Xu Qiu was defeated and the situation in Jiangnan became increasingly tense.

Since the imperial army personally fought, Zhu Houzhao has suffered consecutive failures, which has made the world less confident in him, the emperor. However, people in various prefectures in Jiangnan were not very afraid. When talking privately, they would inevitably mention a person, that is, Chenxi, which is now supervising the construction of a new city in Jiangnan.

Even if the emperor is not good, the Duke of Wei is not good, and even the civil and military officials in the court are not good. Isn’t there any Shen Zhihou who can do anything?

The new city where Shen Zhihou is located is not far from Nanjing. Will the court not be able to transfer Shen Zhihou to the front line when there is a crisis?

Officials and generals in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and other places in Nanjing, were very calm. However, the situation is not too critical.

However, at this time, Zhu Houzhao was like an ant on a hot pan, unable to sit and stand still. He had considered the issue of letting Chen Xi lead the troops more than once, but on the one hand, he was unhappy with his face. On the other hand, he was still waiting for detailed battle reports sent by the prefecture near Jiuhua Mountain and even the Duke of Wei himself, to know the specific situation of Ning Wang's troops.

While Zhu Houzhao was waiting anxiously, Jiang Bin's troops successfully retreated to Jiangbei.

This time, Jiang Bin led his troops across the river to fight and won a great victory. Originally, Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied and praised him. However, after Xu Qiu, Duke of Wei, suffered an ugly defeat, Zhu Houzhao became indifferent to the outcome of this battle.

After Jiang Bin came back, he took Xu Tai to meet the emperor and found that Zhu Houzhao was no longer as energetic as before. He looked extremely depressed. He sat there with a gloomy face, as if he was about to attack at any time.

"Your Majesty, Commander Jiang and General Xu are here." Zhang Yuan reminded.

Zhu Houzhao raised her head, looked at the two people half kneeling in front of her, and waved her hands: "Get up and talk."

Because Xu Qi was defeated, Emperor Zhengde, the commander of the three armies, lost all his face, and Jiang Bin would not ask for a boring request for reward at this time.

Jiang Bin stood up and bowed his waist and said, "Your Majesty, the last general failed to find out the situation of the bandits in advance, and sent troops to reinforce the Duke of Wei in a timely manner, resulting in his defeat... I have no choice but to blame."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said helplessly: "Originally, you led your troops across the river to defeat the enemy's troops and cut off the threat under the nose of Anqing Mansion City... Your mission was successfully completed, how could I blame you easily? However, the scouts you sent did not investigate the situation of the main force of the Negro King as soon as possible. This is your real fault."

Jiang Bin finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the emperor just thought he was "negligent" rather than "crime".

Zhang Yuan, who was standing aside, was indignant and thought to himself: "Duke of Wei was defeated. Jiang Bin is responsible for this guy. His Majesty actually magnanimous to him easily?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "The war on Jiuhua Mountain is over now, why hasn't the latest news come yet? What is the situation of the troops led by Duke Wei?"

Zhu Houzhao asked a question, and it was obviously asking Jiang Bin, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

What exactly did the scout sent by Jiang Bin investigate? He had been so confused that he knew nothing about the past two days. However, he still took out his big mouth during the emergency and even if he didn't know, he would make up in front of the emperor.

Jiang Bin said: "When you go back to your Majesty, the intelligence investigated on the front line was that the Duke of Wei was defeated, and some of the troops broke through the siege and headed east. As for the main force... the entire army was wiped out."

Jiang Bin didn't know whether Xu Qi would die or live after his defeat. As for how many troops were left in the end, as well as the position of King Ning's main force and the next move, he knew nothing, but he just dared to talk nonsense in front of the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao slapped the table angrily: "This old man Xu, I have trusted him so much before. I think he is the descendant of the King of Zhongshan Xu Da, and the general of the army must have a way of leading troops to fight... Now I have finally seen his ability, and I have embroidered pillows and packs of grass, nothing is it!"

Zhang Yuan quickly said: "Your Majesty, as Commander Jiang said, the troops led by Duke Wei can no longer restrain the troops of the King of Wei. Then the main force of the King of Wei may have to return to the army after a little rectification. At that time, there is a high possibility of fierce confrontation around Anqing Prefecture City... You should prepare as soon as possible."

Zhu Houzhao did not answer Zhang Yuan’s question and continued to ask: “Aiqing Jiang, have you checked out how many soldiers and horses King Ning has?”

Jiang Bin answered directly without any ambiguity: "Your Majesty, based on the current investigation, the troops under King Ning should be between 50,000 and 80,000. If some of the remaining troops are collected in this battle, it may expand to about 100,000..."

