Last night, Li Shimin and the generals, who had gained a huge advantage, were in a good mood and tried their best to persuade him to drink one glass after another.
He also relied on his ability to drink and was not afraid of those who came. He came and went again and drank too much.
"Someone's coming!"
As soon as Xia Yu shouted, the door opened immediately, and Zhang Yu led a beautiful little palace maid in carrying toiletries.
Maid?
Xia Yu was a little curious.
"Military advisor," Zhang Yu explained with a smile, "This is someone assigned by His Highness the King of Qin to serve you. Ordinary people don't get this kind of treatment."
"That's it."
Xia Yu nodded, and while washing herself, he asked the palace maid kindly: "Girl, are you from Qingcheng Palace?"
"Yes." The little palace maid was only ten, four or five years old, and nodded timidly.
"In the past few years, the war has been chaotic. Didn't everyone in Qingcheng Palace escape?"
"Many people from the old Sui Dynasty fled. Later, after the pseudo-emperor Shichong came to the throne, he recruited some people from various places to come in."
The little palace maid answered carefully.
In the palace, those who are not clever will not live long, and there are not many innocent souls in any dry well.
"That's it." Xia Yu understood that after the Qingcheng Palace was captured by the Tang Army, the people in the palace were naturally requisitioned by the Tang Army: "By the way, what do you call the girl?"
"I dare not trouble you to ask, my servant Yin Ping."
"That's a good name." Xia Yu nodded: "Is there breakfast?"
"Yes, I will go get it right away."
After a while, when Xia Yu finished washing, Yinping hurriedly left with the toiletries in hand.
Looking at the little girl's petite and frail back, Xia Yu sighed with emotion: "As soon as you enter the palace gate, it is as deep as the sea. From then on, the wall is high and you are protected from the world of mortals. How pitiful!"
Zhang Yu was curious when he heard this: "Military advisor, can't you get out after entering the palace?"
"You can't say for sure. If you're lucky, you'll be released from the palace to get married when you get older. If you're not lucky, you'll have to live your whole life in the palace."
Zhang Yu was a little dumbfounded. He felt extremely pitiful when he thought about a little girl who was as beautiful as a flower and could only wither slowly in the palace wall until she grew old and turned gray-haired.
"Military advisor," he couldn't help but beg: "How about, when we return to Chang'an, you can plead with His Highness the King of Qin and take Miss Yinping away with you."
Qingcheng Palace is the pseudo-Zheng Palace and is extremely sensitive. The only person with the power to deal with it at the moment is Li Shimin.
"Let's talk about it." Xia Yu was noncommittal. There were too many poor people in the world, and he could take care of them all. It just depends on fate.
After a while, Yinping brought breakfast.
There are fragrant millet porridge and very fine pastries. One look at the exquisite craftsmanship and you can tell that they were not made by military cooks.
"Where did this breakfast come from?" Xia Yu asked Yinping curiously.
"Sir, this is made by the imperial chef in the palace." Yinping blinked: "His Royal Highness King Qin has given instructions that from now on, your three meals a day will be taken care of by the imperial kitchen."
Xia Yu was happy: "Then let's enjoy Wang Shichong's blessing."
He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, tasted the porridge and pastries, and nodded repeatedly. After all, it was the craftsmanship of the imperial chef, and it was very delicious.
There is no comparison with the rough hands and feet of the gang leader in the army.
Before he finished eating, Yin Yuan hurried in from outside the door: "Brother-in-law, His Highness the King of Qin sent someone to summon you for something."
Xia Yu was speechless. She could only finish the meal in three or two bites and put down her chopsticks.
Zhang Yugang wanted to accompany him, but Yin Yuan rushed to say: "Brother-in-law, I will accompany you. I have been in the palace for three days, and I am familiar with it."
"Okay. Zhang Yu, you look after the house."
Just as Xia Yu was about to take a step, she suddenly remembered something, took out a gold leaf from the purse at her waist, and stuffed it into Yinping's hand with a smile.
"Girl on the screen, I won't bother you anymore. This is just a small favor, don't refuse."
With that said, without waiting for Yinping's rejection, he hurried away with Yin Yuan.
"Brother-in-law, I've been so bored these days. Please tell me about the war in the north later. I heard it was very exciting."
"Okay, okay, let's talk about it when we get back."
Looking at Xia Yu's hurried away figure, Yinping looked at the yellow gold leaf in his hand with some astonishment, feeling very frightened in his heart.
She was born into a farmer's family. She has never seen pieces of silver, let alone gold.
