Duan Lang returned to Lidu City with the eighteen guards. Originally, he planned to come back with his father, but Duan Lang was worried about an ambush on the road, so he ran all the way and did not enter Fengluan Mountain again.

In the inner hall of the capital, Li Jianshan prepared a few delicious side dishes, plus a large pot of roast donkey meat, and the three of them chatted about Kyoto while eating. Duan Lang did not hide Emperor Yuning's physical condition, he understood that since Emperor Yuning summoned him, he was not afraid that Zhang Ruming would find out the inside story.

"Duan Lang, according to what you say, Emperor Yuning is ready to take Xining Hou to attack?" Li Jianshan asked.

"It's estimated that it's soon, but it seems that Emperor Yuning doesn't plan to come forward, and the person who did it should be Prince Dezhang."

", if Dezhang is really on top, Lao Tzu will never go to Kyoto again in his life. I really don't know what Emperor Yuning thinks, Yu Ban's old thing is no worse than Xining Hou. If you want me to say, before sweeping away the Marquis of Xining, it is best to take the forbidden sacrifice flag first. Zhang Ruming scolded.

Duan Lang said with a smile, "Dead fatty, if Dezhang really became the emperor, wouldn't you want to be the king yourself." If you really want to think about it, I'll support you. ”

"Okay, when the time comes, Lao Tzu will make you the chief of the internal guards."

"Get out, you're the material for being a eunuch."

The two of them laughed at each other, Li Jianshan shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Two rebellious guys, I can be regarded as on the thief ship." ”

The brothers raised their glasses and drank and chatted very happily. In Lidu City, they were unscrupulous, scolding the heavens and hating the entire royal family. After chatting for a while, we talked about the battle for the throne again.

Duan Lang looked at Zhang Ruming and Li Jianshan, "I said, have you ever thought that this Prince Dezhang can't ascend to the throne?" ”

"Of course I thought about it, maybe this guy accidentally fell into the pit and drowned." Zhang Ruming said while eating.

"Fuck, I mean, will other princes take the throne."

Li Jianshan shook his head, "If Emperor Yuning really wants to move the Marquis of Xining, don't think about the throne of the eldest prince." The second prince, except for some sour old bachelors, has no military power in his hands, and he has no play. If you want me to see it, Emperor Yuning is also forced to be helpless, and he can only be the crown prince of Dezhang. ”

"What about the old seven? Isn't Delong the prince? Duan Lang threw out the option of the Seventh Prince, Delong.

"Him?" Li Jianshan shook his head, "The body is not good, and the prince of Delong doesn't have this mind." ”

Duan Lang put down the cup and chopsticks in his hand, "I have an idea, since Prince Dezhang's ascension to the throne is very unfavorable to us, then why not recommend the Seventh Prince Delong." Don't forget that Delong has the support of Ma Ruzheng behind him, plus us and the western battalion, it should be said that the strength is far superior to that of Prince Dezhang. ”

Zhang Ruming was stunned, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "Yes, if Delong is on top, it will be beneficial to us." Even if the Kyoto camp is controlled by Dezhang Yuban, it's okay, the soldiers and horses in our hands are definitely much stronger than them. ”

Li Jianshan was also moved, but after thinking about it carefully, he still shook his head, "Duan Lang, if you want me to say, even if there are two major camps to support, Prince Delong is at most evenly matched with Dezhang in terms of troops. However, in terms of government support in the world, the forces of Yu Ban and Dezhang can definitely crush Prince Delong. Therefore, supporting Delong's ascension to the throne is likely to make Great Xia appear divided. ”

"Divide it, don't care what we do, anyway, Lao Tzu has decided to support Prince Delong to ascend to the throne." Zhang Ruming said indifferently.

Duan Lang frowned, "Jianshan, aside from Emperor Yuning, could it be that we can't fight a Kyoto battalion with the strength of two major camps?" ”

Li Jianshan looked at the two of them, "Of the four major camps, the strongest combat effectiveness is the Kyoto camp. Not only are they strong and well-equipped, but they also have one-third more men than other camps. What's more, if it really is a confrontation, the western and northern battalions can draw up to half of their troops. The remaining troops must be stationed at the border to prevent the invasion of the enemy. In this way, the number of soldiers in the two camps who can really compete with the Kyoto camp is basically the same. In addition, there are seventy-two capitals in the entire Great Xia, of which thirty are equipped with 10,000 city defense troops. Among them, there are more than 20 under the control of Yu Ban. Taken together, these soldiers and horses must not be tried. ”

