Chapter 1023 Winter is Coming
“I wish to settle down and live in heaven and earth. I pray for the four seasons to nourish the earth. I pray for people’s safety and prosperity for livestock. I kneel down in the peach garden and worship three brothers. I just pray for peace in the world..."
On the makeshift stage in the Emperor's Palace, actors wearing colorful wooden masks were singing opera lines.
The actor's clothes are a bit strange. If you look closely, you can see that he looks like a witch doctor or a sacrificial priest among the Nanzhong Yi people.
This is a new opera from Nanxiang.
I heard that there is a rumor circulating in Nanzhong that Guan Suo can command the Ghost King.
Therefore, when the Yi tribes invite gods, they often pretend to be Guansuo and order the ghost king to drive away the ghosts.
When Nanxiang students went to Nanzhong to study, they found it quite interesting, so they wrote a new play like this when they came back.
The main story is about the story of Guan Suo, the son of the Guan family, who lived among the people after the Jingzhou Incident. After going through hardships, he returned to Shu. At the same time, he also practiced martial arts hard and served the country.
There are sorrows and joys, life and death, separation and reunion. It also intersperses the story of the late emperor and the brothers Guan and Zhang who restored the Han Dynasty, which is quite fascinating.
Even the emperor and queen in the audience watched it with great interest.
When they saw the fall of Jingzhou and the death of the Guan family, everyone in the audience sighed in unison.
Seeing Guan Suo recuperating in Baojiazhuang, then defeating the thieves who came to rob the village, and finally returning west with Bao Sanniang, even the queen had a smile on her face.
Then he went on the southern expedition, helping the southern army to defeat the enemy. He met Meng Huo's daughter Hua Wan by chance and captured the heart of the beautiful woman.
Seeing this, the little fat man couldn't help but smacked his lips.
When the actors on the stage went down to prepare for the next act, Adou turned his head and whispered to Zhang Xingcai:
“In the past, I only heard about my father’s southern expedition, but I didn’t expect other people to have such wonderful stories.”
Hearing this, Zhang Xingcai turned around and said with a smile:
“I heard that there is indeed a story between Guan Suo and Hua Wan. It can be said that they have never known each other without fighting. In the beginning, Guan Suo even won a curly red rabbit horse from Hua Wan.”
“If nothing else happens, this curly-haired red rabbit horse should still be raised at Yuexi’s horse farm.”
Similarly, a racecourse is opened to raise Yunnan horses. The quality of the horses produced at the racecourse under the name of Xinghanhui is higher than that of others.
Even though Hua Wan, a local snake in southern China, has the ability to get high-quality Yunnan horses from various tribes in central southern China, the quality of the horses in her private horse farm is still inferior to that of Xing Hanhui.
Where do you think this can be explained?
The emperor and empress laughed together.
Guan Tong next to him was a little restless.
At the time of the Southern Expedition, he was just a child and not familiar with the world.
After watching this play, he was completely in a trance: Could it be that he really has such a powerful fourth uncle?
I don’t blame him for thinking so.
After all, a play that can be sung in front of the emperor, how could it be arranged randomly?
What’s more, the late emperor is involved.
“Dalang, what do you think of this play?”
“Very... very good, very beautiful.”
The queen nodded:
“It’s really good-looking.”
As he spoke, he sighed again, "Even though it was uncomfortable to watch at the beginning, the events in Jingzhou, not to mention the Guan family, even the Han Dynasty suffered greatly from it!"
Guan Tong was a young man in his late teens, and he was the most unsettled. Thinking of the things described in the play, he felt a surge of excitement in his chest:
“The rats from Jiangdong are not the sons of men!”
After saying this, he was startled and looked at the emperor and the queen with some anxiety.
Unexpectedly, the emperor and the queen looked at each other and smiled.
There was no more expression on Zhang Xingcai's face. He motioned to the stage and said leisurely and meaningfully:
“The next act is about to begin, let’s watch the show first.”
As the queen and the most important think tank of the emperor, Zhang Xingcai has far more timely information than others.
In addition to the widely circulated news in Hanzhong, she also knew that the prime minister had already sent his troops eastward after forcing his surrender to Qianxian County, and might have crossed the Wugong River by now.
If nothing else goes wrong, Jiang Wei should have already arrived at Chang'an City, and it is very likely that he has made direct contact with the Prime Minister's army.
According to the analysis of the military reports sent back by Xiang'an, only a small number of troops are currently stationed in Chang'an, and most of Sima Yi's main army is concentrated in the Hexi and Tongguan lines east of Chang'an.
Maybe it was to prepare for Feng Mingwen, or more likely to be able to withdraw from Guanzhong at any time.
But there is no intention to rely on Chang'an to defend.
So it seems that it is just around the corner for the Han Dynasty to regain Guanzhong.
For the Han Dynasty, the great drama of the Battle of Guanzhong has almost come to an end.
The rest depends on what kind of results Feng Mingwen can achieve in the end.
If we can really eat Bingzhou and Hedong, it will be a huge surprise.
