Three thousand miles in exile

As early as the day Emperor Xuan issued the decree, Zhou's family letter was sent out of the capital overnight.

Only when Zhou Chan received this urgently delivered letter from Beijing did he realize that Liu Zhan had passed him to report victory to Emperor Xuan.

Emperor Xuan appointed Liu Zhan as Qi Yun's general and governor of Qi Yunshan. Not only that, Emperor Xuan also took the opportunity to recall Prince Rui.

For Zhou Chan, the bad news in this family letter came one after another.

The letter also mentioned that Prime Minister Zhou Da was in poor health and asked Zhou Chan to arrange the transfer of the Northern Army back to Beijing as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Zhou repeatedly told Zhou Chan not to fight against Liu Zhan again. He only needed to consolidate his military power and hand over the Northern Army to Zhou Sui to guard Baoshan.

Zhou Chan didn't tell Prince Rui any of the things mentioned in the family letter, and before the imperial envoy arrived in Jinyang, he had to hurry up and use Prince Rui to pave the way for Zhou Sui.

Among the Northern Army, Xu Muyuan was highly respected and had personally supervised several important battles. If Zhou Chan was relieved of the heavy responsibility of the General, Xu Muyuan would undoubtedly be the most capable general to take over the Northern Army.

Zhou Sui is not as good as Xu Muyuan in terms of qualifications or background, but Zhou Sui is better than Xu Muyuan in one thing, that is, he is young, and Xu Muyuan's retirement at this age is not just a memorial.

Zhou Chan sent a memorial to Beijing in the name of King Rui. On the surface, he was sympathetic to Xu Muyuan who took the lead in guarding the frontier in his sixties and asked for credit for him. In fact, the whole article implied that it was inhumane for an old man in his sixties to guard the frontier.

The Zhou family then used this memorial to add fuel to the flames, and asked Xu Muyuan to be given a vain job to carry the sedan chair and be called back to Beijing to guard the capital, and that was it.

As a result, only two generals, Zhou Sui and Zhang Taining, remained in the Northern Army.

Zhang Taining came from a lowly background and had no power or influence, so it was natural for Zhou Sui to take over the northern army, first to occupy Baoshan, and second to continue to pay for nothing.

The Zhou family also needs to use huge funds to cultivate greater power, and these two incomes must not be lost.

At the beginning of Emperor Xuan's ascension to the throne, the Liu family and the Song family were wiped out, and the Zhou family replaced them with the power they have today. So far, the head of the Zhou family has deeply realized that only the monstrous power can keep the family safe.

It is not enough to control the military power and control the court, the daughters of the Zhou family have to be descendants, and the Zhou family is in the same line with the royal blood from generation to generation, and then the Zhou family controls the emperor!

Only in this way can the Zhou family remain invincible!Zhou Chan was unwavering in this regard.

In just half a month, Zhou Chan used the name of Prince Rui to mobilize personnel one after another to eradicate dissidents, and firmly held the Northern Army, Yan Clan, and Jinyang City in his hands.

Zhou Chan didn't hide it from Xu Muyuan, but told him about the retirement, Xu Muyuan dared not speak up.

Although Xu Muyuan didn't want to stay in Northern Xinjiang, he knew better than anyone that Zhou Chan was unreliable, but this kind of attitude of letting others handle it, and even letting others know, and even letting him know at the end, made Xu Muyuan secretly hate him.

After being interviewed by Zhou Chan that day, Xu Muyuan did not return to Yangguan, but declared in Jinyang City that he was not sick, and waited for Emperor Xuan's approval before returning to Beijing immediately.

As for Prince Rui, ever since he knew that Cao Meiren and her son were missing, he didn't think about eating and drinking, and he didn't know what documents Zhou Chan was stamping with his seal, Prince Rui didn't even think about it, he just drank too much all day long.

Prince Rui recalled the last time he secretly went to see Yan Jun before he went south, the three-year-old child was already able to salute him strictly, and also knew how to greet him with care.

Thinking of this made his eyes wet again, at night Prince Rui either dreamed that his son was killed by Zhou Chan, or dreamed that his Jingui's son was taken away as a slave, and waking up from the dream was so painful that he couldn't bear to live.

Zhou Chan also sent enough people to look for it.

