In the summer of the twenty-sixth year of Yuantai, the rebels smashed the capital.
The Yuantai Emperor went west in a hurry, and some of the civil and military officials, family members, and people in the capital went west to Shu with the Yuantai Emperor, while the other part fled south to Jingchu and Huainan with their families and mouths.
The Beiyan Iron Cavalry shrank the line of defense, broke out from the western front, and met the Ningzhou army head-on on the way. The Beiyan army, which was full of fire, defeated the Ningzhou rebels. Fu Shen personally drew the bow and shot the rebels to death with one arrow. The leader, two Beiyan soldiers touched the head of Ningzhou city, and took advantage of the dark moon and wind to hang the head on the city gate.
In the first battle, the Beiyan Iron Cavalry was still fierce, and no one dared to attack its front wherever it went. At the beginning of July, the Beiyan Army and the Ganzhou Army joined forces in Wuwei. While Fu Shen gathered the remnants of the northwest and reorganized the army, he used Ganzhou as a stronghold to reclaim the wasteland and recuperate, waiting for a counterattack.
The northern line of defense has been broken, and the Ta, Zhe, and Bohai tribes are no longer blocked, and they drive straight into the hinterland of the Central Plains. Half of the country has fallen to the hands of foreign enemies, and the imperial court no longer exists. In this situation, Yue Changfeng, the military governor of Huainan, took the lead in raising troops to resist the thieves, rejecting the Bohai navy in the north of the Huai River, and blocking the barbarians from going south. Immediately afterward, Duan Guihong, the king of Xiping County, said that "self-preservation is the main thing in the southwest", and only accepted the refugees from the north, and no longer sent troops to the king. With these two precedents ahead, the jiedu envoys from all over the country have followed suit, and within the limits of their jurisdiction, they are self-contained and govern each other.
Seeing that the Great Zhou Dynasty was about to be torn apart, the country was not guaranteed. In the autumn of the same year, Sun Yunduan, the king of Qi, proclaimed himself emperor in Jinling. world.
The new dynasty was composed of old officials exiled from the north and the well-known sages from the south of the Yangtze River. The Changzhi Emperor did not set up a prime minister, but imitated the old example of the Yuantai Dynasty and opened a new Yanying Hall to decide state affairs with important ministers.
On the day of enthronement, Jiangnan Jiedushi, Jingchu Jiedushi, Lingnan Jiedushi, Fujian Jiedushi and Donghai Master all entered the congratulatory table and supported the new emperor. Yan Xiaohan followed King Qi from Jingchu to Jiangnan, first stopped him from returning to Beijing, and later he mediated with the Jiedu envoys from all over the world. He could be named a Hou and a Prime Minister, but on the grounds that he had been criticized for his actions in the past, he preferred to be a hero who was hidden behind the scenes. Therefore, Emperor Changzhi still ordered him to command the forbidden army and allow him to enter the Yanying Palace to discuss affairs.
The old ministers who scolded Yan Xiaohan openly and secretly in the past have opened their eyes. They have stood for two dynasties without falling. They have changed from being a powerful minister to a traitor and become a hero who is not chaotic and helps the new master. This eagle dog is not only clever, but also lucky. It's also quite impressive!
After going through this turmoil, Yan Xiaohan's image has become more and more close to "a powerful official with a deep mind". The corners of his mouth that used to smile are rarely raised now. His aura is restrained and dignified, and his mood is unpredictable, but he always carries a hint of sympathy. Ruowu's gloominess makes people even more afraid to move up.
The old courtiers were always at odds with him, and the new nobles were unfamiliar with him. As a result, Yan Xiaohan seemed to have returned to the Yuantai Dynasty and was isolated by everyone again.
The deeply favored Lord Yan has no feeling for his colleagues' guidance and side glances. Anyway, he is used to it, and the gossip is like a breeze. He made great plans for the Changzhi Emperor and spared no effort to promote a new dynasty, but it was not for the sake of making a contribution in this troubled world. It's just that the current situation is such that the situation is pressing. If Emperor Changzhi could never find a place to stand, an exiled prince would either be used as a puppet emperor in the future, or he would simply be killed, and his entourage had little weight, and naturally he would not have a good end.
Yan Xiaohan didn't want to be controlled by others, and he didn't want to lose his life in Jiangnan.
In these days in Jiangnan, he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, sleeping alone in the cold quilt, cold rain and autumn window, his hand fell on the empty bed beside him, holding a handful of cold moisture. Every time at this time, he felt as if he was addicted to drugs again, and his heart was full of unspeakable unbearable feelings, as if a worm was eating away his heart bit by bit, leaving only a walking corpse. like an empty shell.
