Surrounded by strong ministers

After the "Bastard!", which could be called angrily and gritted his teeth, came out of his throat, Xiao Zong fell into silence and never spoke again.

It was very quiet in the big tent.

He held the piece of paper left by King Qin with only one sentence in his hand, but no matter how he looked at it, he didn't say a word.

Han Su remained silent for a long time, then asked with a frown, "What did King Qin say?"

Xiao Zong didn't respond, he just kept a gentle and handsome face indifferently, his gaze fell on the paper in his hand half coldly, and after a while, holding the letter between his fingers, he held it upright in front of Han Su's eyes, "King Qin invited me to visit the land of Qin. .Is he provoking me, or did he not forget to show off to me after running away?" The tone was very flat, and there were not many waves.

After that annoyed and out-of-control growl, it didn't take a moment for Xiao Zong to restrain his emotions and settle his expression. At this moment, he looked no different from his usual self-sufficient appearance, very calm and composed.

Han Su glanced at the arrogant handwriting in front of him, and frowned even deeper. He looked at the emperor's seemingly calm face, and waited for a moment before saying, "Whether it's a provocation or a demonstration, since the King of Qin has exhausted his mind Planning to get away and refusing to go to the capital with the emperor, there must be his plan, he left this sentence, no matter what the purpose is or what plans he has, the emperor must take precautions earlier." After a pause, the conversation turned slightly, "King Qin He has always been cunning, the emperor should have known it long ago...how can he be taken lightly and only believe in the superficial skills that the eyes can see..." At this point, Han Su stopped and did not continue to say more.After being silent for a while, he sighed softly again, but seemed to be talking to himself, "However, I can see some things clearly."

Xiao Zong didn't have anything to say, so he remained silent.Han Su was silent for a moment, and then spoke again, with a somewhat deep voice in his words, "Next, what does the emperor plan to do?"

Hearing this, Xiao Zong turned his eyes to the other place, shook the paper in his hand, didn't look at it any more, slowly kneaded it a few times, kneaded it into a ball, threw it on the ground, and said softly: "How to do it? Tomorrow morning , set off for Beijing."

Han Su frowned, "Your Majesty?"

Xiao Zong threw away the ball of crumpled paper left by King Qin, turned around and went out of the tent, saying as he walked, "It's useless to be anxious about King Qin's affairs, let alone mess yourself up because of this, let's see what happens to him before we talk about it."

Han Su followed behind Xiao Zong, was silent for a moment, and said: "The emperor means that you are not planning to deploy in advance, but you want to stand still and wait and see for a while?"

Xiao Zong paused, turned sideways, looked at Taifu's slightly calm face, and nodded: "This is the end of the matter, no matter how much you think about it, it won't help. The fact that King Qin ran away is a fait accompli, and there is no hope of recovery. No, let’s talk about pre-arrangement, how can we talk about advance, my preemptive opportunity was gone long before King Qin made a fuss about his injury, or maybe even earlier. Since we can’t pre-emptively, why bother to arrange in a hurry, fortunately It's better to wait and see first, wait and see what happens, and see what the king of Qin wants, and then deal with it."

Han Su looked at Xiao Zong for a while, wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything, he bowed his head and said: "Since the emperor has made up his mind, then I will not say anything more."

Xiao Zong nodded, "Teacher, you've been traveling with the army for the past two months, and you're really tired. You'll be leaving for the capital tomorrow morning. Go to bed early tonight."

"Okay." Han Su replied.When he reached the big tent door, he stretched out his hand to open the curtain, and Han Su said softly, "The emperor also went to bed earlier." Looking at the calm expression on the emperor's face, he sighed slightly, and said, "Some things, Don't take it too seriously, Your Majesty."

Xiao Zong was stunned for a moment, then walked out of the big tent with a hum.

Coming out of the empty tent abandoned by King Qin, Xiao Zong went straight to his own imperial tent, Cheng Shan followed closely behind him and called someone to set up dinner.

