Chapter 16: I'm rude again
Those who came to serve as the secretary were not only Li Yuanhui and his cousin Dou Xianjun, but also the second oldest brother of the Zhao family, Zhao Jiong.

Unlike the left general Zhao Yi, Zhao Jiong looked gentle and refined, not like a warrior. But Li Yuanhui knew that this boy was good at swordsmanship and archery.

"Shiro, we are going to work together. I will have to rely on your care in the future."

As soon as Zhao Jiong entered Murong He's temporary office in Luoyang, he found out that Li Yuanhui was a military officer, while he was only a secretary. He immediately felt a little concerned.

After all, he was two years older than Li Yuanhui and the same age as Li Jiaerlang. Seeing a younger man becoming his superior, even though it was only in name, he still felt a little unhappy.

But Zhao Jiong also understood that Li Yuanhui won Murong He's favor because of the arrow that turned the situation around in the battle of Mangshan.

He felt that if Li Yuanhui had not shot that arrow, his eldest brother would have led his cavalry to counterattack, and with his eldest brother's martial arts, it would have been no problem for him to capture the traitor Yang Xi.

But Li Yuanhui's arrow stole all the limelight.

As the main general, turning defeat into victory is naturally a great achievement.

But if the eldest brother had killed Yang Xi in battle that day and won the counterattack against the rebels, his reputation would have surely risen to a higher level.

Although he felt a little dirty in his heart, Zhao Jiong still had a sunny face.

"Brother Zhao, you are too polite. We are old friends. We will take care of each other in the future."

Li Yuanhui didn't know what was going on in the other person's mind, so he naturally greeted him with a smile. His relationship with Zhao Er was average, but they were pretty familiar with each other.

The Zhao family originated from Zhuo County and was one of the earliest Han Chinese tyrants to join the Murong family. They had the merit of following the emperor. The current head of the Zhao family was Zhao Yanqing, the Duke of Tianshui County. They, father, son and brothers, had deep roots in the central army of Dayan.

But the Zhao family's rise to power was very short, and all of their members were military generals, so this generation of the Zhao family was preparing to train Zhao Er to develop in the direction of a civil official.

This is also the reason why Zhao Er was sent when they heard that Murong He's court was short of people.

In fact, in this era, the distinction between civil and military officials was far less clear than in later generations.

The Inspector also served as the Commander-in-Chief, the General also served as the Prefect, and there were both generals and prime ministers.

For example, among the noble families like the Wenxi Pei family, the Longxi Li family, the Xingyang Zheng family, and the Qinghe Cui family, which one doesn’t have a few generals, provincial governors, and ministers?
But if the Zhao family, which has always been rooted in the central army, wants to extend its influence to the court, it needs someone to support it.

Murong He is obviously a good choice.

Coming to his shogunate now seems like a timely help.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then greeted the other accountants. As a military officer in charge of the record room, Li Yuanhui assigned the tasks.

They were all drafted documents, counting the additional weapons needed by each department and the supplies that needed to be carried for a few days.

After assigning the tasks, he left the task of going to the armory to restock the weapons to himself, because the armory of Dayan was under the jurisdiction of the Weiwei Mansion.

It just so happened that one of the Nine Ministers, Wei Wei Qing, was his father, Li Yuan, the Duke of Longxi.

Even though people were not in Luoyang, things went very smoothly.

But Li Yuanhui knew clearly that no matter who handled the matter, the results would be almost the same. It would delay the deployment of troops and no one would be able to take responsibility.

But after all, he is the son of an official, so at least he can experience the feeling of having someone in the court to help him get things done.
Two days later, Murong He led three battalions of 5,000 troops, plus his own 1,000 troops, a total of 6,000 people, from Dongdu and went through the Anxi Gate in the north. In the battle of Mangshan, the government troops were defeated at first but won later, and they also regained some control over the city.

Although the rebels were still recuperating in Yanshi and Jinyong City, they needed time to regroup their defeated soldiers and restore morale after the defeat.

Zhao Yi also personally led more than 10,000 people out of the city to form a battle array to prevent the rebels from pursuing Murong He.

After Yang Xun learned that a government army was setting out from Dongdu and heading for Guanzhong, he actually became interested in leading the cavalry in pursuit.

But Yang Sui dissuaded him. With Zhao Yi's troops as cover, even if they caught up with Murong He, they would still face the risk of being attacked from both sides. The rebel cavalry was not much, only about a thousand cavalry, and the rest of the troops were in the process of repairing. If they went forward to fight, they would most likely be defeated again.