"hiss."

Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath and suddenly felt that a sharp sword was hanging on his head, which could fall down at any time.

Zhang Yuan glanced at Jiang Bin and questioned: "It shouldn't be that many, right?"

Jiang Bin ignored Zhang Yuan and asked: "Your Majesty, for the sake of this plan, we should mobilize local troops to recruit soldiers, and then dispatch troops from Nanzhili and Fujian and Zhejiang to Anqing Prefecture City to serve the king."

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: "What's the use of hoarding heavy troops in Anqing Prefecture City? If the rebel king drives straight into Nanjing, will I give in to Nanjing?"

Jiang Bin said: "Your Majesty, King Ni should not have such courage. In fact, he has taken the risk of fighting the Jiuhua Mountain battle. He fully exposed the rear to us. From Jiuhua Mountain to the east, the logistics supply route is longer. If the Yangtze River waterway is not fully utilized, and relying on the mountain path alone will not be able to maintain the supply of the entire army."

Jiang Bin would not mention that there is a Shen Xi who is very employed in military affairs near Nanjing. It can prevent the worst situation from happening. He will only indirectly tell Zhu Houzhao that he will not be in danger in Nanjing.

Zhu Houzhao pondered for a long time and finally sighed.

"It's too early to draw these conclusions now. Hurry up and investigate the main trends of the King of Rebels. If you find that you are rushing to Anqing Prefecture City, you will immediately issue a king-support order... Maybe this decisive battle to combat the rebellion war will really start near Anqing Prefecture City, and I have only half of the troops under my command... Is this putting me in a dangerous place?"

When Zhu Houzhao found that the situation was unfavorable, she wanted to retreat.

After experiencing the sacredness when sending troops, and then compared with his current miserable appearance, Zhu Houzhao basically recognized the reality... He may not be the source of leading troops to fight.

Jiang Bin and Xu Tai went out to arrange defense matters for Anqing Prefecture City, and Zhu Houzhao began to think about whether to leave to return to the capital in order to "make a comeback."

Zhang Yuan was left behind, a little worried, afraid that Zhu Houzhao would vent his guilt of failure on him. However, after waiting for a while, he heard Zhu Houzhao ask in a gentle tone: "Zhang Yuan, if you rush back to the capital from Anqing Prefecture City and take a shortcut, how many days will it take?"

Not only Zhang Yuan, but also Xiao Twist next to him, Zhu Houzhao didn't want to lead the troops anymore, and was always in a state of fear.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "If you go back to Beijing from Anqing Prefecture City, you may be able to arrive in about half a month if you travel through starry night."

"this……"

Zhu Houzhao was very hesitant and finally shook her head and said, "Is it going to take half a month? It's too long. After all, the main force of the King of Rebellion is only more than 150 miles away from us, so it's too easy to catch up with the imperial carriage... I left Anqing Prefecture City, which is equivalent to putting myself in danger."

Zhang Yuan thought for a while and nodded.

In his opinion, Zhu Houzhao abandoned his troops and fled back to the capital was not a good choice.

"Your Majesty, in fact, it is better to go back to Nanjing than to go back to the capital. It is difficult for bandits to capture Nanjing with strong city defense, let alone... Isn't there Lord Shen nearby?"

When Zhu Houzhao heard Zhang Yuan mention Shen Xi, his face looked extremely ugly and sighed: "Are you still going to have to make a fuss in the end? I want to win a battle and let the world know my military talent, why is it so difficult?"

The emperor was a little angry at this time. He complained without caring about the servants present, and he opened his mouth.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Taozi knew the emperor's idea, and Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "As an emperor, he had to compete with his military ministers for his achievements on the battlefield. Isn't it obvious that he compares his own shortcomings with others' strengths? If you don't have this ability, you should admit it."

Zhang Yuan said tentatively: "Your Majesty, you may be able to let Shangshu Chen lead his troops to Nanjing City and give a certain threat to the King of Rebellion... The most important thing now is to ensure the safety of Anqing Prefecture City. Any situation may occur during war."

Zhu Houzhao woke up and nodded, "You reminded me... Although I was in Anqing Prefecture, the soldiers of the three armies who were siege in the city of Anqing will use their lives to protect my integrity, but I am afraid that the sluts will be bought by King Ning, so I will open the city gate in private to welcome the soldiers of the rebel king... Then I will be sad."

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty is extremely worried, and you must not give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Zhu Houzhao nodded heavily: "Then I will issue an order quickly to ask Mr. Chen to rectify his troops and prepare to go to war... Let him rescue Anqing Prefecture City first, and I will wait for him here. At that time, I will be the head coach and Mr. Chen as the deputy commander. I can still fight this battle."

