Yi Cheng stepped on the ladder, stood on the wall, swept his suspicious gaze across the team in front of him, and saw that this group of "thieves" was indeed different from that kind of bandits, and looked quite disciplined, so he handed over a basket tied to a wooden pole, loaded the paperwork, and took it back and opened it to take a look.

"Open the door!"

The gate of the post station opened, and the post man stepped out of the column, "Meet the noble envoy." Now there are occasional military disasters, tonight is really self-preservation, please forgive me! ”

In the carriage, a faint voice came, "It's okay, there are many bandits along the way, the posts are broken or broken, Your Excellency can protect the safety of the post station, it is already a very good thing, what a crime." ”

"The envoy is serious, the same rice raises a hundred kinds of people, there are occasional troubles, the world is average, we wait for the king's luck, and we should be loyal to the king."

"Huh?" There was a slight surprised sound in the carriage, and a young man lifted the curtain and stepped out.

The guards around couldn't help but feel their hearts skip a beat, on this official road, they had also seen a lot of dignitaries, but they had never seen such a man who could show the word [luxury] so perfectly.

The long body is jade, the headband is flying, a gorgeous shirt sways gently in the wind with the steps, and the jade pendant on the waist collides with the crisp sound in the master's movement.

There are not too many dense decorations on his body, but each piece is just right, which adds dignity and is not superfluous.

Yi Cheng was also surprised, he didn't expect that under the fatigue of this boat, the person who came could still maintain such a demeanor, and the only remaining doubts in his heart suddenly disappeared.

The young man looked at the post in front of him, he really didn't expect that this remote little post station could have such a talent, and he had a little love for talent in his heart, but at the moment, there were many people, and he had more important tasks to go to the capital of the Southern Dynasty, so he didn't open his mouth after all, only nodded at the other party, and walked in.

In the post station, although the things are ordinary and a little old, but they are all sprinkled and swept very clean, Rao is the eyes of the people above the top, after experiencing the first few either dilapidated or deserted post stations, in contrast, there is also a lot of appreciation for the post man who is in charge of this place.

After inquiring about the needs of the messenger himself, the young man went to the best room of the inn, accompanied by a servant, to arrange for food, drink, hot water, etc.

At the door, there were two sword-wielding samurai standing guard with solemn faces.

After the group had freshened up and eaten, the small post station was quiet again, and the young man stood by the window, silently looking at the post guards on duty against the cold wind of the winter night beside the post wall below, and was silent for a long time, then turned around and entered the house.

Although it was midnight, the discipline was strict.

The next morning, I reorganized and set out on the trip.

Before the young man boarded the carriage, he turned his head to look at the post man who was sent out of the door, and smiled slightly, "I am grateful for the reception, and I haven't asked Your Excellency yet?" ”

"Shi Shangyu, a small official, Zezhou County."

"For Shi Shangyu, a good name. Take care. ”

The young man nodded, got into the carriage with the knot in his hand, and the large procession slowly left.

"My lord, are they really the messengers of the Northern Liang?"

Shi Shangyu nodded, "This can't be faked, otherwise it would be impossible for such a large team of people to come over so unscathed." ”

"Oh, I see, they must be there to mourn the emperor."

A post guard suddenly realized, and everyone nodded again and again.

Shi Shangyu frowned slightly and looked at the team, if it was really a condolence, shouldn't the leader usually be an old man who had some friendship with the court or had a noble status? Why did this young man take the lead?

Could it be that this young man is a prince or even a prince?

Even so, it is convenient to follow some old men who are familiar with the etiquette system in the team, but this team of people, except for military men, are all middle-aged scribes who are no more than forty or fifty years old.

Don't you have other plans?

Although he is just a small post man, he has always had some ambition, and he likes to think more about everything, but his knowledge is limited at the moment, how can he think about it, and he has to frown back to the post station after a while.

