Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 449 Jia Xu: I am a ruthless scholar, a scholar will die for his confidant! (First update)
Although he felt a little resentful of Jia Xu for being lazy and not doing anything, Fa Zheng actually quite enjoyed the feeling of holding all the power.

All important military and political affairs of the court depend on him alone, and he is required to review and inquire about them. Isn't this a powerful official?

After half an hour, Fa Zheng finally finished dealing with the pile of memorials on the desk, then put down his red brush and took a rest.

Seeing this, Jia Xu smiled slightly, asked the maid beside him to serve him a bowl of iced plum soup, and said: "If all the ministers in the court were as dedicated as Xiaozhi, Your Majesty would have unified the world and dominated the world long ago."

"It's a pity that now that the world situation is becoming more and more stable, more and more people are starting to slack off and start thinking about how to fight for power and profit."

As the Embroidered Uniform Envoy in his hands, Jia Xu had a clear understanding of the various open and secret struggles in the court.

Although now these struggles are still in the dark because the great enemy has not yet been eliminated, once the world is unified, these struggles will no longer be hidden.

Regarding this topic, Fa Zheng drank plum soup silently and did not say a word in agreement.

As the most trusted minister to His Majesty, Jia Xu holds a high position of power, so it is natural for him to have no problem saying these words.

But he decided to give up. If the news got out accidentally, it could easily get him into trouble.

Seeing that Fa Zheng refused to speak, Jia Xu did not continue the topic and said, "Your Majesty has now conquered Xiangyang and taken Nanyang and Xinye. At the same time, the navy is going down the Han River. The next target should be Jiangxia."

"This progress is really fast."

Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng said, "Your Majesty is leading the army in person this time, and with Lord Wen also leading the army in person, we will naturally be invincible."

"I just don't know what's going on with Duxiang Hou and Censor Guo, and whether they have successfully taken Yizhou and Yangzhou."

The success of the battle led by the emperor was completely expected. Fa Zheng felt that what needed to be considered was the progress on the other two fronts.

"You don't have to worry about that."

Jia Xu laughed and said, "Yizhou has Duxiang Hou and Guanjun Hou, Yangzhou has General Huang Lao, and there is also Guo Fengxiao, so there won't be any problems."

"Just wait for good news."

Apart from anything else, Jia Xu had great confidence in Guo Jia's abilities. If he couldn't even take over Yangzhou, then what was the point of being the top of Lingyun Pavilion?

It would be better to let him take charge.

While the two were chatting, an eunuch ran into the Xuanshi Hall with a memorial in his hands, shouting with joy: "Good news from Yizhou! Good news from Yizhou!"

Fa Zheng and Jia Xu both looked over.

The eunuch bowed to the two men, and then said excitedly: "Reporting to the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Imperial Censor, Jingzhou Governor Liu Bei and Marquis Guanjun attacked Cao's camp at night ten days ago, burned 40,000 Cao's troops, killed Cao Xiu and Cao Hong in battle, and killed all the invading enemies!"

"The danger in Yizhou has now been resolved!"

This news is undoubtedly exciting.

After hearing this, Jia Xu and the other two's eyes lit up. Then he smiled and said to Fa Zheng, "What did I just say? You don't have to worry."

"The Cao army that invaded Yizhou was defeated. This completely destroyed Cao's plan to seize Yizhou. This retreat route has been cut off."

Cao Cao seized Yizhou as a retreat.

After all, the land of Bashu is surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Cao Cao hid in Yizhou, it would not be easy for the imperial court to completely wipe him out.

But there is no need to worry now.

Fa Zheng also laughed and said, "With Yizhou recovered, Cao Cao is not far from his doom. It seems that the war will be over before winter comes."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu laughed out loud and was in a very good mood.

But at this moment, another sound of footsteps was heard.

The person who came was Gao Lan.

Seeing Gao Lan, Jia Xu smiled and said, "General Gao, you came at the right time. Just now, news came of a great victory in Yizhou. Cao's army..."

"Minister of the Central Secretariat, something terrible has happened!"

Gao Lan interrupted Jia Xu before he finished speaking, his resolute face filled with deep worry and anxiety.

Seeing this, Jia Xu couldn't help but feel a little startled. He stopped smiling, frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Gao Lan usually remains calm in the face of danger and rarely appears so serious and nervous. He must have encountered something unusual at the moment.

Could something have happened to the emperor?

Gao Lan sighed and waved behind him, and an embroidered messenger came forward.

"Meet Lord Jia!"

The envoy in embroidered clothes knelt on one knee and saluted Jia Xu.

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a deep voice: "What happened? Report it immediately!"

The Embroidered Robe Messenger was not allowed to enter and leave the palace at will.

