My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 100 The young man chooses himself

Ten days!

These two words came from the mouth of Shen Tujia, the only remaining great achievement of the founding fathers and the prime minister of the dynasty. All the generals present immediately had expressions of jaw-dropping surprise.

Ten days?

What a joke!
You must know that it took a month for the imperial edict sent by Chang'an to Wu to cut off the vassal state to reach the hands of King Liu Bi of Wu!

Although part of this was because the envoy team knew that the odds were against them, so they delayed all the way, but even at normal speed, the edicts and government orders sent from Chang'an to Wudi would take at least fifteen to twenty days to be delivered. .

——Even the news that Wu Chu had raised his troops to rebel, didn't it take seven days to rush 800 miles to Chang'an?

I feel that all the generals present - even the emperor Qina, the prime minister are being alarmist, right? ' With a strange look in his eyes, Shen Tujia took another deep breath and stepped forward with a stern face.

Standing between Suiyang and Pengcheng, pointing with both hands towards the small squares symbolizing the two cities, Shen Tujia looked up and looked at the previous speaker, deducing that it would take a month at the earliest, and it might even take three months or even half a year at a slower pace. ''s Li Ji.

"Does Marquis Qu Zhou know how far it is from Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, to Suiyang, the capital of Liang?"

Li Ji lowered his head immediately, made a rough visual inspection, and then said: "If we ignore the obstacles of mountains and rivers and the twists and turns of the road, there should be six hundred..."

"——Four hundred and thirty miles!"

"——The straight-line distance from Pengcheng to Suiyang is only 430 miles!"

Before Li Ji could finish his words, Shen Tujia lowered his head solemnly and took a step away from Suiyang.

"From Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, to Suiyang, the capital of Liang, there is only Huaiyang County in between."

"Leave Pengcheng in the west, cross the border of Huaiyang, and then step into the territory of Liang Kingdom!"

"No matter how winding the road is, the distance from Pengcheng to Suiyang is only more than five hundred miles at most..."

Hearing this, Li Ji was stunned for a moment, and then opened his mouth in surprise.

"How could it be so close?"

"During the time of Emperor Taizu Gao, I led my troops from Liang to Chu. Isn't it that close?"

But Shen Tujia nodded seriously: "That's right."

"In the time of Taizu and Emperor Gao, it was indeed not this close."

"——But that's because of the war in the late Qin Dynasty, the government did not bother to repair and maintain straight roads, so the roads were winding and long."

"Nowadays, the Qin Zhidao in Guandong has been repaired and maintained to the extent that it was as intact as ever during the reign of King Qin."

"From Suiyang, the capital of Liang, to Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, you don't even need to turn - just walk along the straight road."

After saying that, Shen Tujia lowered his head again to observe for a moment, and finally pointed his hand at the 'Qi Di' where seven small squares were crowded together.

"With the seven kings of Qi, as long as King Qi and General Liu raise their troops, Wu and Chu will no longer need to go north to support them. Those who are willing to rebel can just follow King Qi to the west; those who are unwilling to rebel will never dare to send troops to stop them."

Then he turned his head and pointed at Huainan: "There are three kings in Huainan, one is a rebel and the other is suspicious."

"The only loyal minister suffered from rain and hail just before the autumn harvest."

"——At this time, famine must have broken out in the Hengshan Kingdom, and the other two countries will definitely be affected."

"Even if the three kings of the Huainan clan don't rebel, they are absolutely unable to stop Liu Bi - they may not even be able to defend the city."

At the end of the sentence, Shen Tujia finally bowed to Emperor Qi again and borrowed the long stick from Emperor Qi's hand;

Then, four lines were drawn starting from Pengcheng, Qidi, Zhaodi, and Huainan;
The end points of these four lines, without exception, are Liangdu: Suiyang...

"This is the worst case scenario."

"——The Wu-Chu coalition marched to Pengcheng, the Qi clan gathered in Linzi, the Zhao army marched from Handan, and the Huainan clan raised troops in Lu'an."

"The four rebel armies did not meet each other or join together, but each headed towards Suiyang!"

"If this is really the case, then within ten days, no less than 300,000 - or even 400,000 rebels will gather under Suiyang City!"

"As for the Liang Kingdom, the total number of soldiers and horses is only a few hundred thousand, and a considerable number of them are scattered along several defense lines east of Suiyang."

"The garrison in Suiyang City is most likely less than 100,000..."

After hearing the end, the generals who were still whispering to each other and wanting to express their opinions fell silent.

