Return of the Swallow

"Your Majesty, the sword has no eyes. The battle in the city gate tower is raging. If you go, what will happen to you? How will your servants survive?" Xiong Jinshui said with a bitter face and angrily persuaded: "Your Majesty, what will happen if you go? Please spare my slave, can I go and inquire about the battle situation for you?"

"Get out!" Li Qitian was in a good mood, so he was annoyed by being nagged, so he just kicked Xiong Jinshui.

Xiong Jinshui let out an "ouch" and staggered for two steps before he stabilized his body and did not dare to say anything. He had to quickly follow Li Qitian to arrange for the Holy Emperor to leave the palace.

Now is the time when the war is in full swing. As the emperor, it is no small matter to leave the palace. No one can guarantee whether any Tatar spies will sneak into the capital. If the Holy One accidentally makes another mistake, all of them will not be able to afford to kill the nine tribes.

The chamberlains and guards went to prepare hard and carefully prepared the carriages and horses with great energy.

The royal chariot and the team of guards left the palace gate and headed towards the north gate.

Ji Zeyu was counting the casualties and deploying defenses when he suddenly heard someone reported that the Emperor had arrived, and couldn't help but frown.

He and his entourage strode down the city tower to welcome him, and saluted Li Qitian from a distance: "Your Majesty."

"Excuse me. You have worked hard in this hard battle. How is the situation? Has the war eased after King Qin's team joined?"

Ji Zeyu nodded honestly: "It can indeed be relieved, but these troops come from all over the world, and their training methods are different on weekdays. Some soldiers can't even understand normal Dazhou dialect, so it is not easy to deploy them. "

Li Qitian nodded understandingly: "Of course, there is nothing we can do about this. Fortunately, we have more manpower. If the Tatars suddenly press heavily, we will not be in disarray due to lack of manpower. I also know that you are leading the Longxiang Army. I'm used to it, but it's a pity that Long Xiang's army is trapped now, with at least more than half of the casualties. I also know how you feel, but it's just that the king of a country always has to make a choice, and not everyone will be satisfied."

When Li Qitian said these words, Ji Zeyu just stood there with his head down expressionlessly, seemingly not hearing him, and not caring whether Li Qitian could meet his request.

Ji Zeyu always had this cold look, and Li Qitian was used to his reaction. Seeing that he didn't refute his intention, he felt more and more upset.

"You have made great contributions in this battle, and I will definitely reward you heavily." Li Qitian said in an extremely excited tone.

Ji Zeyu just said calmly: "I am just doing my duty. Your Majesty, you don't have to be like this."

"Why,

You are dedicated to the country, I know it in my heart, but your high integrity does not mean that everyone is like this. There will always be those who seek fame and reputation who will slander me behind my back. In the midst of a national crisis, there are many benefactors with ulterior motives who not only refuse to help, but also keep holding us back. "

Li Qitian put his hands behind his back and walked slowly towards the city gate that was half-opened to clear the battlefield.

Ji Zeyu frowned slightly and immediately followed Li Qitian.

Li Qitian said in a deep voice: "You have seen what Pang Zhixi has done these days. I have been really worried these days. Originally, the government affairs were complicated, and the Tatars are also very stubborn. I have to support so many people. The army went to fight against the Tatars, originally thinking that the people of Dazhou would spontaneously lend a helping hand when encountering such a national crisis. Those large families with grain reserves would also lend a helping hand for the safety of their own families.

"But my bad karma didn't expect that Pang Zhixi would actually undermine me! Where do you think he got so much money to buy food from rich people? Isn't he using my name to swindle outside and let those people take it willingly? Provide money and food?

"He has gained a good reputation, but I can't raise food because of his conspiracy. I feel really uneasy when I see the soldiers hungry and fighting against the Tartars!"

There was no emotion in Ji Zeyu's voice, and he just stated the facts in a straightforward manner: "Your Majesty, food and grass are indeed a big problem. People will starve to death if they don't eat. A dead person cannot compete with the Tatars."

Li Qitian choked up, a little embarrassed, but also a little helpless.

He said so much because he actually didn't want Ji Zeyu to mention food. Anyone who is smart and knows how to get along with others would understand that he didn't want to talk about food at this time. But Ji Zeyu still said this.

Li Qitian didn't even know how to answer the question for a moment. Seeing that Ji Zeyu had been silently waiting for his answer, Li Qitian said: "I know, I will think of something."

Thinking of ways, thinking of ways again, every time Li Qitian mentioned these things, he would use such words to excuse himself. But this has passed, and the food in the army has not been improved. The reason why the soldiers were able to support them was because he took the lead and charged forward like a flag. Fortunately, he had gained some fame and prestige in the army. Otherwise, how long could they have sustained it?

Moreover, Li Qitian's misrepresentation of Pang Xiao made Ji Zeyu almost unable to suppress his anger.

The Holy One arranged for Pang Xiao to go to disaster relief, but he did not provide rice relief. Pang Xiao found a way to get money to save people's lives. Shouldn't this be commended? How come Pang Xiao had the ability to get money to buy grain, but it was Pang Xiao's fault that he delayed the emperor from reaching out to rich merchants to ask for grain for nothing?

