Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 408 Open the door to accept the evil (2)

"Where is Cao Xi?" Zhao Ke asked wearily, his eyes were bloodshot.

"The reinforcements from Xijing encountered a brigade of cavalry from the Liao Army, and General Cao had to be stationed at Hulao Pass." Tong Guan said cautiously.Zhao Ke said bitterly: "It's so teasing." He sighed, gripped the armrest of the dragon chair tightly, and asked again: "Where's Liu Yanqing?"

"General Liu has sent troops, but Xiangyang is far away from the capital, and the army is still on the way."

A look of disappointment flashed across Zhao Ke's face, and then turned to gloom.He recalled the past when he was touring Hebei, when Khitan entered the bandits, but was framed by Cai Jing and Liu Yanqing, and almost lost the crown prince. "I treat you with kindness, and you will repay it with your whole heart." Zhao Ke couldn't help gnashing his teeth, and said in a deep voice: "Where is Wang Yan? Has he returned help?"

"General Wang sent someone to report that the Liao army could not last longer in Bianliang, and should be stopped now. Hebei camps and stationed troops in the Daming Mansion can cut off their food roads and attack their idlers," Tong Guan said before he finished speaking, "You bastard!" Zhao Ke could no longer contain his anger, and shouted, "Prevarication words!" Because the fear of the Liao army's soldiers approaching Bianliang instantly turned into resentment towards the generals of the various feudal clans!The veins on his forehead popped up, he stood up angrily, pacing back and forth like a trapped animal in a cage.The Liao army crossed the river effortlessly, and the defenders were almost defeated at the touch of a finger.Even though Bianliang has been managed for several generations, even if there are still more than [-] forbidden troops in the city, Zhao Ke still feels shuddering.

The official walked around a few times, calmed down his anger, and said in a low voice: "Taiwei Tong, although the Liao army is approaching the city, the imperial guards in the capital are formed by the ancestors gathering the best soldiers from all over the world. Can they still fight the Liao army?"

"Alas——" Tong Guan sighed, with a 'difficult' expression on his face, "Your Majesty, Bianliang has been at peace for a long time, and the armies of the Beijing camp have not fought for a hundred years. In my opinion, if the soldiers of the capital and Hu Qi Fighting against an enemy is like driving a flock of sheep against a tiger and a wolf." He hesitated for a moment, as if he had made up his mind, he summoned up his courage and said, "Forgive me for your boldness, but if the battalions do not send reinforcements, we will be in danger. Your Majesty The safety of the whole world is at stake, and you cannot sit under a dangerous wall. For the sake of your ancestors, you should temporarily avoid the sharp edge of the Liao army and patrol the southeast."

"Looking in the southeast?" Zhao Ke's pupils narrowed suddenly, and a stern look flashed across his eyes. He stared at Tong Guan for a long time before he sighed, "The Liao army invaded Hebei, and I abandoned the capital. In the world, I have no face to see my ancestors in the ground." Seeing this, Tong Guan hurriedly knelt down on the ground, kowtowed and said: "I am reckless, please give me death penalty!" His honor as the Taiwei in front of the palace is over fifty years old. , and his head pounded like garlic.Zhao Keyuan was a little annoyed, couldn't bear to see this, and sighed: "The Taiwei is loyal, what is the crime, please get up." Tong Guan then stood up, his forehead was red and swollen, and he looked very embarrassed.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan. Counting the distance, Qin Zhongcheng has arrived at the Daming Mansion. Wang Yan is arrogant and does not accept the holy order. He can join Qin Zhongcheng's Hebei Economic Strategy Envoy, and the troops in the Hebei camp, together with Wang Yan, are all under the control of Hebei." Economical envoy restraint. Send another decree to Qin Zhongcheng, let him quickly lead the Hebei army to return to Bianliang. Qin Zhongcheng is a famous minister in the world, and he will definitely live up to His Majesty's trust." Tong Guan carefully concealed his eyes, completely thinking about His Majesty's safety look like.

As soon as Zhao Ke heard it, he remembered the past when Deng Su went to Luoyang to seize Cao Di's military power, but returned in vain. Will the military power be handed over to him?"

Seeing that the officials were already moved, Tong Guan hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that in the second year of Jingkang, Wang Yan and Liu Yanqing exchanged feudal towns, and it has only been more than a year now. Both of them brought only a few soldiers to the post. Generals were originally used by Liu Yanqing. For more than a year, the admonisher of Taiwan has been staring at the southeast of Hebei. More than half of them are not his cronies. You only need to announce the decree in public and grant the military power to Qin Zhongcheng. In the face of justice, even if Wang Yan has rebellious intentions, he will not dare to cause chaos on the spot."

Tong Guan's reminder made Zhao Ke just think of this verse, nodded and said: "What the Taiwei said is true. I will make an order now."

Tong Guan bowed and said yes, a look of color flashed in his eyes.Immediately prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

"This is exactly what the ancestors meant by using literature to control the military," Zhao Ke said with emotion: "In the 'chaos' of Anshi in the former Tang Dynasty, there were rebel generals in Hebei but no rebellion to the state. The scholar-bureaucrats read the books of sages and sages, and they talked about loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. Compare that. Qin Zhongcheng is in charge of the army in Hebei, and he will definitely live up to me.” Thinking that after Qin Hui took control of the army in Hebei, [-] soldiers came to help Bianliang, and the defense of the capital would be more consolidated, Zhao Ke was relieved a lot.While waiting for the Hanlin scholar on duty to come to the imperial study to draft an edict, he continued to read the memorial.

