first minister

Looking at Xue Wenlu's expression, Yu Chihong immediately felt anxious, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said:
"When the news first came, there was indeed a lot of panic in Zhongjing City. Some people who were quick to see the opportunity were packing up their belongings and preparing to flee, but the Southern Dynasty court did not panic."

Xue Wenlu frowned, "Why is this? Our Daliang cavalry and Yuyan soldiers left Yuyanzhou, and the road leading to Zhongjing in the Southern Dynasty was flat and smooth. They could reach Sishui Pass in a few days. How could they not panic? The civil and military forces of the entire dynasty were all full of people. Dead person?"

Yu Chihong replied: "The official was also confused at first, but after many inquiries, he found out that someone in the Southern Dynasty court learned the news first, and then without hesitation, he immediately summoned the ministers to meet in the middle of the night, which calmed the minds of the ministers. . I think if these important ministers are not in chaos and act according to their superiors, the government and the people will naturally not be in chaos. Even if we incite some rumors, we cannot win the trust of the people."

Xue Wenlu frowned even more, "The important officials in the court are not fools, so why should they believe it? Who has such prestige? The Prime Minister of the Southern Dynasty? Or the former Prime Minister Su Zongzhe? Or the Imperial Master in White?"

"This is Xia Jingyun, the Marquis of Jianning in the Southern Dynasty."

Listening to this name, Xue Wenlu recalled information about this upstart from the Southern Dynasties.

Before coming, he also made a special trip to meet Wang Ruoshui, the Minister of Rites of the Southern Dynasty who had defected from the Southern Dynasty and was captured by his father and sent to Liangdu. The other party indeed praised this upstart of the Southern Dynasty, and he only regarded him as a defeated general. I was scared out of my wits, but now it seems that I really have some ability?

But then he thought it was incredible, "If it were him, it would be even more bizarre. The person in the Southern Dynasty court is not a Clay Bodhisattva. He suddenly rose to a high position at a young age. He is not convincing enough to convince the public. Why should everyone believe it?"

Yu Chihong raised his head and glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said bravely: "According to the information obtained by the official, Xia Jingyun analyzed it during the meeting that night. We, the leader, are not here to destroy the country. We only need to hold on for the first time." After a battle, the overall situation will be stable, so everyone should not panic and concentrate on preparing for the war. Then, in order to reassure the ministers, he made a prediction."

Xue Wenlu waited for a moment but didn't hear what was going on. He frowned and asked, "Why are you hesitating?"

"He said that if his guess was correct, a delegation would definitely arrive in Daliang, and then yesterday evening, the news of His Royal Highness's entry into the capital reached Zhongjing."

The corners of Xue Wenlu's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

According to the original plan, he stayed in southern Xinjiang and waited for Murong Hu's attack on the eastern front to enter the country at the same time. When the news came out and he was halfway there, he asked the spies of the Embroidery Bureau to create panic in the southern capital, and then he You can make a strong appearance when the Southern Dynasties are in panic, and force the orphans and widows of the Southern Dynasties to decide the overall situation in the situation of external and internal troubles.

Unexpectedly, he became a bargaining chip for the Southern Dynasty to calm people's hearts.

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I know, and you have worked hard. Come on down! Oh, immediately send a message to the Southern Border Army that Jiang Yuhu has returned to camp, asking them to be careful."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take care of it now!"

Yuchihong quickly retreated with a sense of joy that he had survived the disaster.

Thinking of Wang Ruoshui's warning and Jiang Yuhu's words last night, Xue Wenlu squinted his eyes with a cold look on his face.

"Xia Jingyun"
-
At the same time, outside Zhongjing City, the process of going on stage to pay homage to the generals had been completed. Xia Yunfei led fifteen thousand elite troops temporarily gathered from Yulin, Huben, and patrol camps out of the capital.

The infantry had already moved ahead. Xia Yunfei, who said goodbye to the court's farewell team and his family members, took his direct guards to the pavilion ten miles east of the city.

Xia Jingyun waited in the pavilion and watched Xia Yunfei strode in. He picked up the prepared wine bowl and handed it over, and then said: "The military supplies for the army are enough for two days, and then food and grass will be delivered along the way until Langya Prefecture. As far as the city.”

Xia Yunfei nodded, naturally fully trusting his cousin's arrangement.

"In addition, think carefully about the fifty sets of armors and weapons equipped for your personal soldiers, and don't throw them away casually. They are absolute magic weapons that the general can produce right now."

Xia Yunfei hummed, "I will use them on the edge."

"Both Brother Chen and Brother Lu are going with you. In any case, their personal combat prowess is not bad. Even if they follow you to protect them, it will be good."

