Linzhi

Against the light, Ma Hong couldn't see the emperor's expression clearly, but he heard Empress Dowager Pei become anxious: "Sanlang!"

Ma Hong hurried forward a few steps, only to see He Rong's pale complexion, which made people feel uncomfortable. He reacted very quickly and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, take care of the dragon body!"

He Rong didn't say a word, sat upright for a long time, and then asked Ma Hong softly: "Seriously injured? How bad is the injury?"

Seeing that he finally recovered, Ma Hong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said, "It wasn't mentioned in the urgent report, so there must be no danger to his life."

But He Rong shook his head: "If his life was really in danger, he wouldn't have said it in the emergency report."

Speaking of this, He Rong dismissed Ma Hong and the other servants, leaving only himself and the Empress Dowager Pei, and said: "Mother, I want to establish a reserve."

For such a big matter, thanks to the Empress Dowager Pei, she could barely maintain her composure, and even frowned and dismissed the proposal.

"You are now in your prime and in good health. There is no need to rush this matter. When the situation calms down, you can choose your concubine immediately. Why worry about having no heirs!"

But He Rong said surprisingly: "I want to see Goro in person!"

Empress Dowager Pei's face changed suddenly, and she objected without even thinking about it: "How can the Holy Son of Heaven be so gentle!"

On the contrary, He Rong calmed down, and said in a gentle tone: "Mother, you might as well listen to me. When Wu Lang led the troops to the north, he could have fought with me, but for the sake of brotherhood, he chose to give in, and even led the troops before Go and beat Li Kuan. These rumors in the capital are nothing more than that, I don’t care at all, but if Wu Lang is really seriously injured, if I don’t go to see him, I’m afraid I’ll have trouble sleeping and eating for the rest of my life.”

Such a sensible person as Empress Dowager Pei couldn't help sighing when she heard this. She already knew that He Rong was cold on the outside and hot on the inside, but she didn't expect that he valued friendship so much in his heart.

"It's not that I'm alarmist, but have you ever thought that the battlefield is changing rapidly, and if you rush over, Goro will already...or..."

She showed a wry smile and didn't say any more, but He Rong was very clear about the meaning behind her words.

If Li Kuan wins this battle, He Rong rushing over now would be one step too late, and take another ten thousand steps back to say that Empress Dowager Pei is not afraid to speculate on human nature with the greatest malice. Kuan teamed up to set a trap for He Rong, so He Rong's trip is undoubtedly a trap for himself.

He Rong smiled slightly: "Since you treat me with sincerity, how can I betray you? As for the fickleness of people's hearts, seeing is believing, since it hasn't happened yet, why bother yourself? But as the queen mother said, I am Son of Heaven, once you leave Beijing, you have to be fully prepared. That's why I want to use the establishment of the crown prince to stabilize people's hearts. If the crown crown grows long, I will leave an edict and make Shi Shilang the emperor's younger brother. If I have a Three long and two short, so I asked my mother to assist the government under the curtain, what do you think?"

"No!" The Empress Dowager Pei said categorically, "The matter of setting up the emperor's younger brother must not be the first case. If you have made up your mind to leave the capital, I will help take care of it in the capital, and with Xue Tan and the others, it will be a big deal. Worry-free, as for Li Chu, don’t say it!”

"Mother..."

The Empress Dowager Pei didn't wait for him to speak, and her tone eased: "Sanlang, you said just now that you don't want to betray us. How can Shishilang and I betray you? I live because I have seen the prince and Ji Wang fight for the throne, causing the country to be ruined and the people to live in dire straits, but Eleven Lang is now babbling, even if you come back safely, when he grows up, someone will definitely be in his ear Speaking of the matter of the emperor's younger brother back then, in the end, it is easy for him to have thoughts that he shouldn't have. Therefore, for the sake of our mother-child relationship, for the peace of the royal family, and even for the sake of Shi Shilang, this case is also decided. Do not open!"

It is honorable to be an emperor, but it is also an extremely dangerous job. Shi Shilang is still young, even as his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Pei has no idea that when he grows up, he will be like his elder brother He Rong Competent, or mediocre like the first emperor, or more likely to be like his elder brother and second brother, more than the top and not enough, so she is more willing to let her son live a peaceful life than the temptation to let her son be the emperor.What kind of person does what kind of thing, the Empress Dowager Pei's self-knowledge, looking at many male officials, even high-ranking officials and celebrities, may not have it.

