Nightwatcher

After Xu Qi'an was slightly startled, his eyes suddenly sharpened, staring at the middle-aged official, and said in a deep voice: "This joke is not funny."

Those words sounded in his ears, as if saying: Your father is dead.

If he didn't understand Wang Shoufu's character, Xu Qi'an would have thought that Wang Shoufu was deliberately provoking him, but it was precisely because he knew that Wang Shoufu would not do this that he was even more angry, more confused, and more gloomy. .

The middle-aged official lowered his head slightly, and said in a low voice:

"Duke Wei died in battle in Jingshan City, the main altar of the Witch God Cult. With an army of 100,000, only 16,000 of them were withdrawn for 800 miles. They just arrived tonight."

After finishing speaking, there was no response for a long time. The middle-aged official looked up and saw a pale face.

"Your Majesty and the princes will meet at court today, and they will definitely discuss this matter. The follow-up Tang newspapers will arrive in Beijing one after another. I have already brought them. Then, I will leave first."

After bowing, he turned and left.

"squeak"

When Zhong Li heard the sound of the door being pushed open, she raised her head in a daze and took a look. Seeing that it was Xu Qi'an who had returned, she continued to sleep in peace.

Senior Sister Zhong pays attention to her own sleep. This has nothing to do with women’s aging due to lack of sleep. The main reason is that if she lacks sleep, it may lead to some sudden diseases, such as myocardial infarction and sudden death.

In that case, life and death are only a moment away, and Si Tianjian's panacea may not be taken in time.

Of course, this kind of situation is rare, but Senior Sister Zhong has rich experience and knows how to protect herself, so that she will not put herself in such a dangerous situation.

The sky soon dawned, and Zhong Li, who had taken a nap for a while, woke up regularly, sat up lazily, and stretched her mature and delicate body, she suddenly froze

Sitting beside the desk was a figure, quietly like a sculpture that existed since ancient times.

He has been sitting there since he returned to his room! Zhong Li came to a sudden, she observed carefully, his expression was so lonely, so quiet.

Like a traveler wandering in a foreign land.

The court hall at this time, the Golden Luan Hall.

Civil and military officials passed through the Meridian Gate in a calm atmosphere, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, and stopped in positions that matched their official positions.

The princes walked past Danbi and entered the magnificent and magnificent Jinluan Hall.

Today's court meeting is a bit late, because there is a temporary emergency, and the palace will notify the Beijing officials one by one to go to the court one by one. They are not allowed to ask for leave under any excuse, including illness, as long as they are not dead, they must be carried into the palace.

It must be something big!

The Beijing officials are all veterans, and they immediately realized the urgency of the situation.

The princes entered the Golden Luan Hall in an orderly manner, lined up neatly and silently. At this time, Wang Shoufu slowly turned his head and glanced to the left. There was no one there, and there should have been a Tsing Yi there.

It was the first time he made such a move since Wei Yuan set out on the expedition.

Part keen officer, thoughtful.

A quarter of an hour later, Emperor Yuan Jing came in from the back of the hall. He was no longer wearing Taoist robes, but a bright yellow dragon robe.

The moment they saw Emperor Yuan Jing, all the princes were stunned. This old emperor with regenerated black hair, rosy complexion and successful cultivation of Taoism seemed like an old man who had just suffered a major blow in his life.

His eyes were dimmed with grief, his skin was dry and dull, and his whole body was extremely haggard.

The pupils of these gentlemen shrank.

The old eunuch came out at the right time and said loudly: "I have something to play."

After the words fell, Wang Shoufu stepped out of the line and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the northeast. Wei Yuan led his army deep into the enemy's belly, captured the main altar of the Witch God Sect, and sacrificed his life for the country. Only 16,000 of the 100,000 troops were withdrawn."

Inside the hall, there were dull and stiff faces. A few seconds later, the Golden Luan Hall boiled, and the uproar exploded instantly.

"quiet!"

The old eunuch swung his whip and beat it on the clean ground with a loud crackling sound.

But he couldn't suppress the noise of the princes.

Just like Wang Shoufu lost his composure when he first heard the bad news, so do you gentlemen. In some things, you can really calm down if you don't have a calm mind.

The 100,000 army was almost completely destroyed. This was undoubtedly a blow to the head, and even shook the foundation of Dafeng.

And the reason why the princes were really shaken and collectively lost their composure was the sacrifice of the god of the army, the one in Tsing Yi.

