The sixth year of Amano, the tenth day of the second month

Western Zhou Mingjing, Imperial Palace, Jade Pole Palace

Empress Dowager Ning's face was serious, she looked coldly at a military general kneeling in the hall, and only after a long time did she speak angrily.

"For this war, the court has been preparing for nearly three years, spending countless amounts of money and food, using millions of soldiers, and almost gambling on more than half of the national strength of my Great Zhou.

With such a shame, how will the mourning family face the civil and military ministers and the subjects of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the future, Ji Linbing and Ning Dewu, known as the generals of the Northern Jin Dynasty, commanded such a mess? ”

Empress Dowager Ning's voice interrogation made the kneeling hall military general with a face full of shame, his face was flushed, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, held back for a while, and only said a word.

"The end will be guilty."

"Guilty and guilty, what's the use of talking about these pieces of soup now, shouting that you are guilty, and the mourning family has never seen you end your own happily.

400,000 troops fell into Beiling, and you front-line generals, one is counted as one, and all of them are not counted. ”

Empress Dowager Ning became more and more angry the more she spoke, and finally couldn't help but pick up a jade inkstone from the throne, and wanted to fall the general, but unfortunately she was delicate and timid, and the jade inkstone only barely flew out of the imperial platform, and it was still a few feet away from the goal in her heart.

However, it was still the case, Empress Dowager Ning's anger also frightened the military general a lot, sweat covered his entire forehead, and his legs trembling slightly on his knees.

…………

However, Empress Dowager Ning ignored him, rubbed her white forehead a little tiredly, and she looked back at the old eunuch waiting next to her.

"Spread the will of the mourning family, quickly announce Prime Minister Ning Decai, Yu Shi Zhongcheng Gaoming, Sun Qingquan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and the Admiral of Jiumen to review the wisdom and enter the palace to discuss matters."

After a pause, Empress Dowager Ning added with some hesitation: "Sun Wuchang, the eldest prince of Liang State, should also give the Dao Order." ”

"The slave obeys."

The old eunuch shook off the dust and hurried out of the hall.

About half an hour later, the five important ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty ordered by the Empress Dowager Ning just now all came to the Yuji Palace, and the little emperor was also dragged by the Empress Dowager Ning to listen and learn.

After such a long time, Empress Dowager Ning basically regained her calm, and when she saw that everyone was coming, she asked the military general who was still kneeling in the hall to report Ji Linbing and others to Empress Dowager Ning and repeat it to Ning Decai and others.

After he finished speaking, the faces of the five important ministers all showed solemn expressions unexpectedly, the only difference was that.

In the imperial history, Cheng Gaoming and the Admiral of Jiumen judged their wisdom, and they were dignified with anger, while Prime Minister Ning Decai and Sun Qingquan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, were a little more worried, only Liang Guogong and the later general Sun Wuchang flashed a sneer with a pair of tiger eyes, and seemed to be a little gloating.

In fact, it is understandable that the five people have different expressions, because each person represents different interests, and naturally has different opinions on this matter.

Gao Ming and Shen Zhi were not deeply involved in the battle of Jin, and purely from the perspective of the ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty, they were saddened and angry at the unfavorable situation of the Zhou army.

And Ning Decai and Sun Qingquan are not, the two of them and the two coaches of the Zhou army, Ning Dewu and Ji Linbing, one is a brother, the other is a close friend, and now the relatives and friends are besieged in Beiling, life and death are unpredictable, and it is difficult for the two not to worry.

As for the last eldest grandson Wuchang, he completely hated that his beloved son was killed by Ning and Ji, and he was resentful in his heart, wishing that both of them would die in the hands of the Jin army.

Anyway, if it weren't for the wrong timing and place now, Eldest Sun Wuchang would probably have laughed out loud............

…………

It's time for the eldest grandson to laugh.

Putting aside the personal enmity of his son, Sun Yuting, from the overall situation, the Zhou army on the front line was trapped, which was extremely beneficial to him.

Think about it, there are four of the seven giants of the Western Zhou military, four on the front line, the general Ji Linbing, the former general Song Han, the left general Ning Dewu, plus a forbidden army commander Lu Ba.

If these four are broken on the front line, the rest will be the eldest grandson Wuchang, the queen general's family.

After all, the Jiumen Admiral is still not highly qualified, except for the soldiers and horses near Gyeonggi, his influence in the Zhou army is minimal, and the right general Qin Botao guards the frontier all the year round, guarding against Southern Chu, and his prestige in the imperial court is insufficient.