Duan Lang was shocked when he heard this, he really hadn't thought about it so much, he thought that with the momentum of the two camps, it would not be easy to lift Prince Delong to the throne. As soon as Li Jianshan said this, Duan Lang realized that many things were much more complicated than he imagined. What he didn't expect was that Yu Ban actually controlled such a force all over Great Xia. It's no wonder that a few months ago, Emperor Yuning still let go of the ban when the general trend had been decided. It seems that Emperor Yuning doesn't want to make a big move and make the entire Great Xia turbulent. What's more, Yu Ban is the one who maintains Dezhang's throne and hands over the throne to Dezhang, perhaps Emperor Yuning is also for the sake of stability in Daxia in the future.

Zhang Ruming said unconvinced, "What's the use of having more soldiers, you can fight, it's a big deal, let's continue to expand the number of soldiers." ”

Li Jianshan smiled bitterly, "No matter how many soldiers there are, it's useless, where do the weapons come from?" Where to buy war horses? You don't know the price of firewood and rice, it seems that there are a lot of them in our warehouse, and if you really want to fight, these materials will basically be consumed in the two wars. In terms of logistics equipment for each guard, at least one spare spear and combat knife must be provided. Not to mention arrows, the more the merrier. The most important thing is that the war horse is not easy to find, and Lao He and I can privately allocate weapons in the warehouse of the Ministry of War, but the war horse must have a warrant from the Squire of the Ministry of War to be rationed. Don't forget that we have an army of 30,000 and only 5,000 horses until now. ”

Speaking of this, Duan Lang was also very helpless. The army lacking war horses not only slowed down its action, but the key was that its combat effectiveness was also reduced a lot. What's more, the war horses of the heavy armor battalion must be selected good horses. There were also chariot battalions, which also needed a large number of horses. Duan Lang even felt that some cities didn't want to expand the source of troops, but they simply couldn't support the source of soldiers and horses.

Zhang Ruming looked at Duan Lang, "I said, it's really not good, so let Mingyue borrow a batch of war horses from Beiming." ”

When Li Jianshan heard this, he nodded and said, "This is good, the most important thing in the Northern Ming Kingdom is horses." If Princess Mingyue is willing to help, the combat power of our Lidu City will definitely double. ”

Duan Lang thought for a while, "Okay, I'll pass the news to Mingyue right away and buy twenty-five thousand war horses." In this way, the heavy armor battalion and the tank battalion can be fully equipped. The remainder, which can be equipped with logistical supply vehicles. ”

"Uh~, what, there's no money, can you make an IOU first?" As soon as Zhang Ruming heard about buying, he suddenly couldn't eat.

Duan Lang's eyes widened, "I can't do it without one, I immediately ordered Cui Zhiliang to go to Beiming with a thousand guards." As soon as the Marquis of Xining moves, the big war is imminent, and Emperor Yuning will definitely not let our Lidu City be idle. The sooner this happens, the better, and a thousand guards escort them all the way to ensure the safety of these horses. ”

Zhang Ruming pouted, "Where can Lao Tzu get so much silver, not to mention that the forage money for twenty or thirty thousand war horses has to be prepared, and Lao Tzu can't get it out by smashing the pot and selling iron." ”

Li Jianshan also said with a bitter face, "Duan Lang, why don't ~ give half of it first, we really don't have much money in the treasury." The rest will definitely be made up for the coming year. ”

Seeing the embarrassment of the two of them, Duan Lang said helplessly, "Okay, I'll discuss it with Mingyue." ”

As soon as they heard that it would work, Li Jianshan and Zhang Ruming's faces suddenly turned from cloudy to clear, and they raised their wine glasses one after another. Duan Lang looked at the dirty smiles of the two, and always felt that the two of them seemed to have premeditated.

Lidu City, after Duan Lang returned, he didn't dare to relax for a moment. They knew that a big war was imminent, and while they were stepping up their training, they were preparing grain and grass. Li Jianshan summoned a group of skilled craftsmen in more than a dozen county governments under the jurisdiction of the Lidu City to establish an equipment refining workshop in the Lidu City. Tangtai Mingyue also promised to distribute a batch of war horses, and Li Jianshan began to order people to build chariots and heavy armor battalion equipment.

