"Officials!" Chen Yuanshan also vaguely realized that the emperor had something very important to ask of him this time.

Qi Yingzong looked around and confirmed that he was not being monitored by the eunuchs arranged by Qin Huizhi. Then he lowered his voice and said: "Chen Taiwei! Put this thing away and go to the north quickly to find Zhaoyi Army!"

Chen Yuanshan took something from Qi Yingzong's hand, looked at it carefully, and was instantly shocked: "This, official, this is a belt edict!"

Qi Yingzong's expression was frightened and at a loss: "Hurry up and let General Han Fuyue come and punish the thieves!"

Chen Yuanshan looked troubled: "But General Han..."

Qi Yingzong shook his head slightly: "I can't care so much! Even if I have to take a risk, it is better than ruining the Qi Dynasty now!

"Then Qin Huizhi is already plotting rebellion at this time. I am not afraid of death, but how can this Qi Dynasty be destroyed by my hands?"

Chen Yuanshan was speechless. Finally, he put the imperial edict into his sleeves and prostrated himself on the ground: "My lord, I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

Chen Yuanshan naturally knew that Qi Yingzong's method had a very low success rate and might even lead to the risk of attracting wolves into the house.

But……

At this time, does Qi Yingzong have any other options?

Qin Huizhi was already plotting a rebellion. It was impossible to keep such a big matter completely airtight. Although Qi Yingzong was placed under semi-house arrest and closely monitored, it was impossible for Qin Huizhi to completely deny visits by any ministers.

, we haven’t reached that stage yet.

And once Qi Yingzong is completely placed under house arrest, the final usurpation of the throne will not be far away.

Qi Yingzong felt this, so he came up with this method when he was desperate.

Summoned General Han Fuyue and led Zhaoyi's army to the capital Qinwang.

To be honest, the Zhaoyi Army is no longer under the control of the Qi Dynasty. After occupying the old land of the Qi Dynasty in the north, the Zhaoyi Army absorbed the refugees, divided the fields, and changed the tax laws of the Qi Dynasty without using the official system of the Qi Dynasty.

...In short, it is completely a separatist force.

In name only, it was still an army under the Qi Dynasty.

In this case, General Han Fuyue could immediately ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor as long as he shouted.

But Qi Yingzong would rather let General Han Fuyue come.

Why?

Because General Han Fuyue at least openly admitted that he was a minister of the Qi Dynasty, but Qin Huizhi was about to rebel and usurp the throne!

If we had to choose the lesser of two evils, wouldn't we have to choose General Han Fuyue?

To take a step back, consider the worst case scenario, if both of them want to usurp the throne.

So if General Han Fuyue usurps the throne, he may still have a life left, but if Qin Hui usurps the throne, he will undoubtedly die.

No matter how you think about it, General Han Fuyue is much more reliable than Qin Huizhi.

And if General Han Fuyue really comes to Qinwang, Qin Huizhi's power will inevitably loosen due to the competition between the two sides. Maybe he, the emperor, can take the opportunity to find a way out.

In short, this is the last resort for Qi Yingzong who does not want to sit still and wait for death.

Chen Yuanshan left in a hurry.

Three days later, Qin Huizhi announced that Qi Yingzong was ill and unable to handle government affairs, so he was resting in the palace.

All major affairs in the court were decided by Qin Hui's words.

…

Under Yanjing City.

After days of fierce fighting, the walls of Yanjing City were filled with corpses, which was very tragic.

But when Zhao Haiping looked at this majestic city, he did not discuss the specific siege plan with General Deng Yuanjing, but talked about the history of this city.

After all, the plan to attack the city has been formulated and all preparations have been made. Whether Yanjing City can be conquered at this time depends entirely on willpower and hard power.

Countless soldiers held up ladders and scrambled bravely to climb up the city wall, while trebuchets continued to throw stones at the city from behind, and rammers were escorted by shield soldiers and moved toward the city gate.

Zhao Haiping said with emotion: "Every time I read the history of the Qi Dynasty, Yan Yun is always a hurdle that cannot be bypassed.

"The three-dimensional defense line formed by the sixteen states of Yanyun is the barrier of the entire northern territory. Once Yanyun is gone, the cavalry of the northern barbarians can drive straight in, and there will be no terrain to stop it.

"It's like 'To defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River'. The reason is that there is a dense water network between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, which can effectively block the barbarian cavalry. The same is true for Yanyun.

"Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, there has been no Yan Yun, and the subsequent military campaigns have all ended in failure. When many people talk about why the Qi Dynasty has been defeated repeatedly, they always say that it is because Yan Yun was not in the Qi Dynasty.

in hand.

"However, there was the Liang Dynasty in the past and Dasheng in the later. Which dynasty had Yan Yun in its hands from the very beginning? Wasn't every inch of territory built with blood and sweat?

"Only the Qi Dynasty had a sign of twilight at the beginning of its founding.

"General Deng, in your opinion, do you think the Qi Dynasty has a chance to regain Yanyun?"

After General Deng Yuanjing defeated the bandits, he basically spent the rest of his life in the north resisting the Northern Barbarians, so he naturally knew the terrain of the north very well.

Moreover, General Deng Yuanjing was also an outstanding strategist. He liked reading military books and history, so he naturally had very unique insights in this regard.

He thought for a moment and then said: "Of course there are opportunities, and there are more than one.

"The first opportunity came when Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty personally went on an expedition. At that time, the army was unstoppable and reached the gates of Youzhou City. However, when the two sides were about to engage in a strategic decisive battle, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty fell ill and ultimately failed.

