Wu Qiao, the envoy of the Guangzheng Yuan, Zhang Xun, the commander of the Shenwei Army, Zheng Yanhua, the envoy of the Zhenhai Navy, and the commander of Heiyun have been sitting in the Guangzheng Hall for more than an hour, and when they saw Cai Yu coming in with Wu Yingying, they hurriedly got up, Wu Qiao first kicked Wu Yingying fiercely, as if he was blaming their close ministers for the crime of luring the lord of the country to play outside, and then saluted Cai Yu: " Your Majesty, Jiangbei has made a detailed return, the Song State has decided to refuse to go to Kaifeng to meet the army in the name of the southern invasion, the army is divided into three routes, the middle road is the main force, the southwest of Shengzhou camp Ma Bu army war is deployed Cao Bin and the supervisor Pan Mei has led the horse infantry forbidden army 50,000 people to arrive in Jiangling, and the original Song State Jiangling camp naval army is stepping up drills day and night, Wang Ming on the west road for the Chi, Yuejiang Road inspection, Zhan Yi are deployed to the east in the near future, the east road to Wuyue Wang Qian Yu as the southeast of Shengzhou camp to appease the system of envoys, led tens of thousands of soldiers from Hangzhou (now Zhejiang) to the north to respond. ”

When Wu Qiao reported the report, Cai Yu's brows tightened every time he said a word, and finally said: "I have already been called a minister, and the tribute is endless, why do I have to work hard to force each other! All Aiqing are the pillars of the country, how should this be good?"

Over the years, the Southern Tang Dynasty and the northern army have almost lost every battle, and they are a little overwhelmed in the face of the pressure of the Song army, but Wu Qiao bowed down and said: "Zhao Kuangyin is indeed too deceitful, the lord of the country does not need to panic, we don't have to be polite to him, the Yangtze River is dangerous, and the people of Jiangnan are available, as long as they deal with it properly, they will definitely be able to protect this half of the country." ”

Cai Yu glanced at him and said slowly: "According to what Wu Xiang said, what should I do?"

Wu Qiao knew that Cai Yu would ask such a question, and said in a deep voice: "The minister thinks that it can be used to force peace with war, on the one hand, all states and counties strictly guard their own places, and the walls are clear. On the other hand, the ministers were selected to sue for peace with the Song court with generous coins, and when the Song army ran out of food and grass and the soldiers were tired, they should retreat. ”

"Oh, it's just like this, can you really protect half of the Jiangnan wall?" Cai Yu looked at the ministers with some doubts.

Huangfu Jixun came out of the crowd, bowed down and said: "Wu Xiang's words are wrong, the Song army wants to annex Jiangnan for a long time, the soldiers practice day and night, and have been accumulating grain and grass for several years, how can they retreat because of the dull army under the city for a while, and they will inevitably plunder the countryside, in case the city is not defended, the Song people will inevitably suffer a lot of damage under the long-term attack, and the slaughter of Chuzhou will reappear. In the opinion of the ministers, either they should be honored as ministers as soon as possible, or they should fight a decisive battle with a large army, which can protect the people of Jiangnan from the scourge of soldiers. ”

Cai Yu couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart, and turned his gaze to several other courtiers.

Zhang Xun said: "Wu Xiang's strategy is feasible, and the minister seconded it." Zheng Yanhua, the envoy of the Zhenhai Navy, said: "The words of Wu Xiang and General Huangfu are reasonable. The so-called south boat and north horse, if you want to go out of the city for a decisive battle, you need to get the water division as the main force, use more bows and crossbows and fire attacks, and fight a decisive battle on the river, just like the battle of Chibi in the past, it will definitely be able to break the enemy. "The town navy is the elite of the Tang State Naval Division, and it is responsible for guarding the Moling Pass, the southern gateway of Jinling, so Zheng Yanhua proposed a decisive battle on the water.

Heiyundu is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty's army, and the commanding envoy Yu Yan is a fierce general, but strategic planning is not his forte, so Cai Yu directly skipped him and asked Wu Yingying: "The Song army is pressing, I don't know what general Wu's strategy is?"

Wu Yingying was not qualified to discuss the entire issue of defensive operations against the north, but when Cai Yu asked, he arched his hand and said: "The minister also thinks that it is a safe policy to use the old Song division to strengthen the wall, but it is just ......" He looked at Wu Qiao, and saw that there was no difference on the face of this important minister who was second to none in the court, and then said: "If you send an elite army to invade the Song army's grain road from time to time to consume its gas, it can achieve a quick effect." ”

"Well," Cai Yu nodded, and said to Wu Qiao and Huangfu Jixun: "In this way, I will ask Prime Minister Wu to preside over the peace, and General Huangfu will arrange for the fortified walls in various places." He also said: "Cao Bin and other famous generals must be cautious in the protection of the grain route, I don't know which general is willing to lead the army to invade them?"

Seeing that all the generals did not answer, Heiyundu commanded the envoy Yu Yan to hug his fists and said: "The minister is willing to rob the Song army of the grain road." ”

Huangfu Jixun said with a smile: "Although Heiyundu is strong, it is always good at frontal attack, since General Wu proposed to invade the grain route of the Song army, how about not General Wu leading the Jinfan army to go?"

