Listening to the words of Zhenhai Hou, King Gu Hong responded, not only made the former stunned, but even Xu Lin, a confidant and favorite general, was very puzzled, and secretly thought: The prince really wants to deal with Zhenhai Hou?

"Hmph, good, good, what a Zhenhai Hou!"

As he spoke, King Guhong turned his head to look at Xu Lin, nodded slightly, and the latter immediately understood by virtue of his tacit understanding with him for many years, and immediately stood up and walked to Zhenhaihou's side, helped him up, and said with a smile: "Brother Tang, don't panic, the prince appreciates you." ”

"Xu Lin is right", as he spoke, King Guhong sighed, stood up and walked towards the two, and continued: "It is an indisputable fact that you Tang Wujing used his troops without a plan and lost his defense, resulting in the damage to the prestige of the Great Qi army, the humiliation of the majesty of the Celestial Empire, the damage to the defense of the eastern border, and the suffering of the people of Limin. ”

Listening to King Guhong count his mistakes, Marquis Zhenhai didn't dare to deny it, and when he saw that he was about to kneel down again, he was supported by King Guhong who walked in front of him.

"Lord Wang, the last general ......"

"Don't worry, this king hasn't finished speaking", as he spoke, King Gu Hong put his hand on the shoulder of Zhenhai Hou, his tone was a little slower, and he continued: "But the bandits have been in trouble for nearly four months, you have supported alone, not a single soldier surrendered, and you have not lost a city or a place, and your determination to burn with the bandits and jade is also obvious to everyone, so although you have been, but you have not sought, but you have not lost the integrity of the Great Qi general, which is also very gratifying to this king." ”

Listening to King Guhong's reassuring words, Zhenhai Hou was slightly excited, and replied with his hands in fists: "Lord Mingjian!" Although the last general has no strategic talent, he will never dare to live up to the trust of the saint and the respect of the prince. Don't say that there are only 30,000 thieves, even if it is 300,000, I, Tang Wujing, will only be a dead general, and will never be a surrendered general! And the last general guarantees, so do all the soldiers of the Linhai City garrison! ”

King Gu Hong nodded with satisfaction, turned around and walked to the upper seat, and when he turned his back to Zhenhai Hou, he sneered imperceptibly, as if what he said just now was not true feelings. However, these Zhenhaihou did not see it. And after King Guhong sat back, he sighed sadly and said: "Hey, it's a pity that those civil officials in the court have convincing words, saying that you are brave and unscrupulous, affecting the people, and you deserve death, which is not good for you." ”

What King Gu Hong said was not groundless, but it was a bit deliberately exaggerated. After listening to him, Zhenhaihou seemed to be mentally prepared, nodded, and said: "The last general really has no plan, he has suppressed bandits for nearly four months, and has lost more than 20,000 horses...... Hey, I didn't kill more than 5,000 enemies. ”

Speaking of the casualties of the garrison army in Linhai City, Zhenhai Hou was sad again, but when he heard him talk about the number of enemies killed, King Guhong lowered his head and snorted lightly with disdain, not letting the other two hear it, and then suddenly raised his head with a happy face.

"Kill five thousand? Okay, Wu Jing, you can be regarded as a meritorious person in suppressing bandits, at most, half of the merit, no reward or punishment, haha. ”

King Guhong actually said that he was meritorious? Zhenhaihou looked puzzled, and said: "Lord Wang, kill 5,000 enemies and lose 20,000 yourself, this, how can this be said to be half of the merits?" ”

Listening to his words, King Guhong was silent. Seeing this, Xu Lin on the side chuckled and said, "Brother Tang, the prince loves talents, and he wants to protect you." Just imagine, if there is no merit, the prince submits the real battle report to the saint, and His Majesty will be furious after reading it, although the brother has retained his integrity, but once the crime of not seeking is confirmed, it is possible to lose the official position and remove the knight. ”

Although Xu Lin said that he intended to intimidate the Marquis of Zhenhai, what he said was true, after all, not long ago, a second-class earl with great military achievements was ruled by the Sacred Heart, and the reason for this was only Long Yan's anger, not to mention that he was a defeated general.

