Chapter 359 Family interests

Night covers Luoyang City, and a large army outside Hui'an Gate is about to line up. At the gate of the city, Cui Ming is saying goodbye to Zhu Tao, surrounded by dozens of generals. He bows to Zhu Tao with tears in his eyes and said, "I hope the master will return triumphantly. I will pray for the master day and night at the head of Luoyang City."

The main general Zhu Tao was wearing a helmet and riding on Cui Qinggong's favorite Dayuan horse. There was a faint light of tears in his eyes and bowed to Cui Ming with a solemn look on his face, saying, "Little Prince, please rest assured. Zhu Tao is going to wipe out Li Shidao and relieve his worries as soon as possible. I am not in Luoyang. I hope the little prince will restrain military discipline to obtain support from the people of Luoyang."

"I should engrave my words in my heart, and take care of you all the way."

"Take care of yourself!"

Zhu Tao waved to everyone and ordered resolutely: "The army sets off!"

The 50,000 army and thousands of large supplies were slowly started and headed northwest. Li Shidao's 60,000 army was deployed on the bank of the Yellow River more than 100 miles northwest of Luoyang. The 20,000 troops in this army that went to wipe out Li Shidao were elite troops maintained by Cui Qinggong. They were teams that he would never let military power fall behind for more than ten years. Today, the command of this elite force was handed over to outsiders for the first time, and to Zhu Tao.

Zhu Tao did not join Cui Qinggong for a long time, but he was highly valued by Cui Qinggong for his shrewdness and ability. However, no matter how capable he was, Cui Qinggong always maintained the principle of using literature rather than martial arts. He never forgot that he was Zhu Li's brother and never gave him the opportunity to lead troops. The facts proved that Cui Qinggong's vigilance was completely correct. Just after Zhu Tao's army left Luoyang only fifty miles, Zhu Tao issued his first order, "The army turned around and marched south."

This day was a whole year that Zhu Tao had dreamed of. After his elder brother Zhu Li's death, his wish to revive the Zhu family was buried deep in his heart, but he also knew that he would no longer have the opportunity like that of his elder brother back then. He was like a wild wolf looking for prey. After months of scrutiny, his goal locked in Cui Qinggong's army. This was a team full of contradictions. Only when the contradiction intensified could his ambition become a reality.

After Zhu Tao gave the first order, the army began to turn slowly. He rode his horse up to a small hill and stared at the distant mountains under the night fog. His eyes were filled with unconcealed excitement. At this moment, he finally had the capital for revival in his hands.

"General Zhu!" Suddenly, a call from afar came from behind. Zhu Tao looked back and saw dozens of cavalry soldiers surrounded by a general, and the general led was Cui Qinggong's confidant general Li Zhongyun. Zhu Tao's excitement was suddenly emptied, and the thing he was most worried about was indeed.

Li Zhongyun was appointed as General Feilong by Cui Qinggong. He had 10,000 cavalry under his command, one of the 20,000 elite battalions. He was originally dissatisfied with Zhu Tao's appointment as the chief general, but the military orders were as high as a mountain, and he dared not dissatisfied. But now, Li Shidao was in the north, but Zhu Tao ordered to turn around and look south, which made him puzzled.

"General Zhu, why did you order the army to turn south? Didn't you do it to attack Li Shidao?"

"General Li misunderstood." Zhu Tao was confident, and he smiled slightly and said, "Do you think Li Shidao will wait for us to wipe out like a stone? Now that Qianniuwei is coming from the west, he will definitely find a way to escape, so I infer that he will go to the gap in the southwest direction, and we will take the lead, just to intercept his way."

Li Zhongyun was suspicious. Although what Zhu Tao said was a little reasonable, he still expressed doubts about Zhu Tao's motives. After pondering, he asked again: "Just just now, General Zhu also said that the officers and soldiers were coming. I wonder how General Zhu was going to deal with it?"

