Chapter 458: My Country

It had been more than a month since the imperial army crossed the Qinshui, and the things that the courtiers had worried about before had not appeared, and everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although the combat strength of the people is average, the battle has been quite smooth so far, so the morale is very high. The initial battles were all completed by the soldiers, and with the cooperation of the sailors, it was not too difficult for the well-trained Great Sui elite to kill Qinshui. The Minyong, who had been shouting for the soldiers in the early stage, gradually participated in some battles after crossing the river, although their quality was still not outstanding, but after all, the equipment was much better than that of the rebels.

After some victories, the morale of these people grew. The rebels' defense line was compressed step by step, and after self-confidence, the brave battalion gradually became able to take charge on its own.

Qinshui is the rebel's biggest natural barrier, but the rebels' lack of a water division is their biggest weakness.

The sailors of the Great Sui have always been very low-key, but their strength is undoubted. When Nanchen was extinguished, the Nanchen Sailor, who was known as the first in the world, did not last long in front of the Great Sui Sailor. Attacking the Shang State more than 20 years ago, the Shang army, which was known for its naval divisions, was also powerless to fight back under the crushing of the Great Sui Naval Division.

The strength of the army is built on the strength of the country.

The Great Sui Navy Division was fully equipped, the battleships were solid, and mature tactics had been formed over the past hundred years.

After crossing the Qinshui River and entering the Hexi Road, the army had to fight almost every day. The rebels' defensive line was very thick, and every village and fortress had to be scrambled. Li Yuanshan asked his generals to constantly put pressure on the rebel soldiers, telling them that if they did not resist, there would be no way to live. Their participation in the rebels was an unforgivable sin for the imperial court, and if they wanted to live, they had to take up arms and resist.

Therefore, although the progress of the imperial army was not slow at the beginning, few rebels surrendered voluntarily.

For this point, the court officials who accompanied the army were puzzled. They really couldn't understand why those foolish people would rather believe Li Yuanshan's nonsense than believe in the amnesty decrees of the imperial court. His Majesty decreed before the Western Expedition that all rebel soldiers who laid down their weapons and surrendered could not be blamed as long as they had not done great evil. But this amnesty has been issued for a long time, and not many people in the rebels believe it.

In fact, it is no wonder that although those people were forced to become thieves, this is the same as having to steal, the government issued a notice saying that as long as they voluntarily surrendered, they could be exempted, and basically the thieves did not believe it.

In the final analysis, it is nothing more than the four words "ghosts" in the heart.

In November, the army conquered Hengyuan, and His Majesty recovered Hengyuan Palace, one of the seven palaces in the northwest. Although the contents of the palace have long been looted, it is a relatively inspiring victory. Shi Lei, the rebel general stationed in Hengyuan, led his army to retreat forty miles west and redeployed on the front line of Sheephorn Mountain.

The scale of Hengyuan Palace is not large, and it is not as rich as the Guangyang Palace in Xiangzhou. One Guangyang Palace's reserve of grain, grass and armor is enough to equip tens of thousands of troops.

The emperor, who had obviously lost a lot of weight, refused Su Budaunt's support to help him walk up the stone steps of Hengyuan Palace. It has only been two or three years, and this palace has changed beyond recognition. Although this is the first time that His Majesty the Emperor has walked here, he can still feel the decline of this palace in the past two years.

The slate-paved courtyard was already full of weeds, and no one took care of it, and the weeds easily came out of the cracks in the slates, and it took only one spring to capture the entire palace. There is no one to maintain it, and the speed at which the house is falling out always seems so amazing. The palace wall, which was originally painted vermilion, has been mottled with peeling skin, and there are many arrow towers and watchtowers added to the city wall, making the palace wall look nondescript.

There are rows of rejected horses outside the palace gate, which looks even more desolate and desolate.

The Emperor stepped on the dust and weeds on the stone steps and walked slowly up the top. He kept looking around, and there was a faint anger in his eyes.

This is his palace, the place that represents the majesty of the emperor, and now it has become a stable and a cattle pen!

