After leaving Dongpei, Yin Shang did not return to Xianping, but went directly north to Xiangzhou, the capital of Xidi, to pay homage to Queen Zhou Wan of Xidi.
Zhou Wan was seriously injured in the Battle of Dingzhou, and he is still on the bed. The situation is not optimistic. After entering Xiangzhou, Yin Shang secretly contacted Zhou Xiangxun, and through Zhou Xiangxun's arrangement, he entered the palace and met the commander. Three armies, a general with great resourcefulness.
Zhou Wan came from the Dingzhou clan. His father was from the Qianzong lineage and had been unpopular for many years. His mother was the sister of Su and Hou. The prince Zhou Yi, who was killed by Emperor Yongzai, was her cousin.
It can be said that when Zhou Yi was here, the Su family was at its peak, and Zhou Wan was also the concubine of the same emperor, with gold and jade.
However, Emperor Yongzai raised his troops to rebel. He first killed the late emperor and then the prince. He used cruel methods. After seizing the throne, he continued to suppress the Su family, which caused the Su family to become desolate.
Under such circumstances, Zhou Wan, who had just reached the age of discussing marriage, was favored by Prince Xi Di who came to envoy Zhou Wan. Emperor Yongzai was quite wary of her. After several comparisons, in order to avoid being criticized, she decided to marry her. In compliance with the imperial edict, he married alone and went to a foreign country.
Even so, after marriage, she still relied on her own resourcefulness and foresight to help her husband ascend to the throne of Xidi in one fell swoop. The couple played the piano and played the piano in harmony, and they had a son and a daughter, the eldest daughter Zhou Xiangxun and the second son Zhou Xiangling.
However, after his power was firmly established, Xi Di King Dong Shaochang began to expand his harem and have children with others. The two sons and one daughter they gave birth to later bore the name of Dong. The couple also completely fell in love, but Zhou Wan When he wanted to attack Dingzhou, King Xidi was afraid, but he still gave him the military power in the end.
This is all Yin Shang knows.
"My mother is very ill, please keep your story short."
After leaving Pulantai, Zhou Xiangxun's life has been turned upside down. Even though he has returned to Xidi, his mother is still lingering on the sickbed. Facing her former friends, she barely smiled when they first met, but now she looks pale. There was a sense of helplessness and sadness that could not be hidden between his eyebrows. He gave a muffled instruction and opened the palace door for her.
Yin Shang nodded and said, "Don't worry."
She followed the palace man into the door. When the palace door opened and closed, a bitter medicinal smell hit her face. The closer she went in, the stronger the smell became. It was not until she walked around a 20-fold gilded cloud-patterned screen that Yin Shang saw the woman lying on the bed. That frail figure on the couch.
The woman on the bed has long eyebrows and pale face, and she looks like Zhou Xianxun. Her whole body shows a kind of weakness that is exhausted.
When she saw someone coming in, she turned her head slightly, and her eyes suddenly fell on her like a heavy weight.
Yin Shang stared at this stressful look and bowed as a junior, and said respectfully: "I have met the queen. I am here to Hui Yin Shang."
She lowered her head and saluted, her eyes focused on the jade brick not far from her feet, but there was silence around her, which seemed to represent a silent game.
After a long time, she heard a hoarse voice: "Prince Qi Hui, I know you, come here."
She approached as instructed and Zhi sat on the head of her bed.
Zhou Wan narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at her, and said proactively: "I once went to Qihui to borrow troops. Qihui's soldiers are more than three times stronger than Xidi's. It shows that your mother has the talent to command the three armies."
"Thank you for your compliment," Yin Shang said softly, neither humble nor overbearing, "It is Qi Hui's honor to be able to help you."
Zhou Wan did not listen to the compliment and only said: "The day I went to Qi Hui to borrow troops, I knew I would return them. You can tell me before I die."
Yin Shang said: "I'm not here to collect debts, Your Highness," she said with a calm face and a calm voice: "I'm just here to make a deal with you."
Hearing this, Zhou Wanning's gaze on her face became a little complicated, and she paused before saying, "You say it."
Yin Shang said: "Lingzi is about to open his mouth. If he swallows Dongpei, we still don't know who will be next. If Qi Hui wants to compete with him, he must not fight alone."
Zhou Wan smiled and said clearly: "You want that position too?"
Yin Shang also laughed with her and said: "Who doesn't want the highest position? If Dingzhou were not in this situation, your Highness would not support others to ascend the throne, but would do it yourself?"
Zhou Wan snorted coldly but did not refute, saying: "You want Xi Di to help you? But Xi Di's troops are damaged, and the king will not send troops."
Yin Shang said: "I'm not here to borrow troops, Your Highness."
Her successive denials made Zhou Wan feel a little interested and said, "Just tell me, what do you want?"
Yin Shangdao: "I know that you have no intention of seeking fame and wealth after avenging your brother, but I want you to find the position of son for Prime Minister Zhou. When the time comes, publicly support Qi Hui and use it for me. If I can get it someday, In exchange for my position, I will not treat her poorly."