Even Quzhou Hou Liji, who was somewhat unconvinced by Shentujia's rebuttal, pursed his lips in silence after hearing Shentujia say, "Qin Zhidao is intact as before."

It was only then that the generals, especially Li Ji, finally realized what point everyone had ignored.

——Guangling, the capital of Wu State, is indeed far away on the southern coast, quite far from Suiyang, and the road is bumpy;
But Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, is located in the hinterland of Guandong. It is not far away from Suiyang in the direction of Hangu Pass, which is closer to Guandong!
If there was no Qin Zhidao, it could be expected that the distance of five to six hundred miles and the armed forces of counties and counties along the way would allow Liu Bi to spend several months;
But with the straight road and the fact that Chao Cheng believed in his oath that "the local counties in Guandong have been rotten for a long time and are unable to stop the rebels," Li Ji had no way to refute.

Shen Tujia was right.

Unless the Qi faction defected before the battle, stood on the side of the Chang'an court, and contained the Wu-Chu coalition forces from behind;
Otherwise, the main force of the rebel army under Wu King Liu Bi is very likely to arrive from Pengcheng to Suiyang, the capital of Liang, within ten days!
As for the Huainan faction, the worst case scenario is that all three kings rebel; the most optimistic scenario is that they are too busy dealing with the famine caused by rain and hail to even bother to get involved in this rebellion.

In addition, there will definitely be more than half of the Qi clan who have raised their troops, and King Zhao who has already started to contact the Huns...

"So, the key to this battle..."

"Is it still Suiyang?"

At this moment, Emperor Qi's mood was very complicated.

First, he vowed: Suiyang's gains and losses will determine the success or failure of this battle!

After all the generals unanimously refuted, and Shen Tujia overruled the generals, everything returned to the starting point: the decisive battle will begin in Suiyang!

And the day when the decisive battle comes will not be too far away.

However, Emperor Qi was not happy that Shen Tujia recognized his conclusion.

Because the conclusion reached by Shen Tujia is well-founded and reasonable;
And Emperor Qi’s inference...

"That's all..."

"—I'm not a general anyway."

"These military affairs are left to the generals to worry about..."

He reluctantly comforted himself, and then forced himself again to look away from the armor on Shen Tujia.

After pondering for a moment, Emperor Qi's eyes involuntarily fell on the very conspicuous figure among the generals.

——Today, the Han family is experiencing a period of decline when the founding fathers have withered and the new generation has not grown up.

Let me talk about these people present: Although Li Ji, the Marquis of Qu Zhou, was the 'Second Marquis of Qu Zhou', he was the same founding father as his father Li Shang.

During the years when Taizu Liu Bang conquered the world, Li Shang, Li Ji and his son all went to the battlefield together.

More than fifty years ago, Li Ji was already able to go to the battlefield with his father Li Shang, and even ranked among the "founding fathers". Now he is over seventy years old;
The same goes for Prime Minister Shen Tujia: even though he is wearing armor at the moment, he can no longer wield a sword or draw a crossbow.

The two new generations, Li Guang and Cheng Bushi, are quite young—both in their twenties and nearly thirty years old;

But being young naturally means that you are not qualified and have insufficient experience.

Looking at all the generals present, there are real people who are either too old or too young;
Those who are in their prime of life are all the guards, Zhi Buyi, and the imperial censor, Tao Qing. They either gained military power due to their loyalty, or they are directly the second generation of meritorious princes and have fallen into the shadow of their fathers.

Only that figure;

Young and steady, although he is also the second generation of meritorious princes, he is the one with the best military literacy, the strongest military background, and the most senior qualifications among everyone present...

"When the late emperor was dying, he once told me: Zhou Yafu can be used as a general according to the country's priorities."

In the long silence, Emperor Qi said a word, which attracted the attention of all the generals to the slightly lonely figure.

Then the emperor Qi took two steps forward with a smile and said again: "This time, the ancestral temple and the country are in danger, so Jianghou should be the main general to suppress the rebellion."

"As for countering the rebellion, Jianghou, don't you have anything to say?"

After hearing this, everyone present looked at Zhou Yafu again, with a bit of jealousy in their eyes.

Although he has been mentally prepared for this, as a general - especially one of the top senior generals of the Han family, who is willing to let go of such an opportunity to make meritorious deeds?
Zhou Yafu himself, on the other hand, seemed to have expected this and did not show any strange emotions.

He just stared at the sand table on the ground with a sullen face. He was stunned and didn't even rush to give an answer to Emperor Qi's inquiry.

