Chapter 161:
After Liu Jian proclaimed the emperor and made Datong the capital, in recent years, in order to prevent Li Mu's northern expedition, Yanmen was the first gate of defense. Hunyuan Prefecture, north of Yanmen and south of Datong, was the second line of defense.
According to his original plan, this time it was to join forces with Murong at Yanmen to destroy Li Mu at the first pass. Unexpectedly, Murong Tei's troops were still on the road, and in the middle of the night, Li Mu appeared like a divine soldier before the city gate.
The Xiongnu's full camp, from Liu Jian to the soldiers, was completely unprepared for this. Although Liu Jian rushed to direct the response, it was too late. The Xiongnu soldiers who were awakened from their sleep hurried to the city gate, struggling to resist the waves of fierce attacks from the enemy, the direction of the barracks, the direction of the barracks, the sky again burst into flames.
The only remaining will, with the fire, was completely destroyed.
The tide is gone. If Liu Jianzhi defends Yanmen again, the whole army may be annihilated here. Now he can only take the next best step, abandon Yanmen, retreat north to Hunyuan Prefecture, and join Murongti there, and then try to fight.
At dawn, the raging fire that had been burning for nearly midnight was finally extinguished.
Li Mu's shirt was covered with traces of **** battles. When he took the soldiers behind him through the city gate, the blood of the Huns was still dripping from the gaps in the armor of his shoulders.
Inside the city gate, a large area of the company was turned into scorched earth, and bursts of green smoke continued to rise from the broken walls and ruins. Along the road to Datong, the capital of Xiliang, there are boots and weapons left by the Huns when they escaped. The bodies are scattered and piled up like mounds. It also showed what a tragic war had happened in this place on the night just past.
A few days later, Liu Jian finally escaped to Hunyuan. Before he could catch his breath, he sorted out the remnants of the army, and then summoned the remaining troops that were originally stationed here to form a formation in the area of Luanling Pass, while guarding against Li Mu's second attack. While waiting anxiously for the arrival of the Beiyan army.
According to the news he had received before, on the day Li Mu raided Yanmen, Murong Ti's army had already reached the Zijing Pass area. After he received the urgent message he sent, he diverted to this place. According to the estimated distance, he would definitely be able to arrive within three or four days at most.
For the whole day, the spies were like revolving lanterns, constantly going in and out of Liu Jian's camp. The news he brought made him furious.
Li Mu's army has already caught up, and it is only a hundred miles away from Hunyuan. At the latest, within a day or two, they will definitely arrive.
However, the waiting Beiyan army was nowhere to be seen.
It was clear that Murong Ti had passed the Bauhinia Pass and arrived at Black Stone Ridge yesterday. It was only a day or two's journey away from here. For some reason, he suddenly stopped there and did not take a step forward.
With a sound of "Boom", a gold-plated copper pot was smashed to the ground heavily, and it was flattened on the spot, and the liquor in the pot was splashed on the ground.
The weather had turned cold, and there was no stove for heating in the tent, but Liu Jian was naked and sweating all over his body. The sound of angry roars, even the soldiers outside the tent, could be heard clearly.
"Li Mu is about to come after him, but he doesn't come?"
There were his generals and subordinates standing around, and no one dared to speak.
Cursing and abuse kept coming out of his mouth.
Just a moment ago, while he was waiting eagerly, there was the latest news.
Murongdi learned that Murongxi, who he thought was dead, was still alive. Not only was he alive, but he also secretly colluded with the escaped Xianbei nobles.
Murong Ti's entire plan has been completely disrupted so far.
A few days ago, when he learned that Li Mu had captured Yanmen before he arrived, and the Huns were forced to retreat to the area of Hunyuan, he seemed to smell an ominous aura again.
And the following news about Murong Xi made him feel even more uneasy.
For this battle, he used almost all the men he could call, not to mention the Murong Clan's Longxing ancestral land, Longcheng, even the national capital Yan County, now it is empty behind.
