After the defeat of the expedition, the division of the Great Qi Army returned to the city, and the dejected appearance of the soldiers was in obvious contrast with that before the expedition. Seeing their appearance, it was not difficult for people to guess how the battle was going, Qingcheng and Zhenhaihou were all worried, worried about the loss of morale.

However, to their surprise, King Guhong, who had received the news from the flying pigeon early, actually ordered people to line up outside Linhai City to welcome him, looking like a triumphant army, with great momentum.

Seeing this scene, Zhenhaihou couldn't help but secretly bow his head, feeling guilty. Because he understands that this move is all about stabilizing people's hearts and appeasing the people, but it is really a false prosperity.

After the Marquis of Zhenhai got off the boat, he didn't take a few steps before he saw King Guhong go out of the city in person, and hurriedly stepped forward. Before he could give a salute, King Guhong took the first step to hold his arms, and said with a chuckle: "Wu Jing, let this king wait, haha." You have worked hard in this battle, look, this king personally picks up the wind for you. ”

King Guhong's words were sincere, but when Zhenhai Hou heard it in his ears, he only felt that what he said "This battle is hard" was obviously something in his words, and he waved his hand again and again at the moment, and said: "The prince forgives the sin, and the last general ......"

"Don't worry, I'll talk about it when I get home."

King Gu Hong seemed to know what Zhenhai Hou wanted to say, so he hurriedly interrupted him, and with an attitude that seemed to be very dependent, he slowly walked to the side to welcome the generals who came one after another.

Looking at the appearance of King Guhong, Qingcheng, who was walking behind, couldn't help frowning slightly, and thought with a little worry: I'm afraid that the mountain rain is about to come and the wind is full of buildings.

"Qingcheng, you seem to be a little anxious, but are you worried about Master Hou?"

Liang Feng on the side saw the change in Qingcheng's expression, and asked flatly. Qingcheng's thoughts were interrupted by him, thinking about what he asked, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Brother Liang seems to be very relieved." ”

Qingcheng answered the question, Liang Feng smiled noncommittally, glanced at the people of Linhai City behind King Guhong, and his thoughts didn't know where he had gone, and after a while, he said: "This Lord Mu is a famous city in the court, if someone judges his attitude based on his performance alone, then he really doesn't know why." ”

Liang Feng said seriously, Qingcheng naturally knew who he was referring to, and couldn't help but ask, "What's the point?" Victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and it is a taboo for soldiers to change their command in a war. Although Prince Mu is high and powerful, he is also a military general, and he should be clear about this. ”

Liang Feng didn't think what Qingcheng said was naïve, but it was indeed too idealistic. However, after a moment of silence, Liang Feng turned his head and stared at Qingcheng for a long time, and said with a meaningful smile: "But if that's the case, it's not necessarily a bad thing, perhaps, it's Qingcheng, your opportunity has come." ”

Qingcheng didn't know what Liang Feng meant, and the latter no longer explained. The welcome ceremony lasted for about an hour, and King Guhong gave Zhenhai Marquis enough face and invited him into the city lively.

The generals ordered their respective camps, and the Marquis of Zhenhai, Xu Lin and Qingcheng were called to the chamber of the Hou Mansion by King Guhong. When Xu Lin closed the door, there were only four of them left in the council hall, and King Guhong's face gradually darkened, and finally looked at everyone in front of him coldly, silent.

The atmosphere in the council hall was cold and frightening, Qingcheng knew that King Guhong was about to have a seizure, looked at Zhenhai Hou, and saw that the latter was calm, and it was estimated that he was mentally prepared.

In fact, there is one thing Qingcheng doesn't know, and I don't know when King Guhong seems to have shown great importance to him, no matter how big or small, he will call him. Just like today, except for him, everyone present thought that at least they were second-class marquises, and thinking about his identity as a little first-mover, it was really a little out of place.

