Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 155: The Queen Mother took the initiative under the influence of alcohol, the false emperor: I am passive

Northwest, Dunhuang City.

The Zhengtong Emperor was discussing something with Xu Bin and Yuan Bin. Yahansha came in hurriedly with a piece of intelligence in his hand, looking very happy: "Your Majesty, I will go south first."

The three people sitting on the chairs jumped up, and Yuan Bin took the intelligence report and handed it to the Zhengtong Emperor. The Zhengtong Emperor immediately opened it, glanced at it, suppressed his excitement, and said: "Our chance has come!"

He handed the intelligence report to Xu Bin, who read it and handed it to Yuan Bin. This was the opportunity they had been waiting for. The Zhengtong Emperor asked Yahansha, "Prince Xining, are you ready?"

"One hundred thousand troops are ready. We have sworn by the Eternal Heaven that we will do what we promised Emperor Xuanzong." Yahansha clasped his fists.

The Zhengtong Emperor could not hide his excitement. Although the 100,000 troops were a little less, he still had the Shaanxi-Gansu Commander Tan You, who still had 100,000 troops. Next, he just had to wait for the opportunity, until Yesen and the imperial army were both defeated.

"Your Majesty, do you want to summon Tan You to Dunhuang?" Yuan Bin asked.

"Not yet, let's make all preparations first." The orthodox emperor said, "They haven't started fighting yet, so we are not in a hurry. If Tan You comes here often, it will easily arouse suspicion. Didn't the fake emperor appoint a new governor of Shaanxi and Gansu? This means he has already known about the unusual movements in the northwest."

Xu Bin was very pleased, and his expression was full of admiration: "Your Majesty is wise."

The Zhengtong Emperor smiled and said to Yahansha sincerely: "King Xining, the late emperor signed an alliance with you more than ten years ago, and we have kept our word. Ten years later, I will sign an alliance with you again, and when I return to the capital, I will confer titles on the tribes in Guanxi."

Yahansha looked delighted and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will go and prepare now. Once we receive Your Majesty's order, the army will set out immediately."

……

Xi'an Mansion.

Governor Liu Dingzhi looked at the intelligence reports in his hand, and then looked at Ding Xiu, the Jinyiwei pacification envoy who had just arrived from the capital, and said, "Sir Ding, now that you are here, I feel more relaxed. I can implement new policies and repair the Yellow River. But military affairs and these spies are really giving me a headache."

"Sir Liu, His Majesty sees that you are too busy to handle everything, so he specially sent me to help you." Ding Xiu smiled.

"Your Majesty is indeed understanding of me. I am incompetent." Liu Dingzhi sighed, "Your Majesty was attacked by an assassin in the capital. You should stay with your Majesty. The situation is getting more and more complicated. I am really worried about your Majesty."

Ding Xiu held his forehead with his hand: "Lord Liu, don't worry about His Majesty. No assassin can kill His Majesty. We still have to find out who is behind the assassination as soon as possible."

Liu Dingzhi nodded repeatedly: "Now that you are here, I will leave all the intelligence to you. You can also call upon the soldiers in my governor's office."

Ding Xiu nodded slowly, thought for a moment and asked, "Where is Commander-in-Chief Tan You? Is he in Xi'an?"

"Yes, of course he is in his office." Liu Dingzhi said.

"I'll go meet him." Ding Xiu smiled, "I'll have to deal with him and use his soldiers in the future."

The main troops of a province were in the Duzhihuishisi, which was responsible for the military affairs of a province. Ding Xiu left the governor's office and went straight to the Duzhihuishisi.

Tan You, the commander-in-chief, was about to go out when his personal guard came to report that Jinyiwei Zhenfushi Ding Xiu came to pay a visit. Tan You was secretly shocked, Jinyiwei Zhenfushi usually stayed in the capital, how come he came to Xi'an?
"Sir Tan, sorry to bother you." Ding Xiu walked in without greeting.

Although the Jinyiwei Zhenfushi's rank was not high, he would not necessarily take it seriously if he met a first-rank official, let alone a commander-in-chief. Tan You smiled faintly: "Master Ding, what are you Jinyiwei doing in Xi'an?"

"That's not your place to ask!" Ding Xiu said coldly.

"Then why did you come to see me? I have military duties to attend to, so I'm sorry I can't keep you company." Tan You snorted.