"The little prince decides this matter. It's not that I can make the decision, nor that you are qualified to ask." Zhu Tao's face darkened and said, "I am on the order of the little prince. All decisions are dependent on me. If General Li is not convinced of my dispatch, you can complain to the little prince. But the army is outside. Just obey my orders. Forget it this time. If there is another time, I will not forgive me!"

Li Zhongyun sneered a few times, then turned around and left with a fist. Zhu Tao stared at his back and walked away, and a murderous intent burst out in his eyes. This person must be killed as soon as possible.

After a night of march, Zhu Tao's army had passed Luoyang and arrived at the Gushui River, about 80 miles southwest of Luoyang. This area was lush with trees and low mountains rolling and stretching to the distance. After a whole night of march, the army was exhausted. When Zhu Tao saw that the river water was clear, he ordered the whole army to rest on the spot. The three armies immediately had a similar joy. Tens of thousands of soldiers rushed towards the river. The crowds on both sides of the river were surging and noisy.

Zhu Tao found a big stone to sit down. With the help of the faint dawn, he took out a map and carefully studied the march route. His plan was to break out to the southeast. That area was the Huainan army of Chu Xingshui, and his combat effectiveness was much weaker than that of Zhang Huan's Longyou army. He could break out even if he encountered it. However, Zhu Tao's ultimate destination was to go to the Yuzhang area on the west road of Jiangnan. After assassinating Zhang Huan last year in Changsha, he carefully examined the situation of Yuzhang. There were few troops there and the land was fertile, which was easy to gain a foothold. There was also the vast Poyang Lake for the army to advance and retreat. It was a good place to establish a foundation. Once he gained a foothold, he could surrender to the Queen Mother and take advantage of the internal strife of the court to obtain the possibility of survival.

He has planned this plan countless times and is already familiar with it. But when he has the chance, he can't help but take out the map and read it silently, thinking about possible loopholes. It should be said that the loopholes are gone. The key now is to convince the army to follow him to go south. Of course, he also has sufficient excuses: the way to attack Li Shidao is fake, and opening a channel for Luoyang's army to go south is real.

Zhu Tao collected the map, and then he raised his eyes to look at the surrounding terrain. At this moment, he was in the middle of a gourd-shaped canyon. The valley water passed through the canyon. The canyon was about three miles wide, surrounded by continuous mountains, lush trees covered the hills, the sky was already bright, and the banks of the river were filled with his soldiers.

Zhu Tao frowned. The terrain here was not the best place to rest in the camp and was easily ambushed. He immediately stood up and shouted: "I ordered the entire army to rise up and continue to march south!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a shout of killing suddenly broke out from the woods on both sides of the canyon. Countless cavalry rushed out of the woods, waving their swords, and quickly pounced on Zhu Tao's army, which was resting on the river bank. Zhu Tao's army was caught off guard and suddenly became a mess. Not only were there ambushes in the woods, but there were also tens of thousands of cavalrymen coming from the other end of the canyon, with murderous aura soaring into the sky. They were like a group of tigers that had been accumulating for a long time pounced into the flock of sheep.

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Zhu Tao's eyes were red with a sudden flush. He shouted loudly that the soldiers were calm, but the shouts had lost their effect. The 50,000 troops could no longer organize effective resistance. Under the sharp impact of the ambush, Zhu Tao's army was defeated like a mountain. The army threw away their armor and ran to the other end of the valley entrance. Zhu Tao was also supported by more than a dozen personal soldiers on the battlefield. At this moment, more than a thousand cavalry appeared fifty steps to his left. The general led was pulling the bowstrings in his hands like a full moon. He was staring at Zhu Tao with a vicious look, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Zhu Tao suddenly saw him, and his heart suddenly became cold, as if he had fallen into a deep abyss with one foot. This general was no one else, but Li Shidao, whom he swore to wipe out.

An arrow shot out in the air, as fast as lightning, and shot towards Zhu Tao's face. He had no choice but to hide, and his eyes were closed in ashes. Just as the moment he closed his eyes, a wolf-tooth arrow shot into the middle of his eyebrows and shot through his head with an arrow.

