A huge reciprocating artillery carriage was set up beside the city wall. Civilians were busy carrying equipment to defend the city. From further away, a steady stream of cavalry came.
It's as busy as Chang'an.
Boyan looked around, his face still very calm, and he kept his worries deep in his heart. After the news of the battle of Helan Mountain came, Dayuan's people were already in turmoil.
A large amount of intelligence from Guanzhong claimed that the Tang army had killed Kublai Khan; and many people in the Yuan army who fled back claimed to have watched the Khan escape to the north.
However, he has not come back yet.
Before the Great Yuan Emperor appeared, no one could be sure which one was the truth.
As far as Boyan knew, Wang Mangge Ci of Anxi escaped from this great defeat, perhaps because he had been captured by Li Xia once and had experience.
Nowadays, Mang Gelan and Tuohu are still gathering broken troops near the Hetao. While guarding the Hetao, they are also looking for Kublai Khan. In other words, a large part of the Mongolian soldiers and horses are now in the hands of Mang Gelan.
Boyan has received the letter from Brother Mang.
The letter said everything that should be said, but Mang Geci's intention to win over Boyan was very obvious.
If Kublai Khan can never be found again, the young King Anxi is obviously preparing to take on a big responsibility. Boyan has not replied to the letter yet, and he will not express his position easily before the matter is determined.
These are internal worries, and in addition there are external worries.
Over in Guanzhong, Li Xia has been sharpening his sword and is intensively preparing for the Northern Expedition, with Henan bearing the brunt. Boyan still has to prepare for this battle.
The situation made him feel difficult. Perhaps the Wu Xian of the Jin Kingdom and Yu Jie of the Song Dynasty felt this kind of difficulty. This is the case with offense and defense. It is much more difficult for the weak and struggling side, but now it has It's time to switch offense and defense.
Forced by desperation, Boyan even exceeded his authority and sent people south to contact the Song court.
He knew very well that without the support of the Song Dynasty, he would not be able to defend the precarious Yuan Dynasty. And in the future, whether Kublai Khan returns or the new emperor succeeds to the throne, he will only be praised for his move.
At present, the news has not come back, and everything is still uncertain. In short, holding on and being stable is the prerequisite for everything.
Boyan changed his previous strategy of restoring the vitality of the Central Plains, recruited a large number of soldiers and horses, strengthened the walls and cleared the country, and prepared to hold on to the end. Although it was difficult, he was pretentious and confident that he could stop Li Xia.
"Prime Minister!"
Someone came from the north on horseback and hurriedly climbed to the top of the city. It was He Wei, the general manager of the Eagle Guard on Henan Road. He rushed to Boyan's side and said, "Prime Minister, someone is coming from Kaiping."
Boyan turned his head suddenly, and there seemed to be a flash of light in his eyes. He lowered his voice and asked: "Your Majesty is back?" "The Prime Minister should go and ask in person."
Boyan then strode towards the top of the city. He Wei looked around and followed him. He hurried back to the Jinglue Mansion and glanced at the lobby, but saw no one.
"Prime Minister, in the dormitory."
Upon hearing this, Boyan knew that there was an important secret to discuss, and the light in his eyes turned into gloom, with a hint of worry. "Invite them to the study to talk..."
After a while, three people walked into Boyan's study.
Two of them are Eagle Guards, and the other is a Han Chinese dressed as a scholar, in his early thirties. "I have seen Prime Minister Boyan, his surname is Shang, his given name is Wen, and his courtesy name is Zhou Qing."
Boyan asked: "Your Majesty has returned to Kaiping?"
"Don't worry, Prime Minister. I'm going to tell you that I have good news for you." Shang Wen said, looking around as he spoke, as if he was checking whether there were ears through the wall.
Even though Boyan was extremely well-educated, he still showed an impatient look. He asked again: "Is His Majesty back?"
However, Naofumi bowed solemnly and said, "The real golden prince is back." Boyan was stunned for a moment.
Real gold?
Hearing this name again made people feel a bit like a dream. He had thought that Zhenjin was dead. "Prince Zhenjin...how did King Yan come back?"
"The prince fainted after escaping from the desert. He was taken in by a family of herders and moved northwest for a while. Because
He was never found. Later, he persuaded the herdsmen and took him back to Kaiping. Although he went through hardships and dangers, he was blessed by the Immortal Heaven and the saints of the Great Yuan Dynasty, and finally returned safely."
Boyan already frowned.
He really didn't expect that Zhenjin would come back in this way.
It's ridiculous and unbelievable, and more importantly, it makes the current unclear situation even more complicated.
Of course he noticed that Naofumi kept talking about "prince", but in fact, His Majesty had not yet consecrated Zhenjin as the prince. He almost pointed at Naofumi and asked, "What do you want?"
However, Boyan quickly adjusted his mood and said with emotion: "That's great. Your Majesty will be very happy when he hears the news."
