first minister

Emperor Liang was not young, he was several years older than his colleague who had fought with him for more than twenty years.

This tiger of the prairie lies quietly in this majestic capital city, letting the heroes of the seven surnames bow their heads, letting the wolves of Sinabo return to their hearts, sitting with millions of soldiers, overlooking the general trend of the world.

Under his rule, Beiliang expanded its territory to the north, west, and east, defeated powerful enemies, and integrated various ministries. The entire country was prosperous, and he himself was worthy of a great talent and a great strategy.

After completing what he considered to be sufficient preparations, he set his sights on the south, which he had not yet advanced.

There are three autumn osmanthus seeds and ten miles of lotus flowers, which have been prosperous in the south since ancient times.

There, his peers did not do so well;

There, the military god who had conquered the whole grassland for decades and dared not go south to herd horses was already too old to walk;
There, there is plenty of fertility and vast land that can accommodate his ambitions.

So, he started planning.

From the vast amount of information, he accurately found the breakthrough point of Dongfang Ping.

At the beginning, Dongfang Ping did not agree, and he did not force him. He was like a patient hunter, after spreading the bait, he calmly waited for the prey to take the bait.

Then, he waited for the death of the old military god and the death of Emperor Chongning.

Amid the earth-shaking changes in the Southern Dynasty, Dongfang Ping's surrender also awaited the perfect opportunity to go south.

He dropped the ball without hesitation.

Following his whisper in the palace, thousands of miles away, the wind and rain suddenly rose from Youyan.

The envoy carrying the heroic spirit of the grassland and his blazing ambition also set out from Liangdu, bringing the storm to the Southern Dynasty where the government and the public were in chaos and the hearts of the people were floating.

Everything looked so beautiful and smooth.

But now, with Murong Hu's death, all these dreams will come to an abrupt end.

The chamberlain who came to report stood aside fearfully, for fear of offending this prairie tiger that would most likely get angry and lose control.

But to his surprise, Emperor Liang stared at Changshan County for a long time, but he was not angry at all. Instead, he calmly said: "Is there any other news? Bring the original letter paper."

"There were only a few thousand reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty, but they were very powerful. Some people shouted Jiang Yuhu's name in front of the formation."

Emperor Liang's eyes were slightly focused, he took the original letter and read it carefully, and said in a deep voice: "Summon the King of the West into the palace."

The chamberlain breathed a sigh of relief and left as if he had been granted amnesty.

Emperor Liang silently looked at the map on the table, and moved his eyes along Changshan County to the location of Poliang Mountain. He stared at that road and thought silently for a long time.

Not long after, an old man walking vigorously walked into the palace.

Ordinarily, such a pace should not appear on an old man with white hair and beard, but if the other person came from the military, it would make sense.

This old man walking like a dragon and a tiger is none other than Yelv Shi, one of the seven surnames in Beiliang and the co-leader of the eight tribes of Yelu.

This old man with a prominent position in Beiliang walked not far from the palace gate, and his aura quietly changed. He was still the same person, and he did not deliberately hunch his back, but he seemed to have lost all that... A kind of arrogance and arrogance, leaving only a cautious humility.

"Your Majesty, Yelvshi, pays homage to your Majesty."

"Come and sit."

The old man came over respectfully, but did not sit down. Instead, he stood beside Emperor Liang and stood with his hands down.

Emperor Liang didn't say much, "There was news from Guan Shan Road just now."

The old man looked nervous and expectant, "But Murong Hu and the others lost?"

Emperor Liang smiled and nodded.

The old man was immediately overjoyed and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The servants on the side were all dumbfounded. Could it be that King Dingxi was crazy?

The long-planned frontline defeat is actually here to congratulate? !

A very reserved smile appeared on Emperor Liang's face, "I can't draw such a conclusion, after all, Jiang Yuhu was not seen on the front line."

