Yu Jinnian read the letter from Beijing in the camp. The letter was very thick and it was handed over to him with a heavy weight.
The nanny and her man sent the children back to Jin Youting, and the letter said that the journey back to Beijing was very safe, and there were soldiers patrolling everywhere, but the bandits who wanted to steal the child had nowhere to start. The nanny and her husband used to be servants of a rich family, and then they learned a lot of characters and could do arithmetic. During the few months in Tucheng, they taught Sui Sui how to write a lot of big characters, and also learned to abacus.
It is also said that the girl Xiao Haitang can eat very well, her size changes every day, she is quite gratifying, but she can cry too much and is very difficult to coax.
Sui Sui wrote two lines crookedly at the end of the letter, ugly as a bug, asking when he would be back.
The little girl has already grown into a big girl who can write, but even the handwriting is too ugly, so I have to ask Ji Hong to enlighten her. Yu Jinnian smiled, looking back at the shining armored soldiers outside the tent, he couldn't help but sighed again, not knowing when he would be able to go back.
General Min consolidated the 30,000 troops that He Lianzhi had driven from Guanbei, and the hatchbacks worked together, and when the date was fixed, they came to attack the bridge again, with great momentum. Wei He's injury has not yet recovered, and he also put on his helmet and armor and went to the battlefield. Min Xuefei didn't say it clearly, but he tacitly accepted that he was guilty and meritorious. He Lianzhi has the temperament and temperament of a native of northern Xinjiang, and because of this, he won a big victory outside Beiyan Pass, and he is full of pride.
Yu Jinnian was working as a liaison medical officer in the Meiwu camp, responsible for receiving seriously injured soldiers who had retreated from the front line. He wanted to go to the front line, but Ji Hong refused.
The two armies fought on the Jiangjun Bridge for two days and one night. The army rations in Zhongling City had bottomed out. After eating a pot of porridge and water for two days, I can only dig and cook wild vegetables by the river. The money and food handed over by Jiangnan were hidden in the mountains overnight by the radical militia army. The Yuedi army was not familiar with the terrain near Huancheng, so they suffered a big loss. Ya, dare not enter the palace to meet Yan Chang.
On the contrary, there is a state capital in the south of Zhongling, and the magistrate has a son-in-law who voted against the party, a dignified student of the emperor, he listened to his son-in-law's slander, and also defected to the rebel, and privately raised more than a dozen carts of grain and grass to support Zhongling's grain shortage.
As a result, the next day, when the yamen official went to work, he was horrified to find a row of heads sitting silently on the public case. The family room, military room, torture room, and the dozen or so pawns who run errands below them all have their eyes wide open. The one in the middle is wearing a black gauze hat dripping with blood—it is his own elder.
Under the hall, fire signs soaked in pools of blood were sprinkled all over the floor, and a statement of guilt was stapled to the corridor, listing several major crimes in the seal of the capital of the capital and the Penal Code of the Household Army.
The crime of smuggling grain and grass in the Duzhou government is punishable, but it is also a serious crime to privately kill the court officials. The neighboring state capitals wait and see, wanting to see what will happen to the mighty Ji family heir. Unexpectedly, he didn't wait for the edict of accountability—the eldest son of the Ji family sent someone to kill the governor of the capital in the morning, and the edict came in the middle of Beijing in the evening, directly granting him the emperor's patrol, granting the imperial sword and seal letter. No, anyone below the third rank can do things cheaply.
The first thing Ji Hong received from the seal letter was to recruit the peasant generals from the Huancheng Civil Rebellion, and then beheaded dozens of officials, large and small, who had taken refuge in Yan Chang. He didn't show his face, but the courts of the yamen in the south of the Yangtze River were already bleeding like rivers.
What a Ji Shuluan, he really has the guts to wash the state government with blood!
No matter how stupid an official is, he should smell it. This is to ask the hero not to ask where he came from. Many places in the south of the Yangtze River have fallen into the hands of the rebels, and this drama in Duzhou clearly tells the prefectures and counties that those who can serve the country and keep their morals will forget their past, otherwise they will conspire against each other.
