Chapter 525: Self-destruction
Hearing Nie Dan ask about these people, without waiting for Lin Haotian to speak, Zhang Bufan took a step forward and said in a shocking voice: "I am the general of the Jin Kingdom, Zhang Bufan!"
After hearing him report to his home, everyone present was shocked, it turned out that this tall and mighty, dark-skinned, half-cut iron tower man was the famous fierce general of the Jin Kingdom, Zhang Bufan!
As soon as Zhang Bufan's words fell, Ling Wuya continued: "Jin Guo, Ling Wuya!"
His answer was concise, but it was not much less shocking to everyone than Zhang Bufan.
Nie Dan nodded secretly, no wonder Lin Haotian was so bold and dared to break into the capital of You Kingdom, it turned out that there were two fierce generals of the Jin Kingdom by his side to protect him.
Although Nie Dan was shocked in his heart, the expression on his face was very calm, and he arched his hand and said: "It turned out to be the two generals Zhang Bufan and Ling Wuya!
"Childe is polite!" Zhang Bufan replied casually, but Ling Wuya did not answer.
Nie Dan didn't linger any longer, turned to Lin Haotian and said, "General Lin, I've been away from the house for a long time late at night, and if I don't go back, I'm afraid I'll get into trouble." We'll say goodbye and see you later!"
Lin Haotian didn't hold back, got up to send him off, and at the same time stretched out his hand to call a demon martial artist, and said to Nie Dan: "This brother's name is Xiao Chu, and he will stay with Gongzi, which will also facilitate the contact between you and me." ”
Nie Dan thought about it, and he really needed such a person, he gladly accepted it, nodded and responded: "Okay! General Lin, I am going to say goodbye!"
"Childe go slowly!" Lin Haotian sent Nie Dan out of the room, watching him leave surrounded by many guards, and then returned to the room.
Kong Qing walked quickly to Lin Haotian and said with a smile: "General Lin, this time the prince is secretly helping, I think the war will end soon." Kong Qing thought. When the war ended, the faint monarch stepped down, and the Ming lord succeeded to the throne, the catastrophe of You Guo passed peacefully.
Lin Haotian smiled and nodded in response: "Yes! But it's also hard step by step, I really hope to return to China as soon as possible!" This is what he said in his heart, You Guo is dry and hot, compared to it, he prefers and is more accustomed to the ice and snow of Jin Country.
At this time, Xu Jie asked in a low voice, "Will the general stay at the inn tonight?"
Lin Haotian smiled and asked, "Could it be that Mr. Xu Jie still has a way to send Ben Shuai out of the city?"
Xu Jie's face was straight, and he said: "If it is to dredge the soldiers defending the city, it is not impossible. It's just a hassle and a lot of risk......"
"Then forget it!" Leaving the city late at night, it is strange not to arouse the suspicion of others, to leave Huaiyang, Lin Haotian is not in a hurry at this time, he said with a smile: "Tonight, Ben Shuai will stay here, early tomorrow morning." It's not too late for Mr. Xu Jie to send Ben Shuai out of the city!"
Xu Jie nodded and said, "The villain obeys!"
Lin Haotian said that he was going to rest in this inn. Actually, I changed places.
Not long after Nie Dan and the others left, he retired from the room and changed to a more remote inn.
Be careful to sail the 10,000-year-old ship, even if Nie Dan will not betray him, but who dares to guarantee that the guards around Nie Dan can be relied on?
It doesn't matter if Lin Haotian is cautious, or if he is suspicious. In short, the night was spent in peace. Early the next morning, Lin Haotian left Huaiyang under Xu Jie's arrangement and returned to the coalition camp near Huaning.
There was nothing to say all the way, and it was nearly noon. Lin Haotian and his entourage returned to the camp smoothly.
Knowing that Lin Haotian had returned safely, Chu Lianyu, Song Hao and others, who had not slept all night, greeted them together, and after meeting, they asked Lin Haotian how things were going, but he had seen Nie Dan.
Lin Haotian and the others walked to the Zhongjun tent and told the general story of the incident.
Hearing that Nie Dan agreed to cooperate with him and was willing to help secretly, everyone was overjoyed, and even Chu Lianyu had to admit that Lin Haotian's adventure had once again worked wonders.
Chu Lianyu said with a smile: "It seems that all we have to do now is to wait, and when Nie Dan persuades Nie Xing to transfer Li Ning away, we can continue to go west!"
