For many days, news of the Jurchen army's southern invasion has spread throughout the capital. All kinds of true news, false news, gossip, embellished, vivid, sworn, and gnashing of teeth news are endless. The people of the capital are on pins and needles every day.
The more I listened to these news, the more panic and fear I felt in my heart. The various vicious images of the Jurchens in the rumors, their crazy killings, and their inhumane behavior all left a great impression on the people of the capital.
The shadow of terror. For many days, the news that the Jurchens were about to attack the capital was like a dark cloud or a knife hanging over their heads, becoming the source of fear in everyone's heart.
When there is a knife hanging above your head and you don't know when it will fall and cut your neck, that is actually the most terrifying time. But once the knife really falls, it is still scary.
, but emotionally there was less anxiety about the unknown, and instead there was some relief. When the people in the capital finally saw the Jurchen soldiers and horses gathered under the city, they felt like this.
The Jurchens finally arrived. Seeing their figures gathered under the city, the people became quiet and became a little more open-minded.
"If you fight with them, you will die."
"Can the imperial court save us? Can the capital be defended?"
"We, the Great Zhou Dynasty, will not be destroyed. The Jurchens will definitely not be able to capture the capital."
"The Jurchens have the mace, and I have the zenith."
"..."
"..."
There are many things in life, and everyone has different thoughts in their hearts. At this time, one voice prevails and becomes the mainstream.
"No matter what, for the sake of my family and my own life, I must help the imperial court defend the city and not let the Jurchens attack the capital."
Not for the imperial court, not for the country, just this reason is enough for the people of the capital to unite and start to spontaneously prepare for the defense of the city. The door panels and wood at home, the bluestone bricks at the street corners, the oil and firewood at home,
Mules, horses, carts, etc. In short, with the help of materials and powerful efforts, the people silently and spontaneously joined the ranks of defending the city, with a solemn and solemn mood, to contribute their efforts to defend the city.
In the afternoon when the Jurchen army arrived outside Bianliang North City, Guo Xu, together with Lu Zhongtian and other court ministers, boarded the tower of Fengqiu Gate in Bianliang North City. When he stood on the tall tower and looked at the Jurchen army camp outside the North City,
, the faces of Guo Xu and some civil and military officials became extremely ugly. The opponent's military camp stretched for more than ten miles, and the black tents were densely distributed in the snowy wilderness, like scars on the snow. Countless flags were on it.
Flying in the air, countless soldiers and horses were running back and forth in the camp. The sword energy was strong, the sword light was dazzling, and a domineering aura rushed towards the face.
"The Jurchens... there are many soldiers and horses." Guo Xu said softly, with a tremor in his voice.
"Yes, it is said that there are 300,000 soldiers and horses, and many of them are... the soldiers and horses that Zhou Dynasty surrendered to." A minister responded from the side.
Guo Xu slowly breathed out and said, "But, can Bianliang City be defended?"
"..." The ministers were silent, and this silence was actually the answer.
"Your Majesty is blessed with great blessings, and our Great Zhou Kingdom is deep and deep. The mere Jurchens want to destroy our great Zhou Dynasty. Isn't it just wishful thinking? Your Majesty should not even ask this question." An old voice came from the city wall, and everyone turned to look, only to
See Lu Zhongtian and his son in Chen Bin
Zhu Zhirong, Wang Jun and others were quickly entering the tower.
The ministers hurriedly stepped forward to salute, but Lu Zhongtian walked to Guo Xu without even looking at them, and said in a deep voice: "Why did the emperor come to the tower? At this time, it is better for the emperor not to cause trouble, so as not to delay the preparations of the soldiers.
The matter of defending the city."
Guo Xu suppressed his anger and said with a smile: "Grandpa, I am really worried about defending the city, so I came to take a look at the situation."
"So what if you see it?" Lu Zhongtian said lightly: "So what if you see it? Seeing it will only make the emperor more uneasy. The veterans and the commanders of the imperial army will do their best to defend the city. What is the emperor still worried about? The emperor is still worried.
Go back to the palace, I still have a lot of things to do. The emperor is here, and I can't do anything."
"Lv Zhongtian, you are too arrogant. The emperor personally visited the city tower to inspect and boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians defending the city. How come it has become a hindrance to your words? Lu Zhongtian, don't forget your identity, and don't mess with the normal etiquette of the monarch and his ministers."
An official couldn't bear it anymore and jumped up and shouted at Lu Zhongtian.
Everyone was stunned. How could the nerd Qian Gaizhi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, be so bold? Now he dared to speak to Lu Zhongtian like this. Does that mean he no longer wants to live?
Guo Xu was also stunned, but he quickly reacted and turned around to reprimand: "Qian Gaizhi, what nonsense are you talking about? What Prime Minister Lu said was for the sake of defending the city. I...I did bring chaos when I came here.
, the soldiers had to evade and were unable to prepare for the defense of the city. Prime Minister Lu was right, but what are you talking nonsense about? If Prime Minister Lu hadn’t been a tolerant person, you would have been punished now. Why don’t you retreat and retreat?
.”
Qian Gaizhi blushed and said nothing. Lu Zhongtian stroked his beard and laughed, waving his hands and saying: "Your Majesty, you don't have to blame Minister Qian. In fact, my attitude is somewhat wrong, and I won't care about it. Your Majesty's coming to inspect the tower is of great importance to my soldiers."
