When the dawn sun shone through the magnificent palace walls, several swallows circled back and forth over the palace, then "chirped" and rested on the hanging beasts on the eaves of the palace. Suddenly, a roar of "Trash..." came from the palace, and several swallows were frightened and fled in all directions.
It's July, and although it's just dawn, the hot day begins at this moment. In the Xuanzheng Hall, the beads of sweat on the foreheads of the ministers increased sharply as the Han Emperor's anger increased!
The Han Emperor's slightly trembling right hand slapped the armrest of the dragon chair fiercely, and the corners of his mouth trembled because of the anger in his heart. "Trash...all just wine bags and rice bags...a hundred thousand troops plus 50,000 Lanzhou garrison were almost wiped out." ! Where is Xu Bingde? Where is Xu Bingde?"
Xu Bingde, who was at the bottom of the stairs, held the wat board in his hand, tremblingly hurried out of work, and knelt down on the ground, "I... I'm here!"
"As the Minister of War, you should know best how many troops and horses are left on the front line this time, right?" Emperor Han stared at Xu Bingde with sharp eyes.
The moment Xu Bingde raised his head slightly, and after meeting Emperor Han's eyes, he quickly lowered his head and replied with a trembling voice: "There are still... less than 40,000 horses left!"
"General Xun was recommended by you, tell me! How should we handle this matter?"
Xu Bingde was shocked again. The Holy Master was clearly setting a trap for him again. If he answered correctly or incorrectly, he would be criticized again.
When Xu Bingde was hesitating and unable to speak, Zhou Zhongwang from the martial arts class on the side walked out of the class slowly and said: "Your Majesty, please be patient. General Xun Mou recommended by Mr. Xu has nothing wrong with him. The veteran also knows me best as his disciple." , he was in command alone this time and had no leadership experience. Moreover, Xunmou originally solved the siege of Lanzhou. However, because he was young and energetic, he did not understand the principle of not pursuing the enemy when he was in trouble. As a result, when he was chasing the rebel army, he was attacked by the enemy. The ambush only cost half of the damage."
"That's right..." Prince Liu Yan quickly agreed, "In this way, the merits and demerits balance out, General Xun is still useful."
Emperor Han then nodded with a sigh of relief.
King Ning Liu Xun went out to report: "Father, it has become a fact that General Xun's defeat has become a fact. It should be replaced as soon as possible to stabilize the morale of the army."
The Han Emperor couldn't help but frown. Changing the commander was not a trivial matter. Although Xunmou was defeated, it would be difficult to find a suitable successor now.
At this time, Yang You, the Minister of Dali Temple, came out and reported: "Exactly, General Xuanwei An Shiqing has contributed a lot to the heroic killing of the enemy on the front line this time. It is most appropriate for him to take command."
"What do you think, dear friends?" Emperor Han asked tentatively.
Prince Liu Yan quickly answered: "Your Majesty, my grandson thinks something is wrong. What the Second Uncle Wang said just now about Xunmou's defeat is wrong. This battle denies General Xun’s contribution, and I’m afraid the soldiers on the front line will be disappointed!”
Liu Xun gritted his teeth secretly after hearing this. Emperor Han nodded and thought it made sense, so he asked Zhou Zhongwang, "Old Marshal, what do you think?"
"What the prince said is not unreasonable. Victory and defeat are inevitable. If you change the commander on the spot just because of one defeat, you will not only change the commander, but also the hearts of millions of people. It is not easy. It is the hot summer in Shanzhou now, and it is unbearably hot. , once there is a drought, it will be difficult for the soldiers to maintain a stalemate with the Tibetan army." Zhou Zhongwang replied slowly.
Emperor Han nodded, "What do you think, old marshal?"
"The old minister thinks that it is better for the army to retreat to Lanzhou. Since the city of Lanzhou is impregnable, our army is not as unprepared as last time. Therefore, it is still impossible for the rebel army to break through Lanzhou in a year and a half. In the old minister's opinion, wait It’s not too late to get ready after this summer.” Zhou Zhongwang bowed and said.
"Okay!" Emperor Han said decisively, "Then we will order the army to retreat to Lanzhou, and An Shiqing will be appointed as Lanzhou Jiedushi to stay in Lanzhou.
