It started to snow in the capital, and Huainan's memorial flew into the imperial city like snowflakes.

Yan Ni wanted to borrow the escort from Mei Yin in Huai'an and Xu An in Fengyang, and wanted to go to the imperial tomb to worship and burn incense, but they were rejected. The envoy of the King of Yan was also cut off his ears and noses by Mei Yin.

Then Sheng Yong wrote a letter to rely on the Huai River to delay the Yan army. Unexpectedly, within a few days, Yan Ni crossed the Huai River and detoured to attack Sheng Yong's camp. Sheng Yong's army collapsed at the touch and was defeated. He retreated and wanted to go to the river. The emperor then sent Xue Yan, the minister of Dali Temple, to cross the river and question Sheng Yong.

Inside the Imperial Gate, Zhu Yunwen's face was haggard and his hair was a little messy. At this time, people reported that Xue Yan had returned to the capital, so Zhu Yunwen announced his visit.

After Xue Yan finished the bowing ceremony, Zhu Yunwen immediately asked, "Sheng Yong said that he could block the Yan army by relying on the Huaihe River, why did he be defeated in a few days?"

"Report to the emperor, an official in the upper reaches of the Huai River surrendered to the enemy privately, and Yan Ni got a boat to cross the river, and then went east to attack Sheng Yong. Sheng Yong's troops were unable to stand the battle and were defeated." Xue Yan said.

Zhu Yunwen clenched his fists and placed them heavily on the imperial desk. "Sheng Yong wrote another letter to retreat straight to the river. Will Huainan give in?"

Xue Yan said: "I have also asked Sheng Yong in person. He replied that Yan's rebel army arrived in Huainan, and people were in a turmoil, and those who surrendered must have many people. At this time, a victory must be made to encourage the military and civilians and allow those who are watching to support the imperial army. However, Sheng Yong had no elite troops, so he wanted to retreat to Puzikou City and urge the imperial reinforcements to cross the river. He went north to face the Yan army."

How long has it been? Master Yan is actually coming to the river!

Zhu Yunwen stood up from the imperial throne, paced back and forth, his face very pale. His hands were a little trembling, and he suddenly stopped walking: "I immediately ordered Sheng Yong to control all the troops in Huainan and strictly ordered him to fight Yan Ni in Huainan!"

Unexpectedly, ten days later, Tang reported to Beijing, and Sheng Yong led his army to fight Yan Ni in Liuhe and was defeated! He himself had already gone straight to Puzikou on the bank of the river.

Zhu Yunwen was furious. The official army was defeated from Shandong, Huaibei, and Huainan, but never really won a battle!

Sheng Yong was very interested in Puzikou, a new city that was only built during the Hongwu period. It seemed that he had chosen a place long ago. When he was still in the Huaihe River, he said he wanted to go to Puzikou. Now he finally got his wish and retreated straight to this city and looked at the riverside.

At that time, Fang Xiaoru's advice still followed the views of the front-line general Sheng Yong, and he had to gather elite troops to defeat the Yan army to stabilize the hearts of the people. He advocated the transfer of elite troops from the Beijing camp, and gathered the troops of the garrison that had arrived in the capital, and traveled across the river to join Sheng Yong's hands in order to fight to the decisive battle.

Zhu Yunwen was unwilling to do so. If he wanted to move the final foundation of the Beijing camp, why did he get back in Lingbi?

So Fang Xiaoru offered another suggestion and sent Dali Temple Minister Xue Yan to escort Princess Qingcheng, the cousin of King Yan, to cross the river, pretending to discuss peace with King Yan, and delayed the Yan army with a slow-strike in order to gain time for reinforcements from various provinces. The emperor allowed.

But the King of Yan was obviously not so easy to be fooled. A few days later, the delaying plan failed. When the King of Yan met, he saw through the court's plan and said in public: The treacherous ministers of the court wanted to ease me and wait for foreign troops.

Xue Yan went to the enemy camp and saw that the Yan army was strong and strong. After returning to the capital, he actually persuaded the emperor to give more benefits to Yan Ni and cut all the territory north of the river to seek peace.

So Fang Xiaoru scolded Xue Yan so bloody!

Fang Xiaoru once again advised the emperor to advance to the Beijing camp, and the reinforcements of the garrison immediately reinforced Sheng Yong. This time, the emperor finally agreed.

...

Xue Yan was no match for Fang Xiaoru in the verbal battle. He was named for being unfaithful and unfilial, and had no backbone. He was so angry that he went home. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the ministers of the court were not good at making plans! So he wrote a secret letter to the King of Yan in private, wanting to surrender.

After receiving the secret letter, the King of Yan responded immediately, praising Xue Yan for abandoning the secret and throwing into the light, and choosing good birds and trees to live there. I wonder how the King of Yan learned that Xue Yan had a close relationship with Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, so he asked Xue Yan to persuade Guo Ying to surrender together in the letter.

Xue Yan then took the risk of visiting Guo Ying's mansion, trying to test Guo Ying's attitude first.

When Xue Yan complained in front of Guo Ying, he deliberately emphasized that the Yan army was huge and powerful, and implied that the King of Yan could win.

But Guo Ying was unmoved. He sighed: "I have been entrusted with the country's salary for decades. Now I am old and cannot serve the country, but I just die for the country."

...Guo Ying's second son was Guo Ming. He was originally an official in the Liao Palace. When the Liao King was recalled to Beijing, Guo Ming also came back.

After he returned from Liaodong, his whole family lived in his father's marquis's mansion. Xue Yan's words did not work for Guo Ying, but Guo Ming was very concerned about it.

Guo Ming paced down the eaves outside the hall, blushing in a hurry.