On February 25, 2018, the second year of Yong'an, Li Shidao surrendered to the Minister of Justice Chu Xingshui with Zhu Tao's head. On February 28, 300,000 Tang troops surrounded Luoyang City. With the promise of Chu Xingshui's guarantee of not killing Cui Ming, Cui Ming officially opened the city to surrender to the officers and soldiers. At this point, the nearly one year of rebellion in the Central Plains finally came to an end.

Chang'an, the news of the recovery of Luoyang has not yet reached Chang'an, but the news of the Hebei army's defeat spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an. It seemed like a thunder, immediately breaking the peaceful situation in Chang'an. The undercurrent that had been turbulent under the calm situation finally surfaced. Countless officials who maintained a wait-and-see attitude changed their flags and turned to the Zhang Party. The situation has become clear, and there is no market for ambiguousness. The general trend is the trend.

There was a tide of traffic in front of Zhang Huan's mansion. Hundreds of officials were crowded on the steps outside the gate with famous posts, with loud and noisy voices, rushing to hand over their sincerity and loyalty to the butler who came to receive the posts. That attitude was like the grain shop before the price of rice was about to rise. It can be said that these days were the hardest days for Butler Sun to stand up in his life. Countless fifth-rank officials who were usually high and sixth-rank officials all showed a charming smile in front of him. These old officials in the officialdom all knew the importance of butler. As long as he made some moves, their famous posts were likely to appear in Zhang Huan's study.

Not only the Zhang Mansion, but also many old disciples appeared in front of Cui Yu's mansion for the first time. He came to visit his old boss and his mentor, and nostalgic about the past and present, all hoping to reach the threshold of Zhang's party through Cui Yu.

As the news that the Cui Qinggong Rebellion was quelled, Chang'an was filled with excitement, and people walked out of their homes to cheer and welcomed the arrival of this exciting moment. The craze for joining the Zhang Party also reached its peak. A strange phenomenon appeared in the court. Before the 3:00 a.m. every day, the teams who went to court appeared in front of Zhuque Gate and Danfeng Gate. The bad habits that had accumulated for several years seemed to be reversed overnight.

In parallel with the craze of men, countless Chang'an ladies also found various excuses to come to Zhang's mansion to meet Zhang Huan's wife Pei Ying, talk about the children's education methods, talk about some fashionable new makeup styles, or invite a few people to come to Zhang's mansion to drink pheasants and fight for several rounds of pipas, and by the way, inadvertently express her husband's admiration for Zhang Shangshu.

Pei Ying always showed a kind of a big wife. She warmly welcomed her, whether she was the wife of the Shangshu or the wife of the doctor, but this enthusiasm was like boiling water at 70 degrees, with heat but no boiling point.

Today, as usual, a few ladies were sitting patiently in the hall waiting for the reception. They had been waiting for half an hour, but still no sign of their master. If as usual, this kind of neglect of the guests would never happen. The maid only told them that the ladies were having important guests. Although the ladies were anxious to wait, no one dared to show it on their faces. At some point, women's scheming is often much deeper than men.

Today, Pei Ying was indeed meeting a special guest. In the small guest room, Pei Ying sat upright with her waist straight. Her eyes were cold and she could not see a smile on her face. Opposite her, her brother Pei Mingkai stood with his hands down, with a desolate and full of regret. He handed out the letter of inheritance that set Pei Mingyuan as the heir of the family head.

Since Pei You wrote a letter to tell all the tribesmen in the capital that the head of the family had already handed him the formal inheritance letter to him, Pei Mingkai lived in extreme fear all day long. He was often awakened by his second uncle who was carrying a knife to clean up the door in his dreams. He was so scared that he was afraid to fall asleep by his bloody father who came to chase his soul. He did not sleep all night and his body quickly lost weight. Until the Hebei army was defeated by Pei Mingyao's unauthorized actions, Pei Mingkai was even more regretful. The decline of the Pei family seemed to have happened overnight, and it even originated from his thoughts.

