Hearing the news of Gao Kegong's escape, Deng Yuanjue smiled and did not blame Deng Wenhao, and ordered him to be the vanguard and lead the army to besiege Shuzhou City.

Shuzhou City Taishou Chen Shiduo and Yang Zhiyuan are both locals, so in the past two years, he has not exploited the people in order to strengthen his strength like other counties, but instead implemented the previous light levy reduction, and the city also hoarded a lot of food, originally planned to wait for Gao Kegong's army to withdraw to him, and it would not be a problem to defend it for another three or five years.

Who would have thought that Gao Kegong would actually escape from the battle and go to Lin'an to develop his own power, which made Chen Shiduo, who originally planned to defend it, a little embarrassed. There are only 30,000 defenders in Shuzhou City, and it is impossible for the imperial court to send reinforcements to support, and in the face of Deng Yuanjue's 100,000 army, it is only a matter of time before the city is broken.

Deng Wenhao, the vanguard of the Song army, had just organized the first round of attacks, and the Chu army defending the city fell by 2,000 people.

Chen Shiduo couldn't bear it in his heart, although he was also loyal and patriotic, but his heart was more inclined to the people, and he didn't want to see the lives of the people after the city was broken. So before Deng Wenhao launched the second round of siege, he erected a white flag and surrendered to the Song army.

Deng Yuanjue naturally did not embarrass Chen Shiduo, but transferred him back to Jianye in the name of Xiao Daocheng. This is also normal, no one dares to continue to let Chen Shiduo serve as the Taishou of Shuzhou, in case he surrenders back to Chu again when he attacks Huicheng, wouldn't it be a self-defeating way out?

Chen Shiduo was not surprised by such an arrangement, his family's lives were saved, and the people in the city were also spared the suffering of war, so what was not satisfied? Besides, it is better to be an official in Jianye than to stay on the front line of the war.

On Chen Shiduo's way back to Jianye, Xiao Daocheng in the Great Song Palace gathered several henchmen to discuss the battlefield of Chu State.

"General Deng Lianke Chaisang and Shuzhou two important towns, and now they are preparing to besiege Huicheng, Huicheng's Taishou Liu Hansheng didn't expect Chen Shiduo to surrender so soon, the preparation is definitely insufficient, it is estimated that it will not be long before Huicheng will be captured by the general, how should we deal with it after that, everyone can talk about their opinions." Seeing that the Song army was about to fight under Shouchun City, Xiao Daocheng lost the excitement he had when he first sent troops.

There are some words that Xiao Daocheng, as the emperor, did not say directly, but these ministers around him knew it, after Deng Yuanjue entered Chu, not only all the strategic materials were arranged by himself, but he did not transport them back to the country at all, and even the officials of various counties and counties were promoted and appointed from other armies, and Xiao Daocheng was not consulted in advance, and he was only informed by a simple recital afterwards, which naturally made Xiao Daocheng dissatisfied.

Taiwei Yuan Chengce understood Xiao Daocheng's thoughts, and took the lead in speaking: "The general has been fighting Chu for almost three years, it is time for him to come back to rest for a while, and the minister suggested that after the general takes Huicheng, he should be called back and replaced by someone else to get Shouchun." ”

The crown prince Xiao Yan immediately echoed: "Yes, even if you don't transfer the general back, you have to replace all the officials appointed by the general, and now the city controlled by the general is about to catch up with half of the Great Song Dynasty." ”

The third prince, Xiao Che, had some different opinions: "Will replacing the general now make him dissatisfied and force him to stand on his own?" Besides, although the state of Chu is declining, there are still 250,000 troops of the state of Qi in the territory, and the generals are changing in battle, will the fruits of the final victory be stolen by the state of Qi? After Xiao Che finished speaking, his eyes stole a glance at the person sitting on top of him.

Xiao Daocheng is also in a dilemma, replacing Deng Yuanjue is afraid of forcing him to rebel, and if he doesn't replace him, he is afraid that he will not lose his tail, which is really embarrassing.

Xiao Daocheng looked at Xiao Che's head and said, "Da Sima, what do you think about this matter?" "Xiao Daocheng has been in charge of the Song Dynasty for nearly thirty years, and even in the face of Deng Yuanjue, he will not use an honorific title like you. Now the only one who can let him do this is Yan Chixing, the lord of Condor Castle. And the position of Da Sima was also reserved for Yan Chixing, which was set when the emperor was on the throne of the previous emperor.

Since Deng Yuanjue led the troops to attack Chu, Xiao Daocheng took Xiao Che to the Divine Eagle Castle, but Yan Chixing not only did not see him, but even his apprentice Xiao Che did not see him.

Xiao Daocheng still cared about the emperor's face, and stayed in the Divine Eagle Fort for seven days before forcing Yan Chixing out.

After that, Xiao Daocheng was soft and hard again, and threatened that if Yan Chixing did not agree to go out of the mountain, he would live in his Divine Eagle Fort for a long time in the future, and the state affairs would also be handled here.

Yan Chixing's arms couldn't reach his thighs, if it was just him, he would have thrown his sleeves and left. But not now, there are still thousands of disciples in the Divine Eagle Castle, if he really leaves so chicly, then these disciples will inevitably suffer, Yan Chixing had no choice but to agree to go out of the mountain again.

However, Xiao Daocheng did not publicize this matter, firstly, he used this method to force Yan Chixing, and it would damage the face of the royal family, and secondly, Yan Chixing's reputation was too great, and if the news of his re-emergence was known by other countries, it would inevitably cause unnecessary suspicion. So except for several major families in the court, no one knew that Yan Chixing had returned to Jianye.

