Luo Zhao only lost face, but Yan State was shocked by both the government and the public.
The five princes can be said to be the last support within the Yan State. Even after joining forces, they were still defeated by the rebels. The shock to the Yan State can be imagined.
The people of the Yan State were in panic, as if the Yan State was about to be destroyed. The subjects of the Yan State could not help but ask, even if the five princes joined forces, they could not be the opponent of the rebels. Who could be the opponent of the rebels
There was a quarrel in the court.
Some people suggested that the army be brought back from the border to quell the rebellion, but another group of people firmly opposed it. The reason was that the border was the last line of defense for the Yan State. Once the assembled army withdrew, the Han and Song armies would inevitably take advantage of the situation and move in. Those who insist on deploying a large army believe that if the army does not withdraw, no one inside will be able to stop the rebels. If Dayan is internally collapsed, can the border troops still hold on? Before fighting the outside world, you must first make peace with the inside!
Some people also suggested issuing an order to Nanzhou and dispatching Nanzhou troops to quell the rebellion.
This issue is also controversial. The biggest question is that Nanzhou dares to intercept military rations from the imperial court. Can it be obeyed? What would happen if they join forces with the rebels? Xue Xiao must be allowed to contain the Nanzhou troops in Nanzhou at all costs.
There was a commotion in the court, and the three major sects behind the court were also making a lot of noise. All high-level personnel related to the three major sects were urgently summoned to a large hall in the palace.
Long Xiu, the head of Xiaoyao Palace, Gong Lince, the head of Zijin Cave, and Meng Xuan, the head of Lingjian Mountain, stood side by side with serious expressions on their faces.
The elder Yue Yuan of Zijin Cave behind Gongzhou, the elder Yuan Long of Lingjian Mountain behind Tuzhou, the elder Zu Ande of Lingjian Mountain behind Fuzhou, the elder Shi Sheng of Xiaoyao Palace behind Haozhou, and the elder Shi Sheng of Xiaoyao Palace behind Changzhou. Elder Nongfeng Pavilion, five elders stood in a row.
Qiao Tianguang, the elder of Zijindong behind Bozhou, and Bi Yuntao, the elder of Lingjian Mountain behind Qizhou, did not come because Bozhou and Qizhou were already on the heavily defended border, and the two elders were stationed at the place where heavy troops were gathered. , so they were not summoned.
In fact, there was no intention of summoning the two elders. Only five elders from the three sects, Yue Yuan, Shi Yuanlong, Zu Ande, Shi Sheng, and Nong Fengting, were summoned.
All other people, including disciples, were left out. Only those present were present, and their intentions were already obvious.
Gong Lince broke the calm and said with a cold face: "Everyone must know about the rebellion of the five princes. There are no outsiders here today, so we don't need to beat around the bush. The situation has reached this point, and it is a matter of life and death for the three factions. Once the Yan Kingdom is lost, the three sects will become lost dogs and run to other places where no one will tolerate them. The decline of the three sects will plummet. The foundation laid by the ancestors of the past generations cannot be destroyed in the hands of our generation, otherwise the world will be sorry for the predecessors of the past generations. I'm sorry for my disciples."
Long Xiu answered: "Today, the three of us only need a word from the five of you, can you order the five princes under your control to work together to put down the rebellion?"
Nong Fengting from Xiaoyao Palace sighed: "Master, it's not that we didn't try our best to supervise, it's just that people's hearts are unpredictable!"
Long Xiu was angry, "Try your best to urge us? Do you think we are blind and deaf? The monks of Jin, Wei, and Qi are about to fall out with us. The five princes did not try their best to fight and fled at the first contact with the enemy. This is not Did you try your best?"
Zijindong Yueyuan said: "Master Dragon Palace, don't be upset, things are not what you think. Elder Nong's so-called unpredictability of people's hearts does not refer to anything else, but refers to the military morale. The soldiers of the five princes do not want to sacrifice their lives for the imperial court at all, and their morale is completely lost." , how can we still fight this battle?”
Lingjian Mountain Master Yuan Long also nodded and said: "Yes! The three leaders also know that these five princes and horses are all the old troops of King Ning. If they were not desperate, they would not have the troops to support themselves."
Zu Ande, another elder of Lingjian Mountain, also said: "It is true. They still harbor resentment after the bloodbath in the imperial court. How could they work for the imperial court? Do the three masters know what the soldiers below are saying? They said, we fight for the imperial court. Even if we die, we will not get the slightest mercy from the court, but will be treated as a traitor by the court, so why are we fighting?"
The elder of Xiaoyao Palace, Shi Sheng, hummed, "The soldiers of Haozhou also had the same mentality. The battle was arranged, and the troops and horses were pushed to their posts. But when the battle started, the troops immediately turned around and ran away. Who can stop them? Let alone tens of thousands of soldiers. People, even tens of thousands of pigs can’t stop them, they just refuse to work for the court, we can’t kill them, right?”
Nong Fengting sighed: "We are also anxious about this matter."
The five people said something to each other, which was reasonable and well-founded. The three leaders were speechless.
Meng Xuan, the head of Lingjian Mountain, said with a dark face: "According to what you said, is this the end of the Yan Kingdom, and is this the end of our three sects?"
Nong Fengting hurriedly waved his hands and said: "You can't say that. Even if there is a glimmer of hope, we should try our best. The matter has not reached the point of irreversibility. Aren't there still Nanzhou troops?"
Yue Yuanli said: "Yes, the Yan Kingdom's heroic military guards were powerful all over the world. Now they are in the hands of Nanzhou, fighting Zhou Shouxian and Xue Xiao. They show their sharpness. When it comes to fighting on the battlefield, today's Yan Kingdom Within the city, Nanzhou’s troops are probably second to none, so we should urgently mobilize Nanzhou’s army to fight against the rebellion.”
