In the Changfeng Tea House, Lu Gang handed a letter to Wang Mu. Wang Mu took the letter and took a look at it, and was suddenly surprised, "It's a letter written by His Highness!"
Lu Gang nodded, "His Highness's fleet will arrive at Qiantang Bay in two days. Your Highness wants to meet the people of Lin'an. Please publish this letter on the front page tomorrow."
Wang Mu frowned, "Your Highness wants to meet the people, how can you ensure safety?"
"Of course you won't get off the boat. Your Highness will meet the people on the shore at the bow of the boat. You should always say hello when passing by Lin'an!"
Dong An pondered for a while and said: "I'm afraid that the imperial court will use the excuse of safety to close the city gate and prevent the people from leaving the city."
Lu Gang smiled and said: "This is expected, but can Lin'an City contain the people?"
Wang Mu and Dong An both laughed. It really couldn't be locked up. The city wall by the West Lake had been built for ten years, and there was still a gap of three miles wide.
"I see!"
Wang Mu put away the letter and said: "I will definitely see the report at noon tomorrow!"
At noon the next day, the "Beijing News" once again caused a sensation in Lin'an City, and published a personal letter from Chen Qing on the front page.
"After a few years of separation, will you be in good health? - To the people of Lin'an"
This letter is not to the emperor Zhao Gou, nor to the civil and military officials, but to the millions of people in Lin'an. In the letter, King Yong said that he was inspecting Fujian Road and passing by Lin'an. He came to visit the people of Lin'an and would visit Lin'an on June 17.
Meet the people by the Qiantang River.
One stone stirred up thousands of rocks, and the people of Lin'an rushed to tell each other that His Highness King Yong was coming to Lin'an. The news quickly fermented, and various speculations spread on the streets of Lin'an. The most widely spread theory was that His Highness King Yong personally led an army of 200,000 people and would be divided into three parts.
Attack Lin'an simultaneously by land and water.
Moreover, it is said to have noses and eyes, which makes people think of the spectacular scene of thousands of sails gathering in Qiantang Bay.
This time, the emperor Zhao Gou was also extremely nervous. He urgently summoned the political affairs hall to discuss the matter with the prime minister to discuss countermeasures.
Xu Xiantu smiled slightly and said: "It was actually written very clearly in the newspaper. He was just passing through Lin'an to show his presence and show his presence. That's all. I don't think there is anything to worry about."
Qin Hui shook his head and said: "Xu Xiangguo's thinking is too simple. Coastal defense is our weakest link. If the Western Army's 100,000 troops suddenly attack from the sea and directly attack the city, Lin'an will not be able to resist it. This is the most dangerous thing.
Yes, isn't there such a possibility? I think it is entirely possible. We must prepare for the worst. Your Majesty, Wei Chen suggests that troops be mobilized from all over the country to defend Lin'an immediately."
Zhao Gou's worries were similar to Qin Hui's thoughts. He pondered for a moment and then asked Zhang Jun: "What does Zhang Aiqing think?"
Zhang Jun said calmly: "Wei Chen and Xu Xiangguo have similar ideas. There is no need for Chen Qing to sneak attack Lin'an. If he wants to attack Lin'an, he will definitely be open and upright, write a message, inform the world, and then take it one step at a time. What is the name of a sneak attack on Lin'an?
Chen Qing would not do such stupid things without speaking the right words."
Zhang Jun's words were so frank that Zhao Gou couldn't accept it. But on the other hand, Zhao Gou's heart dropped. He was really afraid that Chen Qing would raid Lin'an. His troops were deployed on all sides for defense.
They couldn't get back to Lin'an within a few days, and Lin'an only had an army of 30,000 people. If, as rumored, Chen Qing led an army of 100,000 people to attack Lin'an by sea, their army would not be able to resist it.
At this time, Zhu Shengfei also said: "Wei Chen also thinks that the possibility of war is unlikely. To launch a war, we need to make various war preparations. We have spies in Jiangbei and Jiangnan West Road, but there is no news about this. Everything is calm.
, and there was news from the Jingzhao Intelligence Point before that Chen Qing went to Fujian Road for inspection. Judging from the time, it was indeed Chen Qing on his way back from Fujian Road. Wei Chen believes that Chen Qing actually wanted to use this opportunity to win over the people.
