When Wei Chujun, Ning Ci, and Zhang Xin left Shucheng with their followers in despair, they had no intention of inquiring about the many details of the attack on the mouth of the Feishui River; they also felt that even if they inquired about the details, Xu Wujiang and Han Gui would not be able to give them the details.
explain.
Therefore, before rushing to Lujiang River at dusk, Wei Chujun and the others did not even know about the dispatch of Khitan reinforcement cavalry and Huaidong water camp. Although Xu Huai mentioned the words "Dayan reinforcement cavalry" in the order letter, they took it for granted.
They thought these were the thousands of Khitan cavalry who had traveled thousands of miles from Dali State two years ago and entered Beijing and Xiang to assist in the battle.
However, when they entered Lujiang City, the palace attendants sent by Emperor Shaolong were already waiting for them in the city.
Only then did Wei Chujun learn more details about the assault on the mouth of the Feishui River.
The main reason why Beijing knew something earlier than Wei Chujun, Ning Ci and others was that Gu Fan, under the "friendly" lobbying of Deng Gui and Jiang Ping, not only mobilized the Huaidong Water Camp, but also cooperated with the Jingxiang Iron Armored Ship
In addition to concentrating on Hongzepu and containing the Chihu Navy from the lower reaches, Chuzhou also criticized Wang Boqian and others for their policy of "submitting the enemy without fighting", which was actually appeasement and fostering traitors.
As a result, he directly drew a clear line with the Qiandi Department with a memorial letter.
In addition, Shouchun City is less than 40 miles away from the mouth of the Peishui River. The situation of the Selected Front Army's surprise attack on the mouth of the Peishui River and the arrival of the main forces of the four towns of Jingsheng Army to set up camp in the area south of the mouth of the Peishui River were all caused by the scouts sent by Shouchun.
, look into the horse’s eyes.
After Xu Huai arrived at the mouth of the Peishui River, he also sent a messenger to Shouchun, requesting Shouchun to select 3,000 elite troops and 3,000 civilians in the name of deputy envoy to the privy council and the envoy to recruit soldiers and horses from all over the world.
With some troops and siege equipment, they headed to the Feishui River Valley to obey the unified control.
The passage from Shouchun to Jianye has been opened. Han Shiliang, Ge Yu and others sent envoys to Jianye last night to ask for instructions.
The palace put together many pieces of information and the truth was so shocking that Emperor Shaolong was so shocked that he quickly sent his eunuchs to cross the river without stopping and rush to Lujiang. He summoned Wei Chujun, Ning Ci, and Zhang Xin to return to Jianye to present the details.
Wei Chujun, Ning Ci, and Zhang Xin were not only devastated at this time, but also felt as if their backbone had been broken. Without taking a breath, they took an official ship and returned to Jianye overnight with the palace attendants.
Taking a boat from Lujiang River to Jianye was a journey down the river, faster than a horse riding a horse. When they arrived at Jianye, the sky first appeared. They didn't bother to pack their clothes, dress up, and went directly to the palace to meet Emperor Shaolong.
The remaining candles in the Chui Gong Hall were still burning. Emperor Shao Long was sitting behind the imperial desk with a dark complexion. The deep bags under his eyes showed that he might not have closed his eyes for two consecutive nights after receiving the memorial from Gu Fan the night before. Wang Boqian also had a look on his face.
Sitting haggardly in the hall.
Other than that, there was no one else in the palace, and even the palace attendants were standing far away on the corridor outside the door, waiting for orders.
Wei Chujun guessed that His Majesty was betrayed by Gu Fan and Deng Gui and defected to Jingxiang. In addition to being angry and frightened, he also became more and more suspicious.
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Pingliang County has gone too far. He ignored your Majesty's peace agreement and sent troops to attack the enemy without authorization.
, we tried to dissuade him to no avail, so we were all placed under house arrest until yesterday when we were able to escape!"
When Ge Boyi proposed the policy of "submitting the enemy without fighting", he saw that all the former emperors and old ministers in the court generally agreed with it. Ning Ci thought that the peace negotiation was ready, so she stood up and worked for it. Who would have thought that this would happen?
matter?
Xu Huai is a wild horse without shackles.
However, there was no turning back, not to mention that he had deep grudges with Jing and Xiang in his early years. When he returned to the palace, Ning Ci burst into tears and denounced the three of them for being imprisoned by Jing and Xiang in Shucheng.
"This person is going too far to deceive others!"
When Emperor Shaolong heard that Xu Huai had not hesitated to put Wei Chujun and the imperial envoys Ning Ci and Zhang Xin under house arrest, veins on his forehead suddenly jumped. He slapped the brush he was holding on the imperial case hard. There was only a "snap" sound, and the brush broke into two pieces.
cut.
Wei Chujun was startled, and then continued to sit on one side frustrated, not knowing what to say.
"Wei Chujun, you come to draft an edict for me - I don't believe in the majestic Emperor Daiyue. The edict will have no effect at all. I think countless soldiers and civilians still think they are the right ones."
A descendant of Dai Viet, I am now going to issue an edict to seize the power of this Zhuzi to control the troops of the King of Qin in the world - if I want to fight, I will ask this Shuzi to use his own troops and horses to fight with the barbarians. I don't want to be the Emperor of Han Dynasty, so I can only fight like this!
