After Su Chen entered the palace, he was taken to Chengxin Hall by the young eunuch, where some ministers were discussing matters with Li Yu. When his name was passed in, he was quickly summoned.

Entering Chengxin Hall, Su Chen saw a dozen people standing in the room, all of whom were important military ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty, such as Han Xizai, Tongping Zhangshi Yanxu, Privy Council envoys Yin Chongyi and Zhu Gong, and Deputy Privy Council envoy Chen Qiao.

, Chen Jue, Xu You from Chengxintang, Xu Xuan and Zhang Ji from Zhongshushe, ministers Pan You, Xu Xuan, Wei Cen, etc. were all in the house.

After Su Chen came in, he immediately attracted the attention of many ministers. Some nodded, some were wary, some were full of approval, with different expressions.

"The humble minister pays homage to the official!" Su Chen saluted.

Li Yu waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite! Su Qing arrived just in time. The military information about the fall of Changzhou has just been sent. The situation is urgent. I summoned all the ministers to the palace to discuss the matter. Lord Han mentioned you and said that you are full of wisdom and plans, maybe you can

I thought of some countermeasures, so I summoned you into the palace."

When Su Chen heard this, he was slightly shocked: Changzhou City had only been attacked for ten days, but it was defeated so quickly?

According to historical records, it took Wu Yue soldiers to attack for a month before the city of Changzhou was destroyed. However, in less than ten days, Changzhou fell so quickly. Something is wrong!

"It was broken so quickly?" Su Chen looked a little surprised.

Han Xizai explained from the side: "This time General Liu Cheng led his troops to defend the city and made no tactical mistakes. However, according to the intelligence sent back, just last night, the granary in the city suddenly caught fire, and the war horses in the military camp were also put on the fence.

A group of forces started a rebellion from inside the city and joined forces with the Wu and Yue soldiers outside the city to break through the west city gate. After a night of fighting, Changzhou City was lost."

"Is there an internal agent?" After hearing this, Su Chen became suspicious in his heart. This time, it was not Liu Cheng who surrendered on his own initiative, but an internal agent from the Wu Yue Kingdom in the city.

"What's the situation over there now?" Su Chen asked one more question.

Han Xizai replied: "Wu Yue soldiers have entered Changzhou and carried out a lot of burning, killing and looting. They have committed many crimes. After repairs, they will march towards Runzhou. If Runzhou is lost again, the east gate will be opened and they will soon arrive at Jinling City.

, when the time comes, it will pose a great threat to us."

At this time, Wei Cen was already impatient with Han Xizai explaining to a newcomer in the official career. He stood up and said, "I feel that the situation is critical, so I should immediately send heavy troops to reinforce Runzhou, and we must defend Runzhou City. Otherwise, our Jiangnan Tang Kingdom will

It’s dangerous!”

What he said was true. All the ministers present knew very well that Runzhou had become the last gateway to the east to guard Jinling City, so nothing could happen.

"What Wei Qing said makes sense!"

"Officials! What Master Wei said makes sense, but General Liu Cheng was highly recommended by Master Wei. But now, Changzhou City has been lost in less than ten days. Is Master Wei responsible for the unfavorable recommendation?" Tong Ping Zhang

Yan Xu was upright and immediately began to participate in Wei Cen's performance.

"Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. General Liu Cheng's recommendation is true. However, there was a rebellion in the city. It was not Liu Cheng who abandoned the city and surrendered to the enemy, or made obvious mistakes that led to the failure. How can General Liu Cheng be blamed?

"If Mr. Yan said this, he would have chilled the hearts of those frontline soldiers!" Wei Cen is also a veteran of the court, so he knows how to resolve these issues, avoid the important and take the easy, and even excuse himself.

"If no one is responsible and rewards and punishments are unknown, then who can take this national crisis seriously? We don't have much room for maneuver anymore!" Yan Xu continued to retort.

"Okay, now is not the time to investigate responsibilities. Let's think about how to solve the dilemma on the eastern front. If Changzhou is lost, Runzhou will be next. What should we do? Who is suitable to lead the army and hold on to Runzhou?"

