August 15 of the fifth year of Cheng'an

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival again, but on this day, no one inside and outside the Jinling Imperial City has the heart to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Because in the evening of this day, the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival has not yet been seen, and the other three gates of the Jinling Imperial City have also been opened one after another. As for the southern cities, the Chenzhou army led by Nangong Xu had already entered the city one step ahead. In desperation, the soldiers defending the city could only abandon the outer city and retreat to the inner city gate. It's just that the outer city can't be defended, how long can the inner city be defended?

Eguo Gong stood on the city tower, looking at the Chenzhou army and Youzhou army who were struggling to attack outside, and only felt irrepressible sadness and helplessness in his heart.

"Guogong." Nangong Huai walked over quickly, his eyes were red on his emaciated face. Looking from afar, at the first glance in the chaotic army, you can see Nangong Xu, who is thin on horseback but still sitting, straight. Nangong Huai didn't know whether he should feel relieved or ashamed. The hostility between father and son has reached the current situation, and anyone with a discerning eye knows that he has lost just by looking at the results.

Eguo Gong glanced back at Nangong Huai, his expression was indifferent, "Chu Guogong." ”

Nangong Huai sighed, stood side by side with the Duke of E, stood on the city tower and looked down and asked, "Do you think the Duke of Guo still has a chance to win?" ”

Eguo Gongliang was silent for a long time.

Nangong Huai is not really a person who has no heart, no lungs, no blood and no tears, even if he is selfish, but in the face of today's situation, he will inevitably feel a little emotional. How heroic were they when they followed the first emperor to expel the Northern Yuan people, and how high-spirited they were when they followed the first emperor to live in the imperial city? It's a pity that the first emperor died for only a few years, and even the Jinling Imperial City couldn't be defended.

Nangong Huai knew that they had no chance of winning, and he didn't plan to defend Jinling City for Xiao Qianye. It's just that now he can only rely on Gong Yuchen, and Gong Yuchen didn't say that he could go, so he could only continue to stay. But Nangong Huai knew that it was impossible for Gong Yuchen to die with Xiao Qianye, so he was not in a hurry.

Sighing secretly, Nangong Huai regretted a little that he had promised Gong Yuchen to help him catch him. If it weren't for this, how could he be targeted by the people of Zixiao Palace? Once he left the encirclement of tens of thousands of troops and did not have the guards of the Water Pavilion, he alone would not be able to escape the pursuit of Zixiao Hall no matter what.

"Qi Guogong, it's not good!" Several generals hurried over, shouting before they could enter. E Guogong's heart sank, and he said in a deep voice: "What's the matter? ”

The general said: "There were sudden fires in many places in the city, and in addition, Chonghua Gate... Chonghua Gate is broken! ”

In fact, without the general speaking, they also saw the fire and smoke suddenly rising in the distance. Chonghua Gate is the nine gates of the inner city, but... How can it be so fast?!

Nangong Huai's face also sank, but he already had a retreat in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "There is a fine work of Yan Wangfu in the inner city!" ”

E Guogong shook his head and said a little weakly: "I'm just afraid... It's not the fine work of the Yan Wangfu, but the ......" but someone did the internal response and betrayed His Majesty. Even if there is a fine work, how much power can be used to open the city gates? It can only be done by the high-ranking and powerful people in the city.

The general who came in a hurry also said: "What the old prince said is right, it was King Qing and the Marquis of Yichun who led people to open the city gate. At this point... The Chenzhou army has already entered the city. ”

Everyone looked at Eguo Gong and wanted him to come up with an idea. There was only helplessness and sadness on the old face of the Duke of Eguo, and he waved his hand weakly and said, "That's it, let's go." ”

"Old... Guogong? ”

The inner city is not wider than the outer city, and I originally thought that although I retreated to the inner city, I could block some time with the strong city and the soldiers who stayed in the outer city to fight in the streets. But now it seems that the generals who stayed in the outer city have all surrendered, right? There are nine gates in the inner city, once one of the gates is broken, the rest can't be saved. What's more... I already knew that the Imperial City of Jinling couldn't hold it, so why let these soldiers go to death again? The old face of the Duke of Eguo looked at the young faces still stationed on the city tower, and there was only a bitterness left on the old face.

Uncles and nephews fight, monarchs and ministers kill each other, and the throne changes... And what kind of dry cleaning with these ordinary soldiers? That's enough......

