Chang'an, East Palace.
In the hot summer, Shen Li Fugua, the low-lying Tai Chi Palace is particularly humid and sultry this year, the moss in front of the promenade steps is mottled, and a thin layer of water vapor on the Capricorn pattern floor tiles reflects the wet light.
Amidst the roaring cicadas, the chamberlain led a young man in a turquoise official robe through the winding corridor to the front of the bookstore.
The eunuch had long been waiting in front of the threshold, and when he heard footsteps, he greeted him with a smile on his face.
"People from Dushe, His Royal Highness has been waiting for a long time."
Du Sinan didn't even look at the eunuch, nodded, and stepped inside with an arrogant attitude.
The smile on the eunuch's face did not change.
For more than a year, Du Sinan, a scholar from the Han family of Southern Chu, has made great contributions many times, protecting the golden city, killing Beirong Xizuo, and sending envoys to Southern Chu and Xishu. Tongue forced Nanchu and Great Wei to make a covenant and relieved Great Wei's worries, so he was summoned by Li De repeatedly. Every time he is called to him, he can answer fluently. Li Delong is very happy. He has been promoted many times. He has grown steadily. In a blink of an eye, he has moved from a white-clothed scholar to Zhongshusheren. trusted confidant.
Hearing that Du Sinan is not married yet, the aristocratic families in Beijing are vying to hire official media to come to the house to ask for marriage, wanting to take this upstart as his son-in-law. Everyone is envious of Xin, but Du Sinan refuses all official media that propose marriage, saying that his family is a little cold and he does not dare to climb up the aristocratic family.
The eunuch did not understand the turbulent undercurrents in the court, but after all, he had followed Li Xuanzhen for many years. Judging from the usual words and deeds of the father and son, they obviously relied more on officials from a poor family. Du Sinan is now in the heart of the emperor, and he is very important. Let him be arrogant and arrogant. , the eunuch will not offend him.
For these despicable eunuchs, when to hold someone up and when to ignore someone, it only depends on the attitude of the emperor and the prince, and everything else has nothing to do with them.
There are a few lush pomegranate trees in front of the window, the open canopy covers half of the courtyard, the window screen is full of green, and the light in the house is dim.
Du Sinan walked in, turned a few large screens inlaid with mica, and came to the piano room.
The aroma of the tea was wafting and the heat was lingering. The little waiter knelt on the side and pulled the small bellows, and the fire swayed with red tongues in front of the stove.
Li Xuanzhen leaned beside the couch, her face was calm, her eyes were dark, she was dressed in the uniform of the crown prince, the round neck robe was straight and wide, and the brocade was tied around the waist, which outlined a thin curve, and her figure was much thinner than when Du Sinan saw him last time. .
This year, the prince has changed a lot.
In the past, he was kind to his subordinates, took the lead on the battlefield, never left any sergeant behind, was gentle and tolerant, polite and virtuous, but he couldn't hide the gloom in his bones, always trying to harm the seventh princess and the second prince, and the hero was saddened by the beauty, often Because Princess Fukang did some unthinkable things, even ignoring her life, which attracted the attention of the Minister of the Central Government.
Now, Princess Fukang has disappeared, the seventh princess died outside the fortress, the second prince lost everything, and left Beijing to go outside the fortress. The prince's revenge was avenged, the person he loved left, the prince's position was stable, and it seemed that he began to become peaceful and calm, no longer capricious, and no longer hated the Xie family.
The DPRK Minister was very pleased.
Du Sinan glanced over Li Xuanzhen's handsome face, and sneered in his heart: a pot of water sizzled before it boiled, but after it boiled, the sound became softer, the prince did not become calm.
He bowed his head and saluted Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen got up and did not accept his courtesy.
Du Sinan took his seat and thought to himself that the Crown Prince Lixian Corporal was not a lie, but it was not a rumor that the Crown Prince was cruel and ruthless. At the beginning, the Crown Prince mistook him for the second prince Li Zhongqian and immediately killed him. This decision was definitely not a soft-hearted person.
