The new emperor set foot on the tower of Xuzhou City for the first time, and in the big tent of the Chinese army on the side of the Huai Army, the commander Meng Chuliang was also making the most difficult calculations.

Since Meng Chuliang fled from Xuzhou City, he followed the orders of the King of Huai to enter the coordination and control of the Huai Army's North Route Army, and the movements of the entire Huai Army have been acting according to his orders, this time he had to gather all the Huai troops besieging the city to the west of the city, because he got a news, the cavalry of the border Dingguo Marquis has been mobilized. His worst fears may have happened.

"Prime Minister, now that Xuzhou City is trapped, Xuzhou will collapse without attacking, why do you have to take such a risk?" Hua Ji'an, commander of the Huaijun North Route Army, asked.

"How many times have I said it, don't call the old man the prime minister, the old emperor has not been removed, the world has not yet stabilized, everything can't be rushed." Meng Chuliang had a sense of anger in his words, he had always disagreed with the matter of King Huai being called emperor, but King Huai rejected his proposal on the grounds that he could win the hearts of the people, and proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven early, perhaps because of this, the resistance of the imperial army is so fierce now.

Hua Ji'an didn't dare to offend Meng Chuliang, so he didn't say more.

Meng Chuliang lowered his head and explained: "Yesterday I received news from the border pass six days ago, saying that the Marquis of Dingguo, who was guarding the border pass, had transferred 30,000 cavalry on the left flank. This is the most elite cavalry in the town border army, fighting with the Turks all the year round, if these 30,000 cavalry go south quickly, it will only take ten days at most to reach the city of Xuzhou, and then attack the city, is it too late? ”

Hua Ji'an was relieved, the cavalry at the border pass had been transferred ten days ago, and now there are at most five days left to attack the city, which is the most abundant situation. If you don't have enough time. Probably only three days. It is necessary to conquer the city. It is also necessary to deploy defense in Xuzhou City, and the time is very tight.

But Hua Ji'an soon felt that this Meng Chuliang didn't pay attention to him at all, and he hadn't even informed him of such important military news before, he was the commander of the dignified Northern Route Army, and the general who was ordered by King Huai after he became emperor.

"But Xiangguo, if you gather your soldiers and horses in the west of the city to attack the city, aren't you afraid that the emperor will escape there?" Hua Ji'an said worriedly.

"The old man is still afraid that he won't run away! Now that Xuzhou City is within a radius of 700 miles, it has been included in the territory of the new Son of Heaven, where can he flee to? When the fortifications we come to build these days are ornaments? In Xuzhou City, he can't help it. Out of the city, it is difficult for him to do it all! ”

Hua Ji'an sighed and didn't speak. Now all orders are arranged by Meng Chuliang, and now the whole army, including King Huai, trusts this Xiangguo very much, and his dignified commander of the Northern Route Army is just a decoration, a little person who acts according to orders.

And the commander of the Southern Route Army is very arbitrary, and now the Southern Route Army is going all the way north, attacking the city, and has almost reached Luoyang City. At this rate, I believe that it will be possible to reach Tongguan or even Chang'an City by the end of the year. At that time, the life or death of the emperor in Xuzhou City is no longer important, and the whole world is for King Huai, so he doesn't care about the gains and losses of a city. Nowadays, the movement of the border army has become the most critical point in this war.

The Marquis of Dingguo has not expressed his attitude for a long time, and the border army has not moved, this time it is said that an envoy from the imperial court went to the border pass, and Meng Chuliang immediately thought that Liu Wenyan personally went to the border pass to talk to his father about the benefits. So there was news of the cavalry transfer at the border pass.

A person entered the big tent of the Chinese army in the dust, Hua Ji'an could only avoid the people when he saw it, although this person did not have a military position, but he was the future son-in-law of King Huai, a student of Meng Chuliang, and it was still pressed on top of his head. This person is Zhou Ying.

"Huaixiang, this is the news that just came back from the border pass." Zhou Ying passed the secret letter in his hand to Meng Chuliang.

Meng Chuliang hurriedly opened it, the smile on his face suddenly bloomed, and then Ha Lu Ha Da Lu laughed, that smile was full of pride and conceit, making it seem that he had won the battle.

"It turned out that the movement of the border army was because there was another chaos on the Turkic side, and the new khan was killed less than a year after he became the country. The Turks are bleeding for the head of this Khan's struggle, and the Marquis of Dingguo has mobilized the cavalry, and has already left Shaowu Pass to fight with the cavalry of the Turkic Southern Yan! Meng Chuliang said with a smile, "Dingguohou, Dingguohou, it seems that you really don't take your son seriously, and would rather take the initiative to meet the Turks than come back to save the Son of Heaven in danger." Anyway, it seems that Lao Er's move is completely useless. ”

Hua Ji'an didn't understand what Meng Chuliang meant, but Zhou Ying knew it.

The old man in Meng Chuliang's mouth is the first emperor, the first emperor asked the Marquis of Dingguo to lead the troops before passing on the throne, obviously wanting the Marquis of Dingguo and Liu Wenyan to take care of the inside and outside to ensure the stability of his son's throne.

Zhou Ying asked: "Huai Xiang, will you still attack the city tonight?" ”

"Let's wait." Meng Chuliang said, "Let the armies return to the camp first, step up the deployment, and see the new news tomorrow before making a decision." In addition, the Southern Route Army was instructed that if the border army was found to be moving south, it would be intercepted no matter what, even if the whole army was wiped out and dragged on for a day, it would be a great achievement! ”

On the one hand, Zhou Ying acted in accordance with his orders, but on the other hand, he had doubts about why Meng Chuliang didn't directly cut through the chaos tonight and join forces to attack Xuzhou City. In this way, there is a chance that Xuzhou will be captured, although the loss will be greater, but the emperor in the city can be captured, isn't it exactly what King Huai and Meng Chuliang wanted?

