The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi must establish a solid camp as soon as possible, otherwise, he will not be able to resist any army in the city rushing out.

This is not a small problem. In order to ensure rapid progress, the army carries pitifully little materials. It can only collect materials on the spot and cut down the surrounding shrubs. Moreover, their location is a low-hanging wasteland. Experienced generals agree Considering this place to be the worst place to camp, it is necessary to advance or retreat a certain distance.

Han Ruzi chose to advance for a few miles. The terrain was slightly higher, and it was closer to the capital, only ten miles away. Once the war started, the time for them to prepare was very short, and they could only be in a state of combat readiness at any time. .

The soldiers of the Southern Army didn't care much, they were eager to enter the city to fight, the closer they were, the better.

Han Ruzi used various excuses to delay. The most important one was that there were reinforcements from the Eighth Battalion of Suwei outside the city. He didn't lie about this. The scouts sent back the news at noon that day. There were troops mobilized in all directions in the capital, obviously to support the Su Wei Army.

This was the most turbulent morning in Han Ruzi's life. The battles in the city, the troops coming from all over the place, the soldiers in their own camp... Any force could kill him if he made up his mind. He was like a Lamb, surrounded by ligers and wolves, the only reason they haven't opened their mouths is to defeat other beasts first.

Han Ruzi didn't want to be a lamb. He had 3,000 soldiers of the Northern Army by his side. Although the number was small, he was willing to stand firmly on his side at this moment. The news that the champion Hou had been poisoned had come out. indecisive.

Behind him, there is an approaching northern army, they will be able to lay the victory, the only problem is that it is too late.

In the city, there are also a group of people who support Hou Juan.

Not long after dawn, Han Ruzi had just changed the campsite, and the subsequent Southern Army still arrived every hour or so, and Cui Hong sent a messenger.

Han Ruzi breathed a sigh of relief that Cui Hong did not come in person. With his little influence, he could not compete with the Southern Army Sima himself. Fortunately, Cui Hong did not have the courage.

The messenger was a general of the Southern Army, with several hundred guards, he wanted to go straight to the camp, but was stopped by the soldiers of the Northern Army led by Cai Xinghai, and he was only allowed to enter the camp alone to meet Marquis Juan.

The messenger stood in front of Marquis Juan and officially announced: "The Southern Army has seized the entire capital, and the King of the East China Sea has become emperor. The Great Sima entrusts me with a message to Marquis Juan, 'Those who know current affairs are Junjie, Marquis Juan should immediately surrender the Southern Army. , go to the capital alone to meet the new emperor, seal the king and build the country, no problem.'"

Han Ruzi smiled and said, "Ts. Cui is my father-in-law, and the King of Donghai and I are the sons of Emperor Huan. Of course I want to know their 'current affairs', but... I only have one small request, as long as the ministers are willing to recognize the new emperor, and then When I came out of the city to give me a decree, I immediately went to Beijing on my knees, and I fell on the ground to plead guilty."

The messenger issued a threat, and Han Ruzi laughed and accepted, but insisted only on one, that he must have a minister and an imperial decree before he was willing to hand over the Southern Army and recognize the new emperor.

He deliberately delayed for a while, until a Union soldier entered the tent and nodded, and he politely asked the messenger to leave.

Shangguansheng's messenger came. It was a eunuch in the palace, with more than a hundred soldiers of the military guard. They came out from the north gate and were closer, but they started late and fell behind the messenger of the southern army.

The two groups of messengers met at the gate of the camp, glaring and observing each other.

The eunuch's attitude was more polite than that of the Southern Army messengers. "Cui Hong is rebelling. He only occupied a small area of ​​Xicheng. He was blocked there and could not move an inch. Now, reinforcements from all over the world are coming at an accelerated rate. Whether the army of Juan Hou is the aid of the imperial court or the enemy of the imperial court is all in your mind. Please make a decision quickly, Hou Juan, and if Cui Hong is defeated, you will not be able to do so. Opportunity to make a choice."

Han Ruzi still greeted him with a smile, "I am a descendant of the Han family, and it is impossible for me to be an enemy of the imperial court. Since the father-in-law is preaching for the imperial court, can he bring the imperial edict?"

The eunuch blushed slightly and coughed, "Your Majesty has unfortunately passed away, King Ying has been established as the new emperor in the palace, and Cui Hong has made trouble, everything is rushed, and it is difficult to issue the imperial decree, but precisely because of this, this is the opportunity of the Tired Marquis ."

Han Ruzi was originally just a test. If the other party came up with the imperial edict, he would find other excuses, but the eunuch's expression showed that Shangguansheng, who had made King Ying the new emperor in the palace, could not come up with an imperial edict, which was a bit strange.

Han Ru Zixu and Wei She finally boiled down to one point: "Sorry, I have to see the imperial edict."

The eunuch made no threats, but looked disgruntled when he left.

As more and more soldiers of the Southern Army arrived, the three thousand Northern Army became more and more insignificant. Han Ruzi could easily deal with the messengers of Cui Hong and Shangguansheng, but he had to be very careful about the Southern Army in his own camp. As a result, he found that the greater the number of Confederate soldiers, the less willing they were to enter the city to fight.

Han Ruzi indulged in the news of the two sides in the city to spread in the barracks, trying to let most people understand one thing: the battle of the capital is far from over, and participating in the war at this time will take great risks.

The Confederate army was about to move, but it never moved. Several times there was a near mutiny. Cai Xinghai and others were so nervous that the soldiers did not dare to leave.

