Zhang San checked for a few days before he found Shao An's foothold, and it turned out that he went to Yingzhou. Subsequently, there is also bad news, half a month ago, Xiou made a comeback, with lightning speed, breaking the three cities of Xining, Yongjing and Jincheng, and the sword pointed directly at Chang'an.

"Jincheng lost?" The emperor looked at the military newspaper and couldn't believe it. Jincheng is the gateway to the northwest, and the consequences of its loss are simply immeasurable.

In the Palace of Cultivating the Heart, all the ministers of civil and military affairs were stunned, this time Xiou was menacing, and there was a little more "magic calculation", and all the attack points were hit at the weakest point of the defense. There is no explanation other than that there are people who collaborate with the enemy. As for who the collaborator is, it is self-evident.

"Sun E, it's Sun E." The Emperor said angrily, "He's a madman, he's really crazy." ”

Zhao Weiqi, the secretary of the military department, said: "Your Majesty, this time Xiou gathered 200,000 people, and the offensive was rapid. Excluding the garrisons that must be left in various places, our army will only have 400,000 troops to mobilize. ”

"The Forbidden Army is ready to fight." Li Hongyi, as the commander of the forbidden army, said with great confidence.

The old general Song Qi poured cold water and said: "However, the forbidden army only has more than tens of thousands, and it will take time for the local army to move." ”

"But what we lack most happens to be time. Shengshang, Sun Yi has been the prime minister for more than five years and has mastered too many court secrets. It's not a good situation. Zhao Wei said worriedly.

The prime minister is in charge of military and political power, and although he does not directly lead the troops, he is also generally clear about the military layout. Where there are many soldiers and generals, and where the defense is weak, Sun Yi knows it well. Sun Yi can completely avoid the difficult bones, pick the weak points to break through, and easily hit the city of Chang'an.

The emperor frowned, "Now the enemy is dark and I am clear, but it is not good. They have reached Jincheng, and we must send troops to intercept them as soon as possible. ”

"Your Majesty, it's better to send the forbidden army to the front line to support first, and then mobilize the box army to prepare for the battle." Song Yi proposed.

"Feasible." The emperor agreed, "Song Yi, the matter of transferring troops will be handed over to you." ”

"The last general commands."

"The ...... of this expedition" Speaking of this, the emperor paused, looked at Li Hongyi eagerly, and then continued, "Who wants to go?" ”

Li Hongyi still stood up, gave up the idea of going to Shao An, and chose to defend the country. He asked for war: "The last general is willing to go." ”

"Okay, hard work General Li. This time, Li Hongyi is still in charge. The emperor glanced at the audience again, and continued, "Li Honghui and Xu Lei went out with the army. ”

"The last general commands." Li Honghui and Xu Lei said in unison. When the national disaster is at hand, they can no longer take care of the personal affairs of their children.

It is true that the war in the northwest is in full swing, and then the Jiangnan region is still calm. The war started suddenly, and the imperial court tightly sealed the bad news, so the people in the south did not know that Xiou had connected three cities and invaded the Central Plains.

Early in the morning, Ah Rui went to Yingzhou to buy ingredients again. When he came back, he mysteriously ran to Liu Ruqing and said to him: "I heard that the imperial court is going to fight again, and it has been transferring troops recently." ”

"War? Who did you listen to? Liu Ruqing thought to himself that Xi'ou had been pacified, and the Turks had signed a peace treaty, so it stands to reason that they would not start a war? Could it be that the emperor wants to be stubborn and use his own strength, and raise the whole country's troops to crusade against Xiou again?

"Uncle Liu, who sells vegetables, said that his son is a soldier in the barracks."

Liu Ruqing looked at Ah Rui suspiciously, and told him: "Don't tell your master in advance, lest he worry about it again." ”

Ari nodded, indicating that he would not say anything.

※※※※※

Li Hongyi led his troops out for several tens of days, but the situation did not calm down, but became more critical. At present, Xi'ou does not attack the city, and does not plunder the land, and deliberately selects sparsely populated places in the countryside to march, so that Li Hongyi is unable to judge the specific location of Xi'ou. He led the army all the way to the west, and as soon as he touched the shadow of Xiou, Xiou led his troops to flee.

In the early days, Zhao Wei, the secretary of the military department, analyzed according to the front-line battle report: "The enemy has been avoiding confrontation with General Li Da, and he no longer spends his troops to attack the city. The purpose of Xiou this time has been very clear, that is, Chang'an. ”

"The previous 200,000 enemy troops were only the vanguard troops, and it is said that there are 200,000 troops behind. According to the report from the spies, this time the king of Xiou personally led the troops and poured the strength of the whole country into revenge for the humiliation of losing Xining that year. ”

"How's the mobilization going?" The Emperor asked.

Zhao Wei replied with a sad face: "Back to the saint, General Song has no news yet. ”

"Your Majesty, Xi'ou is only a hundred miles away from the capital, I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for General Song."

At this time, there was also a lot of discussion in the temple, and the people's hearts were scattered. For so many years, Chang'an has not faced such a critical moment. Many cowardly people have already begun to plan where they should hide in case of a fight.

The emperor coughed dryly, stopped the following discussions, and asked directly: "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, why don't you negotiate peace?" Peng Yuanping, the secretary of the ministry, was the most timid and afraid, and after thinking about it for a long time, he could only come up with a speechless method.

