"What did you say, Old Cao? The Miluo people raised their troops to attack?" Fang Zilan was shocked, and the document in her hand fell to the ground without realizing it, "Why is it so sudden?"
"Emperor Miluo died of illness and the new emperor came to the throne. In order to establish his authority and avenge his humiliation, he raised his troops to attack." Vice General Cao looked anxious, "The Miluo people came with a fierce attack and caught our army by surprise."
"Establish prestige? Avenge shame?" Fang Zilan looked stern and had some calculations in her heart. The chaos in the southeast had just stabilized. Miluo's new emperor wanted to take advantage of the situation, which was a good idea.
Zhuge Yu on the side then asked: "Who is the commander-in-chief of Miluo?"
Vice General Cao replied: "Murong Xun, the loyal king of Miluo, is the commander-in-chief and leads an army of 100,000 people directly to the southern border of our capital."
"One hundred thousand? When did Miluo have so many troops?" Fang Zilan's expression was dark and unclear, and Zhuge Yu solemnly said: "The loyal king Murong Xun turns out to be him."
"Murong Xun, the loyal king, is the uncle of the new emperor of Miluo?" Fang Zilan looked at Zhuge Yu and saw him nodding, "More than that, Murong Xun has always been known as the God of War of Miluo. The original coach of Miluo, Murong Chen, was him. His disciple. It’s just that in order to protect his wife’s health, he has not been on the battlefield for more than ten years. I didn’t expect that he would lead the troops in person this time.”
"Murong Chen, is he the one who died at the hands of Master Wei?" Fang Zilan's voice was very soft, but Zhuge Yu still heard him. His voice was a little deep, "Yes, it's him."
As he spoke, his shoulders trembled slightly. Fang Zilan suddenly thought of Zhuge Shan, bit her lip immediately, turned to Vice General Cao and asked, "What's going on in the palace?"
Vice General Cao hurriedly said: "Your Majesty heard the news and summoned Lord Wei to the palace. Before Lord Wei entered the palace, he ordered someone to come to me and let me and the boss know, so that you can have an idea."
"Master Wei is thoughtful and considerate. I really want to thank him properly when I have the opportunity." Fang Zilan sighed softly, "A battle with Miluo is inevitable, but I don't know who your majesty will send to fight?"
"Is it inevitable? I don't think so." Zhuge Yu calmed down and said quietly: "Sister Lan, you and I have just returned from the southeast. No one knows what the situation is over there better than you and me. This Dajing may not be able to fight the war."
"But if we don't fight, won't we be able to make peace?" Fang Zilan looked sternly, "If we just give in and let the mercenaries be eaten, we won't even have any bargaining chips."
Zhuge Yu carefully analyzed: "General Shen in the southeast camp has been pacifying the refugees. Now that he heard the news, he must reorganize his army before rushing to the south. He has lost the opportunity. The Dugu family garrison in the west cannot move without authorization, and the troops in the north must leave It's too far, and the Huangfu family will definitely not be able to catch up. Lord Wei from the camp on the outskirts of Beijing has fought against the Miluo people, and it stands to reason that he knows the Miluo people best, but now that he has the responsibility of guarding the capital, he may not be able to do anything else."
"Listen to what A Yu said, I am the only Duke of Yue who can fight. I am very useful." Fang Zilan's lips curled up slightly, "However, the one your Majesty urgently summoned to the palace is Lord Wei."
"If we really have to fight, it will be extremely dangerous. Lord Wei is in command, and you are a little more certain than you are." Zhuge Yu said mercilessly, but Fang Zilan still just smiled, "Then according to A Yu, how much more certain can we have?" a bit?"
Zhuge Yu didn't answer, but Vice General Cao couldn't help but whispered: "Actually, it's almost the same."
