Damingfu City.
At 6 o'clock in the morning on the third day of February, the rangers sent by the royal army flew straight into Damingfu City. These cavalrymen were all dressed in tough clothes and smelled of dust and sweat. In the past, as long as there were people with some status in Damingfu City, they would stay away from these smelly cavalry. But today, as soon as the two riders entered the gate of Wei County, they were blocked by a group of officials in green robes and scholars in t-shirts who were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.
Of course, the purpose of this group of officials and scholars in stopping these two rangers from spying was to inquire about the battle situation on the other side of the Yellow River.
And what these two cavalrymen brought back was news of a large-scale night battle on the west bank of the Yellow River!
Of course, they don't know who won. All I know is that the two sides fought fiercely all night, and the west bank of the Yellow River was filled with flames. When daybreak, the battlefield suddenly returned to tranquility.
"What happened? Has it been defeated? Has the entire army been wiped out?"
"How is His Royal Highness King Yun? He is not trapped in the rebellion, is he?"
"Has the ice on the Yellow River melted? Will the golden thief be able to cross it for a while?"
This group of famous people are really confident in Zhao Kai's anti-gold cause! Everyone believed that Zhao Kai was defeated!
How is it possible to be undefeated?
Tong Guan led hundreds of thousands of Western troops in the Northern Expedition to Youzhou and fought like that. Now with more than 10,000 people in Damingfu City, he still wants to fight against the Jin soldiers? Isn't this a dream?
So as soon as Zhao Kai left, everyone was thinking about what to do after defeat? This is not one question, but a collection of questions.
First of all, will Zhao Kai be killed or captured by the Jin soldiers after his defeat?
The possibility of Zhao Kai, the crazy king, getting himself involved is not small! If he is gone, will the Daimyo's Marshal's Palace still be established?
If not, if the Kaifeng Mansion is also destroyed by gold thieves, who will do it for the officials of the Song Dynasty? Shouldn't it be left to His Highness King Yun's brother, King Xin?
King Shen is in Damingfu City now. Although he hid in the palace and never showed his face after arriving, King Shen must be here!
If the official family, the prince, and King Yun of the Song Dynasty were gone, could His Highness King Shen wear a yellow robe?
So after King Yun is gone, supporting King Shen to take over as marshal seems to be a good investment... Anyway, if things get messed up, King Shen is also the unlucky one. If it succeeds, everyone will be a hero of Conglong!
The second question is whether Daming Mansion can still be defended?
Zhao Kai had 20,000 troops at hand. He took away more than 14,500 people when he left the city, and there were still more than 5,500 people in the city.
In the two cities of Guantao and Linqing on the east bank of the Yellow River in Daming Prefecture, there are still 2,000 forbidden troops and 2,000 Xiang soldiers. These troops are all under Cai Mao's jurisdiction. After Zhao Kai left, Cai Mao had already ordered them to be transferred to Damingfu City.
Du Chong, who knew about Cangzhou's affairs, was still staying in Daming Mansion. He still had about 2,000 troops on the border of Cangzhou under his jurisdiction. He also gave an order to mobilize troops to Daming.
The total number of these troops alone is more than 11,500.
In addition, in the Jizhou, Shenzhou, and Hejian Prefecture areas near Daming Prefecture, there are also 10,000 people from the Hebei East Road pacification envoy Li Lu. Yang Weizhong was originally his subordinate, and he led troops under his order. The famous names are used for listening.
If the army commanded by Li Lu can also be transferred to Damingfu, then there will be as many as 20,000 reliable defenders in Damingfu City, which is enough to defend the city.
The third question is whether there is enough money and food in Damingfu City to support an army of more than 20,000 people and to buy retired soldiers... It seems that there is, but the money is not in Cai Mao and Du Chong. In the hands of the Marshal's Mansion, it was under the control of Qin Hui, the Chief of the Marshal's Mansion, and Chen Ji, the Sima of the Marshal's Mansion. Qin Hui and Chen Ji not only managed the money that Zhao Kai brought to Daming Mansion, but also managed the treasury of Daming Mansion and the Hebei Transport Envoy.
So when the news of the night battle on the west bank of the Yellow River came, Cai Mao, Du Chong, and Lu Yihao, who was escorted to Daming by Guo Tiannu, were in the inner city of Daming Mansion with Marshal Shi Si Nei trying to persuade Qin Hui and Chen Ji. Hand over the money.
