The prince of heaven only wants salted fish

Jicheng's tone was light: "Isn't it really hard? I see you have dark circles under your eyes."

Jiang Cheng continued: "It's really not hard! Your Majesty trusted me and allowed me to stay in the capital to handle state affairs. How can I live up to your majesty's trust?"

He looked at Jicheng's expression and said tentatively: "Then...but I am getting older, so sometimes it is really hard to bear it?"

In fact, he can bear it quite well. After all, he was the second-largest force in the court when Li Heng was in power. He was also the head of hundreds of officials, and he didn't lack ambition and passion in the officialdom. Isn't it just about political affairs? Three months is nothing to deal with, as long as he lives he can deal with it for another thirty years!

But then again, although Jiang Li prides himself on being capable and ambitious, he is always wary of Jicheng... to a certain extent, perhaps awe is more appropriate.

After all, no matter how capable he is, hasn't he been overpowered by Li Heng before?

However, the little emperor was a ruthless man who single-handedly plotted against him and brought down the regent!

Not to mention the other party’s talents in employing people and war——

Jiang Li was ambitious, but not without brains, so even after Jicheng sent a letter of cooperation to other countries, he went straight to Bei Xia with a group of people, and the letter was not sent back for three months. A great opportunity to seize power lies here. , he didn't dare to have any evil intentions.

But this does not prevent Jiang Li from enjoying the feeling of having great power, so after more than three months of dealing with various state affairs, he has really had a good time.

I'm just not sure what the person in front of me thinks.

Jiang Li looked at Jicheng carefully, and he really couldn't figure out what this person was thinking.

Jicheng nodded and said in a rather serious tone: "This period of time is really troublesome for you. It is really not easy for the Prime Minister to help me with state affairs at such an old age."

"I'm really sad that in such a big country like Daning, you can't find anyone to help you share your worries?!"

Jiang Li had expected most of the previous words, but the last sentence made him a little confused: "...Huh?"

After all, strictly speaking, he, the prime minister, handles state affairs just to take care of the little emperor's worries. Why do he listen to the other party now, as if this state matter has become something that he should handle in the first place?

Jiang Li said weakly: "Actually, the old minister is not the only one in the court..."

Jicheng scolded: "Can those people be as useful as you, Prime Minister?"

"I think it's not enough to rely on these aristocratic families alone," he said angrily, "we still have to screen talents from all over Daning!"

As soon as these words came out, Jiang Li somewhat understood what Lai Jicheng meant. He said with a sigh: "Daning's territory is expanding, and the imperial court does need some talents. What your majesty said is indeed reasonable..."

but--

But Jicheng immediately said before he could say anything: "Since the Prime Minister agrees, then this matter will also be entrusted to you."

Jiang Li: "?"

Did he mean it?

Jicheng came over and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't let me live up to my expectations!"

——So I should successfully attract a wave of hatred from all the major families while living up to your expectations, right?

Jiang Li was two heads tall, but Jicheng's armor with a cold light was close to him. He couldn't say a word for a while, until a moment later Jicheng said calmly: "But this is the process of recruiting talents. There is no need to rush, the news on the border is not very good, Prime Minister should explain what happened to all parties during this period, right? "

Jiang Li breathed a sigh of relief inexplicably and reported on all the major events at home and abroad in the past few months.

The most important thing to mention is what Jicheng asked General Chen before. Generally speaking, it is similar to what General Chen reported, but the information Jiang Li received is more detailed.

Of course, there are some things that General Chen doesn't know about - for example, several other countries have sent people to Daning's capital after learning about the existence of gunpowder. Most of them wanted to find out whether they could get the gunpowder formula, but Jiang Li was not stupid. The manor where Wen Renen was located was tightly guarded, and those who might come into contact with the formula were all censored to the eighteenth generation, so spies from these countries were destined to return without success.

However, there were two other countries that were extremely smart. They sent envoys directly to express their willingness to obey Daning's orders, which was almost a semi-surrender gesture.

