Chapter 1 The Backyard, the Inner Palace

The doors and windows around were tightly closed, and black curtains hung all over, blocking most of the sunlight.

Inside, the furnishings were simple, making it seem very empty.

"Creak..."

The door was opened from the outside, and a palace maid walked in, holding a brocade box.

As soon as she came in,

the palace maid felt a bone-chilling cold;

not because there was no charcoal basin in the palace, but more from the psychological pressure that made her fear uncontrollably.

She walked forward,

trying not to make any sound.

At this moment, behind a black curtain, half a figure walked out, it was Wei Zhonghe.

Wei Zhonghe stretched out his hand,

and the palace maid handed the brocade box over.

Immediately,

Wei Zhonghe turned around,

and the palace maid also turned around,

one, walking into the darker depths;

one, walking out of the palace gate, feeling like she had survived a catastrophe.

...

"Your Majesty."

Wei Zhonghe opened the brocade box, inside, a silver pill was placed quietly.

The Yan Emperor was not lying down, nor was he dying of old age,

he sat on a chair,

with a solemn expression;

he did not look like an old monarch, but his whole body was already exuding a feeling of a lamp about to go out.

The Yan Emperor stretched out his hand,

very slowly,

he placed the silver pill in front of his eyes,

a touch of self-deprecation at the corner of his mouth.

"Wei Zhonghe."

"This servant is here."

"Tell me, if people outside saw this scene, how would they describe me?"

"This servant dare not speculate."

"Heh, they would say that the Emperor of Yan, no matter how good he was in civil affairs or military achievements when he was young, in the end, he is just like those dying emperors in history;

obsessed with seeking immortality and asking for medicine,

attempting to use the power of pills to prolong his life,

ha,

to pursue,

that illusory,

eternal life."

Wei Zhonghe did not dare to interrupt.

The Yan Emperor held the pill in his hand, carefully examining it up and down.

"I have long known that there is no such thing as immortality in this world.

Cultivators, such as the fangshi (alchemists), such as the refining qi practitioners, when they cultivate to a certain level, they can indeed have more lifespan than ordinary people;

but those who often go into meditation, often retreat in caves, and practice in the mountains,

fifty years of cultivation, without eating the food of the mortal world, is nothing more than fifty more years of lingering on than ordinary people;

this kind of 'eternal life',

tell me,

is it a loss,

or a gain?"

"Your Majesty, this servant believes that life is better when it is lived more practically, too long and it becomes too empty, too empty and it becomes too bland, too bland and it becomes tasteless."

Wei Zhonghe is a refining qi practitioner, and a master, who once stood alone to block Bai Li Jian;

he has his own insights on the path of refining qi.

Of course,

this servant's insights,

naturally follow the master's.

"Taking pills is like taking poison... Even I, at the beginning, did not expect that I would have this day."

"Your Majesty..."

Wei Zhonghe could not say words like "Your Majesty will surely be blessed with good fortune."

The supreme being in front of him has been relying on pills to maintain his daily clarity, even though his physical condition has deteriorated to a very absurd state, he still does not allow himself to rest.

He said that as a monarch, he can die, but he cannot be muddle-headed, and he cannot lie on his sickbed, lingering on without dying.

"If I live for one day, I am the emperor for one day, and I cannot continue to be confused."

Speaking of this,

the Yan Emperor smiled,

"Heh, that one in Chu, lying on his sickbed for several years, what he delayed was his son's time, and his Chu's time.

Cough cough...cough cough..."

The Yan Emperor began to cough violently.

Wei Zhonghe immediately reached out to gently pat his back, and then used his aura to help him recuperate.

However, the aura he input only had a slight warming effect, because the Yan Emperor's meridians had become blocked and aged beyond recognition.

"Those few memorials, drafted to reduce rewards or postpone rewards, annotate: The soldiers of the three armies, the meritorious generals, the rewards must not be treated harshly in the slightest."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Yan Emperor's breathing began to become heavy,

"Some people's eyes can only stare at their feet, can only stare at what's in front of them, but they really can't see far, the court, the country, are in trouble now, and next year, it seems, will be even more difficult;

but the more this is the case,

the various armies, military towns,

must not be in chaos.

