Still waiting for Zhaoyang

chapter 35
一
It's raining again in Canghuang.

Spring happens to be the rainy season in the southern region, the rain is continuous and the night sky is dark.

King Huai had just returned from Xu Jingye's cell, he couldn't help feeling proud, he went back to the main tent, picked up the indicator flag and planted it in the direction of the imperial capital: "This place shouldn't belong to him in the first place." Now Zijin and King Liang already have Into the cloud, it is tantamount to a thorn in Wei Shangrui's heart.The king of Wu was placed in the middle, vacillating.Liang Wang has always been close to the first prince, so naturally he does not doubt Ran Yu's origin.As for the old fox, King Wu, Zijin had to prove his identity before he would cooperate.

This is easy to handle, who doesn't know that piece of Gao Xin Baoyu?
King Huai knew that King Wu had another level of scheming, and that King Wu wanted to see Gao Xinyu because there were rumors that there was a secret treasure in Yuli.If the rumors are true, it will be like adding wings to a tiger to the uprising.

If the few of them join forces and Xu Jingye is in his hands now, Wei Shangrui will definitely be in chaos.

For so many years, he has been trapped in the barren fief, and he is not as happy as a sesame official in the imperial capital as a vassal king.

At that time, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains will be under his feet.Even when the Xu family killed the first emperor, these enmities were all settled together.

However, he had already sent someone to Yunzhong to contact Zijin, but he hadn't returned yet.Presumably Zijin also knows that Yuchan is the key to success and cannot be given to others at will.If this is the case, then let Jingtan go, and hope that Zijin will not doubt it again.

As Duke Huai thought about it, the exhaustion of the past few days made him fall into a drowsy sleep while sitting on the seat.

Soon, someone came from outside the tent and said: "Master, Mr. Qi, please come to the White Horse Temple at the North Gate for a while."

Duke Huai narrowed his eyes and said, "What did you say?"

"The military adviser said that the spies sent to Xu's army just brought back a map of the other party's defense."

Upon hearing this, Duke Huai immediately lost his sleepiness, took his cloak and left.

This Mr. Qi is the talented Qi An.A few days ago, he offered a plan to capture Xu Jingye alive, King Huai had already firmly believed in him and held him in high regard.

Qi An was dressed in civilian clothes, bowed his hands to meet the ceremony, and said directly: "This is the defense map sent by the spies just now."

Duke Huai took a look through the lamp, and said joyfully, "God help me! If this is the case, are you afraid that Xu Jingye won't open his mouth?"

"However, now that Xu Jingye is in our hands, we are afraid that the Xu family army will put all their eggs in one basket. Your Highness should take precautions." Qi An said.

"Helpless, he won't accept soft and hard, no matter what, he won't surrender to me."

"This subordinate has reminded the lord before that although he took his son to fight, all his family belongings are in the imperial capital. If he surrenders, the entire Xu family will be wiped out."

"However, if we say that, he has already had a rift with Wei Shangrui, and persuading him to surrender will be like adding wings to a tiger. If he doesn't surrender, it's worth keeping his son to death. Let's see if he dares to take a step forward."

"My lord is wise."

"We let out the news, saying that Xu Jingye has returned to my command, and the Xu family's army will be in chaos when they hear the news, and they will be defeated. If we hit hard at this time, we will definitely win."

Qi An frowned: "Master, the battle line is too long now, don't you worry about supplies?"

Duke Huai said disdainfully: "If everything is focused on the right time, place, and harmony with people, how can you achieve great things if you tie your hands and feet all day long."

Qi An said again: "Isn't your lord afraid that King Yanping will bring King Liang to seek refuge with Jinshang, and that he will face the enemy at that time?"

Duke Huai sneered and said: "I ordered him to seize Yunzhong from Xu Jingye, but he took the opportunity to occupy the land and become king, and he was united with Liangzhou. He wanted to draw a line with me. This is my miscalculation. But those people in the imperial capital killed His parents made him fall into this situation today, if they say that he is going to join Wei Shangrui, that dazed young man, I don't believe it."

He also said: "Now it doesn't matter whether he listens to me or not, I just wait for me to go straight to Dijing, destroy Wei Shangrui, and then come back and deal with him."

