On the tenth day of the first month of April, Yongdu got a military report, only saying that the Yongjun Qinshui Valley was defeated, Taizong was angry when he heard the news, led the army to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty, left the prince in prison, and went to Tongguan in person.

——"Zizhi Tongjian-Yongji III"

Qinyuan City, after dealing with complicated military affairs, Duan Wushu stood up and moved his somewhat stiff body, since the last poison injury, although the injury has healed, but there is still a feeling of qi deficiency and weakness, this time he was ordered to stay in Qinyuan, busy all day long in the Qinshui River Valley, in case the army is defeated, he can retreat here, so he is almost blind these days, the military report on the front line is delivered daily, Duan Wushu knows that the Northern Han army is chasing at the end of the rank, and the Yong army has fled, but today is at this time, why don't you see the military report coming, Duan Wushu was very worried in his heart, but this place was more than a hundred miles away from the Ji clan, although he had sent scouts to investigate, but if there was really something wrong ahead, it would be impossible for him to get the news before tomorrow morning.

After a few turns in the study, Duan Wushu was a little uneasy in his heart after all, and a flash of inspiration flashed him, he remembered a person, this person's identity was unusual, and he might have some unique insights into the battle situation in this fog, although this person would never say it easily, but there was still a chance to say something. Thinking of this, he summoned his personal guards and walked towards the dungeon behind the Taishou Mansion.

Duan Wushu walked slowly down the bluestone road, the walls on both sides were cold and damp, and there was even moss growing near the ground, except for the light of the torches, there was no trace of skylight, this is where the felons are imprisoned, and the inside and outside are heavily guarded, even a rat is difficult to escape. At the end of the road, there was a steel iron door, but maybe it had been a long time, and there was a layer of rust on it. The two sergeants guarding the door bowed.

Duan Wushu asked in a low voice, "How is the situation of the prisoner?" ”

One of the sergeants replied, "General Qiyu, he has been silent since he woke up, but he has not resisted, and now he can get up, but he cannot walk." ”

Duan Wushu nodded, and ordered them to open the iron door, as soon as the door opened, a strong smell of medicinal herbs mixed with moisture rushed out, Duan Wushu frowned slightly, and walked in. The prison was about two feet in circumference, with only a stone bed directly opposite, covered with thick straw and emitting moisture, and an iron chain extending from the wall, the end of which the shackles locked the hands and feet of the man sitting on the stone bed, making it difficult for him to move beyond the range of the chain. The man was dressed in coarse cloth prison clothes, and there were many wounds wrapped in strips of cloth on his body, obviously seriously injured, his long hair was scattered in front of his face, and his appearance could not be seen, but from the gap in the hair, it could be seen that the left side of his face was also wrapped in a white cloth, this person described as embarrassed, but he sat there, but he was still upright, and with a calm and unhurried bearing, although he was in prison, there was no trace of fear and depression at all.

Duan Wushu frowned slightly, this person was injured by fire, this dungeon is really not suitable for him, but this person is the general of the Yongjun army, and it is inconvenient for him to be favorable. Walking to the bed, Duan Wushu said, "General Xuan, has your injury improved a bit?" ”

The man raised his head, raised his right hand and brushed away the long hair covering his face, revealing a haggard face, the left cheek was wrapped in a white cloth, but the traces of burns could still be seen, but the appearance was like Xuan Song Xuan Changqing. He smiled slightly and said, "It turned out to be General Duan, and his injuries did not deteriorate, thank you for the general's dispatch of the army division for treatment." ”

Duan Wushu sighed lightly, that day the Yongjun desperately wanted to rush out of the valley, but was ordered by the general to block the way with a bow and crossbow, more than 10,000 Yongjun were in the fire, when cleaning the battlefield, but found that Xuan Song was pressed under the body by more than a dozen personal guards, protected by the blood of his body, the capture of the Yongjun generals of this status is a rare thing in recent years, so Long Tingfei ordered him to be imprisoned, and ordered the military doctor to treat him. When Xuan Song woke up, Long Tingfei had already led his troops to set off, and Duan Wushu also had the intention to learn about some Yongjun military aircraft from Xuan Song's mouth, but Xuan Song was almost silent after waking up, although he had no intention of seeking death, but he also had no intention of giving in. But now that the military situation is unknown, Duan Wuving is not allowed to be soft-hearted, and he needs to find a way to learn the secrets of the Yongjun army from Xuan Song.

