The World is Shocked 132. Going to War (1)

News from the border came in day by day, and the atmosphere in the court became more and more solemn. The Xiling army took three cities in a row in half a month and approached Xinyang. On the ninth day of the ninth month, news came that the 100,000 troops led by Leng Qingcang and the son of Nanhou who had just rushed to rescue were intercepted by the 50,000 troops led by Zhennanhou himself. Most of them were lost, and the remaining remnants retreated to Xinyang.

On the tenth day of September, Xinyang was besieged. At the same time, the Xiling army was divided into three routes and advanced in the north, south and center. Urgent letters for help came from all the border passes. However, at this time, Prince Dingguo, who had been guarding Da Chu for a hundred years, was still nowhere to be seen, and Prince Dingguo's palace was crowded with people every day.

"princess."

In the study, Ye Li raised her head and looked at Butler Mo at the door and asked, "Who else wants to see you?"

Chief Steward Mo said in a deep voice: "Duke Hua and Marquis Nan requested to see you. The son of Marquis Nan disappeared in the rebellion."

"Missing?! How could it be..." Ye Li's eyebrows were furrowed. She had some idea of ​​what Duke Hua and Marquis Nan were here for. But this was really embarrassing for her. With a sigh, Ye Li said, "Please invite the old Duke and Marquis Nan in."

Soon, Duke Hua and Marquis Nan arrived at the door. Ye Li personally stood up to greet them, stopped the two who wanted to greet him and said, "There are no outsiders here, so forget about the formalities. Old Duke, Marquis, please take a seat." The two thanked him and sat down. The maid brought tea and Ye Li asked, "Old Duke and Marquis Nan came together, is it for the border issue?"

Nan Hou looked haggard, and he sighed, "I'm sorry to bother you, Princess."

Ye Li shook her head and said, "The prince and I are not outsiders, so you don't have to worry. I will immediately order people to look for the prince at the border."

Nan Hou shook his head and sighed, "My son is loyal to his country. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate. But...Princess, the news from the border must be received faster by the palace than by us. If this continues, I am afraid that before His Royal Highness Ding Wang returns, the hundreds of thousands of troops at the border will be wiped out!" Ye Li also sighed softly and said, "The King of Xiling Town Nan has been conserving his energy for more than ten years.

Rui, how can it be so easy to make a comeback now? Although the Ding Palace has sent the news to Beirong a long time ago, there is still no news from the prince. This concubine is also... helpless..."

Duke Hua sighed heavily and said, "Why would His Majesty send Prince Ding to escort the bride? The only general in the court who can lead troops to fight is General Murong, who is far away in Yongzhou, and General Jingguo is guarding the northern border. I..." With a long sigh, Duke Hua stood up and was about to go out, saying, "I will go to the palace to see the emperor, and I will be the one to handle the affairs.

"You old man, lead the troops to the battle!" Ye Li and Nan Hou hurriedly held him back. Nan Hou smiled bitterly and said, "Old Duke, even if we have to lead the troops to the battle, we will go. Why should we let you worry about it?" Looking at the two old men in front of her, whose combined age was over 120 years old, Ye Li smiled helplessly. She understood the purpose of their coming, but she couldn't blame them. Because he

They were different from Mo Jingqi, Prime Minister Liu, and Marquis Muyang. They were really worried about the secret guards of Da Chu and the soldiers and civilians at the border. Because she was also a soldier, she couldn't hate them for this reason.

"Old Duke, Marquis..."

Duke Hua turned around and saw Ye Li's clear and calm eyes, which seemed to be as clear as a candle. He was stunned for a moment and sat down again. Duke Hua said apologetically: "Princess, please don't blame me, an old man, for disturbing you at this time. It's really..."

Ye Li shook her head and said, "Old Duke, your words are too serious. Ye Li understands."

Duke Hua said, "Now that Xiu Yao is gone, it is not easy for a woman like you to support the huge Dingguo Palace. I, an old man, know this. But the border is in a state of emergency and I am afraid that we cannot wait for the return of the Dingguo Prince. I have heard about the princess's abilities. Please help her for the sake of the lives of the people of Dachu and the soldiers at the border. I just said that I will lead

The troops will never be sent out for war, and the old man knows the princess's concerns. If the princess trusts an old man like me, I will lead the troops myself, and at least I can hold out until the day when Prince Ding returns. Even if the emperor is anxious, he will not think of taking away my military power at the last minute. Once Prince Ding returns, he will rush to the border to take charge of the army again, and everything will be settled.

What do you think, Princess?

Ye Li smiled bitterly and said, "Are you so sure that Ye Li can mobilize the Mohist Army?"

Duke Hua raised his eyebrows, glanced at Ye Li and said, "Can the princess be transferred? If the princess says no, this old man will get up and leave."

Ye Li was silent for a while, then raised his head and said, "The military power cannot be given to the old Duke. It's not that Ye Li doesn't trust the Duke, but even if the Duke is given the military token, I'm afraid he won't be able to dispatch them easily." A trace of disappointment flashed in the eyes of Duke Hua and Marquis Nan, but they heard Ye Li say calmly, "Ye Li will accompany him to the border. But the old Duke is old, and I'm afraid he can't travel long distances...

"Nan Hou said happily: "If the princess believes in me, I will immediately ask the emperor to lead the troops to the battle. No, I can just be a deputy general, and leave the position of commander-in-chief until the prince returns!"