The wind direction is changing.
Officials from all over the country huddled in their homes and lived with their heads supported, for fear that the melon on their heads would be cut by the king of Hades that season. The Vietnamese army came to ask for food, and a group of people from top to bottom pretended to be confused. Who would dare to support Yan Chang with a grain of rice given the bloodbath of the Duzhou Yamen
Yan Chang's army was in urgent need, Min Ji was happy to see the result, so he let them go hungry for a while before attacking, the rebellious army was excited and their faces were flushed, which contrasted with the yellow and emaciated faces of the troops on the other side of the river.
In the first month after occupying the city, the rebels in Zhongling City had a carnival all night long, burning, killing, prostitution, and looting. Now that there is a lack of clothing and food, if you try to collect money and food from the people, you will not be able to collect them at all. The people are afraid of them and lock their doors tightly.
Zhou Feng galloped around to inspect the circle, and even the guards in the inner city looked weak. Seeing him, the patrol captain smacked his sunken face, greeted him with a wry smile, and continued to slouch. squad patrol. At this time, the outskirts of Zhongling were full of gunfire, and the sky was buzzing with the sound of shouting and killing. The military battalion drove horses and arrows to send arrow clusters and ammunition one after another, and transported back wounded soldiers continuously.
Zhou Feng thought it was impossible to go on like this, he swept his horsewhip, galloped to the gate of the palace, and bumped into the military medical officer Dr. Zheng coming out of the palace in a state of blood, he grabbed him and said in shock: "What's wrong with the palace?" gone?"
Dr. Zheng wiped the blood from his face, and finally saw the person coming: "Boss Zhou!" He was also old, with a gray beard, but he bent down sadly and bowed to Zhou Feng, "Mr. Zheng is not good at medicine. , I really can’t see His Highness’s illness! You can spare the old man’s life, but His Highness can’t stand this! Old man, I will go back to the countryside to grow vegetables for the elderly...”
"Doctor Zheng, get up quickly, what's the matter with the injury on his head?" Zhou Feng was startled, and quickly helped him up, "His Highness's illness has not lasted for a day or two. So why are you so panicked? When will Your Highness feel sorry for you because of this disease?"
It was not difficult before, but now it is difficult to say, the outside of the city is about to be broken, Bao Buqi, the Twelfth Highness, got angry and killed them, a group of useless old men to sacrifice the flag. Dr. Zheng raised his sleeve to wipe the blood from his head, hemmed and hawed, very frightened.
Suspicious in Zhou Feng's heart, he ran towards the inner palace. When he arrived at the Qingyan Palace, he saw the maids of the inner eunuch shivering and kneeling outside the hall. Lie on the ground with a water basin to wipe the blood. He went over and asked what was going on.
The twelve or thirteen-year-old inner eunuch knelt tremblingly, kowtowed to him a few times, and whispered: "It was the maid on duty in the morning who broke His Highness's cup. His Highness got angry, just, just..."
Asking about the bloody head and face of Medical Officer Zheng, he also said that His Highness Twelfth Highness smashed it with an inkstone. The cause was that His Highness had a headache in the middle of the night, and it didn’t improve after taking two decoctions from Medical Officer Zheng. After three doses of medicine, His Royal Highness picked up the inkstone and smashed it.
"..." Zhou Feng followed Yan Chang for ten years, from Yuezhou to Zhongling. Although his Twelfth Highness was majestic and decisive, he was a bit murderous, but he was not a tyrannical person who killed innocent people indiscriminately. Because a servant broke a bowl and other trivial matters, he was sentenced to death, usually a few reprimands, a fine of salary, or at most a beating. Recently, I don't know who offended Tai Sui, His Royal Highness's temper is getting more and more aggressive, even the medical officer Zheng is also beating, Zhou Feng doesn't know when he will have a sudden attack.
Although the battle situation outside the city was not good, it was far from being broken. He had survived the most difficult times in Yuezhou before, and was never discouraged. Now that they still have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in their hands, even if they can make a good plan, they may not be able to fight back and fight back. But His Highness has been... too abnormal recently.
