Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 27 The general trend of the world
Not long after the Shangyuan Festival, time flies, and it is the end of the month in a blink of an eye.One day at the end of the first lunar month, early in the morning, Xiao Luzi and Mi Hong moved the ladder and climbed up to the roof to get busy.

Miqing walked into the gate of the courtyard, saw the behavior of the two of them and said with a smile: "It's time for you to be diligent. I said it last time. Now that the Shangyuan Festival has passed for almost half a month, you will know how to be lazy. They didn’t take down the unused red lanterns either. Look around the palace now, where is there still such a striking thing hanging in the courtyard?”

"Sister Miqing, it's not that I want to be lazy," Xiaoluzi's voice sounded, and he smiled as he supported the horizontal rope above: "Look at our yard, the one in the palace is a bit too plain. Even Mr. He has nagged several times. And the plum blossoms in the yard are good when they are in bloom, but now they are all thankful. At first glance, it really lacks some spiritual energy, so I put this red The lantern has been hanging all the time, and it looks joyful and fresh. Today I’m going to replace it with a golden dragon head, so I took it down, otherwise I wouldn’t want to take it down.”

Mi Hong was helping at the side, took down the big red lantern, and handed over two golden lanterns that were pasted with a decree. It will be the day when the dragon raises its head on the second day of February, and according to the rules in the palace, lanterns with dragon heads should be hung. .

"It's because you talk a lot," Mi Qing said with a smile, "You have to find all sorts of reasons for being lazy."

A few people were busy making noise outside, but Su Mi felt listless in the room.After telling everyone to do their own thing, she lazily lay on the bed.

Only when she was caught in the trap did she realize that all the things she had to face might be far beyond her imagination.
Every time Su Mi thought of the empress' forced smiles and cold eyes, she felt chills in her heart.

What I rely on now is Qi Long's favor, but this favor is a double-edged sword. Although it has given her many opportunities, it has also brought endless troubles.For Qi Taki's good intentions one after another, Su Mi really didn't bother to think about what kind of heavy blow would be thrown in the court, and how much turmoil and aftertaste would be caused.

She was thinking about the meeting with Mr. Ge that just passed yesterday.

Of course, the efficiency of the emperor's special confession was extraordinary. Just three days after discussing with the empress, Ge Chengming was called into the court and began to draw images for Da Qi's concubines.

The first concubine to take on this honor is Su Mi.

She was wearing a gorgeous long dress of dark blue brocade. There were dots of pure white pear flowers embroidered on the skirt and hem. The petals gradually decreased from bottom to top, making the clear white seem to gently rise to the waist. When she was young, the long skirt was tightly bound by a wide moon-white belt embroidered with light gold Chinese characters, with a slender waist that was not enough to hold.It was covered with a thin, almost transparent silver gauze gown, which was hazy, elegant and shy.A head of black hair is tied into a gorgeous fairy bun, decorated with jasper hairpins carved in the shape of magnolia flowers, and inlaid with round pearls.Although the clothes are simple, they are fresh and elegant, which makes the face look like a flower, and the expression is intoxicating.

She had already sent Xiaoluzi and Mihong to watch the lanterns and play, leaving only Chen Lie and Miqing in her palace to serve.After waiting for a while, I heard the internal supervisor outside reporting that Mr. Ge had arrived.

Seeing her old friend again, even though there was a precedent for Chen Lie, Su Mi couldn't help feeling overwhelmed, she gracefully stood in front of the silk cloth and posed, while the accompanying eunuch placed brushes, inkstones and other things before leaving.Ge Chengming rolled up his sleeves, picked up the paintbrush and lightly tapped the ink.

Su Mi chuckled with some nostalgia and said, "How are you doing, sir?"

"I'm up and down, but I can still enjoy myself," Ge Chengming smiled, and said, "I'm an old man, so it doesn't matter if it's good or not, but Second Miss has suffered in the past few years."

"Such dejected words are not what Mr. Ge said," Su Mi said, "In the past, Mr. was not always ambitious. Although he followed Nan Chen now, Prince Cheng is also a rare and famous hero in this era. With Mr. Assistant, in the future when you fight on the battlefield, you will definitely be able to accomplish something, and your father, his spirit in heaven, will be very pleased."

"In this troubled world, if you want to succeed in your career, it's absolutely not enough to have a peerless general." Ge Chengming couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and shook his head sadly.

"Mr. Nan Chende's help now must be like a tiger with wings added." Su Mi asked, "Why do you become depressed instead?"

