At the beginning, there is smoke coming out of the ancestral grave, and the woman is busy in the imp

Meeting his cold eyes, the young official shuddered inexplicably, and a chill quickly spread to his limbs.

He was a few years younger than Xie Mingli, so he had no memory of the hard times when the adults struggled to survive when he was a child.

The imperial court imposes heavy taxes, officials commit crimes, and the government offices are open to money houses. If you don't have money, don't come.

They confuse right and wrong, collect taxes and bribes, while the rich enjoy wine and meat while others freeze to death on the streets.

Even so, the people can endure it again and again. As long as they have food to eat and can survive, they will not think of rebelling against Chu Tianchen...

Until Jiaozhou suffered a disaster and the court ignored it, the current emperor could no longer tolerate it and started a rebellion.

What the younger officials do not understand or remember, the older officials all remember clearly.

During those long nights when no stars could be seen, I took part in the imperial examinations many times and returned empty-handed many times.

How many of my classmates, who clearly got good grades, were easily replaced by rich and powerful playboys.

In the end, his family was destroyed and he had no place to seek justice...

An elderly official spoke slowly, "No wonder my family wrote to me two years ago, asking me why the Ministry of Revenue was measuring the land, and what new laws did the court have?"

He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Now it seems that the merchants and landlords in my hometown have come to find out the news through my family."

Some people wondered, "If that's the case, the policy of allocating taxes to each acre should have been implemented a few years later."

"How come it got out at this time?"

If it weren't for Duke Xun Guo, he would have held the descendants of King Sunjong hostage in rebellion.

Even these officials who work in the imperial city every day don't know...

All the officials looked at Xie Mingli, but he continued to work at his desk, calculating seriously.

Seeing this, they didn't dare to disturb them.

If it weren't for the sudden rebellion of Duke Xun Guo this time, the Xie family would have already risen to prominence.

"Hey, what do you think? Could it be the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites?"

"I heard from the Ministry of War that the Shan soldiers disguised themselves as merchants participating in the International Chamber of Commerce and entered the customs with their fish tokens and letters..."

"This is not important at the moment. What's important is when can we expect rescue?!"

"I'm almost thirty and I haven't married yet. I don't want to die!"

Listening to the officials' casual chattering in the midst of misery, Xie Mingli paused with his pen, recalling his previous conversation with Si Yuandao.

Now, the only army that can come to the capital to provide assistance is the Qingzhou Army.

Others, such as the Liangzhou Army and the Youzhou Army, were either too far away to return for defense or too far away to leave.

Only Qingzhou is the closest, and the war between Qingzhou and Fusang is the most tense...

The Qingzhou army has a total strength of no more than 150,000 troops.

There are 50,000 navy soldiers in Jiangnan, 50,000 new soldiers led by Wei Chi, and tens of thousands of soldiers sent by General Ji...

If they return to support Shangjing, Fuso will surely land quickly and occupy Qingzhou.

But if no reinforcements came, Shangjing would not be able to hold out until the Bingzhou army came to its rescue, not to mention the more distant Liangzhou and Youzhou.

It was not until Duke Xun went all the way north to Jingzhou that the news was reported back to the capital.

I think the messenger who delivered the message has already become a fallen dead soul.

Although the rebels had merchants providing them with grass and did not need any baggage, they could not afford to be dragged down.

Both the enemy and us know about this!

Now the city is under siege and the news cannot be passed on. When will the Qingzhou army be able to investigate... When will they arrive...

Time passed little by little as I was lost in thought.

Many officials fell asleep at their desks, while some, like Xie Mingli, calculated various numbers with a cup of bitter tea.

Until midnight.

The sound of drums woke everyone up from their sleep.

The officials tacitly put down their work and walked out to the Ministry of War to receive weapons.

Walking on the bluestone road of the imperial city, the roadside alleys are filled with the elderly, the weak, women and children.

Female fortune tellers ran around trying to calm people down.

Looking at a frightened and crying child who was quickly calmed down by the female fortune teller, the official walking next to Xie Mingli expressed his emotion.

"Sure enough, compared to men, women are naturally more approachable."

"It's not innate." Xie Mingli's elegant voice reached the official's ears.

Official:? ? ?

"How is that possible? Brother Qingzhi doesn't have a sister at home. Maybe he doesn't know that the little kid has had obvious preferences since he was very young."

While he was speaking, Xie Mingli had already walked a long way away. The official gritted his teeth, moved his legs, and ran to catch up with him.

"Qingzhi, what did the Xie family children eat to grow up? They all have long legs!"

"Wait for me—"

……

Lizheng Hall.

Hearing the sound of war drums, the important officials all understood what was going on and were not surprised at all.

The rebels can't delay, and if they want to avoid the power of the three-bow crossbow, a night attack is the best option.

Chu Heng opened his hands and let the palace servant put the armor on him. "I'll trouble you and Minister Si for the rear affairs."

The Grand Tutor nodded solemnly and gave a few more reminders, such as asking him to be careful.

On the contrary, it was Si Yuandao who was very angry. If it wasn't so inappropriate, Chu Heng would have really wanted to laugh.

This old man is not allowed to go to the front line. He is so angry that he is like a pufferfish...

After putting on the helmet, Chu Heng took Chen Qiu, who was also wearing armor, and walked out of the hall.

There is no great general in the capital, so I have to lead the army myself.

After taking only two steps, he saw the queen standing at the door holding the little prince.

The emperor and empress looked at each other in silence, their eyes reddening silently.

The woman was dressed simply and elegantly, looking just like she did when she was young, heroic and valiant.

As a descendant of a military family, she could remain calm in the face of any danger. That day, she was a hero sent down from the sky to him.

Now and in the future too.

Chu Heng strode forward, covered the little prince's clear eyes, and leaned over to kiss him.