Chapter 351: The time is ripe

A dozen cavalry and horses rushed into Chang'an City as lightning. They were 800 miles of expeditions. Their rushing wildly was like the burning war in the Central Plains. The horse's hooves were like thunder, which shocked the peaceful and festive Shangyuan Night. The people on Zhuque Street dodged to both sides, and when they rushed by, they were talking.

The dramatic reversal of the Central Plains battlefield has been widely circulated in the streets and alleys of Chang'an in recent days. Various versions of details were born in various restaurants and teahouses. Some say that Wei Deqing and the Pei family competed for territory and had internal conflicts. Some say that Cui Qinggong successfully bribed Wei Deqing's subordinates, and some say that Wei Deqing's subordinates were unevenly divided and killed each other. Various news was confused. But no matter what, Cui Qinggong's strong return made everyone feel heavy in his heart. Chenliu's massacre, Kaifeng's massacre, Xuchang's massacre, and bloody news permeated Chang'an City. Not only that, it was an army that used human flesh to serve military rations, just like the Anshi Rebellion back then.

It should be said that the situation is quite serious. The grand lantern festival on the Lantern Festival was also cancelled due to the war in the Central Plains. Under the delicate situation, many smart businessmen began to buy land and houses in Longyou and Shuzhong. Once the war broke out to Chang'an, the housing prices in these two places would inevitably soar.

Today is the 20th day of the first lunar month, and it happens to be the day off. Most of the ministers and ministers were resting at home. The messenger rushed into Xuanyifang like a strong wind. He stopped in front of Pei Jun's mansion. The messenger turned over and dismounted, rushed up the steps and shouted: "There is the latest war report to report to the prime minister!" The concierge did not dare to neglect, so he quickly led the messenger into the mansion.

In Pei Jun's study, a tense atmosphere was filled with it. Pei You, Wei Yan, Li Mian, Lu Qi and his master Pei Jun were conducting emergency consultations. There are two places with the most serious crisis. One is Luoyang, the eastern capital. There are news that Cui Qinggong's scout team has appeared outside Luoyang City, and the other is Ruyang County, where there are 100,000 Hedong troops. The food is cut off, and the news is cut off, and there is not even a pigeon letter, which makes Pei Jun deeply worried.

To a certain extent, the gathering of the five of them was another consultation between the Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager Party before the cabinet meeting. It was the opinion that Pei Jun had to reach an agreement before negotiating with Zhang Huan. The so-called consensus was to see whether the possibility of finding a political solution in the Central Plains crisis. In other words, it was to make a certain degree of compromise with Cui Qinggong.

"Everyone, I think the most urgent task is to slow down Cui Qinggong's offensive momentum and let him stop trashing the creatures, so I'm going to send someone to negotiate with him to see if a compromise can be reached. What do you think?"

Pei Jun's eyes were turned to Li Mian, waiting for his reply. Li Mian certainly understood Pei Jun's real purpose. He wanted to withdraw his Hedong army first, and then throw the mess to the empress dowager or Zhang Huan, or the three families shared the responsibility together, instead of his family taking on the burden independently. However, he was afraid that Zhang Huan would oppose reconciliation, so he asked his own faction to come and negotiate.

Li Mian did not reply immediately, but smiled faintly: "We have been dealing with Cui Qinggong for many years. We should know that he is a person who values ​​actual interests and does not have certain substantial concessions. How could he agree to a truce? I wonder how much money and food the prime minister is going to give him, and what official position is going to give him?"

"I have considered money and grain. I will first transfer one million stones of grain and five hundred thousand jin of taxes from Jianghuai. As for official positions..." Pei Jun glanced at Wei Yan and said coldly: "Neither the title or the official position is a problem. As for the position of the cabinet, I think one of us should give it up."

Wei Yan's face was flushed and he certainly understood that Pei Jun was referring to him. He was not only the one with no strength among the cabinet members, such as Li Mian, Lu Qi, and Cui Yu, but Pei Jun only pointed at him, which was obviously accusing Cui Qinggong of his death and resurrection due to his internal strife in the Wei family.