Seeing that Zhenhai Hou was indeed bluffed by himself, and he was still a little distracted, Xu Lin called out to him, and said with a smile: "Brother Tang, don't panic." Fortunately, the prince intended to maintain it, so he thought that he would come over to save his brother's life. Didn't Brother Tang say that he killed 5,000 enemies? Okay, then let's report to the court and kill 10,000 enemies! In this way, although the garrison army of Linhai City has losses, the merits and demerits are compensated, and the brother can save his life. However, once people with ulterior motives know about lying about the military situation and taking the lead in leading the army, it will not be good for us, so Brother Tang should understand that the prince is taking a risk to protect you. ”

Listening to Xu Lin's words, Zhenhai Hou knew that he was beating himself, and he also understood that it was time to show his loyalty, so he hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said with a sincere face: "Lord Wang, Tang Wujing is flattered. Please rest assured that the prince and Xu Shuai will know the stakes in this and will be tight-lipped. And in order to repay the grace of the prince's reconstruction, the last general will definitely look forward to the king's order in the future, and the liver and brain will be smeared! ”

So saying, he bowed down. Xu Linnai is the first confidant of King Guhong, and naturally he is the deputy marshal of the Wanli Army, so the Marquis of Zhenhai is called so. And looking at his appearance, King Gu Hong nodded with satisfaction, stepped forward to help him up personally, and said with a chuckle: "Wu Jing, what are you doing, our colleagues, this king just can't get used to seeing military generals being discussed by civil officials, so he helps." What's more, no matter what the king's order, we are officials in the same dynasty, and we must all serve the will of God. ”

Zhenhaihou stood up, his hands still clenched into fists, and after listening to what King Guhong said, he hurriedly replied: "What the prince said is extremely true. However, the saint has the grace of knowing the last general, and he will repay him by protecting his family and defending the country; And the prince is even more gracious and rebuilt, and there will be no retribution in the end. From now on, the last general's life is the king's, as long as the prince has a life, no matter when, where, and what, the last general will obey it! ”

"Okay, the more you talk, the more you talk, you."

Although he said this, King Guhong's heart was still very satisfied with Zhenhaihou's answer. It seems that this matter has been decided like this, and it is really embarrassing that King Guhong and the Marquis of Zhenhai are united in their efforts to deceive the heavens, and implement a few words and a few words of dialogue.

"By the way, there is still one thing that needs to be discussed with you, let Xu Lin explain it to you."

"Even if the prince has something to order, why do you need to discuss it."

Listening to Zhenhaihou reply without thinking, Xu Lin said: "Brother Tang's loyalty to the prince is really admirable, no matter what, in the future, it will be his own people, and the younger brother will say it directly." That's the case, although the prince intends to report to the imperial court, 'according to the truth', Brother Tang has killed 10,000 enemies, but this is still a bit of a gap compared with the loss of Linhai City. After all, the other party is not a strong enemy like 'Yunlong' and 'Huchen', but just a small land Haichuan, so I'm afraid it's still a little troublesome. ”

"Yunlong Empire" is a northern nomadic people, mastering the most fertile steppe, strong soldiers and horses, the countrymen are the best at horse warfare, there are the best cavalry in the world, and the regent Black Wolf is even more eloquent, has been eyeing the Central Plains, and the king of Northern Xinjiang personally led the troops to resist; "Huchen Country" is the tribal people of the wilderness land in the extreme south, according to legend, it is the descendant of the demon god Chiyou in ancient times, although the clansmen are not educated, but each is strong, a horse is a thousand, the leader of the new Tiger Soul King is the martial arts of the world's heroes, the king of the northern frontier of Daqi, the black wolf king of Yunlong have been defeated by him, so the world is called "the first master in the world". The hidden danger of the Southern Barbarians is the most troublesome thing for the rulers of the Central Plains in the past dynasties, and at present, it is resisted by 100,000 Vietnamese troops led by Yue Guogong, the commander of the southern Qi Dynasty.

Xu Lin mentioned these two enemy countries in order to tell Zhenhai Hou that he was not facing such a strong enemy, just a Haichuan. And listening to his words, Zhenhai Hou realized that I was afraid that what King Guhong and Xu Lin were going to say was to cut their own flesh.

