In the middle of November, the atmosphere in Fengxiang Mansion in Shaanxi Province became extremely solemn, and the Qing army gathered like flowing water, and the long line could not see the head at all, and the overwhelming flag seemed to carry the wind and thunder, sweeping the whole land, and almost no one knew how many people there were in this Qing army, and they did not know how long that team was.

The people of Fengxiang Mansion looked at the arrival of the Qing army brigade, and did not dare to go out at all, but only dared to look at everything outside through the crack in the door of their home, until a banner like a flame appeared in the team, with the word "year" written on it, so that everyone understood, it turned out to be the general of Fuyuan, Nian Qianyao.

Everyone looked at a large number of official plaques decorated behind the flag, with the words "General Fuyuan" and "Shangshu of the Military Department" written on them, and they went towards the official office surrounded by a group of soldiers, and they looked extremely majestic along the way.

"The general has returned to Shaanxi?"

"It's good to come back this time, the traitors in the east are too arrogant!"

"God, I'm afraid I'm going to kill the world upside down this time, look at the soldiers up and down, which one is not a murderous demon king?"

The news of General Nian's entry into Fengxiang spread throughout the city in an instant, and the people were shocked and frightened, after all, this east is the rebel thief of the White Lotus Sect, and now Nian Qianyao came to Fengxiang with the northwest army, and he must have fought to the death with the other party, but for the people, it was a big military disaster.

Because the general of Xi'an and the large and small officials of Shaanxi all died in Xi'an City, so when Tang Yao entered the palace, only Wu Yuzhang, the prefect of Fengxiang, led his subordinate officials to greet him, but the scene looked a little lonely and lonely.

"Wu Yuzhang, the prefect of Xiaguan Fengxiang, has seen the general, but he didn't know that the general's soldiers had arrived, and the general didn't have time to greet him, and asked the general to forgive him."

Wu Yuzhang was born on the right path, and he worked hard step by step to climb to the position of Fengxiang prefect, and he was not interested in Nian Qianyao's luck, so this remark was naturally insincere, and he didn't want to meet this murderous general at all.

Nian Qianyao sat in the sedan chair, and after hearing Wu Yuzhang's words, the anger in his heart rose instantly, but when he stepped out of the sedan chair, he changed his kind look.

"It doesn't matter, Lord Wu has been able to hold on to the land of Fengxiang so far, and it is quite extraordinary to think about it, it doesn't matter if you welcome it or not, after all, the official affairs of the imperial court are more important."

"The general is sympathetic to the difficulties of the lower officials, and the lower officials are grateful, and the government has prepared wine and food, and invited the general to have a banquet together." Wu Yuzhang didn't have any expression on his face, so he began to lead the way in front.

Fengxiang Mansion is the border of Shaanxi and Gansu, and it has always been poor, so even the government has only been simply renovated, and it does not look atmospheric, but it looks a little simple. However, the Northwest Army was originally hard, so everyone didn't care, and after a polite meal, they then entered the table together.

It's just that after the wine and food came up, it made everyone look at each other, but the people in Fengxiang Mansion smiled bitterly and shook their heads, while Wu Yuzhang, the prefect of Fengxiang, was expressionless - it turned out that the wine and food that came up were not big fish and meat, and even looked a little shabby, a pot of tofu on each table, two plates of pickles and a pot of sweet potatoes, as for the wine, it was all muddy village wine, which made people not even interested in taking a look.

Nian Qianyao's face sank, he no longer had the slightest tolerance for Wu Yuzhang, and sneered: "The army came to Fengxiang, is it possible to use this to entertain the soldiers?" After finishing speaking, the chopsticks were slapped on the table, which frightened the officials of Fengxiang Mansion, and the other generals of the Northwest Army also had gloomy faces, and their hands were pressed on the hilt of the knife.

The entire mansion became quiet, and even everyone didn't dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of attracting the wrath of thunder, but Wu Yuzhang, who was out of the eye of the storm, slowly picked up a piece of tofu, put it in his mouth and chewed, and closed his eyes, as if he was tasting some supreme delicacy.

After a long time, Wu Yuzhang let out a long sigh, "General, it is indeed slow for the lower officials to entertain the general with this thing, but for the people of the whole city, this thing has become a supreme delicacy......"

"Feng Xiang, there is no food!"

Wu Yuzhang's sentence seemed to drop a stone on the calm lake, breaking this very tacit sense of tranquility, and no one could pretend to be dead anymore, because Wu Yuzhang's sentence had revealed the most painful truth, that is, staying in Fengxiang had become a dead end.

