Realm of Power

Hanglin is the most prosperous city in the south and the largest trade port. It has a population of 410,000 and a city wall of more than 30 miles. It is second only to the hundred-mile-long courtyard of the former imperial capital in Central Asia. Compared with the majesty of the north, Hanglin can be said to be... Occupying the beauty of the south, it is backed by mountains and the sea, and there are also large lakes. The gulls and birds are flying in the lakes and swamps, the fish are frightened at the bottom of the river, and the beautiful scenery of painted boats coming up from the sky has always been a luxurious place for the imperial nobles to spend their money.

The rainwater hits the golden roof eaves like a short bead curtain. The base of the newly completed hall and the ninety-nine and eighty-one Fulongtai marble-carved dragon mouths spurt countless rainwater out of the dragon mouths, drawing a line. The eye-catching white water column and the majestic rumbling sound were like a giant dragon roaring deep in the palace. , a city located on the seaside, there is no biting cold wind from the north, nor is it covered by ice and snow, but there is a hint of slackness in the warmth. There is more rain, the wind is stronger, and there is less of the flying flowers in the spring city of the southern city. In the artistic conception, the hundred-mile long court in the imperial capital of Zhongbia was conquered by the grassland people, and the entire court moved to Hanglin in the south with the emperor.

Early in the morning, Li Long, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Ministry of Military Affairs of China, stepped onto the carriage, escorted by several white horse attendants, and slowly came out of the gate of his residence. The carriage's axle pressed on the clean paved road, making a burst of There was a crisp creaking sound, and Li Long, who was sitting in the carriage at a steady speed on the street, was reading a military newspaper that had been urgently delivered.

Three days ago, the Long family's Western Army, which had always been entrenched in the southwest, suddenly opened its base camp in Guangling, affecting the four southwest provinces and mobilizing more than 100,000 troops. They are all front-line troops in the Western Army that can truly fight hard battles. Could it be that Long I want to rescue the Luzhou Army who is trapped in Yanzhou and Shangjing. It’s really abominable! What exactly does Long Yang want to do? Li Long mashes up the military report in his hand with a gloomy expression. The mobilization of 100,000 troops did not get the consent of the court. This in itself is enough to be considered as a shock. Long Yang is the number one military strategist in the empire. ♦, how could one not know how fearful the emperor and the court were towards the Long family’s Western Army who had always disobeyed orders!

The Long family left Guangling!

This news was handed over by Li Long, and the whole court was shocked.

When Li Long saw the emperor's face, his face turned pale, and there was a hint of obvious panic in his eyes. He held his hands tightly on the armrests of the dragon chair. The emperor was afraid, and Li Long couldn't help feeling like this in his heart. Guess, it's no wonder that the emperor was afraid and flattered Zhangwu's army, whose combat effectiveness had not yet been restored. More than half of the army is new recruits, and half of the southern Luzhou Army who are capable of fighting are trapped in Yanzhou and Shangjing. The current number of troops remaining in Luzhou is only 60,000 to 70,000 people. They still need to guard against the imminent moves of the mountain barbarians in the south. At this time, it is almost impossible to There are no extra troops to mobilize, and the Long family has 200,000 elites. Although the generals in the court have always expressed contempt for the real combat power of the Long family's Western Army, thinking that it is just a force that has resisted the Western barbarians for decades. Long family. There is no way he is qualified to be compared with the Yanzhou Army that can resist the grassland army moving south! The two military leaders who flattered Zhang Zhang even said many times that if it weren't for the fact that they were from the same lineage, they would be more tolerant of the Long family. As long as His Majesty gives a military order, Guangling will be captured within a month!

But when they heard that the Long family army was fighting out of Guangling, all the generals who flattered Zhangwu fell silent. Chief Shi Li Long, who was the fourth person in the Military Pavilion. They are all too familiar with flattering the virtues of the Zhangwu Army, their combat power is almost chaotic, and their ability to tell lies is better than the last. There is only a sneer in my heart now,

No matter how poor the combat power of the Western Army is, it is still an army that has experienced decades of constant war, not to mention that Long Yang, the number one general in Central and South Africa, is still in charge. Not to mention that its current strength is greatly reduced, even in its heyday The two armies of Zhangwu and Zhangwu are flattering, and they may not be sure they dare to fight the Western Army. Now sending them to stop Long Yang is courting death. Long Yang But the first general who has fought countless wars, since the army came out of Guangling, the selected Western Army must be the best among the best, so that he can directly kill Hang Lin in one go. With Long Yang's ability, the Western Army has been fighting against the Western Army all year round. If the bloodthirsty and fierce fighting spirit of the barbarians really comes towards Hanglin, without several times the strength of the troops, I am afraid no one can stop it.

