Yue Qiong sent three urgent reports on military intelligence that day, and arrived at the capital after walking for seven days on the road. It was already late April, and the news of the barbarian invasion of Cangzhou completely broke the tranquility of the capital. The ministers were discussing matters, and when everyone heard this, they were all confused.
Ge Yangdao, Minister of the Ministry of War, "Your Majesty, now that the barbarians have entered Cangzhou, and they are coming fiercely, although we still don't know how they got the news and how they gathered so many troops, Cangzhou has already fallen. In every prefecture and county in the land, I think that we should send troops to reinforce immediately. The army that was preparing for the westward expedition is now stationed in the north of Luozhou. If we send troops immediately, we can arrive in more than ten days. If we want to come to the Marquis of Anyang, we can still resist One or two."
Wei Guogong Peng Huaichu also said, "Your Majesty, Cangzhou fell once decades ago, but this time, it may be worse than that one. The barbarians have not been able to cross Canglong Mountain for so many years. I'm afraid the ambition will overwhelm the sky, the imperial court must send troops to reinforce it quickly."
Having said that, all the other officials echoed, but Yan Han on the high seat frowned and thought for a while without saying a word.
Then, other people also stood up to remonstrate, and when they finished speaking, they all had the same meaning, saying that they must send troops to stop the barbarians in the north, and they must not be allowed to go south.
After hearing this, Yan Han said, "Since that's the case, Ge Yang is in charge of mobilizing troops, and the various divisions of the Ministry of War will coordinate to prepare troops and armaments as soon as possible, and go north for reinforcements as soon as possible."
Hearing what Yan Han said, everyone felt a little relieved, and the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War were busy all at once. After the court, Yan Han called Lin Zhang and Ge Yang to the imperial study together.
When he arrived at the imperial study, Yan Han said, "This time, I plan to use Commander Lin as your deputy general. What do you think?"
Lin Zhang was slightly surprised, "Your Majesty, how will the imperial guards be arranged when the minister leaves?"
Yan Han quickly said, "Leave it to Zhao Yu for the time being, and you and Ge Yang can lead the troops to the north together."
Ge Yang naturally had no objection when he heard the words, but he was a little suspicious in his heart. Could it be that Yan Han didn't believe him, and that's why he let Lin Zhang accompany him
You know, Lin Zhang, the commander of the imperial guards, is the person Yan Han trusts the most.
Thinking of this, Ge Yang sighed slightly in his heart, and he didn't dare to show any strangeness on his face.
Lin Zhang had no objection to asking Zhao Yu to lead the imperial guards temporarily, so he had no choice but to agree. Yan Han gave Ge Yang some more words, and let Ge Yang go to work by himself, leaving Lin Zhang alone. Ge Yang had already left, so he said, "Why does Your Majesty want the general to accompany you?"
Yan Han narrowed his eyes when he heard the words, and said, "The news of the North has reached our ears, guess, will Yan Chi know about it?"
Lin Zhang's pupils moved, "I should... know."
Yan Han narrowed his eyes and said, "Cangzhou fell, and Wuzhou, Fengzhou, and Chongzhou were next. Although Fengzhou is the closest to Cangzhou, but now Fengzhou is guarded by Yue Qiong, it must be able to last for a long time. The barbarians Although people are ruthless, they rarely have strategies. I'm afraid they won't fight Yue Qiong to death. In this case, they will naturally choose Wuzhou and Chongzhou. Chongzhou is now with the Beifu Army. Wuzhou, now there is only an empty shell, and the barbarians will definitely not let it go."
Lin Zhang's eyes brightened slightly, "Wuzhou is further south to Mengzhou. Your Majesty means..."
Yan Han nodded, "If there is a loss in Mengzhou, it is Shuoxi. A person like Yan Chi, like Prince Rui, will not sit idly by. I'm afraid most of them will have sent troops to Mengzhou."
Lin Zhang was a bit surprised, "So your majesty is going to focus on Shuoxi?"
Yan Han nodded, "Now that the barbarians have entered the Great Zhou Dynasty, the situation is even more chaotic, but there are new opportunities in the chaos. I want you to follow Ge Yang because I want you to wait for news from me. Ge Yang is too much of a man. Zhongzheng, I am the messenger, I am afraid that he will hesitate, you follow, so I can rest assured."
Lin Zhang hesitated to speak, Yan Han said, "Don't you want to save your nephew?"
Both Lin Xie and Lin Xugui are still in Yanchi's hands, and Lin Xie is Lin Zhang's nephew.
Having said that, Lin Zhang clasped his fists and said, "Okay, I would like to obey His Majesty's orders."
