Linzhi

Ganzhou was originally not the last barrier between the Central Plains and the outside of the pass, but since Xiaoyu's rebellion, Ganzhou will face threats from Liangzhou and the Eastern and Western Turks. After Yu Lianhe's three-way southward invasion was defeated and retreated, the court's vitality was severely injured, and the other party was also not much better, and they have lived together peacefully so far.

Due to the uniqueness of this place, Ganzhou increased the garrison to [-] from the [-] to [-] permanent troops in other border towns, which is enough to handle a medium-scale offensive and defensive battle.

However, Liang Yu, the governor of Ganzhou, has been a little bit burnt out recently.

Because he inadvertently discovered that a large part of Ganzhou's military pay had disappeared for no apparent reason. As a result, the military pay reported by the Ganzhou defenders to the imperial court more than doubled.

This kind of behavior of eating empty pay had already appeared in Liang Yu's predecessor, but after a few years, the army colluded and formed a set of rules that kept Liang Yu and other senior officials in Ganzhou in the dark until a while ago. , Liang Yu ordered an inventory of the granaries in Ganzhou, which was involved by chance. At that time, he was frightened when he looked at the account books. After sitting with his eyes open all night, he wrote the memorial and sent it to the court overnight. Ready to lose the official hat.

Unexpectedly, the sentence was exactly answered: the leak in the house happens to rain all night.Not long after the person who delivered the memorabilia left, the Turkic people came!

On an ordinary night, when everyone was immersed in sleep, and the soldiers on duty patrolling the city took the opportunity to take a nap secretly, an accident happened.

After receiving the news, Liang Yu hurriedly got up from the bed, and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to resist resolutely, and he himself ran to the tower to supervise the battle.

It was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. At this time of year, the Turkic people would often knock on the pass and plunder, so that they could spend a good year. The border towns had already seen the strange things. Some generals explained to the court in order to send the Turkic people away, and even took the initiative Hand over some food, and the Turks left some slaves captured in previous years, and the two sides exchanged so that each other could have an explanation.

But this time the Turkic people seemed to be coming for real. Seeing that they could not attack the city for a while, instead of retreating in defeat, they intensified their attacks and stepped up their offensive, making Zhangye City gradually unable to support it.

It was only then that Liang Yu realized that the reason why Xiao Yu and the Turks failed to break through Ganzhou, giving people the illusion that Ganzhou was indestructible, was because at that time the famous general Chen Wei led an army to garrison here, and now that Chen Wei left , the Turkic people are no longer afraid, and with Ganzhou’s nominally [-] defenders, in fact only about [-] can actually fight, and the [-] defenders are not all concentrated in the capital Zhangye City, but scattered in the All over Ganzhou.

Various problems were exposed, which directly put Zhangye in a dangerous situation.

When it comes to governing states and counties, Liang Yu can be called a capable official, but when it comes to marching and fighting, Liang Yu is a complete layman. In this case, he can only send people to the capital to ask for help, and at the same time resist desperately. The Turkic people did not decrease but increased, and the city gate had not yet been breached, but a small group of Turkic people had already attacked from another part of the city where the city wall was weak, and were engaged in fierce street fighting with the defenders in the city.

Liang Yu felt tense and desperate for a moment, he had already prepared for the worst, he couldn't help but think of his wife and children at home, and said to himself that it was a good thing he didn't take them over when he took office, otherwise the whole family would accompany him to fall here, He also thought that if the Turkic people broke down the city, even if he died, he would be charged with crimes and die. Even if his family members survived, they might be sentenced to exile. Hard times are yet to come.

Under such emotional agitation, he heard a report from his subordinates, saying that the Turks suddenly retreated for some reason.

Liang Yu suspected that he had heard it wrong, or that his subordinates had made a mistake, so he was busy and asked others to investigate, but the news he received one after another made him have to believe his ears: the Turkic people really retreated, although they also took away Some food, but they left voluntarily when they could have continued to burn, kill and loot and had the advantage.

It is obviously impossible to expect the conscience of the Turkic people to find out. Liang Yu felt that it was very strange, so he sent someone to investigate. After half a month, the news came. One day, there was a team from the West Turkic Turks rushing away from the rear of the Eastern Turkic Turks. They caught the opponent by surprise, Fu Nian was furious, and immediately dispatched troops to attack back. This is the truth about the Turkic people's sudden retreat.

