You Miao saw off Zhao Chao with a bowl of oath wine, and during the imperial expedition, Xie Hui took the seat of the imperial court, and the six departments, the Zhengshitang and the Hanlin Academy jointly made decisions. All political and military affairs must be decided by the Political Office and the Ministry of War.
For several days, news from the front line kept coming. Zhao Chao and Li Zhifeng successfully joined forces in the Languan North Canyon. Zhao Chao led an army of 100,000 troops to surround Yanbian City. Li Zhifeng led 30,000 cavalry to break away from the main force, wandered in Saidong, and left in a hurry.
Every day, You Miao was unable to eat and could not sleep at night. In May, June and July, for three months, the Hu people in Yanbian invited many times to fight, but they all returned without success. Zhao Chao was indeed calm, and except for a few small-scale encounters, he did not engage in head-to-head combat with the Yanbian army.
You Miao has sent out two military analysis papers, without exception: "Assess the situation, don't start a war rashly."
The Southern Dynasty had plenty of food and grass, and You Miao was determined to drag down the entire Yanbian City. The army surrounded Yanbian so that a bird could not fly in. You Miao knew that Yanbian was the first trade city outside the Great Wall, and the flow of materials came and went. , but the city decided not to store much grain.
In less than three months, Yanbian will be completely exhausted. At that time, if Da'an sends troops to help, Li Zhifeng will intercept him from the side.
Both Zhao Chao and Li Zhifeng's letters were sent in three days, and when You Miao got the letter that day, she rushed to the palace.
Qiao Rong had been pregnant for several months, her lower abdomen was bulging, and she sat listening to You Miao reading home letters. You Miao first opened Li Zhifeng's letter and frowned slightly.
“…On the third day of the seventh lunar month, we intercepted the Yanbian messenger scouts in the White Wolf River…”
"...Yanbian has been besieged for three months, and the city has been..." You Miao glanced at Qiao Rong, instead of reading out Li Zhifeng's letter that "people cannibalize people in the city", he changed his words to: "The army has become unstable in the city. "
"... Daleko and the Quan Rong troops have not yet appeared." You Miao said: "The third brother patrols the northeast with a scout team. The climate in the north is volatile, and the third brother is slightly unaccustomed to the soil and water..."
Qiao Rong said gently, "What did your majesty write in the letter?"
You Miao opened Zhao Chao's letter and read it as he read: "My wife Rong'er, my brother-in-law said it personally. Our army lost 332 people in the first battle on the lower reaches of the White Wolf River, and asked Pingxi Shan to give him some relief. How about my son? Rong'er needs to rest assured to raise her baby. There was a heavy rain in Saibei in July, and she occasionally caught wind and cold. She has been conditioned with northern medicinal ginseng and has generally recovered, so there is no need to worry..."
Most of Zhao Chao's letters reported good news but not bad news. After You Miao read it, she put it aside with a worried look on her face. Qiao Rong asked, "But what's the problem?"
You Miao shook her head. He had always talked to Qiao Rong at all times. He didn't hide from her the military situation on the front line. He knew that no matter how big or small, he could not hide it.
"It's almost August." You Miao explained: "It was originally expected that Yanbian could be won in July. Once winter begins, the entire Saibei will be dominated by Tartars and Quanrong."
Qiao Rong understood, nodded and said, "The soldiers in the south are not resistant to cold."
"Yes." You Miao said: "The combat power of the horses and the army will be suppressed."
"What if I can't win in October?" Qiao Rong asked.
"Then we have to let them return to the south bank of the Yellow River before winter." You Miao said: "We will fight again next year."
The words "fight again in the next year" are easy to say, but only You Miao himself knows the difficulty. The Southern Dynasties poured all the strength of the whole country and damaged a general who was a god of war before pushing the front line to Languan. Once they returned to the Central Plains, the loss of It can no longer be measured by material. If Da'an is not captured this time, I am afraid that Jiangnan will no longer be able to support a major war.
