As soon as the New Year passed, the weather gradually warmed up, the Bianhe River froze, the willows spit out new green, and a new atmosphere. It's just that for the imperial court, the rebellion in Beizhou has not been pacified, like a fish in the throat, and there is a solemn atmosphere up and down.

In the Chongzheng Palace, the privy envoy Xia Zhu introduced the situation on the front line in Beizhou recently, and said: "Ming Ho recruited people to build a city outside the city, and the demon thieves built a city tower at the head of the city, which is called a happy meeting." Look at the city of Qucheng is about to be built, I don't want the thieves to take advantage of the night to raise fire, and most of the city will be burned. Ming Ho came to report that the third class of Qucheng had been killed and served Li Xing. Qucheng's plan was frustrated, and there was a plan for Colonel Liu Zunxian, and the officers and soldiers concentrated their forces to attack the north gate, and dug tunnels in the south city. In time, it will be done. ”

When Emperor Zhao Zhen heard this, he couldn't help frowning: "There are only a thousand soldiers in Beizhou City, tens of thousands of troops besieging the city, and more than a month has not been achieved. Now that the New Year has passed, there is still no day to see the thief. There are hundreds of military generals under Beizhou City, and the ministers of the DPRK and China are in charge, and none of them can do anything! ”

These words obviously had the meaning of resentment against the ministers, including the uselessness of the deacons, and no one spoke for a while, and the atmosphere was a little dull.

Wen Yanbo saw it, got up and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, Weichen is willing to go to Beizhou." In January, the thief will be leveled, otherwise he will ask Weichen! ”

Hearing this, Xia Zhu closed his eyes slightly and stopped talking. Chen Zhizhong glanced at Wen Yanbo imperceptibly, and said: "Ming Ho has only been in Beizhou for a month, and the soldiers and horses have a mixed history, so he can be given some time." Now send Moon Xianggong to make Myeongho too ugly. ”

Among the people present, Xia Zhu had a holiday with Ming Ho, and the Privy Council deliberately suppressed him. Especially directly intervening in the front-line command, Myeongho actually could not fully control the soldiers and horses. The siege was not effective, and Ming Ho was responsible, and the containment of the Privy Council was also a very important reason.

Wen Yanbo saw it clearly and felt that this was a good opportunity to make meritorious contributions. He was promoted too quickly last year, and there was a lot of gossip in the government and the opposition, and even Emperor Zhao Zhi had some doubts, and Wen Yanbo urgently needed a great achievement to consolidate his position. Especially the lantern in the palace, Wen Yanbo gave Zhang Meiren Shu lantern from Yizhou, which was completely destroyed by Zhao Zhen, which made Wen Yanbo weak-hearted.

In a month's time, although Myeongho did not break the city, it was not that he did nothing. Now that the integration of the various armies under the city of Beizhou has been basically completed, and various siege methods have been tried, as long as the Privy Council does not lag behind, Wen Yanbo is confident that the city will be broken in January. This is actually the credit of grabbing the pickaxe, but I can't care about it now.

Chen Zhizhong had no friendship with Ming Hao, but he was afraid that Wen Yanbo would make meritorious contributions in Beizhou and threaten his position, so he hurriedly stopped him.

Zhao Zhen said unhappily: "The small city of Beizhou, not to mention the unstable hearts of the people in the land of several states, after a few days, the Khitan envoy will return to the north, passing by there, what does it look like?" It's ridiculous! ”

Seeing that Zhao Zhen was inclined to let Wen Yanbo replace Ming Hao, Song Zhen praised the wat and said: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, Du Zhongxiao in Xiangzhou asked for himself, saying that he had newly cast an artillery, and it was the most sharp weapon for attacking the city. Ming Ho also went to the chapter and asked Du Zhongxiao to bring a cannon to help, and the court had agreed. Now that Du Zhongxiao is on the way, it is better to wait for him to arrive in Beizhou, and he will meet Ming Ho to attack for a few more days. ”

Du Zhongxiao and Xia Zhu had some old relationship, and when they mentioned him, they thought about it and didn't say anything.