Liang Yu was delighted at first that the East and West Turks "dog bites the dog", and then the more he thought about it, the more something went wrong, and he thought of the more than 100 people He Zhan brought to the West Turks, and he couldn't help being surprised and suspicious.

Since He Zhan left the customs, there has been no news for a long time. The two sides are far apart, and the news lags behind. It takes three to five months to learn the news of the other party three to five months ago. After a long time, he gradually felt in his heart that the group of people would not be able to come back in a few years, and even, it was very likely that they would never be able to come back.

Especially when the news came that Princess Zhending was under house arrest in Jialuo and she was about to become the next Khan of Western Turks, Liang Yu even sighed, feeling sorry for He Rong who had met a few times before.

From his point of view, apart from being physically handicapped, the other party is still young and talented, courageous and resourceful. Unfortunately, many things in this world are not guaranteed to be successful if you have the courage to do them. It is really regrettable that the grandson of the emperor went to the Western Regions, but ended up dying.

However, now, Western Turks have no friendship with Central Plains, and even Princess Zhending is a princess of the previous dynasty. It is too late to cause chaos for the court, so how could they sneak attack Eastern Turks and rescue Ganzhou?

Liang Yu couldn't help thinking wildly. He didn't dare to report to the imperial court without any definite information. At this moment, another Hu merchant came from the Western Regions. From their mouths, Liang Yu learned that the Western Turkic Another coup took place. Galo, who was supposed to ascend to the throne of the Great Khan, was assassinated and died at the succession ceremony. The new Khan who is now in power is called Lu Ji, who is said to be the Khan before Moli Khan The son of his son, but the one who is in charge of the family is the princess Zhending who he thought would hate this dynasty.

Now Liang Yu can finally be sure that He Rong and the others not only did not lose their lives, but made extraordinary achievements, not only helping Princess Zhending to seize power, but also probably persuading Princess Zhending to abandon the dark and turn to the bright, and accept the canonization of the court , And then when Ganzhou was in danger, he sent people to assist He Rong and others to sneak attack the rear of the East Turks, encircle Wei and save Zhao, and rescue Ganzhou from the crisis!

Liang Yu was very excited. Whether it was establishing diplomatic relations with Western Turks, persuading Princess Zhending to surrender, or leading troops to rescue Ganzhou, these are all feats that can be recorded in history. How can it not surprise and delight people to do such a big thing under the circumstances that they are not optimistic?

He hastily sent people to search for the whereabouts of He Rong and his party, but although Zhangye is a border town, there is still a long and difficult road to go to West Turkic, after all, if you go out today, you will hear back tomorrow.

The people Liang Yu sent out did not bring back news of He Rong and the others until he was dismissed by the court because of the lack of military pay.

So, where did He Rong and the others go, and are they still alive?

This is not only what Liang Yu wants to know, but also what the emperor wants to know.

It has been two full years since He Rong and the others left, the people's life is still going on, and the court is still going on.

Maybe there are still people who think about He Rong and the others from time to time, but the frequency has become less and less, and fewer and fewer people care about them.

For the emperor, this year has not been a happy one.

First, there was news of spring drought in Yuzhou and other places. I thought it was summer and the rain was abundant, and the drought would be relieved. But after the summer solstice, the rain increased and the torrential rain caused the Yellow River to flood, flooding countless farms in the middle and lower reaches. Displacement, followed by the plague caused by the flood, finally all these things passed, and there was news that the Turks raided Zhangye, Ganzhou.

The emperor was so upset that he didn't sleep well for several nights in a row, and even went to worship the heaven and the earth himself, and issued an imperial edict.

If it were a mediocre emperor, he might just pass by with broken pots and shattered jars, and leave it to his ministers to worry about, and he would not care about it, but Emperor Wende is not such a person. He has been on the throne for more than 20 years. In terms of diligence, he can be regarded as competent.

But sometimes, the rise and fall of a dynasty is not determined by whether the emperor is diligent or not.

This dynasty has reached the generation of Emperor Wende, and it is only the second emperor. According to the normal life span of a dynasty, this period has not yet reached its peak, and it has just begun.The ministers of the court, there are mainstays like Zhou Xiang, and generals like Zhang Tao who are good at fighting. Although the Turkic people are huge and eyeing, but after all, the court's force is not so weak that they can destroy the country if they are beaten. There are winners and losers.