"Then how does His Highness explain to the people of the world the banner of 'Kuangfu Zhengshi' used by His Highness to send his troops northward, and how does it embarrass the righteous people who come to His Highness for this?" Qi An asked.

"What's there to be afraid of," Duke Huai sneered, "After so many years, how will others know who is real and who is fake? The one who married my Princess Yanqing is the real King Yanping, and the other one must be fake. Orphaned officials and traitors, just kill them."

Qi An said calmly: "My lord doesn't think about the friendship of the first reserve at all, but just wants to kill Jinshang and replace him for his own selfish desire?"

Duke Huai frowned: "Qi An, you are so courageous."

"My subordinates dare not."

Duke Huai gave him a sideways glance, and walked away in a huff.

After a long time, Qi An said to the back of the tent: "Generals Shen and Bai, come out."

Three people came out from behind the curtain next to the Guanyin statue, one was He Chuyi next to Shang Rui, the other two were wearing the armor of generals, the short one was Shen Mi, and the other was Bai Chuan, who was tied up by Wuhuada and stuffed in his mouth. Wearing cloth strips, and He Chuyi's knife around his neck.

Qi An made a bow: "The two generals have offended you, you have heard what the Lord said."

Shen Miyouyou replied: "I have nothing to say, I, Shen, have been listening to his bewitching all the time, was deceived by him and worked for him."

The other Bai Chuan, who had been untied, snorted coldly: "Mr. Qi, I used to admire your strategy in vain, but I didn't expect you to be a slave with two surnames."

Unexpectedly, Qi An was not annoyed, he just smiled slightly and said: "May I ask General Bai, what is a slave with two surnames? When Duke Huai raised his troops to invite me to join the alliance, I was already a member of the current class."

Bai Chuan scoffed coldly: "Then you are a villain who is obedient and obedient."

"Whether it's a villain or a slave, as long as General Bai relieves his anger, you can call anyone whatever you want. It's just that Qi has something to say. In the past six months since King Huai's rebellion, how has the Southern Region been? The general can see corpses littering the fields, refugees Displaced?"

"There is no one who survives a war." Bai Chuan replied.

"But why did we fight this battle? If you say that in order to get back the justice that a first prince deserves from the present, the general just heard what King Huai said with his own ears, and the oath has been treated as a trifle. We need to act on behalf of the heavens. But it has been more than ten years since the king landed in the sea, is the world of Kyushu still safe?"

Bai Chuan's face paled slightly, and he replied: "Then... he is protected by the shade of his ancestors."

"Then how does it compare with Duke Huai today?" Qi An asked.

Bai Chuan said nothing.

"Actually, General Bai has already made up his mind." Qi An paused, and then said, "Besides, I have already promised that I will clear up the grievances of the first reserve, and that the first reserve couple will be crowned emperor and empress, and they will be buried in the Beiling Mausoleum. .”

The two generals were shocked when they heard the words: "Mr. Qi, is what you said true?"

"Qi swears on the head of the item that everything he said today is true."

two

It rained every day in Canghuang, and the ground was completely soaked into mud.Such weather is really not conducive to marching day and night, and many soldiers in the army fell ill.

However, Duke Huai insisted on going his own way, and took down the two outposts of the guards according to the defense plan for two consecutive days, so he couldn't help feeling complacent.

Less than twenty miles away from the guards, King Huai ordered to set up camp.

It was almost dawn, and the soldiers who ran down from their horses hurried into the camp, knelt on the ground and reported that all the food and grass in the northern barracks had been burned.

Duke Huai was furious, he slapped the table and stood up: "What's going on?"

The soldier trembled and replied, "I don't know why, someone suddenly attacked from the rear, set fire to the food and grass, and then quickly withdrew the troops back."

"who is it?"

"Subordinates don't know."

"You bastard." Duke Huai angrily kicked the nearest person to the ground.

"The subordinates look at the coach who takes the lead, he is very similar to Xu Chengzhi from the Gyeonggi camp."

"Who is Xu Chengzhi?" In Duke Huai's impression, he had never heard of this name.

At this time, another soldier came to report that the enemy army attacked the barracks of Fenghui Town at night at the same time, and Hong Wu led [-] soldiers and horses to outflank him from behind.

Duke Huai was anxious and angry, he drew his sword, yelled and split the table in half.

