Years of battles have devastated the mountains and rivers of Dayao. When the mighty army stood on the red battlefield after the bloody battle, Yi Huaiyu saw the glory of victory and the day of unification of the world was approaching. Occasionally Suiliang saw The tragedy is that corpses are everywhere, countless people are displaced, and their relatives are separated forever.
"After this victory, is it time for Your Majesty to go back? Master Shen has never been in good health. It would be too hard for him to sit alone in the imperial capital." After taking off his sweat-soaked armor, Ou Suiliang looked at it. The road ahead is bleak and low.
"I don't want to go back." Yi Huaiyu stood on horseback, looking slightly towards the direction of the imperial capital. "When I think of so many trivial matters to deal with when I return to the palace, my mind is in chaos and I feel very uncomfortable."
Ou Suiliang is speechless.
No amount of overt and covert fighting in the previous court made Yi Huaiyu retreat. Only the two women in the harem made him frown. Ou Suiliang sometimes felt helpless at his lack of affection, but most of the time, he still had an understanding He tried his best to solve the problem for him. However, Ou Suiliang was no longer able to control things as they developed to this point. It was as if he did not expect that an unexpected person like Shen Junfang would appear between him and Yi Huaiyu. When the trusted Imperial Preceptor Dayuan arrived, the situation had already begun to become unbalanced.
Emotions are something that even emperors throughout the ages have been unable to do anything about.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent message arriving from the south."
The attendant handed a letter to Yi Huaiyu, and just as he was about to leave, another messenger came from the other side, also an urgent letter sealed with lacquer: "There is an urgent letter from the palace, please read it to the emperor!" "
"Either it's okay, or it's a huge mess, neither of which gives me peace of mind." Frowning and complaining, Yi Huaiyu took the letter, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to open the letter from Nanjie first. Ou Suiliang and I didn't see what was written, but I knew something was wrong when I saw Yi Huaiyu's expression.
"Why, has the war in the southern border changed?"
Yi Huaiyu pursed his thin lips tightly and clenched the letter into a ball: "After you left, Sima Yuan and Liu Jin had a conflict. The two generals insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in to each other. When they sent out troops, they actually led their own troops and refused to cooperate. As a result, Our army's food and supplies were attacked by surprise. Now Liu Jin has been captured and Sima Yuan has been injured. The army in the southern border is scattered like sand and is about to be counterattacked by Zhao Kingdom!"
Occasionally, my conscience tightened, and I realized that something bad was going on.
He quietly rushed back to the imperial capital from the southern border. Because Yi Huaiyu's order was urgent and he didn't want others to know about it, he didn't send anyone else to replace the general when he left. Now there are only two lieutenants left. If someone is captured and seriously injured, who else can take command? What's worse is that it's a long way from here to the southern border, and even if he rushes there at night, he may not be able to make it in time.
"Something's wrong." Yi Huaiyu frowned even more and looked at Suiliang and took a deep breath, "Suiliang, please analyze it for me. I always feel that there are changes in Zhao State. According to what you said before, their generals You probably don’t have such a brain, could it be..."
"Maybe it's a general from the Bai family who went into battle."
The monarch and his ministers, who had always been in sync with each other, were silent at the same time. No one wanted to verify the possibility of this guess - if it was true, this expedition against Zhao State would undoubtedly fail in Dayao.
The neighing of war horses was heard in the silence. Yi Huaiyu pressed his forehead and thought for a long time, and finally called the attendant with a sullen face: "I have an urgent message and order Sima Yuan to quickly lead our troops to retreat to Linggu Pass and Qiyang City. The troops stationed in both places in Yongshan City will assist in the evacuation, and no troops will be willing to fight!"
As the attendant took the order and left, Yi Huaiyu's expression still didn't improve. He even forgot to open the other letter in his hand. If Ou Suiliang hadn't reminded him, this letter would have been buried with the previous one. .
Yi Huaiyu opened the second letter with a cold face. At first, Yi Huaiyu only scanned it in a cursory manner. Halfway through, his expression suddenly changed and he took a shaky breath.
"What happened in the palace? Is it the concubine Jing, or the empress?" Ou Suiliang asked quickly, not expecting something bad, but Yi Huaiyu couldn't say a word, and just thrust the letter into Ou Suiliang's hands. Suiliang read the ten lines of the letter at a glance, and he was almost as lost as Yi Huaiyu, just because of the scrawled numbers in the letter.
The Imperial Master is critically ill and may not survive past March.
The last time we met, Shen Junfang was still chatting and laughing, so why did he become so seriously ill only half a year ago? Ou Suiliang was not a doctor and didn't understand meridian medicine, but he could guess the cause of Shen Junfang's illness - not overwork, then It's for Sima Tulan.
The heart is like a pond. If there is too much water in the pond, it will naturally be unbearable.
"Suiliang, prepare your horses and return to the capital overnight."
Yi Huaiyu's instructions were crisp and clear, and his stern face made the night even colder. Ou Suiliang did not hesitate to prepare his horse, but in just a cup of tea, he was ready to rush back to the imperial capital. There was no reason, no warning. , the expeditionary army that had only set out for a few days was forced to return under the sudden order of Emperor Yi Huaiyu. That night, Yi Huaiyu ignored the strong wind and galloped straight to the imperial capital with Ou Suiliang.
In August of the sixth year after taking the throne, Yi Huaiyu suffered an unprecedented defeat. After years of hard work, he once attacked Zhao State, but his success fell short due to the disagreement between the deputy generals in front of the battle. He was even led by Bai Jingfu to counterattack Zhao State, and 90% of the army was conquered. All the soldiers and horses were destroyed. Ten days later, Zhao State took advantage of the situation and broke through the border of Yao State, occupying eleven cities in two counties, capturing more than 700,000 civilians and six generals of third rank or above, including General Sima Yuan, the brother of Queen Sima Dulan.
It was one of the darkest and heaviest memories in the history of the Yao Kingdom. The enraged King Zhaomin ordered the execution of more than 30,000 captured soldiers of the Yao Kingdom and massacred two cities. For a time, the land of Yao Kingdom was filled with blood and mourning was everywhere. The refugees from the distant country cried and prayed to the sky, but their prayers could not reach the distant imperial capital, let alone the ears of Yi Huaiyu - no one knew that during that period, Yi Huaiyu's heart was , almost empty.
When Yi Huaiyu rushed back to the imperial capital through starry night, the former harem was in chaos. Ou Suiliang took the initiative to deal with the mess, while Yi Huaiyu hurriedly walked towards Shen Junfang's residence with full of worries.
"This is freshly brewed medicine. Drink it while it's hot."
"It's useless... these medicines won't have any effect if you drink them. It's better for me to hurry up and do something else..."
"Can't you just pretend it's for me? Do you want me to watch you die?"
"If it's for you... we must quickly find the mastermind behind the scenes..."
Standing in front of the door, listening to the conversations coming from the room, Yi Huaiyu could clearly distinguish who the two voices belonged to - the weak Shen Junfang, and the Sima Dulan who was holding back his sobs.
Yi Huaiyu suddenly understood something, a mute and self-deprecating smile as cold as ice.