marquis of jingan

Chapter 1023 The Death Knell Rings
"Mr. Shen!"

On the tower of the east gate of Xuzhou City, the two main generals, Ling Su and Su Ding, rarely appeared on the same city wall of Xuzhou.

They all bowed their heads to Shen Yi and saluted, quietly waiting for Shen Yi's instruction.

At this moment, Shen Yi was silently looking into the distance. After being awakened by two subordinates, he came back to his senses, looked back at the two people, and said slowly: "The scout battalion and the inner guard came to report at the same time, Qi people..."

"There should only be about half left."

Master Shen narrowed his eyes, and said softly: "According to estimates, they should have started to withdraw northward a few days ago, but that Tu Yuan is very smart, and retreated while attacking the city."

Su Ding said: "Mr. Shen, what do you mean, when the Qi army was still attacking Xuzhou a few days ago, they already started to withdraw?"

"almost."

Master Shen said slowly: "Besides, they haven't retreated on a large scale, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hide it from the eyes of the inner guards. They should have broken up into parts and retreated northward bit by bit."

"Stranger still."

Because it was already autumn, Master Shen changed into a robe with wide sleeves and wore it on his body. He turned around, looked at Ling Su and the two of them, and said slowly: "The defenders in Suqian in the south, although they are moving, But it doesn't seem like much action..."

"Either Tu Yuan felt that his troop deployment could be hidden from me, or..."

Shen Yi turned his head to look to the north, and said leisurely: "Either something particularly important happened in the north, which made them prefer to abandon the Xuzhou area, or even abandon the Suqian garrison, and rush north regardless."

Ling Su's eyes lit up, and he said, "Mr. Shen, is Emperor Hu Qi dead?"

Shen Yi touched his chin.

"I don't know if I'm dead or not, but maybe something happened, or..."

"The battle for crown prince in Yandu has already begun."

Ling Su clapped his palms and smiled: "When my subordinates heard that the Northern Qi Dynasty was not passed on to the heir, they felt that there was a problem. It was called "selecting the virtuous", but no one defined the virtuous and the unvirtuous. As soon as the emperor dies and the crown prince is still undecided, the country will immediately be in chaos."

"It's really self-inflicted!"

Shen Yi laughed dumbfounded, shook his head and said, "General Ling underestimated Emperor Yongping too much."

"It has been 34-[-] years since he reigned. For such a long time, the Northern Qi court has already been in his hands. Even if he is seriously ill and dying, he still has enough ability to appoint the crown prince, and to succeed the crown prince. all obstacles in place.”

"Among the princes of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he can establish whoever he wants."

"Even if there will be some twists and turns in the succession of the Northern Qi throne, at most it will be a small wind and small waves. Our Da Chen has been waiting for the Northern Expedition after the death of Emperor Yongping, and never expected the Northern Qi to become chaotic because of the dispute over the crown prince. When the king succeeds to the throne, the time for the Northern Expedition is not yet stable."

Speaking of this, Shen Yi frowned slightly, and said: "But now Yandu is indeed in chaos again."

Master Shen narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "It's really weird."

Ling Su lowered his head slightly and said, "Mr. Shen, could it be that Emperor Yongping did it on purpose?"

"I've thought about it."

Master Shen said lightly: "If he really did it on purpose, then he is really confused. Now that the Confederate Army is withdrawing northward under such circumstances, it will almost take the Xuzhou area, and even the nearby Haizhou and Bozhou to the west. Fall into the hands of my Master Wang."

"People of Qi, in a short time, we can only rely on the Jining Mansion to hold on."

"Almost half of Jiangnan Province was sent out in one breath..."

Ling Su thought for a while, but couldn't figure out the key point, so he bowed his head and didn't speak.

Su Ding, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, "Mr. Shen, there is one thing I can't understand."

"tell me the story."

Master Shen was smiling.

At this moment, he was in a good mood, because the withdrawal of the Qi people, no matter what the reason, was a great achievement, almost already in his pocket.

"There is civil strife in Yandu of the Northern Qi Dynasty... why did Xuzhou's troops be mobilized? Xuzhou is more than 1000 miles away from Yandu. Even if we go all the way back, I am afraid that half a month will have passed after returning. By then, the situation in Yandu will have already been settled. "

"This is what you don't understand, General Su."

Shen Yi said with a smile: "Yan can be chaotic, which means that both sides in the battle have their own capital, and a [-] army that is going north, although it has no direct use, is very capable of shocking people's hearts. Yandu, as long as the news of their going north reaches Yandu, it will be enough."

"and…"

Shen Yi cupped his hands in his sleeves, and said slowly: "Besides, the Northern Qi is not the same as our Dachen. The Northern Qi has many horses, and their cavalry is also more than ours. Among the 20 troops of the Southern Conscript Army, there are at least three If the [-] cavalry don't spare horsepower, they can reach Yandu in six days."