On the other side, on the carriage that was slowly moving on the official road, the young man leaned lazily on the cushion in the car, looked at the entourage who was sitting precariously on the side, and said softly: "Now you know that Your Majesty and the left and right ministers do not advocate taking the opportunity to annex the Southern Dynasties, right?" ”

He nodded and said: "A post station, can have such a capable person, although the Southern Dynasty has suffered a great change, but the hundred-legged insect is dead but not stiff, there are many talents in the territory, want to swallow it, I am afraid of hurting the lives of countless athletes in my Liang." ”

"And at this moment, the army is pressing, but it will make the Southern Dynasty twist into a rope. It is indeed not as good as the clever plan of His Majesty and the prince, let them kill each other, and my big beam will reap the benefits. ”

The young man played with a delicate dagger in his hand, "The injured tiger in the forest can only be slowly bled and consumed, if you want to kill with one blow, it will fight to the death, and you are afraid that you will lose both." ”

Qin Sui was happy at first, but then frowned slightly, and a gloomy color loomed, "I'm afraid the people of the Southern Dynasty can figure out this truth, right?" If so, what is the prospect of the Son's trip? ”

This idea seems simple, but they themselves are injured tigers, and under the fear, where can they think of this layer. What's more, it's one thing to think about it, and it's another thing to dare to bet. ”

He picked up the curtain and glanced outside the car, "Calculate the time, the matter of Yuyan Prefecture should have passed on, and the court in the capital of the Southern Dynasty, I'm afraid it's already a mess!" ”

——

"Report!"

A fast horse carrying a messenger covered with mud rushed into the gate of Zhongjing City, and went straight to the palace city, and then quickly rushed into the palace city, and came to the front of the car, he raised the letter in his hand high, and said loudly: "Swift Prefecture urgent, Yongjun Wang Dongfang Ping rebelled!" Swift State has almost fallen! ”

The expected panic did not appear, and the little emperor's calm words sounded, "It's hard work, go and rest." Jin Zhong, give a hundred taels of silver. ”

The messenger raised his head in confusion, wondering if his ears had been damaged by the cold wind on the road, and then thought that His Majesty was not too young to understand the weight of this matter.

So he immediately kowtowed and shouted, "Your Majesty, Swift Prefecture has fallen into the hands of the thief army several times, please return"

"Bold!"

Jin Zhong scolded, "Your Majesty and the center have their own decisions, why do you need to say more!" ”

The messenger quickly shut up, held back the anger in his heart, and withdrew.

As soon as he walked out of the palace gate, a young official greeted him, "But the messenger of the Swift Prefecture?" ”

Although the messenger could not understand the rank of the official, he was only a scout in the army, and everyone was older than him.

The other party smiled kindly, "Don't panic, the Marquis of Jianning and the central ministers want to see you, and come with me." ”

In the small central courtyard, in the council hall, in front of several central ministers who were really in charge of the affairs of the empire, the messenger stammered and finished the situation.

Then, he looked at the important ministers bowing slightly, and the youngest and handsome young man who was sitting far outside smiled slightly, "It's hard work, I can rest for a few days, and the court has its own conclusion." ”

Listening to this gentle tone and calm expression, the messenger couldn't help but sigh in his heart, worthy of being an important minister in the center, this bearing, this cultivation, is simply divine!

Fortunately, no one heard these voices, otherwise this completely different evaluation would reach Dongfang Bai's ears, and it would inevitably end up in the city.

After the messenger left, Xia Jingyun put away his smile and said with a serious expression: "Everyone, the situation is not bad as what we knew last night, without further ado, where to base the enemy, who should be sent to lead the troops, there should be a conclusion." ”

Wan Wenbi said slowly: "Gao Yang, if you have any thoughts, you might as well say it directly." ”

Xia Jingyun was not fooled, and shook his head, "This matter is not my word, it should be decided by the center." The official just felt that he had to make a decision as soon as possible. ”

Wan Wenbi sighed, "What about you?" ”

Everyone looked at each other and didn't speak, not knowing if it was because they were worried that they would not be able to bear this responsibility, or if they had other concerns.

