Dao Fruit

Snap!

Li Kun smashed the memorial in his hand on the ground and stood up. It seemed that this was the only way to calm the anger in his chest. =

"Okay! Okay! Okay! What a good Hu Bin. He gave up my army of 100,000 men and turned into thieves himself. He is so loyal. He is such a brave uncle. He has done a good job. I...I... …I……"

Li Kun was furious, but as he spoke, a flash of blood suddenly appeared on his haggard and pale face, and his feet became unsteady, and he suddenly collapsed on the dragon chair!

"His Majesty!"

"emperor!"

At this moment, all the ministers of His Majesty's rank were shocked. They all shouted hurriedly. If it was not restricted by etiquette, they might all rush to help him.

"It's okay, it's okay..." Li Kun froze on the dragon chair for two or three breaths. His eyes were black, his limbs were weak, and his heart was palpitating. He knew that he could not continue for the time being, so he just waved his hands.

On the side, Eunuch Wei was anxious. He turned his eyes and urged the court. The ministers also knew how to advance and retreat. Although the state was critical, the emperor was physically inconvenient and could not hold on. What's more, there was still the Political Affairs Hall and the Privy Council who could make decisions. Naturally, he retreated.

However, after the court, the discussions in the court and the emperor's performance spread immediately, and there was even an undercurrent in the city, thinking that half of the country would be in trouble.

However, because the channels for the news to spread are still under control, the public has not been affected too much. However, there are officials and subordinates in the large and small yamen in the capital talking about it privately.

"We finally managed to calm down the disaster in the north, and we were about to enter a peaceful and prosperous era. However, the south suddenly turned against us. No wonder the emperor was angry."

"Isn't that true? But what on earth is going on with the officials in Lingnan? They are actually getting mixed up with a demonic sect like the White Lotus Sect. This sect is mysterious, but it is not the right way, and it is consistent with it. What can be done? This is not the case. Destroy your own future?”

"If so many officials hadn't surrendered, how could the White Lotus Sect's methods have affected half of the country?"

"At this time, the two provinces in the south have been completely ruined, and the camps along the river have been destroyed. Even nobles like Hu Bin have rebelled. It is estimated that the transfer of the Northern Army to the south is imminent. When the grasslands are pacified, As soon as the elite army of the White Lotus Sect arrives, they will probably be beaten back to their original form."

"But that's not necessarily the case. This thing is too weird. I heard someone say that it was the demonic practices of the White Lotus Sect that made the court officials surrender. Otherwise, it would be too weird. Even people like Hu Bin would betray the court. His whole family But they were all in the capital. There must be a reason why the whole family was slaughtered just because of the emperor's thoughts, and although the camp along the river was not as elite as the Northern Army, it was so badly defeated that even the commander's tent was raided in Chengdu. , it can be seen that there are people in the White Lotus Sect who know how to fight."

"That's right. And you are not on the front line, so you don't know about some trivial things. I heard my brother talk about it a while ago. He said that the Northern Army now has many arrogant soldiers, and several major military commanders are seriously competing with each other for credit, and even..."

"Don't talk about this yet. Let's not talk about these things, because those people above will not tell the emperor."

"Speaking of the emperor, I heard at the court meeting today that the emperor had a recurrence of his old illness and fainted in court. I don't know whether it is true or not. Brother Zhang, you also went to court today. Can you tell us?"

"It is a crime to talk about an official behind his back. If I say it, you must keep it a secret. In fact, this is a rumor. Although the official was in poor health at the time, it can be seen at a glance, but he did not faint."

"Well, it's not easy for officials. After quelling the northern troubles, the momentum of those people and the people in the swamp was suppressed. They opened up the territory and promoted the prestige of our country. It was a prosperous age when people from all over the world came to visit us. As a result, there was a lot of trouble. After such a thing, leave your name..."

"Forbidden, can these words be spoken casually?"

…

Conversations like this appeared everywhere in the imperial court in the capital, accompanying the changes in people's hearts.

However, even though the momentum of the White Lotus Sect seems to be unparalleled for a while, and the country in the south is affected, not many people think that this sect can succeed. In the eyes of the officials and people in the capital, this is just a slightly larger rebellion. Even if It will last for a long time, but it will eventually be extinguished by the court.

But, after all, someone still has to worry.

After the disbandment of the dynasty, not long after, several prime ministers were invited to the imperial study room in the palace to discuss countermeasures with the emperor.

"I know that you should be angry with each other, and you should have some countermeasures. Speak out and let me listen." Li Kun was sitting on a chair, his face was still a little pale, and there was a half-drunk soup on the table. , looking at the several prime ministers in front of him, he spoke softly, looking weak.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body."

When several important ministers saw this scene, they quickly advised him.

"Now is not the time. If something like this happens, if I don't care about it, even if I can maintain my health, I won't be safe." Li Kun shook his head, his eyes falling on Xu Yingyi's face, "However, when the matter has reached this point, it can no longer happen. If you are appeasing at all, don’t use any excuses. If you want to talk about it, just talk about how to quell chaos and rebellion.”