Nothing is more terrifying than pure pain, Yan Xiaohan dreams of having wings under his ribs, flying through thousands of mountains and rivers overnight.
Where is Fu Shen
He knew that the capital was broken, that Emperor Yuantai was hunting in the west, and that the Beiyan Iron Cavalry had succeeded in breaking through, but he didn't know where Fu Shen had gone—did he stay in the southwest? Or did he go back to Beiyan and follow the Beiyan army to other places
Without a word, as soon as Jing Chu parted, they lost contact.
Yan Xiaohan asked many officials and soldiers who came from the capital south, and tried to inquire about news from the southwest. He even spent a lot of money to send people north from Shu to find Fu Shen's trace, but so far he has not received any response.
They are separated from the Central Plains, which has fallen to foreign enemies, but it is like a whole world.
When Yan Xiaohan woke up, he couldn't fall back asleep. He usually kept his eyes open until dawn, then forced himself to get up and go to the morning. When he was really sad and couldn't stand it, he went to the candy box that was always on the table to find a sweet-scented osmanthus candy to eat.
This method is actually useless, and even the psychological comfort is very little, because the original package of sugar has been eaten long ago. Although the newly bought sugar is delicate and sweet, the sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant, but the taste is different from the original one.
Outside the inn door that day, Fu Shen hurriedly stuffed him a purse of sweet-scented osmanthus candy in the crowd. Since then, he could never find candy as sweet as it again.
Outside the city of Ganzhou.
The autumn air in the northwest is crisp, the sky is majestic, and there are endless fields under the blue sky. Fu Shen and Yu Qiaoting are each holding a bowl of steaming mutton soup, and they are very careless squatting on the edge of the field to watch people harvest wheat. From the back, they look like two sheep herding. of.
Yu Qiaoting said with love, "Master Hou, we are such a big general, it's not good to sit here, right?"
Fu Shen sneered, "Do as the locals do, and you are the only one who wants to be embarrassed."
"..." Yu Qiaoting, "You are a bit too vulgar..."
Fu Shen raised his eyelids and gave him a sideways look: "Is mutton soup bad?"
Yu Qiaoting: "Delicious."
"It's delicious but can't stop your mouth?" Fu Shen said, "Don't talk about it, it's annoying."
Yu Qiaoting immediately understood, and asked with a wicked smile: "Do you still miss the one from your family? Isn't there news from the south that the new emperor ascended the throne, he is a hero, and he is the commander of the imperial army in the gentle township of Jiangnan. What else is there to worry about?"
Fu Shen deliberately kicked Yu Qiaoting, a gloating bastard, down the field, but there was really no one around him to talk about, so he could only hold his nose and endure: "One is in the south, the other is in the north, I don't know when we can meet each other. , do you think I'm worried?"
Yu Qiaoting smiled and said, "It's easy to handle. Anyway, you plan to send troops next spring, and then go all the way to Jinling, won't you see?"
"It's as if we can reach Jinling," Fu Shen said weakly, "The barbarians occupy the Central Plains area north of the Huai River, which is 108,000 miles away from Jinling. Give me a try."
Yu Qiaoting said in a low voice, "I see that the new emperor is doing a small court in the south of the Yangtze River, and he is doing a lot. I am afraid that we will work hard in the north in the future, but we will not be in a hurry in the south."
Fu Shen was even more worried after hearing this. In Wuwei, he reorganized the Ganzhou Army and the remnants from all over the northwest into the Beiyan Iron Cavalry. The military power was in his hands, and it was not much worse than the Zhou Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. However, Fu Shen would never support his troops and stand on his own. The Beiyan Army has been loyal to the country for many years. , naturally take the restoration of the Central Plains as a matter of course.
However, they think this way, it does not mean that the independent Jiedu envoys and the Jiangnan court also think the same way.
The capital is sitting on the three defense lines of Beiyan Iron Cavalry, Jingying and the Imperial Army, and it has been beaten by foreigners. How many years will it take to retake the Central Plains from the foreigners with the strength of the Beiyan army alone? Even if it is recaptured, how can the north and the south be reunited? Who is orthodox? At that time, where will the Beiyan Army be placed
Long-term worries and near-term worries piled up in his heart, Fu Shen's mind was limited, and he was temporarily overwhelmed. He let out a long sigh, looked up at the sky, and happened to see a group of geese flying in line in the sky.