Zhou Feng waved his hand, sent them all to retreat, and entered the hall by himself.
The head was gloomy, and the sun was still shining in the sky a few days ago. The Taoist priests in the city looked at the sky and said that it was going to snow, and they walked around the streets to remind the people to pay attention to frost protection. The Taoist priests who have no external objects are still concerned about these small things. Not to mention, Zhongling City, which is short of clothes and food, is really going to snow, and it is not known whether it is auspicious snow or disaster snow.
Also groggy is Yan Chang's bedroom, which seems to be covered with a layer of black veil, and the blue sky and day are also like dusk, covered with a layer of crow color. Zhou Feng turned into the hall, and suddenly heard a "dong", he rushed in a few steps, and saw Yan Chang rolling down from the couch. A pair of inner eunuchs stood on both sides of the imperial couch. Seeing him fall from the bed, he broke out in a cold sweat and went up tremblingly to help him.
Yan Chang waved his hand away violently: "Water, water..."
"They are all deaf and blind!" Zhou Feng reprimanded the incompetent internal officials, and picked up the silver pot on the table. As soon as it was handed to Yan Chang, the other party snatched it away, lifted the lid of the pot and poured it with his head up. Zhou Feng noticed that his left hand holding the kettle was trembling slightly. After drinking the water, he leaned back and leaned against the side of the couch and gasped deeply. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were red, as if he hadn't slept for many days. of. But he was drinking medicinal wine these days, and he obviously slept well.
"Your Highness." Zhou Feng half knelt in front of him, and said in a low voice, "You can't waste time like this. Tens of thousands of soldiers outside the city are waiting for you to preside over the overall situation."
Yan Chang's arms were hanging by his side, his fingers moved unconsciously, and his brows were tightly frowned, as if he was suffering from great pain. It took a long time until he suddenly realized Zhou Feng's existence, raised his head to look at him, and suddenly Inexplicably grabbing his hand, he asked eagerly: "Zhou Feng! Is it the father... Did the father come to call me?"
Zhou Feng's hands froze: "Your Highness?"
Before Zhou Feng could answer, Yan Chang smiled again: "Why would my father call me? Before he died, he would drive me to Yuedi and make me the king of Yue who is eight thousand miles away. I'm afraid I will hinder the old man. Seven. He is just using me to pave the way for Lao Qi! He has been optimistic about Lao Qi for a long time, but he hangs on to me!" He stared at a square brick in front of him, laughing to himself, "The king of Yue, the king of Yue. Sit in the sea... Would you like to!"
His eyes suddenly became sharp, he grabbed Zhou Feng's front and stared at him: "Are you willing?!"
"I don't want to, and neither does Your Highness. Your Highness's great cause is sure to be accomplished." Zhou Feng said in full force, "It's just that your Highness, the general bridge outside the Chongtian Gate, the soldiers have been fighting hard for two days, and the bridgehead is about to lose its hold. Our soldiers are hungry and tired, and morale is low, Your Highness should have made plans earlier."
Yan Chang smiled, his expression became indifferent again, and his head fell heavily on his shoulders: "Bridgehead? Let all the garrison in Wengcheng go to support, and the guards in the inner city also go! Tell them, whoever wins the head of the enemy general will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold." , whoever wins the head of the Min thief Ji thief will be rewarded ten thousand taels of gold—no, the hereditary duke will be rewarded! Let him sit on an equal footing with the damned Ji family!"
"... Your Highness."
Zhou Feng wanted to say more, but Yan Chang waved his hands, looking impatient: "I have a bad headache and a lot of dryness. I told Yu Xu to drink more tranquilizing medicinal wine. Let me take a rest for a while. You decide for yourself."
The Wengcheng garrison is the last line of defense for Zhongling City, and they cannot be mobilized too much. The inner city guards are even the personal guards guarding Yanchang. They must not be transferred out of the city unless it is absolutely necessary. Using troops like this is taking the bottom line of his own wages, and he is putting all his eggs in one basket not to leave a way out for himself, and it should never be said from Yan Chang's mouth.
