Lord of the House

After Lin Fu left, Yuan Guizheng and Yuan Jinsheng quietly entered the Hailing Palace through the side door and entered the residence of the Empress Dowager Liang.

Empress Dowager Liang was closing her eyes and resting her mind, to contain the anger in her heart. Listening to the footsteps, she saw Yuan Guizheng and Yuan Jinsheng lead Miao Shuo in, her face was like dead wood, and she sighed: "The Liang family has lost their reputation. The prosperous Lord Lin has seen it..."

"..." Yuan Guizheng was puzzled and asked softly, "Lin Fuzhen doesn't have any plans?"

"Maybe he has a plan, but the Liang family can't get the bargaining chip he wants..." Empress Dowager Liang said weakly.

"Chip, what chip?" Yuan Guizheng asked.

"He questioned Aijia: If you retreat without a fight, how will the world see it?" Empress Dowager Liang said in an old voice, "Shame, this shame! If they can fight for face, why do Aijia need such an old face? To trample on this arrogant descendant like this? A few years ago, I led the army to fight against the bandits, and won great victories. Why don’t I dare to fight this time? Jiang Ning will definitely not be able to get it!"

"..." Yuan Guizheng's face was bitter.

Back then, the Tianao Army was 300,000 people from the Yellow River who hurriedly revolted, and they were basically a mob. Liang Xi and Liang Chengyi and their sons naturally fought easily. When Liu An'er and Chen Hansan led their troops into Huaisi, although they were also refugee troops, their troops had been fighting in the world for many years. When Yue Lengqiu was besieged in Xuzhou, Lin Su led the Huaidong Army to the north to relieve the siege. Liang's father and son led 50,000 to 60,000 elite soldiers, but they only dared to sit on the wall and watch - because of this, Yue Lengqiu had absolutely nothing to do with the Liang family. good feeling.

This time, Yanhu's army was driven south by tens of thousands of iron cavalry and hundreds of thousands of new soldiers.

Linzi fell, and Jinan's flank was completely exposed to the attack range of Yanhu's iron cavalry. Once Yanhu's troops and horses were given a firm foothold on the eastern front, they would definitely copy to the Tai'an Prefecture south of Jinan, breaking the back path of Liang's father and son. Not afraid?

Empress Dowager Liang was good at political disputes, and she was quite confused about marching and fighting. But anyway, Lin Bie's questioning made her speechless. Apart from hating the Liang family for nothing, she couldn't find any reason to refute or defend the Liang family.

Yuan Jinsheng said with a lack of confidence, "Perhaps Lin Huaidong is trying to test this side?"

The Empress Dowager Liang shook her head and said, "It's not like that. Miao Shuo withdrew. After a few words, he left without any intention of continuing the conversation... The Aijia is really old and useless." It's no wonder she's always getting angry with her being so neglected today.

Yuan Jinsheng and his father looked at each other, Yuan Guizheng smacked his lips and said, "It's not as expected! The situation is so urgent, and it's too late to act calmly! Do you really want to bow your head to Jiangning?"

When Miao Shuo heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he thought: Bowing to Jiang Ning and kneeling is definitely not a good idea.

In the eyes of Emperor Yongxing, how different can it be from conspiring to usurp the throne?

The turmoil of the Liang Gu family and the Yongchang Houfu's secret discussion to support King Lu seems to have passed, mainly because the foundation of the new emperor was unstable at that time, while Liang and Gu had a strong foundation in Shandong and held military power, so the new emperor was temporarily released. Pass, don't pursue it.

But looking at how desolate the Yongchang Houfu has been in Jiangning over the past year, you can know what will happen if the main force of the Qingzhou army is wiped out in Yangxin and the Liang family retreats to the southwest of Shandong like a bereaved dog?

If the Liang family was completely cleaned up, they, including King Hailing, might live in seclusion and die as the best consequence.

Empress Dowager Liang Hou, Yuan Guizheng and others have all spent half their lives rolling in the intrigue power field, how could they not have a clear understanding of this? How can we expect Emperor Yongxing to be truly tolerant and generous, regardless of previous grudges?

