The administrative center of the entire Li Dynasty, the Nan Hua Palace, where the civil and military officials of the Li Dynasty gathered. The king of the Li Dynasty, Li Weining, sat at the top, listening to the reports of the officials, with a sigh on his face.
"Your Majesty, my Zhengyun army has returned home a few days ago! One hundred thousand troops, more than 35,000 casualties, and more than 17,000 people were lost on the way back... Your Majesty, after this battle, our country will
We no longer have the power to resist the Yun Kingdom!" The official who stood up to speak said with a tearful tone.
"Your Majesty, the Prefect of Laizhou has reported that a small group of soldiers from the Yun State have dispersed into our court, harassing the prefectures and counties, burning down the treasury, and the losses in just a few months have been countless!" Another official stepped forward.
road.
Li Weining lowered his head and sighed softly:
"My lords, the most urgent task is to allocate ordnance, organize the troops and horses, and hold on to the defense line! If the Yun Kingdom attacks, Shenglong Mansion is the capital of the country and must be defended!"
After Li Weining finished speaking, an official immediately came out of the queue, knelt down in the hall, and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Taiwei Chen Feng! He lost his troops and generals in the battle at Yongzhou. He also took risks before and tried his best to persuade the king to send troops. As a result, my last army was lost so much that it was no longer able to resist the Yun Kingdom. This man has brought disaster to the country and the people.
, If you don’t kill, it won’t be enough to quell the anger of the government and the opposition!”
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden pause in Nanhua Hall.
Immediately, several more officials stood up and said solemnly:
"I second the motion! Taiwei Chen Feng is bent on taking risks and insists on fighting with the Yun Kingdom's troops, causing the situation to be so corrupted. Please order the punishment immediately, your Majesty!"
"Please, Your Majesty, punish me immediately!"
"Please punish me, your Majesty, to appease the hearts of both the government and the public!"
When Li Weining heard this, he frowned and said:
"Although Lieutenant Chen Feng made many mistakes, the entire blame cannot be placed on him! This matter will be discussed later. The most urgent task is to consolidate the defense line as soon as possible to prevent the Yun Kingdom from attacking!"
Even though Li Weining said this, there were still several officials who were unwilling to give up and retorted:
"Your Majesty, the government and the public are so angry right now. If we don't give an explanation, how can the army and the people work together to protect our country?"
"I know that the king cherishes talents, but the matter of Taiwei Chen Feng needs to be decided as soon as possible!"
Facing the officials' remonstrances, Li Weining, who had seemed a bit weak before, now frowned and said coldly:
"If you all want to take care of the Taiwei at this time, who will be responsible for guarding our country's defense line?"
As soon as these words came out, all the officials who were originally furious to punish Chen Feng suddenly stopped.
The national power of Li Dynasty is not as good as that of Yun Kingdom!
Previously, the Yun State's official administration was corrupt and border defenses were lax, and the Li Dynasty took advantage of it. But since Wang Xiao came to power, he reorganized the border army and trained his troops. After that, the Li army rarely won against the Yun State army.
Lieutenant Chen Feng is already recognized by both the government and the public. There are few generals who can withstand the Yun army's attack!
Convicting him would certainly give an explanation to the government and the opposition, but in the future, when facing the Yun army, there would be no one who could resist him!
Having said this, the few people who had just insisted on asking Li Weining to punish Chen Feng couldn't help but stop talking and stopped talking.
"Okay, now that the country is in such a situation, please don't think about anything else! The most important thing is to recruit young people, form an army, and prepare for the Yun army's attack!" Li Weining said solemnly.
After hearing this, all the officials had no choice but to obey the order.
After seeing off the officials, Li Weining rubbed his head with a headache and said to the feminine eunuch beside him:
"Pi Hui, is the news really correct?"