The villagers in that village all said that the Yan people entered the village to rob, and many women and children were lost in the village, perhaps they were plundered by the Yan people.

Prince Rui already hated Zhou Chan to the bone!

After that, Zhao Hengfu resigned after lingering in Cangyun Town for a few days. Zhao Jizhang and his son took Cao Meiren and the emperor's eldest grandson to leave first under the escort of the guards, and Liu Zhan accompanied Zhao Hengfu to Jinyang City.

Liu Zhan ordered [-] cavalry to follow him. Of course, these were all gunmen, and he didn't want Mo Dao to be exposed so early.

On the post road, the military flag embroidered with the word "Qi Yun" was flying in the wind, and three thousand cavalry marched forward and backward, and entered the boundary of Jinyang majesticly, which immediately alarmed both inside and outside of Jinyang City.

The arrival of the imperial envoys is due to the situation and reason, and the officials of Jinyang City and the generals of the North Army Battalion should go out of the city to greet them.

Yan Qixiu and Pei Gongli hurriedly organized officials, big and small, to go out of the city, and they didn't care whether the Northern Army came or not.

Jinyang City had just experienced a great battle not long ago, and the wilderness outside the city was full of dark and indistinguishable traces of burnt blood and blood.

Amidst the desolation and ruin, the first thing that caught everyone's eyes were two military flags, and the leading cavalry came towards the wind carrying the Qiyun military flag.

Immediately after that came a row of four cavalrymen with guns, all with the same red tassels on their guns, and they entered the wilderness in a uniform order in the hunting wind.

After about a thousand rides, Liu Zhan, dressed in a red official uniform and wearing a golden lacquered beam crown, came into everyone's sight.

I saw that Liu Zhan's big red official embroidered a ferocious lion with gold thread. This is the standard of a third-rank general.

"It's terrible, it's terrible." Yan Qixiu couldn't stop thinking.

Pei Gongli's eyes dimmed. "It's normal to be a third-rank official with such a great contribution."

At this time, the generals of the Northern Army Camp Fang came late, Prince Rui led the way, Zhou Chan, Zhou Sui, Zhang Taining, and Xu Muyuan, who had been sick for a long time, were also among them.

When Zhou Chan saw that Liu Zhan was indeed a third-rank official, the anger in his eyes almost turned into substance.

There is no doubt that Liu Zhan will become the biggest stumbling block for the Zhou family in northern Xinjiang, and Zhou Chan felt the threat coming almost instantly.

This person who knows many inside secrets, but Zhou Chan has repeatedly let him get promoted step by step under his hands.

Looking back, Zhou Chan regretted and was annoyed that he had missed too many opportunities to get rid of him. Now that Liu Zhan is full-fledged, it is impossible for Zhou Chan to do anything again.

Zhou Chan was looking at Liu Zhan, but Xu Muyuan and Zhang Taining were looking at Liu Zhan's soldiers.

This neat team and uniform armor and weapons, this majestic military appearance, and the sturdy spirit of every soldier.

Such soldiers are all first-class soldiers selected from the northern army camp, and Liu Zhan is all first-class soldiers here. It is no wonder that leading such an army can directly attack Yan Dadu!

Xu Muyuan's eyes changed, and he thought to himself that this son has a big picture.

The team stopped in front of the city gate, Liu Zhan got off his horse and did not go forward immediately, but walked around behind to help Zhao Hengfu get off the car.

After Zhao Hengfu got off the carriage, the retinue immediately followed Zhao Hengfu towards Prince Rui and the others, but Liu Zhan did not immediately follow, and he stretched out his hand towards the carriage again.

"Come."

Song Fenglin, who was dressed in white Confucian clothing, hesitated, but Liu Zhan still stretched out his hand. "I'm here, don't be afraid."

So what if the emperor knows, the people Liu Zhan wants to protect, these [-] soldiers are just for display, he can even beat the iron cavalry of the Yan army, and he is even more fearless when the Chu soldiers come.

Song Fenglin can't always hide behind Qi Yunjun's back. All of Liu Zhan's future achievements should bear Song Fenglin's name.

Liu Zhan persuaded him to come this time, just to get rid of the slightest uneasiness in Song Fenglin's heart, and let him stand in front of others frankly.

After a moment of hesitation, Song Fenglin finally stretched out his hand, and Liu Zhan helped him off the carriage.

