Chapter 154 An unexpected surprise
While Li Zhen was shocked, the young man in the courtyard kept walking inside.

The aide folded his sleeves and bent behind Li Zhen. At this time, he raised his eyes carefully and calmly, looking at this young man who had achieved what countless warriors had achieved in half a lifetime before he was even twenty.

As Li Zhen's staff, he had no chance to observe Li Yu's appearance directly, and only saw his figure from a distance on certain occasions. But if the rumors were true, and if this young man really looked 70% like the deposed emperor, then Li Yu's appearance was indeed very handsome.

However, the young man who came up the stairs seemed to have more aura than the deposed emperor who could only see from afar, or it could be said that his authority and appearance far exceeded what a young man should have.

He is tall and slender, wearing a fu hat. He has a calm temperament and does not look like a warrior. Instead, he looks more like the kind of minister who can make decisions calmly in the court.

In addition, he also had a bronze mask with a red face and fangs hanging around his waist, which gently collided with the sword hanging on the necklace when he walked, which was very eye-catching.

Good figure and good appearance.

The staff was so amazed that they didn't notice Li Zhen's momentary surprise at all, and they lowered their heads to hide their little movements.

When they reached the front of the courtyard, Xiao Yan took off his sword and handed it to the guard beside him. Then he was led to the corridor by a clerk and finally came face to face with Li Zhen.

"Yan has heard of Mr. Li's great name for a long time. He wanted to visit him when he was in Bianliang in the past, but due to his low social status, he never had the chance. He never thought that he would meet Mr. Li for the first time today."

To the surprise of his staff, Xiao Yan did not hold himself in high esteem. He even clasped his fists and bowed to show respect to Li Zhen while speaking.

As for the latter, he had naturally concealed his gaffe on his face, and his eyes swept over Xiao Yan's slightly drooping face and the hat, and he became a little suspicious. But on the surface, he just smiled warmly, walked forward, took Xiao Yan's hand and walked to the side hall.

"Envoy Xiao..."

As soon as he spoke, he smiled apologetically and changed his words: "Look at my memory. When the envoys arrived in Youzhou, you happened to be in Tanzhou in the north, so I didn't convey the emperor's will to you in person. Although the news has already reached you, I still want to talk to you formally.

His Majesty was very pleased with the great victory in Hebei this time, and promoted you to the governor of Songzhou, and moved you to the position of the imperial guards and cavalry commander. This time, I am here on behalf of the emperor, mainly for your reward. According to the emperor's will, I should commend you for your heroic deeds in public, but since there is a mistake, I have already read the will to the civil and military officials, so I will not read it again separately.

The ten fine horses, the gold-inlaid jade belt, the twenty-four gold ingots, the two hundred and forty silver ingots, and the two thousand four hundred strings of money that His Majesty has rewarded you with are all sealed in the Youzhou treasury. You can have someone take them back to your palace later."

As Li Zhen spoke, he took out the imperial edict and read it.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly. He was not wearing any armor, so he could only kneel down on one knee. This time, he actually heard Zhu Wen's imperial edict seriously. It was nothing more than a commendation for him, and the compliments were generous. If he were an ordinary person, he might easily be satisfied with his vanity.

Then came the decree of promotion. There was no need to say much about the Jiedushi. According to common sense, the general Jiedushi would be sent to a garrison. However, Songzhou was next to Bianliang, and there were no soldiers in the town. It was obvious that he was not sent to a garrison. He was only given a title, identity, status, and the power to establish a government.

The most powerful official title is still the Du Yuhou of the Imperial Guards and Cavalry.

Last year, Zhu Wen proclaimed himself emperor as a vassal state, and he made the Xuanwu Town troops he originally commanded directly into the imperial guards, and established the Imperial Guards Cavalry and Infantry. Later, he further established the Imperial Guards, that is, the Imperial Guards Cavalry and Infantry. This department directly commanded the imperial guards and had an extremely important status.

In this department, there are also the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Imperial Guard Infantry, with one commander of the cavalry and infantry, two deputy commanders, and two military commanders. In other words, these five commanders control the entire Bianliang Imperial Guard.

But as far as Xiao Yan knows, within the entire Imperial Guard, there are currently only two people in office: Commander-in-Chief Liu Han and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Infantry Yuan Xiangxian.

And Xiao Yan is now the Du Yuhou of the Cavalry, basically the third in command of the Imperial Guard Cavalry. It can be said that he has risen to fame overnight, and has covered a distance that others would take decades to cover in just one year. Moreover, he is serving in the Imperial Guards, and his status is much higher than that of an ordinary Jiedushi.

Because Zhu Wen learned from Li Tang's lesson, he began to continuously gather military forces in the center to reduce the threat posed by the Jiedushi to the central government. This move, which was similar to the reduction of the power of the feudal lords, greatly improved the status of the imperial guards. It is hard to say whether it will backfire, but at least it seems to be a very good thing for now.

Although the cavalry of Daliang was not strong, it was better than nothing. The cavalry of armies like Longxiang, Tianxing, Shenjie, Guangsheng, etc. were all under his command, which was a huge power.

