"Tiancheng, the army is ready to attack the city at any time. Now it depends on when they will withdraw. "In the camp of the Tiance Army outside Jinling City, Chen Yu came to the big tent of the headquarters after the meeting, he was completely bored, and he couldn't wait to start entering Jinling City tomorrow.

"Big brother, take a look, this is an order sent by the chief staff Tianxiang and the emperor respectively." Wang Houchun shook his head when he saw his anxious look and said, "The emperor and Tianxiang asked us to find a person in charge of military management after the war, who will be responsible for removing all hidden dangers before the civil affairs officer takes office." ”

Chen Yu didn't react, and said suspiciously: "After the army enters the city, what other hidden dangers can Xue Mei have?" He hurriedly read the instructions sent by Li Xuanqing and Xu Tianxiang, and still didn't understand.

Yang Tiancheng didn't expect Chen Yu to understand what happened after the war, so he simply didn't explain: "Xiao Si's arrangement in the city is almost the same, and he will withdraw from Jinling tonight." You get your army ready, and as soon as the signal from the Xuanyingwei side comes, attack the city immediately. ”

"You can rest assured, the army will definitely not lag behind, we have all laid the dark piles on this side of the moat, as long as the siege begins, there will be sailors to carry planks to build bridges. This is a person who was deceived from Guo Chongtao's kid. Chen Yu rubbed his hands and walked out with a smile.

"Tiancheng, what does the emperor mean by this move? It's a scourge. Wang Houchun smiled bitterly after watching Chen Yu leave.

Yang Tiancheng understood what Li Xuanqing meant, nodded and said: "This is probably to suppress the thousand-year-old clans in Jiangnan and other places from meddling in the government affairs of the Tang Empire. That's why the military is required to choose manpower. And in order not to undermine the army's demand for non-interference in government affairs, it is also necessary to require that this person be able to choose to retire immediately. It's a bit difficult, if today's army is like a rainbow, it will soon be able to unify the world, who wants to retire at this time? And you must be proficient in government affairs. ”

"Oh, so that's the case, how did the emperor say that Xiao Si has someone in his hands who is suitable? Who is it? Wang Houchun nodded after understanding, and he couldn't guess who the person Li Xuanqing was talking about.

"Forget it, isn't Xiao Si about to leave the city, I guess he can guess it." Yang Tiancheng didn't pay attention to so much, just looked at the huge wall of Jinling City in the distance outside the tent and sighed: "The smoke and rain in the south of the Yangtze River are prosperous, I'm afraid that this time there will be a river of blood, I hope these people can understand the current affairs." ”

When the two were thinking about the later arrangements for Jinling City, Hu Xiaosi in the city also began to arrange the retreat. Since the last piece of information sent to the outside world, he has not looked forward to the intricate struggles in the city. In his opinion, the forces of all parties in Jinling City are incompatible with the nascent Tang Empire, and everyone is not thinking about making meritorious contributions to the country and the people, but about intrigue, and all they think about is how to seek power to suppress their opponents. Since Pei Shixun, on behalf of the Pei family or on behalf of Jinling City's non-Xue Mei forces, and Hu Xiaosi proposed to use Jinling City as a bargaining chip in exchange for his post-war political status, Hu Xiaosi has moved to kill. In the past few days, the people of the Flying Eagle Brigade and the Xuanying Guard have almost all been dispatched, and all the people of this faction have been registered, waiting for the post-war processing. And Hu Xiaosi himself led a group of people to constantly go in and out and began to do his old business, inquiring about the financial resources of various families in Jinling and the situation of the Jinling Treasury, planning to sweep away one after the war and enrich the imperial treasury.

However, Hu Xiaosi himself was taken aback by this inquiry, how high the concentration of wealth in Jinling City made him embarrassed, Xue Mei's private treasury alone was enough to feed more than 100,000 Tiance troops, and he was fully armed. And Xue Mei's other opponent in Jinling City, that is, Zhou Bao, who was entrenched near Zhongshan outside the city, was also discovered by Xuan Yingwei by Xuan Yingwei, which contained 700,000 taels of gold, more than 5 million taels of silver, and countless copper coins. These are not counting the jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and all sorts of nonsense.

"Boss, Zhou Bao has recently received 2 million copper coins from the treasury of Jinling City under the pretext of forming Houlou soldiers, and his own treasury has also issued 500,000 yuan. But I have the feeling that he is trying to transfer his private wealth. The report of the Xuanying Guard's secret guard also gave Hu Xiaosi a feeling that time was running out.

