When Shen Keqiu and the other officials heard this, they were all stunned at first, thinking whether they had heard it wrong, and even a few people had a blank look on their faces, Xue Huai'an sighed: "Everyone, the Holy Lord died a few days ago, and now the state affairs are handled by His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

Xue Huai'an said it was true, and everyone reacted at this time, Shen Keqiu had already gotten up from the chair, and fell to the ground with a puff, already howling and crying, and the other ministers also knelt on the ground one after another, and in the hall, in a moment, there were already wailing bursts, and more than a dozen officials cried bitterly and beat their chests.

The prince's expression was gloomy, Xue Huai'an was also red-eyed, seeing everyone crying loudly, he also cried a few times, and then went over to support Shen Keqiu, and said: "The old imperial history is old, the saint died, and the whole world is sad, but the next state affairs are difficult, and the boss still has a lot of things to do, so take care of your body." ”

The prince raised his hand and said: "My lord, my father has died, and the palace is also grief-stricken, but the news of my father's death has not yet been announced to the world, as Lord Xue said, the current situation is difficult, we must work together to overcome the current difficulties." ”

Shen Keqiu was helped up by Xue Huai'an, and all the ministers also got up one after another, wiping away their tears, Shen Keqiu choked up and said: "Your Highness, in the opinion of the old ministers, the death of the saint not only does not have to be concealed, but it should be announced to the world!" ”

Xue Huai'an frowned and said: "Boss, now that there are many thieves and the world is in turmoil, they don't know that it's okay for the Holy Master to die, once they know that the Holy Lord has died, the consequences will ......!" ”

"Your Highness, the southeast half of the wall has been lost, and there is no need to talk about it." Shen Keqiu wiped away his tears and said: "The ministers already know that Feng Yuanpo rebelled, and the imperial court eradicated it by thunderous means, and now that Hexi is in the hands of the imperial court, the next step is to rectify the northern soldiers and horses and recover the capital ......!" After a pause, he said: "Since the saint has died, the heaven and earth are yin and yang, the country cannot be without a king for a day, if the news of the death of the saint cannot be announced to the world, and the prince will not be able to inherit the unification, then my Daqin will be in a state of empire without a king, which is absolutely not beneficial to the current empire!" Looking at Xue Huai'an, he arched his hand and said: "Lord Xue's concerns, naturally, are not unreasonable, in the current situation, the empire, but there are some ill-intentioned preparations ready to move, and some may still be afraid of the majesty of the saint, dare not act rashly, once the news of the death of the saint is announced to the world, maybe there will really be a lot of chaos jumping out of the table." ”

Xue Huai'an nodded and said, "That's right, Your Highness is also worried about this." ”

"Your Highness, at this point, those who can obey the imperial court's order are naturally loyal to the imperial court, and those who have other intentions, even if the imperial court's edict arrives, they will not obey the order." Shen Keqiu said: "Although there are also ill-intentioned people in the northern provinces, compared to the south, the situation is much clearer. Let a group of people with ill intentions be ready to move, it is better to announce the news of the saint, if someone really jumps out, it is not necessarily a bad thing, at least let His Highness and the court know the loyal and traitorous ministers at a glance. ”

The crown prince bowed slightly, and an official next to him arched his hand and said: "Your Highness, the ministers are on the road to Hexi, but they have also discussed where the imperial court should go next. ”

"Oh?" The prince immediately asked, "Why don't you say it?" ”

The man said: "The thieves of Tianmen are huge, sweeping the southeast, and now everyone talks about Tianmen Dao, they are changed for it, but the ministers feel that as long as the imperial court stabilizes its position in the north, gathers a heavy army, and drives south, Tianmen Dao is actually vulnerable." ”

"Oh?"

Shen Keqiu explained: "Your Highness, when we left the capital, a vanguard of the Tianmen Dao had already entered the capital, and we actually saw the so-called Tianmen Dao people. ”

The prince immediately asked: "This palace has also received the news, Tianmen Dao has beaten Qin Shui, Lord Shen, Tianmen Dao is really brave and good at fighting?" Even General Lei is difficult to resist? ”

Shen Keqiu shook his head and said: "At the beginning of the imperial court, I felt that Tianmen Dao was just a rabble accumulated by a group of chaotic people, but later General Lei led the army to the southeast to quell the rebellion, and was frustrated several times, and even the old general was ......!" His expression was gloomy, and he hesitated slightly before continuing: "It is precisely because of this that the imperial court began to think that Tianmen Dao was difficult to deal with, and greatly overestimated the combat effectiveness of Tianmen Dao. ”

"Oh?" The crown prince frowned and said, "According to you, Tianmen Dao is weaker than the imperial court estimated?" ”

"The old minister has gone through this catastrophe, and he can be regarded as a person who has died once, and he has some words that he will take the liberty of speaking to His Highness." Shen Keqiu said solemnly: "Although the old minister is only a civilian official, he also understands that the success or failure of a war, although good generals and elite soldiers play a great role, but in the final analysis, it depends on the right time, place and people. ”

The prince said: "What the boss said is true, it is exactly so. ”

"General Lei Lao is certainly a famous general in the world, and the guards transferred from the capital are also elite soldiers, but only this good general and elite soldiers cannot be a condition for victory or defeat." Shen Keqiu said with a solemn expression: "Tianmen Dao started from Jianghuai, but it soon expanded to the East China Sea, and the people there were so easily bewitched by Tianmen Dao, and the reason for this is really related to the imperial court. ”

The ministers looked at each other, but they didn't speak, but they all knew in their hearts that what Shen Keqiu was referring to was actually involving the emperor.

