The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1174 Surprise changes on the front line
"Good news, good news from Hebei."

A messenger rode into the city on horseback, exhausted, and without stopping, he galloped in from the Donghua Gate in the east of the city. When he was at the gate, he announced loudly: "Duke Ying has sent a victory message. His cavalry has recaptured Hejian, Raoyang, Leshou, Wuqiang and other cities, and annihilated 12,000 Turkic enemies."

Not long after the messenger entered the city, another messenger came running over, also shouting with excitement: "Duke Lu has sent a victory report. His cavalry successively captured the important cities of Nangong, Xindu, Wucheng, Qingyang and other cities in Hebei, and wiped out 14,000 Turks."

The armies on both the northern and southern fronts made smooth progress, with unstoppable force, constantly recovering lost territory and destroying the enemy.

The two pillars of the army competed to show off their achievements, which drew praise from the people in the city.

It is now the New Year of Kaiyuan, and the people of Chang'an are celebrating the New Year peacefully. The markets in the city are full of joy. Every stall is crowded with people, and everyone's face is filled with joy.

After working hard for a whole year, many people brought their wives and children out to see the fun.

Except for the day when the messenger Hongling arrived in Beijing, which made people confused, there was no further news about the war in Hebei.

Firstly, what everyone feared the most was the invasion of the south by the army of the Right Wise King. Later, when they heard that the Great Khan Shiluodie on the grassland, after failing to fight for power with the Right Wise King, broke into Hebei with a group of his followers to take advantage of the situation, everyone no longer took it seriously.

The impact of the Hongling messenger entering the capital was indeed quite large. Except for the unexpected accidents, the court used normal military post stations to convey the situation after taking over. Without the big battle of breaking into the imperial city, the people naturally felt that nothing was happening.

On the other hand, the court also sent a large army to resist the enemy. Although the King of Qi was not very famous, Duke Lu Cheng Yaojin and Duke Ying Li Ji were both well-known figures who had participated in the founding of the Tang Dynasty and were brave generals who followed the retired emperor to build an empire.

The two went to Hebei together and fought on their own territory, so no one was worried and thought that it would not be long before news of victory came.

As expected, cavalry from the east kept entering Chang'an in the past two days, and battle reports kept coming in, either about the recovery of a certain city or the annihilation of a certain number of Turks. The messengers of Duke Lu and Duke Ying bypassed Prince Qi Li You and sent the situation on the front line directly to the capital.

The messengers began shouting at the city gate, competing to announce their respective victories.

The situation in Hebei was under control, the Tang army continued to win, the Turks suffered heavy losses and were constantly retreating. This was the consensus reached by all the people in Chang'an.

Xiao Linzi, who was selling corn on Chengtian Street, chopped his feet in the cold wind, and from time to time he put his hands to his mouth to breathe. Then he said happily to Old Yang, who was setting up a calligraphy and painting stall next to him: "Uncle Yang, I see that there are many messengers recently, but why don't you put up those little flags?"

It is now midwinter and the weather is cold, but today the sun is shining brightly. Old Yang is leaning against a bookshelf that supports calligraphy and paintings, swaying with his legs crossed. Occasionally, he takes out dried fruits for the New Year from his pocket and chews them in his mouth.

There was a small wine jug on the small table next to him. He would take a sip from the spout from time to time while basking in the sun, looking extremely comfortable.

Hearing Xiao Linzi's somewhat ignorant question, he smiled and said, "Haha, those are only used when urgent military information suddenly occurs. If Hongling messengers were used for every military information, then Chang'an City would be in chaos."

"I have been hanging around Chengtian Street all my life, old man. Let me tell you an experience."

"The messengers of the imperial court only report good news, not bad news. If you see a messenger with a heavy face, as if he has lost his parents, you will know that the war is not going well, most likely we have lost the battle. Or the enemy is advancing straight into our territory, and our army is retreating step by step."

“If you see the messenger shouting loudly as soon as he enters the city gate, and his face is full of joy.”

"Even if we don't listen to what they are shouting, we can tell from the sound that the battle ahead is probably going well and we have won again."

Xiao Linzi thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. He quickly flattered him, "Uncle Yang, you are well-informed. No wonder there is an old saying that an old man in the family is like a treasure. With your experienced eyes, you can guess most of the major events in the world with just a glance."

"I said that the messengers these past two days have been shouting everywhere as soon as they enter the city, as if they are afraid that others don't know. They are completely different from the messengers who raised the little red flag a month ago?"

Old Yang raised his head and took a sip of hot water, smiling proudly: "Haha, I'm afraid you won't see that kind of messenger again in the next three to five years. As for the last time, even if you opened your eyes, it's enough for you to brag about in your village for the rest of your life."

"You keep saying, uh, what is that."

When Xiao Linzi was talking, he suddenly saw a fast horse coming from the east of the city. It was not as leisurely as the previous messenger. Instead, it looked like a dog was chasing it. It roared and shouted at the people on the street: "Get out of the way, everyone, get out of the way."

When passing by the two people's stall, he whipped the horse hard. The warhorse felt the pain and accelerated towards the direction of the palace.