If his uncle was really still alive, and such an opportunity was presented to him, how could he let it go?
According to Murong Ti's inference, Murong Xi's choice of revenge is most likely to take advantage of his absence and the emptiness behind him.
He doesn't go head-to-head with himself. At least not yet. Even with the support of the He Lou clan and other tribes, those people are weak and unable to compete with the army they have.
For Murong, the choice was not difficult.
Day and night, although he yearned to defeat and kill the Southern Dynasty man named Li Mu all the time, he knew better that once he lost his rear, he would really lose the chance for revenge - no With the stable support at the rear, what does he rely on to control this huge army that can still be captured by him and listen to his command?
He couldn't take that risk, even if it was a small possibility.
Murong's decision was tacitly accepted by the Xianbei generals who accompanied the army.
The only thing he was asked about was about Murong Zhe.
The one who asked the question was a Murong clan who accompanied the army as a general.
Murong Wei looked at the direction behind him where he was going, and in his mind, many years ago, when he still maintained the dignity of being a prince, in the ice and snow, out of pity for a while, he gave her to him. When she secretly handed over the food, the grateful gaze she cast on herself.
But in the end, even the most loyal sister, she betrayed herself
Murong was silent for a moment, then said indifferently, "Princess is agile and fickle, and she will be able to protect herself."
That night, Murong ordered the whole army to leave the camp overnight and return to Yan County quickly.
A Xianbei soldier who stayed here inexplicably during the day did not know the reason why the emperor suddenly decided to go back. But there is no need to go to the front to confront Li Mu's army again. Almost all people are happy to see this result, and no one complains about the hard work on the road all night. That night, the army followed the way it came. , turn around and go east.
Three days later, Murong returned to the Zijing Pass where he had traveled west again.
Guarding the Bauhinia Pass is his cronies. After crossing the Bauhinia Pass, it belongs to Dayan, and it also belongs to the land of his Murong Ti.
After three consecutive days of rushing, the soldiers were exhausted. Seeing the Guanlou in front of them from a distance, they regained some energy, looking forward to crossing the border and resting early tonight.
Murong is not much easier than a soldier.
He was disturbed by the news that Murong Xi was still alive, and he was disturbed by the news. In the past three days, he had hardly slept his eyes. At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot.
He was eager to bring the army back to Yan County to ensure that his rear was safe, but he also knew that the soldiers had begun to show dissatisfaction with this way of marching day and night with short breaks in the middle. It seemed that everything was business as usual, and there was no news that Murong Xi was going to be bad for Yan County or Longcheng. After a little consideration, he ordered someone to call to open the door. He planned to camp here overnight and continue on the road tomorrow morning.
The gate was getting closer and closer. In the twilight, the door was closed tightly, and Murong Wei could see it clearly. There was no figure of a defending soldier on the city wall.
He knew something was wrong. These days, the ominous feeling that had been lingering came towards him again.
He immediately ordered the army behind him to stop, and sent someone to approach and call for the door. After calling for a while, there was no response from the inside, and there was still no one on the tower.
That ominous omen is getting stronger.
Murong Di was about to give an order to the army to turn around and leave the place. At this moment, there was a sudden sound of drums in front of him, and above the city tower, a group of soldiers suddenly appeared, lined up along the crenel. Kai, all dressed in Xianbei people's clothes, standing in the middle stood a man in armor, with a burly stature, wearing a hood, with a cluster of red tassels dancing in the wind, from a distance, like a bright red flame, the whole person. It looks majestic.
Under the city gate, countless eyes looked at the man in unison. At first, there was silence for a moment. Gradually, someone seemed to recognize it, but they couldn't believe it, so they whispered to each other, and there was a commotion.
He Lou also appeared from the top of the city, stood beside Murong Xi, and shouted, "Warriors! Open your eyes and see clearly, who is this person beside me on the top of the city!"
