Donghu.
Continuous snowfall in winter.
At noon, looking out from the window, the gray sky and the occasional foraging birds that fly by are all desolate and desolate.
After Su Yuwu finished some urgent military affairs, he felt a little tired and ordered his bodyguard to brew a cup of strong tea to relieve his fatigue.
Sip tea slowly, close your eyes and listen to the sound of snow falling outside. A few years ago, when he was the fifth son of the Su family in Qingzhou, who was pampered by his elders, he would have felt a different and lonely mood.
If you are in a good mood, you will ask someone to prepare the four treasures of the study, burn cold charcoal, open the window, draw a picture of red plum blossoms, and write a few sour poems;
A few years ago, when the colorful-feathered parrot given to him by his grandmother was still there, at this time he should be standing in front of the shelf, patiently teaching it to talk...
Earlier... His heart tingled slightly, that was before he lived alone and was still being taken care of by his mother.
His mother Wei Zhengyin is very concerned about the current weather. It is said that her uncle Wei Zhenghong, whom she has never met, is most afraid of this kind of rain and snow. Wei Zhengyin has been worried about his grandmother, Mrs. Song, since he was a child. Over time, he would always say a few words when seeing similar weather...
But these thoughts were just fleeting thoughts at the moment.
But lingering in his mind were things that had nothing to do with his artistic conception: it had been snowing for several days, and the winter clothes of the soldiers guarding the front were still short of mending; it had been since the last time the soldiers launched a massive attack It has been almost a year. Will the Rong people who tasted the sweetness last year come again recently? The baggage is always intermittent... According to the news sent by his father, it is not only because of uncle Su Xiuming's deliberate embarrassment, but also because of the current situation. , the Su family doesn’t plan to spend too much energy on Donghu. After all, this is the Liu family’s place...
But regardless of what the Liu family said, Donghu was really lost, and the army was marching forward. Is it possible to rely on Yanzhou to defend the capital
The Su family's territory in the Central Plains was occupied in the past two years in the name of loyal ministers of the Wei family.
The barrier of the imperial capital is also the barrier of the land currently occupied by the Su family in the Central Plains.
Otherwise, why did the Shen family leave the imperial capital last year, while the Su family not only stayed and continued to defend the royal family, but even sent troops north to support the Liu family? It’s not like the Su family has so many elite soldiers and baggage!
But Su Yuwu knew that Su Xiuming's actions were not just to get along with Sanfang. Although the kings were somewhat hindered by the distance from the imperial capital and could not get involved in the imperial capital for the time being, the two places in Youzhou and Panzhou , but they are already intensifying their troops and making it clear that they do not want the Imperial Capital to have a good year.
Since these parties dare to openly oppose the imperial court, even if it is only a imperial court in name only, it can be seen that they have accumulated some wealth.
If we join forces...
No wonder Su Xiu Ming wanted to recall Su Yuwu, mainly because of the army commanded by Su Yuwu.
In fact, Donghu was not originally hosted by Su Yuwu. He was too young, and even Su Xiuwei was worried - even though his cousin Shen Zangfeng was two years older than him and had already taken over Mingpeitang. But everyone knows that it is because all the elders of the Shen family are dead.
Su Yuwu, whose father and uncle were still alive, was not qualified to lead an army alone.
But after the Rong people retreated at the end of last year, the Liu family insisted that the Qingzhou army stay to help defend. The Liu family paid a heavy price for this. At that time, the Su family was seeking Panzhou and Jinzhou, so although they agreed to keep the army, they immediately transferred several generals and deputy generals back, but sent away a mediocre general. .
Su Yuwu's predecessor was a child of the Min family in Quyin, but his mother was from a branch of the Su family in Qingzhou, so she was considered half of the Su family. If we think about it carefully, Su Yuwu wants to call him cousin.
To be honest, this man had no talent, but he was loyal to Su Xiuming. Therefore, when the Rong people retreated, Su Xiuming needed a few of his favorite generals who had originally led the army to return to the imperial capital to put them to use, so he asked him to come over and make up the numbers.
And Su Yuwu came as his deputy.
Said to be a deputy, Min Qin lived up to his name. After he took office, he grabbed everything and gave it to his staff that he couldn't catch. Su Yuwu was completely idle.
This was also what he expected.
