"The city wall of Shangxian is one mile wide from north to south and four hundred steps long from east to west, which can be roughly regarded as a square. There is a city gate on each side, there is a gatehouse on the city gate, there is a corner tower built on the four corners, the north gate is the water gate, the extravagant water and the Dali River meet in the northeast corner of the city, the east gate is seven miles away from the west bank of the extravagant water, the terrain is flat, it is convenient for the cavalry to maneuver, and the infantry is difficult to blockade. The city wall of Shangxian is about two feet eight feet high, and it is not easy to climb without using a ladder. The horses outside the southern city were newly rushed and crudely made, and our army had five throwing carts, which could be destroyed by flying boulders from a distance of two hundred paces, and the defenders had no bed crossbows to threaten our throwing group. The bigger problem is the moat, Tuoba Yilin leads the water of the Wuding River to irrigate the river, the river is one zhang and five feet deep, and the infantry cannot wade across it, and the only strategy at present is to build a bridge with a cloud ladder and a wooden plank. But the moat was less than twenty paces from the city walls, and the weight of the ladder was so small that only two soldiers could pass at a time, and the archers of the city could easily shoot our infantry at this distance......"

A white cloth was hung in the center of the tent, and the plan of Suizhou Prefecture was drawn in detail on the white cloth, and Qin Haoran, the commander of the Eighth Route Army, planned Cao Zhiguo, and held a branch in his hand, and while drawing on the white cloth, he gave a detailed introduction to the basic intelligence information of Shangxian County's defense. In front of the white cloth, Zhongshu ordered the three towns to make the camp north of Guanzhong deploy Xihe County Wang Zhecongruan, the Eighth Route Army Inspection School Commander Wei Xun, the Eighth Route Army Inspection School Deputy Du Yu Marquis Envoy Zhe Yuqing, the Three Towns Yanei Commander Zhi Deyuan, the Eighth Route Army Yan'an Infantry Regiment Commander Liang Xuan, the Skin Shi Infantry Regiment Commander Yang Li, the Commander of the Xiangbing B Regiment Ling Pu, the Inspector of the School Security Cavalry Regiment Kang Shi, and other major generals sat in a circle with a Hu bed and listened attentively.

“…… Although our army's crossbow arrows can suppress the archers at the head of the city, the crossbow arrows are not as fast and frequent as the bows and arrows, and the middle loading and winding time will cause a gap, and the enemy troops on the city wall will take advantage of the gap to attack our infantry. It can only be worn with ordinary infantry armor, which is not good for defending against bows and arrows. However, if there are not many defenders in the city, you should be able to climb the city wall after paying a certain number of casualties......"

"The problem of crossbow bolt suppression can be solved-"

Interjecting was Kang Shishi, the commander of the local inspection school of the Security Cavalry Regiment, who gestured: "One hundred pairs of crossbows, two hundred pairs of horn bows." Five bed crossbows. If it is evenly distributed on the city wall of a few hundred steps, it is really not enough, but when we really attack the city, we cannot cross the moat on a frontal width of a few hundred steps, at most choose more than ten river crossing points to lay a ladder bridge, and deploy two crossbow shooters behind each ladder bridge, the first line only needs more than 20 crossbows is enough, and each archer can fire four crossbow arrows in a row, and the cavalryman's horn bow crossbow can be fired along the moat, which is enough to suppress the archers at the head of the city......"

Qin Haoran nodded: "This method has already been thought of. The problem now is that the defenders in the city are only 500 people, but if Tuoba Yilin drives the young and strong laborers to the city wall to help defend it, we will face an enemy army of 1,000 or more, and the existence of the moat is always the biggest obstacle for our army, and our army cannot quickly gather forces under the city wall. If the enemy's main forces defending the city were all scattered and scattered on the four walls, the main attacking force of our army would face no more than 100 enemy soldiers when they ascended the city. It's easy to handle. However, now the Dali River in the north restricts the mobility of our army, so the enemy army on the northern wall only needs to set up a very small number of observation posts to monitor, and concentrate the forces in the east, west, and south directions. Our army ran around the moat under the city, and it was always not as fast as the enemy's army maneuvered along the city walls in the city, and it was foreseeable that if our army could not control one wall within a quarter of an hour, the enemy troops on the two outer walls and the reserve forces left in the hands of Tuoba Yilin would quickly assemble and push us back......"

Liang Xuan frowned and said, "Can you find a way to lure the enemy out of the city and fight us in the wild!" ”

Qin Haoran smiled bitterly: "It's completely impossible, no matter how our army shows weakness." Tuoba Yilin can calculate that the strength of our army is several times that of him with his fingers, which is difficult to fake, and in the absence of reinforcements, it is the stupidest choice to go out of the city and fight with us. In last year's autumn campaign, when our army returned to the division, we deliberately showed that the enemy was weak, and Tuoba Yilin held back, which shows that this person is very cautious in using troops, otherwise Tuoba Yiyin would not have chosen him to be the defender of Suizhou. ”

"Have you calculated the maximum casualty figures?" Yang Li asked.

