In the tenth year of Yongping of the Qi State, the crown prince Li Yong rebelled.

Li Jin, the king of Shu, led 30,000 troops and horses, drove straight into Chang'an from Shu to quell the rebellion, first captured the prince Li Yong and Li Rongmu, the prince who were hiding in the palace at that time, and then took down the left guard general Yuan Zhou and the rest of the prince's rebellion against the East Palace guards in Chang'an City.

When the Son of Heaven heard this, he was furious and ordered more than 100 rebels in the East Palace to be punished, and the three clans sat together. The crown prince and his relatives, except for Li Ronghe, the county lord who had married Xie Xuan three months ago, were all demoted to concubines, exiled to Lingnan, and were pardoned.

Li Jin, the king of Shu, was meritorious in quelling the rebellion, and the emperor felt that his prestige among the people was extremely strong, and everyone expected it, so he immediately ordered Li Jin to be the crown prince and enter the East Palace.

In the twelfth year of Yongping, the emperor collapsed.

The crown prince Li Jin ascended the throne, changed the Yuan Yongye, granted amnesty to the world, and specially allowed the first prince Li Yong to return to Chang'an with his relatives to serve filial piety.

However, the first prince Li Yong was anti-hearted, and he was obviously to return to Chang'an to serve filial piety, but in fact, he secretly communicated with Liu Yuan, the secretary of the military department, and Wang Yi, the secretary of Dali Temple, and deliberately rebelled again.

This matter was investigated by Xiao Liu, the left attendant of the military department, and before he could pass it, he took the initiative to shoot more than 30 people, including Li Yong and his son, in Xuanwu Gate.

When the new emperor Li Jin heard the news of his brother's death, he mourned and collapsed in the Taihe Palace, shouting that his brother had no possibility of rebellion, and immediately ordered Xiao Liu to be killed to avenge Li Yong.

When the ministers heard this, they knelt on the ground one after another, begging the emperor to calm their anger, and Mo killed the loyal ministers for personal reasons, fearing that the hearts of the people would be chilled.

Li Jin sighed helplessly, and then ordered Pei Xiu, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to cooperate with Yan Wu, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to jointly investigate the case of the former prince Li Yong, the joint secretary of the military department, Liu Yuan, and Wang Yi, the secretary of Dali Temple.

The case will be closed in a short time. Liu Yuan and Wang Yihe were beheaded, Xiao Liu's escort was meritorious, he was loyal to the righteous duke, the official worshiped the second grade, and shot for the left servant of Shangshu.

The emperor was grateful for the love and care of his brother in the past, and he was heartbroken. Regardless of the opposition of the ministers, he tried his best to pursue the traitor Li Yong as the king of Xicheng, and buried the imperial mausoleum, and the only surviving daughter Li Ronghe under his knees, crowned Princess Anding, and his husband Xie Xuan was named the general of the protector of the country, and was in charge of the 100,000 imperial forest army in Xicheng.

Yongye five years, the world is in chaos.

Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has built a large number of buildings, spent manpower day and night sleepless to build canals and palaces, and in addition to the endless wars for many years, the treasury has been exhausted, and hundreds of millions of people have died of exhaustion and starvation.

The whole country is against it.

Among the rebels, the prestige and power of the Duke of Chu should be the strongest. Everywhere they went, the people took the initiative to open the city to greet them, and the old and weak women and children knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, begging the Duke of Chu to seek for the people.

In February of the eighth year of Yongye, the Duke of Chu drove 600,000 troops to attack Chang'an. Emperor Li Jin, with the support of Xie Xuan, the general who protected the country, fled from Anhuamen and went to Jiangdu.

……

……

The continuous spring rain for several days has made the already hurried travel more and more tiring.

The middle-aged emperor had long been accustomed to the brocade clothes and food in the palace, and this sudden escape made him physically exhausted, and now he was sitting in a makeshift tent to rest and recuperate.

The days of running around had added a circle of blue and black to his eyes, and tiredness made him no longer care about the mud stained on his dragon robe or the pastries that had become wet and sticky for a few days. Li Jin stared blankly at the rainwater that was dripping down from the roof of the shed, his expression was dazed, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty—"

Li Jin's thoughts were interrupted by a crying coquettishness, and the concubine ran in crying and kneeling at his feet in the rain to complain: her carriage was broken, and the general Xie Xuan did not allow her to ride in the same carriage with Princess Anding, so she had to ask a dignified concubine to take the carriage of the palace maid, the carriage was so small, so narrow, and so uncomfortable, with her identity, how could she ......

Li Jin listened and listened, only to feel that the originally tactful and delicate voice gradually turned into a meaningless hum.

He struggled to hold up his eyelids, and the concubine's mouth was still open and closed, like a swarthy hole constantly eating away at what little air was left in the narrow tent.

