She Yue asked back: "Do you think there are other soldiers and horses that can be mobilized besides the Shence Army?"
Qin Xiao thought for a moment and realized that what She Yue said was true.
Today's Tang Dynasty is no longer in its heyday.
Naturally, he has also heard people talk about the glory of the empire in the past. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was full of iron armor, surrendered from all over the world, barbarians paid tribute, and trade was prosperous.
Outside the borders of the Tang Dynasty, even if they were in a foreign land, the merchants and people of the Tang Dynasty were always confident because they had a powerful empire behind them.
Once, a caravan went to the northern grasslands to do business and had a conflict with a Tusun tribe, killing six people. After the incident was reported back to the empire, the imperial court immediately sent out border troops to encircle and suppress the murderous tribe, while other Tusun tribes watched helplessly.
When the Tang army appeared on the grassland, no tribe dared to lend a helping hand. In the end, except for the tribesmen who were killed, all the remaining tribesmen were brought back to the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty and sold as slaves.
The Tang Dynasty was very domineering, but it also frightened the barbarians.
Even if the people of the Tang Dynasty made mistakes, they could only be punished by the Tang Dynasty. Barbarian foreigners were not qualified to decide the life or death of the people of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, none of the surrounding countries dared to show their weapons to the Tang Dynasty, so even if there were some rebellions in the country, the empire could easily mobilize all kinds of soldiers and horses to put down the rebellion. It had the best equipment and the national treasury was full of money and food. At that time, it raised the flag
Rebellion is tantamount to suicide.
But today's empire is far from comparable to that of the past.
The local state army's military strength can only protect its own state, but the frontier army has to face the pressure of enemy forces that may invade at any time and dare not act rashly.
The empire's power was declining, and the chaos in three states and seven counties caused by the saint's ascension to the throne attracted the invasion of Tusun and Utuo people. Although the enemy forces were finally repelled, the national power suffered heavy losses after this battle.
Compared to its heyday, it is already extremely weak.
The national treasury is empty, but it still has to support the huge legions on the north and south fronts. Under such circumstances, it is already very difficult to maintain the 30,000 divine troops guarding Kyoto. It is true that there is no financial resources to support more legions.
"It seems that the Shence Army was the one who put down the rebellion in Qingzhou back then." Qin Xiao said: "The Shence Army has experience in encircling and suppressing the Queen Mother. If they send troops as soon as possible and we support them until reinforcements arrive, the current predicament can be easily solved."
She Yue smiled coldly and said: "The Shence Army will naturally be mobilized to suppress the rebellion, but it may not be our reinforcements."
Qin Xiao was startled and said in surprise: "Why did the princess say this?"
"Do you know whose hands the Shence Army is in?"
Qin Xiao shook his head.
He naturally knew that the Shence Army was an elite army guarding Kyoto, but he really didn't know who the general was.
"The leader of the Shence Army is Zuo Xuanji." She Yue said: "He was born as a eunuch and gained the trust of the saint. Nowadays, many of the Shence Army are generals who were born as eunuchs."
Qin Xiao was even more surprised. He knew that all armies did have eunuchs as supervisors, but it was extremely rare for eunuchs to directly lead the army.
She Yue smiled faintly, but there was a cold look in her beautiful eyes: "When Jiangnan is in chaos, both the eunuchs in the palace and Xiahou Yuanzhen will try to take advantage of it." He glanced at Qin Xiao.
: "In other words, they came to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion just to put Jiangnan within their sphere of influence."
"The Shence Army is in the hands of eunuchs, how can the Prime Minister intervene?"
"Because he is in charge of money and food." She Yue said: "When Jiangnan was in chaos, I was trapped in Jiangnan, and the North Courtyard was useless. The power of the imperial court to allocate money and food naturally fell into the hands of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Not only did the Prime Minister of the Central Government
Shu Ling, who is in charge of Zhongshu Province and also holds the title of Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, finally waited for this opportunity. Naturally, he wanted to find a way to depose the Beiyuan in the court and return the power of money and food to the Ministry of Revenue. Here in Jiangnan,
He won't be idle either." He smiled disdainfully and said, "The Shence Army cannot move forward without the money and food allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Qin Xiao immediately understood: "So the chancellor will use money and food as a threat to arrange his own men in the Shence Army?"
"How could he miss such a good opportunity?" She Yue said slowly: "No matter who leads the army and comes to Jiangnan, for me, it is not one of my own."
Qin Xiao hesitated for a moment and stopped talking.
"What do you want to say?"
"Princess, at this point, with the strength in our hands, there is almost no possibility of reversing the situation." Qin Xiao sighed: "Without the reinforcements from the court, whether we can escape from Jiangnan is a question. Whose hands will Jiangnan fall into?
We don’t have to worry about it. As long as the rebellion in Jiangnan can be put down, it will be better than anything else for you to return to Kyoto safely."
She Yue frowned slightly, her red lips moved slightly, but in the end she didn't say anything.
"Did I say something wrong again?" Seeing that She Yue's face was not very good, Qin Xiao couldn't help but ask.
She Yue shook her head and sighed quietly: "Actually, from your point of view, what I said is not wrong. In fact, I have been tired of fighting with Xiahou Yuanzhen in the court for these years, but you don't understand, if it is just a game of chess,
Even if you lose, you have to start over. But in the struggle for power, there is never a way out. As long as you start, if you cannot win in the end, it is almost impossible to escape unscathed." Staring into Qin Xiao's eyes, he said softly: "Although I am
Princess Tang, if you really lose to him in this power game, the end will be more painful than death, and Changning will also be implicated."