The Liao King has lost his power and must be unable to hold on to the big tree. Now Guo Ming has nothing to do all day long. But the situation is not the worst. The worst thing is what if the King of Yan enters the capital and his father does not surrender, what should he do if he is a son?

Guo Ming is very sure that his father will not surrender! His father is old and wise forever, and will not bear the reputation of being unfaithful for the sake of his twelve years. As for his descendants? Marquis Wuding cannot control his twelve sons, but his eldest son Guo Zhen took over the princess...

What can Guo Ming have that time? He can't rely on his father. If King Yan ascends the throne, the Guo family will be wrong, and it will be fine if they are not cleared!

At this moment, Wu Dinghou's voice came from the hall: "Come, see off the guests!"

Guo Ming quickly walked to the door and bowed, "Xue Siqing, please."

"The courtesy of the old marquis's family is very comprehensive." Xue Yan smiled, "No need to send it far away, no need to send it far away, please."

Guo Ming led the way and walked up a corridor. Then he turned around and smiled and said, "My father is old and usually likes purity and rarely sees guests. If Xue Siqing comes again, he is afraid that he will neglect you. Xue Siqing will look for me directly. I am idle."

Xue Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, okay. The banisher can welcome Guo Dianbao at any time."

Xue Siqing came to the door and said how powerful the King of Yan was. Guo Ming suspected that this guy had defected to the King of Yan, but Guo Ming did not dare to act rashly, so he had to go back and forth first and see the situation before talking.

Xue Yan's voice said again: "The old marquis is in a strong body, not that he cannot go into battle to kill the enemy for the court, but..." He paused for a moment and said in a deep voice, "The lords in the court do not believe in the marquis. When the marquis was in Zhending City, did the King of Yan send someone to catch up with the marriage? The court had known these things long ago."

"Ah?" Guo Ming didn't react for a moment.

Xue Yan smiled and said, "Mrs. Ling, isn't she a member of the Xu family?"

Guo Ming then suddenly realized: "Yes, it's because of being a little bit related."

Xue Yan shook his head and said nothing, and continued to walk forward.

Guo Ming really didn't expect that this could be considered a relative! His wife's surname is Xu, so how did she kiss King Yan... He thought for a long time before he roughly figured out: the relationship between the Guo family and King Yan is mainly connected through the relationship between King Xu Da of Zhongshan. Xu Da's daughter is Princess Yan; and Xu Da's uncle's daughter is Guo Ming's wife.

Guo Ming thought for a long time, but he felt a little dizzy in his head.

He sent Xue Yan away and returned to the small courtyard where the marquis' mansion was living. He saw his wife Xu rolling up her sleeves and washing clothes there. Guo Ming immediately walked over and said, "It's snowing, the sky is so cold, and there are so many servants in my father's mansion, how can the wife do the laundry in person?"

Xu raised his head and said, "Although we are in our husband's parents' home, our whole family depends on the Marquis' house for food and drink. My father-in-law has so many children and they all look at him... We have to know a little bit."

Guo Ming immediately sighed to the sky, "I didn't expect that my son of a dignified marquis would fall to this place!" He said apologetically, "Mrs. comes from the Xu family, but she suffers such suffering with me, alas!"

Xu shook his head and said, "It's just a little bit of the light of the King of Zhongshan. How much does the Zhongshan Wang family have to do with our family? Before I married my husband, my family was not a wealthy family. Don't say that to you, husband."

"Guo Yan and Guo Weili?" Guo Ming said.

Xu said: "They are doing something else. The weather is cold, so don't freeze them."

"You are so spoiled." Guo Ming strode to his two daughters' boudoir, pushed open the door and saw that the two girls were doing needlework. They stood up one after another and said, "Dad is back."

"What are you two doing?" Guo Ming asked.

The second daughter, Guo Wei, had just turned thirteen years old, looked childish, and said with a childish look on her head, "It's almost the Chinese New Year, my mother asked us to make new clothes for my father. My mother said that my father would interact with high-ranking officials and nobles and wear silk."

After hearing this, Guo Ming was stunned. Seeing that his two daughters were wearing cotton jackets and skirts, he felt sad. He was still receiving a salary, but after he had no power or power, he lived a very difficult life with just a small official salary.

Guo Wei touched the smooth and shiny silk material and looked up and said, "When my father is promoted, can I buy us new silk clothes?"

"Don't talk too much, my dad is upset about serious matters." Guo Yan pulled her sister's sleeve and whispered.

Guo Wei looked aggrieved and pouted and said nothing.

The eldest daughter is sixteen years old and is indeed much more sensible. She was born by Guo Ming's concubine, and the concubine passed away very early and adopted her for Mrs. Xu... However, Mrs. Xu treated her well because she was afraid that she would not be her biological daughter, so she favored and accommodated Guo Yan more.

The two daughters are not the same mother, and they look different. Guo Yan is a little older and more charming. Guo Wei's body has not yet grown completely, and her skeleton is not thin and slim, but she is pretty and charming.

Guo Ming sighed again, unable to say anything, turned around and walked out of the door, came to Xu again, and asked, "Do you still have the salary you receive in the first month? It's almost the Chinese New Year, so I'll buy a new dress for the two girls."

Xu said: "They don't go out, so what's so easy to wear? Don't worry about these trivial matters, husband."

After hearing this, Guo Ming didn't say much, and was still paced back and forth on the eaves. He put his hands into his sleeves, lowered his head to ponder. When he occasionally looked up, he could see the lady who was washing clothes looking at him silently.

The lady had a faint hope in her eyes, and her expectations were obviously only entrusted to Guo Ming.

"Huahuh..." Mrs. Xu rubbed her clothes hard. She silently took care of her children's family affairs. She had never complained since she returned to Beijing. But this was true, Guo Ming felt a heavy heart and could not live with her.
Chapter completed!