high official

Chapter 1220 Tongzhou Connects the World

In the end, Xu Huaiqing received the task.

Before leaving, Wang Xian gave him thousands of reminders: "You lead the army to the northeast, without going through Daxing, and go directly to Tongzhou. I will lead the main force to attract Daxing's army, so that they dare not pursue."

"It's more than 110 miles to Daxing. You are going to set off tonight. You must arrive within a day. It would be best if you can take Tongzhou by surprise, but don't force it if you don't have a chance. Just deter the officers and soldiers and let them delay for a few minutes. God, I will lead the army to arrive."

"The imperial court will definitely attach great importance to Tongzhou, and you must not take chances. If they send a large army, you must not hit the stone with an egg, just harass and delay their delivery of food." Wang Xian said in a deep voice: "There is also the worst One situation is that the imperial court's army is already in Tongzhou, although the latest information shows that it is not there, but the situation of the battle is changing rapidly, and no one can say for sure."

Speaking of this, Wang Xian paused every word: "If this happens, you must retreat immediately, and we will make another plan!"

Xu Huaiqing grinned and said, "Your Excellency, do you have a backup plan?"

"Of course." Wang Xian nodded without hesitation and said, "I have a solution!"

"Decree!" Xu Huaiqing clenched his fists and was about to take the order and leave.

"Huaiqing." Wang Xian called him again, Xu Huaiqing turned his head and looked at his lord.Wang Xian stared closely at the bravest general under his command, sighed and said, "You're out of luck."

"Where is it?" Xu Huaiqing flatly denied it.

"I grew up in a casino." Wang Xian shook his head and said, "Your way of stealing things is really bad."

"Hey..." Xu Huaiqing said with a smile on his face, "It's up to you what you say, anyway, I don't admit it." He said with a serious look: "And it is indeed the most suitable for me to go. Although Lao Mo is better than me, my lord I can't do without his advice. Although Zhang Yi is also very powerful, he hasn't been on the battlefield for several years. Our gang of arrogant soldiers won't be convinced by him for a while..."

Xu Huaiqing is rambling, and wants to continue to list why others can't do it, but only himself can do it.Wang Xian shook his head and interrupted him, looked at him with red eyes, and said with a choked voice, "You must come back alive!"

"Don't worry, my lord, Lord Yan dare not accept me!" Xu Huaiqing laughed loudly and said, "I think I'm too noisy!"

Wang Xian patted Xu Huaiqing's shoulder heavily, unable to say a word.

Half an hour later, Wang Xian's army quietly left Gu'an County.

At dawn, the people who had been on tenterhooks all night went out to take a look. They were surprised to find that there was no shadow of the army in the city, and the small county had returned to its former tranquility...

.

In the area of ​​Zhili, there are thousands of miles of plains and dense population, so it is naturally impossible for Wang Xian's army to hide their whereabouts.Soon the capital got an urgent report that he led an army to appear in Zhuozhou!

It happened to be the day of the winter solstice. The emperor, the prince and others were so shocked by the news that they couldn't calm down for a long time.

But after the wailing is over, I still have to think about what I should think about. I can't just watch Wang Xian enter the capital and give up this beautiful country, can I?

Zhu Gaochi managed to calm down, and ordered Zhang Cheng: "Let Dongchang not arrest Wang Xian's family first, I can't give him any more excuses."

"Father!" Zhu Zhanji said anxiously: "Isn't this showing weakness again?!"

"Your Highness, be safe and don't be impatient," Yang Shiqi supported the emperor. "Before, we thought that Wang Xian's army was trapped in Badaling, and arresting their families would completely dismantle their fighting spirit. But now, Wang Xian led his men to break through the Yanyun line of defense, and the soldiers headed straight for the capital, and then arrested their families. would have the opposite effect.”

"..." Zhu Zhanji stopped talking.

After Zhang Cheng went down, Yang Shiqi said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. There are still 20 elite imperial troops in the capital, and [-] in Daxing, and Qin Wang's troops from all over the country are still arriving one after another. The fastest tens of thousands of Liaodong troops , Arrived in Beijing almost within one or two days. There are also armies from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Huguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang on the way, forming a siege to Wang Xian. The hearts of the world are in the emperor, and the odds are in the emperor!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Wang Xian's surprise attack on the Bauhinia Pass shocked everyone, but it didn't change the situation much!" Yang Rong also cheered the emperor, "Besides, his strength is already far behind. Far weaker than the imperial court, and leaving more than [-] main forces outside the pass, this is a big taboo for military strategists! As long as we fortify the walls and clear the field, stand firm and wait for reinforcements, and don't give him an opportunity to take advantage of it, we will surely be able to wait until the reinforcements arrive continuously. Defeat him!"

"This is a well-established statement." Yang Shiqi also nodded in agreement and said: "It's freezing cold today, and the food and grass for Wang Xian's army can only be supplied by Shandong. We can order Qin Wang's army in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Henan to directly attack Shandong to copy The most important thing is to cut off the road ahead and cut off the food supply! In this way, in just one or two months, Wang Xian will learn from the old soldiers, and it is time for us to defeat them!"

Undoubtedly, this is a very good method, because Wang Xian has at most 20 to [-] troops, and the difficulty of attacking Beijing City, where [-] troops are stationed, is no less difficult than attacking Juyongguan.As long as the imperial court sticks to the city, Wang Xian has nothing to do.

