Chapter 40: Intrigue (1)

A decisive defeat will shock the world.

A sudden cold front blowing from Siberia hit both sides of the river. The two consecutive days of rain caused the temperature in Yingtian to drop rapidly, with the smell of a rain turning into winter.

The news of a real defeat cannot be hidden in the capital, and it has spread in the city in early September. People who are used to victory are not very adaptable to failure, and the atmosphere in the city is depressing.

Pedestrians on the street were dressed tightly and hurried home with umbrellas; the originally prosperous stores on the street also boarded early and did not do business.

An autumn rain was full of forests, and the imperial city was surrounded by a forest. The leaves were red or yellow, which looked beautiful, but the north wind blew over it to give people a slight sense of bone-permeable chill.

In the deepest part of the imperial city, a young man had a blue face and remained silent. Several officials sat around him, and everyone was silent. Only the north that shaved outside the window often made the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees rustled.

The young man plucked the exquisite tea bowl in his hand, took a sip of water, and looked up at everyone here. When there was nothing wrong, everyone was fighting for a little profit. When something happened, they were like a dull gourmet.

Zhu Yunwen kept using various methods to calm himself down. Years of strict ethics training have already learned to restrain himself and restore etiquette. But when the Jingnan incident began, he was rude in front of the ministers.

After that time, both Fang Xiaoru and his queen had told Zhu Yunwen about this issue in different ways, and he also knew that it was not done by the superiors. So at this time, Zhu Yunwen endured his inner unhappiness and his face was still as calm as water.

Fang Xiaoru was the last one to enter the imperial study room and quickly accused him of being late. Zhu Yunwen didn't blame him, so he asked someone to see the seat: "Come on, show Master Fang and serve tea for everyone." Everyone thanked him quickly, and brought the tea, and each of them tasted it briefly and put it down.

Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "Master Fang. You have been in a bad health recently, so you don't have to come."

Fang Xiaoru hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty forgives your crime. For such a big thing, the old minister should share your worries."

Zhu Yunwen waved his hand and asked Fang Xiaoru to sit down: "Master, please sit down. Everyone must have read the Tangbao of the Battle of Zhending, and they all told me how to deal with it?"

Huang Zicheng looked around and stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Geng Bingwen lost his troops and humiliated the country, and he should be punished severely. I hope Your Majesty will clearly prove the code and pass it on to the border. Then send a large army to the north to quell the Yan rebellion.

"As soon as he said this, he glanced at Qi Tai next to him.

Geng Bingwen was recommended by Qi Tai at the beginning. If he wanted to be punished, Qi Tai's crime of poor recommendation would not be able to escape. Qi Tai's face turned pale and he remained silent. Yang Jing helped Qi Tai speak during the court meeting, so he looked solemn at this time.

He knew that although Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai were in the same year, they were like brothers and sisters. However, since they entered the center, their views were always a bit different.

Huang Zicheng thought that Qi Tai was ungrateful and refused to stand with him; Qi Tai was devoted to the public, but he always felt that he was dissatisfied with Huang Zicheng. So Huang Zicheng showed no mercy to the same year.

He even wanted to bring him down, but the emperor was very good at balancing the relationship between the two parties. Now that the opportunity has come, Huang Zicheng is aggressive when he comes up.

Fang Xiaoru coughed twice and stood up and said, "A total of 150,000 troops will be destroyed in one day. Mr. Geng is also known as a famous general. It is really unwilling to lose his troops and humiliate the country in such a way.

I agree with Lord Huang's opinion and ask Your Majesty to summon Geng to punish him for his crimes.”

Lian Zining entered the center since the Jingnan incident. At this time, he was very dissatisfied with the words of Huang Fang and the others. He also stood up and bowed to the emperor and said, "Mr. Geng was guilty of losing his army, but he should not be punished with such torture. He was a veteran of two dynasties. Killing him not only did not boost the morale of the army.

It will also hurt the hearts of the veterans in the court. And at the first place, we should not consider this. The key is how to deal with the current situation. Geng Hou is still trapped in Zhending and should send troops to rescue him immediately."

Huang Zicheng sneered and said, "Does Lord Lian still want to protect Mr. Geng? If you don't kill his head first, you will be rewarded and punished unknown. How can the soldiers and horses in the world do their best?" The two almost started arguing.

Liu Sanwu was like an old monk entering into meditation, but suddenly opened his eyes and said, "It's not difficult to kill Mr. Geng, who can take his position?" This sentence was not loud. But it made everyone hear it clearly.

As soon as this statement was spoken, the two of them who were still arguing just now stopped talking, and Liu Sanwu never said much. But once he said it, he would hit the vital point.

Zhu Yunwen didn't like their quarrel just now, and immediately continued Liu Sanwu's words: "Huang, don't argue anymore, your two beloved ministers. This is a real defeat, and the responsibility must be pursued, but in my opinion, the crime will not lead to death.

It is enough to seize his title. In addition, the responsibility is held to Geng Bingwen, so don’t pursue others.

Liu Aiqing is right. Geng Bingwen must be replaced, but who in the court can take on the position of general to seek rebellion? What are you thinking?" Zhu Yunwen's words were made, which was equivalent to eliminating Geng Bingwen's death penalty, but he could not escape the punishment of living. The punishment for depriving the title was even more uncomfortable for a founding veteran.

Yang Jing sighed and closed his eyes. He did not expect that Geng Bingwen's army would lose so quickly. In Yang Jing's heart, there were only two people who could truly take on this position. However, he knew that these two people would not be trusted by Jianwen anyway, so since he said it was a waste of time, Yang Jing chose to remain silent.

