Shi Le returned to the prefect's mansion angrily, and Kong Ji followed him into the backyard.
Privy Councilor Lu Qichang, Commander-in-Chief Li Chenglie, as well as cavalry and infantry generals Sha Wenchen and Le Min quickly arrived in the backyard to listen to the order.
Shi Le sat at the top with a very ugly face, and the others did not dare to speak.
Finally, Kongji opened his mouth to break the silence and said: "Your Majesty, our army has the advantage and we have a fortified city to defend it. Long Chengen wants to fight. We will accept the fight. There is no need to worry."
Privy Councilor Lu Qichang glanced at Kongji, but did not speak.
Instead, Li Chenglie, the commander of the army, said: "National Division, although we have the advantage in strength, our morale is unstable. If there is a decisive battle, we may be disadvantaged."
Li Chenglie wanted to curse, and the unstable military morale was caused by Zhaoti Temple.
The army mutinied last night and many people were killed before it was suppressed.
But this was only a temporary measure. The story of Zhaoti Temple asking for a son was still spreading wildly among the army, and it could not be suppressed.
Starting a war in such a state is almost a sure defeat.
Shi Le remained silent, as this was what worried him the most.
Although the Long family's army is small, they are united and concentrate their forces to kill them. Xixia's army will definitely not be able to sustain it.
Monk Kongji said: "There is nothing we can do about this matter. We only need to hold on to Yingcheng and the morale problem can be solved."
"With the soldiers in the city, Long Chengen has no choice but to attack the city. Our strength is twice that of the Long family's army, so the advantage is still on our side."
Kong Ji looked at Shi Le, and the others also looked at Shi Le.
After hearing Kong Ji's words, Shi Le nodded helplessly and said, "That's fine, we won't suffer a loss if we stay strong."
"As long as we defeat him for a while, the soldiers will no longer be afraid of Long Cheng'en."
There are actually three issues that Shi Le is worried about:
First, there are not as many military generals as Long Chen. The only ones in the army who can be called generals are Shi Le and Kong Ji.
Sha Wenchen and Le Min are only of average appearance. They are short men who are chosen as generals, but their fighting ability is not good.
The second is that the morale of the army is weak, and the Qiuzitang incident is still fermenting. If you resent Zhaoti Temple and the court, you can speak openly, and even directly call Shi Le a bastard.
Third, the soldiers were timid in fighting and were killed several times. They were very afraid of Long Chen and did not dare to face the Long family army directly.
The generals cannot be compared, and the soldiers cannot be compared. It is wisest to choose defense at this time.
Privy Councilor Lu Qichang nodded and said: "What the Imperial Master said is absolutely true. We can only defend it firmly, but there is nothing Long Chengen can do."
"If he chooses to attack by force, we can kill him for a while."
The commander-in-chief Li Chenglie also agreed with Kong Ji's point of view and said: "I agree with what the national teacher said."
Shi Le nodded and said: "Okay, let's follow the national division's plan. All the troops outside the city will enter the city tomorrow, and the city will be reinforced again."
"He wants a decisive battle, so I let him attack the city!"
Shi Le very much hoped that the defense battle of Yangcheng would be like the last battle against Zhenguo Temple, where the Long family's army died in the battle, with hundreds of thousands of corpses buried in the city.
"Bring me the pen and ink, I will challenge you!"
Lu Qichang brought a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and Shi Le wrote down: The decisive battle will take place in two days! I will kill you!
The jade seal of the Xixia Kingdom was put on the seal, and Lu Qichang accepted it and immediately sent people to Zhenguo Temple to issue a declaration of war.
"Everyone, go and prepare! This battle must be won!"
Shi Le ordered that Sha Wenchen and Le Min immediately go to make arrangements, and Lu Qichang and Li Chenglie went together.
Shi Le and Kong Ji continued to practice in the backyard.
Two days later, Long Chen attacks, and a fight between the two sides is inevitable. We must seize the time to improve our cultivation.
The messenger rode back to Zhenguo Temple and informed Wu Jian that the letter of war had been delivered.
"Has Shi Le received any reply?"
When one party declares a challenge, the other party either responds to the challenge or avoids it.
The messenger said: "We had a quarrel with the Xixia cavalry at that time and killed several of his generals. Shi Le did not reply."
