The news finally came from the Northwest Realm, and when everyone thought it was good news, Emperor Rong asked the eunuch to read out the battle report with a serious face.

The Lin army captured eight cities in the northwest, killed countless people, and destroyed hundreds of acres of fertile land. The 70,000 garrisons led by Chen Songyu and the 50,000 soldiers led by Yan Zhen tried their best to respond to the battle, but they were defeated and retreated, and now they are hiding in Jiaocheng, and our army has suffered countless casualties, and I am afraid that it will not last for ten days.

The whole court was shocked.

Some people raised doubts: "The border city is dangerous, and the garrison is 120,000, how can it not be held?" General Chen and General Yan are brave and good at fighting, impossible! ”

The military department Shangshu said: "I'm afraid that Mo Fei's traitor has figured out the terrain of the border city, and the combat methods of our army, as the so-called knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, and not being defeated in a hundred battles, how can this win?" ”

The eldest grandson Wuzheng also agreed with his point of view: "The combat strength of the Lin army is on par with our army, and I am afraid that it is better in surprise attack operations. ”

"Alright, alright!" Emperor Rong slapped his desk angrily, "When will you still be angry with others to destroy your prestige?" At present, the ministers should give a lot of ideas, how to repel the enemy army! ”

The voice settled, and the court was instantly silent. When Emperor Rong saw this scene, his heart was completely cold.

The situation in the northwest was already at its worst, but on the 10th day there was a terrifying change. Suddenly, there were many people in the Liangshan area, burning, killing and looting, doing all kinds of evil, and they actually occupied Liangshan in just a few days. Almost at the same time, a group of black-clothed masked men infiltrated Kyoto and killed the guards at the city gate, if it weren't for the vigilant discovery of these people by the patrol, I'm afraid that by dawn, the black-clothed masked would have killed all the people of Kyoto!

For a while, people were panicked, and the shops on the street were closed and empty.

For these black-clothed masks, Zuo Qing recognized at a glance that they were Mo Fei's dead soldiers, and said in his heart: Yanzhen They can't last too long.

The west building was covered with a white cloth again, and the black-clothed masked men were ordered to be carried down.

Zuo Qing stood under the eaves with his hands in his hands, looking at the stretcher that was carried out, and he felt indescribably uneasy. The border city is impregnable and cannot last for two months, and there are less than 50,000 Praetorian Guards left in Kyoto, and I am afraid that it will not last a day. If the garrisons from all over the country can't come before the army arrives, I'm afraid that the fate of Rong Guo will be rewritten!

"You say, Yan Zhen and General Chen are also veterans of the battlefield, don't they have a way to change the situation?" Xilou always felt that this battle was very aggrieved, and he had been led by the nose by Linguo.

"Although Murphy is a civilian official, he has a deep study of military affairs, and he has been doing business in the dark market for several years, and he has a clear understanding of the border city defense, and he enters the border city as if he is entering his home. Now the only way is to let Yan Zhen outwit, not to fight hard. ”

"How to outwit?"

"What Emperor Lin wants is nothing more than Ruoshui, and so is Murphy, so it is better to fight and retreat, and lead them outside Kyoto, first, to give our army a chance to breathe, and second, reinforcements have also arrived."

"You mean, garrisons everywhere?"

Zuo Qing nodded: "If there is a moat outside the water city, we can delay for a while, even if the Linjun army advances, we can take advantage of the situation, take advantage of our terrain, ambush in the dark, and wait for the Linjun to enter, we can sneak attack it and kill him without leaving a piece of armor!" ”

"You may be able to deal with Zhao Jun in this way, tens of thousands of Linguo troops, I'm afraid you can't kill them, right? By the time they react, I'm afraid they've already torn down the walls! ”

"Naturally, it's just a delay, the most important thing is to wait for reinforcements,

The Linjun army has always had the upper hand, and it is bound to be overconfident, and the more times like this, the more careless the enemy will be, and we can take the opportunity to surround and turn defeat into victory. ”

Xilou felt that it was still unreliable, but Zuo Qing was so confident that he could only give it a try for the time being. After drinking another pot of tea in the courtyard, the two conveyed the plan to the prince, who immediately went to Emperor Rong to ask for credit. Such a dangerous trick was obviously not something that the prince could come up with, and under Emperor Rong's repeated questioning, the prince relieved himself and told him that it was Zuo Qing's idea. Emperor Rong liked this Zuo Qing more and more, and asked the prince a few more words, and then asked him to step down.