At least most of them must be handed over, so that Cai Mao, Du Chong, and Lu Yihao can use the money to buy out Guo Yaoshi and Liu Yanzong.
Otherwise, Cai Mao, Du Chong, and Lu Yihao would have no money and nothing would be possible!
But Qin Hui refused to give him any money - he couldn't give it to him. If he gave it to him, he would have no rights.
"The king is out with his troops, and Hui is ordered to guard the commander's palace's money and food. How can he dare to fight with others without the king's orders?"
Cai Mao looked at the miser-like handsome Mansion Chief Shi, and his face darkened, "The fire on the west bank of the Yellow River burned for most of the night last night. You can see it from the wall of Daming Mansion... This is the king's army. A decisive battle with the golden thief! If the golden thief wins, he will soon come to the city, and then he will need money!"
"The king led fifteen thousand people out of the city. There were only ten thousand gold thieves. The winner should be the king!" Qin Hui was really proficient in the art of war and actually predicted that Zhao Kai would win. "We just need to wait for the king to return in triumph." , even if the money is used, it will be a celebration banquet. I will allocate 10,000 yuan to the government, is it enough?"
Du Chong, a coward with a square head and square head, a big beard and a majestic look, spoke for Cai Mao: "Let's meet, the gold thieves are powerful and invincible with thousands of them. The king only has 15,000 people. How much success can be achieved?"
Of course Qin Hui did not believe Du Chong's judgment and retorted: "The king has used a trick to paralyze Pharmacist Guo. He can launch a surprise attack and lead the troops to boost the morale of the three armies. How can he lose?"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Ji, wanting Chen Ji to help him speak. But Chen Ji looked melancholy... Of course he was more timid than Qin Hui! And he also knows Zhao Kai better, so he knows that Zhao Kai is probably crazy.
How could a mad king and his 15,000-strong Song army defeat Medicine Master Guo's 10,000 gold thieves? If we can win this way, then everyone will go crazy together...
"Cai Dafu, if the king is really..." Chen Ji looked at Cai Mao and asked in a low voice, "Who can succeed the marshal of Hebei?"
"Of course it's King Shen!" Du Chong said loudly, "King Shen is the king's biological brother, or the twelfth son of the official family. If he is not the marshal, who else can be the marshal?"
Chen Ji looked at Du Chong, gritted his teeth and said, "But the king still has a son here!"
Du Chong asked: "The prince is young, how can he be a marshal?"
"It is better to be young than to be cowardly!" Chen Ji argued, "King Shen is cowardly. He has been in Daming Mansion for so long and has not even left the palace. He is so cowardly and cannot be a marshal!"
Cai Mao was a little bit dumbfounded when he saw that the two of them were arguing over the issue of the marshal's successor. King Yun may not come back, Kaifeng Mansion may not fall, and even if he becomes a marshal, he may not be able to wear a yellow robe. Isn't it a little too early to argue about this matter now?
However, this Qin Hui was protecting King Yun's wealth, and Chen Ji was protecting King Yun's son. These two people were rare. It's a pity that King Yun didn't listen to them and only wanted to discuss with the soldiers. Otherwise, why would this happen?
Thinking of this, Cai Mao turned to look at Lu Yihao: "Brother Yuan Zhi, what do you think?"
When Lu Yihao heard this, he was about to curse in his heart - he was not a member of King Yun at all, and he did not agree with King Yun's behavior of forcing his father to resist the gold. Now he was just escorted to Daming Mansion by Guo Tiannu. Just an outsider. Why are you so confused and involved in the internal strife of the Marshal's Mansion now?
Wait, does this count as a minister who makes decisions? Forget it, let’s play it!
Thinking of this, Lu Yihao already had an idea: "It's better to let Mrs. Yun Guo make the decision!"
Well, this is treating Zhu Fengying as the "little queen mother".
After hearing his words, Qin Hui immediately nodded and said: "Yes, yes, let's ask Mrs. Yun Guo to make the decision!"
Chen Ji immediately agreed: "Yes, Mrs. Yun Guo should be asked to make the decision!"
Cai Mao and Du Chong exchanged glances, and Du Chong said: "King Shen should also come forward, so as to stabilize people's hearts!"