He shouted angrily: "Bring me Xu Jingye, don't blame me for being ruthless if his son behaves like this."

The people in the tent took orders and hurried to do it.

Then King Huai said to the lieutenant next to him, "Send a message for me to tell Xu Yang to surrender immediately, otherwise I will bring his father to sacrifice the flag tomorrow morning."

As soon as the words were passed on, the man who was sent by King Huai to bring Xu Jingye back just now returned with a panicked expression, kneeling down and saying, "My lord...Xu Jingye hanged himself in the prison."

Duke Huai's eyes were about to split open: "You say it again?"

The man repeated it again in fear, but before he finished speaking, Duke Huai stabbed him in the eye socket, killing him on the spot.

He thought that if Xu Jingye was captured alive, Wei Shangrui would be in chaos, the front line would lose his commander, and the morale of the army would be unstable.

This obviously means that Wei Shangrui has already set up a plan, and when he relaxes in his heart, he will attack with all his strength.But why did Xu Jingye die so coincidentally?

He was about to ask Xu Jingye for details, but he remembered that the person who reported the news had been killed by him, so he took his sword and went to the place where Xu Jingye was related.

King Huai has been imprisoning Xu Jingye along with the army, and after setting up his camp today, he was locked up in a ruined temple on the south side, under strict supervision.

As soon as he entered the living room in the back hall of the ruined temple, he saw Xu Jingye's body hanging on the beam like a piece of rag.

Duke Huai looked at that face, and asked in disbelief: "Xu Jingye is really dead?" This sentence was not asking someone, but muttering to himself, as if he didn't quite believe it.Now that Xu Jingye is dead, how can he not avenge his father's murder.In this way, Xu Yang must be full of grief. He is young and vigorous, and he is no match for Sima Lin in terms of attacking the heart. In terms of commanding prestige, he is not as good as Hong Wu. Naturally, the Xu family army can only obey those two.

The lieutenant general said again: "My lord, the news of Xu Jingye's death should be blocked at this moment, and another person of similar stature should be asked to pretend to be on the battlefield, and force Xu's army to retreat with his life."

At this time, someone shouted again and again: "Report—"

Duke Huai closed his eyes, and an ominous premonition filled his whole body: "What's the matter?"

"My lord, Shen Mi led the soldiers under his tent to rebel, and took advantage of the chaos to kill them directly from Wujiazhuang, and now they have reached the foot of Qishan Mountain." Shen Mi was originally sent by him on the right wing as a vanguard, but he never thought that he would join the enemy. Also killed a carbine.

Upon hearing this, Duke Huai turned his head to look at Xu Jingye who was hanging in the air, and with a "poof", a mouthful of blood spurted out from his mouth.

"My lord!" Everyone was shocked.

After a while, King Huai finally regained his breath, and weakly led the people to flee hastily, and only after getting on the horse did he remember to ask his accompanying subordinates to bring Xu Jingye's body.

But when the pedestrians return to the ruined temple, there will be no shadow of the corpse.

three

In just a few days, Hong Wu led his troops like a broken bamboo.

King Huai's party was defeated like a mountain, and they had already retreated from the wasteland to Huaizhou. Seeing that Xuzhou, which was at the frontier of Huaizhou, lost again, there was almost no way to retreat.

Jingtan passed through the rebellious army from Xuzhou in a hurry, and when she came to Yunzhong to meet Zijin, she lost the brilliance of the princess.

Jingtan was in Yunzhong City, and when he saw Zijin and King Liang, he cried bitterly: "Uncle Six, Brother Yu, can you save my father and king?"

King Liang sighed: "Jingtan, you must be tired after driving all night, so let's rest first and talk about everything."

As soon as Jingtan heard it, she knew that there was little hope.Liang Wang has never had any contact with her father, so it is even more impossible to persuade him to help Huaizhou by putting himself in danger.

She was originally Miss Jiao from the Wangfu family, and the greatest pain in her life she experienced before was that her sweetheart didn't like her, at this moment she was completely out of control, and knelt down on the ground with a "plop", "Sixth Uncle, Jingtan is begging you. "

King Liang got up and said, "Jingtan, do you know what your father is doing now?"