"They also said that more troops can be sent to attack Northern Xia. This is a good thing. However, His Majesty is not in the capital, and the old ministers dare not make the decision rashly and agree. Now those envoys have followed us to the border. Would you like to meet them?"

Jiang Li said excitedly: "I don't think we can really destroy Bei Xia this time!"

Hearing this, Jicheng glanced at Jiang Li strangely, then nodded and said that he could meet him, but said in a nonchalant tone: "That's not necessarily true."

Jiang Li: "?"

Why are you bringing your own poisonous milk?

Jicheng said: "It's autumn now, and winter is not the time for fighting in Northern Xia Kingdom."

"Even the combat effectiveness of the armies of other countries in winter is not as good as that of Northern Xia. No matter how fierce the border war is now, everyone will be willing to withdraw their troops in winter." He suddenly smiled, "But, it's not far away."

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment before he realized what Jicheng was referring to. He responded and immediately asked someone to send envoys from the other two countries.

There were no surprises when meeting the envoys from the other two countries. Everything was as Jicheng expected - even the time when the envoys from the two countries said they could send troops was exactly the same as what he mentioned before, but Jicheng had no intention of forcing them. , the general terms were agreed upon, and the alliance was agreed upon.

Then the envoys from the two countries set off to return home, and Jicheng also set off with an army, preparing to capture another city in Northern Xia.

Or to put it more grandly, these cities originally belonged to Daning fifty years ago.

As time passed, the Daning army advanced step by step, and the Northern Xia side also decided on the preliminary winner after the chaos. It's just that this person is not an important minister of Northern Xia, nor is she the son of a certain prince in the clan, but the daughter of Tuoba Qi, a princess who had no presence in the royal family before.

However, the other party should still have a long way to go before she can secure the position of queen, because her rise to the top is not so much due to her outstanding personal abilities, but rather the compromise and concession between the various parties in Northern Xia after competing for their own interests—— The first thing the new queen did after she ascended the throne was to remove all the evidence of the crimes of Tarsus Imperial Master Li Heng, and then send them to the border battlefield and order them to repel the Daning army.

The kind where you don’t have to go back if you don’t fight back.

After hearing the news, all the ministers of Daning had expressions of laughter and laughter: after more than a year, their former regent of Daning finally returned to the battlefield - but this time the other party should not have defected again. Opportunity.

When Jicheng found out, he also had a meaningful expression on his face: "Fate, it's so wonderful."

A certain god who was using the Xuantian Mirror to peek into Lu Sanyijiu's small world couldn't help wiping his sweat.

At this time, Daning had captured nine cities of Northern Xia, and the army was stationed outside Pingcheng. Fifty years ago, Northern Xia invaded Daning starting from Pingcheng, and attacked ten cities of Daning, forcing the then Emperor of Daning to move the capital away. From now on, he no longer dared to have any intention of fighting back against Bei Xia.

Fifty years later, Daning's army came to Pingcheng again, only one step away from washing away the shame of the year.

Not to mention the ministers and generals, even the soldiers were all inspired, and the fatigue from the long battle was almost nothing.

Wen Renen brought a group of craftsmen from the craftsman's workshop to the front line to help. By the way, he also met his two apprentices who had returned from Northern Xia. He Xiaoxing was awake, but the arrow wound in his back had not healed yet, so he was still there. He was recovering from his injuries in a small town near the border. When he saw his master, he almost cried.

Pingcheng's geographical location is quite special. Not far from it is the Changjin Mountains. In addition, it also has a large river on its back. The terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has important strategic significance. That's why the Northern Xia was able to march straight in and capture so much of Daning after conquering Pingcheng. A city.

But now, Bei Xia is facing the same dilemma as Daning back then.

What is even worse than Daning is that there is a large river flowing through Pingcheng on the side facing Beixia. During the non-glacial period, this is a natural barrier, and the road from Daning to Pingcheng is almost a smooth road.

Li Heng was sent here by the group of Northern Xia nobles who were united together.

Although the new queen's order said "ordered to repel", the real large number of Northern Xia troops had already withdrawn from Pingcheng and crossed the river to leave.