Nian Qianyao glanced at Wu Yuzhang deeply, and then asked in a condensed voice, "Where is the official food?" ”

"Year after year, year after year, there is no more grain and grass to import, and the food is naturally gone."

"Where's the official food?"

"The official rations have become empty warehouses, but only the heads of the lower officials can be lent to the generals to calm the hearts of the army."

"Good! Come on, drag it down and cut it down, and show it to the public! ”

The tone of Nian Qianyao's voice almost did not change, he said this sentence very calmly, and then two guards took the stable Wu Yuzhang down, and after a while, the head containing Wu Yuzhang was presented for inspection.

A prefect from the fourth grade, just like that, kill and kill, and even whether it is the murderer or the killed, no one seems to have expressed any objections, as if killing has become a foregone conclusion.

That's right, this is indeed a foregone conclusion, because there is no food in the city, but the war is urgent, Nian Qianyao can't manage so much, once the soldiers' grievances rise, I'm afraid that there will be no chance to explain anything, they will try their best to burn, kill and loot, and find a way to loot the last bit of food stored by the people, and at that time, the people are afraid that there is really no way to live.

Wu Yuzhang saw it very clearly, he used the head of a prefect to tell everyone that there was no food, don't think about it.

Nian Qianyao could understand what he meant, but the current situation had no room for maneuver for him, because he was now leading a tired army of less than 100,000, and the rebels were holding more than 100,000 people in Xi'an, although among these hundreds of thousands of people, only 10,000 or 20,000 people could fight, but he was the same.

If it was Nian Qianyao's own idea, he would rather stay in Gansu, recuperate well, wait until the army has developed morale and physical strength, and then wait for the opportunity to enter Shaanxi to fight with the White Lotus Sect, but the problem is that Yongzheng in Beijing can no longer bear it.

Because the current situation is obvious, the White Lotus Sect is absolutely impossible to fight with Ning Chu in the south at the moment, so it can only develop to the north, and for the White Lotus Sect, it is a very tempting choice to enter Shanxi from Shaanxi, because it means that once Shanxi is taken, it can advance eastward to the capital city and take the lead in realizing the intention of the Northern Expedition.

But don't underestimate this intention, because once you can take the Jingshi, it means that the White Lotus Sect will take the lead in completing the great cause of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains than Ning Chu, and it will have the upper hand in the general sense.

Everyone can see it, Yongzheng can naturally see it, on the one hand, he wants to keep Shanxi as a barrier to Beijing, on the other hand, he also expects Shanxi to get a sum of silver, in order to develop the new army, calm the internal troubles, so no matter what, he will not let the White Lotus Sect go north, but after the first battle of Xi'an, the military strength of the Qing court in the northwest is only Nian Qianyao's northwest army.

Therefore, Yongzheng also gave Nian Qianyao a decree that the righteous army should be left south of the Yellow River at all costs, and it must not be allowed to cross the Yellow River.

What does it mean to do whatever it takes? That is, even if he dies at a young age, he can't magnify the righteous army crossing the Yellow River.

Nian Qianyao got such a will, which means that there is no way to retreat, just like Sun Chuanting, who was forced out of Tongguan back then, he has to fight if he can fight, and he has to fight if he can't.

Kill Wu Yuzhang, this banquet will naturally not be able to eat, Nian Qianyao has no such thoughts, he directly went back to the palace, so that people posted notices inside and outside the city, to the effect that "the prefect Wu Yuzhang is greedy for military rations, and the crime should be judged to death, and his crimes are difficult to write", whether it is true or not, it doesn't matter, because he has no other good way to do it.

After dealing with all this, Nian Qianyao began to write the fold he presented to the emperor, but he didn't feel much about how to write, and he had to sigh at the moment, so he had to put aside his pen for a while, and at this time, the guards around him came in to tell the good news, that is, Hu Qiheng, the chief staff member of his account, had arrived.

Hu Qiheng is not an ordinary character, in the early years was just a small person, although he had to be awarded the classics of the Hanlin Academy, but basically all his life, and then met Nian Qianyao, became his staff, planned for his counselor, won the trust of Nian Qianyao, and after cooking the beginning and tail for Nian Qianyao in Gansu, he also went to Fengxiang Mansion.