Although Qin Xiao didn't stay in Kyoto for long, he knew that She Yue was not an alarmist.
Although the battle in the court in Kyoto did not see the light of swords, it was far more cruel than the confrontation of swords and guns on the battlefield.
"You should have a good rest." She Yue knew that she had stayed in the house for a long time. It was getting late and the lights were not lit in the house. It was not good for the princess and her courtiers to stay alone in a dark room for too long. She got up.
It seemed that Qin Xiao glanced at him and said softly: "I'm going to leave now. I'll see you later."
Qin Xiao wanted to get up, but his leg injury had not recovered yet and he could not get off the ground, so he could only nod.
As soon as She Yue left, Xie Jinong came in with a bowl of soup and put it on the table. He lit the lamp first, then came over with the soup bowl and said with a smile: "Master Qin, this is the medicine boiled by the grassroots for you. It nourishes the blood."
Used to nourish Qi.”
"Who are you?" Qin Xiao looked at Xie Jinong and felt very strange.
He was carried down from the top of the city, feeling groggy. Although he vaguely remembered that someone was helping him heal his injuries, he did not know that it was Xie Jinong.
"Xie Jinong, a grass-roots citizen, is from the Tianlei Sect." Xie Jinong immediately introduced himself: "The Tianlei Sect is a small sect in the world, not worth mentioning. Master Dong and I are close friends, and I came here specially to help. First of all,
In order to help Mr. Dong, and secondly, to serve the imperial court."
"It turns out to be Xie DaXia." Qin Xiao cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Thank you so much, Xie Jinong." Seeing Xie Jinong bring the soup bowl over, he reached out to take it.
Xie Jinong said: "Master Qin broke into the enemy's formation alone, was invincible, and captured the leader of the thieves. This unparalleled courage really makes us marvel."
"It's just out of helplessness." Qin Xiao took two sips of the decoction and said with a smile: "Thank you, hero, were you guys the ones who killed Gui Jinyang?"
Xie Jinong suddenly looked proud, stroked his beard and smiled: "That's right. Half a month before the ghost golden sheep attacked the county government at night, I received a letter from Master Dong, inviting him to come and help. After receiving the letter, I immediately brought him
Several experts from the Tianlei Sect came here. In addition, Mr. Dong also invited some other righteous warriors. There were about a hundred people in total. According to Mr. Dong's instructions, we all dressed up in disguise when we entered the city. Some of them pretended to be a caravan.
Some disguise themselves as refugees and gather in secret after entering the city."
Qin Xiao nodded and asked, "Did Mr. Dong know in advance that the followers of the Queen Mother would attack the county government office?"
"Master Dong started to set up spies in the city two months ago to monitor outsiders sneaking into the city." Xie Jinong said with a smile: "Shuning City is not small, and it is not big. People who sneak into the city from outside are
People are easily discovered. After Gui Jinyang led people into the city and lurked, he thought he was very secretive. In fact, Master Dong had already known it clearly. Master Dong did not act rashly, just to see what these people wanted to do.
Before the Ghost Golden Sheep attacked the county government office at night, he sent people to explore the vicinity of the county government office for several days. Mr. Dong not only sent people to monitor inside the city, but also sent people to investigate nearby outside the city. He noticed that many people gathered around
Outside the city, they knew Gui Jinyang’s intentions, they must be trying to seize Shuning City by cooperating inside and outside."
Qin Xiao praised: "Mr. Dong is really astute."
"To control Shuning City, the first one to be taken down must be the county government." Xie Ji Nong remarked: "So we lurked in the county government in advance and waited for three full days. We were unable to leave for three days.
We just waited for Gui Jinyang to take the bait. That night Gui Jinyang led a raid on the county government office, and we were caught in an ambush. Although some people on our side were killed or injured, Gui Jinyang's group was wiped out in one fell swoop." Fu.
Xu smiled and said: "That night, there were hundreds of rebels outside the North City Gate waiting for help in the city, but in the end they only got the heads of Gui Jinyang's group."
Qin Xiao immediately thought of the dozens of human heads hanging at the top of Shuning City.
Dong Guangxiao was both wise and brave, but as a result, he also formed a life-and-death feud with the Queen Mother Society. But because of this, She Yue knew that Dong Guangxiao had no way out, so she made up her mind to come to Shuning City.
Qin Xiao finished the soup and handed the soup bowl back to Xie Jinong, saying: "Xie Daxia and other righteous heroes in the world really admire their bravery and bravery. After the rebellion is suppressed, the court will naturally not treat you righteous heroes badly."
"Master Qin, we are here to help out for the sake of loyalty, not for rewards." Xie Jinong said righteously: "The Queen Mother can confuse people with her evil words and is extremely vicious. If they control Jiangnan, the people of Jiangnan will be in ruins. For Jiangnan
People, we people will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Qin Xiao was in awe and was about to praise him, but Xie Jinong had already said softly: "But if the imperial court and your lords can take more care of the Tianlei Sect after the rebellion is suppressed, Xie will be very grateful."
Qin Xiao forced a smile and said: "That's natural, that's natural." He thought to himself that there is no such thing as unreasonable loyalty in this world. If you want a horse to run, you must feed it well.