Privy Councilor Chen Qiao thought for a moment, then stood up and said with cupped hands: "I think Du Yuhou Lu Jiang is the most suitable!"

This Lu Jiang is the great-grandson of Lu Zhao, the first number one scholar in the history of Jiangxi. However, although he was born in a scholarly family, he "read to understand the general purpose and repeatedly failed to win the imperial examination" because he has been fond of military strategists since he was a child. , taking gambling as a priority, so he only wanted to understand the general meaning of his studies. He did not want to study to death, and he was unable to work hard, so naturally he failed to pass the exam many times.

When Su Chen heard the name "Lu Jiang", the allusion to this person flashed through his mind. This person was a military strategist in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, he was not reused.

After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it continued to put pressure on the small southern countries. Lu Jiang felt that this was the time when heroes could be useful, so he wrote to the Southern Tang court to discuss the matter in order to get a job. As a result, he was appreciated by the imperial minister Chen Qiao, the Privy Councilor, and was recruited as a Privy Councilor. As an official of the envoy, he was assigned to patrol along the river. His talents were fully demonstrated. A water team was recruited and established by Lu Jiang himself. They were well-trained and good at fighting.

When the Northern Song Dynasty army attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty, Lu Jiang served as the Marquis of Yu, the capital of Lingbo. He personally deployed defenses along the river and stayed at the Qinhuai Water Barrier on the first line. With him and the navy he led, the Northern Song Dynasty army repeatedly The attacks failed and all ended in failure. Lu Jiang won many battles and became famous.

Therefore, the Song army was troubled when they heard his name, and the generals of the Southern Tang Dynasty were actually jealous and could not tolerate Lu Jiang's victory. They jointly lobbied Li Yu to transfer Lu Jiang to other places and give Zhaowu Army Jiedu to stay in the rear. , he promoted Lu Jiang to the rank of Jiedushi and stayed in the rear as a guardian officer. It was precisely because of the jealousy of the Song Party that Lu Jiang could not display his outstanding talents as a military strategist and was unable to achieve his ambition to stabilize the country.

Historically, as soon as Li Yu surrendered, all the states in the Southern Tang Dynasty also erected white flags and belonged to the Northern Song Dynasty. Only Lu Jiang still insisted on resisting the Song Dynasty and not surrendering. He led his men to capture Shezhou City and began to fight against the Northern Song Dynasty, loyal to the Southern Tang Dynasty. He never changed and resisted to the end. Later, after the city was broken, Lu Jiang was taken to Kaifeng. When he saw Zhao Kuangyin standing up without kneeling, he expressed his dissatisfaction. Zhao Kuangyin was worried that the situation would change, so he ordered Lu Jiang to be pushed out of the Meridian Gate and killed. The decree was to annihilate the nine tribes.

Such a strong and strong general of the Southern Tang Dynasty was not reused by the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is no wonder that the country was destroyed in the end!

"I also think that Lu Jiang is suitable!" Pan You stood up and recommended.

"Not long after Lu Jiang was promoted to Duke of Du Yu, how could he lead an army to fight? I feel that he is not qualified enough to convince the crowd, and he has never led an army to fight. Whether he has this ability remains to be considered!" Wei Cen also said. disagree.

Han Xizai stood up at this time and said: "Lu Jiang is familiar with military books and has excellent martial arts skills. I have also been there on weekdays. He is a person who has the ability to lead an army. This time, Lu Jiang can hold on to Runzhou!"

When Li Yu saw that Han Xizai also agreed with Lu Jiang, he would naturally attach great importance to this proposal. He asked, "How can Duyuhou Lu Jiang's army commanding ability be seen through dialogue? Just being the Duyuhou who leads hundreds of people , suddenly becomes the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, is he talented enough to take on this important task?"

"Official officials, Yuhou Lu Jiang is not qualified enough to convince the public!"

"In today's crisis situation, talking about qualifications is too dogmatic!"

Several ministers chattered endlessly and began to argue.
Chapter completed!