One urgent military report after another was sent to Xianyang almost without stopping.
Although Wang Li had mobilized the Great Wall Army to defend the Great Wall defense line from Jiuyuan County to Yunzhong County to Shanggu County, the Huns actually used Donghu's hometown to break through the Great Wall of Liaoxi County and burn the war to the northern gateway.
The two counties of Western Liaoning and Eastern Liaoning were lost one after another. Above them was Yuyang County, which was an important military commandery to guard against border troubles after Qin unified the six kingdoms. Once Yuyang County was lost, it meant that Great Qin had lost its entire northern gateway. .
On the other side, Mao Dun was leading his army to attack the two counties of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong. The only good thing was that the two important counties of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong were still in Wang Li's hands, like two nails nailed to Mao Dun. In front of him, the rapidly rising grassland overlord inevitably hesitated.
Should we spend a lot of energy attacking Jiuyuan and Yunzhong counties, or should we ignore these two counties and directly bypass the Liaoxi Pass that has already been conquered?
But no matter what, the current situation is very unfavorable for Da Qin.
After all, the Xiongnu had a simple purpose and only considered plundering benefits. They did not need to consider domestic unrest. However, the Qin State had to look at the overall situation and carefully consider whether the anti-Qin forces of the six countries would take advantage of the chaos to rise when Qin sent troops to the Xiongnu. There was an anti-Qin turmoil in the Six Kingdoms.
I don’t know whether it was the remnants of the Six Kingdoms who had known about the Xiongnu going south for a long time, or whether there were careerists with evil intentions within Da Qin. When Zhao Hao discussed countermeasures with his confidants and Hu Hai summoned Li Si and others, the news of the Xiongnu going south spread. As a result, people in Xianyang City were panicked, and even those inside the palace could not help but panic.
As soon as Ying Yinman came back from the rugby field, the maid in her dormitory rushed towards her in a hurry. Ying Yinman, who was keen, immediately judged from the look of the maid that something had happened.
She frowned slightly, and before the maid could speak, she took the lead and asked, "What happened? You feel like you have lost your soul!"
The maid quickly stopped and bowed to Ying Yinman panting: "Princess, please forgive me, Xiaoyu is rude."
Ying Yinman smiled tolerantly and said, "It's okay. Just don't be so impatient in the future. Now is no different than when my father was alive. We have to act cautiously to avoid being impeached by someone with ulterior motives!"
In the past, she was deeply liked by the First Emperor and had no scruples in the palace. Now she is cautious because the prince of Great Qin is Hu Hai, whom she has not dealt with since childhood.
She was afraid that Hu Hai would find various reasons to retaliate against her, so she lived in seclusion in the palace. Unless Zhao Hao invites you, or asks Zhao Hao for help, you will never leave the palace easily.
She had no control over her own destiny and could only pin her hopes on Zhao Hao. Although Zhao Hao didn't have a deep relationship with her, she still believed that Zhao Hao could help her.
But I heard the maid named Xiaoyu say: "Princess, I'm afraid you are about to be kissed."
"Marriage?"
Ying Yinman was stunned and couldn't help but said: "How did you find out?"
"The maid next to the prince said it. Early in the morning, the prince summoned the important officials of the court and said that the Huns were going south and wanted the princess to make peace with the Huns to calm the war."
"How is this possible? How can I, the Qin Dynasty, marry the Xiongnu?!"
"Who knows?"
"Where is the prince now?"
"I heard that Qin Wanghao was summoned to the palace, and now he went to the Yizheng Hall!"
Ying Yinman immediately made a decision: "Hurry up and tell Brother Sixth Emperor to come and see you!"
"What's wrong princess?"
"Don't ask any more questions, just go and get back as soon as possible!"
Watching Xiaoyu rush out of the dormitory, Ying Yinman returned to his room.
She took off her clothes, looked at herself in the mirror, and recalled how favored she was when the First Emperor was alive. Now less than a year after the First Emperor's death, she has become a piece of meat at the mercy of others. In fact, Somewhat sad.