.”
"Zhu Xiangguo is right!"
Wan Qixi also said: "Right now, Lin'an City is almost boiling because of Chen Qing's upcoming arrival. I'm afraid there will be a scene that we don't want to see. The city is full of empty alleys, and they all go to the Qiantang River. Your Majesty, we must
Stop this from happening.”
Except for Qin Hui who believed that the Western Army would launch a sneak attack, the other four prime ministers all believed that a sneak attack would not happen. The emperor Zhao Gou was also convinced by everyone that a sneak attack was unlikely, but Wan Qixi's words also made Zhao Gou wary.
Chen Qing wants to compete for prestige and win the hearts of the people in Lin'an, how can he be allowed to do so?
After everyone dispersed, Zhao Gou left Qin Hui and Wan Qixi behind. Zhao Gou sat on the dragon chair and was silent for a moment and said, "Can you use this opportunity to kill Chen Qing?"
Qin Hui was startled. Although he also wanted to kill Chen Qing, he could clearly distinguish which was more serious and which was less important. If the assassination was successful, it would be easy to say, but if it failed, Chen Qing would take revenge and he would bear the brunt of it.
"Your Majesty, Chen Qing must be well-protected. It may not even be him who shows up. If the assassination fails, it will give him an excuse to start a war. I don't recommend this."
Zhao Gou also realized that he was impulsive in thinking about the problem. How could Chen Qing give him a chance to assassinate him? He suppressed his inner impulse and said: "Wan Qi Xiangguo just reminded me well. Chen Qing's move must be to win people's hearts."
, I cannot tolerate the situation of empty streets, please tell me! Is there any way to prevent it? "
Qin Hui glanced at Wan Qixi, and Wan Qixi bowed and said: "I have just considered it. The best way is to close the city gate. The excuse is to prevent crowds and stampedes, but there are loopholes in the West Lake wall, so this is necessary.
The army intercepted it there, for example, using sandbags to seal the road."
Zhao Gou nodded and asked Qin Hui: "What is Mr. Qin's opinion?"
Qin Hui smiled sinisterly and said: "I suggest a two-pronged approach. Today and tomorrow, we will go door-to-door to inform the people, telling them that a war may break out, and asking them not to go out and stay at home to avoid danger. This step will make at least half of the people afraid to go out.
The second step is Wanqi Xianggong's plan, which is to close the city gates and build West Lake roadblocks, but the reason is not to prevent crowding and stampedes, but to prevent war. People are afraid of death, and they will not take this risk to go to the Qiantang River."
Zhao Gou praised repeatedly, "It's decided!"
He immediately issued an order: "Summon Yan Xin and Yang Yizhong to see me quickly!"
Wang Bo, the magistrate of Qiantang, came back from the Lin'an government office with a lot of worries. He immediately called for his staff Jia Yingfang and said to him: "We have just received a mission. Let us cooperate with the army to conduct door-to-door propaganda and ask the people not to go out the day after tomorrow, especially not to go to the Qiantang River.
Tell them that a war will break out, and in a word, stop them from going out."
Jia Yingfang frowned and said: "The intention of doing this is too obvious. It is to prevent the people from seeing King Yong. Instead, it will make everyone more disgusted. I'm afraid the final result will be counterproductive."
"The result has nothing to do with us. We just carry out the orders from above and go door to door to inform the people. You write a notice first, and I will find someone to copy dozens of copies and post them everywhere in the city."
Jia Yingfang rolled her eyes and said, "I'll write it! Just write it now!"
"The people all over the city know that King Yong Chen Qing wants to seize Lin'an. He coaxes the people to go out of the city and slaughter them in order to seize the city. His intentions are sinister and must be guarded against. The emperor and the court want to keep the people safe. Please trust the court and stay at home. Don't be fooled.
King Yong’s treacherous plan.”
The whole announcement is to let the people believe that the court should not go out or go to the riverside, otherwise they will be massacred by Chen Qing. The whole announcement has the correct idea, clear purpose, and intimidating atmosphere. It fully reflects the intentions of the emperor and the court, but
Whether it will be effective or counterproductive is unknown.