Shadow Guard stand-in

Ten days later was the Lantern Festival, and as usual, the memorial room was supposed to receive the report from Yushiguan. He Jue stared at it all day, and only in the evening did the small officials deliver the report to the Hall of Qinzheng, saying that the messenger had just arrived.He Jue tore off the seal, and glanced at the words written by an unknown general. Although it was neat, it lost a bit of aura. He didn't want to read it first, but started to read Jin Jiuye's letter.

Not even.

He Jue was stunned, how could it be possible?Don't you miss you, miss you, don't you see you?It's only been ten days and you haven't thought about it?

He also wanted to see what Brother Ye would write this time, but he found nothing.Disappointment and unhappiness filled his heart, he secretly scolded the man for going wild after he left the palace, and he didn't even say a word, which made him worry and wait for a long time in vain.

Fortunately, the report still wrote something about Jin Jiuye, saying that Lord Yingwei had discovered Qi Lezhi's trace and had already taken the dark guards out.

This is also good news, which means that Qi Lezhi will be rescued soon. He Jue hurriedly summoned Elder Qi Ge to share this memorial, so as to teach the Qi family not to worry too much.

The elder Qi Ge expressed his thanks again and again, "If Le Zhi is saved this time, the biggest contributor is Lord Yingwei. The veteran must thank Lord Yingwei first."

He Jue smiled, "He doesn't like these vain gifts, Mr. Ge, don't thank him specially, maybe he still doesn't understand why. If Lezhi comes back, Mr. Ge, you can just do me a favor then. "

"What's the matter?" Qi Ge asked.

He Jue smiled mysteriously, and put it off first, "In short, just say a few words for me, don't worry about anything else. Is my character unbelievable, and naturally I won't embarrass the old man."

Elder Qi Ge agreed, and He Jue secretly laughed, thinking that when the time comes to repay the favor, Elder Qi Ge should not go back on what he says.

He had already thought about what would happen in the future, and he was only waiting for Jin Jiuye to bring Qi Lezhi back this time, and bring it up around the Dragon Boat Festival or Qixi Festival in the middle of the year.To start with, those old families in the previous dynasty would definitely have trouble for a year or so, but if he was lucky, he might be able to make up wedding candles with his brother Ye at the end of the year.

After this incident, the Qi family should not try their best to oppose it. As for the emperor's heir and prince, there is always a solution.

He Jue thought beautifully, and the days passed quickly.In the blink of an eye, it was the end of January, and the once-a-ten-day report hadn't been sent to Xijing, and Jin Jiuye hadn't sent a letter back. He Jue felt a little flustered, and even the cabinet was a little impetuous.

Elder Qi Ge had endured it for four or five days, and finally couldn't bear to ask He Jue, "Your Majesty, hasn't Mr. Shadow Guard returned any good news?"

He Jue shook his head, "Not yet."

Elder Qi Ge sighed, "This time it has been delayed for five days. Although the border is changing rapidly, there are also delays of one or two months, but this time the old minister is not at ease. When I saw the eldest princess a few days ago, I heard her say that she was praying at home. Blessed."

He Jue frowned, and unconsciously turned the beads on his wrist. This string has been worn for several months, and it was changed after the last dispute with Jin Jiuye.Zhang Fu said that it was engraved with prayer scriptures, and occasionally he would miss the Buddhist scriptures for a while to pray for Jin Jiuye, but thinking about Jin Jiuye wearing the peace amulet he begged for, he felt that nothing would happen to that man.

He hasn't married him openly, how can he just abandon him like this?

"No, Mr. Ge, don't worry." He Jue comforted Mr. Qi Ge like this, and also comforted himself.

In less than three days, Xu Xu's late border report was finally delivered to the event room, with the word "urgent" marked on it, He Jue's heart skipped a beat, and his fingers trembled in panic.But as a king, he tried his best to restrain his panic, and tightened the corners of his lips, showing a calm look.

When it was time to remove the seal, it still couldn't be opened at once, and the handwriting inside was messy, which showed that the Shangshu people couldn't calm down.

Something happened to Yushiguan again.

The wolf smoke cavalry struck, and Jin Jiuye disappeared.

He Jue felt his eyes go dark, staring at the word "missing", and it took him a long time to stabilize his mind. He squeezed the paper and immediately summoned the cabinet ministers to discuss the matter.

