Qin Mubai's determination made Li Daozong speechless for a moment. He was silent for a moment and said, "It's fine if Mu Bai leads the troops in person. I am only worried about your health, so please do what you can."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'm fine." Qin Mubai replied.
"That's good." Li Daozong said, "Yuyang Pass and the Second Pass must have been starved of food together. This crime is mine. If the crime is to be punished, I will be the first to deal with it."
"My lord, it's hard to be poor, and I know you can't be blamed for this." Qin Mubai said, "Lanzhou's treasury was already empty before the war started, and even the people were tightening their belts and saving money through their teeth. Later, although the imperial court supported our army's logistics, Chang'an was still two thousand miles away, which took a long time. I also checked the Shanzhou treasury a few days ago. The rats could starve to death. Unless the prince doesn’t send food to Yuyang Erguan, there is really nothing left to send!”
Zhu Bancheng on the side said: "General Xue and our brothers did not complain about the young marshal or the prince. Because the young marshal and the prince understand the importance of Yuyang Second Pass better than we do. General Xue said that if there is no backup food and grass, only two The first possibility is that Dafeichuan was defeated and the Tibetan troops came to the city, causing the food route to be cut off; the second possibility is that there is no food to send to Lanzhou! "
"As you said, both of these situations happened... A few days ago, when the siege of Shanzhou was lifted, I transported thousands of stones of grain and grass that the young marshal's wife's caravan had managed to piece together from various places in Helong to Yuyang Er. It is estimated that even if it arrives, it will only be able to sustain the soldiers guarding the pass for a few days, half hungry and half full." Li Daozong sighed and said, "I didn't expect that the city gate would be lost before the food and grass arrived. ! This is really the biggest mistake I, Li Daozong, have made in my life!"
"Forget it, Your Majesty. Now is not the time to hold people responsible, and you don't have to blame yourself at all. Some time ago, I used a trick to deceive Lanzhou into a leaderless state. It is very difficult for you to ensure the overall situation. In the final analysis, no matter what happens in Lanzhou, I, the Commander-in-Chief of Lanzhou, am also responsible for the fault." Qin Mubai said, "The military situation is in turmoil. If we delay here for a moment, many more people may die at Yuyang Pass. Time is not waiting for us. Let's beat the drums and gather the generals immediately. Send troops to the second level!"
"Okay!" Li Daozong nodded and responded solemnly, then frowned suddenly and said, "Xue Wanche was killed in battle, and his brother Xue Wanjun is now in Shanzhou. How are the young marshal planning to arrange for him?"
Qin Mubai's heart suddenly became blocked. He felt the same feeling of losing a loved one. This pair of Xue brothers have always been inseparable from each other, and they are as if they were carved from the same mold, both in terms of physical appearance and physical abilities. The two have always been close, and they truly deserve the word "brothers and sisters".
Now that my hands have been cut off, what's the point
But the Lanzhou base camp must be guarded by generals. It would be inappropriate to just send Li Daozong or Xue Wanjun to lead the army. How could Li Daozong, with his special status, be easily involved in danger? Secondly, Xue Wanjun's love is as fierce as fire, and he acts emotionally before the battle, which cannot guarantee the overall situation.
"Let him guard Shanzhou!" Qin Mubai said decisively.
"Then how to convince him?" Li Daozong asked hurriedly, "The Xue brothers, the tiger and lion generals, have always depended on each other for life. Now the hatred for killing my brother is so deep that I am afraid that he will not be able to control his feelings!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Qin Mubai smiled confidently, "Even if this lion is really angry, I can still control it!"
