Chapter 720 Funeral

After several months of struggling on his sickbed, King Li Cunxu of Jin finally did not escape the clutches of death and passed away more than half a month ago. Before that, he had sent people to transfer general Zhou Dewei from Youzhou, and also took his legitimate son Li Jiji to Weizhou, and divided the military and political power of Jin after his death. This ensured that his power would not be usurped by his generals after his death, but at the same time it also made it impossible to keep the death secret and conceal the news of death. After all, this way, it can be said that it is a lot.

"Play music!" With a slightly sharp command, the heavy silence broke the silence between the world. The soldiers of Hedong next to the road raised the spears in their hands, and countless sharp spear tips pointed to the sky, saying their final farewell to their commanders and kings. The generals of Jin who were escorted on both sides of the cart were dressed in mourning clothes and their faces were full of sadness. Some generals from the Hu clan took off their hats and thorns, wore ragged clothes, and walked in the snow according to their national customs. The people of Weizhou on both sides of the road knelt on the ground. This depressing and grief atmosphere also infected them. Many of them were relatives of the Wei Boya soldiers, since Zhu Wen's massacre of Wei Boya soldiers and after the massacre of the Wei Boya soldiers and the rear.

Judging from the branch towns that came, many of them had a deep hatred towards Liang State, but this does not mean that they liked these Shatu people. After all, when the Jin army was conquering prime ministers and beijing states, they also carried out cruel massacres of the people of Hebei who resisted, let alone the huge differences between the nations outside the border and them. All of this deepened the huge gap between the two. But these Weizhou people even knew that Li Cunxu's death meant that the balance between Liang and Jin would tilt towards Liang State again, which means that it is very likely that the bloody war caused by the branch towns would reappear several years ago. Due to this reason, unsuppressed crying sounds were heard from time to time in the crowd.

After more than an hour of marching, the mourning convoy arrived at Zimo outside the city, which was located five miles northwest of the ancient Ye city. It was a must-pass place for traveling. The Zhang River went out of the east mountain, passed Ye, and then paid sacrifice to Moxi west. During the Warring States Period, a common witch married a wife for Hebo and worshiped him on this road. Hou Tian Rong thought it was Zimo, so he got his name. During the Shizhao period, a floating bridge was built here, and the official road leading to Jinyang passed through this place. Because Weizhou was far away from Jinyang, although the weather was cold at this time, Li Cunxu's body was transported back to Jinyang, but he was afraid that it would rot halfway. So Zhang Chengye decided to burn the body here, then transport the bones back to Jinyang, and buried him next to Li Keyong's grave. When he arrived at the funeral site, the generals wrapped Li Cunxu's body in white cloth.

The good corpse was carried to the pre-prepared firewood pile, and piled up all his beloved weapons, armor, and service equipment beside him. He also slaughtered his favorite war horses aside, as if they were alive, and burned them together. When the fire broke out, the generals surrounded the fire. Many generals from the Hu tribe cried loudly while drawing their swords to cut their cheeks, making their faces full of blood to show their sorrow. Until the firewood pile was burned, the servants came forward to clean up the bones from the fire, put them in the bone altar prepared in advance, and prepared to take them back to Jinyang for burial. In this way, the funeral ceremony of King Li Cunxu in Weizhou ended, but for the generals under his command, everything had just begun.

In the palace of Ye, there were bright lights. More than 20 Jin generals who had just participated in the funeral ceremony sat down in two sides. Li Jiji sat in the upper head. He looked clumsy and had fair skin. His face looked a bit like his father when he was alive. He had a weak expression, but he did not have the heroic spirit of Li Cunxu, which could not compete with all the heroes in the world. Compared with the future of the tigers and wolves, although he was in the upper position, he seemed a bit asymmetric.

"The mourning ceremony of the former king has been completed, the new king ascended the throne, and the lieutenant generals and subordinates have all been promoted to the first level, and the rewards are not bad!" Zhang Chengye recited sharply. He stood in front of Li Jiji, his tall and burly body was like a screen, protecting him behind him.

When the generals heard this, they bowed one after another and bowed according to the usual practice. At this time, a sudden voice broke the etiquette: "I have made no contributions and dare not be rewarded!"

All eyes in the room were suddenly focused on the person who spoke, but Li Siyuan, the chief general of the Jin army and the general manager of the cavalry and infantry army in and outside the foreign Han Dynasty, saw him kneeling on the ground and said in a deep voice: "I followed the previous king to fight and could not defeat the enemy, but the previous king was severely injured and abandoned the world. This is a failure, so how can I still dare to receive rewards?"

Li Jiji's eyes were interspersed with Zhang Chengye, and then said, "The swords on the battlefield are without eyes. It is God's will to abandon the world. The generals came forward and helped Li Siyuan up and whispered to comfort him. After Li Cunxu was injured, this person had actually mastered the most elite army in and outside the Jin State in Weizhou City. Not to mention that he had no responsibility for Li Cunxu's death, even if he really had something to do, who would dare to speak?

Li Siyuan stood up reluctantly and bowed to the ground, "Even if there is no mistake, it is still meaningless. Miao Jilie is good at the army and is rewarded without merit. If he is unable to do anything, how can he defeat the enemy? Please think twice!"

After hearing Li Siyuan's words, the atmosphere in the room immediately became subtle. In history, this newly ascended emperor often gave a general amnesty to the world and rewarded the soldiers. This was certainly a celebration, but also a declaration of his own rights. After all, the emperor could only reward his own ministers, and accepting the reward itself was also a recognition of the other party's identity. Li Siyuan's refusal was aimed at Li Jiji's inheritance of great achievements or was just unwilling to receive the reward without success. The difference between these is a world of difference.

