The prince is very fierce

Two days later, outside Xiangyang.

After Xiangyang was captured, more than 100,000 soldiers entered the pass, and the government soldiers occupied various fortresses and garrisoned. The Xiliang army took advantage of the victory and continued to set out for Jingmen, 200 miles away.

After passing Xiangyang, the terrain became narrow and long, with more mountains and rivers.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were stationed near Jinniu Mountain. As the imperial court's transfer order came, the atmosphere in the central army tent became extremely depressing.

Candles were lit in the huge army tent, and more than 30 generals sat in it.

Xu Buling, dressed in a white robe, sat on the side of the armchair, holding a teacup in his hand. Next to him were more than a dozen Xiliang army generals, including Yang Zunyi, Tu Qianchu, Yue Jiulou, Yang Guanyu, Xu Ying, etc.

Guan Hongye was still the commander-in-chief, still sitting in the main seat. The various emotions on his face in the past few days were gone, and he was very calm, not caring about everyone's eyes at all. The generals of the imperial court were hovering around Xu Buling and Guan Hongye, being so cautious that they dared not even breathe.

Guan Hongye placed the imperial edict in his hand on the table and glanced at the generals:

"The emperor has ordered that Xu Buling has made great contributions, but he is still young and it is not appropriate for him to take charge of the army rashly. He should take the palace soldiers back to Nanyang to garrison. In addition, the left prince of Northern Qi has been making frequent moves recently. In order to prevent Xiliang from being lost, Tu Qianchu and Yang Zunyi will take 30,000 Xiliang infantrymen back to defend Xiliang and leave immediately."

This edict, which was just sent from the Holy Chang'an City, basically only had four big words written on it - Get out of here.

When Guan Hongye received it, he was shocked. He didn't understand how such an imperial edict was written, but he was relieved in the end.

On the night when the victory report was sent back, a fire suddenly broke out in the imperial city, burning down the Lizheng Hall. It was said to be the work of an assassin. Afterwards, the city of Chang'an was put under martial law. The Imperial Guards and Wolf Guards directly sealed off Kuishou Street and stood at the doors of various princes and generals to "guard" the safety of the civil and military officials in the court.

At the court meeting the next day, Song Ji was frightened by the assassination, and the emperor was furious. Two ministers were beaten with fifty sticks for being late, and one was killed on the spot. Then they began to talk about political affairs.

When this imperial edict was issued, all the civil and military officials had objections, saying that Prince Zuo could not be ready to make a move, and Xu Buling had military merits. Even Cui Huailu felt that it was a bit too much.

But Song Ji ignored it, saying that it was inappropriate for Xu Buling to lead troops at a young age. The detectives of the Investigation Department received a secret report that Prince Zuo was preparing to attack Xiliang; he even took out the black materials of some court officials who opposed more fiercely in the past and stripped them of their official robes on the spot.

The Investigation Department monitored the civil and military officials in the court, and no one had a clean foundation. In the end, the court officials did not speak, but just watched Song Ji act arbitrarily on the dragon throne.

How inexplicable and unreasonable this imperial edict was can be seen from the reactions of the generals at all levels of the Xiliang Army.

Yang Zunyi's eyes were stunned, Tu Qianchu's face was furious, and the young general behind him stood up directly with his sword pressed.

Xu Buling sat on the armchair with a teacup in his hand, glanced at the imperial edict and said:

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

All the generals of Xiliang and even the generals of the court thought so.

Xu Buling led 2,000 people to fight Nanyang and 20,000 people to fight Xiangyang. He charged in front every time. The territory recovered now can be said to have been conquered by Xu Buling alone.

The battle has not yet ended, and he has made such a military achievement. It doesn't matter if the court does not praise him. Instead, it directly allows Xu Buling to return to Nanyang to continue his retirement, and even lets the 30,000 infantrymen who came all the way here go back to where they came from. Isn't this just a joke?

Guan Hongye sat on the commander's seat and looked directly at Xu Buling. His eyes were not afraid at all, but rather calm:

"This is the emperor's intention. If you are not satisfied, you can go to the emperor to argue."

Xu Buling put down the teacup, took the imperial edict and unfolded it to glance at it:

"My soldiers of the Xiliang Army walked 3,000 miles to Xiangyang, conquered cities and won battles, and did not fail in any way. The court doesn't reward them, but I can agree to let them return the same way with such a lame excuse. Do you think your soldiers can agree?"

Guan Hongye said coldly: "If the prince doesn't want to leave, he can continue to fight, but disobeying the imperial edict will be treated as treason. I have the responsibility to prevent Guanzhong from being lost, so I can only mobilize troops against the Xiliang Army."

"General!"

"You can't..."

Many generals in the court were shocked and stood up to stop them.

The generals of Xiliang were furious and cursed:

"You are worthy?"

"With only 100,000 soldiers outside, you want to use knives against my 50,000 Xiliang army?"

There was constant noise in the military tent, but Guan Hongye was unmoved, just raised his neck:

"If your highness does not obey the emperor, you can take my head, turn around and fight Guanzhong Road, and ask the emperor for an explanation."

"..."

As soon as these words came out, the noisy military tent quieted down again.

The Xiliang generals were obviously stunned. They did not expect Guan Hongye to be a rogue.

But now it is indeed the case. This aggressive imperial edict has been issued. If the Xiliang army does not accept the order, Guan Hongye will lead his troops to fight the Xiliang army. No matter whether they can win or not, the Xiliang army will fight back and it will be a rebellion. If they are not convinced and kill Guan Hongye, it will also be a rebellion.

Anyway, the meaning of the imperial edict is that you either get out or rebel, and it is useless to say anything.

