Chapter 152 – Twilight

The first snow fell on the ancient meaning of the city walls of the capital, black and green color contrast for the beauty of the palace above, but did not bring the slightest bit of fresh and charming breath, no one to pity the square on a thin layer of snow as wool blanket, the day just dawn, more and more officials will begin to mercilessly trample on the snow, will be those white snow trampled into the mud.

These officials face heavy, in a hurry, there is no leisure to enjoy the snow, from the south of the war report constantly into the capital city, came to the palace next to the central desk, at this time the central desk, completely shrouded in a tense and depressing atmosphere, but in the good and not very panicky.

The sky was overcast to the extreme, the Beiqi ministers in the Zhongshu Terrace were arguing about something, then an extremely low voice, aborted everyone’s argument, let the Beiqi Cabinet to restore the silence, and in the midst of the silence quickly decided to respond.

Regarding this war, the court of Northern Qi had been preparing for several years, when the news of the brazen attack of the Southern Qing army came, no one was surprised, the means of control in wartime, as well as the response, were extremely quickly spread from the palace through the central secretariat, spreading throughout this seemingly young, but in reality, it had already stretched out for a thousand years. In just one month’s time, the entire Northern Qi was mobilized.

A bright yellow imperial carriage left from the central secretariat, the officials didn’t see it off at the back, but instead rejoined the busy military and political affairs, when this crisis situation, if there are still ministers who dare to be brave enough to show their own ass-kissing skills at this moment, they have to be careful that their own heads will not be hacked off by the furious majesty.

The imperial chariot came to the main hall before, a gloomy face of his majesty the emperor of north qi threw away his hand, thumped several steps and jumped down from the car, will be beside the eunuchs and palace maidens bluffed a jump. But he himself did not worry about the dragon body injury self-consciousness, just in front of the main hall of the stone steps turned around, to the imperial chariot beside the jinyiwei commanding officer Wei Hua, as well as the rest of the other three important ministers chilling reprimanded: “South Qing civil unrest, I gave you a year’s worth of procrastination, and now the matter came to a head, but actually still so panicked. What am I raising you losers for!”

Several Northern Qi important ministers heart flinch, know that his majesty today’s mood is not how good, because last night thousands of miles back to the war report, Yanjing city Qing army has begun to move, Daqi Nanking garrison defeated again and again, and all-powerful commander-in-chief Uesugi tiger, at this time, bias is not in Nanking city, just hiding in the Song country of the small state of the city, has not been moving.

After a few thoughts, the ministers are not sure what is the cause of His Majesty’s rage, is it the previous panic of the ministers in the Zhongshutai, or is it the fear of the hundreds of thousands of armies that are difficult to resist in Nanqing, or is it His Majesty’s some suspicion of General Uesugi Tiger’s deliberate silence?

Wei Hua’s body ricked extremely low, nowadays, the court of Northern Qi, has long been His Majesty’s palm within the grip of the iron plate, no longer any power dares to challenge the dignity of the royal family, even if Master Bitter Lotus died four years ago, has not changed this trend, not to mention that nowadays the enemy is at hand, His Majesty’s authority of the Emperor of Northern Qi, at this moment, no one dares to have the slightest slightest contempt.

Wei Hua is the Empress Dowager’s relative, but also His Majesty’s close confidant, he is clear about what His Majesty’s previous words in the South Qing civil unrest refers to, to be able to delay the footsteps of the South Qing invasion of a year long, is entirely because of the South Qing Supervisory Yuan before and after the two masters of the successive rebellions. And what Wei Hua knew even better was that whether it was that dead Chen Pingping or the unknowing Fan Xian, exactly why he betrayed Emperor Qing, in the whole of Northern Qi, His Majesty was probably the only one who knew the truth. So he didn’t dare to say anything.

However, the old minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs among the three ministers was a bit unable to stand up, he bravely stood up and tried to calm down his majesty’s anger, because he was very worried that his majesty, who was still young, would really doubt the loyalty of General Uesugi Hu, and now that the Qing army had started the invasion aggressively, if there was any doubt between the king and the ministers, the result of the battle would be unknown.