His gaze stayed on the rebel flag on the roof of the palace that he hadn't had time to pull off, and his face became even more difficult to look at. Su Buwei immediately understood what the emperor meant, stretched out his hand and pointed to the location of the flag and reprimanded a few words, and several guards in brocade clothes immediately ran over and found a ladder to climb up the house and pull out the flag.

The Ouchi Guards Office now exists in name only, and after Luo Weiran was driven out of Chang'an City by the emperor, it was Su Buxing's secret guard who took over the responsibilities of the Ouchi Guard. The dark guards mentioned the bright place from the dark place, and they still used the name of the Ouchi Guard's Office, but for the sake of distinction, people now call Su Buying's person the Jinyi School.

The flying fish robe is declining, and the brocade school is dominant.

"I've never been here, but this courtyard is my private house. As an emperor, I can't even keep my own private house, I'm sorry for my ancestors. ”

The Emperor stood on the platform and muttered to himself, frightening the ministers who followed him. The military generals knelt down, and no one knew why the emperor suddenly had such feelings. The emperor said that he was sorry for his ancestors and ancestors, so these courtiers were unforgivable.

"Your Majesty......"

Su Buxing opened his mouth, but was stopped by the emperor: "Don't persuade me anything, I just blame myself." Taizu founded the country, Taizong started a business, and the powerful empire built by the Yang family for more than a hundred years was handed over to me, but I did not keep it. It's none of your business, it's my own business. ”

Say irrelevant, how can it be irrelevant?

The courtiers hurriedly kowtowed: "The courtiers are waiting for a capital crime!" ”

"Get up."

The emperor waved his hand: "I just feel something in my heart, you don't need to be so trembling. You have to go through something unsmooth to make people more diligent and cautious. Without Li Yuanshan's rebellion, I would not easily rectify the rule of officials. Without the rebels, I wouldn't have seen the other side of the people. The predecessors said that the northwest has been in chaos to the root, and it is enough to govern it from scratch. It's just that it's easy to turn from chaos to chaos, but it's not easy to turn from chaos to safety. Now that you have regained a lot of lost territory, you should now think about how to make the people obey and stop being thieves! ”

"Your Majesty will follow your majesty's teachings."

Everyone got up and followed the emperor step by step.

"Before I arrived in the northwest, although I hated Li Yuanshan for plotting rebellion. But don't you think this person is a little scheming and a little bold? When I was in Chang'an, I told myself to face this opponent squarely. But after arriving in the northwest, I have relaxed a lot, you see......"

The emperor stretched out his hand and pointed around: "Even if it is robbed, if it is not well managed, it will be lost sooner or later." Li Yuanshan only knows plundering but does not know how to raise the people, how can it last for a long time! ”

After saying this, it immediately attracted a reprimand and curse for Li Yuanshan, as well as praise for the emperor.

Standing in front of the main hall of the palace, the emperor raised his head and looked at the already mottled plaque and shook his head: "Take this plaque off as well...... Make a new block. Break and then stand, all the old useless must be stripped away, so that there can be a new ......"

The latter sentence is something that no one understands.

Only the emperor himself knew what he was talking about.

……

……

Leaning on the side hall that had been cleaned up, the emperor pulled the brocade quilt and wrapped it tighter. The weather in the northwest made him uncomfortable, especially at night, and he still didn't feel warm with two layers of quilts. The lights in the room are bright, but there will always be corners that can't be illuminated, just like the emperor's heart.

Su was not afraid to wait carefully for the emperor to take the medicine, and then stood aside with his head down.

"The dregs of the medicine are all taken care of, don't let people see them."

The emperor took out his handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and commanded, looked at the recital sent from the capital in front of him and frowned slightly. These excerpts were all picked out by Pei Yan, and most of them were trivial. The biggest problem of the imperial court now is to quell the rebellion, as for how many people froze to death in a certain place in the heavy snow, and the dereliction of duty of officials in a certain place, the emperor has no heart to deal with it now.

