The State of Qin, recognized as the most powerful country in the Shenzhou Continent.

With the Zhao army's comprehensive use of troops against Great Xia, all the elite troops pressed towards the Canglan Pass, resulting in a shortage of troops in the hinterland of the Zhao State, and there were no more troops stationed in the three Xiongguan of the Qinling Mountains, and now only 100,000 troops were stationed in each pass to guard against the Qin State.

With the use of troops by the State of Qi and the State of Yuan against Great Xia, the forces secretly assembled by the State of Qin were finally revealed, and 500,000 troops were waved directly to attack the North Pivot Pass.

When Xiao Rui asked Zhang Liang to go out of the mountain, Zhang Liang deduced the situation in the world, and he put himself in the perspective of the Qin State and imagined how the Qin State would conquer the world. Zhang Liang could think of it, and the strategists around Emperor Qin would naturally think of it, so when Qin sent troops to Beishu Pass, an elite cavalry of 5,000 people was marching north across the Linhai Snow Plain, preparing to invade Zhao State.

At the same time, a large number of infantry crossed the Qinling Mountains, passing between plank roads and mountain roads, and also invaded the Zhao State.

The conquest of the Qin State began, and at this point, all the seven kingdoms of Shenzhou fell into war.

Time flickered, and another five days passed.

With the invasion of the Qi army and the Yuan army, the state machine of Daxia was in full swing, and then the governor's office of the five armies cooperated with the military department, and the northern states dispatched soldiers from the guards, gathered 200,000 troops to the north, and the champion Hou led the troops against the Qi and Yuan armies.

The Qi State sent 150,000 troops, and the Yuan army sent 100,000 troops, forming a combined army of 250,000 to the south, which was still more than 200 miles away from the border pass. And according to the report from the spies in Qi, there are still 300,000 troops in the two countries that are gathering to continue the southern invasion.

Xiao Rui continued to learn to deal with government affairs in the Heart Cultivation Hall in the morning, but now sixty percent of government affairs are related to wars, after all, there are many wars now.

However, in addition to the war, there are other important things that cannot be solved that need to be addressed to His Majesty.

At this time, Emperor Xia had a copy of the Caozhou Thorn History in his hand, and it was sent urgently for 600 miles.

After Emperor Xia saw it, he rubbed his eyebrows, sighed lightly, and said, "Sure enough, it's still here." ”

The sigh attracted Xiao Rui, and Xiao Rui asked, "Father, what happened?" ”

Emperor Xia handed the chapter to Xiao Rui, Xiao Rui took it, and his face was condensed, and he said, "Ling Xun?!"

Lingxin refers to the phenomenon of a river water swelling caused by the melting of ice and snow in the upper reaches and the thaw in the downstream. This year, the weather is cold, and the Yellow River, the largest river in the north of Xia Kingdom, has also frozen and sealed the river, and the Yellow River course is tortuous and meandering, spanning high and low latitudes, which is very capricious.

This willfulness caused the Yellow River to flow from low latitude to high latitude after entering Caozhou, that is, from southwest to northeast. In winter, the temperature is warm at the top and cold at the bottom, the river is closed from the bottom up, and the ice is thick and thin. In the spring, the ice that closed the river began to melt, and because the temperature was high in the south and low in the north, the river opened from the upstream to the bottom.

Nowadays, the Yellow River in Caozhou has opened the river and thawed ice, but Jeju and Binzhou in the lower reaches are still in a frozen state. Once left unchecked, a large amount of ice and water from the upstream will rush downstream, forming a large ice flood peak, and then the river ice will be dammed and the water level will be high, which will form a terrible flood disaster.

Since ancient times, there has been a phenomenon of flooding in the land of Ludong.

Xia Huang sighed: "The weather is changeable this year, which will inevitably lead to natural disasters. A few years ago, I ordered the cabinet to inform the governors of the states through which the Yellow River flowed, to pay careful attention to the situation of the flood, and it seems that the fear has still happened, and once the flood bursts, it will be mourned all over the wilderness, and the downstream will be reduced to the state of Ze. ”

Xiao Rui nodded, and said: "Since ancient times, the way to deal with Ling Xun is to break ice and scatter soil, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources. ”

"Although the action has begun, the speed of icebreaking by manpower is too slow, and there is a time limit for icebreaking, so it is necessary to grasp the ice forecast, choose the right time to break the ice, and the most effective icebreaking is when the river is about to open. Break the ice early and freeze again when the temperature drops. If you break late, you lose the opportunity to break the ice. When the river channel is long and the ice volume is large, it is also necessary to select important river sections that may form ice dams, such as shoals, sharp bends, and narrow embankment distances. Judging from this expedited express, this Caozhou assassin is also an incompetent person, and he has no chance to coordinate everything at all. Look at this recital, he didn't even explain when the river would open, how long it would take to complete the icebreaking, etc., so it can be seen that he was also confused! Emperor Xia sighed.

Today, Your Majesty has a vision, and he was worried that there would be a flood years ago, but it is not only His Majesty who manages the country, but also the parents and officials of the state capitals, if these parents and officials are incompetent, Your Majesty who is far away in Kyoto can only sigh in the air.

