The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 33 The Second Will

Half a month later, a group of cavalry holding the emperor's ocher yellow dragon flag ran into Cangzhou City on flying horses.

Chai Rong, Fu Jinzhan, and Liu Chengyou led civil and military officials of all sizes to line up at the east gate and kneel to welcome the imperial edict.

"The Emperor's order: Chai Rong, the commander of the Tianxiong Army and the defense envoy of Cangzhou, immediately leads his troops to Zhaozhou and arrives within seven days! If there is any delay, he will be dismissed from all official positions and handed over to the prison guard for investigation!"

Du Yuhou, the bodyguard and military officer responsible for announcing the decree, sat on horseback, held up the imperial edict with one hand, and shouted loudly.

Chai Rong looked solemn and kowtowed: "I accept the order!"

Fu Jinzhan opened his red lips slightly and wanted to say something. Seeing that Chai Rong had already received the imperial edict respectfully, he smiled bitterly and held back his words.

Liu Chengyou looked sideways, gloating and sneering.

Du Yuhou, the pro-soldier wearing a gorgeous black lacquered Shunshui mountain-shaped armor, squeezed out a smile, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty ordered His Majesty the Second Highness to lead the Left Guards to Xingzhou to rest and recuperate, waiting for the follow-up orders."

Liu Chengyou was overjoyed. With this oral instruction, he could evacuate Cangzhou openly. From now on, life and death here would have nothing to do with him.

"My son, take your orders! Thank you, father!" Liu Chengyou kowtowed in the direction of Zhaozhou.

Chai Rong handed the imperial edict to Zhang Yongde, stood up and said, "Who will be in charge of the defense of Cangzhou once the Tianxiong Army and the Left Guard Army leave? I don't know how the officials will arrange it?"

Marquis Yu, the pro-army capital, said coldly: "Your Majesty ordered Liu Ci, the commander of Fengguo's right wing, to also order the defense of Cangzhou. We will rush to Fengguo's right wing to deliver the order now!"

After a pause, he sneered again: "Chai Ya Shuai should take care of himself first! His Majesty ordered you to rush to Zhaozhou before the [-]th of this month. Chai Ya Shuai used the excuse that Khitan Yongkang King Yeluwu wanted Chen Bing to the north of Zhangshui. Your majesty was furious for daring to resist the decree and not complying with it, which made me wait for Xingye to come here to proclaim the decree! The battle in Zhenzhou is imminent, if Shuai Chai Ya refuses to obey the decree, I'm afraid. Hehe~~ I can do it myself, and I will leave!"

After saying that, the cavalrymen who conveyed the order turned their horses and rushed out of the east gate, leaving only a cloud of dust raised by the horses' hooves.

Chai Rong originally wanted to inquire about the movements of the Khitan people in Zhenzhou, but he shook his head and sighed bitterly.

Fu Jinzhan frowned and scolded: "Liu Ci is currently stationed in the Ziya River area to assist Qizhou's defense. If he retreats to Cangzhou, Qizhou City will lose its corner, and it is so close to Zhenzhou, and the Khitan army will arrive at night. , how can it be defended? Who is this idiot who came up with this plan for the government? Do we have to send the Tianxiong army to Zhaozhou to help in the war?"

Chai Rong smiled bitterly and said nothing.

The official family was far away in Zhaozhou and did not know the situation in Cangzhou. He only had eyes for the Liao Emperor Yelv Deguang who was in Zhenzhou and the [-] Khitan main army.

Perhaps from the perspective of the officials and the ministers around them, as long as they can defeat the main force of the Khitan, it is worth paying any price.

The 10,000+ people in Cangzhou and the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Qizhou are nothing.

Liu Chengyou stood up with the help of his left and right, and said sadly: "The imperial court is full of talents. Guo Wei and Fu Yanqing are not the only ones who can make suggestions for Your Majesty! Is Madam Fu questioning the official will?"

Fu Jinzhan replied unceremoniously: "The officials have been in battle for a long time. How can they not see that Cangzhou is the top priority of Hebei's defense and there must be no room for failure! If the officials knew the situation Cangzhou was facing, they would definitely not Withdraw the Tianxiong Army! The officials must have been deceived and listened to the villain's slander! As for which ones are considered villains, His Highness should know better than me!"

"You~" Liu Chengyou's narrow eyes revealed a fierce look, and his fair and handsome face was filled with anger.

Now the number one favorite around Liu Zhiyuan is Liu Chengyou's uncle Li Ye. However, Li Ye and Fu Yanqing's eldest son and Fu Jinzhan's eldest brother Fu Zhaoxin had a fight in the streets of Kaifeng City a few years ago.

