It was getting late, Xu Huai stood in front of the corridor of his study with his hands on his sleeves, looking westward. Over the distant mountains, the brilliant red sunset glow filled the blue sky like a flame.
"You have been standing here for an hour. Can you see a holy meaning from this night sky?"
Xu Huai listened to Liu Qiong'er's voice, turned around and saw the two daughters Liu Qiong'er and Wang Xuan coming hand in hand, and said bitterly: "It's hard to have a chance to breathe in the past two or three years, but I don't want to miss the year."
,Sigh and hateful..."
Xu Wei died of illness in Yueyang. Xu Huai listened to Shi Zhen's advice and paid attention to the physical condition of Emperor Jian's successor. He used Dongzhou Village to lay a chess piece on the north bank of Jingjiang River, but he never imagined that time would be so short.
Even before the news came that Emperor Jianji was critically ill, Xu Huai rarely held a large banquet in the palace to celebrate the assassination of King Chihu Khan.
Xiao Linshi's judgment is trustworthy.
The Red Husband rose from Mobei and conquered the Hu tribe, including the Khitans, covering tens of thousands of miles. Their military power was so great that no one at home or abroad could stop it, and they were all under the control of the old king——
In this process, although the Chihu people have established a complete military and political system, the successor system is imperfect, at least it cannot be said to be without controversy.
After late July, the enemies in western Beijing and Heluo all reduced their defense lines.
Yue Hailou withdrew all the soldiers and horses south of Yingshui River to Xuchang, Wancheng and other places north of Yingshui River, giving up Linying and other places that he had finally fought for from the mouth of Chushan Mountain the year before last.
Cao Shixiong even directly abandoned Ruyang and Song County, shrinking the defense line to Dagu Pass and Yique Pass on both sides of Wan'an Mountain.
This means that the two clan kings of the Red Husbands, Ulullie and Tu Ge, who are responsible for the expedition to the Central Plains, will lead their troops to return to Mobei at any time and intervene in the battle for the Khan's throne.
Even if they will not bring all the hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry back to Mobei, they will at least gather the main cavalry to the north of Yinshan and Yanshan.
This will ensure that they have enough say in the battle for the throne, and can mobilize the army in time to take advantage of unexpected changes.
As for whether the war between the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River will be repeated, this is obviously not within the consideration of the two Chihu clan kings at this time.
For the Chihu people, even if they gave up the Central Plains, they would only lose a piece of land for herding horses, not to mention that they could send troops to take it back next year.
The gain or loss of the Khan throne will affect their descendants for generations.
To be honest, it may not be a good opportunity to regain Heluo and even Hehuai, Guanshan, but who would have thought that Emperor Jianji would be critically ill at this time, causing Dai Viet to fall into a whirlpool of contention for the throne that was even more dangerous than Chihu?
This made Xu Huai, who had always had a strong heart, couldn't help but lament that God's will was playing tricks on people.
"Zhao Fan should have arrived in Suiping by now. If he travels all night and doesn't stay overnight in Suiping, he will arrive in Wuyang early tomorrow morning." Liu Qiong'er couldn't help but asked curiously, "Do you really want to see him?"
"
"You didn't understand the secret edict..." Xu Huai shook his head.
"If I can understand the secret edict, I will replace Mr. Shi as the chief historian for you," Liu Qiong'er pursed her lips and said, "I saw the palace, maybe Mr. Shi is the only one who can figure out the taste of the secret edict.
Come on, everyone else is just guessing like me..."
Liu Qiong'er asked Wang Xuan again: "What kind of holy intention have you figured out?"
"I don't understand either," Wang Xuan spread her hands and said, "However, the secret edict was not completed, and was stamped with a jade seal and sent to Chushan. Whether you understand it or not is actually a matter of your husband's thoughts."
"There is one more thing that Sister Xuan is hiding, let me tell you," Liu Qiong'er said, "When Your Majesty wrote 'Zheng Family', it was no longer possible. The jade seal may have been added by Princess Yingyun without authorization.
Princess Yun trusts her husband very much!"
"I didn't mean that. It's my sister who thinks so!" Wang Xuan quickly denied.
Xu Huai shook his head and smiled bitterly.
At this time, the guard came in and reported: "Shi Gong wants to see Commander-in-Chief!"
"Let me just say that Mr. Shi is an old fox," Liu Qiong'er pursed her lips and said with a smile, "Uncle Seventeen, Uncle Seventeen and others were present. He had something to say, but he came here alone at this time."
Xu Huai signaled the guards to invite Shi Zhen in.
"The two ladies are here too!" Shi Zhen said as he walked over and saw Liu Qiong'er and Wang Xuan in the courtyard.
"I won't stop you from talking about things!"
Liu Qiong'er pulled Wang Xuan and was about to leave, Xu Huai said: "Don't leave, help me and Mr. Shi make tea..."
Xu Huai was afraid that Shi Zhen would shake his mind, so he asked Liu Qiong'er and Wang Xuan to stay in the study and talk together.
The discussion was top secret. We went into the study and sat down. Wang Xuan prepared the tea set. Liu Qiong'er lit a few more tallow candles to light up the room.
"Don't dare bother Madam!" Shi Zhen knelt down and took the tea cup from Wang Xuan's hand.
