Faced with the people of the fort who surrendered voluntarily and Cao Pi and others who were eyeing each other, Yi Chengbing finally chose to retreat. Obviously, in their opinion, it takes time and effort to get a large number of people out of the well, and it is better to go around other places than to make a fuss with mutton here.

With Cao Pi's background and heart, he naturally would not covet that bit of gold, silver and jewelry, let alone have a relationship with a woman other than Cai Ji. Therefore, after the Yi Cheng soldiers left, he ordered people to rescue a bunch of people hiding in the well one by one, a total of 12 female dependents, 8 young children and 17 old people. It turned out that at the beginning of the construction of the Gao family, a secret room for hiding was dug to avoid the military disaster, and the entrance was the inconspicuous well. Later, as the dock wall continued to expand, the well was enclosed in the warehouse, and the Gao family forgot that there was such a hiding place over time. Until tonight, the Qi army broke through Gaojiawu, and the old man in the dock remembered this place, so he hurriedly hid in the secret room underground with all the surrounding women and children. I never thought that Xiao'er was frightened and cried loudly, which attracted Yicheng soldiers to besiege the well. Fortunately, Cao Pi and others arrived later to stop the strong attack of the Yicheng soldiers in time, and everyone in the underground dared to surrender to the Qi army on their own initiative.

Cao Pi saw that the rescued people were all old and weak women and children, so he personally escorted the people back to the military camp outside the city to settle down. Of course, more Qi soldiers are still searching, plundering, and killing within the dock walls. It was midnight and the darkest hour before dawn fell, looking back at the blazing Gaojiawu behind him, Cao Pi, who was in the camp, couldn't help but think of the scene when he came to Nanpi with Cai Ji for the first time. At that time, the people of Gaojiawu were prosperous, the fields were longitudinal and horizontal, and the orchards were fruitful. Who could have imagined that the pastorals of the past would disappear in an overnight manner after a few years.

For the people of the late Han Dynasty who were born in troubled times, the alternation between prosperity and decline seems to be a matter of course. There are different opinions on right and wrong. But Cao Pi, who is sensitive to nature, is through the rise and fall of a local clan. In a trance, he saw Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and even his father and his wife. In such a great era of heroes, every hero is pursuing fame. Pursue a greatness that can leave a name in history. To this end, the heroes did not hesitate to spend thousands of lives as a stepping stone to success. It's just that no one can say how long this greatness will last.

Thinking about how majestic the two brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were back then, they didn't end up in ruin and die in the end. And Cao Pi's father Cao Cao, who was the son of heaven and ordered Buchen, also experienced the defeat of Chibi and the defeat of Dangyang in the most proud season, and was almost defeated and killed. Even Cao Pi's wife, Cai Ji, has faced life-and-death dilemmas like the siege of Wancheng and the siege of the white wolf. Perhaps it is these experiences that have created the sad and sad side of Cao Pi's character.

Of course, Cao Pi also knew that his appearance would make his father and wife unhappy, so he rarely revealed his heart in public on weekdays. However, at the moment, he is neither the prince of Wei nor the Marquis of Linzi of Qi, so naturally there is no need to deliberately hide it. Especially thinking that the Jizhou Haoqiang involved in the smuggling case is far more than the Gao family, and vicious wars like today will be staged in Jizhou one after another, Cao Pi feels that the world is not peaceful and just like that. So he sighed to himself. "Rise and fall are the suffering of the people."

Who would have thought that as soon as Cao Pi's words fell, someone behind him took over the conversation and said, "One will be a success." This has always been the case since ancient times. Needless to say, this battle was a happy event for the people of Qi country. Why should the son be so sad. ”

Cao Pi, who felt a slight difference, turned around when he heard the sound, and recognized at a glance that the person who spoke was an old man he had just rescued from the well. However, this person's expression was calm, and there was no grief on his face at all, and then he connected with his words just now. Cao Pi couldn't help but ask curiously. "Why did my husband say this?"

The old man twisted his long beard in his hand and slowly analyzed, "Your army took Gaojiawu overnight, and I would like to ask who would dare to be the enemy of the Qi lord again." Isn't it a blessing for the people of Qi to bow down to the lord of Qi and the powerful sect party? ”

Seeing that the old man in front of him was extraordinary, and his bearing was elegant, Cao Pi immediately restrained his contempt, and turned to respectfully bow to the other party. "Dare to ask what Mr. is called?"

The old man looked Cao Pi up and down, and returned the salute quietly. "Old man Yichuanzi."

Cao Pi secretly combed through the world's characters in his heart, and found that there was no famous person called "Yichuanzi", and at the same time, no famous person in the world could match the old man in front of him. Could it be that this man is a legendary hermit? Thinking of this, Cao Pi couldn't help but have a strong interest in this old man who called himself "Yichuanzi".

