Chapter 120: The Enemy at the Gate After
a while, Zhou Yuan sighed and said, "Back then, because of the Queen Mother, I fled to the Ice Customs under the secret protection of several ministers and my father-in-law. I was disappointed with the royal family and full of hatred for the Queen Mother.
A year ago, I heard that the Empress Dowager and Zuo Xiang fought for power and both died. My hatred faded away and I wanted to go back to Beijing to take a look. However, my father-in-law was worried that Qianjing would be in chaos, so he asked me to wait and see what happened.
I never thought that in just one year, Xiaojiu not only regained the imperial power, but was also able to establish the Demon Tribe. With such power, I can now feel truly relieved.
As a descendant of the royal family, it is difficult to have peace. After this disaster, Qianyuan is still here today. Why should I complain? Go back and tell the emperor that as long as I, Zhou Yuan, am still alive, I will never let the Ice and Snow Empire set foot in it. "
"Okay, I will definitely convey this message. We Zhou brothers will protect Qianyuan Jiangshan together." Zhou Di was also aroused with heroic spirit.
Zhou Yuan picked up the wine glass on the table, and after the two brothers drank together, he continued, "To be honest, when I heard the tip-off that you wanted to overthrow the Queen Mother's rule, I was worried about how you and Xiao Jiu would deal with it. No matter who is the winner in the end, if you kill each other, I will never recognize this brother.
According to our Zhou family's ancestral precepts, brothers and sisters are not allowed to kill each other. The throne must be fairly fought for by brothers and the most talented one will inherit it. Other brothers must assist him with all their strength.
If anyone violates this rule, the whole clan will kill him at all costs. It is because of this rule that our Zhou family has been able to come this far.
Fortunately, Xiaojiu not only didn't kill you, but also made you the left prime minister. I was really happy when I heard that, and I got drunk with my father-in-law.
Later, the third brother also came to see me. He came to see me because of this incident. He told me that if Xiaojiu and you join forces, there is still hope for Qianyuan and the Zhou family. "
"Third brother is still alive? Where is he now?" Zhou Di asked immediately.
"He didn't say anything. He must have his own difficulties. When he came, he specifically reminded me that the five southern countries had united and were planning to attack. He asked me to tell Xiaojiu and you to be prepared. He left in a hurry after just a few words. I guess he should be in the five southern countries, and he is very likely an official in one of them." Zhou Yuan said.
Zhou Di was surprised. Thinking of the attack from the five southern countries, his mood suddenly became heavy.
Zhou Yuan patted his shoulder and said, "I can't leave here. I'll find the third brother and leave him to you. He fled to avoid the empress dowager's rebellion, but I know he cares about Qianyuan. Please bring him back."
Zhou Di nodded and said, "I understand."
While they were chatting, the dishes and various meats were prepared and began to be brought up. Zhou Yuan and Old Yang invited everyone to drink and eat meat.
After a few drinks, everyone became lively. The big monsters were originally quite free and easy, and as soon as the drinks went down their throats, they immediately became brothers with the generals of the Zhenbei Army and started drinking.
You Ji and Xiao Wu were not interested in drinking, so they ate a little and went back.
While the Zhenxi Army and the demon generals were drinking together, Zhou Di called Zhou Yuan, Old Yang, and his wife and children into the meeting room next door.
Zhou Yuan pointed at his three children and introduced them, "Sixth Brother, these are my and Cai Ling's two sons. The eldest son Zhou Yu is 15 years old, and the son Zhou Guan is 13 years old. This is my and Xue'er's daughter Zhou Ruobing, 12 years old. She has the same personality as her mother, a tomboy. Call me Sixth Uncle."
"Sixth Uncle." The three of them saluted in unison. They were all wearing armor, so they just went through the motions.
"Father, do you think my mother is not a good person?" Zhou Ruobing immediately pouted and glared.
Seeing Yang Xue's eyes, Zhou Yuan could only smile awkwardly. Yang Cailing came to the rescue and said, "Bing'er, don't be so presumptuous in front of Uncle Six."
Zhou Di laughed and said, "My second brother already has three children, but I'm still unmarried."
"Why don't you let Cai Ling introduce you to some marriage proposals? There are all kinds of girls. Our northern girls are bold and beautiful, and we also have quiet ones. I wonder what kind you like, Lao Liu?" Zhou Yuan became inexplicably interested when talking about women.
"We don't have the time now. The primary goal of the Queen and I is to resolve the problem of the big families in the empire. These families have taken root in the empire. 80% of the empire's economy has been absorbed by them. Except for Qianjing, all counties and prefectures are under their control. It will take time to deal with them." Zhou Di said.