Wan Wenbi's face turned cold, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen Mother and Your Majesty trust us, and we should also fight bravely for state affairs, how can we regret our lives in the face of major events!" ”

Wei Yuanzhi suddenly said: "Then you can recommend one of the ten thousand ministers!" ”

Everyone bowed their heads silently, Wei Yuanzhi is really a mad dog now, and he is not afraid of offending people when he speaks.

Wan Wenbi deserved to be the old fox of the court, and was unmoved, and said slowly: "The old man should recommend himself, now most of the generals who can lead the troops in the DPRK are fighting outside, but the people who can be worthy of great responsibilities are Yang Yinghui, the commander of the patrol battalion, and Shang Zhicheng, the commander of the forbidden army, and now the real difficulty is not who to choose among these two, but who will take his place after choosing one of them." ”

Everyone present is all top talents, even Li Tianfeng, who was once a little insufficient, has made rapid progress after taking charge of such a big stall in Surabaya Prefecture.

They were immediately keenly aware that Wan Wenbi had said one less person.

An Dingbo, General Xuanwei, General Yulin Zhonglang, Xia Yunfei.

Although Xia Yunfei is a little weaker, he has been trained in the Wudang army for a long time, and has won the praise of a natural general that Jiang Yuhu has never refutated, and at the same time defeated Xiao Fengshan head-on, which shows his strength.

Such a person who can't find too many faults in terms of strength, status and trustworthiness, but Wan Wenbi didn't mention it.

After a little pondering, everyone understood the reason, not only did they not want Xia Yunfei to be in charge of the military, so that the two brothers were too loud and too powerful, and I am afraid that there were also people who deliberately dug a pit and waited for Xia Jingyun and his family to take the initiative to propose this name, and if they failed in the future, they would have the idea of clearing up the relationship.

Thinking of this, and thinking about some of the foggy things before, everyone looked at the prime minister who looked like an old monk with slightly drooping eyes.

There are rumors in Beijing that the reason why the prime minister was able to decisively appear in the criminal department in the midst of the great changes that day and openly support the Queen Mother and His Majesty was because of the private promise of the Marquis of Jianning.

Now Jianninghou has fulfilled his promise, but the prime minister doesn't seem to plan to be an echo worm behind Jianninghou all the time, and he can't even wait for a year and a half.

Yes, who is willing to do this?

Many people suddenly remembered last night's remark that Jianning Hou said that the Northern Liang would not support Dongfang Ping and the South to call me, and they thought about it.

Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng quietly glanced at Xia Jingyun, while the rest also subconsciously glanced at Xia Jingyun.

Xia Jingyun was silent, as if he was calculating.

Deputy Prime Minister Yang Weiguang suddenly said: "This matter is very big, although it is urgent, there is no need to be so urgent, according to the old man's opinion, why don't you immediately prepare to gather soldiers and horses, prepare grain and grass, and then go back to think about it, tonight I will wait together in front of the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, each has a recommendation?" ”

This method is considered to be with mud, but it is also very necessary.

If it is decided at this moment, everyone is not allowed to communicate, it is likely to intensify some contradictions, and there is a buffer time to reconcile, and they will prepare and plan separately, and they will be much more peaceful when they come to the table.

Wan Wenbi opened his eyes, as if he had just woken up from a false sleep, "It's the old man who is reckless." is still Ziming serious, so that is the case, at three o'clock tonight, I will wait to enter the palace to see the driver. ”

Xia Jingyun also smiled and said: "The two ministers have thought about it properly, and we should do it ourselves." ”

So, the tone was set, and everyone began to talk about the soldiers and horses, the grain and grass, the military salary, and the like, which were nothing to pull about, and soon the task was assigned, and everyone left.

Yang Weiguang walked behind, looked at Wan Wenbi, wanted to speak and stopped, but finally didn't speak.

After everyone left, Wan Wenbi slowly opened his eyes, but there was a sharp light in a pair of cloudy old eyes.

