The servant took the order and left, and in an instant, bursts of rapid horse hooves could be heard.
But Tu Danyi turned his face sideways and waited for a long time, but he didn't seem to hear the sound of hoofbeats. He frowned and asked: "Are you starting? You have to be fast and ride a horse!"
Other servants kept saying: "Prime Minister, we have already set off, and everyone is riding fast."
Tu Danyi nodded with satisfaction, and then began to cough violently.
His health has completely collapsed. Anyone can see that this final winner of the previous political struggle is already rushing towards death. He will not live long, maybe even half a year or a few months, and he may not be able to survive.
Come on.
After coughing for a while, Tu Shanyi could breathe slowly and rest his eyes for a while.
"It is indeed a good idea for Guo Ning to go to Laizhou." Tu Danyi said slowly: "Now the four parties are involved in each other. His Laizhou navy has become the most favorable party."
"What does the Prime Minister mean?"
"After the defeat of Wanyan Sala and Huang Laowudian, the two imperial troops in Shandong no longer existed. And Yang An'er, Liu Erzu and others took advantage of the situation and swept across the country, busy conquering territory and expanding their troops. I estimate that most of Yang An'er and Guo Ning
There is some tacit understanding... Haha, he must not want to provoke a strong enemy at this time. Do you think so?"
Du Shisheng nodded.
"Most of the troops available to the imperial court are now concentrated in Zhongdu. However, Zhongdu has been forced to the throat by the Mongolian army. All the power of the imperial court must be used to maintain the relationship. Shandong is completely beyond its reach. Even if the Mongolian army retreats,
, the imperial court will be able to make a difference if it frees up its hands, and it must first defeat Yang An'er, who controls most of Shandong and has more than 100,000 troops, before it can talk about anything else. Do you think so, right?"
Du Shisheng laughed twice.
Tu Danyi said two long paragraphs, and his breathing suddenly became rapid. A maidservant came up in a hurry to smooth his back.
After a while, Tu Danyi continued: "The Mongolian army attacked in three groups before. Every time they entered a city, they looted and slaughtered one city. They had already captured countless people, money, and materials. At this time, they
The tribesmen scattered around Zhongdu Road to spend the winter, waiting to return to the grassland after spring... Therefore, what they were most concerned about was the retreat route from Juyong Pass, Zijin Pass and other places. To ensure the retreat, they had to overwhelm the imperial troops in Zhongdu.
Ma. As a result, the two families still had to fight and confront each other outside the city of Zhongdu. No matter what Genghis Khan thought, he definitely couldn't spare the strength to go south to Shandong to avenge Tuo Lei's capture. Therefore, the little one decided on the navy..."
Seeing that Tu Shanyi's breathing began to become rapid again, Du Shisheng said for him: "Therefore, although the territory of the navy is small and the force is weak, it is the only place of stability in the turbulent situation. My family is always in charge.
You can accumulate grain widely, build walls high, and spread out calmly to build up strength."
"Gather grain widely and build walls high..." Tu Danyi read a few sentences softly and asked meaningfully: "What next?"
When Du Shisheng was the most prominent in his early years, he was just a hanger-on under the ruling family. Now, facing the number one hero who helped protect the emperor's accession to the throne, as the prime minister, he did not feel weak-minded.
Like a solid stone, he stood firm and said calmly: "If the situation does not change significantly in two or three years, my family will be able to have 50,000 tiger soldiers in Laizhou. What will happen next?"
, I can’t guess.”
"Two to three years?"
Tu Danyi thought for a while: "I heard that Guo Ning respected military households in Laizhou, put the people under the shadow of military men to inspire the soldiers to dare to fight, and opened up millions of acres of land for farming. Such
If you want to maintain this method for a long time, you may have many disadvantages, but it seems to be of great use right now. However, are you sure that it will take two to three years?"
Du Shisheng solemnly said: "This is the purpose of my visit to the Prime Minister. After all, the court also needs to buy time. Right now our two families..."
The term "two families" is too arrogant. After all, what you have in your hands is just the navy!
Tu Danyi couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't grasp those two words.
"The court needs to buy time?" he asked, "What are you talking about? Listen to yourself, what are you talking about?"
Du Shisheng's face did not change, and he only said softly: "The Mongols have been besieging them for two or three months, and there is nothing they can do to defeat the heavy troops and fortified city of Daxing Prefecture in Zhongdu. But half of the territory of Dajin has been trampled by the iron hooves of the Mongolian army.
, turned into ruins. Many people in the court could not bear such pressure. Therefore, the emperor had previously summoned his ministers for a secret discussion. Some wanted to ask for peace, some wanted to fight to the death, some wanted to move the capital and take refuge, and some wanted to hold on to the end."
When Du Shisheng opened his mouth, Tu Shanyi's laughter stopped abruptly.
Du Shisheng continued: "Originally, there were many opinions on seeking peace and moving the capital. But after I decided that the navy won the battle, those who advocated sticking to the central capital and fighting to the end felt angry again. They all felt that they were
The only one who is right, in just over a month, they have become incompatible with each other, and another fire and conflict may break out at any time... But Daikin cannot bear the bloodshed again."
