No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 654 Morning Discussion [Seeking monthly tickets in September, there will be a monthly ticket lottery! ]

On a spring trip, the apricot blossoms blow all over.

After leaving the west city gate, the official road was full of apricot blossoms on both sides, all the way to the top of Shuangfeng Peak.

It is a good time to enjoy the spring.

However, there were not many Xunyang people who came to enjoy the spring scenery on the official road.

Few people even leave the city.

This is because Shuangfeng Peak and the surrounding ten miles have been nominally closed, with the mountains and rivers blocked, and ordinary people are prohibited from entering.

Since yesterday evening, a team of about 300 people in white robes and armored uniforms entered the city, quietly passed through the busy streets of the East Market, and finally arrived at Xiushuifang and stationed in the Xunyang Palace.

From this morning on, the atmosphere in Xunyang City has become more solemn, and many people have spread the news by word of mouth.

There are all kinds of speculations. Some say that it was the Queen in Luoyang who discovered that Prince Xunyang had evil intentions, so she sent troops to capture him and bring him back to Luoyang to be punished.

Some people also said that there was no need to capture him at all. The middle-aged female official who was surrounded by the three hundred white-robed soldiers last night actually brought a pot of poisoned palace wine, and Prince Xunyang had already swallowed the wine last night.

There were also some more reliable ones, saying that it was just a normal shift change for the palace guards, and this time, they just strengthened the defenses... The source of this news was from the Jiangzhou officialdom, from the mouths of some marginal officials.

Overnight, all kinds of rumors began to spread in the market, but before they could take root, they were refuted the next morning.

Jiangzhou Governor Ouyang Lianghan and Jiangzhou Chief Clerk Yuan Huaimin, accompanied by a group of officials, visited the palace early in the morning and personally invited Xunyang Prince Li Xian and Crown Prince Li Fusu to come out. They mounted their horses in front of the palace gate and rushed out of the city.

It happened in public.

As a result, some gossips in Xunyang City were quelled as soon as they emerged.

But one thing we can get from this is that the situation in Xunyang is very tense.

After experiencing the last series of turmoil including the collapse of the Xingzi Lake Buddha and the blockade of Xingzifang, the city’s residents still remember it vividly.

The closer the Buddha is to completion, the more uneasy people become.

……

On the official road on the outskirts of the city, Ouyang Rong squinted his eyes and looked towards the twin peaks in the distance.

Faintly visible were ships like black dots on the river.

Turning back, he found Yuan Huaimin picking apricot blossoms by the roadside.

"I let you rest, and now you can appreciate the flowers."

Ouyang Rong shook his head, went to greet the team, and continued on his way.

Yuan Huaimin seemed to have not slept well last night and was a little distracted. He withdrew his hand from the branch, stood up, mounted his horse and followed.

Ouyang Rong, Yan Liulang, Yuan Huaimin.

Li Xian and Li Dalang.

All five of them were on light cavalry, running towards the twin peaks in the distance.

There is an agreed meeting at Xunyang Grottoes today, which is related to the subsequent defense of Jiangzhou and the completion of the Donglin Buddha.

Li Xian's face looked a little serious. He hadn't been out of the city for a long time and his horse riding skills had become a little slack.

Yan Liulang and Li Dalang followed him on both sides, guarding him in the middle and watching over him.

Seeing this, Ouyang Rong put some distance between himself and rode his horse closer to Yuan Huaimin's side.

"I heard that Commander Yi left the city last night. Why didn't you let her stay overnight so they could catch up on the past."

Ouyang Rong asked with a chuckle.

Yuan Huaimin shook his head:
"Isn't Qiu Niang the commander of this reinforcement team? She just arrived and was busy. Why keep her here? I can't let her delay her work, so I let her go after Liang Han and the others left for a while."

Ouyang Rong asked: "Why don't we talk by candlelight at night?"

Yuan Huaimin said in a serious tone: "Liang Han, this is my cousin, people can't do this, at least they shouldn't."

Ouyang Rong said casually: "She is just a sister of the clan. Who knows how far the bloodline is separated."

