Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 1067 The Emperor’s Thoughts

The sunset glow in the sky is reddish, reflecting the clear evening sky. The red dragonfly flew freely in the red light, flying up and rushing down again, showing off its wings in the red glow.

Zhao Ding stood in the red light, looking at the red dragonfly in front of him and the courtyard under the red dragonfly, as if he was in a trance. The red dragonfly is so free, flying around unrestrainedly, like the darling of heaven and earth. This world, this boundless red light, is the stage for the red dragonfly.

"Sir, you are in such a good mood!"

There were shouts from behind, and Zhao Ding hurriedly turned to look.

Wang Xiaolie and Zhao Gou stepped on the red light and walked towards Zhao Ding.

Zhao Ding hurriedly saluted and said: "Zhao Ding, a humble official, has met the emperor."

Zhao Gou looked at Zhao Ding deeply, not knowing whether he should answer or not. In the end, he could only shake his head, sigh, and remain silent.

Wang Xiao was wearing casual clothes and was full of energy. On the other hand, Zhao Gou was wearing a Taoist uniform that was already a little worn out. Following behind Wang Xiaolie, his figure was stooped and timid. When the two of them walked together, the contrast in their demeanor was too striking.

When they arrived, Wang Xiaolie said: "The weather is good today. It's not very hot and there's no wind. It's just a refreshing weather. I specially prepared a few glasses of thin wine and drank one with you two. So many days, there are There’s a lot to say.”

Zhao Ding was stunned for a while, then saluted Wang Xiaolie and said, "Thank you so much for Xuanfu."

After saying that, he, Wang Xiaolie and Zhao Gou sat down at the square table set aside.

There was a table of wine and food on the square table, most of which were lighter. The only thing on display was a pot of yam stewed with pork ribs. There was some oil and water in it, which could fill the stomach.

Wang Xiaolie picked up the wine and said, "Let's drink this glass of wine first, talk some gossip, and relieve our grievances."

After saying that, he picked up the wine and drank it in one gulp.

Zhao Gou picked up the wine, looked at it for a while, and smiled bitterly. He raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.

It wasn't until Zhao Gou drank the wine that Zhao Ding held the cup with both hands, bowed deeply to Zhao Gou, and drank the wine in the cup.

Wang Xiaolie picked up the chopsticks and said to Zhao Ding: "Eat some food first, don't drink on an empty stomach. If you drink on an empty stomach, you will get drunk easily, which is a bit unsightly."

Zhao Ding didn't pick up the chopsticks until Zhao Gou picked up the chopsticks. Seeing Yue Gou holding Cai, he followed with the vegetables.

Wang Xiaolie pretended not to see the two men's movements and grabbed a few chopsticks. He picked up the wine glass and encouraged the two of them to drink.

After eating and drinking for a while, the sun got closer to the top of the mountain, and the sky turned slightly darker. Wang Xiaolie sat close to the top chair, looking at the red dragonflies still flying in the courtyard, feeling a little lost.

After a while, Wang Xiaolie suddenly said: "Sometimes, I am particularly envious of red dragonflies. You see, they are flying in the sun without having to think about anything, how free they are. On the other hand, we people have to think about many things, how tiring it is. ah."

Zhao Ding said: "Xuanfu thinks about the people of the country, the working people, and what he cares about is serving the country and the people."

Wang Xiaolie looked at Zhao Ding and smiled slightly: "Do you really think that my husband thinks this? Isn't it your own business?" Zhao Ding shut up and said nothing.

Wang Xiaolie shook his head gently: "Of course there is. My husband thought, I will always think about myself. Without saying anything else, he suddenly broke into Xiangyang and took away the holy emperor who was preparing for state affairs. What are all the civil and military officials doing in charge of state affairs doing for that? Is it not just to become the emperor?"

Zhao Ding said nothing, but looking at his expression, it was obvious that he thought so.