Emperor Rong shared Zuo Qing's plan with the officials, and wanted to discuss the details, but it did not come to fruition, but it attracted the opposition of the Manchu civil and military, and they were worried that leading the enemy army outside the city gate would pose a threat to their lives. Emperor Rong had a headache when he heard this, and even regretted asking their opinions, at this time Ge Zheng cleared his throat and said: "Zuo Qing's move is indeed a risky move, but Yan Zhen and General Chen can't last a few days before the battle, if all of you here have a way to change the situation of the battle, or, if any of you can go to support, I admire you!" As he spoke, he drew his sword and pointed at the ministers, "Rong Guo has been established for more than 40 years, and there has never been a time when he retreats and is afraid. Although my Gezheng is old and faint, he can also hold a sword and kill the enemy, and my more than 3,000 patrol troops are not vegetarians! ”

An old minister refuted him: "The prince said easily, if the army really kills the city, what is the use of us dying in battle, the city should be broken and broken!" Lao Chen still feels that he shouldn't take a risk, if water is the capital of a country, and if the city is broken, the country will die, in an instant! ”

"Then what do you say?" Emperor Rong asked him impatiently.

The old minister hurriedly bowed and saluted, and said: "Since the garrisons from all over the country are already on the way here, let them go to the border city to support, I believe that with the strength of hundreds of thousands of our army, it is enough to repel the enemy army!" ”

"Do you know how long it will take for the garrison to support? How long can General Chen last? ”

The old minister was speechless for a while, and he hesitated for a long time, but he only said one sentence: "It is better to lose the border city than to break the capital, and then find another way to ...... it."

"Bastard thing!" Emperor Rong angrily threw the inkstone on the case, and the old minister couldn't dodge, and was hit on the forehead, and immediately blood flowed, and the scene was very bloody. Emperor Rong pointed at the old minister's nose and scolded bitterly: "How did I raise a bastard old thing like you, when the country is at stake, you only think about self-preservation, what are those soldiers who are desperate on the front line?" What are the tens of thousands of people in the border city to you? All you want is to save Kyoto and save yourself! It's a high-sounding thing, what is the consideration for my safety? Fart! I can see it, you are all greedy for life and afraid of death, moths of Rongguo! ”

For a while, the court knelt down, and a few of them were even frightened into a cold sweat. The old minister didn't dare to say another half a word, and he knelt down tremblingly, hiding in the black oppressive minister.

In the end, Emperor Rong still decided to use Zuo Qing's strategy, and fought and retreated, leading the Linjun army to Ruoshui City. And the premise is that the people in the city must move to a safe place in a short time, leave an empty city, and invite the king into the urn!

When Yan Zhen led the remaining 100,000 soldiers back into Ruoshui City, the Lin army had already been killed. Ruoshui is hundreds of miles of plains outside the city, with an unobstructed view, and the Linjun army did not dare to approach again, but just stopped a mile outside the city and began to build a military camp trench.

Ge Zheng greeted him at the city gate early, and he didn't see his son for several months, and when they met at this time, both of them choked up and cried. Yan Zhen, who has always been famous for his appearance, has a blue chin at this time, and his armor is also covered with knife marks.

Yan Zhen knelt down, held back his tears, and pleaded guilty to his father: "My son has failed to live up to the expectations of the people and cannot protect the border city, but now he has to flee back to Kyoto like a lost dog, if the people suffer because of me, and Your Majesty is in danger because of me, I will not be able to escape the blame!" ”

Ge Zheng helped him up, "Let you come back, not let you run for your life, this is Your Majesty's will, you can rest assured, the people in the city are moving, leaving only the civil and military officials and the Praetorian Guard, and now there is nothing to worry about in this city!" ”

"Your Majesty wants to play an empty city plan?"

