love palace

"Report to the emperor, the Wuque Army has captured Nanling City!" Liu Ren, who was acting as Minister of the Ministry of War temporarily, knelt and played in the court.

"What?" It was like a scream piercing through the ears. For a moment, Huang Ye thought he had heard it wrong.

"The traitor Ke Weiqing is very familiar with the terrain of Nanling City and our army's defenses. He not only intercepted our supplies first, but also sneaked in at night, which caught our army off guard and caused heavy losses..." Liu Ren tried to explain why he was defeated. reason.

"Shut up!" Huang Ye slammed his iron fist at Yu An angrily, and the bloodstone shattered into two pieces, causing all the officials to kneel and kowtow in panic!

"Your Majesty, please calm down! The minister deserves death for his crimes!"

"Will die? What's the use of dying?!" Huang Ye scolded angrily, "Where's Zhang Huzi's army? Eighty thousand troops, why don't they support Nanling?"

"Your Majesty." Liu Ren, who has always dared to speak out, also murmured at this moment, "This... General Zhang was injured in the Battle of Beihe, and was led by Deputy General Zhou. His qualifications are still young, not as brave as General Zhang... and he is still trapped In the battle situation in the northern border, there will be time... to cross the river for reinforcements in the future."

"Bastard! Why didn't you report this matter sooner?" Huang Ye reprimanded loudly.To call a deputy general to lead the army? !

"I, I thought that although General Zhang was wounded, he was still in the barracks. They might be able to break out of the encirclement and turn defeat into victory..." Liu Ren was really lucky at that time. This urgent military report came up, and now it seems that he was too careless!

"Come on! Drag it down! Forty court staff!" Huang Ye pointed at Liu Ren and shouted.Immediately, two guards came up and dragged the pale Liu Ren down.

The generals did not dare to intercede for Liu Ren, but Prime Minister Jia Peng stepped forward and begged the emperor to spare Liu Ren.Right now is the occasion for employing people, General Liu was just negligent for a while, and asked the emperor to give him a chance to redeem his crimes, because these forty court sticks will not die but will also be disabled.

"If I didn't punish him with a hundred court rods, it would have been lenient." Huang Ye stared at Jia Peng coldly, and said, "As the prime minister, you are in charge of hundreds of officials, but you don't know that the Ministry of War is delaying the military situation. This is really dereliction of duty. , I haven’t punished you yet, but you’re selling favors first.”

"Criminals dare not! Criminals deserve to die!"

Jia Peng hurriedly knelt down.He really wanted to gain some benefits for himself, win over General Liu, and establish prestige for himself.Because in the past, the emperor put thousands of favors on Ke Weiqing alone, leaving him no chance to show his fists.

Moreover, he did this for the sake of the emperor's country, and there was no infidelity.

"I also want to share the worries of the emperor, so..."

"Enough!" Huang Ye glanced at him coldly, and said in a deep voice, "How many soldiers and horses the Wuque Army has, you should report it truthfully, and you must not hide any more!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Wuque army has about 12 soldiers, divided into 18 sailors and 56 soldiers, with a total of [-] battalions..." Jia Peng said more and more lightly, he advocated reporting good news and not bad news , so as to please the emperor, but at the moment, it is obvious that the fire cannot be contained by paper.

With such an astonishing number, Huang Ye's expression changed, and the other courtiers also gasped and looked at each other in blank dismay.I remember that when Wu Que first raised his army, there were only more than [-] people!

"Is this accurate?" Huang Ye frowned deeply and asked again.

"It's absolutely true! I don't dare to lie," Jia Peng said in a cold sweat. "Your Majesty, I think you can dispatch 40 troops from the western border to fight against the rebels."

"The western border is an important place for garrison. Once the border is breached, there will be internal and external troubles. It will be a real disaster." Huang Ye said quickly, "The army on the border cannot be moved. I will personally conquer and settle this matter myself."