"He is your majesty! He is not dead! He was murdered by a traitor and blinded you with lies!"
His eyes fell on Murong Ti, who was riding on horseback under the tower, he raised his hand suddenly, pointed to it, and said sternly: "That traitor is Murong Ti! Suppose he used a traitorous scheme to kill the King of Heaven, but fortunately God opened his eyes, the King of Heaven was never killed by this traitor, and now he is back!"
After a brief silence, before closing the building, the commotion was even worse.
As soon as the news spreads ten, ten to one hundred, as if in order to see more clearly, the soldiers in front are rushing forward one after another.
Murongxi took off the pockets on his head, so that everyone could see his appearance more clearly. After looking around for a week, he said loudly, "You read that right, I am not dead, Murongxi, I will be back today!"
"Among you, those who are willing to come back and follow me can enter the city gate! Follow me, and there will be no windfalls to make in the future! But I will take you back to your hometown in Longcheng, where you can marry and have children, and you will be safe and secure. day!"
Downstairs, the Xianbei soldiers' voices suddenly became louder.
These people, the purpose of joining the army at first, is naturally for making money and women. After so many years of fighting, many people gradually see it clearly, no matter how attractive the future was described to them by their loyal leaders at the beginning, in every battle, they are the low-level soldiers who die, and their income is limited. And the ones who really profited the most were the Xianbei nobles who didn't need to fight at all and the generals with higher rank than them. As time goes by, many people will miss their homeland and hope to go back as soon as possible and live a stable life.
Murong Xi's voice fell, and the two closed doors under his feet slowly opened in front of everyone, and finally opened completely.
The voice of discussion buzzed again, and suddenly, a soldier squeezed out of the crowd and ran towards the doorway, shouting: "I don't want to fight for a long time! I would like to be loyal to the King of Heaven and return to Dragon City with the King of Heaven! "
Murong Tei sat on the horse's back the whole time, raised his head slightly, and stared at Murong Xi's figure above the tower in a trance, motionless.
Seeing this, one of his cronies scolded the soldier for defecting, picked up the bow and arrow in his hand, and aimed at the back of the soldier who was running towards the closed door. The bow and arrow pierced into his chest as fast as lightning, and the man swayed, sitting unsteadily, clutching his chest, and fell to the ground from the back of the horse.
"If you want to follow me back to your hometown in Longcheng, just enter! If you don't want to follow me and continue to work for Murong, I will not force it! But whoever dares to stop those who enter will end up like this!"
Murongxi's voice echoed before Guanlou, and the man stood on the top of the city, looking majestic.
In the last battle at Luoyang, Murong Ti's prestige fell, and the soldiers were tired of running back and forth again. They were already dissatisfied with Murong Ti, but things suddenly changed. The following paragraph was silent for a while, and soon, someone started to follow the soldier's mouth and shouted. Under the name of Murongxi's former king of heaven, they scrambled to get out of the queue and ran towards Louguan.
"The King of Heaven has an order to kill Murong's replacement, reward ten thousand taels, and seal a thousand knights!"
Accompanied by a rapid drum beat, a cavalry suddenly poured out from the closed door. Murong Xi personally led the team, galloped towards the opposite Murong Ti, and charged away.
When many Xianbei soldiers saw this, they turned their spearheads, followed Murongxi, and rushed towards where Murongwei was.
The situation quickly got out of control.
The big flag erected behind Murong's body fell down, and Murong's body was hit by an arrow. Under the desperate guard of a group of cronies, he turned around and retreated, and ran away in the south direction.
…
Li Mu's northern expedition was unstoppable. Not long ago, at the Luanling Pass in Hunyuan Prefecture, he completely defeated the main force of the Xiliang Xiongnu, and went straight to Datong, breaking the capital of Xiliang. Liu Jian took the last remaining remnant and fled north in a hurry. , withdrew from the customs, and merged with the state in the north. At this point, all belonged to the rule of Li Mu.