Opposite Li Xuanzhen sat a young official with delicate features and a cyan official robe similar to that of Du Sinan. It was Zheng Jing, the son of the prime minister. There was a flood in the Jingnan area, and the two were just discussing disaster relief.
Zheng Jing greeted Du Sinan with a nod and asked, "People from Du She, Nan Chu is easy to store again?"
Du Sinan returned to his senses and said: "The prince of Nanchu injured people with a horse and was caught by the courtiers. In order to preserve his reputation, the prince actually killed and silenced the ministers in the court. There was a lot of discussion in Nanchu, and the ministers knelt outside the palace gate and cried. , The Emperor of Southern Chu is helpless and can only store it easily."
Zheng Jing smiled slightly.
It was he and Du Sinan who planned this easy storage in Nan Chu.
As the saying goes, they use the way of their own to repay their own body. After they found out Nan Chu's meticulous work, they used those meticulous works to find out about Nan Chu's intelligence network, and released false news to confuse Nan Chu, so that Nan Chu was convinced that Da Wei would not dare to do it. The soldiers went south, wanting to govern with Nanchu by river.
Later, rumors were released that the generals of Southern Chu were fighting because they were originally from the north.
Southern Chu was rich and prosperous. Most of the officials from Southern Chu were satisfied with their extravagant life in a remote corner of the country, and they were unwilling to go to war with the Great Wei. Sure enough, Shang Shu impeached the main war faction in the DPRK, saying that they were nostalgic for their homeland because of their own selfishness. Disregarding the life and death of tens of thousands of soldiers in Southern Chu, disloyalty and filial piety.
The main battle faction was weak, and the emperor was helpless, so he could only reprimand a few generals of the main station to appease people's hearts.
After letting Nan Chu destroy the Great Wall, Du Sinan took action to provoke the relationship between the Prince of Nanchu and several other princes, intensifying the conflicts between the courtiers and the prince, fanning the flames and inserting needles. In just two months, the newly established prince was also abolished. .
Du Sinan is not a military general, he doesn't care how vicious and insidious his methods are, as long as he can weaken Nan Chu, he can do anything.
To subdue a soldier without fighting is the way to go to war.
The small red clay stove made a rustling sound of burning.
Du Sinan continued: "There are many families in Nanchu, and the grandfathers of several princes in the dynasty are all local nobles. In the past, the princes were at odds with each other. In the past two years, the throne has changed frequently, and the ministers in the dynasty are inevitably involved. Among them, several major families in Southern Chu have intermarried from generation to generation, and their roots are intertwined.
"The hidden piles we buried have been prepared. When the time comes, the inside and the outside should be combined. Du Mou can be sure that within two years, the Nanchu Dynasty will be turbulent!"
His icy voice echoed in the piano room.
Zheng Jing continued his words: "Southern Chu's monarchs and ministers serve the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, and have contempt for me, the Great Wei. There are constant disputes between the courts and conflicts between the southerners and northerners. In order to appease the southerners, the emperor of Southern Chu has If the arm is broken, the northerners are innocently wronged, and we can send people to persuade them to abandon the darkness and turn to the light."
Regardless of whether those Northerners are willing to switch to Great Wei or not, as long as they release the news that the Northerners and the Great Wei are in close contact, Southern Chu will definitely not reuse them in the future.
After listening to the two of them, Li Xuanzhen nodded and asked, "What if Xishu and Nanchu formed an alliance?"
Du Sinan sneered and said: "The Meng clan of Xishu is short-sighted and cowardly. He has no strength to fight for hegemony, but he has the will to fight for hegemony. Before that, we can say that Nanchu will join us to attack Xishu. We only need Xu Yiqian Zhongdao, Shannan Xidao and other places, and Nanchu will definitely be tempted. Then we will secretly lobby Xishu to let them join us in attacking Nanchu. Divide the Jiangnan West Road to Xishu, and Xishu must be hesitant."