When the eunuch named Pi Hui heard this, he immediately cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, this matter has been verified many times. The reason why Taishi Chen Feng returned in defeat was because the new king of Yun Kingdom personally led the troops to ask for help. He rode into the formation alone, showing his cultivation in the realm of land gods!
"
When Li Weining heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he frowned:
"How many new kings are there in the Yun Kingdom? I remember they are only fifteen or sixteen years old!"
"Yes, Xiao Cheng, the new king of the Yun Kingdom, is the eleventh son of the late emperor of the Yun Kingdom and the only legitimate son born to the late queen. He has just turned fifteen this year!" Pi Hui said respectfully.
Perhaps because he was afraid that Li Weining wouldn't believe it, he quickly added:
"This has been confirmed and it is absolutely true!"
Hearing this, Li Weining stood up and murmured:
"Fifteen-year-old land god! Fifteen-year-old land god... Could it be that all the emperors of the Yun Kingdom also have a way to unite the destiny of the dynasty?"
When Pi Hui heard this, he lowered his eyebrows and whispered:
"My servant has already gone to investigate! It's just that the method of transporting the dynasty is a secret of our dynasty and should not be known to the Yun Kingdom!"
"Then how to explain it? Although fifteen or sixteen-year-old eighth-level masters are rare in a hundred years, they do exist after all. Such a great ninth-level master, Gu Ye recognized it and regarded it as a genius! However, fifteen or sixty-year-old
How could a 20-year-old land immortal achieve such a level of cultivation if he had not used the method of fortune to bring the power of a country to his own body..."
Seeing Li Weining getting more and more excited as he talked, Pihui quickly stepped forward and comforted him:
"Your Majesty, please don't be so excited! I don't know whether this method of lucking out the dynasty is true or not, so I can't take it seriously!"
Li Weining shook his head firmly and said:
"The method of transporting the dynasty must be feasible! Otherwise, the man in the ancestral temple..."
"Your Majesty, be careful what you say!" Pi Hui's heart skipped a beat and he quickly interrupted.
At this time, Li Weining suddenly woke up with a start, his expression was extremely complicated, and he shut up and stopped talking.
The entire hall fell into silence.
At this moment, a palace attendant suddenly ran in, knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty! Lord Ruan Ti and Lord Zongzheng Aohouli, please see me!"
Hearing the names of these two people, Li Weining frowned visibly.
What the hell are you talking about?
Li Weining took a deep breath, his expression returned to calmness, and he said in a deep voice:
"Xuan!"
"yes."
Not long after, two people, one tall and one short, wearing the official uniforms of the Nine Ministers, walked into the hall together. They just slightly raised their hands to Li Weining and said, neither humble nor overbearing:
"Greetings to the King!"
Li Weining looked at the two of them, covering up the irritation and disgust in his heart, and smiled warmly:
"You two adults are not serving in the ancestral temple, how can you have time to visit me?"
When the two heard this, the slightly shorter man stepped forward, with a cold and unruly expression, and said solemnly:
"Your Majesty, your servant Ruan Ti has come to reprimand you on the orders of our ancestors!"
Li Weining couldn't help but feel resentful in his heart when he saw Ruan Ti looking like he didn't take him seriously at all.
But at this time, Li Weining, no matter what he was thinking, he could only suppress his temper in front of Ruan Ti.
With Pi Hui's support, he stood up, walked to Ruan Ti, knelt down on one knee, lowered his head to cover up the coldness in his eyes, and said respectfully:
"Please give me instructions, ancestor!"
Ruan Ti looked at Li Weining kneeling in front of him, as if he was used to it, he accepted the gift calmly, and said in a deep voice:
"The defeat of Yongzhou has weakened the country! The battle of Xiushan has even reduced the youth and strength, and has consumed countless national resources. Taiwei Chen Feng is unfavorable in the main battle and should be severely punished without mercy!"
When Li Weining heard this, he quickly raised his head and said:
"Ruan Qing, Chen Feng cannot be punished! You know the reason why! No one in the country has his prestige and ability..."
