Mo Dongyang

March is getting closer and closer to the date of the emperor's northern tour. Zhang Lei rushed to the front line with [-] imperial guards as early as ten days ago. Prepare for counterattack.The night before the expedition, I gave Zhang Lei a sachet with the word "Ping An" embroidered with stitches and threads. At that time, I leaned in his arms and told him softly that I would come back safely as soon as possible. Wait for you.

The mighty northern tour started on March [-]th. Of course, Li Shu still didn’t take me with me on this northern tour. I seem to have gotten used to all the arrangements Li Shu made for me, but in those days when Li Shu was about to leave In obscurity, she packed everything she needed.

Before leaving, I stood beside Lishu in the Zhilan Palace and watched the eunuchs in the palace move Lishu’s luggage to the carriage outside the door one by one. From the luggage to the wooden box, it seemed that the Zhilan Palace was going on A ceremony of renaming and changing hands.After cleaning up, Li Shuzhi dismissed everyone in the temple. I knew what she wanted to say to me, and I happened to have something to give her too.

Li Shu stood up, I picked up the cloak on the table and helped Li Shu put it on carefully, and took out the sachet I had secretly embroidered for many days from my arms, and carefully tied it around Li Shu's waist, Wrong, this is the same as the one given to Zhang Lei, except that I embroidered an extra rabbit on the back of the sachet.

I know Lishu's reluctance to part with each other. It has been more than a month since we left, which also means that we will not be able to see each other again for a long time. Perhaps this will be the longest time we have been apart.But I told Li Shu that the conditions for traveling far away are not as good as those in the palace. Although it is harder, I also got a chance to go out of the palace, so cherish it and don't think about me.

Li Shu hugged me lovingly, and I could only pat her slender shoulder comfortingly. From the beginning to the end, I didn't know why Li Shu would avoid me every time she got along with the emperor. , but I won't ask Li Shu, because I don't care about these things, but every time I encounter such a situation, Li Shu is embarrassed, because she has to let me stay in the palace and can't tell anyone not to take me out Reason, she felt that doing so would definitely hurt me, but I'm used to it.Just like now, I can only hug her gently and pat her on the shoulder to let her understand that no matter what she asks me to do, I am willing and I don't care.

Li Shu sighed softly, then cupped my face, and looked at me intently, I didn't know what she was going to do, and I was about to tell her, it's time to go, everyone outside the palace gate is waiting for you Woolen cloth.It's just that when I was about to speak, I felt Li Shu leaning towards me, and at that moment I felt a warmth between my forehead, at that moment, as if the time in the whole world was stopped, my There was an overwhelming roar in my ears, clear and shocking, and this huge roar came from the irregular and violent vibration of my heart, which I had never felt before.I watched Li Shu pressed against my forehead, and told me softly.

"Stay in the palace well, don't think about it, and wait for me to come back."

And I was crushed by this light kiss. Although I knew that Li Shu just wanted to comfort me in such a way, but such an unintentional kiss gave me an unprecedented feeling. This kind of trembling and heart palpitations, I can't feel it at all with Zhang Lei.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that all of this was already doomed on the night when the fireworks were in full bloom in Golden Harvest 11.

With the corners of my mouth raised unconsciously, I gently stroked the warmth on my forehead that had already cooled down, and I told myself that this kiss was enough for me to survive the lonely and cold days that followed.

The Northern Tour was a huge event, and the people all over the country knew that the emperor was going to go out in person. Every day, they spread the gossip about the Northern Tour all over the streets and alleys, and talked about some trivial details of the Northern Tour. .Of course, these news may be true or false, but so what if they are false, they don't care at all, they only know that since the emperor has all stepped out, he will definitely succeed, the emperor is the proud son of heaven, the terrible villagers before that The uprising was suppressed by the emperor, so what is it this time, so most people firmly believe that the long-term unrest, the smoky country will soon restore the precious stability of more than 60 years ago.That's right, they only want to spend this life in a stable environment. Even if the government is heavy and the local officials and bullies are rampant, they can still make a living in this world, which is better than endless The war came well, the refugees in the north could return to their homes, and the people in the south no longer had to complain that the refugees who kept going south occupied their land, seized their jobs, and disrupted their law and order.Many people have even begun to revisit the prosperity of the country when it was unified 80 years ago.In addition, during the period before and after the northern tour, the business of temples and Buddhist halls in various places was booming, with incense and people's voices buzzing all day long.Of course, most of them prayed for this battle. It seemed that all the expectations of the people of the country were placed on this battle.It is precisely because of the support of the people and the whole country that the morale of the generals on the frontier will be boosted. We have bravely regained several pieces of lost ground. Everyone believes that the emperor followed the will of the ancestors of the country and set out to fight in person. He won such a difficult victory by delivering the gospel to the battlefield. The first battle was won. The victory of this battle is inevitable. OK.