I am afraid that they will continue to move south. The Long family once vowed not to leave the southwest. This time, if they leave the southwest, it may really be possible to transform into a dragon! Li Long lowered his head with a sigh. At this moment, another military report came from outside. As the Minister of Military Affairs, Li Long walked to the door of the hall and took the report. He took a look and was stunned. The Long family The direction of the 100,000 troops was heading north,... north. Li Long was a little confused, and then he trembled. It was Yanzhou! One hundred thousand Western troops went to Yanzhou! What's going on? What was even more chaotic than him was that after hearing the news, the direction of the wind in the court suddenly reversed, and various voices sounded,

What does Long Yang want to do! Without the transfer order from the military headquarters, and without the military guidance personally granted by His Majesty, sending a hundred thousand troops out of the southwest is like a rebellion!

Is there anyone else in the eyes of Long Yang, a common man? What you did was a little too arrogant. Your Majesty has already ordered the Luzhou Army to withdraw south. At this time, you are going to Yanzhou for rescue. Do you want to slap your Majesty in the face? What's more, if we really want to rescue Yanzhou, we generals will naturally consider it. He is a common man from the southwest, what kind of thoughts does he have! "

"Your Majesty naturally has plans in mind for the battle of Yanzhou. What should I do if he goes out without caring about anything and ruins His Majesty's plan? The civil servants were angry. It seemed that everyone was extremely loyal. Looking at Long Yang, it was as if he had seen a bullet. An ant fell into the soup. Since the target of the Long family is not Hang Lin, the courage of the ministers and generals will naturally come back.

The Long family headed north, naturally to Yanzhou, which they knew well. Now the war in Central and Bibia is concentrated there. 300,000 grassland people went south, and the Luzhou army was trapped and went to Beijing. The relationship between the Luzhou army and the Long family in the southwest It's always good. If you sit back and watch the Luzhou Army retreat south, you will be in danger of being wiped out. It is understandable to send troops to support this night market.

But the emperor's angry face already showed that the emperor was very unhappy, and the Long family was going to be in trouble! This time it was the Long Family's Western Army that was going to Yanzhou, but unfortunately the Luzhou Army resisted. Now, Long Yang has pounced on himself. Whoever dares to stand up and help the Long Family at this time is seeking death! It would be considered a great grace not to be executed by everyone. "Your Majesty, this move of the Western Army should be to alleviate the predicament of Yanzhou, and it is also a good intention." Unfortunately, there are really some people who are not afraid of death. Among the crowd, a man stood tremblingly. When they came out and saw the person who stood up to speak for the Long family, everyone was stunned. It was Prime Minister Mrs. Li who was standing at the top of the list of civil servants. There was no expression on her old face. It's just that the voice is slightly old and wheezing,

The civil servants bowed their heads one by one, and the eyes of the generals were shining. The emperor was stunned for a moment with anger on his face, his eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and his fingers were clenched fiercely. How could it be him! Ever since Tang Lu, the boss of the military cabinet, was dismissed due to the disastrous defeat in the imperial capital, the top spot on the military general side has been vacant, so much so that Prime Minister Li Tai's position suddenly became detached, with the Li family taking the first place among the four great clans. After two dynasties and more than three hundred years, the family tradition of literature flourished, and literati and poets emerged in large numbers. He was also an advocate of Neo-Confucianism and had always been the spiritual leader of the imperial civil servants. Mrs. Li had been in charge of the internal affairs of the empire for decades and was also an outstanding literary scholar. The great scholar in the world,

So his eyes just glanced at the civil servants behind him seemingly unintentionally. The civil servants immediately stopped making noises. When it comes to Pinmen, many people need to call him the sect master. The scholars in Central and South Africa attach great importance to the inheritance of Pinmen. If you are from a low-class family, even if you climb to the position of important minister, you will be despised by the entire literati class.

