After the negotiations between the Zhou and Tang Dynasties broke down, Li Jing immediately ordered his brother Li Jingda to lead an army of 60,000 to cross the river to counterattack Taizhou and Yangzhou. After hearing the news, Han Lingkun quickly asked Chai Rong for an order to withdraw his troops.

Chai Rong had a strong personality and would not escape without a fight. He immediately sent an order to Han Lingkun to strictly defend Yangzhou. At the same time, he sent Xu Xian to Liuhe to block Han Lingkun's retreat. If Han Lingkun and his men dared to cross Liuhe, one of their feet would be cut off.

Bai Yanyu took the edict that Chai Rong gave to Xu Xian and read it over: "You have violated such a serious military discipline and only went to the Lord. People say that you are His Majesty's favorite. This time I believe it. This is

I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself and make meritorious deeds!”

Xu Xian asked back: "Are you sure this is a good job and Han Lingkun will obediently chop off his feet for me? This is much harder than fighting the Tang army directly!"

"It's not difficult. Han Lingkun's army has really escaped and it's useless even if you chop off their legs. This time His Majesty just asked you to come over and put some pressure on him.

If he comes back, you can just kidnap him and take him back. If he can hold Yangzhou, you will have a share of the credit for supervising the battle. Mr. Mu, do you think this is what your Majesty means?"

Old Mu Tou smiled and said nothing, "How can ordinary people like us guess the Sacred Heart? Xu Xian, just follow His Majesty's will."

He took out another yellow scroll and handed it to Xu Xian, "This is His Majesty's decree for you. If Han Lingkun really withdraws, you just have to act according to the decree!"

Old Mutou not only brought supplies to Xu Xian, but also brought over hundreds of red scarf soldiers who were left in the camp, urging him to rush to Liuhe. This shows that the war in Yangzhou is not going well.

Xu Xian said goodbye to Bai Yanyu and immediately led more than a thousand people south. His trip was actually just to supervise the battle team. As Bai Yanyu said, no matter whether Han Lingkun could defend Yangzhou or not, he had all the credit.

Not to mention getting promoted, at least it can make up for it.

Xu Xian led his army in a hurry, covering nearly a hundred miles in only half a day. At noon, he sat on the roadside and chewed dry food to satisfy his hunger.

A group of cavalry escorted a carriage slowly coming from the south. Da Kui swallowed the steamed cake in his mouth, drew his sword and shouted: "But the deserters coming back from Yangzhou?"

When Xu Xian saw the person sitting on the car's shaft, he immediately stood up and greeted him, asking, "Mr. Zhao, is this your father-in-law in the car?"

Zhao Pu jumped down from the carriage shaft, cupped his hands and replied: "Exactly, hasn't Marquis Yu returned to Shouzhou, why are you here?"

There was a weak voice in the carriage: "Is that Zhixian outside?"

Xu Xian stepped forward and said, "It's my son-in-law." He opened the curtain and saw Zhao Hongyin lying in the carriage, his face even uglier than when he saw him a few days ago."

Seeing Xu Xian, Zhao Hongyin immediately smiled and said, "I feel relieved to see that you are safe and sound."

Xu Xian smiled and said, "My son-in-law is doing very well. Is my father-in-law feeling better?"

"I have been recuperating in Chuzhou for a few days, and I am feeling much better. However, I know that I will not be able to live well for a few days. It is enough to be able to go back and see my family."

Xu Xian knew that Zhao Hongyin was about to die, but he still expressed comfort: "My father-in-law is loyal and benevolent, and his blessings will last forever. As long as he returns to the capital and finds a good doctor for diagnosis and treatment, he will be back to his original state in a short time."

"In this troubled world, how many people have died before they have grown up. Although I have not been rich and powerful in this life, I have been able to live a stable life. I can still make progress in my future when I am over fifty. I have a wife, concubines, and children at home.

Daughter, and with a son-in-law like you, I have nothing to regret in this life."

He tremblingly stretched out his hand to hold Xu Xian and said: "Yuan Long finally left some room, otherwise I would have no shame to see you even if I die. If you hold a grudge against him in your heart, just blame it on me."

"What did my father-in-law say? Brother Yuen Long was just trying to maintain military discipline. He was just showing off to me before. I am just like his brother, so how can I blame him!"