But what makes him more painful than regret is his fear of death. Once the second uncle returns to Beijing, the charge of privately changing the inheritance letter of the head of the family will be enough to make him executed in the family temple. As the day of the deadline comes, Pei Mingkai finally made up his mind to beg for his sister's help.

"I know I did something wrong, but no one is perfect. Besides, I am the eldest son of the clan and have been regarded as the next generation of the head of the family by my clan since I was a child. For this reason, I strictly restrict my words and deeds, never go out to drink and do whatever I want, and will not use power for personal gain to ruin the reputation of my Pei family. But because of my inconvenience in legs and feet, my father no longer considers the possibility of becoming a head of the family. This is unfair to me. Am I willing to lame one leg? He actually forgot how my leg is lame. I broke it to save my third brother!"

Tears of grievance finally flowed out of Pei Mingkai's eyes. His father's indifference and ruthlessness filled his heart with resentment. He wanted to continue talking, but Pei Ying coldly interrupted his self-pity.

"I want to know, how did my father die?" This was a question that had been lingering in her heart. She would never believe that her father would be angry to death because her husband sent troops to Hebei.

Pei Mingkai knelt down, covering his face and cried sadly, "My father has indeed shown signs of returning, but I thought in my mind that heirs were all the heirs of the head of the family, and I completely forgot that my father could not be stimulated anymore. My father asked me if my second uncle had been defeated. I was confused and said that there was a possibility. My father was angry and went."

Pei Mingkai tried his best to slap himself in the face and burst into tears, "I am guilty, I killed my father! I am killed my father!"

"Enough!" Pei Ying was so angry that she trembled all over. As expected, her father was so angry that he was so angry that he was killed by her elder brother. She stood up and pointed at Pei Mingkai with trembling hands and scolded: "Get out, I'll feel disgusted when I look at you!"

Pei Mingkai's heart suddenly became cold, and his sister's affectionate hurt him deeply. He slowly stood up and said ruthlessly: "Okay! You all want me to die, I will die for you to show you, let me bear the blame for the defeat of the Pei family alone! Mrs. Shangshu, or you can call you the future queen of the Tang Dynasty. I just hope that when you enjoy the glory and fortune, you will occasionally think of your miserable brother!"

After saying that, he slowly turned around and walked out of the door with all his thoughts. Just as he was about to reach the door, Pei Ying suddenly called him, "Wait a minute."

Pei Mingkai stopped, his heart, which was ashes, suddenly ignited a glimmer of vitality. Pei Ying sighed a long sigh, "A person cannot be resurrected when he dies. You can keep your soul for your father for the rest of your life!"

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Pei Mingkai wiped away his tears, but Pei Ying fell into deep depression. She let her brother go not because she was soft-hearted, but because she had to consider the long-term interests of the Pei family. If the elder brother died, the conflict between the second and fourth uncles would inevitably become sharp. The Pei family will also follow the footsteps of the split between the Zhang family and the Cui family, and will really decline from then on. This is definitely not what she is willing to see. Under the current situation, the unity within the Pei family is far more important than internal division.

When the Pei family was in a strong position, Pei Ying tried every means to protect her husband's interests. However, when her husband's reputation grew and the Pei family began to decline, as the only legitimate daughter of the Pei family, Pei Ying could not ignore the future of the Pei family; and as her father's most beloved daughter, how could she not consider her father's will?

Moreover, the political future of the Pei family is closely related to her vital interests. Once her husband really ascends to the 195th position, the Cui family will inevitably rise again. Will Cui Ning threaten her position as queen?

Pei Ying knew better than anyone else that her husband’s love for Cui Ning was actually far more than her. Seeing Cui Ning getting pregnant again, if she gave birth to a son, would the Cui family have unreasonable thoughts?

The answer is undoubtedly yes. Pei Ying is the daughter of a noble family. She knows very well what the position of the prince means to the noble family. Although her husband is still a long way from the position of the 95th, no matter what, a powerful family is beneficial to consolidating her and her son's status.
Chapter completed!