But Lian Zining still did not give up. He knew that Xu Huizu could not satisfy Jianwen, but the other person, this person had 100,000 elite soldiers and a lot of generals, and was the only person who could match Zhu Di in terms of reputation.

Lian Zining said: "Your Majesty, I recommend one person. He will be able to calm Yan's rebellion when he takes action."

Zhu Yunwen said "Oh" and turned to look at him: "Please speak with my dear Lian." Yang Jing stared at Lian Zining and kept winking, hoping that he would not say it out.

But Lian Zining still decided to say: "I recommend the King of Liao."

As soon as this statement was made, everyone here was shocked. Huang Zicheng immediately jumped out to object: "No! Your Majesty, you must not. King Liao, how can you use King Liao?" Huang Zicheng's face turned red with a flushing face, but he couldn't tell a reason.

Lian Zining said: "The King of Liao is the best candidate. Why? It's because of his command of the Liaodong Army.

Lord Huang, you and I know how Geng Hou was defeated. The military discipline of the Beijing camp was corrupt, the training was slack, and the combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the founding country. How could it resist Yan Ni’s tiger and wolf army? Only the Liaodong Army led by the King of Liao is the elite force that can compete with the Yan army.

Let the King of Liao be the commander, on the one hand, let him lead the Liaodong army from north to south to threaten Peiping, and in addition, our imperial army was camping step by step on the southern line. The southern line was used as an anvil and Liaodong was used as an iron hammer to crush Yan Ni.

Huang Zicheng said: "A joke, adults practice are simply to increase their ambitions and destroy their own power.

There are still 500,000 troops in our Beijing camp and local garrisons. As long as this force is concentrated, what can Yan Ni resist? Besides, the Liao King is ambitious. If he controls the troops of the world, he is afraid that when he destroys Yan Ni, he will become Liao Ni.

Your Majesty, the King of Liao must not be used.”

Qi Tai said: "Mr. Huang, it is precisely because King Liao and Yan Ni are not in the way that King Liao is the general, so that he and Yan Ni can kill each other and weaken their strength. I will discuss it."

Seeing that his subordinates were having a lot of fun, his face was also very heavy. He waved his hand to stop everyone's speeches and said, "Although the King of Liao is a good candidate, it's a pity that Hebei and Shandong are the main battlefield for quelling the rebellion. The King of Liao cannot lead his troops to fight in Shandong from a long distance.

This proposal is abandoned.”

As soon as Zhu Yunwen said this, Huang Zicheng bowed and bowed without waiting for Lian Zining to object: "Your Majesty is wise, I will obey the order." Lian Zining and Qi Tai looked at each other and stopped saying anything.

Huang Zicheng snorted coldly, as if he had won, and said: "I should stick to my original opinion and let Duke Cao Li Jinglong take charge. At the same time, he ordered the King of Liao to urge the soldiers and horses of Liaodong to go south at night to share the worries of the country."

Lian Zining knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, no. Mr. Cao has no practical experience and has little experience. How can he take on such an important task?" Seeing that he was so excited, Zhu Yunwen's face was already a little unpleasant.

Fang Xiaoru and Taoism: "Han Xin never seemed to have been on the battlefield before he became a general, and Yue Fei was not born to be a war material. How could he accumulate experience without him? Cao Gong was the descendant of Longxi and the general Huzi should be entrusted with important tasks."

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "Okay, what Huang Aiqing and his master said is reasonable. Just settled down. Believe Li Jinglong as the commander..."

"Your Majesty, no, no! Please take back your reputation. Cao Gong is actually Kuo (Zhao Kuo) and Mao (Xiahou Mao) and the like. He will be the general. The defeat is not far away!" Lian Zi Ning kowtowed, and was still striving to make a desperate advice.

Fang Xiaoru angrily rebuked: "Mr. Lian is crazy and disobedient. Your Majesty's order has been issued. Can you resist the order? Please punish him for his crime of roaring in the court."

Zhu Yunwen was even more irritable by Lian Zining and said, "Mr. Lian is a little tired. Come and send him out." As he said that, two eunuchs came in outside the door and dragged him out of the study.

Lian Zining was still shouting along the way: "Your Majesty, it's better to die than to cherish it, but you must not be the commander of Cao Gong. The country will be destroyed soon..."

This sentence from afar made Zhu Yunwen's face terrifyingly blue. Huang Zicheng knelt on the ground and said, "Liang Zining roared at the palace and talked nonsense, which was really a rebellious point. Please ask Your Majesty to punish his great disrespect.

"When Yang Jing saw this, he hurriedly wanted to defend Lian Zining.

But Zhu Yunwen, who was behind the imperial case, slapped the table: "Hmph, I'm a good person who has just entered the center, dared to be so arrogant and disobedient, pass the order, take his official position, and let him reflect at home."

...

Li Jinglong was appointed as the new general of Yan, Xu Kai was appointed as the left deputy general, and Ping'an was appointed as the right deputy general, and mobilized 500,000 troops from all over the world to attack Youyan for the second northern expedition.

The news had been reported by Feige of the Inner to Zhu Di, who had withdrawn the siege and returned to Peking. When the generals below heard that the court would send a 500,000 army to attack, most of them showed fear.

Zhu Di laughed: "The court is really a group of foolish monarchs and treacherous ministers. Count the people in the court, and the ones who are worthy of being my Zhu Di's opponents are just Zhu Zhi from Liaodong, and Wei Gongyungong (Xu Huizu).
Chapter completed!