"You go and inform Su Xiaohu, who is in charge of your commander and the Flying Eagle Brigade, and ask them to come to see me immediately." Hu Xiaosi settled down, sent someone to summon Li Jipeng and Su Xiaohu over, and said, "The matter at hand will stop immediately, and now there is a major task to be explained." ”

"Ji Peng, all the treasury and private treasury treasures in Jinling City will be handed over to you, and after the army attacks the city, you must guide the army to block these places as soon as possible. If anyone dares to reach out and steal state property, kill me. Xiaohu, your Flying Eagle Brigade immediately went out of the city to Zhongshan and found a way to take down Zhou Bao's private treasury. I estimate that the army outside the city must carry out the task of attacking Zhongshan at the same time as the siege of the city. After Hu Xiaosi said this, he continued: "I will go out of the city tonight to meet Chen Yu, we will definitely take Jinling City and give the cabinet a good meal and drink at one time." ”

"No problem. It's just that Xuan Yingwei found out that Zhou Bao, Xue Mei, Zhou Kun, the general of Jinling City, and Pei Shiji, the heir of the Pei family, were holding a meeting in Xue Mei's mansion, should we go and arrange it? After Li Jipeng nodded, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly reported it.

Hu Xiaosi waved his hand and said: "You can arrange someone to investigate this matter and see what they can say, and the others will start acting immediately." Now there are still a few hours before dark, everyone hurry up, these old garlic people, wait until tomorrow, I will send them to the prisoner of war camp one by one to do hard labor. ”

The fact that all the Xuanying Guards of the Tiance Army were dispatched meant that Hu Xiaosi had given up his efforts to contact all the forces in Jinling City, and this change was also noticed by all forces in Jinling City. This time the three parties met to fight together against the Tiance Army.

Such meetings have been held several times before, but each time the parties have broken up with their own calculations. But everyone attending the meeting this time was full of thoughts, even Zhou Bao, who had been stationed outside the city, lost his arrogance in the past because of his foreign aid, the Red Turban Army in Lizhou, which was surrounded and suppressed by the Tiance Army on the Eastern Front, and honestly sat under Xue Mei.

"Lord Jiedu, now that the situation is critical, we need to come up with a proper way, otherwise once the Tiance Army breaks the city, I'm afraid all of us here will not have a good result." Pei Shiji looked at the few people present who didn't speak, broke the silence and said: "So far, we can be regarded as grasshoppers tied to a rope, so don't hide it, tell what methods and strategies you have, if you don't say it, it's too late." The Tiance army outside the city is ready, and the siege of the city is coming. ”

Pei Shiji's words can be regarded as provoking the silence present and the calculations in everyone's minds. In fact, everyone knows that the Pei family and the Tiance Army are in contact, and everyone is also looking to see what price the Tiance Army will offer to the Pei family, but they didn't expect that it would be this ending in the end, and in an instant, a trace of sympathy for the same disease suddenly surged in everyone's hearts.

"Lord Jiedu, how many troops are available in the city at present?" Zhou Bao suddenly asked. He was in his own line, so it was impossible for Xue Mei to tell him clearly how many troops he had.

"More than 50,000 people. plus Zhou Kun's garrison. Xue Mei hesitated for a moment and smiled bitterly: "I won't hide it from you until now, and only more than 30,000 of the more than 50,000 people are worthy of a battle." As soon as Xue Mei's words were finished, Zhou Kun also said: "The defending army can be regarded as having the strength to fight, but it is also used to defend the city, and the field battle will definitely not work." ”

"Otherwise, General Zhou, you will withdraw all of Zhongshan's troops into the city, and it is better to combine your troops in one place than to be broken by each other." Pei Shiji didn't know much about military affairs, and waited until they finished talking before interjecting.

Zhou Bao and Xue Mei glanced at each other, shook their heads at the same time, Zhou Bao said: "No, Zhongshan will go to Jinling City to fight outside the city, once you give up Jinling City, it will be a lonely city, and there will be no way to survive when you are trapped in the dead city." Zhou Bao's words made Pei Shiji feel a burst of contempt in his heart, in his opinion, Zhou Bao was planning a way back for himself, afraid of being surrounded in the city and becoming a trapped beast.

But what made him strange was that Xue Mei actually stood with Zhou Bao on this issue, which made him feel that there was an aura of conspiracy permeating him. The opposition of both men to this proposal at the same time is definitely not just a military consideration.

Looking at Pei Shiji's thoughtful appearance, Zhou Kun was a little embarrassed and said, "In my opinion, let's think about how to resist the other party's attack tomorrow." I've heard that the Tiance Army has prepared 500 ballistas, and that kind of weapon that can explode has not been a good countermeasure so far. ”

"I've already thought of a way to do this, my Pei family has prepared a wet quilt, and when the time comes, build a pergola on the walls of the entire Jinling City to fight it." Pei Shiji was prepared, and he still had a way to deal with weapons like explosive bags.

"Since Pei Gongzi has a way, let's finish this battle tomorrow. General Zhou, do you need Pei Gongzi's support for the defense of Zhongshan? Xue Mei frowned when he heard this, and he smiled a little.

The next few people chatted for a while, but there was no result. However, for Pei Shiji, there is a result, at least these families already have a way back, otherwise they would not be so sure.

