Chapter 73

Although the Fuzhou soldiers were defeated in consecutive battles, the spies came to the news that the enemy camp seemed to be doing something again in the past few days. Li Liang still seemed unwilling to admit defeat.

He can’t afford to lose, and if there is another battle, it will be all over the place. Therefore, the Yunmeng City side is fiercely fighting and has not let up in the slightest.

Not only that, Mu Fulan also quickly agreed to the battle plan proposed by Yuan Handing. Instead of passively defending all the time, it is better to launch a sudden attack while the opponent is not ready, and catch him by surprise, so as to completely disintegrate the opponent’s main force. They were secretly preparing for action. Early this morning, the spy heard another news. Last night, they saw the enemy camp pulling out overnight and retreating north.

The next day, all the men and horses were evacuated. The plain where they had originally camped was empty, except for the dilapidated tents left by the Fuzhou soldiers before they left.

The Fuzhou soldiers retreated.

For the people and soldiers of Changsha, the experience of the past six months or so has had a huge impact on them, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is unprecedented in the past two hundred years.

After that brief period of pride and glory, they broke with the distant imperial court in a passive state, were declared rebellious, lost their king again, and the war once again descended to the border of Changsha without any cover. .

At a time when daze, fear and disorientation spread among people, this victory was like the sun that pierced through the dark clouds.

They lost their king, but they were not forsaken. The Mu family’s regent, Wengzhu, stood up and continued to protect them like her father and grandfather.

On this day, inside and outside Yunmeng, cheers were heard one after another.

In the barracks outside the city, the soldiers and soldiers who were happily celebrating the victory with each other saw the appearance of the regent.

She came here shortly after the war began. In addition to supervising the battle, she personally led the military doctor and some palace ladies who had been taught by her to treat the wounded soldiers sent from the battlefield in the wounded barracks.

At this moment, their noble and beautiful Weng Lord, under the **** of a team of brightly armored warriors, rode a chariot and came to the military camp.

She stepped onto the high platform, held the wine glass in both hands, and toasted the countless soldiers who were lined up in a square array on the opposite side, thanking them for their bloodshed and sacrifices for loyalty to the Mu royal family and the protection of Changsha.

“I Mu Fulan, at this moment, I swear to you by the heroic spirit of my Mu family’s ancestors, whenever the enemy kills again, I will be with you!”

“If you wait for the warriors to retreat, I, Mu Fulan, will not leave! Advance and retreat together, we will share good and bad!”

The bright and penetrating voice, sonorous and powerful, spreads with the wind.

The messengers under the high platform also quickly spread her words to every corner.

In the wilderness, the cold wind was blowing, and the young soldiers who had just come down from the battlefield were full of enthusiasm. The blood that was rushing in the veins of their bodies, every drop was surging, clamoring, urging them to respond to her impatiently.

No one is born with a penchant for war, but if it was meant to be, who wouldn’t want to protect their regent so noble and moving?

Yuan Handing looked up at Mu Fulan on the high platform without blinking.

At this moment, his heart was full of turbulent and contradictory feelings.

She didn’t know when, she was no longer the familiar princess Mu Fulan who grew up with him.

A voice in his heart told him that she was getting further and further away from him.

But his loss was quickly replaced by another gushing emotion.

He is willing to surrender, kneel at her feet, be driven by her, be her warrior, and use the sword in his hand to protect her today’s nobility and beauty, even if he sacrifices his life.

“Swear allegiance to the death, Your Highness Qianqiu!”

With a roar, he took the thousands of soldiers behind him and knelt down on one knee towards Mu Fulan on the high platform, offering the most loyal response.

“Swear allegiance to the death, Your Highness Qianqiu!”

It was like a thunderstorm broke out on the flat ground, and the voices of soldiers and soldiers resounded in the four fields and went straight to the cloudy night.

In the field around the camp, the crowd was surging, and all the people in the city who came to watch the ceremony, all with tears in their eyes, followed them to kneel and worship.

In the depths of the crowd, one person looked at the figure on the high platform from a distance, motionless.

There were people everywhere, and no one paid attention to this ordinary man in the crowd.

