When everyone heard this, the group surrounded Li Honghui, and Li Hongyi said anxiously: "What are they waiting for? ”

"They're waiting for water. I guess that Xiou is planning to stage the flooding of the Seventh Army. They wanted to use the terrain and water attack without much effort to capture the golden city. Li Honghui said with great certainty, "The weather is abnormal this year, and Xiou has lived here for many years, so he must have noticed it." They forced us into the Golden City in order to carry out the plan of the water attack. ”

The local guards were very skeptical, and one of them stood up and said, "The general thinks the upper reaches of the Yellow River will flood this year?" Impossible. The last general has been guarding here for many years, and he has never seen a big flood in Jincheng. ”

"Even if there is no flooding, they can intercept the water from the upstream and wait for the war to open the floodgates." Li Honghui predicted, "The Yellow River passes through the city in Jincheng, and when we are downstream, the whole army will be scattered, where can we still fight against Xiou?" ”

Li Hongyi believed in his younger brother's wisdom and agreed: "This plan is so insidious, so how should our army deal with it?" ”

Li Honghui opened the map, pondered for a moment, and then said: "The main force immediately withdrew from Jincheng and retreated to Yongjing County. Yongjing is to the west of Jincheng, and it is upstream. ”

"Then what about Jincheng, you can't abandon the city." Xu Lei asked.

Li Honghui said: "The hanging sheep beats the drum, and the hungry horse picks the bell." Leave the squad of soldiers and horses, and pretend to be the main force here. ”

Li Hongyi asked, "What about after the army enters Yongjing County?" ”

Li Honghui pointed to the map and analyzed: "After arriving at Yongjing, we can attack and retreat. Enter, you can make a detour behind enemy lines and raid Xiou. If we retreat, we can stick to Yongjing County and ensure the safety of the whole army. ”

This plan seemed to be feasible, Li Hongyi touched his chin and just wanted to nod, but the guards of Jincheng raised objections.

"What if Jincheng's empty city plan is discovered. Those defenders can't match the hundreds of thousands of troops in Xiou. ”

"The Jincheng defense line can't be broken, so it's too dangerous for the whole army to leave. And it doesn't have to rain all the time. ”

"yes, yes, what if Xiou doesn't plan to flood? Vice Admiral Li is just speculation, not very sure. ”

“…………”

The guards of Jincheng all disagreed, after all, they had been here for many years and had a deep affection for Jincheng. They didn't want to see the city of Jincheng fall and the people in the city slaughtered by Xi'ou.

Xu Lei thought for a long time and said a compromise solution, "It's better for us to observe for a few more days, if the heavy rain doesn't stop for a few days, then we will evacuate Jincheng." ”

"This ......" the generals seem to have little reason to object. And Li Hongyi did not speak, as if hesitating.

Seeing that everyone had lost their minds, the minister reminded him: "Abandoning the city is a big deal, so it's better to leave it to the Holy Lord, right?" ”

"yes. We abandon the city privately, in case the Holy Majesty blames ...... in the future" The timid generals have already begun to retreat.

"General, why don't we prepare for the disaster and withdraw the troops, and then wait for the will of the Holy Lord."

Listening to the debate between the two sides, Li Hongyi had some difficulty making up his mind. Seeing this, Li Honghui said solemnly: "I don't know when the other party's flood plan will be implemented, and at this time, I will report to the saint, back and forth, what if the military situation is delayed?" Please also ask the general to make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise the more it drags on, the more dangerous it will be. ”

In the end, Li Hongyi decided: "Ten days, wait another ten days, if the rain does not stop, the army will immediately withdraw." ”

※※※※※

Ten days, just ten days. It is estimated that riding a fast horse, from Jincheng to Chang'an, sleepless and fast, just a round trip.

However, abandoning the city is a big deal, and the Lord Qincha is anxious, and this matter has to be told to the saint, and the saint must be told immediately.

Thinking of this, Lord Qincha immediately laid out the paper and polished the ink, and wrote a note overnight, explaining what happened here. Then he handed it to his subordinates and urged: "Eight hundred miles are urgent, and it will be sent to the capital." ”

However, by the time the emperor saw the letter, three or four days had passed. After the emperor saw it, he threw it on the table angrily and said to Gonggong Chen: "Go, immediately gather all the generals and come here to see me." ”

The military meeting began again, and the emperor reported the border pass to the generals for circulation, and everyone was amazed after reading it, and took the initiative to abandon the city, which was the first time.

"Although I have said that I don't care about the gains and losses of one city and one pool. But Jincheng, since the founding of the country, has never been lost. The emperor knocked on the table and said with a gloomy face, "If the empty city plan fails this time, Xi'ou will take the opportunity to take the golden city." The six counties in the northwest have broken a gap, and the northwest defense line will no longer exist. ”

The old general Song Qi agreed with the emperor's words, and immediately echoed: "What the Holy Lord said is extremely true, how can there be a reason to retreat before fighting and take the initiative to abandon the city. And Jincheng is the head of the six counties in the northwest, so you can't lose it. ”

"What General Song said is extremely true." Everyone nodded. Only Zhao Wei, the secretary of the Ministry of War, objected, and he said: "If it is really as General Li deduced, Xiou intends to flood Jincheng. When the army is trapped in the city, I am a fish and a sword, but it is very bad. ”

"Then go out of the city at once and fight them." The old general Song Qi said confidently, "The last general doesn't believe it, my hundreds of thousands of troops can't fight for Xiaoxiao Xiou?" ”

Zhao Wei defended: "Fighting a war does not depend on hard fighting. Xiou has a lot of tricks this time, and it can't be guarded against. ”

"What is there to prevent." The old general Song Qi looked disdainful and said, "You must know that offense is the best defense!" ”

Zhao Wei shook his head helplessly, he really shouldn't talk about the strengths and weaknesses of stubborn people.

