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The cold wind stopped for a while, and the warm sun shone brightly.

The team went all the way, from Taiyuan along the Fenshui all the way to the south, from the Hedong Jiedu Envoy, to the Hezhong Jiedu Envoy.

When the army arrived, Cao Jianli, the envoy of the river festival, led the officials of the river to meet him.

Cao Qu used to be one of the prime ministers of the imperial court, 12 years ago, Cao Qu, who was concurrently serving as a squire of the military department and a judge of the degree branch, was awarded the same Zhongshu Sect Ping Zhangshi by the reigning Tang Yizong, as the substantive prime minister, plus the Zhongshu Shilang, supervising the history of the country. Cao is indeed proficient in Confucianism, cautious, and abides by the law, but Yizong is a rare faint monarch in the late Tang Dynasty, so he, the prime minister, is actually tired and has no political achievements. Someone made up a ballad of "Mocking the Four Phases": "If you really don't do anything, money will always be collected." Merchants don't care, when will the goods be bribed (road)? He pointed the finger at the then prime ministers Cao Qu, Yang Shui, Xu Shang, and Lu Yan.

Five years ago, Cao was indeed deposed as prime minister, but he still retained the honorary title of Tongping Zhangshi and served as the envoy of the town and navy. After the expiration of the three-year term, he was transferred to the envoy of the river festival the year before last. Because the two large salt ponds guarding the salt solution in the east of the river are close to Chang'an and Luoyang, the river has always been an important town and a fat difference. The annual salt tax paid by the two salt ponds in the river is as high as nearly 2 million guan, accounting for nearly half of the salt tax in the Tang Dynasty.

Zheng Congyan, Yu Xuan, Li Jing and other eight towns of Jiedu envoys led the triumphant troops to arrive, Cao was also very generous and bold, directly gave each soldier a thousand rewards, two pieces of cloth, and each person gave two catties of salt and two buckets of rice. It can be said that there was a lot of bleeding, which made the whole army very happy.

Scratch someone's back. Zheng Congyan, Yu Xuan, Li Jing and other eight marshals tried their best to restrain the soldiers and horses of Zhuzhen along the way. There was no such thing as a bandit in the river.

"Cao Gong is a good official. Under his governance, it can be seen that this place in the river is still very rich. Li Jing said that although the Zhenguo Army did not lack this reward, Cao was indeed a good person. And along the way, Li Jing saw that the situation in the prefectures and counties in Hezhong was much better than that of Daibei, Lulong and even the three towns of Hedong. Although the town of Hezhong was also affected last year, there was no desolate countryside along the way. Most of the people stayed at home. On the way, I didn't see too many people fleeing the famine and begging for food. In such an age, officials who can do this can be praised.

"yes." Zhang Chengye also said with some admiration: "There are not many officials in the court who are as conscientious as Cao Gong and are dedicated to serving the country and the people. It's a pity, Cao Gong's body is afraid that it will not work. Dashuai, I think Cao Gong is afraid that he won't last long, you see that when he was eating before, he kept coughing. I also saw him coughing up blood, I guess. It's hard to survive this winter. Cao Gong is gone, and this Hedong doesn't know who the road is going to hand over. ”

After a few days in the river. The army did not cross the river to Tongguan and enter the pass, but directly crossed the Yellow River at the Pujin Bridge in Puzhou and entered the Pujin Pass in Fengyi County, Tongzhou, Gyeonggi Province, Guanzhong.

On the third day of the third month of March, the soldiers and horses arrived at Goreung County, North of Dongwei Bridge, on the north bank of Weishui in Gyeonggi.

When the soldiers and horses arrived here, they could no longer go forward, and after Weishui in front of them was Chang'an, and they had to wait for the emperor's will at this time. More than 30,000 troops arrived in Gaoling, and the Gaoling County Commander hurriedly came to greet him, and invited Li Jing and others to lead the army to settle in the city.

However, Zheng Congyan just smiled and refused, more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, where can the small Gaoling City live. What's more, this is already the land of Gyeonggi, so you have to be careful in your every move. After the last, the soldiers and horses were still stationed on the north bank of Weishui, ten miles outside the city.

Zheng Congyan and Yu Xuan and other generals entered the city and accepted the banquet of Gaoling high-ranking officials.

Not far away, a partial hall in the Daming Palace of Chang'an City on the south bank of Weishui, there are several charcoal basins burning in the corners of the hall, the spring cold outside is steep, but the back of the palace is warm. There was a man sitting in the hall, holding a celadon teacup in his hand, but his mind did not belong. The teacup in your hand is lifted and put down, and then put down and lifted again until the tea is cold.

A rush of footsteps sounded, and a general of the Shence Army wearing a mountain armor walked in.