"No!" The old general Song Qi couldn't see this kind of shrunken turtle the most, and he said sharply, "Your Majesty, there are still 10,000 defenders in the forbidden army, and the last general will ask for battle, and he will not let Xi'ou step into the capital." ”

Peng Yuanping sneered: "10,000 against 400,000, where is the chance of winning." ”

"Xiou is just the end of a strong crossbow, what is there to fear? It is said that there are 400,000 soldiers and horses, and it is also a temporary recruitment of Xiou herdsmen, and there is no combat effectiveness. ”

"All the people in Xiou are soldiers, and this time they are here for revenge." Peng Yuanping complained, "It's all because Li Hongyi killed too much, and it was only in the battle of Xining that more than 300,000 enemy soldiers were killed, which aroused the anger of the whole people in Xiou." ”

Feng Che, the secretary of the Criminal Department, seized the loophole and suddenly said: "Master Peng has said that Xi'ou is here for revenge, how can he agree to negotiate peace?" The minister believed that the most urgent task at the moment was to transfer back Li Hongyi's army and keep the capital as the most important thing. ”

Peng Yuanping was speechless, but Jiang Xi, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, said: "Weichen thinks that Xi'ou is menacing, and without the support of grain and grass, it won't last long. The minister has a plan to solve the current crisis. ”

The emperor squinted at Jiang Si, this person has always been opportunistic, how could he suddenly open his mind? He lazily asked, "What is Jiang Aiqing's plan?" ”

"The minister asks the Holy Lord to temporarily avoid the edge and move the capital to the south."

"Presumptuous!" The emperor said angrily, "Since the founding of the country for more than 100 years, there has never been a precedent for avoiding war and moving the capital. Let them fight, I have nothing to fear. ”

Jiang Xi knelt down tremblingly, "Your Majesty, just to avoid ...... temporarily"

"Shut up." The emperor knew that the people's hearts were in turmoil now, and taking refuge in the south was also something that many people present wanted to say but did not dare to say. However, in the face of national crisis, he will never tolerate such negative thoughts.

I only heard the emperor say loudly: "Come on, put Peng Yuanping and Jiang Xi in prison." In the future, if anyone dares to mention this kind of remarks about begging and moving the capital, it will be the fate of the two of them! ”

"The minister knows the mistake, the minister knows the mistake! Your Majesty, spare your life! Peng Yuanping and Jiang Xi shouted for mercy as if they were tearing their throats, and were ruthlessly dragged down by the guards. Everyone was drenched in cold sweat, which showed that the emperor was determined to defend the capital as the Son of Heaven.

The generals asked for orders one after another, but the problem of troops could not be solved. The emperor hurriedly issued several orders, "ordering Li Hongyi to lead his troops back to Beijing and prepare for defense." General Song Yi was ordered to mobilize the surrounding troops to support the capital. Ordered the generals of Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places to recruit troops on the spot in case of emergency. ”

The generals received the order, but the emperor was still not at ease, he remembered another person, and said: "In addition, I think of one person, who can solve the crisis in the capital." ”

The ministers thought about it and didn't know who the emperor was talking about, only Feng Che understood it and immediately understood what the emperor meant.

Sure enough, I only heard the emperor say: "I appointed Shao An as the prime minister and generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, commanding the three armies." Feng Zhiyuan, you take the holy decree and the military talisman to Yingzhou, and ask Shao Xiang to come back. ”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked. Now the officials in the capital know the relationship between Shao An and Li Hongyi, and they also understand that although Shao An has resigned, his influence in the DPRK, especially in the army, still exists.

However, everyone never expected that the emperor would be relieved to boldly use Shao An at this moment, and let him concurrently serve as the prime minister. In this way, the military power is in the hands of one person, and this kind of power is not insignificant. But the emperor knew this, but he still did not hesitate to trust each other, and finally really delegated his power and trusted Shao An wholeheartedly.

Feng Che sighed, the so-called wind knows the strength of the grass, and the bandang knows the sincere minister, that's it.

※※※※※

However, at this time, Shao An did not know about the crisis in the capital. He lived in a remote countryside, studied the military book formation all day, and did not go out often. For the news of the outside world, it all depends on Liu Ruqing and A Rui to pass it on.

Unexpectedly, during dinner on this day, Shao An suddenly said: "Grandma Wang next door came to see a doctor today, and I heard her say that her grandson has been conscripted into the army." Why, is the imperial court going to war again? ”

Ah Rui was so frightened that he almost threw away the chopsticks, but Liu Ruqing was calm, and hurriedly stepped on him, before he said to Shao An: "The imperial court recruits soldiers every year, what's the fuss." ”

Although the imperial court conscripts troops every year, it is not this time. Shao An continued to speculate: "After the battle of Xining, Xiou should not have the strength to confront our dynasty. Could it be that the Turks tore up the peace treaty, or was it civil strife? ”

"Eat well." Liu Ruqing pulled down a long face, squeezed out a vicious expression and said, "You are no longer the prime minister, what kind of person are idle?" Not in his position, not in his politics, do you understand? ”

"Well, how can you say that." Shao An smiled and shook his head, "The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of the husband." ”

Liu Ruqing gave him a blank look, so he didn't believe Shao An's nonsense. He said indignantly: "Li Hongyi has so many people to protect him, it's not your turn to worry about it." ”

Seeing that his mind was broken by Liu Ruqing's words, Shao An shook his head helplessly, so he had to pick up the bowl and continue to eat. In fact, what Liu Ruqing said is also right, he is in Yingzhou, and he is out of reach, and he is also worried about it. However, the uneasiness in his heart intensified and lingered.