Empress Dowager Liang stood up and said to Yuan Guizheng: "How about you go to Jinan and discuss with Liang Xi and Chengyi? Anyway, even if you retire, there must be something you can explain to the past. Things can do. Today's imperial court is not as good as it used to be. No one in the temple helps to speak, and you still have to rely on your own backs and bars..."

"I'm afraid it will be difficult," said Yuan Gui, who was familiar with the government, military and government, "now that Linzi has been occupied by Hu Lu, and at this time, because Yangxin has not fallen, the rivers and lakes in Linzi Mansion are crisscrossing, which is not conducive to the passage of the army, so it cannot be used. Linzi attacked Jinan's flank. After another three months, the northern land will be frozen, not to mention that Jinan is difficult to defend, and I am more worried that the Hulu will cut off Jinan's retreat first! And the troops and horses between Huai and Si are not under each other, otherwise If you can organize a support army to go north, Jinan may have the determination to fight the Hulu..."

Not counting Huaidong, there are three towns of Huaiyang, Guoyang, and Xuzhou between Huai and Si. Guoyang is the weakest, with only 15,000 troops, but Huaiyang and Xuzhou have quite a few soldiers and horses. to be considerable. The total number of soldiers and horses in the three towns can be more than 70,000, and the ministers will lead them to the north, join forces with the Liang family, and solve the siege of Yangxin.

However, the soldiers and horses of Huaiyang and Xuzhou towns were all obtained by Zhao'an refugee army, and they were all masters who did not listen to the propaganda. Only the army of Guoyang town controlled by Liu Tingzhou and Xiao Kuian was loyal to the imperial court, and it was somewhat inadequate.

"Maybe you can talk to Dong Yuan..." Yuan Jinsheng said again, "Please ask the queen mother to return to the court, aren't they all saying that Dong Yuan made things up behind the scenes?"

"Dong Yuan is also the master who eats meat without spitting up bones!" Yuan Guizheng said, "Dong Yuan doesn't want the Liang family and Huaidong to come together, but he may not have the ability to support the situation today - besides Dong Yuan Yuan is now very docile towards the new emperor and the Wu party. Needless to say, the new emperor is a group of people who can only talk about soldiers on paper. They have not succeeded or failed, and they are afraid that they will be the first to impeach the Liang family without fighting. Get back!"

These people were like trapped beasts in a cage, and they couldn't think of a way out.

****************

After returning from the Hailing Palace and rushing back to report the situation on the northern line, Lin Fu called the sentry to the side hall and personally asked Qingzhou's situation.

"After the Captain of Chu and Lord Wu met in Jimo, they entered Linqu in the middle of June and went to see Lord Zhang Jinxian first; although Lord Zhang Jinxian had no intention of abandoning the city, he did not object to Huaidong's management of Yishan. After Baopingshan, Miandugu and other cottages, Mr. Zhang Jinxian also agreed that we would buy grain from Linzi and enter the mountains..." This sentry who came back from the northern line to report the situation is not someone else, but he was in Qisuining, Suining and other places. The commander Chen Daozi, who followed Sun Zhuang to Shanyang to take charge of the crime, was transferred to Wu Qi because he was good at scout and reconnaissance, and now he has become Wu Qi Yizhong's assistant.

Lin Fu sat in front of the long desk, but did not listen; Qin Chengzu, Lin Mengde, Zhou Pu, Gao Zongting, Ye Junan and others sat around and listened patiently.

"..." Chen Daozi continued, "Linzi fell, although some soldiers and civilians escaped, but Lord Zhang Jinxian was unfortunately captured, and it was Lord Zhang Jinxian who led his troops to resist to the end, which made thousands of soldiers and civilians escape from Linzi City. After the army passed by, Captain Chu sent people to disguise themselves into the city, trying to rob the prison and rescue Zhang Jinxian, but he missed and lost a lot of manpower. Zhang Jinxian did not surrender the captives, and beheaded Chen Zhihu at the east gate the next day!"

Lin Fu had a gloomy face, knowing that the situation in Qingzhou had collapsed, and countless people's lives would be ruthlessly swallowed up. Hearing the sad news of Zhang Jinxian's death, his heart was still heavy and extremely uncomfortable.

