Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Touring the Bian River

In the quiet night, Ji Yanlang's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible, but what he said was extremely serious. Fang Ying's heart skipped a beat when she heard it, and all sleepiness disappeared immediately.

"I just can't understand it. Your Majesty has led troops for many years and has experienced many battles. How could he really not see that this battle would have more defeats than victories?"

Fang Ying turned around and sighed softly: "Although everyone often says that the use of troops is like a god, after all, no one is a true god..."

"But His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and Uncle Zhou have both made suggestions and remonstrations, but the emperor not only ignored them but also scolded the Prince of Qin. Instead, he was kind to the Prince of Wei who only knew how to flatter..." Ji Yanlang said this in one breath, and realized that if he continued, it would seem like he was resentful of the emperor, so he had to stop and sigh.

Fang Ying knew that he actually respected the emperor deeply, so she consoled him, "Time reveals a person's true character. Now the emperor has distinguished between loyalty and treachery and has changed his title from Prince of Yan to Prince of Wei. You..."

Ji Yanlang was still upset: "From King of Yan to King of Wei, he is still a king, but those brothers in the camp, those loyal men, have turned from human beings into ghosts, and will sleep in Youyan forever, never to return..." His throat choked and he couldn't continue for a while.

Fang Ying could feel his grief and indignation, but speaking objectively, the defeat in this battle could not be attributed to Prince Wei - the emperor was determined to fight the battle of Youzhou, and Prince Wei was only speaking in accordance with the emperor's wishes. He really shouldn't be responsible for the loss of nearly 10,000 lives.

However, at this moment, Ji Yanlang obviously didn't want to hear this. In addition, King Wei was not a good person to begin with, so Fang Ying said, "Those who do too much evil will eventually perish. His retribution is still to come."

Ji Yanlang was silent for a moment before he softly replied, "You're right. His retribution is yet to come. We'll see."

"Well, let's go to sleep." Fang Ying didn't like to hear about wars. She had to go to Xiangguo Temple early tomorrow, so she yawned, indicating that she really wanted to sleep.

Ji Yanlang agreed, but his mind was still full of confused thoughts. He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

The next day, the two were woken up by a maid. Ji Yanlang had asked for leave from the camp in advance, so the couple had breakfast at Li's house, said goodbye to their mother, and drove to Xiangguo Temple.

The Xiangguo Temple held rituals for the salvation of the souls almost every day, and the Ji family often came to donate. The monks in the temple were particularly attentive, and the Ji family was capable in managing the affairs. Therefore, when Ji Yanlang arrived, everything was ready.

Under the guidance of the master presiding over the ceremony, he burned incense and prayed, and listened to the masters recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra before quietly leaving.

Fang Ying had gone to worship Buddha and had just come out. The two of them met up, left Xiangguo Temple, crossed the Xiangguo Temple Bridge, and the double-decker pleasure boat that had been rented in advance was already waiting under the bridge.

Ji Yanlang helped Fang Ying onto the boat and said, "Let's go downstream first, make a circle, and then come back here to disembark and go home."

The Bian River runs through the entire city of Bianjing. Starting from Xiangguo Temple Bridge and sailing downstream, the round trip is longer than the Bian River inside the city. Fang Ying asked, "That will take a long time, right? Can we get back before noon?"

"Before noon?" Ji Yanlang laughed, "Why do you have another appointment?"

Fang Ying wore a veiled hat and glanced at him through the light gauze: "Yes, I have an appointment with my second sister-in-law."

Ji Yanlang knew it was about the outing the day after tomorrow, and said with a smile, "Why rush? It doesn't matter if we go earlier or later."

As they talked, the two of them went up to the deck. Ji Yanlang helped Fang Ying walk to the side of the boat and pointed to the peach blossoms blooming on both sides of the bank, saying to her, "Isn't such a beautiful view enough to make you completely intoxicated and forget to leave?"

The weather is fine today, and the clear blue sky makes the bright peach blossoms look even more vivid. Looking up from the bow of the boat, it looks like an endless stretch of crimson clouds, which is extremely pleasing to the eye.

Fang Ying couldn't help but sigh with pleasure: "I'm so happy here, I don't want to leave."

Ji Yanlang laughed twice, took Fang Ying's hand and went up to the second floor, then ordered the boatman to raise anchor and leave the shore.

This pleasure boat is not very big, but its decoration is exquisite and clean. The second floor is similar to a pavilion, open on all sides, with only a roof supported by four pillars for sunshade.

Fang Ying took off her veil and handed it to Lichun, then sat down side by side with Ji Yanlang, watching the pleasure boat break through the river and sail out downstream.

The slightly fierce wind passed through the weeping willows and peach trees planted on both sides of the river bank. When it reached the river surface, the wind was much weaker. When it blew onto people's faces again, it was soaked with the moisture of the river water, and it added a bit of softness and moisture.

"There are musicians on this boat, and the boat girl can sing long and short sentences. Which one do you want to listen to?" Ji Yanlang asked with a smile.

"Then let's listen to the long and short sentences." Fang Ying had heard that it was popular to sing songs in long and short sentences, but he had never heard it. Now that the boat girl could sing it, he wanted to listen to it with his own ears.

Ji Yanlang ordered his men to pass on the message, and soon the sound of strings being tuned could be heard from below, followed by a soft and melodious female voice singing: "Everyone says Jiangnan is beautiful, but visitors should only grow old there. The spring water is bluer than the sky, and I sleep in a painted boat listening to the rain. The woman beside the wine shop is like the moon, her white wrists covered with frost and snow. Don't return home before you are old, or you will be heartbroken."①

The boat girl's voice was soft and graceful, accompanied by the ethereal and gentle sound of the piano, and she really sang out a bit of nostalgia.

After the song was over, Lichun and the others brought their own tea and brought it up. Fang Ying slowly drank half a cup and saw a pleasure boat approaching in front of her. Behind it were cargo ships carrying goods in the distance. She said, "The Bian River is getting busier every year."

Ji Yanlang nodded in agreement. "The population of the capital is growing. Kaifeng Prefecture alone can no longer sustain itself. Most of what we need must be shipped from the south. It will only get busier in the future. Fortunately, the southeast has been pacified, and food supplies are available, so there will be no shortage."

At this time, the sound of the pipa began, and the boatwoman changed to singing a long and short verse about Luoyang. The two of them stopped talking and listened to the end, enjoying the scenery. Ji Yanlang said, "What a coincidence! The emperor is preparing to tour Luoyang in the west."

"Oh? Why are you suddenly going on a western tour?" Fang Ying asked.

"It should be for a sacrifice, right? I vaguely heard that as well." Ji Yanlang replied, then ordered someone to change the musicians and continued, "When the Qi Dynasty was founded, Luoyang was its capital. Although it was soon moved to Bianliang due to a lack of grain transport and the inability to support troops, they still had to return to Luoyang for the heavenly sacrifices."

Fang Ying asked, "Qian Qi wanted to return to offer sacrifices to heaven because they built a temple in Luoyang, right?"

Ji Yanlang smiled and said, "Have you ever thought about why the Former Qi Dynasty built a temple in Luoyang even though they knew that the grain transport was blocked?"

Fang Ying understood this, "To show orthodoxy, right?"

After all, Luoyang has been the capital since the pre-Qin and Zhou dynasties. From the perspective of orthodox legal theory, apart from Chang'an, only establishing the capital in Luoyang can best prove that a dynasty is legitimate.

"That's right." Ji Yanlang nodded. "But even if we put aside the orthodox legal principles, Bianliang is a place surrounded by wars and has no strategic advantages. Without the advantages of the Bian River, it is not suitable to be the capital."

Speaking of having no strategic locations to defend, he couldn't help but think of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. He couldn't help but sigh, "Especially now that the Hu people have occupied Youyan, if we can't... Forget it, let's not talk about these disappointing things. What should we do?"

Fang Ying hated fighting, but he also understood that only when the country was strong and could defend against external enemies could it truly maintain peace. Now that the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were occupied by the Hu people, for the State of Chen, it was like having a jackal lurking next to its bed, which was indeed disturbing to think about.

But given Ji Yanlang's temperament, he shouldn't be so depressed and say "no" right away. Could it be that this defeat really made him discouraged and afraid to fight?

Fang Ying grumbled inwardly, but remained expressionless. She smiled and replied, "Okay, let's play backgammon, shall we?"

Ji Yanlang nodded. Lichun saw this and hurriedly took out the backgammon board and handed it to him. The couple set up their chess pieces and played a few rounds. Fang Ying pretended to regret and said, "I shouldn't have played this with you. I just thought Go was no match for you, a student of military strategy, but I didn't expect the same to be true for backgammon."

"I'm just lucky." Ji Yanlang picked up the dice and handed them to Fang Ying, then made a move with a smile.

Fang Ying shook the two dice in her palms and tossed them lightly on the chessboard. One came up two, the other three, for a total of five. She shook her head: "This isn't just luck. After I make this move, are you going to take my piece?"

"You won't be able to get this one if you take it." The two of them were just having fun and there was no stake in it. Ji Yanlang smiled and gave her some advice.

Fang Ying followed his instructions and continued, "I'm too thrifty with my pieces, so I don't like playing chess."

"Just play more. If you want to win, you can't be too concerned about short-term gains and losses," Ji Yanlang said, gesturing above the chessboard. "Look at the whole game more."

Fang Ying humbly asked for advice: "Is it like leading troops into battle?"

"Yeah, it's like leading troops to war..." Ji Yanlang repeated, then realized Fang Ying had a hidden meaning. He stopped rolling the dice and said with a smile, "You said you couldn't outsmart me, but you easily led me into a pit and made me fill it up myself, didn't you?"

"Where is the pit?" Fang Ying's eyes widened, and she pretended to look at the chessboard. "No."

Ji Yanlang smiled, let go of the dice and chess moves, then picked up the tea and took a sip. After putting down the teacup, he sighed softly, "I'm not discouraged by this temporary defeat, but..."

He hesitated, waved his hand to signal the maids to step aside, then leaned closer to Fang Ying and whispered in her ear, "I always thought that the people of Youzhou, like those in Yizhou and Zhuozhou, were loyal to the Central Plains, longing day and night for the royal army to march north and rescue them from the wrath of the Hu cavalry. But when the army besieged Youzhou, the people in the city not only refused to respond to the royal army, but also supported the defenders in holding the city..."

Fang Ying was astonished: "How could the Hu people win the hearts of the people?"

Ji Yanlang sighed: "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. It is said that the Hu people employed Han officials, followed Han systems, and considered themselves the legitimate dynasty, and in turn accused our dynasty of rebellion." He didn't dare to say the last two words out loud, and uttered them in a breath.

“…” There is such a thing?!

No wonder after the defeat in Youzhou, Ji Yanlang was so discouraged every time he mentioned this battle - it was just a defeat, which was really nothing to be afraid of, as he could just regroup and fight again. But if he lost the support of the people, it would be equivalent to losing the support of the people, and even if he had the advantage of time and place next time, he might not be able to win a complete victory.

Even if they win and recapture Youzhou, they may not be able to hold it firmly and it may be taken back by the enemy.

Ji Yanlang stepped back and couldn't help sighing again. Just at this moment, a magnificent double-decker pleasure boat passed by them. Noisy music accompanied by the laughter of dancers came over, and the slightly heavy atmosphere between the two was instantly broken.

"Don't worry too much." Taking advantage of the others' excitement, Fang Ying comforted Ji Yanlang, "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and strategy, and our dynasty is not short of elite soldiers and generals. With hard work and careful planning, we will eventually succeed."

I am afraid that the longer the Hu people occupy Youyan, the more the people will be on their side. Forty years have been like this. If it drags on for another ten or eight years, the old people who were born under the rule of Huaxia will all pass away. Wouldn't the people of Youyan only know the Hu and not the Han?

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The author has something to say: Note: ① From Wei Zhuang's "Bodhisattva Man·Everyone Says Jiangnan is Beautiful"

Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. My writing has been pretty rough for the past year or so. It might be because I've been writing for so many years now, and I need to recharge and start over. I'm currently back home helping my parents with renovations, so I'll find time to update one chapter. Since I won't be back until after the Dragon Boat Festival, I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be published. Sorry again.

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2021-04-21 23:56:02 and 2021-06-02 10:23:42~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: avahgao 20 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!