Minister

171【Eleventh Year of Jiankang】

Everyone in the capital knew about Huang Gui's affairs, and it was lively for a few days, but after all, they were all ordinary people. It’s the New Year’s Eunuch Huang’s life, but Mr. Zhou Ge picked up his chair. Since Yu Mian tried his best to bring him back, he naturally had to pick up the big beam honestly and put the new enemy first. Old grudges were put aside.Compared with ordinary people, these adults don't want to have a better year, but they are much luckier than those outside the Great Wall.

In order to preserve the remaining strength, Feng Youren did not dare to slow down the pace of retreat, and quickly withdrew to the bank of the Suijiang River. However, the ice of the Suijiang River was still not frozen in winter, and troops could not be marched. For the safety of the emperor, Feng Youren arranged elite soldiers to escort Chen Baoxian back to Beijing.Chen Xing has lost the power to issue orders at this moment, but he also does not understand Feng Youren's loyalty.After this defeat, his frustrated self-esteem gradually led him to paranoia.

The grassland has turned into an ice field. The Suijiang River seems to pass through the wilderness peacefully. The ice on the surface of the river seems to be peaceful, but if you look at it for a while, you will find that the ice that was in front of you just now was sucked into the bottom of the river in an instant. The ice hole spit out one or two white bubbles and was blocked by another piece of ice.The water in the Weijiang River is too fast, and it is impossible to march in winter. Wo Tuolei and Feng Youren both understand this. The only way out for the army is to bypass the Weijiang River to return to the Central Plains.Although Feng Youren had many people in his hands, they were not necessarily Wo Tuolei's opponents. He asked the emperor to go first.

On the opposite side of the Suijiang River is the Dongku Pass. Many years ago, Wei Chi left the pass to Monan from here.Ji Gangfeng and Wang Yunyi, the veterans of Dongkuguan, are best friends. Since the Wang family left the field, there has also been a newcomer here.If General Ji was around, he would still be a character worth relying on. This rookie is timid, and the military information passed on did not give Feng Youren any more help. He just pulled a few iron boats and said that he could send some experienced ferrymen first. Take the emperor over.Across the Sui River, looking at the Baiyun Mountains in the distance, Feng Youren understood that he might not be able to go back this time.

But he didn't expect that he would die even faster.

When the iron boat reached the river bank, Chen Xing's resentment accumulated to the brink of collapse.He has already forgotten his responsibilities and how important he is to the situation in the capital. All he fears is the accusations and doubts he will face after returning to Beijing.He forgot that it was his own wrong decision that put everyone in danger, and he also forgot that he was invading other countries' lands to burn, kill and loot. What he resented was Shaoqiu's deceit, Feng Youren's weakness and his bad luck.

The proud emperor refused to board the ship, saying that he would live and die with all officers and soldiers.But at this moment, this is not a declaration to boost morale. How does the emperor know when he will be a soldier?I don't know how many people died of starvation and freezing during this retreat.Feng Youren tried to persuade him but it didn't work. This delay would last for two days. Wo Tuolei would not give him so much time. His advance troops were already approaching, and it might take half a day at most to usher in a hand-to-hand battle.Chen Xing was still immersed in the fantasy of "Da Yi Ling Ran", but the soldiers were impatient to wait for General Feng's lobbying.

For everyone, as long as the emperor is still alive, there is no way to organize the retreat wholeheartedly, but the emperor refuses to leave, and General Feng dare not show his power, so everyone has to resort to extreme measures.

Sad to say, Mr. Feng's own cronies and adjutants were the first to mutiny. Mr. Feng himself is a kind person, with a knife on his neck and still begging for the emperor to survive.

Master Feng died at the hands of his own people, and his personal servants escaped without any food, so they dragged Chen Mao to the river and put him in the cabin.Chen Po yelled at him, scolded the mutiny, scolded Feng Youren.

