When Gong Jian heard what Li Ran said, he couldn't help but sigh:
"Master Wang has not practiced for a long time, and the people are not united, so it is inevitable to pull his hips like this. However, please be at ease, Taishi. I have decided to dedicate myself to my will and personally defend the city. Even if I cannot defend it, I can still give the emperor a chance to escape.
machine!"
Li Ran said:
"It's just...my lord is like this..."
Before Li Ran could say anything else, Gong Jian waved his hand and said helplessly:
"Now none of the king's soldiers have the will to fight. If we all follow Conglong and run away together, I'm afraid even the king won't be able to escape by then!"
Li Ran put a hand on his chin, thinking hard. Now that Gong Jian is in power, if anyone can inspire the morale of the soldiers defending the city, it must be him.
However, even though Gong Jian had such a desperate intention, facing the current predicament of the Zhou royal family, it would not help after all.
For a moment, Li Ran felt deeply helpless about this.
"It's just... If Mr. Gong stays here, I'm afraid his life will be in danger!"
Gong Jian listened but looked quite indifferently and only smiled slightly:
"Haha, I already died once before. Now if I die for the Zhou royal family, I can say that I have died a worthy death!"
Li Ran looked around and made some calculations in his mind. It was too late, but he still shook his head and sighed:
"Hey...for the current plan, the only way is to avoid its sharp edge and support the army with sorrow!"
Indeed, Li Ran also absorbed the essence of Sun Wu's military strategy, and he never put the gains and losses of a city or a pond in his eyes.
In his opinion, the key is to trade space for time, avoid the real and attack the weak, and avoid the sharp edges!
What's more, with Chengzhou's current strength, temporarily giving up on Chengzhou has become the only way out!
However, if you want to achieve the strategic intention of retreating in order to advance, if you want to truly "defeat without collapse", it cannot be a thousand-mile defeat.
Dan Pian came with great force. If he were allowed to enter Luoyi easily, he would not be able to achieve the goal of consuming the enemy's energy. Even the emperor would not be able to run very far before he would be overtaken by him.
Therefore, how to set up defenses in Chengzhou and how to make Luoyi a difficult nut to crack are undoubtedly the key to the entire strategy!
And now Gong Jian is obviously the most suitable candidate.
Gong Jian obviously heard the implication of Li Ran's words, so he couldn't help but smile bitterly:
"Now that I know my destiny... Mr. Ziming, I still have something to entrust you with! I hope Mr. Ziming will not refuse!"
Li Ran quickly bowed and said:
"My lord, please don't be so polite. If you have anything to say, just say it. As long as I, Li Ran, can do it, I won't dare to shirk it!"
Gong Jian continued:
"Since I have decided to stay in Chengzhou, then... the safety of the emperor and the follow-up matters must be left to the master."
"Sir, he is proficient in warfare and is quite capable of winning. Now that the thieves are strong, Dan Pian is determined to capture Luoyi. Shan Banner and the others are not willing to let the king do anything. From now on, they can only rely on you to exercise restraint!"
Li Ran knew in his heart that Gong Jian had made a decision, but he couldn't bear it, so he had to hold hands with him and comforted him:
"Master Gong, you don't have to be like this... Chengzhou is difficult to defend, but it is by no means a dead place. Your Excellency can lead the remaining troops to join the king at that time. In addition, Dan Pian is not from the army after all. Although there are many people, he is definitely not.
Master of hundreds of battles!"
"As the saying goes, 'The brave will win when we meet on a narrow road.' Now that you have made your decision, the bandits may not be able to capture this city!"
Gong Jian knew that this was a lenient statement, so he still couldn't help but sigh:
"If I can really defeat Dan Pian, that would be the best! But there is an eventuality in everything. If something unexpected happens, I hope you, sir, will not forget what Gong Jian said today!"
…
It is said that Gong Jian was actively preparing for war, and at the same time Dan Pian's rebels were also very fast, and they were actually only eighty miles away from Chengzhou!
