My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 411 The warm light shines on the window lattice, and the faint sound of death is heard. Who is returning?

In Luyang, Central Plains, the bright sunshine scorches the city walls and roofs. The long street is hot for your feet, and the sellers carrying loaders are walking quickly with the soles of their feet amid the cries of sales.

The streets and alleys we passed were bustling with people, the restaurants were noisy, and the waiters who took customers shouted loudly. They took passers-by who had stopped and looked around to sit down, brought tea, and introduced their own dishes.

There are street stalls on both sides with calligraphy and painting on porcelain bottles, as well as snack stalls. The uncovered pot lids and the fragrant soup attract the attention of passersby.

"The Li family's secret bone soup, a bowl of 3.00 yuan, and a bite of pot-wrapped pork, you will be as happy as a god!"

"Ghost-written family letters, authentic Chinese fonts, one cross and one inscription, bring your own paper!"

"Guests passing by, take a look, take a look, the fur goods from Yandi, it is best to buy a few at this time, so that you can make a few coats in winter!"

There are people shouting and hawking on the street, and there are many people with spare money, weighing the coins in their wallets, squatting on the street, picking and bargaining with the vendors.

"Step aside!"

On the noisy long street, the bustling crowd suddenly retreated to both sides in panic. A few fast horses came from the direction of the imperial city, rushed through the complicated and noisy market, and headed towards the south gate.

The presence of these commanding horses has become a strange thing for the people in the city. In the past few days, several groups of fast horses have passed by almost every day. If anyone is paying attention, there are already many six-wheeled carriages in the north of the city, and there are also official warehouses in the city. He put grain in the middle of the night, pulled it outside the city, and then drove into the night, unknown to where he went.

In the past two years, the Central Plains has been under great rule. After excluding those once wealthy families, many people have fields in their hands. Although life is still tight, at least they have enough food and clothing. In years of famine, the yamen will not just open a business like before. The porridge shed sent them away.

Nowadays, only Wu and Yue are left in the south of the Huaijiang River. If there is any disturbance in Luyang, the people in the city can still feel that the young emperor living in the palace is about to take action.

Although the Qi and Liang countries in the northwest had just been conquered, only a part of the grain and fodder had been produced to the Central Plains. The burden on the people's shoulders was not heavy, so they naturally had no complaints.

But now, the atmosphere in the court became serious. Everyone knew that His Majesty was going to take action against the State of Wu. Some people originally wanted to dissuade him, but thinking of the sudden civil strife in the State of Yue, the emperor on the imperial court no longer had any worries, so he He swallowed the words that came to his lips.

The hot summer wind was howling and blowing the flags. In the front palace hall, Su Chen walked from the side hall. Amidst the roar of greetings from the civil and military officials, he walked up the imperial steps and pressed his hands on them.

"Excuse me, I have something to announce."

After arriving at the Dragon Case, Su Chen lifted up his robe and sat on the dragon chair with his crown on his head, "I am going to use troops against the State of Wu. Some of you may jump out to dissuade me. Now I will make it clear. , It’s useless, I want to take Soochow, it’s an ironclad matter, and it won’t be easy for anyone to speak out.”

Lu Bu was wearing a military official uniform with black background and green edges and full of cloud patterns. He walked out of the queue and said, "Your Majesty, do you still need cavalry to fight Jiangdong?"

"...The cavalry probably won't be needed much. Guan Junhou and Zhang Liao's cavalry are enough. As for infantry, a thousand camps can withstand ten thousand soldiers and horses. The main battle should be on the rivers and seas, breaking through With the Soochow warships on the water, even ten Soochow warriors on land are no match for the two armies of Yizhou and Bingzhou."

There are mostly military men in the main hall. This is related to the fact that Su Chen established the country with force. Of course, it is also related to the fact that there are too many generals under his command, which makes the civil servants seem weak.

But precisely because of this, the entire hall was filled with a murderous spirit that was unmatched by the former Wei State.

