After Shouningbo said the word "artillery", the civil and military officials were slightly in an uproar.
Li Baiyu thought for a moment, and glanced at the civil and military officials below with a deep look, especially for a moment on the officials who were about to serve as prisoners.
The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty also followed Li Baiyu's gaze and subconsciously turned their attention to the officials who would serve as prisoners.
Sensing the attention of everyone, General Supervisor Shi Cheng stood up hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I guarantee with my head that except for the number of artillery pieces approved by Your Majesty for use in the expedition, absolutely nothing will escape from General Supervisor."
Cannon."
A group of generals and supervisory officials behind Shi Cheng also hurriedly stood up: "I dare to pledge my head as a guarantee."
Li Baiyu breathed a sigh of relief and turned his eyes to Song Yu.
"Song Aiqing, have any of the artillery pieces in the Ministry of War's treasury been lost?"
Song Yu shook his head slightly: "In addition to the artillery taken away by the three armies on the left, center and right, there are still two hundred artillery pieces in the treasury, which have all been moved to the city wall to defend against the rebels' siege. There are no more redundant artillery pieces."
"Your Majesty can send someone to check on the city wall. I have definitely not approved a single extra cannon."
Li Baiyu slowly sat on the dragon chair: "Does this mean that the rebels outside the city cannot have weapons like artillery to siege the city?"
Song Yu wanted to say yes, but when the words came to his lips, he hesitated and shook his head.
"Hard to say."
Li Baiyu was startled: "What's the explanation?"
"Your Majesty, it is clear to you that the artillery paper has been in the hands of the late emperor for five years. During these five years, the Ministry of War has overseen countless craftsmen who have come into contact with the artillery casting blueprints."
"Now that the five kings suddenly came to the city and raised their troops to rebel, they must have been planning for a long time."
"It's hard for me to guarantee whether they have bribed some craftsmen with large profits to obtain the blueprints for casting the artillery, and thus secretly cast the artillery."
"If there is a craftsman who can't stand being driven by profit and leaks the secret recipe for cannon casting."
"In my opinion, the rebels outside the city not only have powerful siege weapons like artillery, but they also have no shortage of them. At least twenty of them are needed to start with."
"As for its power, I can't say how powerful it is."
"Although the craftsmen of the General Supervisor, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Works are paid a lot of money, they will inevitably not be tempted by the promise of huge sums of money from the rebels."
"Furthermore, the five princes have special status. You might be able to get something out of them with a little wording. Then with a little coercion and inducement, it won't be a difficult problem at all."
"In this case, and the money is so attractive, the craftsman may have leaked the drawings."
Li Baiyu was stunned for a moment, and nodded with melancholy eyes: "I understand, I will send someone to investigate this matter."
"If the rebels outside the city really have artillery, I will find a way to order people to destroy these artillery."
"You and Shi Aiqing will send a team to thoroughly investigate this matter to see if anyone has leaked the manufacturing drawings of the fire paper. Once verified, we will deal with it according to law."
"I obey the decree."
Li Baiyu held his breath and listened quietly for a while. Jingcheng, which was still peaceful, slowly stood up.
"My dear friends, please perform your duties and wait for orders in the Qinzheng Hall. Food will be delivered to you from the imperial kitchen later. There is nothing important. I hope that all my dear ladies will stay well in the Qinzheng Hall and do not leave the palace at will.
Good, so as not to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings."
The civil and military officials nodded with complicated expressions: "I obey the order."
"I will first arrange for the Ouchi guards to investigate the situation of the rebels. If you have anything important to do, come to the imperial study to see me at any time."
"According to the decree."
Chief Butler Zeng Hai chased Li Baiyu towards the back of the palace.
"Your Majesty, is there no better way? Can we only passively defend and wait for the rebels to attack the city?"
"How about we go notify our ancestor and ask him to come out to help us and secretly sneak into the enemy camp outside the city to see if we can capture the thief first and capture the king first?"
Li Baiyu, who was rushing towards the Imperial Study Room, paused in his steps and looked a little hesitant. He glanced at Zeng Hai who was looking at him expectantly and nodded slightly.
"It is a good idea, but you must be careful about safety. My five brothers are surrounded by at least ten masters trained by the sects from childhood to protect them. Once they fail, even though Senior Zhou can safely evacuate the enemy camp, it will be provoked.
Arouse the ferocious nature of my five brothers."
"Intensifying the speed of their attack on the city will not be good at that time. Tell Lao Zhou to act according to the situation and not to take action without full confidence."
"We understand, does your Majesty have any other instructions?"
"No, let's go and inform Senior Zhou first."
"Yes, let's resign."
Li Baiyu looked at Zeng Hai's footsteps and walked towards the harem faster.
"Fu Hai, it is said that the two beloved concubines quickly brought Li Tao, Li Ye, Jing Yao, Zhi Yao and their four brothers and sisters to the Imperial Study Room."
"According to the order!"
During the tea ceremony, two women, Chen Jie and He Shu, who had been canonized as noble concubines, appeared in the imperial study with Li Baiyu's four children.
There was a lingering look of worry on the eyebrows of the two women. It was obvious that even though they were in the harem, the two women knew about the Five Kings' rebellion.
"I see you, Your Majesty."
"Children, see your father."
"No gifts, no gifts at all."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Father."
