The first snow fell on the ancient Shangjing city wall, and the black and green were contrasted with the beautiful palace, but it did not bring the slightest clear and charming atmosphere, and no one took pity on the thin layer of white snow like a wool blanket on the square.

These officials were solemn and hurried, and they had no leisure to enjoy the snow, and the war reports from the south kept entering the capital and came to the Zhongshutai next to the palace. At this time, the Zhongshutai was completely shrouded in a tense and depressing atmosphere, but fortunately it was not very flustered.

The Northern Qi ministers in the Zhongshutai were arguing about something, and then an extremely low voice stopped everyone's quarrel, making the Northern Qi cabinet fall silent, and quickly decided to respond in silence.

Regarding this war, the Northern Qi court has been preparing for several years, when the news of the brazen attack of the Nanqing army came, no one was surprised, the wartime control methods and responses, extremely quickly from the palace to guò in the book, spread throughout this seemingly young, but in fact has been a thousand years of country, in just one month, the entire Northern Qi has been launched.

As soon as the royal chariot of Ming Huang Sè left from the Zhongshu platform, the officials did not watch from the rear, but redevoted themselves to the busy military and political affairs, and in this critical situation, if there were any courtiers who dared to show their own sycophancy at this time, they had to be careful whether their heads would be cut off by the angry majesty.

Before the imperial driver came to the main hall, His Majesty, the emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty with a heavy face, shook his hand, jumped down from the car in a few steps, and bluffed the eunuch palace maid beside him, but he himself did not worry about the consciousness of the dragon body injury, so he turned around on the stone steps in front of the main hall, and the commander of the Jinyi guard next to the royal car made Wei Hua and the other three important ministers reprimand in a cold voice: "Nanqing civil strife, I Shengsheng has dragged you for a year, and now that the matter is coming, I am still so flustered, what do I do with you waste!" ”

Several important ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty were in a pang of hearts, knowing that His Majesty's mood was not very good, because in the battle report that returned from a thousand miles last night, it was clear that the Qing army of Yanjing City had begun to dispatch, and the Nanjing garrison of Daqi was defeated again and again, and the plenipotentiary commander Shangshan Hu was not in Nanjing City at this time, but just hid in the small state city of the Song Kingdom, and there was no movement.

After thinking about it for a while, the ministers didn't know where His Majesty's anger came from, whether it was the panic of the ministers in Zhongshu Taichung before, or because he was afraid of the hundreds of thousands of troops that Nanqing could not resist, or whether His Majesty was a little suspicious of General Uesugi Tiger's deliberate silence?

Wei Hua's body is extremely low, and the current Northern Qi Imperial Court has long been a dead iron plate held in the palm of His Majesty's hand, and no force dares to challenge the dignity of the royal family, even if Master Kuhe died four years ago, it has not changed this trend. What's more, now that the great enemy is current, the authority of His Majesty the Emperor of Northern Qi, at this moment, no one dares to despise it in the slightest.

Wei Hua is a relative of the Queen Mother, and he is also a close confidant of Her Majesty, he knows what the Nanqing civil strife refers to in His Majesty's previous sentence, and he was able to delay the pace of Nanqing's invasion for a year, completely because of the successive rebellions of the two masters of the Nanqing Supervision Yuan, and Wei Hua knows better that whether it is the dead Chen Pingping, or Fan Xian, who doesn't know whether he is alive or dead, why did he betray Emperor Qing, in the entire Northern Qi Dynasty, probably only His Majesty knows the truth, so he doesn't dare to say anything.

Among the three ministers, Lao Shangshu of the military department was a little untenable, he bravely stood up and tried to calm down His Majesty's anger, because he was very worried that the young emperor Xià would really doubt the loyalty of General Uesugi Tiger, and now the Qing army has launched an invasion with great momentum, if there are doubts between the monarchs and ministers, the outcome of this battle is unknown.

As the nominal commander of the Northern Qi military, it was impossible for this minister to watch the Northern Qi Dynasty's pillar of the country, General Uesugi, and the emperor, who used his maturity beyond his age to calm the mood of the ministers in the court, there were no problems, so he prostrated on the ground and admonished him more than once.

The face of the Emperor of Northern Qi gradually calmed down, and he flicked his sleeves and asked these ministers to step back and deal with the emergency military report from the south, while he himself took Wei Hua into the main hall.

Next to the dragon chair in the main hall, behind the bead curtain, the queen mother, who has not listened to the government for several years, is waiting for their arrival.

In front of the bead curtain, the Emperor of Northern Qi bowed slightly, and Wei Hua also bowed. The Northern Qi Emperor's face had completely calmed down at this time, and he looked at Wei Hua and asked in a cold voice, "Is there any new movement over there in the Southern Dynasty?"

