In fact, there is no need for Wang Zhongzheng to remind that it is very common for the Son of Heaven to change the edict at will, not to mention Han Gang, most of the officials basically understand. What is the golden mouth, what is not joking, it is just a good talk.

Zhou Gong can force Cheng Wang to make mistakes, and Tong Ye will be his brother. But when it came to the Tang Dynasty, no one believed it, and Liu Zongyuan also talked about it. In other words, now, the courtiers in the court are going one step further and not screwing back the wrong things done by the Son of Heaven, they will definitely not give up - whether they are really wrong, or they feel that the emperor is wrong in their eyes.

Otherwise, no matter how big or small, the ministers in the government and the opposition like to write one after another. That is, to use flood words and louder voices to brainwash the emperor.

The emperor raised by the hands of the women of the deep palace, if he can be like Wang Anshi, Wang Shao and Han Gang, officials who have been trained in the red dust for a long time, with a resolute personality like steel, and are not moved by foreign affairs, it is an incredible thing - of course, for the courtiers, the stubborn emperor will also be a headache.

Today's Son of Heaven Zhao Ji is a typical example, far worse than his father - Emperor Yingzong, who did not confirm his status as the crown prince until he was in his thirties, acted much more steadily, after all, he had been in the wind and rain outside the palace for decades - especially in the military, often hearing that the wind is rain.

Let's not talk about abandoning Luo Wu, it is enough for Zhao Ji to regret it for seven or eight years. Since the Battle of Lintao here at the end of last year, the edicts and edicts that ask about the military situation have never been broken, and they have to be asked about every detail. He also likes to point fingers at the war, and every battle plan must be submitted in advance. Before the battle of Hezhou, he also sent a formation map, saying that he wanted Wang Shao to arrange the formation like this under the city of Hezhou - that formation map was not directly thrown into the pavilion library, Wang Shao still took it with him, but that's all - Emperor Taizong's hobby has been separated by several generations, but no one takes it seriously, and the authority that Zhao Guangyi has is not comparable to Zhao Ji.

Having said that, Han Gang hid the edict brought by Li Xian, and even falsely transmitted the edict to deceive the officers and soldiers below, and this crime will not be small. And if there was really a second edict to withdraw the army, Han Gang would definitely be difficult to resist and prepare for the worst.

He was ready to make the Son of Heaven regret it like he had abandoned Luo Wu.

- If there is no foreign enemy, he will give up in Handhe Prefecture or even Xizhou, Han Gang wants to see how long Zhao Ji will not sleep well. Anyway, Gongzhou will not let out of the city, as long as the foundation of Longxi and Weiyuan is maintained, it is enough for the Great Song Dynasty to make a comeback in a few years.

"Someone!"

Using the false edict to appease the soldiers under his command, Han Gang returned to the official hall, hurriedly wrote a handwritten letter, and handed it to the personal soldiers who received the order, "Quickly send it to Wang Duxun, and let him do it according to the plan discussed in advance." ”

The soldier took the letter and hurried out without saying much.

Wang Zhongzheng happened to come to visit, and when he looked back at the soldiers who had left after saluting, his expression became strange.

"I don't know what's urgent?" He asked.

"Lintao Fort has been up for so long, and it's time to start - it's not good to delay it any longer, and there is no need to delay it any longer." Han Gang didn't plan to hide it from Wang Zhongzheng, and in a day or two, it would spread.

As soon as Wang Zhongzheng heard this, he immediately stepped forward: "Are you sure?" ”

"The war is unpredictable, if they can continue to confront the Western Thieves, in fact, they will inevitably retreat without a fight because they lack food and grass." Seeing that Wang Zhongzheng was about to speak and stopped, Han Gang smiled, "But there are still six or seven points of certainty." As long as the Lintao Fort side can retreat from the enemy, at least Xizhou can be protected. ”

Han Gang could already be sure that the grain and grass on the side of the Xixia people could no longer hold on, and the plan of cutting off the households in the northern part of Xizhou had been implemented as early as a year ago, and no matter how outstanding the famous generals were, they could not turn into food. If Wang Sunchen really attacked, he didn't even need to fight Renduo Baozhong and Yu Zang Wenxuan, as long as he could keep a team of men and horses into Lintao Fort, the besieging thieves would no longer have the slightest morale.

Regarding Han Gang's decision, Wang Zhongzheng has some confidence. Nodding, "Then I'll wait for the good news from Lintao Castle." Wang Zhongzheng sat down as he spoke, and after a moment of silence, he sighed, "It would be better if there was good news from Wang Jingluo earlier." ”

Unlike Wang Zhongzheng, who was plagued by worries, Han Gang's thoughts were the same thing, but he was very optimistic when he spoke: "No news is not necessarily a bad thing. There's no good news, but there's no bad news! ”

It is very strange that Wang Shao has not been heard from so far. If he is defeated, there should be a defeated army returning. If it goes further and the whole army is annihilated, then it should be Mu Zheng who comes back. But until now, it's all about everything. Han Gang could only guess that Mu Zheng and Wang Shao were both trapped in the Explicit Mountain, or that all of a sudden, the Explicit Mountain Road became difficult to walk, making it impossible for the military information to be transmitted back for a while.

