With people from the Gongyang Palace escorting him along the way, Duanmu Jing reached the border smoothly. After setting foot on the territory of Jue Kingdom, he went straight to Mu Danqing's camp in Baishan County.
Except for Duanmu Yu, only four people in the government and the public knew the overall situation of Jue's Northern Expedition plan: Xu Qianmeng, Duanmu Ke, Mu Danqing and Duanmu Jing.
According to the previous plan, before the army goes north, Jue Kingdom must first contact Xianma, Shatuo, and Xue Kingdom externally, and internally divide the forces of Gongyang Palace, Huangfu Palace, and Dahua Jianghu. No matter how fast it is, it will take two years to achieve success. However, Xia Chenghuan suddenly led troops to surround Ruozhou and Xianma Kingdom gradually showed signs of being close to Dahua, so Duan Muyu had to speed up his pace.
At that time, the finances of all countries were not generous, and the roads in remote states and counties were often blocked, resulting in no communication. It is not uncommon for a military report to be sent from south to north and from east to west, taking a month or two. It is said that soldiers are valuable and fast, and the fighting opportunity is fleeting. Before Duanmu Jing left Ruozhou, Duanmuyu did not give him an explicit order. He only said that Mu Danqing's army took the opportunity to go north and attack Chunan, where General Chunan's mansion is located. State camp.
This is a strategy that takes the enemy by surprise. It catches not only the great power but also the entire country.
On the night before leaving, Duanmu Yu said to Duanmu Jingdao in the bedroom——
"It is only a matter of time before the Jue Kingdom marches north. Although we are not fully prepared at the moment, so is Dahua. Cangsheng County is far away from the capital, and Gongyang Family has raised so many generals privately. Who are you kidding if you say you have no ambition?"
"Before the war, we must win over Gong Yangxun, and he must be the check and balance of the White Army. It is impossible for the Dahua court to be unaware of Xia Muyang's death, and Xia Chengcan must know that this matter is related to the Gongyang Palace. For Gong Yangxun , the White Army is like a sharp blade that may stab you at any time, you must not only be on guard at all times, but it is best to destroy it completely."
"You go to Gong Yangxun first. Whatever he wants, Jue Kingdom can give it to him! At this time, we must induce him to rebel. If he can't make up his mind, we will threaten him with harm. It is called 'clairvoyance' in the Dahua court. Spread the news inside and outside the market that Gongyang Prince's Palace has formed an alliance with the Jue Kingdom. It should be false or true, true or false. Reveal the matter in more detail, and make people believe that it is true if it is false. Haha, there is a fire under your butt. The bench, I don’t believe Gong Yangxun can sit on it!”
"After finishing this matter, you must go to Mu Danqing non-stop and ask him to prepare for war and choose the opportunity to lead the troops north. In my opinion, the army should first go northeast from Tanzhou and avoid the Pinan post where the White Army is located Rush towards Chunan County. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Northern Expedition cannot be accomplished overnight. This time, we must destroy his Chunan Army first!
The Sheep Prince's Mansion was watching eagerly, and Xia Chengcan was worried that they would send troops to encircle him, so he would not act rashly. "
"Of course, it would be better if he leads the White Army to fight. If there is an opportunity to join forces with Mu Danqing to destroy the White Army, Gongyang Xunding happily agrees. Although the White Army is powerful, the combined efforts of Gongyang Prince's Palace and Mu Danqing's tribe will We can definitely wipe them out in one fell swoop! Well, they slaughtered more than 200,000 people in Beiye, and this debt must be repaid eventually."
Thinking of the heavy responsibility he shouldered, Duanmu Jing's bloodshot eyes became cold and stern again. He wrapped his robe tightly, raised his whip and whipped the horse's buttocks, and led a small group of men and horses to rush south against the cold wind, and soon disappeared in the misty rain. at.
...
When Mei Yuanchen, Yun Xiaoyang, and Hen Hongchen arrived in Hanzhou, it was already dark. Although the guards were skeptical when Mei Yuanchen revealed his identity, they still took him outside the Youjun tent, where he met an acquaintance: Zuo Yiqian.
Duanmu Lan sent people to raid the palaces of important officials in the capital at night, killing five of the twenty-one first-rank ministers. One of these five ministers was Zuo Siping, the head of the Ministry of War, who was Zuo Yiqian's father.
"Master Yuanchen, why are you here?" Although the candlelight was dim, Zuo Yiqian still recognized Mei Yuanchen at a glance. He hurriedly put down the document in his hand and walked over, asking with a smile, "How come you are here, Master?" here?"
