Chapter 321 Commoner's Decree
Feng Shili was in a desperate situation. Because of his caution, he saved the lives of himself and 15,000 soldiers of the Northern Army, but few people were grateful to him. Many people believed that if the whole army participated in the war at that time, it would not necessarily be defeated by the Huns. He believed that the Northern Army should be desperate to rescue the emperor. Although Liu Kunsheng, the commander of the Northern Army, and others died in honor, the right general was injustice to everyone.
Feng Shili was in a dilemma. Attacking was killing him, but retreating was disloyalty. He could only camp on the spot by the mountains and rivers, set up many obstacles, and couldn't get out of the wall. It will take at least ten days for a return, and another ten days when the reinforcements arrive.
Jincheng, where the emperor was located, could fall at any time. The Huns outside the camp challenged day and night, and the soldiers under his command sneered from time to time... Feng Shili felt that he was about to lose his strength and really wanted to lead the army to the Huns. .
Zhao Ruosu, a member of Zhongshushe, and Chao Jing, the emperor's personal attendant, arrived just in time. If Feng Shili did not leave the camp for half a day later, the soldiers of the Northern Army would also volunteer to go out to fight.
The way the Huns pointed out was very simple. The two still got lost in the mountains and went around to the rear of the Chu army camp. They were discovered by the scouts and immediately sent to the camp, just in time for the Huns to retreat temporarily without encountering any obstacles on the way.
Feng Shili was relieved. Although there were contradictions, he still trusted the emperor's judgment. The most important thing was that he no longer had to be responsible. The heavy burden was on his head, and he was about to be driven crazy.
But the imperial decree surprised him. It clearly and unmistakably ordered the Northern Army to immediately advance to Jincheng, not to fight with the Huns, and to enter the city as soon as possible to join forces with the emperor...
It was not up to the Northern Army to decide whether to fight or not. Feng Shili held the imperial edict for a while, then looked up at Zhao Ruosu, vaguely remembering that there was indeed such an official in Zhongshu Province. As for the emperor's personal follower, Chao Jing, he had seen it several times. , but it was the first time he knew his name.
Then he looked at the more than ten generals in the tent. These people were eager to try, and they were already impatient, as if going to the enemy and dying was an honor and something that must be done, and they would be preempted by others... …
Feng Shili didn't know how real other people's performance was. He only knew that he didn't want to die, but he had to die.
"The order goes on, the whole army will leave the camp at three o'clock noon, and go to Jincheng to join forces with His Majesty." Feng Shili ordered that in formal occasions, you can't say "rescue", only "join forces".
There is only one hour left until three quarters of noon, basically just to have a full meal, and then have to get on the horse.
The imperial decree requires "immediately", and Feng Shili can only extend this time.
The generals listened to the order and were about to leave the tent, when Zhao Ruosu said, "Hold on."
The emperor did not ask him to do so. Zhao Ruosu made his own decision and wanted to see if the northern army was loyal. He was very satisfied. No one under the right general Feng Shili hesitated, and no one made excuses. It was worth relying on.
"Master Zhao, what else is going on?" Feng Shili asked politely, no matter what he thought in his heart, his face would not show at all, just like other generals.
Zhao Ruosu glanced around, and finally landed on Chao Jing and said, "Take off your clothes?"
"Ah? Right here? These are the clothes that Your Majesty gave me."
"Not only that, it's an imperial edict."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the tent was surprised. The most surprised was of course Chao Jing, who looked down at his clothes, "This is... the imperial edict? Why didn't I know?"
"Your Majesty is afraid that you won't be able to hold your breath, so take it off quickly."
"Oh." Chao Jing didn't care, he really couldn't hold back his breath, and he couldn't keep his words in his heart. As for taking off his clothes in public, he didn't care. When he was in the fishing village, he was naked for almost half of the time.
Chao Jing was wearing a short coat, which looked nothing special on the outside, but when he turned it over, there was a large patch inside with fine stitches, Chao Jing recognized at a glance that this was Zhang Youcai's technique, and smiled: "Your Majesty really knows how to play. ."
No one in the tent laughed, and they all understood that this "common decree" was the emperor's true intention.
Others dared not do it, so Zhao Ruoxuan wanted to bring a dagger and pick out the needle and thread himself.
A square piece of cloth with words written on it and the seal of the seal on it was indeed an imperial decree.
Zhao Ruosu held the imperial decree in both hands, ready to read it, Chao Jing quickly grabbed the original clothes back, and whispered, "It's amazing, it turns out that I have been wearing the imperial decree's box, it will be valuable in the future."
The new imperial decree vetoed the previous order. The northern army not only could not go to Jincheng, but also had to ensure its own safety. It could retreat and choose a more suitable camp, but it could not exceed 30 miles, and then wait for reinforcements, at least as many as the Huns. only then can an attack be launched.
Then came a series of personnel appointments. General Cui Hong was still in command of the Chu army, and wanted to join forces with the emperor as quickly as possible. Chai Yue was appointed as the Hussar General, which was also a vacant title that had been vacant for a long time. For Chai Yue , still belongs to one step to the sky, which is even bigger than Deng Cui's leap.
