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In early spring, a thick haze shrouded the Houyan Wangcheng - Lunu.

A cold wind swept across the pond and stirred up heavy waves.

In the splendid palace, Emperor Yan Murong stood in front of the window with a heavy heart.

He furrowed his brows, staring out the window intently, the purple and red of the garden.

The slightly yellowed face was slightly emaciated, and the whole person was tired and looked sick.

The corners of his chapped mouth showed a smile that was both helpless and bitter.

Recently, due to the declining territory and the declining government, the emperor who has been in power for nearly ten years has been exhausted.

In all fairness, Murong Chui was by no means a mediocre and cowardly monarch.

When he returned to the country, although he was stained with the shadow of his father and ancestors, his military talent could not be ignored.

With the assistance of Murong De, Murong Nong and other clan junyans, he quickly recovered most of the former Yan's homeland, making the latter Yan a powerful empire second only to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

It's a pity that the good times didn't last long, and in just two years, the powerful Houyan became full of smoke and restlessness.

What is the reason for this?

The past was like smoke, like a movie, and it clearly appeared in front of Murong Hui's eyes again.

Looking back now, it is obvious that several key battles have been lost, which has caused Houyan to lose a lot of manpower and material resources.

Especially the loss of Youzhou, which almost hurt Houyan's vitality.

It completely changed the comparison of Wei Yan's strength, and also made Hou Yan lose the hope of dominating the world.

Thinking of Youzhou, Murong Chui couldn't help but think of Tuoba Jue, the young junior he loved and hated.

How much he admired Tuoba in the past, how much he hated each other now.

If God gave him another chance, he would never indulge Tuoba's growth, and he would definitely kill him as soon as possible.

Instead of watching Tuoba Jue become Hou Yan's henchmen like now.

So much so that in his twilight years, he could not live in peace.

What made Murong Hui even more troubled was that Tuoba Jue defeated the Prince of Houyan in Yishui, which made Murong Bao's prestige greater.

Alas, the past is unbearable! Murong sighed for a long time, full of melancholy.

"Father, drink the medicine."

Just as Murong was pondering, a call suddenly came from behind him, waking him up.

He turned around, but saw that the crown prince Murong Bao was holding a bowl of steaming medicinal soup, looking at him with concern on his face.

People, as they get older, it's easy to miss the old.

Murong looked at Murong Bao steadily, and somehow, he remembered the Da Duan clan and his eldest son Murong Ling.

Da Duan's family is the daughter of Duan Mo, and she gave birth to sons Murong Ling and Murong Bao.

Because of his high talent, he was finally killed in prison because he was unwilling to accuse her husband Murong Chui.

The eldest son, Murong Ling, was his best son, but unfortunately he fell for the golden knife trick of Wang Meng, the former prime minister of Qin, and died.

Whether it was Wang Meng's golden knife plan, or the prison of Murong Jun and Kezuhun clan, it was originally to harm him Murong Chui.

As a result, he was lucky to escape the disaster, but he killed his wife and son tragically.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that Murong Chui will feel guilty about his wife and eldest son.

And after the restoration of the country, he felt guilty in his heart and gave it to his second son Murong Bao.

Even though he knew that Murong Bao was not a big deal, he still stubbornly made him the crown prince.

In the past few years, the prince has performed well, which makes him quite pleased.

Unexpectedly, the defeat of Yi Shui dealt a heavy blow to the prestige of the prince and shook the status of the prince.

Pressing down on his heart, Murong Chui took the medicine bowl from his son's hand.

As soon as he brought it to his mouth, an unpleasant bitter taste rushed into his nostrils.

Murong frowned slightly, quickly raised his neck, and poured a large bowl of medicinal soup into his stomach with a few mouthfuls.

The remnants of the medicinal soup continued to overflow the corners of his mouth, wetting his gray beard.

Murong Chui put down the empty bowl heavily, and couldn't help but sigh: "Ah, it's so bitter." ”

Taking the towel handed by Murong Bao, Murong Chui carefully wiped the corners of his mouth stained with medicinal juice.

Then, with heavy steps, he returned to his throne and sat down leaning.

As soon as he sat down, Murong Chui seemed to be unintentional, but in fact he sighed with a deep meaning.

"It seems that my father is really old."

Murong Bao was stunned when he heard this, and glanced at his father fixedly.

Only then did he suddenly realize that Murong Hang's forehead was already crawling with wrinkles like small grooves.

The eyes that used to be sharp and divine have now become dim.

Thin shoulders, worn in a wide yellow robe, look so ill-fitting.

Suddenly, all kinds of emotions such as fear, nervousness, and worry came to my heart.

Tears also flowed involuntarily, blurring the eyes in an instant.

After a long time, Murong Bao muttered in an almost inaudible voice.

"The father will not be old, the subjects of Dayan cannot do without you, and the son cannot do without you."

……

"The prince came forward."

Murong Trai beckoned to Murong Bao lovingly, in the bottom of his unfathomable heart, the most uneasy was his son Murong Bao.

In the past, in his eyes, the prince was both benevolent and filial and advocated Confucianism, and was deeply supported by the ministers, and was an ideal prince.

In today's world of great controversy, does the benevolent and filial Murong Bao have the ability to gain a foothold?

Was Fu Jian not kind enough back then? The result? It's not the end of a country ruined and a family ruined.

Concubine Duan Yuan once commented on Murong Bao, saying that the prince was graceful and indecisive, and he was a benevolent monarch in the peaceful and prosperous era, but he was not a heroic man.

Now that Murong is thinking about it carefully, what Concubine Duan Yuan said is not unreasonable!

The crown prince has always been indecisive, and if the country is peaceful, it may be possible.

And at present, Houyan is in danger, and he needs a decisive and decisive lord.

Coupled with Yi Shui's fiasco, Murong Chui had serious doubts about the prince's ability and doubted whether he could be qualified for the position of monarch.

Although he never showed this suspicion to the outside world, it was still felt by those close to him.

And Murong Chui's suspicion and hesitation had a great negative impact in Houyan's country.

Let his other son, Murong Lin, have the heart to fight for the reserve.

Murong Lin has made two plans, one is that if Murong Chui has firm up Yi Chu's mind, he is ready to perform well, and take advantage of the opportunity to make a contribution to the sky with the help of courting Wei, and strive to make Murong Chui change him to the crown prince.

Second, if Murong Chui still insists on allowing Murong Bao to succeed to the throne, then he has to think long-term and try to hit the prince's prestige again.

Murong Bao also sensed that his position as the crown prince seemed to be in jeopardy, so he had been running more and more diligently to the palace recently.

He took good care of Murong Trai, and for a while, the name of the prince's benevolence and filial piety spread all over Zhongshan.

However, Murong Bao also knew in his heart that relying on the name of benevolence and filial piety alone was not enough to ensure the stability of the position of the prince.

He had to prove to his father Murong Chui that he had military talent, and that Yi Shui's defeat was just an 'accident'.

And the upcoming Wei Yan War is an opportunity for Murong Bao to wash away his shame and prove himself again inside and outside the government and the opposition.

Therefore, he must be given the opportunity to go out with the army, and he must not stay in Zhongshan.

Hearing his father's summons, Murong Bao hurriedly took a step forward and asked in a hoarse voice, "What does the father command?" ”

"What do you think of the upcoming Wei Yan War?"

As soon as he heard this, Murong Bao was immediately excited and realized that his opportunity had come.

He knows very well whether he can wash away his shame and make contributions in the future, it depends on his next performance.

Now it seems that Murong Trai has not completely given up on Murong Bao, and still wants to give the prince a chance.

Murong Bao pondered for a moment and replied cautiously: "My father is famous and has dominated the northern land for decades. ”

"Tuoba Jue is just a fluke, once he hears the name of his father, he will not dare to fight head-on."

"In the eyes of a child, maybe Tuoba Jue will abandon his baggage and rely on cavalry to facilitate his journey to the grassland desert."

"And under the expedition of our army's labor division, if we can't successfully annihilate the main force of the Wei army, we will accidentally fall into the tricks of the Wei army."

"Well, yes, what do you do about that?"

After listening to Murong Bao's analysis, Murong Chui was quite satisfied, and generally had no idea from him.

It also made him somewhat different from Murong Bao, maybe the prince was not as ignorant as he imagined.

However, how did Murong Trai know that what Murong Bao said just now was just a collection of the opinions of the staff in the palace and said it deliberately to please Murong Trai.

was personally rewarded by Murong Chui, which shocked Murong Bao's spirit and continued to talk eloquently.

"Erchen thinks that the Wei army will definitely adopt a strategy to lure the enemy deeper."

"In order to prevent Tuoba's treacherous schemes, our army must not go too deep into the hinterland."

"How can you catch Tuoba without going deep into the hinterland?" Murong Chui asked.

"In the child's opinion, before the war, the king of Liaoxi can be sent west from Pingzhou to the grassland to cut off Tuoba's retreat."

"Then the main army quickly went north, striving to capture Tuoba Jue in a battle."

Murong Chui was noncommittal, and was silent for a long time before he said, "If you are given another chance, can you defeat Tuoba Jue and take revenge?" ”

"Father, rest assured, the sons should personally cut off the head of the Tuoba Jue dog to pay tribute to the Houyan soldiers who died in battle."

I don't know if it was out of guilt for his late eldest son and wife, but it was really Murong Bao's words that moved him.

In the end, after thinking about it, Murong Bao still couldn't make up his mind to abolish the position of Prince Murong Bao.

If you don't abolish the prince, you naturally have to find ways to make Murong Bao make military achievements and regain his prestige.

As a result, the idea of letting Murong Bao go on an expedition with the army involuntarily came to mind.