It wasn't until the evening that Zhu Yourong slowly woke up, and the first thing he said was to ask if there was any news about Xiang Xiaoqiang.
Wei Zijin stayed by her bed. She sadly told the Queen that there was no good news. Most of the reconnaissance planes sent were shot down. Only a few successfully returned to Gansu. According to the analysis of photos from the airport,
Now there are no large-scale battles in the Dihua and Changji areas. In other words, the Soviet army has basically controlled the above areas. A large-scale battle is taking place about 200 kilometers north of Dihua. They should be rushing back from Altay
That half of the division was fighting the Soviet army.
“There are fires everywhere in Dihua City,” Wei Zijin said with tears. “From the photos, half of the South Gate Grand Mosque collapsed... The Soviet flag was flying on the dome tower... The Soviet army has completely occupied the mosque.
…”
"The South Gate Mosque..." Zhu Yourong coughed weakly twice and said calmly, "That is the largest mosque in Dihua... Stand up to them... In the end, you are the one who holds on to the South Gate Mosque, right..."
Wei Zijin held back tears and nodded.
Zhu Yourong didn't speak or shed tears. He just lay like this, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly.
After a while, she asked softly:
"Where is this?"
Wei Zijin replied in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, we are still at Xiangfu."
Zhu Yourong looked at the sunset slanting in through the window and sighed:
"Oh, it's getting dark..."
"Your Majesty," Wei Zijin said, "many princes and ministers have already come to visit. The princess and the servants received them. Mr. Shen Ge came here again just now to check on Your Majesty's condition. He also left a few people behind.
Here. It seems that as soon as His Majesty wakes up, they will report to Mr. Shen Ge."
Zhu Yourong didn't speak, just nodded.
Wei Zijin raised his head, looked out the window, and said softly:
"If Mr. Xiang was still here...he would never dare to do this."
Zhu Yourong was stunned for a moment and asked:
"What are you afraid of?"
Wei Zijin sneered slightly and said:
"Surveillance - monitor us, and also monitor...your majesty."
Zhu Yourong showed a slight smile, stretched out his hand to hold Wei Zijin's hand, and smiled softly:
"Zijin... it's not what you think... Mr. Shen Ge just wants to... want to come in time when I wake up, so that he can continue to persuade me not to declare war on Su... I know that this is what he wants
The country is good..."
Wei Zijin lowered his gaze, paused, and then said:
"Your Majesty, I have already ordered the car to drive into the Xiang Mansion. We should return to the palace later... Your Majesty, we... we cannot stay here overnight. Outside..."
Zhu Yourong nodded, gently squeezed her hand, and said:
"I know... what is being said outside... let them talk about it... this thing, this thing..."
There was a lump in her throat and she cried:
"...It can only be a legend."
Wei Zijin asked again after a while:
"Your Majesty, people from the Jinling Broadcasting Company came just now and asked Your Majesty whether they are going to declare war on Su on the radio tonight? Are they going to enter the palace to prepare?"
Zhu Yourong was quiet for a while, shook his head and said:
"No need... let Mr. Shen Ge decide what to do... I really... really don't have the strength..."
"Your Majesty!" Wei Zijin said in shock, "You...?"
Zhu Yourong smiled and said:
"Zijin, what Mr. Shen Ge said makes sense. We are all too young. We should listen to politicians on this kind of thing..."
…
Under the cover of night, the gate of the Xiang Mansion slowly opened. Accompanied by countless spotlights, the Queen's motorcade slowly drove out. No one made a loud noise among the people gathered in front of the door. People spontaneously made way for the Queen's motorcade to move at an extremely slow speed. While driving, a large car in the middle had its curtains tightly drawn. The overall atmosphere was sad and solemn, like a funeral convoy.
In a window in Xiang Mansion, the curtains were slightly raised at a small corner. Xiuxiu hid behind, biting her handkerchief, staring at the Queen's motorcade that was gradually going away, tears kept falling. Behind her, Qiu Qiu was lying on the bed. On the bed, she almost passed out from crying. The light in the room was getting darker and darker, and Xiuxiu leaned weakly against the window, looking at the setting sun in the distance.
At this moment, in addition to sadness, another feeling of isolation and helplessness gradually enveloped her. She felt a kind of fear in her heart.