"This Lord Mu is really unfathomable, I really can't see what he's thinking. Originally, my attitude towards me was almost disgusted, but since I came to Linhai City, it has become like this again, could it be that my father is expected to be rehabilitated? ”

Qingcheng could only think of this one possibility. After a while, the embarrassing atmosphere was broken by a soft sigh from King Guhong, and the nerves of the three of them instantly tensed, knowing that what was supposed to come was coming.

King Gu Hong looked around, and finally his eyes fell on Qingcheng's body, and said in a tone that was almost concerned: "Qingcheng, this battle has passed through this king, you are not chaotic in the face of danger, you have dealt with it well, and you have not lost the prestige of the Heavenly Empire in the face of Haichuan masters." Although the inner ghost caused the army to return in vain, it is not up to you, and this king knows it. ”

I thought that King Guhong would be furious, but he didn't want to speak so kindly, and the three of them were stunned. And Qingcheng listened to King Guhong's condolences, hurriedly clasped his fists with both hands, and said respectfully: "The prince has praised falsely, the last general failed to judge the thief's intentions in time and capture the enemy commander alive, but caused casualties among his subordinates and dragged down the war, which is really guilty, please send it down." ”

The defeat in this battle was definitely not caused by Qingcheng, but why did he take it on himself? It's all for Zhenhaihou.

King Guhong had fire in his heart, but he first comforted Qingcheng when he opened his mouth, and the latter naturally understood that this was exonerating him, and the intention was to put all the blame on Zhenhai Hou. And Qingcheng is kind-hearted, and admires the loyalty of Zhenhaihou, and doesn't want to become a tool for King Guhong to kill Zhenhaihou, so he said.

As for King Guhong, he naturally saw through Qingcheng's thoughts. Therefore, just after the latter replied, King Guhong raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at Zhenhai Hou, his expression gradually turned cold, and said in a slightly reproachful tone: "This king knows who has done this battle, you don't have to take the blame for others." This king has heard some of your deeds, and today I really want to ask you, have you really forgotten your warnings? ”

The tone of King Gu Hong's last sentence was almost reprimanding, and the three people present were not clear about his attitude. Qingcheng naturally knew that he was dissatisfied with his guilt for the Marquis of Zhenhai, not for the incident of colliding with Xu Lin, and the two of them were different from each other, so Qingcheng had to kneel on one knee and pleaded: "The prince's teachings Qingcheng will never dare to forget, so he knows that he is guilty of death, please let the prince fall." ”

Qingcheng's attitude was very sincere, showing great respect for King Guhong, which made this most rule-oriented Lord Mu very useful. He stretched out his hand to signal Qingcheng to get up, his tone gradually softened, and he said with a chuckle: "You are sincere, but you just want to accept the guilt, and it is easy to avoid the war, this king is not fooled by you, hehe." You can rest assured, the time is in front of us, this king will not be sent for the time being, and you will be given the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, and when the time comes, this king will be counted with you. ”

King Guhong's attitude was uncertain and confusing, but Qingcheng did understand that he meant something, but he didn't know what to do.

After saying Qingcheng, King Guhong turned his head and glanced at Xu Lin, this person was his confidant, needless to say, so his gaze continued to shift, and in the end, it fell on the body of Zhenhai Hou.

King Gu Hong looked at Zhenhaihou without saying a word, and after a moment of silence, he snorted coldly and said, "Zhenhaihou." ”

As soon as he heard King Guhong call himself so seriously, the Marquis of Zhenhai knew that what was supposed to come was coming, so he hurriedly took a step forward, clasped his hands into fists and said respectfully: "The last general, please show the prince." ”

"Hey."

King Guhong was not in a hurry to send down the Marquis of Zhenhai, but sighed heavily, and then said: "Wu Jing, this time a small Haichuan bandit, you have been defeated for more than four consecutive months, the court has urged this king to change the commander and fight again, this king has been stationed for many years, even if there is no merit, there is hard work, I really can't bear it." Only then did he personally come to support, and he continued to entrust you with important tasks, and let you lead the troops to the battle, just to let you regain the lost face with your own hands, so that the king could give an account to the court. But what about you, you are so uncompromising, it is really a waste of the king's heart. ”

King Gu Hong's tone was extremely heavy, and he severely reprimanded Zhenhai Hou, which could be said to be unsympathetic at all. Seeing that Zhenhai Hou was so humiliated, Qingcheng had the heart to defend him, but he knew that if he disobeyed King Guhong again at this time, it would add fuel to the fire. Therefore, he had to sigh secretly and remain silent.