Wang Xiaolie shook his head, but after thinking about it, he nodded again. He said: "If it is just to be the emperor, of course it is not. The main reason is that the emperor signed a peace treaty with the Jin Kingdom and the war can no longer go on. What can we do? But the peace treaty was signed by the emperor, so there was no other way but to arrest the emperor. The emperor has been arrested, so why not arrest the civil and military officials who are in court? If they are left in Xiangyang, how many troubles will be caused."

Zhao Ding said in disbelief: "Xuanfu arrested the emperor just because the emperor signed a contract with the Jin Kingdom?"

Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Yes, the reason why the emperor was arrested is because the emperor signed a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Jin. You may not believe this, but that's how things are. Previously, the emperor repeatedly announced that I would go to the palace. I insisted on not going, why? Because since the Jin army searched the mountains and seas, the emperor was afraid of the Jin army. It was so deep in his bones that no one could persuade him. As soon as I went to the palace, in order to make peace with the Jin army, the Jin army seized What if it takes my life?"

Zhao Ding said: "Xuanfu is overly worried. The emperor has a thousand ways to deal with the Jin army, why did he come up with this bad idea?"

Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "In the emperor's heart, as long as the Jin army doesn't attack, he can do anything. Because once the Jin army attacks, they will definitely not be able to stop it, even if they win. The emperor saved What can you do with this kind of thinking?"

Zhao Ding was silent and looked at Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou's face was ashen and dead, and he couldn't say anything.

Wang Xiaolie said: "There are only two ways to solve this situation. Either let Zhao Gou use various means to kill me and give up on this idea; or, depose the emperor and establish a new situation. Xianggong said, Which method should be used?"

Zhao Ding stared at Zhao Gou's face and said slowly: "Let me tell you, is there any other way?"

Zhao Gou hesitated again and again and sighed: "The Jin Kingdom is thousands of miles away and has millions of elite soldiers. How can we defeat it? If we fight with the Jin Kingdom, the country will never have peace and war will continue every day. If we don't be destroyed by the Jin Kingdom, , war also costs money, sooner or later the country will run out of money and die. I am the emperor, which way should I choose?"

Zhao Ding said: "But Wang Xuanfu fought against the Jin army and won consecutive battles!"

Zhao Gou said hysterically: "Wang Xuanfu relies on himself for everything. If the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, who will recognize me as the emperor? He has soldiers, money, and everything. He does not rely on the court for anything. On his own! If he can't negotiate a good deal with the Kingdom of Jin and get rid of Wang Xiaolie while he still has half of the country's territory, it will never be possible again! Tell me, what did I do? ?"

Zhao Gou was imprisoned for several months without anyone saying a word, and he almost went crazy. Zhao Gou would never say words like this at other times. Now at this time, I might as well go all out and tell the truth.

After Zhao Ding heard this, he didn't say a word and bowed his head in silence.

The timing of Wang Xiao's hunting seemed unreasonable at first glance, but in fact it was just right. If you're too late, you won't know how to act.

In the eyes of outsiders, Wang Xiaolie suddenly captured the emperor and arrested all civil and military officials, and he was crazy about becoming the emperor. In fact, if he knew that Zhao Gou had signed a peace treaty with the Jin Kingdom and decided to cease the war, how could Wang Xiaolie not launch a coup?

Wang Xiaolie said: "After a few months, thinking about it now, I still think it was right to arrest the emperor at that time. If I arrest the emperor later, he will embarrass me, and there will be heavy troops stationed in Xiangyang, so it will be difficult to capture him. But at that time, many people couldn't think of arresting the emperor, thinking that I wanted to be the emperor. So what if I was misunderstood by the people in the world? As long as things are done right, there will be no regrets."

Wang Xiaolie took a sip of wine and watched the sun set over the mountain and the red light disappeared. The red dragonflies that were originally in the red light disappeared and scattered all over the mountains and fields as the red light disappeared. Darkness fell between the sky and the earth, and the human faces of Zhao Ding and Zhao Gou flickered against the backdrop of the torches.

(End of this chapter)