On the afternoon of August 1, 428 of the Great Jin Dynasty, in the Qianyuan Palace in the Imperial Palace of Canglong City, the newly promoted Empress Dowager Zhao put her arms around the nine-year-old emperor Liu Sheng, who had just ascended the throne, and said to Liu Chong, the governor of Qianzhou, Liu Yuan, the governor of Pizhou, and Liu Du, the governor of Qinzhou: "Can't the three Aiqing stay in the capital for a longer period of time? Now the mourning family and the emperor, there are only three Aiqing who can rely on, if the three Aiqing also leave the capital, only our orphans and widows are left, what can we do? ”

Qianyuan Palace is the palace where Zhao and Liu Sheng have been living in the palace, when Liu Wei died violently, after Liu Heng ascended the throne and became emperor, the Empress Dowager Zhou, who listened to the government, saw that Liu Wei's other sons were still young, so she did not let a few young princes go out of the palace to live, and Zhao and Liu Sheng have been able to live in the palace all these years.

Zhao was originally just an ordinary palace maid, because of her beautiful appearance, she was selected to the side of Emperor Liu Bian, and after Emperor Liu Bian was drunk, he took possession of Zhao, and later Zhao was even more expensive by virtue of his mother and son, and was canonized as one of Emperor Liu Bian's concubines.

Zhao was relieved to take care of his son in the palace, and the Empress Dowager Zhou had already told her that after the emperor Liu Heng was eighteen years old, he gave several younger brothers knighthoods, but she never expected the sudden change in the situation, and in a short period of time, the Empress Dowager Zhou and the emperor Liu Heng were killed, and her nine-year-old son Liu Sheng was elected as the new monarch of the Great Jin by a group of important court ministers.

Zhao has more fear than joy in his heart for his son to become the emperor, after all, the example of the previous emperor Liu Heng is there, and it is rumored in the whole palace that the Empress Dowager Zhou and the emperor Liu Heng were killed by the thirteenth family, so Zhao can't help but desperately hope that there are some of their own people in the court to protect her son.

Before the Zhao family entered the palace, both parents had died, and the remaining relatives in the family had not been in contact for many years, in the court that was almost controlled by the thirteenth family, the only thing the Zhao family could rely on was some clan children, and Liu Chong, the governor of Qianzhou, Liu Yuan, the governor of Pizhou, and Liu Du, the governor of Qinzhou, were all powerful factions in the clan with troops and territory.

Liu Chong, the governor of Qianzhou, said with a wry smile: "Queen Mother, the three of us have an agreement with the Thirteenth Family, after the emperor's enthronement ceremony is over, the three of us will have to return to Qianzhou, Pizhou and Qinzhou with our own troops. ”

Empress Dowager Zhao immediately said: "Now that Zhang Mingqi, the pastor of Suzhou Prefecture, is about to lead the troops to the north, the capital is in short supply of troops, and the three Aiqing have a total of 80,000 or 90,000 troops, and they should stay in the capital at this time. ”

Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du couldn't help frowning slightly when they heard Empress Dowager Zhao's words, in fact, it was not only the thirteenth family that did not want the army of the three of them to stay in the capital, but also the hearts of the three of them, and they were not willing to stay in the capital for a long time.

Empress Dowager Zhao saw that Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du suddenly fell silent, and couldn't help but cry and said: "The three Aiqing are all children of the clan, and now the situation in the capital, the three Aiqing are also very clear, plus the emperor is still young, and if he says something that he doesn't like, the foundation of the Great Jin Dynasty for more than 400 years has been crumbling, and if you clan children don't stand up at this time, you can't support the Liu family just by relying on our orphans and widows!" ”

It may be that Empress Dowager Zhao's words played a role, and Liu Chong, the governor of Qianzhou, finally gritted his teeth and said: "If the Empress Dowager can persuade Captain Dou of the Ministry of War to change her mind, the minister Liu Chong is willing to stay in the capital and swear to defend the emperor and the queen mother!" ”

Liu Du, the governor of Qinzhou, sighed and said: "The minister is also willing to stay in the capital and swear to defend the emperor and the queen mother!" ”

Pizhou Governor Liu Yuan saw that the other two governors had expressed their attitudes, so he said in a hesitant manner: "That'...... Nachen was also willing to stay, but ...... However, Captain Dou may not agree. ”

Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du did not expect that as soon as Empress Dowager Zhao and Dou Yan, the commander of the Ministry of War, mentioned the matter of letting the troops under the command of the three state ministers stay in the capital temporarily, Dou Yan, the captain of the Ministry of War, agreed without hesitation.

