Chapter 470 The Leader

After the court meeting ended, the contents of that 800-mile expedited pond report spread rapidly.

Every capital official was spreading the word, and no one was saying it in a suppressed voice, behind closed doors. Spreading with both swiftness and repression.

Before that, the imperial palace with its layers of vermillion walls, Jingxiu Palace where Princess Chen was located.

Lin An, whose appearance was bright and brilliant, and whose eyes were charming and sentimental, had just finished paying her respects to her mother consort, and stayed at the Jingxiu Palace to accompany her and talk to her.

Consort Chen sipped her health tea and sighed as she looked at her daughter who was radiantly bright and internally charming and flavorful:

“Wei Yuan led the army on the expedition, and it will again be a military honor so rich that it will make people’s eyes water. This Wei Yuan, ah, is the biggest threat to your Crown Prince brother’s position in the Eastern Palace, but it is also the Crown Prince’s most solid cornerstone.”

Lin An took a sip of tea and dyed her small mouth daintily wet, not responding.

As a princess, she was obviously unqualified, but under the influence of her ears, the level was that much higher, and it wasn’t hard to understand the meaning of her mother consort’s words.

Wei Yuan was in favor of the Fourth Prince, there was no doubt about it because Wei Yuan was a eunuch who came out of Feng Qi Palace.

But Wei Yuan is also the crown prince’s most solid “cornerstone”, the father is suspicious, and Wei Yuan’s success is high, naturally impossible to let the fourth prince as the crown prince.

Concubine Chen lamented, “If only Wei Yuan could have died in battle.”

Hearing these words, Lin An frowned, not displeased that mother consort cursed Wei Yuan, it’s not like she and Wei Yuan had much affection.

She just felt that the tone and expression of her mother consort when she said this, hopeful with certainty, yes, it was certainty.

It was as if he knew something, but was a little apprehensive to be completely sure before he capped it off.

The Second Princess with the naivety of a young girl certainly did not possess a profound level of discernment, but the woman in front of her was her birth mother, one of the people she knew best.

While chatting idly, the light outside the door was blocked for a moment, and the crown prince crossed the threshold and hurried in, shouting, “Mother Consort, Mother Consort ……..”

Lin An turned his head to look and saw his own sibling enter the house, his expression was complicated, excitement mixed with regret, joy precipitated by mourning.

Concubine Chen smiled and said, “Crown Prince, please take a seat.”

Bid the palace maid to make tea for the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince waved his hand to indicate that he didn’t need to, and dismissed the palace maid, sat down by the soft collapse covered with bright yellow silk, and paused for a long time before slowly saying:

“Mother consort, Wei Yuan …….. died in battle in the northeast.”

Both mother and daughter’s expressions froze at the same time, and after a few seconds, two very different faces were presented.

Lin An’s face went slightly white, shock mixed with bewilderment and worry.

Chen Fei, on the other hand, is ecstatic, this joy is really too big, so that the body gently trembles, the tone of voice also followed the trembling: “When really?!”

The Crown Prince nodded and gave an affirmative reply: ”Eight hundred miles of expedited paperwork, it arrived last night. This morning father temporarily convened a court meeting to discuss this matter, the news of Wei Yuan’s death in battle will soon spread throughout the capital. One hundred thousand troops, only withdrew back more than sixteen thousand people, this battle, my Great Feng suffered heavy losses.”

Chen Fei excited face flushed red, appearing to be full of spring, even if a son and a daughter have long been adults, she is still unique charm, not the slightest bit old.

“As long as we can ascend to the throne, what is the necessary sacrifice?” Concubine Chen said in a loud voice.

It was as if he was educating the Prince, and as if he was comforting himself.

The crown prince nodded and resumed with emotion, “Wei Yuan’s death is a bit of a pity, this person has a strong view of the big picture, this palace had the luxury of hoping that after he ascended to the throne in the future, he would accept the reality and work for this palace.”

There were only three flesh and blood people present, and the Prince spoke without avoidance.

“Crown Prince, your biggest fault is that you like to be whimsical and expect the impossible.”

Consort Chen reprimanded, her delicate face revealed a smile and said, “Stay at Jingxiu Palace for lunch, accompany mother consort to drink a few cups, as soon as Wei Yuan died, mother consort’s heart disease was finally dispelled, and her body was relaxed.”

