The sky was cloudy, like rain was about to fall.

The heavy black clouds seemed to be pressing on the overhead, overwhelming the entire Bianjing City. In the imperial city, the vermilion city walls and glazed gold roofs are covered with a gray color, which looks extremely depressing.

Qin Tian, who was dressed in a dragon robe, walked quickly through the ashlar path, his gloomy face was not much clearer than the sky. The palace lady and the eunuch behind him seemed to sense Qin Tian's gloomy mood, and they lowered their heads one by one and didn't dare to speak, silently following behind.

"Squeak."

The wooden door of the imperial study was pushed open, and Qin Yue and the judge were already waiting in the room. Just about to salute, he saw Qin Tian waving his hand.

The latter walked quickly to the desk, and saw that there were six books on it, and when he picked them up and read them line by line, the clouds on Qin Tian's face became more and more thick.

Putting down the last excerpt, Qin Tian took a deep breath and said, "Have you both read these excerpts?" ”

The judge nodded and said, "The minister just saw it." ”

"Xia Guo seems to want to cause trouble again recently, first sent a demon demon girl to Bianjing City to stir up the storm in the city, and then gathered troops to invade the border passes, it seems that I have given them too long." Qin Tian sneered, "What do you two think?" ”

Qin Yue frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that there must be something strange about this matter. At this time, it is not the middle of winter, and there is no need to disturb the border and grab grain, but the Xia Kingdom has gathered 50,000 troops to attack Gucheng, which is really incomprehensible. Although there are 120,000 troops in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, the border defense front in the Western Regions is too long, and if we boldly gather troops to meet the enemy, I don't know if it is the plan of the Xia army to attack the west. Xia Guo's move is really a bit incomprehensible. ”

Qin Tian was silent, glanced at the judge again, and said, "What do you think?" ”

The bronze mask on the judge's face obscured him, and no expression could be seen. He said lightly: "The minister doesn't understand the important matters of the military aircraft, and the minister only knows how to follow the emperor's wishes." ”

Qin Tian nodded, a trace of exhaustion flashed on his young face.

Speaking of which, he should discuss such a major military aircraft matter with the officials of the Ministry of War. However, the court is as deep as the sea, and it is difficult to say whether those who have unclear positions and impure motives will make a fuss about this matter, so he does not dare to confide in those he does not trust before considering it completely.

And the only people he can trust seem to be the two in front of him.

Qin Tian laughed at himself, this emperor... It's a bit of a failure.

The real test of a person's ability is not the prosperous era of singing and dancing, but the turbulent times of war. When the three males are divided today, there are internal and external troubles. When the first emperor handed over a dynasty that was not too stable to Qin Tian, he understood a truth: if you want to survive, you must accumulate your own strength.

Unfortunately, he did not have the foundation to control the court.

It's not easy for a teenager to convince everyone when he's on the throne. And the strongest force is in the hands of Qin Yue and Dongfang Yuanxing, the two ministers of Tuogu.

Qin Yue has no heirs, and all his efforts are poured into his only nephew, which can be said to be sparing no effort. It's a pity that the attitude of Dongfang Yuanxing has always been unclear, so that Qin Tian has never been at ease. But even if he knew this, he couldn't do anything.

It's not that he doesn't want to, but he doesn't dare. Not to mention that Dongfang Yuanxing is highly respected and his disciples are like the sea, if you want to move him, you must not act easily without full certainty, and the subsequent purge and reorganization of the Dongfang Yuanxing party also requires great courage and a long process. In such a weak period, Xia and Qi will definitely not let go, but Datang does not have the capital to deal with the two-sided attack.

He has been preparing, those actions in the open and in the dark, just to one day be able to make Datang a real monolith, not afraid of anyone's challenge. And now, apparently, this is not the time to tear your skin.

Qin Tian sighed, there was no moment when he was more eager for strength than he was now.

If he was given some more time, he believed that with his means, he would definitely be able to make Datang above the other two countries. The arrival of the Great Snow Mountain Fairy coincided with the unprecedented opportunity for him to consolidate his power. As long as this woman, who represents the first person in the world, firmly supports him, he will definitely make his position in the hearts of the people unprecedented.

But at this time, Xia Guo moved.

This country, which has always been restless, is always looking for opportunities. Just like a wild wolf following behind you, as long as it sees that you are tired, it will not hesitate to pounce on you and bite hard.

Now this bite is the right time.

The demon girl entered the capital, assassinated Lan Begonia, colluded with the Wei family's father and son, and the Xia Kingdom disturbed the border...... This series of actions all indicates that Xia Guo is in the next big game of chess. However, there are many flowers, so there is a suspicious array, but their true purpose is hidden in the fog, which makes people unable to see and understand.

A sense of crisis permeated Qin Tian's heart, but he had no way of knowing where the danger came from.

