wife and king

Fu Yushi and Cheng Yuxiang rushed back from the capital and brought a lot of news.

During this year, Fu Yushi and Cheng Yuxiang were mostly in the capital to help Mengrong, and sometimes Fang would return to Fangcheng to handle official duties.What is jaw-dropping is that the two of them somehow get along well after coming and going, and they are inseparable wherever they go. The two of them have a pen and a weapon, cooperate with each other tacitly, and secretly accomplish a lot for Yan Cangling.

Seeing how the two behaved lightly, Yan Cangling became gossipy and asked, which of these two people should be the one, Cheng Yuxiang put his arms around his arms, looked proudly at Yan Cangling, and Fu Yushi looked at Yan Cangling provocatively. He calmly picked up a cup of fragrant tea, sipped it leisurely, and said, "Yuxiang, you're being mischievous again."

"..." Yan Cangling immediately knew who was going up and who was going down.

Fu Yushi brought a lot of news to Yan Cangling. It turned out that An Tianren's body was getting weaker and weaker under the influence of the medicine and the so-called elixir secretly in his dream. More, the court was almost paralyzed into a puddle.But although he was delirious, he still cared about protecting his throne, recruited more soldiers, and filled the imperial guards. When the military salary was not enough, he increased taxes and squeezed money from the people to support his huge military expenses. The common people complained and starved to death. The insurgents who had been dormant for a few years rose up again, attacking the capital all the way under the banner of "the king is not benevolent, and he will do justice for the sky".And because of the continuous rebel army, An Tianping frequently sent troops to suppress the rebellion, which led to the reduction of troops due to the suppression of the uprising, the lack of military pay, the emptiness of the treasury, and the exhaustion of the soldiers. Can be defeated.

Under such circumstances, the power of the imperial court once again fell back into Wang Enyi's hands. If An Tianren hadn't still held the military power of the Gyeonggi Tongbei Army and only handed it over to his cronies, Wang Enyi might have taken An Tianren's old life long ago. , personally enthroned as emperor.And under the leadership of Wang Enyi, the imperial court was also dark. Because he was ignorant and could only play tricks, he was only obsessed with entertainment and entertainment all day long, so that the court officials followed his preferences and thought about it every day. Buy him a banquet and invite women from the flower street to dance to please him.After a long period of time like this, corruption is pervasive in the imperial court, corrupt officials are rampant, officials are not doing their jobs properly and slow down their work, some officials who rely on Wang Enyi's favor are arrogant and domineering, bullying others, and the people are angry and dare not speak out.

And Mengrong is not as smart as her sister Qingbo, and she is even more inexperienced in political affairs. Even with Fu Yushi's help behind her back, it is difficult to achieve great things.Therefore, after Fu Yushi left Beijing and returned to Fangcheng to handle palace affairs, she was put under house arrest by Wang Enyi and became a puppet used by Wang Enyi to control the court. Later, when Fu Yushi rushed back to Beijing, he wanted to rescue her and stay away from the darkness of the court. At that time, she refused to leave on the grounds that she did not see Wang Enyi's death and she would not leave.Fu Yushi had no choice but to send someone to guard her, but somehow, Fu Yushi's subordinates were discovered by Wang Enyi, and they were all dealt with cleanly.Fu Yushi later tried to place people around Mengrong, but he couldn't do anything. He was found out, so he had to give up and return to Fangcheng, seeking Yan Cangling's help.

At this time, feudal towns all over the country joined forces, embracing their own self-respect, ignoring the king's order, claiming to be king, and began a battle for power and land.The civil wars in the Huan Dynasty continued, mourning was everywhere, and the people were poor and had to change their children to eat. In desperation, they had no choice but to join the army in exchange for a full meal. It was the fate of being beheaded by the enemy with a knife, which then caused the grief of his relatives, and he hated war even more.