He watched the figure that he was familiar with but seemed to have suddenly become so unfamiliar, stepped down from the high platform, boarded the chariot, and left with the tidal wave of cheers from thousands of soldiers, walking away, and disappeared in sight. middle.

…

The Fuzhou soldiers have retreated, and the officials of Changsha also know that the court, or Xie Changgeng, is now sending troops to Changpingguan to deal with the forces of the King of Qi who established the Eastern Court. In the short term, there should be no time to launch another battle. A long-distance expedition to cross the river is required.

The cloud of calamity that had been hanging over the heads of the subjects since Wang’s mourning finally dissipated. Not only did the officials headed by Lu Lin breathed a sigh of relief, but the people were also spreading the story of the regent and the lord Yu Yunmeng rewarding the army that day. Excited. No one could have imagined that the person who once married their princess, whom they hated and feared, was by their side at this moment.

This night, there was no moonlight in the sky, Xie Changgeng’s figure, like a dim tree, blended into the night by the lake.

After the Yunmeng war was over, she returned to Yuecheng after she had finished fighting the army. He ordered the men who came out to wait outside the city, entered the city by himself, dived for a few days, and knew that she had left the city this evening, and now she was on the opposite side, separated from him by the water of this Dongting.

Several days have passed. But at this moment, when he closed his eyes, he seemed to be able to hear the loyal roars of soldiers from Changsha to her in the Yunmeng Wilderness that day.

Her way of manipulating people’s hearts is enough to rival any general who relies on iron and blood to establish authority. Such bright and penetrating sonorous words, emanating from her delicate and beautiful appearance, even magnified this demagogic power countless easily.

He never knew that this woman had such a side.

Her status has changed from before. Because of her arrival, the only ferry to Junshan was full of guards tonight, and around the lake, there was no boat that could take him to Junshan.

He stood by the lake, looking at the depths of the water, the blurred lake and mountain with undulating black peaks outlined by the dark night, thinking about the unanswerable questions that were tormenting him, thinking about what she was thinking at the moment, What was he doing, he could no longer suppress the strong thoughts that were tormenting him in his body, wading down, and a fierce man plunged into the lake water and swam towards the lake and mountain in the dark depths.

Dongting is connected to the river, the waters are like the sea, when the wind blows, the waves are surging, the undercurrent is turbulent, how can he not know.

But this Dongting water wave, no matter how deep, how far, and how turbulent the undercurrent is, can’t stop the almost crazy idea he wants to pass through tonight.

The icy lake water rushed towards him from all directions, but it couldn’t extinguish the scorching fire burning in his heart.

He was like a knife that pierced the water of the lake. With an instinct-like drive, he held his breath and swam forward tirelessly on this dark and cold winter night.

…

After Brother Wang left, Sister-in-law was overwhelmed with grief and survived the national mourning, and the person fell ill. When Yunmeng fought on the front line, the daily state affairs in the Yuecheng Palace were all in charge of the Prime Minister Lu Lin. He was familiar with these internal affairs, but some important matters still needed to be discussed with Mu Fulan. Mu Fulan returned from Yunmeng, and before she could catch her breath, she went to see a doctor for her sister-in-law, and dealt with state affairs.

Tomorrow she is going to inspect the Bingwu of Zheshan Island in the center of the lake. In order to return to the city on the same day, she will leave the city quietly this evening, under the guard of Yuan Handing, and plan to spend the night in Junshan and return to Junshan tomorrow morning. Departure, you can shorten the water journey.

She accompanied Xi Er with her. When he arrived at Yaolu, it was already late.

She took Xi’er into the house and wanted to accompany him to sleep, but Xi’er shook her head: “Mother, I’m old enough to sleep by myself. Mother, go to rest early, you don’t need to accompany me.”

Knowing that he felt sorry for her, Mu Fulan smiled and patted his head, told the maid to take good care of the child, walked out and went back to her room.

There was no one else in front of her that she needed to face.

She felt exhausted, and the bones of her whole body, at this moment, seemed to be about to fall apart.

Mu’s mother also came and prepared steaming bath water for her.

Mu Fulan soaked in the hot water for a while and came out to sleep.

She likes Junshan. Every time I come here, no matter how many worries and troubles I have, I can quickly relax and calm down.

If there is a Taoyuan in the world, Junshan in the middle of the lake is where her Taoyuan is.

