Zhou Zixi spoke slowly: "The Quanrong are barbarians, they rose from a barbaric land, and they are brave as a common man, but you are frightened by them."
"Chu is far from Haojing, but they don't know that the Quanrong have been in turmoil for a long time and their national strength is no longer what it used to be. The Queen Mother of Quanrong didn't hide her pearls. She killed her own son with her own hands and helped her 13-year-old grandson to become emperor. Their court has been in chaos from within, and the military forces are acting independently and falling apart, just like a pile of loose sand. They are no longer the iron cavalry of the past."
The officials of the Chu State in the hall began to discuss in low voices. They had heard about the rift between the Emperor of Quanrong and the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother's decision to depose her son and enthronize her grandson. However, they were not sure whether the situation of Quanrong was really as bad as the rumors said.
"My lord, the Marquis of Jinyue," Zhou Zixi bowed to the upper right, "why was he able to defend Bianjing alone and defeat the Quanrong in Zhengzhou? It was simply because the Quanrong were no longer what they used to be. Even the Quanrong's famous general Wei Mingshan was beaten to a pulp by our army and fled back to the grassland in a panic."
The sound of whispers in the hall gradually became louder. The Chu State was located in the south, and the main battlefield of the Quanrong invasion was some distance away from them.
Their fear of the Quanrong came largely from the famous Quanrong general Wei Mingshan.
After the fall of the royal capital Haojing, the Quanrong general Wei Mingshan led his troops south, first destroyed the neighboring Wei State, and then burned and killed all the way into Chu. Wherever the iron cavalry passed, there were piles of bones and the whole population was wiped out.
Even thinking about it now, many Chu people still shudder.
The Weimingshan was unexpectedly defeated by the unknown Jin army and was driven all the way back to his hometown and hid back in the grassland.
The Chu officials began to look at Zhou Zixi differently.
Even Yang Yu, who had just openly mocked Zhou Zixi, restrained his arrogant look.
On the one hand, they believed in the fact that the Quanrong was weakening, and on the other hand, they began to have new speculations about the national strength of the newly rising Jin State.
Zhou Zixi leaned back in his chair calmly, his hands in his sleeves, and added slowly: "Before coming to Chu, I passed by Hanzhong and paid a visit to Mr. Li Wenguang."
Chu Anhou couldn't help but ask, "Oh, what does Li the governor have to say?"
Zhou Zixi said: "When he heard that my lord wanted to attack the Quanrong, he immediately couldn't sit still. I'm afraid he has already gathered his troops and is on his way to the battle."
Chu Anhou rolled his eyes and rubbed his hands in hesitation.
Zhou Zixi said cautiously: "Huaiyuan, Li Wenguang is a man with great ambitions."
Chu Anhou's courtesy name was Huaiyuan. When Zhou Zixi was his classmate, the two often called each other by their pseudonyms.
"I am thinking for my brother. Li Wenguang is now adjacent to Chu. If he takes this opportunity to increase his power, it will be very bad for Chu."
Chu Anhou took a deep breath and stood up.
He walked quickly to Zhou Zixi and held his hand tightly. "Thanks to Zixi's reminder, I will immediately mobilize the troops to go to war. Please also tell the Marquis of Jin Yue that our Chu State will work together with Jin State to resist foreign humiliation and drive out the Tartars."
Inside the royal palace of Haojing, Queen Mother Mo Zang sat in the spacious hall.
On the desk in front of her were piles of emergency documents from various places.
Nanyang was captured by Li Wenguang, and Pingyu and Shangcai were recaptured by Chu Anhou.
But these are not the most urgent. The biggest threat to them at the moment is Mo Qiaosheng of Jin State. He led a 100,000-strong army and captured Xuchang and Yuzhou one after another. Now he is approaching Dengfeng near Haojing.
It seemed as if overnight, their once powerful Western Rong declined.
Those princes who were once terrified at the mention of their names are now emerging one after another.
This one wants to fight for a piece of land, and that one also wants to step on it, making her overwhelmed and unable to cope.
The dim candlelight in the hall illuminated the Empress Dowager's graying hair. Deep wrinkles made her face look wrinkled, and she seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
Next to her sat her grandson.
