Outside the tent, Xie Yue, Xu Weizhi and the strategists were counting the food with Jinghuwei.

Looking at the cart full of grain, Xu Weizhi couldn't help but sigh: "When the prince left the capital, the quality of the eight carts of grain given by the saint was worse than this. The Xie family, a big family in Jiuhe County, can take out so much grain, but the saint can't take it out, which shows that the imperial court is really nervous. ”

"That's not necessarily, the saint just wants to embarrass the prince." Jing Huwei was already very dissatisfied with Li Qitian's behavior.

Xie Yue smiled, they followed the Xiaoxiao all the way to the south, along the way not only relieved the victims and won the hearts of the people, but also made everyone who followed the Xiaoxiao more determined in their choice, it was their luck to be able to follow such a benevolent person.

"The saint has ascended to the throne, although his mind is deep enough, in the end his vision is limited, and as an emperor, no one dares to say that he is not a son in his actions, and there are even more flattering villains on the side, no matter what the saint does, there are people who follow behind and hold stinky feet, and it is predictable that the saint will become like this over time."

"The imperial court has suffered from natural and man-made disasters repeatedly, but the saint still insists on going his own way, feeling that as the emperor, everything in the world belongs to him, and he can do it. This is also a helpless thing. ”

If these words were preached, it would be enough for the Son of Heaven to kill them several times. But people have emotions, and now they are full of dissatisfaction, and they can't care about that. Anyway, whether the prince rebels or not, he is very afraid of it today, and he has to make up charges against the prince if he is not guilty, they are all followers of the prince, and once something bad happens, the Son of Heaven will not let it go.

As they spoke, they recorded the food, and after the food they were noted, when, and how they got it, from whom, and where.

With the way, the days have passed a little more hopeful, Jiuhe's grain collection was completed, and Xiao Xiao ordered people to continue to explore where there was still food to buy in various places, and arranged a team of people to wait for the arrival of the Pingnan Army with food.

When the Pingnan Army was stationed near Jiuhe, the food obtained by this method was also delivered one after another.

The more than 100,000 people of the Pingnan Army were originally a little worried about the food problem, especially those new recruits from the army, they were all disaster victims, and although they trusted Xiao Xiao very much, they had the strength to solve the problem of eating and let them do something.

Now that they saw so much grain and grass, everyone was relieved, and when Inspector Feng and a few Fushou spoke, their voices were a little louder than usual, and the ordinary people who had just participated were stunned.

"Who is that, lord? At the beginning, the bitter days of our Pingnan Army were not unprecedented, and as soon as the prince came, he took a group of us to live a good life. How did you get by, you ask? At that time, the bandit nests near the old capital of Dayan were all selected by our brothers, and the bandits who ate bandits came to protect the people, who said that our prince did not give a thumbs up? ”

The recruits listened to the blood boiling, and they all sighed that they didn't have that good luck at the beginning, and they couldn't follow the prince to suppress the bandits.

And the central figure of their topic, at this time, has gone to the next place where there is food, and still uses the same method to get food and silver, not to mention that a lot of treasure silver has been recovered, and there is a way to buy grain and grass, and even many people plan to follow Xiao Xiao, join the Pingnan Army, and fight against the Tatars together, and the ranks of the Pingnan Army can be said to have grown a little stronger.

At this time, the armies of King Qin from all over the country have also gone to the capital one after another, and the mountains are high and the roads are far away, and the time to arrive at the capital is quite different. When Xiao Xiao and his entourage were just halfway through, the prince's army had already entered the capital, and Li Qitian was so happy that with a stroke of his pen, he arranged for Ji Zeyu.

Ji Zeyu has lost a lot of weight these days, and his originally handsome face was as cold as ice and expressionless, but now he has fewer expressions and fewer words.

The Tatars were approaching the city, and the court had no money or food, but he had to find a way to defend this last city. If the capital falls and is driven straight by the Tatars, I am afraid that the entire capital will be reduced to purgatory.

This is the most difficult battle Ji Zeyu has ever fought in his life, because he has no way to retreat, and he has no more way than to defend it with all his might.

Fortunately, King Qin's army arrived one after another, so that he would not be caught off guard. However, the military salary is insufficient, and now all the soldiers, including Ji Zeyu himself, can only eat gruel every meal. They are all young men of the right age, and no one can stand it three meals of gruel a day. Everyone was screaming with hunger, and there was nothing to do.

Ji Zeyu has never refused to treat his soldiers badly, but now that the treasury is empty, all the silver from the Holy Lord's internal funds has been used to buy materials for the Emperor's Mausoleum, and the imperial court really can't take out the silver to sell food, let alone pay the army.

Ji Zeyu stood on the high city wall. The cold wind of early spring blew on his face like a knife, and the red cloak was raised high behind him, like a hunting flag.

Ji Zeyu looked at the tent of the Tatars stationed in the plain in the distance under the pale morning light with a grim face. Those tents were one after another, and they had formed a magnificent scene outside the capital, which felt like a knife against the throat, making people completely lose their thoughts and feelings, and become panicked and confused.