"Huh? Eight Thousand Henghai Xiang Army has already passed Hengzhou?" Zhao Ke's face was full of surprise, which turned into relief in an instant, and praised repeatedly, "What a good Yue Fei, what a flying general. Yue Pengju, my flying general! "The official's pale face was rosy, he stood up, looked at Tong Guan, and said happily: "Among the group of people who have no guts, there is finally a loyal and unparalleled hero." He took two steps, "Henghaixiang The army was promoted to be the imperial guard in front of the palace, and he was given a name," Zhao Ke thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Give him the name of Zhen Gong, Yue Fei will be the commander of the town, and he will be added to the capital of the infantry in front of the palace. It has been decided, Liu Yanqing is cowardly and incompetent, let Yue Fei join forces with him first, and then I will issue an order to let Yue Fei replace him and take command of the [-] troops in the southeast camp."

"Your Majesty is holy." Tong Guan said respectfully, secretly stunned.Yue Fei won three ranks in a row just because he marched quickly to suit the wishes of the officials.The speed of promotion is as jaw-dropping as the speed of suppressing the army.He secretly smiled inwardly: "Unfortunately, this is the end of the fate. The officials themselves are hard to protect. Liu Yanqing is not a fuel-efficient lamp. I am afraid that you will not be able to get the military power of the southeast camp."

The Holy Majesty has already issued five gold medals in a row, and Qin Hui came to urge him every day, asking the Hebei camp to quickly return to Bianliang from the Daming Mansion.Wang Yan insisted on refusing to allow it, but he was also under great pressure.When the sixth gold plate arrived, the patience of the officials had reached the limit, so they directly appointed Qin Hui as the Hebei Economic Strategy Envoy, and ordered him to command the Hebei military kings.Among the generals in Hebei, those who disobeyed the rule were like rebels, and they could be killed immediately by a brief envoy.Although it is not common for civil servants to rule the army in this dynasty, there are many precedents.In the third year of Yuanfu's attack on Xia, it was Han Qi who stayed behind in Xijing to control and coordinate the generals, and even Di Qing, who was deployed in the Xijing camp, was under his control.

The official's decree revealed dissatisfaction with Wang Yan, and the generals in Hebei looked weird. Shang Qiong and Jin Yaochen looked at each other, and they both saw schadenfreude in each other's eyes.Qin Hui knelt on the ground to receive the imperial edict, stood up, his face was a little embarrassed, he thought that civil and martial arts had different ways, and never thought of leading the army.Wang Yan didn't seem to have any dissatisfaction, but Qin Hui became more polite, and said in a low voice: "Wang Jiedu is loyal to the country, and this official is very clear. Your Majesty's decree also has high hopes for the camp in Hebei. There may be some misunderstandings during the period. After arriving in Bianliang, I will definitely tell His Majesty about it. The national crisis is the most important thing, and Qin is willing to help Wang Jiedu in the same boat."

Wang Yan didn't speak, just nodded.Seeing this, Qin Hui turned to the generals in the battalion and said, "The capital is in dire straits right now, and we can't delay it for a moment. I have decided that the battalion army will go to Bianliang early tomorrow morning to serve the king. Please ask Wang Jiedu for details on how to dispatch the troops. Make detailed arrangements." He stepped aside and put Wang Yan in the middle.All the generals in the Hebei camp looked over, the commander's hall became very quiet, only the north wind blowing outside could be heard.

Wang Yan finally sighed, his tiger eyes slowly looked around at the generals in the hall, and said in a deep voice: "Send troops at Maoshi."

Qin Hui nodded, his face softened a little. He really didn't know anything about the military, so he simply showed his generosity and let Wang Yan dispatch and arrange the troops.There were a total of 20 soldiers and horses in the Hebei camp, and most of them were trapped in the prefectures and counties in the north.The Liao army only captured a few cities on the road they had to pass through, and most of the cities in Hebei were still holding on.There are about 2 soldiers and horses in the city. [-] people stayed behind at Daming Mansion, and [-] troops set out from Daming Mansion at Yinshi, headed straight to Liyangjin with a title and horses bound hooves.The Liyangjin pontoon bridge was still in the hands of Zhang Shuye. With the lack of ferries and the threat of the Liao cavalry, the only option for the army to cross the river was to cross the pontoon bridge.Wang Yan arranged the marching ranks of the armies in detail, saying that if encountering a surprise attack by the cavalry of the Liao army, the armies must not act without authorization, and must obey the military orders as a whole, form a dignified formation, and march forward with drums beating, only then can they reach Liyangjin Chance.

When Wang Yan ordered, Qin Hui didn't say a word, but listened attentively.After Wang Yan finished his explanation, Qin Hui stood up and asked for the Shangfang sword bestowed by the Holy Majesty. He bowed and said in a deep voice: "The order of Wang Jiedu just now is the order of this scripture. Tomorrow, if you dare not Those who obey the military order and those who avoid the battle will be beheaded immediately, and no mercy will be given!"

All the generals looked awe-inspiring, and they answered yes in unison.

That night, the entire Daming City was filled with a tense atmosphere.From Daming Mansion to Bianliang, although it takes seven or eight days, it is very dangerous, so we must prepare enough dry food and water.In addition to preparing vehicles, horses, food and grass, the armies also have to hand over the defense of the city.In the hearts of soldiers with families, this is more important than King Qin.The soldiers and horses went out to fight, and the family members could only stay in Daming City. After this night of farewell, it is unknown whether they will see each other again. This night, countless tears soaked the clothes.

The moonlight was like water, sprinkled all over the room, Li Ruoxu couldn't sleep because of tossing and turning, he simply got up, and wiped and wiped the sword he was carrying and the fire pistol Li Ruobing gave him. Wearing the soft armor under the white folded cotton robe, and covering it with a standard leather armor, it is also light.After this sleepless night, it is time to embark on a journey full of unknown dangers.