Once winter passed, the flames of war rose again. In the fifth month, bad news came from the frontline. Taiyuan was lost. Marshal Feng Xiao died on the battlefield. The Yan army was only eight hundred miles away from the capital.
The court fell into chaos overnight. Duke Jing and Count Zhongyong led a group of ministers to kneel outside the Peaceful Palace and beg Emperor Chongzhen to take refuge in Luoyang Palace. Emperor Chongzhen ignored them and insisted on staying in An Ling.
Everyone had no choice but to go to the Celestial Commissioner to ask Yu Shu to persuade him.
"The Yan rebels are about to attack the capital, but His Majesty refuses to leave. Master Yu, His Majesty listens to you the most. If you don't advise him now, when will you? "
Inside Taixi Tavern, Yu Shuwen sat on her Qilin treasured chair, looking coldly at the old officials who were used to opposing her and using soft words to stand up for her.
"What do you want me to advise His Majesty about?" She said unhurriedly, "Advise His Majesty to leave the capital, hand over the three hundred years of Da 'an to the rebels, and become a ruined ruler?"
As she said this, her face suddenly darkened. She stood up and slapped the table, "The country is about to fall. Instead of defending the country, you want to escape? Thinking back to the time when Emperor Shengzu ruled the world, did he ever think that his descendants would become stray dogs? "
"Yu Lianfang, how dare you!" Count Zhongyong Rui Ang pointed at her and scolded, "I wonder why His Majesty insists on staying in the capital. It is you who instigated him! What are your intentions? "
Consort Rui Shu had not been favored in the harem these years and did not give birth to a son or daughter. Even the emperor did not like Count Zhongyong's residence. On the contrary, Empress Xia Jiang, who was supported by the Celestial Commissioner, was always favored. Rui Ang and Yu Shu were political enemies, so he blamed everything on her. At this moment, he had no more scruples and did not need to be polite.
Duke Jing sighed, "In the face of national crisis, the overall situation is the most important. I would rather you not know that His Majesty can do nothing by staying in the capital. Listening to this old man's advice, we all entered the palace together to persuade His Majesty to temporarily leave the capital to avoid disaster. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no need to worry about a lack of firewood. "
Yu Shu snorted coldly, "Do you think that after persuading His Majesty to leave, you will be able to run for your lives in broad daylight? No need to talk nonsense, since His Majesty wants to defend An Ling to the death, as a subject, I will accompany him with my life. As for you cowards who are afraid of death, good luck! "
With that, she waved her sleeves and turned around to send the guests off. The group of people were so angry that their faces turned red, but seeing that she was not going to budge, they had no choice but to leave.
Yu Shu sat quietly for a moment, then went up to the top floor alone. She walked into the mourning hall where the memorial tablets of the previous generations of the Great Celestial Commissioner were engraved. She took out three sticks of incense and lit them. She stared at the last tablet that was added. On it was engraved the words "Ninth Celestial Commissioner, Great Zhu Muzhao".
"That day, I swore to live and die with the Celestial Commissioner, and I kept my word. However, the change of dynasties is the will of Heaven. Forgive me for being powerless, but I can only follow the will of Heaven. I can only promise you that I will protect the Daan Royal Family. As for whether there is hope for the future generations to restore the country, it will have to wait for a few years. "
She bowed three times and lit the incense. Then she turned around and went downstairs. She sent someone to prepare a carriage to enter the palace to see the Emperor. If Emperor Chongzhen wanted to stay in the capital, she would not dissuade him. That was his responsibility as the ruler of a country. However, Xia Jiangmin and the Eldest Prince Liu Ying must leave as soon as possible.
Her Law of Time of Calamity could deduce hundreds of disasters. The Book of Life and Death could investigate the cause and effect. It was comparable to the real Art of Death. According to her divination, Xia Jiangmin and her son would be killed within three months. If they wanted to save their lives, they must leave the capital.
.....
Yu Shu entered the palace to persuade the Emperor. On the same day, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the two Empress Dowagers and Empress Xia Jiang to move to the palace in Luoyang to "avoid the summer". When the news reached the harem, it caused panic among the concubines. They were afraid that they would be left in the capital to wait for death. They all went to beg the Empress Dowager and the Empress to take them away. There were only a few who volunteered to stay with the Emperor, and Empress Xia Jiang was one of them.
"I am not willing to live an ignoble life. I will be with Your Majesty wherever you are. I will live and die with you." Empress Xia Jiang ran to Emperor Chongzhen and expressed her feelings.
One sentence made Liu Tan's eyes turn red. He held Xia Jiangmin's hand and asked his attendants to leave. He confided in her: "Min Min, I know your heart is enough. Listen to me, I cannot leave the capital. It is not only because of my anger. As the ruler of a country, even if I lose my life, I cannot lose the country left by my ancestors. If I escape now, I will be laughed at by the world. I will truly become the ruler of a destroyed country. I am not willing, I cannot! "
Xia Jiangmin cried: "If Your Majesty wants to stay, then stay. I will not leave."
Liu Tan shook his head and said in a determined tone: "Take my son away. If anything happens to me, you need to raise him well until he grows up. Then you can plan the great cause of restoring the country."