Dongfang Ping's actions stimulated this old turtle, a young man who knew that his bloodline was hopeless, and had endured for more than 20 years, finally rose up, looking at the current situation, there was a great chance of winning from such a situation, biting a piece of meat between the two countries.

Although you can't escape the life of a puppet, although the fortune of the country may not be long, you can be the master of a country, which is enough to comfort your life's ambition!

Thinking about it, he is sixty-seven years old, how many years in his life are not faint and old?

Compared with others, he is already much easier, after all, he is already in this position, and if he doesn't dare to fight, he is afraid that it will be difficult to look at Jiuquan, right?

He got up, went back to the workshop, and after doing it for a while, he left the small courtyard, got into a sedan chair, and went back to the house.

At noon, Xia Jingyun also returned to the Jianning Marquis Mansion after discussing with Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng.

When he returned to the mansion, he directly found Xia Yunfei, "Cousin, there is a battle, do you want to fight?" ”

Xia Yunfei looked at him suspiciously, and when Xia Jingyun told him about the situation, Xia Yunfei did not decisively agree, but thought calmly as he had for many years in the past.

Under the nervous gaze of the four elders of the Xia family and Xia Ningzhen, and in the complicated gaze of Feng Xiuyun and Rouge, Xia Yunfei spoke:

"So, you mean, we're going to have a tough fight with the Swifts, and if we win this battle, the situation will be at peace, and if we lose this battle, the situation will probably become extremely bad?"

Xia Jingyun nodded, "Yes." ”

The faces of the Xia family were difficult to look at, and Xia Zhang's family almost couldn't help but speak, but fortunately, Xia Mingxiong was also familiar with his wife's temperament, and turned his head angrily, "Shut up!" ”

Xia Yunfei didn't pay attention to his family's movements, and thought with a solemn expression, "From Bishui Pass to the direction of Swift State, there is no such natural danger, and you can only take a slight advantage of Gaocheng to fight against the Swift Iron Cavalry, and there may even be the Northern Liang Army?" ”

"Yes."

As soon as these words came out, even Xia Mingxiong's face showed a little panic.

The Swift Army, the Northern Liang Army, and their sons want to lead troops to fight against them?

"The imperial court has run out of soldiers. Can only barely put together a team of 10,000 to 20,000 people, and there are only 10,000 elite soldiers among them? ”

"Yes."

Only 10,000 people?

Xia Li also unconsciously held her husband's hand, and her palms were full of sweat.

"If this battle is lost, the imperial court can only order the troops of the states to return to help, and it is likely that the previous achievements will be wasted, so that the world will be rekindled and the people will be displaced again?"

"Yes!"

Rouge sighed silently, the court was settled, and the Quartet was not settled, but others were playing this calculation to take advantage of your illness to kill you.

Feng Xiuyun also pursed her lips, she actually wanted to persuade Xia Jingyun, even if Yang Yinghui was not at ease, Shang Zhicheng was not impossible, why should she cause a big trouble for herself!

Sure enough, Xia Yunfei opened his mouth and said: "I was still young at the time, and I didn't have the brilliant military exploits and peerless reputation of my son, if you recommend me as the general who led the troops, if I am defeated, your reputation will be greatly damaged, even if the Queen Mother and Your Majesty are not good at protecting you, maybe there will be another change in the court?" ”

Xia Jingyun was silent for a moment, but still said with difficulty, "Yes." ”

"Okay, in this battle, I will take the initiative to ask Ying to lead the troops!"

After finishing talking about one difficulty after another, cutting a wide avenue into a thin rope above the abyss, Xia Yunfei decisively agreed.

No, not a promise, but a request.

Xia Jingyun's heart was also warm, "Big brother, prepare for it, we will send troops early tomorrow morning!" ”

"Good!"

Xia Yunfei nodded and got up, and walked out in a hurry.

Xia Zhang hurriedly got up and chased out, Xia Mingxiong and Xia Ningzhen hesitated, nodded towards Xia Jingyun, and followed.