"If we want to break through the city wall, we have to prepare to kill 300 to 500 people!" Qin Haoran said calmly.

Everyone shook their heads in unison, although this number was not large. But for the sake of such a state city as Suizhou, it is not worth it.

After all, the main force of Tuoba is not here.

Zhi Yuqing thought for a while and asked, "If you besiege the city here to send reinforcements, how long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive?" ”

Qin Haoran used a tree branch to compare the distance between Tongwan City in Xiazhou and Shangxian in Suizhou, and said, "It will take at least eight days." This requires that the opposing side's reinforcements be all cavalry. And - the other party must be willing to take the bait! ”

Zhi Yuqing nodded, this issue has been discussed a long time ago. I'm afraid that the enemy army of Tongwan City will not be so easy to take the bait.

He asked, "If you want to besiege Shangxian, how long will it take for the city to surrender without a fight?" ”

Qin Haoran said: "We have estimated that the soldiers in the city are about 1,500 to 1,800, the population is not large, and the strategy of long-term siege may not be effective, our army is six or seven thousand people gathered here, and it is a guest army, and the daily consumption is far greater than the enemy army in the city. ”

Zhi Yuqing thought for a while, then turned his head to look at Zhi Congruan: "Ah Weng, what do you see?" ”

Zhe Congruan glanced at this grandson coldly, and sneered: "Li Huairen and I have agreed that in this battle, you are the general who leads the troops; If there is no decisive countermeasure to this kind of thing, and my old man has to worry about it personally, who will be in charge of Fuzhou in the future? Zhi Yuqing smiled bitterly, and then said: "In this way, the original plan to besiege the city and send reinforcements remains unchanged, the security cavalry regiment does not need to be under the city, all of them are withdrawn to the western front, and monitor the movement of several mountain passes in the west, if the enemy reinforcements come, we need to ensure that our army has two days to react......"

Kang Shi nodded, but did not speak.

Zhi Yuqing continued: "This side of the county." Surrounding the moat, a horse rejection ditch was set up on the east, west and south sides, the Yan'an regiment was stationed in the east, the Fushi regiment was stationed in the south, and the fifth uncle led two battalions. The troops of the Norika were stationed in the west, and Aweng and I were stationed in the northwest with several other battalions of troops in the northwest as a reserve. From this day onwards, the city will be besieged on three sides, leaving only the north, and the city will not be attacked during the day, but will only be drilled in front of the camp. At night, from the time of the hour to the time of the child, the Yan'an regiment beat the drum and shouted the trumpet every quarter. From the hour to the hour of Yin, the Fushi regiment sounded the trumpet and shouted every quarter of an hour, and from the hour to the hour of the hour, the soldiers of the Yeli family and my family in the western camp beat the trumpet and shouted every quarter of the hour. The cavalry set aside two capitals, and every night from the west of the city around the south of the city to the east of the city and back, back and forth twice, the hour is not limited. In short, we can't let the enemy army in the city find out the law......"

Qin Haoran's eyes were blazing when he heard this, and he smiled: "The biggest flaw of the enemy army is that there are few people, and it is important to concentrate on defending the city with such a small number of troops, and only by mobilizing and concentrating troops at any time can we hold the city wall." We tossed all night to make the enemy troops inside the city suspicious and tired, so that they could not rest all night long. ”

Liang Xuan asked: "After a long time, won't the enemy army get tired?" You may be fooled for the first few days, but not after a few days, right? ”

Zhi Yuqing glanced at Liang Xuan and said, "It's best if he doesn't be fooled." There were only 500 people in the city who could actually fight. Once our army reaches the top of the city, only these 500 men can pose a threat to our army. If you can't get up the city wall, a Yidi woman can also cause casualties to our army if she moves a stone. We are making such a fuss so that these 500 elite soldiers in the city will not rest day and night. If Tuoba Yilin wants to defend this city, he has to be vigilant at all times. Let the main force go down to the city to rest, he can't afford to take such a risk. In this way, in only six or seven days, these five hundred warriors in the city will become five hundred tired soldiers......"

After Wang Jun was relegated to Shangzhou, the pattern of Bianjing's ban on Zhongshu Gate and Lower Province suddenly changed.

Among the prime ministers, there is no one who covers the heavens and the earth. It was supposed to be a good thing, but the situation in the center of April and May of the third year of Guangshun made the civil and military officials of the Beijing Division more and more incomprehensible.

