The north wind is blowing, and the cold night is icy, invading one's muscles and bones. The night sky above the Tang Palace was as dark as a black curtain, with almost no light. The sky seemed to be sinking, and the clouds were fluctuating. Behind the black curtain, there seemed to be a giant beast hiding its teeth and claws, with its mouth wide open...
In the main hall of the Tang Palace, the important ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty gathered together. The atmosphere was gloomy. Both Jiangbei and Jianghuai Group looked serious. The state was in crisis, which was definitely not a good thing for them, high-ranking officials and nobles who had enjoyed the prosperity and benefits of the Tang Dynasty for a long time. .
Han Xizai sat aside with a worried look on his face. The thing that I had been worried about and tried my best to be on guard against had finally happened. Thinking that he had been ignored before and his foresight was not taken seriously, until now, the Han army had proved it for him, but at this moment, Han Xizai was not happy at all.
Li Jing did not sit down, but was wandering around in the hall in front of the ministers, walking in a hurry, and murmuring: "We are really calling! How dare the Northern Han Dynasty? They communicated with me before, and the envoys We are going to war without declaring it. How can we behave like a great country? It is simply the behavior of a jackal..."
"Your Majesty, it seems now that all previous interactions between the Northern Han Dynasty and our dynasty were all deceptions. Their greedy desire has long been focused on our land in Huainan, and they have united with Pingchu. They clearly want to use Chu land to seduce me and consume me. The strength of our government affects the strength of our army." Han Xizai stood up and told Li Jing what he had "understood" in a short period of time. He guessed that Li Jing had not yet understood the circumstances.
"It's no wonder that before our army marched westward to Pingchu, the Han army didn't move at all. But now Chu is in chaos, and the Han army has conquered me in the north of the Yangtze River. There is absolutely no such coincidence in the world. The Northern Han Dynasty has announced It’s a big game!”
"The jackal of the Central Plains harbors evil intentions and is not a son of man!" Hearing this, Li Jing scolded her again like a resentful woman.
"Where are the Khitans? Are they not afraid of the Khitans?" Li Jing said suddenly.
Han Xizai shook his head and sighed: "Obviously, the situation in the north has changed. Han and Liao will no longer be able to fight. Otherwise, even if the Han Emperor is greedy and covets our land north of the Yangtze River, he will definitely not dare to go south with his army and start a rebellion. Stand at the end!"
Many times, everything is clear, and when the Han army really moves south, all previous doubts are solved, everything disappears like a fog, and all doubts and speculations are supported.
"Hey..." She lamented heavily, and the sadness on Li Jing's face became even more intense.
At this time, an official in purple robes hurriedly entered. It was Li Zhenggu, the deputy envoy of the Tang Privy Council who had been transferred from Yuanzhou to Jinling. He held a document in his hand and presented it to Li Jing in person: "Your Majesty, this is the Han army." The Han Emperor's edict was issued in Jiangbei, please ask me to express it!"
Regardless of any etiquette, Li Jing directly took it and opened it, moving his head up and down, and quickly read through it. Soon a look of shame and anger appeared on his face, and he said angrily: "The Lord of the Han Dynasty raised an unknown master, how dare you do this?" To slander me, the Tang Dynasty, is to bully others too much, to bully others too much!"
"I have inherited the basic structure and ruled the world. Only then should I be respectful to my court and cultivate virtues. Why do I want to raise troops and mobilize the masses to show off my martial arts! In this chaotic country, we must raise the meaning of defiance. You are stupid and Huai. Dian, dare to resist the big gang, because the Tang Dynasty's mausoleum was late, and the Huang bandits were in chaos, they became domineering and domineering, and they stayed for sixty years, stealing a place and assuming a false name..."
The "Edict on the Huaihe River" was written by Fan Zhi, the prime minister, and has more than 500 words in total. It clearly shows the majesty of the Han Dynasty, extremely contemptuous of the Southern Tang Dynasty, insulting the previous generations, and labeling them as thieves and bandits. For Nan Tang, who came from the Tang Dynasty Zhengshuo, this was tantamount to a slap in the face, spit on his face, and then stepping on the ground and rubbing him. It was an excessive insult.
After receiving the Han Emperor's edict, the emperor and his ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty immediately exploded into an uproar and cursed each other. Regardless of whether they were so ashamed or angry in their hearts, this behavior was politically correct.
Sikong Sun Sheng stood up and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, the Han soldiers have arrived in front of the door. The matter has reached this point. It is useless to say more. The Tang Dynasty should fight back immediately!"
Mentioning this, Li Jing nodded, still showing a lost expression on his face, and asked: "First Hunan, then Jiangbei, we are enemies on both sides, what should we do?"
After saying this, most of the officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty fell silent. Just as the Northern Han Dynasty had to choose between the Northern Expedition and the Southern Expedition, the Southern Tang Dynasty also had to choose between aiding the West and rescuing the North. Of course, their determination was easy to make, as long as they had a little brain.
This time, it was Feng Yansi who stood up and spoke first. In fact, after learning that the Northern Han Dynasty invaded the south, Feng Yansi panicked. At this time, he had no intention of quarreling with Han Xizai, knowing that things were about to get serious.
The Pingchu issue was strongly advocated by their party, and now it has been proven that it was indeed a conspiracy of the Northern Han Dynasty... When Fujian was pacified, it was just Wu Yue who came out to cause trouble, and the problem was still controllable. Now in Pingchu, the Northern Han Dynasty jumped out, with fangs and a big mouth, the kind that want to eat people.
