June 28th, Liaodong battlefield.

Yang Yichen, the commander of the Expeditionary Frontier Army, led his army to retreat to the Liaodong base camp and met with Li Jing, the general of the Zuowu Guard who was left behind in the base camp.

Li Jing ordered that the Eastern Expedition would end and all the expedition troops retreated through the Liaoshui River and returned to the country.

On the same day, the right guard general Qu Tutong arrived in Jicheng, the capital of Zhuo County, in a chasing car, to visit Duan Da, the remaining subordinate of Zhuo County, and to inquire about the latest news from the Eastern Capital.

Duan Da was still in control of the news around June 20th, most of which came from Cui Hongsheng and Chen Len, and a small part came from Dongdu. Based on various news, the situation in Dongdu was very bad. The first thing to be affected was the interruption of the Grand Canal, which directly led to the abandonment of the second Eastern Expedition; secondly, the King of Qi entered the Liyang battlefield in front of various reinforcements, and whether the King of Qi entered Beijing or not, as long as Li Yang was controlled by him, the Grand Canal would probably be difficult to open in the short term; secondly, Yang Xuangan surrounded Dongdu and retreated to Heyang's province in advance for the time being to handle state affairs and maintain the daily operation of the central government. However, due to the special political environment of the coexistence of the two capitals, the province could not command Xijing. Even if Xijing made the decision to support Dongdu, when to support, how much military support should be dispatched, whether it would be at any cost to support it.

After listening to Duan Da’s story, Qu Tutong felt extremely heavy and remained silent for a long time.

Qu Tutong's ancestors were from the Xi tribe in Liaodong. They depended on the Xianbei Murong clan and entered Middle Earth. After the sinicization, Qu Tu was named Qu Tu. Although Qu Tu's clan could not be compared with the nobles of the eight surnames, they were also from generation to generation and had a family of families. Qu Tutong was in the army when he was young and was in the guards for many years and was deeply trusted by the late emperor. However, his "reputation" began with the ascension of the Holy Lord. Because he refused to support the Holy Lord in the fierce imperial war, he won the trust of the Holy Lord and "Qingyun" in the Wei Mansion.

", directly serve as the fourth-rank reserve general, leading the Imperial Guard and guarding the emperor. During the first Eastern Expedition, he served as the Left Guard General, and during the Second Eastern Expedition, he served as the Right Guard General. Although he did not lead the Imperial Guard, he was still placed by the Holy Lord, which shows his reliance on him. At the critical moment, Qu Tutong was indeed used. After learning about the mutiny of the Eastern Capital, the Holy Lord sent Qu Tutong back to Beijing to suppress the rebellion. It is not difficult to see his absolute trust in him.

However, the greater the mission, the greater the responsibility. Faced with this storm that will be out of control at any time, Qu Tutong felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

This storm seems to be a military coup, but in fact it is a political storm that needs to be resolved by political means. Military means can only play an auxiliary role. No matter how many troops are, it cannot determine the direction of the storm. Qu Tutong knows his "shortcomings", his identity as a captain, the status of a second-class noble, and his superiority are all thanks to the emperor's appreciation, which leads to his lack of merit, lack of prestige, and limited power. Although to a certain extent, he can also represent the emperor's will.

He pretended to be powerful, but in front of those central and powerful people and the bosses of the Guards, he was not confident enough and his true colors were revealed. Therefore, when he went to Dongdu to suppress the rebellion, with Qu Tutong's ability, he would at most have a "urgent rescue" effect. It would be impossible to rely on him to solve the problem. Fortunately, the Holy Lord asked him to rescue him and "explore the way" first. The person who was sent to solve the problem was Yu Wen Shu, the general of Zuo Yiwei. However, this storm was too big, so great that Qu Tutong had no confidence in "urgent rescue".

Duan Da expressed deep sympathy when he saw Qu Tutong's sad face. He and Qu Tutong had a very good personal relationship and were like brothers and sisters. The two were familiar with each other since childhood. Although one came from a northwest family and the other from a family with the surname Lu, others such as age, family background, status and even life experience were basically the same. Both grew up in Chang'an, and started to have a high starting point after entering the official career. They were both in the forbidden guards, both loved by the late emperors, and began to enter the glory of their lives after the Holy Lord ascended the throne. When Qu Tutong was prepared as the guard of the emperor, Duan Da led the imperial guards with the left guard of the left guard. The two were always entrusted to the emperor and were inseparable from the emperor. This was the case during the Western Expedition, and the same was true during the first Eastern Expedition. It was not until Duan Da served as the guard of Zhuojun and was responsible for transferring food, grass and supplies for the expeditionary army that the two separated briefly.

"Analysis from the current known situation, if the King of Yue wants to defend Dongdu, the key is whether Xijing will support it in time. If the army of Xijing fails to support it in time, and the situation will be out of control, the problem will be serious." Duan Da took the lead in breaking the silence and was willing to help Qu Tutong analyze and deduce the current situation to increase his confidence in entering Beijing. "But I have always had a question, why did Yang Xuangan not make a choice in the imperial rule after raising troops? Was he reached some tacit understanding with the King of Qi, or reached an agreement with Xijing? Does he want to sell two goods? If he wants to sell two goods, should he sell them to the King of Qi or a Xijing? Or, his original intention was to bring the three parties together during the mutiny and seek their profits together?"

Qu Tutong nodded slightly and agreed with Duan Da's analysis. Both of them had very dissatisfaction with the future situation.

