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Volume One One Hundred and Seventy-Two Talking about Love

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    One hundred and seventy-two interceding

    It can be said that the Northern Expedition of the Southern Tang Dynasty was not only expected by Meng Ju, but also beyond his expectations.

    Since His Majesty Renxing, Emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, came to power, this ambitious young emperor has been actively preparing for war.  He purged the incompetent military veterans, promoted a group of talented young generals, invested heavily in the production and development of battle armor, reused shrewd and capable military generals such as Xiao Hewo, Shen Haoran, and Wei Ying, and used strong initiative to  Looking at the vast plains north of the Yangtze River - in fact, starting from the seventh year of Taichang, the news that the Southern Tang was preparing for the Northern Expedition had been widely circulated, and even the tea egg vendors in Luojing knew about it.

    But helplessly, although the emperor was ambitious, most of his ministers were just soy sauce.

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????OUT out of the Southern Dynasties and the Northern Expedition, each time it started with ambition and ended with tears.  It was the consensus of the courtiers in the Southern Tang Dynasty that the Northern soldiers were powerful and invincible.  It's okay to win the battle, but what if we lose the battle and provoke the Northern soldiers to kill them across the Yangtze River?

    Facing the ambitious and enthusiastic young emperor, the cunning courtiers will certainly not object - this is a matter of stance and cannot be wrong - we absolutely support His Majesty's Northern Expedition, but what is the goal of the Northern Expedition? It is Western Shu.  Or the Northern Wei Dynasty?

    At the Jiangdu court, ministers from the two factions argued endlessly.

    According to Meng Ju¡¯s opinion, whether to choose Jianghuai or Bashu is purely a strategic issue. It should be discussed by the generals, analyzing the military strength, equipment, terrain and other factors of both sides, and then naturally drawing conclusions.

    But unfortunately, it is not the soldiers who make the decision, but the ministers in the court - no matter how simple the matter is, if it is left in the hands of civilian officials, it will become a complicated and big trouble.

    At the Jiangdu court, the civil servants quoted scriptures and argued endlessly. However, they were not arguing about specific military issues such as equipment, military strength, terrain, etc. - they did not understand these issues - but they tried their best to emphasize that they were loyal to the court, so they  The proposition must not be wrong. By the way, the fallacy and evil intentions of the other party's proposition must be proved to be a spy sent by the enemy. This is also the usual law of Chinese political disputes: because I am a loyal minister, the loyal minister's proposition is naturally good, and it must be a spy sent by the enemy.  My loyal minister, the people I oppose are naturally evil people, and the words of evil people must never be believed.

    The Jiangdu court discussed it for more than half a year, and it eventually turned into a political dispute between the two major powers in the court and China. Meng Ju sometimes wondered whether the ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty wanted the long debate to wear away the young emperor's patience and let him go.  Is he just playing with his wife in the harem?

    The Southern Tang Dynasty talked about the Northern Expedition every day, but they always heard the sound of the stairs and no one came down. Meng Ju felt that the Northern Expedition was like a mirage in the desert and could never be reached.  Especially after returning from Luojing and losing contact with Mr. Yi, he felt that the eight years of Yinghou experience were as illusory as a dream, slowly dissipating like dust and smoke.

    But now, when he suddenly received the report from the General Administration, Meng Ju felt complicated and couldn't explain what it was like. He held the letter in a daze for a long time.

    "Lord Governor, has the Northern Expedition started in the Southern Tang Dynasty? Did we lose or win?"

    Ouyang Hui asked curiously, and everyone looked over - it is said that there are no less than thirty Doukai masters on the Jiangdu to Xiangyang line, with nearly 7,000 Doukai masters of various types. They have been preparing for so many years, and it is unknown whether the Northern Wei Dynasty  Can Jianghuai Town and Yunan Town on the frontier resist?  Although everyone usually has a lot of dissatisfaction and resentment towards the imperial court, after all, the imperial court is their breadwinner. When they heard that Southern Tang was launching a massive attack, everyone couldn't help but become worried.

    Meng Ju shook his head: "No fight - the official letter from the General Administration said that the Southern Tang army was attacking the Western Shu Kingdom. They had captured the two cities of Yiling and Zigui in the southern county of Western Shu, and were about to capture the entire county of Wanzhou - see  Come on, the southern army is sharp and its march into Sichuan is unstoppable."

    Knowing that the Southern Tang Dynasty was not directly attacking the Northern Wei Dynasty, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  Everyone felt that although Western Shu was a vassal state of the Northern Wei Dynasty, they also professed vassalage to the Southern Tang Dynasty - let these two-faced gangs fight to the death with the Southern Army, and it would be best if they all died together.

    Meng Ju vaguely felt that the Southern Tang Dynasty made a mistake by choosing Xishu to attack first - it was full of strength, then weakened, and exhausted in three attempts. The Southern Tang Dynasty failed to target its great enemy, the Northern Wei Dynasty, and instead chose to be safe.  Xishu, this is a big strategic mistake.  The decisive battle with the Northern Wei Dynasty was a battle of life and death. Although it was dangerous, once the victory was won and the Central Plains was recovered, the world would be settled and Western Shu could be brought to peace.

