But despite the awkwardness, he still had to speak and put on a show.
Thus, Shen Yicheng did not change his enthusiasm.
"Yutian, I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"
"Many thanks for Grand Secretary's concern. This lowly official's body is still fine. Grand Secretary, please inform this lowly official of the current battle situation. This lowly official has been extremely worried along the way. How did a perfectly good situation suddenly become like this?"
Li Hualong was more straightforward. Shen Yicheng opened his mouth but did not know where to start. Liu Huangchang reacted quickly and said, "Minister Li, this is a long story. Let's talk about it slowly. First, let's look at the current situation!"
Li Hualong knew that there was something fishy about this matter. But right now, he chose to observe the situation.
"According to the intelligence, Thief Xiao's rebel army started in Burma and divided into three groups. One group went to Yunnan, one group went to Guangxi and Guangdong, and the last group took a boat to the north from Southeast Asia and launched a surprise attack on Ningbo Prefecture, followed by Zhenjiang Prefecture and Nanjing City.
Li Hualong frowned.
"How could this be? The traitor has at most thirty thousand soldiers in Burma. How could he split his army into three groups and take such a risk? Are all his subordinates heavenly soldiers and generals? Or could it be that he is supporting us somewhere? "
Liu Huangchang said, "We don't know anything about Burma Town, but since Xiao Tieying dared to split his forces into three, he must have more than thirty thousand soldiers under his command. As for where these soldiers came from …"
"That's not important right now! The important thing is that the situation is very unfavorable! Nanjing has fallen. How can the imperial court save face? Zhenjiang has fallen. If the grain doesn't come, what will we eat? "
Xiao Daheng interrupted Liu Huangchang.
Liu Huangchang looked at Xiao Daheng and nodded.
"That's true. Let's talk about it as it is! Minister Li, what do you think is the most important thing right now? "
Li Hualong pointed to the position of Zhenjiang.
"If we don't open up the canal, we won't be able to get the grain. We will be in a mess and the army will reap the harvest. Without a doubt, we must focus our main forces to retake Zhenjiang and open up the canal."
Liu Huangshang said, "But right now, the Zhenjiang prefecture is occupied by the rebel army. The rebel navy is blocking our way south, and the court doesn't have enough navy to deal with the rebel navy."
Li Hualong sneered, "Isn't there a place to cross the river? Could the rebel navy block the entire river? As long as I have the advantage in military strength, I can set up a decoy in Yangzhou to delay the rebel navy, and then choose another place to cross the river, directly taking Nanjing and Zhenjiang prefectures.
Shen Yicheng's eyes lit up and he hurriedly said, "Alright! Yu Tian's stratagem is to my liking. There is no need to tangle with the rebel navy on the surface of the river. This is the hinterland of the Daming. We can choose any place to march. Why use our weakness to attack the enemy's strength? "
Liu Huangchang said hesitantly, "The rebel army was one step ahead of us. It's not like they don't know what we know."
"As long as the rebel army hasn't moved, this plan is feasible. Even if the rebel army moves, we can deal with it when it comes. The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. How can we finish talking here? We'll only know when we're on the battlefield! "
Li Hualong swallowed Liu Huangchang's worries and looked at Shen Yicheng, "How many soldiers can the Grand Secretary give me?"
"Ji Town has fifty thousand soldiers, and the capital has ten thousand. I can give you sixty thousand soldiers to ensure your logistics."
Shen Yicheng said.
"How many people are there in the rebel army?"
Shen Yicheng looked at Luo Sigong.
"The rebel army moved too quickly, and we lost the initiative. Although we've sent people to investigate, we haven't found out the exact number. We only know that there are no less than twenty thousand traitors in Zhenjiang and Nanjing. As for the main force of traitor Xiao, we don't know how many."
"Why is the news so slow?"
Li Hualong was very dissatisfied.
"Jiangnan is in chaos. Traitor Xiao moved too quickly, and we lost the initiative. Although we're trying our best to make up for it, it seems that traitor Xiao is also on guard. It's only been ten days, and we've already lost contact with six spies."
Luo Sigong could only say this.
