Chapter 243 Who will win the destiny? (Sixth)

Hou Dayong rushed out of the mansion like a flying rush.

Daliang City was shrouded in darkness. The bright moon and sparse stars that were originally hanging in the sky suddenly disappeared without a trace. Most of the people in Daliang fell into a deep sleep and knew nothing about the changes in the sky.

The "Son of Wind" rarely runs in the city. Now there is no one on the street. Under the command of the master, the "Son of Wind" brings a gust of wind and runs by the street.

A flash of lightning strikes down from the depths of the sky, illuminating the dark Daliang City pale. Hou Dayong and several guards happened to pass by Guiyun Temple. Suddenly, lightning hit the eaves of the temple. A large piece of the eaves fell down and hit the ground, making a loud "boom".

Hou Dayong's mount "Son of Wind" is also considered an old corpse. It did not realize that the peaceful Daliang City would suddenly thunder and thunder. When the eaves fell to the ground, it was also startled, and roared upwards with a long roar. If it weren't for Hou Dayong's excellent riding skills, he would have been thrown to the ground by "Son of Wind".

The response of heaven and man! Chai Rong is in trouble!

When Hou Dayong went out, there were already unknown signs. At this time, when he saw God, his heart suddenly became even more squeezing.

Several horses ran towards the palace as fast as crazy, with the sound of horse hooves and thunder.

When he arrived in the palace, Queen Fu and Chai Zongxun were kneeling on the head of the bed. Chai Rong closed his eyes tightly. He didn't see him for a day and seemed to have lost a lot of weight again. The handsome and wise generation of Shenwu Lord had consumed all his energy and lay helplessly on the bed.

Fan Zhi, Wang Bo, Wei Renpu, Zhao Kuangyin and Wang Zhu came to the palace one after another. Queen Fu moved to the bedside and leaned into Chai Rong's ear and said softly.

Chai Rong suddenly opened his eyes, turned over and supported himself from the bed. He quickly glanced at the ministers, and his eyes were actually as clear as the Chu. Chai Rong raised his hand high, pointed at his son Chai Zongxun, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Sinces and Assistants."

All the ministers listened to Chai Rong's words with pointed ears, but after Chai Rong said three words, he stopped and kept in this position without saying a word.

I don’t know how long it took, but Queen Fu’s shrill wailed suddenly in the empty hall.

Hou Dayong was dizzy: Since he came to the Great Zhou Dynasty, history has changed a lot, but for Chai Rong, history still came as promised, devouring Chai Rong's 39-year-old young life like a monster.

The most wisest monarch of the Five Dynasties went like this!

The hall of the glorious and grand formerly suddenly had a layer of yin energy. Hou Dayong couldn't help but touch the pistol inserted in his arms. This gun was a masculine thing, and it could get the anger in the hall.

Soon, under Fan Zhi's arrangement, the entire empire was working for Chai Rong's funeral.

The emperor was absolutely rare in the empire, and his death became an extremely rare thing like a volcanic eruption. Scarcity is precious, and the emperor's funeral became the most serious, complicated and meticulous thing in the world. Only a few professionals such as Prime Minister Fan Zhi and Hanlin Bachelor Dou Yan can control it. Hou Dayong has been confused by these procedures, and he has extremely important things to do. Therefore, he is in a manner and honestly holds a puppet in front of him.

On July 6th, Fan Zhixuan issued an order, and King Liang ascended the throne in front of the coffin, and his ward was still in charge.

On July 26, a Hanlin scholar was sentenced to Taichang Temple as the posthumous title of Emperor Ruiwu Xiaowen, and the temple name was Shizong.

In mid-August, Han Tong, the governor of Youzhou, Yuan Yan, the governor of Cangzhou, and Zhang Yongde, who was in charge of Luzhou, sent emergency reports to Daliang, that the Khitan army and the Northern Han army were gathering large troops on the border, and small groups of enemy troops were constantly infiltrating.

The Yangtze River Navy has fought with the Southern Tang Navy several times, and they have won and lost.

The wolf smoke rose again!

On August 20, several prime ministers gathered in the front hall, and Fan Zhi sat in the middle. This was the first time since Chai Rong's death that all prime ministers gathered together to discuss matters.

When Chai Rong was in power, in order to prevent the emergence of powerful ministers, the position of chief minister had long been cancelled, but the prime minister took turns to be on duty. Which prime minister was worth the price? Which prime minister was the chief prime minister. However, in Chai Rong's will, Fan Zhi was appointed as the chief minister and the chief prime minister. Such an appointment restored the chief prime minister system in disguise.

Fan Zhi slapped several urgent documents on the table and angrily scolded: "The Northern Han Dynasty, the Khitan took advantage of the opportunity of our new mourning and attacked the border in a large scale. It is really a wolf's ambition. If he does not give a head-on blow, it will definitely damage my power."