Don't look at Wei Yuan's political opponents, they shouted at every turn: Your Majesty, please cut off the head of this dog.

But in fact, whether they like it or not, in the hearts of the princes, including political opponents like Wang Dang, they all admit that Wei Yuan is actually the pillar of Dafeng's township.

Although Duke Huai is a third-rank martial artist, he is good at guarding one side, but he is still not good enough to support the mountain of Dafeng.

Only Wei Yuan, who won the Battle of Shanhaiguan, is the one who truly feared the major forces in Kyushu, because they were scared of being beaten twenty years ago.

It hurts.

Zhenbei King? At that time, it was just a green leaf beside Wei Yuan, barely setting off.

Now the real pillar of the state has fallen

The princes instinctively did not believe this fact, but the military pond newspaper that was expedited for eight hundred miles had never made a mistake in the six hundred years since the founding of the country. After all, this is a serious crime requiring beheading, and there is no room for error.

Emperor Yuan Jing watched this scene silently, neither happy nor sad.

After waiting for a long, long time, until the noise in the hall subsided, he said with a sad expression: "My lords, what should I do about this matter?"

It was still Wang Shoufu who responded, his tone was strong and loud:

"I feel that we should mobilize people from all states, and use the strength of the whole country to march to the northeast, unite with the monsters and barbarians, and wipe out the Witch God Sect in one fell swoop."

Emperor Yuan Jing sighed: "Dafeng has lost nearly 100,000 horses, and they are all my people, my children, Wang Aiqing, how can you let me have the heart to start a war again?"

"His Majesty!"

Wang Shoufu raised his voice and said emotionally:

"According to the Tang Bao, Wei Yuan has already captured Jingshan City, the Sorcerer Sect has suffered heavy losses, and nearly 70% of the masters of the general altar have been lost. Yan Kingdom was pierced through the hinterland by the army, and the soldiers are approaching the city. Now those difficult cities have been defeated by Wei Yuan. down.

"Yingguo fought in the north for several months, and suffered heavy losses, and was restrained by the northern monsters. At present, only Kangguo has preserved its military strength. If we fight again at this time, within a hundred years, Dafeng's descendants will no longer suffer from witch gods."

His suggestion won the approval of some nobles and generals.

Wei Yuan exhausted the national strength of the Witch God Sect, captured the main altar, and the Yan that hindered Dafeng's army from passing through the danger no longer existed. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Wang Aiqing"

Emperor Yuan Jing waved his hands, and said earnestly, "The army is too aggressive."

Wang Shoufu looked at the emperor sitting high on the dragon chair, opened his mouth, and retreated sadly.

As soon as he retreated, the wheel of history turned in another direction. When people of later generations revisited this period of history, they analyzed the national power of Dafeng and the Witch God Sect, and after comparing the losses of both sides, they agreed that if Dafeng at this time can be ruthless and fight for the national strength of the next ten years, Conquer the Witch God.

Then the Sorcerer Sect, a gigantic monster that has dominated the northeast for thousands of miles, will collapse suddenly, and it will be difficult to rise again.

Countless people of later generations sighed.

As for the Tsing Yi Army God who died in Jingshan City, the evaluation in the history books is: he breathed a sigh of relief for the Central Plains.

Emperor Yuan Jing no longer looked at Wang Shoufu who had retreated to the team, but instead glanced at the officials, "What do you guys think, how to deal with the aftermath of this matter?"

The Minister of the Ministry of War came out and bowed:

"Your minister believes that 20,000 troops should be drawn from the states adjacent to the three states of Xiang, Jing and Henan, and the remnants of the Chen Bing border should also be left on the border of the three states to prevent the counterattack of the witch gods.

"In addition, since Duke Wei has died, His Majesty has to send another person in charge of the army to go there."

Emperor Yuan Jing glanced at him, and seeing that he did not continue, he nodded and said, "What Chen Aiqing said is true."

At this time, Qin Yuandao, the minister of the Ministry of War, came out and said: "If your majesty is in charge of peace, then you should discuss relevant matters as soon as possible and confirm the envoys to send to the northeast for peace talks."

Qin Yuandao, the servant of the Ministry of War, is a firm member of the Emperor's faction, and he wears the same pair of pants as Yuan Xiong, who was demoted as the right capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The two are the core figures of the Emperor's faction.

As Minister of the Ministry of War of the Wei Party, he gave Qin Yuandao a vicious look.

He deliberately didn't mention the peace talks, because in his heart, he still had the desire to fight the Witch God Sect and avenge Wei Yuan.