Now he actually came to the palace to ask to see him through Gao Lan, which meant that there was very urgent news to report.

The envoy in embroidered clothes did not dare to neglect and said directly: "Reporting to Lord Jia, there is news from the border that Ma Chao has led a large number of troops into Yongzhou and is heading towards Chang'an!"

"The number of troops... is no less than 100,000!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall instantly became quiet.

So quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Even with Jia Xu's shrewd personality, after hearing the news, his pupils shrank slightly and a look of shock appeared in his eyes.

Fa Zheng, who was standing by, had a pale face and could not help but stand up and said, "One hundred thousand troops? Where did one hundred thousand troops come from?!"

"How can Ma Chao have so many soldiers and horses?"

He was truly shocked. Ma Chao was driven into Qiang territory like a stray dog, with only about 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers left under his command.

It's only been over half a year, how come they have gathered an army of 100,000?

It would be impossible even with the help of the Qiang people!
You should know that a few months ago, Zhang He led his troops to massacre the Qiang royal court, causing rivers of blood and the Qiang people also suffered heavy losses!

The embroidered robed messenger replied: "According to the investigation of our spies, there are only tens of thousands of soldiers and horses equipped with weapons in this army, and the rest are mostly unarmed Qiang slaves, but their number is more than 100,000."

"Based on the marching speed, this army will reach Xiaoguan in five days at most."

After hearing the spy's words, Fa Zheng's face turned pale.

Jia Xu's face was particularly gloomy.

Gao Lan waved his hand to signal the embroidered messenger to leave, then cast his gaze towards the two men and asked, "Now that the army is heading south, Chang'an City is left unguarded. What should we do?"

This time the emperor went south to fight the bandits, and took all his elite troops with him. Right now, there are only 4,000 city defense troops in Chang'an. Even if the 1,000 elite Tiger Guards in the palace are counted, there are only 5,000 people!
And Ma Chao had more than 100,000 soldiers and horses!

Even though most of them were unarmed slaves and their fighting power was negligible, there were still too many of them.

With so many people, even if they have to sacrifice their lives, they can still take down the city of Chang'an!
They can attack the city day and night, but can the defenders of Chang'an defend the city day and night?
As long as the physical strength of the defenders in the city is almost exhausted, and then the elite troops attack, conquering Chang'an will be a piece of cake!

No matter from which aspect, Gao Lan could not find any possibility or method to defend the City of Chang'an.

Jia Xu's face was as gloomy as water. He put down the feather fan in his hand, stood up, straightened his clothes, and ordered: "Send someone to send a message to His Majesty immediately, requesting the front-line troops to return for assistance."

"At the same time, dispatch the Luoyang garrison to come to our aid!" Gao Lan could not help but say, "But Minister of the Central Secretariat, your Majesty's army is far away in Jingzhou. It will take at least a month to lead the troops back to Chang'an to provide assistance."

"It will take seven or eight days for the Luoyang garrison to arrive, and there are only a few thousand of them. Even if they arrive in Chang'an before the enemy, they still won't have enough people..."

Jia Xu glanced at Gao Lan and asked expressionlessly, "Does General Gao intend to hand over Chang'an City to us?"

These words immediately made Gao Lan silent.

Then he said no more, his expression gradually became firm, and he nodded and said, "I understand, I'll do it right away."

After saying this, he turned around and left.

"and many more!"

Jia Xu suddenly called out to him again, stared at him and said, "The news of Ma Chao's invasion must be kept strictly confidential and must not be leaked!"

Gao Lan didn't say much and nodded in agreement.

Then he strode out of the Xuanshi room.

The Xuan Room fell silent again. Jia Xu sat back in his original seat, picked up the plum soup and drank it without saying a word. No one knew what he was thinking about.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Fa Zheng, who was standing aside, had a worried look on his face and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

After a while, he couldn't help but ask, "Why did the Minister of the Central Secretariat block the news? Wouldn't it be better to call all the officials together to discuss countermeasures?"

He didn't quite understand Jia Xu's decision just now.

Hearing Fa Zheng's words, Jia Xu sneered, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and said: "Call them here to discuss countermeasures? Xiaozhi is probably overestimating them."

"If they learn that Ma Chao is leading a large army to invade, those guys in the court will not think about how to defend Chang'an, but will only think about escaping. Do you believe it?"

Jia Xu's insight into human nature is much more acute than Fa Zheng's.

Ma Chao is different from ordinary enemies. Once Chang'an City is breached, the whole city will be in danger of being in trouble, and no aristocratic family will have a good ending.

Faced with such an enemy, those in the court would not choose to fight him to the end, but would only choose to escape.