As the nominal commander of the Northern Qi military, this minister could not possibly stand by and watch any problems between General Uesugi, the pillar of the Northern Qi nation, and His Majesty the Emperor, who used his maturity and stability beyond his years to calm the moods of all the ministers in the court, so he prostrated himself on the ground and remonstrated vigorously.

The Emperor of Northern Qi’s face gradually calmed down, flicked his sleeve, letting these few ministers retire to deal with the urgent military reports from the south, while he himself brought Wei Hua into the main hall.

Next to the dragon chair in the main hall, behind the bead curtain, the empress dowager, who hadn’t been under the curtain for several years, was waiting for their arrival.

Before the bead curtain, the Emperor of Northern Qi bowed slightly and Wei Hua also made a bow. The Emperor of Northern Qi’s face had completely calmed down at this time, looking at Wei Hua and asking in a cold voice, “Over in the Southern Dynasty, are there any new movements?”

Wei Hua was slightly stunned, as the head of the Northern Qi secret spy system, he was responsible for all intelligence collection from the court to the military, however, this information was presented to His Majesty’s imperial study as early as the night, for a moment, he actually did not know how to reply to such an interrogation, what …… exactly did His Majesty want to ask?

After pondering over the words for a while, Wei Hua frowned and said, “The commander of the Southern Dynasty’s Kyoto Guard Division is still Shi Fei, but Xiao Jinhua has been transferred back to the Northern Battalion from the Nanzhao side, and together with Wang Zhikun, who has been stationed in Yanjing for generations, the mobilization of generals in the Southern Dynasty is not surprising.”

The Emperor of Northern Qi frowned slightly and said, “Xiao Jinhua was the vice general of the Southern Dynasty’s Grand Prince back then, his mediocre performance in the Kyoto rebellion four years ago, coupled with the relationship between him and the Grand Prince, so he was expelled by the Emperor of Qing to the Southern Imperial Edict, and this time he was transferred back to the Northern Battalion, which is really a bit odd. How do you feel about this person Wang Zhikun?”

“Wang Zhikun this person does not show himself, however, no matter how the southern dynasty changes, he always sits firmly in Yanjing City, according to the court’s observations over the years, Emperor Qing keeps this person in preparation for the present northern invasion.” Wei Hua had no choice but to repeat the analysis of the Brocade Guards and the Ministry of War, once again.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly opened his mouth and asked, “Ye Chong is still in Kyoto?”

Wei Hua responded, “Still there.”

The Emperor of Northern Qi stared at his face, a cold light shot through the slits of his eyes that were slightly narrowed into moons, “Are you sure?”

Wei Hua’s heart shook slightly and he said in a deep voice, “Sure.”

“This would be strange.” The Emperor of Northern Qi glanced at the Empress Dowager behind the beaded curtain and shook his head, “If Emperor Qing was really prepared to do his job, how could he leave Ye Chong still in Kyoto? The Southern Dynasty has been tossed around enough by Chen Pingping and Fan Xian over the years, the famous generals who are really good at fighting have died, the rebels have rebelled, the Qin family has died out, and the Grand Prince has rebelled to the city of Dongyi …… Just one Wang Zhikun, how can he possibly put Emperor Qing at ease? If this old man didn’t want to go on an imperial expedition, at least a character like Ye Chong should be put in the north.”

Wei Hua’s heart was slightly moved, and he couldn’t figure out why exactly the Southern Dynasty’s generals were deployed in such a way. A war between two great powers in the world was definitely not a small fight, even if Wang Zhikun had been planning and preparing for this matter for twenty years in Yanjing City, but if the Qing military did not come up with a great figure that could truly shake the country, how could it show the world that it was determined to proclaim its hegemonic stance to Beiqi?

Beiqi is not Dongyi City, this country on the throne of Wei, a vast territory, populous, the northeast plains is one of the continent’s breadbasket, although the decline for a long time, but in these years the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor’s sincere cooperation, under the strong means, has been gradually rejuvenated, even if the Qing Dynasty’s strength, the military strength of the fullness of the country, if you want to attack Beiqi, but also is not likely to be able to reach the goal of the short period of time, I think! It is with the Qing Emperor’s strong confidence that he would not make such an arrogant judgment.

