"…Therefore, I hereby appoint him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Six Routes of Guanxi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp, and give him the title of Grand Marshal, and make him the Jiedushi of Zhenxi Army, and supervise Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and all the soldiers and civilians in Guanxi… The leader shall execute it!"
The first few titles were fine, as they were only meant to facilitate the handling of this war. But after hearing the term "Jiedushi of Zhenxi Army", Wu Jie felt his mind was in a daze. He had thought of many things overnight, but at this moment he could not say a word.
Behind him, all the generals in the camp were also shocked.
Among them, the generals in the imperial camp were fine. After all, they had been fighting and guarding with the central government for many years and had already submitted to the authority of Emperor Zhao. However, many generals in Guanxi were in a state of unrest, especially Liu Xi. He raised his head several times and wanted to stand up and shout that it was unfair, but he lowered his head every time after looking at the bright yellow silk.
In the final analysis, this is one of the reasons why the so-called generals exist in the Song Dynasty... They have been favored by the emperor for generations and have been generals for generations. For them, on one side are the Western Army and on the other side is the Song Dynasty royal family. Only when they stand firm on both sides can they enjoy wealth and glory for generations.
The government and the central government can deceive and conceal things, but it is extremely difficult for them to show any hesitation on the surface or in the process, let alone opposition.
How did Zhong Shizhong die? He knew that accepting the will and going forward would mean death, but he still went with the intention of dying.
How did Liu Guangshi die? In the midst of chaos and war, he brought an army that outnumbered the emperor's own troops to the emperor's presence, but was killed by the emperor himself, and his two generals held his hands down... There are at least four people involved in this mess in the central army tent!
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty will not decline even if death is the cost!"
It took several breaths after the imperial edict was read out that Wu Jie stood up in a mess to receive it.
"Please wait a moment. There is one more thing." Zhao Jiu saw everyone standing up, and he was not in a hurry to face Wu Jie. He pointed at two people in the room. "Zhang Xian, Tian Shizhong."
"I am here."
"I am here."
Zhang and Tian were both startled.
"When you two came here, Pengju and Boying must have already made arrangements. I hope you will remain loyal to your father-in-law and sworn brother and not bring shame to your father-in-law and sworn brother... Wu Jinqing is coming here lightly without his own army, so you two will serve as the central army and take orders directly from General Wu. I want you two to serve General Wu as you serve Yue Pengju and Zhang Boying... This is a military order, do you understand?" Zhao Jiu stared at the two of them and asked seriously.
"I will obey your Majesty's will!"
"I obey the decree!"
Zhang Xian and Tian Shizhong were each startled and responded immediately.
Zhao Jiu nodded, stood up again, went straight down to support Wu Jiexu who was holding the imperial edict, then almost dragged him to the seat where he had sat before, and forced him down, and then sat down on the side... Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan had no expression on their faces, and actually left their original positions and turned to the side behind Emperor Zhao. Seeing this, Zhang Xian and Tian Shizhong dared not neglect it, but stood solemnly behind Wu Jie with their swords in hand.
During the second half of this process, Emperor Zhao sat still and said nothing.
Up to this point, Wu Jie and the other generals in the tent had already been in a trance, but a moment later, as his breathing became even, Wu Jinqing immediately became solemn again... The brave and resourceful Wu Da knew that unless he could defeat Lou Shi this time, the only way he could do to repay the emperor's kindness was to protect the emperor and enter Hanzhong after the war, and then commit suicide to thank the emperor for his kindness.
"Everyone."
With this thought in mind, Wu Jie, who was determined, no longer looked at the appearance of Emperor Zhao beside him (in fact, he dared not look at it), but spoke directly to the countless generals in the tent who also had solemn expressions. "Stop talking nonsense. When I was in Fangzhou, I thought about the war situation day and night, thinking about how to deal with Lou Shi... But after thinking about it, there is one thing that I still can't understand! I am not talented, but I dare to ask you, why did Lou Shi stay south of Baihe for several days after coming from afar? Even if Emperor Zhao sent troops from Chang'an, he just didn't move here, and just watched us set up camp and the various armies gathered calmly?"
None of the dozens of high-ranking officers in the tent spoke... It was not that they wanted to embarrass Wu Jie. Emperor Zhao was right next to them, and they could not embarrass him now. They were just still a little confused.
Zhao Jiu waited for a while, and seeing that no one responded, he simply looked down. Wang Yan, the deputy commander of the Imperial Camp, who was in the first position, panicked and wanted to step out.
However, at this moment, Li Qiong, the defender of Xiagui who was facing him, stepped out first and answered with a bow: "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, I, Li Qiong, the commander of the central army of the imperial camp, think that Lou Shi is waiting for changes in Hedong!"
"What kind of variables?"
"We can wait for the reinforcements from Hedong to gather from Longmen, or wait for the Jin army from Hedong to force their way across Pujin, or wait for the Jin army from Hedong to attack Shanzhou successfully." Li Qiong said solemnly. "Or we can wait for the Jin army from Hedong to attack Luoyang and other surprise attacks to succeed."
Zhao Jiu sat still, his expression unchanged, and just let these people discuss military intelligence.
"That's right." Wu Jie nodded heavily. "And if he finds out about these things, what should we do?"
Li Qiong was silent, and even Wang Yan and another Wang De who was about to step out just exchanged glances and stood in silence... What can we do if we have waited?
"I've waited for it, and I've waited for it." Wu Jie suddenly sneered. "The Jin army and I are separated by a river, and from the East China Sea to here, it stretches for thousands of miles. Along the way, there are several natural joints such as Sishui Pass, Tong Pass, and the Xiao-Mian Ancient Road, which divide the battlefield. It is difficult to support the left and right, and the front and back are each holding their own. If something goes wrong or a big victory is won, it will not affect us for the time being... But once we decide the winner, it will be enough to end this battle... Therefore, the only thing we have to worry about is the gathering of reinforcements from the Jin army!"
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