The Great Zhou Dynasty, Handan City.
It was the beginning of autumn in the north at the end of August. The leaves of the birch trees in the suburbs were beginning to turn yellow. The maple trees that covered the mountains and plains were covered in green and yellow maple leaves. It was very beautiful, as if they had put on a layer of beautiful makeup.
Just yesterday, the vast army had been withdrawn from the frontlines and settled outside Handan City to rest. The hustle and bustle of the camp was filled with awkwardness and disappointment, as well as unerasable fatigue.
They still remembered that a month ago, in the western suburbs, in the same place, the King of Great Zhou, Di Chen, issued a passionate declaration of war, saying that he would destroy Great Jin and advance into the Central Plains.
That was the most glorious moment for Great Zhou.
The earth-shattering cheers were still reverberating in the mountains and had not completely dissipated. But the army had been beaten into a sorry state, silently returning to their old places to lick their wounds.
Like withered weeds, there was no sign of life.
The expedition this time was fruitless. The imperial court had to come up with a plan as to what to do next. Following that, there was news of Great Xia attacking the Jiangnan Province. This made the Great Zhou imperial court, which was already badly battered, even more distressed.
Palace, Hall of Discussion.
A group of civil and military officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty were there. The three Marquises, Xiong Ba, Lord Chunshen and War Wolf, had specially rushed to the capital to discuss the future of Great Zhou.
As soon as the meeting began, Di Chen announced an important decision, "From now on, the Jingchu Province will be ceded to the Song, and the Donghai Province will be ceded to the Ming. This is an agreement signed before the war, and it cannot be denied. To avoid unnecessary conflict, I have already agreed to this matter. After the court has ended, we will start the relocation of the two provinces. "
Seeing that the war in the south had started again, Di Chen did not want to drag it on any longer and directly admitted defeat.
Di Chen was very decisive. Since he was powerless to prevent the fate of the two provinces being "occupied", any unnecessary delay would only make Qin and Tang suspicious, which was not conducive to closer cooperation between the five countries.
Smoothly ceding two large provinces would also make the Song and Ming Kingdoms remember the good of the Great Zhou.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the hall.
Especially Lord Chunshen and War Wolf, their faces were black the entire time, looking as if they did not want to be near. Even if they wanted to object, they could not find enough reason and could not muster up the courage.
In the end, he could only endure in silence.
To any dynasty, ceding territory was a humiliation, but they had to swallow this humiliation.
Di Chen gestured for everyone to be quiet, then continued, "Wandering Huan will be relieved of his position as the Governor of Wannan. Marquis Qi Zhan Lang will be appointed as the new Governor. Killing Destroyer will be relieved of his position as the Governor of Ludong. Marquis Chunshen of Chu will be appointed as the new Governor."
This time, Wandering Fantasy and Army Kill Ripper were the ones with dark faces.
Back then, in order to stabilize the precarious situation of the [Yan Huang Alliance], the two lords were forced to give up their territories and moved to Wannan and Ludong as governors. Their power had been greatly restricted.
When the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, the two of them wouldn't even have a share in being conferred the title of Marquis.
Who would have thought that Di Chen would be so callous? In order to take care of Lord Chun Shen and War Wolf, he did not hesitate to kick Wandering Huan and Army Breaker off the stage.
Unfortunately, they were powerless to resist.
One of the once glorious overlords of the wilderness had fallen to such a state in the end. It really made one sigh.
Towards useless chess pieces, Di Chen had always been callous and had no pity. Right now, he was trying to win over Lord Chun Shen and War Wolf because they could still exert influence on the Scarlet Blood Army and the Scarlet Yang Army. Once this influence disappeared, Di Chen could harden his heart and sacrifice the interests of the two if necessary.
In Di Chen's eyes, there was no chess piece that could not be sacrificed.
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty was no longer at its peak, for Di Chen personally, it was the best time to consolidate his royal power.
After this matter, Di Chen's royal power would reach a peak, becoming more and more worthy of his name.
Di Chen's current mood could only be described as' a mixture of joy and sorrow '. If he had obtained his current position two years earlier, perhaps the Great Zhou Dynasty would not have fallen to such a state.
The intertwining of cause and effect was really hard to fathom.
When Di Chen announced the two appointments, Lord Chun Shen and War Wolf did not have a trace of surprise on their faces. Because long before the court discussion, Di Chen had found the two of them alone and used this as an exchange in exchange for the two of them not opposing the ceding of provinces in court. After all, the two of them were Marquis. If they really quarreled, it would be very difficult for Di Chen to resolve the situation.
Since the dynasty had already fallen to such a state, the three of them could only each take a step back.
What War Wolf was surprised about was why Lord Chun Shen was placed in Ludong Province, and not in the nearby Wannan Province. "Is it to deliberately place Lord Chun Shen far away from his base, or is it to guard against me?"
Every time he thought of his secret, War Wolf could not sleep at night.
Just as War Wolf was deep in thought, Di Chen's methods continued. "In view of the Imperial Army's poor performance in the Great Jin war, Lian Po will be removed from his position as the commander of the Imperial Army. He will be demoted to deputy commander, and his salary will be forfeited for one year."
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"
Old Lian Po stepped forward to express his gratitude, his face full of shame.
In this expedition, Wu Qi had led his troops to successive victories, while the Imperial Army had suffered two consecutive defeats. This really made Di Chen lose face. If he did not punish Lian Po, he would not be able to convince the masses.