Yuan Huaimin hesitated and wanted to say something, but finally shook his head.

Turned into a long, deep sigh.

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:
"Brother Huaimin, why are you so absent-minded so early in the morning? Weren't you quite open-minded and cheerful before? I didn't ask you to stay in the lobby of Jiangzhou for work today. You came out to get some fresh air, which is considered as slacking off. Logically, you should be happy about it."

He nodded: "So, Brother Huaimin, is there something on your mind?"

"Have it?"

Yuan Huaimin touched his face and argued:
"Aren't the princes and the others quite serious today? What's wrong with me being serious too?"

"This is not like you. Um, did Commander Yi say anything to you last night?"

Yuan Huaimin waved his hand:

"We did talk a lot, but they were all the same old things. We also brought some letters from the elders in our clan expressing their concern and advice."

Ouyang Rong laughed again: "Oh, I thought I was urging you to get married."

"Brother Lianghan, why do you always make this joke..."

Yuan Huaimin was sad.

Ouyang Rong shook his head without saying anything. After a while, he whipped his horse, restrained his smile, and looked back at the well-trained guard team that was following closely behind him not far away.

At the front of the escort team, there were two figures standing side by side.

A middle-aged female official with a cold face and palace clothes, and a baby-faced young general in a white robe.

They followed behind, keeping their distance.

Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze, continued riding his horse forward, and followed beside Xunyang King Li Xian.

Li Xian and Li Dalang left the palace and went to Xunyang Grottoes to attend the meeting.

Miaozhen, the female guard of the palace, and the White Tiger Guard team, which had just arrived at the palace, also followed silently to protect the safety of Prince Xunyang and his son.

The baby-faced young general in the white robe was the captain of the White Tiger Guard squad. His name was Li Congshan and he was in charge of three hundred soldiers.

He was the general who was arranged to lead the team according to the imperial decree when Yi Qianqiu just arrived yesterday afternoon.

Yan Liulang actually also brought a group of yamen runners out of the city today.

But compared with the three hundred White Tiger Guards, they are nothing.

Especially when the two sides walk together, the contrast is even more obvious.

Even if the former straightened their backs, cheered up, and performed at their best, the details were still a bit messy.

The three hundred White Tiger Guards were all wearing white robes and armor and silver tiger masks. They mounted and dismounted their horses in unison. They were almost all tall and strong, and at first glance, they looked like they were cast from the same mold.

If the two sides were to line up completely in the open space and fight head-on, the former would certainly not be able to withstand the latter's first wave of attack and would have been scattered and defeated.

In addition, the silver masks that the three hundred White Tiger Guards wore uniformly had a somewhat strange style.

In the sunlight, the tiger masks are shining brightly, with their mouth corners facing downward. At first glance, one would subconsciously think that these white tiger warriors are a little unhappy.

In addition, they also carried some special equipment, Ouyang Rong could not understand what they were used for. In addition, they were also assisted by the Qigong practitioners from the Sitianjian.

No wonder the four guards, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise and Vermillion Bird, are transcendental beings among the sixteen. This kind of violent machine, organized and scaled, prepared for war, is not so easy to resist by individuals.

The most crucial thing is... they are all the elite in the Great Zhou army, well-trained and not afraid of casualties. Compared with ordinary troops, they can suffer a certain proportion of casualties in battle, but still remain undefeated and fight in an organized manner. This way, they can use the lives of the armored soldiers to kill the Qi Refiners.

Rong Zhen said that during the Daqian Dynasty, under extreme circumstances, there was an encirclement and suppression of a top-grade Qigong practitioner... Both sides suffered heavy losses, and the final result was that one thousand armors were broken, and the top-grade Qigong practitioner was seriously injured and almost exhausted his spiritual energy, so he flew away...

However, this was done in cooperation with the Qigong practitioners of the Sitianjian, using a special formation similar to the Moon Pool Formation that Ouyang Rong had experienced to trap the enemy...