Ding Xiu stood in front of him and said, "I am tracking down the assassination attempt on His Majesty and have tracked him to Xi'an."

Tan You paused: "What does it have to do with me?"

Ding Xiu stared at him without saying anything. After a while, he chuckled and said, "I just came here to say hello to Lord Tan. When the Jinyiwei needs your cooperation in handling a case, Lord Tan must cooperate."

Tan You showed no fear and said coldly, "No problem!"

After saying that, he strode away. Ding Xiu looked at his back with a cold look in his eyes.

……

Capital city, Prince Qing’s Palace.

Prince Qing, Duke Cheng, and Tung Xingdao were drinking tea. Duke Cheng, who had been stripped of his title and position, smiled and said, "I thought that since His Majesty was assassinated, the court would focus on finding the assassin and forget about my case. But I didn't expect that Yu Shiyue and his men would suddenly come to my mansion today and take away two servants from the mansion. Humph, it seems that my case has not been put aside yet."

Tung Xingdao was full of curiosity: "Duke, you saw that traitor Yu Shiyue, but you didn't do anything?"

Duke Chengguo shook his head and shrugged: "I have learned my lesson now. I am calm. I even invited him to have a cup of tea, but he acted very businesslike. Maybe he was afraid that I would bring up the past, so he refused to drink tea."

"Duke, you should have done this a long time ago." Tung Xingdao smiled.

"Don't call me Duke. I'm just an ordinary citizen now. Just call me Lao Zhu. It's more friendly." Duke Cheng waved his hand.

Prince Qing smiled slightly and raised his eyebrows: "Old Zhu, the assassination of His Majesty was not arranged by you, was it? That's why Yu Shiyue came to your mansion to take him away."

Duke Chengguo spread his hands calmly and said, "Your Highness, please stop joking. How could I have such ability? The assassin was able to sneak into the Taimiao sacrificial site. The identity of the person behind this must be extraordinary."

As he said this, he gave King Qing a meaningful look. King Qing quickly waved his hand and said, "I don't have the ability or the courage."

"It's strange. Who is this hero? He actually shouted the slogan 'Kill the false emperor'." Duke Cheng lowered his voice and said, "When I find out who it is, I will buy him a drink."

King Qing rolled his eyes and looked around. After making sure no one was around, he said, "It may be related to King Xiang. The lieutenant general who died was a follower of King Xiang. How could my uncle King Xiang suddenly change?"

"Your Highness, you have to contact Prince Xiang. He has the highest prestige among the princes." Duke Chengguo said, "If you get his support, then..."

Tung Xingdao interrupted him and said, "Not yet. It depends on the emperor's attitude. If he starts a massacre, wouldn't it be courting death to contact the King of Xiang at this time?"

Duke Wang Chengguo of Qing Dynasty stared speechlessly: "Are you trying to kill me?"

Duke Chengguo shook his head quickly: "Of course I support you, Your Highness. Haha, the false emperor will soon face internal and external troubles. Your Highness, you are now a hidden dragon in the abyss, but there will always be a time when you can soar into the sky."

Tung Xingdao praised: "Your Majesty, what you said is very good!"

The three of them looked at each other and laughed.

……

Dusk, Kunning Palace.

Zhu Qizhen dragged his tired body in, sat straight on the chair, and shouted: "I am exhausted both physically and mentally. I am exhausted like a dog every day. What do I want?"

The queen mother, holding the book, slowly stood up, picked up a blanket and walked to him, leaned over, covered him with the blanket, and snorted: "It's cold, be careful of the cold."

Zhu Qizhen smelled the fragrance of the hair falling in front of him and blinked: "That's perfect, I have a reason not to go to court."

The Queen Mother leaned forward, her dark eyes filled with speechlessness, her red lips parted, her voice soft and pleasant, mixed with a bit of lazy charm: "Why are you still like a child?"

Zhu Qizhen frowned: "Yesen went south with 300,000 troops!"

The Queen Mother was slightly startled, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. She sat down on a chair beside her, stretched out her delicate hands to gently press and rub Zhu Qizhen's brows, and said, "It's useless to worry, what is coming will eventually come, aren't you ready?"

Zhu Qizhen closed his eyes and enjoyed the gentle comfort.

The Queen Mother massaged his brows and began massaging his temples. She continued, "We won three years ago. Now we can say that we have a strong army and sufficient food. We will definitely win."

