"Ministers meet the Queen Mother and the Queen!" In the Cining Palace of Lin'an Dauchi, Lu Xiufu, the left prime minister, the governor of the council, Ying Jieyan, and the privy deputy envoy Han Zhen were called into the palace, and after entering the palace, the three of them saluted together.

"Excuse me, give me a seat!" Empress Dowager Yang raised her hand and asked the little yellow door to send the embroidered pier.

"Empress Dowager Xie!" The three of them bowed again before they took their seats. Lu Xiufu looked up, Empress Dowager Yang was a little haggard, and Empress Wu was also frowning, her hands on her bulging lower abdomen, thinking that she was also worried about the current war.

"Prime Minister Lu, Your Majesty is personally on the expedition, and the state affairs are all a few ministers, and a few people have worked hard." Empress Yang also looked at the three ministers, several of them were tired, especially Lu Xiufu's eyes were bloodshot, obviously he hadn't rested for a long time.

"It is the duty of a subordinate to worry about the king!" Lu Xiufu and the others got up and saluted again.

"Lu Xiang, the 100,000 army of the Tartars suddenly crossed the border south and penetrated deep into the hinterland of Jiangdong, what is the current battle situation?" Empress Dowager Yang pressed their hands to sit down and asked in a deep voice.

"Empress Dowager, before leaving, Your Majesty had expected that Meng Yuan would take advantage of our army's northern expedition to Yangzhou and the empty army in Jiangdong to invade the south. The minister also ordered the local people to evacuate from the army. A few days ago, the Tartars attacked Changshu and fought fiercely for five days, but were repelled by our defenders and had to go south around the city. However, Jiangdong Zhisi reported urgently yesterday that after the enemy left Changshu, he did not drive directly to Pingjiang, but suddenly turned to Jiading to the south, and Zhao Zhizhi had already dispatched troops to block it after learning about it! Lu Xiufu said. The suddenness of the incident also caught him off guard, and after receiving the report, he immediately convened the ministers in Beijing to discuss countermeasures, but the specific situation on the front line is not clear for the time being.

"The enemy suddenly turned, what does the land minister think?" The corners of Empress Dowager Yang's mouth twitched involuntarily when she heard this, but her face turned back to normal, and she asked again.

"The ministers discussed with the ministers, and they all thought that the Tartars were turning the course to avoid the heavy troops intercepting the frontal and preparing to raid Lin'an." Lu Xiufu hesitated slightly, but still chose to answer truthfully.

"There are less than 20,000 soldiers in Lin'an, if our army can't stop it, won't the capital be in danger!" After hearing this, the queen Wu Xi, who had been silent, suddenly changed color and said.

"Don't panic, the queen has already ordered weapons to be issued to martial arts students, once the city is in danger, you can also go to the city to participate in the battle!" Lu Xiufu saluted upward.

"There are only 3,000 martial arts students, and facing an army of 100,000 is just a drop in the bucket!" Wu Xi said with a bitter face.

"Queen, the martial arts students are all elite soldiers who have undergone strict training, and they can be ten. In addition, Chen Renweng, the secretary of the Ministry of War, has already collected the newly recruited soldiers and the township soldiers who participated in the school parade in winter, and he can also get tens of thousands of soldiers, all of whom have been issued weapons and can participate in the war at any time. And the 200,000 elite soldiers of our army are on the side, and they can also rush to the aid of the starry night. Han Zhen interjected at this time.

"Queen Mother, I thought that these people were either recruits who had not been in battle, or they were village soldiers who were also soldiers and people, and it was difficult to stop the enemy army, so it was better to let Your Majesty return to the army earlier!" Wu Xi was not at ease, and turned his face to the Queen Mother.

"After Your Majesty conquered Yangzhou, he immediately entered Xuyi, and now he has entered the territory of Sizhou, even if it is too late to help!" Han Zhen replied on his behalf.

"Ah...... What about the Jiangdong armies stationed in Jiankang, Jiangzhou, and Wuhu? Wu Xi was surprised, stunned for a moment and then asked.