Li Jin gasped, clutched his chest and said, "You can do whatever the general tells you to do, otherwise you will go back to Chang'an!" ”

The concubine's face stiffened, she shrunk her neck and whimpered, and soon got up and ran out of the tent crying, and her petite figure rampaged like a bird into the tiresome spring rain.

Li Jin looked at the pale rain curtain and sighed, paused, and asked the old eunuch who was standing silently beside him like a stake, "What is Xie Xuan doing?" ”

The stiff old eunuch was like a stone man who had suddenly thawed in the tent and dozens of entourages, bending down and whispering, "The general has gone to inspect the army, there are too many people in our group, and the general is taking care of ......"

Li Jin hummed, carelessly, "What about Xiao Liu?" ”

"I said that I went to fetch mountain spring water for His Majesty."

Li Jin snorted lightly and did not speak.

This Xiao Liu, who is old, is still messing around like a stinky fish.

I was in Chang'an before, but I didn't expect that it would be dishonest to flee now.

I heard that a few days ago, I saw that the maid next to Princess Anding was handsome, and I had to accept someone else as a concubine. After being rejected, he became angry and angry, and even shouted that Princess Anding was the daughter of the king of Xicheng, and her heart was different, and in the end it was not like this, forcing the maid to die on the beam of the car to prove her innocence.

Li Jin frowned, his face displeased.

The old eunuch twisted his body, his fingers inadvertently touched the heavy object in his sleeve, thought about it, and spoke softly, "Princess Anding came to greet Your Majesty a few days ago, and it seems that she plans to go back to Chang'an to persuade Chen Yan to withdraw from the army for Your Majesty." ”

Li Jin laughed, unimpressed.

If lobbyists alone could persuade Chen Yan to quit the army, would he still be sitting here now?

The old eunuch took in the emperor's disdain, as if inadvertently, lowered his eyes and continued, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? The banner of the rebellion ......"

Banner?

Li Jin raised his eyebrows.

He remembered that Chen Yan's banner seemed to be to avenge the former crown prince Li Yong and kill himself, the villain who usurped the throne and changed the edict.

This incident sounds a bit ridiculous, but in fact, before his death, his father did summon his close ministers to change the edict and ask them to change Li Yong as emperor.

In order to conceal this matter, he first killed his brother who was completely unaware, and then killed Liu Yuan and Wang Yi's family. It's just that I didn't expect that there would be fish that slipped through the net, and this matter came into Chen Yan's ears.

But so what? Even if there is no excuse for this, won't he say the opposite?

Li Jinzheng was thinking about it, and then he heard the old eunuch speak again, "Your Majesty, after all, this Princess Anding is the only surviving bloodline of the King of Xicheng, who else in the world can be more convincing than her words?" ”

"If Princess Anding is allowed to come forward and personally announce to the world that the death of the king of Xicheng has nothing to do with you, then Chen Yan's rebellion will not be tenable. If the so-called name is not right, it will not go well, and if it is not good, it will not be done, and then we will fight back again......"

Li Jin was silent for a long time, with a hint of sadness in his tone, "The general will not agree." ”

The old eunuch bowed, "The general is still on patrol, and he won't be able to come back in half an hour, and Princess Anding is not far away, if she leaves now, she can actually avoid Xie Xuan completely." ”

Li Jin thought about it, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Xiao Liu walk in with a bowl of clear water, knelt on the ground, and flattered the bowl, "Your Majesty, the minister thought that Your Majesty must be thirsty after walking for so long, and the water he brought with him was not fresh enough, so he specially brought mountain spring water for His Majesty to drink." ”

Li Jin snorted, "Qing has a heart." ”

But he didn't go to take the bowl of water, turned his head and glanced at the old eunuch, and told him to go.

After a while, I saw Princess Anding follow the old eunuch into the tent.

I haven't seen her for seven years, and his niece is still the same as a girl. Li Jin looked at the person in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that God is always a little more partial to beauties.

Li Ronghe knelt on the ground with his head down, and saluted in a proper manner.

Seeing that it was her who walked in, Xiao Liu's expression was abrupt, and he stepped forward with a bowl, blocking between the emperor and Li Ronghe, and reprimanded loudly, "What are you doing here?" Didn't you have an order not to be in the same room with Your Majesty? ”

His roar seemed to suddenly wake up the other stone-like guards who were originally standing on the side of the tent, and they all turned their heads and focused their eyes on Li Ronghe.

Li Jin was shocked by this roar and came back to his senses, although he was bored in his heart, he also received a reminder at the same time: Li Yong died in his hands. He and this girl are both blood relatives and blood feuds.

Back then, he promised Xie Xuan that the condition for Li Ronghe to let Li Ronghe go was that he would not let her out of Xie Mansion for the rest of his life, but now that the world has changed, there is no need to stick to the rules, now just keep a firm eye on her and don't let her get close to him.

