After Mu Mingtang felt the pregnancy pulse, the atmosphere in the fu completely changed. Everyone was filled with joy. The servant girls were still worried that wang fei had no appetite during the day, but now they were all overjoyed. A servant girl changed Mu Mingtang's tea and gently placed a soft pillow behind Mu Mingtang's back: "Wang fei, be careful. You are pregnant with the little master, so you can't tire yourself out."
Mu Mingtang normally wouldn't do anything tiring, but now the servant girls were all acting as if they were facing a great enemy. They were even more nervous than her, the mother. Mu Mingtang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not that exaggerated. Little Daoist priest said this afternoon that I'm just weak. I just need to move around more and rest well. I'll be fine. "
"You still can't be careless." The servant girls were still stubborn. They didn't even let Mu Mingtang carry a cup of tea. Everything Mu Mingtang did was taken over by someone else. She had nothing to do and could only rub her belly: "You really know how to torment people."
Although she said this, her eyebrows were full of joy. This was her and Hsieh Hyun-chen's child. Mu Mingtang couldn't help but wonder if the child was a boy or a girl. Whose temperament would it resemble, and whose eyebrows would it resemble.
Hsieh Hyun-chen's temper was already troublesome enough. If there was a smaller version of him in the family, she was afraid that they wouldn't be able to handle it.
Mu Mingtang had been listless before, but after learning that she was pregnant, her mood instantly became high. The servant girls saw that Mu Mingtang's brows were smiling, and her entire body was enveloped in a gentle glow. They were both gratified and regretful: "It's a pity that wang ye is away on an expedition and isn't in the fu. If wang ye knew that wang fei has a little master, he would be very happy. "
Mu Mingtang thought of Hsieh Hyun-chen and felt slightly depressed. But she quickly cheered herself up: "It's okay. It's not too late to tell him when he comes back. Maybe by then, the child will be able to understand the sounds of the outside world. "
At this moment, the front lines didn't know anything about what was happening in the rear.
There was no moon tonight, and the stars were dim. The wide and gentle horizon was hidden in the darkness like a giant beast swallowing the people on the road.
Yelv Yan looked at the endless darkness and sighed deeply.
He won many battles against the Ye Dynasty and almost overturned the Ye Dynasty's Imperial Capital. Victory boosted his self-confidence. Yelu Yan thought that he was extraordinary, and believed that he was the one who should succeed in his ambitions.
Therefore, the Yelv Yan secretly arranged for someone to shoot Yelu Ji before the battle and then framed Hsieh Hyun-chen for the crime, initiating the war. Yelu Ji had caused such a huge mess for the Northern Tribes and had no face left in the world. If not for Yelu Ji, the Yelv Yan would have already taken over Tokyo. It was a pity that Empress Dowager Xiao spoiled her youngest son. She ignored the Northern Tribes and forced the Yelv Yan to retreat.
Empress Dowager Xiao had accumulated a lot of power and influence. In the imperial court, she was almost like a master. Even the emperor had to yield to her. Although the Yelv Yan had made a name for himself in recent years, he did not dare to go against Empress Dowager Xiao. He even had to marry Empress Dowager Xiao's niece, Xiao Siyi, to win the Xiao Family's favor.
When Empress Dowager Xiao ordered him to retreat, the Yelv Yan did not dare to disobey. His merit was gone just like that. The Yelv Yan was not satisfied and decided to get back at Yelu Ji.
Yelu Ji was a piece of trash. Not only could he not defeat Hsieh Hyun-chen, he even embarrassed the Khitans. A hundred thousand men were chased down by Xie Xuanchen's eight thousand men. In the end, all of them returned to the borders of the Northern Tribes. Yet, Xie Xuanchen was still able to drag them out of a tent of twenty thousand men.
The Yelv Yan gritted his teeth. His grand plan was ruined by Yelu Ji. Otherwise, when the Yelv Yan took the Ye Dynasty's capital and captured the Xie Family's emperor, he would be the one and only hero in the history of the Khitans.
Yelu Ji should have killed himself long ago to apologize to the Khitan ancestors. Since he was not willing, then the Yelv Yan had to do it.
The Yelv Yan killed Yelu Ji and got rid of a strong competitor for the throne. When he returned to Shangdu and Empress Dowager Xiao asked, the Yelv Yan could just blame it on Hsieh Hyun-chen.
After all, Hsieh Hyun-chen chopped off one of Yelu Ji's fingers and had a grudge against Empress Dowager Xiao. Swords had no eyes in front of the battlefield. Who knew where the arrows came from?
After the Yelv Yan got rid of a strong opponent, he could even sneak in and attack the border. The Yelv Yan had always thought that he was far-sighted and that this time he would be able to defeat Hsieh Hyun-chen and avenge the Northern Tribes. He had always thought that it was because Yelu Ji was weak and stupid that Hsieh Hyun-chen was able to defeat him. If it were him, he would not have done so.
