Zheng Fang hurriedly came to the study of the Chengji Palace, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Xiao Mu holding a letter and looking through it, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Lord Wang. Zheng Fang bowed.

Xiao Mu saw Zheng Fang, beckoned him to sit down, and then handed him the letter. Zheng Fang was also not polite, walked over with a big grin, and sat down opposite Xiao Mu. He served Xiao Mu and followed Xiao Mu to fight in the south and north for decades, and his prestige in the army was very high, and the sergeants laughed at him as "the town party". Now although Zheng Fang is over half a hundred years old, he has thick branches and leaves, and he looks old and unserious on weekdays, but he still exudes a tough atmosphere in his gestures, and he is Xiao Mu's right-hand man.

Zheng Fang took a cursory look at the letter, just as Xiao Mu expected, and the face on his dark face became more and more solemn. There are only a few lines on the letter, which roughly says that two days ago, an army raided at night and captured the main city of Changzhou, Yuanhai City, and the entire territory of Changzhou fell. And the Yunzhou army, which had confronted Changzhou for nearly half a year, naturally moved south and took over the entire Changzhou.

"What the prince worried about has come true. Zheng Fang smiled, but there was not much smile in his eyes.

"I received this morning," Xiao Mu sighed lightly, "It was very strange for Wei Zhuoxi to suddenly attack Changzhou. On the rich, Changzhou is not as good as Qingzhou, to talk about the vein metal, Changzhou is far less than the north, and although Changzhou and Yunzhou border, but there are few conflicts, Yunzhou sent troops this time, the implication is obvious. ”

Zheng Fang listened and thought so. Wei Zhuoxi naturally won't do anything in vain, so what he is trying to do is probably the geographical location of Changzhou.

Changzhou is located in the northwest of Cheongju, sharing a long and narrow border with Cheongju, with Yunju to the north and Pingju to the south. After passing through the wind gully pass, further west, is the unstoppable Zhongzhou Plain.

The imperial capital of the Longwon Dynasty was located in the center of Jungju, and the surrounding Gyeonggi region guarded the imperial city. The terrain of Zhongzhou is higher and flat, its northeast side is cut off by the Yanghu Mountains in the northwest and southeast direction, and the south side is the Zhongnan Canyon that stretches for thousands of miles, separating Zhongzhou from the land of Ping and Yuzhou, so only the flat area of more than 100 miles near the wind gully pass is left in the east, which has also become the only entrance to Zhongzhou in the west. In addition, the southwest of Zhongzhou is Yuzhou, the terrain is mainly hilly and mountainous, and the junction of the two is in addition to the Zhongnan Canyon in the south, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, which also increases the difficulty of marching from the west. In the hundreds of years since the establishment of the Longyuan Dynasty, although there have been several rebellions, none of the rebels have ever been able to enter Zhongzhou.

However, now that Changzhou has fallen, Fenggul Pass has become the last barrier for Zhongzhou to face Wei Zhuoxi.

Zheng Fang soon noticed a hint of strangeness: "It was the people of Yunzhou who conquered Yuanhai City?" It took Wei Zhuoxi less than half a year to conquer most of Changzhou, but the remaining Yuanhai City confronted the Yunzhou army for three or four months. Wei Zhuoxi seems to have no intention of taking Yuanhai City, but just let the army be rectified in Changzhou. Now that the foreign army has raided, and even sent Yuanhai City to Wei Zhuoxi, it is really strange.

"What do you think?" Xiao Mu asked rhetorically.

"The subordinates think no. Wei Zhuoxi has stayed in Yuanhai City for so long, probably because he doesn't want to tear his face with the royal family so early. Even if he wanted to fight, taking Yuanhai City would only be a matter of effort, and he didn't have to bother to raid at night. Zheng Fang shrugged.

Xiao Mu showed a look of approval: "This king also thinks so, but things have developed to this point, and no one pays attention to who took Yuanhai City, and the wind gully pass is already in front of Wei Zhuoxi, and everyone in the royal family is in danger." If this king's estimation is correct, King Qin's order will arrive in these two days. Xiao Mu's expression did not change in any way, but his tone was suddenly a little helpless.

