-In the seventeenth year of Jinde, the Xue Mansion in Xiangcheng, the capital of the king, was announced-
In the blink of an eye, winter has passed, the snow in Xiangcheng has already melted away, and people have not yet felt the warmth of spring, but the spring flowers are already blooming in the fresh green leaves, indicating the arrival of early spring.
Here is one of the best mansions in the city. It was given to Xue Changfeng at the beginning of the emperor's accession to the throne, in order to remember his and his father's great help in the royal struggle. In the years that followed, every time Xue Changfeng won a battle, a few rare items were added to the house, or the tributes of foreigners in Fanbang, or the emperor's favorite things. The house is just big, and it has been accumulated year by year, and the furnishings inside and out are all luxurious.
But it has lost its popularity.
Xue Changfeng was out for four seasons, and Xue Ziqin followed. He never married, so the house became like an inn, and only stayed for a day or two when he was called back to the court.
It has been nearly ten days since Xue Changfeng was recalled to the court. His armor has not been removed. It seems that he has been fighting for many years.
The servants in the house were terrified.
The general rarely came back, and so did the major general. The house was always managed by the housekeeper, and there were a few servants who cleaned it every day, so that the second general could live comfortably when he came back. Now that the general is back, he spends all day looking at the newly blooming flowers in the yard, and the servants rarely contact him, even if they dare not keep their eyes on the general for a long time, for fear of being punished if they are not careful. In addition, the general would go out for a while every day, often when the crescent moon first appeared, and he would not ask anyone to follow him.
The housekeeper's surname was Zhang. When he was young, he was also a warrior under Xue Changfeng's command. Later, he was seriously injured. After recovering, he still suffered from the root of the disease and could not do physical work. Xue Changfeng let him go back to Xiangcheng and manage the house for himself. It is a year of care.
"General, Your Majesty... I have sent someone to summon him." Butler Zhang hurried in from outside the door, Xue Changfeng glanced at the door, and sure enough he saw a eunuch come in.
The eunuch saluted in a proper manner, called, handed the edict in his hand to Xue Changfeng, and left.
"General, change your clothes." Butler Zhang said. Xue Changfeng finally recovered his mind from the newly opened flowers, looked at the edict in his hand, and said coldly, "No need, prepare a horse."
"How about taking a sedan chair, General?"
"Prepare the horse." Xue Changfeng said it again, in a tone that could not be refused. Butler Zhang nodded and went to prepare immediately.
Although Xue Changfeng is said to be the father of Xue Ziqin, he is actually the adoptive father. It's no secret, everyone knows it. Just from the fact that Xue Changfeng never married, it can be seen that Xue Ziqin is not his own. His father and son have very different personalities. Xue Ziqin's irritability and mischief are on the bright side, just as his kindness and informality are on the bright side. Xue Changfeng is completely different. After many years of fighting and standing in the court for many years, his anger and anger have long been invisible. Only those who have followed him for many years, like Zhang Butler, will know that Xue Changfeng is more irritable than Xue Ziqin.
He rode his horse and walked on the streets of Xiangcheng, unhurriedly, as if admiring the surrounding scenery. There were only two personal guards accompanying him, who followed behind the horse.
From the Xue Mansion to the royal residence, Xuanyang Palace, is a straight and broad avenue. Hundreds of years ago, when Xuan Guo was all in Xiangcheng, he built Xiangcheng into four squares, and Xuanyang Palace was in the center. Xue Changfeng is on the horse, his eyes are swept around, this Xiangcheng has not been here for a long time, but it seems that nothing has changed.
As we walked, we saw the most famous kiln house in Xiangcheng, Yanluo Pavilion. He unconsciously pulled the reins, and the horse stopped obediently. Xue Changfeng was just a few steps away from Yanluo Pavilion, looking at Yanluo Pavilion.
In that beautiful building, in the clear sky and daytime, the girl stood on the observation deck under the plaque on the second floor, teased and fiddled with the silk scarf in her hand, and spared no effort to attract guests.
He looked at it, a little dazed.
However, after a few breaths, Xue Changfeng rode his horse forward again, heading towards Xuanyang Palace.
In front of the Council Hall, Xue Changfeng walked up the long steps by himself, and when he walked to the front of the hall, the vermilion door was tightly closed. The two father-in-laws immediately stepped forward to salute when they saw Xue Changfeng. With a flattering smile on his face, he said to Xue Ziqin, "Please also ask the general to remove his sword."
