The Honor of the Red Chamber

However, the terrain of the southwest border is complicated. Although most of them are low mountains and hills, the jungles there are dense, hot and humid, and the non-jungle areas are dry and lack of water. The soldiers who went to the Central Plains often felt uncomfortable. Fortunately, the logistics supplies were abundant. Jia Rong There was also sufficient preparation before the war, and the scheduling was well-organized, so it took a month for the army to overcome the water and soil problems that had just arrived.

When everything was on the right track, Jia Rong began to be rude.

In fact, as soon as they entered the southwestern border, Jia Rong got an amazing tip through spies—the person who led the Burmese army to deal with them this time was actually the very favored second prince of the Burmese country! !

Anyone with a little military literacy can understand the importance of this informant!The so-called capturing the thief first captures the king, if you can capture the second prince of the enemy country in one fell swoop, why worry that the victory does not belong to your side?

Since entering the Southwest, in just half a year, even the emperor did not expect them to achieve outstanding results within a year, but this expeditionary army just broke everyone's guess, recovered its combat power at an astonishing speed, and fought against the enemy bandits. Before Kou could react, he gave them a heavy blow, smashing the opponent's defense line from the south of the Mian River to the north of the Xiyun Mountains in one fell swoop, rushed into the opponent's territory, and started killing! !

The news of the victory in the first battle was sent to the imperial court in the capital, which caused an uproar!

All of a sudden, there was a lot of noise in the courtroom, the advocates of the war faction, the neutral faction, and those old foxes who were crackling with their calculations, expounded their opinions eloquently, and the memorials were published one by one, and the debate became more and more intense. , only the emperor sat on the supreme throne, calm and unfathomable, watching the performances of the officials in front of him, scene after scene, it was very interesting.

Those who think highly of themselves say that Jia Rong is narrow-minded, kills too much, is full of blood, loses the way of benevolence and righteousness, and takes the path of tyranny, which may bring disaster to the heaven, and is not a famous general; It is said that Jia Rong is a heroic young man with extraordinary resourcefulness, and he achieved great victories in a short period of time. It is really a blessing for the court to have successors to the generals; Dealing with the Burmese country, if the other party surrenders, everyone will be happy; while the neutral faction stares at the foaming colleagues, it asks the emperor about the arrangement of food and grass in a serious manner, trying to get away with it; In the midst of the chaotic and indecent noise in the morning market, the emperor suddenly opened his mouth and asked softly, "What do King Zhongding think?"

In a word, the whole room was silent, and all the ministers looked around in a daze—"Loyal King"—Shui Mu?

Uh, they realized belatedly that the former God of War who had the most say in the war is now the loyal Prince Shui Mu who has retired and waited to die. So far, he hasn't spoken yet.

The emperor's question focused all his attention on Shui Mu, and the caring people among the ministers noticed that in just half a year, the proud and confident Shui Mu became much thinner and restrained, with the noble bearing of a royal family. , as if it vanished into nothing overnight, but what was left behind was the same humble and prudent attitude as an ordinary courtier. If it weren't for the emperor's "Loyalty King", no one would be able to remember it for two years. The mighty God of War who had just returned from the battlefield triumphantly in front of him!

Prince Zhongding, who was named, paused for a moment, then slowly stood up from the team, bent down towards the emperor, and said in a deep voice, "The emperor asked, and I thought that if the first battle was won, the emperor could send someone to reward and encourage him. Only then can the morale be stimulated and the victory continued. However, this battle is the first battle after all, and appropriate encouragement is enough. It also prevents the commander from getting carried away with the temporary victory and forgetting the expectations and teachings of the emperor. Defeat, this is a little opinion of the minister, please forgive me for lying."

Shui Mu's stern answer was heard by others as strictly adhering to the etiquette of the emperor and ministers, but they didn't know that these words were heard by the emperor, but it made the emperor's heart twitch, and he pinched the handrail carved into a golden dragon, almost unable to control it. expression.

Glancing gloomyly at the person who was still bending over and bowing his head, he said coldly, "Since that's the case, King Zhongding also thought about going to reward the envoys of the army instead of his ministers?"

Shui Mu pursed his lips, hesitated for a while, and finally said unwillingly, "The minister is dull, since he represents the emperor, he naturally needs a man of integrity!"

These words satisfied the emperor a little bit, but his face was still gloomy, and he waved his sleeves noncommittally and retreated from the morning court.

Shui Mu quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead. Among the group of ministers who were discussing a lot, he maintained a stiff, introverted and alienated posture, and wandered back to the palace. After a while, I entered the room, washed my face, changed into ordinary clothes, and then dismissed the waiters and closed the doors and windows.

When he was the only one left in the whole room, he suddenly dropped his shoulders, drooped his head listlessly, and pursed his mouth, as if a layer of life had been sucked out of him for no reason, even his fair face was faintly haggard. With a posture of being too depressed, he threw himself on the bed, silently slapped the soft bedding fiercely, and rolled from side to side, wanting to yell a few times!

In the next few days, Shui Mu didn't get any letter from the emperor, and he was depressed, looking forward, feeling anxious and complaining. When he went up to the court, he got bored listening to the ministers' praises and flattery, but the emperor seemed to be fighting with him. , the more impatient he is, the happier the emperor will be.

And he can't do anything, especially now that Jia Rong is going out to fight, and any "accident" may happen, he will never dare to test the emperor's patience, for fear that the emperor will get angry, and he can't bear the consequences—— The originally arrogant and self-willed temperament has been worn away, and the person becomes more silent and thinner.

