Chaoge, the entire court was shrouded in the haze of defeat, and there was a gloomy cloud. Tongguan generalissimo Yu Hualong commanded 150,000 troops, with Wu Wenhua as the vanguard, went to crusade against Chongyingluan, but lost two battles, 150,000 troops were lost, and Yu Hualong's father and son sacrificed their lives for the country.

This news was transmitted back to the court, and the dynasty was turbulent, and the king was no longer addicted to pills, and immediately ascended to the court, and passed on the civil and military officials to meet and discuss major matters. In the end, the ministers agreed that only if Deng Jiugong led troops back to the dynasty to preside over the overall situation, Dashang could survive the crisis.

It's just that the king of Xuan made three wills in a row, and ordered people to be sent to Qinglong Pass in the starry night. It's only a few days later, and there is still no news of Deng Jiugong's evacuation. King Su was so anxious that he hurriedly summoned Zhang Qian, Weizi and Lu Renjie into the palace to discuss.

Although Lu Renjie has no great talent, he is also a minister who is good at military affairs in the court, and with the idea of pulling a general among the dwarves, the king made an exception to promote him to an important minister in the court. This made Lu Renjie very happy, thinking that the king of Xuan had a good eye for talent, and he was complacent in the court every day, and he didn't take Zhang Qian very seriously.

As soon as he saw the three of them, the king couldn't wait to ask: "Three Aiqing, can there be news of Deng Jiugong's return to the dynasty." ”

Zhang Qian said: "Your Majesty, Jiang Ziya led a large army to attack Tongguan, and the road to and from Qinglong Pass to Chaoge was blocked, and the news was not delivered in time, so no news came. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the minister estimated that in the past few days, there will be news of King Pingnan. ”

The failure of the invasion of the north has buried countless money, food, and horses, and now the vitality of the whole country has been greatly damaged, and it is no longer possible to gather an army of 100,000 people.

When the king heard this, the whole person was like taking a reassuring pill, he was already old, and he just wanted to enjoy his old age in peace. If Chengtang Sheji is lost in his hands, what kind of face will he have to go underground to see his ancestors and ancestors.

Lu Renjie snorted coldly and said: "The minister thought that this matter was strange, and the king of Pingnan acted vigorously and resolutely, and no one could use soldiers. It has been several months since he led his troops to fight, why he has not fought Jiang Ziya for a long time, what is his intention. ”

The dream was broken, and Deng Jiugong was not seen to make a move to block the Xiqi army; when the clouds were broken, Deng Jiugong was not seen to send troops; if Tongguan was in danger, Deng Jiugong was not seen to send troops to the rescue.

Not to mention that Lu Renjie was jealous of Deng Jiugong, if he was any minister, if he thought about it carefully, he also felt that something was wrong.

Although Lu Renjie is a villain, what he said is not unreasonable, and Weizi echoed: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Lord Lu said is good. King Pingnan's ability is obvious to all, if he blocks it with all his might, even if he can't wipe out the Xiqi rebels in one fell swoop, he can also stop it under Jiameng Pass, so that Jiang Ziya can't go beyond the thunder half a step. ”

If Deng Jiugong led the army back to the court in time, no matter how much the ministers doubted him, with his prestige, no one dared to say anything in front of the king. But the real situation is that Deng Jiugong accepted the order, but did not carry out the will of the king, which is intriguing.

Failure to comply with the order is a serious crime of murder.

King Su frowned, no one who can be the king of a country is a stupid person, he used to trust Deng Jiugong in every way, and he didn't think about it, thinking that this was Deng Jiugong's tactics. However, after being reminded by the two courtiers, he couldn't help but have some doubts, but only doubts.

Zhang Qian said: "Your Majesty, what Weizi said will not be known until King Pingnan returns to the dynasty." He couldn't understand what Deng Jiugong was doing, and what was the point of sticking to Qinglong Pass.

King Xuan said: "What Zhang Qing said is good, I believe that King Pingnan will not have two hearts for the court." ”

Ten years ago, in the face of Xiqi's momentum, the imperial court repeatedly lost troops and generals, the situation was worrying, as a result, Deng Jiugong led the army to the west, in one fell swoop to quell the Xiqi rebellion, to protect the imperial court border pass for ten years of peace, and then led the troops to pacify Donglu with the momentum of thunder, outstanding military achievements, no one can compare. Let's ask how such a loyal minister and good general can be disloyal to the court and disloyal to himself.