All the cabinet ministers were talking about it, but He Jue couldn't listen to a word. He just remembered that many years ago, when he was imprisoned by the former emperor, Jin Jiuye held a long knife and a short knife in each hand, and rushed all the way from the Taihe Gate. After leaving the Palace of Qinzheng, the imperial guards, and the Habayashi guards, countless people rushed up, but they couldn't stop his footsteps.The first emperor almost fled from the palace under this coercion. That night, the sky was full of flames and blood flowed like rivers.

It was the third year of Baoyuan, when He Jue had just become popular in the battle for the prince's throne, but the former emperor was afraid and wanted to get rid of it quickly. Who can escape the schemes of the king of a country?He Jue couldn't, and neither could Jin Jiuye.But Jin Jiuye didn't talk about conspiracies and calculations, he only talked about force, and forcibly fought a bloody way through the Taihe Gate. He said to the first emperor, let the sixth prince go, or I will kill you.

The first emperor sat slumped on the dragon chair, with disheveled hair, disheveled clothes, cold sweat, and fear in his eyes, and he couldn't even do a stern bravado.

Because the man in black in front of him was covered in blood, his eyes were indifferent, and he was holding a knife. The blade was cut into sharp edges, but there was a trace of blood dripping, and he walked towards him step by step, as if he had crawled out of hell. demon.

That was the first time that He Jue saw his majestic and majestic father, begging for mercy.

That was also the first time He Jue saw Jin Jiuye as a bloody man, with a bloody smell all over his body. He was cold and fierce, but he was also at the end of his strength.

This appearance remained in He Jue's memory for a long time, but he did not think of it again for many years after that, not even when Jin Jiuye disobeyed the order and insisted on taking the head of the King of Chu from the ten thousand armies.But today, he suddenly remembered, he seemed to see the man lying in a pool of blood, only relying on the last ounce of will to stand up again.

The tip of his knife was dripping with blood, and he refused to fall.

There was a long quarrel in Qinzheng Hall, everyone was anxious, anxious, and panicked at the same time.

Qi Lezhi's ability is obvious to all. It is not because his father was the chief assistant of the cabinet that he entered the cabinet immediately at a young age.And Jin Jiuye was even worse, he was a demonized and deified existence, who crawled out of the life and death camp back then, and protected His Majesty steadily during the Five Kings Rebellion.At that time, all the shadow guards from the Life and Death Camp were vicious, who wouldn't have one by his side?And he is the shadow guard among the shadow guards.

Both of these two fell in Yushi Pass, how can anyone in the court not panic?

He Jue couldn't bear the noise anymore, he stood up without saying a word, and everyone fell silent.

He strode out of the Hall of Qinzheng, passing everyone's gaze. Standing outside the hall, the cold wind in February was still carrying the severe cold, which made his face ache.He remembered that more than two months ago, he and Jin Jiuye were also standing here. They looked at the sky full of snow and discussed the future affairs in a flat tone.At that time, no matter what he said, Jin Jiuye responded.

Even though the man still didn't understand the style, He Jue felt warm and sweet in his heart, thinking that for such a long life, he would always have time to warm Jin Jiuye's heart.

But now, He Jue clenched his fists, and the man covered in blood once again appeared in front of his eyes.Thinking of you and thinking of you, but not seeing you, He Jue felt pain in his heart.

"Your Majesty." Elder Qi Ge also came out, as if he had aged several years, he spoke softly behind He Jue.

He Jue turned around, pulled the corners of his lips reluctantly, wanted to say a few words of comfort, but found that he couldn't say a word.In the end, he could only persuade: "It's windy outside, the old man is getting old, let's go back to the hall to take shelter."

Elder Qi Ge shook his head, "The old minister wants to talk to His Majesty."

"What did you say?" He Jue felt bitter in his heart, he no longer had the time and energy to put on the majesty of the king, and act like a wise king to salute his ministers.

"Your Majesty, I also watched you grow up." Elder Qi Ge's voice was a little hoarse and slow, "Your Majesty sometimes doesn't have to hold back in front of you."

At this moment, maybe a word or a few words can completely penetrate He Jue's fragility.

He Jue took a deep breath, and suddenly there was moisture in his eyes, and his worry about Jin Jiuye suddenly seeped out from every pore in his body.His back didn't seem so straight anymore, and his tone was trembling slightly, "Ge Lao, I want to go to Yushi Pass."

