I don't know when it started, people in the north began to spread stories about the defeat in the Northwest War. The 700,000 army was wiped out, and the three northwestern provinces were lost... When the news began to spread wildly among the people in Gyeonggi-do, it actually proved that it had already spread in other places. Because the news could not have been spread from Gyeonggi-do, those in the court who knew the news were all the emperor's cronies, and those who were not cronies who knew about it had already had their heads chopped off.
In the past few days, the atmosphere in Dongnuange has not been good, the weather is already warm enough to not feel cold even wearing a single piece of clothing. But the coldness in this room makes everyone who walks in feel like falling into an ice cave.
This coldness comes from the emperor.
"The rumors are still spreading?"
The emperor sitting on the kang looked at the military strategy that had been changed six times, and asked without raising his head.
Luo Weiran, who was standing not far away with his head bowed, said: "The government offices of the prefectures in Gyeonggi Province have taken a lot of people who spread rumors, but...it's hard to control. The people don't say it publicly, but they are talking about it in private. I thought it was the news spread by the rebels on purpose, and it came from the northwest. Although the navy blocked the Yishui rebels from crossing the river, it is impossible for the navy to prevent small-scale people from sneaking in."
"and… "
Luo Weiran glanced at the emperor, hesitated for a moment and continued, "Hou Wenji is over there."
The emperor hummed, and after a moment of silence, he said: "Decree to all the state capitals, let all the captured people be released... I never thought that I would be able to hide this matter forever, since it has already spread, it cannot be blocked." live. In a few days, I will announce to the world that the defeat in the Northwest War will be announced."
Luo Weiran's face changed: "But in this way, people's hearts may be uncontrollable."
"Then don't control it."
The emperor raised his head and glanced at Luo Weiran: "Whether the common people discuss it in private or publicly, there are many people who are angry, and there are many people who call Li Yuanshan shameful, but does anyone feel afraid and hopeless?"
"No! The people are only angry."
The emperor hummed and said: "If that's the case, then what are you worried about? The rebels are not afraid of spreading the news, how could I be afraid? Originally, I planned to wait until all the troops mobilized from various places rushed to the east bank of Yishui as scheduled before making an announcement. The world, since it has already spread, let the people know clearly. I will ask Pei Yan to write a detailed announcement and promulgate it, so that the people will know what Li Yuanshan and his rebels are like."
"At the beginning, I didn't want to recruit Minyong because I was worried that the people would be uneasy. I didn't expect the traitors to spread the news, but it made me make up my mind. If the garrisons are deployed too much, it will touch the root cause, so I plan to recruit Minyong... The people are angry because they also resent the shamelessness of the rebels, and they are willing to contribute to the country."
He paused for a while and continued: "Since we want to announce it to the world, let's send it from the farthest place... I will ask Pei Yan to draw up another decree for Luo Yao, asking him to transfer 100,000 people to the north."
Luo Weiran's heart tightened immediately.
Fang Jie just arrived in Yongzhou after counting the days, His Majesty will ask Luo Yao to transfer troops to the north... If Luo Yao is forced to rebel because of the transfer of troops, then Fang Jie will be in trouble.
"The left front guard guarding the southwest is the most important thing, isn't it..."
Luo Weiran didn't finish his sentence because he knew that the emperor understood what he meant.
"A while ago, Mr. Wang said something to me in this East Nuan Pavilion, which touched me a lot."
The emperor stretched his body and got off the kang. Su Buwei hurriedly knelt down to put on the boots for him, and then straightened the emperor's clothes.
"Mr. said that my biggest problem is suspicion. I don't shy away from saying it myself. I really do. Mr. said that if a person doesn't even have a trustworthy person in his life, it would be too boring and sad. Mr. go back After that, I thought about it for a long time and finally woke up."
He walked up to Luo Weiran and patted him on the shoulder: "I should have trusted you without a trace of reservation, just like I trusted Lao Qi back then. During these days, you have made the people at Ouchi's guards feel wronged." , I feel uneasy. Now that I have talked about this today, I will tell you everything in my heart."
He paced and said, "I have never trusted Luo Yao since I became the throne. I am always worried that this general who holds a heavy army and has been victorious in all battles will have a different heart. So I have been on guard all the time. I have transferred at least three guards in the past ten years. The reason why the soldiers were deployed in the south of the Yangtze River is to keep an eye on him. After Mr. Wen went back, I suddenly understood that doing this...won't it force Luo Yao and I to deviate from the direction and gradually drift away?"
"Thinking of this, I have always been afraid, and I was afraid that Yu Luoyao would not rebel and be forced to rebel."
He raised his head and looked at the huge map of the Sui territory on the wall: "Since this is the case, I might as well go directly to dispatch troops. If Luo Yao has no objections to me, he will naturally send troops north. Then from now on, I will no longer doubt it." He, continue to let him guard the southwestern half of the wall for me. If he really has that intention and refuses to deploy troops, I will let the matter of the northwest go first... Comparatively speaking, I would rather not have the three northwestern roads than lose them. A fair business."
When Luo Weiran heard these words, he subconsciously looked at the emperor, and suddenly found that the emperor's gray hair became more gray.
"Fang Jie is in the southwest."