Zhou Feng got up and saw that the Twelve Highnesses he had followed for ten years were lying on the side of the couch with disheveled hair and shawls. He had never seen such a decadent Yan Chang. In his eyes, the Twelfth Highnesses were always the brightest. The king, who is brilliant and decisive in killing, should not be lying in front of the couch, clutching his lapel foolishly, asking why the former emperor looked down on him, and why he was punished to go to the land far away from the capital.
Fu Yanchang lay on the bed and waited patiently until his headache subsided and he fell asleep in a daze. He was still vaguely muttering Yu Xu's tranquilizing wine... soothe the nerves, soothe the nerves! Zhou Feng suddenly woke up as if from a dream, settled Yan Chang, turned around and left the hall, and immediately went straight to the guard's office.
Yan Chang built a separate corner hall in the palace, named Yinghua Hall, as a guard for him, so that he can rest directly in the palace after late at night, without having to run around in and out of the palace. The secluded location of the corner hall was a great gift to him. But the gift belongs to the gift, and he just put things back after occupying the city, but he didn't actually live there a few times. So in fact, except for a decent bedroom in the palace, Zhou Feng treated the rest as a storeroom for storing some sundries.
When Zhou Feng walked to the Yinghua Hall, two tired palace guards in front of the door dozed off leaning against the hall door. In the past, it was such a lazy bone. He didn't mind now, he kicked the door and went straight to the bedroom, after a long rummaging and searching, he finally found a palm-sized porcelain vase from several heavy wooden boxes.
The two internal officials tremblingly followed outside the door, and when Zhou Feng turned around, he said, "You, come here."
One of them walked in with small steps on tiptoe, and Zhou Feng pinched his chin with his head raised, and poured powder from his tongue into his mouth. He slapped it up and down, forcing people to swallow, and asked, "What's the taste?"
The internal officials were fighting with each other, thinking that he was guarding the palace suddenly and was given poison, so scared that he almost peed his pants. As a result, the foam in his mouth sucked and swallowed into his stomach. He didn't have a gut piercing, and he didn't vomit blood. Instead, he had an extremely familiar country smell. He smacked and smacked carefully, and felt that Zhou Feng was showing his face in front of the palace. The chief of the garrison wouldn't make such a joke
He was wondering if there was any deep meaning in it, when suddenly Zhou Feng yelled, and he was startled, and hurriedly said with a mournful face, "Boss Zhou, this is... fried noodles? Yes, it's a bit mushy..."
Zhou Feng asked: "Is there any outsider who has come to Yinghua Palace?"
The two internal officials stared blankly at each other for a long while. The people who came here in the past were all familiar people under Zhou Zongsi's command. Really... there really is one!
The internal official who ate his mouth full of "chow mein" wiped the corners of his mouth and said, "Master Xiaoyu next to Your Highness came here, saying that he was sending a message for His Highness to invite Director Zhou to come over. It just so happened that you were not on duty that day, and he was in the palace. After sitting in the house, he left. But this has been going on for quite a while, and I guess it was when the adults just entered the city. After that, there were no outsiders, and they were all the adults you used to see, Mr. Zhou .”
Zhou Feng's expression changed.
The two became frightened: "Director Zhou... is there something wrong?"
"Get out." Zhou Feng lifted the two internal officials together with the medicine bottle and threw them out.
— Yu Xu! He actually underestimated this dodder flower! This vicious wolf cub!
In the broken medicine bottle, the cooked and fragrant "fried flour" disappeared with the wind, leaving only a little dregs in the cracks of the ground in an instant, but this small bottle originally contained "Fan Guojin" "Immortal medicine", it is said that after taking it for the first time, you will be unconscious and drunk, but after taking it for a long time, you will feel light and comfortable in body and mind. Yan Chang didn't believe this, so of course he never used it. Later, he gave some to the little genius doctor who was locked in the mute room from time to time, and then he never used it again.
Zhou Fengyuan didn't know how effective this medicine was, but after seeing the appearance of Miracle Doctor Yu Xiao after taking it, he vaguely felt that it was not a good thing worth taking more, so he kept it in his hands to prevent His Highness from misusing it. If he hadn't thought of it this time, he would have almost forgotten that there was such a thing.
