In the palace, a male voice singing can be heard from time to time. The red sun is already three feet high, and the golden censer is adding incense. The red brocade floor is wrinkled with every step. The beautiful woman dances with her golden hairpins, and when she is drunk, she picks up the flower buds and smells them. In another palace, the sound of flutes and drums can be heard from afar.
Li Yu's voice. This song Huan Xi Sha was written by him before, and the words are full of eroticism and luxury; but when he sang it this time, his voice was extremely sad, turning a proud poem into a sad song of commemorating and missing the past.
Hahaha Li Yu suddenly raised his head and laughed. His clothes were disheveled, and his loose belt dragged on the floor.
He paced a few steps in despair, raised his hand, and threw the paper in his hand into the air. The paper, like snowflakes outside the window, swung in the air to the ground. The erotic words on the paper flashed in the tumbling, and the red sun, golden furnace, incense beast, red brocade and golden hairpin seemed to have all kinds of beautiful petals scattered in the air.
Walking to the side of the imperial desk, Li Yu casually picked up another piece of paper. The handwriting on it was beautiful and elegant. He was slightly startled. It was Zhou Xian's handwriting: After the morning makeup, a little sandalwood is lightly applied. The lilac kernels are slightly exposed to people. A clear song temporarily leads to the cherry blossoms. The silk sleeves are stained with residual red, and the cup is soon stained with fragrant wine. Leaning on the embroidered bed, she is so charming. Chewing the red fur, she smiles and spits at her lover.
Li Yu cried, tears streaming down his face. This poem seemed to awaken his memory, and the woman's smile and frown suddenly appeared before his eyes. She was shy and gentle, and she was playful and coquettish. Li Yu thought of this failed assassination and regretted it even more. He was overwhelmed with grief and heartbroken.
Next to the imperial desk was a document, which was a letter of inquiry sent by the commander of the Zhou army in Jiangnan. It accused Li Yu of being unjust and cursed him for being mean and despicable.
Li Yu took a look, and after feeling sad, he became angry, annoyed, and afraid. He immediately grabbed the document and tore it into two pieces. Still not satisfied, he flicked his sleeves and threw it on the imperial desk. Suddenly, the memorials from ministers from all over the country piled on the desk were overturned on the floor like snowflakes.
There were too many memorials recently, and he barely read any of them. At this point, what else was there to watch? It was over, it was all over. Despair and endless darkness weighed on Li Yu's heart.
The eunuch standing outside the door heard the sound and hurriedly bent over and walked in, "Your Majesty, calm down, calm down." The eunuch knelt on the ground and crawled forward to pick up the things on the ground. Perhaps in the eyes of others, these are all military and national affairs, and are very important things.
At this moment, another eunuch hurried to the door and said impatiently: Your Majesty, Your Majesty, great joy!
What's the matter? Li Yu turned around and frowned.
The eunuch hurriedly said: Chen Qiao has mobilized 150,000 troops to the southern capital and is rushing to the mouth of the Wan River. Chen Qiao wrote a letter saying that he would rush to Jiangning Prefecture to rescue His Majesty at all costs and save the country from danger.
Li Yu's heart suddenly lifted, and his face showed surprise.
The Hukou army, especially the navy, was one of the main elite forces of the Southern Tang. Now that they were out in full force, Li Yu saw hope. He was like grabbing a life-saving straw again, and asked anxiously: Where is the report
The eunuch hurriedly said: "I will ask the officials to send it over right away."
Li Yu was so excited that he rubbed his hands and paced back and forth: Chen Qiao is a loyal minister, he is a loyal and good minister of the Southern Tang Kingdom. Come on, go and call all the ministers into the palace to discuss matters, even Han Xizai.
Han Xizai had a banquet at home last night and got drunk. He fell asleep on the couch in the hall. Opposite him, two colleagues were sleeping soundly, just like him. Snow was falling outside, but fortunately the house was quite warm. There was no flame in the brazier, which was covered with a layer of burnt white ash, but the charcoal under the ash was still red; Han Xizai and others were covered with furry blankets.
The person from the palace knocked on the door of his house and explained their purpose. When the servant heard that they were from the palace, he dared not neglect them. He asked someone to go in and call the master while welcoming the palace person into the house.
There was a commotion in Han's house, and the people in the side rooms were woken up.
A young man opened the window and took a look, then quickly hid his head again. He was the newly crowned champion Huang Can, and he was naked without even wearing any clothes. A delicate voice from the bed said: "My dear, why are you so anxious?"