"At that time, we will deliberately release news to let Xishu and Nanchu think that they have reached an agreement with us. At that time, will they dare to form an alliance with each other?"
Zheng Jing's scalp was numb when he heard it, he thought for a while, and nodded in agreement: "When we attack Xishu, the civil strife in Southern Chu will not end, but will intensify. "
Du Sinan remembered something, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The reason why Du is so determined is because of one person."
Li Xuanzhen raised her eyes: "Which expert?"
Du Sinan said word by word, "Princess Wenzhao."
Gudu Gudu, the white water in the tea stalks boiled, and the pearl-like fine foam rolled up and down.
The three men lowered their eyes at the same time, looking at the churning strings of fine foam in the tea sash.
After a long time, Li Xuanzhen first broke the silence: "Why do you say that?"
The voice was low and hoarse, as if restraining something.
Du Sinan said slowly: "The letter from Princess Wenzhao not only reminded me to beware of Beirong, Nanchu, and Xishu, but also pointed out that there are many conflicts between Nanchu and Xishu, and we only need to use Qianzhong Road as bait to make it happen. The two countries are at odds with each other, and also mentioned the disputes in the Nanchu court, this time Nanchu Yichu, I used Princess Wenzhao's strategy."
"Princess Wenzhao seems to know Nanchu and Xishu very well, and the reaction of the two countries is exactly the same as what she wrote in her letter. She said that the alliance between Nanchu and Xishu is not strong, and only a little provocation can break the relationship between the two countries. Du thinks that Princess Wenzhao predicts things like a god."
This time, Li Xuanzhen was silent for a longer time, and the curling water mist seemed to cast a cloud over his handsome side face.
Zheng Jing interjected: "Princess Wenzhao grew up in Jingnan. Jingnan is close to Nanchu and Xishu, and the Xie family has been operating in Jingnan for many years. It is not surprising that Princess Wenzhao knows Nanchu and Xishu so well."
Li Xuanzhen hummed lightly, sat in a trance, her eyes blank.
Du Sinan couldn't help but ask, "What do you think of this plan, Your Highness?"
Li Xuanzhen regained his senses, pondered for a while, and silently chewed on the conversation just now.
If the plan goes well, Da Wei will be able to achieve the feat of dominating the world in the fastest time and with the least consumption.
Then, when the Great Wei pacifies the world and raises his troops to the west, he will have enough troops to fight against the Northern Rong.
He made a decision in his heart and said to Du Sinan, "The people of Du She are worthy of being the sons of the sage, and they plan to win thousands of miles away."
Du Sinan said, "Your Highness is wrong."
The tone of voice is modest, but the expression on his face is a bit cold and arrogant.
Zheng Jing shook his head secretly.
Li Xuanzhen went to the palace to face the saint, and discussed specific plans with Li De. The two left, and Zheng Jing reminded Du Sinan: "The Du She people have been too popular recently, be careful with Mu Xiu Yulin."
Du Sinan sneered and said: "I am different from Zheng Shilang. Zheng Shilang is a son of a famous noble family. As soon as he started his official career, he was a close minister to the emperor. I, Du Sinan, came from a humble background. , Now the saints rely on me eclectically, how can I let go of this opportunity? Even if the cunning rabbit dies and the running dog cooks, I, Du Sinan, will also become a superior person, fulfill my ambition, and make great achievements."
Zheng Jing was speechless.
Du Sinan is a knife in Li De's hands, a knife that is sharply polished and ready to slash at the family. The aristocratic family was keenly aware of Li De's intentions, and wanted to bribe Du Sinan and pull him into the family's camp. For this reason, they did not hesitate to let go of the aristocratic family's restraint and marry Xu Yi. They thought that a poor boy like him would be ecstatic. I didn't want to refuse either.