"All the departments in Jiangdong and the Linjiang garrison of the Huguang Division have been ordered to cross the river into Lianghuai and recover the lost territory!" Han Zhen replied again.

"This ......" Wu Xi's face instantly turned pale when he heard this, and he muttered at a loss.

"The queen still needs to take care, even if Lin'an is not guaranteed, we can still follow the example of the past and sail to the sea, what are you panicking about?" When Empress Dowager Yang saw Wu Xi's gaffe, she said with some displeasure.

"Yes!" Wu Xi also realized that he was confused, and said in a sneering manner.

"What does the governor think?" Empress Dowager Yang experienced the chaos of the Great Song Dynasty that was in danger of destroying the country, the pain of losing the young emperor, the suffering of traveling to the sea, and the difficulty of starting a business in Qiongzhou. After listening to politics for more than ten years, it can be said that he has suffered a lot, and he will not be frightened by the crisis in front of him, stabilize the queen, and turn to ask Ying Jie Yandao.

"The queen mother, the minister thinks that the current situation has not yet reached the point where the danger of going to the sea is not yet considered, and there are still 200,000 elite soldiers in my Jiangdong, how can I allow only 100,000 enemy troops to run rampant. Moreover, there are Governor Jiang who is familiar with military and political affairs sitting in Pingjiang, wise and brave commanders like Zhao Zhizhi and Ni Dutong leading the troops, and Ruyun generals who have followed His Majesty since Qiongzhou, so they can ensure that Jiangdong is safe. As long as the Queen Mother sits in Beijing, she can make the people feel at peace and wait for the good news! Ying Jieyan stood up and saluted.

He had already heard from the conversations of several people that the queen lacked political experience, and coupled with her youth, she was already panicking in the face of the sudden crisis. Completely ignoring the measures they adopted to deal with the enemy, it will not only embarrass several important ministers, but also affect the mood of the ministers, and if it is transmitted, it will naturally cause panic among the military and civilians, thus messing up their own positions before fighting.

And now His Majesty is personally conscripted abroad, with the Queen Mother supervising the country, although he lacks the skill to govern the country, but the emperor has also accumulated rich political experience over the years. Knowing which is more important than the other, you will not panic when a crisis strikes. This is also the reason why the emperor personally went out of Beijing to choose the queen mother to supervise the country, rather than his own queen, so he woke up the queen mother from the side in his words.

"Okay, pass on the will of the mourning family, put the swoop on the Shangyuan Festival for five days, set up a colorful shed, Shuao Mountain, and put the lights for seven days, in order to congratulate His Majesty on the personal expedition to capture Yangzhou and recover the two Huai victories!" Ying Jieyan is the emperor, can also be called the Great Song Dynasty's Dinghai Shen Needle, one of his words made the Empress Dowager Yang suddenly realized, knowing that the most important thing at present is not to consider the countermeasures, but how to stabilize the people's hearts, maintain the stability of the rear, so that the little emperor has no worries about the Northern Expedition.

"The ministers obey the decree of the Queen Mother!"

"The Queen Mother......" Wu Xi was stunned, and last year he took it upon himself to hold the Lantern Festival, which caused His Majesty to be angry and almost deposed his posterior, but the Queen Mother did not think about how to resist the enemy at this difficult time, but wanted to hold a lantern festival. This made her incomprehensible, and just wanted to dissuade her, Lu Xiufu and the others had already received the order in unison.

Next, Lu Xiufu and others successively reported on the situation of the household department's raising of grain, grass, and salaries, the details of the newly promoted officials selected by the Ministry of Officials to take over the two Huai, and the appointment and training of officials of several independent divisions reorganized by the Ministry of War. Han Zhen gave a detailed report on the march of the various units participating in the Northern Expedition and the defense measures of Lin'an. The queen mother almost didn't say anything without asking, just squinting her eyes and brushing her beard to listen quietly.