Zheng Fang has followed Xiao Mu for decades, so he naturally knows the origin of Xiao Mu and the royal family. Nearly forty years ago, the Luoheng Domain of the East China Sea coveted the vast territory of the Longyuan Dynasty and united the six regions of the East China Sea to attack together. Xiao Mu's father, Xiao Xu, led the army to fight to the death for several months, and Xiao Mu was still young, so he was sent to live in the imperial city for a period of time. Xiao Mu was very clever when he was a child, and he learned very early under the fence, and he was diligent and studious.

Although the first emperor had no good name, was weak, and was unable to control the court, he had no children under his knees at that time, and he liked Xiao Mu very much and took good care of him. Later, due to the menacing six regions of the East China Sea, almost the entire territory of Qingzhou was annexed within a few months, and in this catastrophe known as the "East China Sea Rebellion" in later generations, Xiao Xu finally died in the city, and the first emperor also made an exception for this to raise the title of Xiao, becoming the first king with a different surname in a hundred years.

For the first emperor, Xiao Mu was full of gratitude. It's a pity that a few months ago, the first emperor drove to the west. Although he did not have a deep relationship with the emperor of the current dynasty, seeing the foundation of the first emperor being destroyed by Wei Zhuoxi was also unacceptable to Xiao Mu. So in fact, from the very beginning, Xiao Mu made up his mind about King Qin.

Zheng Fang expected the prince's thoughts, so he said: "Then the subordinates will notify them in advance, let the army be rectified, and the king of Qin will be able to open as soon as the order arrives." ”

"Hmm. Xiao Mu replied softly, as if he was not surprised that Zheng Fang had guessed his mind. He opened his mouth again and asked, "Do you think we have a chance of winning against Shangwei Zhuoxi?"

"Wei Zhuoxi has been reckless in recent years, and his subordinates are even more talented. Benhai City has always been rich, and in recent years, there have been few wars, and the sergeants lack training. Zheng was calm.

"Since you know the odds aren't high, I don't think you're worried at all. Xiao Mu said with a smile.

"My subordinates know very well that the prince is not a reckless person, since the prince dares to fight, then there are killing moves that we have never thought of. His subordinates should be the prince's pawns. Zheng Fang said with a smile.

Xiao Mu smiled: "You old thing, you can pat yourself on the back." Immediately, he said with a straight face: "Now that the royal family is in decline, the binding force of King Qin's order on the princes is really limited, and this king does not expect how many princes can stand up to Wei Zhuoxi, but as long as there is this family, the odds of winning will be greatly increased." ”

Zheng Fang raised his head at the right time, revealing an inquiring look.

"Muzhou in southern Xinjiang, Ye Tilt, King of Pingnan!"

Muzhou Ye family is a branch of the royal family, a hundred years ago, there was a huge scale of rogues in the vast southern Xinjiang, occupy the mountains as the king, the surrounding people are miserable, Zhongzhou sent troops to fight a few times, because the other party relied on the terrain, the gods are haunted, several times of encirclement and suppression have all returned, the rogue is getting bigger and bigger, and finally a prince is ordered to be in danger, after arriving in southern Xinjiang, organize the local people to defend themselves, help the army and the rogue in the mountains and wilderness, and finally quell the banditry in the south, and won the title of king of Pingnan.

The current Pingnan Wang Ye Tian is Xiao Mu's old acquaintance. Because of the same roots and origins as the royal family, when Xiao Mu was in the imperial city, Ye Tian lived in the imperial city for a few years with the previous generation of King Pingnan, and the two were of the same age, so they had a very personal relationship.

"Is the prince so sure that King Pingnan will send troops?" Zheng Fang asked sincerely. He naturally knew that Ye Tian and Xiao Mu had always been good friends, but it was unrealistic to expect him to risk sending troops to fight against Wei Zhuoxi, who was in full swing, in order to help his old acquaintance. What's more, although the lineage of King Pingnan and the royal family are of the same origin, they are definitely not loyal and patriotic.

Xiao Mu showed an intriguing expression: "If Wei Zhuoxi wants to get involved in the throne, he will naturally not leave a handle for the world. As long as there is still a lineage of royal clansmen remaining, even if he conquers Zhongzhou, for the world, the emperor will not be his turn. ”

Zheng Fang suddenly showed a smile on his face, and took Xiao Mu's words and said, "If he succeeds, the next step is Muzhou." Therefore, King Pingnan will strike first, on the one hand, he can use King Qin's matter to increase his prestige, and on the other hand, he can also borrow the power of the prince, which is better than facing Yunzhou alone. ”

Xiao Mu nodded, and was about to speak, when there was a sound of soft footsteps outside the door. Xiao Mu turned his head over, it was his wife Li Xianru. Although her face is already old, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes are engraved on her face like years, Li Xianru still has good facial features, and her lilac skirt does not have much elegance, but is more refined in temperament.