Their intention is also obvious: give up Pingcheng and temporarily avoid the edge of Daning's army.

After all, the big river can be used as both a barrier and an obstacle. Even if the river freezes during the Ice Age, the Daning army, which is not adapted to the climate, will surely suffer even more if they go north to fight.

So in short, Pingcheng was already an abandoned city as far as Northern Xia was concerned. Li Heng and the small number of troops staying here were nothing more than risking their lives and delaying the steps of Daning's army.

And Li Heng obviously knew this very well.

Therefore, from the day he was dispatched to Pingcheng, Li Heng had no intention of leaving the city to fight against Daning's army. The city gate was also closed, as if he wanted to be the last thorn in Daning's territory.

Jicheng didn't mean to be in any hurry and ordered Daning's army to repair for a few days before setting off again.

The army came to Ping City, and Li Heng finally appeared on the city wall.

He was dressed in a luxurious robe, and his subordinates brought a chair for him, and he sat on it, as if he was still the aloof regent of the past.

Li Heng's voice was cold: "Ji'er, it's been a long time no see."

He looked mockingly: "I didn't expect you to be able to return to Daning alive."

Jicheng responded with a smile on his face: "Long time no see, uncle. We said goodbye to the Northern Xia Palace that day. Were you not injured by the guards?"

"After all, the emperor's skills are so mediocre, it really worries me!"

As soon as his words of concern and ridicule came out, Li Heng's face suddenly turned ugly.

But soon Li Heng's expression returned to calmness, and he turned to sneer: "Li Jie, you don't have to say these things to anger me."

He stood up and looked down at the army below, his eyes fixed on Jicheng: "I know that your army is strong now. With the few troops I have, I can't defend Pingcheng no matter what."

"Those people in Beixia have abandoned me a long time ago. Now we, the abandoned soldiers, are in trouble every day in Pingcheng. We have no other choice but to die."

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"If you want to attack the city, you can just send troops up. There are only so many soldiers guarding the city as you can see. We can't stop them."

——Everything he said was true, but for some reason, the people below who heard this couldn't help but feel a little numb, as if something terrible was about to happen.

The next moment, Li Heng's mouth suddenly curved into a strange arc: "It's just that I pity the people of Daning in this city--"

Pingcheng belonged to Daning fifty years ago, so naturally there were many Daning people living here. Even if Beixia captured this place later, it was impossible to massacre all the people. Therefore, until today, there are still many descendants of those Daning people in Pingcheng, some of whom are ordinary civilians, and many more have become slaves of Beixia people-of course, after the war broke out, most of the Beixia nobles ran back.

At this moment, Li Heng said in a grim tone: "If you dare to take a step forward, the soldiers in the city will immediately take action. At that time, all the people of Daning in the city will be buried with me!"

When these words came out, the ministers and generals in the Daning army were shocked and angry: "Are you crazy?!"

Someone cursed: "Li Heng! You are also a Daning person!"

"You were once the regent of Daning! Do you still have a conscience?!"

Li Heng laughed: "You also said it was once! What, are you willing to accept me back as the regent now?"

The army below was stagnant, and someone scolded: "You slaughtered the people like this, aren't you afraid of being pointed at by thousands of people in the future! Aren't you spitting on for ten thousand years?!"

Li Heng sneered: "Anyway, I am also a dying person, what is there to be afraid of?"

He looked fierce: "Anyway, I'm saying this, either you retreat today, or I will let all the people of Daning in this city die with me! Li Ji, let me ask you - retreat or not?!"

Instantly, everyone's eyes were on Ji Cheng again.

He had not spoken before, and when Li Heng called him out, he just looked up and said with a half-smile: "Uncle, do you want to perish together with us?"

His tone was playful, and Li Heng subconsciously had a bad feeling in his heart.

He went through the various arrangements in the city in his mind and felt that there was no problem. He sneered again: "Don't talk about other things, Li Ji. The safety of the people of Daning in this city is in your hands now! I advise you to think it over before answering!"