Liu Zhan glanced at Guo Donghu and Zhou Ziming in the team. The two immediately guarded Song Fenglin left and right, with an intimidating aura that anyone who dared to get close to half a step would immediately cripple him.

Liu Zhan stepped forward with his head held high while supporting the saber at his waist.

Downstairs of the city gate, Zhao Hengfu immediately knelt down when he saw Prince Rui and bowed deeply. "Minister of the Ministry of Rites Zhao Hengfu pays homage to Prince Rui!"

Prince Rui felt the respect he had not seen for a long time, and stepped forward to help him sincerely. "Master Zhao please get up quickly."

Zhao Hengfu didn't get up but said with tears in his eyes: "Your Highness! Your Majesty misses His Highness very much, and wants the old minister to take His Highness back to Beijing!"

Prince Rui was stunned for a moment, then ecstatically. "Is this true?"

Zhao Hengfu was still kneeling. "It's absolutely true. Your Highness, please leave immediately. You can still catch up with His Majesty's Longevity Festival if you rush back at this time. Your Majesty specifically told the old minister to make sure His Highness catches up."

"Father sent someone to pick me up." Prince Rui felt unreal as if in a dream.

He is like a child who was abandoned by his parents and found again. In addition, he was coerced by Zhou Chan in northern Xinjiang recently and experienced life and death. Many complicated emotions came to him, and he cried like a child for a while, wiping away his tears choked up.

"I thought my father had forgotten me."

Zhao Hengfu is sincere. "Your Highness, don't say stupid things. You are His Majesty's most precious and important eldest son of the Emperor. How could Your Majesty forget it?"

Prince Rui kept nodding his head and was so weeping that he couldn't speak for a while.

At this moment, Zhou Chan had no intention of worrying about what Prince Rui was crying for. He saw the white-clothed figure following Liu Zhan, and felt very familiar.

The Zhou family was willing to be Emperor Xuan's executioner in order to control the court and frighten the family, and single-handedly led the massacre of the Song family.

In the end, only Song Yijun, Song Fenglin and his son were left. Because Empress Rendi entered the palace and forced her to die, the trouble was really embarrassing, and finally Emperor Xuan gave in and let the matter go.

Zhou Chan thought that the Song family should be dead, but the person in front of him reminded him of the young Song Yixuan, Song Fangcheng's eldest son, Song Yixuan, who was once amazingly talented and overwhelmed him no matter in the academy or the court!

Zhou Chan was taken aback suddenly, because the man looked over with cold killing intent.

Suddenly, Zhou Chan, who was as lucky as a soul, remembered it, and he shouted coldly. "How can there be a criminal here? Someone come and take him down!"

Zhou Chan's entourage and guards were all stunned, where are the important criminals here?

But the guards didn't dare to disobey, and immediately stepped forward to take him down, but the cavalry brought by Liu Zhan immediately jumped up and scared them back.

"Hahahaha!" Liu Zhan looked up to the sky and laughed.

Zhou Chan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Liu Zhan had a smile on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, he stood with the knife in his hands, with a kind of arrogance in his hands.

"I forgot to introduce, this is Mr. Song, the number one adviser under the general's command, and also the most cherished person of the general."

Zhou Chanzheng was worried that he had no reason to suppress Liu Zhan, so he would speak regardless. "How dare you hide a criminal from the imperial court, this is..."

"General!" Liu Zhan interrupted in a deep voice. "The Song case is over, are you still alive ten years ago?"

In the past, no one dared to refute himself, but suddenly caught by Liu Zhan's aura, Zhou Chan choked so hard that he didn't refute for a while.

Mentioning the Song family, Xu Muyuan, who was also from the same family, suddenly remembered it.

"Is this the grandson of Emperor Ren's patriarch An Guogong?" It was true that he left a son and grandson and was sentenced to exile, and Xu Muyuan had also heard a little about the fact that the grandson was quite talented.

All the people present were talking a lot. The Song family's destruction shocked the world.

Liu Zhan stood motionless in the middle of the two camps, his momentum was majestic and powerful.

"The government affairs and internal affairs on Qiyun Mountain are all decided by Mr. Song. The general of Japan brought Mr. Song here today to let everyone recognize him, so that you will not have government orders in the future. You make excuses and say you don't recognize him."