"That's right!" Song Hao continued: "Everyone says that Nie Dan, the prince of Youguo, is extremely smart...... "Actually, that's just the case! He was only halfway through his words, and just about to say the second half of the sentence, he suddenly felt that his body was cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar all of a sudden.
He turned his head to take a look and found that it was Lin Haotian who was staring at him with cold eyes.
Song Hao was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted that he almost lost his words, and almost told the truth in front of Kong Qing. He reacted quickly, took advantage of the situation, and continued: "Today, it seems that it is indeed true!"
Listening to what he said to justify himself, it was seamless, Lin Haotian retracted his gaze, and with a kind smile on his face, he said: "Yes! Prince Nie Dan is well aware of righteousness, and he is kind and generous, and he must be a good monarch in the future." ”
Listening to Lin Haotian and Song Hao's praise, Kong Qing was also honored and very useful, and his face showed a look of relief.
In the court of Youguo, Nie Dan, who is the crown prince, has one of his willing henchmen, that is, princelings. Many of these ministers are high-powered old ministers, and they are headed by Nie Dan.
After saying goodbye to Lin Haotian, Nie Dan summoned all his henchmen to the Prince's Mansion and told him all about the secret discussions between him and Lin Haotian.
After hearing this, the ministers were all surprised, General Lin Haotian actually arrived in Huaiyang, when did he come, and is he still in Huaiyang?
People were shocked or shocked.
After a long time, everyone came back to their senses, and then the ministers were divided into two factions, one faction believed that they should cooperate with the coalition forces, only in this way could they protect the country of You, and the other faction was not resolutely opposed, but distrusted Lin Haotian.
Don't look at what he said nicely now, but after the coalition forces entered the capital, what should he do if he suddenly repented? By then, the coalition forces have already taken control of the capital, and their own life and death are in the hands of the coalition forces.
The ministers who supported cooperation with the coalition forces scoffed at the opposition's arguments, saying that Lin Haotian was the commander of the Jin State, so how could he lie and deceive the crown prince? Wouldn't that have lost all his prestige as commander? Lin Haotian would never do such a stupid and unfortunate thing.
Hearing the rhetoric of the supporters, the opposition voice of the opposition has gradually weakened, if the coalition forces send others to negotiate, it may be false, but as General Lin, Lin Haotian came in person, so people have to believe that it is true.
Lin Haotian personally involved in the danger. At this time, it played a role, and the ministers who did not trust the coalition began to waver, believing that the four countries might indeed not have the heart to carve up the country, and they would withdraw their troops after the battle.
In the end, these ministers still unanimously agreed that the prince and the coalition forces should cooperate and act according to Lin Haotian's requirements.
With the support of the confidant ministers. Nie Dan's confidence was even stronger, and after some careful deliberation, it was decided that Li Ning would be impeached by Cheng Pang Dian in the imperial history tomorrow morning, and the ministers would take the opportunity to second, and work together to let the king recall Li Ning, and send Xu Fan to guard Huaning.
The Imperial History Office is responsible for supervising hundreds of officials, and it is only fitting that the Imperial History Zhongcheng submit a letter of impeachment.
The next morning, Pang Dian really made it difficult according to the plan. It was proposed to Nie Xing that Li Ning, the chief general of Huaning, was suspected of collaborating with the enemy.
Nie Xing was puzzled by this, just two days ago, he had just received a battle report from the front, saying that the soldiers and civilians of Huaning were struggling to resist the siege of the coalition army, and after a day of fierce fighting, they finally succeeded in repelling the enemy army.
If you want to add to the crime, there is no excuse, and the princelings led by Nie Dan want to impeach Li Ning. It was just too easy.
Pang Pawn said in public that he had a certificate in his hand, and that the soldiers who had escaped from Huaning had reported to him. Li Ning exchanged letters with the coalition forces frequently, and on the surface, he was dedicated to the country and was inseparable from the coalition forces, but secretly had secret fornications with the coalition forces to find a way for his future.
As soon as Pang Dian said this, another minister immediately stood up. Xiang Nie Xing said that this matter was by no means groundless, and that Li Ning's affair with the coalition forces had long been rumored, but because the matter was important and there was no conclusive correctness, he did not dare to report it to Nie Xing.
Next. The princelings spoke one by one, saying everything. Some said that Li Ning and Chen Bo had a close relationship, and now Chen Bo had defected to the coalition forces, and Li Ning also had the intention of defecting, and other ministers also deliberately pretended to be worried about the monarch and the country, saying that Huaning was the acropolis of the capital, and there must not be any dispersion, even if there is no physical evidence of Li Ning's collaboration with the enemy, as long as he is suspected of collaborating with the enemy, he can no longer be used, and he must be transferred back to the capital immediately.
