On June 18th, Gu Jue led his army to surround Xingyang City and supervised the army to attack fiercely. King Xun Yang Qing held the city and defended it.

At dusk, the battle stopped, Gu Jue returned to the camp, and his subordinates reported that in the afternoon, a son of the Zheng family, who claimed to be from Xingze, was looking for a meeting outside the camp. The main hall of Zheng family in Xingyang was in Xingze City, close to the intersection of Tongji Canal and the Dahe River. If nothing unexpected happened, this person should be an important figure in the Zheng family. So Gu Jue immediately invited him, and he saw a familiar face, former inner-historian, Wei Fusi, Dangyang Gong.

Wei Fusi was born in a wealthy family and ranked at the center. He was tall and superior. Senior officers in the Wei Mansion such as Gu Jue were disparate from his status and belonged to different political groups. Under normal circumstances, there was no intersection. However, Gu Jue was a general under the tent of the old Duke of Yue Yang Su. He had to go to and from the mansion of the old Duke of Yue during festivals. So he met Wei Fusi by chance. In addition, Wei Fusi was dismissed from the senior officials two years ago because of the "deprecating virtue" of King Qi. Therefore, Gu Jue was quite impressed by him and recognized him at a glance.

Gu Jue was very surprised. He didn't know why Wei Fusi, who was dismissed at home, suddenly appeared at the city of Xingyang. Could it be that he was visiting the Zheng family of Xingyang, who happened to pass by from now on, so he took the initiative to act as a lobbyist for King Xun?

Gu Jue asked Wei Fusi to sit on the side and greeted him respectfully, so he carefully investigated Wei Fusi's purpose.

Wei Fusi told him bluntly that he came from the King of Qi and was going to visit the Duke of Xiao Yue in Dongdu.

Gu Jue understood as soon as he heard this, Wei Fusi was the secret envoy of the King of Qi. As for what his purpose was, it was not the scope he could inquire. So he immediately asked someone to prepare food and drinks to entertain him in a warm hospitality, and arranged a military account for him to rest.

Wei Fusi immediately shook his hand, the matter was urgent and there was no need to delay. He left after dinner. Please prepare a horse for him and send a team of guards to escort him. Gu Jue agreed in one go.

"Who is the Huzhu guard now?" Wei Fusi asked.

"Xinyi Gong (Han Shiye)."

Wei Fusi nodded and asked again, "What's the situation in the war in Dongdu? Can you sue one or two?"

Gu Jue briefly introduced that Yang Xuangan had surrounded Dongdu. As for some military deployments, Gu Jue did not reveal any words. Yang Xuangan, King Qi and Wei Fusi were both political opponents, and now they are even more hostile to Mai Mang. Of course, what should not be said cannot be said.

"Is there any news from Xijing?" Wei Fusi asked again.

Gu Jue shook his head repeatedly. In fact, he knew nothing about the movements in Xijing. He did not belong to Yang Xuangan's core circle, and his knowledge was limited.

"What about Li Yang?" Wei Fusi asked, "Can the army of the Wei Mansion come to Li Yang?"

Gu Jue continued to shake his head. The purpose of his attack on Xingyang was to block the guards from the Hulao to rescue Dongdu, so of course we must pay close attention to Li Yang, but so far, the news from Li Yang has been pretty good, and no one has seen the rescue guards.

"Ming Gong, how is the progress of the King of Qi's suppression of bandits in the East County?" Gu Jue was unwilling to be passive and took the initiative to inquire about the King of Qi's movements. After all, the King of Qi's every move is not only closely related to the Dongdu, but also to the Xingyang battlefield.

"The King of Qi should have arrived at the white horse." Wei Fusi smiled and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the King of Qi's selection army will soon cross the river to attack Liyang."

Gu Jue's expression changed slightly, and he secretly speculated how credible Wei Fusi's words were.

"Does Ming Gong have any news about the palace?" Gu Jue saw Wei Fusi smiling and seemed to be in a good mood, so he resolutely asked again.