Li Daozong was slightly startled, obviously not believing it, and said: "The Xue brothers were born as generals. Their father was the former Sui Zuo Imperial Guard General Xue Shixiong. The brothers were also Sui generals. After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, they followed Luo Yinan He made great military achievements in the expedition to the north, and later joined Prince Yin to build the Mu Mansion. During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Xue Wanche led the troops of the East Palace to fight and even counterattacked the Qin Palace. He just came back to serve as a general and was promoted to a high position. He also married Princess Danyang, the daughter of Emperor Gaozu, and became the brother-in-law of His Majesty the Emperor... His life has been full of ups and downs from birth to death, although he is now a man of great talent in the Kansai army. There are many powerful generals, but the most important one is Xue Wanche, followed by his brother Xue Wanjun... Do you dare to say that you can suppress Xue Wanjun at this time? "
"Your Majesty, the matter is urgent. I don't have time to persuade him slowly. I will lead the troops and set off first." Qin Mubai smiled faintly and said, "Afterwards, Xue Wanjun knew that there was a reason to cause trouble, so he asked Your Majesty to follow him. He said - How is the pain of losing a brother compared to the hatred of killing a father? Today, the murderer of Tujue Beiting is our ally! ... My father's last words warned me that there should be no selfless hatred on the battlefield. Xue Wanjun, who has been a soldier for most of his life, must understand that the most important thing is that Lanzhou cannot be without a general."
"Okay, it's up to you to decide." Li Daozong frowned and nodded, and said, "I will arrange some of the remaining winter rations for you. You go immediately to rectify the troops and horses, carry the rations and go into battle lightly, and gallop through the second level. !”
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qin Mubai asked him aside and said, "Chen Yan and Xiao Lou'er will be taken care of by Your Majesty. In particular, Chen Yan cannot be allowed to know that I am going to lead troops to go on an expedition."
"Why, you can suppress tens of thousands of tigers and lions, but you can't suppress a woman?" Li Daozong suddenly showed contempt, "You are far behind what I did back then!"
If it weren't for the current atmosphere, Qin Mubai almost laughed out loud. He said, "It's not that I can't control her. It's just that she said that even if I go to the battlefield in the future, she must follow me, and she won't let me go any further. She also said that she didn’t want to watch over the man, but wanted to watch over her father for Xiaolou’er! My lord, do you also think that there is one kind of request in this world that is the most difficult to refuse—that is, never ask for it from others? The one who asked for it!”
"Has she changed her temper?" Li Daozong blinked blankly, nodded, and said, "Maybe this time, you deceived her. Well, act quickly and don't disturb her."
"good!"
Immediately, Qin Mubai led Zhu Bancheng to the military camp. He first entered his Qinxunyi Mansion and ordered the entire mansion to have 10,000 elite cavalrymen assembled on standby. Another emergency transfer order was issued, and 10,000 Zuoweiwei cavalry were transferred from Xue Wanjun, a total of 20,000 light cavalry, and they were quickly assembled outside the city.
In times of war preparation, it is normal to mobilize troops and punish generals. Xue Wanjun didn't know what happened from beginning to end. After his previous great victories, he knew very well that Qin Mubai had many tricks and tactics, which was beyond anyone's imagination. Although he was curious as a subordinate, he did not dare to ask. I just followed the orders one by one.
After the rations and other supplies prepared by Li Daozong were delivered and distributed, Qin Mubai personally led 20,000 troops and horses to prepare for the expedition. Just as he was about to leave, Chen Yan arrived.
She was actually wearing mountain armor, a black unicorn brocade war robe, and a long sword on her waist. She was riding Li Daozong's favorite black BMW - Ting Fengzhao!
Seeing her appear, Qin Mubai could only smile bitterly, "After all, I couldn't hide it from you."
"I never thought that I would be messy one day, right? But my current identity is not someone's wife or mother, but a general who wants to fight." Chen Yan smiled slightly, and then gave Qin Mu a serious look. Bai gave a military salute and said, "Chen Yan, the leader of the Hundred Cavalry Royal Guards, the Suzaku Regiment, and the Heavenly Brigade Team A, is here to serve under Marshal Qin!"
The generals around him couldn't help laughing, but they were also surprised and shocked - could this handsome young marshal's wife, who was so heroic and chivalrous, really be an officer of Baiqi
Qin Mubai's expression froze, and then he remembered that when he was still in Xiangyang a few years ago, for the sake of convenience, he actually got Chen Yan a certificate as a Baiqi officer.
