On the day Xue Ji rushed back to the capital, he didn't have time to go back to the house to freshen up and change his clothes, and as soon as he passed the city gate, he was told to enter the palace immediately. Just seeing that the messenger was so eager, he could already guess in his heart that it must not be a trivial matter.

Stepping over the threshold and stepping into the imperial study, he saw a trace of joy flashing in Qin Xu's eyes, but for a moment, he quickly returned to seriousness.

"Coming back? Hu Rong raised troops to invade my Yanzhou, and Yanzhou has lost three cities, you know it?"

Xue Ji went through the wind he heard today in his mind, but found that he couldn't string it together. I only know its appearance, but I don't know its details.

"I don't know much, please make it clear to Your Majesty."

"See for yourself." Before the words fell, Qin Xu had already pushed the music on the table to the table.

Xue Ji glanced at it, this was a report handed over by the governor of Yanzhou. So I reached out and picked it up, opened it, and read it word by word.

"This princess of the distant mountains ......" Xue Ji paused before he could speak, the princess of the distant mountains can be called a heroine among women, just talking about this person, she is more suitable to be the king than the eldest son who is not in the climate.

But she shouldn't be an enemy of the court.

Xue Ji hesitated for a moment, then moved past these trivial matters, put aside other thoughts, and went straight to the topic. "Has Your Majesty chosen a general?"

Qin Xu shook his head. "Don't rush this yet, you can look at this stack again."

Xue Ji looked in the direction of his finger, and the selected pieces were neatly stacked, and he didn't know what it meant, so he picked up a letter with a lot of doubts.

"It's an old thing, and it's worth turning it out?"

Before Xue Ji spoke, he suddenly realized that this was in the imperial study, and his face froze, and he looked at Qin Xu's face quietly.

No response.

How could Qin Xu not be aware of his thoughts? That's the best, he can't see those who play with a mask all day long.

"It's really an old thing, and you have a lot of enemies."

Xue Ji listened to this tone that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and secretly said Why do I have so many enemies, you don't know yet? Come to think of it, you can't really say that.

"They shouldn't have been in charge of these things, it's too broad."

Qin Xu didn't dwell on these trivial matters anymore, he brought back to the topic in a timely manner: "Then in your opinion, who is worthy of a general?"

That's a problem.

"Master Zhang......" Xue Ji swallowed the words back into his stomach as soon as he spoke. Zhang Huaien has never trained as a soldier since he was appointed as the secretary of the military department, and after many years, let him go to the front line again, I am afraid that he will be weak.

"The minister doesn't know the generals, so it's better for His Majesty to draw it up."

Qin Xu said in a deep voice, "Most of the generals in the court today are important ministers of my father's emperor. It's just that I think...... When it comes to military affairs, it has to be your own people who are comfortable."

Xue Ji understood the reason, but he had gone through all the generals he knew in his mind, and he still couldn't figure out who Qin Xu had a crush on.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"I remember that you have a child there, named Wu Huai'an, right?" Qin Xu said thoughtfully, "He's twenty years old this year?"

"Back to Your Majesty, yes." Xue Ji's heart tightened, isn't he eyeing Wu Huai'an? This kid is indeed excellent, but twenty years old is too young, can one of those soldiers and ruffians in the army be managed by a young man?

Qin Xu said: "It's not that he is the coach, but he can also be trained as a deputy."

In February of the second year of Changning, it was the season of recovery of all blessings in the spring, and the courtiers quarreled for nearly half a month, for nothing more than a matter of selecting generals.

Who can be selfless? Most of the veterans are already old, but they can't stop the family from having such a good son and grandchild. Military generals are not as good as civilian officials, and civil officials can not become famous by themselves, but military generals are different, after people hear that you are a famous general, they don't care whether they have been on the battlefield or not, they just think they can succeed.

When the courtiers were arguing, there was only one thing that made Qin Xu a little suspicious.

The people of King An...... He didn't even say a word, and he didn't get involved in it at all.

It shouldn't be.

Not only Qin Xu, but Xue Ji also sensed that something was wrong. With the only remaining understanding of Chen Yu, he would never give up supporting An

Wang, how could he not fight for such a good errand that could touch the power of the army? Just watching good things fall into someone else's pocket?

But for half a month, he just hasn't moved at all.

After careful consideration, Qin Xu still chose the veteran, the veteran coach, Wu Huaian's deputy general, and the cooperation of the old and the young, which should be considered safe.