The Xiliang Army would definitely not tolerate this, but can the Xiliang Army rebel now?

The Xiliang generals thought about it and realized that the matter was too big and they definitely could not make the decision. They all looked at Xu Buling.

Xu Buling had only two choices.

Now he could either kill Guan Hongye with a single blow, or take the Xiliang Army and some palace soldiers to attack Guanzhong Road.

Guanzhong Road could be taken down, it could be taken down before, and it can be taken down now.

But what to do after taking it down?

Only the Xu family rebels and encircles Guanzhong. The Guanzhong army in northern Xinjiang will definitely give up the defense north of the Yellow River, and the Liaoxi army will join the four kings to support the new king. Even if the King of Shu does not have enough to eat, he will definitely force his men to go to King Qin of Shu. Prince Zuo of the Northern Qi Dynasty would also take the back route.

In an instant, he was surrounded by enemies on all sides and was isolated. He would lose the morale of the army and the people by killing the king and usurping the throne. He would be infamous for being rebellious officials and traitors who took advantage of the situation, and he would not even have the reputation of being a military commander.

The Xu family was able to hold Guanzhong Road with more than 200,000 men and artillery, but it was clear that the gains outweighed the losses.

Xu Buling looked at Guan Hongye for a moment, then finally smiled, stood up and picked up the imperial edict:

"They are all General Dayue. Why would General Guan say such hurtful words? There was a fire in the palace and the Holy One was frightened. This imperial edict may have been issued hastily. I will write to the court and beg the Holy One to take back the order and make a new decision. Xiliang Army Three The ten thousand soldiers are on standby in Xiangyang for the time being, and General Guan can continue to lead the troops to attack Jingmen. If the Holy One insists on sending the Xiliang army back to defend Xiliang, I will take the order."

Many court generals breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Guan Hongye.

Guan Hongye's expression did not change. He raised his hand and said: "The Holy One has an order. In order to prevent losses in Xiliang, 30,000 infantry will immediately leave Xiangyang and return to defend Xiliang. I hope His Highness the Prince will think twice before making any move and don't let me use weapons against Pao Ze."

Not giving an inch.

There was a noise in the military tent, many imperial generals tried to dissuade them, and the Xiliang army generals were furious.

Xu Buling said nothing, took the imperial edict and turned around and left the commander's tent:

"Walk."

Yang Zunyi and Tu Qianchu didn't say anything more, and left the commander's tent with the general.

After Xu Buling and others left, the deputy general stepped forward with a pale face and said anxiously:

"General, you can't do it. If Xu Buling goes out and leads his troops to attack the camp, the soldiers under his command might turn against him on the spot..."

Not to mention the soldiers under his command, many court generals in the military tents have the intention of defecting. After all, if there is a fight now, they will definitely be crushed to death by the Xiliang army.

But Guan Hongye had already waited for Song Ji's secret order, and he didn't give in at all:

"Let the three armies prepare for war, and promise not to withdraw from Xiangyang before dawn. The Xiliang army will be punished for resisting the decree and treason."

"this……"

"useless……"

"Go quickly!"

"..."

-------

After coming out of the commander's tent, Xu Buling took the generals back to the Xiliang Army camp.

Military Advisor Yue Jiulou walked in front of him, his brows furrowed:

"The emperor is getting impatient and has adopted a desperate posture. Xiangyang has just been captured, and the government soldiers have not had time to gather them. Now is not the time to rebel. It is not advisable to attack the key point rashly and affect the whole body with one move."

Xu Buling naturally knew that this was not advisable, waved his hand and said:

"General Yang, you lead people to appease the soldiers, then break up the camp and evacuate Xiangyang, just leave slowly. Song Ji is just anxious. Xiao Qi has arrangements over there. I will go and talk to the emperor in a few days. Also , My Xu family is full of loyal people, don’t talk about rebellion all the time.”

All the generals in Xiliang were speechless and said to themselves: Little prince, you are calling the emperor by his name every time you say "Songji", and you still have a whole family of loyal loyalties?

However, these words can only be said in the heart. After all, the Xu family is still a minister of Dayue. If you don't object, you can't talk nonsense. They all nodded and returned to the camp.

Ning Qingye wore light armor and was working as a soldier outside from beginning to end, and never spoke.

After his generals left, Xu Buling slowed down, walked side by side with Ning Qingye, and secretly held Ning Qingye's little hand.

Ning Qingye quickly pulled away, breathing up and down, but made no other expression.

It was the same before. Xu Buring naturally didn't mind, and held Ning Qingye's little hand again and wouldn't let go:

"It's just a couple holding hands, what's there to hide?"

Ning Qingye's eyelashes trembled slightly, and after a few twitches, she stopped struggling and turned her head to look to the other side, so calmly:

"I just heard that the court won't let you fight. Are you still going to fight?"

Xu Buling smiled: "We won't be fighting for a while. We have to deal with the matters in Chang'an City first. Are you tired from running around these days? Take a good rest..."

Ning Qingye did not respond. After arriving at the door of the handsome tent, he withdrew his hand and turned towards his own tent:

"I'm tired. I'll ask Master to change my shift. You can rest early."

Xu Buling figured it out, today seemed to be the day to paint the palace sand for Dabai, so he didn't hold back and said with a smile:

"Go to bed early."

After watching Ning Qingye leave, Xu Buling entered the tent.

Little Nightingale was sitting behind the desk, reading a letter. Seeing Xu Buling coming back, she stood up and handed the letter to Xu Buling:

"Sir, Sister Qiqi has learned the news and everything has been arranged. To prevent anything from happening, you have to go back secretly."

"Yeah..."

Xu Buling took the letter, glanced at it carefully, curled his lips, put it away and put it in his arms...