"Ah!!!!" The personal servant burst into tears suddenly, and slapped Chen Xing on the face.

Chen Xing was beaten so that he lay on the side of the boat, dumbfounded for a while.

"All the adults in my family are dead!!! x! You scold him, why do you scold him!!??"

"..." On the boat was a ferryman sent by Dongkuguan, who stared blankly at a servant beating the emperor.

"Get out! Get out! Get him out!!!" The servant angrily pushed the side of the boat, and the iron boat left the river bank extremely slowly.

After a long time, Chen Yan staggered and got up.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Don't stand up, the water in this river is under the ice, hurry!" Dushou shouted nervously.

Chen Xing ignored him, staring blankly at the gray surface of the river, hearing only the whistling of the wind and the cry of the ice cubes being crushed by the river water.The terrible Xijiang didn't give Chen Xing a chance to express his feelings. Not long after Chen Xing stood up, the ice cubes around him rolled violently, and the sharp edges and corners cut the iron skin creaking.Chen Xing quickly sat back in the cabin, but the boat was still shaking violently.

"I've encountered Shuiwozi!" Dushou held the rudder while pulling the cotton curtains of the cabin: "Your Majesty, please sit still, I..."

Through the curtain, Chen Yan couldn't hear the other party's words clearly, and the violent bumps made him feel uneasy, so he could only hold on to the side of the boat tightly.The torrent of the Suijiang River pushed huge ice blocks towards the hull of the ship, and the ice blocks made a heart-pounding sound as they slid across the iron sheet.This kind of boat is not big, because of an emergency, there are only two people on board, Watanabe and Chen Xing.Chen Yan tried his best to keep calm, but the boat began to spin amidst the bumps, like a dead leaf thrown into the rapids, extremely fragile.There was a beam in the middle of the cabin, and Chen Yan didn't care about his appearance, so he crawled over and hugged the beam with difficulty.The cotton curtains of the cabin were rattled by ice, water, or wind. When the bow and stern suddenly lifted or sank, cold icy water overflowed into the cabin.Seeing that the water was accumulating more and more, Chen Yan shouted to the outside of the cabin, hoping that the ferryman could find a way to drain the water away, but no matter how much he shouted, only the sound of wind and waves responded to him.

The water had already submerged Chen's ankles. For the first time, he felt that death was so close to him. He couldn't wait any longer. He decided to crawl outside the cabin for help.At the moment when he was determined to let go of the beam, the cabin was suddenly thrown high and rotated rapidly.Before Chen Yan could blink, his back hit the roof of the cabin—the whole boat turned over! !Chen Xing was so surprised that he forgot the pain. Before he could react, the cabin was pushed into the water again by the waves, and it seemed to turn around again. Chen Xing's forehead bumped into the beam that he hugged just now. Almost unconsciously, Chen Yan hugged it tightly again, and was dizzy from the countless flips and bumps behind him.

……

By the time Chen Xing regained consciousness again, the turbulence of the river had stopped. It seemed that dozens of hours had passed, and his hands and feet, which had been frozen stiff, managed to barely regain consciousness.Chen Xing climbed out of the cabin, but the ferryman was nowhere to be found. There were only white ice floes and gloomy river water on the barren river.

"Help someone!!! Come help!!!" Chen Xing curled up on the deck, calling for help. Although he was cold, scared, and exhausted, Chen Xing did not give up and continued to shout.

After an unknown period of time, the boat seemed to have stopped in the middle of the river without moving. The sun slowly moved westward, and the ice surface showed a warm red color.Chen Yan was so trembling that he couldn't speak, so he had to withdraw into the cabin with difficulty.Seeing his embarrassment, Chen Yan suddenly felt his cheeks heat up, and there were two lines of tears.It's not that Chen Xing has never cried before, but crying is too far away from him.These warm water droplets seemed to relieve the sting of the severe cold, making Chen Xing's emotions out of control.In a daze, he saw Concubine Geng, the concubine was pulling King Qin and King Yan, the concubine was still young, smiling at him gently, King Qin and King Yan looked like children, as if asking him to go and play together .