Hearing this, Fang Zilan and Zhuge Yu's eyes fell on Lieutenant General Cao at the same time. He said boldly: "When Murong Xun led the army, Lord Wei was still a half-grown child and had never fought against him. That's all. Yan, the boss is almost the same as Mr. Wei."
"But Mr. Wei is the one who defeated Murong Chen after all. He is more sure than me." Fang Zilan said lightly, but Vice General Cao had a face full of disapproval, "Boss, you are the one who conquered the Gilded City, so you can be considered a You are the first one in Dajing, how can you be so arrogant?"
The expression on Fang Zilan's face froze for a moment, and then she smiled and said: "Old Cao, you can do it. You can even use the word "belittle yourself". Sure enough, after three days apart, I will look at you with admiration."
Zhuge Yu was also stunned. How could he forget that the person next to him was the only general who had captured the Gilded City in so many years. Just because she is a woman, does he think her chances of winning are lower than Wei Subaru's?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, "That's right, maybe Sister Lan, you will be more confident."
Fang Zilan did not speak. In fact, she was very conflicted in her heart. On the one hand, she was willing to fight the Miluo people, but on the other hand, she hoped that Li Shengxuan would not come to her. After all, with her current physical condition, she may not be able to survive this battle.
"Boss?" Vice General Cao called her tentatively. She calmed down and said, "Everything is arranged by His Majesty. We just need to obey orders."
Zhuge Yu turned his head to look at her and shook his head secretly. When did she become someone who only obeys orders?
*
Over the next few days, urgent reports arrived in the capital. The Miluo people were overwhelmingly in power. Three cities in the south were lost one after another. The defenders were killed and the people were massacred. General Shen was trapped by the refugees and has not yet been able to come to rescue...
The succession of bad news has turned the ruling and opposition parties into a quarrel. The civil servants headed by the Ouyang and Su families have come forward to seek peace with Miluo. On the other side, those headed by Yucheng Wang Li Qiyou and the Wei family would rather fight to the death. The Zhuge family and the Pei family have always remained neutral and have been reluctant to express their stance. .
However, from beginning to end, Li Shengxuan never summoned Fang Zilan to the palace. She was a little uneasy. She didn't know what he was thinking. Did he really want to sue for peace with Miluo?
On this day, Fang Zilan was holding the document in her hand listlessly, without turning a page for a long time. Until Zhuge Yu came in, she immediately stood up and walked towards him and asked, "How is it?"
"The Ministry of Revenue has given the approval, and the treasury is going through the process." Zhuge Yu coughed lightly, "This matter is considered settled."
Fang Zilan said helplessly: "Who asked about Southeast Asia's allocation? I asked about Miluo..."
"Sister Lan, do you know why the Pei family has been reluctant to express its position?" Zhuge Yu interrupted her abruptly and asked and answered: "Hubu has made a calculation. We cannot afford to fight this battle."
"How could it be..." Fang Zilan took a step back, and Zhuge Yu looked at her steadily, "You should know better than anyone else. When His Majesty came to the throne, he poured out all his troops to pacify the northern border, and the treasury was already empty. This has not slowed down yet. Two years later, we were attacked by pirates from the southeast, and the plague made things worse. How could we afford to fight?"
Fang Zilan's hands hidden in her sleeves were clenched into fists. Indeed, each item passed through her hands. Although she had never handled the money behind her, she knew better than anyone how much expenditure was required.
"Your Majesty cares about the people's livelihood. After taking the throne, no matter how others advised him, he was unwilling to increase taxes and corvee." Zhuge Yu sighed, "There is no way to reduce expenditures or increase revenue. I thought I would have a few years of peace to recuperate, but I never thought …”
He didn't say any more, but Fang Zilan only felt her heart tremble, and left the office in silence.
Fang Zilan didn't know how she walked back to her house until she reached the corridor. Mo Han stopped her and called Sister Lan several times before she came back to her senses and looked at the person in front of her in despair, "Mo Han, I'm afraid I'm going to I can’t hold on any longer…”