The food was put on the table, two plates of pastries, jujube paste cakes and apricot cakes were arranged in flower patterns and stacked very high, a large porcelain pot of whitebait and cloud silk soup was in the center of the table, surrounded by five or six meat and vegetable dishes.Xiao Zong sat at the table, carried the chopsticks to carry the bowl, or drank soup and tasted two small snacks between meals, methodical and unhurried.

After a long time, half of the dishes on the table were gone.

Cheng Shan stood aside, a little dumbfounded to see that the emperor still didn't show signs of putting down the chopsticks.He doesn't know how much he eats today when he was in the palace, but based on his observations these days with his driver, forgive him for being treasonous and say in his heart, the emperor eats as little as a girl's house, and he can eat a meal It's two days' worth.

But today...

Cheng Shan looked at the emperor who was devoting himself to eating without saying a word for a while, then turned to the table full of plates, his eyes crisscrossed back and forth, and finally at the moment Xiao Zong put down the bowl and chopsticks, he couldn't help but secretly wiped his sweat.

The meals for a table cost seven or eight, and he estimated that tonight's meal was only a little less than what he ate.

Xiao Zong put down the bowls and chopsticks, rinsed his mouth with warm water, got up and went to the bedroom behind the screen, and began to change clothes.

Cheng Shanchu was at the outer dining table, through the screen, hesitatingly said to the vague figure inside: "The emperor... is he going to rest?" He must be able to eat so much all of a sudden, right? "The moon is quite round tonight, Your Majesty...do you want to go for a walk?"

Xiao Zong untied the imperial crown and pulled the belt behind the screen, took off the black imperial clothes, and said dryly: "Go down, I want to go to bed."

Cheng Shan withdrew from the tent, Xiao Zong stripped himself down to his underwear, sat silently on the edge of the couch for a while, then lay down on his back with aggrieved face.

He is full.

Because he is angry.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to be as calm and indifferent as he appeared on the surface. He had been fooled so thoroughly that Shi Shi couldn't care less.If he is calm and calm, it is of course a superficial effort.He made a fool of himself, what else can he do if he doesn't hold back.Han Su saw that he was unhappy, so he was pretending, and advised him not to care too much, not to get too entangled.He has never been so foolish as to be so idiotic, he is unaware of being stuck in a trick, and even more unaware of doing messy things... Can he calmly not worry about it at all!

Lying on his back on the couch, Xiao Zong couldn't help recalling what he did when he was deceived by King Qin.

For a moment, I couldn't think about it anymore, turned over hard, pressed to my protruding stomach, and breathed again in my chest, feeling uncomfortable all over, so I had to turn over and lie on my back again, so I felt even more aggrieved.

Xiao Zong was aggrieved and didn't know when he fell asleep.Then he had a very clear and very real dream.

In the dream, King Qin was lying on a bed covering his injuries while he was dying, while he seemed anxious and worried, and hurriedly walked around in front of the bed.From time to time, the King of Qin covered his wound in a pretentious manner, smiling at him while he seemed to be panting, and he tucked up the quilt anxiously and served tea and water for him to drink medicine.King Qin drank a spoonful of the decoction and spit it out again. He was so stupid, he picked up the bowl, took a sip of it, and brought it to King Qin's mouth.Xiao Zong felt as if his soul had gone out of his body. Standing by the bed, he clearly watched the idiot in his dream pour medicine into King Qin's mouth. King Qin squinted his eyes and took the medicine in his mouth while smiling triumphantly. Seeing him want to jump.Afterwards, the King of Qin didn't know what tricks he did, his whole body seemed to be shivering from the cold for no reason, and he saw that he didn't hesitate, took off his clothes and got into the bed of King Qin without any hesitation.He watched Qin Wang hold the dream self in his arms with a face full of embarrassment, his blood was surging, and finally he couldn't stand it anymore.

Xiao Zong woke up in anger.My stomach was still full, and I lay on my back until dawn, and never fell asleep again.

After dawn, Xiao Zongyu drove back to the capital according to the itinerary arranged in advance. It was Cheng Shan who accompanied the three thousand imperial guards, and Han Su went back together. The carriage followed Xiao Zongyu's chariot. The reorganization of the army, division and dispatch, etc., can only be dispatched at a later time.