Jingtan was stunned for a moment, and shook his head: "When Jingtan left Huaizhou, it was my father who ordered someone to break through and send me here. Jingtan doesn't know the rest."

Liang Wangdao: "He was defeated and defeated steadily. Now he retreats to Huaizhou and is trapped in the city. He has no food and grass, so he ordered to collect food in the city. He was voluntary before, but later he took it by force and killed innocent people to grab food. "

Jingtan didn't believe it, she just shook her head and said, "No."

Liang Wang sneered, and said: "As the ruler of Huaizhou, he actually dug the dam between Huaizhou and Canghuang to stop the pursuit when he retreated. How many people were drowned by the river? He was so mad Don’t say I don’t help him, even God won’t allow him.”

Liang Wang walked away with a flick of his sleeves.

Jingtan was speechless, seeing that begging him was useless, she rushed to Zijin again: "Brother Yu, Brother Yu..."

Zijin leaned over and helped her up: "Jingtan, get up and talk."

"Brother Yu, save my father." Jing Tan threw herself into his arms and cried bitterly.

Seeing this, King Liang froze, turned around and said sharply: "Ran Yu has a pure nature, you don't want to use his heart to harm him. As long as I don't agree, it's useless for him to agree to you."

After Jingtan heard about it, she burst into tears and called her father.

After crying for a while, she was also a little tired.

Zijin asked someone to cook a bowl of soup cakes for her.

Jingtan has been pampered since she was a child, and she is still not used to such rough food. Although she is very hungry, she only took two bites before putting down her chopsticks.

Zijin explained: "The conditions here are tough, you should eat as much as you can so you won't be hungry at night."

She didn't eat anyway.

"Brother Yu, have you ever eaten something like this since you were a child?"

Zijin smiled: "Why can't I eat it?"

"Is the Yu Sheng who saved you nice to you?"

"it is good."

"My dad said you called him foster father?"

"Ah."

"If this Yu Sheng is like my father, will you save him?"

Zijin was slightly taken aback.

Chu Zhong beside him frowned slightly, the girl turned the corner to persuade Zijin to save her father.

"My royal father, since he is your uncle and your father-in-law, you will call him father in the future, but you are so cruel that you will not save him."

"Jingtan," Zijin frowned, "You know, neither you nor I agreed to this marriage."

"I know Father and the others are using you. Brother Yu, you are so smart, you must be able to see it."

Zijin didn't speak, just looked at Jingtan and waited for her to continue.

"Although I said before that I liked Uncle Jiu and didn't want to marry you, I was wrong. I have changed my mind now, so my father asked me to convince you. Brother Yu, now my father is trapped in Huaizhou, and the food and grass are taken away. Sure enough, Hong Wu's army will break into the city at any time, if you don't help the father at this time, then the father is really doomed." After she finished speaking, she began to cry again.

After crying for a while, she changed her mind and said that even if Zijin didn't save his father, she would at least lend Gao Xinyu to her.

Chu Zhong beside him knew that Zijin was soft-hearted, and was a little anxious, fearing that he would be deceived by Jingtan's cunning.

Zijin patted Jingtan on the shoulder: "Jingtan, you are so old, you know a lot of things. In this world, you can't measure right or wrong, let alone personal relationships."

He was a little tired after running around for a day, and it was difficult for him to speak. He paused, thought for a while, and then said: "If you talk about Uncle Jiu, I think there are not many uncles who don't hate him. But Jingtan still loves him. I can always understand Uncle Jiu's difficulties, and even like him. Jingtan can give up his feelings for Uncle Jiu in order to save her father. I understand your heart."

Chu Zhong suddenly felt something was wrong, hurriedly walked up to him, interrupted his words, and called out: "Your Highness..."

He raised his hand to stop Chu Zhong's words, glanced at Jingtan, then at Chu Zhong, moved his gaze out of the window, and murmured: "I also hope that Jingtan understands me. Let's put Uncle Jiu aside for now." Don't mention it. You want to exchange everything you have for your father, but I also have such a person in my heart, even if it takes everything I have, I will not hesitate."

"Then if I beg you with my life, you are not willing?"

Zijin sighed: "If it's just me, you can do whatever you want, but for her, I can't."

Jingtan sneered when she heard this.Knowing that Zijin had already thought about it, he couldn't be shaken at this moment.

(End of this chapter)