I don't know how long it took - it was so long that the emperor couldn't help but smile, and then Zhou Yafu slowly raised his head.

He glanced at the old Prime Minister Shen Tujia and then glanced at Li Ji;
Finally, he bowed his hands to Emperor Qi.

"Prince Liang, he can resist the rebels for at least three months."

"After three months, Suiyang will be in danger, but the rebels will also be exhausted and on the verge of collapse."

"At that time, if I have 100,000 troops and are stationed within a hundred miles of Liang State, I can defeat the rebels under Suiyang City in one fell swoop."

···
"If Your Majesty wants to use me as a general, you will need to grant me the privilege of doing things expediently."

"Within three months, I will act according to my plan. Three months later, Your Majesty will definitely receive news that the rebels have collapsed."

"——During this period, no matter what I do, Your Majesty cannot interfere."

"As for Qi, Zhao and Huainan, Your Majesty needs to make separate plans."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qi's first reaction was to turn his head and look at Shen Tujia. After Shen Tujia thought for a moment and nodded solemnly to himself, Emperor Qi took a deep breath and stared at Zhou Yafu in front of him again, exuding calmness and calmness.

"edict!"

"I worship Lieutenant Jianghou Zhou Yafu as Taiwei!"

"Control the world's soldiers and horses, and quell chaos!"

"Fake Emperor's Day, Xu is doing things for his own convenience!!!"

Then he turned his head and looked at Shen Tujia: "The Prime Minister's Office will immediately publish a list of Guanzhong civilian men who are of the right age and are the first Fu, and who have been soldiers, and the civilian husbands will be doubled!"

"Farewell: Prince Zhan Shi Dou Ying is the general, leading an army of 200,000, stationed on the Xingyang-Aocang line, supervising the troops of Qi and Zhao, and responding to Suiyang's queen!"

"General Luan Bu, Qu Zhouhou Li Ji, and the emperor's fifth son Liu Fei were ordered to patrol the border and surround Handan!"

At this point, Emperor Qi's response to the Wu-Chu Rebellion has taken a rough shape.

——With Dou Ying as the general who is a relative, he is stationed in the lifeline of Jiangshan Sheji: Xingyang Aocang!
By the way, it is located a hundred miles west of Suiyang, serving as the back-up force behind Liu Wu, King of Liang, and the last line of defense for the Han family outside Hangu Pass.

Two veteran generals, Luan Bu and Li Ji, plus the prince Liu Fei, went to block Zhao Wang Liu Sui in Handan, the royal capital, and stabilize the north.

As for the Wu-Chu coalition forces, the kings of the Qi clique, and the Huainan clique whose position was questionable, they were all combined with Suiyang City and handed over to the Taiwei Zhou Yafu...

"Lieutenant Jianghou Chen Zhou Yafu, I respectfully obey the imperial edict!"

"Prime Minister, I am the Marquis of An, Shen Tujia, and I would like to obey the imperial edict!"

"Qu Zhouhou, Chen Li Ji/Chen Luan Bu, I respectfully obey the imperial edict!"

"I respectfully obey the imperial edict!!!"

Although among the people present, only Zhou Yafu, Li Ji, and Luan Bu were appointed, this does not mean that the other generals missed the opportunity to go out to quell the rebellion.

——The two juniors Li Guang and Cheng Bushi, as well as Han Daidang, the 'reduced general', will most likely follow Taiwei Zhou Yafu;

Although Tao Qing, the censor doctor, Wei Wei Zhibuyi, and Zhonglang General Zhidu had to stay in Chang'an due to their special responsibilities, they still had to organize troops in Chang'an to prevent the worst possible event.

But everyone knows in their hearts: On this occasion, a crucial person is missing.

Internal history: Chao Cuo...

Chao Cuo, who single-handedly promoted the policy of reducing the feudal vassalage, triggered this rebellion, and wanted to coordinate the affairs of Guanzhong as an internal historian - Chao Cuo...

·
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"Young master, don't be so stingy~"

"Isn't it just a few pieces of armor?"

"No matter how precious it is, you can only make money by selling three or five pieces of porcelain..."

Weiyang Palace, Shaofu's studio.

Cen Mai naturally didn't spend much time walking out of the announcement room and returning to the Shaofu studio, which was also located in Weiyang Palace.

——There was no need to be in such a hurry to come back.

If it weren't for the young master's officials and assistants to remind him that 'Young Master is here to steal the armor'...

"How many pieces of armor are these?!"

