National color raw owl

Autumn is coming, and winter is coming.

The cold wave in the north came earlier, but Dingwu had already put on the fur coat. Although the gorgeous fur coat was warm and comfortable on his body, Dingwu still felt the biting chill soaking through his body.

The Yanshan battle has already made Dingwu very worried. Although the Hexi army resisted tenaciously, under the crazy offensive of the Liaodong people, the defense line was gradually forced to retreat step by step, while the Liaodong army was aggressive.

Even so, fortunately, the Liaodong people have suffered heavy losses. Up to now, they have still not fought against Yanshan, and Dingwu has ordered to gather the young and strong who built the Tiangong and start training. Tens of thousands of young and strong are near the Tiangong Practice day and night, ready to go to the front line at any time.

Although the situation is critical, Dingwu still supports it with tenacious perseverance. He is the last pillar of the empire. Since the day he ascended the throne, Dingwu has been silently telling himself that he must not collapse until the last moment.

However, the news from the western front, although it would not cause Dingwu to completely collapse, was still a big blow.

The troops on the western front collapsed across the board, the main general Feng Polu was killed, and Zhou Ting committed suicide by jumping into the city.

The barbarians withdrew before the battle, An Lei and Fan Peixi left without saying goodbye, and their whereabouts were unknown. What made Dingwu even more angry was that Yuan Chongshang, the governor of Anyi, turned against him and took refuge in Chu Huan, and even helped Chu Huan take down the Yunshan Fucheng.

The entire defense on the western front was destroyed once, and Chu Huan, who occupied Yunshan, could step into Hexi with his iron hooves at any time.

Ding Wu really didn't understand why such a major change occurred on the western front in a short period of time. Although he didn't trust the barbarians and only used the barbarians as a tool for the time being, in order to prevent the barbarians from changing, he deliberately The patriarch of the thirteen Yiman tribes was placed under house arrest in Wuping Mansion, but in the end, the Yiman people still betrayed the empire.

After Dingwu ascended the throne, because of his physical inconvenience, and because he was in the place of Beijing, he did not go to court on a daily basis. Many things were submitted by the officials below for his review and ruling, and the gods arranged in the city Yiwei became his eyes and ears in controlling Wuping Fucheng.

But at this moment of crisis, Dingwu still rarely summoned the ministers to hold an emergency court meeting.

Of course, there were not many people in this court meeting, and dozens of ministers lined up on both sides. Ding Wu looked at the two rows of courtiers, and felt a sense of loneliness in his heart.

He knew in his heart that it was impossible for these people in front of him to have any clever strategies. Half of them were officials brought by the emperor from the capital, and the other half were local officials from Hexi.

When he took over half of the country, there were not many people available in the court. People like Zhou Ting who dare to speak out and can make suggestions are rare.

Zhou Ting committed suicide in Yunshan, which made Ding Wu feel very regretful. If he had known this would be the result, he might as well keep Zhou Ting by his side.

"My loves, you already know the specific situation, how to deal with it next, what good strategy do you have?" Ding Wu asked slowly.

All the ministers looked at each other, but no one came forward to speak.

Ding Wu frowned, looked at Lin Yuanfang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and said lightly: "Lin Aiqing, what's your opinion?"

Lin Yuanfang's eyelids twitched, and he bravely came out and said: "Your Majesty, the defeat of Yunshan, Feng Polu did not obey the will of the Holy Majesty and went to war without authorization. His crime is unforgivable, but now that he is dead, I don't think he can just let it go. However, I ask you to arrest all his family members and cut them all down." Seeing Dingwu's brows tightened, he hurriedly said: "There are also barbarians, but they fled before the battle, please take these two chiefs together. cut."

The other ministers nodded upon hearing this.

Ding Wu said indifferently: "Lin Aiqing, killing these people now, can the situation be reversed? Can Xishan be regained?"

Lin Yuanfang was startled, lowered his head, but dared not speak.

"What I want is a countermeasure, not a search for guilt." Ding Wu stared at Lin Yuanfang, "Chu Huan has already occupied Yunshan, starting from Yunshan, it will take less than ten days and a half months to enter the Hexi Corridor, pass through the Hexi Corridor, Yimapingchuan, Wuping Mansion is exposed in front of Chu Huan, I want to ask you now, how should you deal with such a dangerous situation?" Looking at Ma Hong, said: "Ma Hong, tell me!"

Ma Hong's body was shocked, and he came out and said: "My lord, this... I thought that we should quickly deploy troops to strengthen the defense of the Hexi Corridor. Once Chu Huan controls the Hexi Corridor, he can advance and retreat freely, and the consequences will be unimaginable." Slightly looked up Ding Wu glanced at him before continuing: "My minister said bluntly, the battle in Yanshan is raging. At this time, if you want...to recover Xishan, there are many difficulties. For the present plan, you can only defend the Hexi Corridor first, and wait until the time is right." Defeat the Liaodong army, and then move troops to attack Xishan...!"

Ding Wu heard the words, his face softened slightly, and said: "There is some truth to these words."

Hearing what Dingwu said, Ma Hong regained some energy, and continued: "I thought that Chu Huan had just conquered Yunshan Mountain, and even if he wanted to march into Hexi, he would have to wait until the rear was stabilized. If he wanted to completely control Xishan, Chu Huan would have to wait for it." For some time, and as far as I know, he doesn't have many troops under his command, so he shouldn't dare to send troops to Hexi easily, and the imperial court can take this opportunity to deploy defenses in the Hexi Corridor, and take advantage of the terrain of the Hexi Corridor to prepare for defense."