Shi Yuanlong nodded, "Indeed, I agree."
Zuander: "Yes, it's time for them to play."
Shi Sheng: "I think I'll get it."
These five elders have long known Nanzhou's intention to go out for war, otherwise the coalition forces would have been defeated at the first touch. After all, they still knew that someone was willing to be a scapegoat and wanted to preserve the strength in their hands. They are also uneasy about the current defeat. They have been waiting for this day to come and let Nanzhou troops go to war as soon as possible.
Even if the Nanzhou people cannot defeat the rebels, they will still greatly consume the rebels' strength. Then they will come out to clean up the mess easily and without paying any price.
For this reason, the five people did not hesitate to deceive the superiors and the inferiors, but none of them took out Meng Shanming's letter. The letter had been destroyed by them long ago, otherwise the defeat of the coalition forces this time could not be explained.
Long Xiu: "It's easy for you to say it. Nanzhou has intercepted the imperial army's rations and has been quarreling with Han and Song Dynasties for a long time. I'm afraid he has rebelled. It's too late to hold him down and release the Nanzhou troops. Once they join forces with the Cangzhou rebels, , the consequences will be disastrous!"
Shi Sheng: "Master, with the current situation in Yan State, it is understandable that Nanzhou is a little selfish and wants to accumulate some strength. I don't think they will rebel."
Marshal Long also agreed, "After all, the Shang Chaozong is a royal family of the Yan Kingdom, and he is also a bloody person. If he really wants to rebel against Yan, how can he be worthy of his ancestors?"
Looking at the expressions of these people, Meng Xuan said in a deep voice: "What do you mean? Did I hear you correctly? They are all talking for Nanzhou. We have discussed it, right?"
Long Xiu and Gong Lince also looked suspicious.
The five elders looked at each other. They had not discussed it yet, but they all knew it well.
Nong Fengting sighed: "Master Meng, do you still need to discuss the situation when the situation has reached this point? The troops of the five princes are disorganized. Is it possible to just wait for death? Even if there is a little way, we must try it!"
"Yes, that's right. How can you know what Nanzhou's attitude is if you don't try it?"
The five people tried their best to persuade the three leaders to let Nanzhou send troops.
The situation has reached this point, and it's impossible not to try. But the problem is that when Nanzhou troops rush to the battlefield, we don't know what the situation will turn into when the rebels are raging. As a result, the five elders promised together that they would personally supervise the battle and try their best to let the five princes entangle the rebels...
In the guest house, Ghost Mother and Yun Ji met happily, while Niu Youdao watched happily.
This ghost and demon are twice as old as Guan Fangyi, but they look much younger than Guan Fangyi. Especially the ghost mother's appearance seems to be forever fixed in her early thirties, fixed at the age she was when she died.
The Ghost Mother has arrived with a thousand ghost cultivators who were trapped in Yin Mountain. She and the demon cultivators from Duyun Mountain have all secretly arranged around the Maolu Villa. Together with the garrison outside the Maolu Villa and the three factions inside, outsiders want to approach the Maolu Villa easily. It's nearly impossible to do so without being discovered.
After the two sisters reminisced about old times, the ghost mother suddenly looked at Niu Youdao and sneered, "I heard that you and Yun Huan are sworn brothers?"
She only found out about it after going to Duyun Mountain.
Niu Youdao was immediately embarrassed. He touched his nose and said, "Sister, I really didn't know about your relationship with Duyunshan earlier."
The ghost mother sneered again and again, "What do you think of this seniority?"
There was a teasing look in Yun Ji's eyes. Her seniority meant she wouldn't be disadvantaged anyway.
Fortunately, Guan Fangyi arrived at this time and reported urgently: "Master Dao, Long Xiu is here." At the same time, he handed over a letter.
Upon hearing Long Xiu's name, Gui Mu and Yun Ji looked stern, while Niu Youdao slowly turned back to look in the direction of the villa and said slowly: "Finally here!"
I picked up another letter and read it, and found that it was a letter from Quan Taifeng, saying that the Cangzhou rebels had captured another state, and asking when Nanzhou would raise troops, and so on.
Niu Youdao tore the letter into pieces, confessed to the two sisters, and left...
In the waterside pavilion of the villa, Long Xiu stood leaning on the railing. Niu Youdao came in a hurry. He raised his hands in greeting from afar and said, "The master of the palace is here in person. Niu Youdao is not here to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me, master of the palace!" He came closer and bowed.
Long Xiu looked back, glanced up and down with cold eyes, and snorted coldly, "Excuse me? Will you still take me seriously?"
Niu Youdao was surprised, "Why did the palace master say this?"
Long Xiu: "Are you pretending to be confused with me?"
Niu Youdao was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and slapped his forehead, "I understand, the palace master is talking about that batch of military rations? It's been prepared here and can be sent out at any time."
Long Xiu: "How to deliver it? Another group of robbers appeared and burned the grain truck again, or did the grain truck break down again?"
Niu Youdao: "It's absolutely impossible. Nanzhou has prepared a solid grain truck. This time Nanzhou personally sent a large army to escort the grain to Dingzhou to prevent it from making any mistakes. If there is any mistake, the palace master can Ask me for guilt and never refuse!"
The pleasure was unbelievable, and Long Xiu was speechless.
However, he was not here for this matter today, so he ignored the topic and asked calmly: "Have you ever heard of the counter-insurgency war?"
"Haha!" Niu Youdao was happy, and said with disdain and sarcasm: "A bunch of idiots!"
PS: Yaochi is shimmering with light, and Lingbo is coming with a slight step, congratulating the birth of the new alliance leaders "Knowing needs to be done" and "skdavid", two flowers blooming, one for each!