Among the five prime ministers, Hou Dayong was led by military generals to the cabinet and became prime minister. He had the most say in military affairs. When Fan Zhi stopped his voice, he interjected: "This time, there were a moment, and the Khitan did not do all his strength in the battle of Gaoping, but only sent troops to assist in the battle. This time, in order to repay the shame of the 18 prefectures of Youyun, Yelu Shulu, the king of the Khitan, personally led nearly 100,000 Liao soldiers to Beijing, detour to Xijing, and by Dai County in the northeast of the Northern Han, to reach our territory. The Northern Han also took advantage of the situation to rob and sent general Liu Jiye to lead 30,000 troops, and had arrived in Tuanbai. The danger of this battle is even worse than that of the Battle of Gaoping."

In fact, there is another meaning in Hou Dayong's words: In the Battle of Gaoping, the new successor to the Great Zhou Dynasty was Chai Rong. Chai Rong was already 32 years old at this time, led troops to fight for many years, accumulated reputation, and had extremely strong control over his subordinates. At this time, the new king was still a boy, and he could not effectively control the three armies. This was the biggest disadvantage of the Great Zhou and the Khitan at present.

All the prime ministers knew about this situation and everyone was worried.

Wang Zhu said lightly: "Warriors come to block the enemy, and water comes to flood the earth, why worry?" Wang Zhu is an old man from Chai Rong's vassal. He is the most scattered person and likes to drink. Chai Rong trusts him very much, but he always asks him to be a casual official who is not big or small. However, when he is entrusting his orphans, Chai Rong still chooses Wang Zhu without hesitation.

Wang Zhu did not show off in the court, but Fan Zhi was Chai Rong's close minister and was very familiar with Wang Zhu. Seeing that he was speaking so lightly, he said, "If there was only one enemy, I would not be so anxious. The Southern Tang Navy is also ready to move recently."

Wang Pu once participated in the Southern Expedition and was very disdainful of the Southern Tang Navy. "With my Yangtze River Navy stationed on the river, the Southern Tang Navy would not dare to act rashly even if he had eight courages. Fan Xiang was too worried."

Fan Zhi explained: "The Southern Tang Navy is a little different this time. Lin Renzhao is the leader of the Southern Tang Navy."

Lin Renzhao was accustomed to fighting, and he had many achievements in fighting with the Great Zhou army. He enjoyed a high prestige in the Southern Tang army. The Great Zhou navy also hated and feared the Southern Tang general. There was a saying in ancient times that no one was perfect, no gold was red and gold. Lin Renzhao was a brave general and wise general, but he was quite slow in politics. He offended the villain around Li Jing several times.

In order to weaken the strength of the Southern Tang naval army, the Great Zhou Dynasty also sent me the Southern Tang Dynasty to spread rumors that Lin Renzhao was respectful. This rumor was used by Huangfu Jixun and others, and Li Jing gave Lin Renzhao a idle position. In the three-year battle between the Southern Tang and the Great Zhou, Lin Renzhao, a famous general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was watching the wall. Seeing the Southern Tang naval army, which was originally invincible across the Yangtze River, being beaten by the New Navy of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Lin Renzhao was full of plans but no one cared about it, and was furious and couldn't afford to get sick.

This time, Lin Renzhao was reused. It was all due to Li Yu's merit. After hearing the news that the Great Zhou army had captured Youzhou, Li Jing, the leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, fell to the ground and was bedridden, and handed over the state affairs to Li Yu. Li Yu had just taken over the state affairs. He had a certain ambition. After receiving the secret envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty, he also became interested in the Northern Expedition and had this intention. He immediately appointed Lin Renzhao, a famous general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, who was abandoned, and made him the commander of the Navy and support the offensive of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Wang Pu also heard of Lin Renzhao's name, but he did not give in and said, "Li Jing has been scared by our army. If Lin Renzhao is re-activated, the Southern Tang Dynasty may be led by Li Yu. Li Yu, an ignorant child, will not show him the experience, and I don't know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is."

Hou Dayong's head was turning rapidly. Since Chai Rong's death, he had been looking for the opportunity for the Black Eagle Army to go south to Daliang. At this time, the Feiying Hall had become active again, and the military camp far away in Lingzhou officially entered the Central Plains. Both systems brought details of the adjustment of troops from the Northern Han, Southern Tang, Khitan and Western Shu. Therefore, Hou Dayong was well aware of the situation in the world: the Great Zhou Dynasty captured Youzhou. The shock to all directions was too great. In order to protect themselves, the forces such as the Northern Han, Southern Tang, and Western Shu had begun to show a united trend. This was just like in the Warring States Period, countries joined forces to strengthen Qin.

Since becoming the chief prime minister, Fan Zhi has become more majestic invisibly. He said slowly: "Have Zhao Shumi been sent to the envoy?"

This question did not clarify who was asking. The Chief Prime Minister had a very important power, which was to preside over the council under the Secretariat. If he had mastered this right to speak, many things would have room for manipulation.

