Three years later

The stars move and the world turns, autumn brings harvest and winter brings storage, and another spring is here.

For thousands of years, no matter how dynasties changed, the world drastically changed, the seasons alternated, the sun rose and the moon set, and nothing ever changed; the flowers still bloomed, the water still flowed, the mountains and rivers remained the same, but no one knew who would be in charge in the future.

In the blink of an eye, three years have passed. The Dasheng Dynasty, which had enjoyed three years of peace, has risen again. After more than ten years of recuperation, Zhuoletai, who has risen from the eldest prince to the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, once again led an army to attack Liaodong. Seventeen years ago, Zhuoletai, who was in his prime, led an army of 100,000 and attempted to break through Liaodong and attack the capital directly. However, his grand ambitions and ambitions stopped at the small Guangningwei. This time, he vowed to avenge his past shame and take over Liaodong.

During the regular court session, officials were discussing the situation in Liaoning when a herald suddenly burst into the Hall of Supreme Harmony: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Report from the front—"

When Emperor Zhaowu saw his panic-stricken look, his heart skipped a beat: "Speak!"

"The Liaodong messenger has just arrived in Beijing. Governor-General Han... Governor-General Han... has been defeated..."

Emperor Zhaowu's face turned pale: "Yu, Yu Ji..."

Yu Ji ignored the etiquette and hurried down the steps, snatched the letter from the messenger, and ran back to the throne.

He was old, and looked like he was running very hard, but in fact his movements were very slow. The civil and military officials around him were all worried for him and wished they could do it for him. Emperor Zhaowu was so anxious that he slapped the armrests and his butt was curled up.

Yan Sikong stood among the officials and generals, watching the ugliness of Emperor Zhaowu coldly.

Han Zhaoxing had already expected that he would lose.

The military report finally reached Emperor Zhaowu. He trembled as he opened it and took a look. He cried out in anger and threw the report up, saying with deep sorrow, "Taining has been lost, and General Di was killed in battle!"

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, clasped his hands tightly in his sleeves, and clamped his finger bones against each other. The pain made him particularly sober.

Since the Battle of Guangning, the Jin soldiers were forced to retreat hundreds of miles. Han Zhaoxing stepped on the corpse of Yuan Mao and reaped the credit. With the support of the court, he gradually recovered the lost territories in Liaoning. In the past 17 years, four of the seven prefectures in Liaoning have been recovered, including his hometown, Taining.

After Zhuoletai started his rebellion, Han Zhaoxing took the opportunity to ask the court to dispatch troops. He first asked for troops from Datong, but resisting the remnants of the Oirat was a matter of great importance and was opposed by many ministers. Finally, 30,000 troops were dispatched from Henan Prefecture to support him, led by the veteran General Di. However, Taining was lost again and General Di died in a foreign land.

This battle report caused an uproar in the imperial court. The solemn and dignified Hall of Supreme Harmony was now as noisy as the streets.

"Be quiet--" Yu Ji shouted loudly.

Emperor Zhaowu held his forehead with his hand, his expression somewhat painful: "My dear ministers, tell me, what should we do?"

Meng Duo stepped out of the line and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I think that Governor Han has been fighting the Jin people for more than 20 years, with more defeats than victories. He is afraid of the Jin people. Now that he has suffered a great defeat in the first battle and General Di has died in the battle, his morale is low. The future battle situation is really worrying."

"Isn't this nonsense?" Emperor Zhaowu said angrily, "What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Meng Duo said, "I think you should choose another good general to guard Liaodong."

Xie Zhongren's followers were naturally not happy about this. Yu Shimali jumped out to refute them, saying, "Governor Han fought back against Zhuoletai's 100,000-man army. If there was anyone to be afraid of, it was Zhuoletai who was afraid! Zhuoletai launched a surprise attack and Governor Han was caught off guard. Although he has lost Taining now, he still has three states in front of the Huangshui River. Victory and defeat have been common in the military since ancient times. It is ridiculous for the Minister of Justice to change the commander in the middle of a battle just because of a defeat!"

Since the death of Yan Zilian, the aristocratic family has declined, but there are still upright people who are dedicated to the country and the people, and they argue for right and wrong on major issues. Meng Duo, the Minister of the Dali Temple, is one of them.

"Yes, isn't General Di a good general? Even a veteran like General Di was defeated by Zhuoletai, which shows that the Jin army is stronger than ever before. If we change the commander in the battlefield at this time, it will shake the morale of the army."

"General Di was defeated not because he was not as smart and brave as that barbarian, but because he had been stationed in the Central Plains for many years. When he arrived in Liaodong, he was not used to the cold weather and the climate. In my opinion, he should not have transferred troops from Yuzhou in the first place!"

"Humph, when we first discussed transferring troops from Yuzhou, you gentlemen did not oppose it so strongly."

"It's because you are so stupid and misleading..."

The two groups started arguing loudly. These learned scholars also became red-faced and angry when they quarreled, showing no Confucian demeanor at all.

"Stop arguing!" Emperor Zhaowu slammed the table and shouted, "Yang Yuqing!"

"I am here."

The then Minister of War Yang Yuqing stepped forward.

The then Minister of War Wen Youchi was framed by Yan Sikong and sent back to his hometown to seek military service. Now he is too old and sick to return to the court. The Right Vice Minister Feng Che, who replaced the Minister, was transferred to Jinan Prefecture as Governor. Yang Yuqing, who just took office last year, was previously the Left Vice Minister of Works, in charge of military equipment manufacturing. He was a member of the eunuch party. Xie Zhongren finally took the Ministry of War back into his own hands.