Wu Yudao, the privy deputy envoy on the side: "Du Zhongxiao and Zhang Qi relied on guns and cannons to occupy Tanglong Town the year before last, saying that they were sharp weapons in the army, and when they demonstrated in the capital, the momentum was also terrifying. Since the Beizhou Rebellion, the imperial court has allocated a lot of money to the city, but it is useless. What kind of cannon is newly cast, and what is the difference? After the Shangyuan Festival, the Khitan envoys returned to the north, and they couldn't let them go to Mengzhou. ”

Song Shen said: "I heard that the new cannon is made of copper, which is much larger than the previous iron cannon, and I heard that it can shake the city wall. ”

Hearing this, all the rulers couldn't help laughing. When Du Zhongxiao was demonstrating in the capital, he hit a mound of earth, and when he shot over, the soil flew shallow, and he looked at the momentum. For this reason, the Privy Council also deliberately tried again last month to see how powerful it was. As a result, the cannonball hit the rammed earth wall, and there was only one white spot, which was of no use. Because of this incident, many people thought that Du Zhongxiao deliberately exaggerated the power of the artillery during his demonstration, and some people had a bad impression of him.

If there was no situation in which Du Zhongxiao invited himself to go to Beizhou and signed in Beizhou, Wen Yanbo would probably have replaced Ming Hao. Now that there is the variable of Du Zhongxiao, Chen Zhizhong wants to wait. What if he succeeds? Without this credit, Wen Yanbo's position as a virtuous minister may not be able to sit firmly. Chen Zhizhong's reputation in Taiwan is not good, and for Wen Yanbo, he can press it if he can.

Seeing that the others didn't speak, Chen Zhizhong said: "Your Majesty, Du Zhongxiao tried to read Zhongshu a few years ago, and Weichen once saw him. During the conversation, I felt that this person was down-to-earth and not a vain person. Since he is so sure, he can give it a try. The Privy Council can be asked to inform Myeong-ho that before the Metaverse, he will break the shell state. If the city can't be broken, it's not too late to send the minister to go. ”

Among the Zai Zhizhong present, except for the military general Wang Yiyong, only Chen Zhizhong was not from a Jinshi, but he was most trusted by Emperor Zhao Zhen. It's not that Zhao Zhen is prejudiced against readers, but because he misses the old feelings very much and sometimes is emotional. Chen Zhizhong's father, Chen Shu, in the two dynasties of Taizong and Zhenzong, especially in the salt and iron envoys, was particularly appreciated by Taizong, and once carved the words Chen Shu on the pillar. For more than 60 years since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, Chen Shu has been recognized as the most outstanding envoy of the three ministers. Zhao Zhen and Chen Zhizhong met when they were young, and their relationship was much deeper than others.

Chen Zhizhong supports Du Zhongxiao, and there is also a layer of Han Jiang's relationship. Chen Shu has a very good relationship with Han Jiang's father Han Yi, the two families have a good relationship, two days ago Han Jiang found Chen Zhizhong, and strongly supported Du Zhongxiao, thinking that he would be able to pacify the thieves when he went to Beizhou.

Chen Zhizhong and Song Zhen advocated waiting for Du Zhongxiao to arrive in Beizhou and try his new cannon to see the results, but Xia Zhu did not speak, and the matter was decided. Its team leaders, including Wen Yanbo, are not good at insisting.

Du Zhongxiao set off before the year, Huanshui to Yongji Canal, along the road next to Yongji Canal, all the way north.

At this time, the river ice is not resolved, and it is impossible to go by boat, otherwise it is much more convenient to take the waterway. The newly cast bronze cannon was pulled by three sturdy snails, and six were replaced on the way, all the way north. Du Zhongxiao took Tao Seventeen and rode in front. During the Chinese New Year, I went to the Daimyo's Mansion in Beijing.