Zheng Jing is a child of the Zheng family, and he has heard a lot of rumors recently. If Du Sinan insists on going his own way, the aristocratic family will never be soft-hearted.
"The Dushe people have really made up their minds? The saints and princes can protect you for a while, but not for the rest of your life, not to mention the death of the cunning rabbits. How many officials like the Dushe people can die in good graces in all dynasties?"
The corner of Du Sinan's mouth twitched, but he didn't care: "Although Shang Yang was brutally dismembered by five horses, he still succeeded in reforming his laws. His name is left in the Qing Dynasty.
Zheng Jing smiled and was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Does the Dushe people not want to marry a daughter from an aristocratic family, does it have something to do with the Seventh Princess?"
Du Sinan's expression froze.
Zheng Jing smiled and said: "Du She people are arrogant and talented, but they come from a slightly cold background. In the past in Southern Chu, they made an oath in public that they would not marry a daughter of a non-aristocratic family, so they worked hard and vowed to stand out. The aristocratic family in Beijing is willing to The daughter-in-law is married, why did you refuse?"
Du Sinan's face sank, he glanced at Zheng Jing coldly, and retorted: "Zheng Shilang is a son of a famous family, with a noble birth and a promising future. He has not yet married. There are only concubines in the mansion, and the middle feed is taken care of by his cousin. Why don't you marry a wife?"
The smile on Zheng Jing's face faded little by little.
The two were relatively speechless.
Zheng Jing turned around, looked at the lush pomegranate tree in front of the court, stood with his hands behind his back, and said softly, "I have seen a girl like the Seventh Princess, and I personally sent her to marry..."
Dressed in a flower hairpin dress, she boarded the carriage in the presence of civil and military officials.
In this life, Zheng Jing will never forget that delicate and slender back.
He can't remember when he fell in love with the Seventh Princess. At that time, he didn't think it was unforgettable, it was just the love and longing of young people. After the seventh princess got married, he thought that this relationship would fade away with the passage of time, but the result was the opposite. Not only did the regret not fade away, on the contrary, it left a deep imprint in his heart, leaving a scar, always. Inadvertent sudden pain.
Like old wine in a cellar, the longer it ages, the more mellow it becomes.
Zheng Jing's words were only half said, but Du Sinan could understand what he had left unfinished.
"I, Du Mou, came from a humble background... I'm not worthy of a girl from an aristocratic family."
Du Sinan was silent for a while, then said leisurely.
The two were speechless for a while.
After standing for a while, Zheng Jing walked down the steps, glanced left and right, and lowered his voice: "Wei Ming is gone."
Du Sinan's eyelids jumped.
Zheng Jing said calmly: "The one who started is Duke Wei."
"Li Zhongqian? Didn't he go to Helong?"
Zheng Jing said: "Guo Wei knew that the East Palace was on guard, and when he returned to Beijing, he did not immediately launch an attack. The people who were missing a few days ago were the ones who did it. The people who did it were left by Duke Wei."
Du Sinan thoughtfully said, "The Duke of Wei just wants to find the Seventh Princess as soon as possible, so that she will not be buried in a foreign land... Waiting for the Duke of Wei to come back..."
Li Zhongqian would kill Wei Ming with his own hands.
and then
He wanted to kill more than just one Wei Ming.
The two walked out of the corridor side by side, and the atmosphere was a little stagnant. Zheng Jing suddenly changed the topic: "Will the Dushe people serve in the East Palace in the future?"
Du Sinan's pupils shrank slightly, raised his head, and glared at Zheng Jing.
Zheng Jing's face was as usual.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Du Sinan sneered: "I was once suspected by the prince, and Wei Ming's servant has harmed me again and again. There is already a rift between me and the East Palace."
Zheng Jing narrowed his eyes.
