On October 20th, the court received new news from the front line that the Tatars broke through the Jizhou defense line, and everyone panicked.
On that day, You Miao was practicing archery in the courtyard. Although he hadn't used a knife for half a year, after picking it up, he was barely able to hit the target. When the string was being pulled, Zhao Chao hurried in from the door and said, "Quick, bring the military book with me, and follow me into the palace."
You Miao immediately put away the bow and arrow and followed Zhao Chao into the palace to discuss matters. You could see everyone's faces were worried and anxious. You Miao asked, "Isn't it calm a few days before the war?"
Zhao Chao looked at You Miao, thought for a while, his voice trembled a little, and said, "Don't tell the news first."
You Miao nodded.
After a few breaths, Zhao Chao said, "General Lan died and died in battle."
You Miao: "… "
"Where's Big Brother Nie?" You Miao felt a chill down her spine. When she was studying in Liuzhou, Sun Yu once said that with Lan Hong and Nie Dan, two generals guarding the east and west of the Great Wall, they could ensure the stability of the frontier for 20 years. Now Lan Hong is actually dead? !
"Brother Nie is mobilizing troops and horses to gather the remaining soldiers to defend against the Tartars." Zhao Chao said: "As soon as Lan Hong dies, all the northern defense lines are lost. This time I may really have to go out."
You Miao did not expect to enter the battlefield so quickly, Lan Hong actually sacrificed, how could it be
You Miao: "When will you go out?"
Zhao Chao: "You don't need to accompany the army, I will send you out of the city and back to the prefecture tomorrow morning."
You Miao was immediately angry: "What do you mean?"
Zhao Chao was a little out of control: "It's not your turn to have the final say! Be obedient to me!"
You Miao: "… "
Zhao Chao couldn't help gasping for breath. The two stood at a stalemate for a moment. Zhao Chao said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. The news came just now. In the past few days, Lan Hong died, and the deployment was all messed up!"
Zhao Chao explained as he walked, it turned out that as soon as the northern Tartars invaded, Lan Hong mobilized troops to go to the northern front for support. As soon as the troops were withdrawn, the Liangxi Plain was empty. There was a violent conflict between Nie Dan and Lan Hong over the formulation of the fighting route. Nie Dan asked Lan Hong to retreat to the south of the Yellow River, waiting for reinforcements from Gyeonggi, and asked Tang Hui to lead the Royal Forest Army to the north of Beijing.
Otherwise, if Lan Hongruo goes to fight against the Tartars alone, he will definitely face the enemy.
However, Lan Hong was too careless and led his troops to turn around to Zhengliang Pass. He was suddenly ambushed by the Tatars and Kama when passing through Languan Mountain. The losses were heavy. Lan Hong was shot and killed. However, the Tatars evacuated as soon as they succeeded.
Wang Xin withdrew his troops to the north bank of the Yellow River and planned to fight against the water.
At this moment, the situation was extremely critical. Zhao Chao and You Miao directly entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony. All the ministers were there, and there was a lot of discussion. Zhao Mao was not on the throne. Only the prince stood in the center, his brows furrowed.
Zhao Chao said: "The soldiers are already outside the city. More than 54,000 soldiers have been mobilized from Yangzhou."
The prince said, "Where is General Tang Hui?"
Tang Hui took a step forward, bowed and said, "The last will be here."
You Miao groaned in her heart and immediately said, "No!"
Although You Miao did not lead the troops in person, he was familiar with the military routes, and Zhao Chao was also very clear. Tang Hui was leading the Imperial Forest Army. His duty was to protect the guards and not attack heavily. How could he bring the Imperial Forest Army to the front line? As soon as the Crown Prince spoke, You Miao guessed that the overall arrangement of these people must be to let Tang Hui bring the Imperial Forest Army to the front line, gather up the remnants of Lan Hong, join them together, and go north to meet the enemy.
But the Royal Forest Army will definitely not do it!
You Miao's "No" was almost blurted out, and only after she said it did she feel bad. Everyone in the hall looked at him. As a minister who did not have an official position, it was already beyond the norm. It was far from his turn to speak, so he hurriedly apologized and said, "This minister has made a false statement, and the minister's sin deserves ten thousand death."
The prince laughed and did not pursue it, but Zhao Chao said loudly: "The Imperial Forest Army is not suitable for the north transfer. First, the terrain on the north bank of the Yellow River is complicated, and secondly, the Imperial Forest Army is not suitable for guerrilla warfare. General Tang still prefers to guard Gyeonggi."
Li Zai said: "Since the Royal Forest Army can't go to the front line, it can only let new recruits go into battle and be incorporated into the Northern Xinjiang Army, but General Tang Hui..."
Zhao Chao said: "Let me lead the troops, and Tang Hui will stay in the capital."
There was no speech in the hall. After a long time, Li Zai said: "Your Highness, the recruits are mixed and it is not easy to rule. Now that the Gyeonggi Army is drawn, there are really only 8,000 Imperial Forest Army left in the capital. According to the opinion of the minister... or..."
As soon as the needle fell, the prince said, "Third brother, can you win this battle? The entire capital, the lives of 100,000 people, are all on your shoulders."
Zhao Chao's pupils shrank slightly, and You Miao's heart froze, almost in sympathy with Zhao Chao. At that moment, he knew that Zhao Chao was timid.
"Yes." Zhao Chao replied: "Brother, please rest assured."
The prince smiled and shook his head slowly, with deep meaning in his eyes, which was clear at a glance.
You Miao sighed inwardly.
"Then." The prince said, "The third brother stayed in the capital to command the Yulin army. General Tang led the new army of the Jinggi army to the north and took over the remnants of Lanhong's northern army. You have 100,000 people in your hands, and you must expel the Tatars from the Central Plains. "
Tang Hui bowed and said, "The last general takes orders."
This time, Zhao Chao did not raise any further objections. Everyone in the palace knew, and You Miao knew it even more clearly - Zhao Chao still lost, not to the prince, but to himself.
"You Ziqian stay." The prince said, "The rest of the matter will be discussed in the morning tomorrow."
The ministers retreated one after another, and the prince motioned for You Miao to follow him, and You Miao held the stack of useless booklets and followed the prince out of the palace, through the imperial garden, and into the study.
When passing through Changle Palace, the palace was filled with smoke, and there was a faint sound of Taoist singing. You Miao felt a little curious and glanced around, but the prince waved his fingers slightly, and You Miao frowned.
"I should have appointed you until the beginning of spring." The prince entered the side hall, washed his hands, and said lightly: "But now the frontier war is tight, and the documents of Sandingjia are one step ahead, which is beyond the norm."
You Miao knew that this was going to be an official appointment for him, so he hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace."
The crown prince smiled, but he didn't mention You Miao's official position, he just asked: "I've been tired recently. My third brother has been like this since he was a child. He looked for a reason, and he never hit the south wall and didn't look back."
You Miao couldn't say anything about Zhao Chao, so he could only smile.
The prince handed over a small box and said, "Here is the tea from your family. Just make some tea and drink it."
You Miao happily took the box, which contained the Biyu Qingfeng from the following year, and the prince said again, "The Sixth Road in Jiangnan is now closed, so I have to wait for the next year to save some drinks."
You Miao snorted, being with the prince is different from being with Zhao Chao. He now understands why both the court and the middle support the prince, and he is indeed a bit capable. Although people like the Prince may not be sincere, but when they get along with him, no matter what they think in their hearts, they feel like a spring breeze.
Not to mention the fear of saying the wrong thing, Zhao Chao's emotions are too high, although he hides it well in front of the rest of the courtiers, but mixed with You Miao, he is like a small child, more true, Also more casual.