The capital of Chu, the capital of Ying.

As far as the eye can see, I see that the city wall is broken, and the grass is green; Houses, buildings, palaces and streets have been dilapidated, mostly in ruins, by the fire of war. White bones can be seen everywhere in the city of Yingdu, and zombies are lying horizontally. The large black birds that peck at the dead resting on the broken walls make the city look like a ghost town.

At this time, the population of Yingdu City was scarce, and most of the residents had already gone to empty houses to escape the war; After the Wu army occupied Yingdu, these Chu residents had to swallow their anger, and as long as they had the slightest opportunity, they would flee out of the city and find another way to survive, so the last residents who remained in Yingdu were few and few.

Yingdu, a city that had been humiliated by the Wu army, had a huge wound and blood was bubbling down.

"The Chu army is back! The king is returning home! A young man ran through the broken south gate and cried out incessantly:

"Come and see, there are so many flags, they are the king's banner!"

In the distance, through the hazy mist, a long procession meandered in, approaching the city gates. The autumn of this Yingdu gradually has a little chill.

In front of this procession was a middle-aged man dressed in brocade, dressed as a civil official, sitting on an open carriage, looking about thirty years old, with a pale, slightly chubby face, sitting on the carriage with his eyes closed and contemplating.

"Lord Zuo Yin, our army has arrived at the south gate of Yingdu, will the army camp on the spot or enter the city?" A general in armor, a red cloak, with thick eyebrows and a black face, stood by the carriage and asked.

The man woke up from his contemplation, first let out an "oh", and then ordered: "The army is camped outside the city. Pass my order: Our army is stationed at the south gate, and ask Zibo and Zihu to lead the Qin army to be stationed at the east gate. After the king returns to the capital, he will make a cut. ”

The man took the order and left, but muttered in his mouth: "Yingdu Seven Gates." The east gate is the main gate, but the Qin army is stationed, which is really not divided into priority and priority! ”

And how could he, as a small general, know? The Qin State sent troops to save the Chu State, and restored the country for the monarchs and ministers of the Chu State, and until now the troops have not returned, and it is impossible to send others away if there is no something, this is the minimum rule. The most important task of the monarchs and ministers of the Chu State now is how to rebuild the city of Yingdu and restore the vitality of the country; And then there is how to send this army of tigers and wolves. This is the country's policy, and it can only be decided after waiting for the return of the king of Chu.

The Chu army did not enter the city for the time being, after being stationed at the south gate of Yingdu. The establishment of the Chinese army tent, Zuo Yin Zixi ordered all the civil ministers and military generals to go to the Chinese army tent to discuss military affairs.

Zixi said: "After this battle, Yingdu was ruined, and the people were not able to make a living. Now the king is still with the kingdom, and many important things need to be decided by the king. So. The first task now is: first, to welcome the king back to the capital; The second is to repair the damaged walls of the Jongmyo temple and the palace buildings. ”

So Zixi arranged for Ziqi to be responsible for rebuilding the temple. Restore the tomb of King Ping, which was destroyed by the soldiers. Ordered Wang Sun to lead his soldiers to clean up the streets. Renovate the premises. Carry out a relatively thorough cleaning of the city of Yingdu and bury the bones of the dead. Zixi personally went to Meng Huan's bedroom to ask for a salute and ask for warmth. He also ordered Shen Baoxu and Dou Xin to lead an army of 3,000 sailors to the border to welcome King Zhao.

It is said that Shen Baoxu begged for the Qin State to send a division, and the Wu and Chu coalition forces forced to Yingdu. Later, after the Wu army was defeated twice, the domestic husband changed. The king of Wu was embarrassed both internally and externally, and after the two sides negotiated peace, the Wu army retreated back to the country. King Zhao of Chu first went to Xiangyang with the army, and later Zixi was worried that the battle situation would be unpredictable, so he sent King Zhao back to Suiguo to wait for a while.

King Zhao inquired about the news in the country every day. On this day, the whistle Malay reported: "King, the Wu army has retreated, and Lord Shen Baoxu is waiting for the king to return to the country at the border!" ”

King Zhao was overjoyed, so he went into the city to visit Suihou in person and prepared to resign.

When the two monarchs met, King Zhao arched his hand and said: "My country has been restored, thank you for not giving up, so that my monarch and ministers can live and save their lives, and the country of Chu can have today, all thanks to the virtuous monarch!" ”

He returned the salute with the marquis and congratulated King Zhao: "Congratulations to the virtuous monarch!" How can Seon know the blessing and the curse? Although the state of Chu is in difficulty today, with the Ming monarch and virtuous ministers, he will definitely be able to make a comeback and make a great cause! ”

King Zhao deeply felt that Suihou took in himself at the risk of Wu Guoxing's questioning, and under such sinister conditions, he was able to tactfully protect the monarchs and ministers of Chu State, which was really gracious.