The two are one, and they can barely compete with the eldest grandson Wuchang, and when they are scattered, the eldest grandson Wuchang is not afraid at all.

Therefore, from the bottom of his heart, the eldest grandson Wuchang wanted to kill Ji Linbing more than Di Yi.

Kill it.

Kill them and you will be able to take charge of the Western Zhou military power and become the real head of the generals.

However, the eldest grandson Wuchang also knew that it was unlikely that his wish would come true, and the Empress Dowager Ning and the ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty would never watch the 400,000 troops die in Beiling, and they would definitely try their best to stop it.

Even if it can't be stopped in the end, the Zhou army is surrounded and suppressed by the Jin army, and Ji Linbing and others die tragically, Empress Dowager Ning and others will not sit idly by and watch him monopolize the military power.

In the end, he will be jointly suppressed by countless Western Zhou forces such as Empress Dowager Ning, the Hou Party, the remnant royalists, and the neutral faction.

The end is not much better than Ji Linbing, who died in battle............

……………

The eldest grandson Wuchang was thinking nonsense here, and the Empress Dowager Ning on the imperial platform looked at the five important ministers she had summoned without saying a word, and couldn't help but look at her.

"You also understand the situation of the army clearly, the generals on the front line propose to negotiate peace with the Northern Jin Dynasty, what do you think? And what can be done to the mourning family? ”

The five important ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty, you look at me, I look at you, and finally looked at Prime Minister Ning Decai, the meaning is obvious.

You are the queen mother's brother, you come first.........

Ning Decai obviously expected this, and stood forward unhurriedly with his fat waist and lifted the wat board.

"Empress Dowager Qi, Weichen thinks that the army is in trouble and the situation is in crisis, so we should think of a rescue strategy first, as for whether to negotiate peace with the Northern Jin Dynasty, the stakes are very high, the situation is unclear, and the minister does not dare to speak in vain."

Dead fat man, all the nonsense he says is nonsense, and he is extremely hateful.

Looking at Prime Minister Ning Cheng, who was righteous and Lingran, the four important ministers scolded in their hearts, but they all agreed with Ning Decai's words.

There is no way, just like Ning Decai said, the fact of suing for peace with the Northern Jin Dynasty is too big, and if it has a little to do with it, those who are related to this matter may have to be infamous as traitors.

All the important ministers are temperamental to cherish feathers, who is willing to do such a thankless thing, so before Empress Dowager Ning shows her intentions, several people will never rashly express their stance on the matter of seeking peace.

And on this side, Empress Dowager Ning saw that these important ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty were slippery, and her face was flushed, but it was not easy to force her, so she had to grit her silver teeth and regress.

"Okay, I'll talk about peace later, let's discuss the rescue strategy first."

……………

As soon as Empress Dowager Ning's voice fell, Ning Decai was the first to come out again: "Empress Dowager Qiyu, Weichen thinks that General Zuo's strategy of Lian Chu to resist the Jin Dynasty is very feasible.

Later, in order to resist the army of our dynasty, the Northern Jin Dynasty transferred troops everywhere, almost hollowing out most of the troops.

If Southern Chu sends troops, the already scarce troops of the Northern Jin Dynasty will be even more stretched, and it is very likely that the difficulty of the Northern Tomb will be solved in one fell swoop, so the minister thinks that the Queen Mother should immediately send a cadre to persuade Southern Chu to send troops to respond to our army and fight against the Northern Jin Dynasty. ”

Sun Qingquan, who has a straightforward personality, also stood up: "Queen Mother, the minister thinks that what Ning Xiang said is extremely true, once Southern Chu sends troops, the Northern Jin Dynasty will not be able to take care of each other, and the situation will be difficult."

At that time, even if the Jin army cannot be withdrawn, it can still draw the attention of the Jin army and win some buffer time for the generals. ”

Sun Qingquan still has a sentence that he has not said, that is, if Southern Chu sends troops and the Northern Jin Dynasty is tense, when the Western Zhou Dynasty asks for peace, it will also have a certain amount of confidence and bargaining chips, and it will not be as passive as it is now.

This was also one of the main purposes of Ning Dewu's initial proposal to ask for help from Southern Chu.

It's just that now because it is not good to take the initiative to mention the matter of negotiating peace with the Northern Jin Dynasty in front of Empress Dowager Ning, Sun Qing did not point out these words.

But except for the little emperor in the palace, the rest of the big people in the Western Zhou Dynasty all understood this.

Even Chu resists Jin, it is imperative.