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!" Jia Peng quickly persuaded, "Right now, only the 20 imperial troops stationed in the imperial city can be dispatched, but if this army moves, the imperial city will inevitably be defenseless. The safety of the palace is just..."

"That's right, Your Majesty, the prime minister is right!" The other officials also rushed up and said, "When the army in the imperial city moves, the people will definitely panic, and the situation will escalate at that time. Before the Wuque army arrives, there will be civil strife first!"

"You don't need to say anything, I've made up my mind. Besides, I didn't say anything, all 20 soldiers and horses will be used, and the 10 forbidden troops will still be stationed in the imperial city. [-] people are enough for me." Huang Ye said calmly and persistently.

"But Your Majesty, there are more than 30 rebels!"

"So what? How many of his army are real Wuque people?" Huang Ye said coldly, "Since I gave the soldier talisman, I should take it back with my own hands!"

"...Who would have thought that Ke Weiqing would rebel?" Someone complained in a low voice, "Isn't this the same as Zhao Guowei? They are all wolf-hearted things."

The man wanted to say something, but because he met the emperor's cold gaze, he was so frightened that he fell silent, his knees were weak, and he fell to his knees with a plop.

"Retire!" Huang Ye suddenly declared, turned and left the majestic hall.

"Your majesty...!" Jia Peng still wanted to dissuade the emperor, but Huang Ye was nowhere to be seen, so he knelt down and kowtowed, and shouted, "I respectfully send my emperor long live, long live, long live!"

"Your Majesty—retire!" Li Deyi's high-pitched voice echoed among the majestic pillars.

※※※

It was late at night, and the candles were still brightly lit in the Imperial Study Room. Huang Ye was studying the route of advancing with several generals. The Wuque Army had Ke Weiqing as its commander. capture.

"We must make a strategy today, and we can't delay any longer," Huang Ye said.With such a calm appearance, people can't believe how much suffering and pain he has experienced during this period of time.

Ever since Ke Weiqing rebelled, Huang Ye seemed to be a different person. He didn't go to court or review memorials. He just hid in the imperial study and drank wine, and what he drank was spicy century-old wine.

This small bowl of wine can bring down a few strong men, not to mention that Huang Ye poured it directly from the jar. The concubines and officials were very worried about his health. Beidou only went to persuade him once because he touched the dragon scale. Huang Ye was thrown into the prison.

After that, no one dared to disturb Huang Ye's drinking.And no matter in the early morning or late at night, you can hear the loud noise of the breaking of the utensils in the imperial study room, which makes people feel frightened and panicked!

Just when everyone was helpless against Huang Ye, great news spread from Jinyan Palace that Concubine Lan Gui was pregnant, and she was finally pregnant with Dragon Seed.

Under the expectation of all the officials, Shuo Lan dressed up and went to persuade the emperor.In any case, Huang Ye would not even want his own children.

However, after Shuo Lan expressed emotion, reasoned, and cried bitterly, the emperor, who was slumped in the corner of the imperial study, just looked at her coldly and said hoarsely, "You want to It would be great if it was really him, but unfortunately you are not..."

What does this mean?Shuo Lan turned pale with anger.She did not deny that she had resorted to some tricks to conceive a dragon fetus.

Not long after Ke Weiqing was taken away by Yonglin, Huang Ye also got very drunk once. Seizing this rare opportunity, Shuo Lan boldly ran to Ganquan Palace, put on Ke Weiqing's clothes, and tried to seduce the emperor's...

"Okay, you can go down and raise your baby with peace of mind." Not long after, Huang Ye issued the order to evict the guest.

Concubine Lan left the imperial study weeping, and all the officials were frowning again. Now, what should I do?

In the past, if there were any difficulties, Ke Weiqing would come forward and explain to the emperor, and he would always get a satisfactory answer.But now the three words "Ke Weiqing" are capital crimes that cannot even be mentioned!

Just when the officials were panicked and helpless, Huang Ye suddenly resumed the early court, and added the late court, reviewing the memorials day and night. All the wine jars were moved out of the imperial study by the eunuchs, and more memorials and books were replaced. .

