On the day of Jiachen in May, the rain that had been falling for nearly ten days finally stopped. Without the sound of pattering to accompany him, Liu Xie soon woke up from his dream. At this time, the sky was slightly white, and the sky and the earth were white.
The boundary is not clear yet, there is only a faint light, falling through the stratus clouds, and the water vapor in the wind has not yet dispersed, making Liu Xie smell the incense that has been burned in the house all night, and he has the illusion of pen and ink passing through his nose.
.
When he wanted to try to stretch his waist, he accidentally touched Mrs. Zhong beside him. He heard his wife moan slightly, turned over in confusion, and then turned her smooth jade back to him. It was obvious that she was not awake yet. He thought of his wife last night.
Liu Xie couldn't help but chuckle at his charming and naive look, then quietly dressed and stood up. While instructing the Cangtou at home to cook, he took out a volume of Cui Shi's "Political Commentary" from the bookshelf and looked through it. Since studying with Chen Chong, he
I have developed the habit of reading every morning.
When the servant brought him wheat rice, Liu Xie pretended not to see it and did not raise his head. The servant glanced at the book in his hand with the corner of his eye, and then secretly looked at the Prince Dai under the light.
He wore a white round-collared knee-length robe, and his waist was tied with a brocade belt decorated with silk thread. He pulled his hair to the top of his head and fixed it with a hairpin, revealing his high cheekbones and a pair of extremely bright eyes. Because
Young, Liu Xie has not yet grown a beard, so his face is as handsome as a crown jade, but there is no trace of elegance. His knees are bent, and although he is kneeling on the mat, his back is straight and his upper body is slightly tilted forward, making him
Even wearing a snow-white robe, he still looks like a ferocious beast always ready to fight.
When I retreated from the crowd, I thought: "The prince is worthy of being a dragon. He has only been in Yuan Dynasty for a long time, and people dare not look at him favorably."
After the meal, Liu Xie read for another half an hour. When it got bright and the watchman was calling outside, Liu Xie knew that the time had come. He immediately went to the stable to get the horse and took seven or eight saber guards to Weiyang.
He rushed to the palace. When he arrived at Beique, he suddenly heard someone calling his name on the roadside. He turned around and saw that it was Chen Qun, the minister, who was sitting on an ox cart and smiled slowly at Liu Xie.
He said: "Gong Lin, there is nothing much to do today. You are newly married, why don't you rest at home more?"
Liu Xie responded with a smile: "Uncle Changwen, my father and uncle are very strict people. If I don't go to Taiwan and do more work, I'm afraid I will be grounded when they come back."
Chen Qun laughed when he heard this and said, "That's what I say, but can you beat Kong Ming?"
Liu Xie shrugged and said, "My uncle and I often say that when you see a good person, you need to think about it. There are wise people in Taichung busy, and it would be good to just take a look. In the future, when my father asks me what I have gained, I will say that I should use wise people."
!" After saying that, both of them laughed.
After Chen Chong left Beijing, everyone thought that Chen Qun or Liu Xie would be in charge of everything in Taichung. Unexpectedly, it was Zhuge Liang who shined. Everything in Taichung was complicated, but he took care of everything and completed it meticulously. Chen Qun was often not ready.
After reading through it, he was able to sort out the details of government affairs, outline the program, and forward it to everyone for discussion. Taichung bureaucrats said with emotion: "Maybe this is the talent of Wang Zuo that was given by heaven."
When the two of them entered the palace and reached the Tai Pavilion, they saw Zhuge Liang kneeling again among the shoulder-high eucalyptus tablets, frowning at an official document. When he saw the two people coming in, he put the document down from his hands and said: "
You two are here just in time, I have something to discuss with you."
Seeing Zhuge Liang's serious face, both of them quickly sat down to listen. It turned out that Zhuge Liang discovered that Du Ling ordered Meng Kai to report that several hunters had disappeared in the countryside in recent days, and it stands to reason that the troops stationed in the direction of Ziwu Road were
, a routine report should be made every ten days, but there has been no news for fourteen days in a row. Therefore, he suspected that a large-scale bandit might have arisen around Ziwu Valley, so he discussed with the two of them whether to send troops. Liu Xie agreed with Zhuge Liang's judgment. He touched his chin and said, "I don't have any objections, but the troops must be sent out to find out the banditry and defeat the enemy with one blow. Otherwise, if they are allowed to flee to the villages and counties, the harm will be even greater." Chen Qun also said.
Agreeing, he added as an elder: "Leave this matter to Meng Kai. He is familiar with the local geography. It won't be too late for us to send troops after we find out the situation."
After the three people discussed this, Zhuge Liang wrote down his opinions at the end of Meng Kai's official document and transferred it to the chairman of the Shangshutai, waiting for Zhong Yao to arrive before making a decision. Zhong Yao has been feeling sick occasionally in the past few days and usually only comes in the afternoon.
Afterwards, Zhuge Liang continued to be busy organizing official documents as usual, Chen Qun checked the arrival and departure of the next batch of grain and grass, and Liu Xie looked through the military reports that came from the direction of Yecheng and Fancheng in the past few days. The three of them were silent.
For a while, except for the sound of flipping papers, only the whispers of the court officials could be heard in the pavilion. The people outside the pavilion walked cautiously, and it seemed extremely quiet.
However, at some point, there was a sudden noise outside the pavilion, which made the three of them feel strange. Soon someone ran over from outside in a panic and said: "Oh no, there is so much thick smoke in the south!" p>
Everyone in Taichung immediately went out of the stage gate to take a look, and saw that there was indeed a yellow-white smoke cloud rising into the sky outside the palace wall. Although there was an oblique wind blowing, the smoke was still straight and clear towards the sky. They were all people who had experienced the battlefield, and they saw
Everyone's expressions turned to surprise: This was clearly a special smoke smoke used to communicate between armies! However, when observing its location, it did not come from any one's own outpost, which represented an answer: it was the enemy, and
It must be the Shu army!
