Bai Yueguang, the stand-in for Prince Sick Jiao

The capital also began to snow.

Shen Xuhuai stood on the white marble steps, staring at the snowflakes all over the sky, without moving for a long time.

At this time, a shadow suddenly appeared above the head, covering a corner of the sky, and Ling Qingyan's voice sounded: "Why, you didn't bring an umbrella today?"

He came back to his senses and said: "It's just Lidong, I thought the snow would come later."

"But the snow has already fallen, and it's still falling heavily." Ling Qingyan looked at the overlapping buildings in the distance, with a bit of solemnity in his eyes, "Shen Chao, did you ever think that today will happen?"

Shen Xuhuai sneered: "You sound like you are interrogating me?"

"I'm not joking with you," Ling Qingyan rarely became serious. "You said earlier that they would attack in the north next step. Now that there is a mutiny in the same state, I naturally think you have expected this."

"I'm not a fortune teller, how can I guess everything right?" Shen Xuhuai walked down the steps stepping on the thin snow.

Ling Qingyan followed up holding an umbrella: "I thought Zhang Yuanliang was from the Cai family, but I didn't expect the real informant to be Guo Xiao. Do you know the origin of that Guo Xiao?"

Shen Xuhuai said: "Born in Caomang, he entered the Tongzhou government at the age of 25, and became a captain two years later. I heard that the reason for the mutiny was that Zhang Yuanliang was guarding the granary and the reinforcements from the court had not arrived. They were suffering from hunger and cold, and were unable to deal with the rampant horse thieves, so he led the soldiers to revolt and killed Zhang Yuanliang."

These remarks are just rumors from the same state, and no one knows the truth.

Ling Qingyan sneered: "If that's the case, how could the eldest son of King Jing'an die in Tongzhou? I'm afraid these words are for the people of the world to hear!"

The road in Tongzhou was blocked by heavy snow, and no one knew what happened that night.Now that Guo Xiao has occupied Tongzhou, those who went to support him cannot enter the customs, and no one will believe him if he is innocent.

What he did was clearly rebellious and immoral, but the words he said in the end were so high-sounding.

Shen Xuhuai focused his eyes in thought, and then said: "King Jing'an and his wife have been stationed in the northern border for many years, and now Pei Yanzhi's accidental death in Tongzhou will definitely affect the morale of the northern border army, but they will not stop there."

Now that the matter has come to this point, there is no turning back for Cai Yuan, or in other words, he does not plan to turn back at all.

The snow fell more and more heavily, and it seemed to cover the whole city.

Shen Xuhuai reached out to catch a snowflake, and the warmth of his palm instantly turned it into a crystal. He said, "This snow will probably not stop."

Ling Qingyan brushed the snow off his shoulders: "Don't stop, don't stop, there's nothing wrong with snowing, except it's a little cold."

Shen Xuhuai smiled lightly, but didn't answer any more.

On the third day of Tongzhou's occupation, the snowstorm still had no intention of stopping. The army marched hard in the snow and finally arrived in Tongzhou. As a result, they were ambushed before entering the customs and suffered heavy losses.

After the news came back to the capital, Fu Xiuyun ordered King Jing'an to send someone to Tongzhou. If Guo Xiao refused, he would be charged with treason.

I thought that Guo Xiao would bow his head and admit defeat after hearing this, but he put forward three conditions, one of which was to ask Fu Xiuyun to hand over the military power of Tongzhou to him.

This one condition alone is enough to make people refuse, let alone the other two.

Fu Xiuyun grasped the corner of the table tightly, with veins on the back of his hand, and said angrily: "It's so arrogant! How dare you negotiate terms with me? Giving him the military power of Tongzhou is to tell the world that anyone in my country can do it! Come share a piece of the action?!"

When the voice fell, the teacup in hand shattered.

"Your Majesty, calm down!" The ministers trembled and knelt all over the ground.

The qi and blood in his body surged, causing Fu Xiuyun a bit of a headache. He gritted his teeth and said, "Send a letter to King Jing'an, no matter what method you use, you must conquer Tongzhou within ten days!"

The ministers were secretly alarmed, Tongzhou was easy to defend and difficult to attack, although there were only [-] soldiers, but it was snowing heavily at this time, and it might not be so easy to capture Tongzhou within ten days.

Everyone knows the pros and cons, but no one stands up to refute it.

It was snowing heavily outside the hall, and the snow in front of the door was already three inches deep. Even Qin Tianjian couldn't tell when the snow would stop.

At that time, in Zongzheng Temple.

Ling Youyao was lying by the window, wrapped in a quilt, looking at the snow with a serious expression, watching the endless snow falling from the sky one after another.When Fu Mingjue came in with the hot porridge, she was already lying on the pillow and fell asleep.

Fu Mingjue touched her cheek, and said in a warm voice: "Yao'er, go to bed later, drink the porridge first."

"I'm not hungry." Ling Youyao turned her head away, it was so cold outside that she didn't even want to wake up.

Fu Mingjue stared at her for a while, then raised his hand to touch her forehead, it was warm, not like she was sick.Ling Youyao was amused by his action: "It's just that it's too cold, I don't want to move, I'm not sick, don't worry."

Fu Mingjue no longer forced her, tucked in the quilt for her, closed the window tightly, and then went to the study next door.

Despite the heavy snow these few days, the little eunuch who delivered the food would still come on time every day, but the person who came was actually Jiang Zhou.

At noon, that familiar figure appeared in the courtyard.

Jiang Zhou wore a human skin mask made by Luo Qiulin himself, and even his body shape and voice were changed. If he didn't check carefully, he wouldn't be able to see any flaws at all.

After putting the things down, he resumed his original voice and said, "Your Majesty, there is news from Tongzhou that Guo Xiao asked His Majesty to hand over the military power of Tongzhou to him, otherwise there will be a catastrophe. Your Majesty was so angry that he immediately issued an order King Jing'an took Tongzhou within ten days."

"He dared to make such an unreasonable request, and I think he has full confidence."

Jiang Zhou affirmed: "You are right. According to the secret report, the deputy general next to Guo Xiao is from Beidi. After they occupied Tongzhou, they let go of the granary to appease the soldiers. Attacking by force, I'm afraid it will hurt innocent people."

Fu Mingjue lowered his eyes, with an unclear expression: "By buying people's hearts, gaining access to internal and external enemies, he took over all the good reputation, and turned the court into a villain instead. This is a very clever move."

"My lord, the situation in the northern border is grim. His Majesty's health is getting weaker and weaker. You have been staying in Zongzheng Temple for more than half a year. When do you plan to go out?"

Tongzhou was occupied, Guo Xiao and Beidi colluded, and the defense of the capital was gradually disintegrated. If this drags on, I am afraid that in the near future, we will hear the news that Beidi soldiers are approaching the city.

Fu Mingjue looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window, pondered for a long time, and said, "It's not about my thinking or not, but Your Majesty's."

Jiang Zhou didn't understand, and wanted to ask, but he said first: "It's time, you should go."

Helpless, Jiang Zhou didn't say anything in the end, took his things, and left Zongzheng Temple in the snow.

After he left, Fu Mingjue sat alone in front of the window for a long time, with far-sighted eyes, not knowing what was going on in his heart.