The main hall of Beiqi’s beautiful palace was suddenly plunged into silence. His Majesty the Emperor was slowly pacing his feet underneath the dragon chair, his brows furrowed into excellent-looking circles as he analyzed what that powerful counterpart of Southern Qing was trying to do. The war had already begun, there was no baiting, or testing of the enemy, more than a hundred thousand people had already given their lives for it, yet since the war had already begun, why was it that Emperor Qing still didn’t put on his tiger and wolf-like demeanor, but instead appeared to be a bit of a middle-of-the-roader and a small family man in the midst of such rules?

Wei Hua also fell into silence, his eyes following His Majesty’s footsteps as he kept moving, and his heart was constantly calculating. Although in his opinion, with the might of the Qing army, no matter what the South Qing court with the commander, the difference is not big, but look at his majesty so look at Chongqing army commander-in-chief candidates, he also vaguely feel a hint of surprise.

Suddenly, he thought of the great general Uesugi Tiger who is far away from the Daqi Nanjing defense line at this time, hanging in the Song state city with a lone army, his heart moved slightly, intending to say something, but afraid of His Majesty’s wrath again. He looked at the blurred figure behind the beaded curtain, secretly clenched his teeth and said, “Perhaps …… Emperor Qing is afraid of General Uesugi’s strategy of using the army, so he refuses to attack with all his strength, only the army slowly presses up, forcing my Daqi defense line under this huge pressure, revealing a gap, and the Southern Dynasties will use this gap to pounce straight on the ……”

Before the words were finished, the Emperor of Northern Qi had already laughed, more accurately, a hint of a smirk appeared on his face, calmly yet with a sense of oppression as he looked at Wei Hua’s face. The gap Wei Hua mentioned earlier, in fact, refers not to the gap in the arrangement of Beiqi’s military power, but the gap in the hearts of the people, just as the old Minister of War knelt down in the snow to admonish, the ministers of Beiqi, are very worried that the court relies on as a pillar of the General Uesugi, because of the unfavorable war in the south, and will cause his majesty’s wrath.

The war between the two countries has been more than a month, as the southern commander-in-chief of the Uesugi Tiger, not only did not stop the invasion of the Southern Qing army, but also left the Nanjing defense line, hid in the distance, ignoring dozens of urgent decree of the imperial court, and watched as the Southern Qing army broke through more than a hundred miles.

Above the Beiqi courtroom, His Majesty the Emperor’s full-blown anger has been unabashedly displayed, which is why today’s quarrel in the Zhongshutai, the speculations of the ministers, the kneeling admonition of the Secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and at this time Wei Hua’s bold cryptic words.

Out of Wei Hua’s expectation, he did not usher in His Majesty’s angry reprimand, the Emperor of Northern Qi just looked at him with an indifferent look and said slowly: “You underestimated me. Those people in the Southern Dynasty …… also underestimated me.”

Wei Hua’s heart trembled slightly, not knowing where His Majesty’s words came from.

“I have never doubted Uesugi Tiger’s loyalty.” The Emperor of Northern Qi’s sword eyebrow raised, it was actually indescribably cold, “No, to be precise, I don’t care at all if General Uesugi is loyal to me, but as long as he is loyal to the court and to this land, that will be enough.”

Wei Hua’s face changed slightly, unsure of what was going on, secretly thinking that for most of this month, the emperor’s anger that had caused immense worry amongst the court officials of Beiqi, as well as those voices coming out of the palace reprimanding Uesugi Tiger, could it be that they were all fake?

“If Emperor Qing really thinks that I will make mistakes under his pressure, I can only say that Emperor Qing is far less powerful than I thought.” The Emperor of Northern Qi said calmly, “All of this is just something I’m doing to show the Southerners, or one could say, to you courtiers.”

“If the Qing army really dares to pounce straight into the north, aren’t they worried about General Uesugi, who is straddling the thin dragon’s waist and belly, as well as the power of Dongyi Castle?” The Emperor of Northern Qi said with slight sarcasm, “Will the Southerners fall for my tricks? I don’t believe it, but I didn’t expect that these officials in the court would jump in one by one.”

