It was hopeless for Chang Polu to continue to fight, but he finally told Tianzi the real situation on the front line and his own thoughts. If you want to use the strength of the country to fight against the demon beast army, it is indeed not something that a single emperor can decide.

Under the repeated persuasion of Hua Sijian, Chang Poyu had no choice but to retreat. Before leaving, he couldn't help but glared at Huo Ping fiercely.

The former supervisor of the army, when he heard the sacrifice of the soldiers on the front line, felt very guilty in his heart, and never dared to look at Chang Poyu.

Coming out of the emperor's forbidden city, Chang Poyu finally felt tired, and even his armor seemed to be filled with lead water at the moment, pressing his body straight down.

Thinking that this was already the heart of Great Xia far from the front line, Chang Poyu took off the broken armor with difficulty with the help of his subordinates.

The cold air of the winter night instantly pierced the old man's body from all directions, making him shiver. But on such a spooping winter night, there were still figures on the streets of the forbidden city.

They gathered together around the scattered fires, and from time to time some people smashed wooden utensils stolen from all corners and threw them into the fire, to make sure that the faint flames were not extinguished.

This is the displaced people who fled all the way from the front line to the capital, and in order to survive, they had to rely on their feet to walk all the way to the most prosperous city in Kyushu.

In their hearts, the heart of the empire is the only place that can give them a way to live. Even if it is begging, it is easier to meet kind people who can provide a bite to eat. However, the capital is not like those wild border cities, and in order to survive the cold nights, these displaced people have to go around during the day to bring some wood to prepare for the cold nights.

In order to survive, these homeless people have abandoned almost everything outside of their bodies.

Under the order of the iron-blooded army of Chang Po, the northern region of Great Xia, from the border to the imperial city, carried out the most stringent scorched earth military plan since the founding of Great Xia - in order to cut off the supply of the demon beast army, all the cities with unfavorable city defenses were abandoned, and all living creatures, especially the people themselves, must retreat into the nearest fortress with strong city defenses.

All the people who disobeyed the military orders of the scorched earth did not hesitate to kill a hundred to make an example of them. In this way, those people who could not leave their homeland had to obey the arrangements of the army, burned down their homes, took refuge in all directions, or wandered all the way south.

Such a scorched earth policy, not only the people, but even many officers and soldiers were suspicious when they implemented it, and Chang Polu had to personally urge the implementation on the way back, so the time for him to return to Sheng'an fell behind those displaced people.

Even so, Chang Poyu almost rode into Beijing alone. Geng Zhong and Shen Moyan, who were relatively reliable subordinates, were assigned by him to various places to supervise the implementation of the scorched earth army's strategy.

Huo Ping, who was uneasy in his heart, after the night of duty. Return to Huo Mansion as soon as possible and report to Horn. Chang Po's return and reproach made the commander of the forbidden army a little overwhelmed for a while.

But the treacherous and cunning Horn only listened to half of what Huo Ping said, and then raised his hand to signal that he didn't have to continue.

"You are also a celebrity around the Son of Heaven, why are you still afraid of that old thing. Even if he is the deacon of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, you are responsible for the safety of the Son of Heaven, and he is in charge of the peace of the territory, and there is no distinction between you and you. ”

Seeing that Horn didn't care about Chang Poyu, Huo Ping was a little weak-hearted. He also knew that this elder was secretly very bad with Chang Poyu, and kindly reminded,

"The battle situation on the front line is probably out of control, if General Chang Lao comes back this time, how should we deal with it......

Horn's position as the quartermaster of the treasury of Great Xia was once strongly opposed by Chang Poyu when he recruited troops last time. Now that he has been driven straight into by the army of demon beasts, he is naturally to blame.

After Huo Ping's reminder, Horn stroked his beard and became more calm, "Boy, it seems that you have not grown much in officialdom over the years." Chang Poyu entered the city last night, but he was afraid that most of the officials who could face Chen Tianzi in front of the court already knew. ”

Seeing that Huo Ping was puzzled, Horn continued to click, "A companion is like a tiger, but don't think that this tiger is just a person sitting south above the court." Every person you meet, you have to keep a look and an ear for him. ”

Chang Polu once participated in the military supply in front of the emperor, and the corruption of military salaries, although he did not name Horn, but Horn, as the backstage of those impeached officials, naturally hated the root of his teeth.

Horn also took the initiative to woo Chang Poyu, but except for business trips, all banquets, Chang Poyu all resigned, all bonuses, and Chang Lao also returned.

Therefore, Horn's eyes are always watching Chang Poyu's every move. Last night, Chang Poyu actually touched Xuan Junding's matter, and Horn had already received the news before Huo Ping came to report.

"Alright, alright!" Seeing that Huo Ping was still not at ease, Horn waved impatiently to drive him away, "I'm about to go to court." ”

But just when Huo Ping retired and was about to quit, Horn thought about it and said a few more words,

"Don't forget, the three ministers appointed by the first emperor are not only Chang Poyu, but also me and the prime minister. The old guy dared to start the scorched earth army without asking the Son of Heaven, and he has already made people angry, if he wants to find someone to blame him again, don't be stupid yourself, fall into his trap!"

This reminder scared Huo Ping into a cold sweat. I only thought about blaming myself for moving troops, forgetting that during this time, the emperor was restless by the fact that the commander of the demon beast army drove straight in, if he really blamed himself, the head he carried on his shoulders was afraid that he would have to change places.

