Ma Yin learned that Li Cunxu had killed Zhu Liang, and hurriedly found Gao Yu to discuss countermeasures. In the past few years, Ma Yin had been focusing on the management of internal affairs, and at the same time tried to make good friends with all parties. Except with Wu Guo

Apart from being irresolvable enemies, he basically gets along well with his neighbors.

Of course, he wanted to make peace because Ma Yin was already seventy-one years old and had no desire to compete for supremacy. Besides, his energy was no longer what it was when he was young, so he began to consciously and gradually let go and handed over some affairs to

He planned to select an heir from among his several sons. By this time, Ma Yin had more than thirty sons, but most of them were still young, so Ma Yin mainly investigated a few adult sons.

The eldest son, Ma Xizhen, was thirty years old at the time. He was born to Ma Yin and Mrs. Liu Xinglan when they were in Yangzhou. He had good abilities and a certain reputation. However, Ma Xizhen valued literature over martial arts. Although his literary talent was good, his military skills were insufficient. At this time, Ma Xizhen was in Langzhou.

As Wushun's envoy, Ma Xizhen liked to write poems and often sang harmonies with the monk Xuzhong. The sentence "Jiayu is in the depths, and there are many birds standing there" was recited for a while. However, Ma Yin felt that he was too weak, so he did not like him very much.

However, Ma Xizhen received strong support from Gao Yu and Ma Bin, so Ma Yin was a little hesitant. After all, Gao Yu was Ma Yin's most trusted advisor, and he also planned to serve as Tuogu minister in the future. Ma Yin had to treat Gao Yu's opinions with caution.

The reason why Gao Yu supports Ma Xizhen is, firstly, because Ma Xizhen is the eldest son, which is in line with the ancient tradition; secondly, because Ma Xizhen’s mother, Liu Xinglan, paid special attention to Gao Yu and saved his life; thirdly, Ma Xizhen is a generous person and has quite a lot of love.

Father style.

Ma Yin's second brother Ma Bin spent a long time with Ma Xizhen's mother Liu Xinglan, so he naturally valued Ma Xizhen, so he preferred Ma Xizhen as his successor.

If it were not for the support of Gao Yu and Ma Bin, Ma Yin would have excluded Ma Xizhen from the selection of heirs. However, Gao Yu and Ma Bin offended Ma Yin's favorite princess Yuan Wenxiang and his wife Chen Dannu.

, as well as their respective sons Ma Xisheng and Ma Xifan. Of course, it was nothing to Ma Bin. He was their second uncle after all. But it was different for Gao Yu, which laid hidden dangers for his subsequent experiences.

The second son, Ma Xisheng, was twenty-five years old at the time and was born to Ma Yin and Princess Yuan Wenxiang in Tanzhou. Because Ma Yin and Wenxiang had a very deep relationship, Ma Yin loved Ma Xisheng throughout the house and was particularly fond of Ma Xisheng. Ma Yin appointed Ma Xisheng as his successor.

The deputy envoy of Wu'an Jiedu also served as the commander of the military capital, assisting him in handling daily government affairs and protecting the safety of the palace. At this time, Ma Xisheng was already married, and Ma Yin married Ma Xisheng, the posthumous second daughter of Yang, the commander of the Jiedu Marching Army.

Ma Xisheng was not only favored by his father, King Ma Yin, and his mother, Yuan Wenxiang, but also by his third uncle, Ma Cun, and Yuan Wenxiang's uncle, Yuan Quan. Ma Cun and Wenxiang once went south to Tanzhou together, and they spent a long time together, so their relationship was naturally close.

This gave strong support to Ma Xisheng. Therefore, although Ma Xisheng was Ma Yin's second son, he had the upper hand over his elder brother Ma Xizhen.

The third son, Ma Xifan, was born on the same day as Ma Xisheng, to Ma Yin and his wife Chen Danv. Ma Xifan was smart, studious, and good at poetry. However, because Ma Yin was not particularly fond of Mrs. Chen Danv, Ma Yin did not consider him.