Li Jin immediately straightened out his emotions, straightened his figure, and said solemnly, "You, why do you want to see me?" ”

Li Ronghe's head hung slightly, the broken hair on his forehead covered his expression, and his voice was clean and cold, "The courtiers are willing to go against Chang'an for Your Majesty and persuade Chen Yan to withdraw the army." ”

As soon as these words came out, before Li Jin could reply, he listened to Xiao Liu's first robbery, "Phew, a little yellow-haired girl, you dare to say that you want to be a lobbyist for Your Majesty?" Is it because I'm so strong that everyone is dead? ”

These words were really unkind and unsparing, which made Li Jin, who was about to nod, have a blue face on his face.

Xiao Liu was still holding the bowl of water, and knelt on the ground at the same time, "Your Majesty, the daughter of a traitor is not credible." In case she and Chen Yan are in cahoots, and bite you back after going back, confirming that it was indeed you who killed your brother back then, then our situation will be critical! ”

What Xiao Liu said was true, but his words were too sharp, so to Li Jin's ears, it was more like a cold arrow that was shooting at him quickly, forcing him to recall the past when he was not fair enough.

"That's it!" The Emperor shouted angrily.

The stone-like guard received a silent order, took a few steps forward, gagged his mouth, and set up Xiao Liu to walk out.

The bowl in Xiao Liu's hand fell to the ground, and it happened to be knocked on a raised stone in the ground, with a crisp cracking sound.

The mountain spring water in the bowl flowed all the way to the emperor's feet, creating a small puddle in the low-lying area.

Li Jin rubbed his eyebrows, showing fatigue, "What do you want?" ”

Li Rong and Fang Dao, who had never spoken from beginning to end, said, "The courtiers only need Xiao Liu's head." ”

"Xiao Liu killed the father and brother of the courtier's wife back then, and killed the courtier's wife and maid a few days ago, and now he has come to separate the uncle-nephew relationship between His Majesty and the courtier's wife, such a villain is really hateful."

When she finally looked up, she was already in tears. He whispered, "Uncle." ”

Helplessness is pitiful.

Li Jin was stunned, and then suddenly he was stunned.

He almost forgot that Li Ronghe married Xie Mansion three months before Li Yong was deposed as a concubine and exiled to Lingnan. After that, he was placed under house arrest by Xie Xuan for many years, strictly guarded, and no outsiders were seen. Regarding the affairs of the outside world, Xie Xuan has never allowed others to reveal half of it to her, and even when Li Yong died, she never went out of the house to guard her filial piety.

So she only thought that Xiao Liu had killed her father and brother, but she never doubted herself......

Thinking of this, Li Jin's eyes softened, and his face was also sad, "It's me who is incompetent, I was going to kill Xiao Liu, but I was stopped by the ministers, and I couldn't kill him to vent my hatred, I am really ashamed of my brother......"

Another stone man in the tent thawed, and a scream was heard outside the tent.

Soon a round human head was thrown at Li Ronghe's feet, his eyes bloodshot, full of despair and disbelief.

Li Ronghe looked at the head, shrank for a moment, got up and ran towards Li Jin, "Uncle, Rong He is afraid." ”

Outside the tent, horses' hooves clanged, and they panicked.

Li Jin's pupils were suddenly illuminated by a white light, and a few more stone figures in the tent instantly thawed.

The sound of a sharp blade unsheathed behind him instantly pierced the air—

The dagger Li Ronghe raised stopped forever at a distance of three centimeters from the emperor.

Xie Xuan was covered in wind and dust and hurried in from the white rain and mist. His gaze swept simply, and finally he knelt neatly next to Xiao Liu's head, clasping his fists at Li Jin, not squinting, as if he hadn't seen the head on the ground and the figure not far away that he had been facing for seven years.

"Minister, it's too late to save the driver."

Xie Xuan's words were loud.

Li Jin snorted. Sigh again.

"Pack up and get on your way."

Immediately got up. The boot stepped over the polluted mountain spring water, splashing a few times.

……

……

In March of the eighth year of Yongye, Xiao Liu, the loyal and righteous prince, and Li Ronghe, the princess of Anding, died of illness on the way.

……

In October of the ninth year of Yongye, Xie Xuan announced that Emperor Li Jin died of illness in Jinyang.

Xie Xuan, the general who protects the country, supported Li Jin's eight-year-old son Li Liang to ascend the throne as emperor and changed his name to Yuan Tianbao.

In another three years, Chen Yao, the second son of Chen Yan, the Duke of Chu, broke Jinyang, and Xie Xuan was defeated and killed.

In February of the following year, the Duke of Chu declared himself emperor in Chang'an. The country name is Chu, changed to Yuan: Qi Guang.