Everything was as Horn expected, the next morning, Chang Poyu entered the Hajj early in the morning, anxious to let the Son of Heaven and the ministers discuss a plan to turn the tide of the war.

But Hua Sijian was long overdue, so that the ministers in the court who had their own thoughts exchanged words and ears, but few of them asked Chang Po for peace.

Horn, who was standing at the head of Wenchen, had a calm look, completely ignoring the whispers behind him, or rather, he already knew the content of those whispers. As early as before Chang Po returned to the court, Horn stopped all the arrangements early.

Hua Sijian didn't look like he was awake, covering his wide open mouth with his hands, but he still couldn't stop the yawns one after another. I really don't blame him this time, he often broke into Xuanjun's palace at night, knocked on Xuanjunding, and almost scared this middle-aged man who sang every night to lose his man's happiness.

At this moment, he was forcibly suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, and the corner of his eyes was slanting the movements of the two groups of courtiers below. And Chang Poyu, who was standing at the forefront of the generals, although he had changed his outfit, the dust on his body could not be washed away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please play if you have something, and you have nothing to retreat from the court...... Gonggong Shen, who understands the emperor's intentions, greeted loudly with a sharp voice, and the officials who usually have filial piety, listened carefully, and knew that the emperor had no mind to go to court today, and they all hung their heads and were silent, just waiting for the emperor to announce his retreat from the court.

Father-in-law Shen is exquisite, so naturally he will not offend people, but if he has the heart to make friends and honor the officials who have paid dividends, he will naturally get a lot of benefits from him.

In the hands of Shen Gonggong, the most valuable thing is naturally the information about the Son of Heaven, the most ordinary even the joys, sorrows and sorrows of the Son of Heaven today, which is the information that the scheming officials below are looking for.

The same sentence, "If you have something to do, please play, and if you have nothing to do, you will retreat." When he emphasizes a certain word in a specific tone, it is hinting at some of the officials below, what is the mood of the Son of Heaven today.

Hua Sijian is very tired and unhappy today. Officials who don't want to touch the mold should naturally avoid it silently. But Chang Poyu doesn't care about this, or if he knows these cats, he will teach that high-ranking figure as a lonely minister, and he shouldn't take the ancestors' country as a child's play.

"You have a play!" Chang Poyu stepped forward, and his loud voice echoed back and forth in the Jinluan Hall several times, making Hua Sijian, who was slumped in the dragon chair, can't help but straighten his back.

"Ah?!It's General Chang Lao, didn't the widow say that you just came back from the front line, and you can rest for two days and then come back to the court?" Hua Si pretended to be stupid, and didn't forget to appease Chang Poyu.

How do you know that Chang Po's upright temper has not changed at all, "The emperor is sage, when the society is surviving, the ministers dare not be tired and mislead the country!"

This sentence choked Hua Sizhen enough, and he was depressed in his heart, "Lao Tzu gives you face, and you are kind and compassionate, you old thing is good, and you don't give me this face at all in front of everyone." Whoever is tired and who misunderstands the country, you will almost call me faint to your face!"

In fact, Chang Poyu originally just said it casually, and the outspoken old handsome didn't have so many thoughts, but Horn, who was also good at observing words and feelings, saw the embarrassment on the emperor's face and hurriedly came forward to solve the siege.

"The difference between General Chang's words, I have been founding the country for hundreds of years, and I have been a saint from generation to generation, dedicating myself to it, accepting the will of heaven, and obeying the people's livelihood. The military generals of the civil and military are also loyal, there is no double heart, the monarchs and ministers work together, and the people of Daxia can enjoy the peaceful and prosperous times. In these days of your absence, except for the Prime Minister, who is ill, the Holy Grace allows him to recuperate in peace in the house. Everyone is under the guidance of the saint every day, seeking the well-being of the people of the world and working hard for the eternal stability of the Great Xia. ”

Horn seemed to be relieved, but in fact, it was even more arched, and the officials in the main hall who didn't think much about it also began to wonder if Chang Poyu was alluding to his corpse position, and their faces were embarrassed.

"I didn't mean that," Chang Poyu didn't know that Horn was deliberately playing tricks on himself, but he didn't bother to waste more words to explain, "Emperor Shengming, the matter of using troops that I reported to you last night is urgent. ”

"Oh! Yes, yes. Hua Sijian couldn't continue to pretend to be stupid, so he had to hand over Chang Poyu's fold to Grandpa Shen on the side, and his eyes signaled Grandpa Shen to hand the fold to Horn.

"Master Huo, General Chang brought news that the northern frontier has been lost, and the demon king called the Demon Army is leading a group of demon beast armies to come straight to the capital of our Great Xia. This is his excerpt, you see how it is good. ”

Horn first showed a surprised expression, and then carefully took the fold handed over by Gonggong Shen, and after making eye contact with Hua Sijian, he read the excerpt of the governor of the five armies at the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.

Chang Polu mentioned three things in the excerpt:

I have ordered the execution of the most stringent scorched earth army in the northern frontier, but the northern frontier cannot resist the demon beast army.

We should organize the final resistance in Sheng'an City, and fight here to survive and die.

In this battle, the strength of the country will be poured into the final struggle, so it is necessary to gather all the elites of the five armies of Great Xia into Sheng'an City.

After reading the excerpt, the entire court became silent, and in such a critical situation, no one dared to show off on this issue, just waiting for Uncle Horn to make a statement.