"The Prime Minister is a little wishful thinking!" Wei Yan said in a muffled voice: "What if Cui Qinggong refuses to negotiate? What if he wants five million grain or even more money? What if he wants to be king? He has to tie his hands and feet before negotiations have been made. Is the Prime Minister a little unwise? "

At this time, Pei You next to him said, "It takes only after the negotiations can be successful. If Cui Qinggong offers a huge price, there is no way to go if he can't negotiate. But he always has to give the negotiation a bottom line, otherwise he can't decide the matter. What's the use of asking him to go? What do Wei Shepu think?"

"Hmph! I was so scared that I had to negotiate after a small defeat. Are your Pei family's hundreds of thousands of troops used for decoration?" Wei Yan snorted heavily, stood up and said, "Sorry, I have something to do to take a step first."

As soon as he walked to the door, a sudden sound of running was heard outside the door. A guard loudly reported from outside: "Report to the Prime Minister, there are 800 miles of emergency military information."

"Let him in!" Pei Jun began to feel uneasy, and he felt a vague feeling.

Soon, the guards came in with the messenger. The messenger came in and bowed half kneeling. The general raised his news high, "Report to the Prime Minister and the emergency military information of Yancheng."

"What happened?" Pei Jun's voice could not help but tremble. The military situation in Yancheng was most likely the news of his Hedong Army.

The messenger slowly knelt down on his knees and said in great pain: "Report to the Prime Minister, the Hedong Army was ambushed in Yancheng and has been wiped out!"

"What..." Pei Jun relaxed his hand, and the military newspaper slid down to the ground, and he fell straight down.

On the 17th day of the first lunar month of the second year of Yong'an, Cui Qinggong sent Xu soldiers to pretend to be the main force to attack Chenzhou. Pei Jun's 100,000 Hedong Army returned to Luoyang. When he arrived at Yancheng, he was attacked by Cui Qinggong's main force ambushed here at night. Cui Qinggong's headquarters, Ma Dawei's army, and Li Shidao's army attacked each other. The Hedong Army was defeated and the entire army was wiped out. More than 40,000 people were beheaded, and countless surrendered.

After Cui Qinggong defeated Pei Jun's Hedong Army, he was extremely arrogant. He turned around and marched northward, and rushed to the eastern capital Luoyang.

‘Bang!’ The fishing line drew a silver color and accurately entered an ice hole on the lake. On the shore, Zhang Huan sat on a bench and waited leisurely for the fish to take the bait. This was the garden of the back house in his mansion. At a glance, the lively spring formed a lake covering an area of ​​more than 20 acres. Behind him, more than a dozen personal soldiers stood expressionlessly, just like more than a dozen stone statues.

Zhang Huan had been sitting for more than half an hour, and he was still very excited, but what was happier than him was his son Zhang Qi. He kept sending a tail of carp to the kitchen with a small bucket.

Zhang Huan looked at the floats on the water with a calm eyes. It was the 24th day of the first lunar month. He knew the news that the Pei family's East Army was wiped out in Yancheng a few days ago. Not only that, he also learned from his brother-in-law who was sending his New Year greetings to him that although there was no news about Tuoba Qianli, there was a huge hidden danger. Unfortunately, Pei Jun did not listen to his advice and laughed it off.

In this way, he was powerless to do anything about the Pei family. From the time Wei Deqing was killed to Cui Qinggong's defeat of the Hedong Army, Zhang Huan never spoke, as if he had nothing to do with him.

Of course, it’s not that he doesn’t want to care, but that it’s not time for him to take action yet.

At this time, the float suddenly sank into the water. Zhang Huan immediately lifted the fishing rod high, and a silver carp with a weight of seven or eight ounces flew out of the water with the rod and struggled in the air. Zhang Qi jumped and jumped happily, reaching out to grab the fishing line.

"Go! Take the fish to the kitchen." Zhang Huan shook his hand and threw the fish in front of him. Zhang Qi held the fish in his hand, put it in the bucket, and ran away happily.

In the distance, Pei Ying was walking here with concern with several maids.

"Don't get rid of the disease, do you have time? I want to talk to you." Pei Ying walked to Zhang Huan and whispered.

Zhang Huan smiled and waved to the personal soldiers behind him. More than a dozen personal soldiers quietly retreated.

Zhang Huan reached out to take a Hu stool, patted it gently, "Come on, sit down and say."

Pei Ying sat down and sighed, "I just went to see my father's condition. The imperial doctor said he was very ill this time."

Zhang Huan threw the fish hook into the ice cave again, and after a long time, he slowly said: "My father-in-law attaches too much importance to gains and losses. How come there is no victory or defeat in a war?"