Ruan Ti raised his eyebrows and interrupted with an indifferent expression:
"Please ask the king to explain these words to the ancestor in person!"
Li Weining paused in his words, then lowered his eyes and said in a low voice:
"Okay, I will go and explain to my ancestor!"
Ruan Ti nodded, stepped aside slightly, cupped his hands and said:
"In this way, I will report the truth to my ancestor!"
Li Weining felt aggrieved, lowered his head and said:
"yes!"
When Li Weining was helped to stand up, Zong Zheng and Aohou Lihu on the side took another step forward, raised their hands to him and said:
"Your Majesty, on the order of our ancestors, we have come to ask for offerings! This year, our ancestors have specifically told us that we will offer three pieces of ice that will not transform the gods, five pieces of whale king's fat, and eight liang of dragon's musk. As for the fire-weaving golden toad, jade
The three types of birds with facial heads and colorful snow lotuses can be supplied as usual."
When Li Weining heard this, his heart jumped suddenly, and an unknown fire rushed straight to his forehead. He almost couldn't hold it back and broke out on the spot.
He gritted his teeth, suppressed his anger, and said:
"Aohou, it is already difficult for the imperial court to maintain the front line. Now that there are so many more things to offer, how can I get them all? I would like to ask Aohou to explain how I can help Guhaosheng in front of my ancestors.
What a sentence!"
When Aohou Lihu heard this, his mouth moved, and then he said with a look of embarrassment on his face:
"Your Majesty, there is nothing I can do! Perhaps only the King can go there in person to make the ancestor change his mind!"
"you……"
Li Weining was about to have an attack, but when he saw Li Hu in front of him, he also had a look of embarrassment and confusion on his face.
The anger in his heart suddenly dissipated feebly.
The two people in front of me are just the messengers of the one hiding in the ancestral temple. Like me, they are also involuntarily!
"Gu, I got it! Please tell the ancestors, I will go to the ancestral temple tomorrow to explain to the ancestors!"
Upon hearing this, the two men immediately nodded, bowed to Li Weining, and turned to leave.
Watching the two people leave, Li Weining stood stunned for a moment, and then turned to the eunuch beside him and said with a deep voice:
"If the offerings are doubled this year, it will definitely damage the national destiny and cause the ancestors to backlash! As long as..."
Before he finished speaking, his confidant beside him was already understanding.
He supported Li Weining with both hands and whispered:
"Your Majesty, no matter how you plan, Pi Hui will help you..."
--------------------------
The southwest hinterland of Xia Kingdom was now in chaos.
From time to time, local prefectures and counties would be invaded by others. After wreaking havoc, the bandits would leave.
Everyone has their own version of this group of gangsters.
Some people say that this is the work of rioters, usurping the authority, attacking cities and counties, and plotting rebellion. Others say that this is the Yun Army cavalry going deep into the hinterland, killing people and destroying cities in order to avenge the invasion of their territory.
The two pieces of news could not be differentiated between true and false, and the county and county officials in the southwest were confused as to what was going on.
However, under such a situation, various places have stepped up vigilance, summoned young and strong family members, and strictly guarded the city to prevent gangsters from taking advantage of it.
Diao Wenxuan looked at the closed city gate in front of him, sighed softly, and said:
"Alas, these cities are so well-defended now that it's impossible to get in! Your Majesty, why don't we go back now! Anyway, we have defeated five cities in a row in the past few days and turned the big cities around the Yangtze River of Xia Kingdom upside down.
It should be enough!”
Xiao Cheng also knew the truth of giving up when he was ready. After all, the city of Xia Kingdom was now heavily guarded. Attacking the city with more than a thousand cavalry like him would be a bit of a dream. He nodded and said:
"Okay, today I'll..."
Halfway through his words, Xiao Cheng suddenly raised his brows, pointed the riding crop forward in his hand, and said: