In the palace city of Yuhang County, the originally beaming monarchs and ministers of the Jin Kingdom instantly froze after receiving a battle report.
"Shuzi!"
Liu Jie suddenly pressed the bamboo slip in his hand to the ground and stood up by clapping the table. Veins on his temples popped out due to anger. His chest heaved and his heavy breathing was like an angry black bear.
The bamboo slips hit the ground, which made the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs of the Jin Kingdom feel a little nervous.
"Your Majesty, I wonder what happened?"
Guowei Kou came out of the crowd and asked cautiously.
Liu Jie took a look, sat down on the throne of Lord Peng again and said, "Pick it up and take a look at it yourself."
The Kou family was extremely powerful in the Jin Kingdom, and even Liu Jie treated Kou Zhong, the head of the Kou family, with great courtesy.
Kou Zhong picked up the bamboo slips and looked at them, but his brows became more and more wrinkled.
"Lord Kou, what does this military newspaper say?" Situ Caoning asked.
The Kou generals handed over the bamboo slips in their hands and said: "Yan Tao was defeated three times in a row and lost more than 5,000 troops. Ju Chuan, Ruan Jin, and Lin Zhiming were killed in the battle. Tang Qiu's whereabouts are unknown and he may have suffered an accident. The three brigades of the left army, A, B, and B, Completely lost combat effectiveness.”
Kou Zhong's words shocked everyone in the palace. No one knew who Yan Tao was in the Jin Kingdom. Although he had a bad temper and was a bit henpecked, he was definitely the most capable leader in the Jin Kingdom. Otherwise It is impossible to win Liu Jie's trust and respect.
Originally, everyone thought that the reason why Zuo Jun was late was because he had lost some vitality from the battle a few days ago and needed to recuperate. But what they were waiting for was this kind of news, which was like a bolt from the blue.
"Mr. Kou, are you serious about this?" Siko Luyi stood up and asked, unable to hide the shock on his face.
The bandits sighed and said, "Mr. Cao, please pass the bamboo slips around."
At this time, Cao Ning's face was also gloomy and terrifying, and everyone was already a little panicked.
You must know that the soldiers under Yan Tao's command are one of the most elite troops in the Jin Kingdom. Even the imperial guards dare not claim a guaranteed victory, and their winning rate against the other four armies is as high as 80%.
However, such a powerful army suffered casualties as high as 5,000, more than 50%, in just a few days, and it was also the most elite A-shaped brigade and C-shaped brigade. This can basically be said for any army. It's useless.
At this time, except for Taifu and Tsukazai, who were staying at home and abroad, Liu Jie, the remaining seven ministers, all brought out. The remaining few people gathered their heads in a circle and watched the military report without caring about their appearance.
Liu Jie watched the bamboo slips turn around and asked in a deep voice: "I have read the military report. Let me tell you anything."
Everyone looked at each other and finally Kou Zhong stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the revenge of the loss of the master must be avenged, but the other party is the former prince of the imperial family. Although he was named the king of Jin from afar for some reason, he is still the prince. If Hasty revenge may lead to disgrace."
When Lu Yi heard this, he stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I also thought that I should think twice. The Liang State has long had a plot against me. If the Jin seeks help from Liang, then the Lord of Liang will have a good reputation. The Liang State has more than 100,000 armored men. , we have just experienced a great war, and I am afraid we will not be able to defeat them."
Liu Jie flicked his long sleeves. He naturally knew this situation, but it was impossible for him, the little overlord of the Central Plains, to bear this sigh of relief when the five thousand elites were gone.
Moreover, he is still a demoted prince, and now everyone in Yong'an City is only willing to listen to the decrees. If it is a powerful country like Zhao, Chu and Zhou Wei, it is nothing to do with the King of Jin who has not seen a single fiefdom. It was Wang Jue who was still riding the horse.
Liu Jie, the leader of the Kingdom of Jin, who was nominally a viscount, was very unhappy.
"Cao Situ, what do you think?" Liu Jie turned his attention to the toughest Cao Ning.
Cao Ning's heart was filled with grass. Naturally, these old foxes in the court looked at them much more than the young people who were slashing people with swords. Anyone who could stand here knew the essence of being both responsible and upright.
Although the Kingdom of Jin is strong, it can only show off its power in front of small countries like Peng Shu. Once it encounters powerful countries like Zhou Wei or even fourth-class princes like Liang, it has to hold its tail between its legs.
But seeing that the king made it clear that he didn't want to give up easily.
"Your Majesty, what the State Lieutenant Sikou said is not unreasonable. Although Tongshi has lost its deer and all the princes in the world want to chase it away, the deer still belongs to the owner Tonghuang in name. If we attack each other easily, there may be a military disaster." Cao Ning said after thinking for a moment.
Liu Jie was obviously unwilling to listen to such nonsense, so he interrupted Cao Ning and asked, "Can I disguise myself as an elite soldier?"
As soon as the words came out, Kou Zhong and others quickly said: "No!"
Liu Jie was surprised and asked: "Do you all think it's impossible?"
Kou Zhong said: "This is an act of hiding one's ears and stealing the bell." In the Kingdom of Jin, only Kou Zhong could speak so unkindly.
"Right now, the news that King Jin is in our territory of Dajin has probably spread out. No prince is willing to care about the reasons. If something happens to King Jin in our territory of Dajin, I am afraid that the Liang Kingdom will declare war on me immediately. In name, That’s the following offense.”
"Yes, Your Majesty, if you fail to succeed in an attack, you will be harmed by it. If you send out troops for the first time, it will be fine. But this time, the second and third times have been defeated miserably. The news will definitely not be intercepted. Why not give him a gift?" Exit the country. Just the King of Jin, his fiefdom is three or four thousand miles away from my Dajin. Even if I, Dajin, take revenge, it will only be a dowry for other countries, but I, Dajin, will still lose troops and generals. Now that Yuhang City has fallen, our army It also needs to be repaired by the class teacher. If the country remains empty for a long time, there may be something unspeakable."
Lu Yi stood up again and said: "Your Majesty, you can't raise an army in anger, and you can't go to war out of anger. Move if it suits your interests, and stop if it doesn't. If it doesn't suit your interests, you should stop."
Liu Jie asked unwillingly: "Where are the five thousand elite soldiers? Where is Yan Tao?"
After hearing this, Cao Ning immediately jumped out and said: "Your Majesty, this matter must be investigated strictly. If Yan Sima is provocative, he must be dealt with severely. Moreover, he has been defeated in consecutive battles, causing our army to lose five thousand elites for no reason. It is even more serious. Punishment!"
Cao Ning's Xiao Jiujiu Liujie also knew about it, and his face became very ugly. Yan Tao had protected it with his own hands. Yan Tao's military exploits had always been strong evidence of his ability to discern people, but now he was defeated one after another. , for Liu Jie, this was undoubtedly a matter of shooting left and right at his old face, wildly symmetrical.
The Kou people noticed Liu Jie's unhappiness, but he didn't care about it. Although the old Kou family was already a third-generation national captain, there were not many Kou family children in the army, so he was even happy to sing about Cao Ning's actions. Countermeasures to gain more favor from the monarch.
Thinking of this, Kou Zhong also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, we still don't know what happened. Why don't we call Yan Sima back to ask clearly before making a decision. This expedition against Yan Sima of Peng and Shu is also a great achievement. Yes, you can't punish him before his merits are rewarded. In this case, what should the soldiers think? The morale of the soldiers must be monitored."
After listening to this, Liu Jie immediately felt a lot more comfortable. This step was very comfortable.
"What you said is that you are old enough to seek the country. This is how it should be. If it is indeed Yan Tao's fault, I will uphold the law of the country. But if it is not Yan Tao's fault, I can't dampen the determination of these tens of thousands of soldiers to serve the country."
"Passed an order to the rear army, Sima Dutan, to take strict precautions within the territory. If the Jin troops move, they should be destroyed. Then Sima Yantao, the left army officer, rushes to the camp to see the fight. The army packs up and waits for Peng Shu to finish the battle."