At the end of spring, the willows stretch out their green leaves, and they hang down on the lakeside. Compared with the disputes in the central and northern regions, Fangcheng and Nanxiang regions are relatively quiet and peaceful, and have not been affected by wars.Only in the second half of the new year, an overbearing king of Yecheng County led troops to attack Fangcheng, but before the city could be captured, he was beaten to pieces by the Zhangneifu army led by Chang Desheng, and fled in a hurry. The soldiers were captured by Chang Desheng, and then moved by Fang Xinxiao's reasoning and affection, and finally joined Yan Cangling's three armies, expanding the strength of Yan Cangling.After obtaining the troops, Yan Cangling took a thousand elite soldiers and went straight to Huanglong, Yecheng, and found that the king of the county was actually a soldier who had been instigated by Wu Xiao, the son of Wu Qikang who had fled at the beginning. The heads of Wang Tong and Wu Xiao were chopped off and hung on the top of the city wall to frighten the army of Yecheng. Finally, they managed to gather the forces of Yecheng into their hands.

So far, Yan Cang Mausoleum has formed a power that connects Nanxiang, Fangcheng, and Yecheng into one.Yan Cangling dispatched the Yabing soldiers to Yecheng to garrison them, and on the day they arrived in Yecheng, they opened the granaries to help the local people.

The storage tunnels in the three cities were finally opened during overnight work. Yan Cangling received news from Cheng Yuxiang's brother from all directions. After discussing with Ji Linchuan and others, he felt that the time was ripe and it was time to raise troops.So he prepared everything, and when the right time came, he used the name of An Shunyan to raise the banner of "the emperor is not benevolent, righteousness kills relatives", and led troops to capture the capital.

Unexpectedly, before the soldier could leave the city, he was blocked in the mansion by news.

"Huh? The two countries of Xicheng and Shanchao sent troops to invade our Huan Dynasty territory again?" Ji Linchuan faced Xu Songming, his eyes widened woodenly, obviously he couldn't believe the news.

"That's right, I received news today that Xicheng and Shanchao have made a plan years ago, intending to take advantage of our Huan Dynasty's chaos and take down our Huan Dynasty in one fell swoop."

"Damn it!" Yan Cangling slammed his fist on the table, his face was annoyed, and he bit his teeth on his lower lip. When the enemy invaded and occupied the territory of our Huan Dynasty."

All the people who were discussing in the study were silent, and no one dared to say a word.

Cheng Yuxiang clasped his chest and tapped his arm, his usual smiling face was filled with sorrow: "Just now my brother also gave me the news that the two countries from the Western Regions invaded my Huan Dynasty, it is indeed true."

"It's just..." Fu Yushi continued, "I'm a little worried. Now that the imperial court is in chaos, feudal towns have sprung up all over the place, and the people are constantly uprising. How can An Tianren use his troops to deal with the joint offensive of the two countries?"

"How many reliable generals are there in the court so far?" Yan Cangling asked suddenly, but Fu Yushi replied in a long silence.

"You want to hear the truth?"

"of course."

"Is the situation not optimistic?" Hearing Fu Yushi's question, Ji Linchuan's eyebrows sank.

"Naturally not optimistic," Fu Yushi sighed and pursed his lips, "Since what happened with He Jin, An Tianren was afraid that someone from the court would rise up and directly attack him, so he combined the military power of the Gyeonggi and the Northern Army. As for some generals who might threaten their lives, they were degraded and killed. Now those who are left are either from strong family backgrounds, or flattering and flattering An Tianren. As you can imagine, There are a few people who can really use this. According to my guess, there are no more than three generals who can really lead troops to kill the enemy, but these three are the only generals that An Tianren can handle. An Tianren sent all of them to deal with the two countries in the Western Regions, but the troops in the court would be short-lived, and they could easily be taken away by Wang Enyi's party members. The country is declining and the people are dying. Then he will only send one person to go there at most, but you can imagine, with only one general, how can he win against the generals of the two countries, so I guess..." Fu Yushi raised his head suddenly, his eyes Hooked directly at Yan Cangling, "It is very likely that he will give great benefits to the Jiedu envoys or royal families in various feudal towns, and let them help him repel foreign enemies."