    If we attack Western Shu, we have a better chance of winning, but the roads in central Shu are rugged, the terrain is complex, and the armored warriors in the witch temples are also quite capable. Even if the Southern Tang army can win, it will suffer a lot, and it will no longer be able to compete with the Northern Wei Dynasty for hegemony - the Southern Tang Dynasty.  Tang Jun and his ministers were too striving for stability. They did not have the kind of determination and courage to make a life-or-death decision in a blink of an eye. They wasted their opportunity.

    Meng Ju read the letter again. The letter was from NanIt was written by Muhe himself, half official letter and half private letter.  In addition to reporting the news of the Southern Tang Dynasty's invasion of Shu, Nan Muhe also asked Meng Ju about the progress of forming a new army.  He made it clear that Dongping was located in northern Xinjiang and was not affected by the war between Southern Tang and Western Shu for the time being.  But once the Southern Tang Dynasty officially annexed Western Shu, the Hanzhong Town of the Wei Dynasty would become a new front line. Chang'an and Guanzhong were both threatened, and the imperial court might dispatch troops from the northern front line to return to Hanzhong Town.

    Meng Ju just smiled at the news and didn't worry about it at all: even if the Southern Tang Dynasty really called, they would not choose to go north from Bashu - historically, those who went from the north of Bashu to Hanzhong took the Baoxie Road and passed Dashan Pass.  The Northern Expedition was never successful. The roads there were too rugged. They chose to attack Guanzhong from Bashu instead of the plain areas like Jianghuai and southern Henan, unless the people in the Southern Tang Dynasty were all crazy.

    While he was daydreaming, he suddenly saw Yuan Yikang, the governor of Dongping over there, looking over.

    The two men made eye contact, and Meng Ju smiled politely. Yuan Yikang hesitated for a moment, but then walked towards Meng Ju. Meng Ju went up to meet him and asked, "Do you have something to do with me, Governor Yuan?"

    Yuan Yikang nodded. He looked at the monks playing gongs and drums over there, and whispered: "Originally, I thought it would not be good for Ye Zhendu Lingqian to say these things, but I met him here, so I still said it.  Well, it will save you all the trouble of going back. I have something to do, and I would like to ask my brother for a favor."

    "If the Governor has something to do, please give me your orders. How dare you disobey your orders?"

    "Haha, I'm being serious - I heard that Zheng Liu from Yuelai Pawnshop offended me last night? Did he commit something?"

    Yuan Yikang smiled, but his eyes were staring at Meng Ju intently.

    When Yuan Yikang came over, Meng Ju had already vaguely guessed his purpose.  He pretended to be surprised: "Zheng Liu from Yuelai Pawnshop? What happened last night? Governor Yuan, what are you talking about?"

    Yuan Yikang was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Oh, it seems that I am not very clear about this matter. Last night, I heard that Dongling Guards raided Yuelai Pawnshop, arrested everyone inside, and also ransacked the warehouse.  , the matter is quite big - early this morning, someone came to our Governor's Mansion to report the crime and cry out for injustice. I want to ask, what exactly did Yuelai Pawnshop commit? Is it serious? "

    Meng Ju frowned and looked very serious: "Captain Yuan, if you don't tell me, I really don't know about this. The bastards down there are too messy. They arrested people and ransacked their homes without telling me in time. Governor  , which bastard is he specifically in charge of? I slapped him hard, it¡¯s so shameful, he did it without telling me, do you still take me as the governor seriously?"

    Meng Ju pretended to summon the heads of the Internal Affairs Department, the Search Division and other departments. In front of Yuan Yikang, he asked them in a serious voice, did they go out to handle the case last night?

    Meng Ju asked several people in succession, but everyone said no. Meng Ju looked very confused: "I've asked people from the Provincial Department, but none of them have gone. By the way, Governor Yuan, maybe it was someone from the Jing'an Department who did it."  Come here, call Inspector Liu Zhenhou from the Jing'an Department."

    Liu Zhen also came with Meng Ju to participate in the spirit ceremony, and arrived quickly.  In front of Yuan Yikang, Meng Ju asked him sternly: "Inspector Liu Hou, I heard that you raided Yuelai Pawnshop in the city last night. Is this true?"

    Looking at Meng Ju¡¯s serious expression and ferocious tone, and looking at Yuan Yikang standing aside, Liu Zhen is such a cunning person, how can he still not know what¡¯s going on?

    He said seriously: "Master Qi, this is indeed the case."

    Meng Ju was furious: "Isn't this reasonable? Tell me, why did you act without authorization, harass the good people in the city, arrest people and ransack their homes? You are really lawless!"

    "Sir, the junior staff received a tip that the Yuelai Pawnshop in the city was colluding with the remnants of the Black Mountain rebels to plot a rebellion in our Jing'an City. I wanted to report to you after dawn before taking action, but the tip said that the suspect was preparing to escape.  Transfer, the situation is urgent, I have to kill you first and report later. I am a humble official and others act arbitrarily, please punish me."