The old ministers of the Wei State such as Long Qiao, Yuan Feng and others have retreated to the second line. In their sight, the emperor Su Chen is sitting on the dragon throne, and the rows of seats on both sides below are Xiang Yu, Huo Qubing, Li Jing, Lu Bu, Xia Houyuan, Xiahou Dun, Zhang He, Ma Chao, Li Xuanba, Zhang Yi, Xu Huang, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Su Dingfang and other warriors, on the opposite side were Zhuge Liang, Jia Xu, Yuwen Chengdu, Zhou Yu and Gan Ning. The unseen generals are temporarily at the bottom.

Being able to stand on both sides of the front, Long Qiao and Yuan Feng knew that they must have extraordinary abilities. Considering that the Yizhou and Bingzhou troops had already set off to Qingzhou, otherwise there would be many generals standing in the court. .

The two veterans of Wei State looked back at this moment and found that the Emperor of Xia State had unknowingly gained many more generals. If there were so many people here at the beginning, Wei State might not even be able to survive for a month before being defeated. It's disabled.

Just as they were thinking, the emperor above them spoke.

"There are many waterways in Soochow, making it inconvenient for cavalry to attack. Yizhou and Bingzhou over there are enough to solve all wars on land." Su Chen raised his hand, and Zhou Yu and Gan Ning, who were the last warriors, walked out together and stood on the imperial steps. Stand still in front.

"The two generals are new here and haven't gotten acquainted with you yet, so I'm going to send you out on an expedition."

When he said this, he raised his hands towards Zhou Yu and Gan Ning as if he were in the army. This made them stunned. Xia Houyuan on the right smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this is how it is. After a while, you get used to it.”

A group of generals who came first on both sides started laughing, but in their smiles, their eyes contained the murderous intention of destroying the country.

Above, Su Chen also smiled. For the famous Chinese generals, unlike the natives of this world, they were kings and ministers in front of outsiders. When they only had their own family members, Su Chen treated them as relatives.

Of course, forget it about An Lushan and Qin Hui. To suppress them, you have to be ruthless.

"Two generals, I won't arrange troops and horses for you for the time being, but I can arrange warships." Su Chen stood up and nodded towards the imperial step.

In addition to Wu Zixun, there was also Zheng He. He took a half step forward knowingly and looked at Zhou Yu and Gan Ning with a smile.

"My family is a Navy admiral. We have been overseas and are familiar with naval warfare. The two of us are outstanding men, but I am afraid we are not familiar with naval warfare. When the time comes, we will go to sea with our family and teach you all about the storms and waves on the sea. Man, that’s not good.”

Zheng He's ability to remain standing beside Zhu Di was not just due to his eyesight. Sometimes he acted openly and admirably.

If I only said the first half of what I said just now, people like Zhou Yu and Gan Ning would rather die than follow the eunuchs, but the second half told them openly and frankly that the naval battle will be left to you from now on. .

"The matter is arranged like this. There are already four warships in Linzhou. I have issued an imperial edict half a month ago, asking Feiyungang to send four more ships, with a total of 8,000 naval troops!"

Su Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Zhou Yu and Gan Ning with a hint of ferocity.

"Both generals have experienced hundreds of battles and are proficient in water warfare. I believe that naval warfare will not be a problem for you. I will be waiting in Luyang for news of the change of the state of Wu to Xia!"

Su Chen raised his hand and raised it again, "At one go, we will take over the Kingdom of Wu!"

"Yes!" Zhou Yu and Gan Ning both raised their hands.

The court meeting continued for a while, and they discussed some food supplies and the progress of training to cross the river in Qingzhou. After the court was dismissed, Su Chen led Zheng He, Dian Wei, and Xu Chu away.

Zhou Yu and Gan Ning met with the generals from the late Han Dynasty and later generations.

"Mishurou, I have long admired you!"

"Haha, Zhou Lang, there are many poets in the Tang Dynasty who wrote poems for you. Do you want to listen to a few lines?"

"General Gan is also very powerful. Hundreds of cavalry broke into Cao's camp!"

"Haha, come on, don't get involved with our Cao Wei."

"Ha ha!"

A group of arrogant soldiers laughed loudly in the hall. Zhou Yu greeted them one by one with his majestic attitude. He was praised one after another by these people, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

"Gong Jin!"

At this time, a familiar voice came from behind. Zhou Yu turned around and saw Zhuge Liang, who was wearing a crane cloak and slightly waving his feather fan, smiling at him. The two of them immediately walked between the palaces together and looked at the surrounding palace buildings.

