The situation in the country deteriorated day by day, and Li Zicheng personally led a large army in Shanxi to kill the Shanxi defenders who Lu Xiangsheng had put together at the time of the time to lose their armor and collapse into an army, occupying more than a dozen prefectures and counties one after another, and controlling most of Shanxi; Li Zicheng's general Liu Zongmin led his troops to attack Shaanxi, but he was also invincible, and the officers and soldiers were disheartened and fled. Every day, the military reports are bad news about the defeat of the officers and troops. Hong Chengchou was appointed as the minister of economic strategy of the four northeastern provinces, but he refused to leave in the name of incomplete handover, and the Qing army in western Liaoning took advantage of the opportunity of the Ming army's change of defense and dispatch to occupy several county towns in western Liaoning one after another, and the army had threatened Jinzhou City. Chongzhen thought that Hong Chengchou was afraid of the enemy and cowardly, so he was furious and issued a strict order for Hong Chengchou to leave for his post immediately. In addition, the Queen Mother is very old, her condition is getting worse and worse, and she has been bedridden these days, waking up from time to time, and I am afraid that she will not be able to last much time.

Internal and external troubles are attacked, and Chongzhen is anxious like an ant on a hot pot. He thought of the good general in the troubled times, and couldn't help but think of Wang Qiang, and asked someone to pass it on, but said that Wang Qiang had been sick for three days and couldn't go to the ground, and the angry Chongzhen overturned the table and scolded the imperial doctor for being incompetent.

This morning, Wang Qiang's spirit was a little better, but his body was still very weak, and his walking steps were a little vain. He went out in good spirits and rushed to the Shangqing Palace to visit the Queen Mother. As soon as Wang Qiang entered the gate of the Shangqing Palace, Wang Kai in the Tai Hospital hurriedly greeted him and said: "Mr. Wang, you came just in time, the Queen Mother has fainted three times this morning, I'm afraid I can't stand it, you have to get an idea quickly!" ”

Wang Qiang asked: "What about Liu Xing, where did Liu Xing go, why don't you hurry up and report to the emperor?" "Liu Xing is the head of the Shangqing Palace.

The queen mother's chamberlain and eunuch pouted and said: "Manager Liu went out early in the morning, saying that it was the wedding of the general Wu Sangui, and he wanted to rush to give gifts!" ”

"What! Fuck Liu Xing asshole! Wang Qiang opened his mouth and scolded.

He hurriedly went out of the palace to report to Emperor Chongzhen, and met Liu Xing head-on, Wang Qiang stepped forward and kicked Liu Xing to the ground, scolding: "Bastard, the Queen Mother is critically ill, you actually go to catch someone else's hot stove, have you lived enough!" ”

Liu Xing got up and said aggrievedly: "Back to the chief manager, the slaves and maids are also helpless, the chief eunuchs of each room have gone, and it is not appropriate for the slaves and maids not to go, not only us, but also the ministers of the cabinet of the DPRK and the Central People's Republic of China." ”

Wang Qiang was too lazy to take care of Liu Xing, and hurriedly went to the south study to report to Emperor Chongzhen. Chongzhen heard the news and followed Wang Qiang to the Shangqing Palace to visit the Queen Mother.

The old queen mother has run out of oil, and her life limit has come, and she has fainted several times in just a few hours, and each time she has been in a coma for longer than the last. Chongzhen went straight to the queen mother's bedside, called the queen mother softly, after a while, the queen mother opened her eyes with difficulty, looked at Chongzhen lovingly, stretched out her hand to caress his face, she knew that it was not easy for her son to be the emperor, since he ascended the throne, there has hardly been a day of stability, and the burden left by the emperor is too heavy! She also knows her son's temperament, he has little energy, he can't trust others, and he has killed too many capable officials, but she can't persuade herself, and her nature is difficult to change!

