Regardless of whether it was Gu Yun, Zhong Chan, or even the entire Daliang army, they were not very confident in naval warfare. Thus, they had no choice but to raise their spirits to deal with it. They first followed Ge Chen, the master of the Lingshu Temple, to dismantle the Western Navy. From the aspects of speed, defense, cannons, and the carrying capacity of the Violet Gold, they analyzed the combat habits of the Western Navy and the possibility of last-minute changes.
When the two armies met on a narrow path, their subordinates and the other side had tens of thousands of sea serpents of various sizes. That was completely different from him escaping across the river with more than 20 masters. Anything was possible.
What kind of situation they encountered and how to fight? Many of the seemingly last-minute changes were actually supported by the commander's countless experiences and skills. Furthermore, they also had to plan the future development of the Daliang Navy, how to organize it, what kind of warships the Lingshu Temple wanted, how to train the soldiers, how to allocate the Violet Gold, and so on.
Gu Yun's situation was even more complicated. He was ordered to lead the Four Realms. Other than the Jiangnan battlefield, he had to consider many other aspects.
Every day, he followed the patrolling soldiers to investigate the situation of the Two Rivers Battlefield. At night, when he returned, he had to take turns meeting with General Chung or Yao Zhen for a long talk. Ever since Changgeng and the others left, he had basically been working non-stop. He was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink water.
Today, just as he was about to bid farewell to Yao Zhen, Gu Yun suddenly stood up. One of his legs suddenly went numb. His entire body swayed and he panicked. Yao Zhen quickly supported him. "Commander, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I'm hungry." Gu Yun smiled at him and said with slight self-mockery, "I won't hide it from you. If I took a chariot sized sesame seed cake and burned the donkey pulling the cart, I could eat it in one gulp."
Yao Zhen frowned. Gu Yun definitely couldn't see his face right now. People described young people as "full of vigor." A person's vigor was all on the face. Whether there was vigor or vigor, one could tell at a glance from his cheeks and lips.
Yao Zhen said, "Why don't you come to my place today, Commander? My wife doesn't have any other hobbies. She likes to cook some food. I'll ask her to prepare some porridge and side dishes later. We don't have any delicacies, but we can still eat some warm home-cooked food."
If it was in the past, Gu Yun would have followed after hearing this. However, he didn't know what illness he had recently. The more tired he was, the more he couldn't eat. He wanted to find a place to lie down and sleep, so he declined, "Thank you. Let's do it another day. It's too late today. It's not appropriate to disturb Sister-in-law."
It wasn't convenient for Yao Zhen to persuade him any further. He accompanied Gu Yun all the way back to the tent. Before he left, he was still worried and exhorted, "Where there's life, there's hope. Grand Marshal should take care of yourself."
"It's enough to get through the winter. Don't worry." Gu Yun waved his hand. He raised his head and moved his stiff neck. Suddenly, he saw the stars in the sky like satin. He sighed, "I remember that although Brother Zhongze was talented, he didn't have any ambition. He didn't want the credit of quelling the rebellion of the Prince of Wei. He would rather guard his own family and live a peaceful life. Unexpectedly, he was forced to this point. Fate really makes fools of people."
Yao Zhen said with a bitter smile, "There are many people in the court who like to attack those who don't like me. I'm just a scholar with no power or influence. Why would I go in and add to the chaos? How many benefits can I get by scheming? Instead of climbing up the ranks for personal gain, it's better to stay in a place far away from the Emperor. My whole family will be there, and I won't have to worry about food and drink. My words still count. Isn't that a blessing? "
Yao Zhongze was too smart. He knew how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. As early as the Prince of Wei's rebellion, he had already seen the decline of the prosperous Daliang court. Therefore, he didn't want to work for this lousy court at all. He didn't want to be an official who was neither high nor low.
Unfortunately, there were no intact eggs when the nest was overturned. He couldn't hide anymore.
Gu Yun didn't want to let him go. He asked, "What about after the war?"
Yao Zhen replied with conviction, "If the country is peaceful by then, I won't have anything to do. If it's still so chaotic, why should I join in the fun? With the Black Iron Tiger Talisman in his hand, is Marshal Gu really happier than when he was a teenager and returned victorious from his expedition to the south, drinking wine with us? "
Gu Yun didn't know what to say.
Yao Zhen thought of something and smiled. "I still remember that year when Commander Gu was drunk, he stepped on the thin railing with one foot and swayed as he picked up the embroidered sword used by others to carve words on the falling petals. He made the top courtesan's face turn red. It's still a beautiful story …"
Gu Yun was embarrassed. He almost got tongue-tied. "I didn't know anything when I was young. Don't, don't mention this kind of thing again."
