Dou Shuting's original intention was still to spend the night in the palace, and in a few days it would be the Lantern Festival, so he could just go back to his home and have a reunion dinner with his family on that day - there were not many opportunities for such a thing.

He was in a good mood these days, although the affairs in the palace still made him busy, but when he thought that Yang Wei replied that the eldest prince Dou Jianzhang had arrived safely at his home in Huaizhou, although there were some twists and turns, the family power was also reorganized and cleaned in a few days, he was still a little complacent in his heart. It is precisely because of this that he has done things very neatly in the past few days, which makes everyone in Queensland officialdom marvel.

"Lord Dou is still working so hard, he is a model for my generation!"

"Yes, my generation is really ashamed, only Lord Dou still thinks about national affairs at this time!"

"Lord Xiao of the Ministry of War died suddenly, several adults of the Ministry of Officials are still arguing about the candidates for the Book of War, and the other ministries are also passive and slacking off, and they can get by, but only the Ministry of Rites where Lord Dou is located, not only will the funeral of the emperor be handled safely, but even the concubines and mothers of the harem are also cooperating with Lord Dou everywhere, and they are vying to donate jewelry and private silver one by one, vowing to live and die with the capital city......"

……

There are countless such praises, and there are even rumors that the Ministry of Officials has now discussed with other ministries to risk the capital crime of collective beheading to elect Dou Shuting as the acting prime minister - the temporary acting prime minister, leading the Queensland officials to tide over the difficulties together.

However, this is just a rumor, and Dou Shuting himself sneered when he heard it: "Don't they want to be this prime minister?" The timing is wrong! In normal times, everyone fights for the same; Now the capital city is in danger, they can't wait for me to be this bird, if the army is defeated and the city is broken, I, Dou Shuting, will be the sinner of the Great Shu Kingdom, and I will also carry the black cauldron of this dead country! What about them? It is enough to keep the reputation and achievements of the first half of your life, and if you don't make mistakes and don't come out in the second half of your life, it will also be a good name in history! ”

However, this dissatisfaction is only a private talk, he will discuss it with other ministries, and he will persuade those high-ranking officials and nobles to donate their soldiers and silver taels - this is the sorrow of Confucianism, knowing that things cannot be done, but once they get into the carriage of morality, if they want to jump down again, if they do not have the determination to break their bones, few people dare to jump down like this.

In the afternoon, he summoned the two most powerful military forces in Dingdu: the city defense army and the eighth captain.

There are nearly 10,000 people in the city defense army, and at this time the person in charge of this force is Liu Ke, the proud protégé of Shang Shu Xiao of the former military department, who is said to be the twin stars of the future military department of Dashu along with Tian Gong, a student of the veteran Mo Fu.

Because Dou Shuting and Xiao Shurang have been officials in the same dynasty for many years, and the personal relationship between the two families is not bad, Liu Ke still sold Dou Shuting face alone, and came to meet him at the city defense meeting in the evening.

Sitting opposite him was the Eighth Captain, known as the strongest armed force in the palace and the last barrier to defend the imperial city. However, since the last time Emperor Song Yuanxie of Shu was silently killed in front of the Eighth Lieutenant and exited the capital unharmed, the strength of the Eighth Lieutenant has been questioned, and his status and treatment have gradually become inferior to the past under the pressure of all parties.

Liu Ke looked down on them, not because of the problem of strength, he himself had been in the Hu Cavalry Captain of the Eight Captains for a period of time, and he knew the most about the depth of combat power - what he looked down on was these eight people, who did not protect the Emperor of Shu State, so what face did he have to survive in the world? If you don't die!

However, he also knew that this was not the time to interrogate everyone, and today he went to listen to the invitation of Dou Shuting, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, because of what this adult said, which moved him: give up the outer city and concentrate all the resources and troops to stick to the inner city.

At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this decision being made at this time, but it is still the most effective way to turn the tide of the battle: no matter how fierce and fierce the enemy is, as long as it drags on for time, there will definitely be troops from all over the country to come to the rescue, and at that time, it will be possible to inflict great losses on the enemy under internal and external attacks.

However, some people, led by the Ministry of War, did not agree.

