Chapter 1039 Repatriation of Chen Chang

Chapter 1039 Repatriation of Chen Chang

In the second half of last year, Chen Baxian of the Southern Dynasty also completed the task of replacing the Southern Liang Dynasty and proclaiming himself emperor. He immediately sent envoys to Guanzhong to report the news and requested the Western Wei Dynasty to send Chen Baxian's nephews back to Jiangdong.

Although the Western Wei court also established new diplomatic relations with the newly born Southern Chen Dynasty, it did not repatriate Chen Baxian's nephews at the first time. It was not that Li Tai wanted to deliberately make things difficult for Chen Baxian, but was just waiting for a more suitable opportunity, such as now.

Two days later, Chen Chang and others were led from Chang'an to Shangyang Palace, and Li Tai, who was busy supervising mobilization matters, also took time to meet him.

"I pay my respects to Lord Tang. May I ask what orders Lord Tang has for summoning me?"

Because Chen Chang was still detained abroad as a hostage, Chen Baxian did not directly make him the crown prince, but the Western Wei Dynasty promoted him. At the beginning of last year, after consulting his family, Li Tai betrothed a niece, Li Zhen's sister, to Chen Chang and conferred him the title of county lord. Therefore, when Chen Chang met Li Tai, he still kept the courtesy of a minister.

Li Tai waved his hand and smiled at Chen Chang, saying: "No need to be polite. Today's meeting is not for official business, so you don't have to be too reserved. How is your study in the Imperial College recently? How is your family life after getting married?"

Hearing Li Tai's questions about family matters, Chen Chang did not dare to neglect them and answered them respectfully. However, there was still a bit of hesitation between his eyebrows, as if he was holding back some words and dared not say them out.

Li Tai certainly knew what Chen Chang was thinking, so he said, "Your father has been showing great ambitions in Jiangdong recently, creating a new country, and has sent envoys to the court to establish friendly relations. I have talked to you about a few things, and one of them is that I hope to arrange for you to return to the country to serve as a concubine."

"This, this... I am a humble official studying in the Imperial College, and I don't have a deep understanding of foreign affairs. If, if I can be sent, I will definitely tell my father and the people of the country after I return, and I must always be respectful and never forget the care and love that Lord Tang has given to my country, my family, and me. I must..."

How could Chen Chang not know such an important matter? Before his father became emperor, he had always hoped to return to Jiangdong. Now that his family really has a throne waiting for him to inherit, he is naturally more eager to return.

However, the Bafu had never communicated with him about this, and he was well aware of the power of the Western Wei and the strength of the Tang Duke in the past few years in Chang'an. He was worried that an overly urgent request might annoy the Tang Duke and make his return to the country more difficult, so he had been patient and did not ask for this matter, knowing that even his wife's implicit expression was stopped by him.

Now that the Tang Duke took the initiative to mention this matter, Chen Chang naturally seized the opportunity and repeatedly expressed his humble and respectful attitude. However, because it was too humble, it seemed a bit false.

Li Tai did not care about Chen Chang's attitude and true thoughts. To be honest, not to mention Chen Chang, even his father Chen Baxian could no longer pose any substantial threat and harm to the Western Wei. It was more urgent for the Southern Chen to maintain a good interaction between the two sides.

"I didn't send you away before because of some selfish reasons. My daughter is from a northern family, and she may not be more gentle and sympathetic than the daughters from Wu. She is destined to be your wife. As a parent, I always feel pity and reluctance to let her go. I hope she can stay by my side and take care of you. I hope the couple can live in harmony." Li Tai sighed earnestly, and then said, "But since you have started a family, you must be independent. No matter how much support you provide, it is only a temporary help. Besides, your family is no longer ordinary. If you treat us as ordinary people, it will be a waste of time. Will alienate and become enemies..."

"How could it be? Absolutely not! I am just a talent in the South Country, and I have never made any contribution to my father, but I was favored by Lord Tang and was given a beautiful girl as my wife. This favor is like a rebirth, and my wife is also a famous couple who will bring honor to the hall. I am very grateful. Whether in Chang'an or returning to Jiangdong, I will never dare to ignore Lord Tang's teachings. I will treat my wife with respect and make our family peaceful. How dare I harbor resentment and secretly slander the elders who have shown me love! "After hearing this, Chen Chang bowed his head and bowed deeply.

"If you have such feelings, then I will be relieved. I have not let your father down in entrusting you to stay here." After hearing this, Li Tai smiled and said, "Although Guanzhong is good, it is not your hometown. The complicated family and national affairs urge you to return. It would be inappropriate for me to stay any longer. I will arrange for you to return to Jiangdong in the near future. Before leaving, I will give you a few words. Although the Xiao family of Liang State destroyed itself, it has kept the people of Jiangdong for many years. Although the Chen Dynasty was established, there are still people who have not attached to it. It is inevitable that both kindness and power are needed to gather people's hearts. Even with the support of your father, you still need to have your own personnel planning, so that you can stay in the Spring Palace. I have been in power for a long time and I know that people's hearts are unpredictable. Under the pressure of power, not all personnel are certain. Especially since you have been away for a long time and have no personnel accumulation, it is inevitable that you will be criticized when you suddenly return to the people..." Although Chen Chang looked like he was listening carefully, he was more or less dissatisfied in his heart. He felt that Tang Gong's teachings must have some impure thoughts. He is his father's only son, and it is natural for him to inherit the family business and the country. What opinions can other people in the country have? What opinions dare they have?

