Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

"Why did the Qiang thieves attack from the south again? Did the southern garrison misunderstand the enemy's situation and make a fuss?"

In the Minister's Provincial Hall, Gao Zhan said with a shocked look on his face after browsing several reports sent from the south.

After hearing this, Hu Lüxian, who was temporarily in charge of the military affairs in Jinei, said in a deep voice: "Luozhou and Heyang have reported emergency reports one after another. Even if the inspections are wrong for a while, they will not make continuous mistakes. The Qiang thieves' brigade invaded Heluo and Hanoi. There is no doubt that the situation is the same.”

"However, the main force of the Qiang thieves was clearly in the west before, so why did it suddenly come from the south? Could it be that the border generals were afraid of the thieves' power, mistook the partial army as the main force, and deliberately exaggerated the enemy's situation in order to ask the court to rush to rescue them as soon as possible?"

Gao Zhan still didn't want to believe it, or he didn't want to face this situation. He didn't care to read the details of the enemy troops described in the emergency letter, and instead questioned the generals stationed in the south.

The general of the imperial army next to him, Shedi Fulian, echoed: "Your Majesty's concerns are indeed justified. The Qiang thieves fought with our army a few days ago and won the battle against Tongtan. The situation was just right. How could they suddenly abandon that side and fight elsewhere? On the contrary, the troops stationed in the south were stationed there. There has been no fighting for a long time, so I must be lazy and fearful of being weak and in danger, so I want to use this to get back the troops who were transferred from the other side. "

Hearing Shedi Fulian's words, Gao Zhan nodded repeatedly and said in a deep voice: "This situation must not be ignored. We must not let the border generals fear the enemy and lie about the military situation, causing the divisions and brigade in the capital to disperse hastily and become irritable. "

"Whether it is true or not, just send an envoy to the south to investigate. The two places are not far apart. If Hanoi is also hit by a military disaster, the capital must also take precautions early. If the thief is confirmed, the sooner he can be prepared to avoid it, It’s no longer a matter of long-term discussion whether human feelings are turbulent due to being harmed or not!”

Hu Luxian listened to this somewhat self-deceptive conversation and couldn't help but speak again. Although he did not know when the main force of the Wei army withdrew and fought in the south, he did not think that the southern garrison generals had the courage to lie about the military situation, especially at such a tense moment in the country. If they dared to do so, they would undoubtedly risk their own lives. joke.

Perhaps King Changguang made this question out of the sake of stabilizing people's hearts, but if the enemy's situation is confirmed, playing this kind of scheming will have no effect at all. On the contrary, it will make one's own preparations for facing the enemy insufficient, which is really harmful rather than helpful.

However, Hu Luxian still had a high opinion of Gao Zhan. His suspicion was not to stabilize people's hearts, but had other plans.

After hearing what Hu Luxian said, Gao Zhan slowly nodded and said: "What Hu Luxian said is reasonable. This matter may or may not be true, but it should arouse vigilance and not be taken lightly. The people of the capital must be alert and alert." It is urgent.

However, Jin Nei is short of soldiers and horses. If the enemy army really invades from the south, the current strength of Ji Nei will not be enough to protect itself, let alone rushing to aid Heyang. The safest way now is to prepare for the war in Ji Nei, while I will go to Jinyang in person to mobilize the Jinyang Jia Brigade to support the capital and resist the rebel army! "

This may not sound problematic at first, because what Gao Zhan said is indeed true. At present, the guard strength of Duji is very empty. After Gao Yan mobilized most of his troops to Liaoyang, the army that Duji can mobilize is only a little over 20,000. These troops were not only responsible for the palace guards but also maintaining public security in the city, so they really had no energy left to send reinforcements to the south.

But Gao Zhan said that he personally went to Jinyang to mobilize the division brigade to come to the rescue, which was a bit of a problem. It is natural to expect external divisions and brigade to come to help, but the problem is that he was appointed by Gao Yan before leaving to stay in the capital. If he just slaps his ass and leaves, who will take charge of the overall situation in the capital next? Who will be responsible for dispatching troops to rescue Hanoi and other places?

The reason why he suspected that the generals had lied about military information and accused them of making a fuss was to create an atmosphere where the situation was not so urgent, so that he could escape first.

Probably because he showed a fierce personality in front of others, the generals did not realize that he was so frightened that he was planning to run away. After hearing this, they all said in succession: "If you ask for help, just send an apostle. There is no need for the king to travel back and forth! The overall situation in Kinei still needs to be controlled by the king. If the Qiang thieves are really bold and aggressive and invade Hebei, the king will also need to control the group of followers to defeat the enemy!"

After Gao Zhan heard this, he became more and more panicked. Even his second brother Gao Yang, who led hundreds of thousands of troops to fight the enemy, was severely defeated. Now the enemy army was about to reach his doorstep, and what he could do He could only control Kinai's 20,000-odd troops, so what could he use to defeat the enemy?

The generals' misunderstandings allowed him to preserve his self-esteem, but this blind trust in him made him feel on pins and needles, so he immediately lowered his face and said angrily: "You warriors are greedy for merit and war-like, don't you know what's going on?" What's the priority? Don't you know what's going on in the country right now?