"Emperor Lin's comeback, what he wants is Ruoshui, if you lead him here, we will let him have no return!"

"How?"

"Take advantage of Wakasui Castle. Son, you have been reading military books with me since you were a child, why are you confused at this time? ”

Yan Zhen looked at his father slowly, and it took him a long time to understand: "If there is a moat outside the water city, and there is a sandwich city inside the city, the enemy army can be introduced into it, and we set up an ambush around it, the enemy army will not be able to retreat with all the body, and the sandwich city is closed, we can pretend to be defeated, bring them in, and so on, although we can't kill them all, but we can weaken their numbers with the least casualties!" ”

Ge Zheng nodded with satisfaction: "The reinforcements are on the way to come, as long as we successfully delay the attack of the Linjun, and when the reinforcements arrive, we have been fighting for several months, and the exhausted Linjun is like a plate of scattered sand, which will be broken with one blow!" ”

Yan Zhen seemed to see victory in sight, and his eyes rekindled his fighting spirit.

"What the father said is that the son will do his best to save the capital!"

For the first time, Ge Zheng was impressed by this son, and from him he seemed to see himself when he was young, high-spirited, and regarded death as home!

Ruoshui City is full of flags, with a dark color as the bottom, sewn with white characters, and hunting in the gale. Zuo Qing climbed the city tower, and the camp of the Linjun was far away, he saw for the first time that the army of Linguo, whether it was a general or a soldier, was equipped with a unified gray armor, a long contradictory card, it was even more perfect than Rong Guo, no wonder the border city battle, Rong army would suffer so heavy casualties.

Yan Zhen also walked up to the castle tower and stood side by side with him. Zuo Qing glanced sideways at Yanzhen, and his heart was shocked. In his memory, Yan Zhen always paid attention to his appearance, he actually rejected him in his heart, but when he saw him again today, he was so haggard.

"I haven't seen you for a few months, you've lost a lot of weight, but have you seen Su Yan? If he saw you like that, he would be sad. ”

Yan Zhen laughed: "As long as Ruoshui can be saved, it will be too late to see you at any time." ”

"How sure are you?"

"Thirty percent, no more."

Zuo Qing thought that he had heard it wrong, and his previous words were really not so unconfident. Yan Zhen pointed to the Linjun and said to him: "You see, even the little soldiers and pawns are wearing armor and shields!" In the first battle of the border city, our army lost nearly 30,000 people, half of which was due to the lack of armor, and our soldiers could only resist with flesh and blood! How can there be so many honors returning to their hometowns, more of them are horse leather shrouds, and their souls are broken from their homeland. ”

"The reason for today's situation, everything is blamed on our majesty, who has been emphasizing literature and ignoring military force for decades, forcing your father to retreat, and the patrol army has been reduced to the guards. Oh, our Majesty really has a pair of discerning eyes! ”

Yan Zhen looked at Zuo Qing suspiciously, and couldn't help but ask: "You used to be known for being cautious in your words and deeds, why are you letting yourself go now?" ”

The corners of Zuo Qing's mouth provoked a sneer: "I've been holding it at Mo Fei's feet for so long, I'm too tired." ”

"It turns out that you are such a Zuo Qing." Yan Zhen lay half on the city wall and asked him, "Will you and Sister Su be together?" ”

Zuo Qing also leaned on the city wall, and after thinking for a long time, he said to him: "There are some things that I can't change, and I can't control Ah Yan's thoughts, so I can only let it continue, no matter what kind of outcome it develops, I will accept it." ”

Yan Zhen frowned, puzzled: "Wen Zou Zou, I don't understand, just say, will you be with Sister Su, if not, please let go as soon as possible, I can find her a home!" ”

"It seems that although you haven't been to see her, you know everything about her!"

Yan Zhen shrugged his shoulders, and of course: "She's my sister, I'm just going to the ends of the earth, and I have to know her news, so can you be with her?" ”

"Perhaps...... Yes. ”

"Okay is good, no is no way, what do you mean maybe?"