King Zhao swore to Suihou: "After my Chu country, Chu and Sui will become a brotherly country from now on, and the world will be friendly and will never invade!" ”

Suijun bet on the treasure this time, and did not fall to the camp of Wu State, unlike Tang State and Cai State, between the big countries, if you accidentally do not stand in line, you may have the disaster of destroying the country. Suihou also knew this truth, and when he saw that King Zhao was so grateful, he also felt sorry for him, and personally sent King Zhao out of the city, and saw King Zhao board the boat before returning to the palace.

King Zhao and Princess Ji Mi boarded a boat and went down the river, hurrying day and night.

When they arrived at the border of Chu and Sui, Shen Baoxu and Gu Xin were already waiting on the border to catch King Zhao. Junchen and his entourage immediately took a warship and continued down the river.

Shen Baoxu reported to King Zhao the detailed battle report of the Qin-Chu coalition army and the Wu army in Yingdu, and explained the terms of the peace between Chu and Wu to the king of Chu one by one, and said that Zixi was the master of Xiong Sheng.

King Zhao didn't have any words, he was in Suiguo at that time, thousands of miles away from Yingdu, and Zixi, as the supreme commander of Chu State, had his own right to decide outside.

King Zhao also inquired with Shen Baoxu about the situation in Yingdu for a while, and asked some information about his mother Meng Huan in a flickering manner.

However, two days later, King Zhao and his entourage arrived in the territory of Yunzhong.

On this day, the boat travels Yunmeng, King Zhao sits on the bow of the boat, and the princess Ji Mi is on the side, at this time it is already twilight, and the remnant sun is like blood. The mountains on both sides of the river cast a thick black shadow on the surface of the river, and the ape cried occasionally, and the light boat crossed the river.

King Zhao stood up, leaned on the wooden railing on the side of the boat, looked at the surging river, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart. Thinking of the embarrassment and misery when he ran away just now, he still remembered it vividly, and couldn't help but sigh and said:

"The years are empty, but the past is still there. When we fled and crossed this river, can my sister remember that even the thieves treat the widow as nothing. If it weren't for Wang Sun's widowhood to block the thief's leader, Zhong Jian protected his beloved sister, the consequences would be unimaginable. ”

Ji Mi was silent for a long time, and there was a hint of gold on her fair face, which was the reflection of the setting sun on the river, which made Ji Mi look even more charming and charming.

After a while, Ji Mi also sighed, and said quietly: "Brother Wang, have you ever thought that after our brothers and sisters escaped from Yingdu, what will happen to the queen mother?" ”

When King Zhao heard this, he hung his head for a long time, looking at the east of the river, but his heart was mixed. Yes, when he fled in a hurry and ignored his mother Meng Huan, this was an eternal pain in King Zhao's heart, and it was a wound that he felt deeply guilty. And the situation of the queen mother in Yingdu is even more affecting the nerves of these two young people.

"If the queen mother has three long and two short in Yingdu, it is all a brother's sin. However, the messenger sent a letter from Zixi, saying that the queen mother was still living in the original dormitory, and it seemed that she had not been harmed. "King Zhao said.

At this time, Ji Mi was fifteen years old, and encountered this catastrophe, with King Zhao fleeing all the way, he saw the real people's sufferings and experienced the vicissitudes of life, and he was also touched a lot, and said to King Zhao:

"When my father was here, there may have been many mistakes that made such a big difficulty. But Brother Wang has never thought that Brother Wang has been in power for ten years, and there are many capable ministers and good generals in the court, and tens of thousands of people in Wu have driven straight in, as if they have entered a no-man's land. There must be something wrong with something, I don't know if Brother Wang has thought about it carefully? ”

King Zhao knew that this time the defeat of the Chu State would definitely have someone to come out and take this responsibility. If you don't pay attention to your own employment and have no way to govern the country, you must be responsible.

King Zhao muttered to himself: "When I fled from Yingdu, the widow had already made an oath that as long as I could restore the country, I would work hard, be diligent and love the people, and I would be worthy of the title of Great Chu." ”

The brother and sister watched as the whirlpool rolled up on the surface of the water, and by this time the sun had set and the oars sounded. Rows of white waterfowl are free, swirling and dancing on the surface of the river, so mountains and rivers, you can know that you are almost broken by your own hands, are you not afraid? King Zhao retracted his thoughts, and saw that the night was getting deeper and the river was cool, so he instructed: "Sister go in and sleep, the weather is cold." ”

So the brother and sister went back to their cabins to rest.

It's night, and the boat is moored in the clouds.

The next morning, King Zhao sent a message to Dou Xin and explained to him: "This place is in the clouds, and we met thieves here at that time. There is no place for the shippers to rest, which is very inconvenient. The intention of the widow made the county magistrate here build a bazaar here, which was convenient for business and travel to stop, and also to prevent thieves from running rampant. ”

Dou Xin received the order and got off the boat to pass the word to the county governor. After the official business was completed, Dou Xin returned, and the warship anchored again and headed straight for Yingdu. (To be continued......)