December fifteenth.

The edict of Wang Shichong's surrender reached Xiangyang, and Wei King Wang Honglie surrendered in despair. Li Shimin ordered Shi Wansui, who was stationed in Yique, to take over the city and escort Wang Honglie to Luoyang.

*****

December eighteenth.

Wang Shichong's surrender edict also arrived in Xuzhou.

At this time, Liangzhou and Bozhou had been conquered by the coalition forces of Fugong Er and Zhang Gongjin, leaving only the isolated city of Xuzhou still holding on.

Seeing that Luoyang had surrendered, Wang Shibian had no choice but to dedicate the city sadly.

At this point, the Zheng regime established by Wang Shichong was completely destroyed.

Later, Fugong Er handed Xu and Liang states over to Zhang Gongjin and occupied Bozhou for himself, claiming that it was to resist the rebel king Li Zitong who occupied Jiangdu and other places.

Zhang Gongjin obeyed Xia Yu's instructions and accepted it without hesitation, and the two armies separated peacefully.

Fugong Er then led his army back south, preparing to march eastward and attack Li Zitong, who occupied the lower reaches of Changyou, in order to expand his sphere of influence.

*****

December twenty-six.

After Li Shiji led his army into Hebei, he went all the way north to accept the various states.

At this time, the Xia Kingdom was leaderless, and all the states surrendered. Li Shiji gathered all the lands in Hebei without a single blow, and successfully joined forces with Luo Yi, who was occupying Youyun.

At this point, northern China was basically unified under the Tang Dynasty, at least on the surface.

*****

Four years of martial arts.

After New Year's Day, Li Shimin left veteran general Qu Tutong to guard Luoyang and preside over the affairs of Daxingtai on Nadong Road. He also left Xu Jingzong, Chu Liang, Yao Silian and other civil servants to help him.

After arranging everything, Li Shimin immediately led the Eastern Expedition army back to Chang'an to accept the reward. For a time, the three armies were full of excitement and joy.

The whole journey was silent.

Today, the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, is the time to send the stove.

The army returning from the Eastern Expedition braved wind and snow and marched arduously on the vast land of Guanzhong.

Although the weather was very cold, they were about to return home and Chang'an was in sight. The morale of the three armies was very high, and they seemed to ignore the cold weather.

Xia Yu is not that stupid, riding a horse outside in the cold.

As a military advisor and civil servant representative of the Tang Dynasty, he had a carriage and a blazing charcoal fire, so he was naturally comfortable.

But even so, he was so cold that he shrank and hugged his fur tightly.

There is no way, he is from the south and cannot withstand the severe cold in the north. In his previous life, he had air conditioning and floor heating, but now he can only bear it.

There were two other people in the car.

One is Ling Jing, who is here to present a carriage. As a surrender, his rank is still low, so there is no need to think about a carriage.

The other is the silver screen.

Before leaving, Xia Yu asked Li Shimin for a favor and prepared to release him and let him return home.

Li Shimin naturally agreed to this small request.

But unexpectedly, Yinping was unwilling to go home.

The little girl said that her family was poor and had a large population, so she would not even have enough food to eat when she returned home. She was willing to follow Xia Yu and serve her wholeheartedly.

So Xia Yu got another maid.

Seeing that Xia Yu couldn't stand the cold, Ling Jing smiled and shook his head: "The military advisor is also a man of good fortune. The car is actually warm enough."

But this man had his fur collar open and was holding a small stove in his hand, looking very relaxed.

Xia Yu rolled her eyes and said angrily: "I'm from the south, so it doesn't seem strange that I can't stand the winter in the north."

Ling Jing shrugged: "By the way, where is the military master's fairyland?"

"Huaiyin."

Ling Jing was stunned: "The hometown of the Soldier Immortal Han Xin?"

"Um."

Ling Jing was in awe: "In ancient times, there was a generation of military immortals named Han Xin, and today there is a generation of military advisors seeking saints. Huaiyin is truly a land of outstanding people."

When Xia Yu mentioned her hometown, she suddenly fell silent.

He thought of his parents in his previous life again, wondering if they were still fine now. For a moment, he was filled with sadness and sadness, and he couldn't help but look sad.

When Ling Jing saw this, he cautiously said: "At the military advisor's house——"

Xia Yu waved her hands and said sadly: "There is no one left." His origin is a huge secret and he doesn't want to talk too much about it.