Driving back to Beijing, although not as busy as when I came out before, it was not slow.After setting off for half a day, at noon, Xiao Zong's breakfast was useless, but he couldn't support himself anymore, but his head began to swell and hurt. He rubbed his forehead, and finally fell down on the long couch in the imperial chariot.

Xiao Zong is ill.

Last night he lay in only a thin underwear and forgot to cover the quilt. He seemed to have caught a cold. When he got up in the morning, he actually felt a little weak in his legs and feet.

Lin Taigong took his pulse on the side of the couch, Han Su also got on the emperor's chariot, and watched from the side with frowning eyes, Xiao Zongxu lay on the couch with his eyes closed, his head was more painful than a moment ago, and he felt dizzy intermittently.

After seeing the doctor, Lin Tai reported that the emperor had been tired for days and was exhausted mentally and mentally. He was infected with the wind and cold, and his body was not thick enough to cause fever and headaches. , Send out all the symptoms, and everything will be fine.He also asked Xiao Zong to let go of his worries about state affairs, don't worry about things that don't go his way, relax and take a good rest, and then he resigned.

After Lin Tai retreated, Xiao Zong only felt a little more dizzy in his head, and he seemed to be awake soon after lying down, and his consciousness was blurred.

I don't know how long it took, he felt being helped by someone to drink the medicine, and he vaguely saw that the person supporting him seemed to be the Taifu, the soup swallowed into his throat, full of bitter taste, he was helped to lie down again, nothing There was no time to think about it, and I didn't know where I fell into the groggy state.In the chaos, he began to dream again in confusion, the dream was clear for a while and blurred for a while, and it was about the same one back and forth. Someone was lying on the bed and enjoying his service.

While Xiao Zong was dreaming intermittently and reluctantly, at the same time, he felt that his body began to heat up and sweat, and gradually he couldn't breathe, breathing burned his chest, and his whole body was weak and weak.

Han Su was at the side of the couch, soaked the face towel in warm water and wrung it dry, leaned down and wiped carefully on Xiao Zong's red forehead and cheeks that were sweating thinly, put down the face towel, and picked up the warmed soup that was placed on the table aside.Lin Tai prescribed three different prescriptions, all of which were for fever and dampness. According to the strength of the medicine, he drank it every hour. After drinking the first two prescriptions, the initial effect was achieved. The emperor had already started to sweat. This is the third prescription. Apply medicine.

Stirring the spoon in the bowl, Han Su scooped up a spoonful of dark brown concoction and handed it to Xiao Zong's slightly panting lips in his sleep.

This third patch is the most powerful medicine, and it depends on what it is to stimulate the fever. Naturally, it won't taste good. Xiao Zong was confused and instinctively held the corner of the spoon, sipped it, his brows immediately frowned, and closed his eyes. He gritted his teeth and tilted his head slightly.

Han Su moved the spoon over with the medicine juice, and pressed it against Xiao Zong's lips again. Xiao Zong moved away again, moved closer, and then pushed away again. After several back and forth, Xiao Zong finally heard a muffled whimper in his throat, "Don't ..."

Han Su withdrew his hand, was silent for a moment, raised his head and took a sip by himself, got up and moved forward, and blocked Xiao Zong's jaw that he had squeezed open with one hand.

In a daze, Xiao Zong instinctively rejected the choking bitter juice that was offered to his mouth. He was hot all over, short of breath, very uncomfortable, and still entangled in intermittent dreams and could not escape.

Han Su took a mouthful of the soup and put it into his mouth.

Xiao Zong was in a dream, struggling with the heat.

Han Su's tongue stuck into the constriction, sending the decoction into Xiao Zong's throat.Just as he was about to withdraw, for some reason, the emperor, whose limbs were limp and limp from the heat, suddenly raised his neck, sucked his tongue before he had time to withdraw from his mouth, and entangled with him, The two arms that were originally hanging powerlessly on the sides of his body also suddenly lifted up, wrapping around his shoulders and back indiscriminately.

