Inside the palace of the King of Qi.

After the civil and military officials returned to the palace, almost everyone couldn't sleep all night.

It's been a long time since Qi An returned to his palace, but he still can't slow down.

On the case in front of him was still the document handed to him by the daytime nurse, from the people of the Western Regions.

Now, most of his Praetorian Guards have folded in Xijingli, and the rest of the men and horses have been withdrawn, and without Fan Changlong's order, the people and horses everywhere dare not act rashly. Today's Xijing City has basically been completely occupied by the people of the Western Regions who started a riot.

But now it doesn't matter to him at all. He originally wanted to negotiate with the people of the Western Regions and frame Fan Changlong to stabilize his position after succeeding to the throne. But now, the new King of Qi is not him, it is equivalent to saying that his position as the crown prince has been abolished, and in the end, he will end up as a prince king at most, enclosing land in a small area to stand on his own, destined to be a vassal to the court, and was completely trampled under Fan Changlong's feet.

If this is the case, he can also predict what his future fate will be. Not only did he lose all his power, but he would also usher in retaliation from the new party.

The more Qi An thought about it, the more aggrieved he became, and a fist slammed on the table, and the precious glazed porcelain table was smashed out of a crack by him.

He is now full of despair, and he has exhausted his efforts to consolidate his position as emperor in the future, but he has failed in the last step. But Qi Yu ignored it as if he knew the news in advance.

Could it be that they have already compromised with the old party?

Qi An raised his head, looking at the magnificent hall with a dull look, and a sadness welled up in his heart.

Who is that new Qi king, and why can he take my place?

It must be Fan Changlong, they did it! They want to kill me!

Qi An's eyes were red, and his fleshy fists were clenched fiercely.

It's useless, I'm the emperor of Great Qi, and no one can stop me!

Thinking of this, Qi An's eyes glanced at the document on the table again. Thoughts surged wildly in my head.

Since you are unkind, don't blame this king for being unjust!

There could be no further delay, and the new King of Qi returned to the palace in a few hours. Qi An hurriedly stood up and shouted out of the door in a sharp voice: "Someone!

The eunuch outside the door heard Qi An's call, hurriedly pushed the door in, and said to him with a hunched waist: "Your Highness...... King Qi is about to return to the palace, and you have to leave the palace now......"

"Stop talking nonsense!Prepare a car for this king!" Qi An roared hysterically.

The eunuch told him to be so angry that he did not dare to ask any more questions, but resigned to it.

Inside the Shangshu Palace.

Fan Changlong was dressed in a formal suit, lying in the Taishi chair in the center of the main hall, playing with two heavy glass balls in his hands, closing his eyes and recuperating.

Beside him, Fan Lingxiang sat in a biased position, secretly glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye, like sitting on pins and needles.

The two of them stayed in this silent atmosphere for a long time, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.

After a long while, a lean man in black walked into the hall quickly, hugged his fists at Fan Changlong and said, "Lord Fan." ”

Fan Changlong heard the movement, his eyelids didn't open, and he asked lazily, "Are you back?"

"Back to my lord. The man in black said respectfully, "I've already made a general inquiry." The name of the king of Qi is Qi Li, and he was born to the first emperor a few years ago with a maid in the Huanyi room, and the first emperor placed her in a summer resort for several years without showing anyone, so not many people in the palace knew about this illegitimate child. ”

Fan Changlong laughed contemptuously when he heard this, and said, "I said that Qi An, a big fool, how can he die or live." What is the identity of that maid?"

The man in black thought for a moment and said, "Lord Hui, her identity has not yet been clarified, but now she has become the queen's mother, surnamed Gongsun, and the new King of Qi is still a child, not yet the age of the crown." ”

Fan Changlong's eyebrows furrowed, and the action in his hand also paused, and Fan Lingxiang on the side looked at him with a surprised face.

After a while, he let out a long sigh and muttered, "Confused, confused." ”

"Dad, the emperor is ...... Still a child?" Fan Lingxiang stammered.

Fan Changlong didn't answer him, his brows were furrowed, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

The man in black cautiously raised his head and spoke again, "Your Excellency...... There are a few more things that are more important. ”

"Say it. Fan Changlong said, "Is it that Qi An can't accept the reality and pretends to be crazy and stupid?"

"Lord Hui, outside Chang'an City, in addition to the emperor's convoy, there are ...... The 50,000-strong Zhenxi Army is being assembled. ”

"What?" asked father and son in unison. Fan Changlong sat up all of a sudden, looking at him in surprise.

"It's really fake, don't talk nonsense. Fan Lingxiang hurriedly said to the man in black, "The Zhenxi Army does not have the emperor's will, and no one has the right to transfer!"

"Back to the young master, it's true, now ten miles outside Chang'an City has been surrounded by the Zhenxi Legion. The man in black said.

Fan Changlong had an incredulous look on his face, and his body stiffened involuntarily.

"Confused. The emperor is still a child, and he is in Yuan Wei's hands, isn't this ......" Fan Changlong suddenly thought of something, and asked the man in black, "Where did Yuan Juzheng and Qi Yu go?"

