The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 294: Connivance in the Palace
The war drums rumbled as they charged towards the ruined Dali City. However, no matter how magnificent the momentum was, they just beat the drums and waited and watched.

At the same time, people kept shouting: "Those who return home, those who are generals will be promoted, those who are soldiers..."

"I was one of the Tenth General of the Black Crow Army. Does anyone recognize me? Come to our side immediately."

One group of people complained that they were numb, and another group took over.

The soldiers mocked the call as "a saint dreaming", but it worked. At first, only a few people climbed out of Dali City by rope. By the third day of the first lunar month, more than 6,000 people had walked out of Dali City.

Zhang Junzheng had been smart all his life, but he never expected to fall into such trouble. He decided to leave on the first day when a large number of deserters appeared. As a result, as soon as he left the city, more than 10,000 soldiers and horses rebelled, and rushed towards the king's army.

The sage had already set up checkpoints and camps all around, and while fighting with Li Keyong's reinforcements, he was also encircling and intercepting his troops.

They didn't strangle them, but stripped them of their clothes, took away their dry food and rushed them back to the city, or forced them to turn back with thousands of arrows at their disposal.

After failing to get any support for several times, Zhang Junzheng had to give up.

For Zhang Junzheng, this was like crying out to heaven and earth for help but no one answered. It had only been a few days, and his troops were already less than one-third of the total.

When Li Keyong was arrogant, he never thought that he would be deserted by his friends and relatives again. This time, it was not Zhu Quanzhong who forced him into a dilemma, but his own son-in-law.

Zhang Junzheng, who had been hungry for four days and four nights, felt as if he was floating in the air. He steady himself by holding onto the door and spat out a large mouthful of green mucus.

"Jun Zheng, it's cold outside, let's go in and warm ourselves by the fire..." The person who advised him was a school officer who came from the same family as him.

"Let's call everyone together so we can talk."

The school officer hesitated to speak: "Jun Zheng..."

Although Zhang Junzheng was already half-starved, he could still see something was wrong: "What are you hiding?"

The officer leaned against the wall and shook his head with difficulty: "No, no."

Zhang Junzheng couldn't help but sympathize with him: "Did someone else carry him away again?"

The officer just nodded: "Dugu Zhi is gone, and more than 700 people fled with him. There are only more than 1,000 soldiers left in the city..."

"Traitor, traitor..." Zhang Junzheng leaned against the door, muttering to himself and kicking his legs gently to vent his anger.

He had no other choice now. The residents of Dali City had fled before the battle, and it was hard to find anything to eat. Later, Emperor Li returned and cut off Dali's external communication, and Zhang Junzheng was cut off from supplies. It was not that Li Keyong had no food, but that he could not transport it in. After that, he ate up all the food, and many people were stripped of their clothes during the breakout, and then they froze to death one after another.

The number of defectors suddenly increased.

At first, Zhang Junzheng was on high alert, but the situation was getting worse and worse, and no matter what he did, it was useless. People left every day. Zhang Junzheng was completely desperate. Now, there were only a thousand people left. Most of the officers and soldiers who had shared life and death with Li Keyong, who shouted slogans to the sky and whom he thought would follow him to the death, abandoned him at this moment with a clear conscience.

It seems that Zhang Junzheng is also among them.

Zhang Junzheng was tired of scolding and looked at the officer sitting next to him slowly: "There won't be any miracle! Let's go too. Let's pretend to surrender and wait for an opportunity to return to Taiyuan. We are all heroes who have fought for more than ten years, and we are dying here in vain. How cowardly."

On the fourth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of Qianning, Zhang Junzheng, the commander of the Hedong cavalry and infantry, took off his hat and armor and led more than a thousand soldiers out of the city to surrender their weapons.

I don't know how long I waited before I heard someone shouting, "Here he comes! The Great Sage is here!"

The soldiers uttered a few low murmurs and automatically straightened their clothes.

"Da da da..." A white flag came into view and the army was approaching.

Zhang Junzheng's clenched fists were already dripping with sweat, and he just kept his head down in silence.

When they were still a few dozen steps away, the saint jumped on his horse and laughed in their direction: "Why are you so depressed seeing me? Are you worried that Chang'an won't be able to accommodate all of you when you return home? What are you standing there for?"

Zhang Junzheng came to his senses and bowed down fiercely. His subordinates also turned around and said, "Welcome to the Great Sage!"