But Zhang Yu said cheerfully: "It's okay, just take it if I give it to you."
"Our military advisor is not only wise, but also has a great temper and is very generous. You will be lucky if you can follow us in the future."
The two cities of Mengjin and Hanoi were destroyed, and there was a lot of money.
According to the rules of the army, Xia Yu, as the temporary commander-in-chief, took a generous share of the profits and also rewarded Zhang Yu and the others a lot.
Therefore, Zhang Yu is not jealous even if he gets a golden leaf on the silver screen.
The screen blinked, and a girl's heart couldn't help but come alive.
Li Shimin stayed in Xuantian Hall in Qingcheng Palace. This was the palace where Yang Guang and Wang Shichong lived during their summer vacation. It was very spacious and gorgeous.
Xia Yu entered the door and saw many people already sitting in the hall.
Most of the main civil and military officials in the army have arrived.
"The military advisor is here. Sit down quickly."
Seeing Xia Yu arrive, Li Shimin hurriedly asked him to sit down, then looked around and said: "Everyone is here, let's start."
"Ruhui, please tell me."
"promise."
Du Ruhui agreed and raised a letter in his hand: "My lords and generals, last night, a spy sent an urgent message from Mingzhou, Hebei Province. Wang Shichong knew that he was no match for me and the Tang Dynasty, so he sent envoys to Mingzhou.
Ask Dou Jiande for help."
There was a sudden uproar in the palace.
Dou Jiande established the Daxia Kingdom in Hebei, with an army of 200,000. He was also a hero, and his administration was tolerant and benevolent, which greatly won the hearts of the people.
Originally, Wang Shichong was already a withered bone in the grave, and his days were numbered.
But if Dou Jiande decides to go south for rescue, there will be many variables. With the combined efforts of Zheng and Xia, can Datang still win?
Qu Tutong said anxiously: "Master Du, how will Dou Jiande react?"
Du Ruhui's face was solemn: "The envoy from the State of Zheng bribed Dou Jiande's confidants heavily, and knowing the benefits of losing his lips and teeth, Dou Jiande has decided to lead 100,000 troops to rescue Wang Shichong!"
There was no sound in the hall.
One hundred thousand, this is an amazing number!
The Tang Dynasty's three-pronged attack on Zheng only had a total force of 100,000 troops. It was already difficult enough to deal with just one Wang Shichong.
But now, Xia Kingdom has sent another 100,000 reinforcements, so how can we fight?
Chai Shao frowned: "Master Du, with a hundred thousand troops, Xia will not send troops immediately. How much time do we have?"
"One month."
"It will take a lot of time for the Xia army to raise food and grass and mobilize their troops. According to some estimates, it will take a month at the earliest."
Du Ruhui made an estimate and expressed his judgment.
"One month?" Chai Shao pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Shimin uneasily: "Your Highness, there is not much time left for us."
"If we can't take Luoyang in this month, we have no choice but to retreat first."
After listening to Chai Shao's suggestion, all the civil and military officials also agreed.
Obviously, Dou Jiande's huge momentum of 100,000 reinforcements frightened too many people!
Although no one said to retreat immediately, Luoyang is one of the most powerful cities in the world. Even with the aid of new trebuchets, it would be too difficult to capture it in just one month.
Therefore, although they say they still have to work harder, in fact, most people have already begun to give up.
"Don't retreat!" Xue Shou heard this and shouted flatly.
He stood up proudly, glanced at everyone, and said sternly: "Since the Eastern Expedition, our army has gone through hard battles and finally defeated Wang Shichong."
"Now that Luoyang is within reach, how can we give up so easily?"
Luo Shixin also took offense: "Mr. Xue is right! So what if there are a hundred thousand people? If Dou Jiande dares to come, I will capture him for His Highness!"
He has always been brave and fearless, never afraid of big or bad battles, and even Dou Jiande could not scare him.
"General Luo is so magnificent!" Li Shiji also agreed: "If our army retreats, firstly, it will be ridiculed by the heroes of the world; secondly, if we miss today's opportunity and want to destroy Zheng again, we will be far away. Therefore, we must not retreat."
"That's easy to say. One hundred thousand Xia troops are not paper men. They can be blown down with just one breath of air!"
"That's right. The Eastern Expedition Army has gathered most of the elites of the Tang Dynasty. If anything goes wrong, the Tang Dynasty will be in danger. Who can bear the responsibility?"
For a time, the two opinions in the palace were at loggerheads, but those in favor of withdrawing the troops obviously had the upper hand because of their numbers.
