Xinxiang has been the capital of Qi for more than 200 years, and the towering city wall is full of antiquity, and in the rainy season in summer, there is a thick layer of moss under the root of the wall.

The eunuch who carried the holy decree led the palace guards to the prince of the East Palace, thinking that he would be able to go back to pay the errand after the decree.

However, when I arrived at the East Palace, I saw a group of eunuchs and palace maids kneeling on the ground, and I knew that the prince Weifu had gone to visit the people's 'suffering' privately.

As a last resort, let the guards next to him ride out of the imperial city on fast horses, go to the place where the prince often goes, after passing two streets, enter the bustling market, the street scene on both sides is still crowded, the wooden buildings and houses are high and low put together, Qi has not been repaired for many years, and the rammed earth potholes on the street are full of potholes, accumulating muddy water.

There are also wide and narrow lanes with crooked turns, and the eaves are still dripping with the rain of last night.

The guards rode fast horses, passed through the eaves and noisy streets, came to the side gate of the Qinglou in Fulin Lane, stopped their horses, and walked into the gate of the courtyard with beautiful lanterns, and the side yard was still hung with wet dresses and colored silks, and occasionally delicate women came out of the room.

After going around to the gate behind the main building, as soon as you enter it, there are women laughing, men laughing and scolding, and there are also the sounds of people drawing swords and shouting.

Soon, the guard was led by the turtle slave to a private room on the third floor, the prince Qi Ke'an was playing with several officials and eunuchs in the court, each of whom had two beautiful prostitutes by his side, and when the guards did not come in, the prince inside was talking with his left and right.

“…… Today's court meeting will have a chance to sneak out and call you here to have fun, and after you go back, it is still the old rule, don't tell your fathers to listen. ”

"Your Highness, rest assured, how can you share this music with your fathers, your ass will bloom!"

"However, Xia Guo has hit Jiudingzhou, let's drink and have fun here, isn't it a bit unkind?"

"That's the courtiers' business, let's just follow the prince."

Sitting in the chair of the main seat, Zik'an's back chair, under the service of two beautiful prostitutes, his face was full of wine, he was only sixteen years old, hooked the thin waists of the two women, and obviously drank high.

"Follow me well, become the emperor in the future, and let you become big officials one by one."

Speaking of the back, he spoke in a fierce tone.

"If you want me to say, this battle is really aggrieved, I have been a country for more than 200 years, and I can't compare to a new Xia country of Chengyan State, if I become the emperor, I will drive the ...... in person."

"Good!" The surrounding officials and eunuchs applauded one after another, and raised their wine glasses to salute.

Knock knock!

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and the guard who followed the crown prince Qi Ke'an out of the door whispered outside the door: "Your Highness, someone from the palace has called you back, saying that the eunuch who is noisy is waiting for His Highness in the East Palace." ”

Hustle?

Everyone in the private room showed doubts, Qi Ke'an staggered, pushed a prostitute away, and with the help of others, he went over to open the door, and asked the guard at the door with the smell of alcohol: "Where are the people?" ”

After a while, the guards who came out of the East Palace hurriedly came over to pay their respects.

"Your Highness, I am ordered to ask you to go back."

"Say anything here, if it's not important, let the eunuch put the decree in the East Palace, and I'll look at it when I go back."

"This ......" The guard knew the temperament of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, hesitated for a moment, and whispered in Qi Ke'an's ear: "Yes...... Your Majesty...... To abdicate to you...... Let His Highness ascend the throne as soon as possible. ”

Bang.

The wine glass slipped directly from Qi Ke'an's hand and fell to the ground, he thought he had heard it wrong, looked at the guard in front of him and confirmed it again, the other party repeated it, his eyes widened, and he instantly hit a spirit, the wine suddenly faded, and the whole person was more sober than before.

"Back to ...... Back to the palace, hurry! ”

He hurriedly tidied up his robe, his hands trembling in this moment's movements, as for what he said just now about being the emperor and the imperial driver, he had long since forgotten about it.

His father, who had only been on the throne for half a year, was about to give up the throne to him in the blink of an eye, and fools knew what was going on.

He hurried to the stairs, and the moment he saw the stairs, he suddenly had an idea, stepped on the steps, deliberately tripped on the calf of the front foot with his hind foot, and then carried down...... Crackling rolled up the stairs to the second floor.

Zik'an hugged one leg and kept screaming 'ouch' on the ground.

……

"What? The prince fell downstairs and broke his leg? ”

Qi Wangge almost stood up from the dragon chair excitedly, at this time the court discussion had dispersed, but there were still a few important ministers, as well as the queen mother, who stayed behind to discuss the establishment of a new monarch.

Hearing the news returned, there was a little consternation in the hall, and in the study, seeing the eunuchs and the guards looking for people who were going to make a noise lowered their heads in embarrassment, Qi Wangge patted the armrest of the dragon chair.

