Han Jian explained some things to Mrs. Luo and Zhang Xing, and hurriedly returned to the Dongwang Mansion, and the people in the palace who summoned him to the palace had just arrived.

This was not a separate call from the Empress, but a routine call. Whenever there was a major event in the imperial court, the empress would routinely summon the princes and ministers around Luoyang City to the palace to discuss things, and Han Jian, as the king of the east, was also among the summonses.

Han Jian was edicted to enter the palace and directly entered the Ye'an Pavilion, and there were many ministers in the Ye'an Pavilion in this matter. The Privy Council and the Ministry of War accounted for the majority, and among these people, Han Jian only saw one acquaintance, this person had some "personal grudges" with him, it was Sun Shaoqian, the general of the Eastern Wuwei, that is, the father of Sun Bao, who was killed by Lin Xiaoyun. The Twelve Wei generals are subordinate to the Privy Council, and now the Xianbei people are going south, the defense of the capital is critical, and the twelve Wei generals in Luoyang City will also go to the palace to be dispatched.

The empress sat behind the dragon case, Han Jian was inconspicuous when he arrived, Han Jian came in, and the recital of the Privy Council Minister was still continuing. Han Jian listened to it, and the ministers of the Privy Council were mainly talking about the defense situation of the various divisions and roads north of the Yellow River in the Wei Dynasty and Hebei Province, where there was who was stationed, and how many men and horses were in the local garrison army and regimental training. Judging from Han Jian's situation, it is almost impossible for the imperial court to use local soldiers and horses north of the Yellow River to hinder the "Xianbei cavalry". Han Jian also knew very well that these so-called Xianbei cavalry were actually the soldiers and horses of the North King, and the North King must have made a lot of preparations before rebelling, and the magistrates of Hebei must have been bought by him.

In the army of the Wei Dynasty, only the soldiers and horses of the four kings had the ability to fight. Among them, the soldiers and horses of the North King are the most sophisticated, not only are they well-armed, but they also have rich combat experience, and the imperial court army is nominally abundant in soldiers and horses, but most of them are local armed forces that have not experienced actual combat, even if they are gathered, they can't fight the North King at all.

Han Jian got the news of the "Xianbei people's southern invasion" at about the same time as the imperial court, and at the same time, Mrs. Luo's people also confirmed that the scouts who went south were not Xianbei scouts, but the scouts of the northern king. That is to say. The soldiers and horses that went south this time were already the soldiers and horses of the king of the north. This news is more accurate than the current information in the imperial court, Han Jian listened to the report of the Privy Councillor, who was talking about how the Xianbei people were from beginning to end, and mentioned it to the king of the north. It is also said that the soldiers and horses of the king of the north will be broken. It's as if the people in the Privy Council don't know that it was the Northern King who rebelled.

Even Han Jian can think of something lightly. Will these officials of the Privy Council, who have been immersed in the imperial court for more than ten years or even decades, have no doubts? They just didn't dare to pierce that layer of window paper. As long as this layer of window paper is broken, it means that the imperial court will start a war with the Northern King, and it will also mean that the Wei Dynasty will fall into civil strife. Now outside the Wei Dynasty, it can be regarded as surrounded by many enemies. The internal situation was also not very stable, and at this time, the rebellion of the northern king was also an opportunity, and it was impossible for the imperial court to gather the soldiers and horses of the western king, the eastern king, and the southern king at the same time, because these soldiers and horses also had to defend against other foreign enemies.

Han Jian listened to the people in the Privy Council, but he was thinking in his heart where did the king of Yanning run now? Wang Gang of Yanning County was responsible for escorting Qian Liang to the north, because the escort was a baggage, and he would go very slowly, and it would be impossible to reach the boundary of the North King on a calculated day. Han Jian thought, could it be that the king of Yanning County gave the money and grain to the king of the north on the spot, and went directly to the king of the north to be the "loyal minister" of the king of the north? Han Jian felt that things would not be so simple. Han Jian felt that the king of Yanning was ambitious and very wise, even if he might have helped the king of the north raise money and food in the capital before, he might not be willing to serve the king of the north. The king of Yanning County can be said to be a figure that neither the empress nor the king of the north can control, and his political position will be a little special.

Han Jian thought, will the king of Yanning want to be the emperor himself?

According to the Privy Council's estimates, there were as many as 60,000 or 70,000 soldiers and horses from the Xianbei people who knocked south this time, and this number also made the ministers of civil and military affairs present worried. Han Jian saw that King Kang's face seemed to be ugly, and he seemed to be very worried about his fate, and then he naturally glanced at Han Jian's side. Han Jian had felt that Prince Kang had always seen that something was wrong with him, and at this time, he also looked at it, what did he want to do?

After the people of the Privy Council finished reporting, the empress nodded slightly and asked directly: "With the current marching speed of the Xianbei people, it is estimated that they can reach the banks of the Yellow River in a few days?" ”

The Queen's question was too direct for the Privy Council to answer. Before, the ministers of the Privy Council talked for a long time, all about how to arrange the defense line on the north bank of the Yellow River, but now the empress seems to have deliberately not mentioned the north defense line, and directly asked the Xianbei people when they would kill the banks of the Yellow River.

This is a difficult question to answer, first of all, the north bank of the Yellow River is a general concept, the north of Luoyang is considered north of the Yellow River, and the north of the Hetao area is also considered north of the Yellow River. These two are thousands of miles away from the location of the border pass, which one is the empress asking?