Du Sinan snorted coldly and said, "Zheng Shilang knows my reputation. In order to stand out, I can do whatever it takes. Only when I gain a firm foothold in the court will I have the confidence to negotiate with others."
The two exchanged glances, tacitly.
They are all self-interested, calm and rational, and everything they do now is to climb to the top of power.
Therefore, even if they were angry with Li De and asked the seventh princess to marry, they still entered the court for power and ran for fame and fortune.
The seventh princess' long-distance marriage made them understand that only by having power can they protect the people they care about.
Until then, they don't care who they allegiance to or who they're collaborating with.
As for whether the two of them will become enemies, that is a matter of the future.
At least, before Li Zhongqian came back, they had the same interests.
…
Li Xuanzhen reported Du Sinan's plans to Li De. In fact, these plans have already been implemented secretly. Now they need to make a decision: whether to attack Xishu
Li De was afraid that Bei Rong would turn around and march south, and thought he could wait.
Li Xuanzhen said: "Haidu Aling couldn't be attacked for a long time, and they decided to withdraw their troops because their main forces were concentrated in the North Road of the Western Regions, and the supply of food, grass and armament was insufficient. Now that Southern Chu has just been easily stored, and several generals have been demoted, it is impossible for them to be able to do it for a while. Deploying troops and condemning generals, we promise benefits, they will definitely stand by and watch, now is a good time for us to attack Xishu, if we delay it again and again, when Beirong turns around and marches east, how can we resist the enemy?"
Li De was still hesitant.
Li Xuanzhen stood up and said, "I would like to issue a military order. If the Chengdu mansion cannot be conquered within three months, I will leave it to the sage to deal with it."
Li De frowned, raised his eyes, and his eyes fell on Li Xuanzhen's face.
He has been fighting outside this month, and when he returned to Chang'an, he ran around to attack Xishu. He lost a lot of weight and looked a little haggard, but his phoenix eyes were glowing like two flaming flames.
Li De sighed.
Zhu Luyun disappeared, he went crazy like this
This son grew up by himself... Li De weighed it and motioned the eunuch to spread paper and ink, and write the edict to send troops.
He couldn't stop his son.
The DPRK and the Central Committee began to prepare intensively for the expedition. Du Sinan went to Nanchu again to persuade Nanchu and Dawei to join hands to divide up Xishu. At the same time, rumors were released that Xishu was planning to join forces with Dawei to divide up Nanchu, in order to delay the time and prevent Nanchu. Chu and Xishu formed an alliance.
Li Xuanzhen asked himself to be the striker and set off first with the flying cavalry team.
Zheng Biyu sent him on an expedition with a heavy heart.
Last night, Li Xuanzhen asked her one thing: "If there is news from Helong, be sure to send a fast horse to the front line, no matter how big or small, don't delay."
Zheng Biyu's heart skipped a beat: "Helong news?"
Li Xuanzhen glanced at her: "I sent people to follow Li Zhongqian, and they will send back news every few days."
Zheng Biyu's hands trembled slightly: "Why did Your Highness send someone to follow Duke Wei?"
Li Xuanzhen's long and narrow phoenix eyes were like stagnant water, without a trace of waves.
"I wonder if he found it."
Zheng Biyu looked at her husband's calm, almost weird face, and did not dare to ask any more questions.
Li Xuanzhen has changed.
He is like a manic person who is eager for quick success and instant profit. He only wants to conquer Xishu as soon as possible. He doesn't care about other things at all. Zhu Luyun has been missing for so long, and he didn't even ask a question.
An ominous premonition lingered in Zheng Biyu's mind. She tossed and turned, afraid to sleep, and sent people to inquire about news from the front line every day, for fear that something happened to Li Xuanzhen.
In half a month, the three-way army set off successively and attacked Xishu in three separate lines.
The monarchs and ministers of Southern Chu were indeed short-sighted, and promised to join forces with Dawei to attack Xishu, and soon sent two armies to attack the southernmost important town in Xishu by water.