Han Su was startled and didn't move. He felt that the emperor was sucking his tongue deeply for a while, and even hummed a few times in his throat.He struggled, but he didn't break free.

For a moment, the hand on his shoulder with the grab ring slowly loosened and slid down, and the upturned neck also softened, separated from him, and no longer intertwined with each other.

Han Su looked at Xiao Zong.Xiao Zong closed his eyes, slumped on the couch limply, unconscious, panting with his lips slightly parted, he didn't know where the strength came from just now.His lips moved slightly, and two words came out in confusion: "Bastard..."

Holding the medicine bowl, Han Su was silent for a while, and murmured: "Sure enough, I can't let it go at all." He raised his hand and stroked Xiao Zong's sweat-wet hair on his forehead, and sighed softly, "Since he's such a mess, You always leave him a way out." Looking at the unconscious person on the couch for a moment, he didn't say anything, lowered his head and continued to swallow a mouthful of soup and medicine into Xiao Zong's mouth, this time Xiao Zong was very cooperative, and opened his mouth slightly lips, and swallowed obediently.

After drinking a round of three pills, at night, he really developed a severe fever, Xiao Zong broke out in a sweat, his cheeks were flushed with heat, and the sweat beads fell off his forehead as soon as he was wiped off.Xiao Zong was in the heat, and vaguely felt that the sticky clothes on his body were being untied and taken away, his hands and feet seemed to be lifted and stretched, something was wiped all over his body, he felt better, and sank into the bed Deep sleep.

After the heat came out, Xiao Zong stopped the fever the next morning, and woke up at noon. Although his body was still weak, his head was no longer dizzy or swollen, and his mind was already clear.Han Su helped him sit up halfway, and fed him half a bowl of cloud silk egg flower porridge. Xiao Zong rested halfway down, with a tired face, guessing that he had been in a coma for a whole day and night, and Han Su, who had been with him for a whole day and night, hurried back to the car. In the middle of the rest.

Because of this minor illness, the itinerary to return to Beijing was slowed down, and it took half a month to arrive in the imperial city.

On the second day after returning to Beijing, Xiao Zong accepted the congratulations from all the officials in the Daming Palace. All the officials congratulated the emperor on his majesty.The court officials praised Ren Buhui's ability to lead the army in battle in the Golden Palace, saying that General Hussars is worthy of being the number one scholar in civil and military affairs, and indeed he is both civil and military.But Qin Wang, the coach who led the Wang division to fight this time, was evasive and didn't mention it much.The news that King Qin returned to Qin land five days ago is known to everyone. Although Xiao Zong blocked the inside story of the fraudulent escape on Fengling slope, and did not leak the news of the disharmony between the monarch and his ministers, the palace of King Qin is far away from Fengling. Po was much farther away than he was from Fenglingpo back to the imperial city. King Qin returned to the territory so quickly, and such a desperate marching speed did not look like a good sign. Besides, King Qin's return to the northwest itself was not a good sign.No one is stupid in the middle of the court. This is because they have seen the signs that something is wrong, so it is hard to say.

No one among the courtiers mentioned King Qin first, and Xiao Zong didn't want to mention it either.

Everyone congratulated the victory, praised Ren Bugui, and reported the memorial written by the two kings of Yan and Jin a few days ago.

After the fall of the three kings of Chu, Zhao and Han, the only kings with different surnames in the Great Zhou Dynasty were King Qin, and only King Yan, King Zhao Yu, and King Lu Xian remained.Xiao Zong has already read the letters of the two kings. It is nothing more than the blessing of the emperor's heavenly power.Thinking that when he issued an edict to the princes to attack Sima Yong, the two men asked him for food, grass and armaments before sending troops.Now is not the time, when the time has come, he doesn't care about keeping the titles of the two kings, but he will definitely not be supported by others.