As an heir, he also deliberately cultivated him, hoping that he could be Ma Xisheng's assistant in the future. Therefore, Ma Yin appointed Ma Xifan as the commander of Yanei Mabu City, responsible for the defense of Tanzhou City. Ma Xifan was also married, and his wife was Peng Gan's daughter.

.As for the other sons, they are still young, so naturally they are not included in the consideration.

After Gao Yu entered the palace, Ma Yin asked him for his opinion on how to deal with the change of ownership in the Central Plains. Gao Yu said: "Your Majesty, we still adhere to the original strategy. Regardless of whether the Central Plains emperor is surnamed Zhu or Li, we will all declare him a vassal.

.Maintain good relations and do good trade. Now that Li Cunxu is in power, we should immediately send people to the Central Plains to express our allegiance and loyalty to Li Cunxu." Ma Yin nodded and said: "Sir, what you said is true, then who should we send to compare with him?

suitable?"

Gao Yu thought for a while and said: "The person sent must have a noble status, a certain reputation, and be eloquent. Gao thought that the third prince was the most suitable candidate." Ma Yin thought for a while and said:

"Xifan is really quick-witted and has outstanding eloquence. Let him prepare and set off in a few days." Then, Ma Yin asked someone to find Ma Xifan, and he wanted to explain in person.

In addition to Ma Yin who was preparing to send people to Luoyang to meet Li Cunxu, other vassal kings in the south of the Yangtze River also had the same plan. Qian Liu, the king of Wuyue and also from the Zhuliang vassal kingdom, had a very bad relationship with Li Cunxu before because he had offended Li Cunxu. Qian

Li once sent envoys to provoke Khitan Abaoji to invade south to help Zhu Liang. At the same time, he also provided ships and sent envoys to help Zhu Liang establish contact with Khitan. He also gave Abaoji fierce oil to attack Li Cunxu's Youzhou. If Li Cunxu

If he were to be investigated, Qian Liu might not be able to escape.

After Zhu Liang was destroyed, Qian Liu thought for a long time and sent Qian Xun as an envoy to pay tribute. Wu and Yue were already relatively wealthy, so in order to make Li Cunxu not care about what he had done before, Qian Liu ordered the envoy to bring a very large tribute bill.

Rich. Among them are gold, silver and other valuables, as well as Yue Ling, Wu Ling, secret color porcelain and other Wuyue specialties. At the same time, a large amount of money is also prepared to bribe Li Cunxu.

Qian Liu also proposed to Li Cunxu that he would use the official position, title, and gold seal that Zhu Liang had awarded him.

They all hoped that Li Cunxu could ratify it once more, so that Wuyue would naturally change from a vassal state of Zhu Liang to a vassal state of Li Tang.

Someone in the Tang court objected: "According to convention, only the emperor's sacrifice can use the jade book. How can Qian Liu be qualified to use it? Moreover, Qian Liu is not a member of the royal family and cannot be crowned king!" Li Cunxu did not follow their advice and quickly issued an edict.

, granted Qian Liu the titles of Marshal of the Military and Horse Command of the World, Shangshu Ling, King of Wu and Yue, etc. At the same time, Qian Liu's son Qian Chuanguan was appointed as Grand Master of the School, and concurrently as Zhongshu Ling.

In order to inspect the school and be the Taibao, he also served as Zhongshu Ling and Zhongwu Jiedushi. At this point, Wuyue Kingdom officially became a vassal state of the Later Tang Dynasty.

Liu Yan of the Southern Han Dynasty also sent a palace envoy He Ci to Luoyang with the letter of credence "The King of the Han Dynasty addressed to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty" to spy on the strength of the new dynasty. When He Ci returned to Guangzhou,

Reported to Liu Yan: He said that Li Cunxu, the governor of Luozhou, was very proud and extravagant, and could not govern the country well. Liu Yan was overjoyed and felt that he was still at ease, so he severed contact with Tang Ting.