Yan Cangling remained silent, lowered his pupils and hid them in his bangs, unable to see the emotion in his eyes.The righteousness of the family and the country come first, and their own interests come second. No matter what considerations they have, they must fight against the outside world before they can settle down inside. If Shanchao and Xicheng really occupy the territory of the Huan Dynasty, even if he conquers the country in the future, he will have to For the sake of recuperation, he endured the insult of the invaded land.Therefore, the battle to drive away the people from the Western Regions had to be fought, and they had to be beaten to the ground to dampen their morale so that they would no longer have the desire to invade during the civil strife in the Huan Dynasty.

Ji Linchuan quietly grabbed his cold hand and shook it, and smiled calmly: "The current situation is not clear, maybe the imperial army can deal with them. Now An Tianren has not issued an order for you to go out, so don't be busy. You If you go out to attack the two countries in the Western Regions at this time, you will be charged with disobeying the emperor's order, so it is better to wait and see what happens."

The stone that blocked the way in his heart was blown away because of his words. Yan Cangling took Ji Linchuan's hand behind his back, and inserted his fingers from between the fingers: "You are right, you might as well just wait and see what happens. As for this soldier I can't stab my own country when my country is invaded, but it's a pity that this is a good time, and it is best to raise troops in late spring."

"It's okay." Ji Linchuan tightened his palms and smiled slightly, "We can wait another year."

"I hope so." Yan Cangling smiled back, "I hope that Huan Chao can survive this calamity."

"It must be possible, we might as well wait for the good news."

"it is good."

However, before the good news came, a bad news came a month later.

Early in the morning, when Ji Linchuan was still lying in bed, he heard Le Qi come to report to him that someone had come from the palace.

He immediately turned over and sat up, dressed in a hurry, and went to the living room to meet the visitor.

When he arrived, the father-in-law had already unfolded the imperial decree, reciting the content of the imperial decree in a shrill voice, ignoring the nonsense in it, to the effect that he would give Yan Cangling a hundred taels of gold as a gift, and let Yan Cangling lead the army to fight and expel Soldiers and horses of the two countries in the Western Regions.

Yan Cangling kowtowed and took it, and when he mentioned the imperial decree, he fixed his eyes deeply on the father-in-law who had never seen him before, and asked, "Who is the father-in-law? It seems that this king has never seen it before."

"Ouch!" The father-in-law smiled, put Lan Hua's finger on his cheek, and nodded towards Yan Cangling, "There are so many people in this palace, how can you remember so many people, King Yan?"

"Dare to ask Eunuch, how is Eunuch Li doing now?" Yan Cangling sneered and broke off Eunuch's raised hand, and lightly pressed his palm, and a jade pendant slipped into Eunuch's palm.

"Eunuch Li," the father-in-law's eyes were bent into slits, he took back the jade pendant without any trace, and pointed at his waist, "Oh, now he is a big celebrity in front of the holy man. The holy man is not in good health, so he takes it with him Served."

"Is that so?" Yan Cangling's voice was always cold, "I don't know, my father-in-law, who is the general who is sent to expel the two countries in the Western Regions this time?"

"How does our family know about this matter of government affairs? All in all, King Yan, you will definitely not lose if you go there. You only need to put on a show to please the emperor. As for the important task of expulsion, it is better to leave it to the general of the court."

Yan Cangling was displeased. Leaving aside the belittling meaning in the father-in-law's words, he was at the stage of expelling foreign enemies and kept himself out of the matter.

Sensing the resentment emanating from Yan Cangling's body, the father-in-law trembled, bowed knowingly, and retreated with a smile. When Ji Linchuan approached the door, he smiled. The smile was unclear, but Ji Linchuan's scalp was numb. .

"Mu Qing..." Watching his father-in-law go away, Ji Linchuan turned back and met Shangyan Cangling's eyes, and then his eyes fell on the imperial decree in his hand, "What are you going to do?"

"What can I do?" Yan Cangling threw the imperial decree to Le Qi, "Besides leading the army to go out, there is no good way, you don't even think about it, now I am a prince who has been emptied of power, and I am still asking for help, which shows that the situation is not optimistic But I have a contradiction, Jing Han, you can make up my mind for me."

"What contradiction?"