Not only that, in the north, the Yan Kingdom of the Xianbei people has also undergone great changes. It is said that Murongxi was resurrected from the dead and appeared to take revenge. Before the Bauhinia Pass, the soldiers at the bottom of the Xianbei mutiny, and Murong's whereabouts are unknown. He was killed in the chaotic army, and Murongxi became the emperor of Beiyan again.
The situation in the north was changing, and the news soon reached Jiankang.
But today's Jiankang City is no longer what it used to be. After Rongkang led his troops into Jiankang, he declared himself Taishi. In the name of assisting the young emperor to govern, he settled in Jiankang Palace. Gold, silver and jade shells, if they are found to have deceived people, they will be killed at every turn. Everyone seems to be in dire straits, under the pressure of fear, lingering on.
When the news of Murong's stand-in died in the chaos of the army reached Rong Kang's ears, it was midnight, but the palace was still brightly lit, the wine pool and the meat forest, Rong Kang was holding the disheveled beauty, indulging in lust, having fun, hearing about it, and stunned for a moment , then looked up to the sky and laughed, jumped up from behind the seat, and walked back and forth a few times excitedly.
"Master, the Queen Mother has a request."
At this moment, a palace servant entered carefully and said on his knees.
Rong Kang's eyes flickered, he thought about it, and turned to go to the palace where Gao Yongrong lived.
…
Gao Yongrong's face was covered with a thick layer of powder, and her makeup was delicate, but the color of the powder couldn't hide her pale complexion and puffy eyes.
She smiled and said, "It's late at night, and I have also invited the Grand Master. Don't blame the Grand Master."
Rong Kang squinted a pair of drunk eyes, stared at Gao Yongrong for a moment, and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother is such a wonderful person that she is willing to take the initiative to invite her ministers to come here.
Gao Yongrong smiled and said nothing, sitting there, motionless.
Rongkang laughed, strode to her side, sat down in a big way, put one arm around her, took the wine jug placed on the table in the other, poured wine into the glass, and said with a smile: " If the queen mother figured it out earlier, there would be no need to waste so much time. Although Chen Rongkang is a rough person, he will definitely serve the queen mother with all his heart, and he must satisfy the queen mother. I will give the queen mother a cup first."
Gao Yongrong took the wine that Rong Kang handed over and drank it all at once, but because he drank too fast, he choked for a while, leaned down, and coughed non-stop.
Rongkang let out an "Ouch", stretched out his hand and patted her back, and said, "It's the minister's fault, which made the Queen Mother feel uncomfortable. The Queen Mother must not blame her." As he spoke, the hand had changed to stroking, unscrupulous.
Gao Yongrong didn't seem to notice at all. He bent down and coughed for a while before he straightened up again, put the wine cup in his hand back on the table, picked up the wine pot himself, and filled the wine cup with wine. He got up, and when he was about to send it to Rong Kang, he put it down again. He glanced at the guards who were following Rong Kang, who were standing outside the palace door, and gently pushed away Rong Kang's pair of guards that had been placed on him. hand.
Rongkang understood, and immediately ordered all the guards to leave without being summoned and not allowed to enter.
As soon as the guards left, Gao Yongrong smiled and said, "It is indecent to come and not come. Besides, the Grand Master assists His Majesty, and he has worked so hard and meritoriously. This palace also offers a cup to the Grand Master. Please don't refuse." Fascinating place.
Rongkang laughed and said hello again and again. He took the wine cup and put it to his mouth. When he was about to drink it, he stopped and said, "If the minister drinks this glass of wine, how will the queen mother reward the minister?"
Gao Yongrong's eyes wandered, and he said, "What the Grand Master wants, this palace will do."