"So", seeing that Zhenhai Hou was silent, Xu Lin changed his words and said: "The prince intends to let Brother Tang take command again, brother and I will assist, Wan Lijun will fully support, and vow to win another battle to block the mouth of Youyou." ”

Listening to Xu Lin's meaning, he actually let himself send troops again, Zhenhai Hou frowned, and said: "Xu Shuai, the prince's kindness is clear in the heart of the last general, and the last general really wants to have a big victory, so as not to embarrass the prince." However, the situation of the garrison army at the moment, the last general ......"

"Wu Jing", before Zhenhai Hou finished speaking, King Guhong interrupted him and said with a smile: "This king knows that the garrison army of Linhai City is no longer able to fight, and he knows that you are difficult, so don't force it." ”

Listening to King Guhong's words, the Marquis of Zhenhai stopped talking, and Xu Lin took advantage of the situation and said again: "Yes, after all, Brother Tang is cooperating with the younger brother for the first time, and he may have doubts about the military strength of the Wan Li Army, plus there are not many soldiers in his hand, Brother Tang wants to preserve his strength, but I can also understand." But Brother Tang, you have such a mind, but you have a little to live up to the prince's kindness. ”

As soon as he heard Xu Lin say this, Zhenhai Hou was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt on the ground, and immediately said: "The last general doesn't have this idea, please Wang Ye and Xu Shuai Mingjian!" The prince is gracious and recreated, and the last general really shouldn't think about it, and he should take the order. ”

King Guhong did not react to the words of Zhenhai Hou, in his opinion, the latter had to be ordered, the difference was only in sincerity and insincerity, but what did this have to do with him King Guhong? All he wanted was that the Marquis of Zhenhai was ordered to send troops.

"This is the best, this king's kindness is not in vain", as he spoke, King Gu Hong snorted lightly, then stood up and said solemnly: "Tang Wujing, the commander of Linhai City, obeys his orders. ”

"The end will be."

"I ordered you to reorganize your troops and horses, find out the information, and send troops to attack the pirates' land stronghold in three days, Xu Lin is responsible for support, and there must be no mistake. If there is a delay in the fighter, slash! ”

Listening to King Guhong's military order, Zhenhaihou didn't dare to hesitate at all this time, and hurriedly responded to the "last general's order", and at the same time, he thought to himself: King Guhong didn't call me Zhenhaihou when he gave the order, which can be regarded as a threat. Hmph, I've been acting like this for so long, and finally my true form is revealed, so you Mu Li, you want me to be cannon fodder for you, Lao Tzu doesn't leave me with this little soldier, you are ruthless.

Looking at the trembling posture shown by the Marquis of Zhenhai, King Guhong was very useful, and without saying anything, he asked him to retreat and prepare, and at the same time ordered the heralds to convene the generals to discuss the matter. And after he left, King Guhong took a sip of tea and said to Xu Lin: "Grace is just a soft method, if you want to control these generals, you still have to be scared, hum, there are no rules." ”

Listening to King Guhong's words, Xu Lin nodded yes, and said: "Let these seven thousand people in Linhai City go to explore the reality of the pirates, and then we will sit and watch, if we can see their strength, this time the bandits will be twice as effective with half the effort." It's just that he pity this Zhenhai Hou, after this battle, his last bit of family wealth will be gone. ”

King Guhong put down the teacup, glanced at the generals who came one after another outside the door, and said: "If he is really loyal to this king, this king will not spare his troops, only 20,000 or 30,000 people, and he can make up for it within half a year." But looking at him, it seems that he just says it nicely, hmph, then it's no wonder that this king is handsome for this Linhai City. ”

After speaking, King Guhong picked up the teacup and took another sip. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows, as if he had thought of something, and asked, "Can you call Duan Qingcheng?" ”

Hearing King Guhong ask about Qingcheng, Xu Lin was stunned at first, and then a flash of inspiration flashed in front of him, and he hurriedly said: "The herald should not have thought of it, and the last general will personally pass him on." ”

Such pre-war deliberations cannot be participated in by non-Chinese soldiers and above, but King Guhong named Qingcheng by name, does he know that the Duan family is good at the art of war, or has his attitude towards Qingcheng changed? If the latter, why?