When night falls, bonfires outside the Daimyo's Mansion are lit up as if they reach the sky.

In this southern invasion of the Liao army, the cavalry fought fast and slowly, and quickly cut off the connection between the main forces of the Henan Song army, such as Bianliang and Damingfu.

The Liao army even attacked Huaibei and fought several battles with Liu Guangshi's generals, each with a victory or defeat. The sum of the soldiers and horses of the various units of the Song army far exceeded that of the Liao army, however, in terms of the front line alone, the Daimyofu and Bianliang faced the fierce Liao army, and it was the most secure to wait for reinforcements. Although the Daimyo's Mansion was in Hebei, there were Yue Fei and Cao Liangshi in charge, and Zhang Xian, Lu Mingyu and others led the remnants of the Song army to retreat and defend themselves. In contrast, Bianliang is in danger, Wang Gui has been Bianliang's 'fine' soldiers and generals 'pumped' out of the northern expedition, leaving more than 10,000 soldiers who can fight, and the original people in Bianliang City are hundreds of thousands, and since the war' chaos' has sheltered a lot of displaced people, the people have a total of millions of people, once the city is broken, the consequences are unimaginable. Liu Duan has not been in office for a long time, he does not know the generals, and no one is available, but Liu Duan is not incompetent, under the dangerous situation, he recruited all the workers in the city to organize a regimental exercise, and he himself personally carried the coffin to the city wall, and finally stabilized the situation. Liu Duan guarded the city wall for four days, and Yang Zaixing led more than 100 horsemen to fight and retreat, and entered the outside of Bianliang City. Liu Duan heard that in the name of Yang Zaixing, he ordered Yang Zaixing to preside over the city defense, and Bianliang stabilized. Because the Bianliang matter was of great importance, the military department had urged Han Shizhong's Jiangnan battalion, Liu Guangshi's Huaixi battalion, and Cao Di's Xiangyang battalion to go north to rescue them, and also stepped up recruitment and regimental training in various prefectures and counties to fill the gap left by the three battalions' soldiers and horses after they went north.

It was late at night, and the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion was still brightly lit, and people were constantly coming in and out, and it had been the case every night since the Liao army invaded the south.

Since the Liao army invaded the south, not only the regimental training resistance in the northern prefectures and counties has been very strong, but a large number of regimental exercises have also been organized on the left and right sides of the Jiang. To integrate these scattered regimental training, and even form a new northern expedition battalion, the burden falls on the head of the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion. A few months after the defeat in Xiongzhou, the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion stayed up all night. In order to quickly deal with the military situation, Deng Su ordered all the officials of the Ministry of War and the Privy Council to move into the Prime Minister's Mansion. Deng Su worked hard, originally with black hair, but in just a few months, his temples have become gray, and everyone who sees it sighs. After the defeat of Xiongzhou, some people wrote to accuse Liu Duan and Yue Fei of not saving them when they saw death, and some people accused the three major battalions in Jiangbei of not moving, causing Wang Gui's northern expedition to go deep alone, and some people even wanted to investigate Zhao Xingde and Wu Zilong's failure to repair the garrison during the reign of Henan. However, when the national crisis is at hand, it is the desire of the people to help each other in the same boat, even if it is the descendants of Wu Zilong and Lu Yunsun, the court has also stopped fighting against Deng Su, and has turned to recruit regiments in various places, and the prevarication of the will of the prime minister in various states and counties is also rarely read.

"It's a pity, Lord Lu Bingyi." "The Liao people can't last, and if they stand up for a while, it's the end of the strong crossbow."

In the signing room, the clerks occasionally whispered a sentence or two while working the case. Most of the scribes on duty at night are about 30, and they are in the prime of life, and their own policies and articles are all the best choices, and they have been trained in the prime minister's mansion or the military department for a long time, and they have seen and heard a wide range of things, and their grasp of the current situation is far beyond others. The Liao army captured Huazhou, and there was a lot of noise in the south of the Yangtze River, and the grass and trees were all soldiers, but there was a pity in the signing room of the military department, and the vast majority of people did not think that the war situation was worse than Jingkangnian, and most people believed that the Liao army could not last for a year. At present, including Bianliang, most important towns in Henan and Jiangbei have not been lost. The three major battalions in Jiangbei only have sufficient supplies in the rear, and will send troops to the Northern Expedition in the autumn, and the Liao army will retreat to Hebei if it sees the opportunity, and if it does not see the opportunity, it is afraid that the defeat will be worse than the last time the Song army went on the Northern Expedition. It's a pity that the military and civilians of Huazhou failed to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements.

"A few happy families and a few sorrows, the Liao people invaded the south this time and suffered countless robberies, but for Deng Xiangye, the Khitans came just right."

A scribe took a sip of bitter tea and whispered a smile to the people beside him. "Yes," the man echoed, "the thieves went south, and the court calmed down." ”

"These two!" Not far from them, an older scribe looked righteous and rebuked in a low voice, "What frivolous! ”

Close to Zhu Zhechi, the majority of the scribes who admired Deng Xianggong accounted for the majority, at least in their opinion, Deng Su's actions can be called a generation of virtuous ministers who have done their best.

"Yes," Fan Changheng replied in a low voice. More than a month ago, he was selected to be transferred to the Prime Minister's Mansion because of his unusual performance.

