"The things that need to be said have already been said by many people. There's no need to say anything more." Fan Xian smiled and patted Ye Ling 'er's shoulder. Between the two of them, there was never anything to worry about.
Ye Ling 'er did not raise her brows out of habit. On the contrary, the expression on her face dimmed slightly. "There are always discussions in the family that burrow into my ears. Although I don't want to hear these things, father is very angry about what happened in the North." She looked at Fan Xian, wanting to say something but then stopped. A moment later, she said seriously, "After all, you and I are both Qing people."
Fan Xian nodded and didn't say anything, but his smile was slightly bitter. After the member of the Qinian Unit he had sent to Dongyi met with Mu Feng 'er, he passed on his will, causing the turmoil in the Liang Kingdom to reignite. From there, he thought of a way to resist the court's edict and allow the Great Prince to stay in Dongyi.
However, Northern Qi's reaction was truly beyond Fan Xian's expectations. Calculating the time, Wang Qinian should have just arrived in Shangjing. In the message he had him bring, there was no intention for Northern Qi to send out a large number of troops. He only asked the little Emperor to help Dongyi for the sake of their relationship.
There were many ways to help. Northern Qi's method was, without question, the most open and honorable. It was also the kind that put Fan Xian in the most awkward position. He broke free from his thoughts. As he picked at the coal, he quietly chatted with Ye Ling 'er. He wanted to understand from the bits and pieces of conversation in the Ye manor whether or not there was any movement from the Bureau of Military Affairs.
The Emperor's reaction to the Northern battle was too indifferent. It was so indifferent that Fan Xian smelled a glimmer of danger. However, he didn't know where this scent landed.
…
…
A few days after the Winter Solstice, the Fan manor held another family banquet. This time, the family banquet was not like Prince Heqing's manor, where the younger generation of the royal family were invited. It was a pure family banquet. Other than the master of the manor, the only guests were Fan Xian's four disciples.
Yang Wanli had been thrown into prison from his position as vice minister of the Ministry of Works. He had received heavy punishment in prison. After the Supreme Court's verdict, he had been taken back to the manor by Fan Xian to recover. Even now, it was difficult for him to move. The resentful expression on his face had long faded. He just sat quietly to the right.
Of Fan Xian's four disciples, the one who climbed the fastest was Cheng Jialin. He had already become the Suzhou Zhizhou. Now that he had been implicated by Fan Xian, he had also tragically fallen from power. The two great crimes the Palace had given him of visiting prostitutes and invading the mausoleum were truly too severe. He was forcefully taken back to the capital. During this month, Fan Xian had rushed back and forth for him. He had exhausted a great deal of energy and energy. Finally, he had saved his life, but he had also lost his position. It seemed that he had no future. Cheng Jialin sat below Yang Wanli listlessly, sighing and sighing.
There were two tables in the Flower Hall. The women were all at the table behind the screen. Only Fan Xian and Yang Cheng sat at the table outside. They did not move their chopsticks. They were waiting for someone. There were two tables in the Flower Hall. The women were all at the table behind the screen. Only Fan Xian and Yang Cheng sat at the table outside. They did not move their chopsticks. They were waiting for someone.
Outside the Flower Hall, snowflakes floated lightly in the Fan manor's garden, waiting for the people who had returned. It was Shi Chanli, who had left the Qing Kingdom these years to carry out Fan Xian's will and unify the brothels under the sky.
Shi Chanli entered the hall. He didn't even brush off the snow on his body before he first bowed deeply to Fan Xian in the main seat. He then bowed to his teacher's wife through the screen. Only then did he turn around. Looking at Yang Wanli and Cheng Jialin, he laughed bitterly and went forward to hug these two friends he hadn't seen in a long time.
Presently, he and Sang Wen were in charge of Baoyue Brothel together, so he knew most of the news under heaven. He also knew of the tragic encounters these two friends had had in the past few months. Everything needed no words. Just a hug was enough to express the feelings of separation and comfort.