As for Yan Sikong, he had been on a rapid rise in the past three years since he became the son-in-law of the emperor. Before he was thirty, he had succeeded Feng Che as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, a third-rank official.

Of course, if he was just a son-in-law of the emperor, he would not have been promoted so quickly. It took him three years and extraordinary skills to not only be invited by Xie Zhongren to be his trusted adviser, but also to use Xie Zhongren and his status as a son-in-law of the emperor to become a close minister of Emperor Zhaowu. He tried his best, abandoned all his integrity and dignity, and coaxed Emperor Zhaowu into being happy, which made Emperor Zhaowu favor him even more.

Although he is now the Right Vice Minister, Yang Yuqing still has to give him some courtesy, and the power of the Ministry of War is gradually falling into his hands.

Emperor Zhaowu pointed at Yang Yuqing and said, "It was you who first proposed to transfer troops from Henan Prefecture. What do you have to say?"

Yang Yuqing knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice: "I have already listed the pros and cons in my letter that day. Apart from Yuzhou, other places are even more inappropriate."

"Sima Yang is clearly avoiding the main point," Meng Duo retorted. "At that time, we were still arguing whether to dispatch troops. The 70,000 troops stationed in Liaodong are well-stocked with food and fodder, which is more than enough to resist Zhuoletai. Why bother to dispatch troops from thousands of miles away for support? I think Governor Han took the opportunity to seize military power. General Di's death was unclear."

"What do you mean, Lord Tingwei?" A censor jumped up, "Are you implying that Governor Han sent General Di to his death in order to seize military power? Your intentions are too sinister!"

"I didn't say that." Meng Duo snorted coldly.

General Chen Shu stepped forward and said in a gruff voice, "When General Yang proposed to transfer troops from Yuzhou, we all opposed it. Now General Di has died in battle and Taining has been lost. The Ministry of War cannot shirk its responsibility." He suddenly glared at Yan Sikong fiercely, "Prince Consort Yan also strongly urged to transfer troops from Yuzhou that day. Why is he silent now?"

All the officials looked at Yan Sikong with disgust, contempt, disdain and hatred. Yan Sikong's reputation as a traitor had spread across the country in the past three years and was destined to be recorded in history forever.

Yan Sikong bowed to Emperor Zhaowu slowly and said calmly, "As Minister Yang said, the deployment of troops in Yuzhou is not a decision made on a whim. The pros and cons have been made clear. As Ma Yushi said, how can we judge a hero by the success or failure of a single battle? Changing commanders on the battlefield is a taboo in military strategy. I think Your Majesty should trust Governor Han."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers started arguing again, and some of them pointed directly at Yan Sikong's nose and scolded him for "misleading the master."

Yan Sikong was neither humble nor arrogant, his face expressionless, but he had already made plans in his mind.

Emperor Zhaowu gradually favored him, but gradually neglected Xie Zhongren. Firstly, Xie Zhongren had relied on his favor for many years to become arrogant, and the power of the eunuchs' party was too great, which would inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion. Secondly, he was old and could not please Emperor Zhaowu as well as before. He wanted Han Zhaoxing to be the last straw that broke the camel's back for Xie Zhongren.

Han Zhaoxing had 70,000 soldiers, which might not seem like a lot, but being so close to the capital, they were a great threat. He and Xie Zhongren were greedy and wanted to seize more military power. They wanted to transfer troops from Henan Prefecture to support the Jin army as it was heading south.

Yan Sikong, like many others, had seen the end early on. General Di would most likely never return. If General Di did not die, how could the 30,000 troops of Yuzhou obey Han Zhaoxing? He knew Han Zhaoxing's true colors better than "many others" and knew that even if Han Zhaoxing had 700,000 troops, he would be defeated by Zhuoletai. He could not save his homeland, so he could only use the enemy's trick to defeat Xie Zhongren. Only in this way could he truly save Liaodong and the Central Plains.

This verbal battle ended in vain, just like the previous ones. Yan Sikong dragged his tired body and mind into the carriage. When the curtain was lowered, he collapsed on the cushion, staring blankly into the empty air.

Three years.

There is no news from Feng Ye.

Three years ago, more than 200 people in Feng Mansion were beheaded, Feng Jianping committed suicide, Feng Ye escaped from prison and disappeared. Feng Ye's uncle was originally stationed in Datong on behalf of Feng Jianping, but was implicated and executed. He fled with 3,000 Feng family soldiers and disappeared in the vast northwest.

All traces of the Feng family gradually disappeared from the world. No matter how powerful they were in the past, they are now as insignificant as ever. It is as if the great achievements made by the Feng family army had never existed. This surname has also become a taboo in this dynasty and no one dares to mention it.

Over the past three years, Yan Sikong has turned himself into a calculating walking corpse. He doesn't trust anyone. He is cold and insidious. He flatters the powerful and speaks flattering words to curry favor with his master. He helps Xie Zhongren eliminate dissidents. He is greedy and has become notorious. Every step and every word of his has an ulterior motive.

He didn't care about being spit on, didn't care about being cursed after his death, didn't care about life or death, he seemed to care about nothing, he would give up everything as long as he could achieve his goal.

But there was one thing, just one thing, that he still cared about.

That is Feng Ye’s safety.

Feng Ye, are you still alive?