Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 79 Will They Change Houses? (Subscription Request)
Lu Jin's original intention was to let Li Shanchang recruit Guo Zixing, but why it temporarily became Feng Guoyong? The main reason was that Lu Jin was negligent.

First of all, Li Shanchang was not familiar with Guo Zixing. Although they knew each other, a Confucian scholar and a local tyrant did not have much interaction in normal times.

Secondly, Li Shanchang felt that Guo Zixing was unreliable. He didn’t know for what purpose Lu Jin asked him to recruit Guo Zixing, but after thinking about it, he decided that he couldn’t go there in person.

Why? Because Li Shanchang was the brother of Li Xu, the magistrate of Dingyuan County. If he went to recruit Guo Zixing personally, wouldn't that be telling Guo Zixing that the magistrate of Dingyuan County had colluded with the enemy?
God knows how Guo Zixing will react. If he is exposed in advance, not only will his Li family be wiped out, but the plan of offering Dingyuan County to Lu Jin will also be ruined.

At that time, Lu Jin just wanted to change the course of history and did not think about so many details. Fortunately, Li Shanchang was a smart man and was able to help Lu Jin find and fill in the gaps.

So he improvised a solution. Li Shanchang was a scholar, and Feng Guoyong was also a scholar. The two did know each other and had contacts before. Comparing the two, Li Shanchang felt that Feng Guoyong was more reliable, so he went to recruit Feng Guoyong first.

Although Feng Guoyong had never seen Lu brocade, he had heard of it for a long time. After all, Dingyuan was right next to Luzhou. In fact, he had been observing Lu brocade during this period.

Now, after listening to Li Shanchang's introduction, he knew what kind of person the other party was. Especially when Li Shanchang said the three words "Han Qinhu", Feng Guoyong became even more excited.

Historically, it was he who persuaded Zhu Yuanzhang to attack Jiangnan and use Nanjing as his base. Unexpectedly, Lu Jin also thought of the story of Han Qinhu. They thought the same thing. He instantly felt that Lu Jin was a smart man and much more reliable than Xuzhou Zhima Li and Liu Futong, so he immediately agreed to join.

The two of them had a very pleasant conversation and he successfully recruited Guo Zixing. Then he asked Feng Guoyong to recruit Guo Zixing, so that he would not have any connection with his Li family.

It’s not that Li Shanchang was afraid of death, but he mainly didn’t want to expose the news that the county magistrate had surrendered to the enemy, otherwise it would not be so easy to attack Dingyuan again.

This time, Feng Guoyong came to test Guo Zixing first, and he didn't expect to succeed at once, but the other party actually turned around and recruited him, which was quite funny.

He groaned, hesitated for a moment, and then asked back.

"Mr. Guo, do you know where Xuzhou Zhima Li has reached? How far is Luzhou General Lu from Dingyuan?

"If I were to start a rebellion with Lord Guo, we would certainly not be able to accomplish it in one go. We would have at most a few thousand soldiers, and the only cities we could attack are Dingyuan, Haozhou, and Chuzhou. We can only choose one of the three.

"But if we only occupy one city, what will we do if Lu Shuai from Luzhou and Li Zhima from Xuzhou attack us? Can we resist them? Then we can just choose one to serve. In this case, it is better for us to choose who to serve first.

"Does Mr. Guo agree?"

Well, Guo Zixing was just talking nonsense at the moment and didn't think that much about it at all. Of course, he definitely had the ambition to become a marshal himself. What is a chaotic era? It is an era when the flags on the city walls change.

But now hearing what Feng Guoyong said, it seems that the current situation is indeed quite serious.

Damn it, it was too late to take action. By the time he remembered, others had almost occupied the surrounding territories.

But if you ask Guo Zixing whether he dared to be the first to join Liu Futong in an uprising, he definitely did not have the courage to do so.

So Guo Zixing immediately grabbed Feng Guoyong's hand and said, "My dear brother, what you said makes sense. So what is the purpose of your coming here this time?"

Feng Guoyong then said, "I came here this time to ask Mr. Guo if he is willing to go with me to Marshal Lu in Luzhou. If you and I go together, we can take care of each other."

Guo Zixing frowned again when he heard this. If the knife was not on one's neck, the business of rebellion and beheading would not be so painful. Even if he wanted to find someone to join him, he had to choose carefully. So he was puzzled again.

"Now Xuzhou is obviously more powerful, with more troops, and has captured more than ten counties. Why do you want to go to Luzhou, which has only four cities?"

Feng Guoyong was speechless for a while. It seemed that this local tycoon Guo Zixing knew nothing. He could only explain again.