Chen Xing remembered that this was the first time he saw his younger brother. It was also an evening when everyone was still young.His attendant eunuch told him that this was His Highness's younger brother and elder brother, and he ran over excitedly to play with them.Chen Ang took his hand and laughed happily. Chen Su was a fat man with a thick head and a thick brain, and he ran along with the ball in his arms.There seemed to be many people in the distance, Chen Xi and Princess Yongxi, they all smiled slightly at themselves.The sunset is so beautiful, I seem to be running out of breath, I was shouting excitedly, suddenly felt the ground shake, everyone suddenly disappeared, I turned around suddenly, and saw the stern face of my father.

Chen Xing was awakened, and the cold and biting reality replaced the wonderful dream.It was too cold, a thin layer of ice had condensed on the outermost clothes, and the curled fingers were frozen blue, making it difficult to move.Chen Xing remembered the face of his father in the dream, the kind of majesty that made him learn to forbear, submit, and hide his power.Isn't what I pursue is to be able to sit on his throne and do what he failed to accomplish?Is it possible that everything that has been paid for this is just in vain?

No! !I didn't give up! !Chen Yan clenched his teeth - I am strong enough, I am the emperor!

Chen Xing worked hard to move his stiff body, and mustered up the courage to step into the icy river water in the cabin.He decided to climb out of the cabin again, and he continued to call for help.

When he struggled to open the cotton curtain, he was stunned—what was in front of him was no longer an endless river, but land! !Solid land!

I am not dead! ! !I am saved! ! !

Chen Xing climbed ashore excitedly, and the moment he touched the soil, his heartbeat became stronger.The Suijiang River is not far from Dongkuguan, as long as you try to run upstream, you will be able to see your own people in a short time!Chen Xie took off his outer robe, patted off the ice as much as possible, and took off his boots to dry the inside as much as possible. What was even more exciting was that he found some dry food prepared by the ferryman in the cabin.

The sun was still bright at this moment, and Chen Xing, who was full, began to run vigorously. As expected, when the sun still had the last ray of light, he saw the smoke curling up from the kitchen in the distance.The piles of cooking smoke are very close. This is not a shepherd, it must be the army of Dongkuguan!Chen Xing shouted excitedly, running while shouting.

near!near! !I am the emperor!King of a country!I will not fail!I am...

In the afterglow of the sun, what greeted Chen Xing was not a warm tent, but the lifeless frozen soil and the land full of corpses.This is not Dongkuguan, nor is it the west bank of the Kuijiang River. This is the place where Chen Xing started, and this is the last place where the Qi army lost its commander.

Chen Yan stared blankly at all this, unable to speak, he could only stare at the corpses stretching across the wilderness, looking far into the distance without end.

Shortly after Chen Yan boarded the ship, Wotulei's cavalry rushed to the shore, and the mutinous soldiers were violently attacked before they could prepare.Whether it's generals or soldiers, they all fled in all directions, but they couldn't escape the big net Wo Tuo Lei prepared for them.This was not a confrontation by force, but a massacre. During the escape, the people in front were trampled by the people behind, and the people behind managed to escape to the river but had no way out.

Their screams seemed to be right next to their ears, mixed with the cold wind and poured into Chen Xing's ears.

"Ah!" Chen Yan hugged his head violently and knelt on the ground, he didn't dare to listen, and didn't want to listen.

The blood-like setting sun sank into the river, and the earth instantly became pitch black.

……

Northern Expedition... Northern Expedition...

Mixed with the north wind, knocking on the heart.

