Chapter 187 The New Year is approaching, do you want to give up?
The river is surging, the tents are stretched out, and the flags are waving.
A large number of ships docked at the pier next to the military camp, floating in the river.
Looking from a distance, one can see the sword scars on the ships and the black masses of the lake burned by fire.
These are the results of the Forbidden Army's attempt to cross the river.
At the east gate of the camp, the messengers from Zuoweiwei rode fast horses, their horses' hooves raised dust, and rushed into the camp, like a drop of water falling into the sea.
Soon, the ripples created by the water droplets spread.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, charcoal fires were burning, releasing a steady stream of heat.
Many generals stared at the messenger below without saying a word, and the atmosphere in the tent was extremely solemn for a moment.
It was the first time for the soldier who was delivering the order to experience this, and he was sweating profusely.
"Get out, get out." The clerk in the military tent came over and drove him away.
The silent atmosphere lasted for a while, and then Yang Su slowly spoke: "If it is true that according to General Su's letter, maritime transportation is unsustainable, what should we do with the army's food and fodder?"
No one answered in the military tent, only the sound of heavy breathing remained.
"Where are General Yuwen's troops and horses? How long will it take for the canal to arrive?" Yu Chigong said solemnly.
"Returning to the general, due to the obstruction by the Wu navy, almost all the water boats were stranded in the Dongting area. They did not dare to move forward and could only wait for the troops and horses of the imperial court to respond."
A general in strong armor below raised his hands and said: "When the military report from General Yuwen's headquarters came back the day before yesterday, they had arrived in Tong'an and were continuing to move up the river."
It’s still so far away…
The hearts of many generals present sank.
Can we still count on this grain?
There are nearly 300,000 soldiers and horses, what should we do?
Yang Su sighed quietly: "The army cannot fight on an empty stomach. If this is not possible, we can only borrow food from the city."
The generals in the tent felt a little heavy when they heard this, but most of them nodded in approval.
Although the Wu army did not leave any food or fodder for them when they withdrew from the north bank, there was absolutely no reason for people to starve to death in the prosperous land of Wu, especially with the city of Yangzhou extending in all directions.
But it is said that it is borrowing food, but in fact it is taking food. Soldiers and horses have always borrowed food from the people, and there is almost no reason to repay it.
As long as this is used, the reputation of the imperial court may be ruined...
Many of the generals present had a headache when they thought of their boss's instructions before setting off.
"Director Zhao Liang, some of the Forbidden Army have now crossed the river. You should quickly follow them across the river and go to Yue Kingdom in person!"
Yang Su turned his eyes to Zhao Kuangyi, who was bored in the corner: "Let them set off from the land quickly and transport grain to the Yangtze River!"
When Zhao Kuangyi heard this, he was stunned at first, and his big black face shook like a rattle: "The army is seizing the city and setting up the stronghold. We must prepare for the camp step by step and put stability first."
"How can the team transporting grain and grass be separated from the army and advance alone?"
On the banks of the Shiliang River, he had already been tricked once by Crossing the River First. How could he still stumble here now? A general cannot be tricked by the same trap twice.
"The people of Yangzhou have limited food reserves. What if they run out of borrowed food? There are more than 200,000 forbidden troops. Once they run out of food, they will be in danger!"
Yuchi Gong had already disliked him and said in a deep voice: "If we don't take a dangerous move at this time, will we have to watch the Imperial Guards starve?"
The other generals also looked grave and nodded slightly in approval.
Han Qinhu frowned and looked at Zhao Kuangyi: "Director Zhao, I'm not letting you march in danger. You should cross the river first and rush to the Yue Kingdom. Maybe the remaining soldiers and horses will have already crossed the river before you arrive at the Yue Kingdom.
Captured Jinling and Zhenjiang."
"At that time, grain and grass were shipped from Vietnam, which could save some time."
Many generals also tried to persuade him.
"I don't know how long General Yuwen will have to wait. The storm on the sea depends on God's face. Now all we can do is to transport food from the land as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Inspector Zhao, you are the hope of these more than 200,000 forbidden troops! The survival of this army depends entirely on you!"
"If the supply of grain and grass is really cut off, and the court holds you accountable afterwards, you, as the grain inspector, will definitely be responsible..."
They are wearing high hats and threatening. If ordinary people were to receive this kind of carrot and stick, they would definitely submit obediently.
It's just that Zhao Kuangyi is not an ordinary person.
He subconsciously retorted: "Even if the supply of food and grass is cut off, I can't be blamed entirely! The last time the Bingbu Army reported for duty, His Majesty still said it!"
"I also said at the time that there will be storms on the sea in the future, so we cannot rely entirely on sea transportation to transport food, but you insist on going your own way and turn a deaf ear to His Majesty's words! Even gods and men have dreamed of it, how can it be false??"