Wei Hua was slightly stunned, as the head of the secret spy system of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he was responsible for all the intelligence collection work from the court to the military, but this information was presented to His Majesty's imperial study as early as the night, and for a while, he didn't know what His Majesty wanted to ask about answering such a question...... What exactly?

After pondering the words for a while, Wei Hua frowned and said: "The Kyoto garrison of the Southern Dynasty is still Shi Fei, but Xiao Jinhua was transferred back to the Northern Camp from the Southern Zhao, plus Wang Zhikun, who has been stationed in Yanjing for generations, it is not surprising that the generals of the Southern Dynasty have been transferred. ”

The Emperor of Northern Qi frowned slightly, and said: "Xiao Jinhua was the deputy general of the Great Prince of the Southern Dynasty back then, and he was mediocre in the Kyoto Rebellion four years ago, coupled with the relationship between him and the Great Prince, so he was expelled to Nanzhao by Emperor Qing, and this time he was transferred back to Beidaying, which is really a bit strange." What do you think of Wang Zhikun?"

Wang Zhikun is not visible, but no matter how the Southern Dynasty changes, he has always sat firmly in Yanjing City, according to the observation of the imperial court over the years, Emperor Qing kept this person, which is to prepare for today's northern invasion. Wei Hua had no choice but to repeat the analysis of the Jinyi Guard and the military department again.

After the Northern Qi Emperor was silent for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Ye Zhong is still in Kyoto?"

Wei Hua responded: "It's still there." ”

The Emperor of Northern Qi stared at his face, and the cold light in Cheng Yue'er's eyes shuffled: "Are you sure?"

Wei Hua's heart shook slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Sure." ”

"That's weird. The Emperor of Northern Qi glanced at the Queen Mother behind the bead curtain, shook his head and said: "If Emperor Qing is really prepared to complete his work in one battle, how can he still leave Ye Chong in Kyoto......? There is only one Wang Zhikun, how can he reassure Emperor Qing? If this old guy doesn't want to drive the expedition himself, at least a figure like Ye Chong should be placed in the north. ”

Wei Hua's heart moved slightly, and he couldn't understand why the generals of the Southern Dynasty were so arranged, the war between the two great powers in the world was definitely not a small fight, even if Wang Zhikun had been planning and preparing for this matter in Yanjing City for 20 years, but if Qing ** Fang didn't come up with a big man who could really shake the country, how could he express his determination to the world and announce his domineering posture to the Northern Qi?

Northern Qi is not Dongyi City, this country is the successor of the Great Wei Guozuo, the territory is vast, the population is large, the Northeast Plain is one of the granaries on the mainland, although it has been declining for a long time, but in these years, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor Xià's jīng Cheng cooperation, under the strong means, has already gradually exuded green chūn to. Even with the strength of the Qing State and the strength of the army, if you want to attack the Northern Qi, it is impossible to achieve the goal in a short time, and presumably with the strong self-confidence of Emperor Qing, he will not make such an arrogant judgment.

The main hall of the Qingli Imperial Palace of the Northern Qi Dynasty suddenly fell into silence, and His Majesty the Emperor slowly paced under the dragon chair, his eyebrows wrinkled into a very good-looking circle, analyzing what Nanqing's powerful peer wanted to do? The war has begun, and there is no temptation or temptation for it, and more than 100,000 people have paid for it, but since the war has begun, why does Emperor Qing still not put on a tiger-like momentum, but seems to be a little decent, and in this kind of rule, there is a small family spirit?

............ Wei Hua also fell silent, his eyes kept moving with His Majesty's footsteps, and his heart was constantly thinking. Although in his opinion, with the prestige of the Qing army, no matter what general the Nanqing court uses, there is not much difference, but looking at the choice of the commander of the chóngqìng army, he also faintly felt a little surprised.

Suddenly, he thought of General Shangshan Hu, who was far away from the defense line of Daqi Nanjing at this time, and was hanging alone in Song Guozhou City, and his heart moved slightly, intending to say something, but he was afraid that His Majesty would be angry again. He looked at the vague figure behind the bead curtain, gritted his teeth secretly, and said, "Perhaps...... Emperor Qing was afraid of General Uesugi's tactics, so he refused to attack with all his might, but the army slowly pressed up, forcing my Daqi defense line to expose a gap under this huge pressure, and the Southern Dynasty would take advantage of this gap and rush straight up......"

