At present, soldiers are stationed in various places. If they are transferred here hastily, others will take the opportunity to attack them, and the final result will be the same: the enemy will break through the hinterland.
The only soldiers who could be mobilized were those from the second son, An Shaolin.
The enemy only dared to advance after seeing the original owner transfer the capable An Shaolin to attack the grassland people and send the incompetent and mediocre prince to defend the city.
An Shaolin brought 50,000 people with him. Although there were only 50,000 of them, if they could return to defend, it would solve the urgent need.
But the biggest problem is the long journey and we can no longer sustain this place.
Even if we change the generals at the last minute, it will be too late when the enemy has the upper hand and we have lost our first line of defense. It will take at least a month to go back and forth.
If he had come half a day earlier, he would have had a chance to hold on and wait for reinforcements.
After the attack, Ding Shangbiao and his men hurried to the main hall. Seeing eunuchs coming in and out and wiping bloodstains, his heart suddenly jumped, he staggered half a step, and a look of sadness appeared on his face.
"Could it be that Lord Wei has already..."
Wei Wenhua supported the original owner all the way and relied on his reputation as a great scholar to help the original owner recruit many useful talents. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the common people with only a few words to get to where they are today and compete with those noble families for the world.
Ding Shangbiao used to have only a humble name that meant easy to support. Even the name Shangbiao was given to him later by Wei Wenhua, so he had great respect for the other party in his heart.
Zheng Hongtao was in a similar situation to the other party. He also thought of this possibility and looked grim, but he was a little calmer than the other party. He picked up a jade pendant and handed it to the eunuch who was coming in to clean.
The other party politely accepted it and waited for them to ask questions.
"Is this Lord Wei's blood?"
"Exactly."
Zheng Hongtao asked cautiously, "Master Wei..."
The eunuch probably understood what he was going to ask. The news that Wei Wenhua brought a coffin into the palace to admonish His Majesty had spread throughout the palace and outside.
"So that Lord Zheng knows that this blood is indeed Lord Wei's, but Lord Wei is fine. His Majesty has arranged for him to rest in a side hall."
Zheng Hongtao breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, eunuch."
The other party smiled politely and continued to busy himself with his own things.
Although they were the emperor's close attendants, they did not dare to be arrogant towards the civil and military officials who had followed him all the way to conquer the world.
Faintly hearing voices coming from outside, An Jingzhi asked, "Go see what's going on outside, and call back Lord Wei."
"Yes." The eunuch beside An Jingzhi saluted respectfully and walked out of the hall.
…
"Battle reports have arrived from the front lines. The prince has been defeated and has retreated to the second line of defense. We are preparing to send someone to replace him."
Ding Shangbiao, Wei Wenhua, Zheng Hongtao and others were brought in. Before anyone in the hall could say anything, they were shocked by An Jingzhi's news.
What followed was joy. His Majesty finally understood. What was the difference between letting the prince defend the pass and directly giving it to the enemy?
"Your Majesty is wise." Several people said loudly.
"I'm planning to send General Ding to take over the Crown Prince's military power. Is General Ding willing?"
Ding Shangbiao clasped his fists excitedly and said, "Your Majesty, I will not refuse even if death is the cost!"
"Good!" An Jingzhi laughed: "You are worthy of being my great general."
Waving his hand, the eunuch walked up to Ding Shangbiao holding a sword in both hands, "I give this sword to you. Take it as if I were here in person. Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed."
He stared straight at Ding Shangbiao and spoke word by word, "Including the Crown Prince."
Ding Shangbiao was both happy and afraid. Your Majesty, has he changed his nature?
Didn’t Your Majesty love the Crown Prince the most in the past?
The prince had made many mistakes before, but each time he was easily exposed by His Majesty.
"Did you hear that clearly?"
Ding Shangbiao quickly came back to his senses, took the sword and saluted respectfully, saying, "I obey your command!"
"Take the imperial edict with you and set off immediately without delay!"
Before Ding Shangbiao had time to think about the reason, he was hurried to the front to take over the military power.
Wei Wenhua, Zheng Hongtao and others who were still in the hall looked at each other in confusion.
Could it be that the loss of the front line has irritated Your Majesty?
Otherwise, why would they suddenly replace the crown prince?
Wei Wenhua felt somewhat relieved, as it seemed that His Majesty had not completely lost his mind.
He even gave away the sword he carried with him, which shows his firm determination.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Wei Wenhua said loudly.
Zheng Hongtao touched his nose, thought for a moment, and then agreed, "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Alright," An Jingzhi said unhappily, "Stop talking about these nonsense. The most urgent thing is to think about how to repel the enemy."
"If the first line of defense is still there and General Ding is good at defending it, the enemy will be unable to escape. But now at the second checkpoint, the situation is not optimistic as the enemy is outnumbered and we have suffered a defeat." Wei Wenhua said frankly.
From the very beginning, Wei Wenhua suggested that Ding Shangbiao should guard the city, but the original owner insisted on letting the prince guard it. Now he brings up the old matter again, which is tantamount to blaming the emperor.
Zheng Hongtao was so frightened by Wei Wenhua's words that he broke out in a cold sweat.
He didn't think much of it before, but now His Majesty's thoughts are becoming more and more difficult to guess. He is moody and kills people at will. After several old brothers were beheaded for committing crimes, he has begun to be cautious.
The world is about to be stabilized, and they are becoming more and more dangerous.
Normally, if the original owner didn't ask him to do so, he would never take the initiative to lead the troops.
"Master Wei, do you mean that I am wrong?"
An Jingzhi's indifferent voice came from above his head.
Wei Wenhua bowed and said, "Your Majesty has simply been deceived by the treacherous people."
"Your Majesty, Lord Wei is also thinking about the country. Please don't blame me." Facing the cold gaze above his head, Zheng Hongtao gritted his teeth and decided to speak.
"Hahaha."
Just when Zheng Hongtao thought that His Majesty would be furious, a loud laugh came from above his head.
"Alright, alright, Lord Wei and General Zheng are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. I know that."
Zheng Hongtao raised his head slightly and caught a glimpse of His Majesty sitting on the dragon throne. He discovered that the other party was looking at them with a smile on his face. There was no anger on his face, nor was there a cold smile on his face.
Wei Wenhua came with his coffin to advise, and he had no intention of living, nor did he have much fear. He brought up the old matter again:
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince must return to support us as soon as possible. Now that General Ding has taken over the defense, I believe we can hold out longer."
"The construction of Linxiantai must also be stopped. There are 5,000 craftsmen building Linxiantai, and they can be sent to Lucheng to help defend the city. With the addition of these 5,000 people, we can hold out for a few more days."
These five thousand men were just craftsmen who had never been to the battlefield. If they were hastily sent to defend the city, they might not be very effective. Even if they delayed for a few days, they would not be able to wait for the Second Prince to return for support.
"Linxiantai must be built!"
After An Jingzhi said this in a decisive tone, he arranged for Wei Wenhua to be responsible for the material assistance for defending the city, and also handed over the remaining city defense matters to Zheng Hongtao.
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