The Child Emperor

The small tent was crowded with people, half of the guards of the Northern Army and half of the generals of the Southern Army. They glared at each other, but they couldn't bear it. A tall figure blocked the candlelight, making the whole tent dark and dangerous, like a A jungle in which venomous snakes and beasts lurk.

Candles were placed on a high stool in the middle of the tent, just to light up those who came out to speak.

The first to come out was a general of the Southern Army, who folded his fists and hands to Hou Juan, and said bluntly: "The war in the city is in full swing, and tens of thousands of Southern troops have entered the city, but the victory will be determined in one fell swoop. Soldier, why did Marquis Juan refuse to give orders? I am waiting for doubts, Marquis Tien please explain."

Han Ruzi waited for a while and replied, "The Southern Army is not a private part of Master Cui, but the army of the imperial court..."

The general said: "Of course, if the emperor is still alive, we will of course obey the orders of the imperial court, but rumors say that the emperor has died, and several people in the city have established themselves as emperors. A master has been chosen."

"King of the East Sea? Taifu Cui?" Han Ruzi proposed two options. Seeing that the other party did not answer, he continued: "Master Cui once lost the Southern Army. When he seized the seal, did you help each other? Shangguanxu, the elder brother of the Queen Mother, served for a period of time. The Great Sima of the Southern Army of Time, have you ever obeyed?"

The general was stunned for a moment, "As long as it is the order of the Great Sima of the Southern Army, we have to obey. As for seizing the seal, it is not our turn to help. The generals on the left and right are the henchmen of the Great Sima."

The generals of the Southern Army nodded in agreement. When Taifu Cui recaptured the Southern Army, the left general Zhao Mengli and the right general Cui Ting contributed the most, and the other generals just went with the flow.

Han Ruzi asked again, "Master Cui did not retaliate against anyone after the incident?"

The general glanced at his companions and replied, "There are a few people who have been dismissed, all of whom were promoted by Shangguan Xu, and have nothing to do with us. Of course, the Da Sima will not retaliate against us, and he has given many rewards."

Han Ruzi used to call him "Master Cui", and the soldiers of the Southern Army were only called "Da Sima".

"So not only did you not get revenge by watching, but it also brought you a lot of benefits?"

The generals of the Southern Army were stunned for a moment, and the leader said, "This... the situation is different..."

"Is there any of you who are the heirs of King Donghai or Taifu Cui?" Han Ruzi glanced over, although the candle light was dim, he could still see the eyes of most people, "If there is, please bring troops into the city immediately, I will absolutely Don't stop."

No one spoke, and Mrs. Cui's cronies were basically brought by his side, and only Zhao Mengli was left behind, and no one in the tent dared to claim to be cronies.

Han Ruzi continued: "Everyone has seen that there are two emperors in the city, and they each sent messengers. They came once during the day and again at night, but they just came to persuade me to come to the city to help, but they didn't give any clear benefits. Ladies and gentlemen, I will not hide the fact that the current imperial court does exist in name only. We come a step late, and our identity is very embarrassing: to help the strong party, we won't get much thanks after the success, and to help the weak party, there is the danger of being defeated and killed. So holding back is just waiting for them to offer more favorable conditions."

Han Ruzi gave a long hum, "Everyone also hope that after the chaos is over, you will be able to increase your ranks and get money and land?"

The generals of the Southern Army looked at each other, and although they did not answer directly, they did agree with what Marquis Juan said.

"At least wait for a promise." Han Ruzi stood up, "I won't let you go if you don't win the three-level official promotion for each of you, and don't let the soldiers in the battalion get a bounty of 100 taels or 1,000 taels each."

Someone laughed.

When the leading general spoke again, his tone softened a lot, "But once the battle in the city is over, no one will open the conditions, right?"

"All of you are veterans who have experienced battles. You should understand how difficult it is to attack the city. Taifu Cui has already entered the city, but he has not defeated the Su Wei army for a whole day, that is, you have encountered an obstacle that is difficult to overcome. The imperial city is also a city, and it is an impregnable soup. There is no ten days and a half months, and the city cannot be attacked. The messengers in the city will only come more and more frequently, and the conditions given will become better and better."

The generals discussed each other for a while, and the leader said, "If the British King's side offered better conditions, would we really want to help him? That would be... a betrayal of the Southern Army."

"The Southern Army is the army of the imperial court." Han Ruzi repeated this sentence again, "What you are taking is the state salary. I not only see who has better conditions, but also which side is more likely to win. The winner is the imperial court. Obedience to the will of the imperial court is a matter of course, so why betrayal?"

The generals were persuaded, and the leader hesitated for a moment, then asked carefully, "What if Marquis Juan won the victory?"

Han Ruzi smiled slightly, "Then you are the ones who made the conditions, not the ones who accepted them."

The leading general gave an inexplicable smirk and turned his head to look at the Northern Army guards, "Everyone said that the main force of the Northern Army will arrive in three days, is that true?"

"Three days at most." Han Ruzi said frankly, in fact he has not received any news.

The general of the Southern Army retired, and no matter how he thought about it, he felt that he was in an extremely advantageous position. Marquis Juan was right, and it was the best choice to hold on to the troops for the time being.

Han Ruzi was not familiar with the generals of the Southern Army, so he could only lure them to his advantage. To the guards of the Northern Army, he only said: "You are all my cronies."

When the Union guards left, they were more satisfied than the Confederate generals.

