The summer palace in Yicheng, Yongchang County, is a large palace with many palaces.
At first, the area of this summer palace was not very large, but with the continuous expansion by several prefects hundreds of years ago, it finally reached its current size.
On both sides of the huge main hall located in the center of the Summer Palace, there are two side halls that cover an area that is no less than the main hall, but the top of the main hall is slightly shorter.
On this day, a large number of palace attendants and guards gathered outside the door of one of the side halls, which had rarely been used for formal discussions in recent years, surrounding the side halls airtightly.
There was no one sitting in the main seat at the top of the hall, but in the empty hall below, there were three figures standing together looking at each other.
Faintly in the middle among the three of them, one stood facing the palace gate, wearing the garb of the eunuch. He was fat and had solemn eyebrows. He was holding his hands behind his back and had a big belly. It was Meng Jiaoyang, the eunuch of Yongchang County. He was staring at him. Looking at the two people in front of him, he deliberately lowered his voice and asked, "Is there any news from He Yucheng?!"
Opposite Meng Jiaoyang were the two important civil and military ministers of Yongchang County. The County Cheng and Zhao Nanpeng, who always had a smile on their faces at all times, and the County Lieutenant with slightly drooped white eyebrows, who looked obviously a little out of sorts today. , Wang Quanhu.
Zhao Nanpeng glanced at Wang Quanhu, who had no intention of speaking, and his smile couldn't help but grow a little thicker, and he replied, "Reporting to the prefect, earlier today, the manpower we sent to the south sent a message back, saying that a large number of people around Heyu City came to the north. The earliest batch has arrived in Mianjin City, and more are still in and around Weiming City, and there is a steady stream, and the number has a tendency to increase further. At the same time, the messengers or scouts sent to Heyu City should be We have already entered the city, but no one has returned a message, so it’s probably nine out of ten...that they have died."
"So," Meng Jiaoyang's narrow eyes narrowed slightly on her plump face, and she squinted at Wang Quanhu, "Wang Hui's Heyu City was really lost as that kid Luo Chuan said... it was lost?! !”
Wang Quan looked at his nose and heart, standing slightly swaying in the empty hall, as if he was weak enough to fall over if a gust of wind blew, but said nothing.
Zhao Nanpeng looked at Meng Jiaoyang, then at Wang Quanhu, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared, "Master Taishou, the fall of Heyu City is inevitable. Most of our manpower sent to the south are now concentrated in Weiming City. , some of the news they sent back was quite confusing to the ministers..." He turned his head slightly and looked at Wang Quanhu, his expression turned cold, "First, the guard of Heyu City is also the son of Wang Junwei. Hui was nowhere to be seen, but Wang Hui's son Wang Mingyuan led nearly 20,000 Heyucheng's defeated soldiers to retreat to Weiming City to defend it. I remember Wang Junwei once said that Heyucheng was stationed with Wang Hui and his army, and it was impregnable. Heyucheng's tens of thousands The elites and Heyu City coexist and die together, but what happened now that caused the remaining 20,000 elites to abandon the city and flee?"
Wang Quanhu looked extremely cold, raised his head slightly, and also glanced sideways at Zhao Nanpeng, but still did not speak.
Zhao Nanpeng's face returned to a smile, "Secondly, Wang Mingyuan is only a mere military commander, and he is not more than a thousand men, but now he can command 20,000 Heyucheng elites and just run away. Could it be that these 20,000 elites are already Your royal family’s private army only listens to the orders of your royal family?!!”
Wang Quanhu finally couldn't help but speak after hearing this. His voice was hoarse and low, but it was filled with uncontrollable anger. He stared into Zhao Nanpeng's eyes, his eyes red, "Zhao Nanpeng, until now, you are still Do you want to use your bad mouth to cholera the world? Heyu City fell, and my son Wang Hui must have died in Heyu City with tens of thousands of elites. When it comes to your mouth, it becomes "missing"? There are fifty or sixty thousand people in Heyu City. Elite, now that the general has died in battle, only 20,000 people have escaped. If my son Wang Hui had not ordered the withdrawal before his death, we would never have been able to take those 20,000 people away even if we were here personally. When it comes to your mouth, it becomes The military prince Wang Mingyuan led 20,000 elites to abandon the city and flee. Why, all the descendants of my Wang family must be dead, and the court will be filled with your Zhao Nanpeng lackeys and confidants inside and outside the court, so they can take advantage of your heart and kill you. What do you mean?!"