He and Duan Da were both children of officials. He started his career and tried every means to win the appreciation and trust of the late emperor. Therefore, although both of them had always served in the Imperial Guards and served as commanders in the Imperial Guards, they had long become senior politicians because they were always in the Imperial Guards and were well versed in the game. Their status and power today were also due to their superb political skills. At the same time, the Imperial Guards had thousands of children, and the great power of the rich and powerful family.

The noble princes were also gathered together. Duan Da and Qu Tutong were only ordinary members, but in the end they could stand out without relying on military achievements and reaching this high position today, there were only two ordinary nobles. This is their "ability" and they would not be able to accept it. Their "ability" is not in military strategy, but in political games, so their analysis of the current situation in Dongdu is based on the political level, and deducing the development trend of this storm from the political level is indeed very pessimistic.

"If Yang Xuangan conquers Dongdu, Dongdu and Xijing join forces to welcome the King of Qi to Beijing..." Qu Tutong could not imagine that if the situation was so bad, a large-scale civil war would definitely break out, and the great cause of unification was very likely to collapse, and then the future would be terrible.

"Yichuan Gong, don't rely on Xijing, and don't expect Shandong people to help in time. The only thing you can count on is the Jiangzuo people, the Donglai Navy, the Rong Gong (Lai Hu'er) and Qiao Gong (Zhou Fashang)." Duan Da shook his hand at Qu Tutong, indicating that he should not be too pessimistic. Although the Guanlong people may join forces in this storm, the Shandong people will never be in sync with them. On the contrary, the Shandong people must take this opportunity to fight back against the Guanlong people. Whether it is the Guanlong people who kill each other or the Guanlong people and the Jiangzuo people fight, it is a pleasure for Shandong people to see what they can accomplish. So if nothing unexpected happens, the Shandong people will choose the opportunity to join forces with the Jiangzuo people. The strong support of these two aristocratic groups for the Holy Lord will definitely change the direction of the storm.

Qu Tutong immediately heard the implicit sound from Duan Da’s words, “Duke Xiangyuan, do you have the latest news about the navy? Did Gong Rong and Duke Qiao have given up their expedition across the sea and rushed to Dongdu to help?"

Duan Da shook his hand, "Although Mr. Rong and Mr. Qiao are loyal to the Holy Lord, they are not the same as us, and they will not communicate with someone."

Duan Da's tone was a little resentful. There was no way, Lai Hu'er and Zhou Fashang were both from Jiangzuo, both famous generals in Zhongtu, and both military tycoons with great merits and respectability. Even among the officers of the Guardians from Guanlong, they had considerable prestige. Qu Tutong and Duan Da were promoted by "campus skills" in the eyes of the officers of the Guardians, and had neither record nor prestige. From this, they could see what they were in Lai Hu'er and Zhou Fashang. Although the two big men gave some face in public, in private, both big men looked down on them and were ashamed to join forces. They happened to be divided into different political groups and had conflicts of interest between each other, let alone cooperation.

Qu Tutong's eyes showed disappointment, but Duan Da's next sentence gave him greater hope.

"According to Huangtai Duke (Cui Hongsheng), the navy should send troops to follow the King of Qi and quickly rush to Dongdu to quell the rebellion." Duan Da briefly explained the content of Cui Hongsheng's letters several times, "I think that Huangtai Duke should be quite sure of the navy's rush to Dongdu to assist Dongdu, otherwise he would definitely not write it in the letter."

It is a big deal for the navy to rush to the east, so no joke. Since Cui Hongsheng told Duan Da about this news, he knew that Duan Da would definitely tell the Holy Lord truthfully, so Cui Hongsheng would never be able to make trouble and lie about military affairs.

"Mr. Huangtai is still trustworthy." Qu Tutong frowned and said worriedly, "But at the same time, this also shows that the King of Qi is very likely to enter Beijing, unless the navy rushed to the battlefield in front of the King of Qi and cut off the King of Qi's way to enter Beijing."

"Since Duke Huang Tai is worried that King Qi will enter Beijing, he will definitely try every means to stop it. After Chen Len entered the battlefield in Liyang, he could cooperate closely with him in this matter." Duan Da said, "According to Chen Len's urgent report, Taihang thieves were very rampant during this period. Frequent robberies in Anyang, Fuyang and Handan were robbed, resulting in the danger of cutting off land transportation from the north. For this reason, he had to slow down the speed of going south and march while suppressing the thieves. It is not important whether Taihang thieves are rampant. What is important is that Chen Len slowed down the speed of going south. Based on this, we can infer that Chen Len should be working with Cui Hongsheng to clamp down the King of Qi and delay the pace of going to the King of Qi."

Qu Tutong understood and nodded repeatedly. He was now a bare-headed person, and had no soldiers, no prestige, and hurried to Liyang and directly "confronted" the King of Qi. If Cui Hongsheng and Chen Leng secretly used some "meaning" in secret, Qu Tutong would not only not be able to save the situation, but would instead worsen the situation. Therefore, Duan Da kindly reminded him that after arriving in Liyang, he must calm down and see the situation clearly first, think twice before acting. If it really doesn't work, he would rather be a turtle than a head-on bird. Qu Tutong is a special envoy sent by the Holy Lord. If there is conditions, he will pretend to be a tiger's might, and if there is no conditions, he will hold his tail. Of course, if the navy arrives, whether the leader is to protect the arm or Zhou Fashang, it will not be Qu Tutong's turn to do it. Someone charges in front of the battle, and Qu Tutong can get enough money as long as he follows behind.
Chapter completed!