The Blood Crown

Yan Sikong found an opportunity to have a drink with Yu Shenglang alone, Yu Shenglang accepted his gift, and was flattered very well by him, the two of them were about the same age, they were already brothers.

Yan Sikong could see Yu Shenglang's ambition, and thought he had a lot to do, but because his character was decent, he didn't say inappropriate words easily.

But after drinking and getting acquainted with Yan Sikong again, he became less strict and complained about Xue Ronggui's corruption and nepotism. Yan Sikong had expected it, otherwise he would be sent here with [-] soldiers The people in Hetao will not be him anymore.

Yan Sikong followed Yu Shenglang's words, sometimes filled with righteous indignation, and sometimes sighed with regret. His ability to win people's hearts was hard for even Xie Zhongren and the emperor to resist, let alone a fifth-rank general who thought he was underappreciated.

When he was almost done drinking, Yan Sikong took out a very valuable gold and jade carving and gave it to Yu Shenglang.

Yu Shenglang was half sober, and refused to accept it for a while. Before that, those things were regarded as arrangements. Yan Sikong had just arrived, and it was an unwritten rule among officials to respect each other. There must be something to ask for him.

Yan Sikong whispered: "Brother Yu, to tell you the truth, this is the annual gift that the Wolf King entrusted me to give you alone."

Hearing the word "Wolf King", Yu Shenglang's other half of the wine also completely woke up, and he stared at Yan Sikong in a daze.

Yan Sikong continued: "The wolf king asked you, do you still remember when we were hunting together, you were almost injured in order to help him surround the prey?"

Yu Shenglang's lips twitched slightly, his expression suddenly became complicated, he was worried, but also a little touched, he said tremblingly: "This... I was just a small hundred household back then, yet the Wolf King still remembers me?"

"Wolf King said Brother Yu was quick-witted, brave, loyal, and a general. He never forgot all these years."

Yu Shenglang rolled his eyeballs, and sweat broke out on his forehead: "What do you mean by this, brother?"

Yan Sikong held Yu Shenglang's hand, and said seriously: "From the beginning of my acquaintance with Brother Yu, I can see from your words that you never forget King Jingyuan, and there are not a few old people in Datong like you. General Chen, General Liu, General Mo, which of them has never received the favor of King Jingyuan, who admires King Jingyuan so much, Xue Ronggui can be as high as one-tenth of King Jingyuan?"

"One percent is flattering him." Yu Shenglang blurted out, but regretted it after he finished speaking, and subconsciously lowered his voice, "My dear brother, who else have you told this to? You must have drunk too much, why not?" I'll wake up from the wine another day..."

"Brother Yu must have woken up." Yan Sikong pushed the gold and jade carving in front of Yu Shenglang, "This is just a wish from the Wolf King. You are in Xue Ronggui's hands, and you will never be reused."

Yu Shenglang clenched his fists, his expression was full of struggles, Yan Sikong could see clearly that he didn't dare to turn against him in his heart, he might even be cursing himself why he found him, now it's impossible to pretend not to know.

Seeing him pursing his lips, Yan Sikong said, "I'll show Brother Yu something." He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Yu Shenglang.

"This is……"

"You can tell at a glance." After hesitating, Yu Shenglang opened the letter and scanned it at a glance. His expression became more and more nervous. Unable to sit on the stool anymore, he asked in a voice so hoarse that he could only hear it with his ear close to his mouth, "Who wrote this...?"

"King of Chu."

Yu Shenglang suddenly realized, and immediately understood what the letter said, so the cold sweat broke out even more.

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, "When the King of Chu was still the Lord of the East Palace, I was his attendant. His Highness trusted me very much. You also know that the name of the current crown prince is not right, and because of his collusion with the eunuchs, he caused trouble. The truth is, one day in the future, will such a person be able to rule my Dasheng country in the future?"

After he returned to Qianzhou, he received the secret letter from Chen Wei. As he expected, Chen Wei has been secretly cultivating his power over the years, whether it is the hatred of killing his mother or his innate ambition for the throne. , he never dared to relax.Yan Sikong's letter was exactly what he had been waiting for for a long time.

Yu Shenglang wiped off the sweat from his forehead: "This... is a big deal, I'll just..."

"Brother Yu." Yan Sikong said earnestly, "I'll ask you three questions."

"……You ask."

"Based on the current situation, can Qianzhou stop the wolf king?"

"It's probably...unstoppable."

"If the soldiers and civilians of Datong were to choose between Feng Jiajun and Xue Ronggui, who would they choose?"

"..."

"Who to choose?"

Yu Shenglang whispered: "Xue Ronggui has no prestige, at most he has no merit or demerit."

"Okay, the last question, if the wolf king assists the Chu king to return to the capital to ascend the throne, is he still treasonable?"

Yu Shenglang turned pale: "This... this..."

"The King of Chu is the eldest prince. His Majesty disregarded the objections of his loyal ministers and set up his willful love. Not only did he not abide by the ancestral system, but he also violated the Queen Mother's last wish. Why did His Majesty set an example for the world with benevolence and filial piety?" Yan Sikong said, "Of course, Your Majesty was probably deceived by the eunuchs and that treacherous concubine back then, now that the eunuchs have collapsed, it is time to inherit the ancestral system and set things right."