'Before the situation becomes clear, I believe it should be treated with caution.'

Mrs. Li didn't seem to notice the changes around her. As the first civil servant, he has been used to the wind and rain for decades, and he has been silent since just now. When he speaks now, when he opens his mouth, he is like a kind teacher, with a voice as calm as the wind in the forest. The court, which was originally a mess, suddenly becomes dead silent.

Li Xiang actually spoke for the Long family! Many people's eyes bulged

Who doesn’t know that the year before last, Long Yang once scolded the Li clan for being a bunch of cold-blooded nerds. In order to rectify the situation, regardless of whether she was innocent or not, he drove a good Li clan woman to death. That woman was Li Tai’s daughter Li Yuehua, the apple of the eye of the Li family,

It is said that the Li family originally intended to support the girl as a noble concubine, but before she was sent to the palace, something unexpected happened. Someone accused the girl of being an informant sent by the Li family to spy on the emperor, and some evidence was produced. The case was an uproar at the time, and Li In order to show his innocence, he asked to kill the girl. Many people still remember how Prime Minister Mrs. Li signed her name on the proclamation for the execution of her beloved daughter that day.

At that time, this old man in white robes and gray hair was as cold as frost. In just a few years, he had suddenly grown so old.

Mrs. Li was still minding her own business and said, "It's just that the southwest is an important area of ​​the empire, with heavy troops stationed and spending countless money and food every year. It is also the first line of defense against the Western barbarians. Once something goes wrong, the situation will be unimaginable. I think that since General Long Yang is worried about Yan, If the state is not in Guangling, it is better to appoint General Long Yang to guard Yanzhou and appoint a new Western Army general to take over the Western Army assets. Otherwise, it will be irresponsible to the entire empire! "

Did the prime minister mean to appoint Long Yang as the garrison of Yanzhou and establish a new commander-in-chief of the Western Army?

The young emperor of Zhongbia raised his eyebrows suddenly, and an indescribable light burst out from his eyes. What Mrs. Li just said was really the smell of naked blood. The emperor had not felt this smell for a long time. It's interesting. ! It is said that the old prime minister killed the rebellious Song general Song Keyi in the south with just one mouthful, and planned thirty-seven barbarians to kill each other, which gave the current Song tribe leader Song Que a chance to ascend to the throne. It seems that How much truth there is , now with just a few words, Long Yang was kicked out of the southwest. Not only was he leaving behind a big piece of cake, making these generals want to go to the southwest now, they were afraid that they would be late. Good thing. Are they all divided up by others?

"Who do you think can serve as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army?"

The emperor's face flashed with gloom, and he was almost laughing inside. The anger just now disappeared. While Long Yang was away, he replaced the Western Army general! I casually clicked on an unknown person called Yanzhou Guard. This kind of business was a huge profit. The Yanzhou Guard was the position of the Yanzhou Army Commander back then. In terms of rank and real power, he was no worse than the Western Army Commander. Pei Long Yang is more than enough, but does Yanzhou still have a Yanzhou army now? There are 300,000 prairie people who have killed people with red eyes! When Longyang's 100,000 Western troops have fled the grassland people, I'm afraid there won't be many people left. Next time the grassland people go south, Longyang will be in front. Everyone just needs to watch the show from behind.

Sure enough, the prime minister saw Yuan, and now was not the time to care about what Long Yang was doing. The emperor thought about it in his heart, his eyes flashed, and the generals below all held their heads high, hoping to show their most powerful side to the emperor. Look, the generals of the two armies of Flattery and Zhangwu were all showing off their momentum, and their faces turned red.

As long as the Western Army does not come to Hangzhou and Longyang is not in Guangling, then there is nothing to be afraid of!

The Long family is a fertile land. The six southwestern provinces have been occupied by the Long family since then. The taxes paid were almost gone, and the Long family of the Western Army continued to complain to the court about their poverty. The empire invested so much money in the southwest, but after decades, everything silently became the Long family's industry. This It has always been a worry for the empire.

