Chapter 249
Soon after dawn, Han Ruzi was galloping all the way to subdue the southern troops of each battalion, and Cui Hong received news that Baiqiao Town had fallen.
The 60,000 Southern Army camped on a high ground 30 miles away from the capital. Cui Hong had no intention of attacking the capital. He just wanted to put a strong pressure on the entire court, especially to make the Empress Dowager and Shangguan Sheng dare not act rashly, and even the new emperor. Knowing the importance of the Confederate Army, the camps were extremely vast, one by one, stretching for more than ten miles from east to west, and a forest was leveled for this purpose.
From a distance, outsiders would think that the Southern Army not only brought 100,000 soldiers, but also received a lot of reinforcements.
The people living outside the city were terrified and moved their families in, hoping to take refuge in the city, but the city gate was already closed and would not be opened for them, so the people had to go back home, shut the door tightly, burn incense and worship the gods.
Cui Hong sent troops to block all passages to the north of Beijing, and then waited in peace in the central army tent. The imperial court would send someone out to negotiate. He was not in a hurry at all, but the news from the rear shattered his "anxiety". .
The first time he heard the news, Cui Hong didn't believe it at all. There were only a few thousand northern troops, hundreds of miles away from Mancang's main force. Attacking Baiqiao Town was tantamount to seeking death. The civil strife of the Southern Army was misunderstood as an attack by the Northern Army.
Soon, Cui Hong got more news, and he couldn't believe it anymore. Marquis Juan, who had already returned to Beijing, actually appeared in Baiqiao Town, and he still had the imperial decree in his hand!
Cui Hong detained all the messengers, sent others to inquire about the news, and then called Zhang Youcai.
Zhang Youcai was considered a prisoner, but his treatment was not bad. There was no rope on his body, he had a tent to himself, and four guards brought him water and food. He couldn't help but think that it felt really good to be served.
As soon as Zhang Youcai entered the central army tent, Cui Hong slapped the desk, and the guards on both sides shouted at the same time, and stabbed their spears horizontally, the tip of the spear clinging to his clothes.
Zhang Youcai didn't expect this kind of posture, so he threw himself to his knees, his face pale, "Taifu spare your life." He was just a eunuch, and it was normal to kowtow in front of the grandfather, not to mention that the grandfather was the father-in-law of Marquis Tien.
"What a daring servant, say, where is Marquis Tien?" Cui Hong asked.
Zhang Youcai replied blankly: "It should be... in the city."
"Have you seen Hou Juan enter the city with your own eyes?"
Zhang Youcai shook his head.
"I heard with my own ears that Hou Wan said that he was going back to the city?"
Zhang Youcai nodded.
"Then why are there rumors that Marquis Juan appeared in Baiqiao Town?"
"Master is in Baiqiao Town?" Zhang Youcai was really surprised. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized, "Master said he wanted to go back to the capital, but he didn't say when he would go back, maybe in two days..."
Cui Hong was furious and slapped the book case again, causing Zhang Youcai to crawl to the ground in fright. He couldn't even say the words to beg for mercy. He only said in his heart, "Master, Zhang Youcai is loyal to you..."
Cui Hong waved his hand and motioned for the guards to drag Zhang Youcai out. This is just an ignorant little eunuch, and killing him is useless.
The guards also retreated, and Cui Hong looked at Hua Bin.
"This news must not reach the capital." Hua Bin said.
Cui Hong was still annoyed, and said bluntly: "Of course, the messengers in Baiqiao Town are locked up, and the passage to the capital is also blocked, but how long can you hide it? There are 60,000 soldiers in the camp, and the news spreads sooner or later. , can you make them all shut up?"
Hua Bin smiled and said: "It doesn't take long to hide it, the major events in the capital will be settled within a few days, the King of the East China Sea will be proclaimed emperor, the Grand Fuquan will dominate the government, and the chaos in Baiqiao Town will be settled, without costing a single soldier or a single soldier."
