Chungmu Palace.

"Lord, someone has been sent from the palace, and the emperor has summoned you to enter the palace immediately." When Li Yuntian was sleeping soundly with Zhou Yuting in his arms, the voice of the housekeeper came from outside the window.

"Tell the people in the palace that this king will pass." Li Yuntian was slightly stunned at first when he heard this, and then sat up from the bed and said a word to the housekeeper in a loud voice.

"Xianggong, what's wrong?" Zhou Yuting was awakened, and looked at Li Yuntian who sat up with sleepy eyes, Li Yuntian finally came back once, but she was quite reluctant to be called away again at night.

"Wu Guogong may have had an accident, otherwise the palace would not have let Xianggong go over in the middle of the night." Li Yuntian looked at Zhou Yuting with a solemn expression, his eyes looked quite complicated, although he had already guessed that it would be such an ending, but when it really happened, he felt extremely gloomy and lost, no matter how he said it, it was more than 200,000 soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army.

Zhou Yuting was taken aback when she heard this, she knew the seriousness of the matter, and hurriedly got up and called the maid to wait for Li Yuntian to wash and dress.

When Li Yuntian rode his horse all the way to the gate of the imperial city, he happened to meet Zhang Hao, who was in a hurry and rode a horse, Zhang Hao also received an urgent message from the palace and hurriedly rushed over.

Li Yuntian and Zhang Hao and other important officials of the imperial court naturally could not be pulled up the city wall with hanging baskets, otherwise what kind of system would they become? Under the decree of the Empress Dowager Zhang, the gates of the imperial city have been opened.

"King Zhongwu, do you know why the palace is in a hurry to summon me and others?" Zhang Hao and Li Yuntian rode into the gate of the imperial city side by side, and asked in a low voice with some excitement.

"Nine times out of ten, it's a matter of the Western Expedition." Li Yuntian knew that Zhang Hao had already guessed that something had happened to Wu Guogong, so he smiled bitterly and replied, although this gave him a chance to make contributions again, but this situation was the last thing he wanted to face.

"It seems that the Western Regions are in danger!" Zhang Hao knew that Li Yuntian was the most well-informed, and when he saw that Li Yuntian also thought that something had happened to the Western Expeditionary Army, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then shook his head and felt sorry for the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army.

In Zhang Hao's opinion, with Song Hai's ability, if he didn't underestimate the enemy, it would not lead to a big defeat anyway, and now the palace urgently summoned them meant that Song Hai's defeat in the Western Regions had affected the trend of the war in the Western Regions.

Because they guessed the reason for entering the palace, Li Yuntian and Zhang Hao fell into silence, which made the atmosphere at the scene a little depressing.

When the two arrived at the Qianqing Palace, they found that Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi and other important ministers of the court had gathered there, and they were talking with solemn expressions.

The Empress Dowager of the Zhang family must have summoned them into the palace at night, and combined with the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, everyone guessed that it was related to the Western Expeditionary Army, and it would definitely not be a good thing.

"King Zhongwu, is the Western Expeditionary Army really defeated?" Seeing Li Yuntian coming, Yang Shiqi, Zhang Fu and others greeted him one after another and asked with concern.

If it comes to familiarity with the war situation in the Western Regions, then the Manchu Dynasty civil and military forces are probably no one comparable to Li Yuntian, and Li Yuntian had predicted that the war situation in the Western Regions would be clear within a month after the Great Dynasty retreated from the Dynasty in mid-May, and now it is in the period of Li Yuntian's prophecy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this king doesn't know what the current situation of the Western Regions Army is, since the emperor has summoned us, then your lordships should be calm and restless, and the result will be clear in a while." Li Yuntian naturally couldn't say that the Western Expeditionary Army was defeated, so it was particularly easy to commit taboos, so he quietly perfunctory the past.

"Alas, how can things be like this, 500,000 troops of the Western Expedition!" Yang Shiqi couldn't help but sigh when he heard this, shook his head and said helplessly, although Li Yuntian refused to tell the defeat of the Western Expeditionary Army, everyone now knew it.

Zhang Fu and the others glanced at each other, and their faces showed helplessness, so that the situation in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty became extremely critical.

The scene then became a deathly silence, and everyone's faces were extremely solemn, in case the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan coalition army attacked, then there would be no troops in the southwest to resist its iron cavalry.

