Xu Xiantu was invited back to the imperial study by Zhao Gou. This was actually a disguised apology. Xu Xiantu only hated Qin Hui, but he had no dissatisfaction with the emperor.
Zhao Gou said worriedly: "Xu Aiqing, the situation is critical now, and I am at my wits' end. I hope Aiqing can give me some ideas on how to deal with the crisis at hand?"
Xu Xiantu said calmly: "Your Majesty, I will tell you the truth. At this point, we can only compromise with Chen Qing. As long as Chen Qing is willing to take action, the situation will be reversed quickly."
Zhao Gou let out a long sigh, "But isn't it enough for me to give him Jianghuai? He also wants Jiangnan West Road, which I really can't accept."
"This requires negotiation, but Weichen's intuition is that Jiangnan West Road has actually fallen into Chen Qing's hands."
Zhao Gou was surprised, "Why do you say that?"
"Your Majesty, we can deduce from common sense that before we knew that there was an army of 100,000 troops led by Zhang Ziqi on Jiangnan West Road. Now we have received news that Zhang Ziqi led an army of 80,000 troops into Yanzhou. The question is, where are the other 20,000 troops?
went?"
"I think the 20,000 troops are staying on Jiangnan West Road?"
Xu Xiantu shook his head, "Killed three thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred losses. Han Shizhong was defeated and suffered heavy losses. Will the opponent suffer no losses at all? Wei Chen believes that there will be at least more than ten thousand casualties, and there may be thousands of soldiers and some wounded left.
The soldiers are on Jiangnan West Road, but with this alone, can they stop Chen Qing's army?
Chen Qinghui turned a blind eye to the empty Jiangnan West Road? Moreover, Wei Chen felt that Han Shizhong's defeat was most likely due to the Western Army, otherwise Han Shizhong's rich experience would not have been able to defeat the mediocre Zhang Ziqi."
Xu Xiantu's analysis made Zhao Gou, who originally had a glimmer of hope, completely speechless. If the Western Army had already occupied Jiangnan West Road, how could it be possible for them to withdraw?
At this time, Zhu Shengfei hurried back and said, "I would like to send you a message to Your Majesty!"
"There's no trouble!"
"Fortunately, we arrived in time. Wei Chen explained to Special Envoy Hu and the newspaper that it was just a misunderstanding. Prime Minister Wanqi also took the people away without causing any trouble!"
"Where is Mr. Qin?"
Zhao Gou asked displeasedly: "Didn't he come forward?"
"He refused to come forward and said it had nothing to do with him and it was up to the ministers to solve it!"
"asshole!"
Zhao Gou cursed angrily: "If he hadn't instigated me, I would have written a handwritten order to seal down the newspaper? How come it has nothing to do with him? He is there to cause trouble, but he is not there to solve the problem. He does not even have the most basic responsibility. He is still qualified to be the right prime minister.
?”
Zhao Gou finally got angry this time and continued to curse: "I just discovered now that Qin Hui has never done anything good. Every time he messes up, every bad thing is in his hands. Even
Zhang Jun's rebellion was also related to him. He was the trigger for Zhang Jun's rebellion. If he hadn't forced Zhang Jun to attack Henan Road, Zhang Jun would not have resisted and disobeyed. It was him who added fuel to the fire and the conflict became more intense.
.”
However, if he really wants him to remove Qin Hui from the prime minister, he can't do it, so he is just pretending to scold Xu Xiantu to listen to him, so as to appease his emotions and at the same time avoid his own responsibility.
Xu Xiantu knew the emperor too well, and scolding him was just to clear him of his responsibilities. Qin Hui was able to serve as prime minister for so many years because he catered to him everywhere, and wasn't all his decisions based on his will? Now he was shifting the responsibility to Qin Hui again.
Xu Xiantu sighed in his heart and advised: "Your Majesty, now is not the time to hold people accountable. The key now is to deal with Zhang Jun's two-sided attack, and to negotiate with Chen Qing. Let's solve the most pressing needs first!"
Zhu Shengfei also said: "We heard from Hu Yun that at noon today, Zhang Jun's 20,000 vanguards have entered Pingjiang Prefecture and will arrive at Lin'an Prefecture in two days. We must send troops north to fight."
"I know that the situation is critical, and I am also considering candidates. Qin Xiangguo recommended Yang Yizhong to me, but I feel that Yang Yizhong is too young to be qualified. He can be a general, but he is not good enough to be a coach. Are there any suitable candidates for the two beloved ministers?"
Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "The humble official sent a paper to the Privy Council and asked dozens of officials in the Privy Council to fill in who could be the commander-in-chief. As a result, 80% of the officials recommended the same person!"