The Queen Mother struggled to sit up, she glanced at the people around the couch, saw Wang Qiang, couldn't help but show a smile, these days she was sick in bed, when she was awake, she always recalled her life in the past few decades since she entered the palace, but there are too many gray things in her memory, and she can't find a few really happy days, but Wang Qiang's memory of the story of Zhu Bajie is unusually clear, and now she sees Wang Qiang, remembering the scene of telling the story that day, and can't help laughing. The Queen Mother pointed at Wang Qiang and said intermittently: "This little cub is good, I just want to hear you tell a story, do you still have a story?" ”

Wang Qiang hurriedly knelt down in front of the couch, raised his head and asked, "Queen Mother, I have, whatever story you want to hear, I will tell you?" ”

The queen mother knew that Wang Qiang was under Chongzhen's suspicion and had his military power cut, and felt that it was really a waste for such a person to be put in the palace, but it was not good to interfere with Chongzhen, and now she felt sorry when she thought about it, she paused and said: "I just want to hear you tell the story of Yue Fei's resistance to gold, I want to hear it!" ”

"Hey! Then the slave and maid will tell you. Wang Qiang replied. Seeing that Chongzhen also nodded, he put on a posture and began to speak. Wang Qiang has listened to Liu Lanfang's "The Biography of Yue Fei", and he will tell a little bit about the story here, but the plot before and after is a bit chaotic, so he naturally wants to talk about it wherever he wants.

"I listened to the three cannon sounds in the city, as soon as the city gate opened, the drawbridge fell, and a sentry was killed from the inside, leading a general, with a golden helmet and golden armor and robe, and a thousand miles of horses fell, and a bright silver gun in his hand, it was Yue Fei, the generalissimo of the Great Song Dynasty soldiers and horses, Yue Fei ran to the Jin soldiers, and the Jin soldiers ran away when they saw Yue Fei is legs, and shouted in their mouths: 'My brother and brother, hurry up and run, the Yue family army is coming'------"

Wang Qiang spoke, the Queen Mother had already lay down, listening quietly, and everyone around was listening quietly with tears, when Wang Qiang talked about the plot of Jin Bing's military advisor who had no nose to give advice to Jin Wuzhu, and learned the strange voice of Ha Mi, the queen smiled and closed her eyes, and she was already traveling westward with a crane.

Shangqing Palace suddenly cried, Wang Qiang thanked the Queen Mother for always being kind and kind to him, and because of Chen Yuanyuan's matter in the past few days, he had already accumulated too much bitterness in his heart, and he couldn't help it, and he cried in a mess. Chongzhen was sad in his heart, and cried for a while, thinking that it was useless to cry, and he had to hurry up to take care of the queen mother's funeral, he stopped crying, and saw that Wang Qiang next to him was still crying in the dark, and his heart was moved, and he said: "This kid is loyal." He got up and pulled Wang Qiang, and the two came to the side hall, Chongzhen said: "Wang Qiang, the Queen Mother loves you, now that she is gone, you are very sad, I know, but you are the head of the Inner Palace, and the Queen Mother's future affairs still need you to direct the cooking, you have to cheer up and hurry up." ”

"Yes, slave and maid obey. The Queen Mother has always treated me kindly, and I should work hard to handle her old man's funeral. Wang Qiang said.

"Well, you immediately ordered the six departments and Jiuqing to enter the palace immediately to discuss what to do with the Queen Mother's funeral ceremony. Everything else is handled according to the rules of the ancestral system. Chongzhen said.

"Yes." Wang Qiang cried bitterly for a while, the sadness in his heart decreased slightly, but his mind became more and more sober, thinking that the ministers of the court and the central government were all drinking and feasting in Wu Mansion at this time, he had an idea and said: "Your Majesty, today Wu Sangui is married, and the six ministries and Jiuqing are estimated to be all drinking and feasting in Wu Mansion, and Weichen will go to pass on the decree." ”

Chongzhen was already hurt, and there was a fire in his heart, and Wang Qiang's words added fuel to the fire, igniting Chongzhen's dissatisfaction with Wu Sangui, and said in his heart: "Wu Sangui asked for leave from the Ministry of War and didn't go to the post because he was married!" The country has been eroded to this point, the queen mother is critically ill, and even I have issued an edict to reduce food and stop pleasure, and he is still in the mood to get married. His father and son have heavy troops, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are naturally going to stammer, what are they going to do? Do they still have Jiangshan Sheji in their eyes, and do they still have me, the emperor? Chongzhen's suspicion suddenly rose, and he just wanted to attack, but he thought: "Now is the time to employ people, except for Wu Sangui, he can't find a suitable candidate to guard the Shanhaiguan, so he can only endure it for the time being!" ”

Wang Qiang took the opportunity to say again: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother Yan is driving, the whole country is mourning, I am afraid that the Manchu Qing Dynasty will take the opportunity to invade the border, the situation is critical, and the border guards will immediately leave for their posts, just in case." ”

"Hmm." Chongzhen nodded heavily and said, "You're right! You immediately go and pass on my message, and order Wu Sangui to leave for his post immediately without delay! He immediately considered that Wang Qiang had just recovered from his illness and was too sad, and it was probably inappropriate to go alone, so he called Fan Hu, the deputy envoy of Jinyiwei, and said, "You follow Wang Qiang to Wu Mansion to deliver the decree." ”

"Obey the order" Wang Qiang and Fan Hu immediately took the order and left.

At this time, the Wu Mansion is decorated with lights, a large row of banquets, guests come and go, and it is very lively. The Wu family's father and son were powerful, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty took this opportunity to give gifts, and the six departments and nine kings were also guests here. Old Wu Xiang shuttled through the crowd with red light, calling friends and friends, unusually active, Wu Sangui was wearing auspicious clothes, smiling, and toasting from table to table to thank him. He and Chen Yuanyuan have already worshiped heaven and earth, and the bride has already entered the cave room, and he is looking forward to getting dark as soon as possible, sending away these guests, and he is holding the flowers and candles in the beauty cave room.

At this time, I suddenly heard a big chaos at the door, and the family members and guests gathered at the door suddenly scattered and separated, only to see Wang Qiang beating the head, Fan Hu following closely behind, followed by several internal guards, several people were all wearing filial piety clothes and wearing filial piety hats, Wang Qiang led people straight to the steps, turned around, and stood still facing south.

According to the customs of the time, when encountering this kind of thing, either the husband and wife turned against each other, or someone in the family died. Wu Sangui was first promoted, and then married a beautiful woman, and was on the rise, and now he saw Wang Qiang entering the house with a group of people dressed like this, thinking that he had come to make trouble on purpose if he couldn't succeed in the marriage, and suddenly became furious, he rushed to the bottom of the steps, pointed at Wang Qiang, and shouted angrily: "Wang Qiang, you dare to make trouble on my wedding day, me!" I'll go to the emperor and sue you! He wanted to say, "I beheaded you", but when he saw several guards behind Wang Qiang pressing the hilt of their swords, they glared angrily and temporarily changed their words.

Wang Qiang stared at Wu Sangui expressionlessly, and said slowly: "Wu Sangui takes the order!" ”

Wu Sangui was taken aback when he heard this, and saw that Wang Qiang did not hold the holy decree in his hand, he hesitated and did not kneel, and said to Wang Qiang: "Where did you get the holy decree, don't bluff people here." ”

Wang Qiang was still silent, and said again: "Wu Sangui takes the order!" ”

Wu Sangui hesitated and asked, "Where is the Holy Purpose?" ”

Fan Hu is the deputy envoy of Jinyi Guard, he is extremely powerful, and he does not buy Wu Sangui's account, he listened impatiently next to him, and jumped out with his sword in his hand and shouted: "Wu Sangui, do you want to resist the decree!" ”

Wu Xiang recognized Fan Hu and knew that he was the deputy envoy of Jinyiwei, it seemed that Wang Qiang was indeed here by order, he hurriedly stepped forward, pushed Wu Sangui and said: "Evil obstacles, don't hurry up and accept the order!" ”

Wu Sangui was helpless and fell to his knees. Wang Qiang glanced at him and said, "The emperor has decreed that Wu Sangui will leave for his post immediately, without delay!" ”

Wu Sangui raised his head and asked, "Why?" Today is my wedding day, can't I go tomorrow! ”

Wang Qiang was proud in his heart, and deliberately said in a long and lazy voice: "The emperor's will is to let you leave now, as for whether you can leave tomorrow, you have to ask the emperor, but I have to tell you that the queen mother has just been driving, so I waited until I came in filial piety clothes, and the emperor still has a will, and ordered the cabinet ministers to immediately enter the palace to discuss the funeral of the queen mother." General Wu, we are acting according to orders, not intentionally trying to make trouble for you, whether you go or not, you have to give me a reply now. ”

When Wu Sangui heard this, he was shocked, and said secretly: "It seems that this kid really didn't mean to make trouble, the queen mother died, and I am here to do a happy event, the emperor must have a dissatisfaction in his heart, if I don't leave, I am afraid of attracting death, anyway, Yuanyuan is already my wife, and no one can snatch it away." After thinking about it, he kowtowed and said: "Minister Wu Sangui obeyed the order and immediately set off to the front line to fight the enemy!" ”

The ministers who were guests here heard that the queen mother had died, and the emperor summoned cabinet officials, and they were also worried that the emperor would be angry with him, so they all got up and said goodbye to Wu Xiang, and a good wedding banquet was rushed! Wu Xiang was angry in his heart, but he also couldn't say it.

Wu Sangui clasped his fists at Wang Qiang and said: "Chief Manager Wang, just now I was in a hurry, and I asked the Chief Manager not to blame." Say goodbye to the family below, and then set off. After saying that, he turned around and entered the new house.

Chen Yuanyuan had already heard what had happened in the room, and he also felt that the emperor's will was not close to people, and secretly thought that this must be Wang Qiang's obstruction and the emperor's will. It seems that General Wu has offended the emperor in order to marry me.

Wu Sangui entered the room to say goodbye to Chen Yuanyuan, the Yuanyuan was reluctant in his heart, but he was helpless, Yin Yin instructed a few words, and Wu Sangui listened to it very usefully.

After a while, Wu Sangui came out of the inner house and was already neatly dressed, dressed in military uniform, looking very mighty, the servant led the war horse for him, Wu Sangui waved at Wu Xiang, and then bowed his hand to Wang Qiang and all the guests, and turned over the war horse. At this time, there was a sound of the piano from the new house, and then Chen Yuanyuan was heard singing softly: "The mountains are green, the water is blue, the mountains and rivers are still in love,------ the general draws his sword from the south sky, I am willing to be a long wind around the battle flag!" "It's the song "Mountains and Flowing Water"!

Wang Qiang stood there, his singing voice was so familiar, but he was singing to others, he felt uncomfortable in his heart, and couldn't help but burst into tears.

Wu Sangui sat on the horse and listened quietly, although he didn't understand the rhythm, but he also heard that this was Chen Yuanyuan singing to see him off, and his heart was moved, especially when Yuanyuan sang the last sentence, he was even more arrogant, and he should drink a sentence immediately: "The big husband should make meritorious contributions and serve the battlefield, thank you for the good wife Yage to see him off, and go for her husband." With that, he shook the reins, urged his mount, and led a group of pro-lieutenants away like dragons.

Wang Qiang stirred up Wu Sangui's wedding banquet this time, but there was no joy and joy in his heart, looking at Wu Sangui's distant back, he asked himself secretly: "Is it right for me to do this?" Will this person really become a traitor? ”