Later facts also proved that Ichikawako's judgment was indeed accurate. The Jizhou smuggling case involved more than 100 officials and powerful people. If every family resists desperately like Gao Jiawu, the people who will be implicated are very likely to approach 100,000. Fortunately, the Qi army's victory in Gaojiawu overnight greatly shocked the local heroes in Jizhou, and Tai Shici, Zhang Qing and others dispatched troops to arrest them in advance according to the intelligence of the internal guards. Therefore, in the face of the government soldiers who came to take people, the vast majority of Wubi chose to hand over the first offender to plead guilty and be punished. A small number of stubborn dock walls were baptized by fire and thunder like Gaojiawu. As a result, the people of Jizhou have been afraid of all gunpowder-related utensils for a long time, even fireworks and firecrackers played by children.

It stands to reason that such a shocking case in Jizhou should cause a sensation in the world. However, the Jizhou smuggling case did not cause much turmoil in the first month of the third year of Yankang, because on the second day of the fall of Gaojiawu, Cai Ji, who had been pregnant for nearly nine months, finally ushered in the long-awaited delivery day.

For the ministers of the Qi State, the birth of the monarch is a major event related to the life and death of the Qi State. Therefore, as soon as they learned that Cai Ji was about to give birth, the important ministers of the Feng Pavilion, including Jia Xu and Guo Jia, rushed to the Qi Palace as soon as possible to stand by. Zhao Yun, who was in charge of the Ling Guard, personally put on armor and went into battle to guard the palace for Cai Ji in childbirth.

However, no matter how thoughtful and considerate the inside and outside of the delivery room are arranged by the civil and military forces of Qi State, childbirth is Cai Ji's battle alone after all. Neither in the previous life nor in this life, Cai Ji has never had the experience of giving birth. Fortunately, her current body is only twenty-five years old, which is in the golden period of female childbirth, and the fetal position is normal. Therefore, like every mother who gave birth smoothly in this era, Cai Ji was wearing a ** biting white cloth and sitting on the wooden basin on the edge of the collapse, and the midwife held her waist hard. Deliver in an ancient and natural seated position.

In the warm delivery room, sweat had already soaked through Cai Ji's clothes, and the severe pain made her let out a low roar like a beast as she bit the white cloth. But Cai Ji's consciousness was always clear. Just like when she chose to take the first step in the competition. She knew what she was doing, and she knew what it would cost.

Another wave of labor pains rushed like a tide, and Cai Ji could feel a force trying to break free from the shackles of his uterus. The long pain seems to be endless, as if there is no end in sight to this troubled era of continuous war. But hope will come eventually. At the peak of the pain, the baby slid out of its mother's body by gravity and let out its first cry in life amid the cheers of the midwife.

At the same time, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Cui Yan, Tian Feng, Wang Xiu, and Li Min were anxiously waiting for the birth of the heir of Qi in the Feng Pavilion. Although Hua Tuo checked it out before, he asserted that Cai Ji was all right, and he would definitely be able to give birth smoothly this time. But a woman's birth has always been dangerous, and the slightest carelessness can endanger her life. Seeing that two and a half hours have passed, there is no news from the inner garden. Rao was a father to the six people present, and he couldn't help but feel faintly uneasy at this time. and saw Guo Jia holding a folding fan and knocking lightly on the tiger's mouth; Tian Feng and Wang Xiu adjusted their sitting postures several times in a row; Although Li Min and Cui Yan bowed their heads and did not speak, their left hands kept patting their knees; Even Jia Xu's beard, whose eyes were closed, was trembling slightly.

Suddenly, a sharp sound of small broken steps broke the silence in the Feng Pavilion. Jia Xu, Tian Feng and others, who realized that there was news in the inner garden, raised their heads one after another, and Guo Jia stood up directly. Sure enough, the next moment, I saw Cai Ji's personal maid Lily of the Valley hurriedly walking into Feng Geyu and reporting, "The king is overjoyed and has given birth to a daughter." Mother and daughter are safe. ”

learned that Cai Ji's mother and daughter were safe. The ministers of the Feng Pavilion first breathed a sigh of relief, and then they all regretted for Cai Ji, who gave birth to a daughter in danger. It is clear that a girl will not solve the current lack of heirs in the Qi Kingdom. After all, since the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, the Central Plains has entered a patriarchal society. The Han Dynasty was founded on the patriarchal patriarchal system such as the Three Constants and the Five Guidelines. Therefore, according to the current customs and habits of the Central Plains, the world may be able to accept an extraordinary female monarch to end the troubled times, but it is absolutely impossible to agree that a female family will rule the world.