From then on, no matter how late it was, the lights in the imperial study room were always on.And no matter when, Huang Ye would summon his courtiers to discuss state affairs and war affairs.

"Your Majesty, according to reports from the spies, in this battle, the Wuque Army will divide its troops into four groups. The Southern Army and the Northern Army, led by Chief Soldier Ke Weiqing, will mainly attack Lihe, while the other two groups will be guerrillas, led by Hong Liu. Cut off our army's supplies and form an outflank." A newly promoted young general gestured on the wooden map with a serious look.

"From this point of view, we are indeed surrounded by enemies, and we cannot be optimistic." Huang Ye frowned and said, his black eyes were like burning coals, staring closely at the map model.

"What's the matter?!" Another bearded general said in a rough voice, "Whatever the bird army or the witch army! No matter how many people come, I will call him back! He divides into four groups, and we Divide into four ways, Your Majesty, don't think about it, just give the order like this!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." All the generals present agreed, "The Wuque army is extremely cunning, we can't just sit and wait for death, we should separate the four armies, face them one by one, and give them a hard blow!"

"Of course, in terms of troops, there may be 1 more people in Lihe. After all, they will meet Ke Weiqing's army..." Some people are already working on the specific allocation of troops.

"What you said makes sense, but I have other plans." Huang Ye said calmly, "Ke Weiqing, he knows you very well, he can see your weaknesses every time, and pokes your weak spots, so he divides his troops to fight against each other. will win."

"Then, Your Majesty, what do you mean...?" Because Huang Ye told the truth, the generals were ashamed and asked.

"Concentrate all the troops in one place, beat their split armies, and destroy them one by one! Their armies are too scattered, and it will not be easy in time to support any one."

"Your Majesty, even though this is the case, we can win, but Ke Weiqing - he won't sit there and wait for us to run over to fight! If he knows our strategy and instead sends troops to surround us, then we..."

"So we want to act." Huang Ye said coldly, watching everyone.

"acting?"

"We're going to pretend to be four groups, but we're actually one group of troops with the same purpose, so we'll surprise him with a surprise attack!" Huang Ye mused, "A strategy is just a trick. To win a battle, you have to use any means."

"Your majesty is wise!" the bearded man suddenly realized, and said emotionally, "Let the last general be the commander of this vanguard army, and fight the rebels for the emperor and Dayan bloody battle, death is not a pity!"

"No." Huang Ye stared straight at him, his dark and cruel eyes, which were like ghosts, scanned the crowd one by one, "I want to lead the army myself! That person... none of you are allowed to touch him! I want to capture him alive , and then, I want to let him know what life is better than death...!"

"Yes...! I will obey the order!" Feeling Huang Ye's cold anger, the generals shuddered and knelt down to accept the order.

During the days and nights of drunkenness and dreams, Huang Ye thought of countless excuses and lies, trying to convince himself that Ke Weiqing's rebellion was forced, and Yong Lin was the chief of all evils and the real mastermind!

However, after each victory, those familiar methods of dispatching troops, and Qing Yun's report, Ke Weiqing's "heroic posture" on the battlefield, all made Huang Ye see a cruel fact clearly.

Ke Weiqing is really helping Yonglin usurp the throne, he is the leader of the rebel army, there is no persecution, and there is no excuse!

It is said that people's hearts are unpredictable, especially in the palace, the closest people are often the most unexpected enemies!

When he was young, Huang Ye was almost poisoned by his wet nurse. He thought he had learned the rules of survival in the palace, but now, he was betrayed by the two people he trusted the most. Can be digested.

It turns out that being hurt by the one you love, you will be so desperate, you will feel as if you are drinking poison, the pain is unspeakable, and your heart is even more hopeless!

For a moment, Huang Ye really wanted to abandon everything, what the world, what the throne, these things only made him suffer, in his drunken eyes, there was only Ke Weiqing's innocent smiling face, from childhood to adulthood, his eyes They are all so clear, just like the stars in the sky.