Xue Changfeng didn't even bother to look at the little eunuch, and without looking sideways, facing the front door, he said coldly, "Since the previous dynasty, this general has never disarmed his weapons, please take care of your father-in-law to figure it out, don't open my place indiscriminately. precedent."
He didn't say any bad words, but his aura made the little eunuch so frightened that he didn't dare to speak again. The eunuch who was notified happened to come out, and he knew that he would stay longer in the palace depending on his age. He happened to hear Xue Changfeng's words, and he came out and scolded the young eunuch: "General Xue has never had this kind of thing since the first emperor was here. Rules, what nonsense are you talking about, making General Xue angry." After he finished speaking, he immediately greeted him with a smile, looked at Xue Changfeng, and said respectfully, "General Xue, don't take it as a surprise, the emperor invites you to come in and discuss matters."
Xue Changfeng didn't care anymore, and strode into the hall.
"My minister, Xue Changfeng, see the Holy One."
There were a lot of people standing in the hall early, the emperor was sitting on a high position, Xue Changfeng was wearing armor, so he didn't need to give a big gift, he just knelt down on one knee. Seeing this scene, the emperor couldn't hang his face, frowning. It has been eight or nine days since Xue Changfeng was recalled. It stands to reason that he would have to change his armor into court clothes and come to see him again. But now Xue Changfeng is still wearing armor, saying that he did not do it on purpose, I am afraid that no one will believe it.
I am unhappy in my heart, and it is not easy to make troubles on my face. The emperor raised his hand and said, "General Xue, please."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xue Changfeng got up and saw the people standing on both sides. Not many people, but not many. The left minister Shang Xu and the right minister Yuanzhi were both standing on the right, and on the left, standing on the left was Xue Changfeng's nemesis, Wei Yuanting.
Seeing Xue Changfeng acting like this, Wei Yuanting smiled faintly: "Long time no see, General Xue, stay safe."
"Brother Lao Wei, remember."
Although Wei Yuanting was in his fifties, he was young and looked in his early thirties. Xue Changfeng always hated his cunning and cunning appearance, especially his smile, where he didn't know how many knives were hidden.
Before Xue Changfeng came, the emperor had been discussing with the three courtiers for a long time. Now that Xue Changfeng came, he didn't want to say more, so he waved to Shang Xu: "The current situation, Zuo Xiang explain to General Xue."
When Shang Xu heard the words, he bowed his hands, then turned to Xue Changfeng and said, "Ling Lang is planning to occupy Hanzhou City in Hanzhou. I don't know what strategy General Xue knows or does not use?"
Xue Changfeng shook his head: "The dog fights, I never ask, I only see the result."
Wei Yuanting's ill-intentioned smile appeared again, grabbed in front of Shang Xu, and explained Xue Changfeng's confusion: "He led people into the city quietly, set fire to kill people, and wanted to make a name for himself to openly enter the city, but he was attacked in the rear. Son, General Xue doesn't know either?"
Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, Shang Xu quickly continued: "Ling Lang's plan is very good, but I am afraid that he will be tricked by others, so he will miss a sneak attack. Fortunately, he won. He is now stationed in Hanzhou City, but..."
Shang Xu has always been the master and the faction. He is very clear about the disputes between the few people in front of the hall. As a veteran of the two dynasties, he does not want to see the courtiers have personal grudges and mislead the country and harm the people. But where there are people, disputes are inevitable. This made Shang Xu annoyed.
Xue Changfeng knew about Xue Ziqin's garrison in Hanzhou City. Xue Ziqin once sent someone back to report, and he agreed with Xue Ziqin to "don't ask about the means, only the results", but he didn't ask about the details. At this moment, he realized that Xue Ziqin was not a great victory, but a hard fight.
Wei Yuanting took over the words again: "But Wuqu and Suiguo joined forces to take advantage of Xue Ziqin's occupation of Hanzhou City, and they have already invaded the Qin Pass. Will General Xue not know it at all?" His tone was clearly indictment.
On the surface, Xue Ziqin seized the opportunity to conquer Hanzhou, but now the situation is very clear. In fact, Xue Ziqin was completely calculated, and Hanzhou was occupied by the enemy. With this opportunity, the name of Xue Ziqin's aggression has been firmly established, so that they can unite with the border tribes to fight against aggression.
The battle between Xue Changfeng and Wei Yuanting was deeply ingrained, and he knew Wei Yuanting's meaning of accountability, not only did not answer, but instead asked: "As far as I know, Qinzhou should be under the jurisdiction of Brother Wei, why not even Xiaoxiaowuqu? Can't stop it?"
