There were nearly 30,000 horses in the vanguard battalion of the Protector Army, all of whom died on the battlefield, and none of them survived.

When the bad news came, the shock in the hearts of everyone in the Protector Army was unprecedented.

Originally, these soldiers who had followed General Yan for many years had a firm belief: their strong force represented the way of heaven and imperial power, and represented the will of the people and justice.

No matter how arrogant and arrogant the Taiping bandits are, they are just paper tigers who bring disaster to the country and the people, and the final victory can only belong to the Great Qi Dynasty and the Great Qi Protector Army.

The facts of the past also confirmed what they thought in their hearts.

The soldiers have always firmly believed that the veteran and scheming General Yan will definitely lead them to victory one after another, and finally cleanse the world of chaos and restore the peace and tranquility of Daqi.

They also firmly believe that the Lang pioneer officers selected through real swords and guns are brave and good at fighting, and their martial arts are invincible in the world. The soldiers of the pioneer battalion, one in a hundred, are like wolves and tigers, and their combination is an incomparably sharp blade. No matter how large, cunning, and ferocious, the beast will be skinned, cramped,*, and eventually become a delicious meal on a plate.

In their eyes, the so-called Great Chu Empire is nothing more than the second Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a rabble, an evil and unpopular thief, and it is only a matter of time before it is exterminated.

But now, the blade was suddenly broken, but the beast on the opposite side was still unharmed, and even hiccuped arrogantly and picked its teeth.

This completely upends their perception of the whole world.

In the empty tent of the Chinese army, General Yan sat alone behind the handsome case, his face looking old and haggard.

Far from showing signs of improvement, the arm that had been pierced by the tip of the gun had worsened.

General Yan was puzzled, how could the strange soldiers he sent behind enemy lines fall into an ambush?! Could it be that God is really going to kill me?

In the face of the unfavorable situation, General Yan decided to withdraw his troops a little back, relying on natural dangers to actively defend, taking defense as an offensive, and preparing for a protracted war.

The capital of Daqi.

Li Hongji's face was gloomy, his eyebrows were tightly locked, and he listened to the report of the military headquarters on the battle situation on the front line of suppressing bandits.

"Holy Lord, that Yan Shiduo is very old, old and faint. He believed that he had exterminated the Taiping bandits, was proud of his achievements, and was stubborn and self-serving, causing our army to lose troops and suffer repeated setbacks! After repeated deliberations, the ministers implore Your Majesty to demote him from his post and send him back to Dadu for punishment! The military department Shangshu bowed his head deeply and knelt on the ground and said.

Behind him, more than a dozen ministers knelt down and echoed him.

"Yes, Holy Lord, as the saying goes, one soldier will bear a nest! The old man Yan was arrogant and domineering, ruthless to his subordinates, and extremely cruel has long been notoriously cruel. It's just that he won by luck in the early stage and won the favor of His Majesty, and the ministers were indignant in their hearts, but they dared not speak out. ”

An old minister with white hair was very exaggerated and burst into tears, prostrate on the ground and cried: "Holy Lord, meritorious service will be rewarded, and if there is a fault, punishment will be given, and the power of the sky will be great!" If you blindly give grace and arrogance, you will lose the reverence of your subordinates for the saints, and even lose the hearts of the people in the world! The Holy One must not fail to check. ”

Li Hongji narrowed his eyes, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth, looking at these ministers who seemed to have been wronged by the heavens and were bent on correcting the laws of the country, and sighed heavily in his heart.

He slowed down his tone as much as he could, and said lightly: "Ladies and gentlemen, please get up, you have the sufferings of the people of the world in your hearts, and you are trying your best to maintain the law of my Great Qi, and I am very relieved." The widow should be rewarded and punished clearly, but there are two questions in the heart of the widow, please help me answer them one by one. ”

Li Hongji slowly stood up from the dragon chair, glanced at the group of Manchu civil and military ministers who were kneeling or standing at his feet, paused, and then said: "First, when General Yan led the soldiers to fight bloodily with the Taiping Army and fought bloody battles, where were you? What are you doing? Second, changing generals in battle is a taboo for soldiers, can you have a suitable candidate to take over the position of commander to recommend to me? ”。

The fat-headed and big-eared military department Shangshu raised his head, wiped the fine sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his robe, knelt down and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the ministers have already discussed repeatedly and promoted one person to Your Majesty. If the saint reuses this person, then the Great Chu thief will be wiped out, and the world will be peaceful, just around the corner! ”。

The group of ministers who fell to the ground hurriedly echoed.

Li Hongji forcibly suppressed the anger in his chest, retreated to the dragon chair, and sat down slowly.