"You also know very well that at this moment, I am a prince whose rights have been emptied, and the only people who can be dispatched are the personal guards of the mansion, but there are only a hundred of the personal guards of the mansion at most. How can I fight against the people of the Western Regions? If I send out the troops of the three armies, I am afraid that someone with a heart will find out that I am recruiting soldiers in private and cause trouble for you."

"In that case," Ji Linchuan propped his chin in thought, and made some comments, "I think Song Lu should have received the imperial decree, then integrate the people from the three armies into his subordinates and let him lead the troops to set off with you. But you have to make sure that the real military power is in your hands, and Song Lu can only obey your orders."

"This is also a good idea," Yan Cangling said to Le Qi, "Please go and ask Song Lu to come over."

When Song Lv heard that his father-in-law had come from the court, he hurried back to his mansion with his people, so as not to be discovered by his father-in-law that he was living in the palace.At this moment, just after receiving the imperial decree from his father-in-law, he heard that Yan Cangling had summoned him, so he hurried over.

After hearing what Yan Cangling said, Song Lv agreed without hesitation, and handed over his hands, expressing that it was his duty to expel foreign enemies, and he would never take this opportunity to betray Yan Cangling.After careful consideration, Yan Cangling decided to transfer part of the power to him and let him lead troops to fight against the enemy.

Afterwards, Yan Cangling discussed with everyone for a day, and decided to draw [-] soldiers and horses from the three armies and integrate them into an "exorcist army", equipped with the best weapons, so that they could drive away the soldiers from the two countries in the Western Regions as quickly as possible. horse.After everything was ready, Yan Cangling called Jiang Fenglai and asked him to help. Jiang Fenglai, who was born as a scholar, was most indignant at this kind of invasion of the country, so he nodded in agreement without saying much.So after discussing it, Yan Cangling decided to lead his troops to the battlefield early in the morning.

But on the eve of departure, Ji Linchuan restlessly leaned on Yan Cangling's chest, patted his chest one after another, and listened quietly to his heartbeat.

Plop, plop, plop... The quiet and peaceful rhythmic beating couldn't suppress the inexplicable irritability in his heart. When he closed his eyes, he could only see darkness, but when he opened his eyes, there was no light.The erratic candlelight dazzled him so much that he could hardly see Yan Cangling clearly: "Mu Qing, Mu Qing..." He called out his sweetheart's name in panic, until a pair of familiar hands touched him, and he regained his composure.

"What's wrong with Jing Han?" Yan Cangling grabbed his hand and asked carefully.

Ji Linchuan shook his head: "I can't tell, but I'm very disturbed. Mu Qing, let me go with you."

"No," Yan Cangling refused as a matter of course, "You are not in good health and cannot adapt to the climate there. Besides, the barbarians are fierce. I'm afraid it will be bad for you. You'd better stay in the palace."

"But I'm afraid..." Ji Linchuan frowned, looked at Yan Cangling's eyes, and then turned away, "I don't want to be separated from you, I'm afraid that Qingbo's tragedy will happen again."

"Nonsense," Yan Cangling scolded, "I won't let this happen, no matter what, I will come back to you, Jing Han, trust me."

Ji Linchuan gritted his teeth, wanting "believe" to fill his eyes, and firmly said to Yan Cangling that I believe in you, but when the words came to his lips, he lost his words and his courage.Lowering his eyelids dejectedly, he rested his head on Yan Cangling's chest silently, and continued to listen to the beating of his heart, maybe when he wakes up in the morning, he can forget his troubles.

It's a pity that the distress was not forgotten with a night of nightmares. Instead, it was like a thorn, tightening up bit by bit, piercing into the heart bit by bit, and the pain was so painful.