If the flood is not handled well, it will inevitably flood the coastal state capitals downstream, causing heavy casualties.

At this moment, Xiao Rui got up and arched his hand and said, "Father, let Erchen lead the iron dragon cavalry and go with gunpowder!" ”

"You're going?" Emperor Xia was stunned.

Xiao Rui nodded and said with a smile: "Father, the son is not going on a whim, but thinking about it carefully, for three reasons. First, the rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of the husband, not to mention that it is still a major matter of human life! As the crown prince, Erchen naturally can't stay out of the matter. Second, although he can learn the knowledge of handling national affairs in the palace of nourishing his heart, he can better understand the people's feelings and national conditions and personally understand them. Third, gunpowder can open the river faster than manpower, and gunpowder is a matter of confidentiality, and the sons are not at ease to arrange for others to go. Now Erchen will lead people to rush to Caozhou in the shortest possible time, trying to prevent the occurrence of Lingxun, and ask his father for permission! ”

"The emperor has a heart, since this is the case, I am approved!" Emperor Xia smiled heartily and immediately agreed, and the promise was very fast, which surprised Xiao Rui.

Then, Emperor Xia seemed to think of something, and said: "You first take five thousand iron dragoons to escort gunpowder to Caozhou lightly." I will order the auxiliaries to deliver the equipment of the Iron Dragoon to you. ”

Xiao Rui wanted to refuse, after all, he was going to disaster relief, and he didn't need to bring the weapons, armor and vest of the Iron Dragoon, but he thought that the weapons and armor were the lives of the Iron Dragoon soldiers, and it was better to take them with him, so he didn't refuse.

It's just that His Majesty's smile is weird.

Subsequently, Xiao Rui left the Yangxin Palace and ordered Li Yuanfang to inform Jia Xu, Guo Jia and Zhang Liang to go to the Tiger Pavilion to prepare gunpowder, and Dian Wei and Yang Youji to rectify the five thousand iron dragon horses.

Xiao Rui returned to the East Palace to say goodbye.

In the East Palace, Zhuge Liuying and Li Ruoxue were chatting in the room, and Lu Pheasant on the side and their concern became closer, and the three of them became friends who talked about everything.

Xiao Rui hurriedly came back and explained his intentions.

After hearing this, although the two girls were reluctant, they immediately prepared their bags for Xiao Rui, and then kept instructing.

"Your Highness, you must be full when you go out."

"It's cold in the north, so be sure to wear thicker!"

"Be sure to stay safe!"

……

Xiao Rui smiled and nodded all the time, enjoying the intimate instructions of the two ladies.

Subsequently, Xiao Rui left the palace and went to Zhan Shifu, and went out of the city with Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Zhang Liang and others to Huben Pavilion.

At this time, outside the Tiger Pavilion, five thousand iron dragoons were already lightly armed, each riding one horse and carrying two horses. One horse shifted, and the other carried two wooden boxes, in which were placed large porcelain jars, which contained gunpowder, and on the outside of the porcelain jars, there were also a large number of linen cloths to prevent collisions and bumps, so that it was safe to carry gunpowder. Each person carries 20 catties of gunpowder, which is enough for 100,000 catties of gunpowder, which is enough to break the ice.

This time I went to Caozhou, Zhang Liang accompanied him, accompanied by Li Yuanfang, Dian Wei, and Yang Youji.

Don't look at Zhang Liang as beautiful as a woman, but with martial arts, on the other hand, Jia Xu and Guo Jia are ordinary people who can't withstand long-distance travel.

After getting ready, Xiao Rui turned over and got on the horse.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia arched their hands and said: "Your Highness, this is a thousand miles away from Caozhou, and I hope Your Highness will pay attention to safety!" Everything can be left to the ovary and Yuanfang! ”

Xiao Rui returned the salute and said with a smile: "Wenhe, Fengxiao, rest assured, this king understands." ”

The two were still not at ease, and instructed Zhang Liang again.

After Zhang Haohao comforted the two, the group immediately set off and went north to Caozhou.

The news of Xiao Rui's departure from Kyoto did not spread, and Emperor Xia even blocked the news to avoid a conspiracy and an opportunity.

This trip to Caozhou, more than a thousand miles away, Xiao Rui and others are all people who practice martial arts, and the horses are all good horses, good at running, and can easily run fifty or sixty miles per hour. But the physical strength of the war horse is also limited, it is impossible to run all the time, basically you have to slow down for forty or fifty minutes to rest, and you have to change trains after running for most of the day, and Xiao Rui and others can also take the opportunity to take a break.

Although there are post stations along the road, there are no 5,000 good horses at the post stations, so they can only change horses in various health stations.

Rushing to Caozhou this time, Xiao Rui also wanted to experience the speed of the rapid march, after all, if he really went to the battlefield in the future, raids for thousands of miles would be commonplace.

He set off at noon that day and arrived at Caozhou Prefecture in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, and ran more than 1,000 miles in more than three days, which was not slow.