Now that the Yelv Yan was fleeing in the dark, he finally realized that he had underestimated the situation.
It was not that Yelu Ji was useless or that Yelu Ji made mistakes in commanding. In fact, Yelu Ji did not make any mistakes. It was just that the enemy was too terrifying.
This feeling was too familiar. The Yelv Yan could not help but recall the fear of being beaten by Hsieh Hyun-chen on the polo field last year. At that time, he thought that he was inferior to Hsieh Hyun-chen in individual combat. Now that he was beaten up, the Yelv Yan finally realized that he was inferior to Hsieh Hyun-chen in all aspects.
Hsieh Hyun-chen was really a nightmare.
At this moment, the nightmare himself was looking at the sand table in the main tent. The tent was brightly lit. Old General Xu, General Chang, and the others were surrounding the sand table, discussing with Hsieh Hyun-chen what to do next.
The Yelv Yan was defeated and the Northern Tribes' hinterland was exposed to them like never before. Hsieh Hyun-chen had been guarding against the Yelv Yan for a long time, so he wrote a letter to Old General Xu and General Chang, who was stationed in Hejian, telling them to bring reinforcements to the border.
Zhongshan and Hejian had fought with the Northern Tribes for many years and knew how vicious the enemy was. Old General Xu and General Chang knew the severity of the situation and did not dare to delay. They immediately brought their men to meet up with Hsieh Hyun-chen and stood together at the border.
Later on, it was proven that Hsieh Hyun-chen did not wrongly accuse the Yelv Yan.
Along the way, Hsieh Hyun-chen took many men from the Imperial Army, Enzhou City, and Zhending Prefecture. They started with eight thousand men and gradually increased to forty thousand men. Even though Hsieh Hyun-chen had specially selected some good men before he left, these men were only temporarily formed. Compared to the soldiers trained for over ten years in Zhongshan and Hejian, their combat ability was far inferior.
Therefore, Hsieh Hyun-chen did not hesitate to call in the Xu and Chang families. Zhongshan and Hejian had a total of three hundred thousand men. Even though only a small portion of them were transferred over, it was enough for Hsieh Hyun-chen to command. Dealing with the Yelv Yan's sixty thousand men was like playing a game.
Under the lantern, the Xu and Chang family's deputies were arguing fiercely. Xu Qilang wanted to pursue the enemy, but General Chang's men felt that they should not pursue a cornered enemy. They were lured into the enemy's hinterland and might be ambushed.
The two sides could not come to an agreement. In the end, they both looked at Hsieh Hyun-chen.
Every one of them was a general in charge of a region. Every one of them was experienced and had different military styles. No one was willing to submit to the other. Only Hsieh Hyun-chen was able to convince everyone after a few days of interaction.
If it was someone else, they would not believe it. But if it was Hsieh Hyun-chen, they would believe it.
While Xu Qilang and General Chang's deputies were arguing, Hsieh Hyun-chen listened quietly. He did not express his opinion and only fiddled with the flag in the sand table. Now that the two sides could not come to an agreement, they all looked at Hsieh Hyun-chen and asked, "Your Highness, what do you think?"
After Xu Qilang finished speaking, the other people in the tent also looked at Hsieh Hyun-chen. They were all waiting for Hsieh Hyun-chen to express his opinion. Hsieh Hyun-chen seemed to have heard enough. He said slowly, "If we go deep into the Northern Tribes' territory, we might be ambushed. What about going to our own territory?"
Everyone present was startled, "Your Highness …"
Hsieh Hyun-chen suddenly picked up the red flag that represented their destination and casually threw it into the ground behind Zhuozhou, "The Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud have been in the hands of outsiders for almost thirty years. It is time to return them to their rightful owners."
Xu Qilang was stunned. After a long time, he seemed to react. All the blood in his body instantly exploded, "Your Highness, you mean to attack and occupy the Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud?"
"Not attack and occupy." Hsieh Hyun-chen corrected, "Reclaim."
This was Hsieh Hyun-chen's true goal. For a mere Yelu Yan, Xie Xuanchen could rely on his own forty thousand men to deal with him and send him back to his hometown. Why would he need to go through so much trouble to call the Xu Family Army and the Chang Family Army over? He had gathered the troops in the north for the Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud from the beginning.
Ever since the Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud had been cut off, the Guangjin, Later Jin, Zhou and other dynasties had all wanted to reclaim it but had not succeeded. After Xie Yi succeeded the throne, the first thing he did was to put the reclamation of the Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud on the agenda. At that time, Hsieh Hyun-chen had been pacifying various small imperial courts in the south. They had originally planned to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of the Serene Cloud after a few years of rest and recuperation.