"Lord Wang, there is something that has just been delivered. Li Xianru said softly, but her face was worried.

Xiao Mu looked into her hand. Li Xianru's white hand held an iron-blue tile-like object.

He stretched out his hand to take it, and found that this cylinder tile was completely metallic, and there was a gold-plated lacquered battle axe pattern running through the entire tile surface on the convex side, and there were some small short swords scattered around, radiating to the periphery in a circle, no more and no less, exactly eleven, this is the family crest of the royal Ye family. On the reverse side of the cylinder tile are two big characters with the same gold: King Qin.

Xiao Mu and Zheng Fang glanced at each other and smiled wryly.

......

Xiao Ying'er sent away a handful of maids and jumped into the main hall of the palace facing the sea hall alone, feeling very happy. Her father told her brother and sister to get together in the main hall, and although she didn't know what she was called for, she didn't have to go to the school after all, which was enough to make her happy.

Entering the door, Xiao Ying'er found that there was already a person in the Facing Sea Hall. The chair in the middle of the room is located directly below the plaque of the temple hall, which is a cut above the other seats, which is the position of King Seiki. To its left and right, there are two rows of chairs running down the steps. And now there is only one person in the face of the sea hall except for the servants, he sits at the bottom of the seat on the right-hand side, with a cold expression, sitting on the seat with his eyes closed and recuperating, his face is cold, his face is sharp and angular at the age of eighteen or nineteen, with two sword eyebrows, and he is heroic.

Xiao Ying'er stuck out her tongue, walked up to the man and made a non-standard salute: "Brother Qi." ”

Xiao Qi smiled at Xiao Ying'er, "Ying'er is good." Then he stopped talking.

Xiao Ying'er sat down opposite Xiao Qi by herself, playing with the corners of her skirt, trying not to look at him. Xiao Qi was an orphan who was picked up in the ruins when Xiao Mu was out and encountered a rogue. It was a town that had been ransacked by the rogues, the houses were crumbling in the midst of the fire, and Xiao Qi, who was only four or five years old at the time, knelt alone in front of the ruins, tears on his face flowed like rain, but he did not make the slightest sob. Later, Xiao Muyu, who entered the town, couldn't bear it, and some admired his stubbornness, so he accepted him as a righteous son and named him Xiao Qi.

Xiao Ying'er was a little afraid of this brother. It's not because of Xiao Qi's identity as a "righteous brother", but because this person is really cold, he is neither as heroic as Xiao Yizhan, nor as lively and interesting as Xiao Yilan, who talks little and doesn't smile on weekdays.

He even proposed to Xiao Mu to enter the military camp when he was more than ten years old, stayed in the army all the year round, and only returned to the palace once in a few months, and had little communication with Xiao Ying'er. So according to her age, she should have called him the second brother, but she always only called him Brother Qi, and the title of the second brother was given to Xiao Yilan.

Fortunately, soon Xiao Yizhan and Xiao Yilan came one after another, Xiao Ying'er suddenly became lively, complaining to the two brothers about how Mr. Xuetang punished her, and asked Xiao Yilan to take her to Liyungang for a walk, without the previous quiet.

Xiao Yilan suddenly smiled at Xiao Yihe: "Brother Qi, there is someone bullying me in Benhai City today, I will help me get ahead!"

"Since the kid who helped you teach you a lesson last time, his father and mother sued my father, and my father didn't allow me to use force in the city anymore, especially not to help you. Xiao Chu said lightly.

Xiao Ying'er grimaced at Xiao Yilan, Xiao Yilan smiled, without the slightest expression of frustration: "Ahem, it's worth a try!"

After a while, Xiao Mu came to the Facing Sea Hall, followed by Li Xianru and Zheng Fang.

Xiao Yizhan and the others quieted down at the right time, even Xiao Ying'er, who looked at the serious expression on her father's face, sat down obediently.

Xiao Mu sat down in the middle, Li Xianru sat on his left hand, and Zheng Fang stood quietly behind him.

"I've called you here today because I need to tell you something. As soon as Xiao Mu sat down, he showed the majesty of the prince.