Gently flicking the jade Buddha beads in her hand, Empress Dowager Ning pondered for a moment and slowly spoke.

"Then according to your lordship, who should be sent by the mourning family to envoy Nanchu, Prime Minister, you have presided over the household department, but there is a suitable candidate."

The fat on Ning Dewu's face was wrinkled, he pondered for a long time, and said a few names, all of which were inappropriate, and were rejected by Empress Dowager Ning.

In the end, Ning Decai had no choice but to ask for help from the imperial historian next to him.

"There are countless protégés of the old man, and a few talents should be recommended to serve the country."

Gao Ming, who is over seventy years old, is quite thin and has an elegant temperament, and when he heard Ning Decai's inquiry, he touched the white beard under his chin, stepped forward, and said to the Empress Dowager Ning.

"The old minister recommended the Imperial Shi Pang Yi Palace."

"Pang Yi Palace?"

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Empress Dowager Ning was a little puzzled, and couldn't help but ask Gao Ming.

"Why haven't the mourning family heard of this person?"

Gao Ming smiled faintly: "Pang Yidian is the first seven-grade imperial history of the Imperial History Terrace, of course the Queen Mother has not heard of him." ”

"Seven pins? The old man is confused, how can such an important matter be entrusted to the hands of a seven-grade petty official. "Shen Zhi was a little dissatisfied.

Gao Ming didn't get angry when he heard this, but said: "The judge doesn't know, this Pang Yidian has a great background, he is the grandson of the great general Pang Longhu, and he is also the nephew of the grandson of the current Southern Chu Emperor." ”

"Could it be that her mother is the Anya princess of Nanchu?" Eldest Sun Yuting said in surprise.

"Exactly." Gao Ming touched his beard and looked proud.

………………

Now everyone stopped talking, I have to say that Gao Ming moved out of a candidate who is difficult to refuse, and when it comes to this, I have to mention an old incident from 20 years ago.

At that time, Zhou Taizu was still in power, and the former general Pang Longhu had only just been promoted to the rear general, but the hero of the matter was not him, but his son Pang Ao.

This Pang Ao is the third son of Pang Longhu, handsome and extraordinary, and a martial artist, he became a six-rank lieutenant in the forbidden army at a young age, and later once, Taizu sent someone to envoy Chu State, and Pang Ao was accompanied by the forbidden army as a guard.

But I didn't want to, after Pang Ao arrived in Nanchu, I didn't know how to hook up with Princess Anya, the daughter of the prince of Nanchu at that time, and the two quickly made a private agreement for life, and it didn't take long for Princess Anya to become pregnant.

His daughter was confused and innocent, of course the prince of Nanchu didn't do it, and immediately detained Pang Ao, who planned to kill this guy to vent his anger, but he couldn't stand Princess Anya's pleading, and finally in desperation, the prince of Nanchu left Pang Ao in Chu to be a door-to-door horse.

At that time, this matter was very troublesome, and the three kingdoms knew about it, and in order to solve this matter, Zhou and Chu and the two countries had dozens of horses that ran back and forth to send letters back and forth, and finally temporarily ended the first stage with Pang Ao entering the army.

And the child that Princess Anya was pregnant with at the beginning was what Gao Ming said about Pang Yidian, which also involved the second stage of development of this matter after Pang Ao became rich.

As mentioned above, Pang Ao was a promising young military general in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but after he entered Southern Chu, he was not accepted by the people of Chu because of his Zhou identity, which led to his empty identity as a concubine, but he was depressed.

When Pang Yidian was five years old, Pang Ao fell into the river and drowned due to excessive drinking, and after Pang Ao's death, the prince of Southern Chu forced the heartbroken Princess Anya to remarry, and sent someone to send Pang Yidian back to the Western Zhou Dynasty and handed it over to the Pang family to raise.

So far, the mother and son have been separated for more than ten years.

Now, the prince of Southern Chu has long passed away, and the seventy-year-old emperor Emperor Tianyao does not take care of political affairs, and the real master of Southern Chu is the imperial grandson Xia Chen, and Princess Anya is the only sister of the imperial grandson, and has a great influence in Southern Chu.

The Western Zhou Dynasty sent Pang Yidian, a son who had not seen him for many years, to send an envoy, which can undoubtedly impress Princess Anya, as long as Princess Anya is convinced, the imperial grandson Xia Chen will be easy to do.........

Empress Dowager Ning pondered in her heart for half an hour, and finally made up her mind: "Promote Pang Yi Hall to the five-grade imperial history, and order to send an envoy to Southern Chu." ”