Jinzhou was lost! Youweiwei had more than 40,000 troops, and more than 20,000 were killed in the battle. General Meng Hu of Youweiwei surrendered to the enemy, wrote a letter of persuasion to surrender and shot it into Jinzhou City. The city defender Yang Ye had no choice but to open the door and offer the city!
After this news reached Kaifeng, it immediately caused an uproar!
"How could this happen? Isn't Meng Hu the most skilled general in the Great Zhou Dynasty? How could he be defeated by tens of thousands of troops from Beihan and lose Jinzhou?"
Pei Yan, the Huangmen servant, frowned and slammed the tea cup on the coffee table, causing hot water to splash.
"I, Da Zhou, have lost all my face by this Meng Hu!"
Hu Wen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, said bitterly: "Back then, this Meng Hu boasted loudly in front of His Majesty, saying that as long as he was in Jinzhou, the Han people would never think about moving southward. He said that he should be given three years.
, we can train Youweiwei into an invincible iron army, conquer Taiyuan, and destroy the Northern Han Dynasty, in order to repay His Majesty's favor of appreciating and using him. Now three years have passed, and he has not taken a single step in the Northern Expedition, but he has conquered Jinzhou
lost!"
Yang Zhao, the provincial minister under his command, also said angrily: "I have said earlier that Meng Hu is a headstrong, arrogant and rude person. He plans to advise your majesty to replace him with Weiyuan General Yang Ye and lead the Weiwei troops to guard Jinzhou.
.It’s a good thing now. As soon as I finished writing this memorial, Jinzhou was lost! It’s no longer useful! It’s no longer useful!”
Pei Yan said: "You're talking about that Yang Ye! This man is deeply favored by His Majesty the Emperor. In less than three years, he has been promoted from a small team to a third-rank Weiyuan general. The power of the Holy Family is unique!"
He actually surrendered, how can he live up to His Majesty's appreciation for him?"
Yang Zhaodao: "Actually, Yang Ye's responsibility for this matter is relatively small. I heard that at the gate of Jinzhou City, Meng Hu had a good time with Liu Ling, the loyal king of the Han Dynasty, and wrote a personal letter to Yang Ye to persuade him to surrender. The right guards were all Meng Hu.
Yang Yecai has only been here for more than a year, and the soldiers have surrendered. How can he, a bare general, defend the city? Let me tell you, Meng Hu deserves to die! As a third-grade general, Youwei Wei, he is already worthy of
He was about to reach the rank of a top military general, but he actually surrendered to the enemy and even drank and had fun with the enemy generals in front of the battle line. How could such a scum without integrity get into the army in the first place!"
Only then did Pei Yan remember that when he first saw that Yang Ye's holy family was very prosperous, Yang Zhao, one of the provincial ministers under his sect, hurriedly recognized Yang Ye as his nephew and said that they were from the same family. Now that he said that Yang Ye was not good, Yang Zhao naturally
He needs to argue, otherwise he would be caught and used as a pigtail for recognizing Yang Ye as his nephew.
"General Yang Ye, alas, it is indeed difficult to defend the ancient city without any soldiers!"
Pei Yan pretended to be conciliatory, but he was sneering in his heart.
"enough!"
Zhongshu ordered Xu Zhonghe to put down his teacup and said coldly.
This man is Chai Rong's most trusted figure. Chai Rong, who is now seriously ill, only occasionally lets him enter the palace to report on the government affairs. Nowadays, the Great Zhou Dynasty is in a state of corruption, but Chai Rong does not know that he is still stuck in the palace for two years.
In the past, the Zhou Dynasty was a prosperous and peaceful period with a strong military. Xu Zhonghe was indispensable for allowing His Majesty the Emperor to live in the good past. Not only him, but also the ministers in the court were now afraid that Chai Rong would discover his dirty deeds.
They worked together one by one to outline a beautiful blueprint for the Great Zhou Dynasty, and it was very hard to deceive Chai Rong.