Xia Yunfei already knew about this decision. After his objection was invalid, he said no more and said solemnly: "I will live up to your expectations!"

After saying what needed to be said, Xia Jingyun seemed not to know what to say for a moment, but in this situation, it seemed unreasonable not to say something, so he didn't want to make it seem like he was parting from life or death, he chuckled and said, "You really don't have to Shall I ask Mr. Jiang to come out and help you?"

Xia Yunfei suddenly smiled and said, "Young Master is afraid he will beat me to death if he finds out in the future. What's more, with the Second Master, I have someone to rely on, but I won't be able to realize my potential."

"You don't need to worry too much. I was just testing you that day. How could such a huge court collapse after just defeating more than 1 people like you? Let go and do what you want, and we will make arrangements for the follow-up. If things really cannot be done, Save yourself first! Keep the green hills and you won’t have to worry about running out of firewood.”

Xia Yunfei nodded and raised the wine bowl, "Wan Sheng!"

Xia Jingyun also raised his wine bowl, "Wan Sheng!"

Throwing down the wine bowl, he bowed deeply to the people waiting on the horse.

Everyone, including Chen Fugui and Lu Yi, clasped their fists in return.

This is a separation of life, but it may also be a separation of death.

Watching Xia Yunfei lead the team away, the smile on Xia Jingyun's face slowly disappeared, leaving only complete solemnity.

He originally had a back-up man in Swift State, but no one could say whether that back-up man would be effective this time and what effect it would have.

And the most critical point is that the supervisor, Zhang Dazhi, had only set up the original local blast furnace for a few days. It was only this small amount of output, and he stayed up all night to achieve this. It was far from being able to surpass the productivity of farming. The degree of pressure.

In this battle, he still believed that he had made the most reasonable decision, but the final result was still not completely under his control.

Just like the original uprising, he could plan everything, try his best to accumulate his own advantages and destroy the opponent's advantages, but in the end he would have to return to the battle of real swords and guns.

He took a deep breath and cleared away the haze in his mind. Since some things are not under his control after all, let's do something that is within his control.

For example, think about what kind of gift to prepare for the prince of Northern Liang who is about to come with the ambition of Emperor Liang.

He rubbed his hands, took a breath, exhaled a fleeting white breath, and walked towards the carriage beside the road.

Elite guards sent by the Su family and the Qin family escorted the most impressive young man in Zhongjing City back to the city.
-
Changshan County, Zhang Hutou, the captain of Changshan County, waved his broadsword and slashed down the enemy who rushed forward. He held a shield in his hand to block the sneak attack of the enemy on the left. He twisted his body, held the handle of the knife upside down, and cut with one blow. The other person's throat.

An enemy soldier behind him jumped up to the city wall again. When he saw his back exposed, he immediately slashed with a knife. Zhang Hutou raised his shield again, but a spear came out of the diagonal thrust, stabbing the enemy soldier to the core.

Zhang Hutou strode forward, kicked the enemy soldier off the city wall, and knocked down several more enemy soldiers who climbed up the ladder, then nodded to the soldiers on the side, "Hold this place! "

After saying that, he started to support other places.

I don’t know how long they had been charging and fighting without forgetting the tiredness. The city was like a small boat bumping in the wind and waves. It was teetering several times, but it was tenaciously carried down by the life-threatening persistence of the soldiers.

Outside the city wall, the corpses of the Swift Army were piled up in countless layers, and even the last reserves of the defenders on the top of the city had been sent up.

When the light and shadow slanted to the west, the sound of Ming Jin's withdrawal of troops came to his ears like yesterday, and Zhang Hutou's expression suddenly changed.

These idiots want to fight at night!

As if echoing his thoughts, rows of torches lit up on the position across the river bank, illuminating the battlefield.

Zhang Hutou took a deep breath, and the thick bloody smell poured in from his nostrils. His head was swollen with stimulation, and he shouted in a hoarse voice: "Hang on, the thief has no choice. He can bear this breath. Let’s hold on!”

In the camp opposite, Dongfang Ping was sitting in the Chinese military tent, looking at the map in front of him. A general walked in and knelt down on one knee, "Commander! The men suffered heavy casualties, why don't you withdraw your troops?"

Both sides on the battlefield are made up of human beings. When the battle damage reaches a certain level, no one can bear it.

Whatever life-changing reward you get first, or the temptation of gold and silver, you have to have your life to get it.

They all work as soldiers to feed themselves. Seeing the people around them fall down one by one, there are only a few who can hold back and not be greedy for life.

Originally, the damage of the siege was much higher than that of the defenders. If we continue to fight like this, I am afraid that our side will not be able to bear it first.

