuasion, insisted on leading his troops to pursue, but was ambushed and defeated again."
The civil official took a breath and continued, "Feng Jiye was arrogant after his consecutive victories. He ignored the opposition and rushed to Luocheng. This battle was unexpected. Luocheng was caught off guard and the south gate fell. Ding Buling and others hastily deployed troops to resist, but they were defeated by Xu's army and fled from the north gate."
At first, Feng Jiye burned, killed and looted along the way, leaving the dead all over the fields. When he entered Luocheng, he immediately let his soldiers go, raping and looting, and doing whatever they wanted. In just three days, corpses were scattered all over the streets, and countless houses were reduced to ashes.
After reading it, Cao Bin's face looked very ugly, so all the civil and military officials in the hall spoke carefully.
Prime Minister Li Gu said calmly: "Feng Jiye disobeyed orders and acted on his own. Fortunately he won. If he had been greedy for merit and advanced rashly, he would have suffered heavy casualties and returned in defeat. Wouldn't Cao Gong be even more worried? Cao Gong should calm down and think about the broader situation."
But Cao Bin's face remained livid. Among those expressionless and silent people in the hall, perhaps someone was thinking that Cao Bin's hope of winning the title of Duke was slim.
The imperial court was deploying troops on two fronts, and the original strategy was to slowly attack the southern battlefield to avoid trapping too many troops in Jiaozhou. Now that things have turned out like this, what should we do
At this time, Cao Bin sighed, his expression alternating between grief and anger. This commander has warned his soldiers more than once to change their bad habits of arrogant soldiers and generals killing innocent people. Feng Jiye disobeyed military orders and put countless people in Jiaozhou in danger. This is against the will of heaven and earth. How can he bear it? This also undermines the wisdom of the government. It is really hateful and hateful.
The crowd gradually began to discuss and agree that Cao Gong was a benevolent general and Feng Jiye served under him. He must be punished for going against Cao Gong.
Cao Bin was just getting angry, and seeing the atmosphere in the hall, he reached for the cinnabar pen. At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Lu Duan. Lu Duan stood there, saying nothing, and did not follow the crowd at all.
Cao Bin put down the cinnabar brush in his hand again and stood up to change his clothes.
He came to the Qintang and invited Lü Duan to come in. The young Lü Duan stepped forward calmly and bowed, saying: Lord Cao.
Cao Bin was still furious and cursed: "That guy made a name for himself, but he completely ignored the overall situation. It is not difficult to attack Luocheng along the river, but what effect can it have except occupying a few walls that were burned to ruins? Did Ding Buling kill him? Did Ding Buling kill all his subordinates? Of course, he couldn't kill 3,000 people. If they want to run, they can run away."
Feng Jiye was so good that he didn't catch the important people, but killed the families of so many people and burned their houses. Given the current situation, people in Jiaozhou have nothing but hatred towards Xu Jun.
Feng Jiye was feeling very proud, but he probably didn't think about how many troops were needed to clean up his mess and govern Jiaozhou, and how long they would be stationed there. The government had made it very clear that the army must not be allowed to get stuck in a protracted battle.
Lu Duan bowed calmly and said: What Cao Gong said is all general.
Cao Bin shook his sleeves and sighed again. After a while, he couldn't help but look at Lu Duan and suddenly asked: "Does Lu Qianniu think I can't cure him?"
According to one of the military laws of the Xu army, military commanders have the right to make decisions on the spot. As long as the result is victory, they can be exempted from the crime of disobeying orders. Feng Jiye has the title of founding marquis, so it is obviously impossible to punish him for disobeying military orders. However, if Cao Bin really wants to punish him, he must have another reason.
Lu Duan said: It’s not that Cao Gong cannot control Feng Jiye, but that he cannot control him.
oh
Lu Duan said: "What Cao Gong just said is all about the general plan. But how many people in the world understand the general plan? And how many people in the world care about such complicated considerations? What the world likes most is Feng Jiye's heroic achievements. Three thousand elite soldiers went straight to Huanglong and captured the capital of Jiaozhou. Such a spirit must be publicized.
If Cao Gong wanted to punish Feng Jiye, he must first disregard his reputation and not be afraid of being branded as narrow-minded and jealous of talented people.
After hearing this, Cao Bin stood there in a daze, rubbing his wrist vigorously with one hand.
Lu Duan said: Now that things have come to this, I advise Lord Cao to first report the truth to the court, and be sure to repeatedly mention Feng Jiye's unauthorized actions.
Feng Jiye is the person I recommended as a guarantor. This is the only solution for now. Lu Qianniu will write for me. Cao Bin sighed and wondered how Yang Ye was doing in the northwest.
After a while, Cao Bin suddenly cried out in pain: Feng Jiye has also wronged me.
At that time, Yang Ye and Cao Bin left the capital at the same time. Yang Ye led tens of thousands of people to Hexi, mainly composed of the imperial guards and guards gathered from various northwestern states.
With the help of the Dangxiang leader Li Yiyin, the governor of Pingxia Province, and his father-in-law Zhe Dejian, Yang Ye stabilized the Dangxiang Tubo tribe in Hexi without losing a single soldier. He completed the town originally set up by Li Chuyun near Feng'an Zhongwei along the Yellow River in Jingtai, built a city and a fort, stationed troops and set up a temporary government office as a stronghold on the army's grain route.
