Chapter 736 Dusk (1/2)
The first snows landed on the ancient walls of Shangjing The black and green contrasted beautifully on the palace hall but did not bring the slightest sense of charm No one took pity on the thin layer of white snow on the square that was like a woolen blanket The day had just grown bright More andthe white snow into mud
The faces of these officials were solemn and they walked quickly, without any interest or leisure to appreciate the snow The battle reports froovernovernment offices were completely enveloped in a tense and oppressive atmosphere Fortunately, it was not very chaotic
The day was very dark and heavy The Northern Qi officials in the offices were heatedly arguing so and made the Northern Qi's inner cabinet recover its silence It then quickly decided on a response a this battle, the Northern Qi court had been preparing forarmy had brazenly attacked, no one was surprised Thethe battle and the response were quickly sent froovern but actually old country In just a month, the entire Northern Qi had been called into action
A bright-yellow royal carriage left the government offices The officials did not see it off from behind Instead, they re-invested theence and state affairs At such a crucial juncture, if any official dared to express their skill at sucking up, they had to be careful that their heads would not be chopped off by an angry Ee stopped outside thehis hand and neatly juirls at his side He had no concern about injuring hiht there, on the stone steps in front of the main palace, he turned and scolded the Commander of the Brocade Guards, Wei Hua, as well as three other important officials in a cold voice ”There is internal unrest in the Qing Kingdos are still so chaotic What do I keep you useless wastrels around for?”
The hearts of the Northern Qi officials treood ht, the battle reports that had traveled thousands of li had clearly stated that the Qing arun tosuffered repeated defeats The full authority co Instead, he was hiding in a sdoht, the officials were not sure the exact reason for the E the officials in the govern Kingdom's difficult to oppose an army of hundreds of thousands? Was it because the E Shanhu was purposelyhis silence?
Wei Hua's body was bent very low The Northern Qi court had long becohtly in the Eer any factions that dared to challenge the Eo did not change this trend Furtherht now No one dared to underestihtest
Wei Hua was faer and the Emperor's trusted aide He knehat the Edodo as a year, it was completely because of the betrayal of the two consecutive ardless of whether it was the betrayal of the already dead Chen Pingping or of the fate unknown Fan Xian, probably only the Emperor, in all of Northern Qi, knew the truth of this
Of the three officials, the aged Minister of the Ministry of War could no longer stand it He bravely stood out to try and cal E Shanhu The Qing ressively If there was doubt between ruler and official, the results of this battle were obvious
As the commander in name of the Northern Qi reeen the national pillar of Northern Qi, Shang Shanhu, and the Emperor, who used maturity and steadiness beyond his years to calm the hearts of the officials in court Thus, he prostrated hiround and remonstrated forcefully
Gradually, the Northern Qi E out his sleeves, he had the officials leave to deal with the urgent military reports from the South while he led Wei Hua into the main palace
Behind the beaded curtain by the throne in the er, who had not listened to politics behind the curtain forfor their arrival
In front of the beaded curtain, the Northern Qi Ehtly Wei Hua also bowed By now, the Northern Qi E at Wei Hua, he asked in a cold voice, ”Are there any new develop court?”
As the leader of Northern Qi's spy network, Wei Hua was responsible for gathering all of the intelligence reports from the court to military affairs However, these reports had been sent to the Eht For a moment, he didn't kno to answer such a question What exactly was the E his words, Wei Hua furrowed his brows and said, ”The codou Garrison is still shi+ Fei, but Xiao Jinhua has been moved from Nanzhao back to the Northern Cauarded Yanjing for generations The ”
The Northern Qi Ehtly ”Xiao Jinhua was once the Qing Great Prince's deputy general During the Jingdou rebellion four years ago, his performance was mediocre In addition to his connection with the Great Prince, he was exiled by the E hi Zhikun, what do you think of hi Zhikun is a very secretive person No es, he re to the court's observation these years, the Qing Emperor has kept him in preparation for the present Northern invasion” Wei Hua had no choice but to repeat the analysis from the Brocade Guards and Ministry of War
The Northern Qi Emperor was silent for a dou?”
Wei Hua replied, ”Yes”
The Northern Qi Eht flashed from eyes that were narrowed into crescents ”You are sure?”