Yao Zhen smiled without realizing it. He then looked to the south and said, "When Jiangnan is taken back, I'll be the host. I'll invite the Commander to get drunk in the spring breeze at Nu 'er Hong. You must come."
Gu Yun thought, "I don't dare. It's already hard enough to have one in the family."
However, it was inconvenient to confess such cowardly words in front of an old friend. Gu Yun could only smile mysteriously.
Just as the two of them were chatting in the middle of the night, Ge Chen suddenly ran over with a big change in his expression. He held a piece of sea-patterned paper in his hand. "Marquis, it's not good. Yang Ronggui is going to rebel!"
This letter came from the fake Yan Wang. Afraid that the wooden bird would be captured by the bandits, the letter didn't dare to mention the real and fake Yan Wang. It also didn't dare to reveal that the letter was being sent to Jiangbei Daying. It only used a pleading tone to say that they were temporarily feigning civility to stabilize the rebels and didn't know what Yang Ronggui's next step was to do to them.
Gu Yun and Yao Zhen were stunned at the same time. Gu Yun had already thought that Yang Ronggui would act in desperation if he couldn't bribe the imperial envoy. However, he had been in charge of the Black Iron Battalion for a long time and more or less didn't care about these local armed forces. He thought that 20 personal guards were enough to flatten Yangzhou. Changgeng wasn't someone who was easily startled. Gu Yun raised his hand and took the sea-patterned paper from Ge Chen's hand. He saw that the handwriting on it wasn't Changgeng's. It was written very hastily, but the more he read, the more alarmed he became, especially at the end, "The Emperor was attacked by an assassin. Whether he is alive or dead is unknown."
A few thoughts raced through Gu Yun's mind. He pondered until he broke out in a cold sweat. Detaining Yan Wang in the south and assassinating the Emperor in the capital … if he thought about it carefully, it wasn't impossible! As long as he was brave enough.
If it weren't for the Linyuan Pavilion's secret involvement and the waterside wooden bird that could fly out, given the current situation of Yangzhou being surrounded, information would be blocked. Yang Ronggui could very well bring his henchmen and quietly detain Yan Wang to the north without alerting the Jiangbei Daying.
Moreover, once Li Feng died, the throne would be empty. This matter was worth considering.
Yao Zhen: "Commander?"
"Go back to General Chung and lend me a few eagle armors. I'll return them when I'm done. Hurry." Gu Yun had also forgotten that he had collapsed from head to toe. He quickly said, "Xiao Ge, stay here. Think of a way to contact the capital to see what's going on. I'll take people to Yangzhou."
"Yan Wang" and "Xu Ling", who were ordered to fake, had already been packed up by Yang Ronggui. They were "invited" onto the pirate ship and left Yangzhou with the army to the north to force the Emperor to abdicate.
They were very secretive along the way. The epidemic in Jiangbei was such a big matter, but the capital didn't hear anything. It was enough to show the control Yang Ronggui and the other traitors had over the posthouse along the canal.
At night, they rested in the posthouse. "Yan Wang" and "Xu Ling" were wronged in the same room. The guards around them had already been dealt with. Outside, there were three layers of Yang Ronghui's spies. It was difficult for them to fly out even if they had wings.
He waited until the middle of the night before "Wild Goose King" looked out of the window. When he saw that the guards had loosened up a little, he touched his face and said to "Xu Ling" in a low voice, "If I had known that this job would be so difficult, I would have stayed with the barbarians. This time, His Highness owes me a big favor. I don't know if the wooden bird can be delivered to Ge Ban Xiao. I've even implicated the young master. If your father knew about this, he would be very anxious."
"Xu Ling" was about to answer when his face suddenly turned serious. He saw that the guards at the back door had silently fallen down. Then, a black shadow sneaked in as if it could fly.
The protective items on "Xu Ling's" body had already been taken away. He reached out and grabbed a porcelain cup on the table and threw it out with a strong wind. The person gently tilted his face and barely dodged the hidden weapon. Then, he opened his hand and rolled the porcelain cup into his sleeve. He quietly sneaked in through the back window. His movements were extremely agile. After a series of movements, the wind chimes on the window actually didn't move at all.
After the person landed, he pulled off the mask on his face and made hand gestures, "It's me.
It was Gu Yun.