Wei Hua said after a moment of silence, “However, His Majesty’s anger is enough to deter the hearts of his subjects, I am just worried that some ministers in the court will misjudge His Majesty’s will and thus implicate the frontline officers and soldiers.”

Fighting a war is always about logistics, generals bathe in blood in front of the battlefield, ministers play with the sacred heart behind the battlefield, this is how things are in the world every so often. Beiqi emperor face unchanged, looked at Wei Hua and said, “That’s why I want you to come today, but all these days, follow my meaning, the ministers who attacked General Uesugi with a negligence, all dismissed from the court.”

Wei Hua’s heart was shocked, secretly thinking that nowadays when the enemy is at hand, could it be that another drastic change is going to be ushered in amongst the dynasty party?

“I know what you are worried about. Don’t worry too much, now the situation has become critical, not the court of the past days, these will only ponder my heart of the waste, captive will be captive, who still dare to have two words?”

Beiqi emperor sat on top of the dragon chair, looked back at the bead curtain, found the mother behind the curtain slightly nodded, sat upright, a gloomy face said: “Since today, but where a minister dares to say that the great general is not the person, beheading! But anyone who makes a mistake in the frontline battle, behead!”

“You are not bad. The Minister of War is not bad either.” The Emperor of Northern Qi looked at Wei Hua’s eyes and said, “If at this time, you still don’t dare to speak for General Shangsugi, I’m only afraid that I’ll have to behead you as well. When the country’s dynasty is about to die, I will not leave any invalids or idlers.”

Wei Hua’s body trembled slightly, only then did he realize that his majesty was only afraid that he had already completely crossed paths with General Uesugi a long, long time ago, and only now would he be able to deal with the current tense situation so calmly, but in that case, throughout the entire Beiqi court, who would still be able to control Uesugi Tiger, who was far to the south? If Uesugi tiger really have a different heart ……

“Do you know how to march and fight?” The Emperor of Northern Qi suddenly asked with slight sarcasm.

“I do not know military.”

“Neither can I. Since this is the case, such things as fighting a war should always be given to those who will, and since I have used Uesugi Tiger, I will remain steadfast and continue to use it.” The Emperor of Northern Qi calmly said, “From today onwards, the military civil affairs of the seven southern counties will all be under the command of General Uesugi, and we will gather the strength of the dynasty to help General Uesugi fight against the enemy. Stay and send the decree down.”

For some reason, Wei Hua stared blankly and somewhat impolitely at the young emperor before him, and suddenly felt his body heat up a bit, and what was originally a somewhat terrified mood became unusually calm and firm at this moment, and he knelt down on one knee, and responded crisply, “My lord, obey the decree!”

Wei Hua withdrew from the palace, not knowing what kind of shockwaves would be caused by this decree of His Majesty the Emperor to hand over one-third of the power of the Northern Qi Dynasty to Uesugi Tiger. The Emperor of Beiqi, who had just issued the decree, was unusually calm as he indifferently looked at the thin white snow outside the palace without a trace of trepidation.

The world is afraid of the Qing army’s strong and unparalleled combat power, however, the Emperor of Northern Qi is not how afraid, because he has the Uesugi Tiger, and he dares to use the Uesugi Tiger, with more than any one king more thoroughly.

What’s more, although he didn’t know about the military, he knew that the great war between the two countries was ultimately a competition for national strength, as long as the court of Northern Qi did not make a mistake, those invaders in the south, no matter how powerful, it is impossible to exterminate the Northern Qi in just a few months.

After all, everything needs time, and the Beiqi Emperor is still young, but the powerful king in the south is already old, the Beiqi Emperor can accompany Emperor Qing to consume, but Emperor Qing himself is not willing to consume for too long.

Beiqi Emperor’s eyes narrowed slightly, there is a doubt in his heart can never be released, if Emperor Qing is really not willing to accompany his own consumption, why is the war in the south, but seems so cold-blooded and entangled? Is Emperor Qing worried about Uesugi Tiger, or Dongyi City, or is he worried about something else?

He should be almost in Kyoto already, right?