Empress Dowager Yang also rarely interfered with the arrangements of the ministers, basically everything was correct, and took the initiative to allocate 3 million guan from the inner treasury for the emergency expenses of the imperial court, and took out 500,000 yuan of private money for the expenses of the lantern festival. Although he believed that the situation was not as bad as he imagined, he still made some emergency arrangements, saying that he would defend the siege with the army and the people, and live and die with the Great Song Dynasty.

After asking, it was already noon, and the Empress Dowager Yang did not stay for dinner, but turned to the apse, where the concubines of several other emperors were waiting. Since the little emperor went on the expedition, the mothers and sons often got together to eat and talk, and the queen mother often let them stay in the Cining Palace. One is that the Queen Mother also feels lonely, and everyone can relieve boredom by talking together; Second, the three pregnant concubines became heavier and heavier, and when the emperor was not at home, she was also easy to take care of; The third is that everyone tacitly understands that now that the war situation has entered a critical moment, the little emperor has gone deep into the enemy territory alone, and there is also mutual comfort and the meaning of huddling together for warmth.

"Is the Queen Mother tired?" When he arrived at the apse, Dou Xing was ready to pass the meal, but found that the Queen Mother was exhausted, she had no composure just now, her fingers trembled, and she could barely hold the cup, so he stepped forward and asked softly.

"It's okay, the mourning family is just a little tired, just slow down the meal and rest for a while!" Empress Dowager Yang took a sip of tea, looked at the concerned and anxious eyes of her daughters-in-law, put down the cup, and said with a smile.

"The Queen Mother works hard for the country, and now she is even more concerned about the safety of the country, so she has to take care of herself, do you want to call the imperial doctor to diagnose the pulse?" Wu Xi got up and said.

"Don't make a fuss, be suspicious of others!" Empress Dowager Yang moved her body and asked Dou Xing to put a cushion behind her back and waved her hand.

"Queen Mother, is there something wrong? also let the concubines share their worries for the queen mother! Concubine Chen Shu seemed to see something, leaned over and said.

"This palace has something to say, you must be obedient." Empress Dowager Yang nodded, gave Dou Xing a look, and she retreated all the maids and the little yellow door serving in the palace, and closed the palace door.

"The queen mother ordered, how dare the concubines and others disobey!" Seeing the Queen Mother like this, everyone knew that there was something important, and they all gave salutes in a righteous manner.

"Now the Tartar army suddenly turned to Jiading to the south, Zhixian burned the city to lead the army to retreat south, and our heavy troops are stationed on the Pingjiang line, although Zhao Zhi has sent troops to help, but the outcome is unpredictable. If it can't be intercepted, the enemy army can drive all the way to Ancheng without hindrance, and we must also be prepared to deal with it! Empress Dowager Yang glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice.

"The Queen Mother wants to share weal and woe with the military and people of Lin'an, live and die with the country, although the concubines and other concubines are useless, they will not retreat and disgrace Your Majesty!" Wu Xi only understood at this time that the Queen Mother was just forcibly calm in front of people, but in fact, she also knew in her heart that the situation was critical, and she also hurriedly said, and the rest of the people also echoed and wanted to go to the national disaster together.

"Lady!" Empress Dowager Yang waited for everyone to say before she looked at Li Sanniang and said.

"The concubine is here!" Li Sanniang responded.

"The mourning family knows that there is a guard army formed by your clan in Lin'an City, do you still have contact with them?" Empress Dowager Yang asked.

"What the Queen Mother said is right, when His Majesty led the army to recover Jiangnan, there was indeed a division composed of Qiongzhou slang soldiers, led by the concubines to help in the battle, and after being stationed in Lin'an, it was incorporated into the imperial guard. In recent years, the additional soldiers have also been recruited from the Qiongzhou slang soldiers, and now they are stationed in the old imperial city, and the commanders are also the relatives of the concubines, who are still in contact with the concubines, and will attack and ask for peace during the New Year's Festival. Li Sanniang replied with some puzzlement, it is not a secret that the mountain brigade composed of slang soldiers is stationed in Beijing, and I don't know why the Queen Mother asked about it.