The emperor was silent for a while and then continued: "Since I have tried to trust even Luo Yao, how can I not trust Fang Jie? I believe that he can complete my confession and urge Luo Yao to lead the troops to the north. As long as the left front guard divides the troops into ten If you march from the southwest directly to the north on Huangyang Road, the rebels will have to divide their forces. If I personally lead the elite soldiers and the people to attack them head-on, how can the rebels be invincible?"
The emperor picked up the vermilion brush he used for reviewing the memorials, climbed onto the chair, and wrote a big bright red Sui character on the third northwest lane of the Sui territory map. His eyes stayed on the Mandu Banner for a moment, then he raised his hand and wrote the word Sui there as well.
"I'm going to personally go and get back what I lost."
…
…
Anlai County.
After the team welcoming the imperial envoys withdrew, the common people still did not dare to discuss anything wantonly. After all, the more than 700 human heads are still hanging on the city wall, and the blood spurted from the necks of the more than 700 corpses has not disappeared. The imperial envoy, a big man who is only mentioned in legends, actually came to Anlai County for the first time, and what he brought was not auspicious and peaceful, but bloody disaster.
Secretly, many people secretly called the imperial envoy the killer who brought disaster. They would not and dare not be disrespectful to Luo Yao, so they could only use imperial envoys to vent their anger.
Later, I don't know who found out Fang Jie's old background, saying that he was in Fan Gu, but Fan Gu's 800 frontier troops and more than 2,000 civilians died. When he arrived in the capital, Prince Yi turned against the emperor and cut off 36,000 heads in a rage. He came to Anlai County again, and as a result, Anlai County also suffered a bloody disaster.
Killing star, calamity star, dark star... Such names were added to Fang Jie without hesitation.
Someone asked in a worried and fearful tone, Fang Jie has gone to Yongzhou now... what will happen to Yongzhou
On the afternoon when the army withdrew from Anlai County, a man wearing a black cloak covering his head and face drove an ox cart into the county seat. The servants in the county town were all sent to serve as soldiers, and so was the magistrate. Minyong, who had no command, no one wanted to guard the city gate anymore, so when the ox cart came in, there was no one to check it.
The bullock cart went straight along the main street of Anlai County, and stopped at the entrance of the largest inn in Anlai County. He handed over the bullock cart to the buddy, ordered to take good care of him, and then walked to the gate. His eyes were attracted by a notice posted at the door, and he looked at the portrait on the notice and asked the boy, "Who is this?"
"Cough... It's not that chasing merchant who built some kind of wishful sect! Damn it, he will be unlucky wherever he goes. As soon as he left, we in Anlai County were cut off by the general over 700 Human head! If such a person falls into my hands, I will cut him to pieces!"
The young man looked at the portrait and spat, with disgust in his eyes.
The driver was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Such a lawless person should be killed!"
He stepped into the inn, asked for a room and went up to the second floor. He entered his room and didn't come out until dinner. Xiao Er went to remind him several times, but he asked Xiao Er to bring all the food into the room.
This person is the felon chasing business who is wanted by the portrait.
He sat by the window on the second floor, staring at the sparse crowd on the street for a while. Then he got up, took out a thick stack of paper money from the package, and burned it in the brazier in the house.
"No matter what purpose I lied to you so that you died... But at least you died on the way to freedom, didn't you? If you want to blame me, then wait until the next life to torture me. In this life I To live well, to realize the dream that you have never been able to realize. The more people die, the more pressure on my shoulders... You are pioneers, worthy of being remembered by history!"
What he said was very solemn and serious, so serious that he almost deceived himself.
He burned them worth of money one by one, with a pious attitude: "If you think I deserve to be killed, remember not to drink that bowl of Meng Po soup when you cross the Naihe Bridge. After drinking it, you will lose your thoughts, what? I forgot, why did you come to kill me again?"
He burned all the paper money, and every time he burned a piece of paper money, he would use a bench to extinguish the fire in order to afford more smoke.
"You're still so paranoid."
At this moment, suddenly someone very nearby spoke to him. The voice came from beside him, and with his cultivation level, it is natural that he did not notice it but did not react at all.
Hearing this person's voice, Chashang's brows quickly relaxed.
"Brother... why did you come here? You came here specifically to find me?"
He got up and asked with a smile, although he could suppress it, the excitement in his eyes still burst out uncontrollably.
"I have something important to do, pass by here."
The skinny man who spoke was standing behind him, very close at hand. He is too thin. If he takes off his shirt, his body can be used as a washboard.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
Chashang moved forward, tightly hugging the skinny man's arm, as if afraid that he would run away.
"You have always had this temperament since you were young. You will always return to the place where you made a mistake and live for a while. You said that the more dangerous the place is, the safer it is, because the people in the yamen will not pay attention to the place you just searched. Search again. I don't need to guess to know that you will definitely return to Anlai County."
"Hey... Brother, can't you pretend to be stupid for a while?"
"I don't look stupid when I'm with you."
The skinny man took off the bamboo hat on his head and threw it aside, revealing a face that was so thin that the facial features almost protruded and fell to the ground.
"Brother, is this why you came to me?"
"more than."
The skinny man looked outside, then lowered his voice and said, "You must never try to get any more ideas from the imperial envoy, this man can't die!"
"What's the reason?"
"He...he is the one I have been protecting for almost seventeen years. It is precisely because I went to protect him that he promised not to kill you. "
The skinny man raised his head, and it turned out to be... a big dog!