Some of these ministers are the main attackers, some are beating the side drums, you say a word, I say a word, and they keep slandering Nie Xing.
The more Nie Xing listened, the more gloomy his face became, the more he listened, the tighter his brows wrinkled, and he was really noisy by everyone, slammed the table, and shouted: "Don't say it again!"
If a person says that Li Ning has a problem, it may be a misunderstanding or prejudice, but so many ministers, including the crown prince, think that Li Ning is suspicious and suspected of collaborating with the enemy, so they can't help but think twice.
After thinking about it, at this time, even Nie Xing was not sure whether Li Ning really had a problem. He asked Zhang Mian, the imperial doctor, and said, "Master Zhang, what do you think of Li Ning? Does he really have the intention of collaborating with the enemy?"
Doctor Yushi is the general person in charge of supervising the hundred officials of the imperial court, and he is also the top boss of Yushi Zhongcheng, Nie Xing still trusts Zhang Mian very much on weekdays, and attaches great importance to his opinion, and now he wants to hear his opinion.
Zhang Mian can be an old minister in the court, and he has been sitting in the position of the imperial doctor for one or two decades, and he has already cultivated to the fine, what can he hide from his eyes?
He had carefully observed just now that all the ministers who impeached Li Ning were basically the prince's people, and he didn't know why the princelings suddenly attacked Li Ning.
Once a son of heaven and a courtier, it is also like this in You Kingdom. After Nie Dan succeeds to the throne, the princelings will become the mainstream of the court, and the third prince and the fourth prince all died in Liuhe, and now there is no power to threaten Nie Dan's position, and it is almost a certainty that he will become the next king of You.
Under these circumstances, Zhang Mian decided to follow the prince's wishes.
The first is to show his flattery, and when Nie Dan becomes the new queen of You, he will not lose his foothold in the court, and second, in his opinion, the princelings are the pillars of the future imperial court, and it is impossible to do anything detrimental to the interests of the country, since they impeached Li Ning, they must have some unknown evidence in their hands.
Out of these considerations, Zhang Mian's answer to Nie Xing also had an obvious tendency. He said: "Great King, the survival of Huaning directly affects the capital, and even affects the success or failure of the resistance to the coalition army. In the case of unsure whether General Zhao was loyal or treacherous, Weichen also felt that it was better to be careful. I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm afraid of what if!"
He did not make it clear that Li Ning should be transferred back to the capital, but the meaning was already obvious.
After listening to Zhang Mian's words, Nie Xing fell into deep thought again.
Pang Dian and many ministers impeached Li Ning, and the crown prince agreed. Zhang Mian also agreed, and most of the ministers in the court agreed, which is really embarrassing!
From the bottom of his heart, Nie Xing values Li Ning's ability very much, and also thinks that he is the best candidate to guard Huaning, but now the joint impeachment of many ministers has made him begin to waver in his heart.
He muttered, "If you withdraw Li Ning." Who can take over him and guard this important place in Huaning for Ben Shuai?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Dan stepped out and said loudly: "Father, the son has a good candidate!"
"Oh?" Nie Xing heard this, his spirit suddenly perked up, and he hurriedly said, "Who is it?"
Nie Dan Zhengse said: "It's Lieutenant General Xu Fanxu!"
Xu Fan and Nie Xing were stunned and did not answer immediately.
Xu Fan didn't expect the prince to recommend him, and he was also shocked.
Nie Dan continued: "One. General Xu is brave and good at fighting, has the courage of 10,000 invincibles, and has a high reputation in the army, and the appointment of General Xu as the chief general of Huaning will undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of our army. Second, General Xu is an experienced veteran who is good at commanding and using troops. The ability is no worse than that of Li Ning. Let General Xu serve as the chief general of Huaning, and Erchen thinks it is more than enough. It will live up to expectations. ”
His words praised Xu Fan so lightly that he seemed to be stepping on the clouds. Before Nie Xing could express his position, he stepped out of the queue with his robe, intervened in the salute, and said, "Thank you for the prince's attention to the last general!" He said to Nie Xing again: "Great King, although the coalition army is numerous, it is like the New Red Army and the like, it is just a rabble, and the last general has not yet taken them into account. If the last general guards Huaning, the last general is willing to guarantee the city with his head!"