Among the many rumors, there is another: some people in the city do not recognize the King of England and the King of the East Sea as the new emperors, they claim that Hou Juan has always been the emperor, and he is now.

Marquis Tien was one of the three "emperors" that Cui Teng referred to.

But Hou Juan's followers never left the city. They were obviously trapped somewhere. Meng E, who had promised to return at noon, also lost his words, and did not show up until night fell.

Han Ruzi lived like a year.

The southern army led by Marquis Juan did not move, and did not make a statement, but the number was increasing. Han Ruzi knew that the army was extremely unstable, but the people in the city did not know. Two couriers.

Shangguansheng's messenger arrived first this time. There were only two eunuchs and two generals in the camp. They were very polite. Hou's sinner was the King of the East Sea. As a result, only the King of England was left among the four contenders for the throne. His succession to the throne was well-deserved. The next step was to ask Hou Juan to immediately enter the capital to pacify the chaos, or at least declare his position.

After reading it carefully, Han Ruzi returned the "decree" and said with a smile, "I know the imperial court is in chaos, but I shouldn't make such a mistake. This is not the imperial decree, and the seal is wrong."

The emperor has twelve seals. Only the treasure seal can be printed on the imperial decree. Make up for twelve.

The four of them were dismantled on the spot, and all of them were red-faced. A general of the camp guard asked the other three to exit the tent, left alone, and looked at the ten guards on both sides.

Han Ruzi did not screen any guards back, and he would never meet strangers alone now.

General Su Weiying stepped forward two steps and said in a low voice: "To be honest, the Su Wei Army and the Southern Army are in a stalemate at the moment, Cui Hong has indeed occupied the West City, and the number of troops is also larger, but the Su Wei Army has kept it. The Imperial Palace, the North City and the East City are also in our hands, and Hou Juan should understand what this means."

"What does it mean?" Han Ruzi deliberately pretended to be confused.

General Su Weiying waited for a while, then said, "The ministers and the nobles are all under the control of the Su Weijun, as well as...the people in the palace."

"The general may wish to make it clear."

"Wang Mei and Madam Tien Hou are both in the palace."

Han Ruzi had expected Shangguan Shenghui to use this trick, and although he was angry, his face was full of laughter, "Shangguan Sheng is also considered to be from a noble family, why is he so ignorant? Concubine Cui is also in the palace. So surrender?"

General Su Weiying was embarrassed and coughed twice, "Marquis Juan has misunderstood, General Shangguan does not mean to threaten, Wang Mei and Madam Tienhou will never be harmed in the palace. I have to return to my life, Marquis Tien. What do you want me to say?"

Han Ruzi thought for a while, "Since you have the minister, send a minister out to talk to me."

Shangguansheng's messenger left, and not long after, Cui Hong's second messenger arrived, and he was a genuine minister.

Shen Mingzhi, the censor of the right patrol, has not rested all day and night. The ups and downs he experienced during this period were more severe than his official career for more than half his life, and his face was haggard, but he could still maintain a bit of dignity. He brought Cui Hong's ultimatum : "Before dawn, Mrs. Cui hopes to see all the southern troops enter the city, otherwise, he will personally lead the army out of the city, first to pacify the internal troubles, and then set the general situation."

"The soldiers of the Southern Army must be very happy to meet Mrs. Cui." What Han Ruzi was most afraid of at the moment was threats.

"Marquis Tien must have heard that someone in the city has you as emperor." Besides Cui Teng, Shen Mingzhi was the first to mention this.

"Rumours are all over the place, but it's not enough to believe."

"I'm here to eliminate the rumors, can I talk to Juan Hou alone?"

Han Ruzi knew Shen Mingzhi, and he was not so vigilant about him. After thinking for a while, he ordered the guards to retreat, and Shen Mingzhi also signaled his companions to go out.

When there were only two people left, Shen Mingzhi knelt down and kowtowed.

Han Ruzi was very surprised and got up in a hurry, "What does Yushi Shen mean?"

Shen Mingzhi didn't get up and said: "The rumor is true, there are indeed a group of people in the city who support Marquis Juan, and there are quite a few people, I risked my departure out of the city just to tell Marquis Juan, please insist that neither the King of the East Sea nor the King of England are allowed. People's hearts, you are the emperor that Da Chu needs, please give us some confidence."

Han Ruzi was even more surprised. Shen Mingzhi first supported the champion, but at this time he supported the East Sea King on the surface, and secretly tipped off to the Juan Hou. In fact, Han Ruzi couldn't tell what this action meant.

"The 100,000 Northern Army is already on the way, and it will take three days at most to reach the capital." Han Ruzi gave Shen Mingzhi a little "confidence".

Shen Mingzhi was overjoyed, "Yang Gong said that Marquis Juan would not leave the city for no reason, and he would definitely bring back strong aid, and he was right."

"Where's Yang Fengren?" Han Ruzi's heart moved.

"It is said that he has entered the palace, and now he does not know where to go."

"Well, you go back, please wait patiently, and tell Taifu Cui - he wants to leave the city, I welcome him, he wants me to enter the city, let the East Sea King come, our brothers can talk frankly."

Shen Mingzhi got up, exited the tent, and returned to Cui Hong.

Han Ruzi sat in the tent and meditated, knowing that the next few days would be difficult to get through.

Cai Xinghai lifted the curtain and came in with a panicked expression, "Marquis Tien, the Southern Army... a large group of Southern Army generals have entered the camp, they want to see you immediately, their faces are not good, do you want to arrest them?

"Invite them to come in." Han Ruzi said, he couldn't always hide, he had to face what he should face.

The noise outside has come to the outside of the tent.