Return of the Swallow

Li Qitian opened his eyes angrily, "It's Zhou Lian again! It's that Zhou Lian again!! Shuntian Mansion and Gyeonggi Guard are both freeloaders! The capital is so big, but you just can't catch a young man! You just can't catch him!" live!!"

All the ministers bowed their heads and said in unison: "Your Majesty, please calm down."

"Cliché! Every time something happens, it only makes me calm down!" Li Qitian's chest rose and fell violently, and a breath of suffocation accumulated in his chest. He couldn't breathe and couldn't swallow, which made his face turn purple.

The ministers could feel the emperor's anger just by hearing Li Qitian's angry roar, and they were so frightened that they all knelt down and saluted without daring to speak.

When Xiong Jinshui, who was serving beside Li Qitian, saw the emperor's face, he was so frightened that he almost fainted.

If the emperor is really angry, will those who serve him closely still have a way to survive?

Xiong Jinshui prayed secretly in his heart that nothing would make the emperor angry again. But contrary to expectations, someone soon copied Zhou Lian's new message.

Li Qitian only glanced at it and crushed the slogan to pieces.

"Bastards, bastards! A bunch of gangsters and fanatics!"

This statement was written with no standards, and it was written in plain language. At first glance, it seemed that it was trying to be understood by all the people. It once again exaggerated Pang Xiao's achievements and benevolence, and the current Holy Emperor is a nouveau riche. A rich man from a rich land, when he becomes the emperor, everything is for himself and he doesn't care about the life and death of the people at all.

And at the end of the appeal, he actually dared to publish openly, "Can such a foolish king really bring happiness to the people of the Zhou Dynasty? It is better to restore the Northern Hebei Dynasty, establish a wise king, and stabilize the world. That is the right way."

"This Zhou Lian is really shameless! He has forgotten how the Northern Hebei Dynasty was overthrown! Will restoring Northern Hebei make these people live a better life than under my rule? What nonsense, I don't know what to say. !”

However, Li Qitian's rage could not stop Pang Xiao and his troops from returning to the court.

It's August, but the hot weather can't stop Li Qitian's inner thoughts.

"Your Majesty, Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu have an army of 300,000 troops. The city gates are wide open along the way, and they have successfully collected 3,000 battalions. Now we are only three or four days away from the capital."

Li Qitian was angry and anxious, and his heart ached with anger. He clutched his chest and asked, "How many more soldiers and horses can the Ministry of War deploy to defend the city? Where is the Ministry of Household Affairs? Will the food and salary be enough?"

Wang Zhi, Minister of War, stepped forward and said,

He said with a heavy face: "Back to the Holy Spirit, due to the danger of the battle with the Tatars, all the troops of King Qin near the capital and in various places were under the command of Pang Xiao. Now there are only the Gyeonggi Guards and the Five City Army and Horse Division in the capital, together with Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu. Compared with the 300,000 elite soldiers we brought back who had just lost their blood, they were like a mantis trying to use a chariot."

Fang Shouru, the Minister of Household Affairs, also said: "Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty. Even the salaries of the officials in the court have been owed for more than a year. The taxes of the common people have been increased to 80%. The common people who were just suppressed by the prefectural governments in various places have been owed more than a year. Now they are all dissatisfied again, shouting that the court is unkind..."

Li Qitian gritted his teeth, his face turning blue and white.

The imperial mausoleum was not completed. No treasure was found, no money, no one, even the unscrupulous people were against him!

How to fight this battle?

"You mean there is nothing we can do?"

"Your Majesty, I am so ignorant that I really have no choice at this time."

"That's it. Your Majesty, I have racked my brains and tried my best, but I can't make money or troops."

Li Qitian sneered when he heard this: "You have to let me pull your neck to kill you!" Enduring the tightness in his chest, he said in a hoarse voice, "Don't think that it will be easy for you if Pang Xiao brings people in! Once the emperor and the courtiers, how can you Do you want to stay out of it?"

This sentence shocked everyone present physically and mentally.

They really weren't sure they could stay out of it.

Li Qitian said again: "No money? Yes, my internal funds are empty, and the household department has no money, but I owe you a year's salary, and I don't see that the ministers in the court are too hungry to open the pot! Just one of you escaped from home. Do you think I don’t know how many taxes and benefits, large and small, I receive? Now that the country is in crisis, all my internal funds have been emptied, don’t you want to express your gratitude?”

The ministers looked at each other in confusion. The emperor was afraid that he was going crazy with anxiety, so he actually reached out to the ministers!

No one is willing to pay out of his own pocket. Firstly, he simply does not want to bleed. Secondly, he does not want to expose his wealth. Thirdly, and most importantly, everyone is somewhat lucky and feels that Prince Zhongshun is not killing innocent people indiscriminately, let alone what if he is. If you really want to compete for that position, it will be difficult for you to follow the path of a wise king if you have a reputation for killing innocent people. Wouldn't you become a tyrant again? Prince Zhongshun is not that stupid.

But everyone can only think about these thoughts in their hearts.

"If peace talks can be made, perhaps this crisis can be resolved." A courtier suggested.