The old man said: "Just as your Majesty had expected, the border troops of Murong Hu and Dongfang Ping swept across the Yuyan Prefecture of the Southern Dynasty. How could the orphans and widows of the Southern Dynasty sit still? Apart from summoning Jiang Yuhu to put down the rebellion, what else could be done to get them to do so?" Do you feel at ease? And Jiang Yuhu is afraid of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Snow Dragon Cavalry of King Zhennan, so he must not dare to show his traces publicly, so it is normal that he cannot be seen."

"What's more, the King of Zhennan has quietly gone to Lieyang Pass to take charge. He has the clearest grasp of the trends in the Southern Dynasty. Whether Jiang Yuhu is here or not, he can make a decision at the right time, and his majesty's plan will not fail."

Emperor Liang nodded slightly when he heard this and turned to look at him, "Your Yelu Eight Division's Crane Control Army will not miss its deadline, right?"

The old man stood up immediately and said solemnly: "Your majesty, don't worry. After you made the plan, I ordered the crane army to sneak towards Lieyang Pass and ordered them to obey orders under the tent of Zhennan King. Now the decision has been made outside Lieyang Pass." "

Emperor Liang then showed a satisfied smile, reached out and patted his shoulder, "If this happens, the door to the Southern Dynasty will be opened wide, and your Yelv Department will also make a great contribution."

The old man hurriedly said: "It is my duty to serve the imperial court and relieve His Majesty's worries."

"It is said that among all the kings in the court, you are the one who knows the Southern Dynasty best. If this is done, and if we go to the Southern Dynasty to negotiate again, you will lead the team, right?"

The old man smiled and said: "I would rather serve His Majesty when he comes to the Southern Dynasty."

Emperor Liang laughed, stretched out his hand and clicked on the map, "Then let's just wait for the good news."

What he pointed at was exactly what the Southern Dynasties called Poliang Mountain.

The drastic changes in Yuyanzhou this time have been earth-shattering and frightening to everyone in the world.

But the most important thing in Emperor Liang's plan was not to be in Yuyan Prefecture, but to use the overall situation of Yuyan Prefecture to squeeze out the last bit of strength of the Southern Dynasty, and then take advantage of the fact that all the Southern Dynasty's attention was on the Eastern Front of the Southern Dynasty to launch a surprise attack on the middle road. , with a decisive move, he pulled out the two nails that were blocking his way to the south, and then opened up a smooth road to the south, reversing the general trend of the north and the south.

This is the real purpose of his layout, and only this purpose can support the great talent and strategy in his heart.

The old man stroked his chest and bowed, with a look of admiration on his face, "Your Majesty, your Majesty! The King of Zhennan will definitely succeed this time!"
-
Going south from Liangdu, hundreds of miles away, there is a majestic pass built against the mountains, standing tall.And because of the flat terrain around it, it looks even taller.

This is Beiliang's largest pass on the central line with the Daxia border, Lieyang Pass.

Standing at the head of Lieyang Pass, if the weather is good, you can see the vast Yinma Plain and a not-so-big mountain. This is the Poliang Mountain among the people of the Southern Dynasty.

At the foot of Poliang Mountain is a series of military tents.

In the military tent, there were garrison troops stationed without a proper army.

They are the biggest obstacle to the main force of Beiliang on the center line, which is most convenient for moving south.

In the city of Lieyang Pass, the guard named Xue Hengshan is a direct descendant of the Xue family royal family. In this city of Lieyang Pass, he has always been the same and no one dares to mess with him.

On weekdays, relying on his status as a royal family, he didn't even pay attention to the lieutenants of the other seven surnames. He indulged in sex, drank and had fun all day long.

But fortunately, this man is not a cruel person. Everyone knows that people like him only come to the front line to gain qualifications, so they don't bother to care about him.

In the past few days, Xu Shi saw a fight over in Yuyanzhou, and there would be no war here. He even intensified his efforts, gathering singing girls in the mansion in broad daylight, drinking and having fun, and then got drunk early.

But what outsiders didn't know was that after he was carried into the bedroom again today, he opened the secret room in the bedroom partition when no one was around.

The secret room was surrounded by wooden boards, and the only ventilation holes were under Xue Hengshan's bed, just for fear that a glimmer of light would show through and leak the news.

Such caution shows that his plans are huge.