The presence of the three generals of Xuan Guo was two of them. Xue Changfeng was in charge of the northern border city, while Wei Yuanting was in charge of the Shang and Yu states.
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, the emperor did not say a word, but he became anxious: "Two generals, now is not the time to be held accountable!"
You Xiangyuan Pheasant, who was on the side, glanced at Xue Changfeng, and said calmly, "Zuo Xiang's words are reasonable. At this moment, no matter who's fault is causing the current situation, the matter of Qinguan must be resolved first."
Among the people in this group, Yuan Pheasant is still young, but he works vigorously and resolutely, and has a very holy heart. He went on to say: "With General Wei in charge, Qin Guan is impossible to occupy, but the worst is that we are unprepared. General Wei was still arranging matters in Yuzhou, and Qin Guan was suddenly attacked and caught off guard. Reasonable."
Xue Changfeng couldn't stand the two literati, you said one sentence to another, and he simply picked out the words and said: "Then you can only call Qin Chuan back again. I don't think it's worth arguing here for such trivial matters."
Wei Yuanting sneered, but turned to the emperor. The emperor didn't know what his expression was. He only heard him say, "What does General Xue think?"
"The matter is that the dog is not thinking well, then let my northern army solve it, okay?" The last question, Xue Changfeng said to the emperor with a bow.
Right now Wei Yuanting just wants to put the blame on him. If he emphasizes who is right and who is wrong, he will shirk the responsibility, for fear that it will not be good in the eyes of the emperor.
As soon as these words came out, the emperor's face relaxed a lot, and he quickly motioned him to get up: "That would be the best."
Wei Yuanting immediately responded: "Then our Shangzhou army will stick to the defense line and wait for General Xue's support."
It didn't take long for the matter to be negotiated any better countermeasures, and everyone left the council. Wei Yuanting and Xue Changfeng went out one after the other, followed by Shang Xu and Yuanzhi.
Wei Yuanting smiled and said, "General Xue really has a good son."
"It's ridiculous."
"General Xue returned to the capital this time, but stopped at Yanluo Pavilion again?"
When Xue Changfeng heard the words, his face was displeased and he did not answer.
Wei Yuanting was in a good mood when he saw what he said, and he laughed out loud: "If I, Xuan Guo's soldiers, know that General Dingbei is still so infatuated, that's really..."
"Brother Wei, speaking of infatuation, aren't we half a pound?"
Wei Yuanting's expression turned cold immediately, Xue Changfeng thought it was not enough, and asked again: "By the way, has Brother Wei's eldest son grown up recently? If the son of the dignified General Wei can't lead troops to fight, that's really..." With the exact same sentence pattern, Xue Changfeng turned Wei Yuanting back again.
Wei Yuanting walked away with a pale face.
Xue Changfeng was walking outside the palace gate. Wei Yuanting and Shang Xu had already left. Seeing that there was no one around, Yuan Zhi quickly walked to Xue Changfeng's side and whispered, "General, there is something wrong with this matter."
"I guess so, but I didn't expect that in order to pull me down, Wei Yuanting would be able to take on major national affairs."
"The emperor's health is not as good as the day, who is not in a hurry." Yuan Zhi said, and looked around again, for fear that someone would listen to the wall, and he looked extremely cautious, "Ziqin will lose this time, the general still thinks about it. It's better to protect yourself, after all, that person in the palace shares weal and woe with the general."
"I know." Xue Changfeng said, looking at the sky and thinking for a while, then he said, "Wei Yuanting has that unworthy son, he is destined to be unable to fight me."
"I sent someone to inquire quietly. The first prince and Wei Yuanting got close. It's not necessarily his hand. Maybe it's Wuqu's use of the topic, but..."
"but?"
"But Wei Yuanting's ability, you and I both know, Wuqu and Suiguo were able to enter the Qin Pass, and he was afraid that he would turn a blind eye and give a chance. It will take time for the Northern Army to come, and if the losses here are heavy, this The account is probably going to be counted on the general's head."
"What method did Wei Yuanting use to make the emperor believe that he can't beat him?"
"General, you are not as good as him in this respect. Everyone wants to make contributions, but if you show weakness appropriately, I'm afraid it will be more pleasing in front of the emperor." Yuan Zhi said, and gave Xue Changfeng a deep look.
The meaning is very clear, and there is no need to say more.
Xue Changfeng nodded: "The loss has already been taken, so just make up for it."