The gate of Xiangyang City slowly opened, and a stretcher was quickly carried into the city. The person lying on the stretcher was extremely tall, and his feet hanging there were astonishingly large.
"Call the doctor quickly!"
"Where's Mr. Qiu?"
Just behind the team, Qiu Tongfu ran over in a very embarrassed manner, even his shoes were about to fall off.
"How could you... lift your father-in-law like this, turn him over, turn him over... Quickly, take off the armor."
The panicked soldiers quickly obeyed the instructions.
A school general rushed up with a knife in his hand, turned to glare at the people on the street, and yelled: "What are you looking at?! Get away!"
The heavy golden armor was lifted and placed on the stone road.
"I can't take my shirt off, it's stuck to my back." The soldier shouted.
Because she was so scared, her voice was filled with tears.
"Where are the scissors? Where are the scissors?" Qiu Tongfu knelt on the ground and turned around to look for the scissors.
Someone took out a dagger and began to cut open the single piece of clothing that was completely stuck to Lu Wende's back.
"hiss."
Qiu Tongfu took a breath and saw that the sore on Lu Wende's back was completely rotten, and the surrounding red and swollen skin had also broken open, and the pus was all over his clothes.
When he lifted up his single shirt, almost his entire back was torn.
Even for this sore, he didn't dare to prick it easily with a fire needle, but it was worn away by Lu Wende's heavy golden armor throughout the night.
"The heat poison enters the body, and ghosts and spirits are difficult to cure."
These eight words hit Qiu Tongfu's heart. He pursed his lips, but did not dare to say them out.
He couldn't tell what the heat poison was. Maybe it was the pent-up anger in Lu Wende's heart. Maybe it was the cold wine and raw meat that accumulated poison in the internal organs. In short, gangrene damaged the five internal organs and tendons. If the heat poison entered the body, the heart would be hot and stuffy, and he would die without treatment.
"Quickly, carry it in...I...I'll find a cure..."
"quick!"
This group of people hurried to Xiangyang Marshal's Mansion again, leaving behind a series of orders.
"Where is the Sixth General?! Go and fetch the Sixth General!"
"..."
They were extremely panicked.
Because the person who fell ill was Lu Wende.
The world blamed him and scolded him, but it wasn't until he fell ill that he realized how important he really was.
Panic began to spread from the streets of Xiangyang.
The people on the street who were being scolded shrank their necks and ran away, muttering: "If you lose, you will die for such a big man."
At the top of the city, the Xiangyang soldiers who saw this scene whispered to each other: "What happened? Lu Shaobao died in the battle?"
A messenger rushed to the boat outside the city and shouted: "Hurry! Get to Lin'an and ask for the imperial doctor, hurry!"
"..."
A small festering sore spread panic like this, as if it was more terrifying than the plague, spreading to the entire Zhao and Song Dynasties.
No one is puzzled, and no one will say, "It's just Lu Wende, so what?"
In the past ten years or so, all the generals who were unwilling to rely on Jia and Lu's influence were squeezed out and suppressed. The Song Dynasty regarded Lu Wende as its only support.
So, when this reliance was about to fall, the entire Song Dynasty could not be too frightened...
~~
Lu Wenhuan took off his helmet, held it in his hands, and strode back to Xiangyang Commandery.
As he walked on the road, he tried to keep his steps steady so that no one could see the panic in his heart.
But the sweat on his forehead betrayed him.
Finally, step through the door.
"close the door!"
Lu Wenhuan shouted, smashed the door helmet in his hand on the ground, pressed his scalp with both hands and grabbed it hard, and took a few deep breaths.
Only then was he prepared to face all the consequences.
Turning to the corridor, I saw the nephews and nephews of the Lu family, and the whole courtyard was filled with old men.
"Uncle Six!
"
"Six Generals..."
"Why are you panicking?" Lu Wenhuan shouted: "My eldest brother has always been physically strong, but it's just a minor illness. You guys came in with Uncle Six."
Lu Wende had twelve sons, and there were seven of them around him at this time. Lu Wenhuan ordered them to enter the house together.
I saw several doctors standing outside discussing in low voices. Inside, Lu Wende had woken up and was lying on the couch drinking porridge.
"I...can't die." Lu Wende was able to speak and said: "Sixth, you stay...the others...get out."
"Father."
"roll."
Lu Wenhuan sighed, stepped forward, sat down next to Lu Wende, picked up the bowl of porridge and fed it.
Ever since the Lu family became prosperous, Lu Wende probably hadn't eaten such light porridge for more than 20 years. Even in the army, it was a big deal.
"The Lu family is in your care."
"Brother?"
Lu Wende closed his eyes, his eyelids shaking because of the pain, and said: "There are not many elite soldiers and generals in the Song Dynasty who are not from my subordinates... They are all my connections. You have these connections...
...Win more battles, and sooner or later you will be able to control the world's military..."
"Brother..."
"The Lu family is left to you. It's not easy for me to go from being a charlatan to this point... Promise me to take good care of the Lu family and don't ruin my life's hard work."
Lu Wenhuan did not agree immediately.
This is not only the supreme glory and wealth, but also a heavy burden.
The Lu family is not only a direct line of more than a hundred people, but also includes collateral in-laws, students from the old department, and all those who have benefited, forming a huge and intricate family.
This family member can bring countless benefits to Lu Wenhuan.
