Hard to be a good wife

"What's the king's intention for this move? Do you think the prince is at fault?" An Guogong stood up and said, "Even if the prince is at fault, the princess cannot be blamed, right?"

The King of Southern Jin sneered, "Do you think you can deceive the widow with just absurd reasons? Do you really think the widow is blind? Dark law, privately stationing troops is a death penalty! I think the father and son will not hold the crown prince accountable. But you..."

A mocking and indifferent smile appeared on the corner of the King of Nanjin's mouth, "Don't think that the widows are concerned about the safety of the country and the country and dare not do anything to the prince, so you dare to openly join forces to fool the widows!"

"What does your Majesty mean by this? Although the crown prince made the mistake of beheading first and playing later, he did not break the law, and he did his best for the Southern Jin Dynasty. From the time he was ten years old when he went out with the army to the time he donated his personal wealth to help the people, he did everything he could to help the people." Isn’t that for the Southern Jin Dynasty? Why should the king doubt his motives?”

"Is it for the sake of the Southern Jin Dynasty or for himself? As the prince of the Southern Jin Dynasty, he should have given up his life as a public servant. Can he act recklessly after doing something?"

"Dare to ask your majesty, is it a blessing or a curse to have more and more intelligent troops in the Southern Jin Dynasty? Except for His Royal Highness, who can train such elite soldiers and generals in the entire Southern Jin Dynasty? If His Royal Highness is held accountable for this, how dare you ask?" Is there any insightful person in this world who is willing to serve the country?"

"I have never seen what the so-called elite soldiers are like. We will wait until he defeats the Beiyue army." The King of Southern Jin waved his hand and told them to leave.

Tang Yue glanced at King Nanjin carefully, not sure if he was within the scope of leaving.

Before he could come up with an answer, one hand grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the hall, An Guogong said with a livid face: "It seems that the idea of ​​His Highness and the Crown Princess is not a good idea."

Tang Yue smiled awkwardly, "It's just a stopgap measure." It wasn't a good plan in the first place.

What they gambled on was just how much the King of Southern Jin attached importance to this battle. As long as he wanted to win, he would not let such a powerful army go.

Liyang Hou patted himself on the shoulder, sighed and said: "Now we can only take one step at a time. I only hope that His Highness the Crown Prince can return in triumph. When the time comes, the merits and demerits will be equal, and the King will not do anything to the Crown Prince."

Tang Yue also had the same idea, but this victory is not something that can be won, let alone when it will be the head.

As soon as he returned to the mansion, another eunuch came to the palace and announced the new decree of the King of Southern Jin, allowing him to move freely in Yecheng, but he was not allowed to go out of the city gate.

Not only him, but even little Luoluo was restricted in his freedom. He had to live in the palace for ten days in the first ten days of each month. In name, the crown prince was not there, so he was afraid of falling behind in the education of the grandson, so the king would personally teach him.

But Tang Yue knew that this was just surveillance in disguise.

Tang Yue didn't intend to run away, let alone do anything that would harm the King of Nanjin and the country, so how should he live his life.

Half a month later, he received his first family letter from Prince Zhao. The letter said that they had arrived in Chuzhou City. He thought they could make a low-key and unannounced visit to Chuzhou for a while. One day, North Vietnam dispatched 12 troops to raid Chuzhou City. In just one night, Chuzhou City fell.

When the news spread to Yecheng, the courtiers and the common people were stunned. Chuzhou was regarded as a border city, and the city walls were many times stronger than that of Qinyang City. Moreover, Duke Lu's [-] troops were stationed in Chuzhou. Such an evenly matched situation was captured in just one night, which made everyone feel terrified when they heard it.

The prince's letter to Tang Yue's family did not write too many details, and Tang Yue did not learn the details from Heng Guogong until three days later.

It turned out that the deputy city lord of Chuzhou City turned out to be a spy planted by North Vietnam. That old official has been working hard for Chuzhou until now. He has actually experienced three North-South wars and defended the city.

No one thought that it was such an old official with outstanding achievements who opened the city gate on the night of the enemy attack, allowing the enemy troops to enter the city smoothly, which led to the great defeat.

Afterwards, Lu Guogong took the remaining 8 people and pushed them to a canyon fifty miles away from Chuzhou City. There is no way to open it, and it is the best defensive position.

Prince Zhao also joined the army there, but the black armored guard still did not show up. The first thing he did after arriving was to rectify the remaining 8 horses.