"So much the best!" Empress Dowager Yang nodded and said, "You must have a secret meeting with the clansmen as soon as possible, and select the soldiers of your cronies to form an army, and the palace will also transfer them to the vicinity of the palace in the name of maintaining the order of the Lantern Festival." Once the situation changes, you will personally lead the army to escort the queen and several concubines out of Beijing secretly and to a safe place. ”

"The queen mother, the concubines are not greedy for life and afraid of death, I am willing to lead the people to resist the enemy, live and die with the queen mother, and never steal life!" Li Sanniang was stunned when she heard this, and then said angrily.

"This palace knows that you are familiar with military affairs, so the safety of everyone, the Miao descendants of the Zhao family, is entrusted to you!" Empress Dowager Yang said sharply, "When Meng Yuan invaded the south, the fall of Lin'an was imminent, and the Empress Dowager Xie secretly ordered the palace to leave the palace with her two young sons out of the palace, so that the Zhao clan was not cut off, and the revival of the Great Song Dynasty was expected." Now that the crisis has reappeared, this palace can't let the Zhao family cut off from my hands, and if you can't protect everyone, you are also a sinner of the Great Song Dynasty! ”

"The Queen Mother is unparalleled in righteousness, even if the front is full of thorns, swords and fires, the concubines will live up to their expectations!" Li Sanniang listened, was silent for a moment, realized that the Queen Mother was arranging the aftermath, and bit her lip with tears in her eyes.

"Well, Hongu believes!" Empress Dowager Yang smiled and nodded, and then turned to Concubine De Zhang Ping and said, "Concubine De, you have been in charge of the finances of the inner palace since you entered the palace, and you must also make plans in advance and pack up your valuables for use on the way and in the future. ”

"Yes, the concubine will take care of it!" Zhang Ping nodded, his expression gloomy.

"Hui Concubine!" Empress Dowager Yang knew that Zhang Ping was careful and didn't need to give more advice, so she looked at Su Landao, who was sitting at the end.

"Queen Mother, the concubine is here!" Su Lan got up and saluted.

"Concubine Hui, you have entered the palace when you were in Qiongzhou, and you have been in the palace for the longest time, and you are familiar with the characters in the palace. And this time out of the palace to take refuge is not compared to the past travel, the danger is abnormal, you have to choose some loyal and brave people to follow around, remember that there should not be too many people, but to be capable and smart, hands and feet diligent. Empress Dowager Yang pressed her hand to sit down, and said with a pleasant face, "Your Majesty has been fighting continuously in the past, and you have been accompanied by you, and you know the difficulties best, so you have to worry a lot." ”

"Well, the concubine understands!" Su Lan nodded vigorously.

"Alas, the most useless thing is me, I don't understand everything, and I can't help anything!" Watching the Queen Mother arrange everything, but she was ignored, Chen Shu sighed.

"The concubine also knows that she is frizzy and reckless!" Empress Dowager Yang was amused and nodded, "But it's not useless, you can still do something!" ”

"Although the Queen Mother orders, the concubines will do their best!" Hearing that he still had some use, he hurriedly spoke.

"The concubine grew up in the army since she was a child, and her father and uncle were also important ministers in the court, and she was familiar with many ministers and generals in the imperial court, and she could be responsible for contacting local officials and generals in the army." Empress Dowager Yang knew that the Chen family was the first to enter the Shuaifu, and Chen Shu grew up in the Shuaifu when she was young, not only familiar with Ying Jieyan and Zhao Mengjin, but also with all the people in the mansion. In addition, his father and uncle also have many protégés and deceased officials, and it is most appropriate for her to contact and communicate with the old department.

"Well, the concubine understands, but I don't want to be separated from the queen mother......" Chen Shu was not happy when she heard this, but hung her head and said with tears in her eyes.

After arranging a matter of things, Empress Dowager Yang ordered the meal to be delivered, and everyone had their own thoughts, so this meal was naturally tasteless and tasteless, so they all used a little bit and gave up. Empress Dowager Yang said that she was tired and dismissed everyone, but Su Lan was left alone......