The cold wind howled, coming from all directions with no direction.
The Duke of Zheng's Mansion, like other aristocratic residences, was dark.
There was heavy frost and snow in front of the gate, and several red lanterns that had always been brightly lit in the past had been extinguished for two nights.
Zheng Guogong's Mansion belongs to Zhengbei, and his roots are there, so the mansion in Beijing is far less vast than Dingguo's Mansion.
Unlike the ancestors of Dingguo Gongfu who followed Emperor Hongde in the south and north and conquered the Great Qiang Dynasty, the ancestors of Zhengguo Gongfu were the royal family members of Emperor Longzhang of the previous dynasty. Because they could not stand the tyranny and torture of Emperor Longzhang, they refused to remonstrate and pretended to be wrong, and indulged in wine and sex. Therefore, he took refuge with Emperor Hongde and brought the twelve prefectures of Zhengbei together with the surname Li.
In the violent snowstorm, branches all over the house were swaying wildly.
The mansion seemed deserted, but in the darkness there were several groups of people walking silently in the mansion, opening courtyards and doors one after another.
Xia Zhaoyi was lying on the eaves of a roof, motionless, staring solemnly, and finally realized that they were just checking the house...
The leader is Zhao Lai, the old housekeeper who is still in the house.
Xia Zhaoyi quietly came down from the eaves and followed him from a distance.
"Woof!" A dog barked suddenly in the distance.
Xia Zhaoyi was stunned for a moment, her figure in the darkness paused, and she frowned, but she still followed him.
"Woof woof!" The puppy barked happily. It stood on the ground on its two hind legs, with its belly sticking out, and walked unsteadily, looking longingly at the meat hanging in front of it.
"Woof..." The puppy couldn't eat it no matter what. Even if he scratched it with his front paws, he could barely get it.
"Hahaha..." The young man laughed heartily. He stopped teasing it and fed the meat with his chopsticks into its mouth.
The puppy swallowed it in one gulp and waggled its tail happily.
The wind and snow were too strong, the night was too dark, and the winter branches were covering the area. Xia Zhaoyi had not noticed the dim yellow lights in the southwest courtyard before.
Warmth overflows from the house, and the gentle incense is wrapped in it. Under the eaves hangs an exquisite wind chime facing south, and the soft and crisp ringing can be heard faintly in the wind and snow.
When Xia Zhaoyi got closer, he was surprised to find that Zhao Xun was actually there, and that he was still awake at night and was still playing with his pet dog.
However, she noticed that besides the servants, there were several men in the hall.
Zhao Xin picked up another piece of meat and continued to tease the puppy.
The puppy man stood up, followed the meat in front of him with his eyes, and stuck out his tongue.
Several men were talking, and some of them still had unmelted snow on their bodies.
The three things they talked about the most were: first, before the chaos in the capital, Shen Lie, the grandson of the Zuilu Guo family, sent his cronies to Tiancheng camp to borrow troops.
The second is that very advanced siege machinery has appeared among the refugees outside the city. These engineering machinery are definitely not the equipment that the scattered and disorderly refugees should have. Now I am afraid that there will be rebels coming from the south, but those who are exploring the news ahead are temporarily Did not reply.
Third, the current order in the capital is all arranged by Zhu Xian, the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture.
In addition to these three things, there are countless other things. For example, many small-scale organizations have appeared in the city, forming gangs and provoking troubles everywhere. Several families went to the empty official mansions and they broke into them. Went in and looted.
They talked for a long time and then stopped. A middle-aged man dressed as a counselor on the right side of Zhao Xun looked at Zhao Xun: "Your Majesty."
"Um?"
"Will the prince borrow this soldier or not?" the counselor asked.
"Borrow it," Zhao Xi said while teasing the dog, "Why not borrow it?"
"But Your Majesty, if this happens, we won't have many soldiers on hand."
"Mr. Guo has forgotten about Peifeng?" Zhao Yu turned around and said, "If Shen Lie hadn't sent the supplies in time, not only would we have lost Huben camp, we would have lost everything from Peifeng to Panzhou and Shoushi, and even Lingnan. Jiannan may be gone."
"Do you really want to borrow it?" said a man on the other side of the counselor, "Your Majesty, I think the world is in chaos now, and we must preserve our strength."
"Preserve strength," Zhao Yu smiled, threw the meat to the puppy, then picked up another piece of meat and said, "Why preserve this strength? For a nation and dynasty, people's livelihood is the real strength. .”
"We only have Tiancheng Camp left now..." the man said in a very low voice, "General Zhao Sui has been trapped to death, and we really have no other soldiers on hand."
Zhao Gong stopped teasing the puppy this time, threw the meat to it, put down his chopsticks and said with a smile: "Xiao Pang, how many people did Zheng Bei's army die on the northwest battlefield?"
The room fell silent almost instantly, no one spoke, everyone looked at the young man in front of them.
"How many were left in the end?" Zhao Xun said, raising his hand to gesture, "Only eight thousand people were left, and then in the Shaoguang Battle, only two thousand people were left alive. This was the last battle of our Zheng Bei Army. "
A few people's eyes were red, and they lowered their heads and looked at the Tianhua brocade-patterned soft blanket in front of them.
The floor heating was simmering, and along with the floor heating evaporated into smoke, there was also sadness, pain, and blood.
"When I was young, I didn't understand. I asked my father, and he said that soldiers are used to protect the family and the country," Zhao Xun said. "What's more, to put it politely now, Shen Lie borrowed soldiers." , but is it really him who borrowed it? Why did he come to borrow troops for no reason, and for what reason? Hehe, he, a patient who has lived in the house for a long time, can think of borrowing external forces to protect the capital, but I, a prince who enjoys glory and wealth, on the contrary Are you afraid of your hands and feet?"
There was a long silence, and several people nodded.
Xia Zhaoyi stood outside the quietest window and couldn't hear clearly. He could only hear a few words occasionally.
They talked for a long time and only stopped when it was almost time.
The hall door was pushed open, and several people came out one after another, and were led to sleep in the wing by the servants waiting outside.
It’s not that I deliberately chose to come here at such a late time. Nowadays, there is no one in the capital to be afraid of and there is no one to guard against. It’s just that from Xiangjuan Mountain outside the city to the city, coupled with the current wind and snow blocking the road and the chaotic streets, it’s already... At night.
Guo Aoyao was still sitting there and did not leave.
Zhao Xun stood up and was about to leave. When he saw Guo Aoao was still there, he said, "Mr. Guo, do you have anything else to say?"
"Your Majesty," Guo Aoyao said with a solemn expression, "I would like to ask you seriously, what do you think of the current situation in the world?"
"Me?" Zhao Yu sat back and said with a smile, "I don't have any opinion. Why did you say this?"
Guo Guoao was silent for a moment and said in a low voice: "Now no one in the capital is more powerful than the Crown Prince, and he holds the military power, and behind Zheng Guogong's palace, there is a powerful Zheng Bei behind him. Now, it is the best Opportunity……"
"Oh?" Zhao Xun raised his eyebrows.
"Your Majesty, don't you yearn for it?"
"You mean, to be the emperor?"
"Yes," Guo Aoao looked closely into Zhao Yu's eyes and said slowly, "The Crown Prince is the king of the world, the most respected person in the world, and is above ten thousand people. He is bowed down by all the people and shouts of long live, long live, long live, long live... You really don’t yearn for it?”
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