"You're not feeling well, so don't get up." Shi Chanli very consciously sat below Cheng Jialin and spoke to Yang Wanli, who was about to get up and speak. Although he was now one of the wealthiest merchants in the world and could be considered a hero no matter where he was, the habits he had developed from wholeheartedly studying the books of sages had not changed. In particular, the regret in the depths of his heart made him naturally envious of the experiences of Yang Wanli, Cheng Jialin, and Hou Jichang. He also thought that as a merchant, he should sit at the very bottom.
Yang Wanli and Cheng Jialin met each other's eyes and smiled bitterly. They couldn't be bothered with this pedantic fellow. They turned their heads and chatted idly. No one talked about their tragic encounters these few months. No one went to criticize the court wantonly because they didn't want their teacher, Fan Xian, to worry about these things.
After waiting for a while, no one came again. The expressions of the people at the table began to become awkward and ugly. Cheng Jialin looked at Fan Xian's slightly focused expression and muttered, "Perhaps it's because the snow is heavy and they were delayed on the road."
Yang Wanli pressed his lips tightly together and sighed. He picked up the wine cup in front of him and drained it in one gulp. Shi Chanli glanced at Fan Xian with confusion and said, "According to the news I received, Jichang should have returned to the capital seven days ago. However, the court did not convict him and just let him be."
Fan Xian raised his brows and smiled. "It is the end of the year. Many officials and colleagues have banquets and invitations. It is normal for them to not be able to come in time."
Although he said this, he still couldn't help but feel gloomy. Hou Jichang had returned to the capital a few days ago, but he had not come to Fan manor to visit. The spies in the court had also gotten wind of this. It seemed that the Palace had no intention of punishing him. All of this already made it clear.
In such a country, betraying one's teacher for glory was not unheard of. However, Fan Xian still did not feel good in his heart when it happened to him. His gaze slowly swept across the faces of the three people at the table. A complicated emotion rose in his heart. Shi Chanli was originally still in the Song Kingdom. This time, he had taken the risk to come back to the capital to see him. There was no need to mention Yang Wanli. Fan Xian had always thought that Cheng Jialin, who had already become the Suzhou Zhizhou, had a weak personality and was not very trustworthy. Unexpectedly, he would rather have his position taken away than betray him.
Unexpectedly, Hou Jichang did not come.
"I heard that Scholar He's manor is also holding a banquet today," Shi Chanli's expression was a bit ugly. "Before you came to the capital, the two of them were known as the leading scholars of Jingdou and once had some personal friendship."
Yang Wanli gritted his teeth and said in a dark and angry voice, "What a Jichang. He abandoned darkness for light quickly. When I see him another day, I must give him a good sigh of praise." These words were sarcasm. Cheng Jialin could only smile bitterly. A moment later, he sighed faintly and said, "Back in the Tongfu Inn, Jichang told me that even when Sir Fan junior was walking, he should not notice the rainwater on his umbrella dripping into the oil pan of the peddlers. Such a person who loved the people was the one we should follow. Who would have thought that he … ah …"
After a sigh, Fan Xian smiled. Calling for the three of them to start eating, he said, "Everyone has their own aspirations. Besides, I am unable to work in court. Jichang wants to work for the people. It is normal for him to be closer to Scholar He."
His words were calm. No one could see the coldness in his heart. Fan Xian actually knew that of Fan Xian's four disciples, the one he had favored the most was Hou Jichang. However, the affairs of the world were strange. He didn't know if something had gone wrong with Fan Xian's arrangements or if it was a matter of luck. Of Fan Xian's four disciples, Yang Wanli had done a meritorious service in repairing the dykes. Cheng Jialin had sat in the position of Suzhou Zhizhou at a young age. He was also one of the Seven Gentlemen of the New Deal that the Emperor had personally summoned into the Palace. Although Shi Chanli had not entered officialdom, his identity as the owner of Baoyue Brothel was glorious.
Only Hou Jichang remained in Jiaozhou and was unable to fulfill the ambitions in his heart. Now that Fan Xian had lost all power, Sir Hou was probably dissatisfied and was forced to find other ways. It was not that Fan Xian did not understand this. He was just unhappy, particularly unhappy at Scholar He, who was also holding a banquet.