In the past, Ji Zeyu thought that Li Qitian was a wise king, because they fought together and experienced the cruelty of the battlefield. They also understood the preciousness of life and how much it meant to the people to overthrow the Northern Hebei Kingdom.

It's a pity that times have changed. Back then, they rose up in order not to let the people suffer anymore, but now Li Qitian has forgotten it, and he has become the chief culprit of harming the people.

Ji Zeyu shook his head. After sending the emperor away, he thought for a long time and finally wrote a letter to Pang Xiao.

When Pang Xiao received this letter, it was already early March.

At this time, the group of people was stationed in a quiet wilderness. The grain they bought was stored everywhere near and far. There were also some people who were willing to follow Pang Xiao and were patrolling near the grain cart.

Pang Xiao asked someone to arrange for the person who delivered Ji Zeyu's letter to rest. He read the letter carefully, then frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.

Qin Yining saw Pang Xiao's brows furrowed, so he put down the hot tea in his hand and asked worriedly: "What's wrong? Is there something going on in the capital?"

Pang Xiao hurriedly shook his head: "It's nothing. It's a letter written by A Lan."

Qin Yining raised his eyebrows: "Marquis Dingbei rarely writes to you. If it happens suddenly this time, there must be something going on." After saying that, he tilted his head to look at him, and his long hair fell smoothly behind his back, making his whole body appear... More delicate.

Pang Xiao was defeated by her look like this. While handing the letter to Qin Yining, he muttered in a low voice: "Didn't you say that you become stupid when you are pregnant? Why is my sister Yi still so hard to fool?"

Qin Yining was beside him, so he naturally heard this clearly. While reading the letter, he rolled his eyes at him.

But after seeing the content clearly, she laughed mockingly and lost the intention of joking.

"How much does the Holy One hate you? He even said this to Marquis Dingbei."

In the letter, Ji Zeyu reminded Pang Xiao not to return to Beijing this time. He was afraid that once he returned to Beijing, the Holy One would kill him desperately. Because the emperor's dissatisfaction and jealousy have reached an extremely serious level.

"Not as talented as you, but unwilling to tolerate others, such a person would be lucky to be lucky enough to be able to be the emperor for so many years."

Pang Xiao was amused by Qin Yining's serious look of disdain for Li Qitian, and the depression in his heart disappeared for a moment.

"Okay, what's there to be angry about? Ever since he became jealous of me, he couldn't trust me again. Everything I did was wrong. Besides, what he suspected was right. It proves that his mind is not too stupid. , although I didn’t want to cause trouble for him, but it was still the money I used for disaster relief. It’s just a different stance.”

Qin Yining shook his head, "As an emperor, you cannot control your greed, which will cause tragedy. It may be too late for him to change his ways now, but I think his appearance will never change.

Pang Xiao spread his hands indifferently: "It doesn't matter, even if he is like this, what can he do to me when he is so nervous now?"

Qin Yining was also amused by Pang Xiao's appearance.

Yes, they were fully prepared. Whatever Li Qitian wanted to do depended on whether Pang Xiao agreed or not. However, Qin Yining still felt depressed when he thought of what Li Qitian had done.

She dislikes Li Qitian more and more, and concludes that if Li Qitian does not change his nature, the people will suffer in the future. The mentality of overthrowing Li Qitian gradually took shape and became correct.

Pang Xiao went to write a reply to Ji Zeyu. Although the person who sent the letter was Ji Zeyu's confidant, it was not Pang Xiao's.

Pang Xiao was worried that the letter would be seen by someone interested, so he only said a few words in his reply, which did not involve the current situation of the court at all.

And Ji Zeyu gradually lost his patience here.

There was not enough food and grass, and all the soldiers were hungry. But Li Qitian waited until he couldn't think of a way, and even shyly asked King Qin's army to prepare their own hatchbacks, so he just had to write down an IOU to borrow it.

Ji Zeyu has been leading troops all year round, and he analyzes war affairs so thoroughly that he can make a series of judgments based on just a few clues. If Pang Xiao is willing to join, he will definitely find a way to protect Pang Xiao and maintain Dazhou in a quiet environment. However, Pang Xiao was blocked by Li Qitian. Even King Qin never thought of letting Pang Xiao come. If he talks too much, he will only offend the emperor. Once Pang Xiao is targeted in the future, if he loses his Sacred Heart and loses his advantage, I am afraid he will think about it then. It was impossible to say anything to Pang Xiao.

At this time, Pang Xiao had walked 60% of the way. The number of people who were willing to follow Pang Xiao along the way was simply beyond Qin Yining's expectations. Pang Xiao ordered people to make a roster to mark everyone's age and family status. Qin Yining's morning sickness became more and more serious, and she felt very nauseous even after eating gruel.

Bingtang nursed Qin Yining back to health with care, while Mu Jinghu followed Pang Xiao all day long to prevent him from being plotted intentionally or unintentionally.

At this moment, Tang Xiu quickly replied: "Your Majesty, there is a girl named Qiu outside who wants to see you."