Chapter 254: The chain effect

Fengxiang, the western gate of Guanzhong is as calm and solemn as usual. The tall city wall is bathed in the golden sunshine in the morning. The metal armor on the soldiers shines in the sunshine. Five miles east of Fengxiang City, a small-scale military camp stands in a large field. Although it is not large in scale, it has tight defense. The huge wooden fence surrounded the military camp. The soldiers patrol back and forth on the six temporary sentry towers, staring sharply at the distance.

This is Zhang Huan's temporary personal military camp. One thousand personal military soldiers have been stationed for two days. Zhang Huan's team also arrived last night. At this moment, with the support of several personal soldiers, he looked into Fengxiang City in the distance. There were only eight thousand defenders in the city, and the governor was still Li Mo. This general who was originally loyal to Cui Yuan, resolutely surrendered to the new right prime minister Cui Yu after Cui Yuan fell three years ago. He was a hard supporter of Cui Yu. Although his troops were not large, Feng Xiang's strategic position was extremely important. He was originally defending against Tubo's eastward advance, but at this time he became a major place to strictly prevent Zhu Li from invading in the north. Feng Xiang also became the focus of attention in the entire Chang'an.

If we only look at the military, it is possible to seize Feng Xiang and Zhang Huan without any effort, but the consequences of doing so will be extremely serious. It will not only ruin my efforts to downplay the occupation of Longyou in recent years, but will also hinder the implementation of my future strategy. However, it is imperative to seize Feng Xiang. If Feng Xiang is seized, his political status will take a substantial step forward. If Pei Jun takes the initiative, he will regret it.

We cannot do recklessly or wait passively. The most critical point in this is to establish a situation where everyone hopes to station troops in Fengxiang, but we must leave the accusers with nothing to say. Perhaps this is politics.

"Governor, someone is here." The guards on the mail tower found that more than a dozen cavalry were galloping towards this side two miles away. Before Zhang Huan's orders, the personal commander Li Dingfang had led more than a hundred cavalry to come up and investigate. After a moment, Li Dingfang returned like a gust of wind. "Governor, the person who came called himself the Fengxiang Army marching Sima Hanqing."

Zhang Huan nodded, the person he was waiting for, "Take him into my tent."

Soon, the personal soldiers brought Han Qing to the commander's tent, and Han Qing, which was a hidden stake that Pei Jun inserted into Fengxiang's army. He worked with Zhang Huan three years ago and maintained contact. He is a key figure in whether the Fengxiang strategy can be realized this time.

"See the Governor!" Han Qing bowed and bowed to Zhang Huan. The reason for giving the subordinates to Zhang Huan was indeed because Han Qing was already half of Zhang Huan's subordinate. In the past three years, not only did Han Qing's parents, wife and children enjoyed wealth and glory in their hometown, but Han Qing himself also wrote letters to Zhang Huan many times to express his loyalty. Han Qing was a smart person. He knew that Longyou treated him like this because he had the value of existence. In order to increase his value, Han Qing worked hard on Li Mo and his wives and concubines in recent years, and gradually gained his trust. He was promoted to the marching Sima and the deputy envoy of the Jiedushi, becoming the second largest figure in the Fengxiang Army. The night before yesterday, Zhang Huan sent a secret envoy to find him, and he knew that the day for his success was finally here.

"Please sit down!" Zhang Huan lay halfway on the soft couch, smiled and waved his hand, "I'm injured, I can't stand up to greet Han Sima."

"I dare not." Han Qing sat down in a panic and said angrily: "I heard that the governor was stabbed by Zhu Li. It is really angering that this man dared to do such a thing at the feet of the emperor. Yesterday, this man had already returned to Hanzhong through Fengxiang. I still regret it now. If I had known that I would have stopped him for the governor."

Zhang Huan said that his almost stingy allegiance to Han Qing was just a smile. The world is often for profit, and it is not completely right to use it on Han Qing. The interests are only part of it, and the powerful relationship is the key to Han Qing's loyalty to himself. This person stepped on three boats, Cui Yu, Pei Jun, and then Longyou. Now no matter who he turned back and confessed to, he was dead. He himself knew this very well, so he wrote letters to loyalty again and again to eliminate Longyou's possible doubts about him.