But this is something Jia Xu can never tolerate!
Jia Xu said in a deep voice: "Now that your majesty is leading the army south, if we hand over Chang'an, the logistics will be cut off, and your majesty and the army will fall into a situation where they are attacked from both sides!"

"Since Your Majesty has entrusted me with the important task of guarding the rear, how can I fail Your Majesty's trust?"

"Defending Chang'an is not a choice, but something that must be done!"

"Before Chang'an City is breached, no one in the city should escape!"

"Even if I die, I must die in Chang'an!"

Jia Xu grinned, a ferocious smile.

Jia Wenhe has been trying to protect himself all his life, wandering around and changing masters several times. He has done good things and bad things.

The emperor treated him with sincerity, regarded him as his confidant, and gave him great power, honor and trust, so how could he choose to escape at the critical moment?
Although he is not a gentleman, he is not a villain either.

He, Jia Xu, is a vicious scholar.

Since you are a scholar, you should die for your friends!

There are some things that we know we can’t do.

But it must be done!
Looking at Jia Xu with a ferocious expression in front of him, Fa Zheng was greatly shocked, and an indescribable complex emotion emerged from his heart.

Is this the confidant that Your Majesty relies on?

If we ask ourselves honestly, Fa Zheng did not have the same awareness as Jia Xu, and his first thought was to retreat.

However, Jia Xu first considered the safety of the army in front and the emperor, disregarding his own life and even the lives of people in the city. Such ruthlessness is chilling, but also makes people admire it.

After taking a deep breath, Fa Zheng gradually calmed down. He stood up, bowed deeply to Jia Xu, and said, "I am willing to follow the Minister of the Central Secretariat and live and die with Chang'an!"

"It's not up to you to decide whether you are willing or not. You have to be willing even if you don't want to."

Jia Xu said something very disappointing to Fa Zheng, which immediately extinguished the lofty ambitions that had just risen in Fa Zheng's heart, and his face turned red.

But Jia Xu immediately smiled and said, "However, the fact that you have such a heart proves that Your Majesty has not made a mistake in choosing me."

"Okay, don't stand here. You've been tired for so long. Go back and take a rest first."

Fa Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, bowed and stepped back.

Watching Fa Zheng leave the Xuanshi, Jia Xu slowly restrained his smile, and after a little thought, he also stood up and left the Xuanshi.

Soon, Jia Xu passed through one palace after another and came to the outside of Yutang Palace.

He said to the maidservant in front of the palace gate: "The Minister of the Central Secretariat, Jia Xu, has an important matter to ask you to see me. Please inform me."

It is against the rules for a minister to go to the harem to see the concubines.

But when the palace maid heard the words "Zhongshu Ling Jia Xu", she was immediately shocked by the other party's identity.

This is one of the most favored ministers in front of the emperor!
After a brief hesitation, one of the palace maids said, "Mr. Zhongshu, please wait a moment. I will go and inform you right away."

Jia Xu nodded and waited there.

After a while, the maid returned, bowed to Jia Xu, and said, "Your Excellency has agreed to see the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Please come this way."

After saying that, he took Jia Xu into the Yutang Palace.

Yutang Palace is Lu Lingqi's residence.

When the capital was moved, Lu Lingqi did not come to Chang'an because she had just given birth and needed to recuperate.

However, after he had recuperated, he brought his daughter here with him.

After Jia Xu entered the palace, he bowed respectfully to Lü Lingqi, who was playing with her daughter beside the cradle, and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

"No need to be polite, Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Hearing this, Lu Lingqi looked up and asked curiously, "Why is the Minister of the Central Secretariat here today? He's a rare guest."

She was also surprised to hear that Jia Xu wanted to see her, but when she heard that it was an important matter, she agreed.

"Your Excellency."

Jia Xu cupped his hands and said straight to the point: "I ask you to take the princess to Jingzhou immediately to find your majesty and Lord Wen. Do not stay in Chang'an."

This is the purpose of his visit.

He doesn't care whether everyone in Chang'an City is dead or alive, but Lu Lingqi and the eldest princess Liu Ying are exceptions. Nothing can happen to them.

"what?"

Lu Lingqi was stunned by Jia Xu's words. She even stopped teasing Liu Ying and asked in confusion, "What does the Minister of the Central Secretariat mean by this? Why did you suddenly ask me and the princess to leave Chang'an?"

Facing Lu Lingqi's question, Jia Xu did not hide anything and said, "I just received news that Ma Chao is leading an army of 100,000 to Chang'an. Chang'an is no longer safe."

"For the safety of you and the princess, I beg you to leave Chang'an immediately. I will send someone to escort you and the princess to meet His Majesty."

(End of this chapter)