There is a dagger in his bosom, which is a gold casing and inlaid with precious stones. Chen Xing holds it in his hand.After taking off the gorgeous scabbard, the short sword didn't seem to be heavy. Chen Yan looked at it dully, and then slowly stabbed it into his chest.The frozen body didn't seem to feel any pain, and the blood seemed to be coagulated and didn't flow out. There was only one breath, slowly leaving him.With the shortness of breath and difficulty, Chen Xing's calm face was contorted and hideous due to convulsions. He wanted to make another cut, but there was nothing he could do.

The concubine, the father, the king of Qin, the king of Yan...

Mother, father, Chen Su, Chen... Ang...

The night in the capital came later than outside the Great Wall, and the eunuchs in the palace were in a hurry to light lamps everywhere. Tonight, all the people from the Xiyuan cabinet had arrived, and the adults from the Ministry of War would also come to discuss matters.The servants were running in a panic in the hall, and the express delivery from outside the Great Wall arrived again in a hurry.

After seeing it, Yu Mian handed it to Elder Zhou Ge: "I cannot agree with Elder Yang Ge. Although the emperor's situation is unknown, the best policy is to appoint a prince to act as an agent of the government and guard the capital."

Yang Shenyun was tired after arguing with the officials all day, so he lowered his volume a lot: "Master Wei has fought a war, what do you think?"

Wei Chi saluted respectfully: "The total number of guards in the capital is about 1, but there are [-] people in the capital, and there are tens of thousands of farmers outside the city. The capital is indeed not easy to guard. But if you abandon the city rashly Running away is also wrong. Although the urgent report said that our army has left Yikezhao and retreated to Suijiang, our army still has more than [-] people. If we can fight with our backs, the situation is still unpredictable. Even if Monan abandons pursuit and attacks Yi, not to mention that Fengyi is easy to defend and difficult to attack, even if it is conquered, there will be fortresses like Gudao and Jinghu in the future, and those places are impossible to conquer. The humble official thought that the prince should be appointed as soon as possible to act as an agent of the government. Wait and see if you don’t keep it.”

Zhou Wenyuan looked at Elder Yang Ge's expression, and then said cautiously: "Fengyi is a new city, Yulong has King Qin, and although Dongkuguan is the closest to the capital, it has Suijiang River, so the most urgent thing now is to stabilize the hearts of the courtiers." , if the crown prince is not appointed to act as an agent of the government, then what we say and do will not be justified. And it is only an agent, it’s okay, if someone blames me later, the old man will bear the blame alone.”

This may be Zhou Wenyuan's most sincere promise in his life. Seeing that Old Man Yang was still dubious, Song Chuiping nodded to him, and Old Man Yang was silent for a moment: "We will do what Old Man Ge wants."

Walking out of the main hall, Wei Chi felt dizzy for a while, and was about to go home, when an eunuch ran over: "His Royal Highness summons Your Excellency."

Wei Chi didn't know why.

"His Royal Highness is in the side hall next door. Master Wei, please come with your slaves."

Chen Entropy is not in the harem and has come to the side hall?Wei Chi hurriedly followed.Walking into the small room in the side hall, I saw Chen Entropy sitting on the couch in a daze holding a small hand stove.

"You all go out, I want to talk to Master Wei."

After the servants withdrew, Wei Chi stood up and took Chen Xing's hand: "What does the crown prince have to tell me?"

"Master Wei," Chen Entropy's tears suddenly overflowed, "I...I felt a sudden pain in my heart just now, could it be Father..."

Wei Chi suddenly felt sad.

Seeing that Wei Chi was speechless for a while, Chen Entropy wiped away his tears and smiled: "Master, Entropy'er is suspicious. Master has already said that those lies were fabricated by traitors. Father must be good."

Looking at Chen Entropy's small face, Wei Chi silently knelt in front of him: "Prince, from now on, I will no longer be the prince's master. The prince is already an adult. Please don't worry, the prince. I will help His Highness with all my heart. Guard the territory of the Chen family, accompany the prince and wait for the emperor to return."

The author has something to say: Chen Yan poked his own lung, so pitiful.