Before the words were finished, the Emperor of Northern Qi had already smiled, more precisely, a look that seemed to be a smile appeared on his face, and he looked at Wei Hua's face calmly but full of oppression. The gap that Wei Hua said before actually refers not to the gap in the arrangement of the Northern Qi army, but the gap in the hearts of the people, just like the previous veteran Shangshu kneeling in the snow to admonish, the ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty were very worried that General Uesugi, who was leaning on the pillar stone of the imperial court, would provoke His Majesty's anger because of the unfavorable war in the south.

It has been more than a month since the war started between the two countries, and Uesugi Tiger, as the commander of the south, not only did not stop the invasion of the Nanqing army, but left the Nanjing defense line, hid in the distance, ignored dozens of urgent orders of the imperial court, and watched the Nanqing army break through for more than 100 miles.

Above the Northern Qi court, the anger of His Majesty the Emperor has been undisguised. That's why there are today's quarrels in the Zhongshutai, the speculations of the ministers, the kneeling admonitions of the military department, and Wei Hua's bold secret words at this time.

To Wei Hua's surprise, he did not receive the angry reprimand of the emperor. The Emperor of Northern Qi just looked at him with an indifferent expression, and said slowly: "You underestimate me, those people in the Southern Dynasty...... I underestimated it too. ”

Wei Hua's heart shook slightly, and he didn't know where His Majesty's words came from.

"I have never doubted the loyalty of Uesugi Tiger. The Emperor of Northern Qi raised his eyebrows, but he was indescribably cold, "No, to be precise, I don't care if General Uesugi is loyal to me at all, but as long as he is loyal to the court and this country, it is enough." ”

Wei Hua's face changed slightly, and he didn't know why, secretly thinking about the emperor's anger that had made the officials of the Northern Qi court extremely worried for the past half a month, and the voices of those reprimands from the palace, were they fake?

"If Emperor Qing really thought that I would make mistakes under his pressure, I can only say that Emperor Qing is far less powerful than I imagined. The Emperor of Northern Qi said calmly: "All this qiē is only made by me for the southerners, or it can be said that it is made for you courtiers." ”

"If the Qing army really dares to rush straight into the north, won't they worry about General Uesugi who is lying on the waist of the thin dragon, and the strength of Dongyi City?" The Northern Qi Emperor said sarcastically: "Will the southerners be fooled by me?" I didn't believe it, but I didn't expect that these officials in the court jumped in one by one. ”

Wei Hua was silent for a moment and then said: "However, His Majesty's anger is enough to deter the hearts of his ministers, and the ministers are just worried that some ministers in the court will misjudge His Majesty's will and implicate the officers and soldiers on the front line. ”

Fighting a war is always about logistics, the general is bloody in front of the battle, the minister is playing with the sacred heart behind the battle, and the world is like this. The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at Wei Hua and said: "That's why I only asked you to come today, but these days, following my intentions, Shangshu attacks General Uesugi's subordinates, and they will all be separated from the court." ”

Wei Hua was shocked, secretly thinking that now that the great enemy is ahead, is there another drastic change in the party?

"I know what you're worried about, don't worry too much, now that the crisis is over, it's not the imperial court in rì, these wastes that will only ponder my heart, if they are captured, they will be taken captive, who dares to say anything?"

The Emperor of Northern Qi sat on the dragon chair, glanced back at the bead curtain, and found that the mother behind the curtain nodded slightly, sat up straight, and said with a deep face: "From now on, if there is a minister who dares to say that the general is not, he will be killed!"

"You're good, and the military department is not bad. The Emperor of Northern Qi looked into Wei Hua's eyes and said, "If you don't dare to speak for General Uesugi at this time, I'm afraid that I will behead you." When the dynasty is about to die, I will not leave any wasters, nor will I leave idlers. ”

Wei Hua's body trembled slightly, and then he knew that His Majesty was only afraid that he had completely communicated with General Uesugi a long, long time ago, so that he would be so calm to deal with the current tense situation, but in this way, in the entire Northern Qi Imperial Court, who could still control the Uesugi Tiger who was far away in the south? If the Uesugi Tiger really had a different heart...... "Will you march to fight?" The Northern Qi Emperor suddenly asked with a slight irony.

"Ministers don't know about military affairs. ”

"I can't do it, in this case, this kind of thing must be left to the people of the association to do, since I have used the Uesugi Tiger, I will continue to use it without doubt. The Emperor of Northern Qi said calmly: "From now on, the military and civil affairs of the seven southern counties will be dispatched by General Uesugi to gather the power of the dynasty to help General Uesugi resist the enemy, and the will will will be sent down." ”

For some reason, Wei Hua looked at the young emperor in front of him in a daze and rudely, and suddenly felt that his body was a little hot, and he was originally a little frightened, but at this moment he became extremely calm and firm, he knelt on one knee and responded neatly: "Minister, obey the order!"