Morale is indeed good for boosting morale, and Minister Qian is right. The old minister is not that chicken-hearted, hahaha."
Guo Xu breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "Grandpa is open-minded and tolerant, so he won't care about it. I don't allow anyone to be rude to grandpa. Change it. I think you are a first offender, so I won't punish you. Step back."
Qian Gaizhi bowed and stepped aside with an ashen complexion.
Lu Zhongtian suppressed his smile and said in a deep voice: "The emperor just asked whether Bianliang City can be defended. I will answer you. Although the Jurchens have nearly 300,000 soldiers and horses, they look menacing and want to eat people. But the emperor must not forget it.
, our Imperial Guards in the capital also number 200,000, and our entire city’s soldiers and civilians share the same hatred of the enemy, and people have asked to join the army or help defend the city. Our soldiers and civilians defending the city can reach 500,000 to 600,000, what can the Jurchens do?
?We are now waiting for work in leisure, the army and the people are united, there is sufficient food and grass, plus heavy snowfall, cold temperature, and our Bianliang city has strong walls. This is the right time, place and people. How can we be invincible? The veteran firmly believes that Bianliang
The city must be impregnable. Your Majesty, is this answer satisfactory?"
Guo Xu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Since grandpa said that, I have nothing to worry about. I hope it is the right time, the right place, and the right people. I hope it is true as my grandfather said, Bianliang City is impregnable. But grandpa, the opponent now has more troops."
As for my troops defending the city, what I want to ask is, when will the northwest army come to rescue the capital? Where is Yuan Zhengqian?"
Lu Zhongtian said calmly: "Yuan Zhengqian's troops are still attacking Taiyuan. They may not be able to catch up. But so what if they can't catch up? I have already said that Bianliang is impregnable. This time
Isn’t that enough?”
Guo Xu pondered for a while, then nodded and said: "In that case, I don't have to worry anymore. I'd better go back to the palace and wait for the news. I'm free from my grandfather and the generals."
Lu Zhongtian cupped his hands and said, "Best farewell to your Majesty."
Guo Xu nodded and walked towards the stairs to the lower city on the west side of the city tower. A group of courtiers who followed him hurriedly followed. Guo Xu had just walked out of the west side of the city tower and reached the city wall when suddenly there was a sound coming from behind. A loud cry came through the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, like a broken bag, and the sound was dull.
Guo Xu hurriedly turned around and saw that all the courtiers behind him were pale and stood there like frightened birds. He didn't know what was going on.
"What's wrong? What was the noise just now?" Guo Xu asked.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Mr. Qian... he fell into the city." An official stammered.
"What? Minister Qian... fell into the city? How is it possible? The battlements are so high, isn't Minister Qian standing behind me? How could he fall off the city? Qian changed it, Qian changed it?" Guo Xu was horrified. , shouted loudly.
No one answered, and the ministers behind him all stood there with strange expressions. Qian Gaizhi didn't even have any money, and seemed to have disappeared from the world.
"Where is Qian Gaizhi? Where is Qian Gaizhi?" Guo Xu quickly ran to the outside of the city wall and looked down. There was a pool of blood on the ground under the city, and a bloody corpse fell in the snow under the city.
"Your Majesty, Qian Gaizhi is dead. He jumped off the city wall to seek death. Your Excellencies, you can prove it." Chen Bin, the commander of the front department, said in a deep voice.
"Seeking death? Why is he seeking death?" Guo Xu shouted in horror.
"Maybe... the enemy is so powerful that he is scared out of his wits. This coward may as well be dead." Zhu Zhirong said with a half-smile but not a smile.
Of course Guo Xu didn't believe it. He turned around and asked the officials who looked weird and panicked: "Did you all see it? Qian Gaizhi fell into the city and committed suicide?"
The ministers were frightened and avoided Guo Xu's gaze. Chen Bin shouted coldly: "Didn't your lords hear the emperor's question? Why didn't you answer? Did Qian Gaizhi jump out of the city and commit suicide?"
"Yes, yes, Master Qian... indeed jumped into the city and committed suicide..." The ministers responded quickly, with sweat on their faces and expressions of fear.
Guo Xu was stunned for a long time, turned his head blankly, walked slowly towards the stairs, and walked slowly down the city. The ministers followed him silently, as silent as a flock of lambs. Just now they all saw with their own eyes that Qian Gaizhi was following Guo Xu When leaving, when passing by Chen Bin, the commander of the front department, Chen Bin reached out and grabbed Qian Gaizhi's official robe. With just a lift, Qian Gaizhi disappeared outside the battlements and fell to death under the city. All of them The officials all witnessed this scene with their own eyes and were stunned. They also immediately understood why Qian Gaizhi was pushed off the tower by Chen Bing and fell to his death. It was not because of Qian Gaizhi's previous rebuke to Lu Zhongtian.
The emperor is here. Chen Bin almost killed Qian Gaizhi in front of the emperor. This was so audacious. And all this happened in front of Lu Zhongtian. Lu Zhongtian seemed not to see it, which shows that he had Lu Zhongtian's tacit approval. Lu Zhongtian It is unbelievable that these people have become so arrogant. Obviously, they did this deliberately in front of everyone. Their purpose is to let the officials see how they deal with people who are disrespectful to Lu Zhongtian, and to scare the monkeys. Who among the officials will do it? If you dare to say anything, you will have no choice but to succumb to their lustful power.