Wu Jian nodded and said: "Okay, if Shi Le accepts the challenge, he should send a messenger to deliver the letter of challenge. You can go and rest."
Not long after the messenger left, Xixia's messenger arrived.
More than a hundred cavalry roared over and arrived at the gate of Zhenguo Temple.
"The Long Family Army comes out to accept the letter of war!"
The Xixia messenger clamored outside the city. Han Ziping, who was on the city, rode out, faced the messenger face to face, and said coldly: "You also dare to declare a challenge?"
The Xixia messenger looked like he was facing a formidable enemy, with an arrogant face and a panic in his heart. He threw the bamboo tube on his back and cursed: "Tell Long Chengen to come to Yangcheng to receive him in two days!"
After cursing, the messenger turned and ran away.
Han Ziping watched the messenger's retreating figure, suppressing his inner impulse.
He wanted to kill the guy with one arrow, but it was unethical.
Back in the city, Han Ziping immediately gave the letter of war to Wu Jian, and Wu Jian returned to the top of the mountain and gave it to Long Chen.
After taking it apart, Long Chen said with a smile: "Shi Le accepted the challenge."
Wu Jian was a little surprised and said: "Now that Shi Le's army is distracted, he actually dares to challenge him?"
Long Chen threw the reply letter aside and said: "I have decided to send troops to attack. Shi Le will have to fight even if he doesn't, so I might as well reply with a letter of challenge to boost the morale of the Xixia army."
"I guess they won't go out to fight. The best option is to retreat into the city and wait for us to attack."
Wu Jian nodded silently and said: "If Shi Le retreats into the city, we will face the problem of attacking the city. The moat of Yangcheng is very deep, and a strong attack will inevitably cause heavy casualties."
Long Chen thought for a while and said: "I want to think about how to break the situation."
Taking Shi Le's reply, Long Chen entered the room.
Shi Le's certificate of credentials for the war will be handed over to the empress when the time comes, so Long Chen keeps it.
After entering the room and sitting down, two sisters, Wu Chuchu and Wu Xiangyun, came in.
"Sir, everything is ready."
The two sisters closed the door and sat down one on the left and the other on the right.
"It's such a hot day. Isn't it hot to wear armor?"
Long Chen saw that the expressions of the two of them were wrong, and he had already guessed what they wanted to do.
"It's so hot."
Wu Chuchu took off her armor, and Wu Xiangyun also took off his armor. The lining inside was soaked with sweat.
"It's so sunny during the day in Xixia, I'm even tanned."
Wu Xiangyun looked at the back of his hand, which was much darker than when he first arrived.
Wu Xiangyun is a warrior and a girl, so she definitely cares about her skin.
Long Chen picked up Wu Xiangyun's hand and said distressedly: "Yes, my little wife has turned black again. Her little hands used to be pink and tender."
Wu Xiangyun frowned and smiled: "I'm telling you something serious."
Long Chen smiled and said: "I'm serious, when you were in the capital, your two little hands were pink and tender, but now they are all black."
Wu Chuchu smiled and said: "Xiangyun, don't talk to him, you can't talk to him."
When it comes to bickering, Long Chen has never lost.
"You can't defeat me, you want two sisters to beat me together?"
Long Chen asked with a smile.
Wu Xiangyun changed the inner lining, wearing only a dark blue silk bellyband, and picked up Long Chen's folding fan to cool off.
"it's too hot."
Wu Xiangyun shook his hair and refused to answer Long Chen's flirtatious remarks.
Long Chen took Wu Xiangyun's fan and said, "Fan like this. The more you fan, the hotter it gets. I'll help you cool it down."
Wu Chuchu also changed the inner lining and wore the same bellyband as Wu Xiangyun.
"Are you so kind-hearted? Xiangyun, be careful, he is causing trouble."
Long Chen picked up his bellyband with one hand and blew Wu Xiangyun to cool off with the other hand, saying, "This will keep you cool."
Wu Xiangyun chuckled and said, "You really have no good intentions."
Long Chen smiled and said: "I gave you a cool blow out of kindness, but you still unfairly accused me of biting Lu Dongbin."
Wu Chuchu didn't want to pretend anymore and said: "Xiangyun, deal with him! I'll help you!"
The two of them swarmed up, snatched away the folding fan, and dealt with Long Chen together.