After three rounds of wine, they chatted about the things they had done in their positions these years. Yang Wanli talked about how the shining white silver had become the huge rocks and earth on either side of the Yangtze River. Cheng Jialin talked about how he had protected the border and people as Zhizhou, how he had used Sir Fan junior's help to take care of the salt merchants and royal merchants, how he had helped his teacher's wife raise money to enter the Hangzhou Conference, and how many poor commoners he had helped. Shi Chanli smiled as he talked about what he had seen and heard under heaven, as well as the slightly better lives of the miserable women in the brothels. He also told an interesting story. It was said that in the back of some Baoyue Brothels, there was a statue of Sir Fan junior worshiping Sir Fan junior because he had protected the lives and safety of many girls.
After these words were said, everyone other than Shi Chanli spat out their wine.
Although the three of them were chatting about their own matters, they were all related to Fan Xian. They talked about some of the things Fan Xian had done in his life that were beneficial to the country and the people. Fan Xian was not a saint. He was only a mortal, so he was a bit happier. He smiled and looked at the three of them. After a moment, he said, "Wanli has been living in the manor these days. In any case, he doesn't have a proper home in Jingdou. Jialin, your family is still in Suzhou, so you might as well move into the manor."
Once their teacher spoke, the three of them fell silent at the same time. They put down the chopsticks in their hands and looked at him.
"I have made arrangements for the Suzhou family matters. Don't worry," Fan Xian looked at Cheng Jialin and said warmly. "Just get through this period of time. I called you here today because I was afraid that you would have resentment toward the court and me and harm yourselves. "
He laughed bitterly and said, "Of course, looking at it now, I don't need to worry about Jichang's side."
"But you know that I don't ask anything of you except for those eight words. So even if the imperial court wants to find evidence of my crimes from you, it's impossible. Jichang has his own considerations, but I don't think he will betray me out of nothing." Fan Xian's expression calmed. He slowly said, "The four of you followed me to be officials under heaven. That was a time of peace, so I needed your efforts. Presently, the world is not at peace, so I needed you to endure silently. I know you want to help me, so I have privately gone to find some colleagues I am on good terms with. In the future, don't do this. My matters are not problems that the officials of the court can solve. "
Cheng Jialin smiled bitterly and agreed. They all remembered clearly the eight words Fan Xian had left them when they had been sent out. Be good people and be good officials.
"Since I can't be an official, then be an honest person." There was a hidden pain between Fan Xian's brows. The Emperor had knocked everyone by his side into the dust. He had truly made him look left and right and was badly battered. This move was truly too vicious.
After the family banquet, Yang Wanli and Cheng Jialin went to the residence in the back garden to rest. Fan Xian left Shi Chanli behind. He had traveled thousands of miles to summon Shi Chanli back to the capital not for something as simple as a meal. There were only the two of them left in the study. Shi Chanli no longer had to hide anything. He angrily cursed Hou Jichang.
Fan Xian shook his head and said, "In the end, Jichang is only a scholar and an official. Even though he has just learned to curry favor, how could he know that he has made a big mistake?"
Shi Chanli's heart chilled. He knew too many of his teacher's secrets. He knew that his teacher was not just a simple powerful official. His teacher's power was beyond his position of power. Hou Jichang's betrayal had, in reality, angered a ruler in the dark.
"Don't worry that I will kill him. I don't have the leisure to do that." Fan Xian lowered his eyelids slightly. "How is the matter I had you investigate?"
"There are no abnormalities in Dongyi or the North. There is no conflict with the flames of war on the surface," Shi Chanli added. He then replied seriously to Fan Xian's question. "The matter of Gong Dian leaving the capital is indeed strange. The Bureau of Military Affairs sent a transfer order to Nanzhao two months ago. However, the level of secrecy is very high. The Tower has only gotten wind of it. Without the cooperation of the Council, a lot of the information can only be touched on the surface."