The saint chuckled, "Sit down, sit on the ground. Pig! Bring food and drink to your brothers! Look at them, they are starving like leeches!"

He looked extremely healthy, with rosy cheeks and bright eyes. His usual miserable expression was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was because several prime ministers had brought the concubines Shu, De, and the Privy Council and their families to visit him, and they had been having a great time every night for the past few days.

Her makeup was still simple: a Ruyi crown, a white coat, and a silver skirt. Her whip lashed her palms, her mouth tilted, and she looked as lazy and brisk as if she was hunting.

Zhang Junzheng was also embarrassed. He was extremely nervous and had thought of everything, but he didn't expect the saint to be so...

He rubbed his hands and danced gracefully.

The smile on the saint's face disappeared and he stared at him.

He weighed the horsewhip in his hand, and in full view of everyone, he whipped Zhang Junzheng on the nose!
“Pah! Pah…”

The saint then started beating up the other officers.

After the fight, Zhang Junzheng and the others just stood there with expressionless faces.

The Saint Whip pointed at an officer's eyes and cursed: "You useless bird, you even slept with me on the Tongguan Tower!... I'm giving you clothes and spring grain... but what are you planning? I'm fighting in the front, and you're letting the old villain do whatever he wants in the back? I can't do anything to you? I asked you to eat meat and drink wine, but you refused to come out and guard against me? Do you believe that I will really crush you, you little bird? I'll give you two whips to wake you up and see who I am! What, do you obey me or not?"

The officer felt as if a huge stone in his heart had fallen to the ground.

He touched his nose with an awkward smile, and prostrated himself again with a plop: "How can I forget the past! Not to mention sleeping, I have also served as a guard for the saint, and the saint even helped me avoid arrows in the forbidden valley. I am not a rebel! It's just that King Li is cruel, and I am afraid that my family will be killed, so I dare not go out... The Great Sage said that he was allowed to do whatever he wanted, which is unfair. I, among the ten generals, can't even see King Li. It was also because I swore to serve the king that I was excited to go on the road, but how did I know that it was a rebellion! I didn't rob Chang'an City, uh, I also took some things... I just want you to beat me up to vent your anger! I will pay ten times the compensation later."

The saint snorted heavily and kicked the young officer on the shoulder: "Get up."

The young officer just stiffened his neck and said, "…………I can't get up unless I get beaten."

"Bitch!" The saint slapped the young officer on the head, pulled her hair up and pulled her up. The young officer stood up and when he looked at her again, half of his face was covered by his torn sleeve, and he looked extremely shy.

The saint sat down with his legs crossed and looked at them. "That bastard Li Keyong deceived me and you, but there is nothing he dare not deceive! I will settle accounts with him. Since you still recognize me as your eldest son, why are you acting like a woman? I don't know that you are all killers, you are just worried about being retaliated by the old villain! ... If you don't care, just go after dinner. I have fought for me and the Holy Tang, so I won't make things difficult for you. Who doesn't have a woman, parents, and sisters? After killing the old villain, it won't be too late to come back to me."

The Jin army was in a commotion. They were not innocent girls, and had seen many ways to win over people. What the hell was this? Looking back at the evil people rotting in the snow, well, no matter what trick it was, it was not bad.

The saint just sneered in his heart and watched them split into two teams.

"Great Sage, I have no choice. My whole family and my half-paralyzed old mother are left in Guanzhong like this... Well, there is nothing to say. When Great Sage enters Taiyuan in the future, I will just meet him on the left side of the road. If I am dragged into battle by military law, I will shoot two arrows into the sky as a reward."

The saint walked past the front-row soldier, patting his shoulder as he was leaving, said a few words to comfort him, and then had someone lead him away.

Minus those who left, a total of 4,000 soldiers were obtained, all elite soldiers, named the Tiger and Swift Army. In addition, more than 30,000 sets of armor were obtained. Various types of armor, swords and bows. Humph, the people were sent back, but the equipment was not. This loss was enough to make Li Keyong jump for several days.

Return to the Xingzai residence near Changpingyuan.

"Come back!" The saint sat down on the tiger-skin chair with his legs crossed.

"You've worked hard." Concubine Shu came up and massaged his shoulders and back: "Did you perform well, Dalang?"

“Well…” That was all. The saint smiled and said, “It’s pretty good.”