Given the rebels' morale, they can't afford to lose now.

After all, it is certain that Murong Ying in Liaodong is now on his way back, but it is not known how much time they have.

The army led by Murong He covered the seventy miles in just one day and officially entered the Qiaohan Road.

In a narrow sense, the Xiaohan Road refers to the general term for the road from Luoyang to Tongguan, while in a broad sense, the Xiaohan Road is a specific geographical name, which refers to a major transportation route from Chang'an to Luoyang. It goes west from Chang'an, starts from Tongguan, passes through Qin Hangu Pass, passes through Shan County, passes through Xishi Pass to Han Hangu Pass and then to Luoyang. The total length is about 700 miles.

Seventy miles a day was considered a fast march in ancient times.

Normally, infantry would march about 30 to 40 miles a day, but this infantry only carried dry food and weapons, no baggage, so they marched at a speed of 70 miles.

After entering the Qiaohan Road, the road became difficult to travel, but it also meant that the army was temporarily safe. As long as they made good defenses, the narrow terrain would allow the Yan army to not worry about the rebels' military advantage at all.

General Pang Lingxun of Zhenxi also led his troops to support the enemy. He set up tents and prepared meals in advance, and took the initiative to let his troops take on the task of covering the rear.

Although he had a horse to ride and didn't have to walk, riding a horse for a whole day was not a pleasant experience. Li Yuanhui felt like he was about to fall apart.

After dinner, I went straight back to the tent and planned to have a good rest.

Who knew that just as he lay down, a messenger came to ask him to go to the big tent to discuss matters.

As the chief secretaries, Zhao Er and his cousin didn't need it, but he was now a military officer and was qualified to participate in military affairs. He could only cheer himself up, tidy up his appearance, and go to the big tent.

Murong He, who was sitting in the first seat, was also trying to be alert. When he saw him come in, he waved. Li Yuanhui politely saluted with his arms crossed, and then sat down next to his uncle Dou Guang.

Seeing that everyone was present, Murong He said, "Everyone, we have now entered the Xiaohan Road. The rebels will need some time to advance westward, but we don't have much time left, and it will definitely not be more than ten days. Hangu Pass has been abandoned for many years and is not strong enough to be defended by the pass. Although Tongguan is strong, there is a palace of the saint in the Hongnong area, which cannot be abandoned. Therefore, we can only defend against the enemy to the east of Shan County and cannot let the palace fall into the hands of the rebels."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanhui wanted only to curse. It was already this time, and why were people still concerned about the palace? As long as Yang Xun was not allowed to enter Guanzhong, the rebellion would be quelled when the emperor returned and everything would be fine. Why were they still doing this now?

But everyone present, without exception, agreed deeply with Murong He's words.

The current saint has a changeable temper. He doesn't care about you. If his palace is attacked by rebels, he will definitely find someone to hold accountable.

While Murong He was making an impassioned speech, his deputy Pang Lingxun poured cold water on him.

"But what if the rebels don't go to Hongnong Palace, but take a detour to Guanzhong? There are at least ten roads and paths leading to Guanzhong in the Shan County area. If we let Yang the rebels enter Guanzhong, with the current defense of Chang'an."

Pang Lingxun stopped talking here, Murong He’s face had already turned very ugly.

The main reason was that he had insufficient troops, only more than 10,000 people, and it was difficult to completely control the main pass of Zhuqiao and Han. All the troops in Guanzhong were buried by him on the Beimang battlefield.

Now we have to defend Hongnong Palace, so we can't take care of other routes.
Li Yuanhui was a little sleepy at this time. Seeing that everyone was silent and thinking hard, he was speechless. He said casually: "Then find a way to let Yang Xun attack Hongnong Palace."

When Dou Guang heard what Li Yuanhui said, he immediately signaled him not to talk nonsense.

"Huh?" Murong He was stunned for a moment. Yes, why didn't he think of that?
"Great!" Pang Lingxun shouted, "This is a great plan. Our army is short of manpower, and Hongnong Palace must be defended. If we want to delay Yang the thief, the best way is to lure him to attack Hongnong Palace! But I don't know who this young man is?"

Li Yuanhui cupped his hands and said, "My father is Li Gong, the Minister of the Imperial Guards."

Pang Lingxun said with a smile: "So you are the son of Lord Li. Ah, the one who shot and killed the bandit general Yang Xi the other day was you, young master. You are really a young talent."

"The general is overrated."

At this moment, Li Yuanhui just wanted to slap himself twice. Didn't he agree to keep a low profile? Why was he showing off again?

(End of this chapter)