But no matter how much punishment was given, the Imperial Army could only be led by Lian Po. If it were any other general, such as Tian Dan or Wu Qi, Di Chen would not be able to sleep well.
Although it looked like a punishment, it was actually a disguised protection for Lian Po.
Among the ministers present, there was no lack of people who understood the situation. They coldly watched the performance of the monarch and his minister.
After punishing Lian Po, Di Chen changed the topic. He said in a deep voice, "The Imperial Army is the mainstay of the imperial court. This time, we have lost one hundred and fifty thousand men. We must replenish them as soon as possible. Do you have any suggestions? "
Lord Chunshen, War Wolf, and Xiong Ba's hearts trembled. They suddenly had a bad premonition.
Although Di Chen did not look at them, the three of them felt that the eyes of all the civil and military ministers were focused on them, waiting for them to express their views.
This matter was related to military power. How could the three of them easily express their views?
Didn't they see that Military Killer and Piao Linghuan were easily manipulated by Di Chen because they had lost their military power? Today's Military Killer and Piao Linghuan might be the same tomorrow.
No matter what, they could not let go of their military power.
But now that things had come to this, they could not avoid it even if they did not express their views.
At this time, a general stood out. It was Zhang Hongfan, a general of the Yuan Dynasty. He was also someone who was despised by Ouyang Shuo. After this general had appeared in the wilderness, he had tactfully submitted to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Di Chen did not reject anyone and took him under his command.
There were some things that Di Chen could not say out loud. He had to borrow the mouth of an official to say it. Zhang Hongfan was playing such a role. After he stood out, he said, "Your Majesty, the Royal Guards are the dynasty's most elite troops. To replenish the losses, they can only be selected from the active field army. For the field army soldiers, to be selected into the Royal Guards is a great honor. I think they will not reject it. "
Zhang Hongfan's words were not wrong.
Just like the Xia Imperial Guards, there had never been a loss of personnel. They were always selected from the army.
But the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty were two different things.
Ouyang Shuo, Emperor Xia, had supreme authority in the Xia Dynasty army. Bai Qi and the other generals could not say anything when he selected soldiers for the Imperial Guards. Moreover, this was the practice of the Xia Dynasty army. Everyone was used to it.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was different. The army belonged to different factions. Before this, there was no practice of exchanging soldiers.
This time, the Royal Guards suffered heavy losses. Coincidentally, the surrounding situation was very serious. This finally gave Di Chen the opportunity to pry open the mouths of the Dan Yang Army, the Tyrant Army, and the Red Blood Army.
As Zhang Hongfan spoke, the other officials followed suit. They thought that transferring soldiers from the Dan Yang Army and the other army groups to replenish the Royal Guards was the most suitable method. It could minimize the risk.
Perhaps feeling that the situation was very unfavorable to them, Lord Chunshen finally could not hold back and was the first to stand out. He argued, "The Dan Yang Army, the Tyrant Army, and the Red Blood Army have lost fifty to sixty thousand men in the Jin battlefield. They urgently need to replenish their troops. How can we transfer soldiers to replenish the Royal Guards?"
Zhang Hongfan was the first to stand out again. He acted as Di Chen's vanguard. "The three army groups have a shortage of soldiers. They can choose from the reserves. This is very easy to do."
"Then why don't the Royal Guards choose from the reserves?" Lord Chunshen asked.
"The Royal Guards are the trump card troops. The standard of soldiers is naturally higher than the ordinary field army. Choose the reserves? That is not only a disgrace to the Royal Guards, but also a disgrace to the dynasty. "
Fine, the matter was back to square one.
The court immediately became a mess of arguments. There were those who supported it and those who opposed it.
But the more the argument went on, the more unfavorable the situation became for Lord Chunshen and the others. Towards the end, there were already some officials who linked this matter to loyalty to the dynasty. It seemed that if they did not agree, they would be disloyal to the court.
From this, it could be seen that Di Chen's control over the court was very good.
Seeing this, Battle Wolf sighed in his heart. He knew that the situation had developed to this point. They were already the arm that could not twist the thigh. Sooner or later, they would have to compromise. He sighed and said, "I agree."
"Battle Wolf, you!"
Seeing this, Lord Chunshen wanted to scold Battle Wolf for not living up to expectations. But seeing Battle Wolf's dispirited expression, he forcefully swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Finally, it turned into a long sigh.
"The Great Zhou Dynasty cannot withstand any more torment."
Finally, of the three armies, only the Tyrant Army was temporarily spared. The reason Xiong Ba gave was also very sufficient. "The Xia Dynasty is currently attacking Jiangnan Province. The Tyrant Army's strength cannot be weakened."
Hearing this, Di Chen did not insist. He was already very satisfied that he could weaken the Dan Yang Army and the Red Blood Army in one fell swoop. Even better, Lord Chunshen and Battle Wolf had already left their base. The Dan Yang Army and the Red Blood Army could only choose their soldiers from the reserves of Wannan Province and Ludong Province.
If that was the case, Di Chen could make a big fuss.
Given Di Chen's control over these two provinces, he could use this opportunity to use the reserves to extend his tentacles into the Dan Yang Army and the Red Blood Army, adding sand to the two armies.
As long as he opened up a gap, it would not be impossible to control the two armies in the future. Di Chen temporarily suppressed this thought and said to Xiong Ba, "Regarding the Jiangnan war, I have an idea."
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