Many people secretly looked at Li Yuntian who was standing there with a blank face in private, knowing that if this was the case, Li Yuntian should have been sent reinforcements to reinforce the southwest last month, but now that a month has been wasted, it makes people feel annoyed when they think about it.

Facts have proved that Li Yuntian's premonition of the direction of the war situation is as correct as ever, when everyone thought that Song Hai was about to drive the army of the Timurid Empire out of the Western Chagatai Khanate, only Li Yuntian calmly said the one-month deadline, and his ability to control the war situation was amazing.

Li Yuntian stood there thinking about his thoughts with a heavy face, he was not only worried about the safety of the Western Expeditionary Army, but also worried about the situation of the artillery battalion.

The artillery battalion was taken by Song Hai to attack Blue Leaf City, it was the trump card in Song Hai's hand, and now that Song Hai has lost the battle, the situation of the artillery battalion is worrying, and the sergeants of those artillery battalions are veterans of many years of training, in case they die or are captured, it is a big loss.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!" Just when everyone was worried, a shrill shout came from outside the palace door, and I saw the Empress Dowager of the Zhang family walking in surrounded by the inner servants and maids.

"Meet the Empress Dowager." From the face of the Empress Dowager Zhang, Li Yuntian and the others could confirm that something had happened to the Western Expeditionary Army, and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed down to greet them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, An Yonghou sent someone to send an urgent report, Wu Guogong was defeated in Blue Leaf City, and there were only more than 10,000 soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army who fled from Blue Leaf City back to Beshi Bali City."

The Empress Dowager Zhang did not sit down, but stopped in front of everyone, stared at Li Yuntian, Yang Shiqi and the others with a cold expression and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, how do you think this matter can be resolved?" ”

"Empress Dowager, the minister thinks that he should immediately send reinforcements to Jiayu Pass, as long as he holds Jiayu Pass, then he can give me the Ming Dynasty time to prepare for war!" Everyone at the scene couldn't help but glance at each other when they heard this, and now they have no choice but to send reinforcements to the southwest, so Zhang Fu groaned for a while and said in a deep voice.

"Armament warfare?" The Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't help but show a wry smile at the corner of her mouth when she heard this, the look on her face was extremely gloomy, she never imagined that things would come to this point, after all, it was to make Da Ming hurt her muscles and bones.

"Empress Dowager, the minister feels that the current situation is unclear, the Empress Dowager does not need to worry, the Qinglong City where the Guanxi camp of the Xiaowu Army is located is sufficient, and with my 100,000 Ming soldiers, it is enough to hold on here for a year."

Seeing that the Empress Dowager Zhang looked lonely, Li Yuntian pondered for a while and said, "As long as Qinglong City ensures that it is not lost, then Western Chagatai and Northern Yuan will not dare to wantonly attack Jiayu Pass." ”

"King Zhongwu, can the soldiers of Qinglong City hold out for a year?" The Empress Dowager of the Zhang family couldn't help but light up when she heard this, and couldn't help but look at Li Yuntian, compared with Zhang Fu and others, Li Yuntian can always put forward a practical plan to solve the problem, which is an important reason why Emperor Xuande relies on Li Yuntian.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager Zhang wanted to know how Li Yuntian would face this thorny situation in front of him, if Li Yuntian had a way to drag the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan coalition army in the Western Regions for a year, then the Ming Dynasty would have enough time to reorganize the army and fight, and it would be enough to fight to the death with the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan coalition army!

"Empress Dowager, the walls of Qinglong City are all made of hard rock, the walls are strong and tall, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is absolutely difficult to conquer them with the strength of Chagatai and Northern Yuan in the west." Li Yuntian nodded solemnly to the Empress Dowager of the Zhang family, and then Yu Feng changed his mind and said, "Unless...... Unless they seize our firearms, then the situation will be more critical! ”

"King Zhongwu, the soldiers of the artillery battalion retreated safely to Beishu Bali City under the leadership of a military attache of the martial arts, if it weren't for that military attache's decisive decision, I'm afraid that no one in the Western Expeditionary Army would be able to get out of Fallen Leaf City."

The Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she heard this, and when she heard Li Yuntian mention the firearm, she couldn't help but remember something, and turned to ask Yang Niu, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace on the side, "What is the name of that military attaché?" ”

"The Empress Dowager Qi, called Li Zixi." Yang Niu bowed down and replied quietly.

