Huguang Wuchang City, at this time, could not be seen as a city that was being watched by an army of 400,000 men. It was just that the cloudy weather made this ancient city even darker and more outdated.
A sedan stopped in front of the mansion. A bright-eyed young woman stepped out of the sedan and was greeted by several people coming out of the mansion before entering the house through a side door. She was Luo Yaoniang, and Yang Shiqi, the first assistant
It is normal for people from the Yu family to appear in the Yu Mansion. Everyone knows that the relationship between Yang Shiqi and Yu Qian is both a teacher, a father and a friend. It is a well-known story in Shilin, so it is not surprising that the family members of the two families have contact. But in fact, Yu Qian’s wife Dong
It is true that Mr. Luo and Luo Yaoniang had little contact.
It was a rare invitation, so when Luo Yaoniang was invited to the Yu Mansion, she was not casual at all. It could be seen from her dress that she had been carefully prepared.
Luo Yaoniang sat down in the tea room of the back house. She was wearing a blouse that was almost beige in color, with a light-colored floral pattern. Her collar was made of purple material, and she wore a goose-yellow silk ribbon as a shawl.
, put it from the shoulders down, and tie it gently around the waist. The top is tied into the skirt, and the bottom skirt is made of moon-green brocade embroidered with variegated patterns. The whole person looks rich but not vulgar, which is very suitable.
The family status of a big bureaucrat. In contrast, Mrs. Dong, who has the same status and status, is much more simple and casual. She is distinguished by her clothes, her horse and her saddle. When compared with others, Mrs. Dong, who is wearing a cotton moon-white coat and skirt, seems to be a different person.
Women of the upper class are average.
Mrs. Dong was obviously a little wary of this lady who had not yet left the court but was dressed in a mature and dignified manner. However, she did not show any hostility. She forced a smile and asked in a polite and greeting tone: "I heard that Miss Luo sent a girl from Jiangxi
I sent a letter to the palace. When did you go to Jiangxi?"
Luo Yaoniang replied honestly: "At the beginning of August."
"Oh... I went so early." Ms. Dong nodded, and she made some calculations in her mind. Zhang Ning only set off from Wuchang in mid-August. Miss Luo was obviously not looking for Zhang Ning... Although Luo Yaoniang was there at that time.
The unsuccessful marriage with Zhang Ning was well known in the official circles of the capital. So who did Luo Yaoniang go to Jiangxi to meet? There is no doubt that she went to see her "confidant" Dong's husband Yu Qian.
But Ms. Dong stopped her words, not wanting to expose her face to face. She invited Luo Yaoniang today not to quarrel like a shrew in the market, nor to question her.
Dong's cold fingers were held on the teacup to keep warm, and she added: "My husband is an official in Jiangxi, and rumors have been spreading around recently. I am worried about it every day. When I learned that Miss Luo had just returned from Jiangxi and was from Yangge's hometown, I
I've come up with the idea of inviting Miss Luo to my humble residence and want to ask what's going on there recently."
"The situation is not good. Jiujiang is very dangerous, so I was driven back." Luo Yaoniang said.
Mrs. Dong hurriedly asked: "What's wrong?"
Luo Yaoniang lowered her face and thought for a moment, then asked for paper and pen, "Up north, down south, left, west, right, east, the Yangtze River flows roughly like this, our Wuchang is here, Jiujiang City is here, and to the east is Poyang Lake.
Three armies of the government and the army besieged Jiujiang City, with more than 100,000 troops... Before I left, a battle was fought at Poyang Lake here. Our Jiujiang Army's navy was completely wiped out. I heard that the total loss on land and water exceeded 15,000.
Thousands of people. Now except Jiujiang City, all places in Jiangxi have changed their surnames.
The imperial officers and troops are attacking Jiujiang City from the east and south, and King Xiang and Lord Yu are leading their troops in the city. The administration also has an army in Huangzhou on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and they are also crossing the river to attack Jiujiang from the west."
Mrs. Dong looked at the circles on the paper for a long time: "My lord, can they still escape?"
Luo Yaoniang said in a deep voice: "It's hard to leave, and they don't want to leave either. It won't take long for us to walk past, and the place where the war will take place is Wuchang."
"What should we do?" Mrs. Dong suddenly grabbed Luo Yaoniang's wrist. Her past jealousy and hostility towards Luo Yaoniang seemed to have become unimportant. In a strange city in the distance that she had never been to before, two men
, one is her support for survival in the world, and the other is the lover she hates and yearns for day and night. If these two people disappear in that city together, what will be left of everything she has, and what should she do with the rest of her life? Need
He committed suicide at home and followed him, but what about Yu Mian who is not yet an adult?
Mr. Dong vaguely felt that bad luck and disaster were coming to him. Is this a punishment for his sins?
Luo Yaoniang said: "Does Madam know that there are many military camps in and around Wuchang City?" Seeing Dong shake his head, she explained: "Ping'an... King Xiang gave the military power of the new army in Wuchang to General Zhou, who was Princess Xiang's father.
There are probably tens of thousands of soldiers and horses; General Zhou should lead his army eastward to rescue them."
Dong asked: "When will General Zhou send troops?"
...In the Chu Palace not far from Yu Mansion, Yao Ji also had the same question.
She has a great influence in the Wuchang regime. It goes without saying that she is the concubine of Emperor Jianwen and the biological mother of King Xiang. Monk Yao, one of the five ministers, is her half-brother. She also has the Ministry of Internal Affairs in her hands, and her tentacles are from
The officialdom and military camps extended to the market place, and even Nanya officials (officials of various temples at the south gate of the Chu Palace) often corresponded with her.