Of course, if nothing else, the empress asked when the Xianbei people would cross the Yellow River north of Luoyang.

Moreover, the Empress asked "at the present pace of the march of the Xianbei", which was still an unascertained question for the Privy Council. Now it is only known that the Xianbei people went south, and the number of soldiers and horses of the Xianbei people is guessed, whether the Xianbei people conquered the border defense line of the Northern King and went south, or whether the Xianbei people bypassed the defense line of the Northern King in some way and went south, which also needs to be confirmed by further information. At this time, the speed of the Xianbei people's march is completely conjecture, and there are local armies in Hebei to block the attack, whether the Xianbei people will directly take Luoyang, or whether they will fight city by city, and in the end, it is unknown whether they will only plunder and will not come to the Yellow River. Based on the above qiē, the ghost knows when the Xianbei people will come.

The Privy Council officer thought for a moment and reported: "It can be as short as ten days, and as long as a month to prepare." ”

This answer somewhat relieved the ministers of civil and military affairs present. Ten days and half a month, or even a month to prepare, that time is enough to set up a river defense line in the north of Luoyang, and the Yellow River, as a natural hazard, can also resist the footsteps of the Xianbei people going south.

Han Jian couldn't help but sigh secretly when he heard this, the people in the Privy Council couldn't help but deceive themselves a little.

It was not the Xianbei cavalry who came, but the soldiers and horses of the Northern King who were eyeing Luoyang City. The king of the north has been preparing for today's rebellion for more than ten or twenty years, and naturally the local forces of the Hebei generation have already infiltrated the local forces of the generation of Hebei, and the southward route chosen by the king of the north must be fast and will not be hindered. If you go south on light horses, within four or five days, the soldiers and horses of the northern king can be on the north bank of the Yellow River. The question now is how to resist the crossing of the soldiers and horses of the Northern King to the south, instead of doing some unnecessary fortifications in Hebei.

The Yellow River has been diverted several times, and now Luoyang City is less than 20 miles south of the Yellow River.

Four or five days was the fastest speed that Han Jian expected the king of the north to go south. Han Jian knew that this was the worst estimate, the king of the north would generally not ride south, because it would expose his back and give the local army of the imperial court in Hebei an opportunity to take advantage of, even if the king of the north could buy some local officials and local generals, there would still be troops loyal to the imperial court. In particular, the imperial court had several important military towns in Hebei. In this case, it is inappropriate for the North King to choose a southward strategy without supplies and a back road, which is a bit of a desperate meaning, the North King is strong and does not need to fight so hard. Moreover, even if the king of the north dares to ride south, there is also a way to cross the natural danger of the Yellow River, and in the absence of heavy supplies, the king of the north wants to conquer a solid Luoyang city, which is simply a fool's dream.

Han Jian boldly speculated that if the Northern King really went south, there was only one explanation, that is, the Northern King had a way to enter the city, as long as the army pressed the border, the defense line of Luoyang City would be vulnerable. There is only one explanation for this, that is, there are people from the Northern King in the current city defense and garrison, if this is the case, then it is similar to the situation of the Battle of Jingjing that Han Jian is familiar with.

Han Jian's heart was still a little heavy, no matter how much the Northern King's power in the capital was swept away, there would always be fish that slipped through the net. But now the empress has handed over the city defense to some trusted children of the family in order to be cautious, could it be that the king of the north bought the family in Luoyang City in advance?

I have to guard against it. Han Jian thought to himself.

The empress was very dissatisfied when she heard the reply of the people in the Privy Council, because the empress thought basically the same as Han Jian thought, and the Hebei defense line would not form any obstacles on the way south of the Beiwang soldiers' horses. Now the focus is on the river line.

The empress looked solemn and ordered: "Order Hebei Zhuzhou County, the Yellow River, cut down and burn boats, and the board is not allowed to go down the river. ”

The empress's order was quite strong, and the ministers present were a little shocked. In the eyes of these ministers, the Xianbei people have four lines of defense in the south, first of all, the Beiwang defense line of the Great Wall, and then the Hebei defense line. The third line of defense is the turn of river defense. Now that the empress is so cautious about the defense of the river, these ministers will think, does that also mean that the fourth line of defense, that is, the city defense of Luoyang, should also be tightened up?

"Your Majesty, that Hebei local ......" the Privy Council asked again.

The empress was silent for a moment, and said: "The proposed decree will be sent to all parts of Hebei, stick to the city and not go out, do not be greedy for merit, and focus on the Yellow River defense line." In addition, Anhui and Daoling soldiers and horses were transferred to Luoyang to tighten vigilance. ”

When the empress said this, it meant that the empress would completely abandon the peripheral resistance in the Hebei region. This is a very dangerous signal, which will mean that whether the Xianbei people go south or the northern king rebels, they will be unimpeded in Hebei. The people of Hebei will "suffer", it is the case that the northern king is plotting against the rebellion, at least the northern king is plotting Luoyang City, and will not attack the local people of Hebei, and the Xianbei people are different, the main purpose of the Xianbei people going south is to plunder, and in the case of not being able to enter the city and will not be disturbed by the soldiers and horses in the city, they can wantonly loot money, grain, people and livestock, and be plundered by the Xianbei people, which can simply reach the point of a thousand miles of wilderness. (To be continued......)