Cui Hong frowned, "Cui Sheng, this idiot, can't even keep a small Baiqiao Town. Tien Hou... Well, the combined age of the two of us is several times his age, so why was he given to him? Are you kidding? He actually fell for his tricks."
"Marquis Juan... has some ability." Hua Bin once had a confrontation with Marquis Juan and was very impressed, "Unfortunately, he is not the king of the East Sea, and without a backer like the Cui family, everything in his hand is empty, and he can only go around. Opportunities and tricks, after all, the bamboo basket is empty, and there is nothing to be afraid of.”
"Look at what you said so easily, think of a way, I can't let him occupy Baiqiao Town like this, not even for a day."
"Taifu can't send troops back, it will disturb the morale of the army and let the news leak faster."
Cui Hong snorted coldly, of course he understood the truth, so he let Hua Bin think of it.
"There are dozens of Southern Army camps to the north of Baiqiao Town, and it only takes a few responses to retake Baiqiao Town. At the worst, Zhao Mengli of Yingfeng Village can always defeat Marquis Juan."
Cui Hong believed in his loyal dog, but he didn't want to be careless again, "We have already lost Baiqiao Town because we underestimated the enemy, so don't underestimate Marquis Juan. Nangui, what should I do?"
Hua Bin smiled and shook his head, not believing this assumption, seeing that Taifu's expression was not good, he still replied: "Even if Marquis Tien is capable, it is impossible to make the southern army of Baiqiao Town allegiance to him overnight, I can send Assassin, finish him, and once he dies, the threat will naturally disappear."
Cui Hong hummed with satisfaction, but did not look away, "Don't wait, you collected a lot of strange people when Yunmengze Zhanshan was the king, hurry up and use them."
"I am in Yunmengze only under the guard of others, not the king of Zhanshan." Hua Bin hurriedly defended, he still wanted to return to the court, and never wanted to bear the reputation of "Zhanshan was the king", "Most of my people are in the city, There are only three people around, but these three are strong in martial arts..."
"Bring back the head of the Marquis of Tired, and you have everything you want. If you can't bring it back, don't mention any masters or lows."
Baiqiao Town fell, and Cui Hong felt as much anger as accidents, so he was not so polite to Hua Bin.
Even when Hua Bin was still the Marquis of Junyang, she couldn't afford to offend the Cui family, and she didn't dare to say, "Baiqiao Town is not far away, within three days, at most five days, he will bring the head back, and Taifu will concentrate on dealing with it. The capital is, so don’t worry about Marquis tired.”
Hua Bin withdrew, but Cui Hong's anger did not diminish slightly. He wished he would get the head of Marquis Juan that day. As for the feelings of his daughter Xiaojun, he never even thought about it.
At noon that day, Han Ruzi killed Zhao Mengli in Yingfeng Village, and Cui Hong welcomed a minister sent by the imperial court.
The relationship between Xiao Sheng, the censor of Zuo Cha, and the Cui family has always been good, so he volunteered to go out of the city to negotiate, but the first thing he wanted to do was not to persuade Mrs. Cui to withdraw, but to find out who the Southern Army supported.
"The capital has been turned upside down." Xiao Sheng left the deputy envoy and his entourage outside and entered the account alone, which was extremely unethical, but he didn't care, "The Taifu came back just in time, the court needs this thunder from the Taifu. "
When the Cui family lost power, Xiao Sheng voted for the champion, and Cui Hong was dissatisfied with him, but on the surface he remained calm and sighed: "I was also forced to be helpless, I can't bear to see the chaos of the court, I'm afraid the world will not understand I have a heart for boxing, but I thought I had a different heart."
Xiao Sheng said sternly: "Those who do great things don't care about temporary gains and losses. Even if there are misunderstandings in the world, they will disappear sooner or later."
Xiao Sheng tried his best to tout it, Cui Hong enjoyed it to the fullest, until he was a little tired of hearing it, and then said: "Let's get down to business."