He should have thought that from the very beginning, Yu Xu's medicinal wine could stop the pain that even a famous doctor couldn't stop, since His Highness fell asleep more, and since His Highness couldn't leave Yu Xu every day... At least since he found that His Highness's temper was different from the past , he should have thought of it!
It wouldn't be now that the city is about to fall, but Yan Chang's temperament has changed drastically. He is intoxicated and doesn't care about foreign affairs, just slumped on the couch.
In the past ten years, Yan Chang has devoted himself to careful planning and careful planning. Every nail and every joint must be calculated clearly. He only wished he could not figure out where a strand of Da Xiazi's hair would blow. He has been cautious and cautious every day for ten years. Walking on the tip of the knife, he did not hesitate to break up with his relatives and friends for this. But can Yan Chang figure out that one day he would fall into the hands of his Seventh Brother, let alone the hands of the Jimin family, but fall into the hands of an unknown businessman? inside.
A beggar in the market who was picked up from the pile of refugees, and a rogue who was beaten out of the house with a stick, almost ruined King Yue's hard-working life with such indecent means. Thinking about it again, is this considered retribution or unhappiness? Yan Chang committed a crime by feeding that little genius doctor Yu to take medicine, and now he pays the debt back to the Yu family.
Seriously, there is nothing better than this.
It was also Zhou Feng's dereliction of duty. He knew exactly what kind of bastard Yu Xu was, and he also knew that Yu Xu was kicked out of the house by Ji Hong because of his rascal behavior, but he still connived at his master to pick up such a trash and raise it. Yu Xu is just a white-eyed wolf, he is not familiar with Ji's family, let alone be raised loyally by Yan Chang's side.
He just didn't expect that Yu Xu, who was as timid as a mouse and didn't seem to dare to speak loudly, would become vicious, no less than an assassin.
Outside the hall came an inner eunuch who was the general affairs eunuch of the Qingyan Hall. There was a stable old eunuch before, but he was stubborn. He would rather splash blood on the palace gate than serve Yan Chang, so he called Zhou Feng to come. Cut it off, newly built this one. But after all, he is young and easily flustered when things happen.
The inner eunuch said anxiously from outside the door: "Lord Zhou, His Highness has woken up and started beating people and destroying things again. Go and have a look!"
Zhou Feng walked back in a hurry after hearing the words: "Didn't you already sleep, why did you wake up again?"
The inner prisoner lowered his head: "I woke up when I went in to settle the tent. I kept yelling that my head hurt and my body hurt, and I asked why Mr. Xiaoyu hadn't come yet."
Zhou Feng narrowed his eyes fiercely: "In the future, no one surnamed Yu is allowed to enter the palace! No matter how angry His Highness is, he must never be allowed to enter the palace, and no one is allowed to pass things to His Highness for him, even half a grain of rice." He After a pause, he continued to order, "From now on, His Highness will live in the hall, so let the subordinates be tighter. Anyone who dares to say a word about the affairs in the hall will be dragged out immediately and beheaded!"
"Ah?" The inner eunuch was stunned for a moment, looking at the straight ink-like scabbard on Zhou Feng's side, which was worn imposingly on his waist, and he lowered his head in fright, thinking anxiously, what is Director Zhou going to do... Palace
Zhou Feng passed by the restaurant department, brought some cakes and side dishes, and a pot of ordinary wine. When he arrived at the Qingyan Hall, he heard clanging and clanging inside. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw broken porcelain all over the floor, and the The inmates waiting to die.
He was also unavoidably startled, how could His Highness Twelve become like this.
"Send someone to find the man surnamed Yu, and if you find him, don't say anything, and take him directly to the Garrison Department outside the palace." Zhou Feng ordered in a low voice, and bowed his head to accept the order in a low voice.
Yan Chang propped his head, and sat on the couch with a big horse. The irritability in his heart came from the more violent pain. Without the medicine to calm him down, the pain seemed to come out from the depths of the bone, and the pain was like a mouse gnawing. He looked up at Zhou Feng, and asked in a rough voice, "Where are the others?"
