Chapter 6 Chapter Six

The land of the Central Plains is the cradle of the Yellow River civilization.For thousands of years, the profound historical accumulation and long-standing cultural influence have made this place a "homeland" that countless future generations are fascinated by.And in this land, there is a place called Xuzhou that is destined to leave a strong mark in the history of the late Tang Dynasty.Legend has it that as far back as Tang Yao's time, this was once the land where the famous Gaoshi Xu You herded and farmed. Later, this land was called "Xu" by people.In the first year of Jian'an in the Later Han Dynasty, Cao Cao coerced Emperor Xian to move, and this place became an important political, economic, military and cultural center north of the Yangtze River.In the second year of Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Dezong set up Chen Xu Jiedu Envoy in Xuzhou, and eight years later he was awarded the title of Zhongwu Army.Since then, the name of the Zhongwu Army has resounded throughout the Central Plains, and this army has also become an important military town that defends the country and suppresses violence.Ping Huaixi, Zheng Zhaoyi, aid the border, break Qiufu, suppress Pangxun, this army is invincible.As long as Jin Hui can remember, his father took it as an honor to be part of the Zhongwu Army.Later, when he arrived in Chang'an and learned about the glorious history of the Zhongwu Army from Zheng Tian, ​​he strengthened his determination to follow his father and join the Zhongwu Army.

Xuzhou. In the early morning of this day, the sky was bright, and Yang Fuguang, the supervisor of the Zhongwu Army, went to the military mansion as usual in a hurry. He hadn't had a full night's sleep for more than a month.This month, the Zhongwu army has shown outstanding combat effectiveness in several battles with the rebel army, which at least proves that it is still an army that can fight at any time.But instead of feeling relaxed, Yang Fuguang felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier.Wang Xianzhi's rebel army had already entered the encirclement, but the various feudal towns did not take the overall situation seriously at all, allowing the rebel army to slip out of the trap easily.Yang Fuguang has served Yang Yuanjia's home as a small Huangmen supervisor since he was a child. Over the years, he has not only been reused by the emperors of the two dynasties, but more importantly, he has experienced actual combat during the years in the Zhongwu Army and cultivated a A view of the big picture rarely seen by others.The Zhongwu army hadn't fought against the main force of the rebel army yet, but just relying on Wang Xianzhi's vigilant escape, he suddenly noticed that the rebel army had an astonishing gathering force and marching speed.This opponent is not something that his Zhongwu army can deal with, but a powerful enemy of the entire Tang Dynasty.At present, the rebel army is marching eastward to Yizhou, and Song Wei, who is guarding there, will have a hard time... As he thought about it, he walked quickly, and from a distance, he could already see the tall flagpole in front of the military mansion.A staff member beside the Jiedu envoy saw Yang Fuguang from afar, and walked two steps forward to greet him: "Supervisor, Duke Du has been waiting for you for a long time."

Fu Guang thought: he usually arrives first and will wait for Du Shenquan for a long time, why is it so early today?He estimated that there might be new deployments in the imperial court, so he asked his staff, "Has anyone come to Chang'an?" "Yes! The imperial decree arrived urgently at the fourth watch in the morning. Duke Du knew that the supervising army would get up early and would come over soon, so he didn't ask you to receive the decree together." Yang Fuguang nodded, he probably had an idea in his mind, he left behind the staff and went straight to the main hall.Sure enough, Du Shenquan, the military governor of the Zhongwu Army, had already arrived at the main hall.At this time, he was standing in front of the desk, with his back to the door, bowing his head in thought.Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around and said to Yang Fuguang, "Supervisor, the imperial edict has arrived."