While riding his horse, Ouyang Rong secretly estimated in his heart that even if he was given the opportunity to deploy his sword, there still had to be a safe enough range. The three hundred White Tiger Guards were still standing together, all within the range of "Return Home".

It would take the [Craftsman] an incense stick of time to collect 300 heads and build a small Jingguan. In a normal fight, if they were aimed at and locked, and there was no one to protect the sword, it would probably take less than an incense stick of time before they would rush and ride on your face.

The main reason is that the magical power of the poor scholar "Return Home" is not, in a strict sense, a means of group killing. It focuses more on killing with one blow and taking the heads of several of the most important enemies.

If you really encounter an extreme situation where you are surrounded by a large group of people, it is appropriate to lay out swords in public, hang the swords in the air, and intimidate everyone. Whoever moves first will die.

At this moment, Li Congshan, who was at the rear, came with three soldiers on horseback, clasped his fists towards Li Xian and suggested:
"Your Majesty, Governor, could you please slow down a bit? The scouts ahead of us have not had enough time to check for dangers. Besides, it's still early, so there's no need to rush."

The tone is respectful.

Li Xian and Ouyang Rong looked at each other, nodded, and the group slowed down.

Ouyang Rong looked back and saw Miao Zhen following quietly behind, ignoring all this. It seemed that she was not very familiar with Li Congshan.

"How old is General Li?"

Li Dalang asked.

Ouyang Rong saw that Li Congshan took off the "unhappy tiger mask", revealing a rather youthful baby face, but his skin had turned wheat-colored due to wind and rain.

"I am twenty years old this year, and I am honored to protect His Majesty." He clasped his fists heavily.

"Like Tan Lang, he is a young talent." Li Xian nodded and encouraged.

Soon, everyone arrived at Shuangfengjian, dismounted, took a boat, and went to Xunyang Grottoes on the north bank.

As soon as we arrived at the north bank, Wang Caozhi came to greet us warmly.

"Your Highness, Prince, Brother-in-law... please come this way, they are over in the bamboo forest."

Ouyang Rong nodded and let Li Dalang and Yan Liulang stay.

They couldn't attend the meeting.

Ouyang Rong, Li Xian and Yuan Huaimin can go.

At this time, Ouyang Rong saw Princess Anhui's carriage not far away.

Without waiting for his reaction, Li Xian spoke seriously:
"Stay still and don't go over there. Liu Lang, help keep an eye on Da Lang. If there's anything inappropriate, write it down and tell me after the meeting is over."

His tone was suggestive.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yan Liulang nodded helplessly.

Li Dalang seemed not to see that and shook his head:

"I will stay where I am and talk to Brother Cao. Father and Tan Lang can go without any worries."

Led by a female official, the group walked into a bamboo forest not far from the Xunyang Grottoes. There were many secret sentries on the road.

After walking along the bluestone path for a while, we came to a bamboo house. The courtyard door and the bamboo house door were both open.

Nanny Song, Rong Zhen, and the transport supervisor Qin Yi were standing in the yard, waiting for them.

Qin Yi came here in place of Qin Changshi, representing the attitude of Marshal Qin and the central army camp on the southwest front.

Miaozhen and Li Congshan also came and followed behind Ouyang Rong and the other two.

Five people entered the bamboo house.

Inside the room, there were two rows of seats, and several people were already sitting and waiting.

The most eye-catching person is Yi Qianqiu, who has a heroic look and a fierce and domineering aura.

There were two big men in armor sitting beside her.

One of them was a dark-skinned, heroic-looking young man, about thirty years old.

There was another one who was a square-faced man, as big as a bear. He sat there like a small mountain, with a somewhat gloomy look on his face.

After Li Xian, Ouyang Rong and others entered the room, Yi Qianqiu took the lead and stood up, bowing slightly respectfully.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Generals, please excuse me."

Leisurely, warm and generous voice.

"Your Highness, this is the Lieutenant General of the White Tiger Guard, General Yi Qianqiu, and he is also the commander-in-chief of the imperial court's reinforcements this time..."

Rong Zhen took the initiative to introduce himself, and Li Xian exchanged a few words of greeting.