It stands to reason that the emperor didn't need to be anxious, but there was always a hidden worry deep in his heart, and he was so anxious day and night that he tossed and turned, making it difficult to fall asleep.

It was another sleepless night.

The emperor stayed in the apse of the Zichen Hall, and did not ask any concubines to sleep in. He closed his eyes in the middle of the night, obviously physically exhausted, but mentally still awake. He could hear Ma Hong standing outside, trying to keep his footsteps as light as possible, and he could hear the imperial guards patrolling outside Deliberately suppressing the conversation, you can even hear your own heartbeat.

With a soft sigh, the emperor turned over and sat up, put on his shoes on the bed.

Hearing the movement, Ma Hong hurriedly opened the door and came in: "Your Majesty, you can't sleep again?"

The emperor hummed: "Come out with me for a walk."

Ma Hong said worriedly: "Your Majesty, if you go on like this, the dragon body will not be able to bear it, why don't you let the imperial doctor come and have a look..."

The emperor couldn't bear it: "If the imperial doctor is useful, why can't I fall asleep now? The calming pills they prescribed, it's as if I haven't eaten them, and they say rest and recuperate. I take care of everything every day. If I can rest, who will approve the memorial? Who should I recommend?"

Ma Hong didn't dare to persuade him anymore, so he hurried over to help him dress and put on shoes.

"Don't disturb others, just the two of us, a large group of people will rush over again later, it will make a lot of noise, it will give me a headache!" said the emperor.

Ma Hong responded lightly, and helped the emperor to go out.

"It's late at night and the dew is heavy. The villain is going to get a cloak."

Emperor: "No need, the Mid-Autumn Festival is not yet here, and the weather is not too cold."

Ma Hong had no choice but to hang the cloak on his elbow in case he could add clothes to the emperor at any time.

The two went out from the back of the Zichen Hall and walked eastward along the direction of the Taiye Pool.

Ma Hong was worried: "Your Majesty is sleepy all night, it is rare to sleep well, please take care of the dragon's body as well."

The emperor was angry: "I also want to sleep, but I can't sleep, what can I do!"

Ma Hong: "The imperial physician also said, Your Majesty is caused by worry."

The emperor sighed: "I can't help but I don't worry about it, I don't think too much. I have passed the age of hearing, and I don't know how many years to live, but there are many things that have not been arranged. How can I not worry?"

Ma Hong was puzzled: "Since your Majesty ascended the throne, although there have been occasional border troubles, in general, the world has been peaceful and the world is stable. As for the Turks, even the Han Dynasty was strong, and there were also Huns who made rebellions. It was inevitable. Xiao Yu's little thief, especially Nothing to worry about, His Majesty will be written in the annals of history in the future, he must be the wise master of a generation, the villain is stupid, I really don’t know why Your Majesty is worried?"

The emperor was silent for a moment: "What you see is only the appearance, and most people are just like you, only seeing the appearance. But what I see is that the power of the aristocratic family is still strong. Work in secret."

Ma Hong was startled: "Is this true? How could they have such courage?"

The emperor said indifferently: "This is not unusual. In the previous dynasty, the clans were already strong enough to directly support the emperor they identified. It has only been a few years now. Emperor Gaozu's accession to the throne actually depends on the support of several clan clans, but Time has passed, and they still don't know how to restrain themselves, relying on the merits of support that day, they still want to continue to control me, and even the next emperor."

Ma Hong didn't dare to ask again, this was no longer what he should know.

But the emperor didn't stop there: "The reason why Xiao Yu dared to rebel and become king is precisely because the Xiao family has been operating in Liangzhou for generations and is deeply rooted. They can adapt to the current situation and submit to Emperor Gaozu. Country. Not only Xiao Yu, Le Bi dared to rebel with Xiao Yu in Jinzhou, on the surface, he was dissatisfied with the imperial court's imperial edict, but in fact, if there is no secret support from the family, do you think he has the guts?"

Ma Hong is a smart man, if he is not smart, he can't work in front of the emperor.Because of his cleverness, he could not help but draw inferences from the emperor's words and detect other clues.