The imperial decree at this juncture must be related to the rebel army, and it will not be any gratifying news.But Du Shenquan's face was mysterious and calm, making it impossible to see whether he was sad or happy.Maybe it's because he has been working in the military all the year round, before he reached his sixtieth birthday, his beard was already snow-white, and the wrinkles on his forehead were very obvious.Du Shenquan was born in a prominent family. From Emperor Taizong to Emperor Yizong, there have been several prime ministers from Dumen over hundreds of years. Except Du Ruhui, the famous prime minister in the early Tang Dynasty, Du Yan, Du Yuanying, and of course Du Shen were also prime ministers. right yourself.In the late Tang Dynasty, politics was corrupt, and there were few famous prime ministers who would go down in history. Although Du Shenquan didn't have outstanding achievements, he was still quite satisfactory.Therefore, Yang Fuguang still has some respect for Du Shenquan. Of course, it is also inseparable from his status as "Du Ruhui's sixth grandson".

"Mr. Du, please be early." Fu Guang bowed his hands out of etiquette, and went straight to the matters he cared about, "What did the edict say?" "Supervisor, take a look for yourself..." Du Shenquan's tone was calm, still appearing calm.But based on Fuguang's understanding of him, it can be concluded that Du Shenquan's heart should be full of entanglement and unhappiness at this time.If not, he could explain the gist of the imperial decree in a few sentences, and then discuss it with himself in detail. Yang Fuguang took the imperial decree with both hands, unfolded the bright yellow silk script, and read slowly:

Wang Xianzhi was originally a salt thief. He called himself Caojun, went south to Shoulu, and passed through Cao Song Dynasty in the north.I am in line with the will of heaven, and in accordance with public opinion, and guide all roads to send soldiers to fight against grass thieves.Today Song Wei, the envoy of the Pinglu Army Jiedu, is deeply angry with Pu, please punish him. ... Now I have commanded all the soldiers and horses to recruit grassroots envoys, each of which belongs to the vassal town. Advance and retreat, punish Song Wei... After reading this, Yang Fuguang suddenly understood that under Du Shenquan's calm face, there was infinite anxiety and resentment concealed.Previously, when the rebel army was active in the Central Plains, Song Wei, the governor of Pinglu, watched the development of the situation all the time, and did not send a single soldier; now, Wang Xianzhi escaped from the encirclement and sent troops to Yizhou, and Song Wei took the initiative to ask for a crusade at this juncture. No matter how clear it is, this is to use the soldiers of the imperial court to rescue him.It stands to reason that such a small trick should be easy to see through. However, Song Wei and Wang Duo, another prime minister in the court, have a very close friendship. Tian Lingzi's way.Therefore, no matter how Zheng Tian tried to persuade the little emperor, it was of no avail.

Since the imperial decree is in front of us, the Zhongwu Army cannot set a precedent for resisting the decree and not obeying it.But if it is true as stated in the edict, select commanders and provide food, grass, soldiers and horses at Song Wei's disposal, whoever becomes the commander-in-chief of the Zhongwu Army will not be reconciled.Yang Fuguang closed the imperial decree and handed it back to Du Shenquan with both hands. While observing Du Shenquan's expression, he asked: "This is the emperor's decree. Which general will Du Gong choose as the commander to go to Yizhou?"

"To tell you the truth, I am upset about this matter. Our elite soldiers have just returned from the expedition for a few days, and the soldiers are resting. Now we are being asked to go east again, and no one can bear it. Besides, this time it is the commander of the team. The power is handed over to Song Gong, the governor of Pinglu... to supervise the army, everyone has selfishness..." "Since that's the case, I don't know what Duke Du's plan is?" "I want to choose a general in the army and send hundreds of horses to go." Yang Fuguang immediately understood that Du Shenquan wanted to preserve the main force of the loyal army, but in order to cope with the imperial edict, he could only adopt such a strategy.He thought for a while and said: "I'm afraid this is inappropriate. I'm sorry to say that Wang Xianzhi and others are not idle people. If they are not eradicated as soon as possible, they will become a serious disaster. Although Song Gong suspected that he would solve his own predicament by pretending to be soldiers of all ways, but After all, it is also for the purpose of quelling the rebellion and bringing peace to the world. In my humble opinion, Duke Du still needs to select good generals to help Yizhou."