Fu Shen narrowed his eyes, estimated the distance, shoved the empty bowl into Yu Qiaoting's hand, got up and took off the longbow on his back, picked up an arrow, and pulled the bow to aim—
The arrows "swish" out of the sky, and after a while, there was a whine in the air, and a wild goose at the tail of the team fell straight down from the sky and fell not far from them.
Before Fu Shen could pick it up, the farmer over there had already brought the geese over for him. The injured goose was still alive, one wing was pierced by an arrow, and it couldn't stop flapping in Fu Shen's hands. Yu Qiaoting looked over and exclaimed, "Yes, very fat."
"I didn't call you to eat," Fu Shen carried the bow in one hand and the wild goose in the other, turned around and walked back, "Let Du Leng go to my place and bring the wound medicine."
"Ah?" Yu Qiaoting was confused, "What are you doing?"
Fu Shen didn't turn his head back and said, "Let Du Leng treat it. Isn't it going to fly south? Just right."
Yu Qiaoting: "What?"
"Have you never heard of Yuyan's biography? Unfortunately, this Marquis does not have the appearance of sinking fish and falling geese, so he had to use force." After speaking, Fu Shen thought for a while, and felt that he wanted Yan Yan and injured others. It was a bit unreasonable, so he raised it. With the wild goose in his hand, he sincerely said to it, "Brother Yan, I'm sorry."
Dayan: "… "
Yu Qiaoting, who was hanging on the spot with two bowls in his hands: "..."
Jingning Hou is crazy, is he finally crazy
Winter Solstice, Jinling.
At sunset, Yan Xiaohan Fang came out of the palace. Today is the winter solstice. After the discussion in Yanying Hall, His Majesty gave a special gift of mutton soup dumplings according to the custom of the capital. When Emperor Changzhi was in love, he couldn't help shedding a few tears. The monarch and minister held hands and wept. The four scholars from Jiangnan pretended to comfort him a few words. It was not until Emperor Changzhi took away the tears that they dispersed.
Yan Xiaohan felt as if his lungs were scalded by a hot soup. Walking on the long, wet and cold street, he felt the pain and the cold. He didn't want to go back to the house, so he wandered aimlessly on the street, walking for a long time in a daze, and when he passed a market, someone suddenly bumped his shoulder.
A man ran past him and shouted, "Let me see! Show me!"
A group of people gathered around a stall not far in front of them, not knowing what was happening, Yan Xiaohan's ears were sensitive, and only a man could hear a rough voice: "...I hunted this wild goose outside the city, but I didn't expect its feet There is still a piece of silk on it, isn't this the old saying 'Fish and geese pass the book'!"
It was as if a string was being plucked in his mind, Yan Xiaohan's heart moved, and he suddenly felt a little curious as he stepped forward to take a closer look. He was tall, and standing outside the crowd, he could see a dead goose lying on the chopping block. The man held a piece of silk cloth in his hand and showed it to the crowd: "The north wild goose is flying south, maybe the northerners deliberately use it to spread messages. Woolen cloth?"
Someone coaxed: "What is written on it? Take it out and show it to everyone!"
The man said: "No! No! This is a rarity..."
"How much is this goose?" Yan Xiaohan suddenly said, calmly, "I bought this piece of silk together with it."
The crowd watching the fun immediately gave him a way. The man saw that he was dressed in luxurious clothes and had an extraordinary bearing. Knowing that he had met a rich man, he opened his mouth and said, "One penny!"
Yan Xiaohan casually took out a piece of silver, about a dollar and a half, from his purse, and threw it into his hand. The man immediately smiled and offered the silk with both hands. Yan Xiaohan took it, but did not open it to look at it, and tucked it into his sleeve. When the audience saw that he didn't show any intention of showing off, it was very regrettable, and they dispersed with their mouths smashed. Yan Xiaohan turned around and left the booth, and the leader behind him stepped forward to carry Na Yan away.
Carrying one breath, he walked all the way to where there was no one, Yan Xiaohan repeatedly grabbed the silk and let go, and repeatedly warned himself not to be delusional. It's an overused allusion. He is crazy to buy something that doesn't make sense at all.
But he needs an old thing from the old place too much to express his feelings.
- even if it's just a false image.
After recovering for a long time, his heartbeat gradually slowed down, Yan Xiaohan hesitated again and again, with the mentality of making a mistake and breaking a jar, he finally pulled the piece of white silk out of his sleeve and carefully opened it along the crease.
From north to south, the wild goose had been flying for a long time, and the white silk on its feet was dirty and the words were wet, leaving a dry ink mark on the silk.
Even though it was blurry, he could still make out the irregular handwriting clearly, because there were only four characters on the silk book—
"Is My Wife Safe?"