He was suffering in every possible way here, and the emperor was actually not feeling well. Shui Mu's passive resistance attitude made the emperor's anger more and more intense. Since he became the emperor, no one really dared to shake his face, but this Not only did the emperor refuse to follow him, but he insisted on stepping on his good intentions. Doesn't Shui Mu know that a royal prince of the clan is mixed with foreign ministers and refuses to marry a wife and have children, and he doesn't even touch women? , Speaking out, being known by the old princes of the clan, and being known by the courtiers and the people of the world, where will the royal family's face be put, and should his own reputation and status be lost?Can he afford the consequences?Why is he getting older and more ignorant?He must have been taken away by that kid from the Jia family...

Well, the two brothers have both thought about the consequences of such a stalemate, but they have different starting points and come to completely different conclusions.

The emperor himself didn't realize that there was actually a trace of grievance mixed in his full of anger——

He regards the emperor as supreme, and thinks of one person with all his heart and soul, but the other party doesn't appreciate it, how can he be so embarrassing?

When these two compete, neither of them is willing to bow their heads. As expected of being born from a mother's womb, it is someone else who suffers. From the crown prince down, all the young princes and princes have been ordered to go around by the emperor. Even taking a breath is an extravagant hope. The salt administration is in short supply, northern Jiangsu is suffering from drought, punishing corrupt officials, and clearing up scientific examination frauds... The difficulty of each task is getting deeper, and the probability of offending people is getting higher and higher. It hit them on the head like a hailstone, making them all dizzy and complaining endlessly.

Oh my god, when will this miserable life end?Father, whoever offends you, who do you seek revenge on, has nothing to do with the ministers (the ministers)...

In the end, these ravaged young children of the royal family united and elected their Beijing Jing Wang Shui Rong, who had the best Chinese proficiency, the smartest brain, and the best deceitful tricks, and unanimously begged him to sacrifice himself to dig out the stubborn will of the emperor. Let the iceberg melt quickly and spring come back quickly——

So Shui Rong carried a flamboyant folding fan and walked all the way into the palace in a state of nervousness. As soon as the emperor saw him, he guessed his purpose, his face turned black, and he didn't have a good voice, "You Are you here to intercede for Shui Mu? Let me tell you, don’t bother. If you have the time, you might as well talk to Shui Mu and give up what he thinks in his heart at the moment. A dignified prince, do you want anything? What he thinks now is the only thing he wants, then he is a madman, and I can also let him have nothing from now on!"

Shui Rong didn't expect the emperor to be so open and honest, but he couldn't say anything about the deceitful plan that was originally brewing. After thinking about it for a while, he smiled bitterly and said, "The emperor's words are true, and my brother is irrefutable. As a child of the royal family, both Enjoying this glory and honor, naturally there are responsibilities that must be borne. Shui Mu wants to reconcile...but it is wishful thinking. The dignity of the royal family cannot be provoked, and the face of the royal family cannot be trampled on. It's with a woman...that's also a fantasy, the emperor thinks about the overall situation, and my minister understands."

The emperor sighed, put down the vermilion pen, raised his hand and rubbed between his brows, and said in a slightly tired tone, "Even you have figured it out, maybe given him time, he can figure it out too, I'm not unkind, It’s just that he was asking too much.”

When Shui Rong heard the emperor's words "Even you have figured it out", his expression was slightly startled, a slight bitterness appeared in the bottom of his eyes, and he seemed to recall the past in a trance, the pain of parting from life and death, which he had once blocked in the depths of his heart , was broken by the emperor's words, as if some kind of seal had been broken, and it suddenly rushed to his heart. Although it had been many years, the pain was still vivid and deep, tearing his scarred heart—if, at the beginning, he had Shui Mu A bit of courage, isn't it, the result is not what it is today, with yin and yang separated, this hatred is endless...

"Your Majesty," Shui Rong raised his head suddenly, the original playful smile had long since disappeared, and now his face was pale, his eyes were as deep as a cold pool, all the fluctuations were bound under the seemingly calm surface, and he couldn't break free, "These This year, Chendi figured it out, but Chendi has never met such a person in his life. No matter how many people have come and gone around Chendi these years, Chendi just feels cold, a cold that cannot be filled— —Chendi, Chendi’s heart is dead. Chendi no longer has the high spirits and ambitions of the past. Today’s Chendi is just an empty shell, alive, and there is no more meaning. This kind of endless In the future, does the emperor hope that Shui Mu will be like his younger brother?"

The water-soluble low voice echoed in the imperial study room, as if it was a curse, it was too dark to see a ray of light, the emperor seemed to be blocked by something, sour and bitter, but he still didn't want to give in, he hummed softly, "Jia family, the Jia family's kid is so good? You are like this, and Shui Mu is like this. He is like an evil spirit and refuses to come out. But such a family, how can I stay at ease? Maybe he was born with jade My precious jade will also become the doom of someone around me, it is better for me to cut it off first..." (Your Majesty, you are the truth...)

Shui Rong lowered his head and stopped making a sound. He said what he had to say. Although he was a little impulsive and reckless, if the emperor wanted to attack, he might find out a lot of disrespect, but if the emperor insisted on going his own way, there was nothing he could do. How different the situation is from his original estimate, but the ending is the same. He passed the steps, and the rest depends on the emperor's wishes.