"After the fall of Linzi, Lord Cheng Weiyuan was forced to give up Guangrao and withdraw from Guangrao to Shouguang, and in the name of Du Juefu, he retreated into Qingzhou. ; Du Juefu intends to give up Shouguang and Changyi, and concentrate on defending Qingzhou..." Chen Daozi said.

The idea of ​​​​concentrating troops to defend Qingzhou is correct, but how many troops can Du Juefu concentrate in Qingzhou at this time?

At this moment, someone was walking outside the door, and Lin Bing probed to look at it. Chen Hualian walked in and said, "Madam knows that someone is coming back from the north, and she is worried about the safety of the old lady..."

With a little filial piety, it is normal to care about the safety of his parents. Lin Fu walked to the door and saw Gu Junxun standing in front of the porch and felt uneasy. He held her hand and said, "Xun'er, Jiren have their own good looks, don't ask too much. Worry; you come in and listen too..."

"I'm afraid it's not good..." Gu Junxun hesitated, since she was a child, she was always exposed to the idea of ​​women not doing military affairs. She felt that it was inappropriate to come to Dongya to inquire about news. How could she want to go in and interfere with Lin Fu and the others discussing important matters?

"What's good or bad?" Lin Fu took Gu Junxun's hand and walked inside. He let Song Jia participate in confidential matters, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with women's participation in politics. Sometimes he just didn't want to go too far against tradition and be too deviant.

Qin Chengzu, Lin Mengde, Gao Zongting, Ye Junan and others all stood up and saluted: "I have seen Mrs...."

"The concubine has seen the princes..." Gu Junxun said in return, standing beside Lin Fu uneasy, listening to Chen Daozi continue to talk about the situation on the northern front.

Lin Mengde knew what Gu Junxun cared about, and asked Chen Daozi for her: "After Chu Zheng and Wu Qi arrived on the northern front, did you hear about the old lady?"

"Du Juefu intends to keep Qingzhou, but he moved his small capital to Linqu City, and he will rush back from Baqi Mountain at the end. I heard that the old lady is also in Linqu." Chen Daozi said.

Afraid that Gu Junxun could not understand, Lin Fu explained: "Linqu is in the south of Qingzhou, with hills and ravines on both sides~www.wuxiaspot.com~ The terrain is quite dangerous, as long as Qingzhou does not fall, Linqu will be fine - Du Juefu arranged this way It is also a lack of confidence in defending Qingzhou. If Qingzhou falls, Linqu will get news that the army and civilians will abandon the city and withdraw to Yishan, and there will be a buffer time of a day or two..."

Hearing Lin Fu's explanation, Gu Junxun felt a little at ease. Her father and brother were trapped in Yangxin, and there were captives everywhere. It was difficult to break free, but her mother and sister-in-law were at least safe for now.

"Du Juefu might as well defend Linqu with all his strength!" Ye Junan said.

Ye Junan was not an official but was called Mr. Siming. He was talented in both literature and martial arts. Although he had no experience in fighting with the army, his knowledge was not bad.

When Linzi fell, there were less than a thousand defenders in Guangrao, but the city of Guangrao was small and easy to defend. If it wasn't for Chen Zhihu leading his troops to intervene, the general trend in the north of Linzi was lost, and Cheng Weiyuan took the initiative to withdraw from Guangrao. If Chen Zhihu wanted to fight Guangrao, he would have to pay a higher price.

Just like Yangxin at the time, the city is small, easy to concentrate command, and it is not easy for the enemy to break through the gap; as long as 3,000 or 5,000 people obey the law properly, they can stop the attack of 20,000 to 30,000 people - defending Qingzhou is the same as defending Linqu.

The situation in Qingzhou has collapsed and it is difficult to recover. The biggest significance of defending Qingzhou or Linqu is to keep the last base that can advance and retreat, so as not to make the Hulu comfortable and completely control the situation in Qingzhou.

No matter how Du Juefu concentrated his troops, he could only gather three to five thousand scattered soldiers in Qingzhou, and there were no generals who were good at using troops to defend.

Once Chen Zhihu led his troops to encircle it, it was difficult to predict how long it would last—while Linqu and Pochexian Pass in the south of Linqu were located in a dangerous place, the city was small and strong, and it was backed by Yishan Mountain. If it is only to occupy a city north of Yishan, Linqu is far more suitable than Qingzhou. My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter