Separated by a high vermilion palace wall, the Dewang Mansion and the whole city of Jinan are divided into two worlds. In this small circle, it is still a worry-free world of drunken absurdity, drunkenness, and dreams. The setting sun shines on the towering yellow glazed tiles, and the shadows gradually thicken in the courtyards, and some of the painted corridors are gloomy. A pair of copper tripods and gilded bronze lions placed on the dan pier in front of the main hall are also shrouded in shadows. In a palace courtyard near the east, the sounds of Sheng, Xiao, and pipa and sandalwood slabs were tapped, and the sound of mans was sung, and in the deep harem, there was also a faint sound of pipa, wafting in the dim twilight smoke of the palace.

In a dormitory at the back of the De'an Palace, Zhu Youshu, the king of De, lies in a chair covered with a carved gold lacquer mattress, stretches his legs forward, and rests his feet in yellow satin boots on a carved sandalwood table covered with red velvet cushions. There were two palace maids kneeling on the left and right, beating his thighs for him. The other two maidens sat on low stools on either side, each placing one of his thick arms on his lap and gently pounding it. He was so fat, and it was clear that the slightly thin palace maid on the right had been pressed by his heavy arm for a long time, and from time to time she secretly glanced at him and frowned. His big round belly bulged high, like a cauldron used by hundreds of people to cook rice, buckled back on his body, and he was covered with a yellow robe. A foot away at his feet, on the mat knelt a group of courtesans dressed as court maids, holding musical instruments of various colors, only one woman sat on a low stool playing the lute, and the other knelt to play the accompaniment of Dong Xiao. King De closed his eyes, and for most of the time he snored softly, sometimes suddenly very loudly, but then then it went down. When the pipa was finished, King De also stopped snoring, opened his eyes slightly, and asked in a sleepy voice, "The bear's paws are not ripe?" ”

A eunuch standing behind him took two steps forward, bowed down and replied, "Lord Wang, the slave maid went to ask just now, the bear's paw is about to be cooked." ”

"Is that undercooked? Why not stew early? ”

"Lord Shengming, it takes two hours to stew bear's paws on weekdays, but now it has only been stewed for more than an hour."

Seeing that King De no longer asked about the bear's paws, and wanted to sleep again, the head of the palace lady hurriedly came over and knelt down, and asked softly: "Lord, do you want the slaves and maids to play music to step down?" ”

King De opened his dark red eyelids, which were sagging from excessive wine, glanced at her, and said, "Play the song "Autumn Moon in the Han Palace"! ”

The prostitute who grabbed the zither adjusted the jade pillar, tried the string tone lightly, and suddenly the eunuch Liu De came in with the curtain, bowed to King De and said: "Lord Qiyu, Shandong Patrol Song Xuezhu entered the palace to ask for a meeting, and has been waiting for a long time. ”

King De did not say anything, and closed his eyes again. The two women who grabbed the zither and played the pipa stopped waiting because of Liu Chengfeng's eyes.

After a moment of silence in the room, Liu Chengfeng took another step forward, leaned down and said, "Lord Wang, Song Yushi has been waiting for a long time. ”

King De's eyes were half open, and he said impatiently, "What is the matter with this little old man seeing the widow?" The widow is not feeling well today, and cannot see him. With that, he began to close his eyes again

Liu Deluo showed an anxious look and said: "Lord, Song Xuezhu said that when he entered the palace today, he had to see the prince, and he would not be able to die in the palace without seeing the prince." ”

"What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies?" King De said impatiently

"He said that for the life and death of the officials and gentry and the people of Jinan, he came to the palace to ask to see His Royal Highness." Liu De became more and more anxious

King De took a breath and said: "What do the officials and gentry and people in the whole city of Jinan do~~ do I do!" ”

"No~ no, Lord Wang. The soldiers and horses who entered the fortress are now bypassing Texas and going straight to Jinan, and the striker has reached the northwest suburbs~~ Claiming to break Jinan. Song Xuezhu asked to see the prince for this matter, and he couldn't see it. Liu De wiped the beads of sweat from his sideburns