"The edict has been issued no matter what...... The words of the Son of Heaven can not be child's play! ”

"Your Majesty, the prince is scared." On the phoenix chair on the other side, the Empress Dowager Zhao Zhuangyi said in a low voice, "At this time, Your Majesty abdicates and lets the crown prince succeed to the throne quickly, everyone understands what is going on, and it also makes the court unstable, and the people below will be even more panicked, how can the army still fight?" ”

An old minister came out and seconded the proposal: "The old minister seconded the proposal." ”

"Then ...... first" Qi Wangge frowned and said hesitantly: "...... After a momentary reprisal, I was a little sick and rushed to the doctor, which made the prince panic. ”

After that, continue to talk about the transfer of troops and the arrangement of the defense of Pingsheng Prefecture, there is already a veteran Zhao Chengguang guarding, when it can slow down the attack of the Xia State soldiers and horses, but obviously it is not enough, the emperor immediately issued an edict, transferred the soldiers and horses of the surrounding states and counties of Xinxiang, and gathered the capital to arrange heavy defenses in front.

In the few days when the order was issued and the soldiers and horses of the surrounding counties and counties around Xinxiang were mobilized, the war in Yangping County, Pingsheng Prefecture had already started a real fire.

Zhao Chengguang is sixty-five years old, leading the army to defend the city, which is almost a peak moment that he has not had in the previous decades.

However, the continuous high-intensity siege also made the soldiers of the Qi State, who had never experienced a war, complain, and a large number of soldiers died in the defense of the city, which also made many soldiers panic.

The siege lasted until the fifth day, when Xiang Yu and Lu Bu led the wolf to ride on a hillside in the northwest of Pingyang County, looking at the Xirong soldiers in front of them who were like ant colonies climbing the city wall, vowing to shake the defense of the opposing troops.

"It's a bit surprising, this Qi country still has capable generals." Lu Bu looked at it for a while, and commented with some emotion: "It's a pity that the Xiliang and Youyan armies didn't arrive, otherwise where would they need to fight for five days." ”

"It's not bad to fight for five days, Xiang Mou came to this world for the first time, and he was able to fight with the capable generals of the Qi country in the first battle, so I have a good understanding of the tactics of the generals of this world."

Xiang Yu has fought in the south and the north for many years, and has fought many battles with less to win more, and at this time, he said these words heroically, which seemed a little modest to Lu Bu's ears.

The battle on the city wall was close to boiling water, Xiang Yu looked at the side of the battle formation and raised his horsewhip, "General Lu, if the Xirong general Iron Tooth has any bad behavior, you will kill him as soon as possible, take over the army and continue to attack the city!" ”

Lu Bu squinted his eyes and glanced at his line of sight, Xirong Daxu was turning around the war horse and was anxiously giving orders, and the corpse of the general Iron Tooth.

After many years in the army, he naturally understood what Xiang Yu meant.

At this time, on the opposite city wall, Zhao Chengguang kept issuing orders, dispatching the reserve soldiers below, stepping the city defense, and letting the broken team go down the city wall to rest.

Suddenly, he subconsciously stopped the order, turned his face slightly to listen to the city, and then asked the herald next to him to hurry over to take a look, and after a while, the herald came back, and he hurriedly asked: "What's the matter!" Why is there a commotion in the city? ”

"General Qiyu, it's a reserve battalion, a few troops and horses...... They...... They don't want to fight......"

"Trouble...... At this time, the city wall was still fighting, and they dared to ...... at this time."

The soldiers preparing for war in the city suddenly made Zhao Chengguang a little unprepared, he was ordered to come to Pingyang County to organize soldiers and horses for special training, and also talked about the concept of family and country, but he couldn't figure out why they had this situation at this time.

The intensity of the siege was tragic, and they were trapped in the city to defend to the death, resisting the southward movement of the soldiers and horses of the Xia State, which greatly tested the psychology of the soldiers.

Under the psychological effect of fear of death, he wanted to get out of the war, but the guards of the barracks did not let him go, so he could only fight hard.

At this time, the riot in the city has become more and more obvious, the military camp has been set on fire, and even the nearby houses have been set on fire by the soldiers, and the smoke rising has made the Qi soldiers who are still fighting on the city wall suspicious.

And Xiang Yu, Lu Bu, and Tieya, who were outside, also saw the black smoke rising from the city, and their first reaction was also to wonder, after all, the Qi generals who defended the city were not mediocre, in case there was an ambush, leading them to take the bait.

However, Xiang Yu still issued an order, asking the Xirong general Tieya to increase the offensive on the city wall and test the difference between the strength and weakness of the defense in the city.

After receiving the order, the iron teeth gritted their cheeks, and once again put in the strength of two battalions, about 4,000 people joined the battle for the city wall, and the siege like a tide instantly increased.

Zhao Chengguang's soldiers kept coming and going in the city walls, trying to block the attacks of Xirong's soldiers, but the instability in the city caused the morale to plummet, and many soldiers were unstable, unable to fight with all their strength as before.