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Wei Fusi's face suddenly dissipated, and a deep feeling of worry flashed through his eyes. He also wanted to know the news about the palace, but the problem was that King Qi was the object of high alert for the Holy Lord and the Central Government. Even if the two parties maintained contact, the information conveyed was very limited, especially the confidential information from the palace was even less.

June 18th, at night, the light rain in the city of Liaodong was pitch black, and the army of Central Earth outside the city was brightly lit in the camp, like a brilliant Milky Way, which was spectacular.

The General of the Zuo Yigu Guard, Yu Wen Shu, was in a hurry and hurriedly walked into the Liaodong base camp where the Holy Lord was.

The Holy Lord summoned him alone. Yuwen Shu, on behalf of Yang Yichen, the commander of the Expeditionary Front Army, and the commander of the army, requested the Holy Lord, and suggested that the Liaoshui River be forced to force the crossing of the Liaoshui River to start the battle of Pyongyang at the end of this month. Although the rainy season in Liaodong may continue to mid-July or even late July, the surge in rivers has made it very difficult to transport food and grass, but because the Liaodong city was unable to conquer it for a long time, there was no choice now. He had to force the crossing of the Liaoshui River, otherwise there would be no time to attack Pyongyang. Moreover, this time the army learned the lessons of last year's defeat, prepared enough food and grass, and prepared to overcome all difficulties, and had the determination and confidence to take Pyongyang, destroy Goguryeo, and win the final victory of the Eastern Expedition.

The Holy Lord was very tired, haggard, and in a low mood. He sat there without saying a word.

After Yuwen Shu finished speaking, he waited for a while, and saw that the Holy Lord had no reaction, his eyes were dazed, and he couldn't help but be surprised and realized that something might have happened. Could it be that another central minister and the commander of the Guards died on the battlefield in Liaodong? Since the first Eastern Expedition last year, such unknown things have happened one after another, and the blow to the morale of the army was too great.

Yuwen Shu was making random guesses when he saw the Holy Lord raise his hand and point to the several volumes of documents on the desk table, signaling him to take a look.

Yuwen Shu opened a volume casually, and after reading a few lines of words, his expression suddenly changed. He felt as if he was severely injured and looked desperate. His whole body's energy disappeared in an instant, and he could no longer watch it. He could not sit down and wanted to cry without tears.

The Eastern Expedition was over, and the series of adverse effects of political, military, and national defense diplomacy brought about by the failures of the two Eastern Expeditions were unimaginable and unbearable. Not only the Holy Lord, the Central and the Reformers would suffer a fatal blow, but the national destiny and the interests of the entire Middle-earth would suffer heavy losses, and it would even endanger the great cause of unification that had just been established in a fragile stage.

Success is the Yang family, defeat is the Yang family. The last victory of the Holy Lord in the Imperial Unification War was closely related to the strong support of the old Duke of Yue Yang Su. At the critical moment of deciding the fate of the country, Yang Xuangan, the young Duke of Yue Yang, stabbed the Holy Lord mercilessly behind the back, and one knife was fatal.

Yuwen Shu quickly adjusted his emotions. Now that things have come to this point, despair, frustration, anger, and curses cannot solve the problem. Only by facing it positively can we turn the tide down.

In fact, this is also an emergency measure in the center's expectations. As early as the center made the decision to make the second Eastern Expedition, all the factors that may lead to the failure of the Second Eastern Expedition were taken into account, including the domestic radical conservatives launching a military coup, or the royal princes launching a war of imperial unity. For this reason, the center has formulated multiple emergency plans and made some targeted arrangements in advance. However, emergency measures are after all, things can be discussed on paper. Whether the problem can be finally solved, whether the goal of turning the tide can be achieved, and whether the crisis can be reversed to the greatest extent depends on the ability of the executor. The executor must not only control the overall situation, grasp the situation, seize the opportunity, but also judge the situation, adapt to the situation, and decisively kill, especially at critical moments, and the consequences are unimaginable.

