Tiantang Splendid

At night, the pattering rain still did not stop. The monasteries south of Fanchuan were shrouded in autumn rain, and the military barracks adjacent to the north side of the monastery were endlessly shadowed in the rainy night. Countless lanterns and torches flickered and flickered in the rain. ...

Candles were burning in the tent of the Chinese Army, Cheng Yaojin got a jar of fine wine from nowhere, and asked the Huotoujun to prepare two side dishes, and he was sitting in the tent pouring himself a drink when he was smashed by Niu Jinda who came in a hurry.

Seeing his commander drinking in the barracks, Niu Jinda was speechless, turned and walked out without saying a word.

Cheng Yaojin hurriedly called out: "What are you doing? Come back!"

Niu Jinda stood still, expressionless: "The commander-in-chief of the first army not only failed to lead by example, but took the lead in violating military discipline, and the crime was aggravated. I will go and find Sima, the general, and tell the whole army about the general's drinking according to the military order. be punished according to military law."

Cheng Yaojin was afraid of this stubborn bull, he knew that he could say and do, and he always regarded the military regulations as paramount, even if he, a general, violated the military regulations, he would not show mercy at all.

Quickly stood up, pulled Niu Jinda back, sat down with his shoulders pressed, and then poured the wine himself, restraining his usual domineering and carefully apologizing: "I didn't mean to violate military regulations, but the situation is tense right now, and I'm facing a choice I was really at a loss, as if I made the wrong choice, and I was really depressed and worried, so I drank to relax and clear my mind, so that I could make the best choice... Please forgive me this time."

If the commander-in-chief of an imposing army is punished by his own deputy in front of the whole army, what face will he have?
Losing face in front of Niu Jinda alone is much better than losing face in front of tens of thousands of people, Cheng Yaojin will still settle this account...

Niu Jinda took a look at Cheng Yaojin, who was smiling apologetically by his side, shook his head helplessly, and sighed: "You will suffer a lot sooner or later with such a temper, why don't you take this opportunity to completely disarm and return to the field and enjoy the family relationship, With your meritorious service, as long as you don't interfere with the government, whoever sits on the throne will be more graceful, fulfilling a good story about the monarch and his ministers."

"If you want to say that you are a stubborn person, in my current position, it's like sailing against the current. How can you retreat if you want to?"

Cheng Yaojin also shook his head, sat down and sighed: "Power is a double-edged sword. When you have it, you will be full of vigor and honor. After you lose it, you will fall into the dust. Anyone can step on us. One kick, how can I bear this?"

Draining a glass of wine in one gulp, ate a mouthful of food, and asked, "Why are you coming here in such a hurry?"

Niu Jinda looked at the wine glass in front of him, thought for a while, picked it up and drank it dry, put down the wine glass and wiped the wine stains on his mouth, and said: "The news came from Chang'an just now that Li Jing killed Liu Yanjing, the head of the owl was shown to the public, and the head was spread throughout the army. In the movie, Liu Dewei went to intercede and was driven away by Li Jing. Now the whole Guanzhong is full of turmoil because of the news of Liu Yanjing's death. Not only the forces who had a close relationship with the "Yuan Cong hero" from all over the country complained about their grievances, even the clan clan , I'm afraid it will be difficult to end in a while."

"Worthy of being Duke Wei, the decisiveness in killing remains the same as before!"

Cheng Yaojin praised him, took a sip from Niu Jinda's filled wine glass, squinted his eyes and stroked his beard, and muttered, "I'm afraid this matter was planned by Duke Wei in advance. Liu Yanjing's death is not a pity, but it can be done." This will completely stir up the atmosphere in Chang'an, making those who are not subordinate to His Majesty feel the danger and can't wait to jump out."

This is almost the same as the two of them originally guessed, and Li Jing's move must have been instructed by His Majesty, and his intention was to lure the snake out of the hole.

Instead of letting those disobedient people hide and hinder them in the future, it is better to let those people jump out one by one and put labels on their foreheads and cut them off one by one...

Niu Jinda frowned, still puzzled: "These seem to make sense, but the premise is that His Majesty can completely defeat King Jin and quell the rebellion by relying on the power loyal to him... Now that Yu Chigong has hit the city of Chang'an, it is bound to trigger a chain reaction of the entire Guanzhong garrison , to be honest, His Majesty is already at a disadvantage, the situation is extremely unfavorable, why do you still have the mood to reject dissidents?"

To put it bluntly, you have to secure the position of the emperor before you consider whether your subjects are loyal or traitorous. If you can't even secure the throne and be seized by others, what's the point of who is loyal and who is traitorous?
Judging from the current situation, it is clear that King Jin has the upper hand. Once the troops stationed in various places in Guanzhong openly respond, or even send troops to approach Chang'an, the emperor will be in a desperate situation...

"Do you think that everyone is as single-minded as you and can't turn a corner? We can see this, and others will naturally see it, and they will have the same doubts. So let me ask you, before you have fully figured it out Before the emperor's details, do you dare to respond to King Jin?"

"Uh...probably not, right? Since you didn't attach yourself to King Jin at the beginning, then naturally it's not too late. Anyway, since the dragon's power has been greatly discounted, it's better to wait until the situation is basically clear before making a move." choice, and while the benefits are certainly small, the risks are virtually nonexistent."

In the final analysis, it is all about interests.

Attaching to the King of Jin in the early days can indeed obtain the greatest political benefits, but at that time, the King of Jin was just a "rebel" with a bleak future, and whoever attached to the past would bear great risks; now the situation is gradually clear, and the advantages of the King of Jin are gradually increasing. Increase, the risk of relying on the past has been reduced, but since you have waited until today, even if the profit shrinks, why not just wait a little longer and wait until the risk is infinitely small before making a move?