In just half an hour, gaps began to appear in the originally held city wall, and the Xirong soldiers finally stood on the city wall completely in the five days of attack and defense.

Zhao Chengguang's body trembled slightly, he knew that the general trend had gone, and he still tried to give an order to reorganize the retreating team and lay a tight defense around the steps of the inner city wall, but in the end it was all in vain, and the orders issued could not effectively let the lower generals and colonels carry it out, and the army's heart was broken, and everyone was trying to rush into the city from the stone steps of the inner city wall to escape.

Countless corpses continued to fall along the city wall under the butcher's knives of the Xijon people, and in the face of the Xijon people who had been fighting for five days, it was difficult to show the previous momentum.

The Xirong people were originally demoralized, and at the moment when they killed the city wall and approached the city tower, they resumed their furious offensive in the past, constantly forcing and crushing the Qi soldiers, forcing them off the city wall, and cutting them to the ground.

"General...... Let's go while we still have a chance! ”

"I can't hold it, General, let's go!"

Zhao Chengguang's personal guards have already formed a formation, and they kept calling Zhao Chengguang who was standing with a sword over there, the old man did not move, but slowly pulled out his sword, he guarded Pingyang for several days, and stopped the Xirong people in the past on the city wall, but he didn't expect that Cheng was also a soldier, and defeat was also a soldier.

At both ends of the city wall, countless Xirong soldiers poured into the city tower, and the road leading to the inner city wall ladder had been blocked, Zhao Chengguang carried his sword and looked at the guards on both sides, as well as the remnants of the soldiers.

Wearing iron armor and holding an iron sword, he staggered to the female wall in front of him, looking at the gorgeous sunlight outside, and the words of the emperor before leaving were in his ears.

"The general will go straight to the charge, I will straighten out the soldiers and horses, that is, send reinforcements to the old general, as long as the old general is there, Pingyang can hold it...... With the unity of our monarchs and ministers, we will definitely be able to repel the thieves of the Xia Kingdom. ”

"Your Majesty...... The old minister didn't see you until he died......"

Zhao Chengguang watched the Wuyang Xirong cavalry running through the field below, he stood on the wall battlement, and pressed the long sword to his neck.

The wind blows, and the gray hair strokes,

"Old minister...... Go first! ”

After speaking, the old man pulled hard, the blade of the sword wiped his neck, blood shot out, and the corpse pounced forward weakly, falling straight down from the city tower.

Soon the gates of the city were opened, and the cavalry of Xijon rushed towards the city.

……

The news of the breach of Pingyang County and the death of Zhao Chengguang arrived in Xinxiang, the capital of Qi State, on April 16.

Various deductions were still being carried out in the court, analyzing the route of the soldiers and horses of the Xia army, and it was probably necessary to arrange a strong defense line here in the south of Pingsheng Prefecture in cooperation with Zhao Chengguang's 30,000 troops of Pingyang County, so as to provide enough training time for the soldiers and horses of the prefectures and counties to gather in the capital.

After the crown prince broke his leg, the emperor had to temporarily suppress the idea of abdication, as the soldiers and horses from all walks of life gathered in the capital in the past few days, after the soldiers of the Xia State stopped in Pingyang, his heart was full of ambition again, and he said in front of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military: "I was not thoughtful before, so that Zhu Qian smiled." ”

Then he said a few perfunctory words, and did not continue the abdication of the crown prince to ascend the throne.

But just when everyone was full of confidence, the monarch and the ministers were single-minded, and the defense line was arranged, the war report from Pingyang County came over, and Qi Wangge, who had read the battle report, sat back on the dragon chair with a bang.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't take what I said seriously...... Let the crown prince succeed to the throne with injuries! ”

The edicts were all ready-made.

In the court, led by the Empress Dowager Zhao Zhuangyi, Qi Ke'an was elected as the emperor, and in less than half an hour, the civil and military forces in the hall agreed to make a list to the people in the city, Qi Wangge abdicated, and became the emperor, and Qi Qingbao was the emperor.

And Qi Ke'an limped on one leg, supported by the eunuchs, ascended the throne with an expression of arsenic, and accepted the worship of civil and military officials.

In the next few days, more front-line battle reports were sent to Xinxiang City like snowflakes.

Since Zhao Chengguang was killed in battle, Pingyang County was lost, more than 20,000 Qi soldiers and generals in the city surrendered to the Xia State, on April 19, the soldiers and horses of the Xia State took a big ship to the south of the Tuo River, directly arrived at the south of Pingyang County 70 miles, and carried out the strategy of central flowering to the surrounding counties.

Pingsheng Prefecture, which had been operating hard for more than two hundred years, was cut in half overnight, and the entire road of the Xia army to the south was almost unimpeded.

At this time, the Xirong cavalry and the controlled wolf cavalry of the Xia East Route Army continued to advance southward.

The news spread wildly, showing a coldness that made everyone in the Qi country frightened.

(End of chapter)