Cai Xinghai stayed behind. He was not only a trusted confidant, but also a confidant who was qualified to discuss the truth with Hou Juan.

"Have you ever thought that Mrs. Cui will really lead troops to attack the camp after Tianliang, the southern army outside is likely to look down on the wind, and the three thousand northern army will not last long."

Han Ruzi laughed twice, "Master Cui is more resourceful and less decisive, and what he lacks is the courage. He was assassinated and attacked the capital in a fit of anger, but he did not occupy the whole city, which shows that he concentrated all 60,000 southern troops in Together, this is not for attacking the fort, but for fear of being betrayed again."

Han Ruzi stared at the candle for a while, "Master Cui still has doubts about the soldiers around him, let alone the southern army outside the city? These southern army did not resist when I captured Baiqiao Town, and did not when I killed Zhao Mengli. Revenge will definitely make Taifu Cui even more suspicious. He doesn't dare to come, and neither does the King of the East Sea."

Cai Xinghai was persuaded, "Excuse me for saying something, being an emperor also has to have the guts, but Hou Juan has this kind of guts."

Han Ruzi didn't deny it, "I'm more worried about Shangguan Sheng, this person is violent and may be motivated. In his eyes, the Southern Army naturally wants to help the Southern Army. If he wants to take the opportunity to break it up and send troops to kill directly from the north gate, it is a big trouble."

Han Ruzi's barracks was too close to the North Gate, and once the Su Guards rushed out, he only had a very short time to react.

Cai Xinghai said: "Although the number of the 3,000 Northern Army is not large, we are willing to go through fire and water for Marquis Tien. It's a big deal that we work harder and be prepared at all times. How can we block it for a while and buy Marquis Tien some time."

"Don't be too tired, prepare more antler fences on the road, and don't let the army in the city rush over all at once."

Cai Xinghai came up with an idea, "There is a large block of private houses five or six miles ahead, but it is a natural obstacle. Setting up a deer antler fence there will be twice the result with half the effort."

Han Ruzi shook his head, "This is not an attack on the enemy city, try not to disturb the people of the capital."

Cai Xinghai was very ashamed and blushed and resigned.

Han Ruzi was not as calm as he appeared, but he was actually uneasy in his heart, but he was so tired that he had to lie down and sleep.

He had many dreams, one time the Northern Army arrived, another time an army rushed out of the city, and another time the East Sea King was laughing...

He woke up suddenly, thinking it was time for dawn, but it turned out that the tent was dark, the candles had already been extinguished, and he didn't know what time it was.

Han Ruzi got up and walked out of the tent, stood at the door and looked up at the sky. Midnight should have just passed, the sky was full of stars, and then looking into the distance, there were also fires in the barracks, it was quiet, and most of the people were sleeping soundly.

This is a good thing, it shows that the soldiers of the Confederate army are no longer eager to enter the city to fight, and this is also a bad thing. An army with peace of mind is most likely to be attacked.

Han Ruzi thought that if he was Shangguansheng, he should launch an attack at this time, not only to defeat the army outside the north gate, but also to frighten the southern army in the city.

"Take me to see Governor Cai." Han Ruzi said to the guards at the door.

Cai Xinghai hadn't slept. The North Army camp was at the forefront, facing the official road. He was directing the soldiers to build more antler fences throughout the night.

"Pause for now. If the enemy attacks, we have to fight hard." Han Ruzi asked Cai Xinghai to withdraw the soldiers, and then sent an order.

Looking from the direction of the capital, there seemed to be only a few hundred people left in the camp of more than 40,000 people.

Although Shangguan Sheng was reckless, he was a general after all, and a fake trap might scare him.

Han Ruzi hadn't really mastered the Southern Army, and he never wanted to go to war at this time.

Time passed, and Han Ruzi did not return to the tent, and ordered Cai Xinghai to rest, and he would supervise the front.

There was a sudden sound of horses' hooves on the official road. It was not a sneak attack, but a scout from the Northern Army. Holding a torch, he circled around the deer horn fence, and soon came to Juan Hou, and announced that Mrs. Cui had sent a messenger. There was only one person, neither a general nor a minister.

The messenger was brought over and saw Marquis Juan from a distance. He immediately jumped off his horse, clasped his fists with both hands, and said with a smile: "Marquis Jun is fine."

The breath-seeker Lin Kunshan does not represent Master Cui, but the King of the East Sea.

Han Ruzi retreated from the guards and talked with Lin Kunshan just behind the deer horn fence.

"The King of the East Sea said that he did not forget the agreement. As long as Marquis Juan publicly announced that he wanted to restore the throne, the King of the East Sea would immediately remove the imperial title and entrust Marquis Juan as the master."

Han Ruzi shook his head and said with a smile, "This is not the level of a person looking for breath, just say what you have prepared yourself."

"As entrusted by others, it has to be passed on first. Hmm..." Lin Kunshan glanced at the pitch-dark military camp, "I didn't destroy any plan of Hou Juan?"

"It doesn't matter, my plan is not so easily broken."

"Haha, I've thought too much. That's right, although the city is deadlocked, the general trend is turning towards the Marquis of Lianhou. Those of us who are hopeful, naturally have to follow the trend."

Han Ruzi did not speak.

"Emperor's Seal and Taizu's Sword, is Marquis Tired interested?"

Han Ruzi's expression changed.

(One update today. Join the group around 3:00 pm to chat with everyone, and be online until 8:00 pm. You don’t have to be in the form of a question and answer, just chat casually, there is nothing to talk about, just dive in silence.)