Zhou Xing frowned: "Minister official? Why do you think so?"

Yuan Bin threw a peanut into his mouth and said with a smile: "It's very simple. Our Intelligence Department also discovered it."

Seeing that Zhou Xing and Lao Dong were a little confused, he continued to explain: "We once intercepted a secret report sent from Luoyi to Jiangnan. Although the person who sent the letter did not know who the traitor was, he was sure that the other party was an identity.

A person of high status. Moreover, what is recorded in the letter is also the content discussed in the court."

Zhou Xing looked at Dong Tianxing: "Who could it be?"

"Don't look at me, old man," Dong Tianxing was stunned: "It's definitely not me."

Zhou Xing burst into laughter: "Of course I know it's not you, old man. Do you need a special excuse? There really is no three hundred taels of silver here."

Dong Tianxing smiled coquettishly: "Hey, I was also frightened by the look in your eyes just now. It was like a knife. But, in my opinion, the suspects cannot escape from the officials from Yizhou."

"We both thought about it together," Zhou Xing nodded: "I also think Yizhou officials are the most suspicious. However, some time ago, people came here from Yizhou one after another, not even a hundred, but also eighty, in this range

It’s not big or small, it’s not easy to investigate.”

Dong Tianxing thought for a while: "We can start with Lao Jianhua. Didn't he work in Beiya back then? Find out who he had contact with."

Zhou Xing shook his head: "I don't think it makes much sense. Shen Changshi and Lao Jianhua have a sworn hatred. Over the years, he has screened all the people related to Lao Jianhua several times."

Yuan Bin asked: "Is there no one else in the Xuanjia Legion besides Lao Jianhua? Why do you always hang around him?"

Zhou Xing was stunned when he heard this: "If you include other people, the scope would be even greater."

Dong Tianxing seemed to remember something, and said with a smile: "I remember Lord Shen told General Murong before that there seems to be a man named Di in the Xuanjia Army, who is Lao Jianhua's spy next to Xie Guang, and he is also Lao Jianhua."

Jianhua’s apprentice.”

"Yes, why did I forget about him?" Zhou Xing slapped his thigh: "That guy is smooth and sociable. When he was in the imperial capital, he was brothers with many people. We can start with Di Xian."

Dong Tianxing reminded: "You must remember to hide it from Tian Mu."

Zhou Xing responded: "That's natural. Tian Mu is also one of the suspects. We must not let him be alert at all."

When Tian Mu was mentioned, Yuan Bin couldn't help but get angry and cursed repeatedly.

Zhou Xing smiled and comforted him a few words, and then warned: "Brother Yuan, please protect our Lord Chang Shi after you return to Hangzhou. All the brothers in Nilin Division are grateful."

Yuan Bin readily agreed: "Brother Zhou, don't worry. We have received clear instructions from Master Yuduoluo to protect Shen Changshi at all costs. The Great Protector also personally selected two hundred elites from the white robe army, who are currently

On the way from Western Xinjiang to Jiangnan, they have only one mission, and that is to protect Lord Shen as a dead soldier."

Hearing this, Zhou Xing and Dong Tianxing couldn't help being surprised and happy.

Both of them have been to Western Xinjiang, and of course they know what the White Robe Army is like.

A powerful soldier who has been refined for hundreds of years, invincible in the world!

The elites among the two hundred elites are no less powerful than thousands of troops. With them here, no one can even think about touching Shen Lie unless the opponent mobilizes a large army and sets up an encirclement and suppression.

Zhou Xing raised his glass and shouted: "Here's to the Protector!"

-

Early the next morning, Yuan Bin rode alone, leaving Luoyi, the eastern capital, and returned to Jiangnan.

At the same time, the three assassin confessions he brought were also presented to Emperor Li Bing.

At this time, there were five people standing under the imperial steps: Wei Zixuan, Tian Mu, Gong Chengze, Dong Tianxing and Murong Xue.

Li Bing gently placed the confession on the table and sighed: "Murong, you are a little careless this time."

Tian Mu was stunned when he heard the words: Careless? A little? A little more? Let me go, the emperor's understatement is tantamount to directly exonerating Murong Xue?

He was about to speak when he suddenly saw Wei Zixuan opposite him shaking his head at him, hinting to Tian Mu not to say anything.

I only heard Murong Xue say: "Your Majesty, Liu Guiren's unfortunate death is all my fault. I beg your Majesty to punish him severely."

Li Bing said calmly: "Hasn't the Xinjiang Army named Yuan Bin already found out the whole story? The rebel king Li Kuang was so crazy that he actually sent 132 desperadoes to ambush the wedding convoy at night. Those

Nanyang soldiers were not hit either

Besides, it’s not a unit under your command, so it’s not very easy to use. In such a chaotic situation, mistakes are inevitable, and it can’t be your fault alone. Let’s just let this matter go and don’t need to mention it again in the future.

."

Murong Xue cupped her hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your pardon. However, if you forgive me, how should you explain it to the government and the opposition?"

"You can explain whatever you want," Li Bing snorted nonchalantly: "Ming Dynasty published a court report and copied these confessions into it to tell the officials and the people who is the real mastermind behind the scenes!"

Wei Zixuan quickly praised: "Your Majesty is wise! In this way, right and wrong will become clear at once, and everyone in the world will scold the traitorous king Li Kuang!"