Being able to marry Empress Dowager Pei was the greatest blessing of the late Emperor's life. He Rong thought so before, and now he sighs even more.

He stood up and bowed solemnly: "I will leave everything to the Queen Mother to do in the capital."

Empress Dowager Pei smiled and said, "Just rest assured!"

Two days later, as the Son of Heaven quietly left the capital in light clothes, new rumors arose in Chang'an City, saying that Thief Li was holding the coffin of the late emperor to threaten King Xing so that he could not move forward. In fact, King Xing had already captured Thief Li, but because of the distance from Chang'an, the news did not come through for a while.

There is a lot of disturbance, and people's hearts are full of emotions.

……

He Zhan, who is far away in Jingzhou, is struggling between high fever and wound pain, not to mention caring about the reaction of the capital, he may not even be able to hear the words of the people around him. For three days, he has always been confused. The doctor looked at one after another, all looked heavy, shook his head and sighed.

Things start a month ago.

At that time, the two armies were facing each other, not far apart, Li Kuan was worthy of being a man skilled in military affairs, he took advantage of He Zhan's fear that he was in a hurry to cross the river, and let the opponent lose a small battle.

He Zhan retreated to Changlin, while Li Kuan was in Jingmen County. Both sides stood still, and it depended on who could lose their temper first.

In fact, if there is a strong attack, He Zhan may not have no chance of winning, but he still remembers He Rong's private instructions before, telling him to play by ear and save the lives of Ji Ling, Wen Jiang and others who fell into Li Kuan's hands, such as Zhang Song and other veterans. It is also possible to preserve as much as possible.He Zhan was afraid that Li Kuan would jump over the wall in a hurry and threaten himself with the lives of these people, so on the one hand he sent Zhang Ze with a small group of people to detour behind Jingzhou to wait for an opportunity to save people, and on the other hand he stood still to delay time.

Li Kuan also has his own plans. He knows that he may not be able to preserve his strength if he crosses the south of the Yangtze River immediately, but if he can wipe out He Zhan's army in one fell swoop, the huge benefits will be obvious. This makes him hesitate for a while. The boats crossing the river transported some unimportant luggage away first, and on the other hand, they did not move out of the camp temporarily, waiting for the enemy's flaws.

He Zhan had always asked people to pay attention to the news in the capital from time to time. Rumors started to spread from Chang'an, and after a few days, they gradually spread here.The generals close to He Zhan were naturally excited, some said they would go back to Beijing to express their grievances to His Majesty in person, and some wondered if His Majesty was also suspicious, so they let the rumors spread everywhere.

But He Zhan thought of tricks.

The rumors just gave him an excuse to send troops - because he was afraid of the emperor's suspicion, so he had to bite the bullet and fight - such a reason, even if he was as suspicious as Li Kuan, he would believe it.

For this trap, He Zhan made a careful layout: he first sent a small number of troops to interfere with Li Kuan, and without exception, they would all be beaten back. He then slowly increased his troops, and finally "couldn't help" to send troops himself.

The plan went smoothly. He had dealt with the old fox Li Kuan a lot on the battlefield, and he gradually figured out the other party's mind. ", led the people in person, and went straight to Jingmen County.

The spies reported that He Zhan led the troops himself, and Li Kuan also wanted to personally go into battle and wipe out the opponent in one fell swoop, but he was still a little hesitant.

At this time, news came that his wife had let go of his daughter Li Suian, but instead of taking the opportunity to escape, Li Suian joined with Zhang Ze and turned back to rescue Zhang Song and others.

Zhang Song and the old officials of the former emperor came from aristocratic families. Li Kuan knew that when the new Lord He Rong came to the throne, he wished to use his hands to eradicate these old officials. Yan, only throw it out as a bargaining chip when necessary, but Li Suian, such a rebellious girl, actually eats inside and outside, and cooperates with outsiders to deal with herself.

Although Li Kuan already knew that it was Li Suian who let the Queen Mother Pei go, but at that time because of Mrs. Li's begging, and the fact that she was his own daughter after all, and also had the status of the widow of King Ji, it might still come in handy. He was merciful, but who knew that this thought was benevolent, but in exchange for his daughter's betrayal, he immediately became furious, which finally prompted him to make up his mind to face He Zhan.

A hill between Changlin and Jingmen County became the battlefield where the two armies met. He Zhan took the lead and rode a horse to the front. spare no effort.

Li Kuan rode on a horse and stood on the hillside, condescending and commanding.

