In May, the battlefield ahead was full of successes. Under the wise command of Commander Cui, Li Meng's fierce attacks were defeated several times, and the enemy did not even touch the gate of Zhenyu Pass. The emperor was very happy, and successively issued several holy decrees to reward the Cui family, and the ministers in the court praised Cui Yuhe for being young and promising, and there were successors to the old general Cui. All of a sudden, the Cui family was in the limelight. The emperor was happy, the nobles were also in the mood to have fun, and the whole Jing'an was immersed in a joyful atmosphere, as if to celebrate Jing'an's victory in advance.

However, in June, the tide changed. After another defeat caused the enemy to flee, he won a continuous victory for more than a month, and Commander Cui, who believed that the Limeng people were nothing more than this, ignored the strong opposition of Jiang Wu, the border guard, and ordered the division of troops to pursue. As soon as he gave an order, the city gate was opened, and the 50,000 Jing'an army, which had already been gearing up, was like a hungry wolf in the land of a rabbit, chasing those defeated Limeng people, and Commander Cui took the lead and personally led the troops to rush to the front.

Unexpectedly, this was Li Meng's trick to lure the troops. The army of 50,000 was led into the encirclement of the enemy by the defeated army, and not a single one of them returned alive; At the same time, another group of light cavalry hidden around the battlefield took advantage of the slow closing of the city gate and killed them with lightning speed. After easily killing the chaotic Jing'an defenders at the city gate and controlling the gate of Zhenyu Pass, the third group of Li Meng elite took advantage of this good opportunity to drive straight in, and Zhenyu Pass was lost.

In this defeat, Cui Yuhe died on the battlefield, Jing'an lost more than 80,000 troops, and after Zhenyuguan was taken by the enemy, the surviving generals fled with their soldiers, and are currently scattered in several small cities around Zhenyuguan.

Jiang Wu was seriously injured. After sending someone to send out the battle report first, he carried a plea of guilt and accompanied his family. Return to Beijing to plead guilty. And the unscathed Lu family's three-bedroom family is also among them.

In the Qiuhua Courtyard, after reading the news sent by Shen Ze, Zhihua's face was solemn, and a pair of apricot eyes gloomily seemed to be dripping water. Sure enough, what she feared most came true. This time, my uncle's appearance on the battlefield was far less brilliant than in his previous life. I don't know what kind of punishment His Majesty will give after he returns to Beijing.

"Mother Han, I'm bothering you to go to your uncle's mansion a few more times in the past few days. The house had not been inhabited by its master for many years, and there were not many slaves left behind. You find someone to buy some clever people to send them over, and buy anything else that is missing. I'm going to sort out some jewelry that I don't often wear every day, and if it's money, I don't have it. You can take these jewels as pawns. My uncle's family is already on their way back to Beijing. I can't help him with anything else, so I can only help him tidy up the house, and when they get home, they will have a hot meal to eat. ”

After Han's mother took the order and left, Zhihua rubbed her eyebrows tiredly, looked at the unknown direction and was stunned, and a trace of sorrow lingered on her face.

A few days later, the morning is upward.

The military department is still listed. He bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, Jiang Wu, the defeated minister, Lu Zhenbang, the commander of Lishui County, and the two family members have arrived in the capital yesterday. How to deal with it, please let your majesty decide. ”

As early as when he received the defeat report from the defeated generals everywhere at the same time, the emperor had already been furious, and now when he heard the performance of the military department, he was not as excited as he was at the beginning, he had a straight face, and he did not distinguish between joy and anger.

"Announce the people first, I will make a decision after asking about the situation in person."

"Guilty ministers Jiang Wu and Lu Zhenbang are here!"

With the high-pitched and loud voice of the chief eunuch, Jiang Wu and Lu Zhenyuan slowly walked into the Jinluan Palace.

"The criminal minister Jiang Wu (Lu Zhenbang) knocked on His Majesty, Long live."

"Hmph, long live, I'm about to become the king of the dead country, what else are you talking about!" The Emperor snorted coldly.

This is not an exaggeration, Zhenyuguan occupies the natural danger, it is the strongest gate in the southwest of Jing'an, and now after being conquered by the Limeng people, Jing'an, whose land is dominated by plains, is like a big girl who strips off her clothes, and can only let the Limeng people get up and down at will. If we cannot organize an effective resistance in the shortest possible time, the day of the country's demise is just around the corner.

Jiang Wu and Lu Zhenbang didn't dare to accept this, and kowtowed again.

In full view of everyone that day, Jiang Wu took the lead in blocking Cui Yuhe's pursuit, and the surviving generals invariably proved it in the report, and by the way, they also added themselves to the team of the blockers. The emperor knew that there was a lot of water in these reports, but now that the country was in danger, it was the time to employ people, so he acquiesced and no longer pursued it. Therefore, for Jiang Wu, a defeated general who actually did not have the slightest crime, he could only raise it high and put it down gently.

