In the twelfth year of the founding of the military, May 14.

In the evening, Li Jin entered the Lu Mansion in disguise.

"Brother Lu, I just saw the military briefing within the Warp Weaving Division, and the battle situation in the north is quite difficult."

His first sentence made Lu Shen's brows furrow slightly.

He calmed down, poured a cup of tea for Li Jin, and said, "Brother Li will take a sip of tea first to moisten his throat and then talk in detail." ”

Li Jin's eyebrows were solemn, and after taking the cup, he continued: "The Yanjing coalition army has launched an offensive against Panlong Pass ten days ago, and they have all commanded General Pei to lead his troops to repel several attacks in a row. However, the enemy army seemed to be riveting enough to bite a gap in the city wall, and Lianning and other military villages northeast of Panlong Pass were also attacked by the enemy. ”

Lu Shen took the simple map of Huaizhou that he brought out from the Warp Weaving Division's case library, spread it on the table, and then took the pen to make a mark in Wuhe County, Baoying Prefecture.

Now in terms of the military configuration of the border, there are more than 10,000 Panlong troops in Panlong Pass, 6,000 defenders of several military villages and Feiyun Army to the east, and 6,000 soldiers and horses in Wuhe County.

Li Jin looked at the map and continued: "The three cities, seven villages and twelve forts directly north of the Lai'an defense line are under the greatest pressure, and the Lai'an army and the Zhenbei army are coordinated to defend. ”

Lu Shen drew another mark, and then wrote the word "middle line".

Li Jin said: "From Linshan County to the shore of the East China Sea, this section is defended by the Pingshan Army. ”

"Three-pronged? Where did the puppet Yan Dongyang Road get so many troops? ”

Lu Shen's face was puzzled, he had already roughly understood the troop configuration of Beiyan, Dongyang Road, Moyang Road and Jiangbei Road each had about 100,000 troops, including the elite veterans planted in them by the Jing Dynasty.

At present, the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion has nearly 60,000 troops on the northern border, and the blessing of the Zhai Fort, if Beiyan wants to rely on 100,000 soldiers and horses on Dongyang Road, the intensity of the war will be raised to this point, unless these 100,000 people are all tigers and wolves with one enemy and one hundred.

Li Jin said in a deep voice: "Pseudo-Yan and Jing Dynasty have increased their troops on a large scale. ”

Lu Shen frowned and said, "What about the response of the imperial court?" ”

He didn't believe that the monarchs and ministers in Yongjia City would naively think that Huaizhou had always been peaceful, and Beiyan and Jing Dynasty had obviously been recuperating and accumulating strength in the past six years, and they would definitely not sit idly by and watch Huaizhou hang alone in the north of the river.

Even he, a newcomer to the land, could see that how could the Manchu Dynasty minister be unprepared?

A bitter and complicated smile appeared on Li Jin's face, and he said slowly: "Regarding this matter, Master Su once talked to me. In fact, as early as more than a year ago, the warp weaving department found that the desire to start a war in the north was getting stronger and stronger, and Dongyang Road and Moyang Road were constantly adjusting officials to prepare for the start of the war. Last autumn, Governor Xiao Dadu played the Son of Heaven, saying that war would break out within a year, and asked the imperial court to send additional troops to Huaizhou. ”

"And then?"

"The court has been arguing for more than two months, and there is still no conclusion. Master Su said that this is because Huaizhou has nearly 100,000 troops, and there can be no more. ”

"The Son of Heaven doesn't trust Governor Xiao?"

"It shouldn't be, but Huaizhou is alone in Jiangbei, and in the eyes of some people, it is far less reassuring than Jingzhou. They felt that 100,000 troops were enough to hold Huaizhou, and no more would it make the situation even more complicated? ”

Li Jin didn't say it explicitly, Lu Shen already understood the meaning of his words.

More than 140 years ago, the Great Qi swept through Liuhe to pacify the world, ending the era of warlord secession and chaos that lasted for more than 60 years.

The devastation of life in those more than 60 years has made countless readers in later generations sad, and they absolutely do not want to see a similar situation happen again.

Therefore, in the eyes of many officials of the Qi Dynasty today, Xiao Wangzhi already has too many troops in his hands, and if he sends more troops, won't it create a warlord who is difficult to check and balance?

Thinking of this, Lu Shen couldn't help but shake his head.

Li Jin continued: "Six days ago, Governor Xiao ordered the Taixing army to move north, and in any case, the first wave of the enemy's offensive should be pressed down, and their attempt to break through the Lai'an defense line in one fell swoop was completely eliminated. ”

Lu Shen stared at the pattern on the map, five of the seven armies of Huaizhou were stationed on the northern border, and now the Taixing army as a reserve was transferred over, and only the Guangling army was left in the rear.

He asked calmly, "Does Master Su have a reply?" ”

Li Jinzhen said: "Yes, I just arrived today." Master Su said in the letter that if he could grasp the evidence of the Gu family's collaboration with the enemy, he could arrest him, but he must act quickly, and he must not give the other party a chance to make trouble. Nowadays, the border war is difficult, and the rear must maintain stability, and Guangling is the top priority. ”

He stared at Lu Shen's eyes, and said with a straight face: "Master Su also said that the matter of the Gu family is decided by Lu Gan. ”

Lu Shen didn't care about this matter, just bowed slightly, and said with a complicated expression: "I thought that Master Su would come to Guangling. ”

Li Jin lowered his voice and said: "The border battle is so fierce, even Governor Xiao has been assassinated once, and the people are even more undercurrent surging, Lord Su will not be able to get out." ”

Lu Shen asked again: "When will the imperial court send reinforcements across the river to the north?" ”

Li Jin exhaled a breath of turbidity, and sighed helplessly: "It will take a month to enter Huaizhou at the earliest." ”

Lu Shen probably knew the inconvenience of army mobilization in this era, but nearly 20 days had passed since the outbreak of fighting in late April, and it would take another month for the south to complete the mobilization of reinforcements.