Feng Dao has been the prime minister since the founding of the country, and even in the two years when Wang Jun's power covered the sky with one hand, this Xiufeng Xiangguo was always only a secondary minister in name. He can wield power. was able to overpower hundreds of officials to overthrow the emperor, mainly because Feng Dao, a veritable veteran of the Four Dynasties, always refused to ask about politics in the name of prime minister. Otherwise, no matter how strong Wang Jun's power in the military is. With Feng Dao's prestige and connections, it is impossible to call the wind and rain freely in Zhongshu.

Now that Wang Jun has fallen, Feng Dao still refuses to ask about politics, and the situation in Zhongshudi has suddenly become delicate.

Under the province of Zhongshumen, under King Feng, the top of the shift is Fan Qian. It stands to reason that after the fall of Wang Jun, even if the position of privy envoy cannot be concurrently held by Fan Zhen, as the substantive second minister, the title of the left servant of the subordinate Lang Shangshu should always be given to him. In all fairness, Fan Zhen has contributed a lot to the matter of toppling the king and supporting the king of Jin, even if it is a reward for meritorious deeds, the position of the second minister should be his turn.

However, it has been nearly two and a half months since Wang Jun's fall, but there is no news in the palace, Fan Zhen is still a Zhongshu Shilang Tongping Zhangshi, Li Gu is still the prime minister and the third division, and Wang Pu has kept a low profile ambiguously not long after he became the new prime minister, and has not taken the initiative to play a concert in addition to the usual shift in the political hall for several months.

What is intriguing is that although Feng Dao is almost closed, and Wang Jun has left Shangzhou, the prime minister who leads the charge in the political hall is not Fan Qian, but Guo Rong, the prince who was called King of Jin by the emperor's secret decree before Wang Jun's downfall.

The emperor is old, has no heirs, and there is only one concubine in the harem, and now he is too sick to get out of bed, that is to say, the emperor has no other heirs, and it is impossible to have any more. The future emperor's throne can only be the former Marquis of Taiyuan and the current King of Jin - the person who was originally called Chai Rong but can now only be called Guo Rong.

Therefore, Guo Rong's status in Zhongshu is self-evident, although he is not a monarch, Fan Zhen and other prime ministers want to give him the courtesy of half a minister, with him sitting in Zhongshu, don't talk about Fan Qian, even the old man Feng Dao personally came to manage the government, and it is not good to take it big in front of him.

However, the perception of outsiders is still shallow after all, and the feelings of people in the bureau are different.

At least Fan Zhen himself felt a little depressed, not because he couldn't be promoted to the second minister.

Guo Rong, the future monarch, is inevitably a little too diligent......

After Guo Wei became the emperor, although Fan Zhen was quite dissatisfied with the appointment of Wang Jun. However, this military leader is well versed in the key to authority, and understands the truth that only when the monarch can rule together can he be governed, so except for some military affairs involving the issue of Yidi Domain, most of the things are subject to the will drawn by the Zhongshu, and his own role is often just to write the word "can" lightly on the will prepared by the Zhongshu. This mode of vertical arching and governing the land has always been admired by the civil and official system and the scholar and doctor class, and Guo Wei's style has also given birth to the conscious consciousness of the prime ministers to "be the masters of the house". Feng Dao doesn't talk about him, Wang Jun and Fan Zhen, the two enemies, to a certain extent, have a subjective desire to be the master.

This situation has changed greatly since Guo Rong entered the middle school.

Guo Rong was the prince and prime minister under the command of the commander-in-chief, so he participated in the handling of military affairs in the political hall almost every morning, and would not return to Kaifeng Mansion until lunch.

With him at the helm, no matter how big or small. If the prime ministers want to discuss it again, it is very unlikely that they will draw the purpose.

Guo Wei let Guo Rong enter the middle school, there is always a little bit of "learning government affairs", and this layer of Fan Zhen and others can also understand it.

It's just that I didn't expect that on the first day of his Royal Highness the King of Jin, he handled the dozens of official documents submitted by the three divisions, six departments and nine temples in less than an hour, and did not discuss with the three prime ministers, so he drew his own decree. Of course. After drawing the will, the king still asked Fan Zhen and Wang Pu on duty to look at the will.

In all fairness, Chai Rongdi's handling is fair and appropriate in Fan Qian's opinion, and even if he handles these things himself, it is difficult to dissect things so clearly and clearly in such a short period of time.

It's just that Fan Zhen still feels awkward, how to think about it and feel heartwarming.

The prime minister's work has been done by the monarch, so wouldn't it become an ornament for the court to set up a prime minister?

It's just that Fan Qianwan can't say this. After all, Chai Rong is the future emperor, and he is in charge of government affairs, which is also recognized by the current emperor. Let him not take care of things, and his name is not right.

On this day, Fan Zhen came to the political hall early in the morning, and before Chai Rong arrived, he took the official documents and seals of the six ministries and the secret courtyard by himself.