"I'm afraid Jinling City is going to change." Pei Shiji looked at the night shrouded in the sky over Jinling, sighed quietly and walked towards his mansion, the prosperity of Jinling became more and more dim in this night. But for those who walk in the dark, this is the beginning.

"Let's go, let's turn around and come in through the gate." Hu Xiaosi looked at Jinling City, where he had been staying for more than two months, smiled slightly, and quietly turned back to the Tiance army camp outside the city.

"Yo, isn't this our Commander Hu, why, came out of the prosperous era of Jinling City? Didn't bring a Jiangnan Yangliu Qingqing back? Chen Yu was immediately happy when he saw Hu Xiaosi.

"Go and go, I thought it was you, and after a few days in the Dangxiang clan, I fell in love with someone else's girl. I have to go back to find the third sister-in-law, she has already said that she wants to propose marriage to you. After this battle, you can go home and rest, and get married by the way. Hu Xiaosi pouted and didn't give Chen Yu any face, and directly revealed the old things to him.

"Alright, you two don't mess around. Little four, have you made all the arrangements in the city? Chen Yu's side is decided, attack the city on time early tomorrow morning, and when the city wall is blown up, you have to guide the large group of people entering the city. Wang Houchun stopped the two from pinching each other and asked.

"Don't worry, you can let all the soldiers keep an eye on the roof, and all the red flags on the roof will be raided by me. There is also a map of the roads and army garrisons in the city, Chen Yu, you can take it and study it. Hu Xiaosi took out a roll of maps from his arms and handed it to Chen Yu with a smile.

"Tomorrow, Zhongshan and Jinling City will move at the same time, and all light troops will be deployed on the Zhongshan side, equipped with mechanical crossbow troops of the artillery battalion. Chen Yu of the siege troops, you can arrange it yourself. Wang Houchun nodded and said: "There is also the little fourth emperor who asked you to choose a person in charge of military management in Jinling and even the southeast region, who needs to take off his military uniform and transfer to government affairs." ”

"I know that this is still the matter that I mentioned to the emperor. Let Li Jipeng get on. He has been making a lot of mistakes in his intelligence post recently, and it is the Sichuan incident that has had a greater impact on him. I also told him and he agreed. Hu Xiaosi's words made Yang Tiancheng turn his face and said in surprise: "We have been studying for a long time, how did we get to you to solve it in just two sentences?" Did you prepare in advance? ”

Hu Xiaosi squinted at him and said, "Nonsense, if I don't have a countermeasure, do you think I dare to say this to the emperor?" Besides, the emperor must have guessed who I was going to choose if I asked me to choose. After a pause, he continued: "By the way, tomorrow's blasting team should be more prepared, the walls of Jinling City are more than three zhang thick, I'm afraid that you won't be able to explode if you have less preparation." ”

"Okay, you still have to take care of this matter, these are all things that Chen Yu considers. Let's climb the heights tomorrow to see how Chen Yu opens Jinling City. Yang Tiancheng put down the map in his hand and said with a smile: "The three of us don't have to worry about these things." But there is one thing I want to tell you both, the emperor has summoned Tianxiang and Mr. Cen in Luoyang, intending to study the strategy of the southeast. You know what that means, right? ”

"It must have something to do with the big family in Jinling. Let me tell you, this big family in the south is basically a combination of politics and business, but it is not like our five wealthy businessmen who concentrate on business and do not interfere in government affairs. The condition that the Pei family talked to me was that they were responsible for opening Jinling City, and after the war, the chief officer of Jinling City needed to be served by their Pei family, and they had military power. In all parts of Jiangnan, they can help us wherever they have manpower, but the conditions are the same. And that Pei Shiji said that their old man wanted to go to Chang'an. Do you know what that means? This is to negotiate conditions with the emperor, and exchange the refuge of the big families in the Jiangnan region for a position in the top of our empire. Hu Xiaosi said angrily: "If I agree to this condition, the emperor will probably cut me directly." ”

"Tiancheng, do you want to explain to Chen Yu?" Wang Houchun muttered: "Let the army increase the intensity of repression and purge. If this kind of thing is rashly handed over to the cabinet, eighty percent of the cabinet cannot bear it, it is better to take it in one fell swoop through war. ”

"Leave this matter to me, I have already asked Li Jipeng to arrange it in the city, and you can give him some people to carry out the task before Yang Yi's people arrive. I don't believe that these people can still make big waves in front of the butcher's knife. Hu Xiaosi sneered: "When the time comes, deprive them of all their property and status, put everyone in prison first, and then release them one by one, this kind of group must be suppressed and then dispersed." ”

"Forget it, I'll leave this matter to you, and when the time comes, you will be given 30,000 horses and horses for you to use." Wang Houchun knew that this guy had a bad idea, and couldn't help but pray for those big families and smiled: "I'm really sad for these people." ”