During the outings that Zhao Hao organized, she knew better than anyone else what Zhao Hao was thinking, which was simply to bring together a few princesses and his confidants. However, compared to the many famous families in Da Qin, his few confidants are actually a bit shabby.
Even though several of his confidants had gained titles and generals based on their military exploits, their foundations were still relatively shallow and they were unable to protect princesses like them at all.
Moreover, his confidants were all rewarded by himself. Once Hu Hai ascended the throne, it was hard to say whether his confidants would still be there or not.
She was already in danger, so she naturally did not dare to leave her fate to a group of people whose fate was also unknown.
Thinking of this, Ying Yinman sighed longly in front of the mirror, still unable to calm down her heart. She could not imagine what she would experience after marrying the Huns, nor could she imagine how many people who went south from the Huns would have their families destroyed because of the war.
She had never cared about national affairs before, but now she began to worry about the fate of the country.
"Father, I miss you so much."
As she murmured to herself, Ying Yinman's tears fell on the dressing table drop by drop like broken beads.
I don't know how long it took, but there was a rush of footsteps outside the door. She quickly wiped away her tears. Just after arranging her clothes, Jiang Lu entered the bedroom under the guidance of Xiaoyu.
"The imperial sister summoned me as a brother like this, there must be something important, right?"
After Jiang Lu entered the door and saw Ying Yinman, he asked hurriedly.
Ying Yinman said with a smile: "It's not a big deal. Today, Brother Hao said that the Huns went south, so he wanted to know what the situation was like."
"oh?"
Jiang Lu drank the milk tea brought by Xiaoyu and said, "The look in Huang Mei's eyes tells me that you must have something else to do."
Ying Yinman had to secretly admire Jiang Lu's gaze, and felt that there was no need to beat around the bush. After Xiaoyu exited, she directly changed the topic.
"I heard that Brother Hao was summoned to the Council Hall by the Crown Prince?"
Jiang Lu put down the tea cup and said: "When I came to you, I saw the carriage of Brother Hao entering the palace. At that time, I was guessing that there must be some important war happening at the border. Just now, I passed by Xianyang Palace and saw When the messenger arrived, he took the urgent report from Jiuyuan and went straight to the Council Hall."
"So, from the emperor's point of view, how will Brother Hao deal with the Xiongnu going south?"
Ying Yinman asked as he sat down opposite Jiang Lu.
Jiang Lu asked in a funny tone: "Why is the imperial sister suddenly concerned about state affairs?"
"We are all the sons and daughters of our father, how dare we stay out of this matter?"
"this"
Jiang Lu didn't expect Ying Yinman to say such upright and awe-inspiring words. After looking at her in surprise, he put away his smile and said sternly: "I thought that because of my understanding of Brother Hao, he would not let the Xiongnu in our territory of Great Qin." If someone is rampant here, they will probably send troops to attack them head-on!"
"Then, will the ministers and princes of the court listen to Brother Hao?"
"Maybe."
General Lu pondered for a moment with some uncertainty: "Although Hao Di and the prince don't deal with each other very much, the ministers of the court headed by Li Si still understand the truth. Now that the Huns are invading the country, we should work together and deal with the outside world as one!"
"If there is a way to temporarily quell the war, will the ministers of the DPRK and China agree?"
"Why!"
Jiang Lu drank up the milk tea in his cup and shook his head helplessly: "To be honest with the emperor, although brother Wei is a prince, he is still a prince, not to mention that the prince is very unhappy with brother Wei and others. These important events in the court , even my brother is hard to touch, let alone you."
He thought that Ying Yinman wanted to make suggestions for the court, win the approval of the ministers, and avoid the liquidation after Hu Hai ascended the throne. But in his opinion, Hu Hai's biological mother Hu Ji could not participate in major affairs of the court, let alone her, the late emperor's princess.
Seeing that Jiang Lu misunderstood what he meant, Ying Yinman slowly came to Jiang Lu, knelt down with tears in his eyes and said, "Brother, please accept Yinman's bow."