Zhou Chan heard something was wrong, and immediately scolded. "Liu Zhan! This is Jinyang, what does it have to do with you."

Liu Zhan glanced at Zhou Chan angrily. "Your Majesty ordered this general to be the governor of Qiyun Mountain, and all the towns within the Qiyun Mountain area shall be under the jurisdiction of this general."

There was a moment of silence. Jinyang City is located in the valley where Furongpingding and Dazhupingding meet, but it is not exactly within the boundary of Qiyun Mountain.

Judging from the map of the Great Chu, Jinyang City is also within the boundaries of Qiyun Mountain. From this point of view, the area under the jurisdiction of General Qiyun actually has one-third of the northern border!

Only at this time did Zhou Chan realize the size of Liu Zhan, the governor, Qiyun Mountain. Emperor Xuan, including the courtiers, thought that Qiyun Mountain was a barren mountain in six counties, but in fact Qiyun Mountain was vast!

Once the imperial decree is issued, there is no possibility of taking it back. I can only blame Zhou's ignorance for allowing Liu Zhan to take such a big advantage, and Liu Zhan is acting good after getting the advantage.

"General, you are only the general of the Northern Army. It is your job to be stationed at Giyang Pass. As for the local government affairs, you don't have to worry about it."

Liu Zhan's words were not only for Zhou Chan, but also for all the officials present. If anyone still speaks to Zhou Chan, don't blame him for being rude.

The officials of Jinyang City thought that today was just a formality to welcome the imperial envoy, but they didn't expect it to be a tit-for-tat contest, and they all kept silent for a moment.

Zhou Chan's face was livid with anger. "Well, you Liu Zhan, not only harboring important criminals from the imperial court, but also brazenly saying that you want to hand over government affairs to criminals. In your eyes, do you still have the law of the king! It's ridiculous, mere child."

Song Fenglin didn't squint, and there was no wave in his phoenix eyes. He interrupted Zhou Chan forcefully. "Even if there is only one member of my Song family, I can stabilize the country and the world."

What a big breath!

But no one was dissatisfied. The ancestors of An Guogong Song's ancestors were countless. Don't look at the Zhou family now holding the power of the court. The family background is not half that of the Song family back then.

The officials talked a lot, Liu Zhan glanced over and immediately silenced. "It's all clear now? If anyone is disrespectful to Mr. Song, don't blame me for being blind."

All the officials, big and small, were silent. They were all shocked by this naked threat, and at the same time they couldn't stop looking at Mr. Song who had the appearance of a heavenly man.

With so many officials present, including the generals in the army, none of them dared to take the lead.

Prince Rui is going back to Beijing soon, but Emperor Xuan didn't say who will take over as the governor of Northern Xinjiang. Anyone who is not stupid will know that it is impossible for Dachu to have a governor of Northern Xinjiang. Anyone can see that the governor of Northern Xinjiang has too much power through this matter. .

Prince Rui over there was also stunned by the tension between the two men, he wanted to say something, Zhao Hengfu took him a step closer and whispered. "Prince Rui, you will be the Lord of the World in the future."

Prince Rui was startled.

Zhao Hengfu didn't say any more, conflicts between local powers are a good thing for the emperor, and it would be a headache if the family is the only one. The prince has been educated by the emperor since he was a child, so he naturally understands this truth.

When he came back to his senses, Prince Rui also understood that he was confused, because he was used to relying on Zhou Chan since he was a child, and subconsciously always wanted to protect Zhou Chan.

Liu Zhan left Zhou Chan who was too angry to speak, he turned around and strode towards Prince Rui.

"The last general, Liu Zhan, has met Prince Rui."

Prince Rui looked at Liu Zhan with a complicated heart, and raised his hand to signal him to excuse himself.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Liu Zhan blatantly whispered in Prince Rui's ear.

I don't know what Liu Zhan said, and they separated in a moment, Zhou Chan only felt his eyebrows twitching.

"Well, this king knows, this king will not forget you." Prince Rui forced himself to be calm.

He took a deep breath to suppress the turbulent emotions in his heart and turned to Zhao Hengfu and said, "Master Zhao, let's go, I don't want to stay in Beijiang for a moment."

