The vast night fell, and there were thick clouds in the gray sky. Lu Jun, who had retreated for a day, set up camp and lit a bonfire. The snow had become lighter, but it was even colder. King Lu sat on the pillar blankly, his heart pounding. Blood, my 30,000-strong army is over, and so is King Tu's hegemony.
The entire army seemed to have been drained of energy, order was lost, and their faces were pale. Some people escaped quietly halfway, and now there are even more people whispering.
King Lu stayed for a moment, woke up, looked at the dark night, and said to Eunuch Liao: "Do you think the enemy will come to steal the camp at night?"
"Your Majesty, no, it is difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy in the dark, and the enemy has also suffered heavy losses. He must be cleaning up the situation now. We should be safe now."
"How many more of us are there?"
"General Yan is taking inventory, returning to the establishment, appointing and dismissing generals. It seems that there are still more than a thousand people." Eunuch Liao whispered with a sad expression. In today's battle, almost all the 30,000 soldiers were destroyed.
"Where's the food?"
"There is not much food. Now we are killing horses to eat meat. Otherwise, it will be frozen into ice in this cold weather."
King Lu was silent for a long time. He looked up to the sky and sighed. In the blink of an eye, he had regained his composure and majesty: "Come here, please mobilize my personal guards to form a supervision team to rectify military discipline. Anyone who dares to escape will be killed without mercy. Anyone who dares to discuss in secret will destroy the morale of the army. The same Kill without mercy."
King Lu said to a school captain who was following him. The school captain had a brave face and immediately agreed, turning around and arranging the inspection team to inspect.
"Defectors will be killed without mercy."
"Anyone who disrupts order in the army will be killed without mercy."
The supervisory team ran back and forth, shouting loudly, and a cavalryman happened to be trying to escape secretly. The supervisory team rushed up, grabbed him, and chopped him off with a knife. Blood spattered and his head rolled off.
Looking at this, King Lu felt a fishy smell well up in his throat, and couldn't help but reach out to cover it.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Eunuch Liao saw King Lu's expression change and hurriedly stepped forward.
"Wow" King Lu spit out a mouthful of blood, and her chest felt better. Eunuch Liao was shocked: "Imperial Physician, tell the Imperial Physician quickly..."
After saying this, I realized that there was no imperial doctor at this time.
"I'm fine." King Lu stretched out his hand to stop him.
"Your Majesty, please take care of the dragon body." Eunuch Liao shed tears. King Lu calmed down and said, "I'm fine, don't make a fuss."
"Now our army has been defeated and suffered heavy losses. Chenzhou can no longer defend it." King Lu said coldly: "If we retreat to the city, we will be surrounded. The most important thing now is to tighten our fists to prevent the overall situation from collapsing. .”
"You can arrange to find some people among the guards who can still calm down, and quickly ride to the counties to deliver the order, so that the garrison of each county can quickly retreat to Jinzhou with food." At this point, King Lu felt heartbroken again. , and there was a little smell of blood filling the throat.
"Also, order Han Hongwu to join Gu." King Lu ordered.
This decision was correct. Due to the great defeat, he only had a thousand men, and it would be all over for the imperial army to catch up. The most important thing now was to gather the troops and stabilize the front. However, even though he thought so, King Lu only felt a chill.
Capital City·Imperial Palace·Royal Study Room
The beast-shaped stove was strong and warm, and several eunuchs and maids were waiting at the door. A voice came from the imperial study: "Your Majesty, the war is urgent. Soldiers from all over the country must prepare. Have you ordered to prepare?"
Emperor Qitai listened, thinking of the strategy proposed by Pei Ziyun, and was silent for a moment: "Ai Qing drafted a text, if the war is unfavorable, he will mobilize the army to serve the king."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
At this time, Cabinet Minister Yue Ji took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have this note. It snows heavily in various places this year. Many places have been affected by disasters. We all have to spend money to provide relief."
"The army that surrounded and suppressed King Lu is still using troops. This month's money expenditure has more than doubled compared to the previous two months. Now we have to mobilize soldiers, and the national treasury is really unable to support it!"
Emperor Qitai raised his face and pondered, silently taking a sip from the tea cup. After a long time, he said: "Let's talk about disaster relief first. I remember that there is a lot of food in the warehouse?"
"Your Majesty, in the past few years, we would have had food reserves. However, to pacify the Marquis of Jibei, military expenditures, and disaster relief, we have already used a lot of food reserves. Although we still have some foundation, there is not much left."
"Then how do you think we should handle it?"
"Specialists can be sent to provide disaster relief. We can provide half a catty of coarse grain per person per day so that no one will die of hunger this year. As for the money, I really have no choice."
Emperor Qitai was silent for a long time and then said: "What are your thoughts on the battle situation?"
"From what I see, the camp is surrounded. It is already difficult for King Lu to break out, but if we slowly kill it, it will take at least three to five years. The military expenses and food and salary are very difficult." Jiang, who is in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, said. Shu Yu said: "Last year, the state treasury used 3.5 million taels. Looking at the situation, there will be another 5 million taels this year, but the household treasury only has 10 million taels left."
"With this little money, we can last for two years at most, and then we will be in a situation where we have no money to use."
Emperor Qitai's expression changed: "Why is this so? I remember that the late emperor had at least 30 million taels in the household treasury!"
Jiang Shuyu listened and swallowed: "Your Majesty, the war has been going on for several years. In the past, the Japanese pirates invaded the southeast, and the Marquis of Jibei made trouble. Now they are conquering King Lu, building a mausoleum, enthroning His Majesty, and other expenses. After the war, The land tax has been greatly reduced, and I still have to pay for it, so I really can’t make ends meet.”