"I finally had some money, but it was all gone in one battle." Zhu Qizhen opened his eyes, grabbed her limp hand and said, "I'm hungry. After I eat, I have to go to the Ministry of War to encourage the men there."

The Queen Mother shook off his hand, pressed his forehead, stood up and walked towards the inner hall, her body swaying, her hair moving slightly in the wind. After a while, Shuangxi came out with the dishes.

"Your Majesty, here is the soup cooked by the Queen Mother herself." Shuangxi reported.

"Really?" Zhu Qizhen pretended to shake his head in fear, "Then you should eat it. Remember the porridge she cooked last time? You'll have diarrhea if you eat it."

Shuangxi held back his laughter.

The Queen Mother's voice came from behind: "You don't want to eat it? I... I... give it to the dog..."

"Eat, eat, eat." Zhu Qizhen looked like he was ready to give it a try.

The Queen Mother was so angry that she wanted to strangle him to death.

……

Twilight Quadruple.

Zhu Qizhen came to the lobby of the Ministry of War and looked up to see that the person on duty was Chen Mao, Duke of Jing. He was chatting enthusiastically with another person. The appearance of that person in the Ministry of War was both normal and strange.

He is British Duke Zhang Fu.

When Chen Mao saw the emperor coming, he stood up and bowed, and the Duke of Ying wanted to follow suit. Zhu Qizhen waved his hand to stop them, saying, "No need to bow, no need to bow. You are all old, and it will take you a long time to get up after bowing."

"Your Majesty, you look down on me now." Chen Mao said, "I just told Duke Ying that I would go to the Northern Frontier. The battle will be left to those young guys. They are unreliable. Your Majesty, please let me go to the Northern Frontier to take charge."

Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "Come on! At your age, the cold weather in the northern border is enough for you to bear. Young people must always be independent, and the future of the Ming Dynasty depends on them. You have already protected the Ming Dynasty from wind and rain for your whole life. It's time to enjoy your life and give way to the young people."

"That's the truth." Chen Mao said, "But I just don't accept it."

The British prince, who had been silent the whole time, gave a stern look and said, "Old Chen, just learn from me and accept your age."

Zhu Qizhen smiled and said: "Don't learn from the Duke of Ying. He is an old fox. If you learn from him, you will only learn bad things."

The Duke of England snorted and stood up: "Let's go, I'm in the way here."

After saying that, he walked out angrily, and Zhu Qizhen did not try to stop him. Chen Mao said to Zhu Qizhen with an embarrassed look: "Your Majesty, don't blame him, he is just like that."

"How could that be? He is my father-in-law." Zhu Qizhen spread his hands, "What is he doing here? Why doesn't he stay at home at his age? Why is he running to the Ministry of War so late?"

Chen Mao sighed softly: "Old Zhang is also worried about the war in the north. I told him that the fighting hasn't started yet."

Zhu Qizhen nodded thoughtfully.

……

Outside the Great Wall, there is the grassland.

Suddenly, there were roars coming from the distance, as deafening as thunder. It was Yesen's 300,000 troops.

The cavalry rolled and the horses galloped, and the earth seemed to be shaking. This army was like a great tide, surging and sweeping southward. Their armor shone brightly in the sun, magnificent and imposing.

However, their marching speed was not fast. On the way south, Yesen had been gathering other tribes. He promised the leaders of each tribe that they would conquer the Central Plains in this battle and divide the territory in this way. Many tribes were bewitched by his words and followed his army southward. His army became stronger and stronger. The sound of horse hooves, the friction of armor, and the shouts of the soldiers gradually faded away. A team of spies came down from a hill. They mounted their horses and galloped towards the north of the desert.

Soon, they arrived at a stretch of hills, where there was a cavalry. The cavalry commander was Yang Guifang, who was holding a map and chuckled, "I know this grassland near the Great Wall better than they do."

The team rode up to him and reported, "General, Yesen has already passed by."

Yang Guifang put away the map and sneered, "Okay, we are cruising outside the border just to surprise Yesen. Yesen will definitely continue to gather other troops and won't be able to reach the border for a while. Let's let him know of our existence first."

"General, last time I followed you deep into the desert north for a thousand miles, and still found ourselves in an uninhabited area." A lieutenant's eyes were burning. "This time, the brothers are all risking their lives. General, tell us what we should do."

Yang Guifang glanced over and said in a deep voice: "Listen carefully, follow this general to fight, don't take prisoners, don't pick up supplies, sweep lightly, make a big detour and rush."