When the Liugu tribe, Long tribe and Wenmo people in Wuwei, Liangzhou heard that Yang Ye's army was coming, they gave up the armed confrontation and let Xu's army enter Liangzhou City. Yang Ye also built a fortress in a strategic location nearby, but he disciplined his soldiers and did not harm anyone.
Since the Liugu tribe and other tribes had already surrendered and relied on the grace and power of the imperial court to survive, they behaved very loyally. Also, due to the complicated grudges between Liangzhou and Ganzhou and the old grudges between them, the people of Liangzhou quickly gathered troops and joined Yang Ye's army to assist in attacking the Ganzhou Uighurs.
Yang Ye secretly sent an envoy to Guasha to meet with Cao Jia of the Guiyi Army and agreed to attack Ganzhou from both the east and the west to recapture the place.
At that time, Yang Ye's army not only had the Daxu Imperial Guards, but also the Pingxia Dangxiang, Hexi Dangxiang, Tubo, Achai, Liugu, Long, Wenmo, and the Guiyi Army. In a short time, the strength increased, and the locals helped to spy on the news and trade food and fodder, and the situation was very favorable.
Yang Ye led the coalition forces westward in a mighty force, sending people to persuade them to surrender while clearing out the resistance in the east of Ganzhou.
He did not rob along the way, but under the advice of Zhe Dejian, he claimed that he was a devout Buddhist and came to protect the thousand-year-old Buddhist relics in Hexi. Along the way, the soldiers and officials spread the word to win the support of the Buddhist forces living in Ganzhou and secretly met with the people of Ganzhou.
When they arrived at the city of Ganzhou, Yang Ye had not set up a single cannon, but an insider had already opened the city gate, and a large group of cavalry rushed into the city, capturing Ganzhou in one day.
To the west, there was Suzhou controlled by the Ganzhou Uighurs. After the Xu army recaptured Ganzhou, they were no longer able to resist. And the Cao family of the Guiyi Army further west had already accepted the canonization of the Emperor of Daxu. Yang Ye successfully cleaned up the mess in the northwest and re-established the ruling order.
The soldiers slaughtered sheep and cooked wine inside and outside Ganzhou City, singing and dancing to celebrate the victory all night long.
After getting drunk, the generals shouted that almost everyone in Hexi did not resist the Daxu army, and only the Ganzhou Uighurs did not respect the king's rule and should be severely punished. Before Yang Ye made a decision, a close attendant came forward and whispered a few words in his ear.
Yang Ye immediately left the table with an excuse.
The Chief Secretary Lu Duosun was ordered to take charge of the front camp of the Hexi Army and followed Yang Ye.
Ludoson asked: What happened
Yang Ye answered truthfully: The Kingdom of Khotan sent a secret envoy to discuss important matters.
Lu Duosun reminded him that the Hexi Army was going to recover the Hexi Corridor, and the imperial court had not yet made a national policy to expand into the Western Regions. General Yang would have to act according to circumstances and leave room for maneuver, and then make a decision after reporting to the emperor.
Yang Ye said: "If we want to keep peace in Hexi, we can't just defend the pass. If there is an opportunity in the Western Regions, why not try it out first?"
General Yang thought twice before he acted. Lu Duosun's tone was no longer strong. He knew that Yang Ye would definitely try to fight for the title of one of the Six Dukes.
Yang Ye said: Minister Lu is an official from the Ministry of Rites of the imperial court. If he follows me to meet the envoy, he can receive the etiquette of diplomatic relations.
The two of them found a secluded courtyard and invited the envoys from Khotan to meet them.
Two people from the other side also came, one was an envoy and the other was a Han monk.
After greeting each other, the monk said in Chinese: We have heard that the army of Daxu entered Hexi and was invincible in every battle, showing the style of the Tang Dynasty. The prestige of the four Anxi towns set up by the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions still exists, and the countries in the Western Regions are still grateful. If the army of Daxu can enter the Western Regions and quell the chaos in the Western Regions, the people of the countries will be very fortunate.
Lu Dosun asked: What happened in the Western Regions
The monks and the envoys murmured to each other, saying: The Karakhanid Khanate is the Western Region Uighurs, who colluded with the Persians in the west, attacked other countries, and destroyed and banned Buddhism, which was the wrath of heaven and the hatred of the people. When our ruler heard that Marshal Yang’s army was coming, he begged him to uphold justice and punish the Karakhanid Khanate.
The ruler of Khotan has sent envoys to the Liao Dynasty, and the Liao Dynasty court has agreed to allow the western tribes to dispatch troops to help. Gaochang Kingdom also joined the Liao army in the attack.
Most of the countries in the Western Regions of Great Xu and Great Liao believe in Buddhism. We have also heard that Xu and Liao are brotherly countries. At this time, our ruler hopes that all countries can form an alliance and share the same hatred of the enemy.
This person mentioned the Liao Kingdom, the old enemy of Daxu. He may have really believed that the two countries would reconcile like brothers, or he may have been trying to provoke the younger brother to intervene in a place where the elder brother was unable to do anything.
Yang Ye did not wait for Lu Duosun to speak, and said first: The Emperor of Daxu is the common ruler of the people of the world, and he educates his subjects with benevolence and virtue, and does not want to see other countries attack and kill. If the ruler of the Karakhanid Khanate really does not implement benevolent governance and is unjust to the people of the Western Regions, the Emperor of Daxu will punish him severely.
The envoy placed his hands on his chest and bowed. The monk clasped his hands together and said: “The Emperor Daxu upholds justice, and his orders will surely spread far and wide in the Western Regions.”