E Guogong turned around and left, leaving only a trembling old figure and a group of helpless soldiers looking at each other.

"It's... Chu Guogong, what should we do? The general obviously didn't expect such a result, so he had to ask Nangong Huai, who was standing on the side. Although Nangong Huai's reputation is really not good now, after all, he is still the founder of the country who followed the first emperor, and the Duke of Eguo is gone, and only he can take the idea at this time.

Nangong Huai looked at the direction in which E Guogong left, sneered in his heart, but his face was not revealing at all. raised his eyebrows and said, "Didn't the old man say it?" Do whatever you want. After saying that, he waved his hand and turned to leave.

"Eguo Gong!" Nangong Huai caught up with the staggering Duke of E and shouted.

Duke E turned his head and looked at Nangong Huai calmly for a long time without saying a word. Nangong Huai was a little uncomfortable by him, and said with a smile: "Why does the old man look at him like this? ”

Eguo Gongdao: "The Duke of Chu is now... Is it the person of His Majesty, or the person of the palace master? ”

Nangong Huai was taken aback, and soon regained his calm smile and said, "Duke E Guogong said that he was laughing. ”

E Guogong shook his head and said: "This old man is asking in vain, if Chu Guogong has half of his allegiance to His Majesty, how can he... traveled thousands of miles to Chenzhou to help Gong Yuchen grab a child. ”

Nangong Huai was silent for a moment, and then sighed and said, "Sure enough, I can't hide anything from the Duke of Eguo." ”

E Guogong asked: "The Chonghua Gate was broken, how much does it have to do with the palace master?" ”

Nangong Huai frowned, hesitated for a moment and said with some uncertainty: "Probably, it's a little bit related, right?" "Although he is now helping Gong Yuchen, his relationship with Gong Yuchen is really not very good. It's just using each other, and Gong Yuchen naturally won't tell him any confidential things, even if these are just incidentally, I heard Gong Yuchen mention it. In fact, Nangong Huai didn't understand what Gong Yuchen wanted to do when he helped King Yan deal with Xiao Qianye for a while, and helped Xiao Qianye kill King Yan for a while. It stands to reason that Nian Yuan's identity was revealed, and Gong Yuchen and King Yan could be regarded as completely turning faces, but what did they want to do while helping Xiao Qianye guard the city while helping King Yan open the city gate?

"The old man gave up for this?" Nangong Huai frowned and said, just now he was still mocking the Duke of E in his heart, just when he saw that Chonghua Gate was broken, he picked on him, and he was not necessarily a little smarter than him.

E Guogong looked up at the dim sky and said, "The old man has reminded His Majesty many times that the palace is not credible, but it's a pity that His Majesty... Since even His Majesty himself has given up, let those innocent soldiers go. ”

"The old man is merciful." Nangong Huai didn't think so, but he was afraid of death.

Duke E Guogong didn't have the leisure to understand Nangong Huai's compliment and his thoughts, waved his hand and said: "Duke Chu doesn't have to pay attention to the old man, if you have something, you can go and get busy." ”

Nangong Huai said with a smile: "Let's send the old prince back to his house." ”

E Guogong didn't pay any attention to him, turned around and slowly walked forward. Nangong Huai didn't care, and walked behind Eguo Gong unhurriedly.

The two figures quietly appeared on a secluded and uninhabited street corner, and Nangong Huai, who was following behind the Duke of Eguo, couldn't help but shrink his eyes and took a step back vigilantly.

Xing Wei, who was dressed in black and gray hair, stood on the side of the street with a sword, not far from him, Jian Qiuyang was wearing a battle robe, leaning against the wall with a smile on the corner of his lips, and looked at Nangong Huai with a smile. On the street behind the two of them, there was the figure of E Guogong who was walking farther and farther away. I don't know if I didn't notice the two or didn't want to pay attention to it, E Guogong neither turned back nor quickened his pace, and still walked slowly forward.

Nangong stared at the two people in front of him vigilantly, and Jian Qiuyang smiled lightly: "Chu Guogong, don't come to harm?" ”

Nangong Huai smiled reluctantly, "General Jian, don't come unharmed." ”

Jian Qiuyang said with a smile: "A few days ago, Chu Guogong took away our little lady and killed Liu Han under the command of Zixiao Palace, I don't know if this account is planned to be calculated here, or will he go with us to the prince and the county lord to settle it?" Nangong Huai couldn't help but change his face and looked sideways around. Jian Qiuyang said with a smile: "Chu Guogong doesn't need to look at it, the few people who follow Chu Guogong will have someone to entertain them." Chu Guogong really shouldn't have left the army at this time. ”

Nangong Huai was depressed in his heart, seeing that the army was about to be defeated, it was strange that he didn't leave. It's just that I didn't expect these people to take credit for attacking Jinling, and they actually came to him at this time, and what I didn't expect was that the people sent by Gong Yuchen to protect him were so useless.

