In the spring of the second year of Zhengming, Xiao Yin, the new emperor of the Great Liang, ascended the throne, and the regime of the Great Liang alternated. Far away in the south, when Emperor Wu of Chu took advantage of the unstable government of the Liang Dynasty and the major reform of the military generals of the Chinese courtiers in the DPRK, the combined forces of Chu and Wu sent troops to the border of Daliang, and the Chu army took three cities in a row, and the Changfeng army occasionally won several small victories.

At the junction of Liang and Wu, the state of Wu exerted the strength of the whole country, and the army of water and land amounted to 100,000 people. Li Shanhai, the governor of the Huizhou naval army, was ordered to build a strong water defense line with thousands of warships, so that the Chu army was connected and the Wu army was blocked in Miting Lake. Li Shanhai and the Huizhou general Li Tingye did not get the will of the imperial court, and decided to rebuild the Dongjing defense line with both naval and land armies. Since the establishment of the naval army in Huizhou, Li Shanhai has not tasted a single defeat, and the Eastern Wu naval division has never had a ship enter the territory of Daliang.

Li Tingye is the contemporary head of the Li family in Huizhou, but he is already in his thirties and has a history of Huizhou assassination, and the new emperor ascended the throne to receive the rank of general of Huizhou. More than ten years ago, with the support of his aunt and the current empress dowager, the Li family of Huizhou was deprived of military power, making the once powerful family Li a joke of the four great families of the Great Liang.

The two armies were combined into one side, and the 100,000 Dongwu naval army blocked out of Huizhou, the Dongwu cavalry went all the way north, and Li Tingye personally led 50,000 infantry to the south for a decisive battle. In the face of the fierce offensive of Eastern Wu, the imperial court was trapped in Linzi City without will, without reinforcements, and without baggage. The Eastern Wu Navy Division insisted on attacking and forced Li Shanhai, the governor of the naval army, to fight a decisive battle with Miting Lake. Li Shanhai vetoed a decisive battle with the Wu army in the south, and the two armies were deadlocked in Miting Lake for more than a month.

Nanjing Chen Geng led the Changfeng Army, and fought several times on the plains, winning and losing. In the thirteen years of the Changfeng Army, the Changfeng Army was in a state of decline in very few battles with the Chu army, and only the thirteenth battalion of the garrison at Nanjing Yimaguan did not give an inch in the face of the offensive of the Chu army. The thirteenth battalion and the kamikaze battalion were in one place, and the post horse pass never defended and took the initiative to annihilate thousands of cavalry of the Chu army, bringing a big victory to Changfeng.

The commander of the Changfeng Battalion has changed, and the Changfeng Battalion with or without Xue Liren is another Changfeng Battalion. Seeing that the Changfeng Battalion of the Changfeng Army, which had the first battalion of the Great Liang, was defeated by Qi Mingshan in a row, Chen Geng could only withdraw and ordered the Changfeng Battalion to withdraw from the Qiming Mountain garrison and gather a large army to defend Fenyang Town.

The Taiping City military reports continued, and Xiao Yin, the new emperor of the Dragon Throne, frowned. One military report after another was unfavorable to the country, and less than a year after ascending the throne, the Chu-Wu coalition army attacked Daliang together. For a while, there were no generals available in the DPRK and China, if it weren't for Chen Geng and Zhou Yingshu in Nanjing, Li Shanhai in Dongjing, and Li Tingye, the new general of Huizhou, I am afraid that the border defense of Daliang would only retreat again and again.

Seeing that the palace was divided into three batches, Wenchen advocated peace with Chu and Wu, and waited until the situation of the Great Liang Dynasty was stable. This is not the most annoying, since ancient times, the military generals have been the main battle, and the civil ministers have been the main peace. The most annoyed thing about the new emperor Xiao Yin was that everyone shouted that they hated the old man who had not fought in the Taiping era, and now no one in the court spoke. It is now somewhat clear why the former emperor insisted on dismissing this group of old people while he was seriously ill.

I am afraid that it is not only to leave an opportunity for the new emperor to win over the ministers, but also that these old ministers have lost the blood of their youth. Most of the main fighters in the DPRK and China are young generals, and today's generals are old, and most of the junior generals are young people who have not led the troops alone.