Perhaps the monarchs and ministers of the court did not expect this battle to come so fiercely.

"By the way, the thing you asked me to look into now has a rough result." Li Jin put down the empty teacup and continued: "The Guangling army commander makes Qi Tai's resume very clean, and it has nothing to do with the Gu family. Now among the two generals who command 4,000 soldiers and horses in the city, Duan Zuozhang, the deputy commander, and You Pu, the commander of the regiment, Duan Zuozhang's main room happens to be surnamed Gu, and he does have a distant relationship with the Gu family, but he has not moved back and forth for many years. ”

Lu Shen muttered, "Sure enough. ”

Li Jin asked with a solemn expression, "Could it be that Duan Zuozhang was really co-opted by the Gu family?" ”

"If that's the case, then there's a reasonable explanation for the movements of the pseudo-Yan's fine work." Lu Shen's eyes were cold, and he said in a deep voice: "They want to attack Guangling by surprise. ”

Li Jin's face changed drastically.

He was already an experienced elite in the warp weaving department, and he was very familiar with this kind of conspiracy, but at this moment, he was broken by Lu Shen's words, how could he not understand the truth hidden by this fog.

If Duan Zuozhang has been pulled into the water, as long as the Yan army is in the city, Duan Zuozhang will give an order, and Guangling will become an undefended city.

If Guangling was lost, the supply of grain and grass to the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion would be cut off, the rear hub would fall into the hands of the enemy, and the situation of the front-line army would be in danger.

Thinking of this, Li Jin frowned and asked, "The question is, how can the Puppet Yan army appear outside Guangling City?" General Qi, the commander of the Guangling Army, is also a veteran of the battlefield, and he personally sits on the Qiling Ancient Road, taking into account the other two ancient roads, and if the enemy can attack hard, he will not wait until now. ”

Lu Shen asked in a low voice, "What if the Yan army can really climb over the mountains to the west?" ”

Li Jin's words were stopped, feeling both frightened and ridiculous in his heart, and he said hurriedly: "Brother Lu, this matter should be reported to Governor Xiao, Lord Su and General Qi immediately. ”

Lu Shen said extremely calmly: "Of course. However, Governor Xiao and Master Su are far away in the north, and it takes time for news to come and go, so they can't wait for their orders stupidly. As for General Qi, if the Yan army really had a plan to attack Guangling, it would definitely not only send a small group of elites over the mountain, but also have a plan for those three ancient roads. ”

He raised his eyes and looked directly at Li Jin, and said resolutely: "At the moment, we don't know where the Yan army is, whether it is circling in the mountains of the twin peaks, or whether it is already hiding in the wilderness not far from Guangling, just waiting for the signal to be sent from the city." At this time, we must start first, and we must take one step at a time. ”

Li Jinzhen said: "Okay, I will write the relevant situation as a secret letter and send it out immediately." Brother Lu means that we are acting according to the original plan? ”

Lu Shen nodded and said, "Tomorrow at noon, the Zhan Governor's Mansion will invite the Gu family's father and son to a banquet, so we have to catch Gu Junye in the morning, and at the same time lay a net outside the Gu family's mansion." ”

Li Jin hesitated slightly, and then pondered: "Brother Lu, I have a hunch that Duan Zuozhang should not have promised the Gu family yet, otherwise those detailed works of the Prosecutor's Office only need to be hidden. If we launch it at this time, will it force Duan Zuozhang to rebel? After all, he is the deputy commander of the capital, and he has 4,000 soldiers and horses under his command, once he ......"

"I thought about it. Brother Li, can you be sure that Duan Zuozhang must not have been dragged into the water? Lu Shen asked calmly.

Li Jin shook his head and said, "No, but I'm worried that the exposure of the Gu family will force him to make a choice." ”

"Now we only have two choices, one is to continue to deal with the other party and wait for more powerful support from above, but the consequence is that Guangling will be in danger at any time, and we can only react passively."

Lu Shen got up and walked to the window, pressed his right hand on the big case, stared at the summer scenery outside the window, and his tone was slightly low: "If Guangling City is broken, our Lu family will definitely not be able to escape the cruelty of the Gu family, and the war situation in Huaizhou will also fall to the brink of collapse." ”

He turned his head to look at Li Jin, and said slowly: "Duan Zuozhang has no way to pull four thousand soldiers to commit treason, even if he is dragged into the water by the Gu family, at most he will open a city gate for the enemy." Tomorrow, the Gu family's father and son will not be there, and if Duan Zuozhang appears outside the Gu Mansion, it is enough to show that the situation has reached the most dangerous point. ”

Li Jin took a deep breath, got up and said, "What is the second strategy?" ”

Lu Shen said unhurriedly, the expression on Li Jin's face changed constantly, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "It's done!" ”

……

The next day, before dawn.

Xiyuan, Song Pei stood not far away and looked at Lu Shen's side face, although she didn't know what the young master was busy with during this time, she keenly sensed that something big would happen.

Half an hour later, Lu Shen had already cleaned up, walked out slowly, and calmly ordered: "Tell Lu Wu that the Lu Mansion is closed today, and no one is allowed to enter or leave." ”

"Yes, young master."

Song Pei stared at his back, meticulously bowing to him.

Coming to the door, Lu Shen looked up at the whitening sky.

The wind and the sun are beautiful, very good.