Zuo Qing was silent for a long time, and said slowly: "I want to fly away with her, leave this place of right and wrong, that's all." ”

Yan Zhen grinned and hugged his shoulder: "It's not enough, I recognize you as a brother-in-law!" ”

But can it really go to the end? Zuo Qing was not sure, not at all.

Camp of the army, watchtower.

Mo Fei's fingers grasping the railing were already white, looking at Zuo Qing and Yanzhen on the city wall a mile away, he had an unspeakable hatred in his heart, the reason why he got to this point was all thanks to him!

Emperor Lin passed by the watchtower, looked up and saw Murphy gritting his teeth, so he retreated left and right, and climbed the tower alone.

"Mo Aiqing, the righteous son Gu, has also heard of it, but it's a pity that he is an ungrateful person." Emperor Lin followed his line of sight and fought for him.

Murphy hurriedly knelt down and saluted: "See Your Majesty!" ”

Emperor Lin held his arm and helped him up, "When our army is finished, we will attack Ruoshui, and within three days, Emperor Rong will abdicate!" Mo Aiqing only needs to wait for another three days, and Lone will definitely bring Zuo Qing to you and kowtow to you to admit his mistakes! ”

"Your Majesty's grace, your courtiers are grateful!"

Emperor Lin didn't hear the joy from his words, so he asked, "Mo Aiqing won't be reluctant, right?" ”

Murphy turned his head to look at Ruoshui City Tower again, after a few years of companionship, he didn't remember, but Zuo Qing set up a situation to break his right hand, he also remembered it vividly, he just hated, hated that he had seen the wrong person!

"The love between father and son is fake, even so, what can't Weichen bear? The minister doesn't need Zuo Qing to apologize to me, what the minister wants is Zuo Qing's life! ”

Emperor Lin nodded with satisfaction, this is the Murphy he admires, and it is useful to Linguo.

Emperor Lin sent an elite army, touched the city by night, found the weakest gap in defense, killed the sentry on the city tower, disguised as Rong Army, and entered the city in a grand manner. However, they found that all the shops and residences in the city were empty, and the streets and alleys were also empty and in a mess, except for the Praetorian Guards who passed by at regular shifts, the city seemed to have been emptied overnight. Emperor Lin did not dwell too long on the issue of the disappearance of the people, and sent another team to fill in the moat overnight under the cover of sentinels disguised as Rong Jun.

As soon as the day dawned, the drums of war resounded throughout the sky. The commander of the army stepped on his war horse, took the brunt of the attack, raised his spear, roared angrily, and fired thousands of arrows behind him, and the black pressure was overwhelming, flooding the opposite city tower like a dark cloud. Not giving Rong Jun a chance to breathe, the vanguard of the army was in a team of four, separated by four teams, carrying the ladder and rushing up first, followed by the soldiers who quickly stepped on the ladder and flew up, the Rong army in the city did not react, was stabbed by a spear like raindrops, and fell down the towering city wall. Wave after wave of attacks caught Rong Jun off guard, and it wasn't until the stall of the third wave of attacks that the iron pot was hot. A pot of boiling soup poured down the city wall, but it only postponed the attack, and in the blink of an eye, the Linjun army pressed on it, not only that, but the Linjun army had been surrounded at the city gate, and they were carrying a huge log wrapped in iron, hitting again and again.

In the city, Yan Zhen stood at the gate with a sword, the patrol army behind him was waiting for him, and the Praetorian Guards were already in ambush everywhere.

The thunderous impact came again and again, as if it hit the heart of every soldier, and the whole person shook with it, and the city gate obviously showed signs of loosening under the violent impact. Chen Songyu stared at the city gate, his palms were sweaty, and he glanced at Yanzhen from time to time, waiting for him to give orders.

Finally, Yan Zhen pulled out his long sword, pointed at the city gate, and roared: "Open the city gate and fight!" ”

The city gate opened, and the soldiers rushed in, trampling the guards at the city gate under their feet in an instant, killing them like evil spirits. Yan Zhen spread his arms and pushed the patrol behind him back.