Xiao Yin held his head and said: "Lord Xun, the Chu-Wu coalition army has attacked my Daliang, and now the Daliang is fighting or not, and the loss is even greater." ”

Xun Sizhan, who was promoted to the right prime minister, advocated righteousness and peace, and only calculated what he needed to pay, which was nothing more than land reparations. Once the situation of the Great Liang Dynasty is stable, it is not impossible to take these back, and when he heard the emperor's inquiry, he stepped forward and replied: "Back to Your Majesty, now that the situation of the Great Liang Dynasty is stable, many officials are not familiar with their respective affairs. If there is a big war, I am afraid that the center will be difficult to keep up with the military needs, and now only Yihe can leave a chance for the Liang to fight for hegemony, please think twice. ”

On the dragon throne, Xiao Yin stared at this Lord Xun Sizhan, who was trying his best to support himself to ascend to the throne, and was both the right prime minister and the ruler of the country, and asked with wide eyes: "I am asking you, which is the big loss between war and peace." ”

The new emperor's inquiry Xun Sizhan couldn't calculate for a while, Xiao Yin turned his eyes to trust Hubu Shangshu and asked, "Zhao Aiqing." ”

Hubu Shangshu strode out and bowed down and said: "Back to Your Majesty, Weichen led the Hubu ministers to make a calculation. In terms of losses, Yihe is not a land cession, and only 10 million in compensation is not available, I am afraid that it will not be able to stop the appetite of Chu and Wu. If 10 million taels are enough to support the needs of 200,000 troops for three years, if you send troops to deploy the army, the additional consumption will be at most 1 million taels is enough. Only talking about defending the city, not talking about the casualties of soldiers, there are five million taels to support normal consumption. ”

Suddenly, Xun Sizhan's eyes were lonely, and one by one, the newly appointed head of the household department directly lowered the face of the right prime minister a little. Xiao Yin has been looking at Wang An, the prime minister who has not spoken, and Zhou Yingxiang, the secretary of the ministry. He had not spoken for several days, especially Liu Ce, the secretary of the military department, who should have spoken the most. Looking at the three ministers, Xiao Yin said: "Zhao Aiqing will calculate this account with three budgets and one for each person, and see if Daliang can afford to fight this battle now." ”

Getting up and striding away angrily, the new chief steward, Wang Gonggong, shouted loudly: "Retreat from the dynasty." ”

The ministers outside the Taihe Hall walked together, and Zhou Heng, who was among the third-grade waiters, had only been vacant since Xiao Yin ascended the throne. He walked up to Zhou Yingxiang, the head of the Zhou family, and said, "Uncle." "Zhou Yingxiang can't talk about hatred for this nephew, and his son Zhou Jin has already been designated as the queen of the autumn. The end of a palace change, the Zhou family has come to an end. Now in the Ministry of Officials, Shangshu seems to have real power, but in fact, he has long been empty. With the death of Zhou Wen, the father of the Zhou family, Zhou Jin's participation in the rebellion of King Qi has been lonely.

Today's Zhou family only has Zhou Heng, who is a three-grade squire, and Uncle Zhou Ying, the third brother of a state general. The Zhou family can still maintain the original honor, once the government and the opposition change, the three generations of honors will be annihilated, whether they can still keep the Shangguo Pillar knighthood knife has been put on the neck.

Zhou Yingxiang asked, "What's the matter with Heng'er?" ”

Zhou Heng asked with a serious look in his eyes, "What is Uncle's opinion on the border matter?" ”

Looking at the nephews who think about the country everywhere, they are nearly thirty years old and are already a third-grade squire, and they are the first of these favors. Du has not yet married, and the Zhou family is pitiful. said: "The war in Southern Chu and Eastern Wu, Your Majesty has a certain number in his heart, and now he is waiting for someone to speak." This person can't be a civil servant, he must have a commander who can suppress the three armies. Heng'er will have results soon, don't worry. ”

Empty talent and learning really don't understand the changes in the hearts of the people in the court, Zhou Heng is a prince and strategist, and he has benefited everywhere, but now he has a kind of action when he enters the court as an official. is a squire, but it is difficult to talk about it with officials at all levels of the DPRK and China. has been squeezed out by officials at all levels, and for a while he was powerless.

Zhou Yingxiang gently patted Zhou Heng's shoulder and said, "Heng'er, don't worry, Daliang still has our group of old things, and if you can defeat Nan Chu twenty years ago, you are stronger than you were back then, and you can't lose." You still have to think more about life's events, and you'll be the only one left at home. Your grandfather was still thinking about this before he died, and you got married. After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving to look at the old man who didn't know when. It's not the grumpy uncle, but an old man who cares about his juniors.