"This time I look for Han Sima, I hope Han Sima will do some things." Zhang Huan glanced at him, and immediately showed his focused expression. He couldn't help but smile and continued: "First, I want the Fengxiang Army's soldiers list to have the most detailed information for each soldier; Second, I want the information of all the intermediate officers of Li Mo, and the most detailed; As for this third, I hope a case of Li Mo embezzling military pay will break out when I need it."

"I know, I will do it now." Han Qing agreed cleanly and neatly. He stood up and was about to leave, but Zhang Huan called him again. These three things are related to whether Fengxiang's strategy can be successful. He cannot be careless at all. Zhang Huan pondered for a moment, narrowed his eyes and smiled, "In order to protect your safety, I will give you three hundred soldiers to guard you. You can find a way to put them by yourself, as well as your parents, wife and children. I will also send someone to Longyou to let you have no worries. When this matter is done, you will take over the New Fengxiang Jiedushi!"

The best way to deal with Han Qing, a three-legged cat, is to cut off all his retreat and not give him any unreasonable possibility of thinking, so that he can be completely loyal to himself.

Han Qing left in panic, and the big tent became quiet again. Zhang Huan leaned halfway on the soft couch and pondered silently. He was interpreting the trend of every move in this big chess game in his mind, for fear of any omissions, Pei Jun, Cui Yu, Zhu Li, Cui Xiaofu, Cui Qinggong.

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, A sudden flash of his mind, "Cui Qinggong", he almost forgot this person. Since he could make a cut off to force the court in the canal transportation, it means that there are capable people around him. What will he do under the overall situation he arranged? Should he be alone or have other plans?

The tent was very quiet. Zhang Huan closed his eyes tightly, as if he was asleep. The dozen or so personal soldiers around him were motionless and did not dare to disturb the governor's deep thoughts. After about a quarter of an hour, his eyes slowly opened. Without a long-term plan, there must be immediate worries. If he had not prepared long ago, it would be too late to do so.

Zhang Huan turned over and sat up, resolutely ordered his personal soldiers: "I am urged to come to Shu, and ordered Lin Jiuhan to lead 30,000 troops to Nanping County (now Chongqing), and collect 300 large ships of troops transported for me within three days, and stand by at any time to advance eastward."

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Above the Fengxiang city wall, Li Mo stared at the West with concern. He had just received a report from the sidewalk that more than 50,000 troops in the two counties of Kaiyang and Longxi were approaching south of Fengxiang. This was the first time in three years. Although Li Mo also heard that Zhang Huan was assassinated in Chang'an, he also guessed that Zhang Huan was most likely preparing to attack Hanzhong.

He did not object to attack Hanzhong, and even agreed with both hands, but the 50,000 troops passed by the border still made him feel uneasy, just as if two people were fighting beside his bed, could he still fall asleep peacefully?

"Why is there no news about Cui Xiangguo?" Li Mo frowned and said to himself.

The personal soldiers beside him suddenly pointed at a soldier who was running towards the city wall and shouted: "General, there is news."

The soldier was running towards him with a letter in his hand. Li Mo was excited and quickly met him, "What's the news?"

"Report to the general, Zhang Huan, the governor of Longyou, sent someone to send a letter."

‘Zhang Huan?’ Li Mo felt disappointed. It was not Cui Yu’s letter, but Zhang Huan’s letter was also what he expected. Li Mo took the letter, tore off the letter skin, and shook the letter open.

"His Excellency Li Envoy, the governor of Fengxiang, Zhu Li was cruel and unkind, and had been suffering from Shu for a long time. Now the rat fled to Hanzhong. Huan heard that there were ten households and eight soldiers in Nanzheng, nine troops, and from eight years old Huangkou to sixty Cangtou all entered the military camp. He also heard that he forced tens of thousands of civilian women to join the army and followed the camp, and was called military wives. He lost his human ethics and morality, and Huan was not talented. He was willing to raise a brigade of righteous troops to fight him. He asked the envoy to borrow Chen Cang's troops, and Huanqiu would not violate it at all!'

After Li Mo finished reading it, he stood there silently for a long time. What should be coming is still here.

At this time, a deputy general next to him advised: "General, why not report this matter to the court and the court decides."

Li Mo sighed and said helplessly: "At this point, I can only do this."