Even if you can't make up your mind, as the prime minister, you must always know what is going on in the DPRK, right? Fan Zhen is not Feng Dao in his last years, and he can't learn the old man who is sick. After looking at it for a while, his brow furrowed. At this moment, Chai Rong stepped into the political hall.

Fan Zhen got up and saluted, Chai Rong returned the salute respectfully, and then asked with a smile: "Today's Xianggong came early, is there a big event in the six departments?" ”

Fan Zhen reached out and pulled out two pieces from the official document. Said: "The rest is fine." Today, the Institute presented a seal of Li Wenge in Yanzhou, showing Han Tong's son Han Wei as the assassin of Gyeongju; Other than that. The Criminal Department submitted an official document, and Guo Yanqin had been escorted to the capital by Li Wenge and placed in the prison of the Criminal Department......"

"Oh......?" Chai Rong stood up and asked slowly, "What does Xianggong think should be done with these two things?" ”

Fan Zhen immediately said: "Li Huairen has overstepped the rules. He is Yeonju Jiedu, and he sent troops to Gyeongju just to quell the chaos and take Guo Yanqin, which can be regarded as asking for guilt on behalf of the imperial court, but Gyeongju Assassin Shi is not the acting official of the Eighth Route Army's Jiedu envoy, and he has no right to meddle in Gyeongju personnel. Although Han Wei is the son of Han Tong, he is also his subordinate in Li Huairen's office, this matter is known to the world, and he recommended Han Wei, who is selfless and selfish, and should be reprimanded. He was asked to send troops to Gyeongju in order to stabilize the situation in the northwest and open up the salt road, not to expand his own territory, and this precedent cannot be ......."

Chai Rong listened quietly, there was no joy or anger on his face, and there was a complete peace in his eyes.

As for Guo Yanqin, since there is no explicit decree to remove him from the title of assassination, he is still a fourth-rank official of the imperial court at this moment, and it is not appropriate to be imprisoned in the Criminal Department. His sins are unforgivable, but they must be judged before they can be dealt with. What's more, he wrote a complaint in the prison of the Criminal Department, accusing Li Huairen of annexing Gyeongju, with ill intentions and intentions to rebel. The Criminal Department didn't dare to accept it, so he directly submitted the pleadings, so that it was even more inappropriate for him to be detained in the Criminal Department. ”

After Fan Zhen finished speaking, he handed the official document to Chai Rong.

Chai Rong took it, looked at it for a moment, and asked, "What does the minister think, how should this matter be handled?" ”

Fan Zhen said dryly: "The Ming system reprimanded Li Wenge, and he should be rewarded for his efforts to quell the chaos, but the Gyeongju assassination history, the imperial court must choose another position." Guo Yanqin, removed from the Criminal Department, handed over to Yu Shitai under house arrest, and ordered Yu Shi Zhongcheng to try it in person, no matter whether what he told is true or not, there must be an explanation before Lantai can impeach him in accordance with the law......"

Chai Rong smiled: "My Da Zhou's Zhou character is not Wu Zhou's Zhou character, Lantai is only responsible for supervising hundreds of officials, but he can't set up a prison to deal with cases alone, as soon as this example is opened, it is inevitable that there will be cool officials who will harm the court in the future." Xiang Gong Shicai also said that Guo Yanqin's crime is determined whether he is tried or not. Since this is the case, I will make up a document, peel off his official skin, and hand it over to the Criminal Department! ”

Fan Zhen was stunned for a moment, and dug a pit for others, but found that others easily bypassed it, without half an effort, which was really uncomfortable.

"As for Li Huairen......'s side," Chai Rong pondered for a moment, "Xianggong is right, Li Wenge has no right to interfere in Gyeongju personnel, this general is reckless in doing things, if this matter is known by the imperial historians, it is inevitable that he will be impeached." We cleaned up this stall for him, immediately drafted the text, promoted him to the school inspector, and also knew the affairs of Gyeongju, and used Han Wei as the recommendation seal for the history of the assassination, and dismissed it......"

Fan Zhen was stunned again, His Royal Highness the King of Jin is shrewd and capable, but his mind is not broad-minded, he knows this weakness in his heart, so he deliberately took the matter of Li Wenge today, but unexpectedly, this actual prisoner gently exposed the matter.

What was Chai Rong thinking in his heart?

Could it be that Li Wenge is sitting in the northwest, and he, the future emperor, really doesn't care at all?

As for Guo Yanqin's paper...... Burn it! Chai Rong said lightly, "If Li Huairen really has a ghost in his heart, he will cut off Guo's head with a knife in Gyeongju, and will he keep him to come to Bianjing to say bad things about himself?" He is a marshal, and he has this power in wartime. He was willing to send Guo Yanqin to Bianjing, which proves that he is open-minded. He is fighting in the front, and even if those of us who are in Zhongshu and are in power can't help, don't pull him back......"