"Mr. Guo, you know geography. Now that Sesame Li has occupied a large area of ​​counties and blocked the grain transport, and the King of Zhejiang Fang Guozhen has blocked the sea transport, the dignitaries in Dadu are all hungry. Who do you think the government's army will attack first?"

Guo Zixing still argued, "But Xuzhou has many soldiers. Didn't the court also send some imperial guards to fight Liu Futong? Didn't they fail to defeat him? Why do you think so badly of Xuzhou, my dear brother?"

Feng Guoyong said, "Mr. Guo, do you think that the eight warriors of Xuzhou raised more than 100,000 soldiers overnight? Do they have enough time to get familiar with their generals? Can they write a roster of 100,000 soldiers overnight?
"If not, wouldn't it mean that the soldiers don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers? Such an army is purely a mob. If the court really sends a general who knows military affairs and leads tens of thousands of soldiers, do you think Xuzhou can resist it, Lord Guo?"

The more Guo Zixing listened, the more he felt it made sense. He couldn't help but stand up and walk around the room. After a while, he continued speaking.

"My dear brother, what you said is indeed reasonable, but why are you so optimistic about Luzhou? I really don't understand."

Feng Guoyong knew that Guo Zixing was suspicious of his intention, so he also stood up and spoke.

"Mr. Guo, what you said is wrong. It's not that I think highly of Luzhou, but I am thinking about you and me!"

Guo Zixing was stunned when he heard this, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Mr. Guo. Xuzhou now has many soldiers and generals and has captured more than ten cities. They must be very arrogant. Even if you and I surrender to them, how can we be taken seriously by them?

"How can we compete with those soldiers and generals who surrendered first? Even if Xuzhou can be successful in the future, we will be latecomers. At most, we can be awarded the title of Earl, which will be a great honor for our ancestors.

“Luzhou has only 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers and only four cities. If you and I can recruit a few thousand soldiers to join us, that will be different. At least we can rank among the top ten.

“Although Luzhou’s military expansion is slow, it is well-organized, and the soldiers and generals work together. So far, they have never been defeated. If Luzhou succeeds in the future, although you and I are not the ministers of Yuancong, we can still be considered as the right-hand men, and it is not impossible to get the title of duke or marquis.

"How could Mr. Guo not know the principle of who comes first and who is closer and who is more distant?"

Yup!

Guo Zixing's eyes lit up when he heard this. This sentence finally touched his heart. Since the environment did not allow him to be a self-proclaimed king, he might as well be practical. On one side are dukes and on the other side are earls. He could choose which one he wanted. Was there any need to ask?
Then he continued, "My dear brother, you are really talented. Your heartfelt words have opened my eyes. But I don't know what the rules are for Marshal Lu. He has several generals under him. What official position can we get if we surrender to him? If we can settle it right from the beginning, we can work hard for him for the title of duke in the future."

Seeing that Guo Zixing finally got the point, Feng Guoyong smiled and told him the general situation of Lu Jin. Lu Jin was still very young, only 23 years old. It was said that he was the direct descendant of Gongshu clan, and his family had passed down many military strategies, which was why he led the Chaohu navy to win battles all the time, and he was about to get married.

As for Lu Jin's subordinates, I heard that there are five or six leading generals now. If they surrender now, they will surely be in the top ten. Even if they cannot become a duke, they will be in the front row among the marquises.

Of course, if you want to go there and become a high-ranking official right away, you have to bring your own troops with you to join the army. Otherwise, you have not done anything, so why should you be given an official position? Even if Lu Jin is willing to give it to you, the generals under him will not be convinced.

After hearing the general situation from Lu Jin, Guo Zixing felt annoyed. What a pity! If he had gone to surrender a month earlier, he could have married his own daughter to Lu Jin. If the plan worked out in the future, his daughter would have become the queen and he would have become the father-in-law of the emperor.

What a pity!

Of course, even if he had voted for Lu Jin in advance, he would never marry Ma Xiuying to Lu Jin as his principal wife. Guo Zixing was not a fool. As for such a matter of marrying up, if he had his own daughter, who would use his adopted daughter for marriage?

Historically, he married Ma Xiuying to Zhu Yuanzhang just to use her as a tool. Zhu Yuanzhang was nothing but a beggar. They were his subordinates. Was it necessary to use his own daughter to win them over?
Later, Guo Zixing's biological daughter married Zhu Yuanzhang, but that was after Guo Zixing's death.