"Who?" Zhao Gou asked with renewed energy.
"Grand Bachelor Zhang Jun!"
Zhao Gou was startled and was speechless for a long time. Xu Xiantu persuaded him: "Your Majesty, Zhang Jun led the Western Army to fight against the Jin soldiers in Sichuan and Shaanxi for four years. The Jin soldiers finally failed to take a step south. Your Majesty, everyone recognizes him, Wei.
I thought about it and realized that it really has to be him!"
Zhao Gou thought for a moment and then asked Zhu Shengfei, "What is Zhu Xiangguo's opinion?"
Zhu Shengfei saw that the emperor was already tempted. At this critical moment, he did not want to cause trouble for himself. He nodded immediately, "Wei Chen supports Xianggong Xu's recommendation!"
Zhao Gou walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and immediately ordered: "Quickly tell Zhang Jun to come see me!"
He then said to Xu Xiantu: "The negotiations with Chen Qing will be left to Xu Xiangguo. Report to me at any time. Every detail must be decided by me!"
Zhang Jun never dreamed that he would be ordered to do so in danger. The emperor thought of him at the most critical moment, which not only moved him deeply, but also placed a heavy burden on his shoulders.
"If you have any ideas or requests, please put them forward now. As long as they are reasonable, I will try my best to satisfy them!"
Zhang Jun thought for a long time and said: "Wei Chen does have a few ideas, or in other words, a few requests. I hope your majesty can grant them!"
"You say it, I listen!"
"First, your Majesty, please delegate power to Wei Chen and not interfere with Wei Chen's military decisions. Especially do not let Qin Xiangguo interfere. He has a grudge against Wei Chen and his interference must be selfish."
The rebels are too close to Lin'an. It is impossible not to interfere at all. Zhao Gou pondered for a moment and said: "Take a hundred miles as the boundary. If the rebels are only a hundred miles away from Lin'an, I must intervene. Ai Qing will be responsible for the distance of a hundred miles."
decision!"
"Then it's a deal!"
Zhao Gou nodded and asked again: "Go on!"
"Second, Weichen must ensure that there is sufficient money and food. This is the key to maintaining morale!"
"Okay!" Zhao Gou agreed.
"Third, Wei Chen wants Liu Qi, Wang Jian and Yang Yizhong to be generals. It is up to Wei Chen to decide how to use them."
Zhao Gou also heard that Zhang Jun's thinking was very organized. He must have thought about it repeatedly. This gave Zhao Gou some confidence, and he agreed immediately.
"Fourth, Wei Chen recommended Liu Ziyu as Lin'an's defense envoy. Wei Chen was worried that the enemy might surprise Lin'an with a surprise attack. Liu Ziyu has rich experience, thoughtful considerations, and no leaks. He is the most suitable person to guard Lin'an."
Zhao Gou frowned, "Liu Ziyu is in Fuzhou, I'm afraid it's too late to come back."
Next to him, Xu Xiantu said: "When the Privy Council transferred 20,000 troops from Fujian Road to Beijing, it also transferred Liu Ziyu back to Beijing to report on coastal defense. They should arrive tomorrow, together with the 20,000 troops from Fujian Road."
Zhao Gou felt a little unhappy. Apparently they had secretly transferred him, but they kept it from him. Xu Xiantu quickly explained: "I didn't want to hide it from your majesty. I was just afraid that Qin Xiangguo would object. I just wanted to transfer him to the capital first."
, it is up to His Majesty to decide whether to activate it or not. Just yesterday, Academician Zhang asked me if Liu Ziyu could be transferred back, but we did not negotiate in advance."
Zhao Gou had the right idea. If Qin Hui knew about it, he would definitely object. Zhao Gou felt better and nodded, "I'm sure. I will make him the Lin'an Defense Envoy and take charge of Lin'an Defense!"
"Weichen has one more request!"
"What else do you want?"
"Weichen wants 100,000 troops, of which 50,000 standing troops will be given to Weichen. In addition, we need 50,000 new troops. Han Shizhong and Wu Gao will also be at Weichen's disposal!"
Zhao Gou hesitated for a long time and finally agreed, "Yes, I agree to all five conditions!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
In the evening of the same day, Zhao Gou issued a decree and appointed Zhang Jun, a bachelor, as the marshal of the capital to recruit envoys. He led an army of 100,000 to the north to fight against Zhang Jun's rebels. The people of Lin'an called it Zhang Jun versus Zhang Jun.
Zhao Gou immediately issued a second decree, appointing Liu Ziyu as Lin'an Defense Envoy to command Lin'an's last 70,000 troops and be fully responsible for Lin'an's defense, mainly against the 80,000 Huaixi Army coming from the southwest.