"Your Majesty, I am worried. For future planning, can I give you some more taxes?"
Emperor Qitai listened and touched his forehead with his hand, feeling depressed.
Before becoming an emperor, I only felt that I was in a high position, that I was the only one who controlled the fate of the people in the world, and that the wealth, life, wealth and splendor of all the courtiers were in my hands. But only when you really reach this position can you understand the responsibilities.
Emperor Qitai looked at the snowflakes in the distance and refused to look away for a long time, saying: "No, I have just ascended the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty. Do we need to increase taxes? What will the people of the world think of me?"
"The Ministry of Household Affairs will try its best to raise the necessary relief and appropriate allocations. Dear friends, if you have any ideas, please contribute them."
The cabinet ministers looked at Emperor Qitai's expression and looked at each other.
Luo Gui coughed at this time: "Your Majesty, maybe we can open more places for trade. Last year, the sea tax of Yingzhou was one million taels, ranking first among all states. If more sea bans are opened, with the convenience of trade, at least we can An increase of three million taels."
Listening to this, Emperor Qitai couldn't help but nodded: "Yes"
As the minister was talking, suddenly, a eunuch came forward and reported: "Your Majesty, there is news from Lord Pei Zhen."
"Quickly, show it to me." Emperor Qitai listened, and the ministers hurriedly came over and handed it over. The emperor opened the memorial and looked at the title. He couldn't help but be surprised. When he looked at it again, his hands were trembling: "Pei Zhenjun has defeated Lu. King, the formation beheaded eleven generals, killed 10,000, and captured 20,000. King Lu only escaped with a thousand cavalry."
Emperor Qitai was originally a little sad, but now he was stunned, surprised and unbelievable.
"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty. King Lu has been defeated. It seems that peace in the world is not far away." The cabinet immediately celebrated. Emperor Qitai recovered and said with joy, "Okay, okay, it is indeed Pei Ziyun who has done it in one fell swoop." Defeat King Lu, and the world will be at peace again."
Hearing this, the expressions of several ministers changed, they exchanged glances with each other, and nodded. Yue Ji straightened his clothes and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I have a plan to tell you."
"Huh?" Emperor Qitai was startled. Looking at the serious expressions of the ministers, his smile couldn't help but fade away, and the whole study became solemn.
Cijiupo
The weather was unfavorable and it started to rain, but there were soldiers on the hillside who blocked all the roads and no one was allowed to pass. From time to time, Taoist priests would patrol back and forth. When Lord Yu Yun and the elders arrived, Taoist priests immediately led them up, and several people in the group passed through. Coir raincoat climbed up the stairs. In fact, the mountain was not high, just a hundred steps. There were some pine trees planted around it, and the cold rain hit their faces, but a few people didn't notice it.
An elder smiled bitterly and said to Yu Yunjun: "You have accepted a good disciple. We are not as good as you."
Yu Yunjun also smiled bitterly: "The master is blessed by fate and has extraordinary talents. You can't just wait and see him."
"And whether it's yours or mine, this is Songyun Sect's blessing. Last time, the leader sent Taoist teachings back, and I've already read them. When it comes to basic Taoist teachings, even the Qixuanmen may not be able to surpass them. "
"This time, if the leader survives the thunder tribulation, he will definitely bring Songyun Sect to glory. If so, a hundred years later, I will have the dignity to go to the blessed land to meet the founder."
"Well, let's hurry over and protect the Dharma."
They were joking and talking. When they reached the top of the mountain, they were soaked through. Looking around, they saw the rain falling and the mountains near and far were in chaos. However, there was a hexagonal pavilion on the top of the mountain. Pei Ziyun was looking at the sky with his hands behind his hands. He was wearing a Taoist robe and looked at the sky. When the wind and rain fell, they all slipped away and disappeared, and even the corners of his clothes were not wet.
Lord Yu Yun looked at the sky and knew that the time was not yet up, so he asked: "We rushed here and heard that you defeated King Lu, but why not take this opportunity to completely defeat King Lu?"
After hearing this, Pei Ziyun smiled and shook his head: "King Lu reacted very quickly. He did not return to the city at all, but returned directly to Jinzhou."
"More importantly, I defeated King Lu and recaptured Chenzhou, which was a great achievement. Do you think the court and Emperor Qitai would allow a Taoist to completely defeat King Lu?"
"I am already a true king, the highest position a Taoist can obtain. I will not reward you for my great merit!"
Pei Ziyun exhaled as he spoke and smiled melancholy: "King Lu has suffered this blow and is at the end of his rope. He can only live a little longer."
"Hmph." Yu Yunjun listened and said bitterly: "The imperial court really wants to tear down the river and demolish the bridge."
"Yes, but which court doesn't do this? After all, in the name of the overall situation, everyone has to obey!" Pei Ziyun sighed, still angry when seeing everyone, looking at the black clouds, silent for a moment and then said: "The most important thing Yes, the foundation of us Taoists is not here."
The sky surged with clouds, yin and yang merged, giving birth to spring thunder. Pei Ziyun looked at one point and said: "Look, the first spring thunder of this year is coming."
"This spring thunder is where the great power of our generation lies."
"Now I am too conspicuous everywhere, but everyone knows that I love to watch beautiful scenery, so I used the excuse of climbing to watch the rain scenery for fun, and only brought my own soldiers and Taoist priests with me."
"If we don't take advantage of this opportunity, I'm afraid people will be robbed in the blink of an eye, and there will be a lot of trouble."
These words were thrilling. Yu Yunjun still wanted to ask, but he heard a "boom" and a muffled thunder flashed in the clouds, like a wheel running over a bridge.
(End of chapter)