Concubine Chen Jie looked at Li Baiyu nervously with a pretty face: "Your Majesty, how is the situation outside the city? Are the five emperor brothers determined to rebel?"
Li Baiyu nodded melancholy: "The situation is clear at a glance, especially the second child. The third child has coveted the throne for a long time. I originally thought that after my father's great success, I would be the emperor of Shuntian and he would be the emperor. They would give up completely, even if they were unwilling to do so.
He will do something treacherous and unethical without caring about the foundation of the Li family."
"But I was wrong. Their desire for the throne has long been ingrained. They will not give up until they get the throne. They took advantage of the millions of troops heading north and raised troops to rebel when the rear was empty."
He Shu looked at Li Baiyu worriedly: "Your Majesty, what is the situation? Can the 100,000 imperial guards repel the rebels?"
Li Baiyu looked at the map and shook his head silently.
"The war has not yet begun, and no one dares to draw conclusions about the outcome. However, the battle of the Northern Expedition has ended, and 200,000 elite reinforcements are rushing to the capital to rescue King Qin."
"Forty days, as long as we can hold on for forty days, everything will be settled when the army arrives."
"Forty days, how can it be so long?"
"Sister, there's nothing we can do about it. Looking at the sky above the capital, I can't believe it will snow in a few days. It's almost snowing in the capital. You can imagine the situation in the north."
"Once the road is blocked by heavy snow, I'm afraid I may not be able to make it back in 40 days."
After hearing Chen Jie's words, He Shu's delicate body trembled and seemed a little at a loss.
"Your Majesty, you have a concubine and Tao'er. What's going on with Zhi Yao? Is there anything you need my help with?"
"I am a weak woman from a virtuous family, so I can't be of much help, but I can donate all the jewelry to be used as supplies for the defense of the city, and give rewards to the soldiers to boost their morale."
Chen Jie hurriedly agreed: "I also have a lot of gold and silver jewelry there. Like my sister, I can donate them to reward the soldiers and boost their morale."
At this time, Chen Jie no longer had any thoughts of competing with He Shu for favor, and was concentrating on how to help Li Baiyu put down the rebellion.
The intrigues among the emperor's women are far beyond ordinary people's, but their overall outlook is also far beyond ordinary people's.
The two women knew in their hearts that if Li Baiyu's throne could not be kept, it would be in vain for them to covet the position of the master of the harem.
Once the rebels break into the city, not to mention the position of the master of the harem, it is a matter of whether he and others can save their lives.
"Father, I also have the gold and silver that you rewarded me. I can use all of it to help my father put down the rebellion."
"There are also sons and ministers."
"There are also sons and ministers!"
In addition to the babbling little princess Li Zhiyao, the other three little ones expressed their filial piety.
Li Baiyu looked at his two wives and four children with relief. This was a happy family, but it was a pity that it was not the right time.
Li Baiyu smiled bitterly twice, with a decisive smile on his face, and waved to the two women.
"Take the children and come with me!"
"yes!"
Li Baiyu took the lead and walked towards the back of the Imperial Study Room, pushing a cabinet behind the back of the room while the two women looked at him in surprise.
A secret tunnel revealed the true face of Lushan and appeared in front of several people.
The two women looked at Li Baiyu in surprise.
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
Li Baiyu looked at the two girls with a complicated expression: "When the imperial city was built, there were secret passages left behind to prevent unexpected escapes."
"You two, listen to me. I will send loyal Ouchi guards to secretly protect you and escape from the city through the secret passage."
"Jie'er, take Li Ye and Jing Yao and rush north under the protection of the guards. Find a way to meet up with uncle Nangong Ye and Dingguo Gong Liu Mingzhi."
"Shu'er, take Tao'er and Zhiyao to the northwest, and secretly meet up with the second sister Li Ran and Wu Guogong Wan Mingliang."
"The green hills left behind are not afraid of running out of firewood. As long as they help me, Li Baiyu's lineage will definitely make a comeback."
"His Majesty......"
Li Baiyu raised his hand to signal Chen Jie not to say anything, took out an imperial edict from his arms, picked up a baggage from the table beside and stuffed it into Chen Jie's hand.
"After meeting my brother-in-law Liu Mingzhi, I handed it to him personally. If something unexpected happens to me, he will understand what to do when he sees the imperial edict!"
"Your Majesty, let's go together. As long as you are still alive, after we join forces with King Qin's army, we can kill the traitors and take back the country."
"You said it yourself, if you keep the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood."
"Your Majesty, let's go with my concubine, recall the old troops, and reorganize the country."
Li Baiyu slowly closed his eyes and sighed.
"Jie'er, Shu'er, everyone can escape, but I can't escape."
"Once the capital is lost, the second son and the others will not be able to find me. They will definitely massacre all the officials and the people to question me about my whereabouts."
"If I leave, all the hundreds of thousands of people in the capital will be buried with me. I am the king of a country, how can I let the people under my rule be massacred?"
"I will not leave, otherwise it will go against my father's high hopes."
"The Li family only has heroic emperors who died in battle, and there are no subjugated kings who fled."
"Li Baiyu would rather die than bring shame to the ancestors of the Li family."
"His Majesty....."
"Let's go! Don't hesitate to take the children away."
"I may not be able to defend the capital."
"just in case……"
"I have made up my mind to live and die with the capital.
ps: If you catch up tonight, there will be another update. If you can’t make it in time, the fifth update will start tomorrow!