Wei Hua withdrew from the palace, not knowing what kind of turbulent waves the emperor's will to hand over one-third of the power of the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Uesugi Tiger would cause, but the Emperor of Northern Qi, who had just issued his will, was unusually calm, he looked at the thin white snow outside the hall indifferently, and there was no trace of fear at all.

Everyone in the world was afraid of the Qing army's unparalleled combat power, but the Northern Qi Emperor was not so afraid, because he had the Shangshan Tiger, and he dared to use the Shangshan Tiger more thoroughly than any other king.

What's more, although he doesn't know about military affairs, he knows that the huge war between the two countries is a competition for national strength after all, as long as the Northern Qi court itself does not make mistakes, no matter how strong those invaders in the south are, it is impossible to wipe out the Northern Qi in just a few months.

After all, it takes time, and the Emperor of Northern Qi is still young, but the powerful king in the south is already old, and the Emperor of Northern Qi can accompany Emperor Qing to spend it, but Emperor Qing himself is not willing to spend too long.

Emperor Beiqi's eyes narrowed slightly, and there was a question in his heart that could not be relieved, if Emperor Qing was really unwilling to accompany him, why did the current war in the south seem so cold and entangled? Is Emperor Qing worried about Shangshan Tiger, or Dongyi City, or something else?

He must be almost in Kyoto, right?

The bead curtain moved slightly, and a girl wearing a flower cotton jacket helped the Queen Mother and walked out from behind the curtain. The Queen Mother looked at the Emperor of Northern Qi gently, and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of satisfaction in her heart, there is a child like this, or rather, there is a woman like this, what else is there to ask for?

The Emperor of Northern Qi turned around, looked at the begonia flowers wearing a flower cotton jacket, and said with a gentle smile: "Little Senior Aunt, if you can move the heavenly soldiers and generals from the temple, why do I need to work so hard?"

Haitang shook his head slowly, didn't say anything, and thought to himself What would become if His Majesty knew that the support he wanted to get the most in his life had been smashed by himself and Wang Shisanlang?

"I remember Fan Xian told you before that this world is theirs and ours, but in the final analysis...... It's ours. The Emperor of Northern Qi didn't know what he was thinking, and suddenly said calmly: "I have never known where his confidence comes from, but now facing the crisis in the south, I can faintly grasp this feeling. ”

Begonia Duoduo was silent for a moment and said: "He also said when he was in Jiangnan, we are the sun at six or seven o'clock in the morning. ”

"Emperor Qing...... It's just a round of remnant sun. The Emperor of Northern Qi frowned slightly, as if he didn't believe in this judgment, and the calm on his face was actually mostly disguised, because he didn't know whether the power of the whole country was in the hands of the Uesugi Tiger would be able to temporarily stop Emperor Qing from dominating the world.

The Queen Mother, who had been gentle and silent, suddenly laughed out loud and said, "It seems that the mourning family has no choice but to hug her granddaughter." ”

There was finally a burst of laughter in the depressed Northern Qi Palace, and the Northern Qi Emperor looked at Haitang, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Follow me to see the red bean rice." ”

............ Nanqing Kyoto Imperial Palace, a round of remnant sun hanging in the western sky, the climate here is still warm, twilight sè is like blood, reflected in the palace wall of the vermilion sè of the imperial palace, bright yellow sè glazed tiles, as if to burn.

His Majesty, the Emperor of Qingguo, whose face was slightly tired and haggard, was lying on a chaise longue in front of the Taiji Palace, his fingers slowly combing the fur of a big fat cat with white sè, the fat cat seemed to enjoy the service of a powerful king, lying lazily, and from time to time turning over, bringing his soft belly to the fingertips of Emperor Qing.

This chubby white cat naturally didn't know how terrible the emperor's fingers were.

A military general stood silently in the middle of the curtain, standing very close to His Majesty, without saying a word, just looking at the white cat under His Majesty and the two fat cats behind the wooden chair who were stretching their waists, and felt ridiculous in his mood.

These three cats are divided into yellow, black and white, and they all look extremely obese, but these small pets have rarely been raised in the palace, and I don't know how this very ordinary-looking cat won the favor of His Majesty.

Of course, there was not a trace of affection in his heart on the general's face, because even if the two-year-old baby died in front of his eyes, he would not be moved, not to mention that he was not a reckless man who only knew how to fight, before returning to Beijing and entering the palace, he had already found out enough news.

These three fat cats belong to Fan's Mansion, and they were raised by Lord Chen, and they were brought into the palace by Lord Chen, playing with His Majesty, and His Majesty left these three cats until now.