Lu Renjie said: "Your Majesty, people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, and they can't be guarded against. Now the main force of the court is in the hands of King Pingnan, if he has a different heart, Chaoge will change hands in an instant, and my lord is in danger. As the minister saw and for the sake of the overall situation, as soon as the king of Pingnan returned to Beijing, he first collected his military power and put him under house arrest. ”

Zhang Qian glanced at him and said to the king: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks it is inappropriate, King Pingnan has made great contributions to the imperial court, how can he be convicted because of suspicion." What Lord Lu said was completely untargeted. ”

Lu Renjie said: "I heard that Lord Zhang is a friend of King Pingnan in private, and he has spared no effort to support King Pingnan before. Master Zhang, don't forget, you are a courtier of a great businessman, how can you ignore the safety of the court with your personal friendship. ”

Anger flashed on Zhang Qian's face, and he scolded: "What nonsense!"

In the past, Lu Renjie was flattering to himself and had a humble attitude, but now once he has achieved his will, the whole person has become unsightly.

King Su frowned and said, "Okay, you two don't have to argue. Deng Jiugong's character, I know very well, you don't need to say more!"

The king spoke, even if Lu Renjie was dissatisfied with Deng Jiugong, he didn't dare to sue. Weizi on the side had a solemn face, and he had an ominous premonition in his heart, Chengtang seemed to be shrouded by an invisible black hand, although the surface was calm, but the dark tide was turbulent in the dark.

Zhang Qian suddenly remembered something, took out a copy of the fold from his cuffs, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, this is a battle report sent from the north. ”

The king ordered the yellow gate general to come over, picked it up and looked at it, his face suddenly sank, and he was so angry that he threw the song fold on the ground, and was furious: "How can this be reasonable, this Chongying Luan's wolf's ambition actually conspires against him!"

Weizi's heart sank, and he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, but Chongcheng has raised troops." "The imperial court has suffered a great defeat in northern Xinjiang, the weak national strength is about to come out, the two sides have torn off their hypocritical faces, and Chongyingluan will not give up.

The king said worriedly: "The border guards will report in the future, and the northern frontier is vigorously armed, and it seems that they are going to use troops against the imperial court." ”

Tongguan was in a hurry several times, and if it was taken by Jiang Ziya, the 200,000 troops of Xiqi would be able to drive straight into Mengjin, and the soldiers would point directly at Chaoge. And now that Chongcheng has sent troops, it is really worse, and it is difficult to destroy Tang Jiangshan one day.

As soon as these words came out, except for Zhang Qian, Weizi and Lu Renjie's expressions changed greatly, and people with discerning eyes could see that the princes of the two towns were advancing together, and I was afraid that this song would not be able to hold it. Originally, a few months ago, the situation in the imperial court was very good, and the ministers were full of confidence in counterinsurgency at that time, who would have thought that now it would be so decadent.

Zhang Qian said: "Your Majesty, Chongcheng is thousands of miles away from Chaoge, and Chongyingluan will send troops to reach Chaoge in at least a month and a half." For now, it is to wait for King Pingnan to come back and discuss major matters. ”

He pinned his hopes of turning the tide on Deng Jiugong's hands, if even Deng Jiugong couldn't keep the song, then the soup would be over.

Weizi echoed: "The minister thinks that what Lord Zhang said is very true, although the current situation is bad, but there are also countermeasures. As long as a town of soldiers and horses is wiped out, our great business will be able to turn the crisis into safety. ”

Lu Renjie was silent, in this difficult situation, he didn't want to be sent by the king to guard the territory of the frontier, that was no different from sacrificing his life for the country.

"Yes, yes, I still have Deng Qing here, this country must be able to hold on. ”

A blush flashed across the king's face, and his eyes became firm.

Zhang Qian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that the king was still calm, and now he could only hope that Deng Jiugong would lead his troops back to the dynasty as soon as possible and rescue Chaoge from fire and water.

()