"Nanzhao? What's wrong there? "Fan Xian furrowed his brows and asked.
"Commander Ye's son is on the front lines in Nanzhao. According to court practice, there is currently no fighting in Nanzhao. The new Master has already succeeded the throne for three years. That Border Army should be halfway back to the capital to report …" Shi Chanli glanced at him and continued. "Based on the time, they should have already arrived in Jingdou to see the Emperor and then returned to the various camps. However, that Border Army still has not arrived."
"You mean … they might have gone west?" Fan Xian's heart jumped. He suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility. He shook his head and said, "How could such a large movement of military power be hidden from everyone?"
"If we had focused our attention on the South at the beginning, even if it was the southern front of Weizhou, with Wu Mei's help, perhaps we would have been able to find some movement," Shi Chanli said with self-blame. "However, Baoyue Brothel has been paying attention to Jingdou, Dongyi, and Northern Qi these few months. We haven't sorted through the intelligence reports there carefully enough."
"It has nothing to do with you. That's what I'm focusing on." Fan Xian rubbed his temples with a headache and said to himself, "Ye Ling 'er's brother … that bastard is not in Jingdou for a long time. I'd forgotten there was such a person. Based on the time, if the Nanzhao Border Army had truly turned back and passed Jingdou without entering, if they had truly gone west, wouldn't they have already reached Dingzhou? "
Fan Xian raised his head and took a deep breath. His eyes were filled with unease and tiredness. He knew he had made a big mistake. However, he had been under house arrest in Jingdou and the Overwatch Council was under Yan Bingyun's watch. It was indeed impossible to accurately grasp the movements of the Qing Kingdom's military power just by relying on Baoyue Brothel.
"Gong Dian left the capital and went to Dingzhou to summon Crown Prince Hongcheng back to the capital. He took with him 10,000 Jingdou Garrison and 2,000 Imperial Soldiers," Shi Chanli reminded him. "This is something that was discovered earlier."
"I know that." A feeling of defeat rose in Fan Xian's heart. His palm gently slapped the desk and sighed. "I just did not think that the Emperor would be so generous. He actually moved troops from the far South and crossed thousands of li. The army changed defenses. Is he not afraid that the world will fall into chaos?"
Hearing these words, Shi Chanli's body froze. He forced himself to calm down and analyze. "For the court, the new Nanzhao Ruler is young, and there are many powerful officials in the country who are inclined toward the Qing Kingdom. There is no need to be on guard. It is enough to leave half of the army in the South. As for Yanjing and the Northern Camp's situation in dealing with Northern Qi and Dongyi, although it looks like it is because of the aftermath of the rebellion and the fact that the Northern Camp does not have a commander, in reality, there is no danger. Thus, for the Emperor, as long as he can pacify Xiliang and there is no more cause for chaos, he can fully prepare for the Northern expedition. "
"To pacify Xiliang, we have to deal with the people on the grasslands …" Fan Xian furrowed his brows and sighed gently. He knew that he had been completely calculated by the Emperor. In the end, he had not escaped the Emperor's grasp. An indescribable sense of tiredness and disappointment filled his body. It made him sit woodenly in the chair, unable to move.
He finally knew why the Emperor maintained such an indifferent attitude toward the battle in the North. He was not angry or wary at all because of the possible collusion between Northern Qi and Fan Xian. The Emperor had long sorted out the possible actions of his illegitimate child and had focused all of his attention and power on the West. The Emperor did not dance with Fan Xian's plans. On the contrary, he took advantage of the situation and smashed his fist viciously toward Dingzhou.
"We must immediately inform the Crown Prince," Shi Chanli said with a pale expression.
Fan Xian sat tiredly in the chair. A moment later, he said, "It's too late."
…
…
A chill pervaded the grasslands in winter. The wind came from the North and passed through the North Sea, carrying with it some moisture. It had long been wiped clean in the barren deserts to the northeast of the grasslands. It was dry and cold. The autumn grass on the ground had long disappeared. What was left was only sand and frozen earth that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was so hard that even the hooves of the horses felt uncomfortable.
