On the second morning of October, some of the troops stationed in Wanliang of the Great China Empire left the city. They were the ones who were unwilling to surrender. The troops who decided to surrender mercifully let them leave the station.
At noon that day, General Luo Xiao led his troops into Wanliang City and took over all the defenses here, as well as at least 120,000 Chinese soldiers who had defected and surrendered.
The people in Wanliang City cheered like thunder, which meant that they had finally ended the war and could harvest their own rations before winter came.
Fengjiang was undoubtedly generous. On the day they occupied Wanliang, Luo Xiao issued a decree canceling all taxes for that year and leaving all the food produced locally to the local people.
In fact, it wasn't much, because the war caused many farmlands to be destroyed, so Wanliang didn't actually have a good harvest this year.
But the significance of this is great. It represents the aspirations of the local people, and it also completely allows the food near Wanliang City to stay in the local area and does not become supplies for the Dahua Empire's troops.
The news of the loss of ten thousand grains spread back to the imperial capital of the Great China Empire, and the ministers of the Great China Empire immediately panicked. The loss of this important food town suddenly caused the situation to collapse.
The last time there was such a big change, Shanping changed hands and the Dahua Empire troops lost Guiguang. Now that Wanliang has been lost, Hezhe is no longer safe.
Zhao Chen, who had been "fiercely attacking" in Fengjiang, was facing risks in his retreat. He had to carefully consider the retreat of the troops in his hands.
If he continues to attack Fengjiang fiercely, and once Hezhe is captured, his army of nearly one million people will be covered in dumplings and will collapse within a few days.
You must know that the troops he has now are really the few "blood and blood" of the Dahua Empire. If there is a problem with his troops, the national destiny of the Dahua Empire will be almost gone.
Therefore, he immediately suspended the attack on Fengjiang, then mobilized his troops and quickly advanced toward Hezhe overnight in an attempt to stabilize his rear.
On the other side, in the basement of the imperial city of the imperial capital, Zhao Kai was lying on a hospital bed and drinking medicine. He did not trust the medical technology from the Tang Empire, although these technologies saved his legs and his life.
Therefore, he still chose to drink the traditional decoction of the Dahua Empire. He felt that although it was slower, it could strengthen his foundation and strengthen his body, allowing his body to recover more solidly.
Just as he was drinking the medicine, he heard his confidants and the officer who came to deliver the news talking in low voices. He was a little irritated and put the bowl of medicine back on the tray.
Holding back the bitterness on the tip of his tongue, Zhao Kai waved the maid carrying the tray to leave, then raised his voice and shouted to his confidant, "What's going on? You're sneaky!"
The chamberlain took two steps back in embarrassment. He was originally not prepared to let Zhao Kai know what was happening on the front line, but because of the urgent military situation, the officer broke into Zhao Kai's house directly. He couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.
Zhao Kai frowned and looked at the officer, and asked in a long voice: "Tell me! What exactly happened? There must be no concealment."
The officer looked at Zhao Kai lying on the bed and at Zhao Kai's leg that had not yet subsided, and knew that he might have been in trouble.
No wonder the ministers and guards standing outside didn't stop him. It turned out that they wanted him to be a pawn, delivering bad news in order to bear the wrath of His Majesty the Emperor.
But he didn't have any good solution. He could only bite the bullet and report: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... I just... I just got the news that Wanliang has been lost."
"..." Zhao Kai didn't speak. He just stayed silent, as if his time had stopped. After being silent for a long while, he raised an arm and waved outward, indicating that the officer could retreat.
The officer who came to deliver the news seemed to have received an amnesty. He quickly exited Zhao Kai's room and returned to the somewhat dim corridor.
In fact, the ministers in the corridor already knew the news yesterday. The Minister of War, Shen Chuan, had ordered Zhao Chen to send troops to return reinforcements in the name of the Ministry of War to stabilize Hezhe's situation.
He Zhe's troops are actually not that small. The Dahua Empire has at least 100,000 troops stationed here, including part of the main force that retreated from Fengjiang to rest.
Including at least 100,000 people who retreated from the direction of Wanliang City, He Zhe's troops exceeded 200,000, which was actually not too small.
But Shen Chuan was afraid that the troops retreating from Wanliang would be mixed with rebels who were disguised as lurking. He was afraid that the other side would repeat the same tactics and instigate He Zhe to rebel. At the same time, he really didn't dare to take risks. If He Zhe was lost, Then the Great China Empire is really over.
In addition, Shen Chuan also mobilized tens of thousands of Dongqing's troops to move to Hezhe, raising Hezhe's troop strength to 250,000, which made him somewhat relieved.
Of course, what really reassured Shen Chuan was Zhao Chen's deployment of frontline troops back to Hezhe. This brought Hezhe's troops to more than 300,000, which was somewhat reassuring.
But the problem actually still exists: there is no one trustworthy in the direction of Hezhe to supervise the battle. If an ordinary general is placed, the problem of ten thousand grains will inevitably not arise.
Shen Chuan couldn't go there by himself. Chu Muzhou was dismissed as prime minister, the position of prime minister was vacant, and the workload of each minister was higher than usual. They couldn't leave at this time.