If the aristocratic families can intervene in local government affairs, can they also secretly support a few princes...

Frightened by his guess, Ma Hong stepped more and more lightly, but there was already a layer of white sweat on his back.

There is no reason why the emperor can't think of things that he can infer.

So is this the real reason why the emperor recalled the eldest son to Beijing?

Ma Hong asked cautiously: "They... how dare they be so bold? The world is in chaos, what good is it for them?"

The emperor sneered: "Advantages? That's too much. As the king of a country, I naturally don't allow the aristocratic family to be big, so I want to promote the poor family. This is their original intention of dissatisfaction. They know that if this continues, the power will be further forced. Shrinking and being forced to hand over power, if the world is in chaos and all the heroes rise together, it will indeed be of no benefit to the people, but it will be of great benefit to them!"

A chill suddenly came from the bottom of his heart, and Ma Hong couldn't help but tightly hugged the cloak in his hand.

He stayed in the palace all day long, and what he saw and heard was the prosperity of the dynasty, but from the mouth of the emperor, he uttered a completely different scene.

Ma Hong didn't know whether it was the emperor's far-sightedness or unfounded worry, but he knew that what troubled the emperor recently was not only these, but also about the heir to the empire.

The emperor has not disclosed the slightest rumor about the establishment of the crown prince so far, but he is very old, and the three sons under him are also in their prime. People cannot avoid it. Naturally, this topic will always be mentioned. There is no less persuasion underneath.

The topic of setting up a crown prince has been brought up continuously since the crown prince passed away, and it has long been a cliché. Many courtiers have become numb after persuasion. They privately feel that His Majesty will not be willing to set up a crown prince until he is dying, but many people still come up from time to time. This Qizuo hopes to persuade the emperor to change his mind, and to stabilize the hearts of the subjects as soon as possible.

Unknowingly, the two of them had bypassed most of the Taiye Pond and arrived in front of Hanliang Hall.

The Hanliang Hall is the place where the emperor lived and governed in summer, and there was no one in it on weekdays, when the night wind blows, you can faintly see the light veil flying.

The emperor stood and watched, but refused to go forward.

Ma Hong was about to persuade him to go back, when he heard the emperor say: "When the prince was young, I often held him and sat on my lap, and taught him to read and write while reviewing memorials in the Hanliang Palace. He is restless, but he can sit still, and he has memorized what I taught him."

A lonely voice resounded faintly, and was blown away in the wind again.

Ma Hong felt uncomfortable for a while, and said in a low voice: "My condolences to your Majesty, the prince is a spirit in the sky, and I certainly don't want your Majesty to hurt himself."

"After so many years, I also know that people cannot be resurrected after death, so why don't they know that the dead are gone, and the living still have to look forward, but if people's feelings can be controlled by themselves, how can there be so much love and hate in this world? Angry and ignorant?" The emperor laughed at himself.

"If the prince is still here..."

If the prince is still...

Ma Hong also sighed in his heart, shook off the cloak, and put it on the emperor's shoulders.

In the distance, it was on or off in the darkness, but when he took a closer look, there were only a few lanterns.

Ma Hong thought it was the imperial guards patrolling here, and was about to make a sound when he heard a woman say: "Who is in front?"

"Your Majesty, it seems to be Pearl, the maid of honor in front of Concubine Yin." Ma Hong said to the emperor.

The emperor nodded slightly, and Ma Hong responded, "Aunt Pearl, it is Your Majesty who is here!"

As soon as he said this, the person carrying the lantern quickened his pace and came over to salute. Ma Hong recognized Concubine Yin among them.

The emperor couldn't help asking: "It's late at night, why don't you sleep?"

Concubine Yin smiled: "Why isn't Your Majesty sleeping?"

Emperor: "I can't sleep."

Concubine Yin: "I can't sleep either."

Emperor: "Let's walk together then."

Concubine Yin Gui: "Okay."

The two walk together, with Ma Hong leading the way with a lamp, and the maids of honor following behind.

Concubine Yin: "Why does Your Majesty suffer from insomnia?"

The emperor didn't answer but instead asked: "You worship Buddha all the year round, and your mood should be extremely peaceful, but why is it the same as mine?"