It turned out that the day before the new emperor Liu Sheng ascended the throne, Zhang Mingqi, the governor of Suzhou, issued a document on the crusade against the thirteenth family, counting the twenty-eight crimes of the thirteenth family, including the killing of two emperors and the poisoning of the Empress Dowager Zhou, and the secret decree of the late emperor Liu Heng as evidence, and then Zhang Mingqi led fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards to the north, from the northern town of Suzhou Wujin City into Qiongzhou.

Dou Yan, the commander of the military department, prepared to let the armies of Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du also join the battle against the Suzhou Xiang army.

Late at night on August 1, at the mansion of Dou Yan, the military commander of Canglong City, Yang Zhong, the commander of the military department, sighed and asked Dou Yan: "Dou Taiwei, can you block the Suzhou Xiang army in Qiongzhou?" ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, shook his head with a wry smile and said: "The Xiang army and local army in various parts of Qiongzhou have just been re-established, and it is impossible to block the northward movement of more than 1.8 million Suzhou Xiang troops. ”

At this time, the hussar general Xiao Su said with a worried face: "What if Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army chooses to bypass Qinhuai City?" This time, Zhang Mingqi's purpose is very clear, that is, to take the capital directly, I think it is better to keep the troops in the capital! ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said in a deep voice: "The old man is also worried, so he is not ready to mobilize the forbidden army to rush to Qinhuai City, and now there are 34 ways to quell the rebels on the outskirts of the capital, and the old man is ready to dispatch Qinzhou Prefecture Mu Qi Bo, Xiangzhou Prefecture Mu Feng Zihuan, Meizhou Prefecture Mu Nie Long, Wanzhou Prefecture Mu Sun Youhao, Dazhou Prefecture Mu Chen Likun, Qinzhou Shansui County Taishou Wang Shida, Qinzhou Wuli County Taishou Li Bo, Xiangzhou Xiongyi County Taishou Shen Zitong, Xiangzhou Hedong County Taishou Gao Rail, Meizhou Xuan'an County Taishou Zhang Ju, Wanzhou Geshan County Taishou Zhao Ce, Dazhou Fushou County Taishou Xie Hongde, a total of 12 counterinsurgency troops, a total of 250,000 troops rushed to Qinhuai City to defend. ”

After a pause, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, continued: "In addition, Suzhou Prefecture Musun Dezhen still has tens of thousands of troops in his hands, from Qinhuai City and the surrounding villages and towns, at least hundreds of thousands or even more than 200,000 young men can be recruited to help defend the city, even if Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army wants to conquer Qinhuai City, it is impossible to do it in a short time, as for our forbidden army, and the other 22 road rebel army will stick to the capital, even if Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army bypasses Qinhuai City, we don't need to worry!" ”

Zhao Boran, the chief lieutenant of the Criminal Department, asked Dou Yan: "Captain Dou, listen to what you mean, are you not going to let the armies of Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du, the governor of Qinzhou, leave the capital?" ”

Dou Yan nodded and said: "Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, if these clans still want the Liu family to continue to exist, they must work with our thirteenth family to resist Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army, and they also know in their hearts that our thirteenth family only controls the power of the dynasty, but Zhang Mingqi is likely to seize the Liu family's country, so the old man thinks that he can temporarily leave the armies of Liu Chong, Liu Yuan, and Liu Du, the governor of Qinzhou, and Liu Du, the governor of Qianzhou, and help our thirteenth family to fight against Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army." ”

After listening to Dou Yan's analysis, the other important ministers of the thirteenth family nodded one after another, and then the hussar general Li Hong said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the Suzhou Xiang Army is adapted from the Red Turban Army, if the fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards arrive in the capital, to put it mildly, even if there are 700,000 forbidden troops in the capital and 550,000 troops from the other 22 Route Ping Rebel Army, General Ben still does not have the confidence to defeat more than 1.8 million Suzhou Xiang Army, and General Ben hopes to gather more troops in the capital." ”

Hussar General He Guangzong followed up and agreed: "General Li Hong is reasonable, the combat effectiveness of the Red Turban Army is very strong, if it weren't for the fact that the Broken Army also went to the southeast, the Red Turban Army would not be so easy to succumb, and now the Broken Army is contained in the Western Regions, once the fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards arrive in the capital, with only 700,000 forbidden troops and 550,000 miscellaneous troops with weak combat effectiveness, it is really a bit hanging, and more troops should indeed be mobilized to the capital." ”

Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, looked around at the other important ministers of the court of the thirteenth family, and then said loudly: "Everyone, the current situation is different from the rebellion of the Red Turban Army in the southeastern states, the Red Turban Army was aimed at the Great Jin Dynasty, but now the Suzhou Xiang Army has dug up the foundation of our thirteenth family, and our thirteenth family must do our best to deal with this crisis caused by the Suzhou Xiang Army!" ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the official department, nodded and said: "What Taiwei Dou said is right, at this time, the families can no longer hide and tuck, our Yang family is willing to immediately dispatch 50,000 families to the capital!" ”

The reason why the Thirteen Families can become the top Thirteen Families in the Great Jin Dynasty and exist for hundreds of years is inseparable from the private army they have.