"Mu Qing!" Before parting, Yan Cangling jumped up on the horse, and the soldiers raised their guns and shouted loudly. Wave after wave of exciting voices set off a turbulent sea, but it couldn't get rid of the panic in Ji Linchuan's heart. He stopped the general Yan Cangling, who was walking, ran to the front of Ben Ye, with bitterness all over his face, "Mu Qing, Mu Qing..." He called out, pained to the bottom of his heart, but he couldn't say a word of farewell, "You... just be careful all the way. "

"Okay," Yan Cangling softened his brows and eyes, leaned over and kissed Ji Linchuan's forehead, "Jing Han, I will come back to see you when I clear up the bandits. At that time, remember to prepare sweet-scented osmanthus cake for me, hahaha! , drive, drive—”

The long ending was instantly drowned out by the voices of the troops. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Ji Linchuan looked around and saw a black armor shining brightly in the sun, while the man on horseback, smiling like the wind, spun in In the junction line between the sky and the earth, gradually I can no longer see it, and I can no longer hear the sound...

Mu Qing, you must, must return safely...

After saying goodbye to Ji Linchuan, Yan Cangling gradually slowed down the speed of Ben Ye, and walked slowly on the road.His heart couldn't be peaceful for a long time, he struggled to look back, only to see the dense crowd of heads, drowning the color of his eyes, and he couldn't see that green shirt, that gentle smile again.

"Jing Han..." In fact, he was also reluctant to leave, reluctant to leave the concubine who was married to him, but in the face of the national crisis, he couldn't help hesitating for a moment. Once he clamped the horse's belly, he raised his voice again, and Ben Ye spread his hooves and ran away. Go out and blow his pain away completely in the wind.

The army marched carefully, stationed at night, and hurried on the road during the day, without daring to stop for a moment. The scouts sent out would come to Yan Cangling every once in a while to report the news from the front line. , the two countries in the Western Regions have captured a city in the middle, facing the capital directly, and opening its lion's mouth. If our Huan Dynasty army keeps retreating, the capital will be in danger.

However, unfavorable things followed one after another. Before the battlefield arrived, Yan Cangling met a person when he was marching to a place where a straight line intersects with the capital.

At that time, they were still stationed at night, and suddenly a man stumbled into the front of the barracks and demanded to see Yan Cangling hissingly. The soldiers guarding at that time saw that this man was covered in blood and his breathing was low, which was clearly a sign of imminent death, so he immediately reported to Yan Cangling , Let them come out to meet each other.

When Yan Cangling arrived, he was shocked to find that this person was actually someone he had sent to be next to Mengrong after Fu Yushi returned. How could this person be here? Could it be that something happened to Mengrong?

He immediately waved for the military doctor to come. The military doctor saw that this person was seriously injured, and he had survived all this time with a hard breath, and there was nothing he could do.Yan Cangling's heart was ashamed, and after letting the military doctor hang on to the man, he knelt down and asked what was going on. The man took out a blood-stained object from his arms with trembling hands, handed it to Yan Cangling, and it fell safely into the palm of Yan Cangling's hand. For a moment, his body shook, and he lost his anger. To the end of his death, despair and hatred were intertwined on his face.

Yan Cangling gritted his teeth, apologized, and asked people to grope around the person to see if there were any other clues, but they could only find some sundries such as copper plates, not much.

Yan Cangling then waved his hand to bury him richly, his gaze fell on the thing he received from the man's hand, it was a letter, the envelope was already covered in blood, once he pressed it, he could still feel the slippery blood.

Resisting the bloody vomit, Yan Cangling carefully opened the envelope, and found that the contents of the letter seemed to have been put in hastily, and the letter was not even sealed.Knowing that the situation was tense, he immediately took out the letter from the envelope and opened it to read. There was a word written crookedly in blood on it - "Help"!

Yan Cangling's face changed drastically in an instant, he turned the paper over and over again, but couldn't see the rest of the words, and felt that this matter was unusual.

Mengrong is in danger!

The five big characters rushed into his head, and Yan Cangling's blood rushed to his head. Although the words were written in a hurry, it could be seen that they were Meng Rong's handwriting.

The blood-soaked subordinates, the inexplicable rescue words, what happened to Mengrong.

Yan Cangling gripped the paper tightly, with a straight face, and immediately sent someone to the capital to inquire about Mengrong's news, while he still led the troops forward.

Unexpectedly, until he arrived at the battlefield, he guessed that his people would go to the dream place, but he never saw any news back.

He thought to himself, if it's broken, it must be his own people who have been dealt with.