"Can you shoot and kill He Zhan in one fell swoop?" He squinted his eyes and looked down at the enemy commander rushing to kill him on the battlefield, and asked the guard beside him.

The personal guard hurriedly said: "The distance is too far, I'm afraid it will be difficult!"

Li Kuan said with a smile: "Aren't you all sharpshooters who can penetrate Yang with a hundred steps? If you can kill He Zhan, the enemy will definitely mess up and wipe them out in one fell swoop. Chang'an will never be free to deal with us again." , maybe we don't have to cross the river, so we can take the opportunity to go north and clean up He Rong."

When everyone heard the words, they were naturally very moved. They are all from the north, who would like to spend the rest of their lives in the humid south?

Li Kuan said again: "If He Zhan can be killed, I will ask Your Majesty to grant him the title of marquis and reward countless beauties with gold and silver. If he can be shot and captured alive, he will be a duke of a country!"

Everyone knew that he was monopolizing the power now, and the so-called petition was just a formality. Everyone was excited for a moment, eager to try, and left Li Kuan's side, approaching the battlefield.

The shooting range is too far, so get closer. Li Kuan's personal guards are approaching He Zhan step by step. He Zhan is also consciously approaching Li Kuan. The people around him are protecting him and killing a bloody path. It looks like He Zhan's side was at a disadvantage, and he fought and retreated, losing to the opponent.

Standing on a high place, Li Kuan saw the situation clearly, he couldn't help shaking his head, thinking that He Zhan was still too impatient, if he went through two or three years of experience, he might not be able to become a famous general of his generation, but today he was about to fail here it is.

At this moment, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a reflection not far away, and before he could look over, the sound of piercing the sky was approaching from far away.

A trace of vigilance against the danger prediction suddenly floated in his heart, and in just a moment, a sharp arrow with light had already shot towards his side.

Li Kuan didn't have time to think about anything else, so he quickly bent down and jumped off the horse.

In a blink of an eye, an arrow hit the horse's belly, the horse neighed, and the horse's hoof was raised high. Li Kuan was shocked and turned sideways several times.

"Help me!" He realized that someone in the battlefield was staring at him, and hurriedly shouted.

The guards ran away for a while, but at this time they turned around and came to rescue.

A few more arrows were shot at Li Kuan, but he reacted very quickly and dodged them all.

"Li Kuan!" The loud shout came from afar, and He Zhan had galloped towards him on horseback.

Li Kuan changed his color slightly, grabbed the guard's horse and pushed him off, then got on the horse himself, and faced He Zhan himself with a knife.

One was a rising star on the battlefield, and the other was a well-known veteran. When they met on a narrow road, the brave won. Li Kuan sneered, and quickly dodged the opponent's knife, and the blade quickly swept towards the opponent's front door.

In recent years, Li Kuan has been pampered and pampered. Many people have forgotten that the ancestor of the Li family married the princess of the previous dynasty because of his great military achievements. His fist and foot skills have never fallen. Even He Zhan couldn't take advantage of it for a while. The two sides fought close to each other, and their bodies and positions changed. Even if the people next to them wanted to help, they couldn't do anything.

"He Rong is just using you as a pawn to charge forward, why do you have to die for him!" Li Kuan slashed with a knife and sneered loudly.

He Zhan knew that this was the opponent's trick, so he didn't open his mouth, he only wanted to greet the opponent's weak point, forcing Li Kuan to get off his horse, and He Zhan immediately dismounted to give chase. , after hundreds of rounds, Li Kuan was much older than He Zhan after all, and his strength was gradually weakening. He Zhan noticed it, but stepped up his offensive and refused to give him a chance to breathe.

Li Kuan retreated step by step, He Zhan pressed forward step by step, and seemed to have pushed the other party to the end, when He Zhan suddenly heard an urgent shout from behind: "Your Highness, be careful!"

He knew that Li Kuan's personal guards were full of talented people, and he was able to spot an opportunity to attack from behind.

But if he handed out this knife, Li Kuan would definitely die.

Should he get out of the way to save his life and take the opportunity to kill Li Kuan, or give the other party a chance to breathe so that his personal guards can take him and escape?

In an instant, He Zhan had countless thoughts, but his body subconsciously made the most honest choice.

He pierced Li Kuan's chest with a knife, and watched the other party's eyes widen with anger, his chest blood splashing on his face, but he did not hesitate to increase his strength, and plunged the entire blade into the other party's body.