Li Bing nodded slightly and continued: "In addition, a decree was sent to the Liu family, posthumously conferring Liu Yanru the title of Mrs. Zhao, with the title of fourth rank, and a pair of tourmaline phoenixes. Liu Yanru's father, Liu Lun, was granted the title of Viscount Liling;

His mother was posthumously granted the title of Madam of the Third Grade."

"The ceremony of conferring imperial concubines will be held as usual. Ma Yunfang is conferred the title of Concubine Shu, in charge of Shangyang Palace, and Murong Ling is conferred the title of Concubine Hui, in charge of Yixiang Palace."

The five ministers raised their hands and obeyed the order loudly.

Li Bing continued: "Let's discuss my marriage here first. Next, let's talk about the war in detail."

Dong Tianxing, as the Minister of War, heard this and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the Southern Army has been divided into two groups, with a total of 330,000 troops, encircling and attacking Tongguan. According to Ma Hongjie's prediction, the general offensive will be officially launched before the end of the month."

Gong Chengze rushed to say: "The guard general of Tongguan is the Turkic Marshal He Lianxiong. He has two main legions of the Golden Tribe under his command, with a strength of between sixty and eighty thousand. There are also two tribal legions, about fifty thousand, and

The strength of some Western Xinjiang affiliated armies and the Tongguan garrison is close to 150,000. As the attacking side, the Southern Army does not have a particularly large advantage in strength."

"Indeed," Li Bing nodded: "Dong Aiqing, write a letter to Ma Hongjie and tell him that 330,000 yuan may not be enough to defeat a tough enemy like Tongguan, and you will have to mobilize more troops. There is really a shortage of people, and I can't do it here.

You can give them some support. We must make sure to capture Tongguan!"

"I obey the decree." Dong Tianxing responded.

Li Bing pondered for a moment and then asked: "What is Bao Yuchun's situation?"

Dong Tianxing replied: "Since last month, the navy has gradually left the Mingzhou base, sailed upstream from the estuary of the river, and successively captured Jiangyin, Jinling, Chaisang, Ezhou and other important towns on the south bank. After that, they received instructions from the imperial court to move north

After hearing the news, they immediately sent troops to invade the Han River and implement a blockade. So far, except for the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Personnel and the Taifu Temple, which set out early, have arrived in Luoyi, all other government offices have been blocked in the south."

"Damn it!" Li Bing was so angry that he slapped the table: "Bao Yuchun, this traitor, wasted the late emperor's trust in him, but he didn't expect that he actually defected to the rebels in the end. My dear friends, do you have any good ideas? You can't watch it.

The imperial court has been trapped in the south."

Gong Chengze said: "The biggest problem at present is that there are not enough warships to deal with Bao Yuchun. Both the river and the Han River have become his navy's world."

"There are some warships," Dong Tianxing said worriedly: "There are naval garrisons in the state capitals in the north of the Yangtze River and in the Jinhe River Basin. But they are not many in number, and the size of the ships is far smaller than the opponent's, so their combat power is weak."

"Together, how many are there approximately?" Li Bing asked.

Dong Tianxing replied: "I used to be in charge of ordnance, and the information at hand is relatively accurate. In the area we currently control, we can mobilize more than 400 warships of various types, which is only one-fifth of the opponent's."

Murong Xue said: "The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, so we can only adopt the tactic of concentrating our forces and raiding the enemy's weak links."

Dong Tianxing shook his head: "General, your idea is based on land warfare thinking. The vast area can indeed be penetrated by the army. But for water warfare, warships can travel along the trend of the river and cannot avoid the enemy at all.

The main fleet is to sneak attack its weak points. To put it simply, Bao Yuchun only needs to send heavy troops to block all the intersections of waterways, and our fleet can only forcefully break through. "

Tian Mu frowned and said, "Can we use the army to defeat the navy?"

"Unless the navy warships are parked on the shore and can't run away after being beaten, the army can't do anything to them." Dong Tianxing smiled bitterly: "When you come, the other side will leave immediately; when you cross the river, the other side will launch

Attack. After all, the water blockade cannot be lifted."

He paused briefly and then said: "There is a more serious problem. The Xuanjia rebels commanded by Lao Jianhua are currently encroaching on the capitals of the southern states. Their ultimate goal is the Bashu region located in the upper reaches of the river, or

It is said to be from the Yizhou court. I am worried that Yizhou's defense force may not be able to block the rebel attack. Moreover, there must be Lao Jianhua's internal agents there, ready to cause trouble at any time."

Wei Zixuan couldn't help but said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this problem is too serious! If Lao Jianhua is really allowed to take over the imperial court, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Li Bing's expression at this time was extremely ugly: "Don't just announce the funeral! I know how serious the consequences are better than you! Countermeasures! What I want is countermeasures!"

Murong Xue pondered for a moment and said: "For the current plan, we can only change the route of the imperial court to move north and abandon the flat and easy-to-walk road. This way we no longer have to consider the problem of crossing the river and Han River."

"Aren't you going to take the Chi Road?" Gong Chengze was a little confused: "Which way?"

"Detour! Go into the mountains!" Murong Xue said firmly: "As soon as you come out of Bashu, go straight north and enter the Shennong Mountains. As long as you can climb over the high mountains, you can continue to go north, cross the Han River Valley, and then enter the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains again.

Passing through the large mountainous area south of Wuguan, we went straight to Nanyang and the Central Plains."
Chapter completed!