Huang Can hurriedly said: "It's already dawn, it seems the palace has sent someone. I have to get dressed and get up quickly."
The woman on the bed was Xiaohong, a concubine of Han Xizai. She had been in love with the young, handsome and talented Huang Can for a long time. Finally, she took advantage of the drunkenness after the banquet last night and experienced pleasure with Huang Can.
Huang Can was very polite at first. After he passed the imperial examination, he was ambitious and prepared to make friends with colleagues, accumulate knowledge, display his talents and achieve his ambitions. Han Xizai was quite prestigious in the court and had a wide network of contacts, so Huang Can became a guest of honor in his mansion. Later, he found that Han Xizai didn't care about the concubine getting close to the guests. Once, Han Xizai accidentally caught his good friend and concubine doing something at home, and hurriedly withdrew and said, "You guys continue."
So Huang Can gradually became moved, and as a young man, he could not resist Xiaohong's temptation, and finally he stayed in Xiaohong's room last night.
At this time, Huang Can quickly got dressed, opened the side room and took a quick look outside. Seeing no one in the snow, he quickly came out and went to the living room to meet Mr. Han.
A civil servant and a eunuch were standing in the hall, looking embarrassed. Han Xizai's two guests had woken up. They stood in front of Han Xizai's couch and pushed his arm:
Hmm, Han Xizai squinted his eyes and took a look, then turned over and continued to sleep, ignoring him.
One of the guests, Chen Yong, a doctor of the Taichang Temple, turned around and bowed, saying, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Han drank too much last night, and I guess he's still drunk. Otherwise, you two go back first, and we'll wake Mr. Han up and tell him about the court summons."
The civil servant who came kept shaking his head and sighed: "State affairs are like this, you can just stop talking." Then he shook his sleeves vigorously, turned around and walked away, as if he was a little angry. The eunuch next to him, holding a whisk, also hurriedly chased after him.
After everyone had left, Han Xizai slowly woke up, sat up cross-legged, and said bewilderedly: "I'm drunk and my mouth is dry. Bring me a cup of tea."
Chen Yong hurriedly said: The person who just came was sent by His Majesty, does Lord Han know
Han Xizai said in surprise: Oh, quick, help me change my clothes.
Chen Yong said: "Maybe you want to ask Mr. Han to discuss military affairs. There is nothing more important at this critical moment. Mr. Han, what about Liu Cheng?"
Han Xizai remained silent.
The colleague next to him took over the conversation and said: Many people say that Liu Cheng is not capable. I have also heard rumors that the Zhou army is not yet ripe to attack Jiangning Prefecture, and the target may be Jingkou. Liu Cheng is in charge of the deployment in the east and controls the land and sea forces. If something goes wrong,
Chen Yong said: It's a pity that Chen Qiao went to Nandu. It would be better if he were still here. He is a brave man and Your Majesty would be willing to listen to his advice.
Colleagues beside him could not help but complain: "Your Majesty had his own ideas about sending assassins. He never asked any court officials for their opinions. Now our country is speechless in front of the world, and all of us have become treacherous officials."
Chen Yong did not comment and immediately shut up.
Huang Can, the top scholar, said: "The country is in danger. Although Chen Qiao is not here, Han Gong is also very important to your majesty. Why don't you contact other officials and jointly impeach Liu Cheng to prevent this person from harming the country?"
On what grounds should the impeachment be made? Chen Yong glanced at Huang Can. Huang Can was appointed by His Majesty. He was impeached like this without even an explanation. What basis should he use to really do this? It would be very complicated, Mr. Huang. Liu Cheng was able to make the eastern deployment and was appointed by His Majesty. He also had a group of people in the court. Otherwise, His Majesty would not even know his name. You think it is a bit too easy.
Huang Can said: How dare Chen Qiao speak frankly
Chen Yong said: Fortunately, Chen Qiao went to Nandu, otherwise he might really attack Liu Cheng. At this time, it is hard to tell the pros and cons. Liu Cheng might not fall for a while, and in order to protect himself, he was distracted by the internal struggle in the court, which would only make the situation worse. As it is now, we can stabilize Liu Cheng first and persuade him to play it safe.
Han Xizai said: Your Majesty is not a foolish ruler. We cannot blame the monarch for what has happened. We just need to do our duty and follow your Majesty's will. Oh, I shouldn't have drunk too much last night. I have a headache now. But I dare not disobey your order. Come on, help me change my clothes.