If there were no unexpected surprises, it would not matter if the Han and Wei Dynasties finally used the river as their boundary.
Anyway, as long as the Han Dynasty regained Guanzhong, it would have two grain-producing Kingdoms of Abundance (the earliest name for Guanzhong was the Kingdom of Abundance).
The three places of Liangzhou, Longyou and Jiuyuan raised war horses, produced wool, and weaved cloth; Nanzhong grew sugar cane and pressed brown sugar; Shu raised silkworms for many seasons and weaved brocades, and they also had elite soldiers and generals who were proud of the world.
Calculating it this way, neither the Qin Dynasty nor Emperor Gaozu had a strong foundation before they unified the world.
In Zhang Xingcai's view, the next act of the Han Dynasty is to unify the world - Jiangdong is indeed a rat, but he is not a fool.
Over the years, the Wei State has lost troops and territory one after another. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was beaten to a pulp.
There is no need to even think about what a small disabled person and a rat will do when faced with a big man who has the power to unify the world.
The emergence of Guansuo Opera was the beginning of the public opinion war in Jingzhou.
Zhang Xingcai watched the show and subconsciously put a pickled sour plum into his mouth, chewing it slowly while thinking in his mind:
Before Jiangdong attacked Jingzhou, they were always clamoring that Jingzhou belonged to them, right?
Guan Tong is a bit mediocre, but that is also for Guan Xing, who has "rare questions".
After watching "Guan Suo Opera" with the emperor and empress, he already felt confident.
It seems that the matter of having an extra fourth uncle is not that simple.
Such a complicated matter is beyond my current ability to participate in.
Seeing Guan Tong leave with relief, Zhang Xingcai took another sour plum and put it into his mouth, thoughtfully.
Adou next to him looked at his queen eating pickled plums, and felt that the roots of his teeth were about to collapse.
Hand waved for the waiter to go down, he quietly touched Zhang Xingcai's belly with his hand.
Zhang Xingcai, who was deep in thought, was awakened. He raised his arm to allow Adou to touch it more smoothly, and said softly:
“Only four months old.”
Adou Hehe Shale:
"If I hadn't said that Hanzhong was the land of Longxing, it's a good thing I didn't go back to Jincheng."
Zhang Xingcai pursed his lips and smiled.
Adou is enjoying himself foolishly:
“I don’t know whether the queen is pregnant with a son or a daughter this time.”
“Your Majesty, do you want a son or a daughter?”
“Anything is fine.”
"Why?"
Zhang Xingcai sighed:
“The Prime Minister is old and sick, and now he is leading the Northern Expedition despite his illness. After this battle, he may have suffered a lot of physical damage, and I don’t know how long he can last.”
“After this battle, Feng Mingwen will definitely become the pillar minister after the Prime Minister.”
She reached out and touched her belly:
“We asked Siniang to take the lead in the past and asked if we could let the Feng family’s legitimate daughter marry into the royal family, but Feng Mingwen never responded.”
“If I give birth to a daughter this time, no matter whether I marry or not, the Feng family will have to choose one.”
Adou didn’t take it too seriously. He held Zhang Xingcai’s hand:
“The child is still young, and Feng Mingwen either said that he was unwilling to marry his daughter, or that he would let his daughter choose when she grows up.”
"So this matter still depends on his daughter. When we go to Chang'an together in the future, let the children play together more and become childhood sweethearts. Then it will be done, right?"
As he spoke, Adou came close to Zhang Xingcai’s ear and whispered:
“Just like when we were kids.”
Zhang Xingcai's face was slightly hot. She rolled her eyes at A Dou in annoyance and did not continue the topic.
“Speaking of Si Niang, she should have given birth by now, right?”
“Counting the days, it’s almost time.”
Smiling broadly, as if he had put down a worry, Zhang Xingcai stroked his slightly swollen belly and looked at Adou:
"By the time we get to Chang'an, the matter of Si Niang should have been settled."
Adou nodded:
“At that time, with Feng Mingwen’s status, no one can say anything.”
Zhang Xingcai said leisurely:
"That's right. The tiger girl and the fourth mother of the Guan family have children, and Feng Mingwen always has to bring one of them to marry the royal family."
Adou continued to nod: "So let me just say, this matter is not urgent. There is Si Niang over there, so what are you worried about?"
“Always think more about your children.” Zhang Xingcai stroked his belly subconsciously, a motherly love glowing on his face, “I heard that the tiger girl of the Guan family also hides a box of Feng family’s secrets!”
“Now it seems that it is probably true. Otherwise, where would the current Guan family tiger come from?”
Not only can he subdue the arrogant and powerful generals of the Liangzhou Army, he can also lead them to fight thousands of miles and defeat the enemy like splitting bamboo.
"The knowledge of the Feng family is extraordinary. The tiger girl of the Guan family is so good. How can the children of the Feng family be any worse?"
There is also Siniang. Even though most of Feng Mingwen is not in Liangzhou, the entire Liangzhou is still running in an orderly manner, and Siniang's contribution is indispensable.