Concubine Yin: "No matter how peaceful you are, you are still a mortal after all. It is impossible for you to be as sad and joyless as a god or Buddha. This concubine is thinking of her daughter who died young."

The emperor sighed.

He thought of his son, and Concubine Yin thought of his daughter, they were both fallen in the world, and the state of mind of the two must be very similar at the moment.

Concubine Yin seemed to know what the emperor was thinking, she reached out and took the emperor's hand.

The emperor did not refuse this warmth, the two walked arm in arm in the night, like an ordinary couple.

In the palace, Concubine Yin did not give birth to a prince, and she was not the most favored or the most prominent. She even worshiped Buddha all the year round, never asked about palace affairs, and even the emperor rarely visited her. Concubine Yin's two daughters died young, The other got married early. Compared with other concubines, except for the highest status, she really has no advantage at all, but the emperor always treats her with respect.

Because of this respect, Concubine Yin can survive safely in the harem, and no one will make things difficult for her.

"Recently, the former court has been disturbed, and the harem must not be peaceful. Did it disturb your Qingxiu?" The emperor asked.

Concubine Yin: "There are people who came to visit, but they couldn't see my face, and were blocked by Pearl."

Emperor: "They are in a hurry."

Concubine Yin smiled slightly and said: "The crown prince has not been established, who can be in a hurry?"

Emperor: "Do you think it's time for me to establish a crown prince?"

Concubine Yin: "I've never asked about matters concerning the court and harem. Your Majesty should know."

Emperor: "I'm just asking casually."

Concubine Yin: "Your Majesty now has three sons. Except for Dalang Hetai, whom I was familiar with many years ago, the rest of them, King Qi and King Wei, all have mothers, and they have never met each other. If I answer Your Majesty, That’s just casual talk, does Your Majesty want to hear such an answer? Besides, people change, even if I’m familiar with Dalang, I’m familiar with him in the past, not in him now.”

"I often have a feeling that Ah Rang's soul seems to be still in this palace, still beside me. When the crown prince is established, he will have no reason to stay."

He was silent for a moment, and said sadly: "I just don't hope that the East Palace will have a new owner so soon, and the new crown prince has not been established for a day, as if, as if A Rang is still living there..."

Concubine Yin felt pity in her heart and was speechless for a while.

Pearl and the others behind him couldn't help but lower their heads and wipe away their tears.

After a long time, Concubine Yin said softly: "If you continue to behave like this, the crown prince will be even more reluctant to leave. What good will it do him?"

The emperor smiled wryly: "Yes, you are right, this actually hurt him."

"It's late at night, your majesty, come back."

"Let's walk with me for a while longer. After talking about it, I feel much better. I haven't been so peaceful for a long time."

"it is good."

The emperor and concubine walked dozens of steps, and saw someone rushing in front of them.

Ma Hong hurriedly said loudly: "Your driver is here, don't be reckless!"

The person who came was a soldier of the imperial army. The other party was looking for the whereabouts of the emperor, and he was overjoyed when he heard the sound: "Your Majesty, an urgent report from eight hundred miles away!"

The emperor thumped in his heart: "What happened again!"

The soldiers of the imperial army said: "It's a good news! The Shaoqing of Honglu Temple and the envoys of the Western Turks returned from the Western Regions with a group of more than [-] people. They will arrive in Zhangye in a few days and return to Beijing via Ganzhou. The governor of Ganzhou will send people to report first!"

After the emperor was taken aback, he was overjoyed: "Great kindness! Immediately notify the officials along the way, take care of them, entertain them properly, and make sure they arrive in Beijing as soon as possible!"

The Imperial Army soldiers left in response.

Concubine Yin smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, our Tian family is, after all, a capable man."

Ma Hong also jokingly congratulated.

The emperor smiled and sighed: "Tonight, I can finally have a good night's sleep!"

The author has something to say:

Although there is no third brother in this chapter, there are shadows of the third brother everywhere~

Small theater unrelated to the main text:

He Zhan: Third Brother, today is Valentine's Day.

He Rong: (reading) I am not a foreigner.

He Zhan: I heard that single dogs say that.

He Rong: ...I'll find someone to tell Li Suian tomorrow that you like her.

He Zhan: No, no, third brother, I was wrong, third brother, you spend holidays every day!Happy holidays brother!

He Rong: ...

Volume Three