In the twelfth lunar month, a cold atmosphere filled the air in Mo Chao. Just as the new year was about to arrive, something happened in the north of Jiang Lai that should not be underestimated.
"Tan Zhizhou! Something bad has happened!"
A young man dressed like armor and wearing a steel sword hurried to the Runzhou Mansion Yamen.
Runzhou is a scattered state in Jianglai Province. It is located on the side of Mojiang River, across the Mojiang River from Qi State. It is under the jurisdiction of Xing'an Prefecture and is at the top of Jianglai terrain.
After hearing the sound, Tan Zhengfeng, the magistrate of Runzhou Yamen, came out.
Seeing the panicked and panting man running towards him, Tan Zhizhou guessed that something big had happened.
"Tan Zhizhou!" The man was kneeling on the ground. He must be a soldier.
"Get up and speak." Tan Zhizhou said calmly.
After hearing this, the soldier just stood up, his red face particularly dazzling, maybe because of the cold.
As soon as he stood up, the soldier couldn't wait any longer and hurriedly reported: "Tan Zhizhou! Enemy troops are coming towards Runzhou!"
After hearing this, Tan Zhizhou's heart started to beat loudly. He looked at the soldier with a panic look on his face and asked, "How's it going outside the city?"
"Back to Tan Zhizhou, the garrison will fight at any time."
"How many people are there?"
"Probably tens of thousands of people!"
Hearing these words, Tan Zhizhou became even more panicked: "Okay, I know. You go outside the city gate immediately, and any news will be conveyed in time!"
"yes!"
Tan Zhizhou hurried into the room where official business was conducted, sat on an old wooden chair, holding a brush in one hand and paper in the other, and started writing quickly and carefully.
After finishing writing, Tan Zhizhou hurriedly found red paint and wrote the word "urgent" neatly on the letter paper.
According to the rules of this dynasty, writing the word "urgent" in red font on the envelope can only be used by officials, not common people, otherwise it will be served by the law.
After writing, looking at the handwriting that was still wet, Tan Zhizhou kept blowing warm air on the handwriting.
After blowing and blowing, Tan Zhizhou couldn't wait any longer and saw that the handwriting was not completely dry. He hurriedly put the written letter into the envelope, then sealed it with his hand and hurried out of the room.
"Come here." Tan Zhizhou stopped a government official.
Tan Zhizhou looked at the yamen servant and ordered: "Send this letter to Governor Cen! This letter is related to the life and death of the people. It must be sent to Governor Cen as quickly as possible. No mistakes are allowed!"
Hearing Tan Zhizhou's instructions, the yellow-faced and skinny government servant agreed confidently: "Yes. Guaranteed delivery!"
"Okay! Hurry up! As fast as possible!" Tan Zhizhou warned again.
After Tan Zhizhou finished speaking, the yamen servant took a horse, sat on it, and drove away quickly with a sound of driving.
The governor's office is located in the provincial capital, and the provincial capital is in Jinling Prefecture, which is dozens of miles away from Runzhou, and it takes two days to get there.
After the yamen left, Tan Zhizhou could not relax for a moment, and he had no intention of talking about even small things. He stood outside the door where he dealt with daily business, fearless of the heavy snow, and wandered alone, asking the yamen about the situation outside the city from time to time.
Since the letter was urgent, the government officials were naturally not in any danger, so they rushed to Jinling Mansion in the early morning of the next day.
"Governor Cen! Governor Cen!"
The yamen servant from Runzhou shouted loudly outside the governor's door in a panic. He was not afraid of the guards on both sides and knocked hard on the wooden door that was as strong as a steel plate with his thin hands.
"What are you doing! What are you doing! The governor is still resting. Let's talk about it at dawn!" The two guards tried to dissuade him.
The yamen servant was so panicked that he couldn't say a word for a long time.
Fortunately, the yamen officer dropped the extremely important letter during the dispute with the guard.
When a guard saw it, he stopped arguing and hurriedly picked it up. After looking at it for a while, he hurriedly opened the door and ran away.
The other guard stopped arguing and looked at the yamen guard speechlessly, saying, "If you had said this was the case, we would have let you in a long time ago."