Hearing this, Zhou Wan smiled and said, "Your Highness, verbal promises are the least effective."
She said this, and Yin Shang knew that she had agreed to the alliance, but was still not satisfied with the conditions, so he said: "Then tell me what you want."
Zhou Wan looked at her for a few seconds, then moved his eyes away, looked at the intricately carved top of the bed, and said, "I have a son and a daughter who have no imperial talents. I know in my heart that the fifteen kingdoms of Dingzhou are now in disarray. If I don’t fight, someone else will fight, and unlike your mother, the king cannot keep Xi Di’s independence from the world.”
Her voice was deep, filled with pain and regret: "Originally I had other plans...but I can't hold on much longer. After I die, Dong Shaochang will not be able to protect my child..."
Yin Shang then continued: "Rather than letting others slaughter us when the time comes, it is better to strike first."
"You're right," Zhou Wan nodded slowly and said, "Actually, even if you didn't come, I would have found another way out for Ah Xun and the others, but you came. Since God has arranged it this way, I don't have to go against it. God will do it.”
Her tone became serious and she said: "Although I haven't seen the power of the prince, Qi Hui is kind to me, and your mother has extraordinary talents, so I will be your guarantee - I agree to your proposal as a The condition is that after you take the throne, I want my son Zhou Xiangling to be your queen."
Yin Shang was stunned for a moment.
Before coming, she thought about countless exchange conditions, how to deal with them when they were proposed, and how to get the best interests for herself, but she didn't expect that Zhou Wan caught her off guard in the end.
Zhou Wan saw her hesitation, but he didn't rush her and looked at her quietly.
For a moment, the hall was silent, with only the faint crackle of the charcoal fire.
Yin Shang looked away in confusion, lowered his head, and looked at the hem of his clothes embroidered with inscriptions.
Queen?
Jiang Yixue's beautiful face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, her fingertips turned white, and her thoughts were in a mess.
Jiang Yixue...
She remembered the happy and contented smile he showed when she said she wanted to marry him in Purantai, the Mid-Autumn Festival night with silver lanterns and jade flutes, the many tender kisses between the two of them, and the way he looked at her with attachment and said 'Yin Shang, I miss you so much, I like you'.
... But besides that, she also thought of the extremely cold snowy day outside Dongpei City, the haggard faces of Xu Fu and Zheng Xiaonan, and the officials who died under her sword.
...And the supreme position that I saw when I visited Emperor Yongzai when I was young...
After a long time, Yin Shangcai said: "I promise you."
"Okay," Zhou Wan seemed to have expected it, and he responded quickly. He looked at her with a hint of admiration and said to the screen: "Prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone, I will write the marriage letter myself."
The palace man responded and walked out gently.
Not long after, the palace door opened and closed again, and Zhou Xiangxun's sister and brother also walked in along with the palace servants serving Mo, and stood beside their mother's bed.
Yin Shang raised his eyes blankly and saw that Zhou Xiangling was more similar to Zhou Wan than his sister. In particular, his pair of phoenix eyes were exactly the same as his mother's, adding an extra touch of splendor to his otherwise elegant appearance.
Seeing everyone gathered, Zhou Wan sat up with some difficulty, and wrote with his wrist hanging in front of several people.
Among the three people, except for Zhou Xiangxun who showed some confusion and surprise, Yin Shang and Zhou Xiangling were both silent, as if the protagonists in this marriage contract were not them but someone else.
Facing the eldest daughter's doubts, Zhou Wan did not answer. She just held her breath and concentrated on writing the marriage letter in front of her. After a while, she stopped writing at the end of the article. She took the jade seal handed over by the palace servant and pressed it gently on it. On top of the marriage certificate.
"Your Highness, please."
The marriage certificate on the wooden plate was turned and placed in front of her.
Yin Shang narrowed his eyes and looked at it. The handwriting was neat and clear, and the writing force was not weak. There was no trace of it being written by someone who had been ill for a long time. Each stroke was full of the foresight and foresight of a mother's love.
...the crowd gathered together. Two tribes having sex. Congratulations on your new marriage. The six rites do not make you guilty. Lamb Goose is in charge. Jade, silk, and silk...the etiquette and palm judgment are the same, and the two surnames are combined to promote marriage. The poem praises IKEA, advocating for the tranquility of a hundred years... We will always be together as husband and wife, and we will make this agreement together.
It turns out that this is what the marriage certificate said.
Yin Shang recited it silently in his heart. He couldn't describe what he felt. He just reached out and ran over the ink pad on the side, and then gently pressed it on the end of the text.
Zhou Wan's voice echoed in the hall along with a weak cough. She waved to Zhou Xiangling and said softly: "Aling, go ahead."
Zhou Xiangling nodded in agreement and did not have any objection to this. He only looked at her and stood side by side in front of the marriage certificate. He lightly touched the ink mud and pressed his fingerprints next to her.
Black writing on red paper, evidenced by fallen seals.
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With this matter settled, Yin Shang took Lin Boyu away from Xidi and headed for Qihui.
