Jiangning City was shrouded in darkness, and a few dogs barked in an alley, followed by a knock on the door. A small door creaked open, and a voice said, "General Yu, General Ma, why are the three of you visiting at this time?" ”

The person who spoke was Lin Renzhao, and there were three big men standing outside the door, all wearing cloth robes and hats. The bearded man in front of the station said, "This is not the place to talk. Lin Renzhao suddenly said: "Three brothers, please come inside." ”

Lin Renzhao introduced several big men into a room, and he knew these people, all of whom were generals of the Southern Tang Forbidden Army, Lu Yan, Ma Chengcheng, and Ma Chengjun. As soon as he entered, he sat down in his chair with a big grin, and the other walked to the back window and stood on tiptoe to look outside.

"Huangfu Jixun was killed, does Brother Lin know?" Yu Yan said.

Lin Renzhao nodded vigilantly.

Yu Yan moved his buttocks, snorted and sneered, and said, "The person we arranged." ”

When Lin Renzhao heard this, he immediately saw that the eyes of Yu Yan and the others changed greatly, "You and I are just indifferent friends, but General Yu told me about such important matters!" Huangfu Jixun dereliction of duty and misguided the country, there is a crime of ten thousand deaths, and death is not a pity, why should General Yu and other brothers do it themselves? ”

Yu Yan shook his head and said, "If we don't kill, Huangfu Jixun won't be able to die!" ”

Lin Renzhao looked incredulous and was stunned for a moment.

Yu Yan glanced at him, "I have inquired clearly about the battle of quarrying, Huangfu Jixun is not enough to succeed, and he has put the country in danger, and if he doesn't kill it, it will be a scourge!" If you don't kill it, it's hard to comfort the soldiers and brothers who died on the battlefield! ”

Lin Renzhao deeply agreed, but then said: "Huangfu Jixun is a general, and Brother Yu and others will destroy him, I am afraid that the imperial court will blame him." ”

Yu Yan said: "Brother Lin dares to tell the truth in the palace, won't he be blamed by His Majesty?" ”

The two looked at each other and smiled bitterly, Lin Renzhao felt a little sympathetic for a while, so he sighed and complained with a few big men, and they could talk together. After talking for a long time, Yu Yan said, "It's time to talk about tonight's business." Although we are guilty of killing Huangfu Jixun, we will not worry about our lives. There are many people involved, and the law does not hold the public accountable; In addition, Huangfu Jixun should have died, and the court killed us because of this, so there was a suspicion of resisting the emperor's life, which will cause many people to be dissatisfied...... Brother Lin is different, we have received reliable information, and tomorrow morning, someone will come to arrest Brother Lin and take him to prison. You are a general, once you are humiliated by the sword and pen, the consequences are worrying; Moreover, your words in the main hall are disrespectful. We all concluded that as soon as Brother Lin entered the prison, I am afraid that he would not be able to come out again. ”

Lin Renzhao was shocked when he heard this: "Your Majesty doesn't kill Huangfu Jixun, but wants to kill me?" ”

Yu Yan sneered and did not answer. Lin Renzhao pondered it for a while, and he also felt that this kind of thing should be the reason for the struggle for power, but he really couldn't figure out what was going on for a while, and he didn't understand why there was such and such a struggle at the juncture of the defeat of the Quarrying Battle, the country was already in danger, and there was such and such a struggle.

At this time, Yu Yan said: "Brother Lin will leave tonight, it is our brother who guards the south gate, and it has been arranged." ”

Lin Renzhao hugged his fists and said: "Brother Yu and other brothers' kindness, Lin Mou understands it." But I can't go, my family is still in Jiangning Mansion, and I can't abandon it. ”

"Brother Lin's family should have no worries about their lives, and His Majesty is not a cruel person." "...... Or maybe Brother Lin doesn't believe what I say? ”

"I don't want to run away like this, or why will I come back?" Lin Renzhao said directly, without explaining too much.

After hearing this, Yu Yan got up and said, "In this case, it is useless for us to stay longer, so we will leave." Brother Lin take care of himself. ”

Lin Renzhao said goodbye to his family that night, and couldn't sleep all night after bathing and changing clothes, waiting for the interrogation of the imperial court. Early the next morning, sure enough, a few eunuchs and a team of guards came, announcing that Lin Renzhao should go to the official mansion.

He was ready to give a detailed account of the ins and outs of the quarrying battle, and when he took the sin of losing his teacher, he also wanted people to understand the root cause of the defeat.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered a prison, several big men suddenly rushed up, kicked Lin Renzhao to the ground, and then put an anklet bracelet on him, and he was beaten badly regardless of whether he was innocent! He shouted: "Lao Tzu is the general of the forbidden army, who is convicted?" Soldiers can be killed, but not humiliated......"

His shouts drew only contemptuous ridicule and heavier punches and kicks. He was beaten half to death and thrown into an iron cage. Half-awake and half-unconscious, I heard the iron door open again, and two people came in, grabbed Lin Renzhao's hand and pressed it in a clammy box, and then pressed it on a piece of paper.

Lin Renzhao was still clear in his heart at this time, and immediately understood: This is the end of the interrogation......

Outside is a general, and as soon as he enters here, he is not even as good as a dog, and he will die in a dark corner.

After resting for an unknown amount of time, Lin Renzhao was in pain all over, and finally regained some strength and sat up, the shackles on his body were very heavy and he still couldn't move. Just then, the iron door opened again, and a dark figure walked in.

He stared at the dark shadow in a daze, knowing that it was useless to argue and resist now.

As soon as the "Black Shadow" spoke, it was a familiar voice from Yu Yan: "Brother Lin, do you believe my words now?" ”

Lin Renzhao was speechless, and it took a long time to come back to his senses, and he said in surprise: "How did Brother Yu get here?" ”

Yu Yan's voice said: "The court traitors have formed a party, but the loyal and righteous people have not died. Now we are trying to keep the few remaining loyal people. ”

Lin Renzhao shook his head in the darkness and sighed: "At this point, I am disheartened and have nothing to do...... It's better to die, so as to save the family members in the capital. Brother, get out of here. ”

There was silence in the dim light, and Yan Yan said: "Even if Brother Lin waits for death, I'm afraid that my family will not be able to live in peace." ”

Lin Renzhao suddenly said: "What big mistake did I make? Isn't it enough for Your Majesty to kill me, but also to implicate the family? ”

Yu Yan said: "If Brother Lin is worried about his family, waiting for death here in vain is no different from escaping...... Maybe it's better to escape, the court didn't catch you, but didn't want to move Brother Lin's family easily. ”

Lin Renzhao was silent for a long time.

Yu Yan urged: "Without further ado, Brother Lin has made a decision early, this is your last chance." After Brother Lin leaves the city, he can first flee south and go to the old land of Fujian; At this time, Jinling was coerced from several sides, and he couldn't pull out his hand to search the south. ”

……

Lin Ren ran away!

When Li Yu learned the news, his face immediately turned blank...... What frightened him was not what threat Lin Ren would have if he ran away, but how did he escape? Locked in the death row of Dali Temple, coming and going is as easy as entering his own door, how did he run!

Lin Renzhao is not alone, there is a force behind him, who regards the prestige of the country and the dignity of the imperial court as nothing and tramples on it wantonly!

A sense of powerlessness, a humiliation, and a big stone covered Li Yu's face like a quilt. He couldn't breathe, his chest tightened, he felt like there was darkness in front of him, he couldn't see anything, and he couldn't see a way out.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Xian walked out from the back of the dormitory, and asked in surprise when he saw Li Yu's dejected appearance.

Li Yu was like a drowning man grasping the straw that saved his life, and suddenly fell to the ground, holding Zhou Xian's leg tightly. Zhou Xian was shocked and bent down to pull him up, but Li Yu held on to him. Zhou Xian had no choice but to kneel down himself, and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you are so rude, if you are seen, how should you live?" Get up first, and say something slowly......"

Zhou Xian brought comforting words at this moment, making Li Yu hug him tighter. He almost broke down emotionally, "Everyone is forcing me, they want me to die!" ”

Zhou Xian hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you are the most powerful person in the entire Southern Tang Kingdom, and no one dares to force you." ”

Li Yu shook his head desperately, tears and snot came out together, rubbing against Zhou Xian's skirt. He choked up, "It's useless! The Zhou army is about to come in, and I'm going to die...... None of the people below listened to me, they all appeared to be hypocritical, and the interior had their own plans, and they only turned their faces and took revenge when I rolled off the throne...... They hold their breath and wait for the day to humiliate me, laugh at me, trample on me! I'm about to lose everything, and I don't have anything to trust, Emperor, I'm left with you......"

…… When Zhou Xian heard this, she didn't persuade Li Yu, and she was stunned there.

She was depressed and numb, but suddenly she felt a little conscious...... She couldn't help but wonder, when a person is completely devoid of people to care about and care about, what is left? What else does it mean to be alive?

At the beginning, the mountain alliance and sea oath with Li Yu, those past stories of mutual dependence came to my heart. Zhou Xian suddenly became very gentle, her pure and white face, her bright eyes were full of pity and connivance, and she stretched out her trembling hand and put it on Li Yu's cheek: "Husband, I understand your feelings. ”

After Li Yu was excited, his mood was a little cold, he was stunned for a while, and said, "I know you still hate me......"

Zhou Xian said: "People make mistakes, I forgive you." Can you forgive me...... That infidelity? ”

Li Yu got up from the ground at this time and said, "What do I still care about that kind of thing, my situation...... Emperor E knows. ”

"I've said that it's not that kind of thing that we care about, as long as we mend the rift in our hearts." Zhou Xian's mood also fluctuated, grabbed Li Yu's palm, looked at his face and said, "Your Majesty, you are not Guo Shao's opponent, the situation of the Southern Tang Kingdom is hopeless." Surrender! ”

Li Yu's eyes widened: "Surrender? ”

Zhou Xian said: "There is no way, surrender now, maybe you can get the tolerance of the Zhou court, you see that Meng Chang, the lord of Shu, is fine...... Let's not be kings, we don't want power! ”

Li Yu stretched out his hand and patted his robe, sat on the chair, and said quietly: "Then what else do I have left?" ”

Zhou Xian caught up and said, "You still have me." I know what you're thinking, and I don't think you can keep me if you don't have power. Don't worry, I still understand Guo Shao's character, he won't force it, and he can't do it; Otherwise, I wouldn't have been let back before. As long as I insist, I will never abandon my husband...... Do you believe me? ”