The man in the seat hurriedly put down the teacup and stood up, and greeted him: "How is it?" ”

The Shence army general was a little unsuitable for the warmth of the temple, and fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead, and he spread out his big palm to wipe it, and wiped it on his cloak casually. He still said with some roughness: "I have arrived, I have arrived at the north of Dongwei Bridge, a total of 34,000 soldiers and horses, and 3,000 Shatuo captives are camped outside Gaoling City and on the north bank of Weishui. Gaoling County officials have welcomed them into the city. ”

He rubbed his hands and said softly: "I have seen it myself, and those soldiers and horses are really strong and strong, much stronger than the Shence army in Gyeonggi." Especially Li Jing's soldiers and horses, there are 20,000 horses, strong soldiers and strong horses, just looking at that formation, it makes people panic miserably. ”

"What, you're scared?" The man in the hall sat down again, and the abundant light of the temple shone on his face, reflecting his white, beardless, slightly blessed and round face. This man is the father of today's son, Lieutenant Tian who has the power of the world and controls the government, and the eunuch Tian Lingzi. The general of the Shence Army in front of him is his elder brother, Chen Jingxuan, who sold cakes in Xuzhou for a living in his early years. Tian Lingzi originally wanted to arrange for his brother to find a military position in his hometown of Xuzhou, but Cui Anqian didn't give him any face. He turned to Li Jing, but even Li Jing didn't give him face. Tian Lingzi hated his teeth, and kept Cui Anqian and Li Jing in his heart, so he had to take his brother to Chang'an, and finally arranged a position as a general in the Shence Army.

Although the second brother Chen Jingxuan was just a cake seller before, he Tian Lingzi in the Shence Army can be regarded as a one-handed hand, and arranging his brother to be a general is nothing. Anyway, at least more than half of the 150,000 Shence army are those who receive money and food from the children of the gentlemen in Beijing, and there are a few real soldiers. After so many years, everyone is like this, what is it for Lieutenant Tian to arrange a brother. Datang does not expect to rely on the Shence Army to fight.

"A little." Chen Jingxuan honestly admitted in front of his younger brother, "Then Li Jing is not a person to be messed with, if things don't work out, then we will have a mortal enmity with him." Otherwise, let's forget it. Brother, now that you are the father of the Son of Heaven, why should you bother with him as a young man? I don't think Li Jing is willing to stay in the capital, he is a town marshal outside, what a scenery, he is not stupid, what is there to mix up in this Chang'an City. ”

Chen Jingxuan tried hard to persuade his brother, although he has now become the general of the Shence Army, but in fact, his psychology is still a small cake seller in Xuzhou, and he has always had the concept of being angry with people and making money with harmony. I personally went to Gaoling and saw the majesty of the Zhenguo Army, which made him deeply impressed. Li Jing is a fierce tiger, when he thinks of what his brother told him, he can't help but feel weak for a while, what if the thing fails.

"Brother, it is better to settle the grievances than to settle them. That Li Jing was originally not worth mentioning, but now it is different, not only is he the prince of the country, but also has become the marshal of the opening of the town, holding tens of thousands of troops in his hands. Just this time to level the merits of the Shatuo people, it is amazing. Besides, he still has Yu Xuan's Yu clan and Cui's support behind him. Moreover, brother, you also know that the emperor is very interested in this Li Jing at the moment, and I heard that Li Jing is about to arrive in the past few days, and I am very excited. Just in the morning, he was still preparing to go to Gaoling in person, if it hadn't been for the dissuasion of the political affairs hall, this thing would have really happened. ”

"The emperor admires Li Jing very much, and even has reached a fanatical mood, and I have long known this matter in my heart." Tian Lingzi sat down again, and his heart slowly calmed down. I picked up the teacup and took a sip only to find that the tea was already cold. Putting down the teacup in his hand, Tian Lingzi said slowly: "It is precisely because of this that I have made up my mind. Second brother, you came to Xu Zhou just now, and you still don't understand these power struggles in Chang'an City and the palace. This struggle for power is really like walking on a cliff and a dangerous beach, and if you are not careful, you will never recover. Don't look at my brother, I'm now beautiful, but this is not falling from the sky. The enmity with Li Jing has already been concluded, and since this is the case, then they must not be given another chance to retaliate. ”

Speaking of this, he clenched his palms into fists and said coldly: "Li Jing must die, you don't need to say more, just do it according to my plan." Second brother, you have to remember that this matter is not only about me, but also about you, and about our entire Chen family. If the matter is done, I will say a word to the Son of Heaven at the appropriate time, and ask for a great harmony for you. ”

"I'll take care of this." Chen Jingxuan replied as calmly as possible, but his slightly trembling body betrayed his excitement at this time. A town festival envoy, this is much better than the position of the general of the Shence Army.

"Whoever dares to go against me will be ruthlessly eradicated from him." Tian Lingzi said with a calm face: "Li Jing is very popular with the emperor now, and this person seems to be very capable, he can not only lead troops, but also make money, and he can also do a set of things to improve people's livelihood." All parts of the world are tired of coping with famines, but his Dengzhou and southern Liaoning are very prosperous, such people are our fierce enemies. While he is still alive, eradicate him in one fell swoop. ”

"Are those people reliable?" Chen Jingxuan thought of the people his brother had given him.

"Don't worry, these people are not simple, they are the people of the royal family who were exterminated by the Shence Army, each of them is a natural killer and assassin. With them to take action, Li Jing is favored by the Son of Heaven, and what about being young and brave, and if he has no head after the last time, he is nothing. Tian Lingzi said with a sneer.

Chen Jingxuan shuddered, the look of his brother when he spoke just now made him feel scared.

"Second brother, only the enemy who dies is the best enemy." (To be continued......)