The king of Zhou did not dare to delay, and immediately left Chengzhou Luoyi with his crowd.
Although Li Ran was helpless, he could only follow along to comply with the promise between him and Gong Jian.
However, Chang Hong still refused to leave.
Even when Li Ran went to invite him in person, he still refused on the grounds that he was too old to travel and travel.
"Master, the disciple knows that the master does not want to run away, but the master is the elder of the Zhou family after all. Now that Luoyi cannot be defended, and Dan Pian's disciples are difficult to distinguish between good and evil, it is probably too dangerous for the master and disciple to stay in Chengzhou
!”
When Chang Hong heard this, he shook his head and sighed:
"Since they are both members of the Zhou Dynasty, why would Dan Pian want to kill Weishi? Weishi has never led troops. When it comes to danger, Master Gong is the most dangerous!"
"What's more, since Mr. Gong can be loyal to the Zhou family, how can he be afraid of being a teacher?"
Li Ran sighed:
"Master is the elder of the Zhou family, and the war is in chaos. How can the master not take it seriously? If the master makes a mistake, it is also the fault of the Zhou family!"
Chang Hong shook his head again and said calmly:
"Hey... I can't bear the trouble of being an old master. If we run away together, we may not be able to escape death. Instead of doing this, it is better to sit here and be loyal to the Zhou family!"
"As a teacher, I know that my disciple has inherited his father's ambition. Today, I can only hope that Ran'er can serve the emperor in the future and stabilize the world!"
Li Ran also knew that Chang Hong had made his decision carefully, so he stopped trying to persuade him and only said:
"Then please be careful, Master. The war is in chaos, so don't go out easily and wait for your disciple to come back..."
After bidding farewell to Chang Hong, Li Ran did not dare to stay any longer. After leaving the mansion, he got into the carriage directly and said to the spectators on the carriage:
"Ziyu, before leaving, please tell your subordinates to do their best to protect the safety of our master!"
Guan Cong responded:
"Please be at ease, my lord, I have already made arrangements. Of course, there are still remnants of the prince dynasty among the hundreds of workers, but we are also quite numerous, and we are closely intertwined with them. I have already given the order.
, they will definitely not dare to make mistakes!"
Li Ran took a long sigh and replied:
"Well, Ziyu is determined, I hope so!"
After cleaning up, Li Ran once again took his family with him and left Chengzhou with Zhou Wang Gaishi. Guan Cong stayed in Chengzhou for the time being, and made it clear that he would join Li Ran after settling some matters.
Li Ran and his family were gathered in a carriage, Chu Dang was driving the carriage, and Fan Li was guarding the carriage.
Inside the carriage were Li Ran, Gong Eryue and Liguang.
Liguang's big eyes rolled around.
"Father, we have just arrived in Luoyi not long ago, are we going to run around again?"
When Li Ran heard this, he smiled and said:
"Haha, don't worry Guang'er, it won't take long before we can come back. By then, we will be more stable."
Liguang nodded and said:
"Well, as long as I'm with my father and second mother, it doesn't matter where I go. It doesn't matter."
Li Ran heard what Liguang said, touched Liguang's head, looked at her lovingly, nodded and smiled:
"Yes, Guang'er's words make sense. As long as the three of us are together, it doesn't matter where we are..."
After traveling for less than ten miles, the convoy in front suddenly stopped.
Li Ran couldn't help feeling strange and asked Fan Li to go quickly to check the situation.
Not long after, Fan Li came back:
"Sir, the king said he is a little tired and wants to stop and rest!"
Li Ran raised his eyebrows:
"Now the situation is imminent. If you hesitate for even a moment, you will be in trouble! Besides, the car ride only lasts for half an hour, so what's the point of being tired? There is a powerful enemy in front of us, and Lord Gong Jian is not willing to defend himself against the enemy. How can the convoy be delayed here?"