Xuan Song looked at Duan Wuving, who was a little distracted, he understood in his heart that this person was coming, although he did not see the light of day in this prison, but according to the number of times he ate and ate, he could know the approximate day, plus the time when he was seriously injured and unconscious, presumably now the Northern Han army has been ambushed, it seems that Duan Wuving has not yet received accurate information, but he just found out that something was wrong. Escaping from the battlefield, Xuan Song had no heart to die except for the soldiers who regretted the death, just because of the words of the King of Qi when he left, if he could return to the Yongjun, even if he suffered some humiliation, it was worth it, but if the generals of the Northern Han Dynasty wanted to ask what military aircraft from their mouths, it was a matter of thought, although they wanted to fight again, but they were greedy for life and afraid of death. Thinking of this, Xuan Song spoke: "Does General Duan know why Xuan has been breathing for so far?" ”

Duan Wushu's heart moved, and he said: "Duan Mou wants to declare that General Xuan is not a person who surrenders on his knees, he must want to see the Dayong Banner again." ”

Xuan Song smiled and said: "Xuan has been familiar with military books since he was a child, but his martial arts are mediocre, and he was originally the heaviest cavalry and archery martial arts in the Dayong Army, so although Xuan Mou wanted to lead the army to fight, but he had no chance, and Xuan Mou was lucky, first joined the army under the command of General Jing Chi, General Jing Chi was open-minded, did not care about the decentralization of power, and allowed Xuan to lead the army, and later was appreciated by the Lord of the Prison Army and His Royal Highness the King of Qi. This fame was not easy to come by, and Xuan had a long-term feeling in his heart, so on that day, General Long burned Qinshui, and Xuan knew that he would die nine times, but still led the army to die. ”

Duan Wushu frowned and said: "In fact, your Royal Highness the King of Qi had already led the army away that day, and you couldn't retreat in time, so why not surrender, but unfortunately General Xuan was obsessed and ordered 20,000 warriors to die in the sea of fire, how could General Xuan bear it?" ”

Xuan Song said lightly: "General Duan's words are wrong, although he can still bend his knees and beg for his life that day, but how can my Dayong warriors be greedy for life and fear death, if so, I am afraid that although I am alive in the world, I will no longer see anyone." Some things are like this, could it be that General Duan is in a desperate situation, so he will surrender in order to spare the lives of his sergeants? ”

Duan was speechless, if he could do this, why did he have to fight hard with Dayong, knowing that the situation was unfavorable, but he still had to work hard to maneuver, some things seemed to be just a step back, but that step was not a concession after all. He also understood what Xuan Song meant, not to expect to ask what military aircraft came out of his mouth, but this was the only way, how could he give up gently, think about it, only knock on the side, hoping to know more clues. Thinking of this, Duan Wushu said respectfully: "It's Duan Meng Lang, General Xuan is a loyal and righteous person, he will never defile himself, and Duan doesn't want to be bored, but this place is not suitable for recuperation, Duan's meaning, please General Xuan to recuperate under the house, I don't know what the respect is?" ”

Xuan Song knew that he just wanted to act in a roundabout way, and he was unwilling, and it was difficult to stop his kindness, not to mention that he was not a pedantic person, so he just smiled: "Thank you so much." ”

Duan Wushu was slightly happy in his heart, so he ordered his soldiers to help Xuan Song out of the dungeon, send him to his residence, and find a well-guarded room for Xuan Song to recuperate, whether it can soften this person's mental defense, but the respect in his heart is enough for Duan Wushu to do so.

It's a pity that the bad news came too quickly, when the scouts reported that there was a Yongjun army in the south of the Ji clan, and General Long had been surrounded, Duan Wushu was almost stunned, and fidgeted to read all the information he could get, Duan Wushu helplessly found that the only mobile military force in the Northern Han Dynasty had been trapped, and he only had tens of thousands of infantry in his hands, and it was okay to defend the city, but he couldn't do anything to rescue. He only felt that all the strength in his body seemed to be crushed by this bad news, and after thinking for a moment, he ordered the news to be blocked, and immediately asked people to secretly report the military situation of the lord here, strengthen the defense of Qinyuan, and after doing everything he could, he walked into the residence where Xuansong was under house arrest.