On the day of the army's expedition, it was a big scene again, the drums in the city were deafening, the flags under the city were flying in the wind, and the soldiers were dressed in armor, which was even more dazzling in the sun.

Qin Xu was dressed in court clothes, standing tall on the city, his face was serious, his eyes were full of pride, and as soon as he said it, he was impassioned: "I will give you the important task of pacifying Yanzhou, you are all good men of my Great Zhou, don't let me down!"

"Long live the Great Zhou! Long live Your Majesty!"

"Long live the Great Zhou! Long live Your Majesty!"

"Long live the Great Zhou! Long live Your Majesty!"

At the sound of an order, the army went out of the city.

The soldiers and horses under the city gradually drifted away, and the dust was all over the sky. At this moment, Prime Minister Jiang Yan hurriedly ascended to the city gate, approached quietly, and whispered behind Qin Xu, "Your Majesty, Pingcheng is urgent."

What is a wave of unevenness and a wave of rising? It is most suitable to say that the second year of Changning is the most suitable.

Unlike Hu Rong's battle, in the past, most of the battles ended in negotiation and peace, but this time Qin Xu was determined not to destroy Hu Rong and would never withdraw his troops.

If the war is to endure for a long time, it will inevitably consume the treasury, and once the war starts, no one knows how long it will take, and although the treasury is now abundant, no one knows when it will be exhausted.

What's even more troublesome is the urgent report handed over by Pingcheng not long ago, the official road from Pingcheng to the capital was originally to pass through the mountains, and the road was rugged and dangerous. Recently, the weather is not beautiful, and it has rained heavily for half a month, and the boulders in the mountains have been washed down the high cliff and are smashing on the official road, which is completely blocked.

If you don't go from this mountain, you have to take a detour, from Pingcheng to Ningzhou in the east, and then enter Beijing from Xucheng official road, so that it will take at least half a month.

It's not easy to get out of Pingcheng, and the detour is a little more time-consuming and troublesome, but there are a lot of merchants between Ningzhou and Xucheng, and there is another Pingcheng, and the road is not crowded, and the soldiers guarding the city are also difficult to check.

The officials below handed over an urgent report, asking the imperial court to either re-dredge the mountain road in Pingcheng, or open the river from Jiangnan to Ningzhou to the capital.

Qin Xu frowned when he saw the report, now that the border pass is fighting, and the household department is focused on supplying supplies, grain and grass to the front line, how can he spare time to deal with what mountains and rivers at this time?

After hesitation, this fold is delayed.

Spring is the height of summer, the DPRK and China are still calm, and from time to time there are war reports from the north, which is nothing more than which city to defend today and how many enemy soldiers will be killed tomorrow.

In September, it is late autumn.

The princess of Yuanshan seemed to have learned wisely, probably thinking that she would not be able to defeat the soldiers of the court in a head-on confrontation, so she hid and played a surprise.

The food and grass behind him are so consumed, and the coach is worried about losing his hair all day long, but he is helpless. Seeing that winter is about to begin, there will be a truce in winter, and this delay will have to be delayed until next year.

No one knows how long this battle will last.

January of the third year of Changning

It's just over winter, and there's no news from the north.

Qin Xu sat in the imperial study and re-lifted the imperial pen that had been sealed for half a month.

Heicheng, who had not heard from him for nearly a year, once again delivered an urgent report. It's still the same thing, but it's much more serious than it was back then.

Not long ago, there was a heavy snowfall in Ningzhou, and there was a famine in several cities, and the homeless people who had nowhere to go flocked to the official road. But as early as last year, when the mountain road in Pingcheng was obscure, the official road in Ningcheng was full of wealthy businessmen and magnates who came and went in and out of Pingcheng every day, which was considered an accident.

Officials repeatedly asked the imperial court to deal with it, either to dredge the mountain road or open up the river. If this continues, Ningzhou and Pingcheng can fight for one road.

Qin Xu had to face these trivial matters, and the two choices were in front of him, which was really difficult to start.

Either way, it costs money.

The next morning, Qin Xu sat on the dragon chair, already sad and had a terrible headache.

"What do you think?"

Wei Siqi, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, was already old, but he walked forward slowly on crutches: "Your Majesty, if you choose one of the two, the construction of the river will definitely be better than the mountain road."

Indeed, the mountains are steep, and it is not easy to cross them, let alone clear the boulders and rebuild the official road.

Wei Siqi said in a deep voice: "It's just that even if it is to repair the river, the financial resources consumed should not be underestimated...... Your Majesty, can the household be able to sustain this expense?"