"Whether it's injustice or incompetence or dereliction of duty, a defeat is a defeat. Meng Hu surrendered, and Yang Ye also surrendered. What's the difference between the two of you? Jinzhou City is now in the hands of Liu Ling Xiao'er.
Here, you should think about how to tell His Majesty!"
Xu Zhonghe snorted coldly, his brows filled with anger.
Seeing that Xu Zhonghe was angry, several important people quickly bowed and said: "Please give me some advice."
There was no prime minister in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but Xu Zhonghe was a prime minister-like figure. After becoming seriously ill, Chai Rong trusted him the most, and almost all matters in the court were left to him. That is to say, Chai Rong was still a little clear-headed and knew
This person has no military talent, otherwise he might have handed over millions of Zhou Dynasty armies to this person to command. Of course, in Chai Rong's heart, he still felt that it would be more practical to have the military power in his own hands. He arrived
I still don’t know that the generals of the Twelve Guards whom I trust have long been comparable to those bandits who have proclaimed themselves kings. They once ruled from the ground. Maybe there were millions of powerful soldiers in the palace now.
It's just the Emperor's Sixth Army with less than 30,000 troops.
Xu Zhonghe felt a little proud when he saw that several people still respected him as before. Today, the Great Zhou is not so much the Great Zhou of the Chai family as it is the Xu family. Chai Rong has been ill and trapped in the palace for a long time, and no matter what the will is,
He passed it on his behalf. Everything he said was an imperial decree. Who can stand in front of him in this court? A while ago, Pei Yan, the minister of Huangmen, was favored and went to the palace several times. He almost lost it.
Then he pretended to be kind and begged your Majesty to keep Pei Yan's official position. Now in this court, there may be people who secretly dare to disrespect Chai Rong, but no one dares to disrespect Xu Zhonghe, either overtly or secretly.
Xu Zhonghe took a sip of tea and felt better when he saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"My lords, Your Majesty's illness... cannot help but make you angry."
Xu Zhonghe sighed quietly.
Pei Yan had been hit by Xu Zhonghe and knew the influence this man had on His Majesty the Emperor. At first, he thought he had reached that point, at least on par with Xu Zhonghe, but he never expected that with His Majesty, his
Xu Zhonghe's future could still be ruined by a small trick. From then on, not only did he not resent Xu Zhonghe, but he also respected this person more and more.
"What do you mean, Mr. Xu? We can't tell His Majesty about this matter?"
Pei Yan asked cautiously.
Xu Zhonghe squinted his eyes and did not answer Pei Yan's words. Instead, he pointed at the huge map of the Great Zhou Dynasty on the wall and said: "Although Jinzhou is known as the northern gateway of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is actually just an ordinary state capital.
That's all. Besides, that Liu Ling only brought 60,000 troops, and he was not as powerful as Xiao Pojun, Xu Shengzhi and other grassroots bandits. I think he was just here to fish in troubled waters. With his mere 60,000 men, how could he possibly do anything big?
?”
Yang Zhao's eyes lit up. Seeing Xu Zhonghe's finger sliding across the map, he vaguely guessed something in his heart: "Your Majesty, what you mean is that we should suppress this matter first, and then send a general to lead the army, General Liu."
Ling called back, and then..."
Hu Wen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, clapped his hands and said: "Then, another great victory!"
Xu Zhonghe glared at Hu Wen, feeling very angry that this man had said such rebellious words so blatantly.
"Master Hu, there are some things you shouldn't say nonsense!"
Xu Zhonghe tapped his fingers on the table and spoke calmly, but the chill in his words still made Hu Wen shiver. He was the one who laughed at Xu Zhonghe, the person who was against Xu Zhonghe in the court.
There are also those who don't open their eyes, and there are not a few who have been ruined by Xu Zhonghe.
"My lord, the lower official made a mistake. The lower official made a mistake."
Pei Yan said cautiously: "The troops of Zuo Weiwei, Zuo Zhenwei, and You Zhenwei are all suppressing the bandits. Xiao Pojun, Xu Shengzhi, and Liu Shalang have more than 100,000 rebels under their command.