The two reunited after a long absence, and Nian Qianyao asked people to buy wine and food in the army, and washed the dust for Hu Qiheng, and after some politeness, he talked about Wu Yuzhang.

Hu Qiheng shook his head helplessly, "Now that the general is in a dilemma, he doesn't want someone to ask for his life, it's really hateful. ”

Nian Qianyao said angrily: "If it weren't for the urging of the imperial court, how could I be willing to bring these 100,000 tired soldiers to Fengxiang to fight such an unknown battle, but if I don't fight again, I'm afraid that the prisoner car escorting me will also be on the way!" ”

The words were vented out of Nian Qianyao's full of complaints, but Hu Qiheng's heart was shocked when he heard it, he found that he didn't know when, the gap between the general and the emperor became so deep, I am afraid that once this continues, this crime of killing the head is close at hand!

"The general is cautious! How can these remarks be said, and if they reach the ears of the emperor, how should the general deal with himself? ”

Nian Qianyao drank all the wine in the cup, and then wiped the wine stained on his beard, and then said in a low voice: "Yuan Fang, is it possible that you haven't understood it now?" Right now, it's either someone else is forcing me, or the emperor is forcing me! ”

Speaking of which, just a few months ago, the success of the Qinghai war, made Yongzheng overjoyed, he not only rewarded Yue Zhongqi, the minister of the first merit, but also did not forget that Nian Qianyao, the general, had been awarded the third-class duke and the second-class duke because of the military merits of pacifying Tibet and pacifying the Guo Luoke Rebellion, and this time he was promoted to the first-class merit, and his father was named the first-class duke, plus the title of Taifu, this kind of glory is also unprecedented.

But the prosperity is declining, Yongzheng rewarded Nian Qianyao at the same time, and his vigilance is also increasing day by day, because at this time Nian Qianyao is not only in charge of military affairs, but even makes remarks on the government, and even the important appointment of the original Shaanxi governor to be transferred to the military department has to consult Nian Qianyao's opinion, how can this make the emperor feel at ease?

Of course, in this process, Yongzheng himself is also the mainstream, and even requires all generations to remember Nian Qianyao's great achievements, "Not only do I rely on my family to reward, but my descendants and subjects of the world should be pleased." If you have a little negative heart, you are not a descendant of me; If you have a slight disagreement, you are not a subject of our court. This also made Nian Qianyao more and more arrogant.

Hu Qiheng is good at controlling people's hearts, he understands that General Nian at this time can't make a single mistake, but if he makes another mistake, I'm afraid that the court will want General Nian to die.

"General! This battle must not be fought, and we should return to Gansu immediately......"

Nian Qianyao is not a stupid person, he has roughly understood the other party's thoughts through Hu Qiheng's face, but this is not what Nian Qianyao really wants, his expression is a little unpredictable.

"After all, the emperor is as kind to me as a mountain, how can I support my troops and respect myself in times of crisis?"

Hu Qiheng shook his head, he stared at Nian Qianyao and said bitterly: "General, don't you understand it now?" There are only two ways left for you now, either you have a real fight with the Great Righteous Army, exhaust the troops in your hands, and then bind yourself to the emperor, maybe you can escape with your life, or you can immediately support the army and stand on your own, if the general does not choose either way, otherwise the consequences of the general are unpredictable. ”

"Yuan Fang, I don't understand what you mean?" Nian Qianyao sighed, "The emperor is really not thin on me, needless to say high-ranking officials, but this value alone makes me insurmountable......"

For Nian Qianyao, Yongzheng's trust and value for him is unique, although his life style is extremely luxurious, arrogant and domineering, but he never thought of betraying Emperor Yongzheng, the so-called Shi is a confidant who dies, he has always had a sincere heart for Yongzheng.

Hu Qiheng often sighed, "I know that the general is a person, and it is not surprising that he can make such a decision, but if the general refuses to do this, he can only fight this battle, not only to win, but also to ask the emperor to resign from the army immediately after winning, otherwise the disaster of death will come!" ”

"But....... The morale of the army is low, and the grain and grass are even more unsustainable, and if you are in a hurry to seek a decisive battle at this time, I am afraid that the chances of victory are not high. Nian Qianyao shook his head, "This battle still has to be considered in the long run, otherwise once you lose, the general trend will be gone." ”

Hu Qiheng did not have the slightest expression on his face, his fingers were stained with wine, and he wrote a big word 'kill' on the table, and then said an extremely cruel plan word by word.

"Tu Fengxiang, you can calculate the salary and rations of the army."