Xiao Yan listened to the imperial edict silently, took it personally, and then took the official robe and the rewarded brocade robe, only then did he feel that everything was settled.

After these polite words, Li Zhen suppressed his momentum. After watching Xiao Yan put away the items, he stroked his beard and smiled: "From now on, I will call you Xiao Shuai."

"I don't deserve it. I will need Mr. Li's support in the future." Xiao Yan stood up and glanced at him.

This guy chose to read out the imperial edict at this time, which was actually more of a warning to him.

Xiao Yan killed Li Zhen's cronies at the city gate. He was killed, and Li Zhen had no way to deal with him. However, this guy had the title of "Inspector General on Behalf of the Emperor", which is commonly known as the Imperial Envoy. He also controlled the appointment and dismissal of officials in Hebei and the power of life and death. He was capable of making Xiao Yan lose face.

The two men sat down, each with their own thoughts.

"I heard that there was a turmoil in Danzhou?" Li Zhen asked someone to serve tea while smiling, "I have sent someone to invite Kang Taibao, but Xiao Shuai is a rising star and a brave warrior. He is going to Danzhou to see it in person. Can you please have a good talk with me?"

"It's a mess."

Xiao Yan spoke briefly, sipping his tea, and said, "Hebei has just been annexed, and the people are unstable. A while ago, there was a fire in Youzhou City at night, Liu Rengong colluded with Mobei and fled during the chaos, and the remnants of the Yan area are causing chaos. The situation in Tanzhou is not optimistic, and I am afraid that a large army will be needed to conquer it."

"Oh? How many people are there in the rebellion?"

Perhaps it was because the word "rebellious army" was too sensitive to Li Zhen, he emphasized these two words on purpose, with a gleam in his eyes, observing Xiao Yan's micro-expressions calmly, hoping to find some clues.

He had no choice. He felt an inexplicable familiarity with Xiao Yan. Although it faded during the conversation, he just wanted to confirm something. If he could find any clues, not only would he be able to clear Luoyang's name, but he could also put this guy in an irreparable situation.

In other words, even if they couldn't bring Xiao Yan down, they could at least get a handle on this bastard...

Li Zhen's thoughts were complicated. He was loyal to Zhu Wen, but he also knew that Zhu Wen was old, often indulged himself excessively, and was moody. He had offended many people over the years, and he was afraid that he could not remain unscathed after Zhu Wen died a hundred years later. He also needed to find another shelter. So when the Hades extended an olive branch to him, he became a member of the Hades party without much hesitation.

But if one could master a powerful weapon like Xiao Yan, the story could be told anew. The support brought by a powerful imperial guard general was more important than anything else. It would not only consolidate one's own position, but also increase one's value in the eyes of the Hades.

Xiao Yan and him only had a minor conflict. Although Li Zhen would take revenge, he could let it go. If he couldn't stop something that was not in his favor, he would quickly maintain the relationship between the two. Just like that day in Jiao Lan Palace, he was still attacking Xiao Yan on behalf of the Dark Emperor, but he changed his attitude as soon as he heard that the latter had made great contributions.

The grudge between the two is a foregone conclusion and cannot be reversed. The only way to reduce the gap between them is to show kindness. However, if you can promote the relationship between them through some evidence known only to the two of them, you may get unexpected results.

Li Zhen believed that he had not recognized the wrong person, and at the same time secretly lamented that Xiao Yan was too brave.

This guy pretended to be the deposed emperor in Luoyang, and then dared to join Daliang as a bad guy after the deposed emperor died. I'm afraid no one would believe it if I told others about it... Just as he was thinking about it secretly, Xiao Yan said calmly: "In my opinion, the rebel army in Danzhou may be no less than 10,000 people, and most of them are powerful people in Yan and defeated troops in Hebei. It's very troublesome. I originally wanted to return to Youzhou after the rebellion was settled, but Lord Li summoned me back in the name of the emperor. How dare I disobey his order? But I still think that Lord Li needs to send a part of the army for me to command in order to suppress the rebel army."

Li Zhen was stunned when he heard this, then laughed: "Why is Xiao Shuai so serious? It's just 10,000 people, do you think it's troublesome?"

After that, he stroked his beard and said, "With Liu Rengong's reputation, the 10,000 soldiers he mobilized are probably not just a mob, right? Why should General Xiao worry about you? Could it be that General Xiao's reputation for taking over Hebei is exaggerated? Or, it will take General Xiao several months just to deal with this chaotic army?"

He stared at Xiao Yan with a half-smile, with some inexplicable meaning in his eyes, but he didn't say it out loud. This way of speaking especially made the staff who were writing at the desk beside him secretly admire him.

Xiao Yan was indeed angry, and said dissatisfiedly: "Since Lord Li doesn't trust me, why don't you go to Tanzhou in person? You can see how chaotic the army is at a glance!"

Li Zhen's eyes flickered and he said, "Then according to Commander Xiao, how long will it take to deal with this chaotic army?"