"Could it be that Thief Xiao has his own Embroidered Uniform Guards? Isn't the Imperial Bodyguard the best at gathering information? Don't you even know what the ministers eat and wear? Why don't you know anything now that we need you? "
In front of Shen Yicheng, Li Hualong didn't think of saving face and directly rebuked them. Shen Yicheng's expression immediately turned ugly. Luo Sigong was stunned and lowered his head to avoid looking at Li Hualong.
Seeing that it was not good, Xiao Daheng quickly spoke up to smooth things over.
"Eunuch Li, Eunuch Li, don't be angry, don't be angry. Traitor Xiao's actions are beyond everyone's expectations. We lost the initiative. It's not easy to make up for the lost initiative now. The Imperial Bodyguard has done its best, but in Jiangnan, there are not many Imperial Bodyguard manpower. Even the Grand Secretary's family was captured by Traitor Xiao, and the family property was confiscated. It can be seen how arrogant traitor Xiao is!"
"What?!"
Li Hualong was shocked. He no longer looked at Luo Sigong, but looked at Shen Yicheng.
Shen Yicheng turned around and didn't face Li Hualong.
"Really?"
Li Hualong looked at Xiao Daheng.
"How can this kind of thing be false?"
Xiao Daheng said bitterly, "A few days ago, Traitor Xiao deliberately released the Grand Secretary's nephew and said arrogant and treacherous words. The Grand Secretary was very sad, but there was nothing he could do. The Grand Secretary was even more anxious than Eunuch Li!"
Li Hualong pursed his lips.
"How dare he be so arrogant! A mere general dares to be so arrogant! Does he really think he's some big shot?! "
Li Hualong had never been friendly to generals and only ordered them around like hunting dogs. Now that he heard that Xiao Ruxun had done such a thing, he was instantly enraged.
"By doing such a thing, he's practically cutting himself off from the world! Why do we need to work so hard? As long as the Emperor writes an imperial edict to summon the traitor, everyone in the world will come together to attack him! "
Liu Huangchang hurriedly said, "Even so, Traitor Xiao's army is very strong. There are no strong troops in the area that can fight against him. What can we do?"
"Then let me fight the first battle. As long as I can defeat his army, everyone in the world will come together to attack him! Grand Secretary, please allow me to see His Majesty! "
Li Hualong looked at Shen Yicheng.
This was very normal. The imperial court had appointed a general to go into battle, and it was very normal for the Emperor to summon him. But now, it was a little awkward.
"Eunuch Li, His Majesty is sick and can't see the ministers."
Liu Huangchang could only say this on behalf of Shen Yicheng.
"Sick?"
Li Hualong was stunned.
"Yes, His Majesty caught a cold and is currently resting in bed. It's not convenient for him to see the ministers. At present, the Grand Secretary is temporarily in charge of the court affairs."
Liu Huangchang bit the bullet and lied.
"How can the Emperor be sick in front of the enemy? Forget it, I'll go and see the troops first! "
Liu Huangchang and Xiao Daheng looked at each other, and Xiao Daheng looked at Shen Yicheng. So Xiao Daheng stood up.
"Okay, I'll personally accompany Eunuch Li to review the troops!"
Xiao Daheng accepted the task.
After Li Hualong left, Shen Yicheng said to Liu Huangchang with a serious expression, "His Majesty's illness must not be disclosed. To the outside world, just say that he caught a cold and let the imperial doctors carefully watch him. We must not let anything happen to His Majesty. Also, change all the eunuchs around His Majesty. They don't know how to advise His Majesty to control himself at all. They're useless!"
Liu Huangchang could only nod.
But he had a lot of complaints in his heart.
It was you, Eunuch Shen, who offered those women. It was also you, Eunuch Shen, who wanted His Majesty to indulge in women and not care about the court affairs. Now that His Majesty had fainted from excessive indulgence, you, Eunuch Shen, wanted to blame those little eunuchs. This was really perceptive.
But how could he say it?
When it rains, it pours. The entire court gave Liu Huangshang the feeling that it was like a broken oil-paper umbrella full of holes. There were problems everywhere, and there were leaks everywhere. Just like this, could they really suppress Xiao Ruxun's rebellion?
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