The faces of many generals were extremely ugly.
The dream entrusted by a god seemed to be nonsense and a joke at the time. Who would have thought that it would actually come true?
Is His Majesty the Emperor right?
The generals looked at each other with different expressions, but most of them had a bit of surprise on their faces.
It is unlikely that he is being blinded. If he is not sure, His Majesty the Emperor will probably not speak openly about it.
Either someone told him secretly, or there really was some god who gave him a dream at night.
No matter which one it is, it doesn't seem to be good news...
Seeing that people were silent, Zhao Kuangyi became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, spitting: "If you had thought that the sea would be difficult to pass and prepared to transport grain by land, now the grain of Yue might have reached the Yangtze River!"
"Now that we know that the sea is rough and rough, why do you act as an afterthought?"
"What's the use of crossing the river now? We are worried about the risk of being robbed by the Wu State. When the Yue people slowly carry the grain and grass to the river, the imperial canal has already arrived. It's just a useless effort!"
The faces of all the generals turned dark when he said this, but they were indeed at fault for this matter. At this time, they could only listen to Zhao Kuangyi's mischief...
"That's enough."
Yuchi Gong had a dark face and slammed the table: "Director Zhao, it's not too late to make amends! Since the army made mistakes before, now it is even more important to make up for it in time!"
"Are we going to do nothing and just wait here to see what God wants?"
Yang Su pondered for a moment and then said: "For the safety of 300,000 forbidden troops, Zhao Liangdu risked his life and traveled thousands of miles to escort the grain and grass behind enemy lines alone."
"If it succeeds, it will be a great achievement, and the court will reward General Zhao for it."
"When the time comes, General Zhao's reputation for fighting bravely will surely spread throughout the court, and the Battle of Shiliang River will be nothing more than a small accident."
Zhao Kuangyi was about to continue the fight, but when he heard the last words, he was stunned for a moment, and there was some emotion in his eyes.
Yang Su's words made some sense, but what moved Zhao Kuangyi the most was the Shiliang River incident.
He also crossed the river in advance. As long as he succeeded this time, he, General Zhao, was a man who fought bravely and knew how to go deep behind enemy lines. He could also wash away the stigma of last time.
What kind of cowardice and running away? It doesn’t exist.
It was just that General Zhao was eager to kill the enemy and crossed the river first, but was surrounded by the cunning Wu soldiers with traps. It was just an accident.
Didn’t you see that this journey of transporting food thousands of miles was successful?
And the country of Vietnam...
Zhao Kuangyi subconsciously thought of a man named Fan Li, who might be able to take this opportunity to capture that guy back to the capital...
Seeing that the fat black man was moved, the other generals got excited and said, "Grain Supervisor Zhao, don't hesitate any longer. If you can really transport the grain and grass back and save the army, you must be the first to win!"
"I will never laugh at you again for riding a donkey cart."
"Have a good trip, Director Zhao, please bring more troops to avoid being made dumplings by the Wu people..."
Zhao Kuangyi glanced around at these people, his expression a little heavy.
"Investor Zhao Liang, don't hesitate any longer and get on your way quickly!" Yuchi Gong couldn't help but urge.
Zhao Kuangyi looked at the generals' attitudes, pondered for a moment, and then nodded: "Okay."
"In this case, then I marched into the army for three hundred thousand men, risked my life alone, and went through this kind of journey."
When the generals heard this, they all breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had finally sent away the god of plague...
After another long discussion in the military tent, everyone finally dispersed.
The news at the meeting could not be concealed, and the generals did not need to worry about lack of food and grass causing soldiers to mutiny.
This is not a desert, nor is it the Gobi, but the prosperous Jiangnan.
In fact, with the Yangtze River in front and a series of wealthy cities such as Yangzhou in the back, the soldiers did not worry about going hungry at all.
No matter how bad it is, if we can't get food from Yangzhou, we can still catch fish from the Yangtze River to eat. How can a living person die from urination?
Although there was no panic, the news from Youwei Wei still shocked the soldiers, both large and small.
There were really storms on the sea this winter, and the dream that His Majesty the Emperor received from a god turned out to be true!
That is a man of God!
Recalling the scene when the oath was taken in the southern suburbs, and the figure standing on Nanshan Mountain that day, I only felt that His Majesty the Emperor was approachable.
But now that I think about it, that ethereal figure standing under the clouds still carries a bit of mystery and majesty...
The war against Wu has entered its most tense stage, but the capital city thousands of miles away cannot feel this tension.
As the New Year approaches, the capital gradually becomes more lively and joyful.
But recently Li Qian had no time to run to the capital, just because the recent situation made him a little anxious.
First of all, He Shen's reaction caught Li Qian off guard.