Although Zhao Chao's urgency was never spoken, You Miao couldn't make it clearer, so he wrote again and again to ask him to make a rational judgment.
Qiao Rong said, "Have the soldiers' winter clothes been prepared?"
You Miao said: "It's all ready."
Qiao Rong: "Tomorrow I will go to the Ministry of Housing..."
You Miao said with a bitter face: "Hello, sister, don't worry about it, you are pregnant, and now all the ministers are staring at your belly."
Qiao Rong said, "I have to prepare the shirts for your third brother. What about Li Zhifeng's?"
You Miao also thought about it. When Li Zhifeng left, he was only wearing a black armor. In winter, the north was cold, and he also had a suit in the villa. The winter clothes in the north must be prepared as soon as possible, no matter how they fight...
After You Miao came out of the palace, he instructed the servant to go back to the villa to prepare. After a few days, he returned to the villa to pack up the winter clothes when he sent the winter clothes to the front line.
A few days later, Yaoguang brought a letter from Li Zhifeng.
This is Li Zhifeng avoiding the army's communication system, and sending people to the villa in secret. After Yaoguang got it, he rushed to Maocheng. You Miao would receive such a letter every month, all about the relationship between Quanrong and the north. situation problem.
However, after opening the letter this time, there were only a few lines in it.
"Your Majesty's cold and sick, the situation is not good, you must prepare early."
You Miao was startled, and was immediately disturbed. At the same time, the army messenger also returned to Maocheng, and reported the situation in the north to the ministers at the imperial court.
"Your Majesty is ill?" Xie Hui said.
The messenger said: "Ten days ago, His Majesty personally led the army into the lower reaches of the White Wolf River. It happened to be raining heavily, and the army rushed for a day and a night. After the rain, the fever persisted, and when he came back, he started talking nonsense in the military tent. After receiving the letter, his condition has improved, but his physique is very weak. General Li is worried about His Majesty's health, and I am afraid that he will no longer be able to lead troops after the fall, so he hides it from His Majesty and asks all the adults in the court for advice."
You Miao can count everything, but he can't count this part. Although Zhao Chao used to follow the army a lot back then, but now he is no longer the age to waste his body at will. Ten years ago, the battle of Goryeo left the root of the disease. After going through two turmoils in the north, he lived in a deep palace after ascending the throne, and worked hard to deal with political affairs.
Everyone looked at You Miao, waiting for his opinion.
"What did Your Majesty say?" You Miao asked the messenger.
The messenger said: "Your Majesty insists on staying on the front line."
You Miao said: "Then let him stay on the front line. Send a doctor to rush on the road to diagnose him."
"Your Excellency," Li Yan said, "Your Majesty's health is the most important thing. In my opinion, I still have to withdraw to the south bank of the Yellow River to ensure safety."
"It's exhausting to march." You Miao said, "I'm already ill, so it's not appropriate to travel long distances. Let Li Zhifeng go back to share the military affairs, and observe for a while before making a decision."
Pingxi said: "His Majesty also led soldiers in the past. If you know how to choose, you might as well trust him."
You Miao nodded and said, "The Queen must not know about this."
All the ministers were worried and dispersed.
You Miao returned to the political affairs hall and was about to write a pen to reply to Li Zhifeng's letter, but another person came to the villa, but it was Cheng Guangwu.
"Master." Cheng Guangwu said: "Someone has come to the front line, please go back to the villa, and there is an order to explain."
You Miao said in surprise, "It's only been one day, and someone has come again?"
Asking and asking, You Miao immediately felt that this matter was no trivial matter, and hurriedly took leave of absence from Tang Bo, got on his horse and hurried back to the villa.
"Who is that?" You Miao asked.
"He said it was Master Feng's old department." Cheng Guangwu said.
You Miao nodded and thought that it should be news from the north, but suddenly felt wrong, what does Li Zhifeng's old department mean
"What to wear?" You Miao asked, "Not a soldier of Tianqi?"
Cheng Guangwu nodded, and You Miao immediately thought of another possibility...