Fortunately, at this time, Song Qi's son Song Yi stood up to play a round, and he said cautiously: "What Lord Zhao said is not unreasonable, you still have to be cautious in the war." It is better to transfer the forbidden army and horses to reinforce Jincheng in case of accidents. ”

"That's what I mean." The emperor's dragon heart was happy, and the two sides quarreled for a long time, and finally someone got to the point. The emperor ordered: "I plan to increase my troops by 100,000 to support Li Hongyi. As for the generals who lead the army, who do you think is suitable? ”

The old general Song Qi took the initiative to ask Ying: "The last general is willing to bring 100,000 elite soldiers to support!" ”

"General Song is old, how can he be so tired? If there is any discomfort on the road...... "Someone objected, worried about Song Qi's body.

Song Qi interrupted the man, continued to ask for battle, and said, "The last general is in good health, please give the old minister another chance." ”

"The general is loyal and courageous, and I am very comforted." The emperor finally made a decision and said in a word, "Order Song Qi to be the main general and Song Yi to be the deputy general, and lead an army of 100,000 to the northwest to assist Li Hongyi in the battle." ”

Having Song Yi to assist can be regarded as a method, and everyone leads the order. The emperor waved them down to prepare, and after the rest of the generals retreated, the emperor left the two fathers and sons of the Song family alone to continue the discussion.

Song Qi and Song Yi waited in the Heart Cultivation Hall with their heads down, and the emperor slowly paced to Song Qi and said to him, "Do you know why I left you alone?" ”

Song Qi thought about it again and again, but he didn't come up with anything, so he had to say: "The last general is dull, and the last general doesn't know." ”

The emperor sighed and said, "Li Hongyi is a fierce general in battle, but this is his first time as the commander of the whole army. In this war, the first battle was lost, and I always felt uneasy. ”

The emperor had always valued Li Hongyi before, after all, this was a child he had watched grow up since he was a child, so he naturally believed in his talent very much. But now, the emperor has to admit that amnesia is a big problem. Li Hongyi is no longer the original Li Hongyi.

Song Qi listened to it for a long time, but he didn't hear the emperor's true meaning, so he had to speculate and said: "General Li is younger, but he is an upright person, and he is also very fierce in leading troops to fight. It may be the first time to unify the army, so there will be occasional mistakes. ”

"I'm afraid it's not a mistake, it's a matter of ability." In fact, the emperor has always wondered why Li Hongyi led thousands of cavalry deep into the desert back then, and that march was really just to confuse the enemy, not to get lost?

Thinking of this, the emperor suddenly said, "Old General Song, you are not just going to assist Li Hongyi in this battle. If necessary, it can be replaced. ”

"This ......" Song Qi was stunned, and Song Yi finally understood why his father was old, and the emperor still asked him to go on the expedition, and ordered him to assist.

"I will give you the right to arbitrarily decide on the spot, if Li Hongyi does anything inappropriate in the future battle, you can directly take command and personally order the three armies."

Song Qi was still dumbfounded, but Song Yi had already reacted, and took the lead in speaking: "Changing generals in battle is a big taboo, please think twice." ”

Song Qi also said: "The temporary change of generals will lead to the fluctuation of the army's morale, and afterwards, how can General Li be able to gain a foothold in the army again." "Song Qi has no deep hatred with Li Hongyi, how can he bear to let a generation of generals be lost in his own hands.

Seeing that the two generals of the Song family did not agree, the emperor had to suspend his actions. He said: "Then wait a little longer and see how Li Hongyi handles the matter of Jincheng." If he forsakes the city, I will have nothing to say. ”

"If General Li really abandons Jincheng, the last general will no longer object, and he will definitely take the commander, lead the army, and recover the rivers and mountains." Song Qi swore an oath.

"Okay." The emperor nodded, "The two generals will go to the forbidden army first to order troops and prepare for the battle." ”

After the two generals Song Qi and Song Yi withdrew, Gonggong Chen also reminded the emperor, but he only said one sentence: "Shengshang, if you want to make an order to change generals, you can't get around Zhongshu Province." ”

The emperor was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted, "You mean that Shao An will refute (1)?" He dared to !! ”

Gonggong Chen was silent beside him, noncommittal.

As a result, when the emperor calmed down and thought about it, Shao An really dared. After so many years of founding the country, there are really few prime ministers who dare to reject the holy decree, which is simply a blatant slap in the face of the emperor. So it's generally not a big deal, and the prime ministers say that their lives are more important, and whoever is idle has nothing to offend the emperor.

However, with Shao An's friendship with Li Hongyi, he would definitely not agree to replace Li Hongyi. The emperor thought about it carefully and felt that Shao An really dared to do anything. However, it was imperative to change generals, and the emperor said helplessly: "This matter has to be hidden from Shao An, and it must be hidden from him!" ”

It's a pity that Shao An is so smart, it is not easy to hide from him and issue a holy decree.

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(1) Refutation: Seal and return the emperor's inappropriate edict, and refute the violation of the recital of the ministers.