Ling Jing, however, immediately thought about it. He thought it was the war in the late Sui Dynasty and he died in the famine. He couldn't help but sympathized: "My condolences to the military advisor. Nine out of ten people are not going as they wish. The military advisor has achieved what he has today. It's enough that my uncle and aunt are alive in heaven."

It’s so comforting.”

"Yeah." Xia Yu nodded, feeling a little better.

He changed the subject and said: "By the way, Chang'an is the capital city, so it's not easy to live there. If you have nowhere to go, sir, how about staying in my house temporarily?"

Xia Yu estimated that Ling Jing was a surrendered minister and had no achievements at present. He must not be taken seriously by Li Shimin at the moment.

Therefore, it is unlikely to prepare a separate mansion for him.

After entering the city, it is estimated that he will either arrange a place to live in Prince Qin's palace, or he will be rewarded with some money and let him rent a house outside.

In this case, it would be better to live in his house. Anyway, he is alone, and it will be more lively with more people.

"Then I won't bother you." Ling Jing agreed with a smile.

He was saved by Xia Yu and surrendered by Xia Yu. In the eyes of the world, he is Xia Yu's person, so there is nothing to be polite about.

It just so happened that he also wanted to ask this Guigu disciple for more advice.

Xia Yu opened the car curtain again and saw Su Dingfang riding a horse and walking beside the car. The snowflakes falling from the sky dyed him white.

But Su Dingfang was worthy of being a military commander, a fierce general, and his physical fitness was extremely good, but he seemed as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Xia Yu sticking her head out, Su Dingfang stepped forward quickly, opened his mouth, exhaled, and said respectfully: "What are your instructions, teacher?"

"Dingfang, Mr. Ling will stay at my house when he arrives. You can come too."

"I listen to the teacher." Su Dingfang agreed with a smile.

The masters and apprentices in ancient times really had the same affection as father and son, so they were not polite at all to staying and eating at Xia Yu's house.

"By the way, where are you now?"

"Go back to the teacher, I heard that I'm going to Ba."

Come on!

This is a very familiar place name. Thirty miles southeast of Chang'an, the Baling Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is located here. Therefore, Bashang is also called Baling.

Bashang is the only place that must be passed from Tongguan to Chang'an. It is a military fortress with heavy troops stationed all year round.

Historically, it was extremely popular to bid farewell to Bashang. Scholars would often go to Bashang to see off their close friends, or even the court would send off an army for the Eastern Expedition.

"We're finally going to Chang'an." Xia Yu sighed.

There were no shock-absorbing springs in ancient times, so the carriage was bumpy and his bones were almost falling apart after being on the carriage for more than half a month.

Now, it is finally coming to an end.

At this moment, Yin Yuan flew over with a smile: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, the front army has arrived at Bashang, and the court has sent an imperial envoy to welcome us."

"His Highness asked you to ride up and catch up, and he will introduce you."

"All right."

Although he didn't want to blow the cold wind, it was impossible not to go. Xia Yu had no choice but to get out of the warm carriage, and Zhang Yu quickly took Teng Shuangbai.

Immediately, Su Dingfang and Yin Yuan surrounded Xia Yu, and the three horses galloped forward.

Not long after, a spacious river appeared on the vast plain ahead. This is Bashui, and this is where the name Bashang comes from.

Above the Ba River, there is a magnificent giant arch bridge that crosses from east to west, closely connecting Chang'an and Ba Shang.

This is Baqiao.

At this time, under the Ba Bridge, dragon flags were fluttering and ceremonial guards were everywhere. At a glance, it was clear that this was an important official sent by the imperial court to personally welcome the emperor on behalf of the emperor.

It seems that now it is not only popular to say goodbye to Bashang, but also to welcome Bashang.

From a distance, Xia Yu saw Li Shimin, and there was a tall and thin old man standing next to him, but he didn't know which celebrity he was.

As for the civil servants and generals who participated in the Eastern Expedition, they all arrived and accompanied them behind.

Coming closer, Xia Yu quickly dismounted and walked forward quickly.

Li Shimin smiled and said to the old man: "Mr. Pei, this is the wizard I met during this Eastern Expedition, the unparalleled military advisor and disciple of Guigu, Xia Yu."
To be continued...