At this time, Wang Jian, the king of Shu, had died, and the new king of Shu was Wang Jian's son, Wang Yan. However, after Wang Yan came to the throne, he became dissolute and immoral, entrusting himself to eunuchs and having sex with guests. He also liked to travel among the people incognito, drink alcohol day and night, and loved luxury.

He spent a lot of money on building palaces and touring various counties, which made the Shu people restless. Therefore, he did not take Li Cunxu seriously and did not send envoys to Luoyang to express his allegiance to Li Cunxu.

But for Jingnan Jiedushi and Bohai King Gao Jixing, he was immediately nervous. Because he was the weakest among the vassal towns in Jiangnan, but also the closest. If Li Cunxu wanted to go to Jiangnan, he would be the first to bear the brunt. Zhu Liang was so quick

Gao Jixing could not help but be shocked. He immediately felt the huge threat from the Tang army and hurriedly found counselors to discuss countermeasures. Counselor Sikong Xun believed that the situation was irresistible and Gao Jixing entered the court in person. If he curry favor with Li Cunxu, there might be a turning point.

.

But Liang Zhen, Gao Jixing's number one adviser, had different opinions. Liang Zhen was a native of Qiongzhou in the Shu region, and his original name was Liang Ai. When Xizong fled into Shu, young Liang Zhen took his poems to see the doctor Liu Xiang.

Liu Xiang admired his talent very much, but thought that his name was not chosen well. The word "Ai" means that if you go to ask for help on a rainy day, you will be rejected easily. It is better to change "Ai" to "Zhen". The word "Zhen" means a dragon falling under the rain. When a dragon encounters clouds and rain, it will definitely

The future was promising. So Liang Ai changed her name to Liang Zhen.

Later, Xizong returned to Chang'an, and Liang Zhen went to Beijing and won the Jinshi. After Zhu Wen usurped the throne, Liang Zhen was unwilling to serve Zhu Wen, so he abandoned his post and returned south, planning to return to his hometown. Unexpectedly, when he passed through Jiangling, he met Gao Jixing. Gao Jixing

When he was trying to recruit talents, he admired Liang Zhen's talents very much, so he forcibly kept him and prepared to appoint him as the judge of Jiedu.

Liang Zhen was a noble man and looked down upon Zhu Wen, let alone Gao Jixing, Zhu Wen's god-grandson. Liang Zhen was unwilling to be Gao Jixing's subordinate, but he was afraid of offending Gao Jixing, and his life would be in danger. So he

Gao Jixing said: "I have never liked fame and wealth. If Ming Gong thinks I am not stupid enough, you must ask me to be your adviser. If you want to give me advice, I can serve you in white. It doesn't have to be with you."

Serve in the shogunate." Gao Jixing agreed to him.

Liang Zhen, Sikong Xun, Wang Baoyi and others were guests of Gao Jixing, but Liang Zhen did not accept Gao Jixing's official position. He always called himself a forward scholar and a hermit of Jingtai. Gao Jixing regarded him very highly and regarded him as his chief think tank.

For seniors.

Liang Zhen clearly opposed Gao Jixing's trip to Luoyang and said: "Li Cunxu has the ambition to annex the world. We should be on tight alert and defend ourselves according to danger. We may be able to protect ourselves, let alone have to travel thousands of miles to meet him. Your Majesty is a former general of the Liang Dynasty.

Who knows whether Li Cunxu will regard you as his enemy. It is really dangerous to go there rashly like this."

Gao Jixing thought over and over again and felt that in order to express his sincerity, he should go to the court to pay homage to Li Cunxu in person. Gao Jixing said to Liang Zhen, "I decided to take a risk!" Then, Gao Jixing left his son Gao Congjie to garrison in Jiangling, and brought a large amount of gold and silver with him.

, led three hundred knights to accompany him, and headed for Luoyang.

On November 19, Gao Jixing arrived in Luoyang. He was the first vassal king in the south of the Yangtze River to enter the court in person. Of course, the main reason was that he was close. Li Cunxu was very happy and immediately named Gao Jixing the Zhongshu Ling as a tribute to Gao Jixing.

award.

Li Cunxu said to Gao Jixing: "I have destroyed Zhu Liang. Now the only people in the world who do not respect the king's orders are Wu and Shu. I originally planned to send troops to attack Shu first, but I was worried that the land of Shu was dangerous and difficult to travel. There is only a road between Jiangnan and Huainan.

Dajiang, so I want to attack Wu first, what do you think?"

Gao Jixing was shocked because Jingnan was in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Wu State was in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. If Li Cunxu wanted to attack Wu first, the Tang army might make a false move to Jingnan. If this was the case, of course he would not agree. Among Gao Jixing's neighbors,

The relationship with the state of Wu is considered to be the best. Previously, the Chu army attacked Jiangling, and Gao Jixing was in danger. In the end, the state of Wu sent troops to help, and Ma Yin withdrew the Chu army.

Before entering the court, Gao Jixing had already speculated with Sikong Xun about Li Cunxu's possible questioning, so that Gao Jixing could deal with it calmly. Regarding this point, Sikong Xun believed that Li Cunxu should be provoked to attack Shu.

It is a key pass that no one can conquer. Let the Tang army and the Shu army fight in the mountains. The Tang army wins, and Jingnan can

Take the opportunity to advance westward and seize some territory. If the Shu army wins, the Tang army will definitely suffer heavy losses and will be unable to attack Jingnan.

Therefore, Gao Jixing replied: "I know a little about the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. The place there is small and the people are poor. Even if your Majesty conquers it, it will not bring much benefit to the country, and the gain outweighs the loss. It is better to attack Shu first. Shu is a famous land of abundance. Where is the land?

The people are rich, the products are rich, and great profits can be made if they get it. The leader of Shu, Wang Yan, is stupid and unprincipled, and the people in the country are filled with resentment. Once the army arrives, they will surely succeed. After destroying Shu, the army will go down the Yangtze River and capture Wu Yiru." Gao Jixing heard this.

Li Cunxu was overjoyed and patted Gao Jixing's back gently to show his closeness.

At this time, Gao Jixing had great respect for Li Cunxu, and Li Cunxu also loved Gao Jixing very much, and the relationship seemed to be very harmonious. But Gao Jixing felt more and more uncomfortable because the money he brought with him was about to run out. The greed of the eunuchs and actors around Li Cunxu also increased.

It was unlimited. Although Li Cunxu was kind to him, he kept silent about when he would return to Jiangling, which made Gao Jixing feel uneasy. Gao Jixing began to regret his decision to enter the court.

Soon after, Li Jitao and his son were killed on Tianjin Bridge, which shocked Gao Jixing even more. A few days before Li Jitao was beheaded, Li Cunxu was also very kind to Li Jitao. Gao Jixing secretly thought that this young emperor was far better than

The horror in my imagination, no one knows when he will turn his back. Luoyang is not a place where I have lived for a long time. I must do everything possible to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.

A few days later, Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao discussed matters together and talked about Gao Jixing. Li Cunxu told Guo Chong that he did not intend to let Gao Jixing go back. Guo Chongtao raised objections and said: "We just destroyed the puppet Liang and seized the world. But the people's hearts are not yet complete.

stability, the princes everywhere are still suspicious. Nowadays, the princes are paying tribute one after another, and those who come to the capital are only their children or subordinates. Only Gao Jixing came to the court in person to see him. For such a person, we should praise him heavily, so that the encouragement is still there

The princes who are waiting and watching surrender to the Tang Dynasty. If instead of commending him, we detain him, the princes in the world will think that we are narrow-minded and untrustworthy, and will give up the idea of ​​​​actively surrendering. This strategy is not a good one."