"This morning, Yunzhou has successfully captured Changzhou, and Zhongzhou is eyeing Zhongzhou. Therefore, the royal family has issued an order to the king, ordering the princes to face Yunzhou. Xiao Mu's expression was calm, and he added, "I plan to send troops." ”

The reactions of the four varied. The most surprising is Xiao Yizhan, who has assisted his father for several years, and his ability to judge the situation is much stronger than that of his younger siblings, so he naturally knows that this matter is very important. And his father's dispatch of troops was even more unexpected to him, and at the moment he stared at his big eyes, thinking secretly in his heart. Xiao Qi was also a little surprised, but the look of surprise on his face flashed, and there was a hint of fanaticism on his cold expression.

Xiao Yilan's face was also a little solemn, only Xiao Ying'er still had a cheerful face, she didn't know what her father was talking about, she only heard her father say that she was going to go on an expedition, thinking that she didn't have to be controlled by her father, and she was already happy in her heart.

Xiao Mu looked at everyone's expressions one by one, and when he saw Xiao Ying'er who was overjoyed, he couldn't wait to spit out a mouthful of old blood. He naturally knew that Xiao Ying'er was just a child's heart, and he wasn't angry, so he had to smile bitterly at the moment, and then said lightly: "Ying'er, how are you doing your homework recently?"

The smile on Xiao Ying'er's face suddenly froze, she stood up, and said, "Mr. has been ...... recently Praise me. ”

This time, not only Xiao Mu, but everyone in the sea hall looked at Xiao Ying'er in surprise, and even Zheng Fang's face was a little strange. Li Xianru's eyes fluttered and asked, "What does Mr. praise you?"

Xiao Ying'er cocked her pointed chin, quite proud: "Mr. praised me for having six of the seven tricks!"

"Poof!" Xiao Yilan, who was drinking tea next to him, suddenly squirted out, as if he was choking, coughing, pointing at Xiao Ying'er, his eyes were full of smiles, and tears were laughing, but he choked for a while, and he couldn't laugh.

Everyone else also laughed, and even the corners of Xiao Qi's mouth rose slightly.

Xiao Ying'er looked puzzled, she didn't know what everyone was laughing at, her face turned red, and she said angrily: "What are you laughing at!" and then sat down angrily.

Xiao Mu was the first to slow down, but there was still a smile on his face: "Okay, okay, don't laugh." Then he looked at Xiao Ying'er, and suddenly ran out of words, "You are really...... I've really learned very well! Next class, I'll ask my husband what this sentence means!"

Then Xiao Mu's face was calm, and the hall in the sea hall quickly quieted down.

"This expedition, Qi'er will go with me, I have been in the army for so long, so let's be a trial. In addition, the affairs of Benhai City will be temporarily represented by Yizhan. Xiao Qi and Xiao Yizhan both stood up and agreed.

"Ying'er, you don't have to be happy, you can't fall behind in your homework, I'll check it when I come back. Yilan, you look at her more, don't go out all day long!"

Xiao Ying'er and Xiao Yilan glanced at each other, both with sad faces, but they had to obediently agree.

Then Xiao Mu dismissed the children, and asked Zheng Fang to return to the army to order rectification. In the Facing Sea Hall, only Xiao Mu and Li Xianru were left.

Li Xianru looked at her husband, and the tenderness in her eyes was like water: "In the face of Wei Zhuoxi this time, you have to be careful." ”

Xiao Mu nodded and said: "That's natural, don't worry, there is also that guy Ye Tian, not to mention that even if I can't beat it, I still have the ability to escape." ”

Li Xianru smiled lightly and asked again, "After you set out on the expedition, aren't you worried about some moves in Dongliu City?"

Xiao Mu's face became solemn: "I have also worried about this problem, but since I was crowned king, Dongliu City has hit a wall again and again in conflicts with us, but in recent years, it has been very quiet, and there has been no chaos." However, I will leave some reliable sergeants behind, and even if they do, they may not be able to defeat the enemy, but it will not be a problem to defend the city. ”

The resolute lines on his face softened again, and he took his wife's hand and said, "After I set out on the expedition, I will have to work hard for you, and you will be tired of all the people in this palace." ”

"When you were here, I didn't see you worrying about many things in the palace, and I was more idle when you left. Li Xianru glared at Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu laughed.