"Lord Hui, Lord Yuan and the head of the Qi sect left Chang'an an hour ago and went out of the city to pick up the car. The man in black replied.

Fan Changlong heard that the expression on his face was like a great enemy, he pinched the glass ball in his hand hard, and the green tendons on the back of his hand burst out.

"Xiang'er, you should immediately go and inform the princes of all walks of life, pass on my orders, assemble all the local Praetorian Guards, and hurry to Chang'an!" he said to Fan Lingxiang in a deep voice very seriously.

"Daddy...... What's wrong?" Fan Lingxiang looked at him in confusion and asked in a frightened tone.

"What's wrong? Yuan Juzheng, he wants to rebel!"

Outside the city of Chang'an.

Qi Wang Motorcade.

At the beginning of dawn in the east, the distant sky was just white. The morning glow on the horizon slowly rose, and the bright morning began to fall on the earth, exuding a warm temperature on the Gobi Desert, which had been silent all night.

King Qi's convoy was parked only ten miles away from Chang'an City, the terrain was open, there were no mountains around, and the view was good, and the towering towers of Chang'an City could be faintly seen at a glance.

The convoy was surrounded by dense barracks, like ants pouring out of their nests, and the huge convoy was tightly wrapped. On the dry and hard yellow earth, one flag after another was planted, fluttering in the wind, and the emblem of the Zhenxi Army was embroidered on it.

Early in the morning there was a neat sound of orders in the barracks, and rows after rows of sturdy soldiers after a night of rapid marching, still facing the morning sun and thunder, they were naked, shouting loud slogans, which made the maids, who had never seen such a battle, blush, and secretly hid in the tents and looked out.

Behind the well-arranged barracks, there were several neatly arranged siege engines, with iron spears and huge shields polished to a shiny polish, and several soldiers were carefully maintaining near the siege vehicles.

Yuan Wei put on heavy silver armor, his long black hair tied back his head, revealing an angular face, ready to go.

He strode past the formation of siege engines, looking up and down, and the soldiers patrolling nearby saw him and hurriedly raised their swords and saluted. He waved his hand, leaned over to a siege vehicle with a solemn face, and asked the soldiers who were working on it, "How is it, is this modification in good condition?"

When an elderly soldier saw him, he smiled heartily, his face was wrinkled by the wind and sun, and he said loudly: "Don't worry, my lord, although we don't need this thing over there, and the people of the Western Regions don't hide behind the city wall, but it's definitely easy to fight Chang'an!"

Yuan Wei looked at him, nodded, touched the big guy in front of him, and asked, "Then tell me, how to use this siege vehicle?"

The old soldier jumped down from the car, patted it proudly, and said: "My lord, they have never seen this siege vehicle, it was left over from the time of the anti-Chu war, the shell is made of black ore, invulnerable, the lower wheels are added with tracks, people hide in it and push, no matter where it is like walking on the ground." ”

As he spoke, he opened the iron door on the side of the siege vehicle and showed Yuan Wei what was going on inside, and Yuan Wei poked his head in and saw that the inside of the siege vehicle was equipped with messy railings.

The old soldier pointed to an iron rod and said, "As soon as this pole is pushed, the five-foot-long giant blade on the outside can spin rapidly, sharpening iron like mud, and no one can stop it despite the thousands of troops and horses!" And this ......."

As he spoke, he pointed to the iron ladder that was tightly tied by the steel cable, and said: "The chariot rushed to the city wall, pulled this steel cable, and the iron ladder immediately rose up, no need to frame, after the chariot was finished, the iron rod was pulled and the gear was turned, and the person tied the steel cable, and flew to the city wall with a swish, which is simply a siege weapon!"

Listening to his big introduction, Yuan Wei nodded, didn't say anything, and looked around at the siege vehicle.

After looking at it for a long time, he paced at every siege vehicle that was waiting for him, and the stone in his heart became heavier and heavier.

Slowly, he walked to the barracks of the soldiers.

After saluting a few sentinels, Zhang Shide, the captain of the Zhenxi Army, hurriedly ran towards him.

"How is it, how many people are missing?" asked Yuan Wei with a frown.

Zhang Shide also put on his armor, gasped, and said: "Lord Hui, the spies we came from Chang'an claimed that it was 50,000, but now there are actually more than 25,000 people, and half of them are on the way. This time it was all light cavalry, and they had already rushed over with a whip. ”

Yuan Wei nodded solemnly and said, "What about the armament?"

"My lord, the armament is enough, more than enough. Zhang Shide said, "But most of them are horses, ten siege vehicles, if it is a battle in Huya Pass when resisting Chu, there should be no problem, but now it is Chang'an, easy to defend and difficult to attack, there are not enough heavy armor soldiers, I am afraid of heavy casualties." ”

"Good. Yuan Wei said a word briefly, patted him on the shoulder, and turned around and walked towards King Qi's convoy.

There were more than a dozen huge and luxurious tents erected next to the convoy, which were for King Qi and his entourage. Yuan Wei walked quickly to a camp tent, and a soldier hurriedly came to salute and said, "My lord, Lord Yuan and the head of the Qi sect have arrived, and Mr. is also waiting for you inside." ”

"Good. Yuan Wei didn't care about saying anything, he unconsciously quickened his pace and walked towards the camp.