Seeing that there were two women behind Mei Yuanchen, he only nodded to Yun and Bai without asking anything. In his opinion, since they came here with Mei Yuanchen, they were close to him, so it was not appropriate to ask any more questions.
When the Zuo family mourned, Xia Muchao took Xia Chengxuan and Mei Yuanchen to the Zuo Mansion to express condolences, and Mei Yuanchen met Zuo Yiqian there. In the days that followed, the two of them occasionally had some contact, so they were considered acquaintances.
After Xia Chengxuan came to the throne, he greatly rewarded the old ministers in Prince Jia's palace, but he never rewarded Mei Yuanchen. In his own words, he said: "Yuanchen is my father's adopted son, and my adopted brother is the king of Prince Jaw's palace." Young Master. Half of everything I have belongs to him. How can I reward him?"
His words were spoken to the civil and military ministers in the Qinzheng Hall, and soon spread throughout the government and the public. Therefore, although Mei Yuanchen did not inherit any title or hold any court position, he was no less noble than a prince.
After Zuo Siping's death, he was posthumously awarded the title of "Five Fang Marquis" by Emperor Yonghua. Zuo Yiqian, who was only 32 years old, inherited the title of Countless Count. Shortly after his father's death, King Duan arranged for him to go to the Ministry of War to perform his duties. Now he is a third-rank member of the Ministry of War, Wailang. This time I came to Ruozhou with an order, and I was led by the right general of the Shenshaoying Camp.
He was Xia Chenghuan's deputy in the army.
"General Zuo, is Prince Rui here? I have something urgent to see him." Mei Yuanchen had something on his mind and didn't want to say too much, so he just explained his purpose.
Xia Chengyi's life was at stake, and he didn't dare to delay for a moment.
"His Royal Highness Prince Rui is at the Central Army Tent. If you look for him, I will take you there right now." Zuo Yiqian nodded and replied seriously.
According to the military system, when ordinary officials meet the commander-in-chief of the army, they must be informed by personal soldiers. As for whether they meet or not, it depends on the commander-in-chief personally. Zuo Yiqian obviously had no intention of letting his soldiers pass the news, so he took half a step sideways and led the three of them straight to the Chinese military tent.
Still more than thirty feet away from the Chinese military tent, Mei Yuanchen's face suddenly turned gloomy!
Since practicing the longevity skill, his ear power is increasing day by day. At this time, he can detect the words of people dozens of feet away and hear the drop of a needle within ten feet. Just then I listened carefully and heard the thing I least wanted to hear.
"Listen to me, we are here to kill Duanmuyu, the emperor of Jue Kingdom! Now that we have found out where he is hiding, there is no reason to let him escape alive. You will act according to your plan in a while. Cooperate with each other, no matter what, we will wipe out everyone in Jue Country!"
That was Xia Chenghuan giving the military order to the generals to encircle and suppress the courtyard.
"Sure enough, Qing Ji's guess was right. Cheng Huan really wanted to violate the imperial edict and kill him first and then show off!" Mei Yuanchen thought angrily.
Seeing Mei Yuanchen suddenly stop, Yun and Bai also stopped.
"Master Yuanchen, why don't you stop? In front of you is the Chinese military tent, and His Royal Highness Prince Rui is inside." Zuo Yiqian turned around and asked. He was the deputy general here, and he should have been asked to come with him to discuss important matters such as the encirclement and suppression of Duan Muyu, but Xia Chenghuan seemed to have deliberately dismissed him.
After all, he is not from Prince Rui's palace, so he may not be of the same mind as him. If he insists on adhering to the emperor's instructions to "catch alive but not to kill", it will definitely affect the morale of the military. What's more, there are more than 6,000 warriors from Prince Duan's Mansion and Duke Qin's Mansion left by Qin Xiaoyou, plus the confidants from Prince Rui's Mansion and his own Shenshao camp, while Duan Muyu's bodyguards are less than a hundred, even if they include the Xu family, they are not enough. For consideration.
Previously, Xiahe County Chief Secretary Ninten had replaced Wang Zhongquan and taken control of the Ruozhou garrison barracks. With them keeping the Xu family in check, Xia Chenghuan was very sure of his own people.
"It will happen tonight! Chenghuan is willing to exchange this head for ten years of peace in Dahua. Please protect me from my ancestors!" Xia Chenghuan raised his head facing north, closed his eyes and prayed.
