Feng Couch Luan Luan

The first time Xiao Mingxuan led troops to fight against rebellion, he showed amazing strategic vision and command ability.

Along the way, the army regained several counties and counties occupied by Xiaoyu, opened up the cut-off post roads, and ensured smooth communication with Beijing and China.

After all, once the weather is cold, the homing pigeons can no longer be used.

When he first arrived in Gunzhou, due to the unfamiliarity of the terrain, several small-scale confrontations had their winners and losers. When the scouts he sent out had a rough idea of ​​the enemy's real situation, it would be easier to deploy troops.

If it wasn't for the sudden heavy snowfall, he still wanted to make a quick decision and take Xiao Yu's head home for the New Year.

At the beginning, letters were often delivered in Beijing, and Xia Yunze also sent him a few winter clothes through the post road. Although they were all made by court ladies, the little emperor's sister-in-law couldn't even sew a sock, but they were as warm as they were worn.

The road was blocked by heavy snow, not to mention that letters could not be exchanged, and the grain and grass allocated by Beijing could not be delivered.

Fortunately, Xia Yunze had the foresight to frantically collect supplies before winter, and most of the food, grass, and luggage arrived in Gunzhou continuously before the snow fell.

In addition to what they expropriated from nearby states and counties, as long as Xiao Mingxuan is not so careless that someone burns the granary, there is still room to last until next spring.

Days of snowfall, and the New Year approaching, Xiaoyu also had no intention of rebelling, so the two sides stopped the exchange of fire by coincidence, and set up their camps across the Xichong River, planning to fight again next year.

After a fast march and successive battles, the soldiers were a little tired, so they just took this opportunity to take a rest and improve their morale.

It was impossible to retreat. Although Chongshan County, forty miles behind, was more suitable for a large army to station, Xiao Mingxuan decided to station his troops on the bank of the Xichong River, across the river from Xiaoyu.

When the weather is fine, you can still see the smoke rising from the other party's camp.

It's a pity that there are too few sunny days, and the sun hasn't shown its face for half a day, and it starts to snow again.

The vast river surface was frozen, and it was thick enough to run a horse. Xiao Mingxuan ordered people to cut open the ice surface, and netted hundreds of baskets of fatty fish for everyone to add to the dishes. He also placed a string of thunderbolts on the ice, and wrapped them with oil paper to prevent water from entering. However, Bai Xue couldn't see the clue, if Xiao Yu wanted to cross the river to sneak attack, he would light the fuze and send them directly to the sky.

On New Year's Eve, more than a hundred cauldrons were set up in the camp, and the sheep and cattle were slaughtered. The firewood was heated up, and the fat pieces of meat rolled in the pot. He deeply hated that little boy for ruining his great career.

The soldiers under Xiao Mingxuan's command were overjoyed, not only did the kitchen prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner for them, but King Duan even graciously allowed each table to have a jug of shochu.

Although less than half a bowl is divided for each person, it is not enough to moisten the throat for the prairie boy who loves booze, but alcohol has been strictly prohibited in the army since the expedition, and everyone has long been greedy.

The sentries and patrols on duty didn't even have half a bowl!

I heard that there was no wine in Duan Wang's tent, but a travel-stained messenger came and rushed all the way from the capital through wind and snow. , and then the county guard sent someone to put it on a carriage and send it over.

The man got out of the carriage, stumbled like a log blown down by a strong wind, and flung snowflakes into Xiao Mingxuan's tent, hissing, "My lord! The late emperor died, and the crown prince has ascended the throne!"

There were no attendants in the commander's tent, only Xiao Mingxuan and his lieutenant, General Xu, were startled when they heard this.

The air froze instantly, making it hard to breathe, and the tent was filled with death-like silence. Xiao Mingxuan hung his hand holding the pen in the air, and after a long silence, he frowned and said, "Say it again?"

Xu Zhengyuan also came back to his senses, quickly helped the messenger to sit down, and poured him a bowl of hot buttermilk.

The man gulped it down, coughed a few times, and said, "The first emperor's funeral day on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month! The Helian family used the power of the Liang kingdom to force the palace to help the crown prince! The crown princess then handed over the fish talisman, and even the garrison... Fall into the prince's bag!"

"Your Majesty's funeral?" Xu Zhengyuan screamed, turned to look at Xiao Mingxuan, the latter's face was gloomy, countless emotions flashed in his eyes, and finally fell silent, he only asked softly: "Crown princess handed over the fish talisman?"

The man was so excited by his murderous aura that he didn't dare to look up, gritted his teeth, and replied, "Not only that, but...the one in Chen Battalion Commander's hand...is also for the princess!"

Xiao Mingxuan's eyebrows and eyes were serious, and he broke the pen in his hand with a "click", and every word that escaped from his lips was filled with icy icicles: "Good... very good!"

For a moment, the inside and outside of the tent were both hot and cold, making people shiver from the cold, Xu Zhengyuan instinctively rubbed his hands outside, and boldly asked: "Shen Zhi, what's going on, didn't your majesty leave a will?"

Will?Even if there is, it is impossible to make it public. The new king succeeds to the throne, and his relatives are tyrannical, covering the sky with one hand. How can he leave a handle for others to criticize?

He closed his eyes, nodded Xu Zhengyuan from the air, and said in a deep voice: "As a subject, you can't discuss this matter any more."

Xu Zhengyuan let out an "Aiya", jumped his feet angrily, and asked after him: "Are you willing to do so? The crown prince made a mistake earlier, and you are not invincible..."

"Not reconciled, so what?" He rubbed his forehead and waved his hand, "Take him down to rest, so I can take care of him."

Xu Zhengyuan still wanted to be verbose, but was stung by his sinister eyes, he shrank his neck and dragged the envoy out to settle him down.