Yu Sheng stood up abruptly.

Yan Sikong also stood up, looking at his hesitant back: "One day when the city of Qianzhou is destroyed, Xu Yong will be the first to surrender. Is Brother Yu forced to surrender when he thinks about it, or do he do it? The person who has contributed to the wolf king and the future emperor?"

Yu Shenglang was shocked.

Yan Sikong smiled, this fish was already caught in his net.

-

On New Year's Eve, no one in Qianzhou city dared to celebrate recklessly. The common people secretly celebrated the reunion year at home, and they still had to worry about making too much noise and causing the army to scold them. , I don't want to follow Maoren's footsteps, so even if it is the most important day of the year, I am as cautious and vigilant as usual.

It's a pity that the strongest city is often not collapsed from the outside.

From New Year's Eve to the third day of the Lunar New Year, the spies reported back every day, the wolf king raised his troops to celebrate, and the soldiers got drunk every day, and they didn't seem to have any plans to attack at all, so Wu Mang felt at ease.

Having not been home for many days to reunite with his parents, wife and children, he finally decided to go back for a new year, even if it was just for a reunion dinner.

That night, Yu Shenglang led his men to easily take down the city gate guard. It was the darkest, darkest and coldest time of the day, but the city walls of Qianzhou were brightly lit, and the city gate was opened. Drunken, he dispatched troops quickly, and when the sleeping Qianzhou official rushed over after receiving the urgent report, Feng Ye had already entered the city with a large army.

Yan Sikong hid upstairs in the post house. From the half-covered window, he would be able to see Feng Ye riding drunken red and wearing a battle armor cloak, walking slowly and majestically into the city, surrounded by his capable generals Left and right, the soldiers followed closely behind, and the captives knelt on the ground in unison. He was like a beast patrolling the flock, trying to devour the lambs without grinding his teeth.

Yan Sikong couldn't help but think back to the time when Feng Ye returned to Beijing, the two of them had a glimpse upstairs and downstairs. At that time, he remembered Feng Ye's wolf-like eyes, and now they are even more fierce.

Yan Sikong closed the window and waited for someone to come to him. Soon, he was arrested together with many Qianzhou officials.He had discussed with Yu Shenglang in advance, and his relationship with Feng Ye could not be revealed yet, because the Datong Army had not been captured yet.

Wu Mang was deeply indebted to the emperor, and he couldn't shirk the blame. In despair, he killed himself. Xu Yongyi, as Yan Sikong expected, surrendered happily. Once he surrendered, most of Qianzhou surrendered. Those who refused to surrender were all sent to jail by Fengye. This group of people, including Maoren's Shen Hexuan and the others, would be useful if they were killed or stroked, and they still wanted to save their lives for the time being.

Yan Sikong was sent to prison again.

But this time, Feng Ye ordered the bear cloak to be brought in for him, and the charcoal fire was burned vigorously, so even in the cold prison, he didn't freeze much.

After taking Qianzhou, Feng Ye had completely controlled the Hetao area. Now that the imperial court and Chahar had just decided to open the horse market in Hetao, Hetao was suddenly not under the imperial court's control.It is impossible for a barbarian to understand how this Han man fights among himself. He only cares that he is a nomad, has no farming, and does not know how to make things with his hands. They will come to snatch everything from rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits to small pots and needles. Those who have to pay a price, if they can buy and sell in the mutual market, saving the risk of never returning, they will naturally be very happy.In fact, for thousands of years, most of the various intrusions by the surrounding barbarians did not have the heart to dominate the Central Plains-mainly because they were not as capable as Wala, but mostly for the purpose of trading and trading, exchanging cattle, horses and sheep for their short land and land. unborn things.

Therefore, as soon as Fengye took over Qianzhou, he sent envoys to Chahar's Khan Yuri to cut off Dasheng's beard. enemy country.

This news shocked the government and the public. The court completely woke up from the dream that Feng Ye might be appeased. Feng Ye's move did not seem to have the possibility of surrender.

When Yan Sikong had nothing to do in the prison, he thought over and over again how he had fought and fought all over since the day he came to Qianzhou, and how he and Feng Ye had completely won the water and grass in just a few months. Hetao, with fertile land, is not to be proud of his own intelligence, but to go back to whether and where he has exposed his feet in the whole thing.The current result is the result of repeated deliberation and planning by him and Feng Ye. Every step is full of risks. Now they are only a few steps away from inducing the surrender of the Datong Army. If there is any mistake at this juncture, especially if there is no mistake, otherwise the success will be in vain.

With Feng Ye's current military and financial resources, it is absolutely impossible to win Datong if he wants to attack hard. Although Feng Jianping is gone, the perfect defense line he built and the soldiers he trained are not vegetarians, and Feng Ye is not willing to fight with him. The Datong army fought hand to hand, for him, after all, it used to be home.

In this way, although Yan Sikong was "in prison", his mind never idled until a few days later, Feng Ye took him out of prison.