The beaded curtain moved slightly, and a girl in a flowery cotton jacket supported the Empress Dowager, walking out from behind the curtain. The Empress Dowager gently looked at the Emperor of Northern Qi, and her heart couldn’t help but give birth to a strong feeling of fulfillment. Having a son like this, or rather, having a daughter like this, what else is there to wish for?

The Emperor of Northern Qi turned around and looked at Haitang Duo Duo who was wearing a flowery cotton jacket, and smiled gently and said, “Little sister-in-law, if you can move the heavenly soldiers and generals from the temple, why do I need to suffer so hard?”

Haitang slowly shook her head and didn’t say anything, thinking to herself what would His Majesty become if she knew that the support he wanted most in this life had been smashed by herself and Wang XIII Lang?

“Remember Fan Xian said to you before, this world is theirs and ours, but in the end …… it is ours.” The Emperor of Beiqi didn’t know what came to his mind, and suddenly opened his mouth and said calmly, “I’ve never known where this confidence of his came from, but now that I’m faced with the perilous situation in the south, I’m vaguely able to grasp this feeling.”

Haitang Duo Duo said after a moment of silence, “He also said a sentence when he was in Jiangnan, we are the sun at six or seven o’clock in the morning.”

“Emperor Qing …… is just a round of residual sun.” The Emperor of Northern Qi frowned slightly, as if he himself couldn’t believe this judgment, the calmness on his face was actually mostly a disguise, because he was also not sure if lifting the power of the national dynasty and paying it into the hands of Uesugi Tiger would be able to temporarily stop Emperor Qing’s footsteps of uniting the world, no matter how talented Uesugi Tiger was in the sands, but he was ultimately a human being.

The Empress Dowager, who had been maintaining a gentle silence, suddenly laughed out loud and said, “It looks like this round of the waning sun of the mourning family, I have to go and hug my granddaughter.”

A burst of laughter finally came out from the suppressed Beiqi palace, the Beiqi Emperor looked at Haitang, and after a moment of silence, said, “Go with me to see the red beans and rice.”

Southern Qing Kyoto Palace. A round of residual sun hanging in the western sky, this time the climate is still warm, twilight color like blood, reflected in the palace vermilion palace walls, bright yellow glazed tiles, straight like to burn up.

His Majesty, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, whose face was slightly tired and haggard, was lying on top of a chaise longue in front of the Taiji Hall, and his fingertips were slowly combing the fur of a big white fat cat. That fat cat seemed to be extremely enjoying the ministrations of a powerful monarch, lazily reclining, and from time to time even turning over and bringing its soft belly, to Emperor Qing’s fingertips.

This chubby white cat naturally did not know how terrifying His Majesty the Emperor’s fingertips were.

A military general stood in silence amidst the color of the curtain, standing extremely close to His Majesty, not saying a word, just looking at the white cat under His Majesty as well as the two fat cats that were yawning and stretching at the back of the wooden chairs, in a mood that was hard to suppress feeling ridiculous.

These three cats were divided into yellow, black, and white, and all looked like they had been raised to be unusually fat. The palace had always rarely kept these small pets, and it was unknown how this very ordinary looking cats had gained His Majesty’s favor.

Of course, not a trace of the emotions in his heart showed on the general’s face, because even if a two-year-old baby died in front of his eyes, he wouldn’t be moved in any way, not to mention that he wasn’t a reckless man who only knew how to fight, and before returning to the capital and entering the palace, he had already poked around enough to find out more than enough information.

These three fat cats belonged to the Fan House, they were raised by County Princess Chen from a young age, and at some point they were brought into the palace by County Princess Chen to play with His Majesty, and His Majesty then kept these three cats until now.

It seemed to be just three cats, but in the eyes of this general, it always seemed to represent a deeper meaning. It was just that he didn’t dare to ask, and there was no place to ask, because there was simply no one in the world, who knew whether that person was dead, or alive and well.

Emperor Qing withdrew his gaze cast into the twilight clouds, glanced at the general, and spoke, ”That little guy from Northern Qi is just putting on a show for you to see. Is the court feeding you so many people in the Privy Council Staff Department?”

