Unlike Luzhou, which is vast and sparsely populated, Tanzhou is still extremely far away from the hinterland of Dayue, it is already an extremely prosperous city in the north of Dayue. It has a radius of more than 10,000 square kilometers and a population of over one million. Tanzhou Prefecture alone has nearly 200,000 people. Its 28 counties under its jurisdiction, including the 28 counties of the three prefectures and the extremely poor Xia County. The Chenliu, Hanguang and Xiapi counties under Pingyang Prefecture alone have the famous Chenliu copper mine, Hanguang iron mine and Xiapi iron mine. {./Uploaded and updated by book friends} The copper and iron ore produced in these places is of excellent quality, and the refined iron refined is one of the best in the entire Dayue.

The Sima family, who is in charge of Tanzhou, also owns these treasure pots. Over the years, they have accumulated a lot of wealth. Although the 50,000 Tanzhou soldiers under Sima Ren have never fought on the battlefield, they are not equated with the elderly, weak, sick and disabled. On the contrary, among the local military troops in Dayue, this unit is the best equipped because they do not lack strategic materials such as copper and iron. It is precisely because they have these things that Tanzhou is not very elbowed by the central government.

In addition to Pingyang Prefecture, Tanzhou also has Luning Prefecture, known as the south of the Yangtze River outside the Great Wall. Luning has eleven counties under its jurisdiction, almost all of which are large grain-producing counties. The grain produced is enough to supply the entire Tanzhou. In the entire Tanzhou, except for these two prefectures, Huaian Prefecture is the worst. It has a mountainous area and very little arable land. It is not as rich as Pingyang's minerals. It is considered to be very poor. However, Huaian Prefecture is the largest recruitment place for soldiers to recruit soldiers. The people here have no other way out, and it has become a tradition to serve as a soldier and eat grain. Among the ten Tanzhou soldiers, six or seven came from Huaian Prefecture.

It can be said that Tanzhou can provide it with whatever the Mongolian tribe lacks. If Luzhou is lost, Dayue Shangjing will not be moved, but if Tanzhou is lost and falls into the hands of the Meng people, it will inevitably shake Shangjing. The emperor is furious. The emperor is angry and blood flows. Thinking of the power of this, the civil and military officials of Tanzhou gathered in the hall are silent.

The imperial edict on the table was there, and everyone could hear the decree clearly. At the latest by March next year, the imperial army would be in charge of the fourth prince Li Xiao, and the general Feng Congyi, the general of the commander of the army, would arrive in Tanzhou in order to defeat the Mongolian army and drive them back to the desert. If Tanzhou was thrown away before this, the fourth prince Li Xiao would be at the time of the arrival of the fourth prince.

"Sir, Tanzhou has 50,000 troops, and there are strong cities like Yumen Pass and Tanzhou City. It is probably not easy for the Mongolian army to conquer. What's more, the Mongolian people have always been not good at siegeing cities and sieges. We just need not fight with them and defend the city. *.*《》》*It is not difficult to persevere until March next year, and if we retreat without fighting, the Fourth Master will not be able to explain it at that time!" He Guoguang, the leader of Tanzhou, stood up and bowed.

"Mr. He is right!" Tanzhou President Shi Wenfeng also echoed: "Tanzhou is not as rich as Luzhou. Its production is rich. If it falls into the hands of the Mongolian army, it will definitely be like a tiger. Especially Pingyang Prefecture, which is on the verge of Yumen Pass. If we give up these places, the three major mines will definitely fall into the hands of the Mongolian army. This is what the Mongolian army dreams of, and if one rises and the other falls, we will fall into trouble. Lord Sima has to worry about this!"

Sima Ren had a calm face and kept his beardless. He Guoguang and Shi Wenfeng were the number two or three figures in Tanzhou. He opposed his actions in unison, which made him a little annoyed. The two of them had been suppressed by themselves in Tanzhou. Now they wanted to take the opportunity to jump a few times. Unfortunately, those who had no strength were looking for death.

Ignoring the two, Sima Ren turned to look at the command history of the Tanzhou Army, his fourth brother Sima Zhi, "Fourth brother, you are the commander of the Tanzhou Army. Tell me, if we stick to Tanzhou, can we defend it?"

Sima Zhi, who was in his early fifties, stood up, "My Tanzhou army is not badly equipped and training is not bad, but the biggest problem is that they have never been on the battlefield to fight. Neither soldiers nor officers have any combat experience. If they defend the city wall, they are still fine, but if they drag them out to fight in the field, they will be difficult to resist the Mongolian army like a wolf or a tiger. If they can defend the city wall, they can still fight. If the city wall is broken, they will inevitably be defeated like a mountain."

Sima Zhi looked at Sima Rui on the side, "Arui and the Mongolian army faced the enemy head-on, and they should have a deep understanding."

Sima Rui nodded and clasped his fists and said, "Uncle, the fourth uncle is right. Mengqi is in the field, and it is indeed unparalleled in the world. If there is no force that is far better than the opponent, it will be difficult to withstand their impact."

Sima Ren looked at He Guoguang and Shi Wenfeng, "You both heard it, sir, you guys, although I have 50,000 soldiers in Tanzhou, but I am not a match for the Mongolian army."

He Guoguang shrugged, "I just heard General Sima Zhi say that as long as he can defend the city wall, he can defend the enemy. Lord Sima, can't our 50,000 troops still defend the city wall?"