Hearing this, a look of relief suddenly flashed on Li Yuntian's face, it seems that Li Zixi did a good job, and when he saw that the timing was wrong, he immediately led the people of the artillery battalion to slip away, so that those artillery and ammunition must have been disposed of by him, and they could not cause damage to Qinglong City.

"Passing the decree, Li Zixi has made a great contribution, and the official has been promoted to the third level, with a reward of 1,000 taels." The Empress Dowager of the Zhang family groaned slightly and issued an edict to Yang Niu.

If it weren't for Li Zixi, I am afraid that the 250,000 troops brought by Song Hai would be wiped out, and most importantly, the firearms battalion would probably fall into the hands of the Timurid Empire, in that case, the consequences would be unimaginable, so Li Zixi really made a great contribution this time.

"King Zhongwu, the mourning family remembers that you said last month that you can mobilize 350,000 troops in Kansai, I wonder if it can be done now?" After rewarding Li Zixi, the Empress Dowager of the Zhang family pondered for a while, and looked at Li Yuntian with a serious expression, now it is even more difficult to transfer troops from Daming to help Guanxi, so her hopes fall on Li Yuntian.

"Empress Dowager, since the emperor asked his ministers to prepare for reinforcements, the ministers did not dare to slack off, as long as the imperial court ordered the Mongolian soldiers in the north of the mountain, the Jurchen soldiers in Liaodong and the 150,000 soldiers in the Datong Qinglong camp of the Xiaowu army, they could pull out the village and set off and rush to Guanxi." Hearing this, Li Yuntian bowed to the Empress Dowager of the Zhang family and replied in a deep voice, "The minister is going to go to Guanxi immediately to integrate the troops of the Seven Guards of Guanxi, and if there is an accident, he will get 100,000 troops." ”

The faces of everyone at the scene softened when they heard this, 150,000 reinforcements plus 100,000 soldiers and horses in Qinglong City, and 100,000 troops of the Guanxi Army, so that Li Yuntian had 350,000 people in his hands and 350,000 main combat troops, under the leadership of Li Yuntian, he would definitely be able to block the footsteps of the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan Dynasty's eastward advance, which would also leave enough time for the imperial court to reorganize its armament.

"Empress Dowager, the minister checked the rosters of the Xiaowu Army, the Gyeonggi Governor's Office, the Shanbei Military Region and the Liaodong Military Region and the service situation over the years, and if the imperial court needs it, it can recruit 200,000 soldiers serving in the military camp within three months to come to the capital to guard."

To everyone's surprise, Li Yuntian immediately said another thing in an orderly manner, which made everyone couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

The Gyeonggi Governor's Office, the Shanbei Military Region, and the Liaodong Military Region, like the Xiaowu Army, all of their military families had a system of rotational service for two years, from the age of 18 to 35, so that all the children of military households could get the opportunity for military training.

Every year, the Showudang and the Imperial Inner Treasury paid a large amount of subsidies to the Gyeonggi Governor's Office, the Shanbei Military Region, and the Liaodong Military Region to maintain the operation of the three military regions.

In the past, in the eyes of the outside world, Li Yuntian's military reform of the Gyeonggi Governor's Office, the Shanbei Military Region, and the Liaodong Military Region was a complete waste of money.

What is even more suspicious of Li Yuntian taking this opportunity to enrich his own pockets and make money out of those appropriations, and Li Yuntian is disdainful of this kind of criticism.

Now it seems that Li Yuntian really spent the money on the blade, and raised 200,000 veterans with military training for the imperial court in time when the southwest of the Ming Dynasty was in crisis, which saved the imperial court from the cumbersome recruitment of troops and made the political situation of the Ming Dynasty not fall into turmoil.

The Empress Dowager Zhang didn't expect that Li Yuntian had already arranged all the affairs, and a complicated look couldn't help but appear on her face, knowing that if she had let Li Yuntian go out last year, there would be no defeat in the Western Regions today.

"That's great!" Subsequently, the Empress Dowager of the Zhang family bowed slightly to Li Yuntian, and said slowly, not only looked much more relieved, but also looked at Li Yuntian's eyes full of praise and gratification, no wonder Emperor Xuande would unexpectedly enter Li Yuntian as the prince, Li Yuntian is really the most reassuring.