Yan Chixing got up and arched his hand: "It's really inappropriate to change generals in the battle, but His Royal Highness the Prince's worries are not unreasonable, and it is not difficult to properly solve this matter, just send the eldest prince and the third prince over." ”

Xiao Daocheng's eyes lit up, since there was no way to directly replace Deng Yuanjue, then add two deputies to him and cut off his connection with the counties below, which would have a better effect.

Xiao Yan was shocked when he heard this, Xiao Yin was the eldest son, and Deng Yuanjue and Chen Guoqing supported him behind him, so he has always regarded Xiao Yin as the number one rival. This time the war against Chu can not be solved in a short time, in case Xiao Daocheng dies during the war against Chu, even if Deng Yuanjue has no dissent at that time, he is very likely to support Xiao Yin as the emperor in Chu.

must find a way to stop him, Xiao Yan hurriedly glanced at Yuan Chengce, and Yuan Chengce understood: "This move is not appropriate, the general has always supported the prince, and after he goes, he may not be able to restrain the general." Yuan Chengce knew that Xiao Daocheng also had such worries, otherwise Xiao Yin would not have been asked to participate in this discussion.

Xiao Daocheng didn't know Xiao Yan's thoughts, although he was worried that Xiao Yin would communicate with Deng Yuanjue, but he would never believe that if Deng Yuanjue dared to rebel, Xiao Yin would still stand on his side.

Xiao Daocheng thought for a while and said: "Taiwei is too worried, I think that Da Sima's method is feasible, so I will make an order, tomorrow let Yin'er and Che'er set off to Chu State to reward the three armies for me, and then stay under the general's account to listen to the order, so as to take this opportunity to exercise well." ”

Xiao Yan's calculation failed, and he couldn't help but have a little hatred for Yan Chixing in his heart, and the fleeting loss on his face was also caught by Yan Chixing.

After the meeting ended, Xiao Daocheng left Yan Chixing alone: "Speaking of things back then, the first emperor was ashamed of you, and Da Sima still hated the first emperor in his heart?" ”

The situation back then was somewhat similar to now, the former emperor and the crown prince Xiao Daoyuan both wanted to suppress the family, and Yan Chixing, like Shi Luosheng, was also promoted from the disciples of the Hanmen as the vanguard of suppressing the family.

It's a pity that in the end, the royal family failed, and the emperor was forced to depose Xiao Daoyuan and replace Xiao Daoyuan, who was supported by the family, as the crown prince. After being deposed, Xiao Daoyuan died mysteriously not long after, Yan Chixing, who was far away from the front line, left the camp without permission and returned to Jianye without permission to ask the emperor to thoroughly investigate the cause of Xiao Daoyuan's death, but not only was he refused, but he was almost beheaded for leaving his post without permission, and then the disheartened Yan Chixing withdrew from the court and returned to Shenying Castle.

Yan Chixing smiled bitterly: "Back then, the minister mishandled it, left the barracks without permission, and disregarded the safety of the country. The first emperor not only did not ask the ministers for the crime, but also was willing to let the ministers leave, and the ministers were grateful to the first emperor before it was too late, and where did he come from to remember the grudge. ”

Xiao Daocheng said movingly: "Since Da Sima has no hatred for the first emperor, why have you avoided it after I have been invited several times over the years?" Since I ascended the throne, the three kingdoms of Chu, Yan, and Qin have been around, and if you are not careful, you will be in danger of losing the country. ”

Yan Chixing's tone was a little reproachful: "The minister is from a poor family, and His Majesty ascended the throne with the support of the family, although the court is big, where is there a foothold for the minister." ”

Thinking about it, it is because Xiao Daocheng came to power with the support of the family, so the first ten years after ascending the throne had to be controlled by the family, resulting in the entire court being controlled by the family, and it is precisely because of this that Xiao Daocheng's determination to suppress the family was strengthened.

But at that time, the Manchu Dynasty could no longer find a person he could use, and later he thought of Yan Chixing, but it was a pity that Yan Chixing avoided the people he sent.

Xiao Daocheng had a hint of apology on his face: "When the first emperor suppressed the family, I didn't know the harm of the family, but now that I am the emperor, I know that the problem of the family is urgent, Da Sima, are you willing to help me deal with the family together?" ”

Xiao Daocheng asked a little unconfidently, because the current Yan Chixing is no longer the humble family of the year, but the master of Xiao Che, the third prince with the support of the family.

Yan Chixing smiled bitterly: "The minister is old, a generation has a generational mission, and the mission of the minister's generation is to assist His Majesty in establishing a strong Song Kingdom, as for the rest, it is better to leave it to the next generation to complete." ”

Although Yan Chixing said that he was old, he was actually over fifty years old, which was the same age as Tian Wuji, only a few years older than Deng Yuanjue, and more than ten years younger than Xiao Daocheng.

Xiao Daocheng saw that Yan Chixing refused and didn't force him, he could promise himself to come out to deal with Deng Yuanjue, how could it be a way to suppress the family.

"Then, according to the opinion of the Great Sima, how long will it take for the Great General to take Huicheng?" Xiao Daocheng shifted the topic to the battlefield of Chu State.

Yan Chixing thought about it seriously and said: "If the minister leads the army and can take it in two months at most, the general will govern the army above the minister, and the time taken should be shorter." ”

Yan Chixing's words were not entirely polite, he, Tian Wuji and Deng Yuanjue should all use their troops between Bozhong, but when the two armies really clashed, he and Tian Wuji both felt that they would lose to Deng Yuanjue in the end. As for why, the two of them couldn't say clearly, but they felt that they couldn't see through Deng Yuanjue. Xiang Tong, who has been at war with Deng Yuanjue for 20 years, has a deep understanding of this, otherwise he would not have told Shi Luosheng that Deng Yuanjue was hiding a lot of things.