In order to increase the number of troops, the court quickly arranged, but the news spread to all parts of the capital, and the Anyang Marquis Mansion was full of lights and festoons. When the news came, Yue Jia and Princess Taichang couldn't help discussing in the hall.
Yue Jia said, "Suddenly such an accident happened, and there is no extra person around my father. Grandma, why don't I go to invite officials tomorrow and go north to follow my father."
Princess Taichang hesitated a little when she heard the words, "This... is good, but your father has already gone to the north. If you go, who will support our family? Also, the day after tomorrow will be the day of your sister's big wedding." Today, how can you leave at this time, you have to leave, and you should go after your wedding."
Princess Taichang sighed, and the Jiang family nodded along, and Yue Jia stopped talking after hearing the words.
Yue Ning is about to get married, and it is a great pity that Yue Qiong is not here. Now if his elder brother also leaves, there is really no one to take care of him. Only Yue Qing is alone. On the day of the big banquet, even the male guests will be received. But come on, Yue Jia sighed, "Yes, what grandma said is right, let's talk about it after my sister gets married."
Having said that, Princess Taichang looked at Yue Jia again and said, "Your sister's wedding is ahead of you. Now, it's time for you to think about it."
Hearing this, Yue Jia didn't mean to reject it, because he was getting older, so he naturally had to think about marrying his wife back, Jiang said with a smile, "Mother, speaking of this matter, I want to talk to you Let me tell you one thing, I was a guest at the Marquis of Wu'an's residence the day before yesterday, and I met Mrs. Wei Guogong, do you remember Jin'er from her family?"
Princess Taichang, the young lady of Duke Wei's family, naturally remembers, "Why don't you remember? She's a neat girl, what's the matter? Are you interested in our Jia'er?"
Jiang nodded, but then frowned and said, "However, there is still one joint. This Jin'er intended to oppose the Qin family's eldest son earlier. Fortunately, their parents had mentioned this matter. It was already a verbal agreement, but later Qin Something happened to the family, which delayed the delay. Although the Qin family is not considered a sinful family now, it has become a common family and faded out of the circle of the capital. Naturally, this family is not easy to continue, so they know Jiaer When I came back, I fell in love with Jiaer."
Princess Taichang frowned a few times, "Jin'er is good, she just talked about marriage with the Qin family, and now it's us... If there is no Wan girl, we are also related to the Qin family, but this is not good-looking. , Forget it, this marriage is impossible."
Hearing this, Jiang said with a smile, "I think so too, so I didn't respond to Mrs. Wei Guogong's words that day, but Mrs. Wu'anhou, who knew that I was worried about Jia'er's marriage that day, proposed a grandnephew to me. , is a member of the Su family in Luozhou."
Princess Taichang raised her eyebrows, "Is it the Luozhou Su family with five Jinshi?"
The Jiang family laughed, "Exactly, the Mu family of the Su family and the empress dowager's mother are both first-class families in Luozhou. A niece of Mrs. Wu'an Marquis married the Su family, and this girl is this niece. The child, now fifteen years old, is a well-known talented girl in Luozhou, with an excellent appearance and character."
Princess Taichang smiled, "That sounds good, you go to visit the Marquis of Wu'an another day, settle the matter, and meet the girl if you have a chance, Jia'er's temperament is a bit boring, you have to find her." Only those with a better temperament can play harmoniously."
Yue Jia was listening calmly, but in his heart he was thinking about the war in the north. After talking about Yue Jia, Jiang became worried about Yue Ning again, "Ning'er has been shutting up in the yard for the past few days. It's like she's sick, I really don't know what's wrong with her, I asked a few times and she didn't tell me, she asked the doctor to see her, but she didn't see the doctor either."
Having said that, Princess Taichang and Yue Jia both looked solemn. Not only Jiang could see Yue Ning's abnormality, but everyone felt that something was wrong. However, Yue Ning was not a lively and outgoing person at all. There is no close friend in the boudoir, and no one knows what she thinks when she comes and goes.
The Taichang Princess looked at the lanterns with happy characters hanging outside and sighed, "I don't know why, I always feel that Ning'er doesn't like this marriage, I'm afraid it's... something bad."
Jiang and Yue Jia looked at each other, but they were also in a daze.
At the same time, the servant next to Yue Ning was repeating to Yue Ning what Princess Taichang had said before.
After hearing this, Yue Ning said, "Really? Cangzhou was slaughtered?!"
The little fellow said, "Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of people in Cangzhou, but only a thousand escaped. Now Lord Hou will not be able to come back in the north in a short time. He then went north to find Lord Hou."
Yue Ning's face was a little depressed, she was speechless for a while after hearing these words, and then turned her eyes to look outside at the gloomy sky.