A little more, a little more! Yan Zhen thought silently in his heart, he kept retreating, allowing more soldiers to enter the city, and when the number of people was enough, he immediately issued an order to close the city gate.

As soon as the city gate was closed, the enemy's support was cut off, and the Praetorian Guards hidden in the shadows instantly appeared, cooperating with the patrol army to surround the enemy in the city. The trapped Linjun only reacted to the ambush, and now there is no way back, so they can only fight hard, but the number of the two sides is very different, but with a cup of tea, the Linjun corpses are all over the field.

Yan Zhen concocted the same method again, opened the city gate, and introduced the enemy army to encircle and kill, but this method was not more than three, and Emperor Lin reacted and was deceived, so he withdrew the attack, changed the method, and replaced all the artillery, aiming at the city wall is a fierce attack.

The war intensified and entered a stalemate, the Linjun constantly changed the way of attacking, and the Rong army also adapted, constantly changing and improving the method of defending the city.

Under the failure of the continuous attack, the morale of the Linjun army was damaged, and it was nearly midnight, so they had to withdraw their troops and think about it in the long run.

Since the defeat of the border city, the Rong army has achieved a phased victory for the first time, and the army is excited. Yan Zhen is also the first time in several months to show his face.

Chen Songyu sat by the fire and laughed, patted Yanzhen on the shoulder and said, "The young man is young, he has learned the art of war well, and he is terrible in the future!" ”

"It's over, everyone cooperates well, but this tactic can only be used a few times, the Linjun will no longer be fooled, now it depends on whether the vanguard sent out can successfully cut off the Linjun's backup grain and grass, if it can succeed, we don't have to wait for reinforcements, we can still repel them!"

Chen Songyu nodded and said: "The army chased us in a hurry, and did not carry a heavy convoy with the army, and the reinforcements were on the way to come. Now they should have little gunpowder left, so they can only wait, if they can cut off their supplies again, let alone attack the city, they can't even survive ten days, let's defend the city to see who can survive whom! ”

Speaking of this, Chen Songyu admired again and again: "Originally, Your Majesty just asked us to delay the enemy's attack and wait for reinforcements to help, but I didn't expect you kid to think of the idea of cutting off grain and grass, why didn't I think of it?" ”

Yan Zhen said: "It's just a common means of warfare, General Chen commanded an army of 100,000, and he had too many concerns, so he didn't think of this, I'm different, I don't like to fight openly, I like sneak attacks." ”

Chen Songyu patted his chest again and said, "It's a great blessing for you to have you!" ”

"Each other, each other!"

Although the attack of the Lin army failed, it did not lose too much, and after resting for a day, it was ready to attack again, but it was not expected that when the night was heavy, a small team of the Rong army suddenly attacked the camp.

It was arson, and it was killing horses, and everywhere he went, there was chaos. Because it was late at night, Emperor Lin had fallen asleep, and after being awakened, he dragged out of the account with crooked steps to check the situation, and was so frightened that his three souls and seven spirits were scattered on the spot. I saw a lot of Rong troops appear in the camp, most of them riding war horses, rampage, and have already broken a lot of camp tents. And wherever the fire can be seen, there is the shadow of Rong Jun, and I don't know the exact number of people for a while. The Lin army forgot how to deal with it, but rushed to the periphery of the Lin Emperor's tent to form several encirclements to protect it, and let the Rong army run wild in their own territory. After Rong Jun was happy, he whistled and waved torches away.

Everything returned to calm, but Emperor Lin's heart could not be calmed, the camp suffered heavy losses after the raid, and what made Emperor Lin like falling into an ice cave was two days later, an urgent report came from the rear, and the heavy convoy also suffered a sneak attack, the grain and grass were lost, and most of the soldiers were killed or wounded. There was no backup, the camp was attacked again, and the barracks were passive, and the battle naturally had no chance of winning. In desperation, Emperor Lin ordered the withdrawal of the army. In just a few days, the military camp that had just risen from the ground was demolished overnight, and when the sentries of Rongguo climbed the city tower to change their guards, they happened to see that the large army of the Linjun army was withdrawing in an orderly manner.

