Although the Western Wei army is menacing and the war situation is urgent, those who really know the important things, such as the Gao Yan brothers, know in their hearts that the biggest crisis and variable in the country today is not external, but internal, and the emperor's physical condition.

The emperor was drunk and moody for many years, and his mental and physical condition was really worrisome. If the previous worry was just a guess, then the emperor suddenly convulsed in public during the previous East Pavilion discussion, which made this speculation have a somewhat realistic echo.

Gao Yan and Gao Zhan each learned a little bit of information through their own means, although this information could not tell the emperor's physical condition clearly, but the meaning revealed was also very unoptimistic.

It is precisely because of this that the words and deeds of the two are also slightly out of line. For example, without consulting the emperor, he sent soldiers to monitor a number of Han ministers, and even overthrew the authority of Yang Yu and others.

In this personnel change, Gao Yan is certainly the real leader, and Gao Zhan also assumes a role that fuels the trouble.

Perhaps intentionally, or unintentionally, Gao Yan is trying to take advantage of this war opportunity to grasp more authority and influence on the current situation. And Gao Zhan was also reluctant to leave the center at this time and go to the front line, before they had their own thoughts and could not communicate, but now under the persecution of Gao Yan, Gao Zhan finally couldn't help but break this section, so the brothers suddenly reached a new tacit understanding and consensus.

However, who should Duan Shao send to take over also made the two of them feel embarrassed. Before, because of the fear that the Wei army would attack Jinyang, all the experienced generals in the country went to Jinyang with them, and now there is a great shortage of military talents who can take on the role here in Yedu.

Where Dugi is located, it is the place where the world's financial and material resources converge, Ye Dufeng gives enough food on all sides, and Ye Du is useless, the army goes on a hunger strike! The safety of the country is not in the sword soldiers but in the valley, but if the brother can do this, the situation will be as stable as a rock. If you want to gather valley silk, Jizhou is the most important, I am willing to ask Jizhou to help my brother! ”

After a little muttering, Gao Zhan spoke again: "At the moment, the thieves are surging, and it is difficult to retreat the enemy as soon as possible. But if I can consolidate the moment and stop rushing to fight back, it may not be a bad thing for my brother! The thief deceives the country, and the supreme must sit in Jinyang, and there is no time to return to Yedu. Yezhong's personnel always need to be controlled and maintained by his close relatives, and he cannot be entrusted to his subordinates......"

Gao Yan frowned when he heard this, and said in a deep voice without waiting for Gao Zhan to finish speaking: "How can you ignore the danger of the society because of the safety of your body!" ”

When Gao Zhan heard Gao Yan's meaningless cliché, he couldn't help but refute it, and when he saw Gao Yan's expression turn ugly, he leaned over and said, "I'm sorry brother, it's me who is in a hurry." But this time the Qiang thieves are menacing, and they are indeed impossible to prevent, and it is extremely difficult to deal with. It is already very rare to be able to stabilize the current situation and not turn evil, and as for the loss of land, it is just a delusion at the moment.

As long as our division and brigade are no longer in a hurry to go forward to fight a decisive battle with the enemy, many seemingly critical matters will no longer be urgent and can be arranged calmly. The thieves are now in Qinshui, but there is a brigade of the Plains King to guard the party, and Ye can not be disturbed by the enemy. Heyang, if Hu Lu Mingyue dies on the journey, he will choose another henchman to go to the town to guard, if he is defeated and returns to the town, for fear of being punished, he will rely on his brother to breathe. As for Jinyang, because there is a supreme in charge, my brother has no work to plan for it. ”

"The servant shot Gao Dezheng, he was the old man of the old mansion and the hero of the revolution, and now he has won the trust of the supreme, but he is quite suppressed by Yang Xianggong. When this time of crisis, choose this virtuous and virtuous person, and recommend the hometown, which can not only glorify the township, but also serve the state and be loyal, which can be described as complete. If the king can do this, Dezheng will also be grateful to Dade! ”

Gao Yang seems to be crazy and stupid in recent years, but in fact, he is not completely indulgent and out of control of his brothers, even if Gao Yan has now grasped the authority of Yedu through the war, but when he wants to extend his hand to the local states and counties, he still faces a dilemma where no one can use.

Gao Yan here, because of the private meeting with Hu Luguang, he agreed to Hu Luguang's request to sneak attack behind the enemy, but looking at the current situation, Hu Luguang obviously failed, and indirectly caused the loss of Jianzhou.

But now the situation has changed again, and the further tightening of the enemy army has made the situation even more critical, and if Duan Shao on the party side cannot stabilize it, Ye Du will be greatly shaken. Moreover, their second brother didn't know what to go crazy under this stimulus, so he avoided the center under such circumstances and went to a big town like Jizhou to serve as an assassin, which could not only stay away from danger, but also consolidate and strengthen his own power.

Even Duan Shao was at a loss because of the sudden advance of the enemy army, and the brothers Gao Yan and Gao Zhan in Yedu didn't know how to deal with the current crisis, so they could only wait for the latest instructions from Jinyang.

"Jizhou is an important town, I can't decide it alone, and this matter still needs to be discussed."