He raised his arm and smashed it down, and the whole army started moving.

……

Datong City.

Guo Deng and Wang Yue stood on the city wall and looked out into the distance.

The ice and snow were gradually melting, but the sky was still gloomy. The clouds were heavy and hung low in the sky, shrouding the whole world in a gray gloom. The wind, with a biting chill, passed through the city walls, rolling up gusts of dust and tiny pieces of ice.

"Yesen is coming!" Guo Deng said suddenly.

"Ah?" Wang Yue looked into the distance, his face puzzled, "You can feel this?"

Guo Deng smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "I have been here for more than ten years, and I am familiar with every little thing. The storm is coming, and Yesen will be here soon."

Wang Yue's admiration for Guo Deng was uncontrollable. He also wanted to be a commander like Guo Deng. He had defended Datong for thirteen years and never lost it. Once, he led his troops deep into Mobei and defeated Yuan Taishi. The daughter of Yuan Taishi raised a knife to block her father. Guo Deng said something that spread throughout Mobei.

"Women's hands are not meant to hold knives. Only when all the men are dead, will it be your turn."

Therefore, all tribes outside the Great Wall respected Guo Deng very much, even though they had been fighting with him for more than ten years. This is also why Yang Guifang rushed to Datong City as soon as he arrived at the border. He came for Guo Deng.

"General Guo, how about letting my new army go first in the next battle?" Wang Yue clasped his fists.

"Hahaha, kid, you look a lot like me when I was young." Guo Deng laughed, "However, we still have to fight the first battle. You guys are too young. You need to see what a battlefield is like first."

Wang Yue disagreed: "We can only grow when we go to the battlefield."

Guo Deng's eyes flashed with sadness: "Every soldier is the child of his parents, and they are all living beings. Later, you will understand. People say that I, Guo Deng, have strict military discipline, but outside the battlefield, I treat soldiers like my own children. That's because I have seen too many outstanding young people die in front of me. I hope that they can do as much preparation as possible before going to the battlefield."

Wang Yue was stunned. He didn't expect that Guo Deng was thinking this way.

……

Xuanfu.

Shi Heng, the commander of the Northern Frontier, was in charge. He was reading the intelligence in his hand with a serious expression: "Yesen went all the way south and continued to deceive other tribes. He now has more than 400,000 troops."

Yang Hong, the garrison commander of Xuanfu, was a veteran general as famous as Guo Deng. He bowed and said, "General Shi, Xuanfu does not need so many troops. My suggestion is to send reinforcements to Yanghe and Tianzhen, which are close to the Great Wall. If Yesen breaks through the pass, it will be from these two places, not Datong."

Zhu Yong stepped forward and asked, "General Shi, let me guard Yanghe."

Bai Gui said quickly: "I would like to ask you to go with me. Let us guard Yanghe."

Shi Heng looked at the two young men, was silent for a while, and said: "Bai Gui, you can go with Zhu Yong, but you can't take all of the Shenji Camp with you. You should split the Shenji Camp into several locations, Yanghe, Tianzhen, and Xuanfu."

"Yes!" Bai Gui accepted the order.

The two young commanders took the order and left. Yang Hong frowned after they left, "General Shi, isn't it too risky for these two young men to guard Yanghe? Yanghe is as important as Datong."

"When I came back from Datong, I left a token for Old Liu in Yanghe." Shi Heng smiled, "Old Liu is a steady person. If these two young people are too aggressive, Old Liu will stop them. However, we have to give young people a chance. Didn't we all go through that time?"

Yang Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled bitterly: "I am worried that the good seedlings I have finally found will die."

"They really died young. That was their fate!" Shi Heng said, "I will go to His Majesty and apologize."

He knew that His Majesty valued these young people very much.

……

Compared to the outside world, the capital city has a breath of spring.

The sunshine is gentle and bright, dyeing the sky a clear blue.

Although the winter chill still lingers in the air and the temperature has not yet fully warmed up, walking along the streets of Beijing, it is not difficult to find that the originally dry and yellow earth is no longer lonely, and occasionally you can see a little green stubbornly breaking through the ground. These tender green buds are either hidden in the corners of the wall or poking out from the cracks in the rocks.

Zhu Qizhen came back from court and strolled along the Imperial Road, looking for patches of green, and his mood seemed to have improved. He came to Kunning Palace and his steps became much more cheerful.