Calculating the time, it was already the year of Xie Yi's plan.
Hsieh Hyun-chen had angered Xie Yi since he was young. When he grew up, he did not even see Xie Yi off. As a son, it was unfilial of him to do this. Let him fulfill his father's last wish.
Dongjing, Hanging Arch Hall.
The Emperor looked at the court bulletin sent back from the front with a gloomy face.
"Hejian and Zhongshan have three hundred thousand troops. Who issued the document to allow them to mobilize the troops?"
Prime Minister Song, Jiang Honghao and the others who were standing below him held their breath, "It was Prince An."
"Hsieh Hyun-chen?" The Emperor's face became more and more unfriendly. "Hasn't he been stripped of his military power? Where did he get the authority to mobilize the troops at the border?"
Prime Minister Song and Jiang Honghao lowered their heads and did not speak. The Emperor had already ordered Hsieh Hyun-chen to be stripped of his military power. At first, it was because of the Yelv Yan's coercion. Later, the imperial envoy who accompanied the Northern Tribes to Zhongshan City came back and said that Hsieh Hyun-chen refused to hand over the goods. He even seemed to be disrespectful to the imperial court. At that time, the Emperor was really suspicious. Later, he issued the order to remove Hsieh Hyun-chen's military power.
Even if one took a step back and looked at it, Hsieh Hyun-chen's actions were all for the imperial court. Now that the crisis in Dongjing had been resolved and the Yelv Yan had returned to the Northern Tribes, everything was back on track. What was Hsieh Hyun-chen's intention to disobey the imperial edict?
Not only did he not let go of the military power of Zhending, he even mobilized the 300,000 garrison troops at Zhongshan and Hejian to stir up trouble at the border. Generals only had the right to train troops but not to deploy troops. Without the orders from the central government and without the supervision of civil officials, they could not deploy troops.
But now, without the knowledge of the imperial court, the 300,000 troops of the Northern Tribes were frequently mobilized at the border and were even moving out of the country. Were they trying to rebel by ignoring the laws of the land?
A few days ago, Prime Minister Song and Jiang Honghao were scared to death during the siege. Later, they heard that Hsieh Hyun-chen had captured Yelu Ji and did not hesitate to provoke the Northern Tribes to force the Yelv Yan to retreat. Dongjing's princes and ministers had already complained that Hsieh Hyun-chen was too rash. Later, they heard that Hsieh Hyun-chen had said that the Yelv Yan could go on a killing spree and that he would rebuild the capital. After all, he would never hand over the three towns of Taiyuan, Zhongshan, and Hejian.
In fact, everyone knew that it was common to speak harsh words at the negotiation table and that one should not easily expose one's bottom line. But when these words fell into the ears of Prime Minister Song and others, they still offended the high officials of the capital.
The higher the official, the more afraid of death they were. Hsieh Hyun-chen had offended many officials of the capital and still hoped that the Prime Ministers would say something good in front of the Emperor. Prime Minister Song was not very happy. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the An Wang said a few days ago that a general would not accept the Emperor's orders. When he said these words, he was in front of the Imperial Envoys and the soldiers. Your Majesty, I know that you have high hopes for the An Wang, but a tiger bites its mother and a wolf kills its father. Your Majesty, you must be on guard. "
Jiang Honghao had been holding his sleeves and did not express his opinion. When he heard Prime Minister Song's words, he and Xie Xuanji looked at each other. The father-son-in-law pair stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Song is right. The An Wang's ambition has been exposed. Your Majesty must be on guard. "
Xie Xuanji also said, "I know that Imperial Father has always valued Second Brother, but now Second Brother is blinded by greed and stubbornly persisting in the wrong path. He has gone astray. Imperial Father, please make up your mind and pull Second Brother back to the right path. Let him rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff. "
Under everyone's persuasion, the Emperor finally said with great pain, "I have high hopes for him. For many years, I have spent painstaking effort and have always intended for him to inherit the throne. I did not expect that he would do such a thing. It really makes me very disappointed. He has already made so many mistakes. If I do not punish him, I am afraid that the people of the world will feel cold. "
The other people under the table all cupped their hands, "Your Majesty is right."
The Emperor's face sank and said, "Come, immediately pass the decree. The An Wang has repeatedly disobeyed the decree and despised the Emperor's prestige. He has violated the duties of an official. This time, he also mobilized the army to guard the border without an imperial decree. He has already violated a great taboo. I watched him endure under the circumstances of his youth and ignorance. I did not expect him to go from bad to worse and not repent. Immediately remove all of the An Wang's authority and summon him back to the capital alone. Otherwise, he will be punished for plotting a rebellion. The generals guarding Zhongshan and Hejian knowingly violated the law but did not report it. They will immediately be removed from their positions and wait for the court to deal with them. "
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