"Send someone back to the capital and tell Pei Yan not to send such an excerpt in the future. Thousands of miles away, how much manpower and material resources have been wasted! If there is a local disaster, the local government will provide relief, and if there is a shortage of food and grass materials, let Pei Yan transfer it to the household officials. If you can't turn around, you open a position. I asked the three of them to be auxiliary ministers, not to let them be messengers, but to send the folds to the northwest. Although the prince is young, he is reasonable, knows the gains and losses, knows the general situation, and has the queen's guidance, and he can make his own decisions about many things. ”

"The crown prince and the auxiliary political lords are also worried that they will not do well."

Su Buwei lowered his head and said: "The slave maid arranged for someone to go back early in the morning and inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the three auxiliary ministers of His Majesty's will. ”

"Hmm"

"I am in the northwest, and I don't want to see these excerpts...... Where is the left front guard now? How about the troop mobilization of the counties in the south of the Yangtze River? Why didn't a single excerpt come up, the person sent to ask Pei Yan how he screened the folds! ”

"The slave obeys."

As he was talking, suddenly someone outside asked to see him. It was already dark at night, and it was obviously urgent for someone to come in at this time. The emperor signaled, and Su Buxing hurriedly went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, the wind poured into the room, and the candles flickered.

The emperor seemed a little dissatisfied, and turned his head sideways to see who was asking to enter so late.

After a while, Su Buxing came back, followed by Xu Xiaogong, the general of the right guard, and Liu Enjing, the general of the left guard. Seeing the two of them come in, the emperor's heart involuntarily tightened.

"It's so late, but there's an urgent military business?"

He asked, sitting up straight.

"Your Majesty......"

Xu Xiaogong and Liu Enjing saluted first, Xu Xiaogong raised his head, and said cautiously: "Someone came from the side of Wolf Milk Mountain today, ran for more than a month, passed through the place occupied by the rebels, and it took a few people to find this place and bring a news......

"Oh?"

The Emperor couldn't help but smile: "But what good news did Yang Kai send to me?" I knew that it was not easy for him, and after the defeat of the army, he collected the defeated troops on the spot, and in the past two years, he has regained a lot of places. Without imperial court supplies and logistical support, it was difficult for him to hold on to a lone army until now. ”

"Not ......"

Xu Xiaogong hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "King Xujun...... I didn't ...... war"

The emperor's smiling expression gradually froze, and the hand holding the teacup stiffened in mid-air.

With a click, the teacup fell from the emperor's hand and shattered into pieces.

"When will it ......"

"Back to Your Majesty, it was a month and a half ago. In order to cooperate with the imperial army's westward expedition, when the prince personally went down the mountain to survey the rebel camp, he was discovered by the rebel rangers, and all the guards with him were killed, and the prince fought to the end...... Eventually outnumbered......"

"I see."

The emperor waved his hand: "Go down...... I'm tired. ”

He sat back slowly, pulling the quilt over and covering it.

Xu Xiaogong and Liu Enjing glanced at each other, got up and prepared to leave. Just as the two of them reached the door, they suddenly heard a violent cough behind them. The two of them were startled, and hurriedly turned around, only to see that the emperor sitting on the earthen kang had coughed and was coughing, and he was holding the quilt tightly in his hand.

The two of them were startled, hurried back, and only took a step when they saw a mouthful of blood spurting out of the emperor.

The emperor glanced at the two generals with bloodless faces in fright, stretched out his trembling hand and picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth: "Today's matter, if you let outsiders know, I will punish your nine clans." ”

Xu Xiaogong and Liu Enjing immediately knelt down: "The minister doesn't dare to ...... Your Majesty, let's return to the capital, the dragon body is important. ”

The emperor shook his head slowly: "I want to go back, but it's not the time." I had planned to give you my will in a few days, but now that you are here today, I will simply leave it to you. ”

He glanced at Su Buxing: "You go out." ”

Su was stunned for a moment, but still bowed down and retreated.

"Tomorrow, I will send the two of you to lead the troops to the south and besiege the rebels of Yin Poshan with Luo Yao, the left guard. But after the two of you take the route to the south, immediately lead the troops back to Chang'an City. I have already transferred the fleet of Duan Zheng, the Yangtze River Sailor, to wait in the lower reaches of Qinshui, so as not to show his tracks......"

The emperor took out the secret decree from his personal body: "Look at it on the road, remember, the errand I gave you is the country of the Great Sui!" ”