As the busiest department now, the Ministry of War is inseparable from Shen Chuan. If he goes to Hezhe, the logistics and supply arrangements, subsequent recruitment of soldiers, and even the defense against Qin in the west may immediately fall into chaos. .
"Master Shen, Your Majesty invites you in." Zhao Kai's confidant walked out of the room, came to Shen Chuan's side, and invited him in a low voice.
He made an invitation gesture, and Shen Chuan followed him into the room where Zhao Kai was. As soon as he entered the door, Shen Chuan saw Zhao Kai's livid face on the bed.
"Master Shen... He Zhe can't have any more problems. He must send someone trustworthy. Who do you think can take on this important task?" To Shen Chuan's surprise, Zhao Kai did not get angry, but asked calmly. Policy.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This made Shen Chuan feel a little uncomfortable, and he himself began to wonder if he had a bit of a masochistic tendency.
After getting used to it, Shen Chuan suggested: "Why don't you let Master Chen Jing go to Hezhe? He doesn't have to actually go into battle. He just needs to sit in Hezhe and prevent trouble there."
"Chen Jing and Jiang Run don't know how to fight, and Wang Yucai and you can't get away...Zhou Qiang...Zhou Qiang is not enough to entrust him with important tasks." Zhao Kai rejected several ministers - basically the minister of the Ministry of Justice was the one Two hundred and five, expect him to be more dangerous.
Zhou Qiang has always been Zhao Yu's man. Although he was not implicated in Zhao Yu's rebellion, he has lost the emperor's trust. Shen Chuan is in charge of the military department and Wang Yucai is in charge of the household department. Now they have the heaviest errands and basically cannot leave. .
"I really can't think of anyone who can take on this important task." Shen Chuan shook his head and waited for Zhao Kai to give his answer.
He was already very distressed. Originally, Wang Yucai had discussed with him to let the troops collect grain on the spot in Wanliang City, but now Wanliang has been lost.
The economy of the Dahua Empire, which has lost one-third of its grain production areas, has actually collapsed. It can still survive for a while this year. How to maintain the status quo next year has become a big problem.
"I intend to ask Zhao Ji to fight with Zhe and guard the rear for Zhao Chen... What do you think, Master Shen?" Zhao Kai's voice was a little weak, but still calm, as if losing ten thousand grains was not a big deal.
If it were in the past, Zhao Kai might have been furious, but now he is like the surface of a lake, which makes people feel a little creepy.
Shen Chuan knew that this was not asking for his opinion, but informing him, so he did not say anything, lowered his head and replied: "His Royal Highness is certainly competent."
In fact, if it were the time when Zhao Kai was injured, Shen Chuan would not recommend letting Zhao Ji leave the imperial capital. Because Zhao Kai was ill, the prince naturally had to stay by his side to inherit the throne at any time.
But now, Shen Chuan really doesn't dare to speak casually: If Zhao Kai is still irritable, he will probably give him some advice. Now Zhao Kai... Shen Chuan is afraid of losing his head.
"Then let Zhao Ji go." As if he was unwilling to let Shen Chuan stand here for one more second, Zhao Kai waved his hand again, indicating that Shen Chuan could leave.
Shen Chuan was stunned for a moment, and then followed the waiter out of the room. He originally thought that Zhao Kai invited him to see him to discuss taking back Wanliang, or to make other specific arrangements. But Zhao Kai didn't say anything and just asked him to leave. ——This is a bit unreasonable, because if you just ask a few words, it is completely unnecessary.
Standing at the door, Shen Chuan frowned and thought carefully, then sighed and walked out of the basement, standing in the sunshine.
In the room, Zhao Kai finally couldn't help but vomited a large mouthful of blood. His face was livid and he kept panting. It took him a while to stabilize his condition and manage to speak.
"They all deserve to die! They all deserve to die! They are all waiting for me to be the king of subjugation! They are all waiting for me to make a fool of myself!" He breathed in the turbid air and watched his tearful confidant help him clean up the blood on the floor beside the bed. .
"Don't let anyone know!" he warned, holding the edge of the bed with his hands. He didn't fall back on the bed until he heard the waiter's response.
At this moment, he was really almost exhausted. He originally planned to recuperate his body, but this news caused his already fragile body to completely collapse.
After being injured, the prince returned, the Fengjiang ceased war... and now Wanliang was lost. He could only survive until now when he was so angry that he vomited blood, so he was already in good health.
At this time, he asked the prince Zhao Ji to go with Zhe. Even he himself didn't know why, and he was more angry and chaotic. As the emperor, he knew that his health was not good, so he asked the prince to stay away.
This is definitely a dangerous order.
But Zhao Kai just gave the order, and after giving the order, he felt a lot smoother: he had the pleasure of revenge, and the relief of not caring about the flood after his death.
Don’t you all have your own little thoughts? Then I’ll let you fight! Don’t you all want to show off? Then let you act hard!
I see in the end, who of you will be better off!
I don’t want to be this king who subjugates my country! I don’t want to be this historical sinner! Moreover, when I die, I will drag you traitors and traitors to be buried with me! Buried with me!