Outside the palace, Wang An and Liu Ce walked side by side, a Zuo Prime Minister, and a military secretary Lu Guogong. Along the way, the two talked a lot, from the changes in the situation of the Liang dynasty to whether the national strength can withstand the war between the two countries. The two had their own opinions and talked endlessly.

Standing outside the palace gate, Wang An said: "If Your Majesty is the main battle, Liu Gong can have a trustworthy candidate." ”

Wang An was extremely surprised and said: "No, there is no shortage of generals who can fight well. The only veteran who can be the coach is old and embarrassed. The younger generation is arrogant, but after a few battles with the elders, they feel that the big beam is unparalleled in the world. If he was still alive, he didn't need to think about Nanchu and crossed Fenyang Town. ”

Wang An naturally knew who the person in Liu Ce's mouth was, Lin Xie, the first commander of the Changfeng Army. The wonderful death of a certain Ming has become a mystery case for Daliang. Half a year has passed, Dali Temple only gives a conclusive conclusion, Sima Linxie is old and frail, and he was disturbed by the chaos army and died in a hurry. I'm afraid no one will believe such a conclusion, an old general who has galloped on the battlefield all his life, will be disturbed by the chaos of the army behind his back. Liu Ce was the first to disbelieve that Lin Xie's death might have something to do with the emperor. At least Lin Xie's death saved the entire Shuzhong Lin family.

Suddenly asked, "Liu Gong has an idea." ”

Liu Ce replied: "Prime Minister Wang, do you think it is war or peace." ”

He put his hands behind his back and said: "Twenty years ago, the beam was barren, everyone shouted war, and everyone was not afraid of death. Now that I have only enjoyed the peaceful and prosperous world for more than ten years, I am afraid of them all. The old man who came over from that time, Liu Gong, you said that I, Wang An, am fighting or peace. ”

Hearing Wang An's explanation, Liu Ce smiled and said, "Wang An, who knows me, I am neither the main battle nor the main peace." Wang An stared blankly at Liu Ce, who was swearing.

Liu Ce looked to the south of the palace, as well as to the south of Taiping City. When he was young, he pacified the northern Turkic tribes and never set foot in the south. The youngest son Liu Zhixing wants to join the army is not to the north where military achievements have been laid, but to the southern mirror that I don't know if I can set foot in this life, the southern land where I have a lifelong dream.

Squinting his eyes, he said, "I'm the main attacker." ”

Wang An stared at Liu Ce, whose eyes were blazing, and Liu Ce, who had been waiting for half his life, still did not forget his original idea. Liu Ce, who first entered the officialdom, Lin Xie and Lin Xie were tied for two heroes in the court. Although the emperor was a monarch, the two of them could decide in one word in military affairs, one south and one north laid the current prosperity of the Great Liang.

So far, Liu Ce, who remembers that he had just returned from pacifying the Turks, wrote the book "Pingnan Shu Yi", and the military generals of the DPRK and China were boiling, but they were stopped by Wenchen with all their might. In the end, with the weakness of the Great Liang State, the Northern Ding Turks have exhausted the strength of a country. Otherwise, Lin Xie has been stationed in Nanjing for 12 years, how can he become the first general of Daliang. When a country was tired, he was able to resist the Southern Chu country, which was still a great Chu, and there were few defeats, and the Changfeng Army shook the Three Kingdoms.

Liu Ce bowed to Wang An and said, "I'm waiting for a few days, let the ministers of the court and the central government make more trouble." As long as Your Majesty can decide to make a big move and fully support the southern expedition, I Liu Ce will be the first to ask for his life. ”

Looking at Liu Ce, who was full of confidence, Wang An hesitated. Once Liu Ce set out on the expedition, it was not a battle of attack and defense, but a battle of annihilation. In the past ten years, the DPRK seems to have forgotten the words of more than ten years ago, defended Lin Xie, and attacked Liu Ce. One defense and one attack pushed Da Liang to the top, and now Liu Ce asked for his life again, I don't know if it is good or bad for Da Liang. In the war of annihilation, it is not only Chu and Wu who suffer, but also the people of Daliang who will fall into a difficult situation.