He took half a step forward and looked at Tu Danyi's expression: "I vaguely heard that there are serious people in the DPRK who are planning a brand new strategy, intending to completely cut off the foundation of the conflict. But it will take time to truly implement this strategy.
.”
After he finished speaking, it was visible to the naked eye that Tu Shanyi's demeanor had weakened a bit.
In the corner of the hall, Chongxuanzi, who was wearing Taoist robes, walked out. Chongxuanzi took a deep look at Du Shisheng, turned to the servants and said: "You go down, I will take care of you here."
All the servants and maids retreated.
The hall here was Tu Danyi's favorite living place in the past. Outside there were green poplars and weeping willows, and a rockery and pond. But these days it was cold and freezing, and everything was covered with snow. The servants lined up outside, their feet
Stepping on the snow makes a crunching sound.
Tu Shanyi didn't say anything, but Chongxuanzi couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Jin, it was twenty years ago that you worked under Mr. Xu's ruling family, right? Now you are in Zhongdu, and you can still be so well-informed. It's really
Not easy."
"As a humble person, most of the people I interact with in Zhongdu are bureaucracy officials, administrative officers and even subordinate staff. In the past ten years, the senior officials and officials above have been replaced like a revolving door, but these people below are
It's always there. The big shots at the top thought it was invisible and could only be hidden from the other big shots. I stood at the bottom and looked up, and there was nothing I couldn't see."
"……I see."
Neither of them spoke a word and just waited in silence. During this period, Tu Danyi fell asleep several times. Chong Xuanzi was not surprised. Every once in a while, he wiped his face and beard, and filled a small cup with hot water.
, for him to drink.
About half an hour passed before footsteps could be heard outside.
At least twenty or thirty people walked in from the corridor outside the hall, and Du Shisheng recognized half of them.
For example, the two capable men in the front row are both members of the clan who have shown considerable talents in the defense of Zhongdu. One is Wanyan Congtan, the Marquis of Shangshu Province, and the other is Wanyan Heda, General Suzhi.
The ones who filed in behind were two Jinshi masters.
The tall and thin one is Mongolia Gang, and the one with long beard is Tian Zhuo. These two are young officials whom Tu Danyi is optimistic about. It is said that during the previous coup, Ben and Xu Ding had a political deal with the intention of making great use of it.
.Unexpectedly, the military situation after the coup would always be severe, and these two people could only be busy participating in the defense of Zhongdu, appeasing the people everywhere, and training the new army, and did not take up important positions as previously agreed.
Among the dozens of people who followed, everyone Du Shisheng recognized was all young and talented people who were in key positions but did not have high status or honors.
The group of people came in silently and took their seats in the hall.
They saw Du Shisheng sitting at the top. Some of them didn't recognize him. They asked his colleagues a little, and the surprised expressions on their faces flashed away.
After all, in the past few months, Ding Haijun's victory over the Mongolian Fourth Prince Tu Lei's troops had been publicized too many times in Zhongdu.
Since staying behind in Xijing three years ago and repelling the Mongolian army with all their loyalty and injuring Genghis Khan, Dajin's army has failed too many times in the face of the Mongols. Failure after failure almost made the entire dynasty lose their confidence, until
Determining naval victory.
This victory was the only bright spot in the gloom and misfortune of the past few years. It was also the only source of confidence when the soldiers and civilians of Zhongdu were repeatedly entangled in fierce battles with the Mongolian army.
The Ding Navy was under the command of Guo Jieshuai, who had previously defeated Hu Shahu in Zhongdu. Many people here in Zhongdu had witnessed it with their own eyes, and they knew that they were all battle-hardened and very elite. But here in Zhongdu,
It’s not that there are no strong men... In any case, since Ding Haijun can fight, here in Zhongdu, with the army of the Jin Dynasty gathered, we can also fight!
Because of this huge motivational significance, the princes in the court considered several times what kind of reward should be given to Guo Ning. But then someone suggested that Guo Ning should not return the fourth prince Tuo Lei, but should tie him up and send him away.
Come to Zhongdu. Later, someone uncovered clues, alleging that Guo Ning had some contacts with Yang An'er's rebels in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province, which may not be a sign of loyalty to the emperor.
It was only then that the rewards and gifts slowed down a bit.
Even so, Du Shisheng is now a popular man in Zhongdu City. He can sit at the top of the Prime Minister's Mansion where all the wise men have gathered... But now Du Shisheng is here, representing
What?
When everyone was doubtful, Tu Shanyi opened his eyes.
In the silent hall, his voice was weak, but it was enough for everyone to hear clearly: "The emperor and a group of people around the emperor have decided to beg for peace with the Mongols as soon as possible, and then moved the capital to Kaifeng Prefecture in Nanjing to avoid the war.
Front."
As soon as everyone began to discuss it, Tu Danyi continued: "I don't agree."