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In mid-November of the sixth year of Xuanren, after Zhang Huan was assassinated, the Tang Dynasty changed suddenly. First, Kaiyang in Longyou, and the troops stationed in the two counties of Longxi gathered at the Fengxiang border. Then, regardless of his brother Zhu Tao's persuasion, Zhu Li, Hanzhong, gathered 100,000 troops to advance northward, attempting to take the initiative. As soon as the Hanzhong army moved, the rumors that Zhu Li wanted to attack Chang'an immediately flew all over the streets and alleys of Chang'an. Many businesses with business in Hanzhong even showed pigeon letters as evidence. For a while, the city of Chang'an was in panic and people were panicked.

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"

A carriage was running fast in the Daming Palace like lightning. Chu Xingshui on the carriage urged the driver to speed up from time to time, and Jiao Xun's expression showed his face. He had just received two news. First, his younger brother Chu Xingyun came from Guangling Feige, and Cui Qinggong's 200,000 troops stationed in Huaibei were signs of gathering in Ruyin.

Chu Xingshui immediately sent someone to Cui Qinggong's mansion to investigate, but learned that Cui Qinggong had quietly left Chang'an last night. On the one hand, the Huaibei army gathered, and on the other hand, Cui Qinggong left without saying goodbye. What was about to happen in the middle has clearly shown.

Cui Qinggong's possible offensive targets are Huainan.

Chu Xingshui did not care about the provisions that the palace was not allowed to run horses, so he rushed to ask Pei Jun for help. The carriage stopped in front of the steps of the Secretariat with a whistle. Chu Xingshui jumped off the carriage and ran up the steps.

In the room, Pei Jun paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. Compared with ordinary people in Chang'an, the news he received was more comprehensive and accurate. He already knew that Zhu Li's 30,000 vanguard troops encountered obstacles before Dasan Pass, and he also knew that Cui Qinggong had ordered the Huaibei army to assemble and prepare to attack Guangling in a large scale. He also knew that Cui Qinggong and Zhu Li had colluded with each other and wanted to divide the Tang Dynasty and govern the east and west.

But what he didn't expect was that the origin of this series of serious incidents was actually Zhang Huan's assassination, which forced Pei Jun to ponder the mystery behind this assassination.

At present, there are about 150,000 troops in the entire Guanzhong area, and Pei Jun's Qianniu Guards occupy 130,000. Li Na, who retreated from Hanzhong, led 10,000 remaining troops in Xinping County north of Chang'an, and the 8,000 troops in Fengxiang. The remaining about 2,000 troops are the Jinwu Guards of the Cui family, mainly stationed in several yards in Chang'an City, led by Cui Yu's second son Cui Ping.

The 130,000 troops of Qianniu Guards are Pei Jun's direct elite army. They firmly control Guanzhong. He will never use it unless he has to. This time, Zhu Li in Hanzhong made an abnormal movement. Although Pei Jun knew that the possibility of invading Guanzhong was not high, he still decided to transfer 80,000 troops from Hedong to Guanzhong to prepare for defense (it needs to be added here that the division of forces in Hedong has not been in three years. The Cui family has been shrinking step by step, leaving only Shangdang and Gaoping counties. The rest are all eroded by the Pei family. Now among the 400,000 troops of the Pei family, there are 100,000 troops in Hebei, 200,000 in Hedong, 130,000 in Guanzhong, and 70,000 in north of Guanlong.)

Now, not only is Zhu Lihuo desperate, but Cui Qinggong from Huaibei is also ready to move, which makes Pei Jun difficult for a moment to decide. How to arrange the 80,000 troops transferred from Hedong? Should it be coming from the west or going east?

While thinking, the document was reporting outside the door, "Shangshu Chu asked for an urgent matter."

"Let him come in!" Pei Jun smiled. Of course he knew what Chu Xingshui came for. Speaking of which, Chu Xingshui's daughter was Pei Jun's daughter-in-law. These two powerful officials of the Tang Dynasty formed an alliance to deal with Cui Yuan. With Cui Yuan's fall, the two allies gradually developed rifts due to Pei Jun's strengthening control of the financial power of the Jianghuai region. To this day, the two have long dreamed of the same bed.

As soon as Pei Jun finished speaking, Chu Xingshui strode in. He couldn't hide the anxiety on his face and said loudly: "Care you know why Cui Qinggong returned to Huaibei?"

"Don't worry, come! Please sit down." Pei Jun smiled and asked Chu Xingshui to sit down. He narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "Cui Qinggong is just a clown who jumps on the rock. You don't have to take him too seriously. I also know that you have 100,000 troops in your hands and strong financial and material resources. You should be more than enough to deal with him. If you are not at ease, I can order the Ministry of War to transfer the regiment from Jiangnan East to train troops to help."

Pei Jun's words suddenly made Chu Xingshui's heart feel cold. He stood up and said coldly: "What does this mean by Prime Minister? Do you want my family to fight against Cui Qinggong? I have 100,000 troops in Huainan, but most of them are new recruits. It is because of the Prime Minister's repeated obstruction that I was able to recruit this year. After only a few months of training, can I compete with Cui Qinggong's Tiger and Wolf Army? As for the regiment training, it is not complete and the military morale is scattered. What's the point of such an army even if it comes to 500,000 troops? Besides, the regiment training in the east of Jiangnan has only 30,000 troops. I don't believe it. Does the Prime Minister really hope that Cui Qinggong will occupy the entire Jianghuai?"

"Don't be angry! Don't be angry!" Pei Jun smiled and pressed Chu Xingshui down, "I'm just joking with my brother."

He quickly walked to the map, pointed to the map on the wall with a wooden pole and said, "I have ordered the transfer of 80,000 troops from Shaanxi County and Hongnong County to the east to Xinzheng and Xuchang, and to cooperate with the 20,000 defenders from Luoyang. If Cui Qinggong really dares to attack Huainan, the 100,000 troops will attack Huainan from behind."

Speaking of this, Pei Jun put the wooden pole on his back and smiled confidently: "But I think the reason why Cui Qinggong's attack on Huainan is actually betting that I have no time to look east. Since I have sent troops, he will definitely not dare to act rashly."

Chu Xingshui pondered for a moment, immediately stood up and bowed to thank him, "Thank you for your help from the Prime Minister. I will rush back to Huainan now. If there is nothing wrong, I will strive to come back before the New Year."

"Okay! I feel relieved if I have a virtuous brother in Huainan."

Chu Xingshui left in a hurry, and Pei Jun's brows immediately frowned. He was not dealing with Chu Xingshui, but really decided to warn Cui Qinggong that the area between Guangling County and Yuhang County was the richest place in the Tang Dynasty. If it was occupied by Cui Qinggong, it would be his Pei Jun's nightmare. In any case, he would not let Cui Qinggong succeed. He just focused on Huaibei. What should Zhu Li do in Hanzhong? Could it be that he could only leave it to Zhang Huai?

Pei Jun hesitated for a long time, and finally made up his mind. He walked to the table and wrote three letters to order the guards to send them out. One was to order the garrisons of Shaanxi County and Hongnong County to march eastward; the other was to Cui Yuan, hoping that he could consider the overall situation and send troops from Shandong to Peng County to cooperate with his ambition to stop Cui Qinggong; and the last letter was to Zhang Huan, who fully agreed to his three conditions, hoping that he could control Zhu Li for the court.

After sending three letters, Pei Jun felt much more relaxed. He returned to the map and carefully studied the situation in the Central Plains. After reading for a while, he couldn't help but sigh. Cui Qinggong from Huaibei, Li Xilie from Huaixi, and Li Huaixian from Chenliu, these three people are all birds of a feather. If they were not eliminated as soon as possible, they might be the root of the turmoil in the Tang Dynasty in the future.

At this time, a slight footsteps came from the door. Pei Jun slowly turned around and saw that it was Pei Danming standing in front of the door. He couldn't help but look down and scolded unhappily: "How did you do it? Didn't you say you had already bribed Ma Siyi? Why did Cui Qinggong still act like this?"

Three questions were raised in a row, and Pei Danming blushed and couldn't answer for a long time. Pei Jun glanced at him and said coldly: "I'll give you another last chance. You can contact Ma Siyi in person and let him stop Cui Qinggong from advancing east. If you really can't stop it, you must also let him delay Cui Qinggong's advancing east for at least one month. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Pei Danming agreed, turned around and left.
Chapter completed!