"Grandma, what's wrong with you?" The thirteen-year-old Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty raised his head and asked his grandmother.
Mei Zang Zhenzhu hugged Emperor Yuan Shun into her arms and shook her head gently: "Grandma did something wrong, it's too late to regret now."
…
The first snow of early winter finally fell.
There was no trace of coldness in the palace of Zhengzhou City.
These days, there has been frequent good news from the front line.
Everyone in the palace was excited and in a joyful mood.
The lord came hurriedly, wearing a golden crown on his head and a robe with wide sleeves, surrounded by palace servants.
The guards and palace maids along the way knelt down one by one to pay their respects.
Cheng Qianye listened to Ajia's report while walking.
"Did the assassins finally run away?" She glanced at Ajia, stepped over the threshold, and suddenly remembered something, "Oh, Zixi is coming back. The weather is so cold, and he has difficulty walking. You should take some people out of the city to welcome him tomorrow."
During this trip, Zhou Zixi visited several countries in succession. Under his persuasion, Li Wenguang, Chu Anhou and other princes located in the south of Quanrong sent troops to fight the bandits, thus tying down a large number of Quanrong's troops.
His actions created an extremely favorable situation for the battle on the front line, and his contribution was enormous.
Cheng Qianye was very grateful for his hard work.
Ajia took the order and left.
After everyone left, the bedroom suddenly became quiet.
Cheng Qianye let down his hair and hat, loosened his outer robe, and prepared to go to bed.
It’s winter now, and the weather in Zhengzhou is really cold, Cheng Qianye thought to himself.
It was still autumn when Qiao Sheng set out, and this time he was gone for more than two months.
She pinched her neck which had been busy all day and came to the bed.
There was a small lamp in front of the bed, casting a warm shadow, spreading on the empty bedding.
Cheng Qianye suddenly remembered the unspeakable things that happened here before he set out on the expedition.
That tight and slender body was lying on its back on this bed.
He raised one arm to shield his face, posing as if he was at the mercy of others, inviting them to do whatever they wanted.
The more ridiculous it was then, the more I miss it now.
Cheng Qianye looked at the empty bed, turned the dark blue ring on his ring finger, raised the back of his hand, and gently kissed the cold ring.
In Dengfeng, which was only a hundred miles away from Haojing, there was an atmosphere of jubilation in the Jin army camp which had just captured the city.
Although we lost a lot of brothers, we still won the victory in the end.
Zuo Shuchang ordered rewards for the three armies.
The army was not allowed to drink alcohol, but a large amount of beef and mutton was distributed so that the soldiers could eat their fill.
These soldiers who had once again survived the battlefield sat around a campfire, eating barbecue and chatting in high spirits.
They won battle after battle, and everyone was credited with military merit. When they returned this time, the land, bounty and glory would allow them and their families to live a rich and decent life.
Yang Sheng's brothers surrounded him happily.
"Brother Sheng," Yang Luhou sat next to Yang Sheng, counting on his fingers, "This time when I go back, I can also have a third-level title."
His face flushed. "Last time, matchmaker Wang from the alley introduced me to a matchmaker. She said it was a pretty young lady who could make delicious soup. When I go back this time, I want to ask my godmother to help me find a match."
The people around laughed: "Liu Hou'er is going to get married too. Which girl from the neighborhood is his favorite? Don't forget to give your brothers a wedding banquet when the time comes."
Yang Luhou blushed, "Don't make any noise, you guys will definitely get some wine."
Yang Sheng smiled and put his arm around his shoulders, looking across the campfire at the figure sitting alone by the campfire.
Yang Luhou followed his gaze.
The left minister Mo Qiaosheng sat there in silence, stroking the pendant that he never took off his neck, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.
"Brother Sheng, the general has made great contributions this time. I believe he will be promoted directly from Zuo Shuchang to Zuo Geng General. The lord will definitely reward him greatly. He may even let the princess marry him directly. I don't know if we are qualified to drink a glass of the general's wedding wine." Yang Luhou said.
The author has something to say: Today I will order less and sort out my thoughts.
Everyone can dislike it as much as they want.