The Crown Prince also laughed, “Good, today my child accompanies Mother Consort to have a drink.”

Lin An looked at them wordlessly, looking at the two who were connected to her blood, she suddenly welled up with intense sadness.

This sadness stems from loneliness, the things they say, the things they do, the things they’re happy about, the things they’re angry about ……… It’s hard for her to identify and empathize the way she used to.

At some point, he had drifted away from them.

………..

Not long after the end of the morning court, a note was passed through hidden channels layer by layer, and finally landed in the hands of the head guard of De Xin Yuan.

He unfolded it and glanced at it, then his face changed dramatically and he darted towards Huaiqing’s chambers.

By this time, Huaiqing had already gotten up and was sitting in the outer room enjoying her breakfast, she looked at the head of the guards who had hurriedly arrived and stopped outside the door, frowned and asked, “What is it?”

Without a word, the head guard crossed the threshold and warily handed over the note.

Wyvern frowned, and with some confusion, took the note and read it.

Only to see, her clear and beautiful face, a little bit pale, even her lips have lost their blood color.

After a long, long time of doing just that, she woke up with a start, seemed to remember something, and lost her voice, “Mother!!!”

Huaiqing rose quickly and ran out of his bedchamber to his study, where he drew a hungry letter from a history book.

She gathered the letter in her sleeve, lifted her skirts, and ran out of the study again.

The letter was given to her by Wei Yuan before he left for his journey, and at that time there was another word of instruction:

“This letter, give it to your mother when it suits you.”

What was the right time, Wyvern didn’t get it then, now, she did.

She was running wildly all the way to Fengqi Palace, two palace maids chasing behind her, panting, holding her waist, her face pale, a look of not being able to live.

Fengqi Palace, the Empress is sitting in front of the case to adjust incense, she is wearing a gold Luo knit luan Chinese dress, head wearing a small phoenix crown, beautiful and moving, graceful and noble.

This stunning beauty who lives deep in the harem, it seems that even time cannot bear to ruin her worldly beauty.

The whole capital, except for the Empress when she was young than I was slightly worse, other women, are worse than me ten chips and a hundred chips–Mu Nanjia quotes

That’s very high praise.

Because in the eyes of the princess, there are only two kinds of women in the world, one is Mu Nanjia, and the other is the woman of the world.

A face that would make such a narcissist admit it, imagine that.

“Why did you think to come and greet me?”

The Queen smiled when she saw her daughter coming.

She had a graceful, dignified smile and didn’t show too much enthusiasm for her daughter’s arrival.

The Empress was still the same Empress, as gentle and dignified as ever.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Empress is approachable and gentle, with a real motherly woman.

For example, Xu Qi’an, who had once boasted of the Empress’ gentle nature and lack of bravado, and many more like him.

But to Wyking, that’s the real chill.

Huaiqing’s impression, this mother queen is always dignified and cold, gentle and reserved, reserved even she, the daughter, is very difficult to approach.

“Lord Wei, he died in battle at the general altar of the Witch God Cult.”

Huaiqing said succinctly.

Then she saw the woman who was so elegant and dignified, who had made a queen out of every drop, lose her poise for the first time.

“You lie!”

She screamed abruptly, her phoenix eyes rounded, looking at Huaiqing not like she was looking at her daughter, but her enemy.

Huaiqing gazed at his mother, sadness flashing in his bright autumn eyes.

What Xu Qi’an could guess, she could naturally guess as well, and in the case of Concubine Fu, a lot had already been explained.

She placed the envelope on the table and said faintly, “Before Lord Wei left for his journey, he asked me to pass on a letter to you.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Crossing the threshold and leaving the room, she did not leave immediately and waited in the courtyard for a few moments until the Queen’s heartbreaking cries came from inside.

The sound is sobbing and painful.

Huaiqing raised his head, and in the depressed autumn day, between the white clouds, he seemed to see the gentle and elegant man again.

Wei Gong, you and her, what kind of story ………

……….

The Xu family, once again, came to the Cloud Deer Academy and raised their family to take refuge.