The Queen Mother was sitting on a chair reading a book, her black hair was like lacquer, and her skin was like jade. Knowing that Zhu Qizhen was coming, she did not raise her head, her beautiful eyes fell on the book.

"Queen, war will probably break out in the north soon."

"Ah."

"I'm still a little worried."

"Ah."

"Although the new army was trained by Yu Qian, they have never been on the battlefield."

"Ah."

"Queen, you are a pig."

"Ah."

After agreeing, she reacted, threw the book on the table, and lowered her head: "Humph!"

Zhu Qizhen smiled, walked up to her, leaned in close, and blinked: "I remember, tomorrow is your birthday. You greeted me a month ago, but it's not your birthday. I thought you were too old to face it."

The queen mother's beautiful face turned red with anger, and she said fiercely: "Get out!"

Zhu Qizhen raised his eyebrows: "Tomorrow is a day off. I will take you out of the palace to celebrate your birthday in a different way. How about that?"

The Queen Mother was skeptical: "Is there a conspiracy?"

"Forget about going. Just continue to watch Magu celebrate the birthday in the palace." Zhu Qizhen spread his hands.

"Go!" The Queen Mother raised her beautiful eyes.

Zhu Qizhen raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

……

The next day.

Zhu Qizhen was wearing a snowy robe, holding a flute in his hand, looking elegant and graceful. When she saw the empress dowager, she was stunned for a moment.

She was wearing a light blue dress, the hem of which swayed gently in the breeze, which made her look noble and lively. Her hair was carefully braided into a high bun, with a few strands of hair gently hanging down. Her face was delicate, her features were delicate and soft, her skin was white as snow, and there was a faint blush on it, which made her look even more delicate and lovely. Between her eyebrows, a small red ornament was gently embellished, like a dewdrop in the morning light, flashing with a smart light, adding a bit of playfulness to her.

"Are you feeling so girlish today?" Zhu Qizhen thought to himself.

"What are you daydreaming about? Let's go." She waved her hand.

They left the palace without any entourage. The Queen Mother looked at the busy streets with her beautiful eyes sparkling: "It's been a long time since I went shopping without restraint."

"Uh, should we change our name?" Zhu Qizhen said, "I'll call you Ruo Wei."

The Queen Mother did not object, but asked: "Then what should I call you?"

Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and said, "Just call me Xiaoshuai. I'm younger than you and I'm handsome."

"Okay, Xiaoshuai." The Queen Mother walked down the street with a cheerful step.

She saw a delicate little item on a street stall, picked it up, and walked forward without looking back. The vendor was so anxious that he was about to shout, and Zhu Qizhen quickly handed him the silver.

As she walked, she took the money along the way. Zhu Qizhen followed behind to pay, muttering in his heart: "Fortunately, I prepared enough silver today."

When they arrived at a tavern, she waved her hand and said, "Come on, drink with me."

Entering the store, she generously ordered two jars of wine, which made Zhu Qizhen numb. But she really acted like a female knight, filling a bowl of wine, raised it up and drank it all, staring at him: "Why don't you drink? Do you look down on me, a female knight?"

Zhu Qizhen rolled his eyes and said, "I'm afraid you'll get drunk and die here, and no one will carry you back."

The Queen Mother gave him a look of contempt and drank two more bowls of wine, her pretty face flushed. Zhu Qizhen held his forehead with his hand, thinking that she must be drunk.

He stood up to help her up, and she fell into his arms, holding up her beautiful face, with bright and charming eyes, and asked, "Do you like me?"

Zhu Qizhen was helpless: "You are drunk!"

She leaned on his shoulder and giggled: "You, you don't understand anything."

Zhu Qizhen had no choice but to throw the silver on the table, then bent down and carried her on his back. She wrapped her fair arms around his neck, rested her head on his shoulders, and said, "Xiaoshuai, I still want to go swimming in the river."

"You're still swimming in the river like this?" Zhu Qizhen shook his head.

"I want to swim in the river." She rocked on his back. "I want to swim in the river."

Zhu Qizhen felt the soft friction on his back and thought, I was forced to do this. He shouted, "Sun Ruowei, don't move. Are you going to swim in the river? Isn't it okay to go? Are you doing this on purpose? You've only been out for a short time and you've already gotten yourself drunk."

A sly smile flashed across Sun Ruowei's lips.

……

ps: It’s almost there, almost there, almost there.

(End of this chapter)