"In any case, Valley City must be defended." Qin Tian said firmly, "I have been in charge of the Tang Dynasty for more than ten years, and I have not done an inch to expand the territory. ”

"Of course, you have to keep it, but I'm afraid that Xia Guo's plan is not small." Qin Yue said: The cavalry of the Xia Kingdom come and go like the wind, if they are just bluffing, our army is afraid that they will be taken away all the time. And the army is mobilized, manpower and material resources are a lot of expenses, the most important thing is that the key land in Guanzhong is the throat of my Tang Dynasty, there have always been heavy troops in Tun, if the troops are transferred from now on, the old minister is only afraid... Xia Guoyi is here! ”

Qin Tian sighed and said, "What if you transfer troops from the Central Plains to the Western Regions?" ”

"The old minister thinks that this matter needs to be carefully considered." Qin Yue frowned and said: "First, the Xia army has a total of 50,000 soldiers and horses in the siege this time, and I have deployed 120,000 troops in the Western Regions. Second, at this time, the barbarians in the north and the Qi in the east are also watching, if there is any intention to take advantage of the fire to rob, we must not be on guard; Third, the central army is mainly distributed in the three counties of the Central Plains, and the capital is a corner, if there is a vacancy on one side, it is inevitable that some bad people with bad intentions will make a big fuss, and the emperor doesn't also know that someone colludes with the Xia State and wants to seek the country? ”

Qin Tian nodded. In the final analysis, it is because of his unstable position, otherwise the military power is firmly controlled, who is afraid of disobedience?

"In Uncle Huang's opinion... What should I do? Qin Tian asked.

"Back to the emperor, the veteran general Rong Ma has been a lifelong general, although he is old, he has been stationed at the border for many years, and he was the best choice at that time in terms of experience and vision. The fact that General Zhan has issued six recitals in a row shows that the situation is by no means as simple as it seems. Qin Yue said, "Lao Chen thinks that we can never mention the word 'defending the city' and change it to 'Harvest Xia'." ”

"Oh? Why? Qin Tianqi said.

"The Xia Kingdom has invaded the border for many years, which can be described as angry and resentful. The grievances between the two countries are deep, and only the destruction of one country can be stopped. This time the Xia Kingdom invaded our Tang Western Regions, which just gave us an excuse to become famous. The emperor might as well use this as a medium to tell the people that the Xia Kingdom has repeatedly provoked, causing the people of the Western Regions to be miserable, and the emperor can't sleep at night and is worried about the people, so he decided to send troops to attack the Xia Kingdom. The westernmost Xilingwei of the three guards in the capital was sent westward and assigned to the veteran general. This not only fulfilled the old general's request, but also left the DPRK and China forces with nothing to say. Whoever dares to speak against him will be disregarding the life and death of the people, and will bear the infamy of the last life. ”

"Vaxia...... Vaxia ......"

Qin Tian muttered, his face contemplative, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

The reason is very clear in front of him, what Xia Guo used was nothing more than a trick. But what is worrying is that they can't see through what they want to hide. Are you really aiming at those dilapidated small towns on the border of the Western Regions? Or do you want to withdraw your power from the center of the Tang Dynasty and pave the way for an ulterior conspiracy?

"Alas!" Qin Tian sighed, this sudden battle really gave the young emperor a headache. He was not afraid of war, but he was afraid of the consequences of a single trigger. So he asked, "If my crusade is fruitless, will I have to be infamy?" ”

Qin Yue Zhengse said: "Your Majesty, the old minister and the old general are incompatible, even we feel that there is a big problem with Xia Guo's move, and the feeling of the closest old general will not be wrong." As long as the situation in front of Xia Guo is broken first, the rest of the things can be discussed in the long run. ”

Qin Tian thought about it and felt that it was also the same truth. "But what if someone really tries to transfer the three guards? ”

"That's the benefit of the word 'crusade.'" Qin Yue said with a smile: "The emperor's move is a supreme merit in opening up the territory in the eyes of the people, if anyone jumps out to rebel at this time, it will be a great rebellion and unpopular with the people." If the name is not right, it is not good. Moreover... Doesn't the emperor still have a trick? ”

Qin Tian nodded and said, "Uncle Huang has no last resort, and it is my fortfortunate to have you to help me." ”

Qin Yue bowed his head and said, "The emperor has won the prize." The emperor is young, but his mind and means are very human, and he will definitely become a generation of saints in time! ”

"Uncle Huang, this is not like your style." The matter was settled, and Qin Tian's mood seemed to have improved, and he said with a smile: "In this way, tomorrow morning, I will let them talk about it first." I want to see that in the face of national crisis, there are a few people who are sincerely on my side - judges! ”

"The minister is here."

Qin Tian said proudly: "If this is a play co-starred by Xia Guo and those Tang scum scums, then as soon as the military order comes out, I'm afraid they won't be willing to be lonely." Since I have decided to cooperate with them in this play, I must not allow a fire in the backyard. ”

The Lord of the Flying Heaven Gate bowed down and said, "The minister obeys the order!" ”

Now that he had made up his mind, Qin Tian and Qin Yue carefully discussed the details. At dusk, Qin Tiancai, Qin Yue, and the judge walked out of the imperial study together.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Qin Chuang standing outside the door. However, Qin Chuang's face at this time was extremely ugly, just like this extremely bad weather.

Qin Tian's heart sank, and he said, "I'm prepared, let's talk." ”

Qin Chuang looked ashamed and said, "The Heavenly Prison has just passed the word, Wei Jianling... He committed suicide in fear of sin. ”