The prince groaned slightly, and then sighed lightly: "After my father is old, there are some things to do...... It's really not ......! He naturally knew that the source of the empire was from the emperor, but after all, he was a son of man, and in front of everyone, he said that he had already admitted to everyone that the emperor was unconscious.

"The taxes of the various provinces of the empire are increased again and again, and the people are having a hard time, and the way of heaven takes advantage of the void, so it is naturally easy for those hungry and poor people to be bewitched." Shen Keqiu's expression was solemn, and his tone was also heavy: "Tianmen Dao has been active in the southeast for many years, and once it rises, the people of Tianmen Dao quickly gather like ants. ”

The prince nodded, and Shen Keqiu continued: "On the other hand, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, the Tun Guard led by General Lei Lao wants to suppress bandits in the southeast, if the officers and soldiers work together and the logistics supply is timely, even if Tianmen Dao occupies a certain amount of time, place, and people, it may not be impossible to win, but ...... Hey, the officials in the southeast are greedy, and incompetent people can be found everywhere, and Tianmen Dao coerces and lures them, and they can easily become puppets of Tianmen Dao. The empire had not fought for many years before, and the army of the Great Qin Tiger and Wolf back then was already not as good as it used to be. They are negligent in drilling, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, according to the ministers, the local officers and soldiers even have a strict zhòng problem of empty salary, many local troops, simply can not reach the full staff, this sudden fight, the strength is insufficient, plus it is a group of soldiers who have no fighting spirit, not only can not help General Lei, but also many soldiers and horses suddenly rebelled, which brought great trouble to the imperial court, because of this, General Lei Lao was defeated in the southeast, although General Lei Lao is a generation of famous generals, but ......! Shaking his head, the other ministers also sighed.

During the emperor's lifetime, the empire was full of holes, crises lurked, many Geng Zhi loyal ministers admonished, the emperor was ruthless, killed many Geng Zhi ministers, and the rest of the people kept silent, the whole empire was a dead body, who dared to say a word, although many people knew in their hearts where the southeast war was low and the defeat was, but not many people dared to say it.

Now that the emperor is gone, the prince is in charge, and most of Shen Keqiu and these people were members of the princelings at the beginning, they have no scruples at this time, and the empire is like this, the emperor has an unshirkable responsibility, but the prince is closed because of his leg disease, and Shen Keqiu will not be jealous of the prince when he talks about it at this time.

"Just now, you said that the Heavenly Gate Dao is actually vulnerable, why do you assert it so much?" The crown prince asked, "You have seen the Heavenly Gate Daoists in the capital, how are they?" ”

Shen Keqiu sat up straight and said, "Your Highness, although there are many people in Tianmen Dao, we can see that their sergeants are not strictly organized and have loose discipline, and their combat effectiveness is almost no different from that of the mob with murder weapons. Moreover, we have seen with our own eyes that although there are only a few thousand soldiers and horses who led the advance into the city, they are already fighting on their own, and even because of the looting of property, they themselves have started to do it. ”

Xue Huai'an Qi said: "The boss is saying that the disciples of the Heavenly Gate killed themselves? ”

"Exactly." Shen Keqiu nodded and said: "The composition of the Tianmen Dao people are all local rebels, a team of soldiers and horses, most of them are fellow villagers in one village and one county, once there is a dispute, one village will huddle together, and the people in another village will meet each other, if there is a dispute between one county and another county, then one county will be in a group...... Once the fight starts, it will be difficult for those generals of the Heavenly Gate to command them. ”

The prince sneered: "Sure enough, it's a plate of loose sand. ”

Xue Huai appeased Su and said: "At the beginning, they rebelled together, and at the beginning they were hungry and poor, and they might be able to unite together, but when they looted a large amount of property, this contradiction became apparent. ”

"And according to Lao Chen's understanding, although Tianmen Dao is known as a million people, there are only twenty or thirty thousand people who can really fight." Shen Keqiu said: "There are also some capable people in the Tianmen Dao, and a group of elite soldiers have been trained, but the number is too small, and most of the Tianmen Dao people are just under the banner of the Tianmen Dao. It's like a village where there are more than 100 people led by people and holding a flag, it can be regarded as the soldiers and horses of Tianmen Dao, and when they heard where the main force of Tianmen Dao was, they ran over to defect, and the battle went well, but once they lost, most of the Tianmen Dao people scattered in a hurry...... The Tianmen Daoists have almost no clear combat goals, and their purpose is that because they are hungry and poor, they gather and light the banner of the Tianmen Dao to rob others, and many Tianmen Daoists loot in all directions, wandering everywhere ......! ”

The prince's expression was solemn, he listened carefully, and bowed his head slightly from time to time.

"Most of the hundreds of cities in the southeast have been looted by them, and many have even been burned." Shen Keqiu said sadly and indignantly: "When they take down a city, it is impossible for them to proclaim the people, but they plunder everywhere, kill officials, rob the rich, and even the poor people do not let go, just like locusts, they will plague a ...... when they walk through one place!" ”

The crown prince frowned and said: "That Heavenly Prince, who is of the Heavenly Gate Dao, since he has bewitched the people to rebel, of course he is ambitious, and even wants to replace my Great Qin...... But he connived at the looting of his subordinates, without restraint, if he killed officials and robbed the rich in order to gain the support of the people, but now he even does not let go of the people, then for what? ”