In the final analysis, the six important ministers of Qi State present are all elite people. Before they pledged their allegiance to Cai Ji, they had all conducted a long and serious investigation of this female prince. After confirming that Cai Ji does have the talent and courage to change the troubled times, he made up his mind to assist a heroine in the world. Each of them has an extremely rational understanding of Cai Ji's strengths and weaknesses of female monarchs. So even Guo Jia, who is most optimistic about Cai Ji among the six, has to admit at this moment that Cai Ji wants to consolidate the existing regime. After all, there has to be a male heir. Even a male heir who has passed is better than a female heir who is born to her.

Of course, Cai Ji is still young, and he still has a lot of time to give birth, cultivate or choose an heir. Hence the loss of the ideal heir compared to the failure to get. Guo Jia is more concerned about whether Cai Ji's body has a big feint at this time, and his mood is still stable. I saw that he couldn't wait to ask Lily of the Valley, "How is the king now?" ”

Lily of the valley hurriedly replied, "Back to Shangshu, Doctor Hua said that Jun's pulse is stable, and there is no big feint. ”

After confirming that Cai Ji was safe and sound, Guo Jia's face showed a relieved smile, "The king's smooth birth of a daughter is really blessed by God, and the whole country should celebrate together." ”

Guo Jia woke everyone up with a word, and this time Cai Ji crossed the ghost gate of childbirth is the greatest luck. As the important ministers of the Qi State, it is imperative that everyone stabilize the situation for Cai Ji first. Hearing the head of the household, Tian Feng hurriedly nodded and agreed, "Feng Xiao's words are reasonable, and the peace of the king is the blessing of the Qi country." ”

Cui Yan, the secretary of the ministry, then proposed, "During the Yongping period, the third daughter of the king of the East China Sea was awarded the title of marquis of a small country. Yu thought that he could compare this example with the daughter of the king to ask for a seal from the court. ”

It turned out that under the influence of matrilineal legacy, the Han Dynasty still had the custom of "daughter as heir". It's just that very few people will take their daughters as heirs unless they have to. Cui Yan cited the example of the three daughters of Liu Jiang, the king of the East China Sea, being crowned as a marquis at this moment, but he was only looking for a legal basis for Cai Ji's daughter to be knighted in the future, and he definitely did not agree that Cai Ji took a woman as his heir.

And just when everyone was discussing how to name Cai Ji's daughter next, Jia Xu, who had not spoken much, slowly spoke, "The matter of celebration and asking for the seal can be discussed later, and the rest of the people, as a minister, should first congratulate the king." ”

After everyone heard what Jia Xu said, they remembered that the most important thing they had not done for a long time was that they had been busy for a long time, and immediately stood up with a smile and went to the inner garden together under the guidance of Lily of the Valley. Since Cai Ji had just given birth and couldn't blow the wind, all the important ministers could only congratulate their monarch through the curtain outside the delivery room.

At this time, Cai Ji was lying on the couch exhausted, and although the pain caused by the baby's separation from the mother's body had not yet faded, she felt full in her heart for the first time. That young life is the only existence in the world that has a spiritual and physical bond with her, and it is this bond that makes her no longer feel lonely in two lifetimes.

Of course, Cai Ji is also well aware that a girl not only cannot solve her heir problem, but can also adversely affect her rule. But just when she was secretly worried about her daughter's future, she overheard Lily of the Valley report from outside, "Your Excellency, Dr. Jia, Guo Shangshu, Cui Shangshu, Tian Shangshu, Li Shangshu, Wang Shangshu, He Xilai." ”

Immediately afterwards, I heard the voices of Jia Xu and others congratulating in unison behind the curtain, "Congratulations to the king." ”

Cai Ji, who was very grateful to himself and his daughter, sincerely thanked him, "Hard work. ”

However, before Jia Xu, Guo Jia and others could respond, Cai Yan in the delivery room had already hugged the baby who had been cut off and wiped clean with the afterbirth in front of Cai Ji, "Please give your name." ”

A person's name is not only a symbol, but also carries the expectations of parents for their children. So whether it is Cai Yan in the delivery room, or Jia Xu, Guo Jia and others outside the delivery room, they are all holding their breath and waiting for Cai Ji to name their daughter.

Looking at his daughter, who was ruddy in swaddling clothes and had not yet opened her eyes, Cai Ji suddenly remembered the tall and lush old locust tree in the Qi Palace. In Qingzhou, the first generation of locust trees is a symbol of vigorous vitality and wealth and glory. Cai Ji hopes that his daughter can also take root in this vast land like a locust tree, and grow up tenaciously and strongly.

So after some careful consideration, Cai Ji said his daughter's name, "Huai, there is a female name called Huai in a lonely family." (To be continued......)