First of all, can the "king of diligence" still have a "king" to "be diligent"? In the past, King Qin rushed to the rescue because the emperor was trapped, but now? The old emperor is dead, and the new emperor has not yet ascended the throne - and more importantly, now he doesn't even know who the new emperor is, who will King Qin show to? No king can be diligent!

Second, although there are fourteen gates in the outer city and seven gates in the inner city, the inner city is relatively easier to guard. However, among the objections, a group of people shouted the loudest was not the strong generals who were born in the military department, but the Confucian scholars that Dou Shuting was all too familiar with! How can you ignore the life and death of the people in the outer city? This is a move that loses the hearts of the people and betrays the morality of the people! Stick to the outer city, although the city is broken, the people's hearts are not broken, and there is still the power to attack; Give up the outer city, the city is not broken, the people's hearts have been broken, and the enemy will not attack the future of Dashu!

The third point, although it has not been said, everyone still knows: you Dou Shuting sent your son out, he Xiao is expected to die, there is nothing to be afraid of, the others are not dead, and the families of others are still in the inner city! If the enemy invades, which way should I flee? Can you escape? They objected, thinking that when the outer city was breached, there were still fourteen gates to escape, and when the inner city was breached, there were only seven! The probability of escaping from fourteen gates is much higher than the probability of escaping from seven gates, right?

It is precisely because of this understanding that Liu Ke is extremely disgusted with this group of Confucian scholars and officials who are usually full of morality and morality, and they are extremely disgusted with the first few invitations.

At present, Dou Shuting's thoughts are quite consistent with him, and he is also willing to put forward his own thoughts: "Ladies and gentlemen, Liu Ke thinks that the current troops in the Dingdu City are really not enough to defend the outer city, and the safest way is to retreat to the inner city......

"Bastard!" Before he could finish speaking, an official of the household department interrupted him, "What are you as the people of the outer city?" Livestock? That is the foundation of my Dashu country! ”

"My lord, I think the foundation of Dashu is to fight the soldiers in the sword formation, not the people!" What annoys Liu Ke the most is that others use this set to teach themselves, especially the Confucian students in front of him who have already packed up and are ready to abscond at any time!

"You're bold!" The official was furious, he didn't expect a martial artist to dare to speak to himself like this, he was a sage who had studied the books of sages and ascended to the Hall of the Son of Heaven, and he had never been so contradicted by others.

"Master Zhang!" Dou Shuting saw that the signs of the two parties were wrong, and immediately spoke out to stop it. "The dispute between soldiers and Confucianism, we can all be said to have experienced it, so don't mention it here, it hurts the harmony and gives the thieves an opportunity."

Saying that, he didn't ask Liu Ke, but asked Captain Xiang to the Eighth Colonel: "What do the generals think?" ”

"What General Liu said makes sense." There was silence for a while, and one of them said: "Now there are more than 10,000 city defense troops, and we have 5,600 people, relying on this point to defend the inner city is still cramped, let alone guarding the outer city." ”

"Aren't there still soldiers from all the provinces? At least 10,000 people, right? Another official spoke, Dou Shuting looked over, but saw that it was Master Shangshuhuo of the Criminal Department.

"Lord Huo, all the people present in the trial are dissatisfied with you, but marching to fight is different from avenging grievances......," the captain said: "Although the number of soldiers is much larger than that of my eighth captain, with all due respect, they will not fight together!" ”

Although these words hurt people, most of them still understand this truth: not to mention the uneven quality of the goods sent by the various provinces, but when it comes to the adaptability on the battlefield - comparable to the regular army that has been washed with iron and blood? Can you follow the orders of unity? Have a full tactical and formation drill? Without mentioning! These people usually rely on their masters to bully the people and dominate the world, but they can't fight the enemy with their lives!

"Your Excellency actually knows in your hearts, if we are usually worthy of the people, then the city is broken and the people's hearts are fixed; But if you are usually scolded by the people poking your back......" When he said this, Dou Shuting looked at the head of the household, and the other party immediately lowered his head and stopped talking.

"But the crime of losing the city ......," Lord Huo of the Criminal Department wanted to speak and stopped.