Li Qian also thought about the possibility that He Shen would not come back, but he did not expect that this possibility would actually come true.
This fat man used to like power and money, very much.
But now that his home is about to be stolen by Cai Jing, he can actually ignore this and still look at the embankment in Xingyang.
This is actually a good thing. It shows that Heshen really takes the livelihood of the people and the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims at heart this time.
But it's happening now... which makes Li Qian feel a little mixed.
Without Heshen, it means that Li Qian can only sit back and watch Cai Jing carry out his plan.
The second thing is the thing that came in and passed into the court.
This time is different from the last 'cursive script incident' that spread throughout the capital. This time the rumors spread only to officials in the DPRK and China.
Someone secretly poisoned the minister and poisoned Cai Jing, causing Mr. Cai to spit shit in the Shangshu Yamen.
This news spread like wildfire. Although it was not directly pointed out that Li Qian did it, the meaning behind the words was secretly pointing to him.
What's more important is that many people still believe it. In the memorials that Li Qian received these days, many people said that His Majesty the Emperor should also care for his ministers, respect his ministers, and not easily humiliate his ministers...
With the conscience of heaven and earth, Li Qian dares to swear to God that he has never done such a thing!
But at the moment, the rumors have not pointed him out, and he has no way to prove his innocence. He can only watch the matter spread among the ministers for the time being.
You can tell with your butt that this must have something to do with that bastard Cai Jing.
Li Qian was so angry that his teeth were itching. Sooner or later, he was going to use the imperial staff and beat this old guy until he spit out the shit.
Of course, he can't do it yet.
Because the third thing that made Li Qian worried was the group of six ministers that Cai Jing pulled up.
In the past, Cai Jing could only master less than three parts, and he was able to fight Qin Hui back and forth.
Now that the six departments are almost united together, this is not simply one plus one equals two, but much stronger than that.
The two ministers under Qin Hui's command could only be suppressed and beaten.
There was some movement in Menxia Province a few days ago, and Yan Song and his group also had the intention to win over the deputy examiner.
Li Qian originally thought this was a good thing, but the subsequent reversal almost shocked him.
I don’t know who the fool came up with this strategy, but the forces of Menxia Province actually attacked Zhongshu Province. It seems that the attitude is to knock Zhongshu Province out first, and then they will have a good fight with Shangshu Province. wrist.
A good person must first make peace with the outside world.
In order to deal with the outer dynasty, we have to sort out the inner dynasty first, right?
But you don’t even know how many pounds you have, how can you compete with the Six Books of Secretariat? The deputy examiner has the right to choose!
"Your Majesty, I am afraid that my two assistant ministers from Zhongshu Province are no longer able to compete for the position of deputy examiner."
In Dongnuan Pavilion, Qin Hui's words were still calm, but he didn't know if it was Li Qian's misunderstanding, but he heard a hint of resentment in his words.
Li Qian sighed: "Prime Minister Qin, I am a little too busy taking care of myself."
"You also know that rumors have been circulating in the DPRK and China recently, and they also imply that I poisoned someone? This has made many ministers feel unhappy."
"Not many people listen to what I say these days."
Li Qian also had to explain and find a reason.
Qin Hui also sighed softly: "Your Majesty, I just feel that the time and place are favorable and the people are not there, so I can't do it by force."
"Please excuse me first."
Li Qian nodded with a heavy face: "Prime Minister Qin, go slowly."
Maybe many people don't understand why Li Qian insists on stumbling over Cai Jing in this matter. This is his home field. Fighting for this is asking for trouble. He must not let others get a slap on his face?
But only Li Qian understood that this was related to the outstanding actions he admired and the justice in people's hearts...
Looking at Qin Hui's retreating figure, Li Qian thought of those people.
Do we really have to give up?
He sighed softly: "Daban."
"My slave is here." The old eunuch stood up immediately.
"Come with me to the capital for a walk and relax."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The old eunuch trotted out to prepare for leaving the palace.
After a while, a carriage slowly drove out from a tall building near the palace and headed east of the capital.
Li Qian was sitting in the carriage, looking out the window at the crowded streets through the dark brown glass. There were many shops and houses that had posted festive red couplets on their doors in advance and hung up jubilant red lanterns. Welcome the arrival of New Year's Eve.
But Li Qian did not feel this joy. He could occasionally see groups of high-spirited people from the street.
"The New Year is approaching, are all the candidates preparing for the exam coming soon?"
"My wise sir, these people will basically arrive before the new year." The old eunuch in the car hurriedly replied.
Li Qian looked at the smiling faces of these people, his expression a little heavy: "Let's go to the guild hall."
The guild halls in the seven states of Daqian were all built together. Li Qian wanted to see if those Wang Hua and Liu Gongquan had come.
By the way, let's think about it again and see if there is any good strategy to break the situation...