"Xu Ling" probably hadn't seen Gu Yun before and was stunned. "Yan Wang", on the other hand, sucked in a breath of cold air. His face lit up with joy.
Gu Yun actually felt that something was wrong. "Xu Ling" threw the cup too hard. However, he didn't have time to think about it. He carefully looked outside and frowned. He quickly made hand gestures and said, "How did it end up like this? Where are the guards?"
Before he finished his set of hand gestures, "Yan Wang" had already pounced on him like a swallow returning to the forest. His steps were so delicate that it made people gasp in amazement.
Gu Yun had a dog's nose that no one knew about. When people were within three feet of him, he could smell that something was wrong. This "Yan Wang" in front of him didn't have the calming scent that he always had on him. Instead, there was an imperceptible smell of cosmetics. He suddenly took a step back and raised his hand to grab "Yan Wang's" throat. "Who are you?"
"Yan Wang" didn't expect to be exposed as soon as they met face to face. He was very frustrated. He could only move his hands and feet and mouthed, "Uncle Shi Liu, it's me."
The only people who would call Gu Yun "Uncle Shi Liu" were Ge Chen and Cao Chunhua, who were brought back by Changgeng from Yanhui Town. Although the two of them had grown up, they never called him that again.
Gu Yun's hand loosened and he said in surprise, "Xiao Cao?"
They secretly connected the dots. At the same time, on the third day of the seventh month, a secret letter from Yangzhou passed through the nine gates of the Imperial City and reached Lü Chang's hands.
After Lü Chang read it, he couldn't help but laugh loudly. He entered his room with a group of trusted aides and sent someone to invite Fang Qin's Master Fang.
The Fang Family's residence wasn't far from the Lü Family's residence. A family member quickly returned and reported, "Master, the Fang Family said that Master Fang had a bad illness recently. His entire body is feverish and has rashes. They said that they would send him to a villa in the suburbs of the capital. It's inconvenient for him to receive guests. This lowly one saw that a carriage had already been prepared in their courtyard. The bedding and clothes are being burned in the backyard."
Lü Chang asked, "Does Master Fang have a message for me?"
"Yes," the family member respectfully replied, "Master Fang asked this lowly one to pass on a message to you. He said that he wishes you success and all the best."
Lü Chang sneered and waved his hand to dismiss the family member. He turned around and entered the study, "Fang Qin, that old fox, has a basket full of wicked ideas. When he's ordering others around, he's always pointing out the country. When he's faced with a problem, he's used to shrinking back. In this lifetime, he'll only have the ability to be a dog-head military advisor. Don't worry about him.
The "dog-head military advisor" that Assistant Minister Lü Chang spoke of had burned his own clothes and bedding and left the city to recuperate. Afterwards, he rode an ordinary looking sedan chair to the northern suburbs. Shen Yi, who had secretly left the capital like him, happened to be in Beidaying. When he heard that Master Fang, who was sitting on an unknown bench, had come to visit, he was immediately shocked.
The new commander of Beidaying was one of Tan Hongfei's deputies. He knew that this was no small matter. He immediately said in a low voice, "General Shen, please leave for the time being. I want to see him."
That day, Fang Qin stayed in Beidaying for almost two hours. No one knew what he said. It wasn't until it was dark that he silently left in his sedan chair.
At the end of July, the Emperor Long An's birthday was approaching.
Ever since Li Feng ascended the throne, his birthday hadn't been celebrated. The Empress Dowager in the palace had passed away early. After the previous Emperor died, he didn't have any proper elders to take care of things for him. He had been stingy all his life.
However, this year's Emperor Long An's birthday, Li Feng finally made some moves.
The site of the Kite Restaurant that had collapsed during the war was rebuilt. Li Feng thought that the appearance of the "Platform of Stars" was ominous, and the extravagance of the "Yunmeng Grand Temple" was too harmful to the harmony of the heavens. Therefore, he ordered the renovation of the "Kite Restaurant" into the "Altar of Praying". The original extravagant function of eating, drinking, and playing was abolished. It became a proper altar for offering sacrifices to the heavens and praying for blessings. The Imperial Astronomer was also moved over.
It wasn't clear whether the Emperor Long An had nothing better to do, or if he had been urged by someone with ulterior motives, but he decided to go to the newly built Altar of Praying to the heavens and ancestors.
… … Speaking of which, Li Feng's subordinates were a bunch of corrupt officials and sycophants. They specifically chewed on his country and his country. He was like a poor little cabbage that no one cared about or loved. When he celebrated his birthday, no one even gave him a bowl of noodles. He even had to confess his mistakes in governance in front of the world.