Du Shenquan felt that Yang Fuguang was right.Now the most trusted generals in the army are Lu Yanhong and Zhang Zao.But he was really reluctant to appoint these two as commanders, so he evaded: "Xuzhou is not peaceful now, the deer will guard this state, it is not suitable to go out, and Zhang Yuhou has just returned from close combat, and he needs to be recuperated. The supervisor has led troops for many years. I know the generals better than I do, apart from these two, who else in the army is worthy of this job?" Yang Fuguang also knew that Du Shenquan was reluctant to part with Lu and General Zhang, so he said, "The previous expedition, Zhang Yuhou commanded it well and won a complete victory. I heard that many battles were made by young generals. In my opinion, After I discuss with Zhang Yuhou, I will consider a suitable candidate and let Duke Du decide."

Du Shenquan's heart became more at ease: "It's very good, then there will be a Labor Supervision Army." After leaving the military mansion, Yang Fuguang rode to the camp where the Zhongwu Army was stationed.Compared with Du Shenquan, Yang Fuguang does not have the slightest selfishness, which may be related to his life experience.As an eunuch, he has been favored by the emperors of the two dynasties, and being able to take the position of the military supervisor of the Zhongwu Army is a testament to the emperor's trust in him.Therefore, in his heart, there is no loyal army, only the Tang Dynasty.No matter who is in command of all the ways in the world, as long as he can restore the prosperity and peace of the Tang Dynasty, even if this team is sacrificed, he will have no complaints.But in Xuzhou, after all, he is not the only one who has the final say, he must take care of Du Shenquan's thoughts.When he came to Daying Zhongjun, Yang Fuguang ordered Zhang Yuhou to come.After waiting for a while, a general in armor walked in with steady steps:

