Unable to rejoice

Author: meow yuanmiao

The New Year at the beginning of the sixth year of Qianyuan was the dullest New Year in Beijing.

The two princes passed away one after another, and King Shu's whereabouts and life and death were unknown, weighing like a heavy dark cloud above his head.

The liveliness of the previous period has disappeared, and both the palace and the people are in a state of gloom and gloom.

Some keen ones have already taken advantage of the New Year's holiday to visit relatives and stay away from the capital.

Some people are sad, but others are happy.

For example, one of the two county princes became candidates for the throne due to the death of the princes.

As the elder brother, Luo Kai believed that he was almost the future emperor than his younger brother Luo Qiyou, if his missing cousin never came back.

For this reason, he also took great pains to manage it, but unfortunately he still couldn't get the exact whereabouts of his cousin.

But this did not affect his happiness.

He has been missing for more than two months, and is still being hunted by an unknown person. It is expected that even if he is alive at this moment, he would not dare to show his face. And if he does, it is no wonder that he is adding insult to injury.

Luo Kai calculated very well. He even thought that the assassin who was chasing Meng Shulan was his brother Luo Qi. But on the surface, his younger brother, who was so timid that he dared not go out recently, didn't seem like he would do such a thing.

people.

It's just that people are far apart from each other. Who knows if he is really timid or is he deliberately pretending?

But if he did something bad, then he would not be the one chasing him, it would have to be him.

Luo Kai, who had made all preparations and wanted to take back the sudden throne, was very happy. Although he did not dare to entertain the ministers in a big way, it did not prevent him from privately inviting the ministers of the court to drink on the flower boat and play tricks.

Sheng.

From New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on the first lunar month, Luo Kai lived a very happy life.

On the flower boat, people were singing and dancing, warming the stove and cigarettes, changing cups and cups, and people were so drunk that they lost their bearings.

In the sixth year of Qianyuan, on a flower boat during the Lantern Festival in the first lunar month, Luo Kai, the most likely prince of the county, lost his footing and fell into the water due to drunkenness. He was unable to be rescued and drowned.

The choice of crown prince immediately fell on Luo Qi indisputably.

Luo Qi, however, was not happy. When he was guarding his brother's body in mourning, he was always trembling with fear, fearing that someone would jump out from the dark and kill him.

Even some rumors about him coveting the throne and murdering his own brother can scare him into confusion.

Even if he knew that he was currently the last heir to the Wen family, even if the rumors were true, they would not come true.

From then on, Luo Qi, who lived in seclusion, even stayed behind closed doors and refused to see outsiders.

Both the government and the public were quite critical of this timid successor, but there were also some who were quick-thinking and had other ideas.

For Luo Qi's safety and to better train him, Luo Qi moved into the East Palace and was taught by Wang Weitao and several veterans.

Although Luo Qi is timid, he is knowledgeable, intelligent and kind, making him an excellent choice for the crown prince.

Everything seemed to be developing in a good direction, until late spring and early summer, a cold epidemic took away the last prince.

The emperor was in great mourning, overworked and sad. He was struck down by the epidemic and became bedridden. He died of illness in early April.

The head of the hundred officials, Prime Minister Xu Xiangfeng, took full control of the government, recruited the generals from the four frontiers to return to the capital, and jointly discussed major affairs of the country.

The eastern Xinjiang garrison led the army back to Beijing, and the officials in charge of southern Xinjiang also led their own troops back to Beijing. Only Baizhu, who temporarily took charge of military affairs in western Xinjiang, and Guo Youning, who had been complaining of illness since last year, have remained silent.

In early May, Xu Xiangfeng issued an ultimatum to the two of them - if they did not return to Beijing, they would be punished for treason, and they would send troops to conquer the western and northern Xinjiang, and if necessary, they would ask for help from surrounding areas.

When the news was sent to Yangcheng, Guo Youning was bargaining with Yan Qing, and he refused Xu Xiangfeng's solicitation directly on the grounds that "the snowfield has not retreated, and the general will not withdraw."

The battle between Northern Xinjiang and the Twelve Divisions of Xueyuan has dragged on for nearly half a year from the end of the fifth year of Qianyuan to the present. Both sides were boiling frogs in warm water in the early stage, focusing on containment.

At the beginning of the sixth year of Qianyuan, on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, after Yan Qing arrived in Jingcheng, the news that Guo Youning was "bedridden" spread throughout northern Xinjiang.

The senior officials who knew the inside story knew that he was hiding in Beijing to report on his duties, but the soldiers who did not know the truth made the people panic.

Just as the Yan family is the pillar of Western Xinjiang, the Guo family is also the anchor of Northern Xinjiang.

After learning that Guo Youning was "ill", although the soldiers in Jingcheng were not defeated, their morale was low. In addition, the Twelve Divisions of Snowfield sent people to the city gate to badmouth Guo Youning every day. The soldiers in Jingcheng were holding their breath.

On the other hand, I was worried.

When Yan Qing arrived at Jingcheng, Jingcheng had just fought a defensive battle with heavy casualties.

After Yan Qing arrived, without saying a word, he directly ordered three thousand elite soldiers, lightly armed and simple cavalry, chasing the tail of the retreating snowfield soldiers, catching them off guard.

It was not until they were driven to a place three miles away from the river that the Xueyuan army reacted and counterattacked. However, by this time Yan Qing had already led his men in triumph and had long since disappeared.

By the time they chased after them, the battlefield had been cleared.

The mainly nomadic people of the Snowy Plains were used to defending and attacking cities with the regular army in northern Xinjiang. At this time, Yan Qingleng and a desert horse bandit's marauding guerrillas caused them to stumble in what they were best at.

The commander of the Twelve Divisions of Snowfield was so angry that he launched an army to attack the city.

At this time, Yan Qing was like a tortoise, deploying troops and generals in the military camp to stick to the strong walls of Jingcheng.

After Yan Qing led his men in this small pursuit and brought the loot back to Jingcheng, the frustration in the hearts of the Jingcheng soldiers instantly turned into fighting spirit.

There was no need for Yan Qing to say anything else. In this battle to defend the city, the soldiers in Jingcheng were already so high-spirited that they had the mentality of a cat playing with a mouse.

When the opponent attacks the city, they defend it. When the opponent retreats, they pursue it. They don’t pursue it too deeply. They hang on by the tail. They run for three miles without pursuing it. When the ambush set by Xueyuan wants to trap them, the people are already there.

He ran back to the city in a hurry.

Both sides went back and forth dozens of times, and both sides were exhausted, but the morale on the Jingcheng side was obviously higher than on the Xueyuan side.

So, when both sides were exhausted, Yan Qing suddenly raised his troops, rushed into the enemy's formation, beat up the scattered Xueyuan, and drove them to the river. Before the Xueyuan reinforcements could enter the range of bows and arrows, he quickly returned with his men.

When we returned, the battlefield behind had been cleaned up. When the troops at the front retreated, there was no obstacle at all, and they were actually twice as fast as when they came.

A battle, a day and a night, the snowfield is not a good thing.

After returning to the city, Yan Qing deliberately disgusted them by cooking meat and playing drums on the high wall. The smell of the meat and the sound of the music carried along the wind directly to the snowfield base camp.
Chapter completed!