Xiuxiu hugged her arms, shed tears, leaned against the wall, and slowly sat on the floor.
"Qiu Qiu."
she said softly.
Qiu Qiu was lying on the bed wrapped in quilt, turned over and looked at her blankly.
Xiuxiu choked and said:
"Tell me, what should we do."
Qiu Qiu's eyes were dull and he didn't say a word.
After a long while, Qiu Qiu said:
"...I want to die."
Xiuxiu sighed, smiled bitterly, and shook her head.
Then, she held on to the window sill, forced herself to stand up, touched the bell on the bedside table, and shook it a few times.
After a while, a maid came in.
Xiuxiu wiped her tears and asked:
"Commander Li and Commander Du... didn't they come to visit His Majesty and us just now? Are they still there now?"
The maid replied:
"Madam, they have left. They are probably going back to the headquarters."
Xiuxiu nodded and ordered:
"Help me go and invite them over, and say we can discuss it."
The maid glanced at her, lowered her head and said:
"yes."
"Wait a minute!" Xiuxiu stopped the maid who was turning to leave, and said quietly, "Forget it...call the headquarters for me, ask if they are there, and say that I have something important...asking for a meeting...asking for a meeting Two commanders."
"yes."
After the maid went out, Xiuxiu followed her out, almost holding on to the wall all the way to her mother's room.
Shang Xiaojun was sitting in a dimly lit room, holding an accordion and playing it alone in the darkness. The melody of the hymn "Lord Bless the World" filled the room with the organ, like a soothing agent for the soul, and he was immediately overwhelmed. Xiuxiu's whole heart relaxed.
The sound of the piano stopped, Shang Xiaojun turned around, saw his daughter, smiled and said softly:
"Xiuxiu, come here...let mom take a look at you."
In the darkness, Xiuxiu nestled in her mother's arms, crying heartily.
But just after a moment, Xiuxiu raised her head in tears and whispered:
"Mom... I'm going to the headquarters... Your Excellency has left, there are many things that need to be arranged..."
"You're right," Shang Xiaojun gently stroked her daughter's head and smiled lovingly, "Now is really not the time to cry. Go ahead, Xiu Xiu, do whatever you have to do. We grew up from a small village in the countryside. Now that everyone has reached this stage, it's already good. What's yours is yours, not yours, so don't argue with others. Just keep what you have now.
"...Xiuxiu, you know, my mother has always dreamed of returning to the south of the Yangtze River, buying a garden in a beautiful place, and telling you a good young man who is honest and responsible, and telling Ziyu
A good girl with an innocent family background. Our family stays together and lives like a fairy... Do you agree? Xiuxiu."
Xiu Xiu curled up her lips, started crying, and nodded with tears in her eyes.
"By the way, Mom," she sniffed and said, "Qiu Qiu just said she wanted to die. You have people to keep an eye on her and don't let her do stupid things."
Shang Xiaojun nodded and sighed:
"Oh... that child is so infatuated. She loves Tingzhi with all her heart... You can push me to go, and I will accompany her myself."
Xiuxiu nodded, stood up and pushed her mother out of the house.
She pushed her mother into Qiu Qiu's room, and asked her brother Ye Yeyu and a maid to take care of her. She wiped her tears, changed her clothes, and went to the headquarters next door through the small door.
…
The headquarters of the People's Guard was already a busy mess. Officers were coming in and out, the phones were ringing, and staff officers and orderlies from various departments were running around...
Xiuxiu was sitting in the waiting room outside the security team commander's office, her eyes lowered, her arms holding her bag, and her legs tightly together.
Sitting together in the waiting room, there were several young female officers. Everyone glanced at Xiu Xiu, but no one spoke. The atmosphere in the room was awkward. These young female officers had similar ranks to Xiu Xiu, but before, they
Basically, they are Xiu Xiu's subordinates. Xiu Xiu orders and dispatches them just like they are doing. Xiu Xiu never has to sit in the waiting room and wait for her number to be "called" like they do. She just walks in with her feet up.
