The desk in the imperial study room was filled with urgent memorials, most of which were urgent documents from Lanzhou and other places. As Emperor Han slapped the case hard, in the imperial study room which had been silent for a long time, three figures knelt down in front of the case again.
"Old Marshal, please explain, what does this mean?" The Han Emperor's beard trembled, and he pointed angrily at Zhou Zhongwang, then picked up the memorial on the case and threw it at him, "less than half a year after Shanzhou was recovered, it was again After being plundered by the Yi and Di, it is estimated that it will be difficult to save Lanzhou now. Are the governors you recommended for the two states all useless?"
Zhou Zhongwang calmly picked up the memorial on the ground, took a brief look at it, and then reported: "Although the country of Tibet is not as glorious as it used to be, its desire to annex the Central Plains is still undying, and its leader is capricious. If you want to cross the border, It is really difficult not to be disturbed. In the past, they would leave on their own after being harassed and plundered. I never thought that this time they would annex Shanzhou and other places one after another. It seems that the thieves are quite serious."
"Then in your opinion, how should we deal with it?"
"In my opinion, the most important thing right now is to send troops to assist Lanzhou first to solve the urgent need before moving to Shanzhou." Zhou Zhongwang replied slowly.
"Yes!" Emperor Han nodded slightly with satisfaction, "Let the three beaus tell you who should be sent."
Xu Bingde, the Minister of War, said: "I feel that it is time for Marshal Zhou to enjoy family happiness, so it is most appropriate for Xun Mou to take charge now!"
After hearing this, the Han Emperor frowned, obviously still a little worried about Xunmou. Although Xunmou had outstanding achievements in the past, they were all obtained by following Zhou Zhongwang. If he wanted to really put him in command, he would probably have little qualifications. Zhou Zhongwang He was old and frail, and if he didn't train new people, he would make more difficult decisions in the future, so he asked Zhou Zhongwang: "Old Marshal, you know Xun Mou best. What do you think about letting him take command?"
"This..." Zhou Zhongwang hesitated for a moment and thought, "Although Xunmou has been on the battlefield for a long time, the current marshal of the Great Fan Kingdom is Xiruo Zanzhuo, the son of the enemy's Dalun Xilingzan. The old minister has had several encounters with Xiruo Zanzhuo. In the fight, this person is cunning and cunning, so this time the veteran recommended himself and is willing to take charge personally!"
Emperor Han was silent again for a while. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out. Then the Prime Minister Li Shizhi broke the silence, "Your Majesty, I feel that General Xun has been in battle for a long time and is a close disciple of the old marshal. I have had contacts with General Xun. This man is far-sighted and well versed in the art of war. Why not let Xun General, give it a try. This can also be used to test whether Xun Mou is suitable to be the future pillar of the Han Dynasty, or to train himself to become the second Marshal Zhou of our future!"
Emperor Han nodded, "Okay, let's do this! This time, the Dafan Kingdom and the Qita Kingdom jointly claim to have 200,000 troops, which is estimated to be only 110,000 or 20,000 troops. Old Marshal, what do you think now? How many people should be entrusted to Xun Mou?"
"Back to the Holy Spirit, I feel that the reason why the rebel army was able to successfully capture Shanzhou was mainly because of many factors such as the lack of troops there and the unfavorable defense. The reason why the rebel army in Lanzhou was unable to attack for a long time was that the border defense strength here was relatively strong. There are almost Fifty thousand border troops are stationed, and if Xun Mou is put in command, I think 250,000 troops plus the 50,000 troops stationed in Lanzhou will be enough."
"Two hundred and fifty thousand?" Emperor Han said in surprise. This was not a small number. After all, it accounted for half of the entire country's military strength.
"Yes! Two hundred and fifty thousand! Xun Mou is so young. If he is to lead an army for the first time, based on the experience of veterans, the more the better. Two hundred and fifty thousand troops is the most suitable. And the reason why the barbarians dared to attack the state capital in such a big way must be Prepare how to face the challenge." Zhou Zhongwang knew his apprentice's ability, and was obviously even more worried.
"this……"
Emperor Han suddenly fell into deep thought. Xu Bingde called out twice before Emperor Han came back to his senses. Xu Bingde continued: "I think Xunmou's 100,000 troops are enough. In addition to the 50,000 troops stationed in Lanzhou, the 150,000 General Ma Xun will definitely be enough. If Xunmou leads too many troops, the domestic military resources will be tight. You know, I The Han and Southern Barbarian countries are watching with eager eyes. If the enemy countries join forces to form a vertical and horizontal plan, wouldn't it be a small gain but a big gain?"