Zhou Feng knew who he was asking, but he avoided answering. He just put the plate of food on the couch and poured out the wine: "This wine is famous in Zhongling, Your Highness, give it a try."
Yan Chang looked at the wine and resisted not overturning it. He also vaguely realized that he had some problems, but before he could find out clearly, he would sink down with the flow. There were some unfamiliar faces in the hall, not the ones who served him before, and the maids in the eunuch were apprehensive, carefully measuring Zhou Feng's happiness and anger.
He raised his eyes and stared at Zhou Feng: "What do you have to say?"
"I have something to say, Your Highness." Zhou Feng lowered his eyes and pressed his fingers on the hilt of the sword at his waist. "I said before that I am His Highness's halberd and His Highness's sharp sword. Whatever Your Highness wants, I will do it for you." Where is His Highness killing a piece of heaven and earth?"
Yan Chang: "Now, your sword doesn't belong to me anymore?"
Zhou Feng knelt down: "Zhou Feng's sword will always belong to His Majesty. But even if His Majesty refuses to allow it, and even if His Majesty asks him to be held accountable afterwards, the minister must cut it off!"
He bowed to Yan Chang as the Son of Heaven and said nothing else. When he got up, the young general affairs eunuch ran in again in a panic, hesitating to speak to the two of them, not knowing who to talk to for a moment.
Yan Chang said, "Talk."
The inner eunuch was incoherent in panic: "Your Highness, Mr. Zhou! The bridgehead of Qiaoqiaoqiao... is broken!"
Zhou Feng suddenly straightened up: "How could it be so fast?"
With the current strength of the two sides, even if they are in a weak position, at least it is not a problem to stick to the bridgehead for seven days. There are too many problems that can be solved in seven days, and there is still a chance to turn around... How could it be broken all of a sudden? !
The inner eunuch was terrified and frightened, and said repeatedly: "Yes, it is Lord Xiaoyu. He escorted more than a dozen people to the city wall. They were all honest officials and scholars in Zhongling City, and they are very famous in Zhongling. Tell me. Talk about using those people, and changing the fingers of someone on the other side. It seems to be some kind of medical officer? In short, after chopping off the fingers, you need eyes and ears, and finally you have to pull out the tongue... "
"The result angered Ji Yan Wang on the opposite side. He was a ruthless one. He immediately ordered a strong attack, regardless of the consequences and means, as long as Lord Xiao Yu's head is on the head."
Zhou Fengdao: "Even if it is a strong attack, it shouldn't be broken immediately."
The inner eunuch mourned: "It shouldn't be broken, but they don't know where the reinforcements came from, with red scarves hanging on their shoulders, and the leader is a general in red armor, carrying a red-tasseled spear, gods and Buddhas are unstoppable!"
Red armor and red tassels... He Lianzhi, a soldier who conquered the North, was famous for being brave and fearless.
Yan Chang staggered for a moment.
"It's more than enough to succeed than to fail!" Zhou Feng cursed a few words, raised his sword and stood up, suddenly remembered something, and felt unbelievable, so he confirmed to the eunuch who sent the message, "He wants the finger of the person opposite. The eyes and ears were cut off on the opposite side?"
Whoever Yu Xu wants to see and hear, Zhou Feng can think of with his toes, it is nothing more than that little genius doctor, his nominal cousin. But Ji Hong is such a protective person, can he really have the heart to exchange the eyes and ears of his sweetheart for the honest officials and scholars on the city wall? Cutting and not cutting are two different things, representing the two situations they will face in Zhongling City.
The inner supervisor thought about the scene of gouging out eyes and cutting ears, and trembled all over his body: "This can still be false. A small medical officer will exchange the lives of a group of court officials, and a fool knows how to choose. The people on the city wall have seen it with their own eyes. You can see that the screams in the tent can be heard on the city wall, but now those eyes and ears are still bloodied in Master Xiaoyu's hands! Can this be fake?"
Zhou Feng couldn't help but staggered two steps.
It's over, Yu Xu has moved Yu Jinnian, Ji Hong can't let it go - I'm afraid Zhongling City will not be able to keep it!