5000 Imperial Guardsmen were transferred to the northern patrol team, plus the harem concubines, court officials, eunuchs and maids, the total of more than 6000 people had to trek across mountains and rivers to the war zone filled with gunpowder in the northwest, because there were so many female relatives in the team, The march was very slow.Just like that, a long dragon without head and tail, dressed in gold and silver, twisted its huge and delicate body, and slowly shuttled on the official roads of the major towns and villages in the northern border of the country, but the northwest region is mostly barbaric and poor. In this land, coupled with years of war and turmoil, there is no longer the prosperity brought by border commerce and trade in peaceful times, only the desolation in front of you, burned villages, abandoned commercial markets, weedy fields, years Official roads that have been in disrepair for a long time, and random graves that can be seen along the road.This dazzling golden dragon from the imperial city is obviously incompatible with the surrounding dirty and remote environment, but even this cannot stop this proud golden dragon from showing off its might along the way. It proudly raised its head and looked down at it with contempt Looking at the unsightly land around him, everywhere he went was sand flying, shaking the sky and shaking the earth.The children, women and children staying behind in the villages and towns had never seen such a grand scene at all. They even thought that it was the extremely precious immortals sent by the heaven to go to the northwest to help in the war. The choking dust and gravel were swept up all around, and they didn't dare to open their eyes to see the true face of the golden dragon. They didn't stand up until the dragon's tail passed the border. Hearing the rumble of the rumbling wheels, he couldn't regain his senses for a long time.

Naturally, the noble emperor couldn't bear the bumps and harsh conditions along the way, so he had to stop in almost every city he visited, for three to five days, and he was allowed to go on the road only when he was almost recovered. .

This is a pain for the local officials and people. The little county magistrate tried his best to repair his mansion into a decent palace.However, the supplies in the northwest region were already quite scarce, and it was not easy to collect precious ingredients, and it was extremely miserable to arrange food and accommodation for thousands of people on the march.But what can we do? If the emperor is served well, he will stay for a few more days when he rises up. If the service is not good, the whole city will suffer.Everyone can only bite the bullet and hold on, hoping that the emperor will remember the purpose of this northern tour as soon as possible.

It's just that the emperor seems to have forgotten that the purpose of this northern tour is to recover the lost land and unify the country, not an unintentional excursion. , to the 25th, and then to the [-]th, and finally it took more than a month to reach the northwest frontier.During this period, many officials advised the emperor that if the marching pace was not accelerated, the morale of the generals in the west would be greatly reduced.If there were too many people admonishing, the emperor would naturally be furious. That day he threw the wine glass in his hand down the face of an admonishing official in front of him and roared.

"If I really need to go to battle in person to win, why do I still keep those bastards? Don't use this to spoil my elegance in the future, get out!"

From then on, no one dared to go to the emperor's palace to speak out, and everyone could only shake their heads and lament in private.

But the emperor was really wrong. The soldiers in the northwest battlefield were looking forward to the emperor's help in their final counterattack day and night. They didn't need the emperor to fight in person. Broken to pieces, one after another.Because the soldiers know that as long as the emperor stands there, they can believe that they can win this war with disparity in strength between the two sides, because the country can no longer lose.But the morale that was originally surging and passionate was exhausted in the waiting day after day. They found that the emperor did not pay attention to this life-and-death battle related to the fate of the country. Because of discomfort, they were having fun in the palace, and they suddenly became confused. What was the reason for their desperate struggle? Is it because of the contempt of the emperor they most admired?

Soldiers have begun to resist passively at the border. The soldiers are struggling to hold on to the seven cities they took back from the enemy. Two of them have been recaptured by the enemy, and the soldiers in these two cities have been completely wiped out. .Every day, Zhang Lei blocked all the romantic deeds during the emperor's northern tour, and at the same time tried his best to boost the morale of the soldiers who had been slumped. He always said that the emperor is coming, coming soon.However, there are always gossip about the Holy Majesty's extravagance that easily sneaks into the camps like the plague, eroding the already unbearable physical and mental health of the soldiers.

Fortunately, when all the generals and soldiers on the battlefield were about to collapse, finally, the emperor came.

The morale was ignited little by little, and the generals and soldiers saw the emperor's holy face, and they got a glimmer of hope again.

Next, a real sandstorm is about to rise from the battlefield, but they don't know whether the homeland they live on can survive this storm.

No one knows, because they can no longer be sure.