"You may not forget it in your heart. I don't have much time left. I only hope that you can help each other in this troubled time so that we can be safe."

…

The two talked for a long time, and within half an hour Zhao Hongyin already looked tired, "You have the emperor's orders, so I won't delay you. I'm also in a hurry to return to Kaifeng, so I'll say goodbye now!"

"My father-in-law just returns to Beijing and has a good life!"

Xu Xian got off the carriage and fell to his knees when the carriage slowly left. He was afraid that the two of them would never have a chance to see each other again.

Zhao Pu retracted his head from the car window and said to Zhao Hongyin: "Xu Yuhou is kneeling on the ground and hasn't gotten up yet!"

"He knows that I don't have many days to live, so he is sending me off!"

"Xu Yuhou is truly a man of great affection and nature."

Zhao Hongyin said: "Then you still want to harm him!"

Hearing what Zhao Hongyin said, Zhao Pu couldn't help but change his expression, "How do you understand Master Zhao's words? Marquis Xu Yu has no grudges with me, so why should I harm him?"

"You know very well that it was you who persuaded Zhixian to open the city gate to welcome me into the city. It was you who deliberately caused a conflict between Yuen Long and Zhixian. I always thought you were a loyal person and treated you like a nephew. Why did you do this?

?”

Zhao Pu smiled and cupped his hands and said: "Zhao Chamber Master really has a sharp eye, you can guess that."

"Hehe... I have been favored by the emperor and ignored by others in my life. I have seen a lot of right and wrong in the palace for half my life. You can't hide your little thoughts from me."

"Xiao Ke admires me. I really want to use Commander Zhao's hand to suppress Xu Yuhou. He has risen too fast. If this continues, he will climb to Commander Zhao's head in less than two years!"

"Hehe... don't use Yuen Long as a shield. You are afraid that Zhixian will affect your future, right?"

Zhao Pu nodded and smiled sadly: "Actually, Commander Zhao may not want to do this."

"Hmph... If that's the case, you two are both smart. Do you think Zhixian is a person who is willing to surrender to death?"

Zhao Pu asked doubtfully: "I'm sorry for Xiaoke's stupidity, but please let the master of the chamber speak clearly."

Zhao Hongyin stroked his beard and said: "I thought Zhixian did it on purpose. He just wanted to test whether Yuen Long would really kill him, but I don't understand why he would do this."

——————————

Although Liuhe is located in the north of the Yangtze River, it is a county under the rule of Jiangning Prefecture in the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is only a hundred miles away from Yangzhou City and is the only way from Yangzhou to Shouzhou.

The Tang army originally stationed in Liuhe had already escaped, so Xu Xian and his men set up checkpoints on the official road to prevent Han Lingkun from escaping.

The soldiers in the Red Scarf City obviously regarded this level as a tool to make a fortune. Whenever there was a carriage or horse coming, they would have to pluck the geese. Dakui put his hands on his hips and shouted at a woman with a baby: "Sister-in-law, I just want to make a fortune."

I’ll charge you five guan, but the caravan that just passed by took ten guan.”

The woman begged with a bitter face: "Master Jun, I am just going back to my parents' house. How can I have so much money? Please be accommodating, Master Jun!"

"Don't you have five cents of money? There must be five cents of money... Otherwise, one cent, if you can't even receive one cent, I will be laughed at by my brothers!"

Seeing that the woman was still shaking her head, the big boss cursed and said: "The Tang Dynasty is rich as shit. It doesn't even have a penny. It's poorer than my family. It's just that I don't have any money. I asked me to take a bite of my sweet-scented osmanthus cake."

As he said this, he actually took the little baby's chubby little hand, stuck out his tongue and licked the jujube cake. Just this one touch was enough to make the baby burst into tears, and the little baby immediately started crying at the top of his voice.

Zhang was the boss, crying loudly, and tears rolled down his face wantonly.

Xu Xian smiled and said: "Dakui, you made Xiao Erwa cry. Don't you want this month's People-Friendly Award?"

"They are not the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"Who says otherwise? This Liuhe County was captured by Han Lingkun, and the county magistrate also surrendered. As long as the Tang State does not take it back for one day, it will be regarded as my territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they are naturally the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Originally, I wanted to

I gave you the people-friendly award, but it seems that it is unnecessary now."

"No way! No big deal, I just need to coax him!"