Li Cunxu listened to Guo Chongtao's suggestion and decided to send Gao Jixing back to Jiangling. After receiving the order, Gao Jixing did not dare to pause for a moment, and immediately led his three hundred guards to gallop south. Gao Jixing traveled both ways and soon arrived near Xuzhou

At this time, Gao Jixing breathed a sigh of relief and said to his attendants: "I made two mistakes on this trip. I came to see him, which was the first mistake, and he put me back, which was the second mistake!"

When Gao Jixing and his entourage arrived in Xuzhou, Kong Qing, the governor of Shannan Province who had a grudge against Gao Jixing, took him into the city and hosted a banquet in honor of him. Gao Jixing had no choice but to attend the banquet, but he felt deeply uneasy. Late that night, Gao Jixing and his entourage slipped away quietly.

He left the post house, cut open the city gate, escaped from Xuzhou, and ran southward. Soon after Gao Jixing left Luoyang, Li Cunxu regretted it, and sent people to chase Gao Jixing. But he arrived a step too late. When they caught up with Xuzhou,

Gao Jixing had already left the city.

On December 28, more than ten days after Li Jitao was killed, Gao Jixing returned to Jiangling. When Gao Jixing saw Liang Zhen who came to greet him, he excitedly held his hand and said, "I didn't listen to you. I almost missed him."

I won’t be able to come back.”

Then Gao Jixing told the civil and military officials in Jiangling about what he had seen Li Cunxu. Gao Jixing said: "The Lord went through hundreds of battles and finally captured Henan. As soon as he succeeded, he became arrogant and stretched out his hand to fight for him.

The generals who were born and died said: "I conquered the world with these ten fingers!" How could he be so complacent and ignore the achievements of other soldiers not to chill the soldiers? Besides, during the days when I was in the capital, he was not busy hunting.

, just busy listening to plays and intoxicated by the sensuality and pleasure. How can it last long if the political affairs are ruined? If I had known that he was such a person, I wouldn't have to worry too much. "

After Gao Jixing came back, he actively repaired the city, built the Xiluo City in Jiangling, and accumulated a large amount of military supplies. At the same time, taking advantage of the fall of the Liang Kingdom and the disbandment of the Liang Army, he recruited a large number of soldiers from the original Liang Army, which greatly increased the number of soldiers in Jingnan.

The military strength was greatly expanded in a short period of time, which enhanced Gao Jixing's capital.

Li Cunxu saw that Wu State did not take the initiative to send anyone to visit him, so he sent an envoy to Yangzhou to tell Wu State about the destruction of Liang. After Xu Wen got the news, he blamed Yan Keqiu and said, "You used to stop my plan, how can you do it now?"

What to do?" Yan Keqiu said with a smile: "I heard that the Lord of the Tang Dynasty had just acquired the Central Plains area and was very proud. When he used the people below, he had no rules at all. In a few years, there will be internal chaos. I feel sorry for them

When speaking, be respectful and modest, send generous gifts, guard our borders, and keep the people in peace, in order to wait for them to have civil strife."

An envoy from the Tang Dynasty came to the State of Wu and said that it was an edict from the Tang Emperor, but the State of Wu refused to accept it. Later, Li Cunxu changed the specifications of the letter and wrote in an equal tone: "The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty writes to the Lord of the State of Wu." The State of Wu then responded to the letter.

, also known as "the leader of Wu Kingdom and the emperor of Tang Dynasty".

Xu Wen then sent Lu Ping, a native of Luoyang, the minister of agriculture, to Luoyang as an envoy. Yan Keqiu anticipated what Li Cunxu would ask Lu Ping, so he taught Lu Ping how to answer. When Lu Ping arrived, everything turned out as Yan Keqiu expected.
Chapter completed!