After discussing a few good things, Xiao Zong was concerned about the reconstruction and rescue of various places in southern Xinjiang. After discussing for half a day, he was about to continue the discussion tomorrow, when suddenly an official in the train stood up and told him, "The emperor hurriedly issued an edict. The imperial list collected famous doctors from all over the country and gathered in the capital to stand by. The ministers did not dare to slack off. After receiving the edict, they immediately recorded it into an official document and issued it. Now there are many people with extraordinary medical skills in various states and capitals. The ministers and others carefully inspected and verified them, and selected the best ones to wait for orders, and ask the emperor to judge them."

It was only then that Xiao Zong remembered that there was still such a stupid thing that hadn't been dealt with, and sat silently on the throne, scratching his stomach and holding back for a long time, thinking of Xiao Hong.As soon as he entered the palace gate yesterday, he saw his younger brother and several nephews welcoming him at the gate of Xuanwu. Xiao Hong was better than when he left Beijing.

Xiao Zong had no choice but to grab Xiao Hong, and said to the official: "King Tai's condition has greatly improved, so he will be healed by the imperial physicians according to the current method, there is no need to look for famous doctors anymore, withdraw from the imperial list, and let everyone disperse. " Standing up and retreating, he held his forehead and said silently, luckily.

Fortunately, he was not stupid enough to mention King Qin in the imperial edict.

After returning to the capital, Xiao Zong devoted most of his energy to the reorganization of southern Xinjiang. After about half a month, he summoned the Taifu and Ren Buhui, who had been conferred the title of Marquis of Anguo a few days ago, in Nanjiang. After a discussion in the study, a tea banquet was held in a pavilion in the imperial garden, and the emperor and his ministers tasted tea and enjoyed the scenery together.

At this time in mid-April, the scenery of late spring is just right, the sun is bright, the wind is blowing, the flowers are blooming in the imperial garden, and the trees are green.

After drinking a cup of tea, Xiao Zong turned his gaze back from the clear blue sky and saw Marquis Anguo sitting behind a low table in a narrow-sleeved military uniform. It's hard to imagine how cynicism and chaotic life looks like, Xiao Zong couldn't help smiling, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a few roses not far from the pavilion flourishing together and blooming in full bloom. The plum blossom poems are amazing and brilliant. I don’t know if An Guohou’s poems will be as romantic and proud as before after the soldiers hold the sword.

Just as he was about to teach Ren Buhui, who was sipping tea, to make a tribute to that piece of rose, at this moment, a servant came hurriedly from the corridor.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Quanzhou." The servant bowed and presented a sealed scroll.

Han Suren Buhui and the two who were sitting quietly drinking tea in the pavilion, their faces froze when they heard the words, they put down the teacup and looked at Xiao Zong.

Quanzhou is located in the west of the central part of the Great Zhou Dynasty, adjacent to Xiangzhou and Jizhou, which are among the sixteen prefectures of Qin. Strategic geography has always been an important place. Xiao Zong had earlier issued a secret decree to Quanzhou Mu, asking him to pay attention to the movements of King Qin , If any abnormal behavior is found, it must be reported, no matter how big or small.

Taking apart the scroll, Xiao Zong looked at it, and put it on the table after reading it.

"Your Majesty, is there any change in King Qin?" Han Su asked.

Xiao Zong was silent for a moment, then said: "Quanzhou Mu Shang reported that the King of Qin suddenly increased his troops in Xiangzhou and Jizhou the day before yesterday, and the Northwest Army is currently setting up camp on the border of the state, setting up quite a few checkpoints, leading to Qinzhou. Several official roads in the area are almost closed. Quanzhou Mu has already started to strengthen the city defense."

"With such a big move, King Qin is planning to raise troops?" Ren Buhui frowned, pondered for a moment, and murmured in a low voice, "So soon?" After a short pause, he asked Xiao Zong, "How does the emperor plan to deal with it?" He and Han Su asked in unison.

Xiao Zong lowered his eyes slightly, but did not speak.It has been more than [-] days since the King of Qin returned to the fief. He ran from the southeast back to the northwest, and almost crossed half of the territory of Da Zhou. At that time, Xiao Zong was unable to stop him because his troops were almost concentrated in the south, so he had to let him escape. King Qin went back In these few days, Xiao Zong was not the first to receive the report from the whole prefecture, but the previous few times, King Qin didn't make much noise, so he ignored it.This time, he could no longer just sit idly by the momentum of the army's overwhelming force.