Duke Hua looked at Ye Li in surprise, with admiration in his eyes, and nodded, "Okay, Xiu Yao really has good taste. I'll trouble the princess this time."

Ye Li shook her head and smiled, "Don't be happy too soon, old Duke. No matter how good our imaginations are, the emperor may not be able to unify the country." Duke Hua said in a deep voice, "If the emperor is really the ruler of a country, he will naturally agree." Hearing this, Nan Hou was startled. He looked outside the study and whispered, "Old Duke, this cannot be said." The old Duke snorted and said no more.

After seeing off Duke Hua and Marquis Nan, Ye Li returned to the study and saw Feng Zhiyao standing under the bookshelf, looking down at a book. When he heard her footsteps, he turned around and asked with some worry, "Did the princess really agree to let the old Duke and Marquis Nan go to the border?"

"Did you hear that?" Ye Li smiled, walked back to the desk and sat down, saying, "The force coming from Xiling is strong, and it is impossible for the Mohist Army to stay out of it, even if the prince is not here. Now people may understand that I am suppressing them from having military power, but once the war gets worse, no excuse will work. All the people in the world will see is the Great Chu being attacked by foreign forces.

The Mohist army turned a deaf ear to the ravages of the tribe. Besides, since we have to go out sooner or later, the sooner we enter the battlefield, the sooner we can control the situation. Besides... if I agree, the one in the palace may not agree. "

Feng Zhiyao sneered and said, "If he doesn't agree, it won't be our business if people in the world talk about it in the future."

Ye Li nodded and said, "It's been so long. If everything goes well for the prince, he should be back by the time our army reaches the border."

Speaking of Mo Xiuyao, Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but frown and said, "It's been so many days, how come there is still no news from the prince?"

"Perhaps someone doesn't want him to come back. The fact that there is no news at all at least proves that he is fine now. Go and prepare, and tell Chief Steward Mo that if the concubine of the Crown Prince of Nanhou Mansion comes, ask her to go back first."

"Yes." Feng Zhiyao nodded, hesitated for a moment and said, "Princess, let Feng San accompany you to the border this time."

Ye Li frowned and said, "Although nothing will happen in Prince Ding's Mansion when the prince and I are not in the capital, we still need someone to stay and support the overall situation."

Feng Zhiyao said, "It's enough to have Uncle Mo here. Although the Ding Palace is heavily guarded, it doesn't really matter to the Mo family army. Besides, Chief Steward Mo has been in charge of the palace for decades, so he's much better than an amateur like me." Ye Li pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. You go first and I'll think about it later. Since you're going to go with us, those who should say goodbye should go.

Say goodbye." Feng Zhiyao was stunned, a bitter smile appeared on his face and he said, "I am a playboy, how can I say goodbye to anyone..." Ye Li looked at him with a smile and said, "There is no point in deceiving yourself, don't regret it when it's too late." Feng Zhiyao was a little dazed, and after a moment he came to his senses and walked out in a daze.

As expected, Mo Jingqi rejected the proposal of Duke Hua and Marquis Nan without even listening to it. Ye Li did not care about it. Instead, Xu Hongyan and Xu Qingze rushed to Prince Ding's mansion at the same time. Xu Hongyan did not say much. Although he was not in an important position, he understood the current situation more clearly than those who were in the situation. Just reminding

After talking for a while, he sighed and turned away. Xu Qingze was as silent as usual. Before leaving, he said, "If you insist on going, I will ask the emperor tomorrow to go to the border together." Ye Li smiled and said, "My second brother is getting married soon. If I delay the wedding for Li'er, won't Aunt Qin and my aunt be angry with me later? There are many guards in Dingwang Mansion, and my second brother will be very busy.

Brother, don't worry." Xu Qingze frowned and said, "Let's go together, uncle, father and grandfather will feel more at ease." After saying that, he turned around and left without caring about what Ye Li wanted to say.

Bad news from the border came in day after day. Although people in the capital could not see the bloody storm, the number of cities lost and the number of casualties were still shocking. There were more and more people in the capital asking the Dingguo Palace to send troops. People had long been accustomed to the black army protecting their safety at all times. This time, the war had started for almost a month, but there was still no news from the Dingguo Palace and the Mohist Army. This made many people and even dignitaries feel uneasy. The whole capital was restless and uneasy.

When the news came from somewhere that Prince Ding was far away in Beirong and Princess Dingguo was rejected by the emperor to go to the frontier on behalf of her husband, the court was silent, but the people gradually began to discuss it. The words were naturally quite dissatisfied with the emperor's decision, but at this time Mo Jingqi did not have the courage to suppress the message, resulting in the entire capital and even the people from all over the country writing letters one after another, almost drowning most of Yu's study. Three days later, Mo Jingqi finally announced in the morning court with a dark face that the Marquis of Nan would serve as the deputy general and Princess Dingguo would accompany the supervisory army to go to the border to meet the invasion of Xiling. After receiving the decree, Ye Li curled her lips in her heart and turned back to her room to prepare.

The news that the Mohist Army was about to go out to fight made the whole capital excited, as if as long as the Mohist Army went out, the Xiling Army would be defeated. Ye Li couldn't help but sighed. Mo Xiuyao was right. The strength of Dingwang Mansion over the years has directly led to the scarcity of real famous generals in Da Chu. Once something happened to Dingwang Mansion, the situation of Da Chu would be worrying.