Rebirth of the High Gate Mistress

Chapter 379 Qingluan’s marriage

Li Ling was the commander-in-chief and led an army of 300,000 people to Hangu Pass.

Li Ling's army arrived at Hangu Pass and after several battles, they restrained the enemy's continued attack, blocked the enemy at the pass, and reversed the unfavorable battle.

With Li Ling in charge in the south, Emperor Ming could finally rest easy, but peace talks with the invading Huns in the north were very difficult.

The Huns saw the rising power of the Gaoshan Kingdom and took advantage of it, so the conditions for peace talks were very harsh. Not only did they ask for a large amount of gold, silver, food, beautiful women, etc. from Da Qi, but what was even more infuriating was that the Xiongnu actually asked Da Qi to send a princess to marry him.

As soon as Emperor Ming and his ministers heard these conditions, they fell into a dilemma.

In order to stabilize the situation, it is okay to give these barbarians some money and food, but it is indeed extremely humiliating to ask the princess of the Celestial Dynasty to marry the Huns. But now the Gaoshan Kingdom in the south is watching eagerly, and the powerful enemy has not retreated. If the Qi Dynasty fights on two fronts, it will be overwhelmed.

  Emperor Ming was very troubled.

 But the most troublesome thing is Qingluan, the daughter of Emperor Ming.

Emperor Ming had only three unmarried princesses. The seventh princess had been imprisoned in the palace because of her lack of integrity. After so many years, Emperor Ming ignored her and left her to fend for herself. The flower-like seventh princess had long been tortured to the point of becoming seriously ill. Nian can no longer even get out of bed, and only has a breath of leisurely energy left, so where can she go to get married.

The delicate and domineering eighth princess has become even more crazy since she was blinded by a falcon. When she got sick, she would yell and couldn't even recognize people. Even so, because she was the daughter of Concubine Meng, Emperor Ming still indulged and favored her in every possible way, but he was not willing to send her away for marriage.

Then, if it’s a marriage, it’s only Qingluan.

Qingluan found out about this and had trouble sleeping and eating. She prayed day and night, but God couldn't hear her prayers. After careful consideration, Emperor Ming decided to agree to the Xiongnu's peace talks, and the chosen marriage partner was Qingluan.

　　It’s not that Emperor Ming was weak and could be bullied, but that except for Li Ling, it was difficult for Da Qi to find generals who could confidently fight against the Xiongnu. Instead of wasting military and financial resources to fight uncertain wars, it was better to negotiate for peace.

Qingluan fainted when he learned that she was actually going to be sent to a barbarian land for marriage.

 After the imperial doctor revived her, Qingluan cried and wanted to see Emperor Ming.

Emperor Ming naturally chose the former between his family and an unloved daughter. No matter how much Qingluan behaved, he even went on a hunger strike to threaten her with death, but Emperor Ming was so hard-hearted that he didn't even look at her.

Emperor Ming could ignore his daughter, but the government would not ignore Qingluan.

Li Ling was away on an expedition and heard that Emperor Ming wanted to send Qingluan to marry him. Both the old lady and the Duke of Zhen couldn't bear it and begged the eldest princess to persuade Emperor Ming to change his mind.

Faced with the request of her husband and mother-in-law, the eldest princess felt confused: "Qingluan is A Tian's daughter and also my niece. Naturally, I don't want to see her end up like this. If Bo Yue is still in the capital to deal with those barbarians, Maybe there is still a chance of winning, but now that Boyue is being restrained by the powerful enemy of Gaoshan Country, there is no one in the court who can go out and take command."

The only princess of marriage age is Qingluan. If she does not marry, she will have to declare war with the Xiongnu. Today, Da Qi has no successor and no one can lead the war.

Although the Duke of Zhen Guo has been an official for many years, he also knows a lot about the major events in the court. After hearing what the eldest princess said, he sighed heavily and said: "When the late emperor was in power, there were many generals in the court who were good at fighting. How come it’s not in this situation now?”

The old lady said sadly: "Zhou Yi fought many battles with the Xiongnu back then, and every time he won a complete victory, beating the barbarians to pieces." As he spoke, the old lady wiped away her tears: "It's a pity that he also retreated. If Nowadays, apart from our Bo Yue, I am afraid that there is really no general who is confident in fighting against the barbarians."

As soon as the old lady finished speaking, the messenger at the door reported that General Zhou Yi had come to visit the Duke of Zhen and the eldest princess.

As soon as the old lady heard this, her eyes suddenly shone, and she quickly replied: "Please invite General Zhou in quickly."

 After a while, Zhou Yi was ushered into the mansion by a servant. An old friend came to visit him. Before he could enter the hall, the Duke of Zhen came to greet him.

"Didn't you go back to your hometown Dingyou? When did you come back?" Zhen Guogong patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and greeted with a smile.

Zhou Yi followed the Duke of Zhen into the main hall. After saluting the old lady and the eldest princess, he sat down on the chair and replied: "As soon as I heard that the Xiongnu invaded the territory, I immediately rushed back overnight. I rushed back for three days and three nights. Lu, I haven’t even reached home yet, so I’m here.”

The Duke of Zhenguo smiled and joked: "What does it have to do with you when the Huns invade the border? Haha! Can you, an old guy, still wear armor and go into battle?"

When Zhou Yi heard this, he was unconvinced and said: "I am only in my early fifties, how can I be old?"

Hearing this, the old lady was surprised and said, "Is it possible that Uncle Ye really wants to fight against the barbarians again?"

 Zhou Yi's courtesy name is Uncle Ye.

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "I came back this time to request an order from His Majesty, and plan to retake command and go to repel the Huns."

 The old lady was worried about her precious granddaughter. When she heard Zhou Yi's words, she was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.

Duke Zhen and the eldest princess looked in disbelief. Duke Zhen sighed and said, "You have been retired for so many years, how can you still succeed?"

Zhou Yi replied: "Why can't I do it? Back then, I beat Shanyu Maodun until he cried for his father and mother. Now that his son has come to attack, I will still beat this young boy back to his hometown."

When Zhou Yi was young, his heart was devoted to A Tian, ​​the second sister of the Duke of Zhen. Later, A Tian was forced to enter the palace. He was deeply affected. He reluctantly married a wife in his early thirties. He found her to be a virtuous wife, but she died young. Later, Prince Jian's daughter Zhao Yuan'er offended Concubine Meng. Concubine Meng relied on Emperor Ming's favor to point out the charming Zhao Yuan'er to Zhou Yi. At that time, Zhou Yi was already in his forties and was forced to marry a ten-year-old. How old is a girl, how can she be happy?

 So, Zhou Yi was trapped by emotional pain all his life. Although he was a talented general with great experience in the world, he was a sad person all his life.

Because life was depressing, he gradually lost his fighting spirit and retired early. But Duke Zhen Guo firmly believed in the ability of his old friend. Although Zhou Yi, who was over fifty years old in battlefield fighting, had passed the golden age of a general, he had excellent strategy and rich experience in fighting the Huns. If he If you really want to fight against the Huns, you are indeed very confident.

The Duke of Zhen looked at his old friend up and down, then waved his hands and said: "Forget it, I advise you not to show off your power. Mao Dun was indeed defeated by your subordinates back then, but the young are better than the old. You If we suffer a defeat at the hands of Maodun's son, wouldn't it mean that his reputation will be ruined for the rest of his life?"

 (End of this chapter)