Chapter 168 A life of hard work

Before Li Yuanhui went to Chaohu to meet Zhang Jiuniang, Chang Yanheng brought back Monk Ruhui.

Monk Ruhui, who had hardly ridden a horse before, had been jolted around on the horse these past few days, but nothing could be seen on his dark face, except that he looked a little tired.

Monk Ruhui followed Chang Yanheng into the general's mansion, and when they met Li Yuanhui in the hall, they knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

"Master, you don't have to be so polite. Although I am not the governor of Yangzhou, I am in charge of military affairs. I cannot just sit there and watch such things happen in Yangzhou. What do you think, Master? I see that you are quite brave. Are you willing to serve in my army?"

Chang Yanheng also said: "General, you really have a good eye for talent. After this monk came out, I heard that he could fight a hundred people alone, and I thought he was just bragging. After a competition with him, if we only talk about foot combat, I, Chang, will admit defeat."

"Oh?" Li Yuanhui felt that this man was quite fierce after hearing this. If he could make Chang Yanheng admit defeat in infantry combat, then he must be a fierce general.

Monk Ruhui actually had some thoughts in his mind. When he was imprisoned this time, he knew that Buddha could not save this world.

Li Yuanhui was a rare talent, and he held a high position. How could he hesitate to work for such a person if he had the care of him?
So he said, "Thank you for taking me in, General. But I have no other skills except some brute force and some fists, kicks and clubs."

Li Yuanhui said, "How about you temporarily let the monk be my personal guard?"

The monk heard this and said, "Thank you, General. You have a kind heart. Although I am not talented, I am willing to be a Vajra before you."

Therefore, Monk Ruhui, whose secular name was Wang Fobao, became a personal guard.

Li Yuanhui estimated that this guy was nearly 1.9 meters tall, but he was much thinner than the last time they met. He must have been hungry in prison during these days, but he was still as strong as a bear.

With this figure, it is no wonder that a fierce man like Chang Yanheng would admit defeat in foot combat. Although Chang Yanheng is brave and fierce, he is not the kind of reckless man who only has brute force. He is agile and has excellent riding skills. Moreover, because he grew up by the Huai River, he is also good at swimming, so he is excellent in horseback kung fu, horseback archery and spearmanship.

If Chang Yanheng were to dismount and fight one-on-one with Monk Ruhui, he would definitely not be his match.

But when he got on the horse, the situation was reversed. After riding for several days and covering hundreds of miles, Chang Yanheng was full of energy and nothing happened.

The monk looked fine, but he couldn't stand the bumpy ride any longer. This was more uncomfortable than walking for several days.

Li Yuanhui called Han Quan and asked him to take the monks to eat, rest and arrange for their accommodation.

He then went to Chaohu with dozens of personal guards.

A large ship on the Chaohu Lake, with a magnificent interior and no different from an ordinary merchant ship from the outside, was parked at the ferry, next to the warships of the Yan Army Navy. In comparison, it was not much smaller than the Wuya warship. They also had several floors of shipbuilding.

In the top cabin, a woman was wearing a simple and elegant green dress with just a little makeup on her face, looking like a banished fairy.

Standing at the window of the cabin, looking at the lake, the breeze blew and ripples appeared on the lake water.

Suddenly, an idea came to the woman, and she suddenly walked out of the cabin, stood on the baseboard on the deck and looked towards the northwest.

A few miles away, the dust kicked up by dozens of cavalrymen could be seen from afar.

When I saw the young man again, he was wearing a thin round-necked robe with cloud-like patterns on it and a fu hat.

He is still as handsome as brocade, heroic and with eyes as bright as torches.

The man boarded the boat and walked slowly forward step by step. The woman's breathing gradually became rapid and a blush appeared on her face.

Li Yuanhui looked at the beauty in front of him and couldn't help but feel much better. The pressure brought by the wars in Jiangdong, Jingchu and other places over the past few days seemed to be swept away.

Beauty should not be let down.

When flowers are in bloom, pick them.

This time on the boat, Li Yuanhui asked Zhang Jiuniang a question.

Don't you regret being his only concubine?
Her answer was, "I would rather be a hero's concubine."

Three days later, Li Yuanhui personally led 800 cavalrymen from a large ship on the shore of Chaohu Lake and brought a woman named Zhang Yan into the general's mansion and made her his concubine.

There was no complicated wedding or grand celebration, but the 800 cavalrymen who came to welcome the bride were enough to represent Li Yuanhui's sincerity.