Is this the time to calmly engage the enemy and decide the outcome? Go militarily and harm the country and harm people! Despite your past bravery and great national strength, it is inevitable that you will suffer the consequences. Now you are still encouraging me to lead our troops south to fight. What are your intentions? Don't talk lies to defeat the enemy, but you are lucky to be able to stay in the present moment! "

Everyone was secretly frightened when they heard Gao Zhan's harsh rebuke. Although they were not sure why King Changguang was so angry, they could all tell that he did not intend to take the initiative.

But the problem now is that the enemy is actively launching an attack from the south. It is not up to them to decide whether to take the initiative to fight.

So after a moment of silence, Hu Luxian asked again: "So, what's the urgent situation in Heyang and Luozhou..."

"The purpose of deploying generals and troops at the border is to guard against border troubles and resist enemy attacks. If there is a change, we have to rely on the country, so why build border defenses! A clever woman cannot make a meal without rice. Even if I have the intention to save her, what can I do now? for?"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan frowned and said, and then said in a deep voice: "Let me reply to the letter and tell them not to lose their position. Before the reinforcements from the capital arrive, they must not let the city fall! In the old Qiang, there was Wang Sizheng who guarded Yingchuan. , Wei Xiaokuan and Yubi became famous, and they all served as my disciples for thousands of years, for months and years.

From now on, the national power is not as strong as in previous years, and it is necessary to stay on the defensive when fighting the Qiang. It can be used by those who hold on. But if anyone loses his country and marries his country, even if he survives and becomes a thief, his wife, children, and family members will sacrifice their lives to apologize! Is it because money and silk are an eyesore that the imperial court provides generous support to all kinds of people? The purpose is to let them die when the situation arises. If they don’t die from the thief, they will die from me! "

Gao Zhan had a firm attitude and a fierce tone when he ordered others to fight to the death to resist the enemy, but he had different requirements for himself. After the meeting at the Shangshu Provincial Hall, he immediately returned to his home and ordered his servants and cronies to pack all the money, silk, jewelry and other items in the house into a truck so that they could leave the city and flee to Jinyang at any time if things went bad.

Of course, he did not have no idea of ​​​​preparing for the enemy. Although he questioned whether the military situation reported by the southern garrison general was untrue, he himself arranged for people to report to Liaoyang and exaggerated the enemy's situation.

In order to make Liaoyang feel the urgency of the situation and dispatch reinforcements as soon as possible, he divided the messengers into more than a dozen waves, and set off every half an hour. There were hundreds of emergency messengers sent before and after.

The current situation in Liaoyang is also not very optimistic. Although the Empress Dowager personally went south and persuaded Pingyuan King Duan Shao, who was leading his troops to march north, to station his division and brigade in Wuxiang, thus avoiding the crisis of civil strife and fighting, the situation in Liaoyang was still in a stalemate. The reason is that although the emperor is in critical condition, he is still alive and has not died.

"How is your body today, Supreme One?"

In the early morning of this day, Gao Yan came to Ganlu Temple and summoned the senior monks in the temple to ask in a deep voice.

Although the King of Puyang Lou Zhongda has led the Jinyang brigade to Ganlu Temple, the emperor is still surrounded by a group of Baibao sergeants. As the last and most core guard force, even Gao Yan has difficulty mobilizing and ordering these Baibao sergeants. , they are almost as loyal to the emperor as dead soldiers, and have already given up their own futures and even the rest of their lives. Naturally, they have no desires and are strong, and are not afraid of any powerful people.

With the presence of these Baibao sergeants, it was difficult for Gao Yan to enter and leave the emperor's room freely. He was also a little timid to meet the emperor. After arriving at Ganlu Temple, he never paid homage to the emperor. He mostly learned about his physical condition from other people's mouths. ask.

Although the eminent monk did not fully understand the significance of the series of changes that occurred in the country today, he also knew that the power of King Changshan in front of him was overwhelming. After hearing this, he quickly lowered his head and said: "Although the Supreme Being is still alive, his vitality is still there. , I think it’s the heaven that takes pity on the emperor..."

At this point, he noticed that King Changshan's face became gloomy, and he closed his mouth in a hurry.

Gao Yan walked out of the Buddhist hall slowly, facing the rising sun, but it couldn't shine into his dark heart.

Although he had many reasons to defend his actions, he could not escape the self-blame in his heart. Now that the emperor was hanging on for a long time, he was suffering even more every moment here. Although the soldiers at home and abroad were not He didn't dare to say anything more, but it made him feel like he was watching his public execution, and he just wanted to end it as soon as possible.

"What's the use of those prayer flags and magical instruments?"

He turned his attention to the temple, raised his hand and pointed at the many Buddhist ritual objects displayed outside the emperor's residence, and said in a deep voice: "If these objects can really pray for blessings and prevent disasters, human diseases will no longer need to rely on the power of medicine and stones. Why is Your Majesty so ill that it is difficult to cure? Go away and don’t leave this fool to disturb others! Also, order all the monks in the temple to stop chanting in the morning and evening, so as not to disturb the dying people!”

He said in his mouth that he did not believe in the power of gods and Buddhas, but in his heart he vaguely blamed these Buddha worship rituals for the reason why the emperor was still alive. He did not want the emperor to rely on them to continue his life, so he ordered them to be banned.

When he finished these instructions and returned to the camp outside the temple, the generals in the camp came forward to greet him with serious expressions. At the same time, they said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The Qiang thieves have launched another attack on our country!"