The three people in the side hall stood up and asked the ordering soldier who was kneeling in front of the hall in disbelief.
The soldier who ordered the order bravely said it again, but because he was tired from traveling all the way, he couldn't hold on and passed out.
This shows how hard he traveled all the way in order to spread the news to Xudu as quickly as possible.
Emperor Zhao Heng was a little confused, "He said that Gongsun Zan has been killed by Wang Pingping?"
Cao De's head, which had just calmed down, exploded in an instant, and his body shook. He quickly supported the hand of the palace man next to him, so that he did not fall down with the messenger.
Both of them looked at Sima Fang, who was still saying that there was no movement from the Xu family army. Even though they had known each other for many years, Cao De no longer trusted him when he suddenly heard such news.
"Prime Minister, Your Majesty... what I said is absolutely not a lie!" Sima Fang was dumbfounded, but he still had to work hard to calm down and explain his innocence to Cao De.
"When I left Youzhou, there was indeed no sign of sending troops there. Even on that big ship, I secretly made inquiries on board. Otherwise, how could I dare to go home and rest for two days before reporting?"
Sima Fangyue explained that his mind, which was frozen by the news of Gongsun Zan's death, became clearer and clearer.
There is only one correct answer right now, and that is——
"They deliberately concealed it from me!" Sima Fang said in horror.
It is not difficult to hide something, but how could Xu Jiajun manage the time so well?
Moreover, he had only left Youzhou for a month. In this short period of one month, such a terrible event happened in the Northland. How did the Xu Jiajun do it?
Cao De took a deep look at Sima Fang, who was so shocked that he was sweating coldly, but he really didn't know anything, and his shocked expression was completely real.
"Prime Minister! Prime Minister! It's not good!"
A group of officials didn't even have time to put on their official uniforms, so they rushed into the palace. Apparently, they had also received the news from the north.
However, what they know is even more powerful than the three in the palace!
"Jizhou has been captured by the Xu family's army!" Cao De's confidant shouted loudly, his voice hoarse.
The news came so suddenly. They had never experienced an army with such rapid fighting power. When they heard the news suddenly, they felt as if they were listening to a drama, which was very unreal.
In the side hall, Sima Fang was already kneeling on the ground, with shock and disbelief written all over his body.
But he was still blaming the blame and scolding: "We didn't hear such a big news about the Xu family's army sending troops. How on earth did the spies stationed in Jizhou do things!"
No one in the civil and military dynasties dared to respond.
Cao De and Zhao Heng were sitting at the top of the table. One looked livid, and the other seemed to be aloof from the incident. They just kept asking: "Is Jizhou really captured by the Xu Jiajun?"
The atmosphere in the main hall was depressing, just waiting for the people sent out to confirm the information to come back and report.
Unexpectedly, there was no news from the people sent out, and another messenger from the north came.
This time, the words spoken by the messenger shocked all the officials of the Xudu court to the point where they dared not speak out.
"Report——"
"Report to the Prime Minister, Your Majesty, the Xu family's army has entered the capital city of Beidu!"
"The spies from the front came to report that the Northern Emperor and his officials fled the northern capital in panic and went to Liangzhou in the west to seek asylum from the Ma family. The people in the city who were left behind, as well as the Northern Queen who refused to leave and wanted to avenge her father, were all captured.
Xu Jiajun takes it!"
"General Guan asked the Prime Minister whether our army should send troops now to attack Jizhou and recapture Jizhou while the main force of the Xu family's army is in Bingzhou and Jizhou's army is weak!"
The messenger finished speaking in one breath and looked up at the Prime Minister's expression. He saw that the Prime Minister's face, which was not very good at first, suddenly turned livid, his teeth were clenched, and veins burst out on the back of the hand holding the palace maid, and the shape was very scary.
The messenger hurriedly lowered his head, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, hitting the polished wooden floor with a clicking sound.
The hall was quiet, and the slight sound of sweating could be heard clearly, and the atmosphere was instantly depressing to the extreme.
"Go to Liangzhou!"
Cao De stood up tremblingly and ordered sternly: "Let General Guan lead the army to Xiliang immediately. We must capture Liangzhou before the Xu family's army!"
The words "capture Liangzhou" made me vomit, and I am determined to win it.
Cao De thought, he must not lose Liangzhou again, otherwise, Cao's camp would be in danger!
The people of the Xu Jiajun couldn't succeed after taking the elixir. It only took less than a month to capture the two states. How did they do it?
Thinking of this, Cao De immediately ordered people to investigate again. He wanted to know how Gongsun Zan died!
Seeing that the Prime Minister did not seem to want to pursue him, Sima Fang hurriedly got up from the ground and personally took over the task of investigating.
But if you don’t check, you won’t know. Once you check, you will be really shocked.
First, there was the flying gondola that could take people into the sky and travel thousands of miles a day, and then there was the earth-shattering iron barrel explosives, plus the Xu family's new combat method of combining land and air.
The combination of all these factors formed the fierce fighting power of Xu Jiajun, which was simply a dimensionality-reducing blow to the backward Gongsun Army.
As for the death of Gongsun Zan, there is no suspense. Wang Pingping took action personally. Who dares to fight?
Sima Fang summarized the information he found and reported it to Cao De and the emperor. Other courtiers were also in the palace.
Everyone's bodies trembled when they heard the news that Sima Fang had brought back.
They couldn't help but think in their hearts, how long could they last if the Xu family army came to attack them and others.
Yes, it’s about how long it can last, not who wins or loses.
Whether it is a flying hanging basket that travels thousands of miles a day or an earth-shattering explosive barrel, these are nothing short of devastating blows to the mortal body.
Once they encounter one, how can they resist it with their current military strength?
"Can our army's strong shields withstand the bombardment of explosive barrels?" Cao De asked in a deep voice.
However, in just two days, he looked much older. Due to a headache attack, herbal medicine was applied on his forehead, and gray cloth strips were wrapped around his forehead several times, making him look a little more miserable.
Sima Fang shook his head uncertainly, "From what Wei Chen saw in Youzhou, shields have no effect on things like explosives. Only high walls can stop them."
But even a high wall may not be able to withstand continuous bombardment.
"Didn't you say that the Xu family's army didn't have much explosives? Why did they use so much this time?" Cao De asked.
Sima Fang twitched the corner of his mouth bitterly, "Prime Minister, since they deliberately concealed this from me, I can't do anything about it!"
"Zhongda doesn't have much status in the Xu family army. He's just a handyman. I'm afraid he's also been kept in the dark. Alas, it's all the old minister's fault."
"I am old and my brain is useless. I..." Sima Fang suddenly knelt down solemnly, "I would like to resign. I hope that Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, will agree to my request!"
Sima Fang thought in his heart: With the current situation, staying in Cao's camp would probably cause trouble to his son who was in the Xu family's army, so he slipped away~