I only heard Meng Chuliang look at the entire military map and muttered to himself: "Liu Wenyan, where are you!" Pushed the old man across the river and ran away, do you plan to kill this old man and set up another one yourself? ”

Zhou Ying was shocked when he heard this, no wonder Meng Chuliang would hesitate, it turned out that he was afraid that even if he captured Xuzhou City and killed the emperor at a tragic price, as long as Liu Wenyan was still alive and Chang'an City and the land of Guanzhong were still in the hands of the imperial army, then he could establish a new son of heaven, and then the whole country would mourn and the imperial army would be easier to condense. If this is the case, then Liu Wenyan is too cunning and insidious, sending the Son of Heaven to death in exchange for victory in the war, and there are more rebellious ministers in the world who are more disobedient than this?

Zhou Ying asked again: "Huaixiang, then next, we will also do siege?" ”

"Besiege but not attack, wait for news." Meng Chuliang said, "If all the people in Xuzhou City starve to death, the emperor will definitely be the last one to starve to death, and the subjects must be given food first." can't fulfill Liu Wenyan's wish! General Hua, convey the old man's meaning to the soldiers of the whole army, and quickly arrange it. ”

This errand should be done by Zhou Ying, but now it is the turn of a general, and Hua Ji is still quite helpless. Turned around and walked out of the tent.

Originally, it was to capture Xuzhou City quickly, but now that Liu Wenyan's sinister intentions are realized, it is meaningless to attack this city. Things in the world are so fast-moving.

After Meng Chuliang said this, he was like a scholar who was studying knowledge, and he kept staring at the military map, and the position he was staring at was the Jiangjiang region where King Jing was located.

Zhou Ying said: "Huai Xiang, there is one more thing, the grain that King Jing should have shipped to Jiangbei six days ago has not yet been shipped. This is the third time. ”

Meng Chuliang raised his head when he heard this: "What did they say?" ”

"Say it's a bandit!"

"Bandits, bandits! It's bandit again! How big of a bandit can be the enemy of the government again and again? Unless these bandits don't want to live! ”

Zhou Ying hesitated: "What does Huai Xiang mean that King Jing lied about the banditry?" ”

"Maybe there are one or two troublemakers, but who doesn't know that Jiangjiang has suffered floods this year? The north is dry and the south is flooded, and this year's Dashun Dynasty is not very peaceful in the north and south, but the emperor has purchased a large amount of military food from King Jing every year, and in order to prevent the old man from being traced, the grain has been stored in King Jing's land. Meng Chuliang said angrily, "King Jing wants to use grain for disaster relief, tell the emperor that the new emperor will treat his subjects and ministers badly?" Can...... The old man didn't have a grain shipped to Jiangbei for more than half a month. If there is no food, what will my Huai soldiers eat? ”

Zhou Ying said: "In the past half a month, the Southern Route Army has always been urging military rations, and on the side of the Northern Route Army, the grain is also running out, but fortunately, the next batch of grain in Huaidi will arrive tomorrow, which will temporarily relieve the pressure." ”

Meng Chuliang was silent for a long time, and said: "Anyway, for the time being, Xuzhou City is only besieged and not attacked, so let Hua Ji'an lead 5,000 cavalry to the Jiangjiang region to assist King Jing to suppress bandits." ”

"Bandits?" Zhou Ying smiled bitterly, "King Jing has tens of thousands of soldiers, and so far not a single soldier has come to Jiangbei, and he still uses us to help?" ”

"It's to let the old man have nothing to say, and by the way, let Hua Ji'an escort the grain north, the army has not moved the grain and grass first, and now the army is already outside, but the grain and grass can't keep up, isn't it cutting off the back road?"

Meng Chuliang's words were correct, but Zhou Ying still had doubts, and said tentatively: "But Huaixiang, Hua Ji'an is the commander of the Northern Route Army, with the rank of general!" ”

The commander of the Northern Route Army, the arrogant general, has to go to suppress bandits, and escort the military rations as a grain transport officer, it is good to say on weekdays, if he sees the commander of the Southern Route Army, can Hua Ji'an's face be passable? Maybe it's because Zhou Ying treats people a lot on weekdays, and he is most entangled in these people's feelings.

"Whether it's the commander of the Northern Route Army, or the general, in the final analysis, it's also the general of the Son of Heaven, and do you care about the situation when you fight for the Son of Heaven?" General Meng Chuliang scrolled and said, "Let him go, by the way, let him order the military order, assist in the military power of Jiang and Jiangxi, and let King Jing be restrained." If the bandits can't be suppressed this time, he won't have to come back! ”

Zhou Ying smiled bitterly in his heart, it seems that Meng Chuliang is also a little stubborn after the recent siege of the city, he knows that no matter what he says, this gentleman will not listen, as a student and a subordinate, he understands the importance of respecting orders.

It's just that he doesn't feel worth it for Hua Ji'an, and it's okay to be a puppet commander of the Northern Route Army, and now he has to suppress bandits, which is an errand that local garrisons don't bother to do on weekdays, a few bandits, what can they do?

"Don't look back, there's something going on." Zhou Ying walked out of the big tent of the Chinese army and muttered to himself. (To be continued......)