Li Bing was in a good mood, and told Murong Xue about the various situations since he presided over the military administration of Youzhou, including the deployment strategy of the next army battle, Murong Xue understood that His Royal Highness hoped that he could enter the state as soon as possible and make suggestions for pacifying the world, so he also listened very carefully, and did not dare to miss the slightest detail.

At the end, Li Bing said in a heroic tone: "Although because of the assassination of those two monsters, our side lost the general before the expedition, but the officers and men of the whole army have the same hatred for the enemy, and their morale has increased instead of decreasing. In accordance with the original plan, we sent troops to the south, and now we have successfully captured the strategic place of Xiangzhou, which is a good start! ”

Murong Xue also said happily: "That's true. Xiangzhou is located at the intersection of two important waterways, the Jinhe River and the Zhanghe River, facing the danger of Taihang in the west and the victory of the plain in the east. Mastering Xiangzhou, you can overlook the Central Plains and Huai regions, and you can hold the gateway of Hebei, which is a treasure land that can be attacked and retreated. ”

Li Bing bowed slightly: "So, the palace has decided to take Xiangzhou as the fulcrum and divide the troops into two actions." The main army of 300,000 attacked Bianzhou, Yuzhou, Chenliu, Xingyang and other places respectively, completely blocking Xie Guang's eastward march to prevent him from escaping back to Yanzhou's lair. When these places are in the hands of the palace, they will concentrate their forces, attack the Tiger Prison Pass, and then force Luoyi. On the other hand, about 50,000 men and horses occupied Yingchuan County to the south and set up a front against Huaiyang. ”

Shen Lie added on the side: "The soldiers of Jiangnan Province, Jiannan Road, Qianzhong Road and Lingnan Road have begun to set off one after another and assemble in the Jingxiang area. The imperial court sent news from Yizhou that the army gathered in the Jingxiang area this time will exceed the size of 500,000 people. At present, Li Chenglin, the king of Shangzhuguo and Anping County, is tentatively appointed as the marshal of the army, and the post of general of the march is concurrently held by Ma Hongjie, the general of Jiannan. In addition, Bao Yuchun, the governor of the navy, has received an order that on the way back to Shengtang from the open sea of eastern Xinjiang, 6,000 excellent warships and 80,000 sailors will be divided into multiple routes to block important water systems such as the Jinhe River and the Great River to help pacify the rebels! ”

Murong Xue couldn't help but excitedly say, "There are so many troops? That's great! The king of Anping is a royal nobleman, and his loyalty to the court is undoubted. Governor Bao and General Ma are also famous generals of our dynasty, and with them in charge, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the war. ”

"Hongu is also quite relieved about this situation." Li Bing smiled and said, "It's just that there are still two questions, and I just want to hear your opinion." ”

"Your Highness, please." Murong Xue waved her hand and replied loudly.

Li Bing first glanced at Shen Lie, and then said, "The first thing is about the enthronement of this palace. The imperial capital unfortunately fell, and the imperial uncle died heroically, which is a tragedy that has never been seen in my Shengtang for 800 years. The ministers, including Shen Qing, all believed that the country could not be without a king for a day, and hoped that the palace would follow the edict of the previous emperor and immediately succeed to the throne. ”

Shen Lie arched his hand: "Your Royal Highness, before Weichen was ordered to leave the imperial capital, the first emperor had clearly explained that once the emperor was lost, and his old man would go to trouble for the country, we must immediately make the edict of succession clear to the world, and support the crown prince to ascend the throne to stabilize the foundation of the Holy Tang Dynasty." The world is chaotic, and only by deciding the throne early can we unite people's hearts. ”

Li Bing nodded silently, and immediately looked at Murong Xue, motioning for him to tell him his opinion.

Murong Xue thought for a moment and said, "The minister thinks that Lord Shen and the ministers are reasonable. As the saying goes, the name is not right, and the words are not good, only by establishing a new monarch can we control the power of the country and sweep the world. Merely...... The minister felt that the conditions for succession were not perfect. ”

"Oh, tell me, why aren't the conditions perfect?" Li Bing asked with interest.

Murong Xue said eloquently: "Your Highness, we have the holy order of the first emperor's edict, the support of the imperial court of Youzhou, and the support of the soldiers and people of the whole country. However, at present, Shengtang is not a peaceful and prosperous era, but a turbulent era, not only there are enemies outside, but also traitors inside, at this time to ascend the throne, the minister thinks that there is still one most important thing missing, that is, the courage and responsibility of the emperor! ”

Li Bing's eyes flashed with light, staring at Murong Xue tightly, and motioning for him to speak bravely.

"What is courage and responsibility for the emperor?" Murong Xue continued: "When the world is peaceful, he can restrain his own selfish desires without harming the people's strength, can bear the name of mediocrity without hurting the country, even if he is ridiculed by later generations of history books, he will not act arrogantly, this is the courage and responsibility of the emperor; And when the world is turbulent, it is the responsibility and courage of the emperor to lead the army and the people to fight to the death without fear of hardships and hardships! ”

"Well said!" Li Bingyi slapped the table and shouted: "According to this standard, Uncle Huang is a really good emperor!" ”

Shen Lie has always been known for his hard-hearted and ruthless nature, but at this time, he had already burst into tears, and he tried his best to control the muscles of the Adam's apple, trying to avoid choking: "General Murong, you are right, the first emperor is such a person. However, Shen still wants to ask you, since the so-called conditions refer to the courage and responsibility of the monarch, how should we show it to the world? ”