"The relationships behind these families are so complicated that they cannot be eliminated directly by force. Otherwise, the entire country will be overthrown. Here, I have heard rumors from various counties and even the Ice and Snow Empire that the emperor is a demon emperor. This must be spread secretly by various families." Zhou Yuan had a face full of anger. He was very unhappy about outsiders slandering his brother behind his back.
"We have already thought of a countermeasure for this matter. We can take advantage of the joint attack of various countries this time. Second brother, you just need to defend this place, and we can handle the rest. And here are the military supplies and some good things that the emperor asked me to give you."
Zhou Di took out a treasure bag and handed it to Zhou Yuan, then whispered: “Inside this is 30 million taels of gold, and spell manuscripts collected from the immortal cultivation sects, all of which can be used by the post-natal realm. They are not very powerful, but they are very useful and suitable for military use.
There are spells suitable for scouts to walk and hide, and there are also spells used in war, with excellent effects. However, they come from various schools and sects, so it is difficult to make them public. "
Zhou Yuan and Old Yang were both surprised. With this much gold, they could defeat the Ice and Snow Empire even if they fought for ten years.
Zhou Yuan was amazed again by the amount of gold. What on earth had happened to Xiaojiu? Could it be that he had emptied the national treasury?
Seeing everyone's expressions, Zhou Di smiled and said, "This is just the emperor's personal treasury. If you need money in the future, don't report it to the court. The allocation will not be much. Asking the emperor directly for it will definitely be beyond imagination."
Zhou Yuan and Old Yang looked at each other, smiled and shook their heads in disbelief. They thought that the intelligence they had already given them a good understanding of the emperor.
Only now did they realize that they knew nothing about the current emperor. On the contrary, the more they knew, the more unfamiliar and curious they felt about the emperor.
Seeing their expressions, Zhou Di smiled secretly. He felt the same way at first. Now seeing them like this, he felt more balanced. He smiled and said, "There are still many urgent matters in the court. I will return tonight. Second brother, I will not stay any longer. We will meet again in Qianjing after all the countries withdraw their troops."
"Okay, state affairs are more important. I won't keep you here any longer. Take care." Zhou Yuan hugged him tightly, and they returned to the square and continued to eat and drink with everyone.
After the banquet, Zhou Di said goodbye to You Ji and Xiao Wu, and asked a demon king to escort him back to Qianjing.
After the monster attack, the Ice and Snow Empire did not attack again, and the army remained stationed on the snowfield ten miles away.
Ten days later, the Canglong Empire and the Southern Five Alliance advanced all the way. As they no longer encountered attacks, their advancement speed became faster and faster. All the checkpoints and cities they encountered along the way chose to surrender.
On the tenth day, the armies of the two countries met 13 kilometers outside Qianjing and jointly attacked Qianjing under the slogan of destroying the Demon Emperor.
Those rebellious families also raised the banner of sacrificing relatives for the sake of justice, and along the way spread the word that the emperor was a demon, harmed loyal ministers in the court, and did not care about the lives of the people. They also put all the labels of stupidity and promiscuity on Zhou An's head.
However, the coalition forces did not attack immediately, but instead set up camp outside Qianjing.
At this moment, nearly 60% of the ministers in the imperial court of Qianjing had been sentenced to flee. Shangguan Rong and Zhou Di watched these ministers leave. Not to mention trying to keep them, the Jinyiwei even secretly recorded these ministers and watched them flee Qianjing at night.
The court became silent for more than ten days in a row. Ministers left every day, Zhou Di closed his eyes to rest during court, and Shangguan Rong did not even appear in the court.
Today, the remaining ministers and generals attended the court. Originally, many of them did not want to come, but now that the enemy is at the gates of the city, they have to come. Otherwise, once the city is broken, all the civil and military officials in the court will definitely be implicated.
As soon as they entered the court, they saw Zhou Di had arrived early today. They were a little surprised and all gathered around and shouted, "Lord Zuo Xiang, we can't wait any longer. Let the queen and the demon generals come out immediately. We must come up with a countermeasure."
Zhou Di smiled and suddenly asked inexplicably: "My Lords, the two armies in the southeast have already betrayed the country, have you ever thought of finding a way out for yourself?"
"Zhou Di, you are not the only one who wants to persuade us to surrender! You are the sixth prince." A general glared and shouted angrily.
"Zhou Di, if you are trying to persuade us to surrender, then forget it. If we wanted to leave, we would have left long ago. Why wait for you?" Another minister shouted loudly. If it weren't for Zhou Di's status, he would probably have started scolding him.
Zhou Di smiled mysteriously.
"The Emperor and the Empress are here." Suddenly a female official called out, and all the ministers immediately separated and stood in their original positions.
Zhou An and Shangguan Rong walked in from the side and sat on the dragon throne.
(End of this chapter)
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