"Zhao Fan will come to Wuyang early in the morning. His Majesty's secret edict has not been finished yet. Just the literal meaning, there is too much that can be interpreted and cannot be shown - I wonder if I need to prepare a complete 'secret edict' in advance for
Does he think my handwriting is pretty good? If I deceive Zhao Fan, there should be no problem. Anyway, I won’t give him a chance to read the ‘Secret Edict’ in detail...” Shi Zhen said about coming to see him alone at this time.
intention.
"Don't go to such trouble, just don't show it to him," Xu Huai shook his head and said, "If a secret edict is given to someone, can it still be called a secret edict?"
Liu Qiong'er sat aside, nudged Wang Xuan with her elbow, and said with a smile: "Mr. Shi is testing Xu Huai with some words," and then said to Shi Zhen, "Mr. Shi, please stay and have dinner with us, otherwise
You talked in a roundabout way, and Xu Huai had to be hungry until late at night before you could finish the conversation..."
Old Shi Zhen blushed, took a sip of tea, reorganized his thoughts and said:
"Han Gui has not seen His Majesty's secret edict, but he roughly guesses what the Holy Intention is - he just sent a private letter to me, hoping that I can persuade Commander-in-Chief to sit back and watch what happens. This is the most beneficial thing for Chushan.
.Don’t tell me whether his suggestion is in line with Commander-in-Chief’s wishes, but Commander-in-Chief should transfer him back to the office now - there are too many affairs in the office now, and I can’t handle them. And although Nan Cai said
The affairs are heavy, but there is no replacement for Han Gyu."
"... Let Jiang Xie go to Nancai." Xu Huai nodded and agreed to transfer Han Gui back to the camp at this time.
Xu Huai originally waited for the completion of the construction of the three large embankments in Nancai and the Jingjiang and Hanshui levees before transferring Han Gui to his side for appointment. But who could have imagined that the situation would suddenly become so complicated - and many affairs on the Xingyuan side would be accordingly affected.
Gets complicated.
Especially since Shi Zhen is usually busy with the government affairs of the Changshi Academy, Xu Huai needs someone to keep an eye on him at all times and check for mistakes. At present, it seems that only Han Gui is qualified.
In this regard, Jiang Xie is still not mature enough, so he was not allowed to participate in today's secret discussion; Jiang Xie still needs to go to the prefectures and counties to practice for a few years, and when he is truly mature, he can be put to great use after returning to Xingyuan.
Seeing that Xu Huai had said that Jiang Xie would replace Han Gui so that Han Gui could return to work, he closed the conversation. Shi Zhen hesitated for a while, and finally made up his mind and said:
"If it were a complete secret edict, Shi Zhen would not dissuade Commander-in-Chief. However, if this is a secret edict, His Majesty has no chance to write it down, and His Majesty's health is probably not likely to improve. Commander-in-Chief must not act recklessly.
Presuming to act according to the divine will is to draw chestnuts from the fire!"
"You have thought of it, and Han Gui has also thought of the secret edict before he saw it. How can you call it wild speculation?" Xu Huai asked back.
"But people's minds don't think this way, and history books don't write it this way!" Shi Zhen said.
"I won't argue with you anymore. His Majesty is in danger of death, and it may be impossible to save him. As a minister, I have to go to Jianye to see His Majesty for the last time. After arriving in Jianye, I will act according to the circumstances. Things may turn around!" Xu
Huai said.
Seeing that Xu Huai had made up his mind, Shi Zhen sighed and asked, "Is Zhao Fan still missing? Or is he just missing?"
"I have to prepare to leave for Jianye, but I haven't seen him; you can meet him. After all, we have to treat guests from afar," Xu Huai said, "However, he should also expect that he will arrive when he arrives."
Wuyang may not be able to see me - I think they treated me like a fool back then, now I have to teach them what it means to be too high to reach!"
Seeing that Xu Huai was still in the mood to joke, Shi Zhen shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "I don't want to persuade you anymore. Commander Jie will take Jiang Xie to Shangcai, and Han Gui will accompany Commander Ji to build Ye. I have such bones.
I can’t afford the trouble anymore, so I can only help Jieshuai stay in Wuyang to take care of some trivial matters..."
Xu Huai nodded and agreed that Shi Zhen would stay in Wuyang.
"If your majesty is unlucky, please ask the Commander-in-Chief to offer a glass of wine to Shi Zhen. If the weather is not a holiday, people will not be able to fulfill their wishes!" Shi Zhen sighed and stood up to leave.
Xu Huai stood up and escorted Shi Zhen out of the study. When he turned around and saw Liu Qiong'er, Wang Xuan looked surprised and hesitated to speak. She asked, "Do you now know what the secret edict is?"
"Is it really that serious?" Liu Qiong'er asked.
"Who knows, maybe your Majesty's condition will improve!" Xu Huai said.
"I'm a womanizer and don't understand many big principles, but I still think what Mr. Shi said is reasonable: acting in accordance with the holy will of the secret edict is really a trick..." Liu Qiong'er said.
"Your husband is a hero in this world, how can you restrain yourself for a little trouble?" Xu Huai stood up and said with a smile.