It's for Zhang Yan, and also for the Zhang family.

Li Yuanhui invited all the staff of the general's mansion and a group of generals to a banquet.

Zhang Jian seemed awkward in the face of the constant congratulations at the banquet. However, Zhang Zhen'e, as a member of the bride's family, seemed very happy and drank with everyone.

Li Yuanhui showed up at the table, drank three cups with everyone, said a few words and left. Then the people at the table started drinking as much as they wanted.

Liu Xuanji looked at Zhang Jian's depressed look, and came over with a pot of wine and a wine glass. "If anyone sees you like this, they will think that the general is taking advantage of his power to bully others and forcefully marry your sister."

Zhang Jian also chuckled when he heard this, "Brother Liu, is that what you said?"

Liu Xuanji said: "Look at your expression, how can it look like you are celebrating your own wedding?"

Zhang Jian smiled when he heard this, then shook his head.

Liu Xuanji sat next to him and whispered, "Aren't you just afraid that people will say something bad about you? But let me ask you, our General Li, can he be called a young talent? Wouldn't you be scared to be with our sister?"

Zhang Jian nodded, "Of course. General Li is handsome, intelligent, and kind. His character and family background are both excellent."

Liu Xuanji asked again: "Let's talk about our General Li. He is still a young man, but he has already dominated a region and commanded tens of thousands of troops. He deserves to be called a powerful person, right?"

Zhang Jian nodded. The world was now in pieces. As the governor of Yangzhou, Li Yuanhui controlled tens of thousands of soldiers and several counties, making him a local lord.

The Duke of Tang, who was in charge of Yizhou’s military affairs, was his biological father.

The father and son of the Li family have become important participants in the fight for world domination.

Although the Zhang family was wealthy and their grandfather Zhang Lin was a marquis, they could only be considered powerful, not aristocratic family.

Not to mention the Li family, a family that had been passed down since the Qin and Han dynasties. According to the current status of the two families, it was not really a disgrace to let the Zhang family's daughter be a concubine.

What he couldn't get over was actually just Zhang Jian's own heart.

He just felt a little guilty towards his deceased parents and his sister.

Li Yuanhui returned to the backyard and went straight to the yard specially prepared for Zhang Yan.

When Zhang Yan, who was wearing auspicious clothes, saw Li Yuanhui enter the room, she stepped forward to greet him and helped Li Yuanhui take off his outer robe.

"My dear, you are back."

"Yeah. Did I keep you waiting?"

"No, my dear, have you had your meal in front? Do you want to eat some more?"

Li Yuanhui said, "I just drank a few glasses of wine in the front yard and thought about having dinner with you."

Zhang Yan smiled coquettishly when she heard that, and Li Yuanhui found her smile particularly charming.

The two had their first dinner together.

Li Yuanhui suddenly thought of someone in Luoyang, thinking to himself, "What a man!"
After dinner, there was no cell phone to play with or TV to watch, so the two sat together and chatted and played a game of chess.

Then, the belt becomes looser but I never regret it
Li Yuanhui was unable to stay in the land of comfort for a few days before military intelligence arrived.

There are major moves in Jingchu again.

Wancheng was lost.

However, it was not taken down by Huang Niu Jiao, but was conquered by Cao Xuan's army of Western Wei.

Afterwards, the Western Wei used Wancheng to exchange Xiangyang and Fancheng with Huangniujiao, and also temporarily accepted the Western Wei's enthronement in name.

Huang Niujiao was named King of Qi and General of the Northern Expedition, and the second-in-command Xu Tianzuo was named King of Langya and Prefect of Nanyang.

It became the northern vassal state of the Western Wei Dynasty.

The loss of Wancheng was actually the biggest headache for the newly appointed Jingyu Guardian General, but after the loss of Jiangxia and the fall of Xiling, Xiakou and Exian all fell into the hands of the Western Wei, the Jianghuai area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River needed to pay attention.

After discussing with several aides and generals such as the guard Xiao Shizhi and the cavalry commander Liu Xuanji, Li Yuanhui decided to send Zhou Ben to lead 3,000 infantrymen from his own army to station in Xinchun and Xunyang to prevent the Western Wei army from continuing to attack downstream.

He then sent a message to Yuzhang Governor and Runan King Murong Jing, as well as the naval commander stationed in Poyang Lake, General Hengye Shen Shangxing, ordering them to go to Chaisang for a meeting.

(End of this chapter)