The ladies of the palace finally brought refreshments and placed them on the stone table in the pavilion.

The refreshments in the royal palace are exquisite and tempting, which is difficult to find in the Qing Xuan Taoist sect and other places. Yu Ji and I talked back to the topic of cultivating immortals, and while answering a few questions from him, I tasted a few exquisite white cakes, which were really delicious.

I took a plate of pastries into the little gourd, and when Kiyohime on her lap woke up, I could leave it for her to taste as well.

Yu Ji saw my small action in the market, and he didn't care at all, as if he didn't see it.

When he was done, it was my turn to ask him.

"Anyway, second brother, I heard that Cangtong wanted to attack Nandu before I came back to Nandu, I don't know what the specific situation of this matter is?"

Yu Ji picked up the teacup and shook his hand, almost wanting to shake the tea out of the cup. His expression became a little sharp, like a scheming strategist, not at all the decadent look he had just now.

He took a sip of tea and put down the teacup before slowly asking, "Does the eldest brother really want to know?" ”

"After all, I'm the prince of Shonan, and when I hear this kind of thing, I can't take it as if I didn't hear it."

Yu Ji's eyes did not look at me, but stared at the tea a little helplessly, picked up a piece of pastry, and said with some embarrassment: "To be honest, since the eldest brother of the emperor has stepped into the road of Xiantu Kangzhuang, this mortal world, I actually don't want the eldest brother of the emperor to be involved in it." ”

"It doesn't hurt to get to know a little bit."

"Since the eldest brother of the emperor wants to know so much, then brother, I will seriously explain to you the eldest brother of the emperor about the current situation of the war between Xiangnan and Cangtong."

Yu Ji poured some water from the teacup to the table, dipped his fingers in some water, drew a line on the table in a zigzag, and drew a circle on each side of the line, he pointed to this simple map and introduced it to me: "This is the Xiangjiang River, this is the southern capital, and on the opposite bank is the army gathered by Cangtong now." Guess what, how many armies are there in each of these two camps? ”

I thought for a moment and replied: "Since it is a full-strength battle, then there are about 300,000 troops in each of the two armies, I don't know much about this matter, second brother, don't laugh at me." ”

Yu Ji nodded and replied: "The eldest brother of the emperor doesn't know the current situation, and the amount he guessed is quite reasonable, but the truth is far from the case. The Cangtong army had already begun to recruit soldiers from all over the country two years ago, and in addition to its original national strength, I estimate that his army on the other side of the river is 350,000. And Xiangnan only found out half a year ago that they began to assemble on the other side, and hurriedly gathered troops to fight against Cangtong, plus Xiangnan has always only important economic and light military, in fact, the army of Nandu is only 150,000. ”

I exclaimed, "How big is the difference?" ”

"Probably bigger." Yu Ji frowned and said: "The Cangtong army on the other side only owes enough ships to cross the shore, so it has been delayed until now that there is no attack, and when they build enough ships, it is expected that there will be half a year." In this half a year, my father is going to use it to collect troops from all over Shonan, and I will probably be able to gather another 100,000 by then. In addition, two months later, Lu Miao's 70,000 troops, with the strength of the southern capital city wall and the natural danger of the Xiangjiang River, Cangtong would not be able to capture the southern capital even if he had 400,000 troops. ”

When I heard this, I was relieved and said, "Isn't this enough?" ”

Yu Ji suddenly became a little frivolous, and there was a bit of sinister color in his eyes, "The imperial elder brother is too naïve, the father is too naïve, and the Chinese military officials are too naïve." ”

I couldn't help but ask, "Is there a big problem here?" ”

"People seek things, people's hearts are unpredictable, and war is naturally unpredictable. The father and the courtiers all predicted the future of the changes with the unchanged current situation, and then considered the countermeasures, and waited for Cangtong to attack in the southern capital, which was undoubtedly a passive strategy! Since it is a man-made war, all predictions cannot be trusted. If Cangtong suddenly prepares enough ships, or advances the date of attacking the southern capital through other methods, then this response of the father will definitely fall into the danger of the destruction of the southern capital! ”

Yu Ji's expression looked quite excited, and he inadvertently squeezed the cup tightly, if he had more strength, the cup might crack.

"I, Xiangnan, have always relied on a strong naval army to hold the south of the Xiangjiang River, and now Cangtong's naval army is still weaker than ours, so we should take the initiative to attack Cangtong's ferry at this time, and the goal is not to defeat the opposing army, but to destroy their ships. It's just that the command is appropriate, the small victory is retreated, and the attack and destruction every half month can eliminate the idea of Cangtong crossing the river and invading southern Hunan. ”

I don't know anything about war, so I don't understand why he's so excited. In my opinion, he seems to have some point, but if the king of Shonan and the courtiers chose the former strategy, then I am also somewhat biased towards the popular opinion.

I asked, "Have you told Your Majesty about this plan?" ”

Yu Ji shook his head in distress: "I am a prince with no status, and my father categorically denied it when I made a suggestion, saying that this plan is too risky, and it is better to wait for the local soldiers and the army of green seedlings to assemble more stable." ”

I don't know anything about the palace now, but he said that he was a prince with no status, and that caught my attention.