When all the civil and military officials were standing back on their trains, an official with a silver beard and a drooping chest came out of the squad and reported: "Your Majesty, I have this memorial from Chu Hui, Minister of Guanglu Temple."
"Say it!"
"On July 18th, His Majesty's birthday banquet is coming. I have made all preparations. The personnel of the Taiguan Office have also been arranged according to Your Majesty's wishes. The Office of the Chief of Mining and the Office of Fine Food have also prepared a lot of everything. Only good wines have been prepared. The director of the department is saying that this year’s Taolu Spring Wine will not be brewed!”
"Why?"
Chu Hui looked sad and reported: "Mr. Geng Nande, the director of the Liangxiang Department, passed away last month."
"Oh?" Emperor Han was startled, and then sighed, "It's a pity. Mr. Geng is also eighty years old and has been brewing wine for the royal family for half his life. Once he leaves this time, I will never be able to drink the wine he brewed. Yes. What about his son Geng Zhongren?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Geng Zhongren also left with his father on the first day of the Lunar New Year the day before yesterday. Now only the orphan Geng Zilian is left."
"Then the director of the Liangxiang Office should be Geng Zilian." The Han Emperor nodded slightly, and then shouted loudly, "Has Liu Yunji, the minister of Honglu Temple, come to court?"
"I'm here!" A tall man with a beady face said out of the classroom.
The Han Emperor then asked, "Liu Aiqing, have all the foreign guests from various countries arrived at Honglu Temple recently?"
"Back to Your Majesty, more than a dozen places including Duoshi Kingdom, Nanyue Kingdom, Korea, Japan, Uighur, and Dangxiang have sent envoys and arranged programs, but..." Liu Yunji hesitated to speak, for fear of being blamed by the Han Emperor.
The Han Emperor answered seriously: "Only the envoys from the Kingdom of Dafan and the Kingdom of Qita are not here, right?"
"Uh..." Liu Yunji said hesitantly, "Exactly!"
The Han Emperor flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and said angrily: "After this summer, the Kingdom of Fan must appear on the territory of the Han Dynasty."
Kuji Temple at night, there are a few frogs and cicadas chirping from time to time, which is a special experience. But some people are not in the mood to appreciate the tranquility of this midsummer. Zen Master Guzhi, who was always calm and composed, was sitting on the main seat in the Zen room, drinking tea from time to time and meditating. In the hall, Yin Ji and Gao Yun were pacing back and forth anxiously, rubbing their hands and sighing from time to time.
"You two sit down first!" Zen Master Guzhi couldn't bear it anymore and tried his best to restrain himself. "You two are swinging back and forth like this, I almost fainted."
Gao Jun clapped his hands helplessly, "Master, how can we calm down? We have been sleeping for four months and still haven't woken up. What if..."
Gao Yun didn't dare to say any more, but Yin Ji sobbed with a "wow" sound. Gao Yun looked at Yin Ji impatiently, "I just know how to cry. If crying worked, people would wake up long ago."
Yin Ji sobbed: "It's not because you were cramped, of course you said so..."
"Hey..." Zen Master Guzhi sighed, "I guess it will be difficult for Zuo'er to escape this disaster!"
"What?" Yin Ji couldn't believe his ears, "It's impossible, Master is omnipotent, there's no way he can die!"
Gao Jun became more and more angry, kicked the chair in front of him, and cursed: "Damn it, I'll kill Liu Yan's grandson first, and when Xun Mou comes back, I'll have to cut off his hand and hamstrings." After that, he pulled out his hand and hamstrings. With the sword on his waist, he was about to rush out the door.
"Stop!" Zen Master Guzhi called Gao Yun sternly, "You can't kill Liu Yan like this, but ruin your own future. Do you know that a little impatience will mess up a big plan! Now is not the time to confront others head-on. Moreover, as you are now General of the Jinwu Guard, this is a very advantageous position, how can we give up on our success, you must hold it for Zuoer."
Gao Jun lowered his head helplessly and sighed, then put the sword back into its scabbard, "You can't look at my elder brother..."
The old Zen master thought: "There is nothing we can do now!"