The playboy Li Ye naturally couldn't beat Fu Zhaoxin, who had been a general for generations, and was beaten up by Fu Zhaoxin, and he had a grudge with Fu Shi ever since.

Fu and Guo Wei got close, and Li Ye also hated Guo Wei.

Therefore, Liu Chengyou naturally understood that the person implied in Fu Jinzhan's words was his uncle Li Ye.If you scold his uncle, isn't that just scolding him?Liu Chengyou was very angry.

Chai Rong spoke out to dissuade: "The country is in a difficult situation, and all the advice is for the imperial court. It only depends on the outcome. There is no need to argue."

Chai Rong cupped his hands to Liu Chengyou again and said, "I wonder when the Second Highness will set off?"

Liu Chengyou said coldly: "Why, Chai Yashuai won't let me leave even if he doesn't leave on his own?"

Chai Rong said: "The officials have issued an oral order. Now that your highness and the left guard army are no longer under the control of the general, the general has no right to interfere. However, the Khitan army is eyeing the north bank of the Zhang River, and the people in Cangzhou City are panic-stricken. Can your highness please postpone it for two days?" If we leave in a hurry, we will worry about arousing criticism from the people and adding to panic."

Chai Rong bowed his head and lowered his voice, his face full of pleading.

Liu Chengyou looked at him with a sneer on his face: "What does this have to do with me? The defense of Cangzhou and the official affairs have been handed over to Liu Ci. What does it have to do with you, Chai Yashuai and the Tianxiong Army? I advise Chai Yashuai It is better to lead the army to Zhaozhou as soon as possible to avoid delaying the war. When the time comes, he will be imprisoned and even Guo Shuai will be implicated.

There are still Hengjun and 10,000+ refugees in Cangzhou City, and the Khitans will not be able to attack them for a while.Tens of thousands of troops from the imperial court have been stationed in Cangzhou for several months. This is enough to take advantage of the mud-legged people in this city, so what else can they do?In my opinion, Chai Yashuai should just relax and wait until the main force of the Khitan is defeated. Even if Cangzhou is lost by then, it can still be recaptured! "

After Liu Chengyou finished speaking nonchalantly, he got on the shoulder carriage with the attendants on his left and right, and rushed back to the left guard station in Beicheng, preparing to happily lead more than [-] remaining left guard troops to withdraw from the city.

Shi Kuangwei patted Hei's forehead and spat: "Damn it, what nonsense are you talking about! Does he know that the price of Cangzhou's fall was the loss of 10,000+ people in the city and the loss of most of Hebei? Fortunately, he is not the one sitting in the Kaifeng Palace, otherwise, the new imperial court would be hehe~~"

Chai Rong's face was solemn, and his heart felt like a huge stone was pressing down on him.

The wording of this second decree was quite harsh, revealing the official's strong dissatisfaction with his previous disobedience.

Chai Rong could imagine that at the Zhaozhou imperial military meeting, the dispute over whether to engage in a decisive battle with the Khitan main force must have been quite fierce. Guo Wei and the courtiers who opposed the decisive battle were also under tremendous pressure.

A messenger galloped into the city gate on horseback, jumped off his horse, knelt on one knee in front of Chai Rong, and said anxiously: "I'm reporting to Yashuai, three Khitan warships and dozens of small boats sailed out of the north bank, cruising On the river, they seem to be spying on our army’s defenses on the south bank!”

Everyone was shocked, Chai Rong was shocked and said hurriedly: "Do the Khitan people have any intention of landing?"

"Not found yet!"

Shi Kuangwei yelled anxiously: "Grandma's Khitan Hudog really wants to cross the river! General Chai will stay, and I, Old Shi, will go take a look first!"

Shi Kuangwei took a few Hexi soldiers and rode out of the city to the river bank.

Chai Rong ordered sternly: "Zhao Pu inspects the city defense equipment, and Pan Mei organizes patrols to patrol day and night. People are strictly prohibited from moving around to ensure public security in the city!"

Zhao Pu and Pan Mei each took orders to retire, and led the officials of the governor's office to return to the busy wartime state.

Fu Jinzhan hesitated and said, "Why don't we organize the people to evacuate Cangzhou?"

Chai Rong hesitated and said, "I had this idea just now."

Before he finished speaking, a man walked out of the chaotic crowd behind him. He was dressed in white cloth, wearing cloth shoes, and had a shiny bald head. He looked like a handsome little monk who was neither fish nor fowl.

Zhu Xiu bowed to the two of them and said solemnly: "The method of evacuation is absolutely impossible!"

　It’s time to feed~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)