The quality of an army first depends on the morale of the army. If the morale of the army is unstable and the soldiers are not united, it will be like a mess. No matter how many people there are, they may not be able to win the battle.

The second is morale. If morale is weak, even if the enemy has already lost psychologically, even if the enemy only exerts a three-point force, they may not be able to defeat the enemy.

The Southern Jin army, which had experienced a defeat, faced these two crises. They lost so quickly and suddenly that they lost confidence in themselves and their generals. can inspire their self-confidence.

Prince Zhao did not conceal his identity in a low-key manner this time, but walked into the barracks with great fanfare, declared his name, and rode a tall horse to that remote position.

All of a sudden, the news spread throughout the barracks, and people's trust in His Royal Highness obviously surpassed that of the elderly Duke of Lu. What's more, the incentive effect played by the Crown Prince's personal conquest was not at 01:30.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that Duke Lu be recalled, and His Highness lead the army to recover the lost land!" A minister suggested.

"Your Majesty can't. Although His Royal Highness has combat experience and noble status, he is still young. For such a major battle, it is better to send an old general. Moreover, in my opinion, His Royal Highness should be recalled. The border is so dangerous. The safety of His Royal Highness What's more important!"

At the court meeting on this day, there was only a heated debate around this matter. Some supported the crown prince as commander-in-chief and held the seal of command, and some strongly urged His Royal Highness to return to the palace. They forgot that Chuzhou fell, and the Southern Jin Dynasty was facing extreme challenges. big crisis.

"Enough!" Nanjin King roared with a headache: "Whether the prince leaves or stays is up to his own will, no one can control it! Chuzhou fell, which city will the North Vietnam capture next time? Have you thought about it? 12 Dajun, when did the North Vietnamese call it up, and when did they arrive at the border, have you sent someone to check?"

The officials were silent, they naturally didn't know these questions, and most of them were civil servants who didn't know anything about the war, so how could they make good suggestions?

Veteran generals such as Heng Guogong and An Guogong didn't know what to say, so they thought about it differently. If they lead the troops to guard Chuzhou City, can they be foolproof?

The fall of Chuzhou City rang a bell for everyone. They are old, their thinking and physical strength cannot keep up, and it may not be a good thing to let them lead the army to fight.

"Your Majesty, the frontier is far away, and it takes a month for news to be sent back and forth. At this moment, the news we have received is probably useless. Since Duke Lu didn't ask for reinforcements, I think he can handle the enemy." There are only a few officials who can still maintain their rationality.

The King of Southern Jin handed over the news report from the front to the prime minister, "Aiqing must prepare these as quickly as possible. Before the last moment, no one is allowed to say defeat lightly. Conscription is nationwide. Anyone over 15 years old and 30 years old The following men, who are not the only child in the family, can join the army." The King of Southern Jin made a final decision, and the debate in the hall finally stopped, and each of them began to think about the matter of conscription and whether there was any conflict of interest for themselves.

War is like a coupling that connects all the yamen, and there are very few yamen that are not implicated. Therefore, when a battle is defeated, all the ministers are very upset and excited.

The fall of Chuzhou City caused a far greater shock in the imperial court than in the common people, and the common people only regarded him as a topic of conversation after dinner, and then guessed the enemy's next attack target, or guessed the next war Whoever wins loses, and someone even secretly opened a gambling house, betting on the outcome of the war.

It's not that they are heartless, but that when the war has not reached them, it will not affect them at all. Even if Yecheng is captured, as long as the North Vietnam does not slaughter the city, their life may not be worse.

To put it bluntly, who is the head of the country is really not that important to them.

However, under this whitewashed surface of peace, there are also many people who secretly contribute to the war. Some of them donate money, some donate materials, some actively join the army, and do everything within their power.

Ever since the Prince's Mansion came up with an idea to raise a grain donation, the court set up a special yamen to collect the money and things donated by everyone, and after counting and screening, sent them to the border in batches.

Tang Yue had reason to believe that this kind of good deed was very standardized and smooth at the beginning, and the officials in charge of this matter had not yet had the intention of breeding corruption, but it was hard to say as time went on.

So at the beginning, he did not agree with the establishment of such a department, but the King of Southern Jin saw the potential and benefits of fundraising, and felt that the establishment of such a yamen was harmless, and it would be fine to withdraw it after the war subsided, and it would not have much impact.

Prince Zhao followed Tang Yue's suggestion and placed the officials in charge of fundraising among his own people, just hoping that nothing that Tang Yue worried about would happen.