Nangong Huai naturally didn't know that Gong Yuchen had already put all his experience on his most important plan, and it was already trustworthy to be able to send a few people to protect Nangong Huai. There are many people who have lost their money by the palace master.

In terms of martial arts, Nangong Huai is definitely not the opponent of Jian Qiuyang and Xingwei. Faced with this situation, Nangong Huai could only sigh and said, "I'll go with you." ”

Hearing this, Jian Qiuyang was a little regretful. Xing Wei next to him also had a rare hint of disappointment flashing in his indifferent eyes. From the expressions of the two, Nangong Huai could see that these two people really wanted to kill themselves, rather than taking them back. This reason is probably from the person named Liu Han, so he is more cautious, "If the two of you want to take revenge, you have found the wrong person, and the old man in Chenzhou has not killed half of the people." ”

Jian Qiuyang sneered, I don't know if he believed Nangong Huai's words, but he turned his head sideways and said to Xing Wei: "Xing Wei, please take him back." ”

Xingwei didn't speak, and appeared directly in front of Nangong Huai, Nangong Huai couldn't even resist before he was knocked unconscious on the ground by a sword hilt. Xing Wei picked up Nangong Huai with one hand, nodded at Jian Qiuyang and turned to leave.

"Your Majesty, the inner city is broken." In the palace, the chamberlain hurriedly came to pray.

Xiao Qianye sat alone in the imperial study, but he didn't jump like thunder as usual. There was not even a trace of worry and anxiety on her still handsome but haggard face, she just nodded slightly and said, "I know, stand down?" The chamberlain glanced up at Xiao Qianye in some horror, feeling a little uneasy in his heart but didn't dare to say anything, so he buckled his head and retreated cautiously.

Xiao Qianye sat in the dragon chair, looking up at the beautifully carved and rich beams, revealing a mocking smile.

At this moment, he couldn't tell for a moment whether he was panicking and angry, or whether he should breathe a sigh of relief. It's been more than five years... Sitting in this position, he did not have a moment of peace and comfort, trembling and doing something right and wrong, and wanted to surround the throne under him in fear. Now, it's finally time to put an end to it.

"陛xià." A man in black appeared in the temple, knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice.

"Say it." Xiao Qianye said indifferently.

The man in black said in a low voice: "The nine gates of the inner city have been broken in three places, the Duke of Eguo has abandoned it, and Nangong Huai is missing." The Youzhou Army and the Chenzhou Army have already pressed towards the palace. ”

Xiao Qianye nodded, "Got it, where is Gong Yuchen?" ”

"The palace master is still in the palace."

Xiao Qianye's lips hooked up a sneer and said, "I know, go down." ”

"Yes, the subordinates retired."

The man in black disappeared silently into the main hall, Xiao Qianye stood up and walked out of the gate of the imperial study in the direction of the harem.

In the palace of the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother is kneeling in plain clothes and kneeling in front of the Buddha statue in the hall to chant sutras. Hearing the footsteps, Fang opened his eyes and turned around, and saw Xiao Qianye, who walked in, with a loving smile on his delicate face with some traces of time, "Ye'er, you are here." ”

"The Queen Mother." Xiao Qianye knelt down in front of the Queen Mother and shouted in a low voice.

There was a moment of silence in the hall, and the Queen Mother sighed and said, "Can't you hold it?" ”

Xiao Qianye nodded silently, raised his hand and reached out to touch his son's haggard and tired face, and said softly: "That's nothing, you've done your best." For the sake of your grandfather and father, your third uncle won't hurt your life, at least... Not now. ”

"The child is incompetent, and the queen mother can't enjoy her life in peace." Xiao Qianye closed his eyes and said, although you are the queen mother, but since he ascended the throne, things have been constant, and the queen mother is also worried when she is more happy and less happy.