At this time, Zhu Houzhao finally figured it out that anyone could be appointed as the deputy commander. As the emperor, the head coach should be decided. No matter who leads the troops and gets credit, he will still have his share, just to change the deputy commander from Xu Qi to Chen Xi.

Although Zhang Yuan didn't want Chen Xi to come out to find a bargain, he had to consider his life and future, so he didn't dare to delay and went to do things in a hurry.

...

...

Zhu Houzhao issued an order to dispatch troops.

The issuance of this decree was purely a helpless act, and it was a compromise that Zhu Houzhao had to make when he felt that his life was threatened.

But less than two hours after he issued the edict, he regretted it.

Because he finally knew the real situation of the troops of Xu Qi, Duke of Wei, and understood that Xu Qi was not wiped out in the previous battle. A considerable number of troops were transferred to Qingyang County, about 160 or 70 miles away from Anqing Prefecture City, forming a strategic situation that echoed Anqing Prefecture.

In this battle, Xu Qi snatched most of the food, grass and supplies back and brought them all to Qingyang County, where they could hold the city for a long time. Ning Wang lacked the equipment for siege and did not have the ability to break through Qingyang County for the time being.

"What's going on?! Didn't you say that the troops of the Duke of Wei have been wiped out before? Why did you suddenly say that he was just a strategic transfer?"

After Zhu Houzhao received the sued for Xu Qiu from Zhang Yuan, he was furious and called Jiang Bin and Xu Tai directly, and then asked him in surprise.

Jiang Bin did not expect that his big mouth would fail. He originally thought that Xu Qi would have ended up in a very miserable way after his defeat. Even if he was not a prisoner of war, he should have escaped in the mountains and fields in a mess, avoiding the pursuit of Ning Wang's soldiers. It was impossible for him to send the memorial to Anqing Prefecture City so quickly.

Jiang Bin didn't know how to explain for a moment, but Zhu Houzhao still refused to give up and asked: "I asked you, why are you mute?"

"I...I don't know what's going on."

Jiang Bin's forehead was covered with cold sweat, "I did send people to the surrounding mountains to investigate the information. I learned that the surrounding roads had been blocked by the bandits and horses. The remaining defeated generals who escaped said that the Duke of Wei suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, and I didn't know where the person was... Perhaps it was because Duke of Wei who was defeated and rectified his troops and retreated to Qingyang County safely... It was not because he intended to falsely report it."

Although Zhu Houzhao was very angry, he did not want to do anything to Jiang Bin. As far as he was concerned, he still believed in this capable general very much.

No matter how poor Jiang Bin's ability to command operations and obtain intelligence, at least he is willing to die for him. No one except Jiang Bin has this loyalty. Zhu Houzhao has always been reasonable and I will trust whoever is loyal to me.

Zhang Yuan was waiting to watch the show, but found that the anger on Zhu Houzhao's face was gradually fading.

Zhu Houzhao's tone was still very cold: "I sent you to lead troops across the river, but you only achieved some merit and reported to me. I thought you had won so much, but it was nothing more than that! Now I have investigated the frontline war report and almost made me misjudgment the situation... You are such a big sin."

Jiang Bin quickly knelt down and kowtowed again: "Please give up your crime."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "I understand you. The responsibility for the defeat of the Duke of Wei this time is not on you. Moreover, the King of Wei is really cunning. He will actually hoard heavy troops in the Jiuhua Mountain area and lure the Duke of Wei into a trap and enter the ambush circle he preset... If you hadn't crossed the river to alert the snake, perhaps the King of Wei will prepare for two or three days, and the result would be even worse."

Zhang Yuan originally thought that Zhu Houzhao wanted to cure Jiang Bin's crime, but was gloating, but unexpectedly, he took the initiative to expel Jiang Bin. He was stunned for a moment... The time for the war that King Ning chose was only half a day later than Jiang Bin crossing the river and fighting, and he had been planning for a long time. Why can't he be afraid of the enemy?

Zhu Houzhao said again: "Now that the Duke of Wei lost nearly half of the troops, but fortunately they can still persist... On the contrary, King Ni is in a difficult situation now. His journey is exposed. The garrison is more than 200 miles away from Jiangxi. Relying on the one or two cities and several towns occupied, there is no enough food and grass! Now Qingyang County has become a chicken rib, and it is a pity to eat it!"

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, what you mean is..."

Zhu Houzhao stood up: "I decided to send troops to continue to harass the King's food route, so that he could not help but flee back to Jiangxi with his tail!"

...

...

In the end, Zhang Yuan didn't understand where the emperor got his confidence, and he had to take the initiative at this time.
Chapter completed!