Perhaps sensing everyone's surprise, Chen Yan calmly took out a folded book from her armor pocket and opened it for everyone to see.
All the generals looked at it and commented in surprise: "It is indeed the official certificate of the Hundred Cavalry Officer! It has His Majesty's seal, the hall seal of the Ministry of War, and the seals of the Hundred Cavalry Envoy and the three Hundred Cavalry Deputy Envoys. It’s definitely true!”
"What are you shouting about! - Chen Yan, you are just a captain, what if I don't accept you?" Qin Mubai said a little annoyed and a little funny.
"If you don't take me in, Lou'er and I will break up with you." Chen Yan said it without any sense of joking.
The generals couldn't bear it any longer and burst into laughter. Some people shouted, "Now now, she is the young marshal's wife again!"
Qin Mubai glared at the giggling soldiers angrily, then stared helplessly and speechlessly at the serious Chen Yan for a few times, and when he mentioned Ma Jiang, he shouted: "Let's go!!"
Chen Yan smiled knowingly and patted her horse to follow. All the soldiers cheered, whipped their horses and galloped up.
Twenty thousand cavalrymen immediately galloped toward the northwest despite the freezing cold wind.
…
The passionate passion and raging war in Guanhe outside the Great Wall did not bring too much impact to the prosperous and peaceful Guanzhong and Gyeonggi area.
On one side, there are fierce horses and spears, and the yellow sand blocks out the sun and the roar of the sword. On the other side, there are poems, wine, chess and rhymes, and silk trees are wrapped around trees, singing and dancing to bring peace.
In fact, war is somewhat unfamiliar and distant to the people of the Tang Dynasty who have been in peace for a long time. Right now, they are more concerned about how to spend the upcoming Chinese New Year. Although there have been repeated wars in Datang in the past year or so, they have not had a bad impact on the people's livelihood in the country. The Tang Dynasty did not become frightened all the time because of the invasion of hundreds of thousands of foreign barbarian soldiers.
Whether it is due to the confidence in the Tang Dynasty or the selfishness and numbness that often exist in human nature, the New Year is approaching, and the city of Chang'an is as festive as in previous years.
However, there is a group of people who cannot be happy no matter what. This New Year is destined to be full of anxiety and instability.
Because they heard - "Qin Mubai died in battle, and the emperor wants to fight in person!"
Two days ago, the imperial court received a reply from Li Daozong, the acting governor of Lanzhou, King of Jiangxia, reporting on the urgent military situation ahead. It is said that Qin Mubai was poisoned by Tubo Xizuo, and the army was defeated and retreated to Dafeichuan to defend Shanzhou. Nowadays, Tubo breaks through the defense line and presses the territory with a large army. The newly defeated troops in Lanzhou are outnumbered and people are heartbroken. Half of the country in Helong, Guanxi, is in danger and is crumbling!
Today at the court meeting, all the officials stepped into the Hall of Wude with their hearts tightened. After the sea roared and the mountains roared, all the civil and military officials looked up and were shocked - the current Holy Emperor, Li Shimin, was actually wearing the bright light armor that he wore when he founded the country and conquered the north and south, sitting on a dragon with a big horse and a golden sword. On the chair!
"My decision has been made, and there is no need for you to remonstrate." As soon as Li Shimin opened his mouth, he blocked everyone's mouths, "You have no joke, I have already said before that if Qin Mubai cannot defeat Gar Qinling, I am the master of the whole country, and I will fight against the abandoned Zong Nongzan!"
"Long live, long live, long live my emperor!" All the civil and military officials could only sing.
"Your Majesty is as brave as before!" Suddenly a man walked out of the train and said in a loud voice like a bell, "Old minister, I am willing to go out with the Holy Master. Even if you lead your horse to fall and die, you will not complain!"
Everyone turned around and looked, immediately surprised!
Isn’t that the Duke of Wei, Li Jing, who has been out of court for a long time