At this moment, Xuan Song had already changed into a clean robe, leaning on the soft collapse to recuperate from his injuries, and when Duan Wushu walked in, he was holding an ancient book and reading it with relish. Hearing Duan Wuving's footsteps, he raised his head, saw Duan Wuving's face solemn, his eyes were full of cold killing intent, his heart moved, guessed that it might be the Northern Han Army's trapped military intelligence back, put down the book, Xuan Song said lightly: "General Duan looks uneasy, but is there something wrong ahead?" ”

Duan Wushu glanced at Xuan Song deeply and said, "General Xuan is a general in the army, and he has the trust of the Marquis of Chu Township, doesn't he know what happened today?" ”

Xuan Song said indifferently: "Chu Township Hou Zhi is deep and brave, there are millions of armor soldiers hidden in his chest, I can know his strategy, but if you talk about the temple, no one in the central control of the Northern Han Dynasty is his opponent, although the general uses soldiers like a god, but unfortunately limited to the situation of troops, even if he wins nine out of ten battles, this last defeat can be overwhelming." ”

Duan Wushu only felt a pain in his heart, the trace of unrealistic disillusionment that still existed was shattered, he held down the sword on his waist, and wanted to kill the person in front of him with a sword, but after a long time, he finally faded the killing machine, and said coldly: "The general has 100,000 iron horses, and Princess Jiaping is assisted, although he is trapped, but it is not easy to eat, the battle situation may not be without a turnaround, General Xuan should not be happy too early." ”

A cold light flashed in Xuan Song's eyes, and he said: "The general is attacking from afar, and there are only two days of grain and grass around him at most, I don't know how many days it can support?" ”

Duan Wuxian's eyes flashed a hint of luck, from the information he obtained, before the Yongjun encircled, the sailor army responsible for transporting heavy grain and grass had entered the encirclement, and joined Long Tingfei's army, although it was impossible for the navy to break out of the encirclement, but Long Tingfei had at least half a month of grain and grass by his side, if he saved some, he could delay some more time, although the Northern Han army was trapped, but there may not be no hope of breaking through. It's just that of course he didn't want to say these things to Xuan Song, but in order to continue to show some information, Duan Wushu said mockingly: "It is not a matter of concern to General Xuan whether the food and grass around the general is sufficient, but Emperor Yong's army is light, although it has only been revealed so far, but now everyone knows it, I am afraid that Emperor Yongdi will regret it." ”

Xuan Song knew that he was secretly guiding Chu and the instability of Dongchuan, but he didn't know how to deal with these things, so he just smiled and said: "The Daizhou army is going south, I don't know what the situation in Yanmen is?" ”

Duan Invincible was stagnant, the situation in Daizhou was tense, he was not unclear, but he couldn't do anything about it, thinking of this, Duan Invincible couldn't help but smile slightly bitterly, thinking that he was just an ordinary general, it was difficult to control the overall situation, and now that the situation was so rotten, he was even more powerless, the only thing he could do was to ask the lord for help, and try his best to hold Qinyuan City.

Looking at Duan Invincible's slightly sad back when he left, Xuan Song smiled faintly, he understood this person's thoughts, but the Northern Han Mansion was about to fall, and how could the strength of a few people turn the tide, but I don't know if I have any hope of surviving, maybe the Northern Han Dynasty will order to behead himself in front of the battle in order to strengthen his uncompromising will.

Emperor Dayong, Zhaotai Pavilion, Huang Chong Huang Li is happy on the top of her eyebrows, embroidered with a bright yellow dragon robe, these days the emperor is quite fond of her, often lucky, she is a woman who has no assertive scheming, she has long been distressed and abandoned, every day just try to please Li Zhen, hoping to get more favor.