Rebellion refers to the rebellion of the White Lotus Sect, and rebellion refers to the rebellion between Lingnan and many officials and generals.

Judging from this sentence, the emperor wants to divide the matter into two sides, but he must wait until it really calms down before he can start. What he needs to do now is to deal with the crisis.

"yes."

Several ministers exchanged glances, and then Wang Jing came forward. As the Privy Councilor, his narration had already shown the attitude of the governors.

"I and others feel that the two most elite armies from the north should be mobilized to fight against the rebels..."

After that, Wang Jing briefly described the countermeasures they discussed. One of the key points was to characterize the rebellion. The purpose of this characterization was actually to show merit.

The army of this era had almost no faith at all. They only served as soldiers to feed themselves. This was also the reason why the rebellion in the south was able to absorb soldiers from several major military towns.

To bring the Northern Army over, if you want to use their combat power and make the generals and soldiers pay attention, you must give them benefits. For the soldiers, this benefit is military merit.

However, in terms of merit, this rebellion cannot be compared with the expansion of territory. The troops that were mobilized must have been unwilling to do so. They had to use the court's characterization to improve the status of the matter and make the merit greater. , in order to balance the minds of the mobilized troops——

This does not mean that the army that is mobilized at will will not do its best. In peacetime, it is no problem. But now that the fruits of the national war have not been harvested, who would be willing to put down the risk-free achievements at hand and do risky things?

If it is a relatively peaceful time, people will be snatched away for quelling the chaos. A little credit, after being radiated through layers of radiation and reported to the court, will become a great achievement, and it will even leave a record of martial arts as the emperor's merits.

But in the eyes of an emperor like Li Kun who expanded his territory, putting down the rebellion was not only not a merit, but also a discredit for him. Of course, he did not want to make a big splash, let alone improve his status.

Therefore, the suggestions of several prime ministers fell in his eyes, but the emperor was very unhappy: "The rebellion of demons, what kind of big thing can it make the generals not pay enough attention? However, you can say this, and the evidence can see that this The people from the White Lotus Sect are not good. If we don’t take them seriously, I’m afraid there will be recurrences. We really need to let the elites pay attention, so..."

When Li Kun said this, he suddenly made a decision.

"I have decided to lead the expedition myself!"

………………

On the other side, the White Lotus Sect's army has swelled.

After gathering nearly 100,000 imperial troops from the original 50,000, the number increased dramatically.

However, the troops that were temporarily absorbed are not direct lineage, and generally speaking, their loyalty is not ideal. Even if the White Lotus Sect has a method that can be used to restrain the surrendered troops, it will not be able to form combat power in a short period of time.

However, this team is of certain help in maintaining law and order in the areas occupied by the White Lotus Sect. The White Lotus Sect's general Zhao Hong has already begun to divide the troops and plans to disperse the surrendered troops into several cities and rearrange them after they are disrupted. While maintaining law and order, it also weakens the original institutions and affiliations.

After finishing all this, Zhao Hong remembered something and asked, "How's it going with Hu Bin?"

Then a cold voice replied: "He is still in the process of indoctrination, and he is quite determined. He has already used ten mind-confusing talismans, but he is still not completely confused. He can still distinguish illusion from reality, and has the ability to judge and analyze." It has not been completely reversed, and it is still able to recognize people. It is estimated that it will take a few more to distort the person's senses. "

Zhao Hong nodded and said: "Of course, Hu Bin is very capable. If we hadn't taken a risk this time, we might not have been able to catch him. For him, spending a few mind-confusing talismans is considered a good thing." It’s normal, don’t feel sorry for it, just let the people below do it.”

"yes."

At this time, Zhao Hong looked at the roster in front of him and said with a smile: "Once we have established a foothold here, we can plan to continue going north. However, no matter what, most of the south is ours." Once Hu Bin is gone, there will no longer be a military force comparable to our White Lotus Sect in Jiangnan Dao and Lingnan Dao!"

After saying this, he raised his hand and made a gesture of grabbing something in his hand.

"The south is already within our grasp!"

………………

"Bachelor, after climbing over the mountain ahead, we will reach the river."

At the same time, an inconspicuous-looking team was slowly approaching the river.

This team has a large number of people and a division of labor. If placed anywhere, it can be considered a large number of people. The reason why it is still described as "small" is because it is compared to the other army along the river. , compared with the White Lotus Sect's "Northern Expedition" army, this army of only 5,000 people was really lackluster.

However, no one could have imagined what kind of mark this 5,000-strong army, which was not formally established in the Da Rui Army, would leave in history. (To be continued...)

ps: Thank you to "Love Picking Bones", "Daofei Fei", "Listening to Yusong", "Zhahua Jiese", and "~Aze~" for their monthly votes!