Ouyang Rong looked around as he listened.

The dark-skinned heroic young man was the captain of the Xuanwu Camp, named Wei Mi.

The gloomy man with a square face is the captain of the White Tiger Battalion, named Duan Quanwu.

The White Tiger Guards sent two battalions of soldiers this time, about two thousand men, one battalion with one thousand men.

Duan Quanwu and Li Congshan are both captains of the White Tiger Camp and are directly under the jurisdiction of Yi Qianqiu, but Wei Mi, the captain of the Black Tortoise Camp, also has to listen to her.

Yi Qianqiu is the Lieutenant General of the White Tiger Guard, a higher rank than the Battalion Commandant. He is considered the commander-in-chief of this operation and is fully responsible for the two Xuanwu Battalions and the two White Tiger Battalions.

The soldiers from the two battalions of Xuanwu Guard arrived in Xunyang City only yesterday evening.

That night, a Xuanwu battalion was transferred to the front line for support.

Only the Xuanwu Camp led by Wei Mi was left to guard the Xunyang Grottoes.

Therefore, including the three hundred soldiers that Li Congshan brought to Xunyang Palace, there are currently three thousand elite soldiers defending Xunyang City.

Three thousand elite soldiers were not a small number in that era, and were considered the military force of two regular Zhechoufu. However, the entire Jiangnan Road, which had been peaceful for a long time, only had six Zhechoufu before.

As for logistics, if there is no continuous blood supply from the southeastern states led by Yangzhou, even if the 3,000 elite soldiers of the normal Zhechoufu, who are inferior to others, have to farm to make a living after training, the logistics support they need will be enough to drag down the finances of Jiangzhou, which is considered rich in the south of the Yangtze River.
When everyone gathered, they took their seats.

The people coming from Xunyang City were Ouyang Rong, Li Xian, and Yuan Huaimin, representing the Jiangzhou officialdom.

The representatives sent by the female officials of the Supervisory Council were Rong Zhen, Nanny Song, and Miao Zhen. The three of them were Qigong practitioners from the Luoyang Palace's Astronomical Observatory and were Her Majesty's spies. It goes without saying that they were nominally neutral.

On the military side, besides Qin Yi, there are four other military men: Yi Qianqiu, Wei Mi, Duan Quanwu and Li Congshan.

These eleven people all had a say in the situation of the Xunyang Grottoes, where the Great Zhou Dynasty was investing a lot of manpower and material resources in building statues in Jiangzhou, Jiangnan Road.

However, the right to speak definitely has its importance.

Prince Li Xian of Xunyang sat at the very top, with Nanny Song, deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, sitting beside him.

Rong Zhen, Ouyang Rong, and Yi Qianqiu had slightly lower seats, and the others were lower still.

Before sitting down, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but take another look at Wei Mi.

This man has a handsome appearance.

Unexpectedly, Wei Mi also glanced over and looked at Ouyang Rong.

Inside the bamboo house, among a group of rough men other than the women, these two looked at each other, as if they both noticed the other's extraordinary appearance. Although they were both handsome in different ways, they could not help but feel a sense of mutual respect...

Rong Zhen didn't know there was such a shameless person on the scene. She stood up, looked around at everyone, and said coldly:
“Today’s morning meeting has called His Majesty and the others to come. The main purpose is to discuss three matters. Please come one by one. If there is any dispute, please raise your hands to vote.

"The first thing is to deal with the remaining pirates in Hukou County. Commander Yi only defeated them last time, but did not completely annihilate them. The remaining pirates disguised as rebels from the Tiannan Rivers and Lakes are still active in Hukou County and may threaten Xunyang City at any time. They must be eradicated.

"The second thing is the issue of guards for Prince Xunyang's Palace. Governor Ouyang made some suggestions last night. There are some details and personnel arrangements that we hope to renegotiate. Let's discuss it together later.

"The third thing is the final defense deployment plan for the Donglin Buddha..."

……

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(PS: Ask for a guaranteed monthly ticket~or2)

(End of this chapter)