"I'm just a scholar, how can I be a man with the wings of a tiger." Ge Chengming said with a wry smile, but he said this out of emotion. Originally, he had always believed that his talents were peerless, and he would be able to assist the Lord of Heroes to achieve a world-class foundation. But after Gu Qingting's failure, his pride was completely overthrown.Gu Qingting was not only his lord, but also his heart-to-heart friend. He assisted him by his side. He was invincible in all previous battles, but the last defeat turned everything upside down. At that time, Ge Chengming suddenly realized that human power Sometimes you are poor, even if you have the best strategy on the battlefield, there are still variables that you can't control.For example, the changes in power far away in the palace were beyond his comprehension.

"Sir, are you unsuccessful in Nanchen?" Su Mi asked suddenly, observing his words and expressions.

Ge Chengming smiled wryly, and said: "It's not that old truth. Prince Cheng is indeed a rare hero in our time. It's a pity that he is just a prince."

Su Mi immediately understood that Prince Cheng was deeply tabooed by Emperor Chen in Nanchen.With the dignity of a prince, a direct lineage to the royal family, and a large army, it is inevitable for Nan Chen to be suspicious of the current emperor.

"I heard from Liechen that my father's old ministry all followed Mr. Nanchen and surrendered to Nanchen. I don't know how it is now?" Su Mi asked with a bit of worry. This kind of court power strife is the most dangerous thing.

"This is also the purpose of my visit this time." Ge Chengming sighed and explained the matter in detail.

"We surrendered to Nanchen. Although Prince Cheng treated him with great courtesy and always valued him very much, it is a pity that this matter has reached the ears of Prince Cheng's elder brother, Nanchen's current King Chen Huai. The outstanding treacherous villain, took the opportunity to present a memorial to say that Prince Cheng conspired to recruit foreign forces, and was suspected of treason."

"After coming down several times, although King Huai didn't believe it on the surface, and severely reprimanded and punished the people who played, it's hard to say what he thought in his heart. A few years ago, King Huai just killed him twice because of his great achievements. The prince's military power has been abolished." Ge Chengming shook his head: "We also have to guard against it, and for this reason, the prince simply incorporated us into the espionage organization, left Nanchen, came to Qi to lurk, and wait for the opportunity."

"That's why we're here now," Ge Chengming said with a sad sigh.He is good at military and political strategy and war layout, and now he is forced by the situation, but he wants to carry out subtle and hidden things here, which can be regarded as a disguised disappointment.

"Mr. Ge thinks that Nan Chen has a [-]% chance of winning the war in the beginning of spring? This time Qi Guo is [-]% going to be led by Ding Guogong Wang She." Su Mi suddenly changed the subject and asked.

Ge Chengming smiled confidently: "Naturally, Nan Chen will definitely win."

"Why is Mr. so confident?" Su Mi asked.

"If it was against the previous Wang She, I'm afraid I would still hesitate a bit, but against the current Wang She, I can say without hesitation that the Qi army will definitely suffer a disastrous defeat this time. "

"What do you mean by that?" Su Mi asked.

"Miss Er doesn't know something. Wang She's temperament can be seen from the previous battles he participated in. Although this person can be called resourceful, decisive, wise and brave, he is arrogant by nature and can't listen to it. Advice from others. If such a general wins, he must win a big victory, but if he loses, he usually suffers a disastrous defeat. This can be seen from his two consecutive defeats in Wancheng three years ago. Before In Emperor Wu's army of Qi, most of the battles he fought were fought by Emperor Wu himself. After all, someone suppressed him, so that his shortcomings would not be obvious, but now he leads the army alone, this is enough to be fatal. After those two disastrous defeats, he was extremely powerful again in Qi State. Everyone was afraid of his power, and no one dared to give him a blow. I heard all the comments about him in Qi Jing Sneering and ridiculing, or daring to speak out, will only make him more narrow-minded and intolerable. So this time I can assert that Nan Chen will definitely win a big victory."

While Ge Chengming was talking, he began to feel a little bit worried. He didn't know whether such a victory would be good or bad for Prince Cheng.Although Wang She's threat was resolved, there was still Ni Yuan behind him. I believe that Emperor Chen would not be so stupid as to destroy the Great Wall himself.

"In this way, isn't Nan Chen going to take the opportunity to regain the lost land and expand the territory?" Su Mi asked.

"It's easy to win this battle, but it's difficult to regain the lost ground. If you want to expand your territory..." Ge Chengming shook his head: "It's even more difficult."

"What?" Su Mi wondered.