Xu Suoyin was dragged by her aunt, reluctantly hiking up the mountain, her two shallow eyebrows furrowed as she loudly questioned, “Mother, are you going to send me here to study again?”

The aunt didn’t have the heart to say, “No, I’ve given up on you.”

Xu Lingyin bounced a little harder and smiled with her eyebrows, “Mother is the best to me.”

How did I give birth to such an unproductive daughter ………. The aunt almost cried in anger at her.

When they arrived at the academy, they breezed over to the small courtyard where they had stayed the previous two times.

After arranging his family, Xu Qi’an and Li Miaozhen left the courtyard side by side and saw Dean Zhao Shou standing not far away, his face serious as he looked at him.

“Before Wei Yuan left on his journey, he instructed me to keep two things and asked me to give them to you at a suitable time.”

Zhao Shou took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Xu Qi’an, saying, “This is the letter he left for you.”

Another thing he didn’t mention.

Xu Qi’an didn’t ask, taking the letter and putting it into his arms, nodding gently.

The two of them rode their swords.

…………

Xiangzhou border, Yuyang Pass.

The desolate barking of the solitary dog echoed in the sky, circling around in a circle in the very far distance.

At the top of the city, the soldiers shrugged their heads, and a centurion spat out a mouthful of spit and cursed, “Bastards of the Yan Kingdom, here to show off their power again.”

The target is too high and too far, beyond the range of the bow, the flying beast scouts are very experienced, do not give the big Feng high grade wufu the opportunity, as soon as there is something wrong, immediately let the shi dog fly away.

Even a Fourth Grade expert would not be able to catch up with this kind of foreign beast that was known for its speed in the air.

The centurion turned to the demoralized soldiers and cursed under his breath:

“Damn it, look at you all now, like losers whose daughters-in-law have been slept with by wild men, show your swagger. Wei Gong led his brothers to capture Jing Shan City. Ah, Jing Shan City, the general headquarters of the Witch God Cult.

“Not to mention our Great Feng, even Great Zhou, this is the first time this has been done, and it’s something to be written in the history books. Do you know what this means? You vulgar things.”

The centurion waved his fists in exhilaration, “Fame will go down in history!”

“But Wei Gong was killed in battle ………”

The soldier at his side, whispered.

This centurion’s face instantly fell, and he did not speak for a long time.

Did you win the war?

In the eyes of these soldiers who went out with the army, winning, all penetrating the Yan Kingdom’s hinterland and capturing the Witch God Sect’s main altar, such a victory, not to mention more than 80,000 lives, even if it was 100,000, 200,000, it would be cost-effective.

The total number of people who died in this battle of the Witch God Cult, ordinary people plus soldiers, has reached one million.

God’s great victory.

But Wei Yuan’s death was a heavy blow to the Da Feng soldiers.

The kind that breaks morale straight away.

After withdrawing back from the Witch God Cult territory, the 16,000 remnants of the army were stationed at the Yuyang Pass, waiting for instructions from the imperial court.

During this time, the scouts of the Great Feng and the Yan Kingdom had been watching each other, each passing on messages, both nervously and actively following each other’s movements.

Suddenly, the mournful screams of a tic dog broke the silence, and the scout, who had flaunted himself in the distant air, was torn apart, along with his flying beast.

Blood splattered.

The soldiers at the top of the city squinted and peered out, seeing a black shadow decapitating the Singh Dog scouts before making a U-turn and flying towards the city.

Immediately afterward, they heard the dao-robed woman say in a loud voice, “I am a disciple of the Heavenly Sect, Li Miaozhen.”

The centurion exhaled slowly, relieved.

“It’s the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect, it’s Mistress Fei Yan.”

“Who is the Flying Swallow Woman?”

“Even you don’t know about Mistress Fei Yan, she’s the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect.”

“Being able to fly with a sword seems impressive ……..”

“More than powerful, Lady Fei Yan is invincible, where she is present, no one dares to do evil.”

“Really?”

“That’s what everyone says ……..”

The soldiers exchanged pleasantries in surprise, the bottom layer had little or no knowledge of the concept of grade, in their eyes, a third grade master was not as good as a chivalrous man with a great reputation.

In the future, there will be a special term called “nationhood”.