Chen Tuiguan of the Daimyo Mansion greeted Du Zhongxiao at the post house outside the city, and after settling down, he said: "Stay behind and wait for the prime minister to wait in the mansion, and the bachelor will go to see him." ”

Du Zhongxiao instructed Tao Seventeen, and followed Chen Tuiguan to the palace to meet Jia Changchao. In a hurry along the way, in the states and counties he passed, Du Zhongxiao lived in a post house, never visited officials, and got up early in the morning after staying overnight. Jia Changchao is different from others, not to mention his high status, he is still the pacification envoy of Hebei Road, and Du Zhongxiao went to the front line of Beizhou, so he should listen to his orders.

When he arrived at the mansion, he was courteous and sat down, and Jia Chang said: "The bachelor has worked hard from afar. I have prepared a wine feast here to catch you tonight. Tomorrow outside the city, see how powerful you are to play the new cannon. If it is really as you say, it can shake the city wall, and I will be the court of Shangzhang. ”

Du Zhongxiao was a little embarrassed: "Xianggong, Beizhou can't be attacked for a long time, the soldiers are anxious, and the next official should go day and night——"

Jia Changchao waved his hand: "This place is not far from Beizhou, not a day." A few years ago, the Privy Council tried the old iron cannon in the capital, and it was useless to bombard the city wall, and many officials felt that it was unnecessary for you and for Beizhou. Bachelor, you are still young, and people feel that you are good to talk about, and your future is in the way. ”

Speaking of which, what else can Du Zhongxiao say? I had to give my hand: "Early tomorrow morning, the lower officials will greet the prime minister outside the city." It's okay to catch the wind and feast, and when the lower official comes back from Beizhou, he takes the demon thief, and it's not too late to drink when he celebrates. ”

Jia Changchao smiled: "Okay, you have such ambition, you can be gratified!" If you go to Beizhou, really break through the city, and capture the demon thief, I will set up a celebratory feast for you here! The court of the last chapter, please give credit to you! ”

The rebellion in Beizhou actually started from the Daimyo's house. However, after Jia Changchao took Pan Fangjing, he did not ask for a confession in time, and failed to prevent the rebellion in Beizhou, which was 200 miles away. Seriously speaking, Jia Changchao is responsible for this chaos. And when Ming Ho arrived in Beizhou, he was directly commanded by the two governments, and he did not let Jia Changchao interfere, which also made him feel uncomfortable.

If Du Zhongxiao went to Beizhou, he would really succeed, but the result was unexpected by the two governments, and Jia Changchao also breathed a sigh of relief.

After saying goodbye to Jia Changchao, Du Zhongxiao returned to the post house, found Tao Seventeen, and said to him: "I saw Jia Xianggong left behind today, and he asked us to set off a shot outside the city tomorrow." Last year, the Privy Council tried to attack the city with the iron cannon you forged earlier, but it was too powerful to shake the walls, and many officials thought that the power of the artillery was exaggerated when I demonstrated it in the capital last time. Jia Xianggong also has doubts, so be sure to see it with your own eyes. ”

Tao Seventeen said: "The previous cannon goose eggs and big egg balls naturally couldn't shake the city wall. The iron cannons used for the current cannons are more than ten times that of the previous ones, and the city walls have collapsed! Those people haven't seen it, and they really shouldn't be officials! ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed. It wasn't until he left Xiangzhou that he learned about the privy secret experiment of attacking the city with artillery, and the result was not at all. This incident was ridiculed in the capital, thinking that Du Zhongxiao exaggerated his power and used it to show his merits. Even Tao Seventeen, who supervised the casting of guns, was not as good as before. This time I went to Beizhou, and I must succeed immediately in order to dispel other people's misunderstandings about myself.

After thinking about it, Du Zhongxiao said to Tao Seventeen: "The military situation is like fire, we can't delay on the road." Tonight, you will lead someone to load the cannon, so that you will not miss the road tomorrow. After loading the gunpowder, you personally stand by and don't have an accident. ”

Tao XVII promised. With such a large gun, it is not easy to move and set up gun emplacements, and it is also very troublesome to reload. If you don't prepare early, you will have a demonstration for Jia Changchao, and half a day's time will be wasted tomorrow.

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