Now, Xiang Xiaoqiang is no longer here. Shirteen Gege is no longer here either. He is the highest officer of the security team. Xiuxiu is also very sensible and does not go in directly. He just asks the secretary to inform him, and then he sits down consciously and talks to
Others queued up and waited together. Others in the waiting room were surprised to see her. They first said comforting words to her, such as "My condolences, please forgive me", and then no one spoke.
When the secretary with a stomachache came out, Xiuxiu immediately stood up and went to greet him, wanting to follow him in to see the secretary with a stomachache. However, she didn't expect the secretary to politely ask her to sit down, and said he would call her when the time came.
Xiuxiu suddenly understood. With the words "wait in order", her status in the headquarters fell from "commander's wife" back to an ordinary lieutenant.
The young female officers around also noticed it. They all exchanged glances with each other and understood in their hearts. They all began to look at Xiuxiu with eyes full of superiority.
Xiuxiu lowered her head, biting her lips, holding back the tears that were about to fall, controlling not to cry, and not to faint.
…
While Xiuxiu was waiting outside the door with a stomachache, Shen Rongxuan delivered a radio speech in the official residence of the Chief Minister. As the Chief Minister, he represented the Ming Empire and responded to the "sneak attack on the Ming army" that occurred in the early morning.
"Expressed anger and announced that he would not admit that"
The legitimacy of the "International Volunteer Brigade", but he did not specify that the "International Volunteer Brigade" was the Soviet army. He made his position clear and announced that he would increase troops in the northwest to eliminate this "International Volunteer Brigade" and safeguard national unity.
, we will never allow the "Ili Empire" to be restored through this.
In his speech, Shen Rongxuan completely sided with Xiang Xiaoqiang and emphasized how foresight Xiang Xiaoqiang had been in foreseeing the hidden ambitions of the Soviet Union. Shen Rongxuan put almost all the blame on a few old men in the headquarters. The target of the attack was directed at Zhang Zhaoxian and Tang Yunsheng. He took full advantage of his oratory talents and exaggerated impassionedly about how Xiang Xiaoqiang discovered that the situation was not good after arriving in the northwest, and how he repeatedly requested reinforcements from the rear, while the chief of staff of the headquarters How stubborn they were and flatly refused again and again.
——In the end, of course, Xiang Xiaoqiang’s prediction came true. Due to the stupidity, short-sightedness, and self-will of the top brass of the headquarters, the 1st Division of the People’s Guard and the Northwest Expedition Team of the Army Aviation were completely wiped out, and the hero of the Ming Dynasty, General Xiang Xiaoqiang, fell. As a result, the outstanding intelligence talent, Princess Liaoyang of the Ming Dynasty, died...
Shen Rongxuan's accusation was very high-level. He did not take away all the responsibilities of the cabinet, but made a painful self-examination. But in this way, it achieved a wonderful effect: it made people sound like the cabinet There is no responsibility at all. It was purely the chief minister's sense of responsibility as the chief minister of a country that made unnecessary reviews. No matter who it sounds like, the person most responsible for this incident is the headquarters.
But speaking of it, this is basically a fact. At least the headquarters' refusal to increase troops directly led to the fall of Xiang Xiaoqiang and the First Division. This is not an injustice to the headquarters.
After blaming the headquarters, Shen Rongxuan recalled Xiang Xiaoqiang painfully in the tone of Xiang Xiaoqiang's mentor, elder, and talent finder. He almost shed tears as he recalled how he first met Xiang Xiaoqiang at the Dongchang meeting. How did Xiang Xiaoqiang fight against everyone's opinions and form a small team for Xiang Xiaoqiang to go to the enemy's rear in Beiqing? Later, during the Nanjing defense battle, how did he encourage Xiang Xiaoqiang like an elder and gave him courage...
While meeting with Xiang Xiaoqiang, Shen Rongxuan praised the People's Guard, its illustrious military exploits, every department and every officer...
…
By the time the speech was over, Zhang Zhaoxian had already driven into the palace and submitted his resignation to Her Majesty the Queen.
At ten o'clock that night, Queen Zhu Yourong approved Zhang Zhaoxian's resignation.
An hour later, Jinling Radio Station promptly broadcast the news - due to a serious error in judging the situation, the entire First Division of the People's Guard was destroyed and northern Xinjiang fell. Zhang Zhaoxian, Chief of General Staff of the Imperial High Command, resigned.