Inside the tent was a lamp like a bean, the brazier was burning vigorously, and the thick cotton curtain blocked the wind and snow outside.

He felt a bone-chilling cold.

It was as if everything from bone marrow to blood was frozen, and even every breath turned into frost.

He fell on the couch with his eyes open, the fire in the tent was extinguished, and the dome was high, but he couldn't get rid of the illusion that he was struggling feebly and buried alive under the mud.

The icy mud was still rising up layer by layer, pressing on his chest, drowning his mouth and nose, carrying the dead air of decay and dilapidation, depriving him of his original vigorous vitality.

If only he never knew, he thought, if only he never met.

Why let him take so many detours, getting within reach again and again, and losing it again and again?

He even envied Xu Zhengyuan a little bit, or envied all the irrelevant people who didn't know the inside story.

They only knew that the crown prince was reprimanded and sent to prison, and that King Duan might be able to replace him. Even if they had regrets when they heard the news of the crown prince's succession, they only expressed a few words of emotion for him, and sighed that both Shengyu and He Shengliang were born.

Nobody knew that impostor took everything that was rightfully his!

Xiao Mingxuan stared at the dome, breathing quickly and with difficulty, his chest heaved violently, filled with countless bloody thoughts.

"Xia Yunze..." He whispered the name, these three words escaped from his throat like a fiery snake, scorching his lips and tongue.

How much sweetness it once brought him, how much pain it brings him now.

He clenched his fists and beat his chest hard, trying to use the physical pain to paralyze the bloody heart that had been chopped up.

Should he stay here, crusade against the rebels, and pacify the world for the person who took everything away from him, or should he send his troops back to the capital, crush the imperial court, and let all those who betrayed him feel the pain of dying?

Xiao Mingxuan smiled wryly in a low voice, and made the most difficult decision in his life.

He wanted to unsheath his scimitar and kill heartless people all over the world. He wanted to get drunk and forget about the injustice in this life.

But he couldn't do anything, he couldn't wave his teacher to seek justice for himself, and he couldn't even touch his lips with a glass of wine to soothe his sorrow.

Xiao Yu was still eyeing the opposite bank, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack, he could not retreat.

The soldiers in the battalion are saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new in a different place. As the commander-in-chief of the whole army, he can't get drunk.

He always seemed to be like this, full of resentment, but helpless.

Should have gotten used to it by now.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world, and the news of Xiao Mingyue's ascension to the throne also spread to Xiaoyu's tent.

Xiao Yu laughed out loud, the depression of losing the battle for several days disappeared, and immediately sent envoys to persuade Xiao Mingxuan to join him in rebelling against him.

So dignified son and grandson, why bother to suffer from the birdishness of that little bastard?

"After the matter is completed, King Dai is willing to share the world with King Duan." The envoy was full of confidence and his face was full of red.

Xiao Mingxuan didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, he drew the knife and swung an afterimage, cutting off his head.

Xiao Yu waited for a long time for the envoy not to return, so he knew that the matter could not be reached, so he stroked his beard and cursed angrily: "You little bastard who doesn't know what to do, you deserve to be the second child for the rest of your life!"

Not only did Xiao Mingxuan not accept his account, he even waited until the Lantern Festival, so he quietly waded across the frozen river and launched a surprise attack on his camp while the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Xiaoyu was caught off guard, and more than half of the battle was damaged. He fought and fled, and hid in the mountains and forests in the hinterland of Gunzhou to fight a guerrilla with him.

Xiao Mingxuan's momentum was unstoppable, and at the beginning of February, he finally wiped out the remnants of Xiaoyu's troops, and put Ni Wang's head on the point of the sword.

The army was stationed in Gunzhou for more than a month, and slaughtered all the children, grandchildren and nephews that Xiaoyu had not had time to take away.

This delay came in March, when the ice melted and the snow melted, the grass grew and the warblers flew, the post road was unblocked, and the letters that were delayed on the way finally flew to Gunzhou like snowflakes.

Previously, due to the in-depth battle of the army and the relocation, the letters could not be delivered in time, so they all piled up in Chongshan County.

When they wiped out the anti-kings and settled in Gunzhou, the news of the success came back to the capital, and the court issued several secret orders for gold medals. The county guard didn't dare to delay, so he quickly sent a team of light cavalry to go deep into Gunzhou, hoping to deliver the letter to Xiao Mingxuan as soon as possible. superior.

Xiao Mingxuan came back from a gallop, covered in thin sweat, before he could change his clothes, Xu Zhengyuan stopped him and dragged him to the study, insisting on showing him what secret order the court had issued.

"Maybe there is a reward." General Xu rubbed his hands, his eyes stared like copper bells, full of anticipation.

Xiao Mingxuan sneered, and casually opened the full wooden box.

They are all arranged in chronological order. The closest one is the three secret orders from the imperial court. I don’t know what’s urgent. The further one is the letters left on the road because of the bad weather. Many relatives and friends greeted Ping An letterhead.

He was not in a hurry to remove the wax sealing wax on the secret order, but picked out the letter from the concubine Chen and the chief eunuch to look at it, and finally a smile appeared on his handsome face that had been strained all winter.

Concubine Chen threw the imperial decree for the empress dowager out of the palace gate, and went back to her room crying loudly. The eunuchs and maids took turns to persuade them.

Arrogance belongs to arrogance, but life is also wanton.

When he returns to Beijing, he should write a letter requesting that Concubine Chen be brought to Duan Wang's residence to support him. Since Xiao Mingyue has won the world, these trivial matters will not be fussy.

Under Xu Zhengyuan's three urgings and four requests, he finally opened the first secret order of the gold medal.

After just one glance, his face changed.