Hearing He Guoguang seized Sima Zhi's words and held his head, Sima Ren sneered: "We are in control of the city, while the Mongolian army is mobile and flexible outside. If they divide their troops and attack Pingyang, Luning and other places, will we not go out of the city to fight? If they don't go out, they will sit and watch these places fall. If they leave the city, they will inevitably fight with their opponents. If they lose their battle in the field, they will inevitably be defeated. Lord He, at that time, I was afraid that we would be in vain and nothing would be left."

He Guoguang shouted: "Does we just leave in a mess without fighting? Lord Sima, how can we deal with it when the Emperor pursues it?"

Sima Ren sneered and said, "Of course you, Lord He, don't have to bear it. I, Sima, take it with you."

"You..." He Guoguang was furious and stood up suddenly, brushed his sleeves, turned around and walked out, "Sima Ren, you are afraid of the enemy and are afraid to respond to the battle. I want to join you, please wait!"

Sima Ren laughed, "Please give me a gift!"

He Guoguang was furious and turned around and left. Everyone in the hall looked at each other. The magistrate and the other party turned against each other on the spot, but nothing everyone expected.

Sima Ren sat down as if nothing had happened, "He Guoguang, just a corrupt scholar, what did you know! Everyone didn't care about him." He picked up the teacup and said, "Drink tea, let's continue to discuss."

As soon as he finished speaking, a scream suddenly came from outside the hall. Everyone could hear clearly that it was the voice of He Guoguang that changed their faces. Shi Wenfeng's face turned like earth. He fell to the ground with a soft tea cup, and fell to pieces.

Even Sima Zhi, Sima Rui and others looked at Sima Ren in a daze. Obviously, they didn't know that even if they were not in a state, although they did not have much real power, they were the senior officials in a state, second only to the prefectural officials, and were officials affiliated with the center. Sima Ren actually killed them as soon as he said that.

Sima Ren's face was still, and he slowly drank a few sips of tea, gently put down the tea cup, "Come on, let me change my tea. Lord Shi, tell me, are we going to fight or leave?"

Shi Wenfeng's hands and feet were shaking, his lips stammered for a while, and finally said dejectedly: "I will follow the instructions of the magistrate."

Sima Ren nodded with satisfaction and glanced at everyone in the hall, "Who else has any disagreement?"

Everyone was silent.

"Since that's the case, then it's decided to retreat to Luning. We will defend Luning. I have sent someone to Luning to prepare. Yumen Pass will win us some time." Sima Ren said.

"As the commander of the magistrate!" Everyone bowed and said.

Most of them left, leaving only Sima Zhi, Sima Rui and other confidants in the hall. Sima Ren gently rubbed his temples, leaned on the chair of the Grand Master, and silently said.

After a while, Sima Zhi finally couldn't help it, "Brother, I can't figure it out!"

Sima Ren opened his eyes and said, "If you can't figure out anything, even if you ask, you are all your own family, so there is no need to hide it."

"Does my brother really think we can't defend Tanzhou? My 50,000-year-old man in Tanzhou is actually enough to fight the Mongolians. Tanzhou is the origin of our Sima family. Why is it for giving up like this? Brother, what are you thinking?" Sima Zhi asked dissatisfied. "And although He Guoguang is disrespectful to his elder brother, he is also a third-rank official. He is an official directly under the jurisdiction of Shangjing. If the elder brother kills this with such a knife, he will probably bring disaster to the Sima family."

"I have been in Tanzhou for decades. Seeing that Tanzhou is gradually prospering, our Sima family also takes Tanzhou as the foundation and rises step by step. Do you think you can bear it?" Sima Ren said lightly.

"Since that's the case, why not fight?" Sima Zhi said angrily.

With a long sigh, Sima Ren stood up, took a step back and forth in the hall, and looked at everyone, "You are all branches and leaves on this tree in my Sima family. If there is the Sima family, you will be there. If the Sima family is defeated, you will naturally have no good results. I will tell you something clearly today, and everyone is prepared in their hearts."

Everyone looked at Sima Ren and knew that something big must be happening.

"Compared with the war with the Mongols, another major event in our Great Yue is much more important than that." Sima Ren said: "Although the Mongols are aggressive, they are just a disease of mustard ringworm. Even if they succeed for a while, they will not shake my Great Yue. This matter is related to the prosperity, honor and disgrace of our Sima family in the next decades. Therefore, although I am extremely reluctant to leave Tanzhou, I can only give up in the face of this major event."

Sima Zhi looked at the eldest brother in a daze.

"Uncle, are you fighting for the throne?" Sima Rui said with some difficulty.

"Very good, you can think of this, which shows that you have made some progress!" Sima Ren nodded in admiration, "If this time the old man came to supervise the battle, even if my Tanzhou soldiers were defeated, I would still have to defend Tanzhou, but this time the Fourth Master was born, then I can only give up."

"The uncle is playing a huge game of chess. We are just a piece on this game. As the times come, we have become the most important piece in the uncle's hand. It is related to whether the uncle can win. How dare I be careless? Our Sima family has long shared honor and disgrace with the uncle. If the uncle wins, our Sima family will jump to the sky. If the Fourth Master wins, even if we fight for Dayue in Tanzhou, we will inevitably be liquidated afterwards." Sima Ren's eyes flashed with cold light, "So, I cannot resist the attack of the Fourth Master in Tanzhou. What I want is to leave a mess for him, drag him on the border battle with the Mongolian people for as long as possible, and create conditions for the uncle."

"The man from the uncle's house has arrived at my house three days ago!" Sima Ren raised his head to the sky, "This is a big game of chess, and it's still making plans now, and the future is long!" (To be continued...)

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