Jiang Lu didn't expect that Ying Yinman would pay such a big gift to him, so he quickly stood up and helped her up: "What are you doing, sister Huang? We are the same mother and father. If you have anything to say, you can just say it. Why do you need to give such a big gift?" ?”
Ying Yinman was helped up by the general, with tears streaming down her face: "Brother, I don't know. Xiaoyu just learned from the prince's maid that the minister of the court intends for Yinman to make peace with the Huns to quell the war!"
"What!?"
Jiang Lu's face was full of surprise, and he couldn't help but get angry: "Is this serious?"
"Xiaoyu is the maid arranged by my mother to be by Yinman's side since she was a child. She will not deceive Yinman!"
"Damn! Which minister is so hateful! Let him go and marry him if he wants to marry the Huns!"
Jiang Lu is really angry.
He never expected that anyone would dare to make such a suggestion.
If the First Emperor were alive, he would probably go on a killing spree.
But now that Hu Hai is in power and he has a feud with his imperial sister, he may really accept such a suggestion.
And given the current turmoil in the country, such a suggestion is also in the interest of the country.
However, how could he let his sister, a compatriot from the same mother, marry to the Huns and suffer?
"Imperial sister, don't worry, as long as Brother Hao is here, he will never let this happen!"
Jiang Lu had great faith in Zhao Hao, and he believed that Zhao Hao would stop such a suggestion.
But Ying Yinman's answer once again exceeded his expectations:
"Brother Emperor, Yin Man is not very opposed to marrying the Xiongnu. After all, it can bring short-term peace to Great Qin. As long as Great Qin survives the period without his father, Great Qin will become stronger again. Maybe one day, Brother Emperor will take over. Yinman returns to Xianyang!"
By the time she finished speaking, she had already burst into tears.
Her tears, her words, and her expectations made Jiang Lu's eyes red instantly.
As if he was meeting his imperial sister for the first time in so many years, he held her in his arms.
Jiang Lu Ying's angry face showed an unprecedented solemnity: "The emperor will never let the emperor's sister marry the Huns, unless the emperor dies in front of the emperor's sister!"
At the same time, the Xianyang Palace Political Hall.
Zhao Hao was led into the hall by Wang Zhong and sat next to Hu Hai.
It seemed that they were already accustomed to Zhao Hao's rudeness. The ministers pretended not to see anything and kept talking among themselves.
"cough"
Zhao Hao sat on the chair and cleared his throat.
Hu Hai quickly reminded the ministers in the hall: "Everyone, please be quiet. I have summoned you here to discuss state affairs, not to see you whispering here!"
After speaking, he turned to look at Li Si: "Prime Minister Li, you speak first."
"promise."
Li Si sat in the seat, cupped his hands towards Hu Hai, and said in a deep voice: "I think that the Huns are coming well prepared, and the Qin Dynasty is not without the strength to fight. As long as it deploys its troops and generals, the Huns will not have anything to worry about."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao couldn't help but interrupt Li Si: "Then according to Prime Minister Li's wishes, who should be sent to resist the Huns?"
Seeing that Zhao Hao saw through the little thoughts of himself and others, Li Si frowned, but did not directly name Zhao Hao, but said tactfully:
"The generals in the court are headed by the veteran general Wang Jian. However, Wang Jian has retired and returned to his hometown. At present, there are only General Han Xin who has just returned from the South China Sea, General Zhang Han who is in charge of the construction of the imperial mausoleum, and General Ma Xing who is in charge of the construction of the Straight Road and Chi Road. General Xin Sheng, General Yang Duanhe in charge of the guards, and Marquis Tongwu and Marquis of Longxi in Longxi County."
"It seems that the generals mentioned by Prime Minister Li, except Han Xin, all perform their own duties, or have other matters that need to be presided over!"
"this"
Li Si frowned and remained silent.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that except for Han Xin, Da Qin really couldn't send a suitable general at the moment.
