The Zhou Dynasty made some preparations in Tokyo. In fact, the preparations had already begun when they returned from the Battle of Jinyang last year; the attack on Shu at the beginning of this year was just a prelude, and even just a preliminary preparation for this war.
Xiang Xun was the first to be called back to the capital; Han Tong was appointed as the inspector of the capital's interior and exterior. The envoys of Wuyue returned to the south, taking with them the imperial edict of the Zhou Dynasty, asking Wuyue to prepare for war and attack Southern Tang together; they also sent envoys to order Nanping and Jingnan to mobilize troops to join the war.
In mid-May, the Emperor of Zhou Dynasty decided to go to war against the Southern Tang Kingdom. He sent Prime Minister Li Gu to go ahead and appointed him as the commander of the Huainan Front Army Camp and the governor of Luzhou and Shouzhou; Han Lingkun, Shi Yanchao and more than a dozen military officers and guards, cavalry and infantry followed. Ten days later, Chai Rong held a banquet in Jinxiang Hall to celebrate Xiang Xun's return to the court, and rewarded him with a golden belt, silver utensils, silk, saddle and reins. Then he appointed Xiang Xun as the governor of Tokyo, judged the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture, and had the power to appoint the guards. He appointed Wang Pu and Han Tong as deputies to stay in Tokyo.
At the end of May, Chai Rong heard from Li Gu that the Zhou army had built a floating bridge across the Huai River, and Shi Yanchao's vanguard attacked Shouzhou and defeated thousands of Southern Tang troops, and besieged Shouzhou. Chai Rong ordered the deployment of troops from various military governors; he led the elite troops of the Palace Front Department out of Tokyo, and the troops from various places marched towards Huainan in a mighty manner, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Shouzhou became the opening for Zhou's army to break through the Huaihe River defense line. It was in the middle of the Huaihe River and located southeast of Dongjing. Chai Rong sent people to urge Li Gu to attack the city, hoping to occupy Shouzhou as a foothold for attacking the Huainan army.
Fu got her wish and went with the army. She rode in a large carriage driven by four horses. The spacious carriage could reduce some bumps and the road was relatively flat; but the weather was very hot and the sun was shining directly on the roof of the carriage. The enclosed space in the carriage was like a steamer.
From time to time, she asked the female official to open the curtains for fresh air. With the curtains open, she could also see the magnificent scene outside from the carriage. The Zhou army marched on horseback on foot across the plain. Several roads in the field were lined with troops. The sky was covered with continuous dust and fog. It was as if the whole country was migrating.
Fu's mind was also diverted to the big event by such a spectacular scene. She thought for a while, and recalled some impressions of Prime Minister Li Gu. She thought: It would be better to let Li Chong, the commander of the imperial guards, go in instead of letting Li Gu lead the vanguard troops. She thought about it and gave up the idea of making suggestions to the emperor. Who knows what the emperor is thinking about Li Chong in his heart
Suddenly, she felt nauseous and came to her senses. She retched and Mu Shanggong beside her hurriedly took a white handkerchief and put it under Fu's mouth. Fu reached out and took the handkerchief and covered her mouth. Her face had turned pale.
Mu Shang Gong said in surprise: "Empress, are you okay? I will immediately notify Cao Tai to find a doctor for you."
Wait a minute. Fu grabbed Mu Shanggong and frowned, saying, "I asked to go with the army. If you can't stand sitting in this comfortable carriage, why are you here?"
Mu Shang Gong said: You didn't have to come out. The emperor is an extremely wise ruler and will definitely defeat Southern Tang. Your Majesty doesn't have to worry.
Fu shook her head, her voice filled with fatigue. “Those soldiers outside are walking under the scorching sun without complaining, so don't be so alarmed.”
Mu Shanggong looked at the queen with concern. The queen looked very delicate indeed. Her slightly pointed chin made her look more delicate and frail. She usually lived comfortably in the palace, and she really suffered when she followed him to the battle.
The central army, with the emperor's guards of honor, as well as many civil servants and eunuchs, walked very slowly. After three days of scorching sun, the troops had not yet reached Chenzhou. Fu Shi had been in a square closed steamer for three days and seemed to have gotten used to it. The maids around her felt a little relieved. However, Fu Shi was listless all day, saying that it was too bumpy. The road here was indeed quite flat, and the carriage was wide, but the bottom was made of hardwood and naturally had no shock-absorbing facilities, so it was really bumpy when walking. The soft cushions in the carriage were used to reduce vibration, but the soft blankets made the people inside feel even hotter.
Just at noon that day, the sky suddenly became overcast, and there were a few thunderclaps. Soon, the sound of rapid raindrops hitting the roof of the car could be heard. The heat from the ground evaporated the moisture from the rain, and Fu sighed: It's finally cool.
Soon, it started to rain heavily. Eunuch Cao Tai rode his horse to the carriage, dismounted and reported: We will reach Chenzhou in two hours. The emperor asked everyone to hurry on in the rain and camp in Chenzhou.
Heavy rain was blown into the carriage by the wind, and Mu Shang Gong quickly pulled down the curtains to block the rain. However, the rain was so heavy that it soon soaked all the silk and wool in the carriage, and the clothes of the two people in the carriage were also wet by the water splashing in from the gaps in the bamboo curtains.
Cough, cough, cough. Fu covered her mouth and coughed a few times. Mu Shanggong was very anxious. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and said immediately: "Oh, it's so hot. What should I do?"