"Jiang Wu, the imperial doctor said that you are seriously injured, and even if you recover in the future, you will not be able to go to the battlefield again?"

"Hui Xià, it is true."

"Alas, although you are not able to resist the enemy this time, for the sake of your many years of guarding the border passes, I will remove you from your position in the army and let you spend the rest of your life at home."

"Minister, thank you!" As soon as this order came out, Jiang Wu's heart that had been hanging for many days finally let go. He is not afraid of death, the only thing he is afraid of is implicating his wife and children, and now he is only removed from his post, which is already the lightest result he imagined. For the rest of his life after the catastrophe, Jiang Wu had mixed feelings in his heart, and the seven-foot man who didn't frown when the sword slashed his body turned red at this moment.

"As for Lu Zhenbang, you are a civil official, this time the 300,000 army of Limeng came to attack on a large scale, you did not abandon the city and escaped, and fulfilled your duties as an official of the imperial court. In my opinion, not only are you not guilty, but you deserve a reward. I will make you a resident and stay in Beijing. ”

Lu Zhenbang didn't dare to think that he would get this kind of treatment, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he was stunned for a moment before kowtowing to thank him: "Your Majesty is Shengming, Weichen is Xie Majesty Longen!" ”

At this moment, he only had joy in his heart. Zhenyuguan is in the territory of Lishui, when the enemy army attacked, he even packed up the salute, and was about to abandon the city with his wife and children to flee for his life, it was Jiang Wu who sent people to keep an eye on him and pressure him to stay in Lishui to appease the people. After the loss of Zhenyu Pass, he gritted his teeth with hatred for Jiang Wuzeng, and now he is not only innocent, but also promoted to one level to stay in Jingzhong, and those hatreds will naturally disappear.

After Jiang Wu and Lu Zhenbang retreated, the court meeting continued.

"You Aiqing have discussed for a few days, and you can choose who will take over the position of commander?" This is the emperor's biggest headache and the most urgent problem at the moment.

This commander, if he does a good job, he will certainly rise to the top, but if he does not do it well, he will be a sinner who has lost the country. A group of generals you look at me, I look at you, just like a few days ago, still no one dares to stand up and ask for help.

But the civil official who stood up and spoke without backache spoke.

"Qi Xià, Wei Chen thinks that General Yun Lu can take on this important responsibility." The squire of the military department came out and played. He is a member of the Ministry of War, and he is responsible for recommending soldiers. The responsibility is to be the first to speak out. "General Yunlu is in the prime of life, with profound qualifications, and he is in charge of the army, which is exactly what everyone expects."

All the ministers of the DPRK and China looked at General Yun Lu, who was named, with different eyes, some gloating, some secretly rejoicing, some sympathetic, and some worried.

General Yunlu, who was in the spotlight, turned pale for a moment. The so-called profound qualifications are not an exaggeration, after three years of Pingxi, there was a great drought in Qianzhou, and mountain bandits were rampant. And this General Yunlu was the one who led his troops to suppress 80,000 bandits and quell the local riots. But in fact, only he knows how many of these 80,000 mountain bandits are innocent people who were killed in vain to earn military merits.

is this kind of person, let him lead the troops to fight the ferocious Li Meng barbarian, even if His Majesty can rest assured, he himself does not have the courage.

So, General Yun Lu stiffened his head and refused politely: "Weichen...... Wechen has never fought with the Limeng people, and he has never commanded so many troops, Wechen is really not enough, it is difficult to take on a big responsibility, and he also asks His Majesty to choose another meritocracy. ”

After saying this in a cold sweat, General Yun Lu secretly gritted his teeth, holding a grudge against the culprit who pushed him out.

The emperor didn't seem surprised by this ending, a sneer pulled out at the corner of his mouth, and said meaninglessly: "Since General Yunlu is not competent, let's choose another person." The country is about to die, and he thinks he doesn't have the ability to say it as soon as possible, just like him, so as to save himself from harming the country and himself. ”

A group of generals bowed their heads and made quail shapes, for fear that the next unlucky person to be named would be themselves.

In fact, it is not for nothing that these generals in Jing'an are so useless now.

In those days, although a small group of stragglers came to Jing'an every year to loot property, they were unable to raise troops on a large scale. Over the years, Jing'an has really lived too peacefully, only the soldiers who fight with the Limeng people every year at the border pass still retain the blood of martial arts, and these military attaches who sit firmly on the court, in addition to the shadow of the family, there is only General Yunlu who is indiscriminate.

After the emperor finished speaking, the court meeting was silent. The civil officials no longer run out to recommend people indiscriminately, in case people refuse, not only can they not win the favor of His Majesty, but also rely on white enemies, why bother.

At this moment, an old voice sounded: "Your Majesty, the minister is willing to invite himself to lead the troops to resist the enemy." (To be continued.) )