It seems that it is only three cats, but in the eyes of this general, he always feels that this seems to represent a deeper meaning, but he doesn't dare to ask, and there is nowhere to ask, because there is no one in the world who knows whether that person is dead or alive.

Emperor Qing retracted his gaze to the twilight clouds, glanced at the general, and said: "That little guy in Northern Qi is just acting for you to see, the imperial court raises so many people in your Privy Council Staff, is it because you eat dry food?"

This general can't look at the age of the next year, because his eyes are clear and cold, and he seems to be extremely young, but his face is full of wind and frost, and he is slightly hesitant, the general said directly: "On the battlefield, with the right fit, with the odd victory, no matter how cunning the Uesugi Tiger is, as long as His Majesty gives an order, I will live up to the holy hopes, as for the use of soldiers, Your Majesty's sacred heart can be arbitrary, and there is no need for the Privy Council to do more useless work." ”

These words are not sycophants, because the courtiers who pat on the back will never say such ugly words, but really, this general is very convinced of His Majesty's military talent, and naturally sighs.

"Northern Qi retreated again and again, meaning yù retreated to the front line of Nanjing, exchanging distance for time...... That little guy wants to waste time with me. The corners of Emperor Qing's lips flashed with a hint of disdain, "The Uesugi Tiger is pinched in the waist and abdomen, which is really clever, but the general trend is like this, as long as this nail is pulled, who can stop the army from going north?"

'The north needs a manager. Emperor Qing closed his eyes and let the bloody twilight shroud over his thin cheeks, "Wang Zhikun has been raised for more than ten years, and his cultivation is a little dull, if he wants to pull out the nail of the cedar tiger, he must pass through the passage in Dongyi City, although I have no will to go down, but our Wang Dadu Governor is obviously a little afraid of the four thousand black horsemen and the more than 10,000 troops on the boss's hands, so restrained, how can it be done?"

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Qing glanced at the young general, frowned slightly and said: "You just came back from the grassland, you don't know the affairs of the Privy Council, don't always quarrel with your father, as a son of man...... What a system!"

I don't know why the topic turned in this direction, the general felt a chill in his heart, bowed his head and said yes.

Emperor Qing stared at his face and said slowly, "Don't expect me to send you to the north to pull nails...... You don't have enough qualifications, and the most important thing is that this time in and out of the grassland, you have trained your fierce wind, but your cunning and patience are still not ...... You are no match for Uesugi Tigers. ”

The general raised his head suddenly, and his face naturally showed a trace of unwillingness.

"Ye Wan, you're still too tender. Emperor Qing said slowly: "The grassland Hu people are cunning and my people in the Middle Earth. You went deep into the grassland this time and pursued Shan Yu Wangting, and your courage was commendable, but have you ever thought about it, why the 7,000 Iron Cavalry of the Northern Barbarians have never been able to contact the Royal Court? If the Royal Court meets the 7,000 Barbarian Cavalry, on the ice and snow grassland, can you still escape back alive?"

Yes, this young general is a general star of the rise of the Qingguo court, the son of the Privy Council envoy Ye Chong, the commander of the Qingzhou Great Victory, Ye Wan, after the Qingzhou victory, Ye Wan led four thousand Qingguo Jīng sharp iron cavalry to pursue the remnants of Shan Yu's royal court, and won a great reputation on the grassland, and finally came back from the grassland alive, although there were only 800 people left in the four thousand iron cavalry, but such feats, in any military operation in Nanqing, is quite a remarkable thing.

However, at this time, Emperor Qing's indifferent words hit a corner in the heart of this young famous general, and also woke up the faint doubt in Ye Wan's heart, why in the dangerous pursuit for several months, the remnants of the royal court who were only able to reach the speed could not get in touch with the seven thousand barbarian horsemen?

Ye Wan's heart shook slightly, looking at His Majesty's face that was gradually revealing an old state, and wanted to seek an answer.

Although Fan Xian took the begonia flowers to the temple, he still did not forget to lay down his hands on the grassland. Emperor Qing said indifferently: "Kung fu is always outside the poem, and the victory or defeat is also outside the battlefield, if you understand this truth, the commander of the Northern Expedition is you." ”

Ye Wan stood silently beside His Majesty, feeling slightly heavy.

"The victory and defeat in this world are actually outside the battlefield. Within a year, if Fan Xian died, I would naturally win, and if I died...... Those who don't like me in this world will naturally win. ”

His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be narrating the affairs of others, his fingers tightened slightly, and he lifted the fat white cat into his arms, and gently combed its hair, very meticulously.