Fu ate a few times, took a breath and said: Didn't we say that we will reach the town in two hours? When we get to Chenzhou, you ask Cao Tai to report to the emperor and tell him that I am sick.
Mu Shang Gong asked: Is your Majesty going to endure for two hours like this
Fu forced a smile and said: "If you ask a doctor to come now, he will prescribe medicine but there is no place to boil it. It is raining so hard outside, and the government officials, who are so far away from the village and the shop, have issued an order to stay in Chenzhou."
Fu felt that she had no strength at all, and she felt sick and dizzy. The carriage was shaking again, as if the world was spinning. The most uncomfortable thing was the headache and panic, which was much more unbearable than just pain. She wanted to sleep for a while, but she was too panicked to sleep.
Seeing her like this, Mu Shang Gong didn't bother to follow her order, and quickly called Cao Tai to report to the emperor. After a while, Cao Tai came back and said: Let the coachman hurry up and drive the carriage to Chenzhou first, and then settle down for the imperial physician to see the patient. The inner palace direct horse soldiers will escort us.
The carriages and horses accelerated and rushed to Chenzhou to ask the local officials to arrange a residence. They quickly carried Fu into the bedroom. Mu Shanggong and the palace maids changed her wet clothes and hung a layer of gauze in front of the bed. After a while, an elderly imperial doctor came into the room with his entourage, carrying a box. He asked someone to take out the queen's hand and feel her pulse. The imperial doctor carefully pinched her wrist with his index finger. Everyone did not dare to breathe loudly and waited quietly.
After a while, the imperial physician said: The pulse is weak, the body is too weak, and there is poison of dampness and heat.
Then the imperial physician walked out of the bedroom and sat down at the table outside to grind ink and write the prescription. Cao Tai reminded him: Your Majesty is in a delicate condition, you must prescribe the medicine carefully.
The imperial physician stroked his gray beard and said: "Eunuch, just keep the dregs. These medicines are fine for healthy people to take. How dare I prescribe a poisonous medicine for the queen?"
Cao Tai added: But we have to prescribe the right medicine for the right condition. If it is the same as not taking it, it will delay the Queen's condition.
The imperial physician sighed, as if unable to answer, and picked up the pen and began to write carefully.
In the evening, the army arrived at Chenzhou and set up camp. The emperor came to the residence guarded by the inner palace guards and set up the headquarters there. Then he went to the inner courtyard to visit Fu. He pushed aside the gauze curtain and walked in. Fu saw that it was the emperor and struggled to sit up. Chai Rong hurriedly stepped forward and held her down, saying kindly: Don't move, just lie down peacefully. He turned around and looked at the eunuchs and palace maids standing beside him and asked: What did the imperial doctor say? What disease did the queen have
Cao Tai hurriedly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the Queen is weak and has suffered from damp heat."
Chai Rong nodded and was about to say something to comfort him. At this moment, an eunuch outside whispered: "Your Majesty, someone from Shouzhou has come and said there is an urgent matter."
Chai Rong hurriedly said to Fu: You just rest and recover, I will be back soon.
Fu said weakly: It's a big deal, I just caught a cold.
Soon someone outside hurriedly said: A large number of Southern Tang troops were coming to reinforce Zhengyang, and they were going to attack the Qianfeng floating bridge by warships. Prime Minister Li ordered Shi Yanchao and other troops who were attacking Shouzhou City to withdraw and guard the floating bridge.
Then footsteps were heard and a group of people left the inner courtyard.
Fu then remembered that she had to think about how to hint to the emperor, but her head was splitting and her mind was in a mess, so she couldn't calm down and think about it. Now that the emperor had left again, she had to give up.
After a while, she started coughing again, and Mu Shang Gong hurriedly asked the palace maid to help turn her over and gently stroked her back. At first, Fu's body was very soft, as if she had no bones, and she allowed the attendants to toss her.
She whispered again: Let Cao Tai go over and serve the emperor, see what he is doing and how the war is going on in the front.
Mu Shanggong said anxiously: Your Majesty, don't think about those things. The most important thing is to take good care of your health.
The maid brought the prepared medicine over. Mu Shang Gong first tasted it to see if it was hot or cold, then blew on it twice before asking someone to help Fu get up and drink the medicine. The maid also brought an hourglass to measure time, and each time she fed the medicine, she was careful and punctual.
Unexpectedly, there was no improvement after taking medicine every day. Instead, Fu's condition became more and more serious. After a few days, she fell into a coma every day and could only eat soft white rice porridge. She refused to eat any oily or meaty food.
Chai Rong thought that the imperial physicians accompanying the army were not very skilled, so he ordered a fast horse to go to Tokyo to summon other imperial physicians. They traveled quickly and arrived in Chenzhou in a few days. The imperial physicians examined Fu overnight, but they only said that she had suffered from the heat and could not diagnose any serious illness. They thought about the prescriptions that Fu had taken before, and carefully checked the remaining medicine residues. They prescribed some medicine for Fu to continue taking.
Occasionally, when she was awake, she asked questions, wanting to know where the emperor was. She vaguely heard Cao Tai say that the Zhou army had won a great victory near Zhengyang, defeating the Southern Tang army's reinforcements, beheading tens of thousands of people; but important towns such as Shouzhou were still difficult to capture. The emperor seemed to be leaving Chenzhou and preparing to go south to Shouzhou.