But what I didn't expect was that Min Qinzhi was as diligent in seizing power as he was in women. A few months after he took office, he fell in love with two beautiful dancers at a banquet hosted by the Liu family. He motioned to the Liu family to give it to him.
That's all. This man has never married since his wife died two years ago. After marrying the two dancers, he was actually persuaded by the Liu family to accept a direct daughter of the Donghu Liu family as his continuation.
The Liu family did this simply because they hoped that the Qingzhou Army could continue to stay in Donghu to help defend the territory. So Su Yuwu didn't care at first.
As a result, the legitimate daughter selected by the Liu family and given to Min Qinzhi had been pampered by her parents since she was a child. Although she was from a different background, her spirit was three points higher than that of the daughter of the sect.
She was conceited about her beauty and young age - otherwise the lustful Min Qinzhi would not have agreed to the marriage - and because of family ties, she felt extremely wronged by marrying Min Qinzhi, who was almost old enough to be her grandfather. However, this old guy accepted her before marrying her. Many beauties are just paying off, but after getting married, they still don’t forget these vixens!
The more Ms. Liu thought about it, the more she felt aggrieved. Within three months of marrying her, she had four or five quarrels with Min Qinzhi over the matter of concubine Ji. On two occasions, Min Qinzhi even went to Yue's house in person to take her back. -At first, Min Qinzhi thought of the old man and the young wife to coax her, but later, he took on the responsibility of Su Xiuming's instructions to prevent Su Yuwu from getting involved in military power. He was always bothered by his wife, and he was annoyed. .
So the third time Mrs. Liu ran back to her parents' house, he stopped picking her up in anger!
In the end, Liu's family realized something was wrong and scolded their daughter. The father-in-law came to Min Qinzhi in person to talk good and bad, and then Min Qinzhi went to pick him up and let Liu get off the stage. However, he also made an agreement with Mrs. Liu in front of the Yue family, that is, next time Mr. Liu makes a fuss about his concubine and runs back to her parents' house, then he will only have a divorce note.
Anyway, he is old enough and has grown up children and grandchildren, so he does not need a stepmother to raise and teach him. And since the Yue family is willing to take out their young, beautiful and doted daughter-in-law to be a continuation for a man who is almost an old man, it is obviously a very distant branch and cannot disobey the order of the sect. Of course, such a Yue family can't help Min Qinzhi's future.
Min Qinzhi married Mrs. Liu purely because of her beauty. With his position under Su Xiuming, if he divorced Mrs. Liu, he would not be able to marry a lady of similar status elsewhere - what was he afraid of
If he is not afraid, then of course the Yue family is. Liu's parents had no choice but to give numerous warnings to their daughter to be patient...
But as mentioned earlier, Mrs. Liu had been favored since childhood, and she heard such heartless words from her husband less than a year after leaving the court. How could she endure it? She couldn't bear it, and naturally Min Qinzhi was the unlucky one.
Therefore, a few days after Min Qinzhi took the Liu family back, he was knocked down by a bowl of tea with Youlaihe added!
... Of course, to the outside world, Min Qinzhi was murdered by a concubine he took from the common people not long before his death - that concubine was a spy paid by the Rong people. It was a pity that Min Qinzhi was deceived by her touching cries. Received it without checking it carefully.
Why is this happening? Of course it’s impossible to rely on the Liu family to cover it up...
Su Yuwu opened her eyes, looked at the heavy snow outside the glass window, and smiled faintly: "Old Marquis Weiyuan is far-sighted. Liu Shili has gotten to know us in the imperial capital over the past few years. How can we not get to know him?"
The Liu who poisoned her husband with her own hands but now wears a filial piety and acts as a chaste woman was not the pawn that Liu Xixun had laid out from the beginning. Liu Xixun had been in the imperial capital for many years, and people died only halfway through the road paved by Old Weiyuan Marquis. The rest of the road was extremely difficult for him to walk, and his hands could not reach that long.
However, after Min Qinzhi threatened to divorce her if she dared to be jealous, Liu Xixun immediately took action and gave You Laihe to her!
Otherwise, it’s not like the Liu family didn’t know the nature of their daughter, who would dare to give her something like You Laihe
Of course Liu Xixun wouldn't bother with the grievance of a distant clan girl.
But coupled with the alliance that he helped Su Yuwu gain military power, and Su Yuwu helped him suppress the current Weiyuan Marquis Liu Bozhao, Liu Xixun was very interested - like Shen Zangfeng and Su Yuwu, he had the entire The Liu family all tacitly knew that he was the next clan leader chosen by the old Marquis Weiyuan. Liu Xixun had the advantage of being young, but his biggest weakness was also his youth.