The two countries suddenly attacked, Xishu hurriedly responded, and the Meng family had to divide their forces to meet the enemy.
Li Xuanzhen took the lead and led a 30,000-strong army to storm the northern checkpoint of Xishu. The momentum was like a bamboo, and the battle was fierce. He broke more than ten cities within a month. Chengdu Prefecture was in an emergency. The princes and nobles in the city packed up and fled.
Half a month later, when the soldiers approached the city, the King of Shu beheaded Ji's concubine in desperation, set fire to the palace that he personally presided over and built, and died for the country.
Li Xuanzhen fought bloody battles, led the flying cavalry team to cut off the last line of defense of the Shu army, rushed up the cliff, crossed the knife immediately, dressed in blood-stained military uniform, broken armor, fleshy skin on his face, looking at the raging fire in the city from afar, there seems to be a phoenix in his eyes Two icy flames flickered.
Qin Fei hacked and slashed all the way, came behind him, followed his line of sight, and his heart suddenly beat.
The prince is afraid of fire, this is the secret of the generals.
The few people looked at each other, Qin Fei smiled, hit the first half of the horse, and said, "His Royal Highness, it's getting dark, and the soldiers have been hacking for days and nights. Why don't we fix it in place? Let's go to the city tomorrow morning."
Li Xuanzhen lowered her head and wiped the long knife on her sleeve to wipe off the sticky blood.
"Send the order and enter the city immediately."
Qin Fei was stunned for a moment, not daring to ask more, and turned his head to wink at the others.
Two days later, the good news from Lubu came back to Chang'an, Li De was overjoyed, and the three armies were commended. Long live the Wenwu Mountain in the Manchu Dynasty.
Celebrate all day.
Half a month later, Li Xuanzhen returned to court.
The people of Chang'an were all smiles, and they were still immersed in the joy of the victory of the army, looking forward to the early return of the flying cavalry team.
Li Xuanzhen, dressed as an ordinary sergeant, walked through the crowd and appeared in front of the palace gate.
The guard recognized him and was startled.
Li Xuanzhen signaled the guard not to disturb the others, and went back to the East Palace.
Zheng Biyu is leading Taisun to play Cuju in the courtyard.
Li Xuanzhen walked down the corridor, and the maids and eunuchs saw him and were about to bow down to salute.
Taisun stood under the porch and kicked the ball. He missed his kick, and the Cuju rolled in a big circle, just right at the feet of Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen looked at the Cuju under her feet with a dazed expression.
Zheng Biyu raised her head with a smile and was startled when she saw Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen picked up Cuju, walked over to her son, and touched his head.
His son was not very close to him, and he hadn't seen him for a few months. He was wearing the clothes of a soldier again. For a while, he didn't dare to recognize him, so he timidly took two steps back and hid behind Zheng Biyu.
Li Xuanzhen shook her head and laughed.
Zheng Biyu felt something, she was shocked, she closed her eyes, and took the Cuju that her husband handed over.
Li Xuanzhen looked at her, her lips wriggled a few times, she didn't know what to say, and the corner of her mouth twitched: "Mother Yu, take care."
Zheng Biyu's eyes instantly turned red, and she smiled: "Dalang, take care."
The husband and wife have been in love for a few years, but there is probably no one in this world who knows each other better than them.
Zheng Biyu had already seen Li Xuanzhen's plan, but he just couldn't believe it. Now Li Xuanzhen has conquered Western Shu, disrupted Southern Chu, promoted a group of brave generals, recommended dozens of poor children, and made arrangements for his son. He did everything he could. It's time to live for yourself.
She had mixed feelings and wanted to say a thousand words, but in the end she couldn't say a word.
Li Xuanzhen smiled at her and turned to leave.
This smile was the first time Zheng Biyu had seen him genuinely smile since she had known him for so long.
She looked at his back and burst into tears.