Qi Dashuai each played fifty boards, forcibly not to spread rumors, the turmoil on the surface subsided, the army braved the wind and snow to go south, and finally returned to the north of the town safely. The army did not enter the city and was stationed in a camp outside the city. When they arrived here, everyone was relieved, relying on Xiongcheng, hundreds of thousands of troops were well defended, and there was no need to worry about the attack of the desert cavalry.

Jiang Anyi relieved himself of the deputy marshal of the rear army and returned to the post of senator in the army, and he had a place to live in the city, but he did not have to live in the barracks. Saying goodbye to An Yong, Jiang Anyi handed back Park Tianhao and others to his younger brother, and took Huang Zhu and a few people into the city.

The sky was overcast, the cold wind was blowing, the cold was blowing, Jiang Anyi's heart was as gloomy as the sky, and rumors that the Son of Heaven was seriously ill came out from time to time, making the originally unfavorable war even more uncertain. The latest report said that the desert cavalry Chen soldiers were hundreds of miles away, and with catapults, they might launch an attack on Zhenbei City.

Zhenbei City Palace, the Son of Heaven's Sleeping Palace, the four corners of the palace are burning charcoal basins, the silver silk charcoal is burning silently, the house is warm like spring, the incense is secretly spitting, and it is silent. Shi Fangzhen leaned on the couch with Qiu in his arms, closing his eyes and thinking about his thoughts. Returning to Zhenbei City from Danuo Lake, all kinds of news continued: Wang Keming set up an ambush for the Mo people to fight a small victory, but almost let the Mo army take away the Dano Lake station; The southbound army encountered a lack of food and clothing in the wind and snow, and the team sent to transport the baggage encountered a surprise attack by the desert army, but fortunately, Jiang Anyi rescued in time; Immediately afterwards, he heard that Zhang Shangtu rebelled and held Miao Tieshan hostage to desert, but Miao Tieshan committed suicide and died, and the rear army urgently transferred Qi Xinwen as the commander; There is also a very loud catapult used by the desert people, according to Wang Keming's secret performance, this car is a sharp weapon for siege field warfare, and will become Zheng Guo's worry.

The imperial doctor warned him to recuperate in peace, but the war was unfavorable and the bad news continued, so how to recuperate in peace. Ambitious intentions to sweep the northern desert, but unexpectedly ended in failure, the treasury is empty, strong neighbors covet, internal and external troubles, the situation is more difficult than when he first ascended the throne, thinking of more than 20 years of hard work to return to the past, Shi Fang is really depressed, more and more feel chilled into the bones.

The catapult used by the Dark Guard reported that the catapult used in the Northern Desert was called the Thunderbolt Car, which was sold to the Northern Desert by the Western Regions, so it seems that the Desert and the Western Regions had already colluded. Some time ago, the prince reported that the people of the Western Regions were ready to move and were ready to invade the east to echo the Mo people, but later Rong Mi and Tian Wei had a civil dispute, so the joint invasion was temporarily delayed. The battle with the Moren is over, and the soldiers must be sent to the Anxi Protectorate as soon as possible to strengthen the defense of Huazhou, otherwise stealing chickens will not become a counter-erosion, and the evaluation of me in the history books will become more and more mean.

Irritable in his heart, Shi Fangzhen couldn't help but cough violently again, and the light fur on his body seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, which made him breathless. Hearing the cough, Liu Weiguo hurriedly stepped forward to caress Shi Fangzhen's chest, and the cough stopped for a long time, Shi Fangzhen felt chest tightness and dizziness, and heard Liu Weiguo's voice in his ears, "Long live, the north city of Zhenbei is cold, which is not good for the health of the dragon, long live or return to Beijing to recuperate as soon as possible." ”

Shi Fangzhen closed his eyes weakly and muttered: "Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in the Northern Desert, the treasury is empty, what face do I have to face my ancestors and ancestors, and I am ashamed of my subjects in the world." ”

Liu Weiguo persuaded softly: "Long live, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, not to mention that this northern expedition is not a failure, the desert people were annihilated more than 200,000 people, tens of thousands of prisoners, and dozens of surrendered tribes, and the northern desert will not be able to go south in 20 years."