And in those eyes, there was always reflection of himself, he admired him so much, trusted him, Huang Ye wanted him to look at him from beginning to end, but he accidentally gave away his heart!

Huang Ye couldn't remember when she fell in love with Ke Weiqing sincerely.Always bullying him with evil intentions, expressing his love awkwardly.And Ke Weiqing's every look, every growth, is like a treasure to Huang Ye, hidden deep in his heart, becoming the only treasure worth cherishing in this vast palace.

Huang Ye believed that even if the whole world betrayed him, Ke Weiqing would not, because Ke Weiqing belonged to him from head to toe, from childhood to adulthood, and of course even his heart.

Huang Ye felt ridiculous about his previous conceit. As an emperor, not only could he not get what he wanted most, but he also wishfully thought that he once had "love".

What a wishful thinking, since he is an emperor, he shouldn't expect love!

After the military meeting ended, it was already dawn, and Huang Ye sat alone in front of the imperial case, thinking about something.Li Deyi secretly looked at the emperor, behind him he had cooked meals several times, although the emperor stopped drinking, he was not on time for eating.

Last night, I didn't eat anything.Seeing that this person has lost a lot of weight, I feel worried.Li Deyi once went to the prison and asked Beidou for advice, asking if there is any tonic that can help the emperor to restore his health?

But Beidou said that the heart disease still needs heart medicine, and even the gods descended to earth, can't save this emergency!

Li Deyi could only sigh, and kept thinking of ways to get the imperial dining room to cook all kinds of delicacies, and reminded the emperor over and over again that it was time to eat.

Now, seeing that it was getting late, he hurried in and persuaded the emperor to have a meal, "Your Majesty, today's breakfast is sweet glutinous rice porridge from Jiangbei area, with barley, red dates, lotus seeds..."

"Bring it." Before Li Deyi could finish speaking, Huang Ye said.

"Yes!" Li Deyi hurriedly set down the dining table.I thought, this is a good sign, but I don't know that a bloody storm is coming.

※※※

After entering September, the weather did not see a trace of coolness, but became hotter.

The scorching sun was in the sky, and the loess official road was like a big oven. The tens of thousands of chariots and horses were all listless and moving forward slowly.

Ke Weiqing was wearing a thin sheepskin robe with a bronze armor on the outside. He was carrying a bow and arrow and a saber. He was fully armed. In addition to the scorching sun and the steaming earth, he had mild symptoms of heat stroke.

However, he couldn't be shirtless like other soldiers to dissipate the heat, and his already bulging abdomen needed a loose cloak to cover it.Sometimes when the situation is critical, he will forget that he is pregnant and start a fierce battle with the enemy until the fetus in his womb suddenly moves, which makes him break out in a cold sweat!

After the battle, I thought with lingering fear, what if I was hit by that knife?If he hurts the child, he doesn't want to live anymore!

But Ke Weiqing couldn't back down. Everyone put their hope of winning on him. Since he used the soldier talisman to protect the Wuque clan from being killed, he mobilized more soldiers and horses, and he was burdened even more. Many lives.

And just as Ke Weiqing predicted earlier, Huang Ye did not express sympathy or repentance after learning about the massacre of the Wuque tribe by the late emperor.

This news was brought back by Hong Liu risking his life, and he was glad that Ke Weiqing dispatched troops quickly, otherwise, they would have been wiped out before they could take revenge.

Hearing Huang Ye's imperial decree, Ke Weiqing said that he was not disappointed. He thought that Huang Ye would be different from the first emperor, but the facts proved that the emperor is the emperor.

As soon as he thought of this, Ke Weiqing felt a sharp pain in his heart and couldn't catch his breath. He turned his eyes to the scorched fields beside the road to divert his mind.