Ji Cheng hummed, and seemed to be really entangled: "Then I really should think about it carefully."

Someone in the army said: "Your Majesty must not agree to Li Heng's request. This time we retreated a step, and next time he can use the lives of the people in the city to force us to agree to something more excessive!"

Someone disagreed: "Then do you really ignore the people inside? They are all the people of Daning!"

The people who opposed before said: "How many Daning people can there be in a city that has been ruled by Beixia for fifty years? Don't lose the big picture for the small! If you let Li Heng run away this time, it will be like letting the tiger go back to the mountain!"

Li Heng stood on the city wall, looking at the army below who were quarreling and commotion because of him, and Ji Cheng who was sitting on the horse with a frown on his face, and the arc of his lips became more and more malicious.

——That's it, the more entangled and painful it is, the better!

——Don't you always look like you have a plan in hand? Today I'm going to throw your face on the ground and step on it hard! !

He fanned the flames again and said, "In fact, it's not that difficult to order an attack on the city and kill me, right? Isn't it just the lives of the people of Daning in a city? What's wrong with using it to build your reputation and achievements? Since ancient times, the winners are the kings and the losers are the bandits. Ji'er, you can pull the emperor's uncle down from the position of regent. Shouldn't you understand this principle very well?!"

Every word seemed to encourage the other party to order an attack on the city. However, after such malicious words came out, even the generals who originally supported the attack hesitated inexplicably... as if if they really attacked, they would be the executioners who killed the people.

Ji Cheng still didn't move on his horse. He raised his head and stared at Li Heng. His pair of Danfeng eyes were deep, as if there was a deep abyss beast that could swallow the sky, which made Li Heng tremble inexplicably.

——No, impossible! Now Pingcheng is full of his people. Can Li Ji still let his soldiers fly into the city to save people?

Li Heng thought so, but his heart skipped a beat for no reason.

At this moment, screams suddenly came from the direction of the city.

One, two, mixed with the sound of fighting and Beixia people shouting and cursing, in this not-too-quiet battlefield, it was particularly clear.

A Beixia officer stumbled up, Li Heng turned his head in an instant, grabbed the other's collar and asked: "What's going on?!"

The Beixia officer was obviously also in a panic: "There are suddenly many more Daning soldiers in the city! Their weapons... are very powerful, we can't stop them!"

"And, those Daning people who were locked up by us have all run away!!"

All ran away? !

Before Li Heng recovered from his shock, he heard Ji Cheng's smiling voice from below: "Look at what the emperor's uncle said, why do we need to sacrifice the lives of the people of Daning to take Pingcheng?"

Li Heng threw down the officer in his hand and turned to roar below: "No! Impossible! How did they get in?!"

Ji Cheng's face showed understanding: "The emperor's uncle may be old, so he doesn't know much-"

He said with concern: "There is something in the world called a tunnel."

-So he had expected that he might make a fuss about the lives of the people of Daning in the city?

Li Heng reacted suddenly, he threw himself down, his face was as ferocious as a devil, and his voice was still full of disbelief: "So the Daning army was resting outside Pingcheng for a few days before...?"

But the city is full of buildings and the combat space is small. In this case, the advantage of the number of soldiers will be reduced to the minimum. Moreover, the opponent is in a hurry. Even if they really go through the tunnel, there will not be too many soldiers who can enter the city.

If it is a one-on-one close combat, how can the soldiers of Daning be the opponent of the soldiers of Beixia? Wait, the officer said that the soldiers of Daning are holding new weapons...

Ji Cheng nodded happily, and then calmly pulled out a thing that looked like an iron pipe from his waist, pointing directly at Li Heng: "Introduce another new thing to the emperor's uncle."

He smiled: "This is called a fire gun."

"As for its power."

As soon as the voice fell, Ji Cheng had already pulled the trigger, and the bullet was fired instantly!

Li Heng still maintained a posture of leaning down, and was shocked. When he reacted again, he had no time to make any dodging movements.

Bang.

--At the end of his consciousness, he heard the young man ordered in a casual tone: "Attack."