"Two months!" Xiao Yan said coldly, "The reason for this rebellion is that the rewards were too little. The rewards from the court came too late, and the troops could not wait, so I distributed the money from Youzhou treasury without authorization. Even so, I heard that Lord Li also blamed me? The troops were not in a stable mood, so how could they rush into battle?"

"Two months?" Li Zhen was a little dissatisfied, and his face darkened. "The distribution of the treasury is decided by the court. How can General Xiao do it on his own? Besides, two months is too long. I will report it to the emperor next month. Who knows, someone might accuse General Xiao of nurturing the enemy and not daring to return to Bianliang!"

"what?"

Xiao Yan stood up suddenly with a murderous look on his face, which frightened the staff beside him so much that their faces turned tense.

But Li Zhen remained calm, sitting quietly in his seat and drinking tea.

"In that case, I will return to Bianliang tomorrow in compliance with the imperial edict! Lord Li will go and quell the unrest in Danzhou himself!" Xiao Yan had a cold face and walked out without even a greeting.

"Mr. Li..." The staff was stunned and didn't understand what Li Zhen meant by this.

The latter just stroked his beard and smiled. What he was waiting for was Xiao Yan to propose to return to Bianliang. He was anxious to recall Xiao Yan from Danzhou to Youzhou because he was worried that Xiao Yan would raise enemies in Danzhou and become too powerful to be eliminated, and in the end he, the inspector general, would be in trouble.

Now forcing them to withdraw from Hebei would only achieve half of their goal. Only when Xiao Yan's military power in Hebei is removed, Hebei can be truly safe. As for the so-called chaotic army, it was just an exaggeration by Xiao Yan. He wanted to keep the enemy for himself, but he had to expose what the so-called chaotic army was.

After he pacifies the rebellion in a few days and submits a memorial, it will be another handle to hold Xiao Yan hostage.

But who would be going to quell this rebellion? Of course it wouldn't be Li Zhen. The battle-hardened Kang Taibao was also in Hebei. Not only did he have thousands of Bianliang imperial guards under his command, he also accepted all the surrendered troops. Wouldn't it be easy to quell this mob?

Li Zhen laughed, stood up and chased after him for a few steps, pulled Xiao Yan's sleeve, and smiled and comforted him: "Why are you angry, General Xiao? What I said is a bit inappropriate, but you are still young and naturally don't understand the court's considerations.

I am a former Tang surrender like you, and we have an old friendship, so I will not keep you in suspense and speak frankly. You have made great contributions this time, and if you still hold on to the military power for a long time, it will inevitably give some people with ulterior motives an excuse. His Majesty is naturally gracious to you, but he can't stand the rumors day and night, right? This is the experience of this old man for decades as an official, and it is not to harm you. "

He patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and said earnestly, "The longer you stay in Hebei, the easier it is for people to criticize you. His Majesty trusts you, but some people will not let go of this opportunity, for example... Ghost King? As far as I know, he seems to be at odds with you. Do you dare to underestimate him, General Xiao?"

For the last two sentences, Li Zhenji lowered his voice to the lowest level, and it really sounded like an elder imparting experience to a younger person, which was extremely touching.

"Humph, Mr. Li, I appreciate your kindness! After today, I will no longer have anything to do with Hebei!" Xiao Yan was not polite at all, and tried to leave: "Also, Mr. Li, please don't get close to me here, and don't talk about old feelings, I don't recognize it!"

Li Zhen's expression remained unchanged. He smiled and finally released his most powerful weapon.

He firmly grasped Xiao Yan's sleeve and said with a smile: "A year ago, Xiao Shuai and I met once in Luoyang. How could Xiao Shuai forget us?"

The courtyard suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of wind and snow coming from outside the corridor.

Li Zhen was very keen to notice that Xiao Yan's face suddenly turned pale, but after a breath, he waved his sleeves with a cold face: "I don't understand what you are saying!"

"Ha ha……"

Li Zhen knew what was going on, and smiled amiably, "Don't worry, Commander Xiao, we are the only ones who know about this."

After that, he added pointedly: "From now on, Xiao Shuai and I are on the same boat. Xiao Shuai, please don't do anything stupid to embarrass me..."

Xiao Yan glanced at him with anger on his face, and walked away without saying a word.

"Let's wait and see what happens to this brat."

Li Zhen stroked his beard, squinted at Xiao Yan's back, sneered, and felt refreshed for a moment.

"Mr. Li?" The staff member was confused and stepped forward to ask questions.

"No need to say more, send someone to tell Kang Taibao to take over all the military power of Xiao Yan."

"Can……"

"Don't worry, this guy will obey you obediently."

Li Zhenfeng was calm and confident of victory. He waved his hand and just drank his tea slowly.

Today is really a pleasant surprise.

------

A pleasant surprise.

Xiao Yan left the Jiedushi Mansion and got on the mount that Fu An brought. A smile appeared on his cold face.

This time, Li Zhen jumped up by himself.

(End of this chapter)