And if you know the identities of the three people left in this room at this moment, you will know that this caution is indeed necessary.

Xue Zonghan, the king of the southern town of Beiliang, Yelu Xiu, the chief general of Yelu's Eight Tribes Controlling Crane Army in Beiliang, and Xue Jinqiang, the chief general of Snow Dragon Cavalry.

Including Xue Hengshan, the nominal commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, who walked into the secret room at this moment, all the most important troops under the command of King Zhennan are already here.

In addition to the powerful cavalry of Yelu's Eight Tribes and the Crane Control Army, it was almost all the soldiers and horses of the Northern Liang's border army in the southern border.

The total number of soldiers and horses gathered near Lieyang Pass at this moment has reached a full 15, which is several times the number of Wudang Army.

Xue Zonghan, the king of Zhennan, pointed to the map on the table, "In the battle of Yinmayuan, Jiang Qingxuan defeated our Daliang warriors. He repaired Qingchuan Pass here and built a new Yanhui Pass. The two passes are like horns, and they are similar to Wu The Dangjun camp has built a complete defense together. Even if the Wudangjun camp is breached by us, these two checkpoints are still nails in our way south. If we don't pull them out, we will not be able to go south from this road. Our goal is to take advantage of the fact that the Southern Dynasty has no time to take care of itself, and completely break this hard nut."

Xue Hengshan hesitated and said: "Uncle Wang, now that we have captured Yuyan Prefecture in the Southern Dynasty and crossed the natural danger outside Guanshan Road, we can just send troops directly from Yuyan Prefecture in the future. Why do we need to spend so much effort?"

King Zhennan smiled slightly after hearing this, "This is the difference between the vision of short-sighted people like you and His Majesty. When sending troops from Guanshan Road, our army will have to walk hundreds of miles more every time, and Guanshan Road It is both far and remote, so sending troops, reinforcements, food and grass transportation, and military information transmission are all problems. What's more, Yuyan State is in the hands of Dongfang Ping after all. How long this puppet can be controlled by us is anyone's guess."

"But it's different here. This place is in the middle of the borders. It's the closest place to Shangjing. It can be reached in three days and nights without stopping on a horse. It can also be reached in several days from Zhongjing in Nanchao. The troops and soldiers here It is also the most abundant. The most important thing is that after removing these two passes, the Southern Dynasty will have no danger to defend, and our Daliang has three great passes. If Swift State is also in hand, how can the Southern Dynasty prevent it? The general trend of the entire offensive and defensive Then you can completely succumb to us. When you go south, it depends on our mood. What Your Majesty wants is to take the initiative in the general trend of the world!"

Another reason he didn't say was that after suppressing all the tribes in the country with an iron fist, Emperor Liang also urgently needed to find a bigger and fatter piece of meat to appease the wolf-like tribes under his rule.

There is no other choice for this piece of fat except the rich Southern Dynasties.

After saying that, he looked at Xue Hengshan, "How about I let you keep an eye on the movements in the south these days? Are there any movements of Jiang Yuhu?"

Xue Hengshan shook his head, "No, according to the information Wen Lu sent back before, Jiang Yuhu should have returned to the camp. The opposite camp did hear some rumors of his presence, but our scouts and secret spies didn't see it with their own eyes. I have seen Jiang Yuhu."

"That's right." King Zhennan said, "Jiang Yuhu must have gone to Yuyan Prefecture in the Southern Dynasty."

The other three were stunned, and the King of Zhennan explained: "The troops of Murong Hu and Dongfang Ping in Yuyan Prefecture are pressing down on the border. The Southern Dynasty is now in war, and there are no troops to be sent at all. Unless there are people like Jiang Yuhu in charge, otherwise the orphans in the court will How can a widowed mother sleep peacefully? Therefore, it is normal not to see Jiang Yuhu on the front line."

Xue Jinqiang interjected, "But our scouts and embroidery bureau spies along the way didn't see Jiang Yuhu dispatching troops to Yuyanzhou?"