At the same time, the arrow behind him also shot into He Zhan's body.

There was a barb on the arrow, and because of the wound, He Zhan fell to the ground immediately, but he still insisted on letting Zhou Yu preside over the battle. After Li Kuan died, the enemy was leaderless and fell into chaos, and his side gained the upper hand. Only then did he fall into a coma with confidence.

Once I closed my eyes, I never woke up again.

Until ten days later.

Zhou Yu and the others were worried for several days, and hurriedly sent people to report to the capital several times a day, but they couldn't wait for the imperial decree from the capital, let alone the imperial doctor in the capital. Wang, pretending not to know, refused to send someone to rescue him.

"Using the best horses and making people travel day and night, it's time to run back and forth, but there is no news from Chang'an until now, Your Highness, Your Highness, you are loyal to the country and brotherly, you don't know Your Majesty Do I miss your love!" Zhou Yu murmured beside the bed.

He would come and talk for a long time every day, and the attendants were not surprised by this.

But this time, He Zhan frowned, and then slowly opened his eyes.

"Can you...speak less?"

The voice was intermittent and weak, but Zhou Yu was overjoyed.

"You are awake! Your Highness!"

The slightly higher volume now made He Zhan's ears buzz, and his face immediately turned paler.

The attendant hurried out to call the doctor.

Zhou Yu lowered his voice: "How do you feel! Are you okay! The doctor is here!"

"Fortunately..." He Zhan was weak.

But how could it be okay?The sharp arrow barely grazed his heart and almost pierced through He Zhan's chest. The doctor had no choice but to break the arrow into two pieces and pull them out separately. If so, He Zhan's blood flowed for a whole day. Dapen, if he wasn't young and strong, and has been hanging his life with precious medicinal materials, he might have died by now.

If he hadn't put his ear close to He Zhan's mouth, Zhou Yu could hardly hear what he was saying.

"How's the battle going?" He Zhan asked.

Zhou Yu quickly said: "Your Highness, don't worry, everything is fine. After Li Kuan was killed by you on the spot, the enemy army was defeated for thousands of miles. I took the opportunity to take them down. Zhang Song and the others have also settled down. We just wait for the Chang'an envoy Once we arrive..."

Speaking of this, he felt a little resentful: "Why hasn't anyone come from Chang'an yet!"

As soon as the voice fell, there was a commotion outside, footsteps from far to near, Zhou Yu just thought it was a soldier looking for a doctor and finally came back, he couldn't help but angrily said: "Why is it so long, I don't know that His Highness is injured..."

As he spoke, he turned his head, but his voice stopped abruptly.

He Zhan was drowsy, and suddenly his ears cleared up, but he was a little surprised. He forced himself to open his eyes again, but saw an unexpected person standing in front of him.

"...Third brother?" He Zhan murmured.

He suspected that he was still awake, or that he was too seriously injured and had hallucinations.

The third brother in the hallucination did not step forward, but gave up his position and brought the imperial physician behind him. The imperial physician hurriedly inspected He Zhan's injury.

"How?" He Rong asked, raising his hand to avoid everyone's salute.

"His Highness is indeed seriously injured, but since he has woken up, his life should not be affected. As for the damage to his vitality, he can only recuperate slowly in the future."

He Rong nodded.

Following his actions, everyone, including Zhou Yu, retreated tactfully.

He Zhan raised the corner of his mouth towards He Rong, and moved his hand slightly.

Without words, relying on the tacit understanding from childhood to adulthood, He Rong stepped forward and held his hand.

"Looking at Zhou Yu's performance just now, he must have slandered me in front of you." He Rong said.

He Zhan couldn't help but want to laugh, but almost pulled his wound: "His every move can't be hidden from the third brother..."

He Rong hummed, meaning for your sake, don't care about him.

People who show joy and anger are generally not deep in the city. People like Zhou Yu are willing to work hard to kill the enemy on the battlefield. Naturally, He Rong will not abandon him just because he secretly whispers to him.

"Your injury is not healed, sleep more." He Rong didn't talk to him a lot, but urged him to rest with just a few words.

"...If I wake up and you're still there, then it's not a dream." He Zhan murmured and fell into a deep sleep in a blink of an eye.

He Rong couldn't laugh or cry, dare he still think he was dreaming?

He Zhan really thought he had a dream within a dream.

In the dream, I dreamed that I was back when I was a child, and the whole family sat around, talking and laughing at Yan Yan, but before I knew it, someone always disappeared during the banquet, first He Jia, then the concubine, and then the elder brother... In the end, He Rong was left alone, sitting and drinking, neither far nor near.