"The final general will see the supervisor!" Yang Fuguang nodded kindly: "Please sit down, General." Zhang Zao carefully sat up only half of his body.Zhang Zao is a member of Changshe, and his father was the governor of Qizhou.He has been fond of military tactics since he was a child, and when he was 20 years old, he was enlisted in the Zhongwu Army. Over the past ten years, he fought in the north and south, and won the trust and reuse of several envoys. Yang Fuguang briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter, and asked Zhang Yuhou to recommend a general who could take on the important task to go to Yizhou.After Zhang Zao heard this, he seemed a little excited. He opened his mouth, and his curly beard trembled non-stop: "If it wasn't for the selection of generals for Yizhou, the last general would also like to report to the supervising army. Zhongwu Army Among the newly recruited soldiers, there are indeed two extraordinary ones. This is not an exaggeration on purpose by the last general, these two men are brave in conquest, superior in martial arts and resourceful, and they are definitely not ordinary people." Yang Fuguang felt strange: "The two newly recruited soldiers can get such an evaluation from Yuhou. I think there is something special about them. But I don't know where they are different from ordinary people?" "These two are local people. One is named Wang Jian, whose name is Guangtu, and the other is called Jin Hui, whose name is Guangyuan. They all rushed to the front. In a scuffle, Wang Guangtu captured and killed two generals of the Cao Army by himself. Later, the general promoted them to do something special. Last month, my Zhongwu Army and General Shang Rang of the Cao Army fought against each other. Na Shangrang is the younger brother of Shang Junchang, the second leader of the grass army. He fought bravely and had few opponents. Three generals of our army died at his hands. Later, the two sides fought together, and Wang Guangtu fought against Shang Rang and fought him. More than forty rounds were tied!" Yang Fuguang was secretly surprised, thinking that a newly recruited soldier with such ability is indeed a rare general, just about to ask something, Zhang Zao continued: "Seeing that Shang Rang was unable to resist, Wang Guangtu's war horse Inexplicably, the horse stumbled and died violently on the battlefield. Fortunately, Jin Guangyuan at the side tried his best to push Shang Rang away, and saved the life of this fierce general. After defeating the grass army, someone proposed to dissect the horse that caused trouble. , There was actually a snake in the belly of the horse! This incident spread quickly in the army, and now when Wang Guangtu is mentioned, almost no one does not give a thumbs up in admiration. The general recommends these two people because they are not only brave and good at fighting, but also Although the official rank in the army is small, but the prestige is very high, if you can go east to Yizhou, you will be able to convince the masses." Yang Fuguang's heart was shocked, and he rushed out of the door to order: "Chuan Wang Guangtu and Jin Guangyuan come to see me!" Zhang Zao got up, clasped his fists to salute the supervising army, and then left the tent. Wang Jian and Jin Hui were leading a dozen of their subordinates to practice their fists and kicks under the scorching sun, when they heard the call from Master Yang, the Superintendent of the Zhongwu Army, they were quite surprised.Wang Jian wondered in his heart, could it be that the previous trick was self-defeating and let the supervising army know?If it was because of this incident, it would cost dozens of boards to say the least.But on another thought, Jin Hui said that Superintendent Yang was righteous and valued talents, so he probably wouldn't have summoned the two of them just for such a trivial matter. What's more, Jin Hui's father and the superintendent had a strong friendship, so they had no choice but to play this A card will at least save your life.As he thought about it, he and Jin Hui came to the Chinese Army one after the other. After the two entered the room, they saluted Yang Fuguang: "My subordinates will see you, Lord Supervisor!" Yang Fuguang still had a pleasant face: "Please stand up, both of you, please sit down and talk." The two looked at each other for a few seconds, not daring to sit down. "I don't know which one is Wang Guangtu?" Wang Jian hurriedly said: "This is my subordinate." "Oh..." Yang Fuguang sized up Wang Jian, and saw that he was tall and handsome, with a high bun of cow's heart and a copper-colored hairpin on his head, a big square face, long eyebrows, long eyes and tiger eyes, and he was very happy. He liked it a little, "So this one is Jin Guangyuan..." His eyes moved to Jin Hui, and stayed on Jin Hui's face for a long time... At this moment, Fu Guang was a little surprised: the soldier in front of him was only three years old. Ten, with a height of seven feet and hanging zero, with clear eyebrows, a heroic face, no beard, and his straight nose and heroic eyebrows are very much like an old friend of his.Suddenly, Fuguang woke up suddenly, and a bold thought flashed across his mind. He hurriedly asked, "Jin Guangyuan, may I ask your father..." Now, Jin Hui can't keep concealing the matter anymore, so he can only tell the truth: "Back to the Supervising Army, my father was once a member of the Zhongwu Army, served as the deputy envoy of Jiedu, and was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Industry..." Before Jin Hui finished speaking, Yang Fuguang stood up excitedly, and hurriedly walked around the table and came to Jin Hui, stroking Jin Hui's shoulders with trembling hands: "Nephew, is it really you? How is your father?" Jin Hui nodded with tears in his eyes: "The Labor Supervision Army is concerned, my father has returned to his hometown to work in agriculture." "After Duke Jin went to Beijing, he didn't return for several months. I was worried day and night. Not long ago, I heard that he offended Mr. Tian and was deposed and returned home. Who would have thought that he would not be able to return to his hometown. I really didn't expect to see you here. " Only then did Jin Hui explain in detail the ins and outs of robbing the prison car with Wang Jian and others and joining the Zhongwu Army.After hearing this, Yang Fuguang scolded Jin Hui: "Since you have arrived in Xuzhou and belonged to Zhongwu, you should come to see me earlier. How can you hide your background and join as a soldier? If I knew that you were in the army, I would not immediately I will give you both the ranks of the school." Wang Jiandao: "Before joining the army, Duke Jin wrote a letter to the supervising army, asking the supervising army to take care of him more. But Guangyuan didn't want to do that, he wanted to make a name for himself with real swords and guns, so before coming to Xuzhou, he The letter was torn to pieces..." Yang Fuguang nodded approvingly: "You two have fought these few battles, and none of the soldiers of the Zhongwu Army didn't know about you!" At this time, he remembered the strange thing Zhang Zao mentioned before, and asked Wang Jian about the horse's belly. What's up with the snake.