Haha laughter, Rong Kang picked up the wine cup again, and under Gao Yongrong's attention, brought it to his mouth again. Said: "The queen mother is very grateful to the minister, and the minister knows it well, and has always looked down on it. Tonight, the queen mother is so fond of her, and the minister is grateful. This cup of wine was poured by the queen mother herself, and the minister dare not drink it alone. , how about asking the queen mother to take a sip first, and then the rest of the ministers will receive the favor?"
A strange look flashed across Gao Yongrong's eyes, but he remained calm, coughed a few more times, and shook his head to say no: "I don't know how to drink alcohol, I just had a drink, and I almost coughed to death, so please don't be embarrassed." In his tone, It has a somewhat coquettish tone.
Rong Kang glanced at her with a smile, but he still refused to take back the glass of wine. He had to drink it with Gao Yongrong. Seeing that she refused again and again, he smiled and said, "The Queen Mother refuses to drink the wine in this glass. Maybe the Queen Mother knows, Is this drink different?"
Gao Yongrong's expression changed slightly, and he forced a smile: "I don't know what the Grand Master said in this palace?"
Rong Kang stared at her, the smile on his face disappeared suddenly, he put down the wine glass, and said coldly: "You just coughed and leaned down, did you think I didn't see it? What did you shoot into the glass?"
Gao Yongrong froze for a moment, then suddenly straightened up, pounced on the glass of wine on the table, raised his hand to knock it over, but was slapped to the ground by Rong Kang's palm.
Rongkang stood up, stared at Gao Yongrong who was lying on the ground, and sneered: "This minister is a rude person, but he knows how to take his life. This cup of wine given by the Queen Mother is something that the minister would never dare to drink. If you don't drink it yourself, Then someone else will drink it!" Said, loudly ordering someone to bring the little emperor.
Gao Yongrong's face changed suddenly, and he said sharply, "You dare!"
The palace servants had been ordered to leave, and Gao Yongrong chased after him. He was about to stop it, but how could he stop it? After a short while, he watched his son being pushed in by several palace servants like wolves and tigers, and covered his mouth tightly.
Rongkang gave an order, and several palace servants grabbed him and stopped his struggle. One person picked up the wine on the case, squeezed his mouth, and prepared to pour it into it.
Gao Yongrong's face turned pale, like a dead man.
Just now, she took the opportunity of coughing to eject the poison previously hidden in her fingernails into the empty glass that she had finished drinking.
This medicine is extremely poisonous. It only needs a fingernail, and as long as it enters the abdomen, it will bleed to death from seven orifices.
She has secretly negotiated with several trusted ministers, and as long as Rongkang dies of poison tonight, they will bring people into the palace and kill all the people Rongkang arranged in the palace.
She never imagined that Rong Kang, who seemed to be a jerk, was also careful and prepared. Seeing that the poisonous wine was about to be poured into his son's belly, Gao Yongrong's liver and gallbladder were torn apart, screaming, and crawling towards him, grabbing Rongkang's leg tightly, kowtowing incessantly, crying. His face was full, and he prayed that he would let his son go.
Rongkang ordered people to stop drinking and said: "You and Your Majesty, I only need to keep one person. You want to save Your Majesty, or you can drink this cup yourself, and he can live. Don't worry, wait for His Majesty to announce to the world. Abandon the throne to me, I will treat him favorably and save his life."
Gao Yongrong looked up at Rong Kang and froze.
"Come on, is it you who lives or does he live?" Rong Kang asked with a grin.
"Mother-Mother-"
The son was still struggling desperately in the hands of the palace servants, and his cry for help kept coming into her ears.
Gao Yongrong trembled uncontrollably, and sweat rolled down from her forehead.
She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but her tongue seemed to be pressed by something, and she couldn't say a word.
"If you don't die, then your son will die! Feed me!"
Rong Kang shouted sharply.
The palace servant squeezed the little emperor's mouth and poured the wine into it.
"what-"
Gao Yongrong screamed, closed his eyes, fainted, and fell to the ground.