As for the party Zhenhaihou, he listened to the words of King Guhong, although he had already prepared in his heart, he would suffer some grievances after he came back, and he was not wrong, after all, he was the boss, and he really had to take responsibility for the defeat of the war. But he really didn't expect that King Guhong would be so harsh.

"Lord Wang...... The lesson is that the last general has failed the prince's good intentions, and the last general has no plan, does not dare to quibble, and is willing to let the prince fall. ”

As soon as he heard Zhenhaihou mention the unconspiracy again, King Guhong sneered and said, "Tang Wujing, Tang Wujing, what are you doing to let this king say about you?" You even dare to mention something that you don't want, this king asks you, there are ghosts in Linhai City who collaborate with the enemy, causing the war to be controlled by the actions of the army, do you know it? ”

King Guhong asked about the inner ghost, and the Marquis of Zhenhai hurriedly replied: "Back to the prince, there is no way to rule the general, I really didn't know it beforehand, but now that I think about it, it is indeed the case." But this is also the ...... of the general's incompetence."

"Shut up!"

King Guhong interrupted Zhenhaihou's words, and shouted: "The Haichuan bandit plague has lasted for more than four months, you are a second-class martial marquis, are there any internal ghosts in your army, is it strange that you lost the war, you dare to say that you don't know beforehand?" Are you fooled by being the king? ”

As soon as he heard this, the Marquis of Zhenhai hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said, "The prince is angry, and the last general will never dare." I really don't know the end in advance, otherwise, I wouldn't have lost in April. The last general is indeed unplanned, but he will never dare to deceive the prince, please let the prince know! ”

"It's a fart!"

Seeing that the Marquis of Zhenhai was still convinced that he didn't know about the ghosts, King Guhong stood up angrily and said angrily: "The matter has come to this, the truth is already clear, what is the trouble of this king, you listen to this king!" ”

As he spoke, King Guhong turned around and picked up a letter from the table and read it out in public.

"'Zhenhai Marquis Tang Wujing's rule was not strict, resulting in ghosts in the army collaborating with the enemy, and the successive defeats for four months damaged the prestige of the Celestial Empire, which not only betrayed the trust of His Majesty, but also committed a crime against the people, and should be severely punished. The war in Haichuan is imminent, when Yi Shuai rectifies it, in order to fight again. This is a report written by this king, waiting to be sent to the palace! ”

After speaking, King Guhong threw the report in his hand in front of Zhenhai Hou. Seeing this, the latter knew that King Guhong was going to coerce him, so he thought about it again and again, so he had to bow his head and say respectfully: "The last general is incompetent, he is indeed not handsome, and he is willing to listen to the deployment of the prince." ”

The Marquis of Zhenhai compromised, and King Guhong was quite satisfied, and after signaling Xu Lin to put away the report with his eyes, his attitude eased slightly, and he sighed lightly, and said: "This king originally wanted to send it to Dianjing without changing a word, but thinking that you have been stationed in Linhai City for many years, I still want to save you some face, at least I don't want you to be guilty here." Therefore, this king has not sent away this report for a long time, which can be regarded as giving you one last chance. But Wu Jing, you have to give up this handsome position of suppressing bandits and driving away the enemy. ”

"The last general thanks the prince for his compassion, everything depends on the prince."

Zhenhaihou knew that he had no choice, so he had to accept his fate. After listening to him, King Guhong nodded, turned his head to look at him when Qingcheng was completely unexpected, and said with a chuckle: "Qingcheng, the rest of the matter depends on you to turn the tide." ”

"What? I?! ”