The Queen Mother smiled faintly, "The Queen Mother's life can be regarded as smooth sailing, with you, the Queen Mother has no regrets." ”

After listening to the Queen Mother's words, Xiao Qianye felt a little more guilty on her face, looked up at the Queen Mother and said, "What the Queen Mother said is right, Uncle Yan Wang will definitely not treat the Queen Mother lightly for the sake of his father." The child is incompetent, and only hopes that the queen mother will be safe and prosperous in the future, and enjoy her life in peace. ”

"Ye'er, what do you want to do?" The Queen Mother couldn't help but feel an ominous feeling in her heart, and couldn't help but pull Xiao Qianye and asked urgently.

Xiao Qianye couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't worry, the queen mother, the child won't do things that shouldn't be done." At this point, the child is just a little bit against his father and grandfather. Child... remembered that Taimiao asked the emperor's grandfather for guilt. ”

The Queen Mother breathed a sigh of relief, although she was still uneasy in her heart, she had to take it down, and said softly: "Okay, you can go." Now, I don't have to be too myself. ”

"Thank you, child, Queen Mother." Xiao Qianye made another big salute to the Queen Mother, and then stood up and said goodbye.

Looking at the sound and shadow of Xiao Qianye's departure, the Queen Mother couldn't help but feel a little distracted. When his back disappeared outside the main hall, the Queen Mother came back to her senses but was already in tears. With a sigh, the Queen Mother turned around and knelt down in front of the Buddha, and once again silently recited the scriptures.

The Buddha is above, and the believer does not seek this life or the next life, but only hopes that my son will be safe in his life.

Leaving the queen mother's palace, Xiao Qianye went to the queen's palace again, but did not enter. Now the people in the palace are panicking, and even many palace maids have escaped from the palace, even the queen's palace is disheartened, and the people waiting don't know where to go. Xiao Qianye went in, but he didn't alarm the queen.

The queen was holding the eldest prince to teach him to read, and her not very beautiful face had a kind smile, which was not amazing but made people feel quiet and warm. Xiao Qianye looked at his wife and son for a while, then turned around and walked out a little gloomily. Since his accession to the throne, the relationship with the queen has been very cold, no, perhaps before that, there was nothing left of their relationship but fame. What kind of face does he have to see his wife and son at this time?

Out of the palace, I happened to meet a palace maid head-on. The palace maid was also taken aback, obviously she didn't expect the emperor to come to the queen's palace at this time. Hurriedly knelt down and said, "I've seen Your Majesty, the queen... The slave and maid are going to tell the mother......"

Xiao Qianye waved his hand and said indifferently: "No need, I just walked around casually, and I don't need to tell Queen Sù." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." The palace maid watched the emperor stroll away with some blankness, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"陛xià." Out of the queen's palace, the waiter waiting outside the door shouted cautiously. At this time, there is obviously something wrong with His Majesty, and they don't know what to do.

Xiao Qianye, who originally wanted to go to Concubine Zhu's palace again, suddenly became a little excited, glanced at the waiter and said, "What?" ”

The waiter said: "The guards came to tell you, Lord Han and Lord Zhou asked to see each other." ”

Xiao Qianye paused, shook his head and said, "Let the two gentlemen go back, I have something to do, and I will see them flawlessly." ”

"This ......" The chamberlain hesitated a little, His Majesty had always been very generous to the two adults, and rarely refused their requests to see. But now this shape shì is also excusable, right? Thinking of this, he hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

Xiao Qianye nodded, turned around and walked in the direction he was heading.

"Majesty... Where is this going? ”

"Taimiao." Xiao Qianye said indifferently.

Gong Yuchen stood at the door, casually looking at Xiao Qianye, who was gradually approaching.

"Where are you going?"

Xiao Qianye said lightly: "Where to go, doesn't the palace master know?" Otherwise, how could they be waiting here. ”

Gong Yuchen didn't hide it, and said with a smile: "I'm just here to inform Your Majesty that King Yan has already entered the city, and at the latest tomorrow morning, I'm afraid that I will enter the palace." ”

Xiao Qianye nodded, "Thank you Palace Master for informing me." ”

Gong Yuchen sighed, "So... Are you ready? ”

Xiao Qianye resolutely forgot about Gong Yuchen for a long time before he spoke: "What else do I have to prepare, Heng Zhu is just a king of a dead country." The palace master is really ready when he is ready. ”

"It's natural, it's better not to let your majesty down." Gong Yuchen smiled.

"That's good." Xiao Qianye smiled and turned to leave.

Behind him, Gong Yuchen's eyes became darker and darker.