Ren Buhui went on to say: "Not long ago, after the war, the army was re-deployed. I have strengthened the deployment in various important areas, and stationed 6 horses and [-] cavalry and infantry in the whole prefecture. If the [-] troops are against the Northwest The army is bound to be tight, but it can be delayed for a while, and there is still room for reinforcements from other garrison stations."

What to say next, at this time, Xiao Zongping who had been silent for a long time said calmly: "I want to patrol the western border."

Ren Buhui was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had misunderstood, but when he realized it, he couldn't help raising his voice, "Your Majesty, it's so inappropriate."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Zong took a sip of his tea and said flatly, after reading the urgent report sent by Zhou Mu, he didn't have much emotion, he was always calm.

"Of course not. At this time, King Qin..." Ren Buhui was a little anxious. He turned to look at Han Su, who was almost unresponsive, and frowned. , how can the emperor go to Qin at this time."

Xiao Zong said: "It's at this time that I'm going to the northwest, I'm going, let's see what he does?"

"When the emperor goes, it's like a sheep goes into a tiger's den."

Xiao Zong said indifferently: "So what? Could it be that the King of Qin can kill the emperor, but not me." Putting down the teacup, he got up from his seat, "How did he really treat me? I still have four imperial nephews here. One is of the blood of the Tian family, so what's the point of him killing me? He will only bear a crime and be punished by the whole world."

"Of course the king of Qin will not harm the emperor." Ren Buhui said, and looked at Han Su in a blink of an eye, Han Su was still silent, and he couldn't help frowning even deeper, "However, the emperor went to the northwest and fell into the hands of the king of Qin. Subject to him, what should I do?"

Xiao Zong thought for a while, then sighed softly, "Then I can only rely on you to rescue me." Turning around, he looked at the silent Taifu and An Guohou, who couldn't hide his anxious face.

His words, of course, entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, but at the same time, it also meant that no one from Ren Buhui and Han Su could accompany him.

Ren Buhui was silent and didn't say anything anymore. He turned his head and looked at Han Su. Ever since the emperor said that he was going to the tiger's den in the northwest, he hadn't said a word, didn't object, and didn't show any emotion at all. It seemed that he had expected it a long time ago. .

Han Su was silent for a long time, raised his eyes to look at Xiao Zong, and said: "Fenglingpo's escape plan, the King of Qin's plan was carefully planned, it was obviously planned early in the morning, and the emperor knew this, so why should he still go to Qin?"

Xiao Zong was slightly stunned, turned away the Taifu's direct eyes, and nodded: "A great battle has just ended, and we can no longer speak lightly to fight. If there is a chance to avoid the flames of war, I would like to give it a try."

The king of Qin has not yet turned against him, so he is turning around.

During the trip to the northwest, when he saw what King Qin had said to him, he probably knew that it was unavoidable, no matter how annoyed he was, no matter whether he was angry with King Qin or himself, there would be such a trip.

"How many troops does the emperor plan to bring with him?" Han Su said with a slight sigh.

"One thousand imperial guards." Xiao Zong said, "Since he only brought one thousand guards to Beijing that day, I will only bring one thousand guards to Qin."

Coming out of the palace, all the way to the Xuanwu Gate, Ren Buhui walked with Han Su, neither of them spoke.Ren Buhui finally broke the silence at the place where the sedan chair and horse rested outside the palace gate, and said to the silent Han Su: "No one can predict what will happen during the emperor's trip, King Qin...you can rest assured that I will let you go." He went? Why didn't he advise? He has always listened to you."

Han Su didn't say anything, he walked to the side of the sedan chair, turned around, and said with a wry smile: "He has made up his mind, no one can convince him, the emperor's temperament seems to be docile and indifferent, but in fact he is extremely stubborn and tenacious, he made a decision , who ever changed because of someone. He can’t be persuaded by words, not to go to the northwest, unless he is detained in the capital for resisting the decree.”