Hu Guozhu snorted coldly: "Gao Dajie is the general of the Great Zhou, and if he takes the imperial court's Yulu, he has to serve the country, even if he can't fight, he has to fight to the death, and he will retreat when he encounters a war, what does the country raise him for?" ”

"It's not that General Gao is unwilling to fight to the death, now the army is full of new soldiers, these troops have no certainty of victory on the battlefield, if they lose, it will put the capital and Your Majesty in danger, General Gao is also thinking about the country."

"Hmph, I'm afraid only he knows what he thinks."

"Enough!" Wu Shifan stood up suddenly: "I didn't call you here to watch you quarrel, now that the army of the Ming Dynasty is outside, you are still arguing, one day I was cut off by someone, you still have to continue to quarrel, right?" ”

Seeing this, Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu hurriedly knelt down to make amends: "The ministers are guilty, please punish Your Majesty." ”

"I've said it, I want you to come up with ideas, come up with ideas!"

At this time, Ma Bao, who had not spoken, spoke: "The soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, now Your Majesty has elected the commander of an army, let's defend the city of Nanjing, I don't believe that the army of the hypocrisy still dares to squat here all the time, are they not afraid that their Beijing division will be broken by the Qing Dynasty?" ”

Wu Shifan immediately restrained his temper when he saw that it was Ma Bao, this was his last talisman, and he had never made any trouble for him, so he had to give him this face: "General Ma is reasonable, you can discuss who can be the commander of this army." ”

A minister behind Xia Guoxiang stood up: "Since the first emperor Bintian, the commander of the army is General Hu, and the minister recommended General Hu as the commander-in-chief. ”

This person is the person of Xia Guoxiang, and he naturally didn't have any good intentions when he recommended Hu Guozhu, no one wanted to fight this kind of war, and he forced back the enemy army, that is the emperor's blessing, the ancestors and the ancestors blessed, and the general who defended the city will not have much credit. If he loses, before the people attack the city of Nanjing, the emperor will have to kill him all over the house.

Besides, if Hu Guozhu is sent to defend the city, he will definitely not be able to take care of the affairs of the court, and when the time comes, Xia Guoxiang will lay out the layout if he wants to, and he will be able to understand whoever he wants.

Hu Guozhu also heard this meaning, and coughed: "Although the minister leads an army alone, His Majesty knows that the minister is a general on the battlefield, and he can only charge and not defend the city, so Your Majesty should find another choice." ”

Xia Guoxiang looked at Hu Guozhu and smiled: "General Hu really can't be the commander of this army?" ”

Looking at Xia Guoxiang's smile, Hu Guozhu felt a little hairy in his heart, but he couldn't think of any tricks for Xia Guoxiang for a while, so he had to bite the bullet: "Naturally, I can't do it!" I also ask Lord Xia to find another talent. ”

Xia Guoxiang did not hesitate at all, and immediately knelt on the ground: "The minister is willing to be the commander of this army, and live and die with Nanjing City, the city is in the minister, and the city is lost!" ”

Wu Shifan's eyes lit up: "I know Lord Xia's ability, since Lord Xia recommended himself, I promised, and all military affairs in the city will obey Lord Xia's dispatch." ”

At this time, Xia Guoxiang was able to stand up, to be honest, Wu Shifan was deeply moved, this was knowing that there were tigers in the mountains and biased towards the tiger mountains, which provoked the entire Great Zhou.

Xia Guoxiang said slowly: "The minister still has a reluctant request, the battle to defend the city is hard, and I also ask Your Majesty to focus on stability in the court." ”

Everyone understood what it meant, that is, to tell Wu Shifan not to move the people in the court, otherwise it would be easy to cause chaos.

Wu Shifan finally grabbed this life-saving straw, and naturally refused to let go: "Everything is as Lord Xia said." ”

After retiring from the court, the prime minister of Xia returned to the mansion, and his henchmen hurriedly came to the mansion: "Why are you so reckless in the court today, this matter of defending the city is thankless. ”

Xia Guoxiang smiled: "Then you come and tell me, what are the advantages and disadvantages of me guarding this city." ”

One of the strategists' eyes lit up: "It doesn't seem to be harmful, my lord let His Majesty win your request above the court, and it will be difficult for Hu Guozhu to stir up the storm above the court, he is not familiar with the court, and it will take a lot of effort to sort out the relationship between them, let alone the bureau of laying out any grass snake gray line." ”

"In that case, then I'm in a situation where I can't make a profit or lose money, why can't I be this manager?"

"But my lord, if we elevate Hu Guozhu as the commander-in-chief, wouldn't it be more suitable for us to lay out the layout in the DPRK and China, and when the time comes, we will not have the final say on all his allies in one fell swoop."

Xia Guoxiang sighed faintly: "Today's situation is not as good as it was at the beginning, whoever occupied the position of the court at the beginning could make a statement, but seeing that the Zhou Dynasty was about to become chaotic, in this case, who has soldiers and generals in his hands can make a statement." ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at these people: "We can remove all Hu Guozhu's people from official positions, but have you ever thought about it, if this Nanjing is defended, we can suppress Hu Guozhu, what if Nanjing can't be defended?" When the time comes, he will be full of generals, and we will not be slaughtered? ”

These people suddenly showed expressions of sudden realization: "At that time, whether this Hu Guozhu wants to be Wang Mang or Zhou Gong, we can't stop him, and he is the uncle of His Majesty today, Your Majesty may choose to save his life and retreat, he will be able to control the power of the DPRK, and our heads will be gone." ”

Xia Guoxiang nodded: "That's it, that's why I want to get this military power, now you have many eyes in the court, don't let Hu Guozhu and those people make any mess, I will slowly control power in the army, and when Hu Guozhu can't do anything, I want to see how he turns the sky upside down." ”

Everyone stood up in unison: "My lord's wisdom and foresight, I admire it." ”

Xia Guoxiang waved his hand: "Let's not praise each other, we still have to be vigilant about the wind and grass around us, you don't have to be careless, if the boat overturns in the gutter, it will make people laugh and lose their big teeth." ”

"I'll make a note of it."

After these people left, Xia Guoxiang's wife came in with a cup of tea: "I heard that you and General Hu have a quarrel, what is there in the family, why do you have to make trouble to this extent?" ”

Xia Guoxiang pinched his eyebrows and smiled bitterly: "One mountain does not allow two tigers, although we are relatives, if we use the knife, we may not be able to bypass anyone, you don't want to get involved in these things, just stay at home, don't worry, even if I defeat Hu Guozhu, I won't kill him, we are a family after all." ”

His wife put down the teacup, stood behind Xia Guoxiang and slowly rubbed his temples: "Brothers are of the same heart, and their benefits are golden." You can be regarded as brothers, and you still have to face things together, don't make too much trouble. ”

(End of chapter)