Here, the sorghum is less than a person's height, the corn is sparse, and it has not grown at all, and only the weeds grow lushly in the field ridges. In the past, this place would be a colorful scene with a bumper harvest in sight, but now it is full of desolation !

Wars and natural disasters caused the people to flee from the officialdom one after another. Ke Weiqing felt extremely guilty and sighed deeply.

"Woooo!"

Chi Ying seemed to sense the extreme discomfort of his master, neighing, and stopped by the side of the road. Yong Lin chased after him with a whip.

"What's wrong? Wei Qing." Yonglin asked worriedly, "Are you feeling uncomfortable again?"

"No, I just feel..." Ke Weiqing still looked at the field, eyes full of guilt.

"It's okay. Wei Qing, when we win the world, the lives of the common people will be easier." Yonglin understood a little, and comforted him, "The same goes for the Wuque Clan."

Ke Weiqing glanced at Yong Lin, then shook his head slightly, "But the dead will not come back to life."

"Death in war is inevitable." Yong Lin stared at Ke Weiqing and said, "You are so kind, and because of you, how many people have survived."

It is a fact that Ke Weiqing saved more than 5000 lives of the Wuque Army.Moreover, when he leads troops to fight, he always minimizes the losses, never abandons a wounded soldier, and attaches great importance to human life.

"Without you, those children in Wuque Village would all be dead." Yong Lin said again, "Huang Ye is not a benevolent king."

"Well, I know." Ke Weiqing said sadly, pulled the rein, and started on the road again.

"So, we have to win until the end and build a country that can accommodate the Wuque clan." Yonglin rode beside Ke Weiqing and said firmly, "I will let you stand in the court hall openly and squarely." .”

Ke Weiqing wanted to say something, but because of the sudden violent fetal movement, his face turned pale, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Yonglin asked anxiously.Compared with the war, he was more worried about Ke Weiqing's body. Ke Weiqing was under too much pressure and could hardly rest day and night.

It stands to reason that, as a general, Ke Weiqing should have been used to seeing blood, but when they whipped the captives to obtain information, Ke Weiqing stood aside, vomited, and ordered them to stop and not torture them privately. The captives were locked up, but it was not of much use.

And Ke Weiqing also ate very little. Although it could be seen that he was eating hard, he ended up vomiting in the end, and he became thinner and thinner.

Yonglin wanted to invite a doctor, and passed through several big towns along the way, but Ke Weiqing refused all of them on the grounds that he knew medical skills.

Hong Liu said that the people of the Wuque Clan are weak in physique, which may be caused by the constant fighting and the general's fatigue, so Yong Lin doesn't have to worry too much.

However, Yonglin always felt that there was something strange about it, but when he looked closely at Ke Weiqing, he couldn't see anything.

"Show the whole army, the village will be ten miles away. Enter the village to rest for a while, and then go on your way." Yong Lin turned his head and said to the messenger who followed behind.

"Why do you need to rest?" Ke Weiqing asked, they had been gone for less than half a day.

"You look too tired." Yonglin said softly, "This will affect morale, it's better to take a rest." Ke Weiqing bit his lip, "I'm just too hot, let's go on, don't affect the march, Hongliu and the others We are already ahead, maybe we will meet Dayan’s army, we have to support him.”

"They have divided into four armies, and they are not as numerous as us, so don't worry about it." Yong Lin insisted, "You are the coach, if you fall, it will be fine!"

"But I...!" Ke Weiqing was about to say something, but suddenly there was a scream in his ears, and his eyes blurred, and he almost fainted!

"Wei Qing!" Yong Lin quickly stretched out his hand and hugged Ke Weiqing who seemed about to fall off his horse.

"Don't touch me!" Ke Weiqing was shocked and opened Yonglin's hand!Then he hesitated again, and said, "I'm sorry... I'm a little tired, let's go to the village to rest."

"Miss Wei...?"

The back of Yong Lin's hand was red, and Ke Weiqing's guarded posture made his doubts deepen.

What happened to him?Yonglin secretly decided that he must figure it out before the big war comes.