"I was scared this time." Concubine Shu leaned forward obediently and let him play with her: "Wang Congxun and his men had just set out with their troops when the Privy Councilor sent a notice from the court saying they were preparing to go to Yue. Just as Pingyuan was packing up, a large group of eunuchs took weapons they had found from nowhere and rebelled, fighting with the Wei and Zhao parties in the palace... The Privy Councilor, Rounu, Nangong and the others killed several people with their own hands, and their hair and faces were covered in blood. Just as they drove away the eunuchs, the news of the defeat of the imperial army arrived, and the capital was in chaos. You were still in Guanbei at that time, and I was scared to tears, thinking I would never see you again... The children were all born on the road, in Huyi, and I was in so much pain that I gave birth..."

There were two tears of fear on Concubine Shu's face. She pulled the saint's sleeve, lowered her head, and swayed.

"What's the point of this?" The saint pulled her into his arms and wiped away her tears: "As long as I'm alive, the sky won't fall. Besides, the court has so much experience in running away, why bother."

"I'm not you." Concubine Shu hugged him tightly, her face in her arms, and said in a low voice: "I'm timid, afraid of the dark and death."

Holding the soft and heavy body of the young woman, the saint's heart returned to peace. This is probably the function of a gentle and beautiful wife who is healing... I thought of Zhu Xiewusi's tall figure again, and then I was silent.

He hugged He Yuqing a little harder, and He Yuqing also moaned. Her soft hands just hugged her back, and her jade feet changed to a more comfortable position, wrapping around his thighs.

Since the Saint woke up in the Lingfu Temple, there have been fewer and fewer opportunities for such tenderness and love. He didn't know how many people and how many things he had to worry about all day long. It would no longer be like before, when he and she just depended on each other in this era. As he thought about it, his flaming red lips moved closer, and in the sound of Jili's fierce saliva and the misty eyes, there was full of attachment. The Saint just lowered his head to meet her.

…………I'd better sweep the world flat as soon as possible. Then I'd give up the throne to my son, find a place to settle down and retire, and never care about the secular world again.

I have no ambition at all, I just want to have sex with women.

"Meng Cairen and Zheng Zhaoyi also had a son each during their time in Yue. Where were they born?" The almost suffocated sage pushed away the unsatisfied Concubine Shu.

Concubine Shu was panting in his arms, her hands drawing circles on his chest: "Fengxiang. My eldest sister-in-law almost had a miscarriage, and she also had heavy bleeding during childbirth... My second sister-in-law often cried secretly after giving birth. You have committed a sin, so many women can't feed you... If my second sister-in-law died of depression, how can my husband and I face my late emperor..."

"You'll feel better after you cry for a while." The saint said calmly, "It's not me who messed around, it's you two who insisted on having a child."

"Then I just want to be with you forever, why can't you be considerate?" Concubine Shu pinched his ear and pouted.

"You." The saint smiled. "You are almost thirty years old, and you are still trying to act like a spoiled child... I can't help it. My identity is first the emperor of the Li family, and then the emperor. It is natural that what I do should be for the rule of the Holy Tang Dynasty first, and then peace in the world. Then there is myself, my wife, concubines, children, and others. The first thing to consider is the Li family's country, not the love between men and women. You can't even use your love for me and your relationship with me as a basis for me to act in any way."

Concubine Shu looked up at him, and after she recovered her reflexes, she hid in his clothes: "Don't be so fierce... It seems that your emperors, the promising ones, are so ruthless. Dalang will not be able to be the heir to the throne in the future, can you please not kill me and my son... I am afraid of the pain..."

It seems that Queen He is indeed wise.

I was afraid that my perfunctory words "it's fine" made her guess about something and feel uneasy.

"How could it be?" Seeing Concubine Shu looking pitiful, the Saint stroked her chest and soothed her, "Don't think too much. Even if..."

The couple was "talking about love" on the tiger-skin chair when a soft cough was heard outside: "It's a bit loud, please tone it down."

Then came Nangong's gentle laughter: "Have you settled down? Saint, you are a man who does great things, so let's save this joy and pleasure for after the war! With Saint, you are capable, are you afraid that you won't be able to enjoy it?" As she spoke, she knocked on the door: "I am coming in!"

The saint pulled up his trousers and climbed off Concubine Shu.

The concubine under him straightened her eyes, sat up naked, quickly fixed her hair in a high bun like Chang'e, put on a floor-length, bare-chested white dress like Zhang Hui, and a white scarf with golden flowers. In order to attract the saint to work hard on her, the concubine was really deliberate.

Nangong estimated that he was almost inside and pushed the door open.

