Chapter 797 War
The Beiling army marched south, with 300,000 troops heading straight for Luoyan Pass.
In order to prevent Southern Qi from suffering a defeat and causing trouble, and also because he had been fooled by the Emperor of Wei several times, Xiahou Ling ordered the vanguard to lead 80,000 cavalry to attack the border first.
There were originally several villages scattered between the borders of Beiling and Southern Qi, among which were both Wei and Rong people. However, because Beiling's army suddenly marched south and caught them off guard, all of them fell into Beiling's hands in just five days. Fortunately, Beiling's target was the Wei Dynasty, so they surrendered but were not massacred.
All captured slaves were confined in places where the army passed, and the victorious cavalry attacked Luoyan Pass without stopping and fought with the Zhen'an army in Chifeng Gorge.
The entire northern border was completely engulfed in war.
…
"Report, the Beiling army has passed Tuniu Gorge!"
"Report! Longbei has fallen. General Luo has withdrawn all his troops, but the army's food and supplies have fallen into the hands of Beiling."
"Report! Linping, Taotai, and Nanyuan have been attacked one after another. Although the Dragon Court Guards have stopped them, they have suffered heavy losses. General Fu Yue is seriously injured. Linping is in danger."
…
Reports from the war in the north came one after another, completely destroying the joy that should have been in the capital shortly after the Lantern Festival.
Although the people in the Wei court had long known that a battle with Beiling was inevitable, no one expected Beiling's attack to be so sudden. Fortunately, the new emperor had been diligent and had never relaxed since he came to power. He also squeezed the people in the court in every possible way to start preparing for the war with Beiling early on. Although the attack by Beiling was sudden, it did not cause chaos in the court.
But as battle reports came in one after another, everyone in the court began to panic as they saw that the crisis on the border not only did not ease at all, but was gradually losing ground.
There was an endless stream of people seeking to see Xiao Yan, and even more who wanted to enter the palace to discuss the war.
However, the originally diligent new emperor never showed up, and only imperial decrees were issued from the palace from time to time.
At the beginning, due to the methods used by the new emperor after he ascended the throne, the people below did not dare to act rashly despite their doubts, for fear that the new emperor had some ulterior motives and that they would bring bad luck upon themselves. However, as time passed, the battle in Beiling became increasingly stalemate, and the battle in Luoyan Pass became even more critical, and everyone noticed that something was wrong.
First, the court officials from the aristocratic families gathered in the palace, followed by the Qingliu faction, and later even the princes of the Xie family who had been "frightened" by Xiao Yan before came to the palace one after another.
…
In the Imperial Dragon Terrace, Tang Ning was sitting in front of the desk in a long skirt. On the desk were all the battle reports sent back to the capital from the northern border during this period, as well as memorials sent to the palace continuously by people in the court.
Some of the white gauze inside her clothes fell out from her sleeves. Tang Ning pulled it aside and picked up the pen to write on the paper in front of her.
The red color of cinnabar left a mark in an instant.
Yue Jian hurried in from the outer room. As she approached, she whispered, "Your Majesty, Old Prince Ying and Old Prince Hui are here. The Left Prime Minister and other court officials have also gathered outside the Imperial Dragon Terrace."
"The clan members are speaking out, and the officials from the noble families are making a big fuss. The Qingliu faction is also panicking. Everyone wants to see His Majesty. I'm afraid the matter can no longer be concealed."
Tang Ning put the reply letter aside and placed the pen in his hand on the sandalwood pen holder.
"Have Cao Gong and Liang Guangyi arrived?"
Yue Jian said: "Here he is, Prince Ji has also entered the palace."
Tang Ning looked up: "Prince Ji?" She paused and raised her lips: "It's rare that he can't sit still anymore."
Yue Jian naturally understood why the Queen said that. Ever since His Majesty seized the throne, the royal family had caused trouble several times. It was not until Prince Huan, who was originally in charge of the Imperial Clan Temple, was used as a target to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" that the royal family became much more obedient. But after all, the imperial power was supreme, so how could they really be obedient?