If the empire didn't need to support the Long family, it would have more energy and financial resources to deal with the people of the northern grasslands. What kind of catastrophe would there be in the imperial capital there! Long Yang left Guangling on his own, and the tiger left its nest. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although Longyang transferred 100,000 Long family troops, there are still more than 100,000 left in the southwest. There are also six provinces in the southwest. Although it is a little barren, it is still much better than the areas that have been affected by the war. Yes,

Longyang marched north to fight against the 300,000 grassland troops. It was a matter of life or death. It was best to lose both sides. Although the southwest belongs to the Long family, it is still a province of the Zhongbia Empire after all. Although the military is controlled by the Long family, local officials are appointed by the court. Without Longyang, the six southwest provinces will change with just one sentence from His Majesty's military order! With the tax support from the six southwest provinces, more than 100,000 Western troops are in hand. I dare not say that it can be restored to its heyday, but at least it can stabilize the current situation without hearing about the prairie people going south. My first reaction was to keep running.

"The two armies of Flattery and Zhangwu were originally branched out of the Western Army decades ago. Now that His Majesty wants to regain control of the Western Army, it is natural that the chief general who flatters Zhangwu is the one to choose. They are all members of the same family, and integrating them can reduce a lot of pressure." Flattery The military general, Chen Dongyang, was taller and louder, shaking the palace and causing dust to fall down.

"We've already separated, is it interesting to go back?" Someone among the other generals immediately said unconvinced, "They say we are a family, but in fact they are almost enemies. If you are asked to go to the Western Army, I'm afraid the Western Army itself won't do it!" "Who is it? If you have the ability, just stand up and speak out. What's the point of hiding in the dark?"

Chen Dongyang was angry. The fact that he flattered the Zhangwu Army for splitting back then had a very bad reputation. For decades, he had always been at odds with the Western Army. It had become an undisclosed secret. But now that it was said out, it was as if it was in public. Like a slap in the face, Li Dongyang's arm wrapped in fine iron armor was heavy He raised his head and looked at the generals behind him one by one. They were round and round, as if they were about to pounce on him and take a bite. The generals stared at him with contempt on their faces without saying a word. They were all generals, and they were covered in a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. Get out, you Li Dongyang know how to kill, but we can’t? "Okay, since it was proposed by the prime minister, let the prime minister decide who will be the commander-in-chief of the Western Army!"

The emperor looked at the generals who were about to start a fight below, with cold and frightened faces. When he heard that the Western Army was leaving Guangling, they all shrank and pretended to be grandsons. When they heard that they were going to enter the southwest, they all ran out to pretend to be heroes. Why did he raise them? There's a bunch of people here! Since it was Mrs. Li who proposed it, the emperor believed that the prime minister already had a candidate in mind, "Prime Minister!"

After hearing the emperor's words, everyone's eyes turned to Prime Minister Li Tai. The eyes of civil servants were filled with fire. Although civil servants did not often serve as military officials, there was no shortage of civil servants in the history of the empire. As an example of serving as a military commander, who wouldn't be jealous of a fat guy like the Western Army!

The eyes of the generals were green. Looking at the old prime minister's old, wrinkled face, it was as if he was looking at the most beautiful woman in the world, wishing he could give his body to her.

I don’t know whether he hesitated or felt too embarrassed. Leader Li, who had been in trouble for decades, gave a rare dry cough and said in a gloomy tone, "If Your Majesty asks me to choose, I recommend Song Clan Chief Song. Que serves as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army! "This..." The young emperor opened his mouth. "Is the prime minister crazy? "The whole court is turned upside down. "Your Majesty, the empire has just been established in Hanglin, and more than 100,000 Western troops are entrenched in the southwest. The sky is high and the road is far away, and it has its own system. I believe that no matter who I send, I dare not say that I will not become the second dragon. Yang! "At this time, Prime Minister Li Tai summoned all his strength and said in a loud and ear-splitting voice," Song Que entered the west. In the south, the Western Army will definitely not comply. Long Yang cannot be taken care of in Yanzhou. The only thing the Western Army can rely on is the court, and the Court can also use the Song family's wealth to nourish the Western Army. The family's financial resources are increasingly scarce, but the Western Army has become the Western Army of the imperial court and His Majesty's Western Army! "(To be continued...)