No matter what the situation is, Han Gang has already moved to Wenhe Prefecture in front of him, and asked Miao Zhu to strengthen the defense of the exposed mountain pass. As for the two brothers, Yao Ji and Yao Lin, according to Miao Zhu, the safety of Jiehechuan Fort was the key to withdrawing the army. As long as the true content of this edict does not reach their ears, presumably the two of them will not be willing to give up the credit that has fallen into their hands.

Be prepared to respond, 'Now wait for the second messenger to come.' Han Gang thought, it's best if he doesn't come, he can try to get himself away with his guilt if he comes.

And five days later, Wang Hou's secret letter to Di Dao overnight finally made a meritorious service. The envoys of the Xuan Zhao did come in waves, and judging from the time they left Tokyo City, they were actually chasing after Li Xian, only one day away. However, it is not like Li Xian who is in a hurry all the way, as if he is in a hurry. The envoys of this edict were a little slower, marched at a slightly faster speed than normal, and rested at Weiyuan Fort for the night. At the same time, he sent someone early to let Han Gang go out of the city to greet him.

From Wang Hou's letter, the candidate for the Xuanzhao envoy was clear - Lu Dafang, the former Xuanfu judge under Han Jiang's account, was in Han Jiang's shogunate with Han Gang in the Hengshan Raiders. This is a righteous gentleman, and his three brothers are still Han Gang's senior brothers. I am familiar with military affairs, and I am a civilian official, and my status is still above Han Gang.

The selection of the edict envoy has a specific meaning. Li Xian is a lieutenant envoy, and it is a taboo to seize the power of civil officials, and the Son of Heaven will not let Li Xian replace Han Gang's position in the edict, at most he will only give him a large military power. And Lu Dafang, who used to be a judge in the Xuanfu Division, was selected to announce the edict, and the situation was different. He has the absolute qualifications and ability to replace Han Gang, and he will not provoke a backlash from the ministers.

However, Wang Hou explained in the letter that Lu Dafang's task was not to seize power. Wang Hou had already obtained the content of the edict in advance - in the edict, the command of Xihe Road would be transferred to Cai Yanqing, and Cai Yanqing was currently anxious because of the war of the Deshun army, so I don't know what happened, but it became the authority of Cai Xi, the transfer judge of Qinfeng Road, to take over Han Gang - Wang Hou was able to learn the content of the edict, and it all relied on Cai Xi's propaganda in Longxi City.

The big dishes and small dishes in the yamen of the transfer division are not harmonious, which even people like Bao Shun and Bao Yue know about it. Han Gang didn't know what Cai Yanqing was for throwing Cai Yu out as the receiving officer, if he was too in the way in Qinzhou, and deliberately found a reason to kick it out, then Cai Yanqing would have gone too far.

……………………

has been guarding outside the city for a short time, and Li Xian finally saw Han Gang, who was late.

Han Gang arrived half an hour later than the scheduled time, and Li Xian felt very puzzled. is also an edict envoy, he didn't need to welcome Lu Dafang, but because he acquiesced in Han Gang's hidden edict, he worked hard to no avail, so he had to think that the people who came later would bow their heads, and even go out of the city in advance to greet him.

At this time, Dongfang could already see a trace of dust appearing, and Han Gangfang rushed over, almost one step later than the angel.

Probably because Lintao Fort won. Li Xian guessed.

In the past two days, Li Xian has confirmed the situation in Hezhou and Xizhou. It is not unreasonable for Han Gang to conceal the edict.

After the victory of Lintao Fort, Wang Sunchen not only relieved the siege of the long-trapped castle, but also sent Bao Yue to lead the troops to drive the enemy army away. Xihe Road has been largely calmed, even if Wang Shao never comes back, Taozhou is controlled by Mu Zheng, and Hezhou can still settle down.

Wang Shao took 3,000 people with him, and Jing Sili's entire army was only 2,000. Coupled with the previous battles, this time the Battle of Hezhou. There were nearly 30,000 fighters, including Wang Shao's 3,000 people, and the total casualties were only about 10,000. This loss, in fact, is not much after being apportioned to the three roads of Xihe, Qinfeng, and Jingyuan, and the three roads can afford it. Although the 10,000 casualties are all elites, what is more important is that there are 20,000 more soldiers who have been trained in the war!

At the same time, the transshipment system led by Han Gang has fully proved their capabilities. Supporting a war of less than 50,000 people is not a problem at all. For the rugged terrain on the edge of Shaanxi, the number of troops that can be mobilized in a strategic direction is at most 50,000. When it comes to military affairs, Li Xian is much stronger than Wang Zhongzheng, and he knows how rare it is to let the front line 300 miles away ensure that there is plenty of grain.

But even so, it is still necessary to withdraw the troops. Li Xian can't help but cry out for Han Gang, he has done a good job, but he can't avoid failure.

If you can continue to be tough, Lu Dafang will also be generally topped, and the most successful person may be able to protect the current victory.

But Li Xian understood better that it was impossible for Han Gang to refuse the second edict at all.

chose a Wenchen who was a few levels higher than Han Gang to announce the edict, what was going on, Li Xian knew very well.

Han Gang has lost his position!

Looking at the dust that was gradually approaching him on both sides, Li Xian sighed secretly, the luck of the Son of Heaven was really bad.