Because of his youth and the fact that he had been in the imperial capital for many years, he did not have many allies within or outside the clan.
Speaking of which, Liu Xixun's personal relationship with Shen Zangfeng was actually better than that with Su Yuwu. However, Shen Zangfeng returned to Xiliang, and water from afar could not quench his thirst for nearness. After all, he had also known Su Yuwu during his years in the imperial capital—the two of them had their own advantages. Everyone is happy if they need it.
Therefore, the two sides joined forces and Min Qinzhi's death was completely concealed. Because this man had always been lecherous, even Su Xiu Ming did not suspect it. She only lamented that Min Qinzhi was too careless and was actually sneaked into his pillow by a military spy.
"General, General Deng wants to see you!" The guard's voice temporarily interrupted Su Yuwu's thoughts. He put down his tea bowl, nodded and said, "Please come quickly!"
A moment later, Deng Zongqi, dressed in military uniform, strode in. Compared to when he broke out from the imperial capital last year, Deng Zongqi looked much darker and thinner, but he looked more powerful.
However, due to not sleeping for several days, this vigor was also clearly exhausted.
Seeing this, Su Yuwu hurriedly ordered his guards to get some ginseng tea. While asking him to sit down and talk, he asked with concern: "Why is Xiangzhi so tired? I didn't mean that the arrow wound you suffered last time was healed. Now, You must have a good life, so if you have anything to do, just let your bodyguards and deputies handle it?”
His words definitely came from the bottom of his heart. Although the two had no personal relationship before, the two of them were not even in the same place when they went to the border to perform meritorious service during the time of Emperor Huanzong. But Deng Zongqi was cultivated by him as his right-hand man to seize power from his uncle in the future, so he was naturally worried that something would happen to him.
Speaking of Deng Zongqi, Su Yuwu also felt very lucky. He originally thought that since Deng Zongqi had the experience of making achievements in Xiliang, even if he did not defect to his cousin, he would gather his old troops and recruit private soldiers to form his own army like Gu Xinian, Pei Yu and others. With the support and help of Grand Master Huo Zhaoyu, he can make a fortune in troubled times.
I never expected that he would come to Donghu.
In fact, Deng Zongqi originally wanted to defect to the Liu family - everyone speculated that the fall of the imperial capital had greatly stimulated him. According to rumors, Deng Zongqi seemed to have said that the immortal army would not return to the Deng family - Deng Zongqi had never met Liu Bozhao, but he met Liu Bozhao. Xixun has been a colleague for a long time. When he arrived in Donghu, he naturally went to Liu Xixun.
But although Liu Xixun could still protect himself at this moment, he was forced to restrain himself by Liu Bozhao's group. He knew that Deng Zongqi was quite talented. The two had known each other for many years, so he came here specifically to join him, unwilling to let down this trust. Considering that letting Deng Zongqi follow him would definitely be restricted by Liu Bozhao's faction, he recommended it to Su Yuwu - at least Su Yuwu still had his father, and his situation in the Su family was much better than that of Liu Xixun.
Regarding colluding with Liu Xixun and finally killing Min Qinzhi, and because Su Xiu Ming was trying her best to deal with Wen Yaozi and had no time to take care of Donghu, she caught Su Yuwu who had an opportunity to gather military power. For example, although he has the opportunity and the name to seize power, it is impossible for him to control hundreds of thousands of people by himself.
A subordinate like Deng Zongqi who has been well-educated since childhood, has military experience, and is calm and easy to get along with is simply worth a million dollars!
So looking at Deng Zongqi's tired look at this moment, Su Yuwu felt more distressed than if she was so tired!
After talking about it for a while, he remembered and said in surprise: "Didn't you say two days ago that you were going to the front to check on the lack of winter clothes? Why did you come back suddenly? Could there be something going on up front?"
"What the general said is absolutely true, Zong Qi has indeed discovered something." Deng Zongqi took a sip of the tea handed to him by his bodyguard, refreshed himself a little, and then said impatiently, "Although it is just a clue, there should be 70% of it. Xin—it’s the aide who stayed in the king’s tent before the third prince of the Rong clan and didn’t follow him to the Wei Kingdom!” (To be continued)