She glared at the Saint with a sad look. Nangong had been unhappy recently. Her menstrual cramps were severe, Zhang Hui gave birth to triplets, and her stomach was still flat. As a result, the Saint was still using his so-called equalization method. She was so angry that she cried and asked herself if she was infertile. The Saint had to accompany her alone for three consecutive nights before he felt better.

Then he saw her smiling face, wearing a red dress, a jade belt around her waist, and a gentle and charming look, which made the saint jump twice.

Nangong flicked his sleeves and led the ladies behind him to salute: "Everyone, please take a bath and have dinner."

It's good to have a woman here. In the army, it's rare to brush your teeth once every ten days or half a month. Nangong is a eunuch to the outside world, but to himself, he is an excellent life assistant, secretary of the chairman, and a maid. He stretched out his legs and closed his eyes: "Come on."

A beautiful lady from the State of Wei and five ladies of above-average appearance, who all looked ripe for the pluck, formed a circle around him and undressed him and combed his hair.

Entering the bathtub, the five ladies rubbed their bodies all over.

Nangong and Shufei carried a stool and sat on both sides, massaging his hands and temples.

After a while, Liang Xiaoyao and others also arrived, and they shouted in unison with tender affection: "Greetings to the Saint."

"Hmm..." The mist flowed, and the saint leaned against the wall of the barrel: "No need to be polite, no need to be polite."

Suddenly, his legs pressed against his waist. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ah Zhao, who was as tall and muscular as Zhang Hui, taking off his clothes and climbing into the bathtub. He was sitting on his thighs, touching him all over, and washing his chest and body with a towel, almost causing him to get angry. Ah Zhao still looked like nothing had happened, and just served him with a smile: "We have passed another level. We waited for news in Fengxiang for several months and couldn't sleep all night. When I saw Zheng Yanchang and Han Wei coming to find me with a gloomy face, I was so scared that my heart was pounding..."

They were all the same old things, about family matters, but Ah Zhao spoke in a rare little woman's manner, responding from time to time, and flirting with him, which added a special touch of romance.

After a long while, Ah Zhao stopped, put his hands on his shoulders, put his face against his heart, and let out a low sigh.

After all, Zhao is also a woman. She feels insecure when the saint is not around, but feels safe when they meet. The room is filled with laughter and the noise of beautiful women. I am drowsy. Over there, Cui Yuzhang moved a pile of documents to the bathtub for him to read.

Cui Xuansu set up the table, sat down and began to grind ink.

Wei Yi, Wu Lingxian, and Zhang Xin were serving dishes and testing them for poison. Wu Liuxian was washing fruit, while Wu Rongxian and Zhang Lian were milking cows and cutting cheese.

Zhao Yanran is choosing clothes.

Wenren Chuchu sat cross-legged on the cushion, already in a state of meditation. His expression and posture were sacred and could not be desecrated.

Yang Kezheng leaned on the edge of the bucket with both hands and bit his arm. "Tell us about your experience in the past few months. Fifty thousand people went to fight against hundreds of thousands of rebels, and fought all the way back. It's scary to think about it. Also, didn't your father send troops to help you? This old thief, I think he is just an old man who eats arsenic and deliberately brings disaster to the family."

"What is there to talk about? It's so boring." The Saint leaned his head on Concubine Shu's arm, but Nangong grabbed it and shook it coquettishly: "Go ahead."

"Okay, okay." He touched Concubine Liang and Dugu Hua, who were sitting on the left and accompanying him obediently, and stopped at Concubine Liang's face. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly coughed a few times, as if he was choked by the lewd smell. He was touched and began to tell his wives and concubines such a story: "Once upon a time, there was an emperor named Chai Rong, a young hero, a gentleman, and born in torment, just like this. After he ascended the throne......"

Emperor Li's ability to tell stories is beyond comparison. Even a bowl of water can be told in a subtle and tortuous way. Not long after he started talking, dozens of chattering women took their small stools and sat down, holding their chins and blinking their big eyes.

In the silence, there is only the saint's vivid and graceful description.

By the time I changed to the third bucket of hot water, most of the story had already been told. The achievements of Chanzhou, the adventures of Gaoping, the difficult situation, the defeat of Taiyuan. The river management, canal construction, the salt and iron industry, the good fortune of the women of Qi, the grievances and hatreds of Zhou, Han, Liao, Yue, Chu, Tang and Shu, all had been told. The ambitious army was crossing the river to the north to attack Youyan.

In the mist and smoke, the sage talked incessantly. Shufei and Nangong just lay beside his face, and Ah Zhao just lay beside his heart, listening attentively.

Outside the courtyard, Yuwen Rou walked lightly with a melancholy figure. It was Zhu Xie Wusi who insisted on seeing the saint. The saint ordered that he would not see her for the time being. Thinking about the past relationship, Xian Fei was not wrong, and her attitude towards the appointment was firm, so Yuwen Rou was attracted.

When they walked out of the door, they heard the sage talking eloquently. Rounu paused and looked back at Zhuxie Wusi. The sage is in high spirits, should we wait a moment?
The virtuous concubine had lost weight. She was noticeably thinner, and her enthusiasm and outgoingness had completely disappeared. She looked haggard and dazed.

Seeing Yu Wenrou's eyes, he just forced a smile and nodded.

After their separation during the Northern Expedition, the two never met again.

Although they didn't talk about the one-eyed dragon, they both knew each other's thoughts. Her husband was determined to kill his father. She wanted her father to escape unscathed, or at worst, to take her family and live far away as an ordinary citizen. She wasn't protecting her father, she just didn't want her family to die, and didn't want her family to suffer with his death. The heart-to-heart connection of the Danfeng Sect, who lived and died together, was probably never to be seen again in the rest of her life.

This was the first time they met after a long separation, and Concubine Xian didn't know what she was thinking. She felt as if she had a tangled mess or was being cut by a knife.

She stood outside the door, listening to the saint's lively voice, which occasionally caused cheers and laughter. Thinking of his smile, his gentle caress, and how he could be a gentleman, a scoundrel, a child, a clown, or a heart as hard as steel, she was silent.

"It comes like flowing water and passes like the wind. I don't know where it comes from and where it ends... In the end, the king's heart cannot escape this day! Just when the great work is about to be accomplished, the sick dragon asked the old man under the stage, and his illness suddenly took effect in the middle of the night."

The story finally tells that Chai Rong returned home suddenly ill. He only took a faraway look at Youyan at Waqiao Pass, then returned south in his carriage and passed away. The generous Yanzhao, the lofty ambition, in this life and the next, will only be seen in the soul in a blink of an eye.

Suddenly, my arms felt cold, and I looked up. Concubine Shu, Nangong, Luo Fu, Susu, Luo Wenxuan, Yu Daolian, Zhao Ruyu, Zhao Ruozhao……had already stood up, and drops of crystal clear water fell silently.

Ah Zhao held his face and said, "How come I have never heard of this Emperor Chai Rong? From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the present, there is no emperor I don't know. You made up this person. Are you implying that you are in poor health? Do you have a hidden illness that you can't tell about?"

The saint looked around and hugged Zhao Ruxin tightly: "Story, sister... It's just a story. Don't you women like to watch sad dramas and listen to tragedies..."

"I don't like it!" This was the first time in such a long time that Ah Zhao got angry.

"When the saint talks about the emperor, he will make us put you in his shoes. It's hard to achieve your ambitions, and there are so many regrets." Luo Qian, Zhao Chuxian, and Wei Yi, who were naked and waiting for the saint to come out of the bath and kneel in front of them to serve them with their tongues, said with heartache: "Don't talk about this. We are afraid and don't want to be widows and live in a temple."

"Heh." The saint leaned against the barrel. "Any hero will only be thankful that he was born in a troubled time, not a peaceful and leisurely one. All heroes will only be thankful that he was imprisoned and forced to live a long life. Instead of bowing down and wishing for everything to come true, ruling the world with ease, and planning everything slowly. A lonely man, facing the world alone, can only gamble with his wisdom and destiny, be invincible, sweep away all his opponents, and become the last and only hero of the era and the world who can only be chosen by heaven! Are you scared by just listening to Chai Rong? What a joke! I'm just afraid that the scene is not big enough, not chaotic enough, the pressure is not heavy enough, and the time is not urgent enough!"

Ah Zhao smiled and lay down again: "Very energetic! It seems that this is indeed just a story. I feel relieved then."

"The time for a decisive battle is ripe. It will only take a few days! If the one-eyed dragon refuses to leave, I will take his head."

Outside the door, the melancholy figure of Concubine Xian just stood there with her head down.

“It comes like flowing water and goes like the wind. I don’t know where it comes from and where it ends.” In the end, she did not let the mist in her eyes turn into tears and flow down.

(End of this chapter)