Nie Xing was happy when he heard this, under the current passive situation of You Guo, Xu Fan could still maintain such a high fighting spirit and confidence, which made him very pleased.
He said with a smile: "General Xu, the coalition army is not all general, just talk about the coalition army attacking Huaning, and there is also the main force of the Jin army!"
Xu Fan looked up and smiled, and said proudly: "King, others may be afraid of the Jin Army, but the last general is not afraid of it. ”
The others didn't feel anything when they heard this, but when Chu Chen heard this, his nose was almost crooked, and he secretly scolded his mother in his heart, what did Xu Fan mean by this? Isn't his ability to command troops and fight a war as good as his?
However, Nie Xing was very happy with Xu Fan's arrogance, and felt that this was the courage that a general should have. He pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, and said: "General Xu, you immediately take the edict of this king to Huaning, and after seeing Li Ning, give him the edict of this marshal, and order him to return to the capital immediately, and all the affairs of Huaning will be taken over by you!"
Xu Fan was overjoyed, and intervened and said, "The last general will obey the order!"
Nie Xing admonished uneasily: "General Xu must not be careless in guarding Huaning, although the coalition army is not strong, but there are many troops, and they can fight all the way from the border to the capital, and their strength should not be underestimated, you must be cautious!"
"Although the king can rest assured, the last general will definitely be able to defend Huaning and refuse the coalition army to be a hundred miles away from the capital!" Xu Fan has always had no one in his eyes, and when he thinks that Li Ning can defend Huaning, he will not be a problem.
Under the advice of Nie Dan and others, Nie Xing finally decided to replace Li Ning with Xu Fan. His decision can be described as extremely stupid, and it is also the most direct factor that led to the demise of the You Kingdom.
Xu Fan's movements were very fast, and after the morning dynasty ended, he left for Huaning at noon that day and arrived in the evening.
No matter how popular Li Ning is in Huaning and how much he is loved by the army and the people, but the king's order is like a mountain, and when Nie Xing's order is promulgated, he can only carry it out. Regarding the use of Xu Fan to replace him as the chief general of Huaning, Li Ning's first reaction was that Huaning was about to finish.
What kind of person Xu Fan is, he couldn't be clearer, his eyes are too high, his eyes are empty, the worst thing is that he is still stubborn and self-serving, and he can't hear the kind words of others, so that he is absolutely competent to be the vanguard of the charge, and he is the commander of an army, where does he have that ability?
Li Ning couldn't understand why the king suddenly transferred himself back to the capital, and why he used a reckless man like Xu Fan to take over the position of the main general, but Xu Fan didn't explain to him at all, since they met, he was completely domineering, even if he looked at people, he was staring at them from the corner of his eye.
You Guo changed generals on the spot, and the news also reached the coalition forces. When Lin Haotian heard this, he was overjoyed, he originally gave Nie Dan five days, but he didn't expect him to get things done so quickly, which gave him plenty of time.
There was nothing to say that day, and the next day, Lin Haotian gave an order for the whole army to attack the city, but it was not a real attack, but a feint, which could be regarded as a meeting gift to Xu Fan.
The intensity of this all-army siege of the coalition army is very different from the last one, fighting and retreating, retreating and fighting, and not fighting with the defenders at all.
As a result, it was consumed all day, and Huaning City changed hands, and the coalition forces even had a limited number of fifty steps close to Huaning.
Of course, Huaning also sent the news of resisting the attack of the coalition forces back to the Huaiyang Imperial Court, Nie Xing looked at it, and was very happy, originally he was still a little weak about transferring back to Li Ning, but now it seems that even if it is guarded by Xu Fan, Huaning is also impregnable, and the coalition forces are helpless against it.
The failure of the attack again also gave the coalition forces a reasonable excuse to go around the city. Since it is impossible to defeat it, it can only avoid its edge, bypass Huaning and Tongcheng, and take Huaiyang directly.
This move of the coalition forces can surprise the You side. Bypassing Huaning and Tongcheng, directly attacking Huaiyang, the coalition army is tantamount to a battle, no logistics supplies at all, and handed over their rear to the You army in Huaning and Tongcheng.
The capital of Youguo was obviously unprepared for the sudden arrival of the coalition army, and after learning the news, he urgently evacuated the people outside the city, and for a while, Huaiyang became a mess inside and outside.
At the same time, Huaning and Tongcheng were also amazed by the abnormal behavior of the coalition forces. (To be continued......)