Suddenly, he punched the table in hatred, and said in a fit of rage, "It's funny! Is it a good strategy to wait for the rabbit? Cangtong is now actively preparing for war, naturally it has its own plan, and we don't know it. If Cangtong really has a way to attack early, then Nandu will be finished. Once the southern capital is broken, Cangtong will not have a short-term expedition to the south, and I think they will probably choose to slaughter the city to deter all parts of southern Shonan. The capital of the country was slaughtered, and Shonan was finished, even if it didn't surrender, but as soon as Cangtong's army arrived, they didn't dare to resist. ”

Slaughter the city......

I can't help but be afraid of this terrible thing when I think about it as it might become a reality.

Probably seeing my thoughts from my expression, Yu Ji put away his excitement, and his tone became more tactful: "This is just my conjecture, in fact, it is really unlikely that Cangtong will be able to attack the southern capital." It is really a critical juncture, and it should not be a problem for the soldiers and people of Nandu to wait for reinforcements for two months. ”

Listening to this, I am also a little relieved.

Kiyohime hadn't woken up since she was drunk, and I touched her forehead worriedly, it was still as cool as before, and there was no problem.

Seeing that she couldn't wake up for a while, I silently recited the sword mantra to return her to the sword, put it in the scabbard, and wore it on the belt at my side.

Yu Ji looked at this scene, and he was already slightly bowed in surprise.

Suddenly remembering the matter of the green rose, and thinking of the war between Cangtong and Shonan now, I couldn't help but ask worriedly: "So, the marriage between Shonan and Green Miao is a thing that can't help but change?" ”

"If Cangtong really captures southern Hunan, then the green seedlings with weak national strength must not be far from extinction, and the relationship between the two countries is actually a bitter relationship. Now even if Cangtong invades Shonan, although marriage is not a must, but if it can be married, it will also provide a reason for Green Miao and Shonan to jointly resist Cangtong, and the morale of the two countries will be even higher. There is no other more important reason, so why change this marriage that has already been decided? ”

Faced with Yu Ji's question, I wiped the sweat on my forehead and said unnaturally: "That's right, why do you want to change, it's a festive thing." "I already regret agreeing to the Green Rose.

Yu Ji asked: "Is there something that the eldest brother is hiding from me?" ”

Seeing that I was dumbfounded, Yu Ji knew that he had guessed correctly, and said: "Since the eldest brother of the emperor has something difficult to say, then I won't say it, brother, I just asked a little more curiously." ”

It's great that he understands things like that.

Yu Ji thought about it, estimated the time, and said: "In more than half a month, the princess of the Green Miao Country will be married." It is said that Princess Green Miao is the Holy Maiden of Green Miao, and each generation of Holy Maiden has extraordinary beauty, and I am really a little curious about the beauty of this princess. ”

Thinking about it too much, the barbaric princess is just like that, far worse than my junior sister, maybe because she is still too young.

Since the marriage between Shonan and Midori is so important, as an outsider, I still don't want to interfere. The promise to the Green Rose...... Feed the dog, I can come back to Shonan for a trip, I have thought about it, I have done something righteous, who cares about her requirements for a rude and willful princess.

Yu Ji suddenly mentioned again: "Speaking of which, my father originally arranged for the eldest brother of the emperor to marry this princess of Lumiao, but later the Qingxuan Daozong replied that the eldest brother of the emperor was injured and could not come back, so he asked the third brother to marry her." Because of this matter, it was very likely that the eldest brother of the emperor was going to inherit the throne of southern Hunan, but now you not only missed the throne, but also missed a good karma. ”

I laughed and said, "I'll forget it, who would want to marry that guy...... I mean, princesses generally have a bad temper. ”

Yu looked at me in amazement, but he didn't ask.

I accidentally slipped out, and I didn't dare to mention this again. Hurriedly drank a cup of tea, and asked Yu Ji again: "Second brother, then let me ask you something, what kind of person is the third brother?" ”

Yu Ji was silent for a moment and spit out a few words: "A talent, that's all." ”

There was something in this that made me feel a little weird.

Seeing that I still wanted to ask, Yu Ji said again: "Elder Brother Huang, about the third brother Yu Zhi, it is inconvenient to make a specific evaluation of him from my standpoint. ”

"Just talking, what's so inconvenient about that?"

Yu Ji explained gloomily: "I believe that you have also seen that I am born with a foot disease and have difficulty walking. It is impossible for the throne of Shonan to be passed on to a prince who can't even walk decently, and the eldest brother of the emperor has embarked on the road of cultivating immortals, and the throne can only be passed on to the third brother in the future. Yu Zhi was deeply taught by his father, with excellent conduct and generous appearance, but the only pity is that he lacks the self-confidence and resourcefulness that an emperor should have. But even so, after all, the third brother is still the one who will succeed to the throne of Xiangnan in the future, and I am the second prince who is not favored. ”

It turns out that there is such a thing, and I vaguely felt that Yuji had a knot that was difficult to dissolve, and this was probably it.

Yu Ji suddenly glanced in the direction behind me, then put away his anger, returned to his calm demeanor, and said, "Elder Brother Huang, if you want to understand Yu Zhi, you can understand it face to face now." ”