The minister of the Central Secretariat was the office of the prime minister. At this time, the issues discussed by everyone involved state secrets and all irrelevant people were avoided. Therefore, all the people in the seat were the prime minister. None of them answered the question about Fan Zhi.

No one responded, and this was as expected by Fan Zhi. He slowly glanced over, and finally looked at Wang Zhuo, saying, "Please send someone to urge Zhao Shumi?"

If Chai Rong was still there, Wang Zhu's identity was naturally different. At this time, Chai Rong was dead. Wang Zhu had not had a deep foundation in the court, so Fan Zhi called his name. Wang Zhu smiled faintly, got up and walked out the door.

Fan Zhi said to Wei Renpu again: "Previous Wei, what are your good plans?"

Although Wei Renpu had served as Privy Councilor, he never led troops himself or commanded major battles. He rarely spoke about specific battles. However, after serving as Privy Councilor for many years, Wei Renpu was very familiar with the situation. After thinking for a brief moment, he said: "The Great Zhou faces four enemies, and these four enemies are divided into strengths and weaknesses. The Khitan is the strongest, and the Northern Han is second."

"Although the Southern Tang Dynasty is rich, even if there are a brave general like Lin Renzhao, it is hard to regret the powerful Yangtze River naval commander across the Yangtze River. The Southern Tang Dynasty does not pose any threat to me."

"Although there are abnormal movements in Western Shu, General Li Chongjin strangled Qinzhou's throat. The Western Shu army could not cross the Qinling Mountains at all. Southern Tang and Western Shu were not worried about it."

Fan Zhi nodded gracefully and said, "Wei Xiang is right."

Fan Zhi and Wei Renpu were originally prime ministers of the same level. At this time, Fan Zhi commented on Wei Renpu's views with great style, and there was a bit of conversation between superiors and subordinates. Wei Renpu was a minor official, and was most skilled in observing words and expressions. He knew very well about the hidden rules of the officialdom and his mind was also hidden very well. He heard the meaning of Fan Zhi's words, and sat in his seat without expressing his expression and his eyes were watching his nose and his nose, as if he had entered a meditation.

Wei Renpu had already made a decision in his mind: Fan Zhi is the prime minister, Hou Dayong is a powerful prime minister who has just made great contributions, and is a member of the royal family. From historical experience, two tigers cannot be accommodated in one mountain, and Fan Zhi and Hou Dayong may have conflicts at any time. At this time, the best strategy is to watch from the wall.

During the first southern expedition, Wang Bo was punished for his mistakes. Later, after his official reinstatement, his ranking among the prime ministers was behind Hou Dayong. At this time, he held the same thoughts as Wei Renpu and remained firm.

"Wei Xiang is right." Fan Zhi emphasized again and said: "The Khitan Army is the biggest enemy of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The focus of our army is in the north. We must immediately send brave generals who can fight and lead the imperial guards to Luzhou to fight."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud voice sounded outside the door: "The last general Zhao Kuangyin is willing to lead his army to fight the Khitans." Although it was in Daliang City, Zhao Kuangyin, as the Privy Councilor, was still wearing military uniforms and walked to Fan Zhi in great strides.

Fan Zhi laughed and said, "Haha, ha" and said, "Zhao Shumi has always been the vanguard of the army. He has made countless military achievements. Zhao Shumi led his troops to the expedition. He will definitely be able to win the flag, expel the Khitans, and ensure the safety of our borders."

Fan Zhi became the chief auxiliary minister and felt that the responsibility was as heavy as Mount Tai. He had been prime minister for many years, and his disciples and former officials were all over the court and the country, but the chief generals in the army had no confidant except Han Tong, so he was extremely uneasy. In order to capture the Great Zhou army, Fan Zhi had tested Zhao Kuangyin several times. The two of them joined forces with each other and formed a preliminary alliance. This time, they sent troops to Luzhou, and the two had conspired many times in advance.

Hou Dayong sighed secretly: He tried every means to weaken Zhao Kuangyin's military power. Who knew that this person was really good and actually regained military power in this way. Is it really inevitable that he would fight with him?

Fan Zhi glanced at the prime ministers and said, "The Khitan army is powerful, and the vanguard has arrived at Baimaling. Without further ado, Zhao Shumi led the imperial guards to Xingzhou as the general who fought against the enemy. General Yuan of Cangzhou led the Cangzhou army to Dingzhou. The Khitan army has never brought food and grass and cannot fight for a long time. In this battle, only by defending the dangerous pass, the Khitan people will naturally return without success."

"The troops and horses of Daming Prefecture, Chanzhou, Caozhou and Dezhou were transferred, with a total of 30,000 troops to form the rear army, and Han Lingkun, the commander of the Yulin Metropolitan Commander, was appointed as the commander of the rear army."

"The Bian River Navy heads north along the Yongji Canal, and military rations accumulate in Dezhou."
Chapter completed!