Dongfang Ping looked indifferent, "There are only three thousand defenders in Changshan County, and now they are at the end of their strength. If we can't take it all at once, it will be even more difficult for them to regain their strength! We must expand our territory as much as possible before the court can react. "

He raised his head and looked at the other party, "Instructions go ahead. The first one to get there will be promoted to three levels. The women in the city will be chosen as they please. After the city is broken, each person will be rewarded with ten taels of silver! Then, let the supervising team go and kill anyone who cowers and refuses to fight!" "Seeing the unquestionable determination on his face, the general had no choice but to clasp his fists and accept the order to retreat.

Under the new measures and stimulation, the Yuyan Army regained its momentum, and the pressure on the Changshan County garrison on the city wall, which was already about to be exhausted, suddenly increased sharply.

No matter how loud Zhang Hutou and others shouted and fought hard, the number of people was still a hurdle they couldn't overcome.

3000 people carried the opponent for a whole day and continued to attack without stopping, which also resulted in heavy casualties.

The city seems to be destroyed only in the morning and evening.

Zhang Hutou's hands danced slower and slower. The exhaustion of strength was one thing, but the dissipation of his heart energy was even more fatal.

The warm blood that originally supported his body gradually receded, and fatigue and fear began to invade his mind. He couldn't help but have a thought: That's it, I'll try my best, and I'll die!

Just when he was about to be unable to resist the devil of giving up in his heart, there was a sudden noise behind him.

I saw the always weak prefect, leading a large group of government officials and guards, rushing towards the city wall.

The armor was crooked on their bodies, and the weapons in their hands were quite funny, but...
Zhang Hutou's heart suddenly jumped, and blood rushed to his forehead, and he shouted: "Meet the enemy!"

On the city wall, the Swift Army, which had just successfully climbed to the top of the city and carved out a small area, was driven back due to the inexplicable re-energization of the defenders.

With the addition of fresh troops, the position was stabilized again, but after all, the combat effectiveness of the government officials, policemen, and guards was not as good as that of the sergeants who had undergone normal training. After a while, many people failed and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.

Zhang Hutou sighed in his heart, manpower was limited, and if the other party continued to attack regardless of the cost, he would not be able to withstand the small number of people on his side.

He turned to look at the south wall, which was the only direction the rebels did not attack. It was their retreat, and it was also the devil's temptation.

There seemed to be a voice at the quiet city gate saying: Run away!You have already fought like this and are worthy of the court, so why bother losing your lives here!The right way to go now is to keep green mountains without worrying about having no firewood, and to keep people who can fight. Go to the next city and reorganize the team to prepare for war!

He looked at the prefect who was now full of blood and shouting that he would live and die with the city, and felt a little unbearable in his heart.

I can't bear to expose the opponent's dream that I can keep if I work hard, but I also can't bear to leave the opponent behind and become a cowardly deserter.

Although he thought that was the more correct choice.

"General! Look!"

A burst of cheers from the soldiers woke him up from the numb hacking. In the night, a fire dragon suddenly lit up on the west side of the city, and then quickly rushed towards the north gate below the city where the fiercest fighting was.

The Swift Army, which was concentrating on attacking the city, was suddenly hit by a cavalry that rushed out from the slant. The sergeants, who were already at the critical point of collapse due to battle damage, lost all fighting spirit when they saw the reinforcements arriving. The volume collapsed.

Just as the supervising team was about to take action, the sound of Ming Jin's retreating troops was heard from behind.

Looking at the enemy troops retreating like a tide, almost everyone on the city wall was slumped on the ground, too lazy to move a finger.

The same goes for Zhang Hutou, but he still did not forget his qualities as a soldier. After slumping down, he reminded the prefect, "Sir, send reinforcements into the city quickly!"

As for whether the reinforcements may be disguised as the enemy, that is no longer within the scope of consideration. Without these reinforcements, the city will not be able to withstand the next attack.

When the reinforcements came in, everyone who had been excited before realized that there were only a few hundred so-called reinforcements.

The prefect looked at the man leading the troops. He was actually wearing half a mask, covering his eyes and nose, as if he did not dare to show his true face. He hesitated for a moment, but he had no choice but to step forward and said, "Dare you ask me, sir?" , but are you here to help in the name of Master Qinzhou Mu?"

Originally, Lan Tingwang, the governor of Langya Prefecture, had gone to work in Zhongjing. The new governor of Qin Prefecture had just arrived. He sent an envoy to report the letter yesterday. It was natural to make this guess at this moment.

"The city of Langya Prefecture is the top priority. Now Langya Prefecture also has the important task of suppressing bandits, and Qinzhou Mu has no remaining troops to send."