"I never thought that Liang would be in the same palace as Gong Jin one day."

"Haha, things are unpredictable."

Zhou Yu's face is like white jade, and he wears a silk turban and a white robe. He is as slender as Zhuge Liang. The two middle-aged handsome men walked together, which made the ladies in the front palace blush. They whispered, covered their mouths and snickered. .

Neither of them paid attention to the maids and eunuchs around them. They walked past the shade of a swaying tree on the ground. Zhou Yu held his hands behind his back. He kept the clothes and headdress of the Han Dynasty. He was grand and chatting and laughing with Zhuge Liang.

From time to time, events after Zhou Yu's death were mentioned. Zhuge Liang felt sorry for his untimely death, and Zhou Yu was also heartbroken that Zhuge Liang worked to death.

"By the way, Gong Jin really died of illness back then?"

Zhuge Liang stopped and turned his head to look over. Zhou Yu still kept a smile on his face, but did not answer the other party. Immediately, Zhuge Liang smiled and shook his feather fan, "Liang suddenly remembered a story about an unofficial history in the countryside that your Majesty told."

"What story?" Zhou Yu's face showed curiosity. Zhuge Liang wanted to say it, but he laughed first. He waved the crane fan in his hand: "There is a rumor circulating among the people that Gong Jin was narrow-minded and was driven to death by Liang. It was also said that Gong Jin said before he died: Why is Sheng Yu so bright!"

"Ha ha!"

Zhou Yu was also amused by these words and burst into laughter, "It's really interesting for future generations, but...it was just because of my sudden death that people can't think about it, so that's fine."

"Why?"

"Let the person who writes the book have stories to write and something to eat, and the story about me being pissed off is a good thing!"

"Gongjin is still the same as before."

Zhuge Liang looked at the open-minded Jiangdong Zhoulang in front of him and sighed. The two continued to talk and laugh along the palace. When they talked about attacking Soochow in the future, they would attack by sea. He asked Zhou Yu if he was sure.

The latter laughed heartily, "I have never attacked him with famous generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Liao. Let's not say whether I am sure or not. Just this lineup makes Yu's heart surge!"

While the two were talking, Su Chen, who had retired from the front palace, came to the ancestral temple. He had one more thing to do, which was to bring Queen Ma over to Zhu Yuanzhang. Every time he came here, the Ming Taizu He would come over and ask when he would call Xiuying.

Just like when Tang Ming Emperor Li Longji urged him to bring Yang Yuhuan over, Su Chen would have to complain about him.

But when it comes to Queen Ma, she is willing to do so. Among the queens in the dynasties, there are very few who can compare with Ma Xiuying. She can make suggestions in wars, and can be a good housekeeper in establishing a country, helping her husband to govern the country.

He also allows women all over the world to get married and wear phoenix crowns and harems. How can such a magnanimous and overall perspective not be respected? Zheng Neng prevents Zhu Yuanzhang from thinking about him.

No, as soon as Su Chen arrived here, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was scolding his son over there, threw away his whip and his sleeves floated over.

When Zheng He greeted him, Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to care about him and grabbed Su Chen's sleeve.

"Chang Sheng, please stop prevaricating this time. Come on, come over here. I'll get you Lao Chang and Lao Xu. You can bring our eldest sister here. We, Lao Zhu, appreciate you."

To be able to make the ferocious Zhu Yuanzhang say these words in his later years shows that he misses Queen Ma.

"Your Majesty, if you treat it as a deal, you are looking down on me."

When they arrived at the courtyard where Li Xuanba often read, he asked Taoist Li to fetch Queen Ma's token as he spoke. This time, a group of emperors who had been unlocked in the ancestral temple came around curiously, and each of them blocked the crescent moon in the small courtyard. Looking at the door.

Anxious Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeves to chase them away.

"What are you looking at? What's there to see?"

He turned around and shouted to a figure on the courtyard wall: "Cao Ah Ma, especially you, leave quickly!"

Cao Cao rode in the courtyard, just like he did when he, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were young in Luoyang. Now he was scolded by Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was not angry. He laughed loudly and lowered himself to the wall, pointing at another figure in the corner.