"——This is my many lives!!!"

"Just being taken away by the young master like this, even if I die three or five times, it may not be enough for me!"

Speaking with horror, Cen Mai's hands tightened even more, and he struggled to hold a piece of armor tightly in his arms. His eyes kept urging the officials: Don't let go!
Cen Mai knew very well: Liu Rong was not here to take away Zhajia, but to take away Cen Mai, and even the entire Shaofu, and the lives of thousands of Shaofu officials...

"Oops~"

"I don't want to use it myself?"

"——It's Lao Wu who is going to lead the army~"

"The young master can't let his father's son just wear a single robe and go outside the pass to fight with Liu Bi's rebels, right?"

The words he vowed only made Cen Mai hesitate for a moment, and then he shook his head firmly.

"no!"

"I don't know, I don't know, I didn't receive the order!"

"If you want armor, please go to your majesty and ask for it. I don't have any armor at all!!!"

He said the words "Young Mansion has no armor" without changing his expression. Cen Mai stared at Liu Rong as if facing a formidable enemy. He carefully turned sideways and handed over the armor in his arms. The officials behind him.

Freeing up his hands, he slowly stepped forward and grabbed Liu Rong's hand that was holding on to the armor belt.

"Master, don't force me!"

"I'm so anxious, I'm going to bite someone!!"

As he spoke, Cen Mai did not forget to open his mouth wide and pretended to bite him.

I really don’t blame Cen Mai for being stingy;
In this era, let alone a whole piece of armor, even a piece of nail on the armor - a piece of nail two fingers wide and three fingers long, has more complete identity information than ordinary people!
lost?
Or was it lost in the Shaofu?
Hey!
——Just live!
Who can outlive you? ? ?
Seeing Cen Mai's behavior, Liu Rong knew that if he insisted on it, he would not take Cen Mai's life...

Oh no, I don’t want to take away these pieces of armor at all;

So, Liu Rong made an action that made everyone in the young manor's eyes shine with golden light.

——Put your hands into your arms, and then slowly take out a pile of silk with patterns and words written on it.

Obviously: Liu Rong's action undoubtedly moved the young master Ling Cenmai more than his sentence "Lao Wu is going to go to war".

But he just stood on tiptoes, took a look from a distance, and then shook his head again like a rattle.

"Master, don't think about it anymore."

"Every piece of armor on this armor is worth more to me than my parents!"

"If it's for the fifth son of the emperor, can you go to your majesty?"

"Why bother this poor man?"

OK;

Cen Mai, who served as the Han Shaofu and ranked among the ninth ministers, with thousands of officials and hundreds of thousands of slaves working under his command, and whose salary was measured in tens of millions, turned out to be a pitiful person...

Seeing that Cen Mai was almost crying, Liu Rong finally let go of the Han Shaofu who called himself a 'poor man'.

He just nodded his head and muttered, "If my father hadn't been busy with state affairs, I wouldn't have come to this miserable place." Then he handed the silk cloth in his hand forward.

"Saddles, stirrups, horseshoes."

"Pig iron pouring, three thousand sets, required within five days."

He originally planned to read the contents on the silk cloth, but when Liu Rong opened his mouth and heard that it was pig iron again, and another three thousand sets, and he wanted it within five days, Cen Mai just hurriedly handed the silk cloth back and shook his head violently.

"Master, are you here to entertain me today?"

"This is obviously an ordnance?!!"

But when Liu Rong heard this, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared;
Staring deeply into the depths of Cen Mai's eyes only made Cen Mai's alarm bells ring loudly!
He was about to make a move, but in the end he still couldn't stop Liu Rong, and flew onto a piece of armor...

"Son..."

"—saddle, stirrups, horseshoes!"

"——Pig iron pouring, three thousand sets."

"——In five days."

But he saw Liu Rong leaning on the armor, showing off his ruthless appearance, and looking at Cen Mai with a rogue look in his eyes.

"The young master makes his own choice."

"Either agree, or let me take two pieces of armor back."

After hearing this, Cen Mai finally understood: Liu Rong came to the Shaofu not for Zhajia at all...

"Young master, if something happens, why don't you speak up?"

···
"Why would an old man of my age be frightened by making such a big noise..."

After saying these words, Cen Mai finally seemed to accept his fate. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, and reluctantly took the pile of silk cloth again.

"Stirrup?"

"saddle…"

"horseshoe……"

　Call ~
　　I caught up and finished it before twelve o'clock.

　　Good night
　　
　
(End of this chapter)