A month later, all the major prefectures and the four major camps in Bactria received the prince's decree issued by Kyoto. The text says that on the sixth day of the first month of next month, a birthday banquet will be held in Kyoto to pray for His Majesty's blessing and health, and the governors of various places must enter Beijing to congratulate. And important figures such as Shangguan Xuanwu and Fang Jiye actually received an encyclical of the Holy Decree. In other words, if they don't go, they are disrespectful.

In the Marquis of Xining's Mansion in Great Xia, Bai Ruokong stood aside with his hands down, and Zhao Li, Marquis of Xining, looked at Fang Jiye's reply letter to him with a gloomy face. This time, Bai Ruokong returned in vain, which also made Xininghou completely break this thought. Fang Jiye said very tactfully in his reply, but he also expressed his decision. That is, no matter which crown prince ascends the throne, he is a courtier of Great Xia, and he will definitely put state affairs first.

Xininghou angrily slapped the letter on the table, "It's pedantic, I just don't know what to do." Ben Hou pointed out the direction to him again and again, but he still had to go to the road of death. ”

"Master Hou, Fang Jiye has been suppressed by Prince Hong for a long time, and he has long lost his sharpness back then. He was now only thinking about a few moments, and it seemed that he could not count on his support. Bai Ruokong said helplessly.

"Humph! Not necessarily. If he saw Kyoto raise the butcher's knife to the old man, he would think about his fate. In other words, he Jiye was waiting and watching, and he was willing to run over when Ben Hou had the upper hand. It seems that in the early days of the war, our Xining people were going to resist the Kyoto camp alone. ”

"Master Hou, Xining has been preparing for so many years, as long as you give an order, you will definitely be excited. The old servant felt that while Emperor Yuning was seriously ill, Prince Dezhang's foothold was not stable, and it was time for us to raise troops. Bai Ruokong said excitedly.

Xining Hou Zhao Li pondered for a moment and ordered, "You immediately notify He Xiliang, the commander of the camp, to come to me." ”

"No!" Bai Ruokong agreed, he knew that Xining Hou had made up his mind, and the moment when the yellow robe was added was coming. Bai Ruokong was very excited, he had been waiting for this day for nearly twenty years. Once the Marquis of Xining is proclaimed emperor, he will also become the founder of the country. Thinking of this, Bai Ruokong couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Xininghou stood in front of the window, and the holy decree of Kyoto made him completely determined. Zhao Li knew that He Shou was just a reason, and whether he went or not, this crime would fall on his head. Since this is the case, then he has to take the first step and give the choice of war and peace to the crown prince and Yu Ban.

In Wuling Pass, the southernmost border capital of Great Xia, a horse drove out of the pass. Less than fifteen miles away from the opposite of Wuling Pass, it is the Lingguan of Nanping Guozhen. Nanping has always been eyeing Great Xia, but over the years, it has only been a small fight, and there has been no major war. However, this time, the lord of Nanping was extremely greedy for Great Xia. Because the Marquis of Xining, who was guarding the southern gate of Great Xia, took the initiative to send a special envoy to come to the secret talks, and actually wanted to open the gate to let the Nanping army enter.

Time flies, and the day of Emperor Yuning's birthday banquet is gradually approaching. Many of the governors of the distant capital came to Kyoto in advance and began to work up and down.

There was a lot of traffic outside the Xiangguo Mansion, and officials from all over the country came to worship one after another. But the one who received them was only Gao Zhizan, the housekeeper in the house, and these officials couldn't see the shadow of Yu Ban at all. At this time, Yu Ban was in a secret room, watching an old man, carefully drawing a list.

Yu Ban's eyes were like torches, carefully examining the old man's handwriting. This is a holy decree stamped with a jade seal, and both the holy decree and the seal of the jade seal are true. It's just that the above content was revised by the old man just now. It was originally a holy decree to seal and reward, but it became a beheading order for the crime of great rebellion.

Yu Ban nodded slightly, he was very satisfied with the old man's skills, especially looking at the three big words 'Fang Jiye' on the holy decree, Yu Ban couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.

Walking out of the secret room, Yu Ban said softly to the person next to him, "Kill him, handle it cleanly." ”

After speaking, Yu Ban hurriedly went to the Prince's Mansion with this revised false holy decree. Now everything is ready, only the east wind is owed, this time, Yu Ban wants to let Fang Jiye have no return, and completely eradicate the hidden danger of the western camp.