Gao Yan also frowned and pondered after listening to Gao Zhan's words, although from a moral point of view, it was a bit unreasonable to accept the reality of their Northern Qi strategic failure, but from his own situation, the state that Gao Zhan said was indeed more beneficial to him.

"The Supreme acts, who could have predicted? There is still something to be done to be insured! ”

If what Gao Zhan said before was only a superficial discussion based on the current situation, then the next thing is the real essence: "In previous years, the army was scattered in Hebei, Jinyang and other borders, and it was still convenient to eat all sides with the suppression. Now that it is forced by a strong enemy and has to be heavily armed at the border, the supply of money and food is very important!

After thinking about it, Gao Yan did not directly answer Gao Zhan's request, and after dealing with it, when he returned to his house in the evening, he summoned Wang Xi and other subordinates who were still recuperating from his injuries to talk about the topic discussed with Gao Zhan today.

After Gao Yan heard this, although he didn't say anything, he was already thinking about the possibility of building a new line of defense according to the current situation.

"Then what plan does Brother have to save the current disadvantage?"

Gao Zhan was reluctant to go to the Shangdang to unify the army before, firstly, because he did not want to leave the center and miss the opportunity to strengthen the influence of the position, and secondly, it was too dangerous for the unification army to be on the side at this time, and he might be defeated and captured by the thief army.

Gao Zhan said in a deep voice, even if their brother Gao Yang was exempted from questioning because he had to take care of the overall situation, he would only be exempted from Gao Yan, the main person in charge of staying in Duji, and he would not have much irreplaceability, and the brotherly relationship between Gao Yang and him was also quite thin, which inevitably made him even more worried.

Therefore, after learning of the further changes in the war, Gao Zhan's first concern was not the development of the war, but his own safety, he hurriedly found Gao Yan, and said in a panic: "The Qiang thief is so fierce and attacks so quickly, it is really unexpected. If the Supreme is angry, he will ask why the people in Ye are here to delay the fighter, brother, how should we deal with it? ”

After all, if the warring parties turn into a long-term confrontation in the future, so many men and horses will concentrate on the enemy, and the consumption of food and grass will be the top priority. Jizhou is not only located in the rear, but also the center of Hebei's money, grain and manpower, if Gao Zhan can go, he will naturally gain a pivotal position and influence.

Gao Yan's face was also very ugly at this time, but he sighed again and again: "Hu Lu Mingyue's famous generals are in vain, and it is useless to risk their lives, and now the thief army is advancing, and it is too late to regret it!" Watching the thieves abandon the north and chase the east, it seems that they are intended to be in the capital. At this time of crisis, it is advisable to fight the thief together, and the Supreme will not be in a hurry to ask about the past and destroy the human ...... of his subordinates."

When the latest information came from the direction of Fukou again, the two of them didn't have to be embarrassed anymore, the enemy front actually advanced a big step to the east, Yining and Jianzhou were attacked by the enemy one after another, Duan Shao didn't have to break away from the team and rush to the front line, and at the same time, he didn't know which side to deal with.

As for Gao Zhan, because of many prevarications and refusal to go to the party to replace Duan Shao in charge of the army, Duan Shao failed to lead the elite troops to reinforce everywhere in time, giving the enemy a chance to attack, and the crime of delaying the fighter plane was indispensable.

If it weren't for this situation, it would be difficult for him to control the power of Yedu, and now taking advantage of the war and confrontation between the two countries to control the supply of money and food, thereby further affecting the military, will undoubtedly further strengthen his voice power. Even if the enemy army does not retreat, the emperor Gao Yang in Jinyang will only play a role as a general at the moment, and it will be difficult to exert control over the overall situation.

"That's exactly what I mean, although Ah Jiu is not shrewd, but he is suddenly granted a big state, and he may not be able to deal with it calmly. Besides, there are many frivolous people around him, who are playful and have fun, and have no talent to govern the world, so they enter the state from it, but they are afraid that they will ruin the state affairs, but it is not beautiful. It's just that for a while, I don't know who to recommend, which can not only be recognized by the masses, but also echo me. ”

After listening to this, Wang Xi said in a deep voice: "The vast king of Chang is indeed sensitive and capable in the current situation, and his remarks are not compromised, if the enemy is not seriously wrong, most of the things will develop like this." The king deacon Yedu is indeed the best choice, but it is still to be discussed to take the long king to Jizhou. ”

But for the two brothers, the crisis is not only the rapid deterioration of the war situation, but also the punishment from the emperor.

After thinking about it, Wang Xi proposed a candidate for Gao Yan.

He is also from a famous family, and he understands the personnel entanglements in Yezhong very well, Yang Suqi has his own shrewd and capable side, but he is not good at uniting the masses, so that the emperor relies on the ruling team itself is also full of personnel contradictions. Of course, this is what the emperor needs, which can prevent a certain minister from monopolizing the government for a long time, but at some critical moments, it will inevitably be used by people with intentions to create rifts.

What is needed at the moment is not to directly launch a coup d'état or seize power by force, but to actively expand its influence and control to wait for changes. Under such demand, a careful attempt to dig into the corner of the emperor's wall is also an operation that meets his needs.