The guards and horses are currently restrained. If you want to mobilize troops, you can only choose from other places."
Xu Zhonghe chuckled: "General Han Buyi of Zuo Wuwei is Han Geng's eldest son, and your Majesty has great trust in him. I heard that General Han is better than his father in using military strategies and charging into battle.
Even worse. If General Xiao Han is willing to lead his troops to Jinzhou to fight against the enemy, I believe that the north will be pacified in a short time."
Pei Yan twitched the corner of his mouth without leaving any trace, and couldn't help sneering in his heart, but his face was still respectful: "General Xiao Han is currently fighting the giant bandit Yang Yishan in Shenzhou, and he seems to be unable to get away..."
"I remember that General Xiao Han just sent a victory report half a month ago. Hasn't Yang Yishan been defeated? He is just a little thief who was beaten by the imperial army. I think your previous discussion of killing General Xiao Han and annihilating him was just making a fuss out of a molehill.
He is just an insider, how can he be more despicable than Liu Ling, an outsider?!"
"My lord, this is a lesson! It's the lower officials who are being reckless."
Pei Yan and others bowed.
Xu Zhonghe smiled and said: "My lords, you are all thinking about your majesty and the country of Zhou. There is nothing wrong with it, but things must be prioritized. Yang Yishan, a small role, has now been beaten by General Han.
After a big defeat, didn't you only escape with three to five thousand people? In this way, let Shenzhou Juncheng continue to arrest. Shenzhou still has five thousand Jun soldiers, which is more than enough to catch a small thief. Let General Xiao Han go north and give him
Drive Liu Ling out of the country within a time limit, so that you and I can speak more easily in front of His Majesty."
Lu Jishui, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, remained silent. Seeing that military and state affairs were so trivially settled by Xu Zhonghe and these few scholars who did not understand military affairs, he felt bitter. However, Xu Zhonghe had so much power that he did not dare to go against this great man.
Speaking. I had to remind him from the side: "After Zuo Wuwei has experienced successive battles, his current number is only 30,000. Isn't it a bit thin?"
Xu Zhonghe frowned and glanced at Lu Jishui. Although he was dissatisfied, he also knew that military affairs should not be taken lightly. He glanced at the map and said: "Then we will mobilize the left Weiwei from Fengzhou and the right Wuwei from Songzhou."
Let’s set out. Let General Xiao Han serve as General Pingbei and command the three guards and horses!”
"grown ups!"
Lu Jishui followed Xu Zhonghe and said, "General Xiao Han seems to have a bit of a lack of prestige, right? Whether it is General Yu Qi of the Left Weiwei or General Liu Ji of the Right Wuwei, their prestige in the military is higher than that of General Xiao Han.
Much higher. In terms of military strength, Zuoweiwei and Youwuwei each have 40,000 troops after the expansion, while General Xiao Han now only has 22,000 troops. The main general is weak and the deputy general is strong, which may not be good for the war.
"
Xu Zhonghe stopped and asked with a sneer: "Master Lu, do you mean to say that I don't understand military affairs and am giving random orders?"
Lu Jishui's heart trembled suddenly, and he lowered his head deeply: "I don't dare, but I will make my decision."
"Master Lu, you have been in the Ministry of War for more than ten years, right?"
Xu Zhonghe's tone suddenly became friendly, which made Lu Jishui's heart feel cold. Then a bone-chilling cold overflowed from his heart, gradually freezing his whole body, making him stiff and cold.
"I heard that you have a fat new grandson. Mr. Lu, you should hug the child more when you have time, so that the child will not be able to see his grandpa in the future. How sad?"
Xu Zhonghe smiled and spoke with a kind face.
But for some reason, Lu Jishui seemed to see how there were two sharp fangs of venomous snakes in Xu Zhonghe's mouth? Why was there a scorpion tail twisting behind his back? (To be continued)