"Now…"

Shen Yi said thoughtfully: "Maybe we have already reached Gyeonggi."

"I just don't know if Zhao Zhen is dead or not."

After muttering this sentence in a low voice, Shen Yi looked at the two subordinates and said, "Okay, that's the end of the story."

"Although I don't know what happened to Yandu, but since it is confirmed that they have withdrawn..."

"Heaven and Fuqu, but take the blame."

Shen Yi looked calm, and said: "I have already written to Xue Wei, and he will try his best to pester the defenders in Suqian. Let's start planning to encircle and wipe out the defenders in Suqian."

Su Ding stood behind Shen Yi with his hands down. After thinking for a while, he said, "Mr. Shen, even if half of the people of Qi retreat northward, there are still nearly 10 people left. We are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and have to be on our guard."

Shen Yi nodded.

"General Su is right to remind you."

"The current Qi army, part of it is still near Xuzhou, and the other part is in Haizhou, with a total of nearly 10 people. At present, the number of troops I can use is only more than 7."

"At the Huaihe Navy, I will transfer some more people to ensure that the battle here in Xuzhou will not cause any risks."

Master Shen glanced at the north again, and after a while, he ordered: "General Su, for the past two days, try to attack the main force of the Qi army in the east to see what attitude the Qi people have."

"I doubt…"

Master Shen said slowly: "I suspect that Tu Yuan and Zhou Shizhong are not here anymore."

Su Ding bowed his head respectfully, clasped his fists and said: "This subordinate obeys orders."

"General Ling."

Ling Su also lowered his head and cupped his fists: "The end is here."

"You have to pay attention to Suqian at all times. When the time comes, you immediately lead your troops to stop the Qi army in Suqian and prevent them from retreating northward."

Speaking of this, Master Shen clapped his hands and said, "Both of you, this is the credit right in front of you, and it is also a great opportunity that Da Chen has never had in the past 70 years. At this moment, I hope you can put aside all your personal thoughts and focus on doing this well." One battle."

"After this battle is over, no matter what the future holds, the two of you will be rich and honored forever!"

Hearing Shen Yi's words, both of them lowered their heads.

"The last will obey!"

Ling Su's head was lowered even lower, and his tone was respectful.

"The last general... obeys orders."

………………

In Yandu, it will be dawn.

Wei Wang Zhao Kai, with dozens of people, entered the city from the south gate of Yandu.

At this time, following behind him were his uncle Lang Yan, Zhou Yuanlang of the Zhou family, and Liang Wangfu Chief Shi.

Zhou Yuanlang lowered his head slightly, and said, "Your Highness, my father and General Tu will arrive at Yandu in at most three or four days. No matter what happens in the palace at this time, we must delay it..."

Zhao Kai glanced in the direction of the imperial city, and his voice was hoarse: "After the third brother entered the meeting hall, his ability to seal and control news has become more and more powerful. He and the two prime ministers entered the palace yesterday evening, but we didn't arrive until midnight. Know."

"We don't know anything about what happened in the palace during this period."

Zhou Yuanlang looked calm, and said: "As long as the imperial army is not mobilized, the odds of winning are still in our hands. Your Highness, the more you have to hold your breath at this time."

Zhao Kai nodded and was about to speak.

"Clang~"

From the direction of the imperial city, a melodious bell sounded.

Zhao Kai stopped in his tracks and frowned: "Father is going to court early today?"

Zhou Yuanlang looked up at the sky, shook his head and said, "The time is wrong."

"Clang~"

Another bell sounded.

An ominous premonition arose in Zhao Kai's heart, he stood where he was, and stopped moving forward.

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

The bell rang, and there was a sound.

When the ninth bell rang, Zhao Kai looked up at the imperial city and stopped breathing.

at last.

The tenth sound of "铛" also sounded.

Both of His Royal Highness King Wei's hands began to tremble.

Nine bells ring, it is the grand ceremony of the emperor.

More than nine times...it is not in accordance with the etiquette system.

But there is one exception.

That is the death of the emperor!
When the emperor passed away, the bells in the palace and in the temples in Beijing were to be rung, [-] times, which means the death knell.

But at this time, the bell rang ten times in a row, the meaning of which was self-evident.

At this time, the No.11 bell rang.

Zhou Yuanlang pulled Zhao Kai who was stunned on the spot, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, get out of the city."

The uncle Lang Yan at the side also persuaded in a low voice: "Your Highness, get out of the city."

King Wei began to wobble uncontrollably all over his body.

After a long time, he managed to regain his composure, kneeled on the ground and kowtowed nine times in the direction of the imperial city, then got up and gritted his teeth.

"King Qi kills the king, a great treason!"

He turned around decisively.

"Let's go out of town!"

(End of this chapter)