"Why doesn't he leave?"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around again, with an angry look on his face: "Li Shimin, you go too, who doesn't know your temper!"

Li Shimin walked out of the corner angrily, kicked Cao Cao, and said something like a child comparing himself to others.

"What's so strange? I also asked Changsheng to bring my eldest grandson Queen here!"

When he left, all the surrounding emperors had been driven away by Ming Taizu. Only Zhu Di remained here. Although he was not born to Empress Ma, he still respected her as his mother.

Not long after, Li Tiangang found the token and handed it to Su Chen. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's eager eyes, the token gradually lit up.

I saw a puff of green smoke suddenly filling the ground. In the smoke, the figure of an old woman with gray hair on her temples gradually appeared. She was lying quietly on the ground with her eyes closed. She looked dignified and kind just from her appearance. .

"Xiuying!"

Before the smoke dissipated, Zhu Yuanzhang rushed forward impatiently, with a smile that could not be concealed on his face. He directly picked up Queen Ma, who had not yet woken up, and turned around and ran towards the side room.

Pushing open the door of a room, Zhu Yuanzhang gently put the old woman in his arms on the bed, held tightly the hand that gradually became warm, and looked at the peaceful old wife on the bed. This was the old woman who accompanied him from nothing to everything. The emperor's woman.

"Xiuying, open your eyes quickly and talk to me."

When Su Chen came in softly from outside, the old woman on the bed was slowly waking up. She had died of illness, and her face still looked pale and sick.

"His Majesty?"

The moment she woke up, the old woman saw Zhu Yuanzhang in front of her with a grin on her face and a happy face. She slowly stretched out her hand and touched the familiar face.

"I just took a nap. What time is it outside? The ministers are still waiting. Your Majesty should give top priority to state affairs. Don't guard me as a woman. You are the emperor and can be laughed at."

"No... it's all over. I don't have to worry about the country anymore. I..." Zhu Yuanzhang held Empress Ma in front of him tightly, his voice choked up, "Now I just want to protect our Xiuying, and I don't want to go anywhere." Go, don’t think about anything.”

"You...the older you get, the more you look like a child."

Empress Ma also smiled and patted her husband's hand. She twisted her dry lips and looked around: "Where is Biao'er? Let him take care of the ministers..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze for a moment, and if he were someone else, his face would turn gloomy at this time, but when facing his first wife, there was only an expression of pain on his face.

"Queen...we...failed to take good care of the boss (Zhu Biao)"

Queen Ma's eyes widened. Her body seemed to have recovered at this moment. She sat up and looked at her husband blankly. She naturally knew the meaning of this sentence.

"Biao'er, he..." Queen Ma's lips were slightly open and she couldn't make a sound. Suddenly she raised her hand and slapped Zhu Yuanzhang. She held Zhu Yuanzhang's head and cried hoarsely.

"Chang Sheng, let's go out." When Zhu Di saw this scene, he wiped the corners of his eyes and whispered. Su Chen also felt that it was not appropriate to disturb the reunion of Zhu Yuanzhang and his wife and express their feelings, so he and Zhu Di exited the room and gently closed the door.

Right now, what needs to be done is done.

All that's left is war.

……

Soon after, Zheng He, Zhou Yu, Gan Ning and Yu Wen from Chengdu traveled from Luyang to Linzhou to join the other four ships and eight warships coming from Feiyun Port in the north to form a fleet.

Zheng He practiced every day, explaining to the two the subtleties of naval warfare, as well as sea weather, wind direction, fruits and vegetables.

Half a month passed in a hurry, and when the civil strife in Vietnam became more and more intense, the drills for the cross-river battle between Yizhou and Bingju in Gyeongju also tended to be perfected.

Late August.

Gyeongju.

"Wu Guo..." Guan Yu pressed his hands on the city wall, his tall body, his green robe swaying in the night wind. He looked south, and a heroic voice sounded from the top of the city, "It's time to use troops."

Although it was not Soochow back then, he could still feel a fire burning in his heart when it came to the word "Wu".

Zhang Liao stood beside his friend.

"I don't know if they still have 100,000 troops to fight."

(End of this chapter)