Phoenix City is the imperial capital of Xiliang, located in the center of Xiliang.
According to legend, the royal family of Xiliang are descendants of the Phoenix and have been blessed by the gods for thousands of years.
In fact, before Hexuan Continent was split into four kingdoms, the Xiliang royal family had always ruled the continent.
Until a thousand years ago, a huge storm swept through the desert, and the gods who had been guarding the Xiliang royal family disappeared, and Xiliang also went downhill from then on.
Today is October 23rd, at three o'clock in the morning, the stars in the sky are like broken crystals, shining brightly.
The city of Phoenix is full of lights, busy with traffic, bustling with people, and people are full of joy, either on foot, on horseback or in carriages, rushing out of Phoenix City.
A girl in blue struggled to squeeze through the crowd and stopped a passerby who was trotting out of the city.
"Brother! I want to ask, where are you going? This little girl is new to Phoenix City and doesn't know the customs in the city. Could it be that she's caught up in some kind of festival?"
The passerby was walking in a hurry, so he was naturally unhappy when he was stopped for no apparent reason. He was about to curse, when he noticed that the girl in front of him was pretty and pretty, and his expression suddenly became much kinder.
"What the girl doesn't know is that there is a long river outside Phoenix City, called Qujiang. Today, General Huo Ji set up an arena at the Qujiang Painting Boat. No matter they are knights in the world, literati, common people, nobles, young ladies, etc.
You can go and participate in the competition." A passerby came closer to the woman and whispered in her ear: "I heard that Miss Chihuang is here too!"
"Miss Chihuang? Who is she? Is she very powerful?"
Passers-by looked at the woman with disgust and almost called her a 'bumpkin'.
"Girl, you came out of the mountains, right? Miss Chihuang is the number one general under General Huo Ji. Her voice is like the sound of nature and she can control thousands of birds. When on the battlefield, she cooperates with General Huo Ji's superb mechanism skills, and can control thousands of birds.
With Lin's military advisor manipulating the situation and making plans, he could easily capture Beirong and kill hundreds of thousands of Luo Qi's Xiao family troops, achieving great military exploits. Miss Chihuang was now named the Princess of Kangle by the emperor, and he was also given special gifts for her and General Huo.
Getting married."
"Then what is the so-called arena for?"
"I heard that the emperor gave General Huo back some of the treasures he captured from Beirong. General Huo was very generous and gave out ten treasures as prizes for the winner of the painting boat arena. Well, I don't want you to say more.
I have to get out of the city quickly, otherwise I won’t even be able to get on the boat.”
"That's it, thank you big brother for informing me."
"Farewell!"
The passers-by said goodbye and hurriedly left.
The woman stood there, her fingers tangled in her hair on her temples, her head tilted and her eyes lowered in thought.
After a moment, the red lips curved slightly, and the figure flashed and disappeared from the place.
The Qujiang Painted Boat is brightly lit, and the guests are enjoying the banquet and singing.
On the first floor of the banquet hall, a grand banquet opened. A veiled woman came to the stage to perform, as graceful as a startling dragon, and as graceful as a swimming dragon, which attracted the admiration of the guests.
A petite figure sneaked among the guests and boarded the boat, then quietly hid in an inconspicuous corner while no one was paying attention.
At a quarter of the hour, a man and a woman came on stage one after another.
The young man should not have reached his crown, he was dressed in red clothes that looked like fire, his eyes were like obsidian, his spirit was like the light of the sun and the moon, and his steps were light and silent.
The veiled woman is dressed in white, with green and orange hair that is half tied and half loose. Her deep facial features are exotic and enchanting. The skin on her neck is white and soft, and the golden-red lotus flame pattern is very eye-catching.
When the two came on stage, everyone in the audience immediately saluted: "See you, General! See you, Princess Kangle!"
Huo Ji's eyes were stern and inviolable. He twitched the corner of his mouth and said with a fake smile: "Excuse me, everyone! Huo set up an arena at Qujiang Huafang today. Thank you all for coming to support me. I hope you can have a good time."
"General, I heard that Princess Kangle can control birds with her voice, and I'm really curious. Can you show it to everyone?"
Huo Ji glanced at the woman in white next to him and said with a smile: "The princess's singing voice is very lethal. If she really shows her singing voice, I am afraid that this boat will sink. Then why should she be the leader today?
Is it cheaper?"
As soon as these words came out, there was a burst of laughter, but some dandy boys still did not give up, but became even more enthusiastic.
"Really or not? I don't believe it! If the princess really has such ability, then our death will be worth it!"
"Yes! Princess! Open the eyes of us ordinary people!"
"Princess Princess."
Echoing voices came like waves. Huo Ji and Chi Huang did not show any displeasure, and still looked at the audience with smiles.
Suddenly, a very majestic male voice came from outside the boat door.
"Chihuang is a princess personally conferred by the emperor. She is not a singer in the Red Mansion or an actor on the stage. How can I allow you to blaspheme her in public?"
A middle-aged man stepped into the boat from the deck. Everyone was shocked and quickly saluted.
"Meet the prince!"
The person who came was none other than Xiliang's only regent with a different surname, He Liang. This man had an extraordinary appearance, and his eyes were full of shrewdness and ambition. It was obvious at a glance that the city was very deep. It was no wonder that he was able to intimidate the three armies and become the leader of one man and more than ten thousand people.
The regent has power over the entire government.
No, not under one person, because even the emperor is a puppet in his hands.
There were rumors that He Liang and the Queen Mother Shen often went in and out of the Queen Mother's palace late at night and did not come out until dawn the next day.
Sometimes, he didn't even bother to go back to his hometown to change his court clothes, and went directly to meet the emperor to participate in government affairs.
The Queen Mother Shen is not the emperor's biological mother. She is only twenty years old and is only three years older than the emperor.
Empress Dowager Shen was the daughter of the then Prime Minister Shen Heli. She entered the palace at an early age and was very popular with the late emperor. When she grew up, she was directly canonized as the imperial concubine.
The queen passed away the next year, and Shen was naturally canonized as the queen, holding the phoenix seal and commanding the Sixth Palace.
At the beginning of last year, the late emperor passed away. He Liang supported the mediocre and young prince Yin Yuli to ascend the throne, and forced the young emperor to issue an order to respect his stepmother Shen as the queen mother, and named himself regent, holding the emperor's hand on the princes.
As for the other princes, he found crimes at will and executed them one by one.
His thunderous methods made the courtiers dare not resist, and some of the courtiers who did not know life and death joined forces, but in the end, without exception, they all ended up having their families confiscated and exterminated. The men were all beheaded, and the women were used as military prostitutes.
.
Recently, I heard that many forces in various parts of Xiliang are secretly colluding in an uprising to overthrow He Liang's tyranny, and many people have responded.
After He Liang received the news, he directly sent troops to encircle and suppress the rebels. Before the rebels could unite, they were defeated and fled in all directions.
It is precisely because of this that the number of officers and soldiers patrolling Phoenix City has increased a lot in the past few days.