Those old and frail relatives did not dare to risk their lives to offend His Majesty, so they instigated Prince Ji, who was now in charge of the Imperial Clan Temple, to cause trouble. However, Prince Ji was very shrewd. Not only did he cause his wife and daughter, who had a grudge against the Empress, to "die of illness" early on, but he was also bedridden for a long time because of "excessive grief" and did not get involved in court affairs at all.
Moreover, to show his loyalty, he strongly supported Your Majesty's government after he recovered from his illness, and was extremely dedicated in welcoming the late emperor back to the imperial tomb and the coronation ceremony.
After the incident, he immediately fell ill from exhaustion and stayed at home again, refusing to see anyone.
Among all the royal relatives, Prince Ji is the one who knows current affairs best. Even His Majesty jokingly says that he is more slippery than a loach. Now even Prince Ji, who is hiding in his shell, can't help but enter the palace. It is obvious that he has really realized that something is wrong, otherwise he would not join others in "making trouble".
"Your Majesty, everyone outside has gathered together. I'm afraid they have guessed it. I'm afraid Pan Xi and Yu Yanfeng can't stop them."
"If you can't stop it, then don't stop it."
This will happen sooner or later.
Tang Ning could vaguely hear the voices of the court officials outside clamoring to see His Majesty, while Yu Yanfeng, Pan Xi and their men kept blocking them. She wiped the cinnabar stains off her hands with a handkerchief, then stood up and said to the person beside her:
"Yuejian, have Pan Xi take all the clan members and court officials to the Imperial Palace. I will be there later."
"Hua Wu, help me change my clothes."
…
The ministers in the court were feeling uneasy after not seeing the emperor for a long time, and they found it even more strange that Xiao Yan still did not show up after making a big fuss on the Imperial Dragon Terrace.
After Pan Xi led his men to the Imperial Palace, someone grabbed him.
"Eunuch Pan, when will His Majesty come?"
"Yes, you brought us here, but His Majesty is coming to see us?"
Pan Xi bowed slightly and said, "My Lords, please don't worry. Someone will come to see you in a moment."
The surrounding court officials saw that Pan Xi's expression was the same as usual, and he was even smiling. They were all certain and subconsciously thought that Pan Xi was referring to Xiao Yan. However, some sensitive people felt that something was wrong. If it was really the emperor who came to see him, why didn't Pan Xi say it directly, but instead just said "someone" was coming.
"Second Prime Minister, what is going on? Why hasn't His Majesty shown up?"
Old Prince Ying asked Liang Guangyi and Cao Dejiang.
Xiao Yan had not been seen since the coronation ceremony. At first he used the excuse of the emperor and empress's wedding, and because it was approaching the New Year, the court closed early and did not hold court until after the New Year.
The emperor and empress lived in the Yulong Tower in love and rarely went out. Outsiders did not dare to disturb them for fear of disturbing their mood.
Later, the New Year's Eve palace banquet was cancelled because a grand palace banquet had just been held on the day of the emperor and empress's wedding, so as to avoid excessive extravagance. No ministers in the court suspected it, but were very happy to be able to stay up with their families.
During the morning sacrifice on the first day of the new year, the new emperor only brought the new empress into the Taimiao. Although this violated the ancestral system, it could be explained because the coronation ceremony had just happened not long ago and they had just offered sacrifices to their ancestors and reported to heaven.
On the second and third days after the New Year, the Queen accepted the homage of the ladies of honor, but Xiao Yan was still nowhere to be seen. She could also use the excuse that it was inconvenient since most of the relatives were women.
However, when court was about to resume on the fifth day, Xiao Yan suddenly caught a cold and continued to take a leave of absence. On the eighth day, as soon as the battle report of Beiling arrived in the capital, he was still "bedridden".
The gate of the Imperial Dragon Terrace was tightly closed. Apart from the empress, the palace maids who served her, the imperial physician, and the newly appointed left and right prime ministers, only others could enter and exit. No one else could see His Majesty.
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