Suddenly, the prefect felt a chill in his heart. The masked general took out a token from his arms and continued: "Although there are no soldiers in the city, the imperial court has soldiers. We are the vanguard of reinforcements who came under the order of the central government." , the army has set off, sir, please be sure to hold on to the city and resist the enemy from the Langya State. The court will give you a reward after the war!"

After saying that, he threw the token away. The prefect took the token and saw that it was indeed a secret order from the Central Committee. His suspicions disappeared immediately, and when he learned that the reinforcements were still behind him, he felt reassured and overjoyed, "The general is coming, as if After a long drought, there will be rain. Please rest assured, general. I will defend the city with all my strength, and vow to live and die with this city. Come! Please let the general and soldiers rest, and arrange a good house for the general!"

The masked general shook his head, "The situation is urgent and there is no chance to rest. I will go up to the city wall right now. Could you please send someone who can win the trust of the soldiers to accompany me. In addition, I can find some winter clothes to keep out the cold with the soldiers." "

When the prefect heard this, he couldn't help but be shocked, "The general is right, why should we rest at such a critical moment? I immediately organized manpower to patrol the city and appease the people. Shajun Cheng, you will go with the general and obey the general's orders!"

The masked general clasped his fists, led his troops, and climbed onto the city wall accompanied by the county magistrate.

There are already a lot of damages on the city wall. At the same time, the collection of remnants of soldiers, the cleaning and preparation of defense equipment, the arrangement of sergeants for shifts and rest, etc. all need to be completed at the critical moment before dawn, even with the help of more than a hundred soldiers. , after finishing these tasks for more than two hours, the night has reached its deepest point.

The county magistrate came over and said with some admiration, "General, I have put a few quilts in the compartment of the tower, made a bed, and prepared some food and wine. You can go and have a rest!"

The masked general shook his head, "Have all the houses been demolished? Can the homeless people be compensated and resettled?"

"Everything is done, the house has been demolished, and the craftsmen are rushing to make equipment. The war will start again tomorrow, and the general must recharge his batteries!"

The masked general nodded, "Thank you."

After saying that, he strode to the tower compartment and asked again if it was ready for the sergeants. After receiving a positive answer, he started to eat the food and wine without hesitation.

While eating, a shadow blocked the already bright light in the compartment.

He looked up and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Hutou stood opposite him, looking at him with burning eyes, and whispered: "Who are you?"

"I told you. They are your reinforcements."

"Bullshit!" Zhang Hu roared, and his already hoarse voice sounded like a roar, "You can fool the prefect, but you can't fool me! It only took three days for us to receive the news from Yuyan Prefecture. From here to the imperial court It takes two days and two nights for a fast horse to gallop. Where can the imperial court get reinforcements? Could it be that the Queen Mother and Your Majesty have foresight?!"

The masked general did not refute, but simply said: "The number one scholar, Xia Shangshu, is said to be very wise and almost a monster. What if he really knows the future?"

"You" Zhang Hutou wanted to scold but did not dare to scold that person who had a good reputation among the people and was now the powerful Minister of Household Affairs and an important minister of the central government. He took an angry breath and suddenly stretched out his hand to grab the other person's face. mask, "I want to see who you are!"

But the masked general moved faster than him. He swung his right forearm and turned his fingers into claws. He grabbed the opponent's arm, pulled it and pushed it. Then he exerted force on his legs, jumped up, bullied him, and moved forward with his left hand. He wrapped his left arm around Zhang Hu's head, twisted it, put his right elbow on his back, pressed him against the wall, and restrained him firmly.

"I told you, and I'll say it again now, I'm here to help you. I will help you defend this city and block the hooves of the Beiliang barbarians and the Swift rebels."

Zhang Hu pressed his head against the wall and snorted coldly, "To put it lightly, the current situation is critical. If you are not careful, the city will be destroyed and people will be killed. Will you accompany us?"

The masked general actually smiled and said slowly: "If the city is destroyed, people will die, if the city is destroyed, people will die. If you die, you will die. If you die in this way, you will not regret it."
-
In Yanyuan Prefecture, the fast-moving Jiang Yuhu stopped again to find a post station to rest.

This time, without being disturbed by the Beiliang envoys, all the Wudang army could eat and drink in a warm room, then sit on the mats, lean against the wall, and have a warm sleep.

Jiang Yuhu took off his armor, put on his outer robe, spread out the map, and slowly traced his fingers across the entire northern border, frowning in thought.

Just when he was making a decision in his mind and preparing to pass the order, there was a sound of horse hooves downstairs.

Soon, a personal guard arrived with a travel-worn messenger.

"I pay my respects to Prince Anguo. I am a retainer of Marquis Jianning's Mansion. If my young master has a letter, I would like Prince Anguo to express it personally."

As he spoke, the messenger took out a secret letter from his arms and raised his hands. (End of chapter)