When she was concentrating on embroidery, her henchman Chan'er walked in with refreshments, and when she saw Huang Chongyan's attentive expression, a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes, but she turned into a smile, and stepped forward to salute: "Niangniang's embroidery is becoming more and more fascinating, this cloud dragon is really going to break his clothes and fly, and the emperor must be very happy to see it." ”

Huang Chongxi chuckled and said: "My little embroidery is not as good as my cousin's fur, my cousin is the first embroiderer in the old Shu, and she embroiders the dragon robe vividly." ”

Just as he was saying this, a hearty laugh came from outside the door: "Yes, is Concubine Ai too humble, your embroidery looks very good." ”

Huang Li raised her head happily, and saw Li Zhen walking in, followed by Song Wan, she hurriedly stepped forward to salute, and was picked up by Li Zhen. Li Zhen picked up the half-embroidered dragon robe, looked at the exquisite embroidery on it, and said, "What, is your cousin's embroiderer better than you?" ”

Huang Li's eyes were shining, and he said: "Of course, the four famous embroideries in the world, the first person in Suzhou embroidery is Nanchu Gu embroidery, the first person in Hunan embroidery is Dayong Xue Ayayi, Fujian embroidery is Southern Fujian Yue Qingyan, the first person in Shu embroidery is the cousin of the concubine Song Ying, the concubine once learned embroidery with her cousin when she was young, but her talent is far inferior, if her cousin is in Yongdu, the concubine must ask her to embroider a dragon robe for the emperor. ”

Li Zhen said thoughtfully: "Min embroidery, the more green smoke, but is it the bride of the Marquis of the East China Sea?" ”

Huang Li's eyes flashed with confusion, and said: "The concubine doesn't know, but I heard that the Southern Fujian Yue Qingyan, the most like imitation embroidery calligraphy and painting, the style of brushwork is like the original, but Miss Yue is a famous lady, and there are very few works, if you can get one, it is often treasured, so the concubine has never seen it." ”

Li Zhen smiled and said: "If it is really the person I want, it is easy, and I will definitely ask her to send you a pair of embroidery in the future, but your cousin is also a famous embroiderer, I don't know where it is now?" ”

Huang Li's face changed, he glanced at Li Zhen secretly, bowed his head and said: "The cousin of the concubine was originally a female official of Shu lord Shangyi, and she was sent home after the death of Shu, and she was included in the mansion for Prince Qing two years ago. ”

Li Zhen's brows wrinkled inadvertently, and said, "I see, Song Wan, can there be this woman among King Qing's concubines?" ”

Song Wan glanced at Huang Li and said, "Your Majesty, there is no such woman, presumably this woman is just the concubine of His Royal Highness King Qing, so there is no Ming Zongren Mansion." ”

Li Zhen nodded and said with a smile: "It's okay, I will give the title of the Song family's side concubine another day." ”

Huang Li was overjoyed, bowed down and said: "The concubine bows on behalf of my sister to thank the emperor for his grace." ”

Li Zhen picked her up, seeing that she was beautiful and full of joy, and her heart was also soft, she gently took her into her arms, Huang Li's body was weak and weak, her face was blushing, Song Wan and Chan'er pushed her out with interest. Just when the two of them were in love, Song Wan suddenly rushed in with a nervous expression, kowtowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Zezhou has eight hundred miles of urgent military information." ”

The annoyance on Li Zhen's face was immediately replaced by surprise, let go of the yellow glass, and didn't care that he was still in the concubine's bedroom, stepped forward to take the military report, and at a glance, his body was shaky, and his face was even paler as snow. Huang Li was shocked and hurriedly knelt down to see Li Zhen leave. After Li Zhen left, Chan'er walked in in panic and asked, "Niangniang, why did the emperor leave in a hurry, isn't it that Niangniang is not attentive?" ”

Huang Li shook his head and said: "No, the emperor suddenly received the excerpt from Zezhou, and left like this, looking at the emperor's expression, there must be something in front that annoyed the emperor." ”

Chan'er's expression moved, and she said: "Niangniang, the emperor is so troubled, Niangniang might as well inquire about it, so as not to accidentally touch the emperor's heart in her words." ”

Huang Li said distressedly: "But how can this palace inquire, if this kind of thing is too attentive in this palace, I am afraid that the queen will blame it." ”

Chan'er smiled: "What's so difficult about this, isn't Niangniang grateful for the queen's love, you might as well go to see the queen now, just say that the emperor is suddenly angry, you are worried that the emperor is angry, ask the queen to inquire, and then ask the queen what is the matter afterwards, the queen is merciful and kind, and she will not hide it from the mother." ”

Huang Li thought to herself, got up and said, "You serve the palace to make up, and the palace will go to the queen to say goodbye." Chan'er was overjoyed and hurriedly stepped forward to help Huang Li make up, but Huang Li couldn't see the vicious smile on the corner of Chan'er's mouth.