Wei Hua's heart trembled He said in a low voice, ”I alanced at the e his head, ”If the Qing E in one stroke, how could he keep Ye Zhong in Jingdou? These few years, the Qing Kingdo and Fan Xian badly The faenerals that are experts in war have either died or turned traitor The Qin fayi How could aE to personally lead the expedition, at least so would be let out into the North”
Wei Hua's heart trehtly He also couldn't understand why the ed like this The battle between terful countries was not a s Zhikun had planned for this for 20 years in Yanjing, if the Qing ure who could intimidate the land, how could they demonstrate their determination to the world? How could they announce their tyranny to Northern Qi?
Northern Qi was not Dongyi This piece of land continued the throne of the Wei Kingdoe population The northeast plains were also one of the granaries of the land Although it had been failing for a long tier and the Emperor's sincere cooperation and forceful radually blossodoth and military power, if they wanted to attack Northern Qi, it would not be a goal achievable within a short tiant judgment, even with his powerful self-confidence
The inside of the main palace of Northern Qi's beautiful Royal Palace immediately sank into silence The Emperor paced slowly beneath the throne His brows pulled into a pretty furrow as he analyzed what his peer in the Qing Kingdoun, so there was no chance of it luring out or testing the enemy Hundreds of thousands of people had already paid with their lives for this Since the battle had already started, why had the Qing Emperor still not put on a ferocious air? On the contrary, he was confor to the norms Such conformation exuded a sense of pettiness
Wei Hua also sank into silence His gaze moved endlessly with the Emperor's steps as he turned the iven the strength of the Qingcourt put in charge But, seeing that the E li Shanhu with his troops alone in a city in the Song Kingdo defensive line So but was scared that the Eain He looked at the blurry figure behind the curtain Silently gritting his teeth he said, ”Perhaps the Qing E Shanhu's use of soldiers and is unwilling to attack with all his strength However, as his army slowly presses forward, it will force the Qi defenses to crack under this pressure The Qing court will use this crack to leap forward…”
Before he had even finished speaking, the Northern Qi E, so like a smile rose to his face He stared at Hua Wei's face with calmness but also with oppression The crack Wei Hua spoke of earlier was not actually a crack in the Northern Qiabout a crack in the people's hearts Just like the old Minister of the Ministry of War remonstrated in the snow, the officials of Northern Qi were all very worried that General Shang Shanhu, as considered a pillar in the Qi court, would cause the Ery because of the lack of success in the war in the South
It had been an between the two countries As the co Shanhu not stop the invasion of the Qing ar defensive line and hid far away He ignored dozens of urgent co army came within a hundred li
In the Northern Qi court, the Ee had been demonstrated without any concealovernuesses of the officials, the remonstration fro words
Unexpectedly, Wei Hua was not faced with the E The Northern Qi Emperor only looked at him with indifference and said in a slow voice, ”You underestidohtly, unsure of the reason for the E Shanhu's loyalty” The Northern Qi Emperor's brows rose They were filled with an indescribable coldness ”No, to speak accurately, I do not care if General Shang Shanhu is loyal toas he is loyal to the court and loyal to this country That is enough”
Wei Hua's expression changed slightly, not understanding He wondered if the Ee that made the Northern Qi court officials inco scolded that ca Emperor really thinks that I willEined,” the Northern Qi E people to see It could also be said that I was doing it for you all to see”
”If the Qing army truly dared to leap directly North, are they not worried about General Shanhu lying in wait in the center as well as Dongyi's strength?” The Northern Qi E people fall for my trap? I didn't believe they would Unexpectedly, all these officials in court jumped in one by one”
Wei Hua was silent for a h to intimidate the hearts of the officials I am just worried that there are officials in court ill misunderstand your order and affect the soldiers at the front lines”
War was all about logistics Generals were soaked in blood at the front while the officials manipulated the Emperor in the rear All matters were like this The Northern Qi Ee He looked at Wei Hua and said, ”That is why I had you come today For these few days, follow in my lead and submit memorials to attack General Shanhu's subordinate officials Shut them all out of court”
Wei Hua's heart jue in situation with its greatest eneht in front of them
”I knohat you're worried about, but there is no need to worry too erous situation is set, and this is not the court of the past These are just useless creatures who only kno to ponder over ainst it?”
The Northern Qi Elance at the curtain He saw his ht and said with a solemn expression, ”Froeneral is to be beheaded! Anyone who neglects matters of the front lines are also to be beheaded!”