"Your Majesty!" Elder Qi Ge exclaimed, he did not expect He Jue to make such a willful decision suddenly.

He Jue smiled wryly, and his inner thoughts became more and more firm, "I'm going to Yushi Pass, to see the real face of those ghosts and snake gods, to see who dares to invade my Southern Tang territory, to see who dares to hurt my Southern Tang people, to see... "

Where is my night brother?

He Jue made a soft sound, but didn't say the last word.

Elder Qi Ge asked: "Is it impossible to change His Majesty's wishes?"

"Yes, it cannot be changed." He Jue was very sure.

"But if His Majesty never returns, what about Xijing?" Elder Qi Ge asked frankly and sharply.

If you were a minister next to you, you would definitely not dare to ask this question in your heart. Whoever dares to talk about the life and death of the emperor is committing the crime of deceiving the emperor?However, Elder Qi Ge had to consider this issue for the sake of the He family in the Southern Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty has no queen in the middle palace, no prince in the east palace, and no old clan elders in the clan. If there is any mistake, there will be chaos in the court, and the veterans don't know how to deal with it."

He Jue suddenly smiled when he heard this, the expression on his face became much more relaxed, and he said indifferently: "Elder Ge has gone through three dynasties, even when the first emperor was there, he was able to stabilize the court, and it will not be so bad if I die Let's go. What's more, Xuanyi Division has cleaned up the chaotic court conspiracy in recent years, and I have also tried my best to select capable ministers and generals. Even if there is no crown prince, even if the dragons have no leader, the chaos of the Five Kings will never recur."

He Jue's tone was very confident, it was an emperor's control over the world.

Old Qi Ge remained silent.

He Jue's words continued: "If I really can't come back from Yushiguan, the elder Ge can be the Minister Gu Ming, and select a capable person from the clan to succeed him. No matter who he is, he can be named as my heir."

"If there is no suitable candidate in the clan..." He Jue said here, paused, and then he was relieved, "I would like to entrust the Southern Tang Dynasty to Ge Lao, and entrust it to the Qi family, so that Ge Lao can ascend the throne by himself. , is by no means usurping the throne and seeking rebellion. As long as the people of the Southern Tang Dynasty live and work in peace and contentment, what does it matter if the surname is He in this world?"

The last few words were never expected by Mr. Qi Ge. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

He Jue didn't wait for him to say more, and began to analyze the situation again: "If I die, the Southern Tang Dynasty will definitely not be able to continue to entangle with the Northern Qi Dynasty. Ge Lao needs to negotiate peace with the Northern Qi Dynasty as soon as possible, so as to stabilize the border, and there is no need to worry about ceding land and paying compensation. , we must not let the wolf smoke riders wait for the opportunity to abuse the people."

Qi Ge always should be.

He Jue nodded, "At that time, the Prince of Northern Qi may be on the decline, so you will form an alliance with the Eighth Prince to help him ascend the throne, and Xuanyi will guard the prince and clan of Northern Qi. You can use this as a retreat, as long as you are very careful about the Ninth Princess. .”

"Older Ge must know the rest, so I don't need to explain them one by one." He Jue sighed.

The trust and entrustment in the words moved Elder Qi Ge very much, and he quickly expressed his loyalty: "The old minister is willing to devote himself to His Majesty until the end of his life, and there will never be a single complaint."

He Jue smiled, stretched out his arms, and hugged the old minister's hunched body, "It's my willfulness, but I can't help myself, and Wangge will take care of me."

"I only have one wish. If neither I nor Jin Jiuye can come back, I would like to ask Mr. Ge to overcome all the arguments and canonize him as queen for me." He Jue looked into the distance, his eyes seemed to pass through the mountains, and he saw the black man. A man with a cold face, "I want to live and die with him in the same bed."

"If he is the only one who comes back, I will write him a letter to release his wife for me, so that he will not be too lonely and boring to guard the mausoleum for me."

He Jue didn't know what to think of, and suddenly laughed in a low voice, as if he was not talking about the aftermath, but a joke.

"If elder Ge can help him find a companion, that would be the best."

"This..." Old Qi Ge was dumbfounded.

He Jue smiled, only thinking of that man, and didn't speak any more.