"I know what you mean." Ding Wu nodded and said: "There are various outposts in the Hexi Corridor area, and there are also two thousand soldiers guarding that area. It's just that this amount of troops is naturally not enough. I want to ask you, if you want more Binghe West Corridor, what should we do?"

Ma Hong seemed to have thought about it a long time ago, and said: "Reporting to the Holy Majesty, the soldiers and horses of Yanshan can't be transferred, and the 1 troops guarding Wuping Prefecture City can't act rashly. But the Holy Majesty has already ordered to train the young and strong. On the side of the Tiangong, There are still tens of thousands of young and strong laborers, and now it's time to employ people, and I think it's time for them to go to battle."

"Yao Chong, can you hear Ma Hong's words?" Ding Wu raised his head and looked at a general.

That general was from the Royal Guards, and he was also a mighty general of the empire. In order to train tens of thousands of young men, Yao Chong, the Dingwu special award, was dispatched there. Today, the court meeting sent someone to summon him.

Yao Chong is not a stupid person. Today's court meeting, Dingwu specially sent someone to recall him, which already hinted at the emperor's intentions, stepped forward and cupped his hands, and said: "My lord, the training time is still short, and these young men have not yet formed combat effectiveness. Going into battle in a hurry, I'm afraid...!" After hesitating for a while, he finally said: "But as long as the Holy Majesty gives an order, I will lead these people to the front line."

Many people present are actually very clear in their hearts that letting those people go into battle at this time is undoubtedly driving ducks to the shelves.

A real soldier must not only be well-trained, but also have fighting experience.

Not to mention that the group of people didn't have any experience in fighting in battle, and they didn't even complete the most basic training.

It is said that there are tens of thousands of people, but in the eyes of the real army, it is just a group of mobs. If this group of people really go to battle, once they encounter the brave Northwest Army, they will undoubtedly be sent to the tiger's mouth.

Some people thought to themselves, instead of letting these people go out, it is better to hurry up and train. Before the Northwest Army kills them, they should master more combat skills. , and has a huge defense force, it may not be impossible to repel the Northwest Army.

It's just that at this time, who dares to say more.

Before Ding Wu could speak, Yao Chong changed the topic and said, "Just before sending troops, I have something to ask for permission from the Holy One."

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to set aside a settling allowance." Yao Chong showed a look of embarrassment: "Actually, these days, those people have been clamoring many times in private to go back to their homes. Just a few days ago, some people wanted to steal Running away, it was the minister who beheaded a few fleeing soldiers, and then let them settle down. They are all young and strong recruited to build the palace, before...!" Speaking of this, he hesitated but dared not go on.

Ding Wu raised his hand and said: "If you have anything to say, you can just say it, even if you say something wrong, I will forgive you."

Only then did Yao Chong boldly say: "Reporting to Your Majesty, when these people were building the palace before, Feng Yuanpo didn't lack three meals a day, and he promised them that once the palace was built, each of them would receive a wage. ... It's just that the Holy One has already ordered to stop the construction of the Tiangong, and ordered many people to go home. They are still complaining in private, saying... say...! "

Ding Wu said indifferently: "But it's okay to say."

Yao Chong said: "They complained in private that the court did not keep their promises. Not only did they not pay wages, but even three meals a day have now become two meals a day...!"

Ma Hong is the Minister of the Ministry of Households. He was afraid that the matter would involve himself, so he couldn't help but said: "General Yao, you should also know that the Ministry of Households has limited money and food, and it must focus on front-line warfare. The front-line soldiers will fight bloody battles. Naturally, the Ministry of Households cannot Without their money and food. As far as the group of Ruo Tiangong stopped building the Tiangong now, they didn’t need much physical strength. They could provide two meals a day, which already consumed a lot of stored food. As for the wages, they are now using money everywhere Where is there any extra money to pay them wages? What's more, Feng Yuan broke the promise to them at the beginning, even if they were asked to go to Feng Yuanpo, Feng Yuanbro's promise could not be fulfilled, and the court must repay it."

"I naturally understand what Ma Butang means." Yao Chong's face showed a look of embarrassment: "It's just that in recent days, those people have complained more and more in private. As far as I know, many people are saying, let When they go to battle, they must first settle their families down. It’s fine if they don’t have enough to eat, and it’s fine if they don’t starve to death, but they don’t care about the young and old in the family, and just go to death with a big knife like this. ...!" Seeing that Dingwu's expression was not good, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I... I made a mistake, please forgive me!"

Ding Wu shook his head slightly, without any intention of reproach, and asked, "How much money do you think it takes to appease these people?"

Yao Chong thought for a while, then said: "There are nearly [-] people there. If you want to resettle your family and let them have peace of mind, ten taels of silver per person is indispensable. This is still the minimum amount. They are about to go to battle, military horses, equipment, etc. The consumption is not small...!"

Ding Wudao: "Then it will cost at least three or four hundred thousand taels of silver." Looking at Ma Hong, he asked: "Ma Hong, can Curry set aside 40 taels of silver?"

Ma Hong cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Household Department has to take out 50 million taels of silver, and it can still be done right now, but if this money is allocated, then it will be very difficult for me to allocate money to the front line. Wen Wen The general has even sent people over these few days to demand money and food, and the front line consumes a lot. It is not easy for me to prepare money and food for the front line. The emptiness...." After a pause, he finally said bravely: "The minister is only worried, with the current consumption, if... If the Northwest Army really wants to attack Hexi, when the time comes Wuping Fucheng has no money or food to support it."