He lifted the tent, and there were several people sitting inside, Yuan Juzheng, Qi Yu, and Chen Changsheng, who was sitting calmly in the corner with a pot and drinking tea.

"Ah Wei. When Yuan Juzheng saw him, he hurriedly stood up, called his nickname, and hurriedly walked forward.

Yuan Wei looked at his father, who he hadn't seen for several years, and couldn't help but feel warm in his heart, and said, "Dad." ”

The two approached, and Qi Yu also followed, saluting Yuan Wei and saying, "I've seen General Yuan." ”

Yuan Wei looked at him, patted him on the shoulder generously, and said, "Qi Yu, what's polite, I haven't seen you for a few years, and I haven't saluted you yet, Second Prince." ”

The two looked at each other and smiled, Yuan Juzheng raised his hand to Chen Changsheng, and said to Yuan Wei: "Come, this is the little gentleman of Xilu Academy." ”

When Chen Changsheng heard the introduction of himself, he got up gentlely and elegantly, and said to him: "I'm ashamed, I've seen General Yuan." ”

Yuan Wei also hurriedly returned the salute and said, "I have heard of Mr.'s name for a long time, and I have never given him teaching, so it is a real honor to see it today." ”

Yuan Ju said to him with a kind smile: "This time, Mr. came here as our military advisor in this battle. ”

"Strategist?" Yuan Wei was stunned for a moment and asked, "This ......?"

Looking at the way he wanted to speak and stopped, Chen Changsheng smiled faintly and said, "General Yuan, let's talk while we sit." ”

Several people followed Yuan Wei and sat down around Chen Changsheng, a simple wooden table covered with a coarse cloth blanket with a few cups of hot tea on it.

Yuan Wei just sat down, and he couldn't care about greetings, so he couldn't wait to open his mouth and ask Chen Changan: "I don't know what Mr. came to help me on this trip for?"

This question was a little sharp, Chen Changsheng just slowly poured the tea in his cup, and then leisurely poured the tea for the other three, and said gently: "General Yuan, I came to your country this time, not only so that you can seize the power you want, but also for the interests of my Qin country. ”

"What do you mean by that?" Yuan Wei asked suspiciously.

Chen Changsheng slowly put down the teapot and said, "The chaos in Chang'an is extraordinary, and I am afraid that it will subvert the regime." And when the regime is in chaos, some rats hiding in the shadows will have a chance. ”

"Mouse?" Qi Yu listened, his face full of doubts.

Chen Changsheng smiled indifferently and asked Yuan Wei, "General Yuan, do you know that there is an artifact in the Qi Palace, called the Demon Refining Pot?"

"The demon refining pot is one of the top ten artifacts of ancient times, which was obtained by the violent Chu, and was sealed in the palace by the emperor after the death of Chu. Yuan Juzheng said slowly, "This artifact has been connected by the bloodline of the Tyrant Chu royal family, and others cannot activate the power of this artifact. ”

"Not bad. Chen Changsheng said with a smile, "To us, this artifact is like a piece of scrap iron, and to the people of Chu, it is a priceless treasure." Chang'an is in chaos, and those Chu people who are hiding in the shadows will never miss this opportunity, they are already eyeing this artifact. ”

When Qi Yu heard this, he glanced at Yuan Juzheng beside him, and did not speak,

Chen Changsheng seemed to see their thoughts, and said in a low voice: "I understand, Lord Yuan originally planned to use the artifact as bait to lure Han Luyao to frame the New Party, and at the same time form an alliance with Ye Buliu, who has hated the Chu people for a long time. This method is too risky, the people of Chu are very cautious now, they will not make a move unless they have a full chance of winning, they still have Lu Chuan, the national teacher of Chu State, in charge, if the demon refining pot is activated, I am afraid that Ye Buliu is not Han Luyao's opponent. ”

Listening to his analysis, Yuan Juzheng sighed and asked, "What are the plans of that gentleman?"

Chen Changsheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said: "In the humble opinion of the juniors, it is not difficult for General Yuan to capture Chang'an, according to Lu Chuan's idea, it is estimated that he will form an alliance with the recalcitrant new party, help them, and wait for the opportunity to meet the artifact." What we have to do is to capture Chang'an as soon as possible and defend the artifact. ”

Yuan Wei listened, glanced at Yuan Juzheng, and said: "Now that artifact is sealed in the underground of the Qi Palace in Chang'an City, no one in the world can break in, it is full of hidden passages, I'm afraid, now there is only one person in Chang'an City who can enter, that is, Fan Changlong, the secretary of the military department who participated in the supervision." ”

"Not bad. Chen Changsheng said, "According to the Qi law, once the artifact is sealed, there will never be a day to see the sky. Only by forming an alliance with Fan Changlong and helping him maintain the Chang'an regime can Lu Chuan have a chance to gain his trust and obtain the artifact. The State of Qi has hated the State of Chu for a long time, but for the power in his hands, Fan Changlong can't help but lose his heart and form an alliance with the Chu people, after all, this artifact is not as useful to him as the night pot at night. ”