In the eyes of the old slave, this battle is a small victory, at least a draw. ”

"Tie", a wry smile appeared at the corner of Shi Fangzhen's mouth, he had been planning for twenty years for this draw, how would the history books be written? What would you say about him? His hopes of becoming the first emperor of the ages have been disappointed.

The little eunuch stepped in lightly and said, "Zuo Xiangkong, please see you." ”

At two o'clock every day, the provincial capital of Kong came to report on the government affairs and military affairs, and then handled the government affairs according to Shi Fangzhen's will. Listening to the report of Kong Province's safe return of the army, Shi Fangzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said sadly: "Miao Tieshan sacrificed his life for the country, and he should not be treated lightly, and his eldest son should inherit the Marquis of Zhou Shan and be buried thickly." After a pause, Shi Fangzhen continued: "There are many casualties in this northern expedition, the casualties and soldiers must be given preferential compensation, and the rewards for meritorious service cannot be deducted. ”

Kong Xingying said "yes", frowned and said: "It's just that where did this silver come from, Lord Yu of the Ministry of Officials reported that the new Xia Fu this year has been almost used, and the minister has calculated that it will cost at least eight million taels of silver to reward the dead and mourn." ”

Shi Fangzhen gasped and said: "There is still a way, there are many rich people in the world, if it doesn't work, sell some Huangzhuang." "The precedent of Yanshan Villa has given Shi Fangzhen some confidence, not to mention that some fat pigs can also be killed to save the emergency by releasing water to raise fish in recent years.

Kong Province thought for a while and said: "I remember that Yu Shangshu once had an excerpt to increase taxes on certain industries, such as wine, perfume, gambling houses, etc., if it can be implemented by the imperial court, it should be able to increase taxes by millions and temporarily solve the urgent need." ”

"We must be cautious in the matter of increasing taxes, and agricultural taxes must not be increased." Shi Fangzhen closed his eyes tiredly, waved his finger and said, "You write this meaning into a piece and present it to the prince, so that the prince can convene the ministers to discuss, and then report it to me when the results come out." I'm a little tired, so stand down. ”

Liu Weiguo hurriedly glanced at Kong Province, and the two of them passed the qi in advance, and today they will make a pilgrimage to Kong Province to persuade the Son of Heaven to return to China. Kong Xing stood up and said: "Long live is the foundation of the country, and taking care of the dragon's body is the most important thing. Now that the army has returned, the cold weather in Mobei lacks medical treatment and medicine, which is not conducive to recuperation. ”

Shi Fangzhen waved his hand to refuse, his breath was rapid and violently, the Venus in front of him was full of joy, his chest was tight and short, Liu Weiguo shouted while helping him stroke his back: "Quickly pass the imperial doctor." The imperial doctor was waiting at His Royal Highness, and after a long time, Shi Fangzhen lay down tiredly.

Seeing the sad expression on the imperial doctor's face, Shi Fang's heart sank, and his fear increased greatly, and he asked sharply, "How is my illness?" Compared to the previous paragraph, why is it not lightened? ”

The imperial doctor said with a sad face: "Long live, your condition can't be delayed any longer, the cold weather in Zhenbei City is not conducive to the recuperation of the dragon body, please enter the customs as soon as possible." ”

Shi Fang really felt that the world was spinning, and his heart was frightened, I was only fifty-three, and I was still in the prime of life, so I wouldn't be incured because of a minor illness. Hearing that the imperial doctor was still chattering, Shi Fangzhen no longer insisted, and said weakly: "Enter the customs." ”

The news of Emperor Zheng's departure and return to China was soon sent to the camp of Limo. The peace talks between Zheng Mo are still continuing in Zhenbei City, but the Sun Zhuwang of the Mo people has returned, leaving Zuo Da Danghu Puximo and Zheng Guo Guanglu Temple Shaoqing Chen Yinguang grinding their teeth, and both sides know about the peace talks

It doesn't make much sense. And the desert people used the excuse of the peace talks to blatantly inquire about the news, and the north gate of the north city of Zhenbei could be seen many times a day in and out under the banner of messengers.