The three of them looked at each other, with countless thoughts swirling in their hearts for a moment. Chen Qun looked worried. As an elder, he forced himself to stand still and reluctantly analyzed: "Captain Duan said that Chen Cang was fine a few days ago. How could it happen now?"
The Shu people are attacking? Could it be..."
Zhuge Liang immediately shook his head and said in denial: "If the enemy came via Chencang Road, how could they pass through hundreds of miles without making a sound? They must have taken a different route!"
Liu Xie also agreed with Zhuge Liang's opinion in his heart, but said in his mouth: "The Shu thieves are already in front of us, what's the use of talking about it? The top priority is to lead the troops to defend against the enemy first!" When faced with a critical moment, he was the first to calm down, and he immediately
He made a decision in his mind and issued four orders in succession. The first was to order the whole city to be under martial law and citizens were not allowed to come and go at will. The second was to order Huben Zhonglang General Xu Huang to lead his troops to Xi'an Gate. The third was to immediately send a message to Chen Cang on flying horses to inform Duan Yan of Chang'an.
The fourth is to invite Zhong Yao to the palace to take charge of the overall situation.
After the fourth order was passed, he immediately asked someone to lead his horse, apparently intending to meet Xu Huang at Xi'an Gate. Er Zhuge Liang followed closely behind, grabbed his horse's rein and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go with you."
Not long after he finished speaking, he ordered several palace guards to bring in the Nine-shaped Dragon Banner, which symbolized the majesty of the king, and pulled out a feather-covered carriage. He smiled at him and said, "Traveling like this can boost the morale of the army." p>
At that time, the citizens in the city did not know what was going on. They all looked at the strange smoke clouds in the south and kept pointing out, thinking that there was a fire outside the city. Suddenly they saw Liu Xie and his party leaving the palace in a mighty car, and everyone showed surprise.
, some people doubtfully thought: "Could someone be calling us?" They saw a sergeant running back and forth on the street shouting, and then they realized that something was wrong, so they ran back to the house and locked the door as if waking up from a dream.
After receiving the order, Huben Zhonglang general Xu Huang climbed up the wall first and looked towards Longshou Plain. He happened to see the Shu people's vanguard. These Shu people lined up in a long line on the mountain crest where they defeated the Liang people. Behind them, Shu Zhong
The flags stood like a forest, making sounds in the wind, and further away, where it was difficult to see directly, smoke and dust kept rising, and it seemed that there were still many cavalry moving underneath.
Seeing the Shu people demonstrating like this, Xu Huang ordered the city to beat drums as a warning, and then ordered the soldiers to rush to the city wall and shout loudly to the south. The drums were beating loudly, and the crowd was loud and the momentum was considerable.
At this time, Liu Xie and Zhuge Liang also arrived in time. In addition, some ministers from the Sili Mansion, Jing Zhao Yin, Chen Deng, and Chang'an ordered Xu Qian. Liu Xie looked at the enemy situation for a while, and then asked
Xu Huang said: "Xu Hujun, how many Shu thieves do you think have come?"
"I'm afraid there are between 5,000 and 10,000 people, which is similar to our military strength."
"Can we defend the capital?"
Xu Huang did not hide anything and said bluntly: "It's hard to put it into words. The enemy troops are coming on horseback, but there is no news at all. They are so elusive and invisible. They must be the elite of Shu. If they attack a gate in the city, the outcome may be very different."
."
Zhuge Liang asked: "What if we hold on for three days and wait for Chencang's reinforcements?"
"That's not difficult. It's just that the thieves came unexpectedly. It's impossible not to think about it. I'm afraid they have other plans."
After hearing what Xu Huang said, Zhuge Liang and Liu Xie looked at each other, which was what they were worried about. At this moment, it was seen that more than a dozen riders from the Shu army walked out of the army and walked straight towards Xi'an Gate. p>
Upon seeing this, Liu Xie couldn't help but guess: "Are the Shu thieves sending people to challenge? Or are they trying to persuade them to surrender?"
Just as he was thinking about it, the leader of the Shu people had already stepped within the arrow range and seemed to have no intention of fighting immediately. There was a man in the middle, riding a strong yellow-green war horse. The saddle and stomach were inlaid with gems, which shone in the sun.
Hui, at first glance, he looks like a person with status.
The man walked until he was about ten feet away from the city, cleared his throat, and shouted to the city: "I am Wu Ban, the captain of the Jiangyang School under the palace of the King of Shu of the Han Dynasty. On the order of the King of Shu, I have come to invite your army.
The person in charge speaks!"
Hearing what Wu Ban said, Liu Xie pushed aside the soldiers guarding him, leaned against the wall and shouted: "I am Liu Xie, the crown prince. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
Unexpectedly, it was the Crown Prince who answered in person, causing a commotion among the Shu people below the city. But Wu Ban just shook his shoulders calmly, his face looked extremely calm, and he said in a high and clear tone: "Since it is His Royal Highness, what happened?
That’s easy to handle. We are traveling north for no other reason than to follow the emperor’s edict from ten years ago to pick up His Majesty when he goes south!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the city was shocked. When Liu Xie was thinking about how to reply, a messenger hurried up from the stairs, claiming that he had an urgent report to the crown prince. Liu Xie suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.<
/p>
Sure enough, after the envoy stood still, he said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, the emperor committed an attack with a sword, took away the emperor's seal, led a dozen palace people to fight out of the South Que, and rushed to Xi'an Gate!"