Zhuo Ruhe, the governor of Hongnong County, was awarded the title of Prince Shaobao - this is also a false title from the first rank, and it has nothing to do with whether there is a prince or not. It is customary in Da Chu that when low-level officials are given important tasks, they are given a false title of high rank, so that In order to make an order justifiably, it will not have much impact on the pattern of the court afterwards.
Zhuo Ruhe has the power to govern the frontier fortress and dispatch troops. After joining with Zhang Yin, the Marquis of Piyuan of Iron Broken City, he will hand over the command to the real general.
For the capital, the emperor has no more arrangements. Shouxiang Shen Mingzhi and Zhong Zhangxi Yang Feng should know what to do.
Feng Shili was really relieved this time, the emperor finally did not lose his mind, made the right choice, and immediately said: "The northern army does not need to retreat, just stick here and wait for reinforcements to arrive."
A general stepped forward and asked, "What if Jincheng is in an emergency? Is the Northern Army still watching? The scout said that the Huns have been increasing in the past few days, bringing a lot of equipment, and they must be attacking the city."
Zhao Ruosu was silent for a while, then said: "Your Majesty said, don't let one person tire the world, the Huns are strong, even if Jincheng is destroyed, the northern army cannot leave the camp. If they can retreat, they will retreat. If they can't retreat, continue to stand firm."
The generals were silent, finally believing that the emperor really didn't want them to rescue him.
Zhao Ruosu added: "If General Feng is interested, please send troops to launch a charge against the Huns, and let the defenders of Jincheng see it, so that Your Majesty will know that I have arrived safely."
"Of course, tomorrow... no, I will send troops later." Feng Shili said immediately.
"Also, send someone to look for Zhuo Ruhe outside the fortress. Be sure to hand over this imperial edict to him in time. If Lord Zhuo is no longer there, send the imperial edict to Iron Broken City."
"No problem, I will send a competent person out."
"General Feng has already sent letters to the capital and the generals?"
"Of course, it has been sent out for a few days, and there is no response yet."
Zhao Ruosu nodded, "Finally ask General Feng to send a few sergeants to take us to Qi, and I'm going to meet the general."
After sending troops several times, the capital was empty. One of the two most important armies in Da Chu was in the north and the other in the east. The number of soldiers in the north of the Saibei was more, but they were scattered and it took a long time to gather together. The army in the east It is relatively concentrated, but it is difficult to mobilize due to the restraint of the rebels.
Zhao Ruosu went to see General Cui Hong in person, just to ensure that the army would go north to rescue him as soon as possible.
Feng Shili did as he did, and sent ten people to take the imperial edict out of the fortress, and sent twenty people to escort Zhao Ruosu and Chao Jing to Qi. Just to let Jincheng see that this army really exists.
Zhao Ruosu and Chao Jing did not rest, they set off immediately after passing the imperial edict.
Everything was arranged properly, Feng Shili finally got free, slumped on the chair, weak, as if he had just returned from the battlefield, although his body was tired, his mind was spinning fast.
He called a general and asked, "Let's talk about the situation of the Huns."
"The number of Huns who surrounded Jincheng was about 60,000, with an increase of more than 5,000 every day. Now it has reached nearly 80,000, and it seems that it will continue to increase. It is said that most of the cities in Yan State and Zhongshan County have been conquered, and only a few remain. Hold on, many of the weapons brought by the Huns were taken from the Chu army..."
Feng Shili interrupted the general, "According to your estimate, when will the Huns attack the city?"
The general thought for a while, "At least three days, no more than five days, the Huns would be enough to launch a large-scale siege."
Feng Shili waved his hand to let the generals retire, leaving no one by his side and pondering alone in the tent.
After calculating, he found that no matter which side of the reinforcements could arrive in time, the Huns' strategy was very clear, either using the emperor to lure batches of Chu troops to rescue them and take the opportunity to annihilate them, or break through Jincheng and capture the emperor alive to threaten Chu. , will never wait until the number of Chu troops is comparable to that of the Huns.
"It's really unfortunate." Feng Shili sighed. It was the emperor himself who insisted on driving the expedition in person. He really couldn't blame others for this step. He researched ink and laid paper, and wrote a letter with a pen. In the letter, he called his confidant and ordered him. He took the letter back to Beijing.
"This letter is of great importance and must not fall into the hands of others. You must hand it over to Lord Shouxiang Shen, understand?"
The entourage kowtowed to lead the order, and hurried out of the account.
Da Chu is facing a crisis again, who can turn the tide this time? Feng Shili would rather make more choices than die and wait for a miracle to happen.
The 5,000 northern troops left the camp and blew dozens of trumpets more than ten miles away from Jincheng, and immediately retreated without waiting for the Huns to encircle them.
The Huns had already set up their nets, and they never thought that the fish would be cunning. When they were about to enter the net, they turned around and swam away. This made them extremely disappointed and very angry. They rushed to the front of the village and challenged them by various means.
Han Ruzi in the city finally got the signal, and the feint of the Northern Army showed that Zhao Ruosu and Loach had used a false imperial edict to deceive the Huns and successfully escaped the siege.
But he could only breathe a sigh of relief. There were more and more Huns besieging the city, and tall siege equipment was being built everywhere. The Huns were quickly learning the operation skills, and a large number of captured prisoners could be used as labor.
The next siege will not be as simple as just shooting arrows.
Before waiting for reinforcements, Jincheng still had to find a way to protect himself.