Emperor Yongzai died, and the Dingzhou war broke out. The new so-called emperor who ascended the throne was only eight years old and had no real power. He did not even change the title of the country, so he continued to be called Yongzai Nian.
Now that the year has passed again, it has been thirty-one years.
Yin Shang stayed in the two countries for a while. It was the spring equinox when he returned to Xianping, and the weather was getting hotter.
After entering the palace and discussing matters with her mother, she returned to Shaotian Cangfu. There was still a pile of documents to be processed in the study, which were sorted and sorted into several thick piles.
Yin didn't even take a breath. From the time he left the palace and returned home in the middle of the afternoon, he sat until the moon was in the sky. It wasn't until Jin Chengyi walked in with food that he realized it was already midnight.
She stretched, stood up from the armchair, and said to Jin Chengyi: "The cushion on the chair is a bit firm and uncomfortable. Let's change it tomorrow."
Jin Chengyi nodded in agreement, placed the wooden plate on the table, pulled out a letter from underneath and handed it to her: "Your Highness, this is a letter from Dong Pei."
Yin Shang paused, reached out to take it, walked to the food table and sat down.
Jin Chengyi excused himself softly and opened and closed the door.
There was no name written on the envelope. Yin Shang tore open the seal little by little and found that in addition to the letter paper, there was also a thin silk handkerchief with a small "上" character embroidered on the corner of the silk handkerchief.
She looked at it for a moment, put it aside, took out the letter, and started reading it while eating.
"Yin Shang:
Seeing letters is like meeting each other, and showing them is soothing.
Since separation, the clouds and mountains are numerous and the heart is thousands of miles away.
The cold winter has passed, the spring is like this, and the brocade handkerchiefs sent to each other are just like my heart.
The battle of Dongpei is about to break out, and the wind is roaring. Although I don’t know what the way forward is, you are thinking of me, and I am eager to do so.
I hope you take care of yourself and stay safe and healthy.
I'm waiting for you.
Ashue. "
There were only a few lines of words, but many traces of hesitation could be seen across them. Yin Shang put them down and picked up the silk handkerchief.
When I was young, when I first entered Dingzhou Station, I wanted to give him medicine, so I wrapped a piece of cloth around the medicine bottle and threw it into his room, but later he threw it back again for some unknown reason.
Yin Shang touched the word "上". It was probably embroidered by Jiang Yixue according to her handwriting. It was very familiar. However, upon closer inspection, he could see that there was a hint of evil in the murderous aura of the iron painted silver hook. Tenderness of speech.
She then rubbed it twice, folded it and put it in her arms.
After finishing her meal quickly, she placed the letter next to the light again, and it burned into ashes without any trace of it.
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On the summer solstice of the 31st year of Yongzai, King Zhan Luyi of Lingzi appointed his second son Zhan Luzhen as the commander-in-chief and his eldest son Zhan Lubo as his deputy. He sent his troops south and launched an attack on neighboring Dongpei.
For a time, all the neighboring countries were in danger, and they all recruited troops and strengthened their border defenses. The entire Dingzhou Fifteen Kingdoms were completely in danger.
Dongpei's national power was weak and it was located in the northeast of Dingzhou. It had been squeezed by it all year round, and its military strength and treasury were weakened. King Jiang Mingwu of Dongpei replaced three generals in succession, but they were all defeated. In desperation, he went into battle himself and went to the frontier.
With Jiang Mingwu in charge, Dongpei's morale increased, the defeat gradually stopped, and the war situation fell into a stalemate for a while.
The frontier was unstable, and the crown prince Jiang Yiyu supervised the country on his behalf.
However, with the expenditure of grain, grass, and military pay, the national treasury was rapidly emptying, and the refugees on the border had no place to settle, and turmoil broke out. Jiang Yiyu was so anxious that he could only ask the clan and officials to reduce expenses and provide money for disaster relief. Complaints arose in the court.
Amid internal and external troubles, Dongpei's short-lived victory quickly burst like bubbles blown by soap locust. Zhanlu was so powerful that he killed several generals in a row, and Dongpei was instantly defeated.
Jiang Mingwu had no choice but to send envoys one after another to ask for peace talks with Lingzi, but without exception, none of them came to fruition. The envoys sent out seemed to disappear from the world, and none of them returned.
Lingzi's fighting spirit was high and he vowed not to give up until Dongpei was destroyed. When he called for battle, he even claimed that he would hang the head of King Dongpei on the capital to frighten the other countries.
Thinking about the past of Yongzai 21, when the Tingshi royal family was all destroyed, Jiang Ming realized that Lili was so frightened that he actually abandoned the city with several hundred of his confidants overnight, handing over the entire Dongpei.
Seeing King Dongpei's escape, Zhan Lubo was furious. Regardless of the obstruction, he ordered the massacre of the border towns to show the country's prestige. For a time, several border towns were bleeding into rivers and the refugees were scattered.
After that, the entire Lingzi army seemed to be in an uninhabited territory, attacking the capital Jingsu all the way, capturing more than a hundred of its royal family members, and completely annexing neighboring Dongpei.