Zhenjin is a prince after all, and a minister must be happy if the prince can return safely. Boyan also reminded Shangwen in this sentence that Kublai Khan may still be alive. At the same time, this is also a kind of temptation.
This euphemistic and decent way of speaking was not the style of officials in the Great Mongolia in the past.
It's just that until Kublai Khan implemented Han law, except for the most important inheritance of the eldest son, which has not yet been established, various other good and bad things have been learned.
As for the power of internal struggle, it was not learned from the Song Dynasty, but it was already fierce and even worse.
"The Prime Minister is right, your Majesty will be very happy." Shang Wen first agreed, and then added after thinking: "However, before your Majesty returns to Kaiping, Li Xia will definitely take the opportunity to attack, and state affairs cannot be decided by anyone."
"What do you think we should do?"
Naofumi hurriedly said: "How can a low-ranking official make a decision? It is better to have a pillar of the country like Prime Minister Boyan to preside over the situation." "Then what do you think I should do? Just think of yourself as my staff and let's talk about it.
"
"Xiaguan doesn't have this ability, but before Xiaguan came, my mentor Liu Gong said a few words." "Secretary Cong?" Boyan asked, "You are Secretary Cong's disciple."
"Yes, Xiaguan was recommended by Secretary Cong to be the chief security officer of the court, so he has always been called his mentor." They were talking about Liu Bingzhong.
Liu Bingcong used to live by Kublai Khan's side all year round and was known as "Secretary Cong".
Boyan had to pay attention to the opinions of such an old minister who had followed Kublai Khan in establishing his business from the very beginning, and also the opinions of the entire Jinlianchuan shogunate.
He only heard Shang Wen say: "Secretary Cong said that a country cannot live without a king for a day." Boyan was surprised.
He knew very well that Liu Bingzhong also had high hopes for Zhenjin, and of course he would support Zhenjin. But on the other hand, Liu Bingzhong was also a loyal minister of Kublai Khan. How could he rush to support Zhenjin without confirming the news at this time?
Bit?
Fortunately, after Naofumi paused for a moment, he continued: "Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince should be asked to supervise the country first to deal with the invasion of foreign enemies, and wait until His Majesty returns to the court. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
Boyan remained silent and began to pace back and forth.
After a while, he finally spoke, but he did not answer Shang Wen's question, but asked: "There are many people among the princes who have been secretly spying on the current situation and have been in contact with Li Xia. What does the court think should be done?
"
"The prince has summoned Zhang Rou, Zhang Hongji, Yan Shi and others to Kaiping, and has also sent people to Shanxi to see Ahema. In addition, Secretary Cong agrees with the prime minister's strategy of uniting the Song Dynasty and will fully cooperate with the prime minister in the court."
Boyan felt at ease, believing that the Jinlianchuan shogunate was indeed reliable in its work. However, he did not immediately express his willingness to ask the real Jin to supervise the country.
Once this is opened, if Kublai Khan comes back, even he will be regarded as a member of the Zhenjin Party. And even if Kublai Khan does not come back, Zhenjin will not touch him, a feudal official, just because he does not express his position.
Boyan asked someone to take Shangwen to settle down first. Soon, only He Wei was left in the study. "Zhang Yi went on an expedition with His Majesty. Is Shi Ge commanding the Eagle Guard in Kaiping?"
"yes?"
"The two people around Naofumi just now are both Shi Ge's people?"
He Wei said: "Yes. And when it comes to supporting Prince Zhenjin, the two commanders are indistinguishable from each other." Boyan turned to look at He Wei and asked, "You are also loyal to King Yan."
"Yes. I am loyal to Your Majesty first, and then to Prince Zhenjin." Boyan Xu
He slowly walked to the window, opened it, and let the sunlight shine in.
He walked a few more steps, walked to the armor, turned his back to He Wei, and observed him with the reflection of the armor. "I feel that someone is planning to wait for Your Majesty and take the opportunity to help the real golden prince succeed to the throne. Do you feel it?"
"No." He Wei said: "The official feels that letting the prince supervise the country is out of public interest. It is not appropriate to speculate like this."
Boyan squinted his eyes slightly and saw in the reflection of the armor that He Wei sneered when he spoke, with a hint of pride. Maybe this young man was already trying to achieve success.
"We are as far away as Henan, on the first line of defense against the enemy, and we can smell the smell of internal fighting. This shows how fierce the internal fighting is." Boyan sighed and said, "The national affairs are worrying."
"Internal fighting?" He Wei seemed surprised and asked: "The prime minister said internal fighting. Didn't I understand who was fighting with whom?" "Can't you see that now Mangge Ci and Na Muhan have both in their hands?"
With troops and horses?"
"Then the prime minister thinks that the prince will no longer supervise the country, so they won't fight among themselves?" This time, Boyan, who was actually a talented man in the country, was defeated by a martial artist He Wei. Yes, besides fighting, what else can real gold do?
what to do?
Then this battle may be more difficult than imagined.