"Hmm! That makes sense!" the Han Emperor thought, "then Xu Bingde of the Ministry of War, you and Prime Minister Li Shizhi drafted a decree to appoint Xun Mou as the general of Zhenxi, commanding 100,000 troops. Is this the vanguard camp? Let Xuan Mo be the general. Wei General An Shiqing will serve as the vanguard, leading five thousand soldiers and horses. Du Zongting, the imperial censor, will also serve as the pacification envoy. Let’s draft the decree now. The army must set off on time tomorrow without delaying the war opportunity."
When Xun Mou received the imperial edict, it was already afternoon. Although he already knew the news about Dafan's raid on Shanzhou, he did not expect that the emperor would appoint himself as the general manager of the march. Although the appointment was hasty, it was also a good opportunity to prove himself. . However, before setting off tomorrow, Xun Mou knew that he had to do something important so that he could set off with confidence.
The Prison of the Ministry of Punishment is the prison of the Superintendent of the Ministry of Punishment. It has ten cells, each of which can accommodate about 200 people. Only two of them have iron windows on the walls, which are relatively ventilated and comfortable. Therefore, these two cells are used to hold people with relatively minor crimes. Prisoners, but the same thing is that the cells are dirty and filthy. The prisoners eat, drink, defecate, and sleep in the cells. However, there are also ten special cells designed to hold special prisoners in isolation, and Lu Zuo is detained here.
In the stinky cell, as soon as you breathe in, the pungent smell is simply overwhelming. Lu Zuo had been beaten all over his body from morning till now. His clothes, which were torn by the whip, were trapped in the newly opened wounds. Several mosquitoes and flies were flying around him. Lu Zuo could no longer care about that much. At this moment, he didn't even have the strength to take a breath, so he could only lie curled up on his side on the cold straw mat.
"Brother, are you okay?" Outside the wooden fence, a familiar voice shouted proudly.
Lu Zuo's hair was disheveled, his face was covered with blood stains and dirt, and he looked even thinner, without his former charm at all. But he still trembled and struggled to raise his head. When he saw it was Xun Mou, he lowered his head and ignored it. There was still a trace of disdain in his faint eyes.
"I never thought you would be here today!" Xun Mou couldn't help but feel pity, but his tone was quite proud, making it difficult for people to understand what he was thinking. Seeing that Lu Zuo didn't speak, he continued, "Who let the outside world use you to talk to him? I compare."
Xun Mou then retreated, leaving only himself and Lu Zuo talking alone. Xun Mou then sneered mockingly and said: "'Xun Mou and Lu Zuo are the best in the world' Haha! It's just a joke. Look who you can help, King Ning? They don't take you seriously at all! King Wei ? Finally that fool chose you, look what will happen now! I, Xun Mou, am known as the 'unparalleled scholar in the country', the last thing you should do is dare to compare with me Xun Mou..."
At this time, Lu Zuo gave a cold "hum", pouted the corner of his mouth mockingly, and still did not answer.
Lu Zuo's action made Xun Mou even more angry, "Do you think you can get out alive? I tell you, you will never see the sun tomorrow."
"Haha..." Lu Zuo suddenly laughed, and Xun Mou couldn't help but tremble. He didn't expect that Lu Zuo was still a tough guy until now.
"Come here!" Xun Mou called a warden, "Hang Lu Zuo up!"
The two jailers opened the cell door, lifted Lu Zuosheng up, then took off the shackles in his hands, then directly tied his hands and hung him on a wooden stake beside the cell wall, with his feet not touching the ground and his body hanging in the air. , his hands were tightly strangled by the rope, Lu Zuo gritted his teeth in pain and said nothing.
Xun Mou nodded to the jailer, and the two jailers brought a furnace of red-hot charcoal. There was also a black iron brand on the stove, and two bright daggers were stuck next to the iron iron.
Xun Mou pulled out the iron brand from the stove, and with a "sizzle" sound, the red iron emitted white smoke, and a pungent smell flashed into his nose. Xun Mou admired the iron brand in his hand and said, "Lu Zuo, Do you still remember what the bandit leader said when we were at Kuji Temple?"
Lu Zuo was unable to speak, his face was drooped, his head was drooped and he remained silent.
"As long as you can hand over "Guigu Zongheng Lun", maybe I can still think of letting you go in terms of our friendship with the same disciples." Seeing that he still remained silent, Xunmou became angry and said, "Say, where are you?"
Xun Mou roared hysterically, his eyes full of anger, but Lu Zuo just sneered hard, the laughter was sarcastic, as if to say that you will never get it, you will never get it from Guigu. The true story of the door.
Xun Mou was already furious and impatient. He inserted the iron brand into the stove until it burned red. Shao Qing pulled out the red iron brand and burned it on Lu Zuo's chest.