The little kid was crying, how can he be so easy to coax. No matter how big the boss made faces and tickled him, it was useless. Finally, he took out a copper coin and gave it to him, and the kid actually broke down in tears and laughed.

"Damn it, there is no one in this world who doesn't love money, and the little devil is no exception. Sister-in-law, please take your son away quickly, or I will spank him!"

Dakui arrived in front of Xu Xian and said, "I can't give you this penny in vain. Give me the people-friendly award quickly!"

Xu Xian knocked off his big hand, "We'll have to wait until we get back to Kaifeng. Where can I give you money now?"

The scorpion came out of nowhere and panted: "Here they come... they're here!"

Xu Xian suddenly stood up from under the tree, "This Han Lingkun is so useless, he can't even survive for a few days! Brothers, please form an array for me and wind up the divine arm crossbow. As long as Han Lingkun dares to break through,

Let me cum hard at this level!"

Xiao Zi grabbed Xu Xian's arm and said, "Marquis Yu, we made a mistake. It's not Commander Han but the Tang Army who came!"

The Li family of the Southern Tang Dynasty had many literati, but there were also a few who were capable of fighting, such as Li Jing's eldest son Li Hongji, and the other was Li Jing's brother Li Jingda, who was considered the number one military strongman among the royal family of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Although the Zhou army did not dig up the ancestral graves of the old Li family after occupying Yangzhou, Li Jing could not sit back and watch the land of Longxing being occupied. He immediately appointed Li Jingda as commander and his favorite Chen Jue as military supervisor, leading six

Wan Dajun counterattacked Yangzhou.

After regaining Taizhou, Li Jingda ordered his deputy general Lu Mengjun to lead 40,000 troops to continue the siege of Yangzhou. He selected 20,000 elite troops to quietly leave Yangzhou, and his target was the Zhou army under the city of Shouzhou.

Chai Rong dispersed a large number of troops to attack the city and seize territory. The Zhou army under Shouzhou City now only has 30,000 to 40,000 troops. If Li Jingda can lead 20,000 elites to reach Shouzhou City smoothly, the war situation in Shouzhou will change. He and Liu Renzhan may not cooperate with each other inside and outside.

The Zhou army could not be defeated.

Once the Zhou army's camp in Shouzhou is breached, the entire battle situation in Jiangbei will also change. The Sizhou, Haozhou, Yangzhou, and Chuzhou occupied by the Zhou army will be meaningless and will be destroyed without attack.

Li Jingda wants to play a big game of chess. He is not only the chess player but also the most critical chess piece. As long as he can fall in the middle of the formation, Zhou Jun will lose everything.

He left Yangzhou with 20,000 elite troops, passed Liuhe and then passed through Haozhou before arriving at the foot of Shouzhou City. Unexpectedly, only an hour after entering Liuhe, soldiers came to report that a large number of Zhou troops were blocking the way ahead.

, and brought him a woman holding a child.

When the woman saw him, she cried and said: "My natal brother married a mother-in-law. He was not filial at all and made my mother sick. I begged my husband for a long time before he allowed me to return to my natal home to visit..."

Ruan Xiaoyu interrupted impatiently: "Who asked you this? Tell me about those northern soldiers!"

When the woman heard this, she cried even more fiercely. She wiped her tears with her sleeves and said, "Those Northern soldiers were so cruel. They asked me for five guan of passing money as soon as I opened my mouth. I am a woman weaving and raising chickens at home. How can I be so cruel?"

A lot of money... and our third baby, he is only six years old... Oh, oh, oh, the general has to vent his anger on his behalf and take revenge!"

Chen Jue, the supervisor of the army, was already furious. He gnashed his teeth and said: "You even kill a six-year-old child. The Northern soldiers are really beasts!"

The woman wiped her tears and said, "Bah, bah, bah, my third baby is alive and well, and this is the one I'm holding in my hand!"

Chen Jue's job is deputy envoy of Xuanhui, and he is also an important member of Li Jing's poetry interest group. Although he does not have Feng Yansi's talent and learning, flowers must be lined with green leaves, and Li Jing can appreciate him if he flatters him well. Otherwise, how would he put it?

The supervisor gave him such an important position.

He considered himself an elegant man, but he was already impatient when he heard the country woman's vulgar words and said, "What a foolish woman. Since your son is alive, why should the general vent his anger on your son to avenge him?"
To be continued...