Seeing Yue Ning's expression, the young man didn't dare to say much, but the servant girl who was close to him said, "Princess, what's wrong with you, Madam and the old lady are very worried these days, the day after tomorrow is the wedding day, But you are not interested at all, otherwise, you are going to meet Prince Yanze?"
After meeting Yan Ze more than ten days ago, Yue Ning stayed in the mansion obediently waiting to be married, and although the two families are related, it is the custom of the Great Zhou that men and women are not allowed to meet before marriage, so Yan Ze never took the initiative to go to the mansion again. Therefore, these days, the two have not met again.
Yue Ning stood up in a daze when she heard the words, then walked to the door in a daze, raised her eyes and looked out, the sky was full of dark clouds, just like her current state of mind, Yue Ning lost her mind for a while , suddenly said, "Brother just said, does he want to go north immediately?"
"Yes, it's just that Princess Taichang is worried that the eldest son will have an accident in the north, and feels that the princess's marriage is currently, and she should not leave her."
Yue Ning nodded when she heard the words, then glanced at the newly decorated courtyard outside, and said suddenly, "What's a marriage in the face of a national crisis?"
The green chess at the side didn't hear clearly, "What did you say, princess?"
Yue Ning shook her head, and just ordered, "Take out my Chengying Sword, and tidy up the clothes I often wear."
Green Chess smiled, "It's been prepared a long time ago, and these are all to be brought over."
Yue Ning didn't speak, just stood at the door blankly for a long time.
Early the next morning, Lvqi got up and went outside the main room, but saw that the door was closed tightly. The little girl stood guard at the door, and waited for Yue Ning to get up to take care of freshening up, while she went to the kitchen to bring breakfast, and came back after two cups of tea, but saw that the door was still closed, the little girl The girl also said that Yue Ning hadn't gotten up yet.
Lu Qi glanced at the sky today, and frowned slightly, "If it was a normal day, the princess would have woken up a long time ago, could it be that he is sick?"
After Green Chess finished speaking, he went forward to knock on the door, but no one answered after several knocks. This time Green Chess panicked and hurriedly pushed the door. Unexpectedly, the door opened after this push, and Green Chess yelled a few times. The princess hurriedly headed towards the inner room, but when she got to the room, she saw that the bedding was neatly placed on the bed, it didn't look like someone had slept on it at all, and Lu Qi immediately became flustered, "Princess?! Lord, where are you?!"
Lvqi yelled and went to Nuan Pavilion, but didn't see Yue Ning's person, but only saw a letter on the couch!
Lvqi stepped forward to take a look, but saw the words "Grandmother Qi" written on it, Lvqi's complexion changed, and hurriedly took the letter and went to find Princess Taichang!
After arriving at Princess Taichang, as soon as Green Qi explained the reason, Princess Taichang took the letter and opened it. After reading a few words, her face changed. Gradually, Princess Taichang's complexion became more and more ugly, and finally , the whole person fell down and sat on the low couch. At this moment, Jiang Shi, Yue Jia and others rushed over after receiving the news, and asked what happened. Princess Taichang handed the letter to Jiang Shi, and said with a wry smile, "Ning'er left, told Jia'er to go north quickly to help, said she... said she went to find girl Guan!"
Jiang and Yue Jia read the letter respectively, and their faces were all gloomy. Jiang said angrily, "It's really nonsense, and they just left without saying a word! Jia'er, is there still time to chase after her? She is alone." People go out, what if someone is good or bad!"
Yue Jia said, "I'm afraid it's too late, you know my sister's temperament."
The Princess Taichang sighed, "Forget it, it's no wonder she's always been wrong these days. There must be some unspeakable difficulties in her heart. If this is the case, can we still force her to marry?! It's up to now , and send a few people to the west to look for it to see if they can catch up, and if they catch up, there is no need to come back, all you need to do is to protect her well, the rest of us, just think about how to solve tomorrow's affairs."
Jiang was angry and worried about Yue Ning, "What should I do now? This is a marriage gift from Yizhi... Fortunately, because of the incident last year, I didn't dare to invite so many people. Now I can only talk about it one by one. The point is how Ze'er is doing. Is it okay? Ning'er is a girl, how dare she go to the west by herself?!"
Jiang remembers going around, and went to ask Luqi again. Luqi told Yue Ning's confession yesterday, and everyone knew that she had this intention long ago. Seeing this, Princess Taichang had no choice but to say, "Come with me, let's go to Prince Yi Let's take a trip to the mansion, I have to pull down my old face to cook for her!"
Jiang felt guilty again, "It's really because I didn't control her well and let my mother worry about such things."
Princess Taichang shook her head, "Compared to this matter, I want to know what made Ning'er change so much that she doesn't even want to get married!"