"But..." Pei Ying's lips moved, but she couldn't speak.

At this time, Zhang Qi ran over with a small bucket panting, "Dad, the fish fell into the river by her sister accidentally."

When I ran closer, I found that my mother was there, and said in surprise and joy: "Mom, when will you be back?"

Pei Ying touched the back of his head lovingly and said with a smile: "Go! Mom and Dad have something to talk about. You go to find Aunt Ping. She just came from Chengdu. See what gift she brought to you?"

"Pingping is back?" Zhang Huan asked in surprise.

"Just come back, I met her at the door."

Pei Ying watched her son run away, and she turned the topic to her father again, "Get rid of the disease, Cui Qinggong is in trouble, my father is under too much pressure, can you help him?"

Zhang Huan was silent. After a while, he smiled faintly and said, "Did it be your father-in-law who asked you to come to me?"

"He didn't say it, but I know he wanted to ask you to send troops, and this is what he gave to you."

Pei Ying waved his hand, and a maid came forward with a long brocade box. Zhang Huan took the box and opened it. He saw a short sword with an ancient shape. He slowly pulled out a piece, and the sword body was extremely thin and shone with a chill.

"This is the Fish Intestine Sword!" Zhang Huan blurted out. He had heard that Pei Jun had a Fish Intestine Sword that specialized in Chu Shu King Wu. He immediately understood Pei Jun's meaning and begged him to send troops by giving him a sword.

At this time, Pei Ying sighed again, "I heard from my elder brother that my second uncle has returned to Ye County to dispatch troops. No matter what, Cui Qinggong cannot be allowed to take Luoyang."

Zhang Huan was stunned and asked hurriedly: "When did this happen?"

"I heard from my elder brother's tone, it seems that it has been many days since I even followed me back."

Seeing her husband's face serious, Pei Jun asked with some fear: "Get rid of the disease, nothing will happen again, right?"

Zhang Huan shook his head slowly, "It's hard to say now."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "I want to rush back to Longyou immediately, please help me clean up."

"But...."

Pei Ying grabbed her husband's arm and said in panic: "Don't worry me!"

Zhang Huan smiled and patted her cheek, and said softly: "Don't worry! Actually, I have already made arrangements, but I'm just waiting for the best opportunity."

"But Pingping just came back." Pei Ying suddenly remembered Pingping.

At this time, Zhang Huan had already walked away, and he only heard him laughing from a distance: "You have a good view of Pingping. If there is no peace outside, just stay at home."

An hour later, Zhang Huan left Chang'an under the escort of more than a thousand personal soldiers and galloped westward. He had a premonition that Tuoba Qianli was also waiting for the best opportunity, and Pei You returned to Hebei to dispatch troops. Perhaps this was the time Tuoba Qianli was waiting for. Similarly, the time for him to Zhang Huan to take action was ripe.

Two days later, Zhang Huan arrived in Kaiyang County, and the military and political leaders of Longyou were already waiting here in advance. Not only the officials from Longyou, but also the 80,000 elite troops who came back from Anxi to replace defense, and the 140,000 troops mobilized from Longyou and Hehuang, a total of 220,000 troops gathered in Kaiyang County.

Zhang Huan entered Kaiyang City, turned over and dismounted in front of the government office. Several generals who had been waiting here came up and knelt down and saluted together, "The last general will meet the governor!"

The first two were Wang Siyu who was transferred back from Anxi and Cao Hanchen. They had not seen each other for only a few months. Zhang Huan felt that he had been separated from them for several years, so he quickly helped them up. Zhang Huan looked up and down Wang Siyu. Seeing that his temperament was a little more steady than before, he smiled and punched him in the shoulder, saying, "I can't endure hardship in Anxi, right?"

Wang Siyu shook her head and said with a smile: "How could that happen? I will still have to go back when I kill Cui Qinggong."

"What about you?" Zhang Huan looked at Cao Hanchen again and asked, "What's the situation with Sailie?"

Cao Hanchen was appointed as the military envoy of Saiye. This time he returned to Beijing to prepare to receive a group of immigrants to Saiye in the beginning of spring. When he encountered the war in the Central Plains, he saw the governor ask, and hurriedly said: "Report to the governor, Saiye's side is very peaceful. The great cannibal did not counterattack. Instead, he fought two battles with a small group of Geluo people and killed more than a thousand enemies, and then fled north."