"Miao Jilie, what do you mean? Could it be that you are going to disobey?" A loud voice came from the opposite side. The generals immediately moved away and showed a person. He saw that the tall and burly figure in life, with plump cheeks even a little fat. It was Zhou Dewei, the chief of the Procuratorate who had just rushed from Youzhou to Weizhou, who was the governor of Lulong. This man was brave and resourceful, and he made many military achievements. He led his troops to guard Youzhou and resisted the attack of the Khitans. He was in conflict with Li Siyuan on weekdays. During his lifetime, Li Cunxu asked Zhang Chengye to recall this person from Youzhou to check and balance with Li Siyuan so that he could not seize the power of his son.

Zhou Dewei's words tore through the seemingly calm painted skin after Li Cunxu's death. The atmosphere in the room immediately became tense. The generals moved closer to their usual companions, holding the hilt of the knife, their eyes flashed, looking for a way out. Li Siyuan's face was still calm, and he replied in a deep voice: "Yang Wu said it was bad, and he had no other intentions. It just happened that all the generals were here today. Miao Jilie had no idea, but he just didn't want to be rewarded without merit. There was only one thing, I want to ask the king to agree!"

When Zhou Dewei heard this, he snorted coldly and stopped talking. When Li Jiji, who was in charge, heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "What is the matter with you? Just say it, as long as it is what I can do, I will never refuse."

"Miao Jilie has nothing to ask for. Please lead the six armies and cross the river to attack the thieves!"

If Li Siyuan said just now, he threw a plate in the room, then it was a bomb that shocked everyone. They never expected that Li Siyuan would ask Li Jiji to lead the troops to attack Liang at this time!

Li Jiji's face suddenly turned pale. He turned his head and looked at Zhang Chengye beside him, as if he wanted to seek help from this familiar old man. Zhang Chengye coughed softly and replied, "The general manager is such a misunderstanding. The bones of the previous king have not been buried yet. It's winter again, and it's not a good opportunity to advance! It's better to find an opportunity to advance after the New Year!"

Li Siyuan raised his head, and several scars on his cheeks were exposed. He replied loudly: "When the former king succeeded to the throne, internal and external affairs were in trouble. The Liang thieves besieged Jiacheng for many years, and the situation was a hundred times worse than today. However, the former king ruled the army with mourning clothes, led the army to drive forward, and defeated the Liang thieves from the Liang thieves. The old thieves were frightened. Now the former king abandoned his ministers and left, the soldiers were exhausted and the allies were dislodged. He was just crossing the river and attacking the thieves to calm the hearts of the people. The Liang thieves have all gone south, and the other are just old, weak and mediocre people, and they hold the river and the river and the river are dangerous. As cold and cold today, it is a good opportunity for our iron cavalry to attack the enemy. When my father passed away, he gave them three arrows and said that the people who avenged the revenge were descendants. Now the second arrows have been avenged, and there are still Liang thieves who have not been given the title. When the former king talked about this, he cried bitterly. I hope the king will not forget the great revenge and cross the river and attack the thieves!"

Li Siyuan said that Zhang Chengye couldn't help but feel silent. It turned out that when Li Keyong died of illness and Li Cunxu ascended the throne, his uncle Li Kening attempted to seize the throne, and the Liang army surrounded Shangdang Luzhou, which was blocked by Hedong. The situation was extremely dangerous. Li Cunxu deserved to be a hero of the times. He had just finished the funeral and planned to kill Li Kening with the help of Zhang Chengye, and then immediately led his troops to rescue the defenders of Luzhou. The Liang army had been surrounded by Luzhou for many years and built two long sieges, one to the inside and the other to the outside.

, garrisoned among the troops, so he called it Jiacheng, and maintained its strength. He also thought that Li Cunxu had just succeeded to the throne, and his power was unstable, so he could not send troops to rescue him. As a result, he was defeated by the Jin army in a storm. Since then, the situation between Liang and Jin has changed. Zhu Wen was shocked when he learned about it and said, "If you have a son, you should be like Li Yazi, and you will not die! As for my son, you will be like a pig and a dog ear!" Zhang Chengye was also a person who had experienced this incident personally. Thinking of the courage and decisiveness of the previous king Li Cunxu, he looked at Li Jiji with blue lips and white faces on the side, and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Although what General Manager Li said is reasonable, the situation has changed now, how can we generalize it?" Zhou Dewei's words touched most of the people in the field, and he hurriedly said: "When Luzhou was besieged, the former king had to take risks. Now the Jin army is on the river and is already in a good place. Now the soldiers are shaking. If they cross the river, the situation is unfavorable. I am afraid that the Hebei prefectures will fall apart, and the prefectures and counties that the former king won by hundreds of battles will no longer be owned by me." In fact, the two most important reasons for Zhou Dewei's opposition to advance were not expressed.

First, he did not think that Li Jiji had the commanding ability of his father. It was not a wise choice to cross the river with such a commander downward and dangerously; second, once he crossed the river, the actual commander in the army was Li Siyuan, who was the leader of the Jin army, so that Li Jiji would fall into the control of the other party and become a puppet. Moreover, if he really defeated Liang State, Li Siyuan would make the most profit from it. From this perspective, the existence of a foreign enemy like Liang State is very necessary for Li Jiji.
Chapter completed!