Zhang Xingcai happily planned:
“The Feng family first helped your majesty to rule the world, and then assisted our children to govern the world. Isn’t it wonderful that the Han Dynasty gave him a life with the country, a wise king and a virtuous minister, and a good story together?”
Oh, it turns out that I was mainly interested in his knowledge.
“I’m still thinking too far, Chang’an hasn’t been captured yet.”
“I’ll definitely get it.”
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid we can’t take it anymore, so withdraw your troops!”
At the gate of Hefei City, Zhuge Ke held Sun Quan's horse bridle tightly and used all his strength to prevent the furious Sun Quan from riding forward.
Looking around, there are siege ladders set up by Wu soldiers scattered everywhere under the city wall, and many of them are still smoking.
You don’t need to look closely to know that many of these siege ladders have been destroyed.
As for the rush car at the city gate, it had long been smashed into a mess by the stone mill suspended from the city.
The Wu soldiers who failed to attack the city again retreated like a tide.
Sun Quan stared with blood-red eyes, and the riding crop in his hand almost hit Zhuge Dan:
“How to withdraw?! With so many soldiers killed and injured, how do you want me to withdraw our troops?”
Leading the army to the gates of Hefei City, Sun Quan swore an oath in front of the entire army not to break Hefei and not to return the army.
It has been nearly ten days since we attacked the city, and I don't know how many soldiers have fallen under the city. At this time, Zhuge Ke persuaded him to retreat, so why didn't he get furious?
Zhuge Ke pulled the horse’s head and begged:
"Your Majesty, a few days ago I had a detailed report, saying that Cao Rui left Luoyang for the eastward expedition. Now there is a report from the expedition. It is suspected that a large number of bandit troops are coming from the north. They have reached Hefei less than a hundred miles away. I am afraid it is not the bandit reinforcements that have arrived!"
“The soldiers have been attacking the city for days and are getting tired. Your Majesty, why don’t you withdraw your troops first and return to Chaohu to reorganize your army? If the enemy’s reinforcements don’t arrive, it won’t be too late to attack the city again.”
"No! We have casualties, but the thieves in the city have no casualties?" Sun Quan gritted his teeth and said, "I have an army of 100,000, but there are less than 10,000 thieves in the city."
"We are ten times the enemy, but we cannot capture a small Hefei. Instead, we are forced to retreat by the thieves. How can I stand in this world?"
He angrily pointed at the city of Hefei with his riding crop, "My nephew's body is not cold yet, and Hefei has not been broken. How can I be worthy of my fourth brother who died young!"
"The Wei thieves are almost unable to defend Guanzhong. Cao Ruian dares to leave Luoyang easily? There are just suspicious soldiers in the north. Send the order and continue to attack the city!"
Zhuge Ke saw that Sun Quan did not listen to the advice, so he had no choice but to say:
"If your Majesty does not retreat, you should let the soldiers rest for a while. All the siege equipment has been destroyed today, so why not stop here and wait until the siege equipment is built tomorrow to fight again."
Sun Tai's death was not as simple as damaging the morale of the army or irritating Sun Quan.
But the siege equipment that Wu Jun wanted to transport to Hefei by using water were all destroyed, making it difficult for the army to attack the city.
In Sun Quan's plan, he delayed sending troops, except waiting for Shu and Wei to suffer losses so that he could take advantage.
The other thing is to wait for winter to come, so that the Wei thieves' elite cavalry cannot exert their maximum combat power.
At the same time, take advantage of this opportunity to build siege equipment and make adequate preparations for the attack on Hefei.
Who would have expected that the plan would change quickly. An ambush on the way by the Wei army caused the siege equipment that took several months to be built to be burned clean.
This is why sieges these days are all improvised and crude siege equipment.
At this time, Sun Quan felt extremely angry when he heard that the siege equipment was gone again.
Even if the ants attack the city, they must have a siege ladder.
At present, even the siege ladder is gone. No matter how furious he is, forcing the soldiers to attack the city at all costs, there is nothing he can do.
“Then make it! You must make it for me overnight tonight!”
“No!”
It was night, and while the Wu army was cutting wood all night, a cold wind suddenly came up, and a section of the fence of the camp was blown down, injuring five or six soldiers on duty.
The winter of the 14th year of Jianxing came earlier than usual.
Sun Quan was awakened by a loud noise outside the commander's tent in the middle of the night. He said that there were thieves attacking the camp, so he hurriedly got up and asked:
“What’s going on outside?”
The bodyguard entered the tent carrying a lantern, bringing with him a chill that made Sun Quan shrink subconsciously.
“Your Majesty, what’s wrong, the handsome flag outside was blown down by the wind!”
"What!"
Sun Quan was shocked and tried to walk out.
“Your Majesty, please put on your fur coat!”
The guards quickly stopped Sun Quan and said, "Suddenly there was a strong wind at night, and the soldiers were frozen. Some people have already contracted the cold."
When Sun Quan heard this, his face suddenly darkened.
“Wind cold?”
"Yes, because of this cold wind, the weather has suddenly turned cold, so your Majesty must pay attention to keeping warm."
(End of this chapter)