Riding for ten hours a day is also the first time for Xiao Rui, fortunately he is a martial artist, with a strong body to support, even so, his butt is bumped badly, and his legs are sore. On the other hand, the soldiers of the Iron Dragoon, well, they don't feel tired at all!

More than 5,000 people suddenly approached the Caozhou Prefecture capital, which immediately aroused the alarm of the guards in charge of guarding the city. Xiao Rui was also afraid of causing panic, so he ordered the iron dragon to ride outside the city to repair, while they entered the city.

At this time, the hundred households guarding the city hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Dare to ask where your military masters are from?" Is there a military department appointment document? ”

Li Yuanfang stepped forward, took out his token, and shouted: "This official is the prince's personal guard to lead Li Yuanfang!" ”

Baihu was taken aback, and hurriedly bowed: "The villain greets General Li!" ”

"Quickly lead the way, take us to the Assassin's Mansion!" Li Yuanfang ordered.

This hundred-household did not dare to delay and personally led Xiao Rui into the city, but after entering the city, he peeked at Xiao Rui and stopped talking.

After Zhang Liang noticed it, he asked, "Do you have something to say?" ”

Only then did Baihu say respectfully: "When you go to the Assassin Mansion, you should go to find Lord Assassin Shi." But at this point in time, Lord Assassin Shi should not be in the mansion. ”

When Zhang Liang heard this, he immediately smiled, and his eyes looked at the young hundred, and under Zhang Liang's gaze, the hundred-hundred-hundred-household was embarrassed and did not dare to look directly.

"Then where is the history of Caozhou's assassination?" Zhang Liang asked.

"Drunken Xianglou drinking." Baihu said.

Zhang Liang nodded and said, "Take us to continue to the Assassin's Mansion!" ”

Baihu didn't dare to say more, and continued to lead the way in front of him.

Xiao Rui naturally noticed this scene and asked: "This Caozhou assassin is so big Yaxing, Ling Xun is about to do it, not only does he not want to solve it, but he no longer works in the government, he actually went to Zuixiang Building to drink, he is really a good parent and official of the people." ”

Zhang Liang said with a smile: "Many local officials are corpses and vegetarian meals, even if there is a supervision of the imperial history to inspect the state capital, it will not be of much use." ”

Xiao Rui nodded, don't talk about ancient times, even the corrupt officials in the previous life could not be swept away, this is a big problem.

"Ofan, I've been thinking about a problem these days, there are too many state agencies in Daxia, which leads to a large number of officials, redundancy, and bloated structure, which is a waste of manpower and material resources, and a huge expense." Xiao Rui said.

There are nominally seventy-two prefectures in Great Xia, but in fact, except for a dozen prefectures such as Hangzhou, Fuzhou, and Ganzhou, which are considered prefectures, there are only three or four prefectures in other prefectures, and the area is not large. Don't talk about anything else, let's talk about Ludong.

The Great Xia Kingdom does not have the official name of Ludong, but is just a civil regional name, which is the regional self-name of the four prefectures of Caozhou, Jeju, and Binzhou, in fact, these four prefectures can be completely replaced by a province.

The reason why this situation occurred in the Great Xia Kingdom is due to many historical reasons, so I will not mention it for the time being, but this situation is a serious waste of resources.

According to Xiao Rui's plan, there are too many seventy-two states, and more than two are just right, just like in the previous life.

Zhang Liang understood Xiao Rui's good intentions, but he still reminded: "It is assigned to the state capital, involving local clans, gate valves, and moving the whole body, Your Highness must not be cautious." ”

Xiao Rui smiled: "Don't worry, I understand this truth." Let's talk about this Caozhou assassin history, this king is tired and tired, he goes to drink flower wine, and if he can't say that he is ugly, he will definitely behead him to set an example! ”

Zhang Liang suddenly smiled: "This person is worthy of being a state parent official!" And judging from the performance of the hundred households just now, this Caozhou assassin is not only mediocre, but also has a bad relationship with the commander of the envoys! ”

After a pause, Zhang Liang continued: "A hundred households guarding the city saw that our identity was not simple, so he directly fell into the well of the assassination, and you can imagine what the attitude of the upper command is. Although the assassin and the commander do not interfere with each other, but they are officials in the same place, if there are constant gaps, then other things are even more messy. ”

Xiao Rui nodded and agreed: "The ovary is reasonable. This time I came in a hurry, and I didn't investigate the identity of Caozhou's assassin and commander, so let's meet the opportunity to act. ”

Zhang Liang naturally had no objection.

The group came to the Assassin's Mansion, and the Assassin of Caozhou was really not there, but the Tongzhi of Caozhou was working in the yamen, and when he heard that His Royal Highness the Prince was there, he was so frightened that he hurriedly came out to greet him.

Xiao Rui entered the house and shouted directly: "Go and send someone to call the assassin of Caozhou, besides, what is the situation in Caozhou now?" ”

This fellow acquaintance was so frightened that he stammered, and he couldn't say a reason, so angry that Xiao Rui really wanted to pull out the Chixiao Sword and chop this guy.

It didn't take long for Caozhou to rush back.