"That's it!" Dou Shuting sighed secretly: What are the people's hearts, aren't you worried that there will be no one to carry the black pot in the end? If you can't even keep the capital, then Dashu will be destroyed - what are you talking about your own interests!

"Today's things, if they are accomplished, are the work of all the adults; If it fails, it will be the disaster of my Dou Shuting's arbitrariness, is it feasible? ”

"Where is Lord Dou!" It was the Lord Zhang who said this, but in the eyes of everyone, he should be more anxious, and his tone was more relaxed: "You and I are both courtiers of the Shu Kingdom, and we can't take it all together in case of trouble, since Lord Dou is such a model for us, I, Zhang Liangchen, will follow the adult!" ”

I don't know if someone is louder, or if it is suddenly quieter at this time, this disdainful "sigh" reflects what everyone thinks: what is the model, in fact, it is the crime of Dou Shuting taking the lead, as for the words "are all ministers of Shu State", they seem to be righteous and awe-inspiring, at best, they are just farts waving and shouting behind their backs!

"Shuting's words are strict!" Master Huo of the Criminal Department said very cleverly: "Don't say anything about the merits of public opinion and the disaster of arbitrariness, with me here today, I will also make the words clear: when it is about the life and death of Dashu, cowardice is death, not fighting is death, and avoiding war is death!" Lord Dou and I, a handful of old bones will die, but the society cannot be broken, and the country cannot be chaotic, please share the work of saving the country and the crime of destroying the country with me! ”

When everyone heard this, they also shouted: "Share the merit of saving the country and the crime of destroying the country!" ”

"In that case," Dou Shuting didn't say much after hearing this, only one sentence: "Shuting thank you for understanding the righteousness!" Then only Liu Ke, the eighth lieutenant and a few Shangshu lords were left, and the rest of them retreated.

Seeing that everyone was retreating, he looked at Liu Ke and said, "Can you please tell General Liu how to defend the inner city?" ”

"I wonder how many days the adults plan to keep it?" Liu Ke didn't answer, but asked.

"What do you mean by that?" When the rest of the people heard this, they frowned.

"Tell me more about it, General." As soon as Dou Shuting heard this, he also realized that something was wrong—hearing what he meant seemed to be far from being as easy as he thought!

"I don't hide it from you!" Liu Ke said, got up and bowed to everyone: "The spies just came to report, and within a day, the thieves will arrive!"

"What!" Everyone present was shocked, especially the eighth lieutenant who was about to go out to make arrangements.

Liu Ke didn't stop it, and said: "According to the investigation, there are about 200,000 of them. ”

As soon as these words came out, the eight lieutenants stopped one after another, and they could not take the next step.

"I'm not afraid of the jokes of the adults, Liu Ke is still a little sure of preventing 50,000 people, can he prevent 200,000 people......" He was silent, but everyone already understood what he meant.

"According to the general, how long can it be prevented?" Dou Shuting quickly regained his composure and asked.

"One day." He replied without crying or laughing, as if it was none of his business.

"How so?" Those present don't believe it! At least half a month or three months before reinforcements arrive, right? At this time, it was only one day!

"Seven doors are really good for us defending, and it's also good for the opponent to attack the city, they can concentrate more people to attack the city." Liu Ke tried to analyze it.

"Then why ......" The person who said this suddenly realized something in the middle of his words, and suddenly withered.

Everyone also knew what he was going to say - since it was beneficial for the enemy to defend the seven gates, it was better to defend the fourteen gates! Really? Of course not, here it is not a difference of 12,000 people, but a difference of 10 times! No matter how you defend it, you can't do it, and you will be beaten passively.

"The reason why I advocate giving up the outer city is because the person who led the troops was Kong Zhongyi, the younger brother of Kong Zhongman, although he was also a famous general, he was very principled, and he would not kill those who did not resist......" Speaking of this, Liu Ke smiled again and continued: "When you meet those who resist, slaughter the city." ”

Seeing that everyone was colorless, Liu Ke said again: "The next thing to consider is how to bite off a bite of meat before dying......

After speaking, he glanced at the eighth lieutenant and said, "Are you afraid of death?" ”