"The second chance was when the Qi Dynasty was first established. Emperor Taizu could also choose not to wipe out the southern countries first, but to go north to capture Yanyun. At that time, the Liao Kingdom was in power and the country was in chaos. However, Taizu of the Qi Dynasty still

He believed that the Liao Kingdom was too powerful and could not be attacked head-on, so he decided on the strategy of "first south then north, first easy and then difficult".

"But it was this strategy that caused Qi Taizu to lose the perfect opportunity to regain Yanyun. Because after the Qi Dynasty wiped out the small countries in the south, the officials of the Liao Kingdom killed the king, changed the emperor, and the political situation was on the right track.

"Actually, if we could have conquered Yanyun in one go and then went back to attack several small countries in the south, wouldn't we have been destroyed immediately?

"I think back then, although Emperor Taizu of the Dasheng Dynasty followed the strategy of 'building walls high, accumulating grain widely, and becoming king slowly', he was never ambiguous when it came time to fight tough battles. Although the Dasheng Dynasty had just been established, he conquered the Northern Barbarians several times.

It can be said that he was extremely decisive, which led to the civil and military skills of the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

"If the Taizu of our dynasty also believes that we should 'first go south and then north, first easy and then difficult', I am afraid that once the strategic window is lost, it will become even more difficult to regain the north."

General Deng Yuanjing paused for a moment and continued: "When the third opportunity comes, it will be Qi Taizong's Northern Expedition.

"At that time, the Liao Kingdom had ended its civil strife and its strength was rapidly recovering. However, Qi Taizong was not good at using troops. After being unable to attack for a long time, he suffered a complete defeat in the field battle, which directly wiped out his own base.

"The fourth chance is to unite with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty.

"Originally, when the Jin people attacked the Liao Kingdom in the north, the Qi Dynasty could send troops to attack Yanyun. At that time, the elite Qi army faced only some defeated Liao soldiers.

"However, the Qi army's military discipline was lax. After capturing Yanjing, they burned, killed, and looted. This attracted the soldiers and civilians in the city to unite and drove the Qi army out. Then, when the Liao reinforcements arrived, they were defeated again.

"From then on, the Jin people also saw clearly the true face of the Qi Dynasty, and this was the reason why the Jingping Revolution took place.

"From this point of view, the Qi Dynasty missed four opportunities to take back Yanyun. In the final analysis, it is still a human problem.

"Taizu Taizong lacked strategic capabilities and failed to seize the best opportunity; his military command capabilities were also poor and he could not win tough battles; his internal affairs and civil governance were also poor. The country has been at peace for a hundred years, but he did not think about strengthening his troops. Instead, his armaments were gradually weakened. Therefore, even one opportunity will

Can't catch it.

“No matter how powerful the Liao and Jin Dynasties were, how could they be stronger than the Northern Barbarians?

"In the past, I went on the Northern Expedition to Taizu. Although I captured Shandong, most of the north was still in the hands of the Northern Barbarians. In order to be safe, Emperor Taizu first conquered Henan and then marched to Tongguan, pruning off all the branches around most of the capital.

Only one battle can determine the outcome.

"This is indeed the case. After wiping out the surrounding areas, we conquered most of the capital in just one month.

"The so-called Jincheng Tangchi, in the final analysis, still relies on people to defend it. The situation has become overwhelming, and there is always a way to capture a mere city.

"It's a pity that although the Qi Dynasty holds Shandong, Henan and many other important places in its hands, it is helpless against Yan Yun."

Zhao Haiping nodded: "General Deng said it well.

“In fact, the more I experience it, the more I feel that history is often made up of a lot of accidents.

"Take the four missed opportunities of Qi Dynasty as an example. Which one was not a failure? Which one was not disappointing? Even if the luck was slightly better, the result would probably be different.

"So...I can't miss the fifth opportunity."

Zhao Haiping looked at the walls of Yanjing City: "Actually, the Qi Dynasty still has a fifth chance to regain Yanyun, and that is now.

"General Han Fuyue was originally unstoppable and won consecutive battles, but he was unjustly killed by Qi Gaozong and Qin Huizhi. From then on, the Qi Dynasty settled in the south of the Yangtze River and never considered the Northern Expedition.

"Even the former capital has never been recovered, and the Yellow River has never been seen again, let alone Yanyun.

"But actually, there is an excellent strategic window at this time, and that is... Wanyan Sheng's death.

"After the death of Emperor Taizong of the Jin Kingdom, Jin Xizong came to the throne. Wanyan was in charge of the government and launched a war against the Qi Dynasty, while Jin Xizong was in charge of the government.

"It's just that Jin Xizong had no talent for governing the country. First, he relied entirely on Wanyan Sheng and lived a carefree and graceful emperor's life without thinking about progress; and after Wanyan Sheng's death, he began to be in panic all day long, and was even

The queen has exclusive power.

"Jin Xizong was addicted to alcohol, was good at killing ministers, was moody, and rebelled against his relatives. In the end, he was stabbed to death by Wanyan Hailing and others conspired to assassinate him.

"Then, Wanyan Hailing became so violent that he once again raised troops to go south, but was killed by his subordinates in mutiny. After Wanyan Hailing's death, Jin Shizong, who ascended the throne, was the most brilliant king of the Jin Kingdom and was called 'Little Yao and Shun'.

At this point, the Qi Dynasty's strategic window period was completely gone.

"So, this fifth chance is now.

"Wan Yansheng was already old and sick and could not use the army, and died of illness less than a year ago; Jin Xizong ignored the government affairs, and Wan Yan Hailing conspired to seize power. The entire Jin Kingdom was at its most vulnerable.
To be continued...