"Fly"

Xia Zhang ran around the corner of the corridor and just opened his mouth, only to find that Xia Yunfei was already standing in front of him waiting, as if he knew that she was going to chase her.

She hurriedly stepped forward, "Fei'er, why do you want to go when you said it was so dangerous?" Now that you have achieved success, why take this risk! ”

Xia Yunfei turned his head to look at his mother, and then glanced at his father who followed silently, as well as his sister Xia Ningzhen, "Father, mother, Erlang has a good saying, the sea torrent shows the true character of a hero." Now that the situation has reached this point, it is the time for my generation to make contributions, so what is there to retreat from? ”

Xia Mingxiong opened his mouth and said: "But, there is no one else in the court?" ”

Xia Yunfei shook his head lightly, "Don't you know Erlang's temperament?" If there had been a more suitable person than me, how would he have come to me? My brain is not as good as his, but I believe in him, and I believe that he will not harm me, so since he found me, I will do my best to help him. What's more, the son has no other skills, and he has to talk about marching and fighting."

He paused, turned his head to look to the northeast, his nose seemed to have smelled the cold wind and frost of Swift Prefecture, and the eyebrows carved out on the grassland of Poliang Mountain were like knives, "Let them come!" ”

On the other side, Xia Jingyun was also explaining his thoughts to Feng Xiuyun and Rouge, as well as to his parents who were a little worried.

"Now that the court is far from being truly stable, Shang Zhicheng is on duty in the palace and Yang Yinghui is in charge of the city defense, which is the key to ensuring that we will not be overturned by others."

"Although one of them can go out to lead the troops, and then send the eldest brother or other trustworthy person to be on duty, such a rash change is likely to be taken advantage of by others. If the front line is defeated, if you are not an old leader, whether you can restrain the soldiers under him is troublesome. ”

"Big brother's ability, I personally asked Jiang Yuhu. According to Jiang Yuhu, it is rapidly moving away from the category of waste. Don't look at me like that, there are not many people in his mouth that are not waste, so I am relieved. ”

"What's more, if we can finally succeed, our Xia family's position will be more stable."

Feng Xiuyun looked at Xia Jingyun's gushing appearance, and sighed lightly in his heart, no matter how reasonable Xia Jingyun said, his heart was still bottomless after all.

Before that, I only saw him say a few words, Zhizhu was in his hand, how could he use such gushing words to comfort others and comfort himself.

She looked out the window, the storm in Swift State was too amazing.

——

Swift State, Border.

A group of scouts rode their horses and came to a large river, looked at Changshan County on the opposite side, scattered and made a record, and then returned as a group.

And their destination, in a large camp, in the central tent, Dongfang Ping sat in the center, respectfully picked up the wine glass, and smiled at a general wearing Beiliang armor in the first place on the left hand: "General Murong, Xiao Wang will give you another glass, if there is no divine power for you this time, how can Xiao Wang get what he has today." ”

The general also smiled and took the cup, but there was a trace of disdain in his eyes that was not too hidden.

As a prince, for his own selfish thoughts, he betrayed his family and country, and led foreign thieves into the court, how could a battlefield iron man like him afford it.

However, His Majesty and King Zhennan both explained that it was a good thing for Daliang after all, so he promised it perfunctorily.

He took a sip of wine and put it down, Dongfang Ping looked at the other party's full wine bowl and was slightly stunned, and then immediately looked up with a smile and dried up his wine bowl.

Then he poured another bowl and smiled at the rest of the Northern Liang generals sitting in the column.

Seeing that the rest of the Great Xia officers who were in the same tent silently clenched their fists.

Dongfang Ping also greeted them, "What are you doing in a daze, it's rare to have a banquet tonight, so you should have fun!" ”

The officers of Great Xia were aggrieved, but they had to obey the commander's orders and pick up the wine bowls.

Looking at the teeth that couldn't be released, and the green tendons looming on their necks, it seemed that all this in front of them was not the result they wanted. (End of chapter)