Zhou Chan was very unhappy on the verge of rage. "Prince Rui, you still have to hand over the Northern Xinjiang government affairs."

"The general will make arrangements for this king, so this king will go first." Prince Rui could not help but say that he got into Zhao Hengfu's carriage.

He didn't have any nostalgia for Beijiang. As for the little princess in the mansion, he ignored it from the bottom of his heart, and it didn't matter whether he took it or not.

Seeing the little princess, he thought of Zhou Chan's face of snatching the emperor's eldest grandson, and Prince Rui loathed it to the extreme.

Zhou Chan lost face when Prince Rui said to leave, but he still didn't realize that Prince Rui was bored with him.

In Zhou Chan's eyes, Prince Rui was just a rebellious child, and a child who couldn't make much trouble.

Liu Zhan wanted to be escorted by two thousand cavalry, but Zhou Chan insisted that the northern army would send troops to escort him, and Liu Zhan didn't bother to argue.

Prince Rui wanted to leave Zhou Chan because he didn't force him to stay because of his face, he knew that Prince Rui was eager to return, but what does this attitude of loathing to stay for a moment mean?

Once Prince Rui left, the scene outside Jinyang City became even more embarrassing.

Liu Zhan glanced at the big and small officials present. "This month's government affairs will be waived. Next month, people will be sent to Wuyuan County. Don't force me to do anything. This general has not used a knife against officials for a long time."

All the officials present, big and small, all shrank their necks, and Liu Zhan's vicious name had already been heard by them.

"Mr. Yan." Liu Zhan called out, and Yan Qixiu immediately ran up like a dog.

"The subordinate is here."

"It's hard work for you to send the important tax and tax cases of previous years to Wuyuan County for Mr. Song's review." Liu Zhan said.

Yan Qixiu didn't even struggle a bit. "The officer obeys."

Yan Qixiu is an out-and-out dude, but he has one advantage, that is, he knows current affairs.

"Mr. Song, within three days at the most, the lower officials will send someone to deliver the files." Yan Qixiu laughed heartlessly.

Song Fenglin nodded calmly.

Liu Zhan looked at Zhou Chan who was brewing a storm. "I also ask the general to lead the northern army to garrison Yangguan as soon as possible. The defense of Jinyang City will be taken over by Qi Yunjun."

Liu Zhan still thinks that Zhou Chan is not angry enough. "The General's Mansion should also be moved to Giyang Pass. It is always inappropriate to set up a mansion in a place other than the garrison."

The expressions of the generals of the Northern Army present were really varied and exciting, for example, Xu Muyuan's coolness was almost beyond words, and Zhou Sui, Zhao Wuguang's expressions of hatred and jealousy also made Liu Zhan happy.

"That's it, the general has something else to do." Liu Zhan turned around and rode on his handsome black horse. He bent down and brought Song Fenglin onto the horse without any effort.

Song Fenglin never expected that Liu Zhan would ride with him in full view. The panic in his eyes betrayed Mr. Song's superficial calmness, but it was no use struggling.

"Let's go!" Liu Zhan rushed out first, followed by three thousand cavalry.

Zhou Chan was so angry that the veins on his forehead blew up, but Liu Zhan had all the reasons, a governor of Qiyun Mountain suppressed him, Zhou Chan didn't even have a reason to refute, and finally had no choice but to walk away.

As for whether Zhou Chan would withdraw the Northern Army, everyone looked at each other and no one dared to ask.

When the generals of the Northern Army saw that Zhou Chan had left, they also returned to their respective battalions. For a while, only the officials of Jinyang City were left outside the city gate.

The composition of these Jinyang officials is much more complicated. There are old officials of the Yan family, some local tyrants, and some who were later promoted by Zhou Chan. Only a small part of them are Yan Qixiu.

Those who follow Yan Qixiu's lead will not be entangled if Yan Qixiu expresses his position, other than that, the rest of the forces all look bitter.

Among them, Pei Gongli was the most embarrassing.

He is now an effective counselor next to Zhou Chan, and he is the second in command of Jinyang City Wupin Liangdao in charge of money and food. With such an important position, if he betrays Zhou Chan and joins Liu Zhan, Liu Zhan may not use him.

No, it's not that Liu Zhan can't use him, but Mr. Song can't use him.

Pei Gongli clearly understood that he had to plan for the future.