"That's why I feel relieved." King Zhennan smiled slightly, "You must know that Jiang Yuhu is by no means a mediocre person. On the contrary, he is a powerful opponent that all of us must pay close attention to. If he hadn't had something on his head He is an emperor of the Southern Dynasties, but he has to be restrained, and together we may not be able to match his ability to let go."

"Think about it, would such a person not think about the possible problems after he left? How could he go to Yuyan State so that we could find his traces? If he really saw it, I would have to suspect that this was It’s not the suspicion that Jiang Yuhu announced in the past.”

Xue Hengshan nodded slowly, "Murong Hu is not a mediocre person, the Falcon Eagle Cavalry is also very powerful, and there are also elite Southern Dynasty border troops. If I were the one in power in the Southern Dynasty, I would not be able to sleep well unless Jiang Yuhu was transferred there. I might wake up one day. The troops are approaching the city as soon as they come."

King Zhennan hummed, "So, Your Majesty ordered my son Wen Lu to lead a delegation to put pressure. Not only did he want to seize the opportunity to gain benefits, but more importantly, he involved the voices of everyone in the Southern Dynasty and let them put all their thoughts into it. They are all placed in Swift State, and even if they are killed, they will not be able to predict our plans. We must seize this golden opportunity and completely reverse the offensive and defensive trend of the north and the south!"

Xue Jinqiang hesitated and said, "Uncle Wang, most of our imperial athletes are not good at attacking cities. These two passes have been operated for many years. Even if it is a surprise attack, how can we attack the city?"

Xue Zonghan did not blame his nephew for talking too much. He asked more questions before the war so that everyone would have a firm understanding and know how to fight during the fight. So he patiently explained: "The weapons supervisor of the imperial court has not been idle in recent years. He specializes in dealing with this kind of war." Many equipments have been developed for siege warfare, and now they have been quietly shipped over. What’s more, what’s more important is the way of fighting.”

He pointed at the map, pointed on it, his voice gradually became lower, and he told everyone about the arrangements for this battle.

The candlelight reflected a huge black shadow on the wall, swaying, ready to pounce on the Wudang Army camp dozens of miles away.
-
In Zhongjing City, joy filled every corner except the post house. The wine in the altar was sold out, and the girl in the building broke her back from exhaustion.

The people in the city celebrated happily. The curfew was lifted today. People rushed to the streets and shouted, creating a joyful atmosphere.

In Jianninghou Mansion, everyone in the Xia family jumped for joy. Ever since Xia Zhang heard the news, her head had never lowered.

The way he held his head high and his chest high almost showed that Xia Yunfei is my son on his face.

Xia Mingxiong also held a wine glass and drank happily, while Xia Ningzhen pestered Feng Xiuyun and listened to her talk about the details of the battle.

But Feng Xiuyun actually didn't know much, so he had to deal with it here and there.

Xia Hengzhi and Xia Li were not at all jealous, and they also cheered with joy.

Su Yanyan and Qin Li quietly went to the top floor of Mingyu Building. The two eldest ladies from aristocratic families secretly set up a table and toasted happily to the victory on the front line.

Not only because of the victory, but also because it was a victory led by Xia Jingyun, which gave him greater prestige in the court, and because after this victory, their marriage could be put on the agenda again.

The head of the Qin family and a bunch of friends were throwing coins at Liuyuntianxiang Pavilion;

Waves of passionate singing and shouting came from the Imperial Academy;
Wan Xiang and Yan Songwen gathered in a quiet courtyard. Although they were helpless, they also drank for the victory of the front line;
In the court, Concubine De was reviewing the memorials and explaining government affairs to Dongfang Bai. The faces of mother and son were no longer solemn as in the previous days, and both looked relaxed;
In the post house, the Beiliang envoys were dejected, looking at each other in silence, drinking sips of wine;

In the central courtyard, Xia Jingyun, who was on duty tonight, put down the pen in his hand, walked out of the room, looked up at the north under the moonlight, and there was a faint worry between his eyebrows.

Under the same moonlight, [-] Beiliang tiger and leopard cavalry, with rolled armor and armor in their hands, were like the tide flowing silently under the moonlight, and they were drowning towards the camp of the Wudang Army! (End of chapter)