"What if the king has other plans for Han Xin?" Zhao Hao asked again.
"."
Li Si's frown deepened.
As we all know, Han Xin was trained by Zhao Hao. With Zhao Hao's current power, even he, the prime minister, and Prince Hu Hai may not be able to command Han Xin, a general.
Seeing that Li Si was silent, Ying Feng suddenly stood up and said angrily: "When the country is in crisis, should the King of Qin stand by and watch? Since the King of Qin has other arrangements for General Han Xin, and the other generals cannot go to war, the old minister thought that this war should not be fought at all! "
"When the Xiongnu went south, we did not have the initiative. The imperial censor said not to fight. Could it be that the Xiongnu Chanyu listened to the censor?" Wei Liao asked in a funny tone.
This is a bit heartbreaking!
The whole audience couldn't help but look at each other.
Although everyone knew that Wei Liao was Zhao Hao's teacher, it was rare for Wei Liao to be so supportive of a person.
But he heard Ying Feng say in anger: "What did the captain say? I said not to fight, but I won't fight now, but wait until the turmoil calms down, and then concentrate our forces to deal with the Huns!"
At this point, Ying Feng turned to Zhao Hao and suggested: "The King of Qin followed the example of the late emperor and patrolled the world, mainly to appease the people and suppress the rebellion of the remaining remnants of the six countries.
The Xiongnu suddenly moved south, but they did not dare to attack in a large scale. First, they could not break through the two barriers of Jiuyuan and Yunzhong. Second, I am still wary of our Great Qin. The old minister believes that as long as our Great Qin makes good use of these two points and gives some benefits to the Xiongnu, they will come here for profit and will naturally not refuse!
At that time, if I, the Qin Dynasty, delay the time and wait for the King of Qin to resolve the civil strife before attacking the Xiongnu in the north, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? "
“The best of both worlds.”
Zhao Hao had a faint smile on his lips, but he did not agree with Ying Feng's suggestion.
Seeing this, Hu Hai glanced at Li Si subconsciously, and then asked tentatively: "I wonder what the benefits the censor doctor said are?"
"this"
Ying Feng was speechless and looked at Li Si subconsciously.
Seeing everyone looking at Li Si, Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile and asked Li Si: "What do you think, Prime Minister Li?"
"Old Minister"
Li Si's eyes were a little struggling. After all, assisting the First Emperor to unify the six countries was the most proud thing in his life. How could he sue for peace with the mere Huns?
Seeing the hesitation on Li Si's face, Old Zheng Guo sighed helplessly and whispered: "Now that the matter has come to this, why should the Prime Minister stick to small details? How righteous was Mr. Xiang back then? How wise? The Prime Minister is too ignorant!"
The Xianggong he mentioned was Qin Xianggong.
At that time, Xirong was strong and Qin was weak. In order to appease Xirong and take advantage of the changes in the world to develop, Qin Xianggong went against all opinions and married his sister Mu Ying to King Feng of Xirong. Later, he used this marriage to stabilize the country. The rear, established a foothold on the west side.
Facts have proved that using a woman to bring Qin many years of development is a good deal.
Li Si naturally understands this truth.
Seeing that he was silent for a moment, he gritted his teeth and handed over his hand: "I thought that making peace with the Xiongnu would solve our urgent need."
Wow!
The entire palace was in an uproar!
At this moment, before Zhao Hao could speak, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Prime Minister Li is right, if marrying a woman can make the Huns retreat, why not? Our father is dead anyway. , Great Qin is not the original Great Qin, right? Oh. How about learning from the original Six Kingdoms and cutting off territories and paying indemnities. I believe the Xiongnu Chanyu will be more satisfied!"
Hearing these sarcastic words, all the ministers couldn't help but look outside the door. They saw four young men wearing five-clawed black dragon robes and sword shoes walking slowly from outside the hall.
"Who asked them to come?"
Hu Hai frowned and muttered unhappily.
Zhao Hao on the side raised the corners of his mouth and looked at the door with interest. (End of chapter)