"Grandpa Guo, the eldest princess of Anyang is here." The pro-soldier approached and whispered back.

Ji Zeyu said without looking back: "This is the battlefield, let the princess go back." This is not where she should be. ”

"Why isn't this the place to be?" Li Helan's voice has appeared behind Ji Zeyu.

Li Helan was wearing a silver fox fur jacket, and the hem of the red pomegranate skirt was slightly raised when she walked, revealing the tips of her deerskin soft boots with soft fur.

She personally carried a food box and said with a smile: "The horse refused to accept the summons for many days, and the palace missed it, so she had to come uninvited." ”

The surrounding soldiers all lowered their heads when they heard this, pretending that they hadn't heard this explicit word.

Ji Zeyu looked back expressionlessly, and said in a deep voice: "This is not a place where you can play. Get back. ”

The smile on Li Helan's face couldn't hold back suddenly, her dark face pursed her lips, and just as she was about to speak, Ji Zeyu's deputy general said with a smile:

"The eldest princess is angry, because our grandfather is worried about the war situation, and he has no time to think about it so much. This place is indeed extremely dangerous, there are often stray arrows stabbing out of the oblique stabs, and there were people who died on the city wall yesterday, and Grandpa Guo is also worried about you.

"The Tartars now see that we are short of food and grass, and deliberately negotiate with us to let us consume the little food left, they may soon organize an attack to harass, the sword has no eyes, if the eldest princess is injured by a stray arrow, how do you think the grandfather of the country should deal with himself? It is to ask for the forgiveness of the main body of the chief public. ”

The words were reasonable, which made Li Helan feel a little more comfortable.

Anyway, since she met Ji Zeyu, she hadn't seen this person smile and talk, and she looked impatient in the face of her sooner or later. She was angry in her heart, and she felt that under the public, Ji Zeyu's indifference to her was a shame on her, and it was a thorn in her words at this time.

"Isn't this palace afraid that you will starve to death on the wall? If you have a good one, the common people will suffer. Or are you willing to come here to blow the cold wind? Take it! "Hand the food box forward.

Ji Zeyu still ignored it, stared at his eyebrows and observed, suddenly turned around and left, and when he passed by Li Helan's side, he didn't even look at him, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone is on guard." ”

As soon as these words came out, it became clear that the Tatars were about to make another move.

Li Helan was first snubbed and angry, and was stunned by the sudden battle situation in the blink of an eye.

The soldiers didn't care much, and immediately took a few people to escort Li Helan down the city tower.

And no one could take care of the delicate food box, so it was placed on the city tower.

Li Helan got off the city wall, was semi-forcibly taken into a carriage, and was sent directly back to the eldest princess's mansion.

As the carriage gradually left the city gates, the Tatars attacked outside the city gates.

For a while, the shouts of the Great Zhou soldiers and horses and Tartars defending the city shook the sky, forgetting Li Helan's bluffing.

This is the cruel battlefield, either you die or I die.

The carriage turned a corner, and even if Li Helan leaned out of the window, it was impossible to see the battle situation on the city tower again, but Li Helan vaguely felt that she saw Ji Zeyu on the city gate.

It was another fierce battle to defend the city, and it took only an hour for the Tatars to retreat. They were like this during this time, it seems that they were not trying to directly capture the capital, but to consume the limited materials and energy of the defenders of the capital.

When Li Qitian heard the news, he was also very anxious for a while.

A person pacing back and forth in the Heart Cultivation Palace, that is, Xiong Jinshui, who served closely, did not dare to approach the owl at this time, for fear that the saint would not be satisfied, so he regarded them as a gas bucket.

Even though this place was still far away from the city wall, Li Qitian still seemed to hear the shouting and killing of the Tatars. He is also an emperor immediately, and he also fought in his early years, but over the years, Li Qitian has not only been blessed, but also the strategy of facing the enemy has long been forgotten, and when he thinks of going to the battlefield, he used to be excited, but now he thinks about it very resistant, and even a little resistant.

"I just want to be a Ming Jun, why is it so difficult, as an emperor, why can't I ...... it by myself" Li Qitian muttered in a low voice. His voice echoed in the room, causing several of Xiong Jinshui's attendants to bow their heads one after another.

At this moment, an inner supervisor suddenly rushed outside, knelt in front of the Linghua Gate, and said in a high-pitched and joyful voice: "Back to the Holy Place, there are two princes' teams arriving at the South City Gate!" ”

Li Qitian was overjoyed, "Hurry up, open the city gate, let them go directly to the city to the north gate to pick up Ji Lan!" Tell them that everything is under Ji Lan's command! ”

"Yes!" The chamberlain turned around and ran away.

"It's an eye-opener." Li Qitian high-fived, wanting to continue to stay in the house, but he felt restless, "Quick, prepare a fast horse, I also want to go to the North City Gate to see the situation!" ”