Emperor Yuan Jing nodded slowly: "Good."

After Qin Yuandao returned to the throne, the Minister of the Household Department followed closely and said, "How should the soldiers' compensation be determined?"

As soon as these words came out, the hall fell into dead silence.

For a long time no one spoke.

Emperor Yuan Jing said slowly: "What's your intention?"

Asked three times in a row, no one responded.

Emperor Yuan Jing looked at Yuan Xiong again, the emperor's loyal "follower", his eyes dodged and he remained silent.

The issue of pensions involves a lot of things, very big.

According to the law of Dafeng, if an infantry soldier is killed in battle, the family will be given the full military salary of 36 shimi for three years, which is 18 taels when converted into silver. Then for life, 3-6 buckets of rice will be given monthly.

If the cavalry is killed in battle, they will be given 72 shimi, which is 36 taels when converted into silver, and then for life, they will be given 6-10 doumi a month.

Going up in turn, different arms, different official positions, different pensions, and strict rules and regulations.

In addition, there is another rule, which is also the reason why the court princes fell into dead silence:

Defeated, the pension will be halved!

The Minister of the Household Department raised the issue of pensions. Pensions are only on the surface, and what is involved behind the scenes. What really makes the referendums jealous is the characterization of this battle.

Is this battle a victory or a defeat?

In the silence, Wang Shoufu came out and said with deep sorrow: "Wei Yuan captured the main altar of the Witch God Sect, which was the first in the history of Dafeng. In this battle, Dafeng won a complete victory."

On the spot, some people responded, some pondered, and some mourned.

Emperor Yuan Jing nodded slowly, but did not respond to Wang Shoufu, but said:

"I'm a little tired. This matter is of great importance. We will discuss it tomorrow."

The old eunuch said loudly: "Retire!"

"bang bang"

The door of the room rang twice weakly, and it seemed that the person who knocked on the door was also a little lifeless.

Uncle Xu, who was resting today, woke up and looked at his charmingly sleeping wife next to his pillow. There was no knock on the door, so he didn't wake her up.

Second Uncle Xu's cultivation base, if there is any disturbance outside, he will wake up immediately.

He left the warm blanket, put on some clothes, went to the outer room and opened the door.

"Ning Yan?"

Standing at the door was my nephew, his face expressionless, with gloom condensed between his brows.

Second Uncle Xu's heart sank suddenly. He knew this nephew too well. Second Uncle Xu could understand his nephew's thoughts with every look and tone of his nephew.

Knowing a son is like a father, who has been raised and brought up with hardships, and is different from his son.

"Second uncle, clean up immediately and go to Yunlu Academy. Go there, first, first, avoid it first." Xu Qi'an said softly.

Second Uncle Xu looked at him deeply, "Okay!"

Xu Qi'an nodded, turned around and knocked on the door of Li Miaozhen's room.

With a white dress like snow, eyes like spots of lacquer, and lips like spots of crimson, Susu, with the image of a charming and gorgeous Yujie, opened the door and said softly, "What's the matter!"

Li Miaozhen, who was wearing an elegant Taoist robe and rolled up in blue silk, was sitting at the table, drinking tea and sipping pastries.

Xu Qi'an ignored her, glanced at the beauty, looked at Li Miaozhen, and said slowly: "I want to go to the northeast border."

Li Miaozhen was taken aback for a moment, and asked doubtfully, "Are you going to fight too?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head slightly, and said, "Duke Wei, he died on the battlefield."

Li Miaozhen's face froze suddenly, and the pastry in her hand fell to the ground.

She immediately came back to her senses, and looked at Xu Qi'an nervously, because she knew how much trust and respect this man in front of Wei Yuan had for Wei Yuan.

He also knows that Wei Yuan owes him a mountain of kindness.

For a moment, she didn't know how to comfort her. Any words of comfort would appear to be fake compassion that had nothing to do with her at this time.

Xu Qi'an said softly:

"I don't believe it, I don't believe he will die in battle, so please take me to the border. If he really dies."

He paused for a moment, his eyes seemed to be blurred: "He has no children, no one to die, I'm going, I have to go"

Li Miao's heart was twisted like a knife: "Okay."

PS: The case of Joan of Arc has the last layer, waiting for me to unfold it at the end. Some people said that Joan's behavior was unreasonable, but the fact is that the case has not been fully developed yet, and you don't know his purpose, so you don't understand his behavior.

You'll know when the volume ends, so don't be impatient.