Li Tai naturally knew that Chen Chang was young and energetic, and most of them would ignore his experience, so he did not just talk about it, but also prepared a team for Chen Chang.

The Battle of Jiangling captured a large number of Southern Dynasty scholars, some of whom had entered the Western Wei Dynasty to serve in various official positions, while others had not yet entered the government. There were also some people who could not get used to the life in Guanzhong and wanted to return to their homeland in Jiangdong.

So Li Tai asked his subordinates to select and prepare a list of one hundred and ten people, and asked these people to follow Chen Chang back to Jiangdong. As Chen Chang, Prince Nan Chen's East Palace team, they would also have a group of loyal listeners when he inherits the throne in the future. Use people to help them govern the country.

Such as Yin Buhai, Yan Zhitui, Zhou Hongzheng's nephew Zhou Que, Cai Dabao's younger brother Cai Daye, etc. Some of these people are homesick, and some are already deeply influenced by the laws of the Western Wei Dynasty and are close to the Western Wei Dynasty. If they can return to the Chen Dynasty to hold official positions, they can also strengthen the influence of the Western Wei Dynasty on the Chen Dynasty.

However, just these civil servants and bachelors are still not enough. It should be noted that Chen Baxian does not have much time to pave the way for his son. If Chen Chang wants to suppress the arrogant soldiers and generals who followed his father's founding of the country, he must also have his own The henchmen holding heavy troops.

So after summoning Chen Chang, Li Tai summoned Wu Mingche to Shangyang Palace.

In the past few days, the junior high school has officially issued a mobilization order. Wu Mingche is also gearing up to do something big. After receiving the order, he hurriedly came to Shangyang Palace. After going to the hall to pay homage, he hurriedly said: "Do you want to arrange the final meeting?" Will he be in charge of the military? Should he lead his troops to reinforce western Henan, or go to fight elsewhere?"

"I have something to pay you, but it's not the current military."

Seeing the enthusiasm on Wu Mingche's face, Li Tai couldn't bear to let him down, but he really had no better choice in this matter, so he could only say: "A few days ago, Emperor Chen sent an envoy to ask for the return of his son. It was not agreed at the time, but now it is necessary to unite with the Chen State to attack the bandits, so I will release his son and nephew back to his country. I hope you can follow Chen Changtong back to Jiangdong..."

"This, this... the last general was originally a traitor of the Chen family. If he returns now, really, really... Even though the Chen family is respectful and kind and does not condemn, it would be really embarrassing..."

After Wu Mingche heard this, his eyes widened immediately and he said with an embarrassed expression.

Li Tai also knew that it was a bit awkward for Wu Mingche to accept this arrangement, so he patiently explained: "Chen Chang has been away from his country for a long time. It must be difficult to control the arrogant soldiers and generals in Jiangdong, so he must have the help of a trusted general. You may not be able to live together with your old friend from Jiangdong, so I will suggest Emperor Chen to appoint you to Qin County in the north of Jiangbei, and lend troops to help you conquer Guangling..."

Since Li Tai wanted to deal a heavy blow to Northern Qi this time, he would naturally try his best to mobilize all the forces he could. Although Huainan was not the traditional core control area of ​​Northern Qi, many personnel were stationed there. By sending Chen Chang back home, he would also use this to ask Chen Ba to send troops to Huainan first, not only to regain lost territory, but also to attract Northern Qi's military power in Huainan.

However, while asking Nan Chen to help in the war, he actually did not want Chen Ba to take this opportunity to reconstruct his Jianghuai defense line, so sending Wu Mingche back to Huainan to guard Qin County and a series of important towns in Jiangbei that Nan Chen had recovered was considered a mixed blessing. sand.

Of course, it is impossible for Chen Baxian to completely comply with Li Tai's arrangement, but such an arrangement itself is more beneficial to him.

Previously, Chen Baxian hoped that his son would marry the Li family of Longxi, which meant that he wanted to attract external support for his son. He must also know that Chen Chang might face a more difficult situation after returning to China. If there can be a Jiangbei military group to support Chen Chang, this will not only help balance the political situation in Nanchen, but also allow Chen Chang to successfully inherit the throne and avoid becoming a puppet.

"It's just, it's just that because the general saw the vastness of the world, he wanted to pursue the Lord and bring down the four barbarians. He just wanted to settle the Jianghuai River, but he really didn't want to..."

When Wu Mingche heard that he did not need to cross the river to enter the court, and Qin County was his hometown, he no longer resisted as much as he did at first, but he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. After Beitou, he was used to seeing big battles, and he had a feeling that it was difficult to change the situation in the sea. Now he was asked to retreat to the starting point, which was always a bit unwilling.

"To go out to conquer the barbarians and recreate a prosperous world, the prerequisite is to unify the north and the south and keep the country intact. It is precisely because you already have such ambition and vision and are unwilling to continue to be weak and conservative, that I am entrusting you with this matter."

Li Tai looked at Wu Mingche who looked reluctant and said solemnly. It is not good to use too much force. Although the stars and the sea are magnificent and beautiful, after all, you still need to base yourself on the present and move forward step by step!