Murong Xue's eyes were firm: "It's very simple, the imperial capital of the Eastern Capital, you must take one of them!" ”

"This palace understands what Murong Xue means." Li Bing stood up and said aloud to everyone present: "As the new emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty, if you don't even have the ambition to recapture your imperial capital, but choose to ascend the throne in a hurry somewhere else, then what qualifications do you have to say that you have the blood of the Li royal family flowing in your body?" What other face is there to command the military and civilians of the whole country? How dare you win the trust of the world? ”

Murong Xue nodded and said solemnly: "Your Highness, that's exactly what the minister meant. You can indeed ascend the throne in Yecheng, in Youzhou, or in Xiangzhou with the last photo of the first emperor. But in the same way, the anti-king Li Kui can also proclaim himself a puppet emperor in Huaiyang, and even the traitor Xie Guang can ignore the scolding of the world, add a yellow robe, and be crowned by a monkey. We and them should not only be different in Taoism, but also in morality. Only by recapturing the imperial capital can we truly return to the heart of the world! ”

Li Bing was also solemn: "Okay, you spoke thoroughly, and the palace listened to it." Ladies and gentlemen, this palace hereby makes an oath and declares to the world that if you don't retake the eastern capital, you won't ascend the throne and become the emperor for a day! ”

Seeing that the prince was so resolute and resolute, although they still felt that it was better to be justified as soon as possible, they couldn't help but admire it in their hearts. Everyone knew that it would be useless to say more, so they all gave up their hands and said, "The ministers obey the order." ”

Li Bing waved his hand lightly, and then said to Murong Xue: "The issue of ascending the throne is the first thing, let's talk about it here." As for the second thing, it's a bit strange. ”

He paused slightly, turned to Shen Lie and said, "This is the information that you have just sent from the Reverse Scale Division, so let's tell me." ”

Shen Lie obeyed the order, and then introduced to everyone unhurriedly: "Everyone, this is the way it is. According to the report of the secret agent, just a few days ago, the first part of the Xuanjia Army, which had been stationed in Yichuan County, south of Luoyi, suddenly set off and moved towards Ruzhou in the southeast. This is an unusual move by the enemy, and we have tried all kinds of methods, but we still have not been able to find out their true intentions. ”

A general next to him was puzzled: "It's really strange." The Xuanjia Army was the main force of the rebels, and their movements often represented Xie Guang's strategic objectives. Suddenly going to Ruzhou, is it to start a war with the king of Huaiyang? ”

Ruzhou is located in the south of Luoyi, not far to the east is the territory of Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang, and further south, is the Jingxiang area where the imperial court reinforcements are about to be assembled.

The Xuanjia Army did not guard against Jing Xiang's front line, but instead rushed towards Li Jiong, which was indeed strange.

The other general shook his head: "Probably not. In my opinion, the most important thing for Xie Guang at present is to establish a southern defense line to prevent King Qin's army from going north to join us, which is the most reasonable explanation. ”

"Brother, that's why it's so unusual." The previous general said, "If they want to build a defensive line against the northward advance of the imperial army, they should go straight to Nanyang County, which is close to Jingxiang and the terrain is dangerous, which is more conducive to defense." As for Ruzhou, it is not on the route of the army to the north at all, Xie Guang has experienced a hundred battles, and he will not understand this truth. ”

Murong Xue also agreed: "That's right. Since ancient times, to guard against Jingxiang, Nanyang must be taken, and the Xuanjia army went to Ruzhou, which should not be for this reason. ”

"This palace thinks the same way, but ......" Li Bing pondered: "At this time, Xie Guang wants to deal with the King of Huaiyang, and the reason is a little unreasonable. ”

Shen Lie bowed slightly: "Xie Guang is now under attack on his back." To the west of him is the unpredictable Turkic army, and to the east and south is gradually being surrounded by us. Either stick to the eastern capital of Luoyi; Either go east as soon as possible and flee back to Yanzhou, the old nest, or take the risk of forcibly crossing the Jin River, temporarily avoiding the Central Plains, a place of right and wrong, and hiding in the Sanjin region or Yunzhong County further away. But no matter how he chooses, he shouldn't pick this time to provoke the Huaiyang rebels. ”

"Hmm...... Ladies and gentlemen, will Xie Guang plan to form an alliance with Li Jiong? An elderly civil official tried to say: "After all, they are all traitors, and it is also an option for them to sign up for warmth." ”

Murong Xue smiled when she heard this: "Lord Chu, in my opinion, this possibility should not be very likely. It's not that they won't collude, but if they really want to form an alliance or have already colluded together, they will never send the main force close to the core area of the ally, which is a taboo move and can easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings on the other side. ”

Shen Lie agreed: "The Xuanjia army suddenly arrived close to the Lianghuai region, how do you look like a good stubble, if I am Li Qiang, I have to fight with the spirit of twelve points and prepare for war with all my might." ”

Li Bingjian frowned and muttered, "So it seems that Xie Guang is really ready to make a move against King Huaiyang?" ”

"As far as the current situation is concerned, our army will break into the Central Plains at any time and occupy the city east of the Tiger Pass," Murong Xue analyzed for Li Bing: "At a critical juncture, Xie Guang has no reason to transfer elite troops to the southeast far from the core battlefield. The only target that can be attacked on the Ruzhou side is the King of Huaiyang! ”

He paused slightly, and then said word by word: "Your Highness, if the minister is not mistaken, at this moment, there must have been a huge change within the Xuanjia Army that we have not yet learned!" ”