Quick Wear: Under the Skirt, All Beings Are Equal

Chapter 444: The Traitor: Bright Moon, Drinking Alone in the Autumn

In October, the city of Bianjing gradually became quiet, no longer as noisy as it was some time ago. When I occasionally think back, I realize that a lot of things have happened this year.

Whether it was the prime minister buying and selling official positions and then massacring the imperial palace, or confiscating the properties of those ministers and executing them, and arresting the saint Zhou Wenye, everyone in the city of Bianjing felt insecure.

As the weather gets cooler, my restless heart gradually calms down. On both sides of the street are the blooming hibiscus flowers, clustered on the branches. The smoky-colored petals fall in the wind, letting passers-by take away the fragrance of the tree.

But such days did not last long, as urgent news from the border eight hundred miles away broke the peace.

Tang Ran entered the palace with military intelligence. The old emperor was sitting on a chair. From a distance, he looked like a skeleton wearing a dragon robe.

Tang Ran frowned upon seeing this, "Why is His Majesty so ill? Can we call the imperial physician?"

The old emperor shook his head and said, "Don't blame them. I wanted to keep it secret. If any rumors were to get out now, it would do more harm than good to Northern Qi."

As early as when Xu Jianshen was captured, the old emperor knew that the Chen Kingdom would definitely take action. He had fought with Zhao Lianye many times when he was young, and he had a deep understanding of this enemy.

"The million-strong army of Chen Kingdom has not yet arrived at the battlefield, but the soldiers at the border have captured a city in seven days. They are still the fierce and powerful army of the past."

The old emperor sighed slightly and couldn't help but think back to the battle of that year. He was indeed a successful and talented man at a young age, but he happened to meet Zhao Lianye.

He has worked hard enough, otherwise Northern Qi would have been destroyed more than 20 years ago.

The emperors of Northern Qi were not incompetent, but they were just unlucky. Natural disasters occurred every few years, either severe droughts or floods or plagues. The old emperor issued countless edicts of repentance.

In the empty palace, there were only the old emperor and Tang Ran. The jumping flames appeared in the old emperor's empty eyes, as if he had returned to the fighting on the battlefield.

This was the first time Tang Ran heard the old emperor talk about that battle.

It was also after that war that the old emperor gradually handed over power to his father, and became seen as incompetent and addicted to women.

It was also because of this battle that his father gradually lost his low profile, monopolized power, and eventually died of exhaustion.

Before that battle, Northern Qi was known as the strongest country with an invincible army.

The hall fell silent, with only the sound of gentle breathing.

The old emperor pulled his thoughts away from the war, looked at the handsome and tall Tang Ran in front of him, and suddenly said, "Twenty years ago, in that war, Northern Qi lost nearly half a million soldiers. The exchange of letters between General Xie and the Kingdom of Chen was allowed by me, and it was also a condition proposed by Zhao Lianye."

At that time, Zhao Lianye was in a very bad situation, and there was a group of people behind him who were holding him back, so he let Northern Qi go to avoid ending up like the one who was eaten alive after the rabbit died.

Zhao Lianye’s meaning is very simple.

Either they agreed to cooperate, or he would destroy Northern Qi and massacre the people in more than 30 cities of Northern Qi all the way to the city of Bianliang.

The old emperor took out a letter and looked at it with a complicated expression. There was nothing on the envelope, and only a few simple sentences inside.

Tang Ran took it and took a look at it, and her anger suddenly subsided.

Zhao Lianye wanted Northern Qi to use 500,000 troops in exchange for the lives of tens of millions of Northern Qi people and decades of peace.

The old emperor shed two lines of turbid tears, and he did not dare to look at Tang Ran's current expression. He forced down the bloody taste in his throat and took a deep breath, as if he wanted to let out the breath that he had suppressed while numbly watching the subversive massacre that year.

That war made Zhao Lianye famous as the god of war in Chen State and helped him win many people's hearts and supporters.

Zhao Lianye always keeps his word. At that time, Northern Qi was no match for Chen State and had no way to resist Chen State's million-strong army.

The old emperor knew it, and General Xie knew it too.

Zhao Lianye did not give them time to think and directly massacred the people in the two cities. All the old, the weak, women and children died tragically. This became Zhao Lianye's warning to Northern Qi.

If Northern Qi did not agree, he would really massacre tens of millions of people.

The old emperor remembered that it was a very cold night. The chill wind from the northern frontier made people's skin feel like it was being scraped by a knife. He and General Xie walked in the military camp, looking at the handsome men of Northern Qi.

They went back into the city and saw the panic and fear that could not be concealed on the faces of the people. The children who should have been carefree were also terrified, afraid that the tragedy of the massacre would happen to them.

The old emperor was silent.

That night, he and General Xie didn't say a word.

Half a month later, the war whose outcome was already known began.

The bright red color and the broken limbs and bodies were scattered all over the ground. The people of Chen Kingdom had killed so many people that their blades were curled. They had been chopping from dusk to the first ray of sunlight that fell from the clouds.

They were both the culprits of a tragic battle.

But in the end, General Xie was regarded as a savior by the people of Northern Qi. They felt that without General Xie, Northern Qi would not be able to resist the iron cavalry of Chen State.

Although many people died, the Chen Kingdom also lost more than 100,000 soldiers, and finally retreated.

For the people of Northern Qi at that time, as long as they retreated, it would be considered a tragic victory.

This was what General Xie said when he was mocking himself. For so many years, he had been tortured by his conscience and was in agony. So when Tang Ran began to investigate the court officials who had dealings with the Chen Kingdom, he took the initiative to arouse Tang Ran's suspicion.

General Xie took the blame for the old emperor, or to be more precise, he was a participant in the exchange between the two countries.

But in fact, if the old emperor did not nod, he would not be able to lead this war.

He said that the monarch of Northern Qi could be incompetent and licentious, but he could not be the criminal who killed the soldiers of Northern Qi.

"When I was hit by that arrow, the only thought in my mind was that I was finally free. I didn't know how to face the families of those soldiers, nor did I know how to be a good emperor."

"I am not a qualified emperor."

The old emperor said sadly: "If I died, it would be a relief, but even in such a dangerous situation, I still survived."

"I still survived."

After that, I watched my children die tragically and experienced the death of my young ones many times.

Tang Ran stood quietly in the center of the hall. He felt as if the blood in his body had frozen. His eyes were expressionless, like a burnt-out candle, filled with a gray and dead silence.

He heard his own voice: "You are right, you deserve to die. Those soldiers knew nothing. They were still thinking about protecting Northern Qi, but their lives were exchanged for the king and general they supported and loved."

Tang Ran's voice was very calm. It contained neither heart-wrenching angry accusations nor disheartened resentment. Instead, it was quiet, like the moon in the cold sky.