Of course, the private army of the thirteen families does not exist in the name of the army, they are all named in the name of the family, the guards of many caravans of various families, as well as the guards of many farms, and the guards of many shops, are basically played by the family, each family has tens of thousands of families, and the family members of each family are also the core strength of each family.

Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, suddenly said to Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials: "Taiwei Yang, your Yang family claims to have 200,000 families, this time in the face of the great enemy of the Suzhou Xiang Army, how did your Yang family send 50,000 families to the capital?" ”

Yang Zhong glanced at Zheng Kai, the chief lieutenant of the household department, and said: "Our Yang family's industries are all over many states and counties in the Great Jin Dynasty, and most of the families are scattered in these industries, and we can only gather 50,000 families to come to the capital in a short period of time, I don't know how many families the Zheng family can mobilize to the capital this time?" ”

The corners of Zheng Kai's mouth twitched slightly: "Our Zheng family does not have such a huge industry as the Yang family, our Zheng family's industries are mainly in Yongzhou, and we should be able to send 70,000 families to the capital in a short period of time to help the forbidden army resist Zhang Mingqi's Suzhou Xiang army!" ”

The Thirteenth Family is not monolithic, and there are also many contradictions between the various families, and the Yang family and the Zheng family were very unhappy not long ago because of commercial disputes.

Immediately afterwards, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, said: "Our Dou family can gather 80,000 families in the capital in a short time, and if necessary, our Dou family can continue to dispatch families to the capital." ”

Next, Wang Zhihuan, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Rites, on behalf of the Wang family, expressed his willingness to transfer 70,000 family to the capital, and the Zhao family represented by Zhao Boran, the chief lieutenant of the Criminal Department, the Sun family represented by Sun Mingtao, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Industry, and the Han family, represented by Han Renji, the secretary of the Ministry of War, were all ready to transfer 50,000 families to the capital.

The Wu family, represented by Wu Ziyu, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, the Zhang family represented by Zhang Shunran, the secretary of the household department, and the Chen family, represented by Chen Sikai, the secretary of the Criminal Department, will all dispatch 40,000 families to the capital in a short period of time.

The Xiao family, the Li family and the He family, represented by the hussar general Xiao Su, the hussar general Li Hong and the hussar general He Guangzong, each said that they would take out 60,000 families to gather in the capital, among the thirteen families, the Xiao family, the Li family and the He family have always been the largest generals in the Great Jin army, and the family members of these three families have always been very strong in combat effectiveness, and there are even rumors that the Xiao family, the Li family and the He family's family are more powerful than the forbidden army.

The foundation of the Thirteenth Family is really not boasting, it is easy to gather 720,000 families in the capital, and if the situation is unfavorable to the Thirteenth Family, each family can continue to send additional teams to the capital.

After counting the total number of families promised by each family, Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, and then said to the hussar general Xiao Su, the hussar general Li Hong, and the hussar general He Guangzong: "General Xiao, General Li, General He, this battle with the Suzhou Xiang army, we still have to rely on the three of you, after the families of each family gather in the capital, they will all be commanded by the three of you, and it is best to keep the Suzhou Xiang army out of the Canglong Eight Passes." ”

Hussar General Li Hong said confidently at this time: "The 700,000 forbidden army plus the 720,000 Wanding of our families, and the 550,000 troops of the other 22nd Route Suppression Rebel Army, not to mention blocking the fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards from the Canglong Eight Pass, it is not impossible to defeat the fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards." ”

The hussar general Xiao Su said with a smile: "With the addition of 720,000 families from each family, the three of us can even plan how to destroy all the fifteen Suzhou Xiang guards." ”

The hussar general He Guangzong nodded and said: "As long as these 720,000 families can gather in time to the capital, the capital will be foolproof!" ”

A fierce light suddenly flashed in the eyes of Dou Yan, the captain of the military department, and said: "That Zhang Mingqi from Suzhou, if there is a chance this time, we must slaughter him, otherwise having him in the southeast will always be a great hidden danger for our thirteenth family!" ”

Yang Zhong, the chief lieutenant of the Ministry of Officials, said viciously: "The document released by Zhang Mingqi this time has fabricated twenty-eight major crimes for our thirteenth family, and there is no possibility of reconciliation with our thirteenth family, no matter what, we will take his life, let the people of the world take a look, and provoke the fate of our thirteenth family!" ”