He Zhan panicked, got up quickly and wanted to catch the third brother and tell him not to leave, but he couldn't move his body, and was sweating profusely.

The third brother got up suddenly.

"Third Brother, don't go!" He Zhan shouted.

The other party didn't leave, but walked towards him, sat beside him, and poured him a glass of wine.

"I won't leave. I said I would be your brother forever." The third brother smiled and handed him a glass of wine.

He Zhan stretched out his hand to grab it, but found nothing. His heart skipped a beat, and he opened his eyes involuntarily.

The sight is a familiar scene, with bursts of body pain, a person sitting on the ground beside the bed, leaning against the bed, resting his chest with one hand, focusing on reading.

He Zhan secretly pinched his palm, joy gradually spread from the bottom of his heart.

"Third brother."

"Are you awake?" He Rong raised his head from the sea of ​​books, "I brought the servants over, they are preparing food for you, it will be ready soon."

He Zhan didn't feel hungry, but he still hummed obediently.

When he treats others with sincerity, he doesn't ask for anything in return, but when the other party also gives a gift with sincerity, how can he not be happy?

"Third brother." He Zhan saw him looking down at the book again, so he couldn't help but continued: "Third brother, third brother."

He Rong's ears were almost calloused by his reading, and he said helplessly: "The doctor just saw your injury, and you are recovering very well."

"I'm so bored, I want to go out for a walk." He Zhan said.

He Rong refused without even thinking about it: "Take good care of your wounds, and you are not allowed to go out until you are fully recovered."

The Son of Heaven kept his word, and no one dared to take what He Rong said out of his mouth.

But in the face of He Zhan, sometimes it will fail.

In the end, He Zhan was helped to sit on a more stable and slower ox cart, while He Rong led him on horseback, and the two came to the riverside.

"Since I went south to pursue Li Kuan, this is the first time I have really enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Yangtze River." He Zhan was still injured, and his breath was unavoidably short of breath, but he looked at the vast river in front of him almost greedily, the sky was high and the clouds were clear, and he felt All the suffocation in the house these days has been spit out.

It was also the first time for He Rong to come here.

The great river eastward, the waves are exhausted, the eternal lover.

"Since the rise and fall of human affairs in ancient times, a hundred years is a long time, but to the world, thousands of years are but a moment." Looking at the waves, he thought of Emperor Wende, the first emperor, and even Li Kuan, and he couldn't help but feel the insignificance of his soul .

"Third brother's words are a bit Zhuang Zhou's sigh," He Zhan said with a smile, "What I saw is not these."

He Rong couldn't help but said, "Then what did you see?"

He Zhan raised his head: "I saw you."

He raised his hand and pointed: "Look at the mountains and clouds, the turbulent rivers, and the mountains and rivers that stretch for thousands of miles. After a hundred years, your shadow will be left behind. And I am the footprint behind your shadow."

Speaking of this, he looked at He Rong beside him, and smiled brightly: "I heard that since ancient times, there must be good ministers around Mingjun, such as the starlight accompanying the moon, so that the bright moon can be set off. I don't know if there is me beside the third brother." The position of such a star?"

The imperial guards brought by He Rong came all the way. Seeing His Majesty and King Xing walking to the river to talk, he didn't dare to come up to listen. His Majesty didn't know what to say, after King Xing was stunned for a while, he burst out laughing.

The cheerfulness of the laughter scared away many perched birds, and also made King Xing feel extremely happy and sad, coughing for a while.

His Majesty frowned, and comforted King Xing personally, as if he had taught King Xing a lesson.

King Xing didn't see being depressed, but he was still smiling and in a good mood.

Even the imperial guards couldn't help but smile a little while watching, and then looked at the distance, where the sand gulls were flying and the fragrance of the field was fragrant.

Presumably will be a cloudless fine weather.

【End of the full text】

The author has something to say:

Thank you for accompanying "Lin Zhi" along the way, and also accompanied Da Wang Miao through the six months of self-release.For me, "Linzhi" has gained a lot. I have encountered some setbacks during the period. I would like to thank the third brother who is physically disabled (hey) for encouraging me to come over. I hope he can also bring you some gains.

[A new article "Bu Tiangang" will be published at 8 pm on August 9th. Click on the author's column to enter and you can see the content of the copy and save it by the way. 】

Hey, see you next month! =3=