It was so depressing. Other than a bunch of white beards and rotten officials, no one said a word of praise behind his back. It was truly a tragedy.
When the Emperor left the palace, the officials naturally followed him. The Imperial Guards opened the way, majestically heading toward the Altar of Praying. The Imperial Astronomer was waiting in formal attire, and a large bell rang throughout the city.
There were eight hundred stone steps leading to the top of the Altar of Praying. In the middle was a narrow path called the "Imperial Path", which was only for the Emperor to walk on. On both sides were the "Royal Path" that accompanied the Emperor. It only led to four hundred steps and stopped halfway to the altar.
The Emperor Long An walked up the Imperial Path, and the civil and military officials sent him off. One civil and one military official accompanied him to the top of the Royal Path, to the top of the four hundred steps. However, at this time, Gu Yun and Yan Wang were not in the capital. The people accompanying the Emperor could only be temporarily replaced by the Grand Council's Jiang Chong and the Southwest Tidu Shen Yi, who happened to be in the capital.
Li Feng was usually busy, so he neglected riding and shooting. Wearing the oppressive formal attire of the Emperor, climbing the three thousand steps was really a bit strenuous. As he walked, he was lost in thought, recalling the events of his youth.
It was the first time Gu Yun had followed The Old Marquis' former subordinates to the south to suppress bandits. De Sheng returned victorious, and Li Feng, as the Crown Prince, followed beside the late Emperor to welcome the army back to the capital.
Li Feng remembered that the young general was high-spirited when he left. His face had some childishness that did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. After returning from the battlefield, his entire person seemed to have grown ten years older. His eyebrows had not been tempered by the passage of time. Because he could not see clearly, his somewhat blurred eyes began to calm down, like a real cutting wind blade, vaguely showing an awe-inspiring aura. He dismounted from his horse and returned, shouting 'long live' with the other generals. The armor on his body shone faintly like fish scales under the sunlight. Li Feng, who rarely left the capital and the palace, accompanied the late Emperor. He looked at Gu Yun, who was dressed in armor, with some envy. Taking advantage of the time when the commander-in-chief and the late Emperor were asking and answering questions, Gu Yun suddenly raised his head and winked at the Crown Prince, who was not yet 20 years old. They looked at each other and smiled.
Now, Li Feng was on the Bright Prayer Altar. Thinking of the past, the corners of his mouth involuntarily revealed a smile. He returned to his senses and looked back. He saw a large group of people kneeling at the bottom of the stone steps. As far as the eye could see, they were all at the back of their heads. The two people accompanying the Emperor were also well-behaved. No one dared to raise their heads and offend the Emperor …
There was probably no more young people in the world who would wink at him. Li Feng suddenly felt a sense of loneliness in his heart.
The Imperial Astronomer had already prepared the sacrificial ceremony. Just as he cleared his throat and was about to speak, suddenly, there was a commotion at the bottom of the Bright Prayer Altar.
Li Feng wanted to issue an edict of guilt. He also wanted to use the reputation of being diligent and loving the people. On this day, the capital was not completely under martial law. They only used the Imperial Guards to separate the people on both sides of the road. The road was crowded with people, and there were quite a lot of people watching the commotion. With this commotion, something happened.
A small group of masked people who moved like the wind suddenly rushed out from the crowd of people watching the commotion. They were all top experts. In an instant, they tore a hole in the Imperial Guards' line of defense and headed straight for the Bright Prayer Altar.
"Be careful!"
"It's the Dongying people!"
The officials were in a mess. The commander of the Imperial Guards, Liu Chongshan, shouted, "Protect the Emperor!" In a hurry, he directly led people to the Bright Prayer Altar. He knelt two steps away from Li Feng and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this place is dangerous. This general will immediately escort Your Majesty out of here."
Li Feng was furious. He kicked Liu Chongshan's shoulder and said, "Trash!"
Liu Chongshan suddenly raised his head. A few of the Imperial Guards beside Liu Chongshan pulled out their swords at the same time. Li Feng's heart trembled. He suddenly realized that there were no Dongying assassins. This was a rebellion. This set of methods was exactly the same as the Black Iron Battalion that the previous Emperor had connived with the Barbaric Concubine!
Li Feng was shocked and angry. He pointed at Liu Chongshan and said, "How dare you!"
Liu Chongshan chuckled and stood up. He stretched out his hand and swept the dust off his shoulder. He walked closer to Li Feng and said, "Your Majesty, for your own good, this general will escort you out of this place."
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