The Holy Lord summoned Yuwen Shu alone, which showed that he and the central government were determined to entrust the important task of turning the tide to Yuwen Shu.

Yuwen Shu read the documents carefully. The earliest document came from the report from the Dongdu at the end of May. After the Liang County leader Han Prime Minister and the two places of Song and Yu, he suddenly went north to capture Yiquekou and broke through the defense line of the capital. The Dongdu crisis expanded. At this time, King Yang Tong of Yue decisively invited Duke Guan Yang Gongren. From the two things of Yiquekou's fall and Yang Gongren's comeback, it can be seen that the Dongdu crisis is very serious, and the internal conflicts in the Dongdu are very fierce. There are people in the Dongdu actively cooperating with Yang Xuan.

He launched a military coup, and as the crisis in Dongdu intensified, Xijing put pressure on Dongdu in an increasing manner. King Yang Tong of Yue and Cui, who supported him, saw that the situation quickly lost control and had to seek help from the royal family. Although the return of the royal minister Yang Gongren of the current moment could help King Yang Tong of Yue firmly control part of the military and political power, King Yang Tong of Yue was young after all, and Yang Gongren of Yue was actually in power, which laid new hidden dangers for the political situation of Dongdu and even urged the imperial unity war.

The next few documents still come from Dongdu. Fan Zigai, who was left behind in Dongdu, was obviously suppressed by Yang Gongren, and reported good news but not bad news. Yang Gongren also firmly grasped the military power and adjusted the defense of Dongdu. The main purpose was to prevent King Yang Nan of Qi and King Yang You of Dai from entering Beijing. In order to prevent the princes from entering Beijing to seize the imperial rule, he did not hesitate to indulge the thief general Han Prime Minister to disrupt the capital. It is not difficult to see that Yang Gongren and many powerful people actually knew that the mutiny was about to break out in Dongdu, and they might even know that the rebel was Yang Xuangan, the Minister of Rites.

On the fifth day of the sixth month, Fan Zigai reported that according to the news from the Princess Bo Tangwei of Hanoi and other parties, it was confirmed that Yang Xuangan, Li Zixiong, Wang Zhongbo, Zhao Huaiyi, Hu Shidan and others raised troops to rebel in Liyang on the second day of the sixth month, killing the censor You Yuan to sacrifice the flag, and then quickly headed south to attack the Dongdu.

Then came the report of Hebei ambassador Cui Hongsheng on the sixth day of the sixth month, and Cui Hongsheng promised to attack Li Yang as quickly as possible.

The last document came from the report of Duan Da, the remaining subordinate in Zhuo County, on the ninth day of the sixth month. He had sent his deputy left subordinate, and the general of Wu Ben Lang, Chen Ling, led 10,000 elite troops south to quell the rebellion.

There is also a report from the first day of the June 1st of the King of Qi. After fleeing from Qilu, the white-haired thief fled to the Central Plains, causing trouble to the Tongji Canal again, seriously endangering the security of the second eastern expedition. The King of Qi decided to follow and chase after him, and then divided his troops into two groups, one by Pengcheng, and the left guard Dong Chun, the general of the Left Guard, killed Tongji Canal directly along He and Ji line, and the other by Wuben Lang General Li Shanheng, left Qi County, and advanced westward along the Ji River, striving to encircle and suppress the white-haired thief in the shortest time.

Yuwen Shu was in a heavy mood. He knew that the Holy Lord placed the report of the King of Qi in this pile of documents. The Holy Lord was worried that the King of Qi and Yang Xuangan would join forces to launch a military coup. In this way, this military coup would inevitably develop into a war of unity. Once the King of Qi received the support of all conservative forces, including the local aristocratic group in Guanlong and was called emperor according to the Dongdu, a civil war broke out, and Zhongtu was trapped in internal and external troubles. If the Northern Barbarians took the opportunity to invade, they would be attacked from both sides, and the country would be in danger of defeat, and the great cause of unification would be possible to fall apart.
Chapter completed!