The autumn wind was whining, the leaves were withering, and the city was depressed, but the Rongguo soldiers in the city wept with joy and carnivaled all night around the bonfire to celebrate this great victory.

Yanzhen ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome back the people.

After receiving the news of the great victory, Zuo Qing immediately set off for Ruoshui Street, and when he saw hundreds of people returning from outside the city, Ruoshui City returned to its former laughter, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

From the crowd of black oppressors, he found a familiar figure, this person was Yan Ling, who had disappeared for a long time. As he got closer and closer to him, Zuo Qing suddenly found that the person who was held in Yan Ling's hand and tied with a rope turned out to be Mo Fei!

From a powerful minister above 10,000 people under one person, to a loser today, from a deep father-son relationship, to no longer ruthless, Murphy saw Zuo Qing, and a complex emotion rose in his heart, he hated him for betrayal, and also loved him for being his own son, used, and trusted, and now today, Zuo Qing and him have stood on opposite sides, it is the opposition of life and death. Murphy was sad again, and after all, he was still defeated!

"Ten years ago, you harmed the entire Xuan family, and today, it's time for you to pay back." Zuo Qing's cold voice sounded.

Murphy stopped, just side by side with him, and the face of the vicissitudes of life had long since lost its original momentum. He turned his head slightly to look at Zuo Qing and smiled sadly: "You are planning to be my righteous son and avenge your people, and now that you have done it, you are happy for your father!" ”

Zuo Qing looked at him angrily: "One hundred and thirty lives, don't you have the slightest repentance?" Countless days and nights in the past ten years, have you not been afraid? ”

"Fear?" When Murphy heard these two words, he laughed: "If you want to stabilize your position, if you want to climb up, you have to be ruthless!" However, your people are really tough, and they are not willing to bow their heads when they die, I admire them, especially your father Xuan Yuansheng! It's a pity, he died young, if he is still alive, I Murphy is willing to be a brother with him! ”

"You're not qualified!" Zuo Qing was furious, and bruises suddenly broke out on his forehead: "It was you who forged evidence to frame my father for lying about the military situation and harming the lives of my entire clan, isn't it just for the sake of the weapon spectrum, and now this weapon spectrum has taken away King Zhao, don't worry, it will be your turn next!" ”

Murphy looked up at the gloomy sky, a strange smile on the corner of his mouth, and said to him: "As early as when Your Majesty was still a prince, your family's weapons had left the Zhao Kingdom, and it would have been in Your Majesty's hands for the next few years, so why did I frame your family?" Zuo Qing, it's been ten years, and you have been kept in the dark for ten years! ”

"What do you mean?"

"You'll have to check it yourself, I'll do it all."

Zuo Qing grabbed him and said fiercely: "You are still hard-mouthed when you die, I won't spare you easily!" ”

"Some people, self-righteous revenge, in the end, even the enemy is wrong, pitiful, pitiful!"

Listening to Mo Fei's smug smile, Zuo Qing's heart suddenly panicked, what did he mean? What does it mean to seek revenge?

Zuo Qing grabbed his neck and almost used all his strength, "You tell clearly, do you still have accomplices, who is that person, you tell me!" ”

Murphy was pinched and couldn't breathe, and both of his eyes were almost bloodshot. Yan Ling pulled Zuo Qing away in time and warned him: "This person is a traitor to the enemy and a thief, I have to hand it over to Your Majesty, don't make trouble for me!" ”

Zuo Qing was furious, he was almost crazy, and shouted at Yanling: "If you dare to stand in my way, I will kill you together!" ”

Yan Ling knew that he had lost his mind, and he didn't want to argue with him, so he moved Murphy to the other side and walked away quickly.

Zuo Qing wanted to catch up and ask for an understanding, but after chasing two steps, he found that his legs did not obey the call, his whole body was stiff, his chest was tight and panting, and his eyes were dark.

When he woke up again, it was the next day.