If it had been a winter in the past, birds looking down from the sky might have been able to find some moving and alluring green beside some lakes. Today, they couldn't even find these pitiful habitats. The eyes of these cold-resistant birds, who did not want to go to the South for the winter, were completely red. The frozen and dried grass was blood red. The round gravel was blood red. The sand that crumbled with a pinch was blood red. Even the bodies of the voles that crawled out of their caves seemed to be blood red.
This was the mouth of Hong Mountain, a place one had to pass to enter the Qing territory from the grasslands. The mountain rocks were all red. However, the red today was not a strange color bestowed by the heavens. It was dyed red by the Hu people on the grasslands and the Qing soldiers.
There were corpses and fresh blood everywhere. The earth-shaking battle cries that had startled the voles out of their caves and startled the birds into the sky had gradually stopped. However, cruel battles were still going on beside some barren hills. Some stubbornly resisting Hu tribe warriors had gathered into a few small circles. Under the siege of the Qing soldiers, who outnumbered them 10 to one, they shed the last of their blood.
A year ago, the Dingzhou General, King Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng, had received the Black Knights and Fan Xian who had escaped from the grasslands at the mouth of Hong Mountain. At the time, he had hoped to be able to carry out a beautiful ambush here. However, the Hu people were not stupid. They never gave the Qing army such an opportunity.
If it had been in the past, in such a cold season, the countless tribes of Xi Hu would have followed the banner of the King's tent and slowly avoided the cold air. They would have advanced deeper into the grasslands until they reached the foot of the mountain that could not be climbed. After they had endured the bitter cold of this year, they would once again cover the grasslands in the early spring of the second year.
Xi Hu rarely chose to launch an attack on the Qing Kingdom's Xiliang Road in the middle of winter. In the past, other than tribes that had lost power in the fighting on the grasslands and would crazily try to cross the border to steal the winter rations of the Qing Kingdom's soldiers and civilians, there had never been a major military operation.
This year was different. For some reason, Sir Hu Ge, who had inherited most of the Left Virtuous Prince's cattle and sheep warriors, suddenly led his tribe to the east and bravely, or rather recklessly, launched an attack on Qing Kingdom's territory.
What confused the Xi Hu people even more was that the great Chief, the far-sighted Chief, expressed his approval of Hu Ge's actions after thinking for a day and night in the King's tent. He then braved the bitter cold to send out the most elite grasslands Iron Riders in an attempt to pass through the mouth of Hong Mountain, go around Qingzhou, and directly attack the interior of Xiliang.
No one would have thought that in the wilderness near the mouth of Hong Mountain, there would be 20,000 Qing Iron Riders and 70,000 Dingzhou soldiers lying in ambush. These Qing soldiers seemed to have long known the direction of the Hu people's attack on the grasslands, the number of people attacking, and the time of the attack. Most terrifyingly, they had predicted that Xi Hu would brave the bitter cold to attack this year.
The Hu people's attack was completely unreasonable, and the Qing army's ambush was even more unreasonable. When these unreasonable things were put together, they created the great Qingzhou victory that would be recorded in the history books. This was a battlefield where tens of thousands of people sacrificed their lives.
The side of a barren hill was already filled with corpses. Fresh blood flowed through the sand. This group of Hu tribe warriors had fought to the last man and were surrounded by the Qing army. From the earlier battle, the Qing military officer knew that this person was one of the few aces on the grasslands. Thus, he stopped urging his subordinates forward. Instead, he slowly raised his right hand and coldly prepared to shoot.
"Are you surrendering or not?" A cold voice echoed through the cold grasslands air. Hu Ge, covered in wounds, breathed heavily. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the Qing soldiers. Suddenly, he let out a loud cry and stabbed his knife into his chest, so deep that the hilt disappeared.
Hu Ge died, but his eyes were still open, looking hatefully at the sky. Even if he died, he would become a resentful spirit and ask the young man in Jingdou who had caused all of this without reason and bloodshed why. Why was all of this?
…
…
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