Zhu Youshu began to understand that it was somewhat important for Song Xuezhu to enter the palace to ask for a meeting, and he said: "Wait a minute, take Song Xuezhu to De'an Hall to see me!" With the help of several palace maids, he stood up, changed his clothes, and then was supported by two eunuchs to the left and right, and went to the De'an Hall and sat down on the throne. Many eunuchs stood on both sides and outside the hall. Song Xuezhu was brought into the hall and bowed. King De gave him a seat, gave him tea, and then asked, "Why did Lord Song come to see the widow?" ”

Song Xuezhu said: "At present, the Dongyu has bypassed Dezhou, and the troops are in Jinan, and the elites in the two cities are in Dezhou, and the situation in Jinan is as dangerous as an egg, and the city is broken overnight. Donglu released rumors, saying that he would come to attack Jinan. The gentry were helpless and sat back and waited for the same end. The prince is sealed here, the original period of the country for 10,000 years, if you don't try to defend the city, the country is lost, how to regret it! How to defend the city and protect the country, the time is urgent, I hope His Royal Highness will make a decision quickly! ”

King De was slightly surprised, gasped and asked: "Jinan is an important place for the feudal country, and the city is high and the pond is deep, do you dare to attack the east?" ”

"The Dongyu are all murderous people, so it doesn't matter if you are a clan or not. It is true that the city of Jinan is high and deep, but it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and there are no soldiers and horses, even if the city is high and deep? ”

"The widow is the emperor's uncle~~"

"I beg your pardon for being blunt. I heard that Dongyu knew that the German domain was rich, and this time he wanted to break through Jinan, that is, to capture His Royal Highness the prince alive. ”

King De trembled and hurriedly asked, "Is this true?" ”

"The roads are spreading, and even the three-foot boy in Jinan City knows it."

King De's heart beat for a while, his breath became thicker, and he asked, "Lord Song is a loyal minister, what are your good ideas?" ”

"The palace has a lot of money, and there is a mountain of grain. Today, the minister has no other good plan, but asks His Highness to put the community first, scatter money to recruit brave men, and distribute food to provide sufficient military salaries. The army is strong, the people are safe, Jinan City can be defended, and His Royal Highness's community is as stable as Mount Tai. Otherwise...... Catastrophe is unimaginable! ”

"I see!" King De suddenly understood in his heart that he was forced to pay! He glanced at Song Xuezhu with annoyance and said, "Local civil and military officials have the responsibility to defend the land. If Jinan is lost, and the clan dies in Sheji, you officials who eat royal money will not survive. Even if anyone can escape the hands of the Eastern Captives, they will not be able to escape the law of the country. Lord Song forced the widow to defend the city of Jinan, is it not the responsibility of the local civil and military to defend the city? Since Lord Song is a loyal minister, why don't he urge the local civil and military to defend the city and protect the feudal domain? ”

Song Xuezhu stood up and said, "Your Highness is bad! It is precisely because the civil and military forces in Jinan have no money and no food, and they are at a loss, that the public pushes the ministers into the palace to tell His Royal Highness about the benefits and harms, and implores His Royal Highness to take out a part of the money in the treasury and the grain in the warehouse, so as to protect Jinan and the community. If His Royal Highness is still like in previous years, and does not think about the community, how will he see the two ancestors in the ground? ”

Zhu Youshu was angry and said: "In recent years, there have been continuous floods and droughts, thieves are like hair, and the income of this domain has decreased greatly, but the expenses in the palace are still there, and people can't make ends meet, how can Lord Song know?" Lord Song no longer needs to speak for the above-mentioned warriors and exonerate them. They lost the city, lost their relatives, and have their own Ming law, so they don't need you to enter the palace to force the widow to pay for food! After speaking, he motioned to the two eunuchs, lifted him up from the throne, and went to the harem with a pant.

Song Xuezhu watched in surprise and disappointment as King De left the De'an Palace, couldn't help but sigh, paused, shed tears, and shouted in his heart: "Jinan is in danger!" ”