"Good job." Zhang Huan patted his shoulder and said, "The energy of the Geluo people is damaged. A large-scale invasion cannot be done. It is to prevent their small army from sneak attacks. When Pei Mingyuan returns from Dashi, if he can reach an agreement with Dashi, you should concentrate on eliminating the Geluo people."

"I will obey the order!"

At this time, Hu Yong hurried down from the steps, his face a little heavy. He seemed to be holding a pigeon letter in his hand. Seeing that Zhang Huan had arrived, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Governor, news has just been heard from Luoyang."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Huan knew from Hu Yong's face that it would not be good news.

"Li Shidao, the general of Cui Qinggong, defeated the 50,000 Hebei troops who came to rescue Luoyang in Hanoi. Yang Yuansi, the left-behind capital, had already sold the city to surrender Cui Qinggong." Speaking of this, Hu Yong sighed and said helplessly: "Luoyang has fallen."

"This is as expected. Maybe Cui Qinggong will become emperor because of this!" Zhang Huan sneered, stepped on the steps quickly, and turned to everyone and said, "Not later, I will notify everyone to come for the meeting immediately."

The room was steaming hot, and two huge sand trays were put together, one was in the Central Plains, the other was in the Hedong and Hebei. There were dozens of senior generals and officials from Longyou around the sand tray.

"Everyone, the chaos in the Tang Dynasty was about to begin. It was the time when our Longyou army turned the tide. The Central Plains had been peaceful for a long time and the soldiers could not fight. Therefore, Cui Qinggong, a clown, could even be rampant for a while. Now everyone in the world is waiting for us to take action. The time has come. It is the time for you to quell the rebellion and make achievements for the country."

Zhang Huan glanced at everyone, and finally stopped at He Lou Wuji's face. He whispered loudly: "How about it, are you all ready?"

He Lou Wuji was demoted to the Central Army General by Zhang Huan. He had long hoped that he could make meritorious service and atone for his sins. Seeing Zhang Huan looking at him, he immediately responded loudly: "We are all well prepared and are just waiting for the commander to dispatch it."

"Okay!" Zhang Huan nodded, then pointed at the Guanzhong area with a wooden pole and said, "We have 60,000 troops stationed in Guanzhong. I will now add 30,000 troops to Wannian County, Chang'an to protect the safety of the capital."

"Governor, will Pei Junke allow us to garrison the capital?" Hu Yong next to him suddenly asked.

Zhang Huan glanced at him and smiled and said, "Don't worry! He might have had some taboos in the past, but now I am willing to send troops to Beijing, so he is reluctant to ask for it."

After saying that, he said to Li Su, the military envoy of Weizhou, and Wang Xianhe, the military envoy of Jingzhou,: "These 30,000 troops will be led into the capital by the two of you, and you will go tomorrow."

The two of them knelt down and bowed halfway, "I will obey the order!"

Zhang Huan nodded, pointed to the Fanyang area north with a wooden pole and said, "I have received information that our old opponent Tuoba Qianli is very likely to invade from Fanyang area, so I am going to divide the troops into two groups, one of which is led by myself, Wang Siyu as the deputy general, crossing the Yellow River from Hancheng to Luoyang to quell the rebellion of Cui Qinggong. The 80,000 troops returned from Anxi were the main force, and the other was... "

Zhang Huan looked at He Lou Wuji, then smiled faintly and said, "Led by General He Lou, we will go to Yan'an County to wait for my news first."

He Lou Wuji felt a choking heat flowing straight into his nose. He stepped forward and knelt down, and said in a choked voice: "I will live up to the high hopes of the governor."

Zhang Huan helped him up and told him: "Sending troops to Hebei is extremely sensitive, so you must not be impulsive. You must follow my instructions. Do you understand?"

"The governor's words are kept in mind!"

Zhang Huan patted his shoulder and said to Hu Yong and Luo Guangzheng: "I'll bother you about logistics support."

The two bowed and responded solemnly: "Please rest assured by the governor, I will do my best."

After Zhang Huan finished giving the order, he put away the wooden pole and smiled at everyone, "Actually, I only have these words when I come back. I can handle it even if I send someone to send a letter. It's just that my feud with Cui Qinggong burned the Uighur military rations back then, so this time I will settle that case with him in person."
Chapter completed!