Marrying the adopted daughter to Zhu Yuanzhang was to win over his subordinates. If it was for the purpose of currying favor with the commander, would such a good thing be possible for the adopted daughter Ma Xiuying?
That's overestimating Guo Zixing.

You should ask her first, is her surname Ma or Guo?

But it's not too late now. I can accept marrying my daughter to the emperor as a concubine. But it depends on whose concubine she is. Can the emperor's concubine be called a concubine? She is a concubine! She is also a noble lady, and the son born can be made a king!

Moreover, Lu Jin had just gotten married and had no children. If his wife could not give birth to a legitimate son,
Tsk tsk, Guo Zixing didn't dare to think any further.
The more he thought about it, the more reliable it seemed to him. It was good to have a biological daughter. She could come in handy at the critical moment.

But he was still a little worried.

"My dear brother, if you and I lead several thousand soldiers to surrender, will Marshal Lu really give us a high position?"

Feng Guoyong was speechless again when he heard this. Guo Zixing was too utilitarian. He hasn't done anything yet, but he's already dreaming of becoming a high official. However, he didn't plan to accomplish this in one go, so he said immediately.

"If Mr. Guo is still hesitant, why don't I go and test the waters first? If Marshal Lu agrees, how about you and I go over there later?
"But I think Mr. Guo is worrying too much. If the master cannot distinguish rewards and punishments clearly, how can he win the support of the people? As long as you and I have made meritorious contributions, why should we worry about not having an official position?"

Guo Zixing laughed when he heard this. He could tell that Feng Guoyong was hinting at him being narrow-minded, but he couldn't eat his face, so he said firmly, "It's better to make things clear. Then, please go and explore the way first."

Feng Guoyong could only nod his head. After discussing the matter to this point, it was almost settled. The next step was to coordinate with Lu Jin on the treatment of the invested personnel. These were all trivial matters.

After all, Lu Jin had already made the promise before Li Shanchang came.

After leaving Guo Zixing's house, Feng Guoyong found Li Shanchang again and reported to him.

"Brother Baishi, should we set off now and head to Luzhou?"

Li Shanchang stood up and stroked his beard, counting the days and said, "If we leave now, I'm afraid we won't be able to make it in time."

Feng Guoyong was puzzled, "Brother Baishi, are you talking about the Marshal's marriage?"

Li Shanchang said ambiguously, "I guess so, but we can leave now, maybe we can hear good news."

Feng Guoyong didn't understand, but he nodded and followed Li Shanchang to Luzhou again.

The sixth day of October in the eleventh year of Zhizheng is a good day for marriage.

Finally, the day of Lu Jin's wedding arrived. Lu Jin spent the entire day training the wedding band.

This band was found by Bao Heng. When he brought them over, Lu Jin was suddenly inspired.

Didn’t you say you wanted to compose a military song? Now we have a band, wouldn’t it be great to set up a military band?

Lu Jin wanted to try it immediately, so he found a famous ancient song from later generations and asked them to practice first. The song was called "Lonely Lamp Accompanying Beautiful Woman". This was the song played at the emperor's wedding in the TV series Kangxi Dynasty. It was very cheerful and festive.

He called a group of musicians to the main hall, and then played music for them through a mobile phone behind a screen. Sure enough, one of them got the hang of it and could play it almost perfectly after listening to it a few times. Lu Jin immediately asked this person to lead the team in practice, and said, "I'm going to play this at my wedding today."

By the auspicious time in the evening, the group had almost finished practicing. Lu Jin then changed into a bright red wedding gown, wore a Jinxian crown with flowers on it, and rode the Yaoguang divine horse. Behind him was a band and an empty sedan chair, and they went to Zhang Wen's house with music and dance all the way.

at the same time.

In the direction of Heyang City, a large number of troops also marched out of the city. After organizing their marching formation, they quickly marched towards Chao County under the leadership of Kang Maocai.

Chang Yuchun looked at the marching column of tens of thousands of people passing by the official road, and his smile suddenly became even more cunning.

"Interesting, really interesting, Marshal Lu hid tens of thousands of troops and brought them right under the nose of Hezhou, and then the Huaixi envoy of Hezhou brought tens of thousands of troops to attack Chao County.

"You think they won't capture each other's cities and then switch places?"

"How would I know? Brother Yuchun, let's go. There are tens of thousands of people fighting, why should we join in the fun? We should not be implicated. A few escaped troops may cost us our lives." Lan Rong advised again.

"No, I want to take another look. It's so interesting. Come on, let's catch up."

Oh, I have caught up with the third chapter. Today is 13,000 words. I have done my best.
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(End of this chapter)