    Meng Ju glanced at Yuan Yikang. Hearing the rebellion, Governor Dongping looked a little uneasy, so Meng Ju's expression also softened: "Oh, so that's what happened. It involves conspiracy, so naturally it needs to be dealt with very seriously.  , I can¡¯t blame you for this¡ªtell me, what did you find?¡±

    In front of the two giants of Dongping Province, Liu Zhen was full of energy and foaming at the mouth: "Your Majesty, I found a batch of various controlled weapons and banned iron tools at Yuelai Pawnshop, as well as the pawnshop's account books and Zheng Liu and Zheng Liu.  A batch of letters to and from the Montenegro rebels - I believe that the pawnshop owner Zheng Liu secretly colluded with the Montenegrin rebels to conspire to rebel, which is really heinous"

    Meng Ju interrupted him with a gesture and said seriously: "Inspector Liu Hou, you are an old criminal case officer. You should know the rules of the Dongling Guard. We, the Dongling Guard, cannot let a bad person go, but we cannot wrongly accuse a good person."  .The case has just begun investigation, youDon't jump to conclusions so easily.  "

    Inspector Liu Hou seemed aggrieved when he was scolded by his superior. Faced with the authority of his superior, the short and fat officer showed the upright character of the Dongling Guard criminal case officer. He did not give in: "My lord, in my humble opinion, what you said is wrong!  The evidence in this case is conclusive, and the case can be decided based on the current evidence alone. Zheng Liu is definitely a traitor, and he cannot be wrong!"

    Inspector Meng was furious: "Inspector Liu Hou, is this how you talk to the chief? Get off here!"

    "My lord, there is nothing wrong with humiliating one's position and obeying the court's laws"

    "roll!"

    So Inspector Liu Hou, who was loyal to his duties and adhered to his principles, angrily left. Meng Ju's face turned red with anger. He said apologetically to Yuan Yikang: "I'm sorry, Governor Yuan, I was not strict in disciplining my subordinates, which made you laugh.  ¡±

    Yuan Yikang's expression was a bit awkward: "Well, Brother Meng, there is no need to be angry. We are all leaders of troops. It is common for the people below to disobey orders. Brother, you just came here, and you will get better slowly."

    "Oh, it's really shameless to talk about this - Governor Yuan, what do you mean about Yuelai's pawnshop? We are our own people, so you can just say it, but I don't believe it. A town governor can still treat you  I don¡¯t have a few monkeys left!¡±

    "This" Yuan Yikang hesitated for a while, and finally said: "Actually, Zheng Liu has no friendship with me, but he was introduced to me by a friend, and he is quite respectful to me.  I also have some involvement in the Yuelai Pawn Shop. If it's nothing serious and it hurts my friend's face, I would like to ask Mr. Meng to let him go. But if he secretly colludes with the Montenegrin Army, this would be too treasonous¡ª¡ª  In short, Brother Meng, you can handle this" Yuan Yikang's voice became lower and lower, and in the end, he didn't know what he was talking about.

    Meng Ju was amused in his heart and replied seriously: "I understand what the Governor means. Don't worry, Governor, I will try my best to deal with it according to the imperial decree." - If Yuan Yikang dares to take over this matter openly and securely,  Zheng Liu, I had no choice but to give him face; or he simply turned his back and ignored it, but Meng Ju also admired his decisiveness in handling it.  But Yuan Yikang was so vague, hoping that Meng Ju would release people but fearing to take responsibility. No wonder most of the generals in Dongping looked down on Yuan Yikang. This man was indecisive, and as the governor of a province, he had no domineering and responsibility.  Your courage is so small, how can you hang out in the frontier?

    By the end of the day, the monks had finished their rituals, the spirit ceremony was over, and everyone dispersed.

    On the way back, Ouyang Hui and Meng Ju rode in the same carriage.  Meng Ju praised Ouyang Hui, saying that today's spirit ceremony was a success, it was grand and solemn, and it was well done.

    Ouyang Hui was preparing for today¡¯s spirit ceremony and had been paying close attention to Meng Ju¡¯s expression today.  He could see that Governor Meng was very disapproving when the monks were doing their rituals. He was still worried, but unexpectedly he was praising himself.  Ouyang Hui kept being humble, saying that he had not done well enough, especially the monks' rituals, and hoped that the governor would forgive him.

    Meng Ju shook his head: "Since it's local custom, let's just follow it - I'm not satisfied. It's a trivial matter. The key is to make the bereaved families feel at ease and the brothers feel at ease. That's fine."

    The motorcade returned to the provincial office. When Meng Ju returned home, Jiang Leilei served him tea. Meng Ju drank it casually, but was stunned: "Leilei, what's going on with this tea? It tastes a bit weird  I don¡¯t remember buying this kind of tea, right?¡±

    Jiang Leilei smiled and said: "Sir Meng, someone brought this to you the day before yesterday. It was said to be new tea from the West Lake this year. I took it out and brewed it - what, does it taste weird?"
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