"Uncle Yang, what did you say before?"

Xiao Linzi turned around and asked Old Man Yang in surprise, "The messenger who just passed by didn't look very happy, and was covered in dirt. His clothes and armor were also stained with blood. He was completely different from the people who reported the victory before."

"If what you said is true, then the battle ahead is not going well and we have suffered a defeat."

Old Yang also stood up and watched for a long time, then silently withdrew his gaze, suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, and said solemnly in a low voice: "You kid, this is on the street, you can talk about good things at will, but don't talk about bad things." "War is not a matter of one or two days. On such a large battlefield, with hundreds of thousands of people fighting, it is normal for there to be wins and losses."

"In the past two days, our Tang Dynasty had the upper hand and won a series of victories. The Turks stabilized their position and planned a counterattack. We were not careful for a while and suffered some losses. This is a common thing. Don't make a fuss."

"Our Tang Dynasty is rising like the sun in the east. We have well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. We are fighting in the hinterland, and we have experienced veterans like Duke Lu and Duke Ying leading us. The Turks are nothing but dogs that have lost their homes, and the likes of Shiluodi are defeated by the Right Wise King."

"With such a huge disparity in strength, what mistakes can happen? We ordinary people can live peacefully. As long as the enemy does not enter Chang'an, we don't have to worry."

Xiao Linzi thought about it and it was true. He was scared so much by Old Yang last time that he didn't dare go out for half a month for fear of encountering a war.

Sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing. At least the villagers in the village will not be affected.

"Da da. Da da da."

While the two were chatting, another horse galloped past on the street. The knight on the horse had the same solemn and pale expression as the previous one, as if the sky was about to fall.

The messenger had just cleared the aisle and there were not many people on the street. The messenger rushed past at lightning speed, which caused endless speculation among the people on the street.

Old Yang's heart sank. With two messengers arriving in succession, he was afraid that the war ahead was not going well.

Old Yang had served in the Northern Army in the past, and he knew that there was an unwritten rule in the army: small victories were reported with big rewards, but small defeats were not reported. According to this principle, he knew that the Tang Army must have suffered a defeat, and it was a big defeat.

The Hongwen Hall is equivalent to the Central Government Hall in later generations. It is the place where the chief officials of the three provinces work and manage government affairs. At the same time, there are also garrison departments and on-duty personnel from the six ministries and various temples and offices to handle various official documents and government affairs at any time.

Usually after the court was dismissed, the heads of various departments left the palace and went to their respective offices, while officials from the three provinces gathered here to handle government affairs.

"Master Changsun, something bad has happened in Hebei."

After receiving the military report from the messenger, the clerk of the Ministry of War glanced at it hastily, without waiting to read it carefully, and was horrified, and rushed to the public room of the Zuo Pushe Changsun Wuji. He did not wait for the clerk to pass on the message, and rushed in directly.

His face changed drastically as he said, "Urgent news from the front line, the Duke of England was badly defeated, and the army on the northern front was completely wiped out."

"What, how is that possible?"

Changsun Wuji, who was reviewing a letter, hadn't reacted yet. He stood up subconsciously and saw the horrified expression on the head of the Ministry of War's face. He then understood what the other party said. His face changed and he said decisively, "Hasn't it been going smoothly all along?"

"We have been receiving good news these past few days, but how come we suddenly suffered a great defeat and the entire army was annihilated? Did you see it right?"

Changsun Wuji stepped forward quickly, snatched the military newspaper from the other party's hand, quickly unfolded it, and read it at a glance.

The military report was written by Qi Wang Li You: "On the first day of the first month of the first year of Kaiyuan, Li Ji, who had won many battles, underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly. He was ambushed by the Turkic Khan Shi Luo, who led 200,000 cavalrymen under the city of Gonggao. We defended the city and fought desperately."

'Unfortunately, the enemy's attack was too fierce. After a night of fierce fighting.'

'Li Ji's 100,000 cavalrymen were almost completely wiped out, with more than 90,000 dead. Under Gonggao City, corpses piled up like a mountain, blood flowed all over the field, and only a small number of soldiers were able to retreat back to the city to defend it. The Turks also suffered heavy losses in this battle, with more than 70,000 dead.'

'Your Highness: General of the Eastern Expedition, Commander-in-Chief of the Hebei Road Army, Li You, the Fifth of Qi, presents this report.'

'Well'

Changsun Wuji was shocked and felt a black screen in front of his eyes. His head was spinning and he seemed to be unable to stand steadily.

The head of the Ministry of War seemed to have anticipated this, and quickly reached out to help Changsun Wuji back to his seat and said, "Lord Changsun, you are our backbone and the pillar of the court. You must not fall down at this moment!"

"call"

"How could this happen? How could this happen? Isn't the Longxi Flying Cavalry incredibly powerful? Can they fight one against two?"

After a long time, Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, his face full of sorrow, and cried out to the sky: "The Supreme Emperor entrusted the affairs of state to me, and the Emperor entrusted me with an important task. Now that the court army has suffered such a disastrous defeat, how can I face His Majesty?"

(End of this chapter)