On the third day after the feast, Tunyugu and Ashina were about to return to the Turks, and they were recalled by the Turkic Khan Mosi.

When Tun Desire Valley and Ashina Jingliu said goodbye to Sun Wanrong, Sun Wanrong suddenly remembered what Li Qianzhong said to him three days ago, and he couldn't help but be vigilant in his heart: Could it be that the Turks really didn't have any good intentions.

Although he thought so in his heart, Sun Wanrong still wanted Tun Desire Valley to try his best to persuade the Mosi Khan to help the Khitan as much as possible and deal with the Great Zhou together.

Knowing Sun Wanrong's concerns, Tunyugu patted his chest and assured him that he would definitely persuade Mo Si Khan to help the Khitan with all his might.

Sun Wanrong was very generous, and gave three cars of gifts to Tun Desire Valley, and after the two sides said goodbye, Tun Desire Valley and Ashina Jingliu embarked on the way home.

As soon as Tunyugu left, Mr. Wang came to Sun Wanrong and asked him to guard against some Turks.

Although Sun Wanrong still thought that the Turks had no reason to go to the Great Zhou and not help the Khitan, Li Quanzhong and Mr. Wang both mentioned that they should beware of the Khitan, which made him have to pay attention to this matter.

After repeated thinking, Sun Wanrong finally decided that his brother-in-law Yi Yiyu would build a new city in a dangerous place four hundred miles northwest of Yingzhou City, and in the future, he would settle the old and weak women and equipment and baggage in the new city, and let Yi Yiyu lead 5,000 soldiers to live in the new city.

……

"Rubbish!" In the Xuanzheng Palace, although Wu Zetian's voice was not high, it contained anger and penetrated the eaves of the hall.

On the counterinsurgency of the Khitan, Wu Zetian was very concerned and relieved. In her opinion, as soon as the imperial army arrived, the Khitan rebels would be wiped out, and she had sent twenty-eight generals to ......

But in the end, the news of the defeat came, and for a while, she was a little incredulous. After a moment of astonishment, anger arose spontaneously and could not be stopped.

Lu Xiaoxian has always believed that this battle will be lost, and Wu Zetian has not heard such a judgment from Lu Xiaoxian, although he has some mental preparations. But when she heard the news of the defeat, she still couldn't hold back the anger in her heart.

The emperor was angry, and the attendants in the palace were also worried, burying their heads deeply, fearing that they would suffer.

"More than 100,000 troops, the main general was captured, and the officers and soldiers fled, it is simply unreasonable! Zhang Xuanyu and Cao Renshi are vain called generals, and the crude tricks of the Khitan people can't see through them, and they actually fall into their traps, hateful, hateful! There was a cold glint in his eyes, and Wu Zetian was indignant.

"Zhang, Cao, and Ma, they still have the face to come back!" Wu Zetian's voice became colder and colder.

After Sun Wanrong returned to Yingzhou City, he released Zhang Xuanyu, Cao Renshi, Ma Renjie and others. Several people returned to Youzhou after a lot of hardships, like lost dogs, where they waited for the imperial decree with Li Duozuo and others.

"I sent all the generals, I wanted them to work together, calm the border troubles, and pacify the eastern ......" said and slammed the military newspaper in his hand on the imperial case, "Delay and do not advance, suspicion left and right, and arrogance of the enemy...... These are the generals of my Great Zhou, it's really chilling! ”

Wu Zetian's words almost knocked over a boatload of people, and sure enough, all the generals, including Li Duozuo, were angry.

Di Renjie, Wu Sansi, Ji Ji and other ministers were all there, listening to the emperor's anger.

Wu San Sigong restrained his body, facing the angry emperor, and did not dare to speak for the time being. There was both fear and a sense of happiness in his heart, he was very active in asking Ying to go on the expedition, wanting to brush up on a wave of seniority and prestige, and by the way, get involved in the army. However, now it seems that the Yingzhou rebellion did not think about it

It's so calm. If Lu Xiaoxian hadn't stopped it in time, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to carry this black cauldron......

Several old ministers glanced at each other a few times, and Di Ren was still prominent, and calmly persuaded Wu Zetian: "Your Majesty, please take a break from the wrath of the thunder, the matter has come to this, how to deal with the defeat is the matter of urgency!" ”

Wu Zetian treated Di Renjie differently, and after listening to his words, his emotions slowly calmed down. looked at Di Renjie, the calmness on his fat face always brought people a sense of reassurance.

yes, the sky hasn't fallen yet!

"Twenty-eight generals, what a twenty-eight jokes!" With a low voice, he continued to reprimand, and after a little muttering, Wu Zetian added: "Fortunately, the rear army has no losses, if there is no ...... Li Duozuo, Guo Zhen and Chen Xuanli did not disappoint me......"

Even if there is no battle report, Wu Zetian can guess that the rear army can be preserved in the end, and it must be Lu Xiaoxian who played a role in it.

In the secret report between Zhang Shuo and Yang Si, the process of Lu Xiaoxian's efforts to turn the tide and save the rear army from annihilation was written in great detail, which was the only highlight in this battle.

In what she said just now, she originally wanted to reward Lu Xiaoxian, but when it came to her mouth, she omitted Lu Xiaoxian's name again.

Seeing that Wu Zetian's anger had been controlled, the ministers in the palace were slightly relieved, and His Majesty was full of power, and their days were always not easy.

"Elder Di Ge, in your opinion, how should the imperial court deal with this defeat?" Looking at Di Renjie, Wu Zetian asked.