But Yao Ji's influence is almost all indirect. She has no precedent of directly participating in government affairs or issuing orders to ministers. After all, this is not the situation of Wu Zhou in the Tang Dynasty. Scholar-officials are more resistant to women in the harem directly participating in politics. Yao Ji herself is usually very
Pay attention to propriety. So now she cannot directly order Zhou Mengxiong to send troops, and can only pay attention to the movements of the cabinet.
She was still having lunch today, and just when she was using her chopsticks, she heard that Xia Changshi had returned from the cabinet, so she immediately put down her chopsticks and called Xia Changshi to come in to talk. Tuesday Niang and Zhang Xiaomei, who were dining with her, also put down their chopsticks and sat down to wait.
.
Xia Yu walked into the room, quietly looked at the people inside, then bent down and said to Yao Ji: "Just after the discussion in the lobby ended, Zhou Butang also came. He tried his best to persuade Yang Shoufu and the other two cabinet ministers Zhu and Zheng
, saying that now is not the time to send troops and that we have to wait a little longer."
Yao Ji's face dropped, and Tuesday's mother hurriedly lowered her head. Xia Yu glanced at Tuesday's mother, and said carefully: "It's not that Zhou Butang is unwilling to send troops, he thinks that the new army's training is not enough now, and the battle formation is unfamiliar, so they need to seize the time and work hard."
We need to train more and we can only send troops when we are confident."
Yao Ji frowned and pondered, Xia Yu figured it out correctly, and then hurriedly said: "By the way, the cabinet ministers also asked Master Zhou, what should we do if Jiujiang falls and Yongding camp is destroyed, and the consequences are disastrous?"
"How did he answer?" Yao Ji couldn't help but ask.
Xia Yudao: "Master Zhou roared in front of the ministers, saying that when things got to that point, he would be willing to die in Ling Chi."
Xia Yu took a step forward and lowered her voice and said, "It is reported that most of Huangzhou's army has crossed the Yangtze River. The cabinet believes that this army will not attack Wuchang, but will encircle Jiujiang City eastward. The Jiangbei Army has been deployed in
The number between Wuchang and Jiujiang City is said to be 100,000, but according to the intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the total strength of the local army should be between 50,000 and 60,000. If Mr. Zhou sends troops at this time, he must first contact the North Road.
If the North Route Army cannot be defeated, it will be impossible to rescue Jiujiang City... Mr. Zhou's concerns are also reasonable. The new army in Wuchang has been preparing since last year and has not been formed until now; if Mr. Zhou this time
The troops sent out failed to defeat the Northern Route Army, and even lost the battle and damaged the New Army. We really have no troops available in Huguang, and it is difficult to support the offensive of the official army."
Yao Ji closed her eyes gently, her eyelashes trembling slightly. A while ago, rumors that Zhou Mengxiong was squeezing the old man of the Suzaku Army in the new army flashed through her heart.
After a long time, she asked coldly: "What did Zhu Heng say in the lobby?"
Xia Yu couldn't figure out what Mrs. Yao meant for a while, but her intuition was a little strange. Zhu Heng was neither the chief minister nor in charge of the military. There were several cabinet ministers, but why did Mrs. Yao ask him what he said alone?
Yu thought about it and replied: "Zhu Butang twice urged Mr. Zhou to step up preparations, but he never asked him to send troops immediately."
Yao Ji raised her sleeves and waved lightly, saying nothing more. Xia Yu hurriedly bowed and retreated: "I'm resigning."
"Let's eat, why are you sitting here?" Yao Ji looked at the woman at the same table and forced a faint smile. Then she said a few words about home affairs to Zhang Xiaomei and asked her, "What did the cook cook for lunch today?"
Is the food still delicious?"
"It's delicious..." Zhang Xiaomei said in a mosquito-like voice. Yao Ji heard something strange and tilted his head to look at her, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Xiaomei burst into tears suddenly. She buried her head and wiped her tears with her sleeves. She choked and said, "My brother is surrounded by enemy soldiers. I don't know what he is eating now and whether he can have enough to eat..."
After hearing this, Yao Ji patted her little sister's back with great affection, "Don't worry, your brother is the commander of tens of thousands of people in the army. If even he can't have enough to eat, what will happen to so many people? So you
Don’t worry about this kind of thing.”
Zhou Zhou's mother was left out for a long time. When she saw this, she comforted Zhang Xiaomei and said: "My father will definitely lead his troops to help the prince. Later in the afternoon, I will go back and ask him."
After hearing this, Yao Ji said softly: "Ning'er is not at home. You might as well go back to your parents' home for two days and fulfill your filial piety." Tuesday's mother said hurriedly: "My brother Zhou Zhong is in my natal family. I should be filial to my mother-in-law now.
.”
Zhang Xiaomei didn't care about the conversation between the two. She only remembered that Tuesday's mother said she would ask her father to mobilize troops to rescue her. She showed some confidence at that moment: "When my brother left, he solemnly promised me that he would definitely defeat the army. If we win, we will win."
return."
After hearing this, Yao Ji felt more and more like Zhang Xiaomei, so she said: "Wen Biao loves you the most. He has never lied to you. He should be able to do what he says."
In the afternoon, Tuesday's mother really packed up and left the Chu Palace to return to her parents' home. It was not until midnight that her father Zhou Mengxiong came back. He was wearing a suit of iron and looking tired. When he saw Tuesday's mother in the living room, he didn't ask anything, and immediately
Just grasp the key point: "It's your business to be pregnant with the blood of the Zhu family as early as possible, why do you still care about military and political affairs?" Tuesday's mother said: "My daughter didn't say anything, how could my father think that I am involved in politics?" Zhou Mengxiong said: "Then you
Just don’t say anything. Anyway, you understand that after waiting for such a night, go to bed early."