When Huang Li came back from the queen's palace, she was already full of sadness, she complained to Chan'er: "How good is this, Zezhou lost the battle again, I heard that it was the Daizhou army that appeared, His Royal Highness the King of Qi retreated thirty miles, and was burned by a fire and defeated, it seems that there is a general who is independent and his life and death are unknown, His Royal Highness the King of Qi is not a number of famous generals, and the Jiang Horse who is said to be brilliant and wise, but he was defeated so badly, the queen mother said, the emperor is gathering important ministers, ready to go out in person, alas, the emperor is the body of ten thousand gold, why bother to recruit in person, the court is not without generals. Although General Changsun was sent out to defend Southern Chu a few days ago, are there still General Qin and them? ”

Chan'er comforted: "Niangniang, the emperor used to be the first general of Dayong, if it is a personal expedition, it must be a success, if the mother embroiders the dragon robe quickly, if it is in time for the emperor to wear it, it would be great." ”

Huang Li listened and nodded, and hurriedly picked up the unfinished dragon robe and began to fly the needle and line, Chan'er saw that she was concentrating and couldn't take care of herself, so she quietly walked out and went to the imperial dining room under the pretext, and that night, Li Zhen was about to send the information of his personal expedition to Dongchuan.

Outside the Wenhua Palace, since a few important ministers of the court entered, all the attendants and palace maids were expelled from the palace, these people are trembling, who doesn't know that the emperor is angry in the palace, if he angers the emperor at this moment, he is only afraid that his life will be worried, even in the eyes of the Holy Lord of the Ming Monarch, the lives of these people are just like ants, and the anger of the Son of Heaven is not trivial. These people never imagined that the atmosphere in the Wenhua Hall was not as tense as they imagined. In fact, Li Zhen sat behind the dragon book case with a smile on his face, looking at a secret fold, which was a secret fold jointly signed by Li Xian, the king of Qi, and Jiang Zhe, the Hou of Chu Township, which was handed over through the most secret channels.

Zheng Xuan, Shi Yu, Dong Zhi, Guan Xiu, Gou Lian, as well as Qin Yi and Cheng Shu were all summoned to the palace by Li Zhen, this pattern makes people believe that there is indeed an emergency military situation ahead, even Qin Yi and Cheng Shu were also uneasy when they were specially summoned, and they did not let go until they learned the inside story.

Li Zhen put down the secret fold and said happily: "The sixth brother and Suiyun really live up to my expectations, now that the Northern Han army has been ambushed, the overall situation has been decided, the sixth brother is not afraid of hardships and dangers, and he forgets to die, and I am very comforted in my heart." ”

Shi Yu said with a smile: "Your Majesty has been planning for the battle of the Northern Han Dynasty for a long time, although General Changsun said that it was a pretext to support General Pei, but the 300,000 army rushed to Zezhou silently, Your Majesty has tried his best, and now he has finally trapped the main force of the Northern Han Army. ”

Qin Yi frowned and said: "I have also seen Lin Yuanting in Daizhou, this person is heroic and heroic, strong and loyal, if you want to subdue this person, it is very difficult, but the Lin family of Daizhou has contributed to the Li Min Sheji, and the reputation and prestige in Daizhou are as high as the sky, if the Lin family does not surrender, I am afraid that Your Majesty will be embarrassed." ”

Gou Lian said: "Although the concerns of the Xinguo Gong are extreme, although the Daizhou Lin clan is famous, it is because they guard Daizhou and resist the barbarians in their time, and for them, guarding the township is the most important thing, so although they were dissatisfied with the self-reliance of the ancestors of the Northern Han Dynasty, they still surrendered in the end, because they did not want to make enemies on both sides, they only need to separate Daizhou and Jinyang, and when Jinyang is broken and the Northern Han Dynasty is destroyed, the Lin family will eventually succumb, maybe they will resist the rule of Dayong, but they will not be enemies of the imperial court." ”