Xiangfu, this is the center of the three hundred prefectures and counties of the Great Song Dynasty, Fan Changheng was notified, and he was as 'excited' as he was in the Jinshi, who would have thought that only a few years ago, he was still a poor man, and he secretly made up his mind that he must gain a firm foothold in this important place in the world, and the return of Yijin Rong is just around the corner. Therefore, with the heart of being cautious and not making a big mistake, he worked tirelessly every day in the signing room of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and finally did not suffer from the rejection of many old "masters" in the signing room, and he could be regarded as a source of left and right. "The hour is up, call it a day." With this shout, several scribes stood up and stretched, and another group of people came up again. The military and political center of the Great Song Dynasty is running day and night.

The scribes can only take a day off in ten days, and Deng Su has always been in the front office, the backyard and the front office are only separated by a wall, since the Liao people invaded the south, he has not stepped on the backyard 'door' threshold.

The sky is not clear, and the crowd on a street at the entrance of the Xiangfu Gate has been flowing endlessly, and this is almost the most lively street market in Bianliang. Because of the large number of pedestrians in the past, every morning, countless small stalls will be set up in front of the shops on the street for all kinds of people who come to the prime minister's house early in the morning to do business. Over time, the breakfast stall on Suzaku Street has become a famous national must. Many outsiders come to Ezhou to come to taste it. However, for the scribes in the prime minister's mansion who worked day and night, this was just a convenient place to fill their stomachs.

At a breakfast stall very close to the 'door' of Xiangfujiao, Fan Changheng sat down with the two scribes who had just been denounced as "frivolous", and four bowls of intestinal blood powder soup were served.

The east looms the white of the fish's belly, and the public officials from all over the country, the people who write and talk about things, and the businessmen who do small business are rubbing shoulders one after another, and the blood that flowed at the 'door' of the prime minister's house has long been forgotten when the change of the life of the year.

A red sun rises in the sky, the Xiangfu 'gate' is full of people, Suzaku Street is lively like a bazaar, and only a few streets and alleys are separated, and the location of the Ouchi Palace is still quiet. I don't know if it is intentional or unintentional, the palace is a rare and quiet place in Ezhou. After the Great Rites Discussion, almost everyone in the world knew that the prime minister's mansion was the hot stove, and the emperor became a real loner. Even if the national disaster is at the head, those who write and say things go to the prime minister's house, and the front of the palace 'gate' can be called the 'door' court is cold, and those who have good things are called "imperial hermitage". Compared with the brightly lit Xiangfu, the direction of the palace is pitch black, as if it is a black 'hole' that swallows everything.

After Cao Guzuo's 'chaos' failed, Zhao Qi ordered to reduce half of the palace consumption, the imperial meal was saved to the extreme, and the lights and candles at night could not be used.

In the Funing Palace, the smell of dipterocarp is so strong that it makes people drowsy, His Majesty's face is sallow, his eyes are looking up at the sky, staring at a person dressed as a eunuch kneeling down the steps.

"Cao Guozhang sent a villain to report, Your Majesty has no need to worry, the army is ready, just waiting to send troops." The man said respectfully.

The voice echoed, but there was no response from the dragon chair, and the messenger seemed to be speaking to the air in the temple, and he continued to kneel in the hall in a proper manner.

There was still a dead silence above, and the messenger couldn't help but be curious, and wanted to look up to see that His Majesty was still in the palace when he was not in the palace, and the top spoke.

"I have lived in the deep palace for a long time, and I am negligent in military affairs, I don't understand everything you said, but I still hope that the national ruler will take care of his health."

The sound of 'reverberation' in the hall was weak, as if it was floating from the sky, and a gust of wind could blow it away. "The villain understands." The messenger bowed his head and carefully wrote down His Majesty's words, which were not written down, but could only be passed on by word of mouth, and he waited for a long time, and then said, "Stand down." With a slight hint of sorrow, it seemed that he was annoyed that he didn't know how to advance or retreat. The messenger hurriedly said goodbye, and hid in the shadow of the dragon locust tree outside the palace, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, he was just a small officer, the first time in his life to bear this big thing, the first time to see the face of the sky, I couldn't help but be very nervous. After the incident, I felt empty again.

"This is Emperor Lao Tzu?" The messenger shook his head, "We are eating Cao Jieshuai's meal, and we are obedient, what do we have to do with him?" He didn't feel worth it because he was nervous.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day climbed up in mid-air, and a moment later, it was the time to open the city 'gate', the Tuan Ding of Yonglong County snorted, stretched his waist, and looked out from the battlement by the way, but it was a "ahhhhh

"Yes, yes, yes" His face was so pale that he couldn't speak, he was so frightened that he couldn't speak, he came to his senses, turned around and picked up the gong "Bang Bang" for a while, and the sound of the warning gong resounded through the city wall, and the group of Ding Fang shouted out.

"The thief is here!" "The thieves are here!"

"Bang Bang Bang-" "Dang Dang Dang Dang-"

"The thieves are coming!"

The sleepy regiment members at the head of the city were 'chaotic' while warning one after another, while hurriedly looking for the blades, and another person flew up to the city tower to report the situation, but was told that the commander stayed in the Wan 'Chun' building in the city, and had not yet returned, and the deputy commander was not there, and the head of the gun 'stick' followed the commander to the Wan 'Chun' building, and there was only one flag officer in the city tower, and the commander stayed to prevent the old man from checking the sentry. It is a big matter for the Liao thieves to invade the territory, how dare the flag officer make the decision without authorization. This banner official used to be the family of the old man Xuezheng, and he knew that offending the young master was just a good beating, and offending the old master was hopeless for life. He had to hurriedly send someone to the Wan 'Chun' building to find the young master of the command, and on the other hand, he sent someone to report to the master Xuezheng, this time back and forth, tossing for half an hour, the army has been killed under the city, Yonglong County Xuezheng and the regiment training command the father and son rushed to the city.