But tonight, she couldn’t sleep. She got up, pushed open the window, looked at the dark night outside the window, and gradually became fascinated.

Mu’s mother pushed the door gently, saw that she hadn’t slept yet, sighed, came in, urged her to go to bed, closed the window herself, and gently kneaded her legs and feet for her.

Mu Fulan lay on the pillow, closed her eyes for a moment, and asked Mu’s mother to rest.

Mu’s mother looked at her with a tired face, and said softly: “Master Weng, although the Fuzhou soldiers have retreated, are you still worried about coming back? Relax, don’t think about it, if you come again, the soldiers will stop me. I heard that the soldiers are very respectful to you, Lord Weng, and will definitely fight with all their strength.”

Mu Fulan knew that she was actually worrying for herself and could not bear her worrying all day long, so she said, “Mother Mu, I’m not worried. Don’t worry about me either. The Fuzhou soldiers won’t come again. If I guess right, Li Liang The sudden withdrawal of troops must have something to do with Xie Changgeng. At least, before he can eat the Qi Wangdong court, he should not deliberately deal with us again.”

Mu’s mother suddenly realized, hesitated, and asked, “Could it be that he was grateful to you for saving his mother, so he let us go?”

Mu Fulan opened her eyes, shook her head, and said with a smile, “Mother Mu, you are wrong, it’s not that he appreciates me, it’s that he knows how to calculate.”

“He is ambitious, and like King Qi, he wants to be an emperor, but he is selfish and cold, but he is a filial son, and the person who really cares about him is his mother. Before Zhao Xitai captured his mother, I can imagine how anxious he was when he learned the news. But if he sent troops to attack and rescue his mother, even if he saved someone, he would have to pay a huge price.”

“Because the brother Wang sent troops before, he has already suffered losses. If he pays a new price to save his mother, it may affect his long-planned cause. At that time, I helped him send back his mother, saying that it is also a matter of helping him in the snow. It’s not an exaggeration, he naturally understands that this is me begging him.”

“Besides asking for your favor, I will let the spy go back and let him also take the king’s seal that was cut in half by the king’s brother. He is so smart, how could he not know that I am telling him that I, the Mu clan of Changsha, It’s not without blood. If he still refuses to let go, even if he hits the stone with an egg, he will fight him to the end.”

“Mother Mu, even though he is a bad person, he is also a little bit good. He does things well, and he is not a perverse person. I have asked him for good things first, and gave him such a favor. Brother Wang has already dealt with it. Why should he continue to struggle with us? We have plenty of food and crops, and we can still fight a few battles now. If we are really forced to turn to King Qi, what good will it do to him?”

Mu’s mother stared at Mu Fulan, her eyes gradually turning red.

“You were originally a princess, golden branches and jade leaves, and you should hold them in your hands and cherish them, but now you have to bear such a heavy burden, worrying about everything all day, and still so tired. When you were in Yunmeng, the young master was worried every day. following you.”

She wiped her eyes.

“It’s mum’s talk. I really don’t understand. When that person came to propose marriage, weren’t you happy, Master Weng? How did he later offend you? You hate him so much, why did he come to Yueyue? When the city picks you up, would you rather break your body and take on the stigma, and make him leave?”

Mu Fulan was startled, and frowned slightly: “Mother Mu, don’t talk nonsense. It’s getting late, you should go to bed too.”

Mu’s mother couldn’t bear it any longer, and said, “Master Weng, do you think I don’t know? The night he came, when you were bathing, you were uncharacteristically, don’t let anyone wait by your side, and take so long to come out by yourself. Do you think that It was all right at the time, but I could see it clearly. Your face was so white that you were inhuman. Later, I was outside and heard something faintly about you and him…”

Tears fell, her voice choked.

“How painful would that be? I feel sad when I think about it, but you don’t spare yourself at all!”

Mu Fulan’s face was pale, she closed her eyes, was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Mother Mu, I’m tired and want to sleep.”

Mu’s mother whispered: “It’s my fault, I’m rude to Lord Weng, and I don’t dare to say a word in the future. Lord Weng, you have a good rest, I’m going out.”

She wiped away her tears, carefully covered the quilt for the woman on the bed, blew out the light, and quietly exited the door.