Li Zhen nodded and said: "Even so, I hope that the Lin family can willingly return to Dayong, the Lin family will be in Daizhou, resist the barbarians, and have made outstanding contributions, in the future, Dayong will dominate the world, and good generals are needed to guard Daizhou, the Lin family is the best choice, I have passed the book to King Qi, so that he must save the life of Lin Bi, the princess of Jiaping, and the Daizhou army must also be forced to land. ”

Zheng Xuan said respectfully: "Your Majesty Shengming, although the Lin family in Daizhou is suspected of secession, but all generations are good generals who are loyal to the king, and have no ambitions, if they can be appeased, it must be a barrier in the northern Xinjiang, but if you want the Lin family to surrender, the best way is to force the Northern Han royal family to land, and let the Northern Han lord write a book to persuade him to surrender, if the army is pressurized, the Daizhou army will inevitably rise up to resist, if the two armies fight and suffer heavy losses, it is not conducive to the pacification of Daizhou in the future." ”

Li Zhen said: "The same is true of my intentions, this time I am determined to conquer in person, although I also have the intention of luring the enemy, but the primary purpose is to calm the overall situation of the Northern Han Dynasty, although the King of Qi is heroic, but he has never been indifferent to government affairs, Suiyun is weak, unbearable and tired, and all kinds of affairs after the Ping Han Dynasty are complicated, and I need to be the master." ”

For Li Zhen's personal expedition, Zheng Xian and others did not object, not to mention that Li Zhen was the military god of Dayong, and it was a matter of course to go out to win, just for the king of Qi, Li Zhen personally went to the battlefield of the Northern Han Dynasty There are more advantages and fewer disadvantages, although the battle of the king of Qi is not significant, but if he did not risk himself and lure the Northern Han army into the trap, there would not be the current situation, and after the king of Qi annihilated the Northern Han army, he could go north to Jinyang and break through the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, such a credit is too heavy for the king of Qi. If Li Zhen personally commanded the final battle to pacify the Northern Han Dynasty, this would be a more appropriate way to deal with it both for Dayong and for King Qi. What's more, Li Zhen's personal expedition also has the effect of luring snakes to dispatch, rather than letting King Dongchuan Qingwang attack when Dayong is most vulnerable, it is more secure to let him attack at the time selected by the imperial court.

When Li Zhen was discussing the matter of personal conquest with everyone, Song Wan quietly walked into the hall and received a secret letter. ”

Hearing Xiahou Yuanfeng's name, everyone couldn't help frowning slightly, although Xiahou Yuanfeng has become a close confidant of Emperor Yongdi in recent years, but this handsome young man who was as rich as jade in the past has already become a shadow in the darkness in everyone's hearts, and Xiahou Yuanfeng's insidious and ruthless methods have also made everyone criticized, but the status of Mingjian Division in Li Zhen's heart is known to everyone, and there is Jiang Zhe's shadow behind Xiahou Yuanfeng. Although Jiang Zhe did not interfere in the affairs of the Ming Jian Division, Xiahou Yuanfeng had served King Yong through Jiang Zhe in the past, and his deputy Liu Hua was Jiang Zhe's former confidant and attendant, and Xiahou Yuanfeng had great respect for Jiang Zhe openly and secretly, so everyone had long faintly regarded him as a force of Jiang Zhe's family.

Even so, hearing that the biggest hidden danger of henchmen was about to be cleared, everyone showed a satisfied look on their faces, Li Zhen put down the secret fold, but there was a faint worry in his heart, Xiahou Yuanfeng's secret fold hinted that he would take the opportunity to take over Jiang Zhe's secret forces in Old Shu. In Li Zhen's heart, when Dongchuan fell into his grasp, he didn't want to have forces independent of his control, and the Splendid Alliance, no matter how much Jiang Zhe controlled this power, after all, it was still a rebellious organization, and Li Zhen's only concern was, would this cause Jiang Zhe's dissatisfaction?