Xiao Sheng also felt that it was almost the same, "To put it simply, the imperial court has already existed in name only, all the ministers are behind closed doors, and no one is going to the imperial court. The person in charge is Shangguan Sheng now."
"Shangguan Sheng is brave and resourceful, not much stronger than the empress dowager's elder brother Shangguan Xu, what did he say?"
"Shangguansheng ordered Taifu to immediately retreat to Baiqiao Town, and then enter the city alone to take the blame."
Cui Hong snorted coldly, "What about Sir Xiao's own thoughts?"
"A bowl of water is difficult to balance. One is a nephew and the other is a good son-in-law. The whole capital wants to know, which one does Taifu prefer?"
"Which son-in-law is Master Xiao talking about?" Cui Hong deliberately pretended to be confused.
"Of course it's the champion." Xiao Sheng was stunned for a moment, "Marquis Tien has left the capital and has withdrawn from the race for the throne. The affairs of the court have nothing to do with him."
Cui Hong snorted, knowing that the news had not been leaked, he had already made arrangements, and the imperial envoys outside the account were closely guarded and were not allowed to talk to anyone.
"As an elder, I naturally like promising juniors, but I haven't been in the capital for a long time, and the news is blocked. I wonder which one of my nephews and son-in-law is better?"
Hua Bin has been persuading Cui Hong to support Donghai King, but Cui Hong is very cautious, knowing that this nephew holds grudges, so he does not want to express his true attitude until the last moment.
The question came back to Xiao Sheng again, he smiled, "Each has their own strengths."
"The original heard it."
"The King of the East Sea is very smart. He used the Marquis of Tien to charge into the battle and opened up a territory. The champion Marquis is quite supported by the ministers. Although he has suffered two defeats, his position is still stable."
The two of you went back and forth and tested each other. In the end, Xiao Sheng was more anxious and said: "To be honest, the champion has a plan, he just wants to know one thing, if the plan is successful, can he get the master's support?"
"Of course, he is my son-in-law after all, and besides, I am the imperial court's grandfather, and I am not qualified to choose an emperor. I just hope that the imperial court can make a decision as soon as possible, so that the world will not be left helpless."
"It's enough to have the words of the master."
Xiao Sheng left with satisfaction and wanted to bring the good news to the champion. As for Shangguan Sheng, he had his own set of words to answer.
Cui Hong became more and more at ease. Through Hua Bin, he expressed his support to the King of the East Sea, and with Xiao Sheng, he gained the trust of the champion Hou. No matter what the result was, the Cui family was worry-free and his position was more stable.
There was one thing. When Marquis Tien captured Baiqiao Town, Mrs. Cui, Fu Rumang, was on his back, and he could not rest in peace. When it was dark, he got news that Marquis Tien had actually subdued tens of thousands of southern troops around Baiqiao Town. The situation on Zhao Mengli's side was unknown.
Cui Hong was furious and a little scared, and called Hua Bin, "Your people have set off?"
"It should be approaching Baiqiao Town at this time. I heard that Marquis Juan went to Yingfeng Village. The three of them will march overnight, and they will be able to start in the middle of the night. If everything goes well, they will be able to bring back news and heads tomorrow night."
"Just three people can really break into the barracks and take heads?"
"The heavily guarded barracks won't do, and the newly recruited Southern Army will have a lot of loopholes, and I can't stop the three people I sent."
"The King of the East Sea and the Tan family will also start tonight, right?"
"Yes, there will be results at dawn."
Cui Hong was really relieved. In just one night, he would be able to return to the peak of power. Looking at the entire court, no one was more secure than him. "Okay, Huahou, please go to rest and wait for the news tomorrow morning."
Hua Bin resigned, Cui Hong called a confidant general and asked him to guard Hua Bin’s tent. If the champion Hou wins, Hua Bin, who supports the East Sea King, can’t keep it any longer.
Cui Hong couldn't sleep, so he sat with candles at night.
At the same time, several forces in the city were about to move. The assassins from the north and Cui Sheng from the south were both riding their horses on the road.