Cheng Yaojin nodded and analyzed: "This is the reason, so when there is doubt about His Majesty's actions, everyone will try to figure out why His Majesty is so confident. If you don't understand this, no one will rashly Responding to King Jin, after all, no matter how small the risk is, it is still a risk. Since we wait until today, why not continue to wait? So just watch, no one will jump out to respond to King Jin before His Majesty's real ultimate move appears, even if Yuchi Gong fights Going to Chang'an City, or even entering Chang'an City, King Jin will still fight alone."

At this moment, he even wondered if His Majesty made so many twists and turns inexplicably, whether he was deliberately singing "empty city plan", so he set up a suspicious formation to make others suspicious, so that he would not respond to King Jin with unscrupulous troops...

The soldiers came in from the outside and reported: "His Royal Highness Jin Wang sent someone to say that there is a letter for the commander in chief."

Cheng Yaojin said: "Let someone come in."

Niu Jinda: "King Jin sent someone here at this time, obviously he can't sit still."

Cheng Yaojin snorted: "Li Jing's beheading of Liu Yanjing caused a sudden storm in Guanzhong. The King of Jin naturally thought that the time had come and he should concentrate all his forces to attack Chang'an and complete the final fatal blow to His Majesty... But things will not be that simple. "

Niu Jinda wanted to ask again, but the soldiers had already brought him in.

The visitor was dressed as a school lieutenant, covered with leather armor, handsome and young, came to Cheng Yaojin and knelt on one knee to perform military salute: "The last general Wei Zhenzai, by order of His Royal Highness King Jin, has a letter delivered to Lu Guogong. "

Cheng Yaojin looked Wei Zhenzai up and down, nodded slightly, and Niu Jinda at the side got up and took the letter paper from Wei Zhenzai with both hands, and handed it to Cheng Yaojin.

Cheng Yaojin took it, first checked the stamped letter, and after confirming that it was correct, he pulled out a dagger from his waist to pick off the sealing sealant, took out the letter paper, read it at a glance, and then put the letter paper on the table, groaning silently.

Wei Zhenzai looked up at Cheng Yaojin, and said respectfully: "Your Highness is still waiting for Lu Guogong's reply."

Cheng Yaojin thought for a while, then calmly said: "Go and reply to His Highness, the old minister will immediately reorganize the army, and after all the troops are assembled, they will go north to Fengqiyuan to join His Highness."

"Here! Then I will take my leave for the time being."

Wei Zhenzai saluted again, then got up, exited the account, and returned to King Jin to report.

In the tent, Niu Jinda had finished reading the letterhead, and frowned: "The king of Jin has already rushed to Fengqiyuan overnight, and he will arrive in the middle of the night. We should hurry up and gather soldiers to set off from camp, otherwise it will be difficult to arrive at the appointed time."

On the letterhead, the King of Jin implored Cheng Yaojin to lead his army to Fengqiyuan to join the army, and then more than [-] troops launched a fierce attack on Mingde Gate.

Cheng Yaojin picked up the wine glass and drank it dry, took a look at Niu Jinda, and said disapprovingly: "Tens of thousands of troops assembled on rainy nights to set up camp, all food, supplies and supplies must be carried, weapons and armaments must be distributed in place, all ministries must coordinate and communicate, and the marching route must be Re-drafting...does it mean that you can leave if you want? It will take three or two days to complete the preparations, so don't be in a hurry."

Niu Jinda's eyes widened. What kind of tricks is this old man playing?

Now that he has agreed to be attached to the King of Jin, he should go all out to help the King of Jin enter Chang'an and succeed in usurping the throne. Now it is a critical juncture, and after joining forces with the King of Jin, he will concentrate all his strength to attack Chang'an in one fell swoop to avoid night long dreams.

Let King Jin write invitations but ignore them, or even deliberately delay, what do you want to do?
It's just slippery and unreliable...

Cheng Yaojin saw his confused face, so he looked disgusted: "I used to think that you were just stubborn and stubborn, but now I realize that you are a fucking fool! For us, the most important thing at the moment is not who we stand for." If we don’t have a strong team, but preserve our strength, without these tens of thousands of soldiers, even if we rush into Chang’an City and enter the Taiji Palace, do you think we will get what we want in the future?”

Niu Jinda opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

Cheng Yaojin patted him on the shoulder and sighed: "Besides, the tens of thousands of men under my command have been with me for many years, and they have not survived for a long time. I can't bear to exchange their lives for my feudal state. State, prosperity and wealth? Everyone is satisfied with getting through this crisis peacefully."

Niu Jinda was a little moved, he always thought that Cheng Yaojin was a person who put his interests first and would use any means to achieve his goals. Although he was very kind to him, he was not a character who loved soldiers like a son.Although he understood that the reason why Cheng Yaojin said these words was that he could no longer seek more benefits, otherwise he would not hesitate even if he took the whole army in... But no matter what, if he knew that he could not get more benefits, Under the circumstances, it is already benevolent enough to put the lives of soldiers and schoolmen first.

Looking around the world, there are very few people who can do this.

The entire Zuo Wuwei is Cheng Yaojin's army, and Cheng Yaojin's people are from top to bottom. It is a matter of course for him to charge forward and die for his personal honor...

The tent was quiet for a while, and the rain was dripping outside the tent. After a long time, Niu Jinda asked: "I am afraid that the commander's move will completely offend His Royal Highness King Jin. I don't know how to turn it around?"