The yamen servant felt that he was wronged and replied: "You didn't even ask?"
"Governor Cen! Governor Cen!" the guard at the governor's mansion shouted hurriedly, holding the letter.
Fortunately, the governor still knew that he was a man who served the country and the people, so he got up all night and opened the door wearing only a pair of thin pajamas.
"What's the matter?" Governor Cen asked.
"Look." The guard handed the letter over.
After Governor Cen took it, he opened it and started reading.
While browsing, Governor Cen's eyebrows did not blink, and his two eyeballs moved together. His wrinkled face was not afraid of the cold wind.
After reading it, Governor Cen hurriedly asked: "Who sent this letter?"
"Go back to the governor. It was sent by the Runzhou Yamen."
After hearing this, Governor Cen hurried in with the letter and said as he walked: "I have received the letter and I will send it to the court as soon as possible!"
"yes."
After informing Governor Cen, the guard just came out, looked at the Yamen servant who had not yet left, and said: "The Governor has taken it in, and he will inform the court as soon as possible."
"good."
At this moment, the yamen servant from Runzhou left with peace of mind.
According to the rules of this dynasty, reports of important events must be reported to the governor, who will then report them to the court. Local officials cannot directly report to the court. The writing was also re-written by the governor. After the seal was stamped, it was quickly sent to the court by a dedicated person.
After Governor Cen re-wrote it, he hurriedly stamped it and handed it to the messenger to send to the court.
Since Jianglai was close to Kyoto, a letter concerning the lives and deaths of the people was hurriedly sent to the palace on the early morning of the next day.
"Eight hundred miles urgent!"
"Eight hundred miles urgent!"
An eunuch in the palace took the letter from the person at the post station and did not dare to stop for a moment, and hurriedly sent it to the Zhaoyang Palace in the palace.
The eunuch shouted and walked quickly towards Zhaoyang Palace. . .
"My dear friends! Early this morning, I received an urgent report from the governor of Jianglai. The letter stated that there was an army of the Qi State in the north of Runzhou in Jianglai that wanted to step into the Mo River and attack our territory of the Mo State. What do you think of this matter? What do you think?" the emperor asked.
"Back to the emperor, I believe that troops should be sent to support immediately! It is the first time since the first year of the reign of Qi State that Qi State took the lead in attacking. In the last years of Hongdao, Qi State lost to our Mo State army at Pingli Station. Now it must be hard to swallow That tone seems to be well prepared. Therefore, I believe that a large number of additional troops should be sent to Runzhou to polish off the arrogance of Qi State!" Du An, the governor of the country, said.
"I also agree."
For a time, several courtiers in the court agreed with the views of Governor Du Antong.
At this time, a voice of opposition caught the attention of civil and military officials.
"Your Majesty! I don't agree with this matter. Just now Gui Shangshu said that the Qi State came well prepared. Therefore, I thought that they were not only attacking Runzhou. They might be waiting for an opportunity. We can't make a big splash and should send some troops to the front. Go and provide support." Su Yunqi, the official minister, said.
Upon hearing Su Yunqi's words, Gui Yuanwei, the Minister of the Ministry of War, said: "Shang Shu of the Ministry of Personnel, when did it have to do with military matters? It's not your turn to speak, right? Don't forget, there is also Governor Du here. And Gui."
Listening to the discussions among the ministers around him, Su Yunqi humbly said: "I am not proficient in marching and fighting, so I don't know if that makes sense."
At this time, several ministers who had good relations with Su Yunqi agreed.
At this time, some of the courtiers' approval shifted to Su Yunqi's side.
"Then do what Su Aiqing did. This battle is the first in the past eight years. You must not be too reckless, otherwise you will fall into the so-called trap of making false claims in the east and attacking in the west," the emperor said.
The Qi State is located in the eastern part of the Mo State's territory, separated from the Mo State by the Mo River, while the Wan State, which has an alliance with the Mo State, is located in the western part of the Mo State's territory, also separated by the Mo River.
The territory of Ranwan State is the smallest among the three countries. It is adjacent to Qi State and is very dangerous.
Since the Wan Kingdom signed an alliance with the Mo Kingdom, the Wan Kingdom had the Mo Dynasty as a backer.