Zhao Nanpeng's expression changed and he shouted angrily, "Wang Quanhu, don't rely on your old age here. The matter of Heyu City has not yet been decided, so you are sure that Wang Hui died in the battle instead of abandoning the city and escaping? Moreover, even if he Wang Hui died in the battle of Heyu City. Heyu City was so strong that it had not fallen for nine hundred years. Now, he was easily lost. Yicheng learned the news even later than Lijun. He was a waste to the extreme. Why, Lord Taishou? Do you want to give him a hero's temple for your Wang family?!"
Wang Quanhu was trembling with anger when he heard this, his lips were pale, but he couldn't say a word.
Just when Zhao Nanpeng was about to say something to take advantage of the victory, Meng Jiaoyang suddenly shouted, "Okay!"
There was silence in the main hall, with only the echo of "Okay" echoing around a few times.
Meng Jiaoyang glanced at Wang Quanhu and said calmly, "The matter between Wang Hui and Wang Mingyuan has not yet been decided, and there is no need to discuss it further. However, the military situation is urgent now. Wang Junwei is old and has lost his beloved son. I think it is better to go home and recuperate." If it is appropriate, the next affairs of the Military Affairs Office, as well as the military affairs of each city and army, will be personally in charge of this prefect."
Wang Quanhu lowered his head and said, "Old minister, I would like to thank the prefect for your kindness..."
"Master Taishou!" Zhao Nanpeng suddenly interrupted the conversation and said, "General Xu Lin of Yicheng is a soldier led by Wang Junwei. He is more than brave but not wise enough. At this time when Yongchang is in danger, it is time to choose another mature and prudent person to take charge. Da Ren, take charge of the military affairs of Yicheng, and cooperate tacitly with General Sun of Zhaoshui City to block the Nanyi south of Mianjin City and protect the peace of Yicheng! Lord Taishou," he looked at Meng Jiaoyang with a sincere look, "Think twice. ...!"
After hearing this, Meng Jiaoyang walked up to Zhao Nanpeng, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, shook him twice and said, "Sure enough, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Some of Zhao Qing's words really spoke to the heart of this prefect," he sighed. He said, "Now that Heyu City has been lost, Nanyi's march north has become a foregone conclusion. To ensure peace for Baoyi City, it is necessary to deploy defenses on the front lines of Mianjin City and Zhaoshui City. With the support of hundreds of years of Yicheng's foundation, and with the help of the Fubo River and Mianshui River, Only by creating a natural moat can the Nanyi be completely blocked from advancing to the south. After that, we can make alliances with other allies in an attempt to regain Heyu City."
Zhao Nanpeng nodded heavily when he heard this, and was about to speak again, but Meng Jiaoyang's hand on his shoulder shook him again, interrupting his rhythm.
Meng Jiaoyang stared into Zhao Nanpeng's eyes and said sincerely, "Zhao Qing, when you leave the palace today, you will send a letter to Zhaoshui City for me and give it to General Sun Miao, saying that the survival of Yongchang for nine hundred years depends entirely on Sun. As an old general, I will not let Zhaoshui City suffer any harm. When the day comes, Meng Jiaoyang will ask His Majesty the Emperor for an order to make old General Sun the Great General Protecting the Country. It will be hereditary and will not be replaced!!"
Zhao Nanpeng was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and saluted, "My lord, on behalf of General Sun, I would like to thank the Grand Administrator for your kindness!!"
Meng Jiaoyang slapped Zhao Nanpeng on the shoulder again and said slowly, "As for the position of General Yicheng..." Seeing Zhao Nanpeng raise his head to look at him, he smiled softly and said, "Xu Lin should continue Damn it, although Xu Lin is a soldier brought out by Lieutenant Wang, he still has to listen to me, the prefect, regardless of whether Lieutenant Zhao is there or not. Xu Lin has a brave spirit, and I have a wise heart. Together we can protect Yicheng and even Mianjin City from worries, Zhao Qing, do you think so?"
Zhao Nanpeng quickly lowered his head to hide the look of surprise on his face, but no matter what, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Wang Quanhu's face who also lowered his head on the other side.
All I saw was an old face that was shocked at first, then depressed...