"Nowadays in the Nanchen government, the Lord and the faction are in power, and Emperor Chen is cowardly and indecisive. He only wants to cede land and seek peace, and he has no courage to conquer the world." Thinking of the current situation in the Nanchen court, Ge Chengming There was also a burst of sadness.In fact, he tested Chen Qian with words and suggested that he usurp power and seize the throne. Chen Qian was originally a direct line of the royal family, and it was justifiable to inherit the throne as the younger brother. His brother did it.

"So in the future, wouldn't it be..." Su Mi asked anxiously.

"That's right, whether it's a long delay or a short one, I'm afraid that in the future, the Qi Kingdom will unify the world." Ge Chengming sighed.

"Sir, it's too early to say this, isn't it?" Su Mi said, "Emperor Wu of Qi is just like Emperor Wu of Liang. How do you know that Qi is not a flash in the pan like Liang, which flourishes and then declines?"

What Su Mi was talking about was old events in the Liang Kingdom.

A hundred years ago Liang Guo came out with an outstanding emperor who unified the north when he was less than 30 years old, and there was a tendency to unify the world. At its peak, Liang Guo occupied six of the nine states in the world, defeated Hu Liao in the north, and reached the Yangtze River in the south. It can be said to be unparalleled in the world.However, Emperor Liang Wu, a hero of a generation, died in his prime of life, causing the country's rising momentum to be abruptly known. After that, the emperors of all dynasties were inactive, the national power plummeted, and the great hegemony was wiped out. Later, it was replaced by the rising Qi State.

What's interesting is that the previous generation of emperors of Qi was like Emperor Wu of Liang in their lives. They fought and killed countless countries, but they died when they were less than 50 years old. Emperor Wu, such too many similarities have caused countless people with ulterior motives to start rumors that the prosperity of Daqi was only three or four generations old.

Ge Chengming shook his head and said: "The situation in Liang State was very different from that in Qi State. When Emperor Wu of Liang passed away, he was on the battlefield, and he didn't even designate a successor. As a result, the princes competed for the throne, the generals rebelled, and the national strength was only a few years ago. After a disastrous decline, Qi Long, the reigning emperor of the Qi State, is not a wise emperor through the ages, and he is somewhat narrow-minded and overbearing. However, he usually manages state affairs in a stable manner, can criticize current events, prescribe the right medicine, and is not lacking in talent and ambition. In terms of Jun's aptitude, it can be said to be above average. What's more..." Ge Chengming paused and said, "Now Qi has a Ni Yuan."

He couldn't help thinking that the Prince Yu Qi Hao he met a few days ago was also a rare talent. Ge Chengming felt disheartened for a while, no matter whether it was Xiang Ju or Qi Hao, Da Qi now has a large number of talents, and the state affairs are stable. back.

He chose to serve the State of Wei back then, firstly because of his confidantship with Gu Qingting, and secondly, at that time, although Qi State had a strong military force, its advantages were not obvious, so he still chose to stay in the State of Wei. He lives in Qijing, seeing the prosperity and stability of the Qi State, and then thinking of the situation where the only villain in the Southern Chen Dynasty that can be compared with Qi State in terms of national strength, he feels heavy in his heart, whether it is Gu Qingting or Chen Qian , are all his lords and friends he admires, he really doesn't want Chen Qian to encounter something like Gu Qingting again.

After hearing what he said, Su Mi was also upset for a while.Dumb and silent.

The room fell into silence for a while, and after a while, Ge Chengming broke the silence, "The world is impermanent, maybe when the situation changes, the general trend of the world will change again, and I don't have to think about it at this time. Too much, as long as you do your best and obey the destiny. The old man knows that the second young lady wants to avenge her father, but the road ahead is rough and the palace is dangerous. The young lady has a shallow foundation, so you must be cautious. Now you have to hide your strength and bide your time. superior."

Su Mi nodded.

"In the near future, I may also return to Nanchen, so I want to hand over the power here to Liechen. Now we are in the spy system of Qi State, and the people from Wei State have formed their own line, and they are engaged in tea business on a daily basis. The cloth has been integrated into Daqi's business travel system, and it will also be a great help to the second lady in the future, I hope the second lady will take care of it." Ge Chengming lightly tapped the cinnabar paint with the brush, and said.

……

Su Mi lazily turned over, and a lively voice came in from outside. Xiao Luzi just hung up the golden lanterns, but he didn't think it was festive enough, so he wanted to choose a few more novel and unique palace lanterns to hang up.I was arguing with Mihong, I didn't know which one to choose, one called "every year is more than enough", and the other called "Hong Fu Qi Tian"...

"Is the general trend of the world irreversible?" Su Mi leaned against the head of the bed and whispered softly.

(End of this chapter)