He lowered his head and muttered for a moment, frowned and raised his head, "Who are you recommending?" Let's hear it. ”

The fat-headed and big-eared soldier Shangshu was overjoyed, and hurriedly knelt forward half a step, raised his head and said, "Holy Wisdom! The person we recommend is the descendant of General Yu, the founder of the country, and the captain of Yu Chengfeng. ”

The old minister, who was still crying bitterly just now, and his beard was white, also raised his head, and prostrate himself stepped forward and added: "Holy Mingjian, when I opened the national dynasty in Daqi, the Yan family and the Yu family have made great contributions. Therefore, the first emperor would reward them with hereditary titles. The Yan family is flying and domineering, and all dynasties have controlled the military and political power in the DPRK, while the Yu family is low-key and forbearing, never seeking power and profit, so that the style can produce the real pillars of protecting the country! ”。

Li Hongji smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "Then where is Yu Chengfeng now?" Tell him to come to me quickly. If it is really as everyone Aiqing said, this person is both wise and brave, and can be reused, then I will follow the advice of Er, remove the commander of our army, and exterminate the red turban bandits within a time limit. ”

Li Hongji, who returned to the harem, had a gloomy face and felt physically and mentally exhausted. Zheng Decai hurriedly trotted to the front, carefully helped him take off his dragon robe, and ordered the little eunuch to serve tea quickly.

Li Hongji glanced out aimlessly through the thin window lattice paper. Turning his head, he looked at Zheng Decai, who was standing with his eyebrows lowered and bent over, sighed softly, and reached out to pick up the tea cup on the desk.

While blowing the hot air on the cup, he said to himself: "I thought that General Yan would live up to his high expectations and exterminate the red turban rebels in one go. Who would have thought that the old general would be unfavorable and Feihong Pass would also fall into the hands of thieves, how could it not make people worried! The inheritance left by our ancestors will never be lost in my hands."

Zheng Decai glanced at him secretly, and lowered his head without saying anything.

This subtle change was fully seen by Li Hongji, and he said quietly: "If you want to say anything, just open your mouth, and I will forgive you for your innocence." ”

Zheng Decai hurriedly knelt on the ground, climbed a few steps forward, and couldn't help but speak: "Holy Lord, the old slave shouldn't be talking about the government in vain, it's just ...... It's just that the Holy Lord also said that it is taboo to change generals in battle, why do you still listen to the bewitchment of the courtiers? What's more, victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, the old slave feels that General Yan is still the pillar of my Great Qi, if he cuts his military power, I am afraid that it is a thief who is more happy, and my army is unstable, and it is not beneficial to the country! ”。

Li Hongji smiled slightly, gently put down the teacup in his hand and said, "How can I not know? It's no wonder that the old general Yan is too unruly on weekdays, and he doesn't take the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military affairs in his eyes at all, which offends many people. I've already blocked him a few times, and now he's not in a good position, which just gives people the truth. Although most of these ministers are useless wine bags and rice bags, I am indispensable to them. Let's put it this way, I'm like a big boat in the rough seas, with one of the hardest rowers, but the rest of the boat is idle and hateful. Should I kill most of the boatmen and protect the boatman, or should I kill the boatman and comfort the rest of the people to go paddling together? ”。

Zheng Decai suddenly felt a chill in his back spine, and hurriedly lay on the ground motionless, burying his head deep in his sleeve.

Li Hongji glanced at him and continued: "Whether it is the Yan family or the Yu family, they are all just eagle dogs of my Li family. If the eagle dog's claws are no longer sharp, try another one! What's more, let them stare at each other and contain each other, so that I can meet the source left and right and sit firmly in the country. ”

Soon after, Yu Chengfeng, who had just been promoted to the commander of the new army to protect the country, left Dadu with a small retinue and went to the front with a holy decree. General Yan Lao was demoted to deputy commander and overseer of the army, but he still stayed on the front line to assist Marshal Yu in managing military affairs.

Liu Ruyan and Luluo stood in front of the huge black pit, their legs trembling.

It was a warm spring day, but the two of them felt an irresistible chill on their faces.

Faintly visible, there are a few fairly intact white bones, and some unrecognizable, swollen and deformed corpses.

Ruyan sighed deeply in her heart: The poor mother-in-law must be no longer in the world, otherwise the government would not be secretive. No one knows how many innocent souls have died in vain in the world!

"Sister, let's hurry up! It's horrible here! Pothos turned pale and whispered with trembling lips.

Ruyan glanced at her, reached out and took her hand, turned and went down the hill.

The pothos' little hands were even colder in Ruyan's already slightly cool hands, trembling slightly.

"Yo, it's coming down so soon? Have you ever found that mother-in-law? ”。 Xiao Qi grinned maliciously, and the bald man beside him skillfully fiddled with the strange-shaped blade in his hand, while unabashedly protruding his eyes and staring at the two delicate women viciously.

There was still some distance between the two of them, and Ruyan, who was pulling the pothos, instinctively stopped, and bowed slightly: "Anyway, I'm tired of the two, and the little girl has thanked you again." When I leave on my own, I don't dare to bother with the two of us. ”

Xiao Qi raised his hand to flip his neck collar while laughing, and stepped forward and said, "What's the panic, it's rare for a spring day to be so sunny, I think the two of you rarely go out of the city to play, right?" Let my brothers and sisters play with the two beautiful girls for a while, and then send you back to the city!" ”。

The bald man also held a sharp blade in his hand, and did not say a word, and followed him fiercely with his eyes.

Ruyan couldn't help but take two steps back, trying her best to stabilize her mind and shouted, "Stop!" Don't come! What are you going to do in broad daylight? No silver is less than yours. ”

Xiao Qi laughed and said, "You shout! In this wilderness, even if your throat is broken, no one will pay attention. Lao Tzu regards money as dung, and now he only wants your people! ”。

He raised his hand to wipe the saliva that was coming out of his lips as he quickened his pace.