Zhu Gaochi also nodded in agreement, but Zhu Zhanji objected unhappily: "Wang Xian only led [-] soldiers and horses to pass the pass, and his arrogance is already very arrogant. If our army of more than [-] troops is still unable to shrink back, it will definitely encourage him even more." Prestige, the people of the world will change at that time, and how many counties and counties will belong to him!"

"..." Zhu Gaochi and Er Yang's expressions darkened, they didn't know what Zhu Zhanji said was very true.Although the Zhu family is orthodox in the world, the hearts of the people have always been like smoke. When the time comes, the army and the people will surely surrender, and there will not be many people who will die for the Zhu family.

Even if Wang Xian is finally put down and these states and counties are taken back, the damage to the imperial power will be irreversible.The world may even enter an eventful autumn...

"My son is willing to lead an army of [-] to fight the king's thief to the death! Defend the father and the court to the death!" Zhu Zhanji asked to fight even more passionately: "Only by using the fastest speed and the most violent means to completely put down the rebellion, can we be defeated?" Defend the dignity of my royal family!"

"You're right..." It was rare for Zhu Gaochi not to scold Zhu Zhanji, and said, "However, the safety of the capital is a matter of the country, and we must not take risks. Let's do as Xueshi Yang said."

"Hey..." Zhu Zhanji gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, looking extremely disappointed.

Yang Rong didn't care about His Royal Highness's mood at the moment, and immediately continued: "Your Majesty, besides concentrating the army and strengthening the city defense, there is one more important thing right now, which must be done immediately!" After a pause, he said in a deep voice Said: "It is to strengthen the wall and clear the field!"

"Strengthen the wall and clear the country?" Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but frown. He is not an idiot emperor who knows nothing. He knows that these four words are easy to say, but it means a catastrophe for the common people...

"Roughly two ends are carried out at the same time. One is to immediately send officers, soldiers and officials to collect all the grain of the people in Gyeonggi into Beijing." Naturally, it is impossible for the common people to obediently hand over the grain for the winter. , is not the category considered by the high-ranking bachelor.

However, Yang Rong knew that the emperor had always regarded himself as 'diligent in government and loving the people', so he immediately stepped down the steps for Zhu Gaochi: "In the face of the national crisis, we can only let the common people suffer for a while. After Wang Xian is calmed down, we will return the capital and interest to the common people." If the emperor still feels sorry, he can also exempt the people of Gyeonggi from paying taxes for a year, I believe they will be extremely happy."

"Hey, that's the only way to go..." Zhu Gaochi sighed sadly: "I hope the common people don't hate me too much."

"The emperor has always loved the people like a son, and the people must understand the difficulties of the emperor." Yang Rong said in a deep voice: "There is a second thing, which is not so difficult. It is to transport the grain from Tongzhou to the capital immediately! "

"This is easy." Zhu Gaochi heaved a sigh of relief, he was really worried that Yang Rong would propose something more difficult, "Let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households step up to do it."

"I'm afraid it's not enough!" Yang Rong shook his head resolutely and said: "Tongzhou has dozens of large granaries and dozens of warehouses of various materials. The power of Hehubu can't be transported in a month." After a pause, he said: "I ask the emperor to issue an order overnight to mobilize all the chariots and horses in the capital, and immediately send the army and civilians to Tongzhou. All the military supplies are transported back to the capital!"

"Why three days?" Zhu Gaochi asked in a deep voice.

"Because, within three days, Wang Xian will definitely not be able to reach Tongzhou!" Yang Rong said confidently.Zhuozhou is in the southwest of the capital, and Tongzhou is in the east of the capital. The straight-line distance is nearly [-] miles, and there is a Daxing defense line composed of tens of thousands of imperial troops in the middle... It was used to defend against Shandong. Although they don't expect them to stop Wang Xian, But it can be done by delaying him for a few days.

"How many soldiers and horses and civilian husbands do you need?" Zhu Gaochi nodded and asked again.

"We estimate that at least 20 civilians and [-] troops are needed to ensure both speed and safety." Yang Rong replied in a deep voice.

"20 civil servants?!" Zhu Gaochi gasped. There are less than 10 civil servants in the capital from all over the country to serve. Where will the rest be recruited?
"We can only let the people of the capital contribute! All families, regardless of status, men over the age of 14 and under the age of 60, must all be mobilized!" Yang Rong had already thought of a countermeasure, and immediately replied.

"Hey, that's the only way..." Zhu Gaochi sighed, what a catastrophe this is!

"Your Majesty, I'm going to start now!" Time waited for no one, Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi resigned immediately, and Zhu Zhanji couldn't care less about eating dumplings, and they left Qianqing Palace together.

In the deep palace, there was a sudden silence, Zhu Gaochi felt even more frightened and uneasy without the noise of the prince and the great scholar.The heavy burden in his heart aggravated his condition, and the sound of coughing kept echoing between the beams and pillars. Zhang Cheng hurriedly brought medicine to the emperor, and helped him get up and return to the dragon bed to rest.

Who knows that it doesn't matter if you can't get up, when you get up together, the emperor will feel dizzy for a while, and fainted all of a sudden...

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" In the palace, the hectic scene was staged again, "Emperor Physician, quickly send the Imperial Physician!"

(End of this chapter)