Emperor Shaolong said angrily to Wei Chujun.
"The Jingzhou Navy went down the Yangtze River yesterday. If they didn't find a place to park at night, they would have left the Yangtze River Estuary!" Wang Boqian said frustratedly.
Wei Chujun also hurried back to Jianye from Lujiang, and the situation in Beijing was still unclear.
He was so lost just now that he didn't think of asking. When he heard Wang Boqian talk about the whereabouts of Jingzhou Navy, he calmed down a little and asked: "Jingzhou Navy has 8,000 troops and more than 300 large and small warships. How many were there yesterday?"
A warship going down the river?"
"We sailed east from Jianye yesterday. Although there were only about forty warships, they were all large ships. We estimate that the number of soldiers would not be less than 4,000. Including boatmen and sailors, there might be 7,000 to 8,000 people." Wang Boqian said.
From Yangzhou to the north, Shanyangdu, as part of the Grand Canal, can lead to the Huaihe River.
However, in order to ensure that the canal has sufficient water level for boating, many weirs and dams were built along Shanyangdu, which actually divided Shanyangdu into several sections. Before these weirs and dams were converted into ship locks, water transportation was either carried out in sections.
Or the boats were dragged across the weirs, so the shipping speed of the canal in the current world was far not as fast as later generations imagined.
If the Jingzhou Navy wants to enter the Huaihe River faster, it must first leave the Yangtze River and go northward by sea.
At this time, small boats that are purely driven by oars will definitely not work. Only medium and large warships that can use both oars and sails can withstand the wind and waves for long-distance navigation.
"What's going on with Dayan's cavalry? How did Shouchun say that seven or eight thousand Khitan cavalry appeared at the mouth of the Feishui River? Where did they fly out from?" Wei Chujun asked anxiously.
Wang Boqian spread his hands bitterly and urgently recalled Wei Chujun and others to the capital, just to find out what clues they had.
Seeing that Wang Boqian didn't know anything at this time, the smile on Wei Chujun's face became even more bitter.
He vaguely felt that a few months ago, he advocated establishing Qi Wang Zhao Yin as the prince, and summoning Hu Kai to return to the court as Qi Wang Fu. This might be their only chance to regain their disadvantage and scare Beijing and Xiang from making rash actions.
It is a pity that Emperor Shaolong never let go of this, which led to the strategy of "submitting the enemy without fighting", which did not really seduce key figures in the former lord's old vassalage, such as Liu Yan, Yang Qiye, and Qian Zerui.
By this time, Jingxiang had completely taken the initiative, but they hadn't even figured out where they had moved so many Khitan cavalry, so what right did they have to turn against them?
Even if Xu Huai's imperial edict to control the troops and horses of King Qin of the various roads was taken away, even if the city of Ye could be built, how many people would recognize it in the end?
Doesn't this force the road supervisors to make a choice in the current situation that is extremely unfavorable to them?
Do you think that if Gu Fan and Deng Gui jumped over, the blow to them was not heavy enough and tragic enough??????????????????????
Besides, as long as the Jingzhou Navy enters the Huaihe River in three to five days and joins the Huaidong Water Camp and the Xinyang Navy, it is very likely to cut off the Huaihe River and block the main force of the Chi Hu north of the Huaihe River from going south for reinforcements.
The Xiang army might not be able to capture the rear captives at the mouth of the Feishui River alone.
To put it another way, after Xu Huai was relieved of his control over the soldiers and horses of the King of Qin in the world, Jingxiang and Xiang could not take down the soldiers on the south bank alone, so they simply allowed them to return to the north. By then, they would have fainted because of their anger today.
The imperial edict drafted in the mind will give Jingxiang and Xiang enough excuses to do whatever they want to do.
Xu Huai arranged for Liu Yan and Yang Qiye to lead the left and right Xiaosheng troops to the camp abandoned by the Chihu people north of Shaopi. What was the purpose? Is it really to facilitate reinforcements at the mouth of the Peishui River, rather than to monitor and guard at a critical moment?
Han Shiliang of Shouchun, under Ge Yu?
Besides, they once regarded Gu Fan and Deng Gui as their confidants. There were many people in the Qiandi Department and even in the palace who were recommended by Gu Fan and Deng Gui.
Even the imperial palace garrisoned by three thousand Huainan guards could not be said to be absolutely safe.
Wei Chujun suspected that Jingxiang had many secret agents deployed in Jianye, and now he was worried that the edict had not been officially drafted yet, so the news might have spread like wildfire.
"Huaidong has not voted for Jingxiang, and your majesty may not have a 50% chance of winning even if you draft the imperial edict. Please think twice." Wei Chujun advised, exhausted both mentally and physically.
"Your Majesty may call the ministers for a meeting." Wang Boqian said.
"Your Majesty, please summon the ministers for discussion." Wei Chujun also followed suit.
In fact, it is not difficult to guess the outcome of the palace discussion, but Wei Chujun felt that His Majesty still had to give him a step down. At this time, he could no longer control his temper.
They can no longer afford to lose their chips.
"The minister also thought that he should summon the ministers for a meeting." Although Ning Ci was angry at Jingxiang for being completely merciless and putting them under house arrest, he was really ready to fall out. He could also clearly understand that they did not have the qualifications at this time.