"I second the proposal. Your Majesty, I think we might as well start from two aspects. On the one hand, we can order people to contact Duke Dingguo secretly. After all, Duke Dingguo is related to your Majesty by marriage, and the eldest princess Anyang was killed at the hands of the Qin family. To instigate him will be inevitable. It can happen. If Duke Dingguo can assassinate Pang Xiao, the matter can be solved. If he can't assassinate, even if Duke Dingguo changes his mind, it will be a great help to the Holy One.

"On the other hand, we must be prepared on both sides. If we cannot bring Duke Dingguo back to the court's camp, we will have to find ways to negotiate peace."

Li Qitian frowned and sneered: "Peace talks? Do you want me to beg for mercy from them?"

"Your Majesty, if you keep the green hills here, you won't have to worry about running out of firewood. Only by preserving your life can you preserve the fire for the future."

Failure, really a failure.

How could he let himself fall into this situation? As an emperor, he is already the lord of the world, respected by all the people, but now he is in a position where he wants to negotiate peace with the rebels?

He is the emperor, why should he suffer such humiliation!

Li Qitian pointed his finger at the people in front of him and said with a sneer: "Is this your way of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism? You don't want to give money or touch the foundation of your family, so you let me go and beg for mercy from the rebels? If this spreads, what will you say to me? How can you face the people of the world if you are alone!"

"Your Majesty, a man is capable of bending and stretching. You are the king of a country, but you must not lose the big for the small. "

"What a flexible and flexible person." Li Qitian sneered, and even ordered the Han general to tie up the minister who spoke, "Send it to the officials for strict investigation to see how much Mr. Sun's family property is, how much is ancestral property, and how much is the result of bribery! I would like to Look how you can bend and stretch!"

The guards in front of the palace and the Han general quickly entered the palace and dragged the minister down.

"Your Majesty, you can't do this! I'm wronged!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty's actions are inappropriate..."

"Anyone who has any objections will be bound together!"

Li Qitian shouted loudly, which frightened the ministers into silence.

On the same day, a list of Mr. Sun's family assets was given to Li Qitian along with evidence of his years of accepting bribes and colluding with party members.

The order to search the house was issued the next day, and the treasury was enriched.

As a result, the court became even more turbulent, and even the ministers who had ideas did not dare to speak in front of the emperor, lest they cause death.

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"Princess, I have already made inquiries. In recent days, the search in the city has gradually relaxed. Firstly, there is no progress in the investigation, and the court salary is not enough, and the city defenders are a little slack. Secondly, corrupt officials are being arrested everywhere in the city. Soldiers The generals are all thinking hard and want to follow the house raids to make money, and the weather is too hot. In short, it is good for us to take this opportunity to leave, and we may not know what will happen if we wait."

Xie Yue smiled and said: "If you change your appearance then, nothing will go wrong."

Qin Yining nodded and said with a smile: "Sir, that's right. Fortunately, we are in the outer city, so it is easier to get out. It's just two children who need to be picked up separately." After all, having twins together is still a bit eye-catching.

Xie Yue said: "Don't worry, I will make arrangements. The prince and his party will arrive in the capital soon. Let's go all the way to the north and we will definitely meet the prince."

"Yes." Qin Yining sighed softly, his eyes full of hope, "I can't wait any longer. Communication has been inconvenient these days, and the prince is often on the road. It is even more inconvenient to exchange news, and I don't know how they have passed. How about. ”

Xie Yue laughed and said, "Even so, you and the prince still have a tacit understanding. You arranged the message, and the prince knew to leave for Beijing. The army was marching all the way, and the gates of the towns along the way were opened. No one was hurt. With one victory, the reputation of the prince is even higher than before. With the prince's benevolence and righteousness, coupled with your momentum, the prince's voice is now even louder than before."

Qin Yining said, "Thanks to the person above who was willing to show his strength."

The things Li Qitian has been forced to do these days are very stupid. Maybe Li Qitian has resentment in his heart, and his anger that he has no way to vent has finally found an outlet.

But in Qin Yining's view, his behavior was tantamount to destroying the Great Wall and alienating the emperor and his ministers.

When he needed people the most, he was pushing people away from him one by one.

Perhaps, this is the brilliance of Tianjizi. Although she died, everything after that has been planned.

"Princess." Ji Yun walked in quickly, "Shopkeeper Zhongda just ordered someone to send a message. A donation of materials and food from the Sitong has been transported to the prince's army together with the supplies prepared by Shopkeeper Zhongda. "

Xie Yue smoothed his beard and said with a smile: "This boss Qiu is also an interesting person. "

Qiu Feishan has been trying her best to win back Mu Jinghu's heart these days. Although Qin Yining knows that the donations she makes are for the long-term development of her Qiu family, she has indeed succeeded in making Mu Jinghu's heart soften.

After all, Mu Jinghu has feelings for Qiu Feishan. If this continues, it will only be a matter of time before the two of them reconcile. This is what Qin Yining is happy to see. After all, they were friends, and Qin Yining didn't want to make Mu Jinghu's life unhappy because of her and Pang Xiao.

"Master. A few people came from outside and wanted to stay overnight in our village." Someone came in from the outer courtyard to send a message.

Qin Yining was stunned, "Our farm is so remote, and there are still people staying here?"

"They say they are passing through here, but there is really nowhere to go."