As soon as his words fell, Wu Yingying hurriedly said: "Although the ministers train their soldiers day and night, how can the new army not have complete armor, and the Jinfan army has less than 3,000 soldiers, if you want to take on this heavy responsibility, I am afraid that you will not be able to do it." ”

Cai Yuqi said: "General Huangfu, last time you clearly said that you had given the armor to the Jinfan Army, why is General Wu's statement different from yours?"

Huangfu Jixun scolded secretly in his heart, and said: "The minister has indeed ordered his subordinates to hand over the armor to the Jinfan Army, thinking that the procedures for handing over the ordnance are complicated, so that General Wu's headquarters have not received it. ”

Cai Yu nodded and accepted his explanation.

Wu Qiao saw that everyone was no longer talking, and said: "In the opinion of the old minister, it is better to take General Yu as the general of the unified army, General Wu as the deputy, and Heiyun Jinfan The two armies work together to take on the task of invading the grain road of the Song army. ”

Cai Yu said: "Wu Xiang's words are very lonely, I don't know what the two generals think?"

Yu Yan bowed and said: "Under the king's order, the ministers will not give up. Wu Yingying said: "The last general will lead the order." ”

Huangfu Jixun said to stop him: "The Black Cloud Capital is His Majesty's pro-army, the elite of the country, how can it be lightly released? At that time, Jinling's defense will be empty, who can be responsible?"

Wu Yingying said in his heart, you let Lao Tzu go to rob the grain road, and I don't want to take a cool ride on the big tree of the black clouds, where did Lao Tzu offend you?

I don't know what old grudges I have with this Huangfu Jixun, Yu Yan said proudly: "Although Heiyun is the main pro-army, he must be the vanguard in every battle, and the majesty of Heiyun's long sword is not hiding behind the city wall to boast, but it is fought by the soldiers with a knife and a shot." ”

Wu Qiao couldn't help but shake his head, the Divine Guard Army led by Huangfu Jixun had more than 100,000 troops to defend the defense of Jinling City, although the Heiyun Capital led by Yu Yan was only more than 5,000 people, it was the only elite in the south of the Yangtze River that could compete with the strong troops in the north, and the two generals were in Jinling City, always arguing with each other.

Seeing this, Wu Yingying's heart moved, and he hurriedly said: "The last general is willing to follow General Yu to cut off the grain road of the Song people." As for the air defense of Jinling City, the commander of Jiangzhou can be adjusted to make General Hu lead his troops into the defense. "With his rank and qualifications, it was not his turn to discuss the transfer of a high-ranking general like Hu Ze, but at this time, it was very important to deal with the southern invasion of the Song people, so he could speak at will.

When Cai Yu inspected Jiangfang last time, he was also very impressed by the scar-faced general Hu Ze, who was fighting with his troops, and said: "General Hu is a brave general, you can order him to lead his division to the east by boat to defend Jinling, and order Zhennan Jiedu to make Zhu Lingyun send troops to help defend Jiangzhou." ”

Huangfu Jixun couldn't, so he had to receive the decree.

After the matter of resisting the southern invasion of the Song army was arranged, Cai Yu asked again: "Is there anything else?"

Wu Qiao hesitated for a moment, bowed down and played: "Guoshi Pan You hanged himself in Dali Prison last night. ”

Wu Qiao had deliberately controlled his voice very calmly, but it was still like a thunderbolt in Cai Yu's ears. "What?" Cai Yu could barely stand, Wu Yingying hurriedly stepped forward to help him stand firmly, Cai Yu sighed: "Pan Qing, why bother, how will the world treat Lonely!"

Although Wu Yingying has never seen Pan You, he knows that he is a minister who Cai Yu once trusted very much, with a strange and ugly appearance, great learning, and a great reputation among scholars, but he has a withdrawn personality and a short temper.

Wu Qiao seemed to expect that the Lord would be like this, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since Pan You is dead, what about his case?" Cai Yu waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Let's stop it, let Liu Chengxun give his family some money and silk in private, so that he can be buried in peace." Except for Wu Yingying, you all step down. ”

Wu Qiao waited for this to bow down and retreat. Cai Yu was still standing in the hall, and after a while, he turned his head and found that Wu Yingying was still guarding on the side, and said, "Wu Qing, do you see the king of the lonely elephant?"

Wu Yingying saw that there were vague tears on his face, so he didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty governs the country with benevolence, is lenient and loves the people, and he is the son of the Holy Heaven." ”

Cai Yu smiled bitterly: "Then why are the Song people struggling with each other, but I can't do anything, why do the people I have always trusted and respected abandon me?"

Wu Yingying cautiously said: "Jiangnan Yin Fu, just like the son of a rich man, it is difficult to fight with a person who is at the end of the road, this is not Your Majesty's fault; ”

Cai Yu listened to his explanation, and said with a wry smile: "Your words sound reasonable, but you don't see the books, and you make a good poem, if it weren't for the calligraphy is really unsightly, I would almost be a well-educated Confucian scholar." ”

Wu Yingying said: "The last general will not dare. ”

Seeing that Wu Yingying bowed his head and said nothing, Cai Yu said again: "Wu Qing, many people say that newcomers to Jiangbei cannot be reused, do you know why Gu is trying to defy public opinion, not only let you serve as a court official, but also lead an army alone?"