This general could not tell how old he was, as his eyes were clear and cold, and he seemed to be extremely young, but on the contrary, his face was full of the color of frost. Slightly pondering, this general directly said: “On the battlefield, to be positive, to win by surprise, no matter how cunning the Uesugi Tiger is, as long as your majesty gives the order, my Daqing Iron Cavalry will not fail to live up to the holy hope. As for the use of military matters, your majesty’s holy heart can decide, really do not need the Privy Council to do more useless work.”

These words are not flattering, because flattering courtiers can’t say such unpleasant words, but are real, this general is very convinced of your majesty’s military talent, and naturally sighs.

“Northern Qi retreated again and again, intending to retreat to the line of Nanjing, exchanging distance for time …… that little guy is trying to spend time with me.” Qing emperor’s lips corners spread a trace of disdainful smile, “Uesugi tiger pinched in the waist and abdomen, really clever, however, the general situation is so, only need to dial this nail, who can still stop my army to the north?”

“The north needs a commander-in-chief,” Emperor Qing closed his eyes, letting the blood-like twilight cover his thin cheeks, “Wang Zhikun has been raised for ten years or so, and has been raised to be a bit blunt. To pull out this nail of Uesugi Tiger, it is inevitable to pass through the territory of Dongyi City, although I have no decree to go down, but it is obvious that our Wang Da Dudu is a little afraid of the 4,000 Black Riders and the 10,000 or so troops that the boss has at hand. How can we accomplish anything with our hands so tied?”

Immediately after that, Emperor Qing glanced at that young general and said with a slight frown, “You’ve only just come back from the grasslands, the Privy Council’s matters are not clear to you per se, don’t always argue with your father. As a son of man …… what is the behavior!”

Not knowing why the topic had turned in this direction, that general’s heart chilled and he bowed his head in acknowledgement.

Emperor Qing stared at his face and slowly said, “Don’t expect me to send you to the north to pull out nails …… You don’t have enough seniority, and the most crucial thing is that, this time in and out of the grasslands, your ruthlessness is tempered out, but the ability to be cunning and tolerant is still not… …You are no match for Uesugi Tiger.”

That general jerked his head up, a trace of unwillingness naturally showing on his face.

“Ye Wan, you are still too young.” Emperor Qing said in a slow voice, “The grassland Hu people are not as cunning as the people of my Middle Kingdom. You went deep into the grassland this time, chasing after Shan Yu’s royal court, your momentum and courage is commendable, but have you thought about why the seven thousand iron cavalry of the northern barbarians have never been able to make contact with the royal court? If the royal court meets up with those seven thousand barbarian riders, above the ice and snow grassland, can you still escape back alive?”

Yes, this young general was one of the rising general stars of the Qing court, the male son of Privy Council Minister Ye Chong, the commander of the Great Victory of Qingzhou, Ye Wan. After the great victory in Qingzhou, Ye Wan led four thousand elite iron horsemen of Qing to pursue the remnants of Shan Yu’s royal court, and gained a fierce reputation above the grassland, and finally came back from the grassland alive, although there were only eight hundred people left in the four thousand iron horsemen, but this kind of achievement, put in the South Qing in any military action, is a quite remarkable thing.

However, at this time, the Qing Emperor’s bland words, but hit the young general in the heart of a corner, but also awakened the hidden doubts in the heart of the Ye Wan, why for several months of dangerous pursuit, Shan Yu Speed Bida’s Royal Court remnants of the army, has never been able to contact with the 7,000 barbarians ride on?

Ye Wan’s heart trembled slightly, looking at His Majesty’s face that was gradually showing its old age, wanting to seek an answer.

“Even though Fan Xian took Hai Tang Duo Duo to the temple, he still hasn’t forgotten to lay his backhand on the grasslands.” Emperor Qing’s face was indifferent as he said, “Kung fu is always outside of poetry, and victory or defeat is also originally outside of the sands. If and when you understand this, you will be the commander-in-chief of my northern expedition.”

Ye Wan stood silently beside His Majesty, his mood slightly heavy.

“The victory or defeat of this world is actually outside the sands as well. Within a year, if Fan Xian dies, I will naturally win, and if I die …… this world does not like me, I will naturally win.”

His Majesty the Emperor, as if recounting the affairs of a bystander, gently tightened his fingertips and lifted the obese white cat into his arms, gently combing its fur with great care.