However, the matter has come to this, and there is no use regretting it. We can only try our best to save it. I saw Feng Yansi speaking to Li Jing: "Your Majesty, the Huainan states are the foundation of our dynasty, where the military and the people are located, and where the finance and taxation are based. We must not allow any loss. Shouzhou is an important town in Huainan. If there is any loss, the Jiangbei Bureau It is bound to rot. The Han army's sudden attack this time is obviously well prepared. I am afraid that He Gong will be difficult to defeat, so the imperial court should immediately send troops to rescue to relieve the siege! The Hunan side cannot be taken care of for the time being!"
"What Prime Minister Feng said is true! After all, Hunan is a newly acquired land, and it is already in ruins. Now that there is something going on in Huainan, the court's energy should be concentrated on dealing with the Han army!" Rarely, Han Xizai spoke up to support Feng Yansi.
Just like the incident in Hunan during the day, Han Xizai also gave several suggestions in response to the Han army's southern invasion: "In this emergency, the first priority for the court is to strictly order the states in Huaibei, especially Shou, Hao, Si, Chu , strictly guard for reinforcements, and find out the situation and movements of the Han army; secondly, stop all actions to aid Chu, mobilize troops and horses from Jiangnan, Jiangbei and Jinling, raise money and food, recruit civilians, and send troops as soon as possible. Winter has just begun, Huaihe River The water has not yet frozen, which can be used to the advantage of our navy. At the same time, we must recruit warriors from home to fight against the Han soldiers. The land of Hunan involves a lot of troops, money and food for our army."
"Thirdly, in the land of Hunan, the imperial court has no power to look westward. It can keep the rules, but it can't keep the army and abandon it. Those people in Lang's army are vulgar warriors who forget their justice when they see profit. They must be envoys from the Han Dynasty behind their backs. , once our troops withdraw, with a little guidance, they can cause civil strife and not disturb our court!"
"Fourth, in front of Run, Chang, Xuan and other prefectures, be careful to prevent Wu Yue from invading from behind. This year, Qian Hongchu married the Northern Han Dynasty, and it is difficult to guarantee that he will not send troops from Su and Hu. The same goes for Ezhou, to prevent the Gao family in Jingnan We are taking advantage of the fire, Lin Renfan is a famous general, and with his defense, we expect no serious problems. The Han army invades south, Jingnan, Wuyue, I am afraid that they do not want our country to defeat them, but they have to guard against it."
"Fifth, send envoys to contact Western Shu, Khitan and even the Li family of the Dingnan Army, and invite them to attack the Han from behind!"
"Han Qing is a true official of the country!" Li Jing calmed down, looked at Han Xizai, her expression became a little kinder, and she sighed from the bottom of her heart, recalling the friendship of more than ten years in her mind. At the critical moment, it was Han who gave him advice.
Han Xizai, however, was not proud of Li Jing's praise. He raised his hands and said: "Now, I only hope that Jiangbei's general can defend it to the death, waiting for reinforcements from the imperial court."
"Who should be sent as commander to go north to rescue?" Li Jing asked.
When it came to military power, Feng Yansi gave Wei Cen a knowing look. Wei Cen stepped forward and suggested: "Your Majesty, Shenwu Commander Liu Yanzhen is from a famous family. He is good at riding and shooting. He is both wise and courageous. He can rule the people with troops. He can be regarded as a general." Great Wall!"
After listening to Wei Cen's words, Li Jing thought about it and had an impression of this person. He had always been praised by many ministers in the court, and his talent and reputation were very good.
On the side, Han Xizai heard this, but couldn't help but feel nervous. He was not very familiar with Liu Yanzhen, but he always felt that he was a bit of a celebrity.
Feeling uneasy, he spoke immediately, but before he could speak, he heard that Li Jing had already spoken: "Deploy Liu Yanzhen, the commander of the Shenwu army, as the camp capital to the north, and lead an army of 30,000 Shenwu, Xiongwu, Tianwei, and Jingjiang to cross the river and go north to rescue. Shouzhou.”
"How many soldiers and horses are there in the Han army here? The garrison troops from the Huainan states and the soldiers from various villages, plus 30,000 forbidden troops, and an army of 70,000 to 80,000 people are guarding it. It's safe!" Li Jing looked around, as if he wanted to find some confidence. His roundaboutness is clearly evident at this moment. Is this a battle, a competition of military strength?
"Your Majesty!" After hearing this, Han Xizai couldn't help but warned Li Jing: "The armies of Hao and Si must not be moved lightly. Zhang Quanyue, the military envoy of the Luzhou Baoxin Army, has always been steady and is close to Shouzhou. We can use him to lead the army northward, contain the Han army, and look for opportunities to fight, waiting for the imperial army. He Yanxi, the governor of Chuzhou, must order him to strictly guard Qingliu Pass to prevent the Han army from sneak attacks, and hold the pass to the north to aid the army!"
"Just do it like this!" Li Jing agreed directly without thinking.
"Your Majesty, the invaders from the north invade the south, and border troubles arise suddenly. There is no shortage of prestigious ministers in the court. Song Gong has always been wise and wise. He has been in Hongzhou for many years. Do you want to call him back to the court for consultation?" Before leaving the court in the evening, Feng Yansi carefully asked suggested.
He couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to recall Song Qiqiu, another big boss in the party. Otherwise, looking at the situation in the DPRK tonight, the Northerners are in great power.
Li Jing frowned, looked at Feng Yansi who was full of reverence, thought for a moment, waved his hand and said: "I appointed the Duke of Wei as Grand Master, joined the Duke of Chu, returned to the court, and conspired to do something difficult together!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Seeing that Li Jing agreed to his request, Feng Yansi breathed a sigh of relief and bowed.