If it was Xu Qi’an who came, they would have thought their side had been invincible. Because Xu Yinluo is the one who rushed to the people, killed the Duke of State in the street, the court didn’t dare to fart, and the Emperor was forced by him to issue a sinful edict.

Li Miaozhen landed her flying sword, stopping steadily over the city’s head, along with Xu Qi’an.

This is the legendary Fei Yan warrior? It’s actually this beautiful girl who looks like a flower ………. The gazes of the soldiers, one by one, looked towards the two young men and women with scrutinizing gazes.

Then, they unanimously looked at the man behind the Heavenly Sect Holy Maiden.

His features are handsome and delicate, not feminine or “beautiful”, but rather handsome in the sense that he is as rich as jade.

He looked indifferent, and a sadness that could not be dispelled was engraved on his brow.

There was something familiar about him, something that seemed to have been seen somewhere but couldn’t recall exactly who it was.

Until that centurion’s body trembled, his rough face suddenly rose red, trembling, “Xu, Xu Yinluo ………”

Xu Qi’an looked at this centurion and did not reply, only nodding gently.

………..

In the barracks below the city, more than 10,000 generals and soldiers suddenly heard strong cheers erupting from the city’s head, clamoring like a boil.

Some of them ran out of their tents, some of them reined in their horses, some of them stopped what they were doing, and they all turned their heads, looking toward the city.

They heard countless cheers that converged into one voice:

Hsu Yin-Gong!

For the “leaderless” Dafeng generals, Xu Yinluo’s three words are a shot in the arm, the backbone, and the guiding light for them to stop losing their way.

Since ancient times, those who lead are those whose reputation is as high as the sky.

…………

In the army tent.

“Lord Wei brought five golden gongs to the expedition, how come you’re the only one who came to see me, where are the others?”

Xu Qi’an met Zhang Kaitai, who had been away for many days, and asked in a calm tone.

Zhang Kaitai, whose scruff hadn’t been shaved for a long time, said softly:

“Dead, all died at the Witch God Cult’s main altar, some fought off the wizards, some were caught in the waves of that destructive battle and died on the spot. Of the four products, only Chen Ying and I withdrew back.”

For the first time in a long time, Xu Qi An had the urge to smoke, he fixed his mind and said softly, “Wei Gong …….. Where is it?”

Zhang Kaitai looked at him, this young man’s expression was calm and emotionally stable, the whole person appeared to be composed.

However, Zhang Kaitai subconsciously avoided those bright eyes when he met them.

He looked aside and said, “We didn’t bring him back.”

Xu Qi’an’s body shook.

After a long silence, she let out a slow breath, “Tell me what happened, starting with your march.”

Zhang Kaitai nodded and said, “Actually, there are a lot of things that I didn’t recall until now, for example, why did Wei Gong fight so urgently, because from the very beginning, we wouldn’t have had food and grass.”

“No rations?”

Xu Qi’an’s pupils shrunk.

A hundred thousand men marching off to war without rations?

This is war, or sending people to their deaths. Has Yuan Jing gone mad? Are the princes mad?

Do you hate Wei Gong so much that you can’t wait for him to die.

“After the brothers withdrew, Chen Ying, in a fit of rage, led a team that beheaded all the officials of the Ministry of Households in the three states. Killed several hundred people. And then with a hundred men, he went back to the capital.”

Zhang Kaitai shook his head, “He’s going to confront His Majesty and confront the princes.”

Zhang Kaitai narrated that after the expedition, Wei Yuan secretly divided his troops, part of which took the land route, attacked the city and pulled down the fortress, and captured the Yan State in the shortest possible time.

But it was hindered by the easily defensible walls of Yandu.

Although he didn’t capture Yan Capital, Duke Wei’s purpose had been achieved by stalling the forces of Yan and Kang.

It went on and on until Wei Yuan summoned the shadow of the Confucian Sage and fought to the death against the Witch God until he died in battle.

It s him, it s him, it s Jeanne ………… Xu Qi An s face twisted.

After listening to Zhang Kaitai’s description, he couldn’t help but confirm that the mysterious expert who had teamed up with the Witch God Cult to kill Wei Yuan was the late Emperor Jeanne d’Arc.