Ti Zhu, Fa Wang, and Kun Po returned to the royal court, leaving 200,000 troops under the command of Li Man, indirectly acknowledging Li Man's strength and ability. Li Man was full of ambition, and these days he either feasted with the tribal leaders or rode horses and shot arrows with the warriors. Desert people are not afraid of wind and snow, many desert riders chase and play in the wind and snow, Li Man wears a thin coat in the cold wind, and three arrows in a row hit the red heart on the arrow stack eighty steps away.

The cheers were thunderous, and Li Man raised the bow in his hand to greet the desert horse, and then galloped to the sweat tent with satisfaction. When the curtain of the tent was lifted, a warm current came to the face, and the canal was afraid of the cold, and several charcoal basins were burning in the tent. Li Man took off his bare shoulders for the maid to wipe, and said with a smile to Qu who was leaning on the table to watch the spy report: "It's really happy, the Qu Master doesn't go outside to enjoy the snow, wouldn't he be bored and panicked if he stays in the tent all day." ”

Qu Guidao coughed twice, and Li Man said excitedly: "Emperor Zheng returned to the country, took Wang Keming away, and brought back 200,000 troops, the strength of the Zheng army has been greatly reduced, it is an opportunity for us, is it an opportunity to find a chance to fight, the sons and daughters are so idle that their hands are itchy." ”

Qu Zhidao still didn't make a sound, Li Man put on his fur again, and said with a hippie smile: "Master, I know you want to talk about going to the army to fight and plot, I almost caught Miao Tieshan last time, that old boy is a ruthless man, and he actually committed suicide." Alas, I'm only two or three hundred steps away from Daxuqi, it's all that damn Jiang Anyi, can the master think of a way to deal with him, this Jiang Anyi will be a scourge sooner or later. ”

"Yes, Jiang Anyi will be another Wang Keming in the future, even more powerful than Wang Keming." Qu Zhidao put down the spy report in his hand and said: "Take precautions, Liman, you have indeed grown a lot in the past few years." ”

Hearing the master's rare praise of himself, Li Manxi smiled and said, "Thank you master for your careful teaching." ”

Qu Zhidao picked out a few copies from the spy reports on the table and said, "These are all about Jiang Anyi, you take a closer look and see if you can find a way to come out." "I have seen these spy reports, Jiang Anyi and Rao Qingshan clashed, killed two generals, Jiang Anyi and Liao Jianhui had a dispute in the mourning hall, Zheng Ying's rumors about Jiang Anyi spread everywhere, Jiang Anyi's brothers fought with Liao Jianhui, Qi Xinwen each played fifty boards, and so on.

Li Man pondered for a moment and said: "Master, Jiang Anyi is valued by Zheng Guotianzi and Wang Keming, and now these two people have left Zhenbei City to return to China, and Jiang Anyi's backer is gone." It was Qi Xinwen who took over the camp in the north of the town, and from the perspective of Qi's attitude, he was not biased towards Jiang Anyi, if there was a little turmoil again, Jiang Anyi's good days in Zhenbei City would come to an end. However, even if Jiang Anyi is squeezed out, he can't deal with him. ”

"Jiang Anyi is a big material, and he has to be valued by Emperor Zheng, and Shi Fang's real vision is that he is a strong master and an ancestor. Mu Xiu will be destroyed by the forest wind, and Jiang An's righteous official has risen quickly, but he has been suppressed and plotted everywhere in the past ten years, as the saying goes, if you don't attract envy, you are a mediocre talent, and as a genius, you naturally have to bear more than others. ”

Qu Zhidao chuckled, with a little sadness in his laughter, Li Man guessed that the master was hurting himself again, lifted the teapot on the stove, and poured him a bowl of steaming butter tea.