But from now on, he will also protect the interests of everyone, and ensure that they have astonishing wealth no less than what they currently have.
"Brother will be fine. No one has cured back gangrene. As long as you eat a lighter diet..."
"Promise me!" Lu Wende roared again, like a wounded beast.
He struggled to hold himself up and stared at Lu Wenhuan with bloodshot eyes.
"Without me, if you were still eating wild vegetables in Anfeng, you would have starved to death... All these things you have, I gave you..."
Lu Wenhuan looked at him, his eyes were sore, he lowered his head and said: "Brother, Xiaoliu promises you."
"Okay, among my brothers and nephews, you are the only one...you are the only one who has some potential..."
Lu Wende felt much relieved, lay down again, and said: "But you fight... damn, you are not as good as me, talk to Li Xia, and you must take Ezhou back."
"Okay, okay, brother, please rest in peace."
"No... I will talk to Li Xia personally. I will talk to him personally..."
~~
The fighting inside and outside Xiangyang City calmed down.
At least the corpse-strewn battlefield couldn't be cleared in three to five days.
But just like the sea surface, there must be undercurrents surging under this temporary calm, brewing the next storm.
...
Li Xia had already escaped the siege and was stationed at the Longzhong Mountain Camp.
After the siege was lifted, many memorials that had been delayed in recent months were finally delivered to Li Xia.
Not long after he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, at a time when state affairs were heavy, Li Xia had left the capital for so long. One can imagine what chaos Chang'an was in.
Fang Yankai felt very anxious just looking at these documents.
There were even a few urgent battle reports. Because they were sealed with wax, even he had no right to open them. They had to be read by Li Xia himself.
"His Majesty?"
Fang Yankai looked around and saw Li Xia put down the battle report in his hand, without any change in his eyes.
"Is it Ningxia or Guanzhong that is in trouble?"
"Fang Qing is a civil servant, but he is still worried about Qi Bei
Are you coming to face war?"
Fang Yankai was very worried and said: "Your Majesty is going to march personally. The Yuan army will definitely attack in large numbers. How can I not be worried?"
He had said so, but Li Xia still refused to say how the war was going in the north. Instead, he burned the battle report in his hand on a candle.
When green smoke started to rise, Fang Yankai was startled and asked again: "Is this... very bad? Will Your Majesty return to Chang'an immediately?"
"There's no rush." Li Xia still refused to show his emotions and said, "We can talk about returning to the master after Song Ting bows to us."
Fang Yankai was still worried. He picked up a document and said, "Your Majesty, please look at the casualties in this battle. Now that the soldiers are exhausted and there is not much food and grass, I am afraid that it will be difficult to threaten the Song court again, and the Yuan army in the north...
..Does it really not matter?"
"Be calm." Li Xia reminded.
Fang Yankai rose from a county magistrate to a central minister. He could handle practical matters, but sometimes he was not able to handle major events. When Li Xia stopped him, he quickly looked down.
"I obey the decree."
"Let's talk about forcing Song Ting to bow his head."
Li Xia walked towards the lookout in Longzhong Mountain.
Fang Yankai followed up in small steps and said, "I heard that Lu Wende is about to die?"
"Well, the Song court must be in a difficult situation." Li Xia looked at the Song army flag in the distance and said, "After this battle, Meng Yuan will definitely accuse and threaten the Song court."
"It must be so." Fang Yankai said: "But no matter how much the Yuan court accuses Zhao and Song, they will not really send troops to attack Song. Instead, they will attack His Majesty who is upstream and poses a greater threat to him first."
At this point, he also felt that he had reminded him too much, like an old mother.
But that’s how it is to be a minister, and you must consider everything for the king.
Fang Yankai added: "I still feel angry when I think about the Song Dynasty's peace negotiation strategy. Both sides will suffer losses. How unwise!"
After all, no matter how the battle with Song Ting ended, it was actually a loss.
For Li Xia, the best way is not to break up with the Song Dynasty. It is actually easy to destroy the Yuan Dynasty first, wait until he has occupied the Central Plains, and then go south to destroy the Song Dynasty.
The result was good. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties negotiated a peace and fought a war, although they were victorious, the situation facing the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties became even worse.
"I'm not worried about Song Ting, but I'm thinking about the threat Song Ting poses to us." Li Xia said, "Anyway, it's Fang Qing who can say that both sides will suffer, so he has expectations for Song Ting."
"I have given up on the Zhao family, but I am saddened by the casualties in the army, and I hate the Song court for being unwise."
"Let's think about it differently...Song Ting was originally the enemy, and our purpose in this battle was to knock him down so that he would not dare to deal with us easily again. If you think about it this way, wouldn't it make you feel better?"
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
"Then if you beat him to the ground and don't get some benefits back, wouldn't it be a loss?"
Fang Yankai understood what he was going to do and said: "I will draw up a clause to ask the Song Dynasty to recognize your Majesty's imperial title and promise not to raise troops to invade the country."
"More than that." Li Xia said: "We also need what Song Ting gave to Meng Yuan, such as mutual trading, annual coins, and... hmm? Lu Wende sent someone here."
Halfway through his words, a fast horse galloped from the east with a flag waving in his hand. It turned out that he was coming from Xiangyang.
"It seems they have given in." Fang Yankai couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Song Ting would sue for peace earlier so that the emperor could return to Chang'an as soon as possible.