When Lu Xiaoxian returned to Luoyang, they discussed and stopped, and they already had a draft in their hearts, and without thinking about it, Di Renjie arched his hand and said slowly: "Your Majesty, once Huangzhang Valley is defeated, the rebellion of the Khitan cannot be eliminated suddenly. At present, the weather is getting colder, and it is not convenient to fight. Now it is necessary to mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to Youzhou, and it is inconvenient to transport ordnance and baggage! ”

"Just tell me, what do you think?" Wu Zetian said impatiently.

"Mo Ruo temporarily withdrew his troops, and the border state passes were mainly fortified, recuperating and restoring morale. In the spring of the next year, take advantage of the weakness of the Khitan after suffering from ice and snow, and then march to the army, and destroy the Khitan rebels in one fell swoop with great momentum......"

Di Renjie's words are very sincere, and they belong to the words of the old man seeking the country.

Hearing this, Wu Zetian thought for a moment and seemed to have listened to it, but he still couldn't help muttering: "It takes so long?" ”

Waving his hand to stop Di Renjie, who was still about to say something, Wu Zetian said with a cold expression: "In this case, the counterinsurgency matter must be adjusted well." Especially in terms of employment......"

Wu Zetian was dissatisfied with the war, and listened to its meaning, he was about to wield a big stick.

Several ministers basically understood Wu Zetian's meaning, but no one dared to express their opinions rashly.

Di Renjie's mind moved slightly, Wu Zetian had a lot of problems with the arrangement before, and he had to adjust, at least the coach had to be clarified. However, with Wu Zetian's mentality, how to adjust, Di Renjie did not dare to have expectations in his heart.

Sure enough, Wu Zetian had no intention of letting the minister express his opinion again.

The ending of the defeat of Huangzhang Valley made Wu Zetian finally realize that Lu Xiaoxian's words were not alarmist, and the rebellion of the Khitans was different from what she imagined. Wu Zetian knew that some of Lu Xiaoxian's arrangements had to be implemented at this moment.

Wu Zetian directly opened his mouth and decreed: "Zhang Xuanyu, Cao Renshi, and Ma Renjie are dead, the crime is unforgivable, the car is returned to the gods and imprisoned, and the three divisions discuss the crime; Yan Bandit Shi and Zong Huaichang did not observe the enemy's situation, lost their troops and lost their generals, and they were abolished

for the people; Li Duozuo and Chen Xuanli recalled and continued to be retained! Well, Guo Zhen was transferred to the Ministry of Rites and the guest Si Langzhong, and asked him to send an envoy to Tubo to negotiate the signing of a contract with Zampu! ”

Wu Zetian's decision made several people in the hall slightly shocked, and even Wu Sansi was very shocked. He completely overthrew the previous use of troops and sent generals, and did not even give him the opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

The rear army escorted the heavy generals to be spared, Li Duozuo and Chen Xuanli continued to retain their original positions, and Guo Zhen turned around and went back to be his host and guest.

"Your Majesty, in this way, how should the situation in Yingzhou be cleaned up?" Ji asked cautiously, in fact, a reminder.

Wu Zetian didn't think twice about it, and said her plan: "Move Wang Xiaojie to be the head of the Qingbian Road march, and Su Honghui, the general of Yulinwei, to be the deputy commander, to take charge of the defense of the five states of You, Fu, Tan, Ji, and Ping. In addition, the edict conscripted the prisoners of the world and the brave slaves of the people to fill the army, and waited for the opening of the spring to lead the army of 100,000 to conquer the Khitan. ”

The ministers couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this, Wu Zetian was ingenious. Prisoners and private slaves throughout the country were released as long as they were physically fit and courageous, and the slaves were redeemed at official expense and sent to serve in the army. At the same time, the border states organize their own civilian self-defense forces for self-protection.

Not to mention whether a defeat really led to a national strain, the fighting ability of the prisoners and slaves alone is quite questionable. The total population of the Khitan is only more than 100,000, and even fewer can be put into battle, as long as there is an equal number of elite soldiers, supplemented by powerful generals and commanders, it is enough. Such a decision is clearly a bit of a fuss, and it is completely self-frightened.

Glancing at Ji Ji, Di Renjie pressed the thoughts in his heart and bowed his head to obey.

Di Renjie can not speak, but Ji Ji can't help but speak.

At the beginning, Ji Ji made a bet with Lu Xiaoxian, he thought that he would never lose, how could His Majesty issue such a ridiculous edict?

Now he was a little dumbfounded, Lu Xiaoxian's prediction had really come true.

Ji Ji was about to dissuade Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian could not object, and waved his hand directly: "Feng Ge plans to edict, Luantai will approve it, and issue it as soon as possible!" ”

After the court meeting, Ji Ji and Di Renjie both walked behind, and after the ministers left, the two chatted while walking.

"Elder Di Ge, you said that Lu Gongzi is not a fortune teller, how did he know that His Majesty would definitely issue such an edict?"

When he said this, Ji Ji looked depressed. It's impossible to happen, but it's really happening, and it's too weird.

Di Renjie smiled: "I don't know if he is a fortune teller, I never bet with him, but one thing I know is that I will definitely lose if I bet with him." Don't say I didn't persuade you at the beginning, even if I did, you wouldn't listen! ”

Ji Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head, Di Renjie was right, the situation at that time, it was useless for anyone to persuade him.

"Isn't it just a bet lost?" Di Renjie said with a mysterious expression, "Have you forgotten the original intention of Lu Gongzi to bet with you?" ”

Ji Ji reacted at this time and said in surprise: "Lu Gongzi said that he might want to return to Luoyang, is this true?" ”

"What do you think?" Di Renjie asked rhetorically.

"Ugh! That's a good thing, even if you lose the bet, it's worth it! ”

"Then go according to the plan, you should know what to do!"

……