Xia Jiangmin shook her head with tears and buried her head in his chest. She and the Emperor were a young couple. They loved each other deeply. How could they bear the pain of separation? How could they know that after this separation, there would be no day for them to meet again? She was afraid that they would be separated forever. Humans and ghosts were different.
Even when she was tired from crying, Liu Tan did not change his mind. He made up his mind and sent her back to Fengzao Palace. Then he drafted an edict to confer the title of the Crown Prince, Liu Ying.
,,,,,
That night, Xia Jiangmin had a series of nightmares. She woke up before dawn. She sat up straight in a cold sweat and cried: "Come! Come quickly! "
Outside the door, a palace maid ran into the bedroom and lit the candles. She moved closer to the bed: "Your Highness, you had a nightmare. Let me pour you a cup of tea."
Xia Jiangmin was still in shock and asked blankly: "What time is it?" "It's past five in the morning."
She looked outside the window and it was still dark. She came back to her senses and said: "Quickly send someone out of the palace to ask for advice … Just say that I had a nightmare last night and need her to explain it."
"Yes, I will send someone to ask for her."
Seeing that she looked terrible, the palace maid did not dare to ask more and hurried away. Xia Jiangmin hugged a thin quilt and recalled the situation in her dream. Her fingers clenched the corners of the quilt and trembled slightly.
After waiting for two hours, when the sun rose, Yu Shu hurried to the back palace. Xia Jiangmin had already washed up and was waiting for her. Hearing the announcement from outside, she asked the people in the hall to leave and was alone with Yu Shu.
Yu Shu understood and asked her as soon as she sat down: "Did you dream of a dead person again?" Few people knew that Xia Jiangmin was born with a talent that allowed her to foresee the cause of death of a person in her dreams. For example, her late sister Xia Jiangying, and Xin Liu, who was lucky enough to escape, had almost a 100% accuracy rate.
Xia Jiangmin nodded with a pale face. She stared at her and said in a hoarse voice: "Ashu, I dreamed that you died."
Yu Shu was shocked at first and then frowned. She asked: "What did you dream of?"
Xia Jiangmin recalled and said absentmindedly, "I dreamt that the Yan bandits took over the capital and captured the Emperor. You brought people to rescue the Emperor, but you were captured and imprisoned by them. Then, a man dressed in red stabbed you to death with a sword."
Her dream could only describe a general idea, but she remembered the key points. For example, when Yu Shu was killed and what characteristics the murderer had.
Hearing this, Yu Shu looked down in deep thought and didn't speak for a long time. Xia Jiangmin pushed her shoulder anxiously and said: "You have the Art of Predicting Death. Why don't you read for yourself?"
Yu Shu sighed: "My Art of Predicting Death requires the eight characters of my birth, but my eight characters are not compatible with my fate. It is difficult to read."
"Ah," Xia Jiangmin was suddenly at a loss. She grabbed her arm and said: "What should we do? Why don't, why don't you leave the capital as soon as possible? I will plead with the emperor to let you go to Luoyang to take refuge."
Yu Shu's eyes flashed but she didn't waver. She shook her head and refused: "I won't go."
Xia Jiangmin anxiously cried, "The emperor is like this, you are also like this. You know that staying is a dead end, but you don't listen to other people's advice. What should I do?"
The corners of Yu Shu's mouth twitched helplessly. She pulled the other's cold hand and softly comforted: "It's clear that the emperor doesn't go because he has the country in his heart. I don't want to go because I am waiting for someone. People live in this world and each have their own fate. I can't avoid it and I can't escape it. "
Xia Jiangmin didn't understand her words and asked with teary eyes, "You are waiting for someone, who are you waiting for?"
Yu Shu shook her head and didn't say anything more.
Xia Jiangmin knew that she couldn't force her. She stopped crying and said with disappointment: "If I didn't have children to hold me back, I would definitely stay in the capital to live and die with the emperor. I don't fear death, but I can't ignore my son."
"It's good that you think like this." Yu Shu looked at her sad and sorrowful appearance and couldn't bear to see her like this. She promised, "Don't worry and go. As long as I am alive, I will think of a way to let you and His Majesty reunite."
*
*
*
In the sixth month, the huge capital was half empty. The whole city was desolate. Most of the common people had fled. Half of the civil and military officials had resigned. The rest either didn't want to leave or couldn't.
The Great Yan's cavalry trampled over Hebei and headed straight for the capital. They advanced triumphantly and finally arrived at the city in the middle of summer.
Emperor Chong Zhen put on his armor and led three thousand imperial guards to the city gate to meet the enemy. But he was surrounded. When Yu Shu heard the news, she immediately summoned the Celestial Commissioner and five hundred elite black-robed guards to rescue the emperor. Unfortunately, they were one step too late. The Yan army broke through the gates of the capital at lightning speed and captured Emperor Chongzhen, who was personally leading the army into the war.
The sun set. The black-robed guards killed their way to the foot of the city gate and fell into the enemy's formation.
Yu Shu sat stiffly in the carriage. She heard a shout coming from not far away: "Who are you? Tell me your name!"
She took a deep breath and answered with a loud voice: "The Celestial Commissioner of Da An Dynasty has given me some advice!"
Not long after, there was a commotion outside. She heard a loud voice from the top of the city gate: "Are you the Celestial Commissioner who has given me some advice? I am Liu Shining, the Prince of Changping of Great Yan! "
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