If they win a battle and have merit, they must be rewarded;

if the various military towns are not in chaos,

this world,

in the next two years,

no matter how chaotic it becomes,

it won't be too chaotic.

Tell these words,

to the Crown Prince,

and to Cheng Jue, as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant has remembered."

"Tell them that what should be saved can be saved, but what should not be saved, saving even a little is foolish."

"Yes."

"Cough cough...cough cough..."

"Your Majesty..."

The Yan Emperor remained unmoved, continuing to stare at the pill he was holding in his hand.

Finally,

he sighed,

closed his eyes,

opened his mouth,

and swallowed it.

The swallowing process was very painful, the Yan Emperor sat there, his neck raised, his veins bulging.

"Hiss... Hiss..."

A hoarse sound came from his throat.

For a long time,

the pill was finally swallowed.

The Yan Emperor breathed a long sigh of relief, and beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

At the same time,

there was also a burst of hot air;

this was the medicinal effect of the pill beginning to take effect.

This pill cannot prolong life, and it is not the same thing as the pill used to replenish blood and nourish qi that the Grand Ancestor made for the Yan Emperor when he was still alive.

This is poison,

but it is a poison that can force him to lift his spirits;

even if taking this will ruin the last bit of his limited lifespan, it can at least ensure that he remains conscious while he is alive.

After a short while,

the Yan Emperor stood up.

Wei Zhonghe stepped forward to help him take off his outer robe.

"Unroll the Great Xia Map of Mountains and Rivers."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Under Wei Zhonghe's instructions,

seven or eight eunuchs carried a very thick roll over and spread it out on the ground;

then,

more than a dozen palace maids came in and lit the candles.

The Yan Emperor, wearing only a black long shirt, stood there, watching the Great Xia Map of Mountains and Rivers slowly unfold beneath his feet.

Then,

all the eunuchs and palace maids withdrew.

The Yan Emperor's foot stepped onto the map of mountains and rivers, and the place where he stood was Yanjing City.

"Zhennan Pass has already been taken, and although the snowy plains have never been completely pacified, the savages without the Savage King cannot stir up any big waves;

that regent of Chu indeed has the courage of a warrior cutting off his wrist, but it will take him three to five years to pick Chu up again.

The Qian people rely on the three borders to prevent our iron cavalry from going south, but since we failed to completely defeat the Qian country at the earliest, we can continue to keep it for now.

The world all thinks that I will immediately turn my attention to the Qian people and attack Qian.

No,

they are wrong,

they are terribly wrong.

Qian country,

is the meat at the edge of my Great Yan's mouth, I can temporarily put it aside and not eat it;

what I want to do,

is to gnaw off those thorny, bony things first.

In this way,

even if the successor,

has bad teeth, he can slowly swallow it."

Speaking,

the Yan Emperor cast his gaze to the west,

to the desert,

he walked over quickly, his foot stepping on the west side of the Beifeng commandery:

"The Barbarian Princess, married into my Ji family as a daughter-in-law, the Barbarian Little Prince, respects me as his uncle;

those people say,

the Barbarians,

do not speak of etiquette,

for the sake of profit, for the sake of the present, they can take out and sell anything;

stupid things,

bastards!

The Barbarian royal court,

is planning something big!

The former was arrogant, the latter was more respectful, that old thing is paving the way for his son, the old thing has been preparing for most of his life, and his purpose is to reshape the glory of the Barbarian royal court in his son's hands.

Liang Ting's view is the same as mine, the Barbarians are sharpening their knives, and although they will not move in the next five years, they will inevitably advance eastward and invade my Xia in ten years!

I,

cannot give them a chance,

as the Emperor of Great Yan,

I must not give the Barbarians,

the slightest chance!

I,

want to unify Xia,

but the premise,

is that the Barbarians,

cannot enter the border!"

It can be said that in the thirty years since the Old Barbarian King became the Barbarian King, there have been almost no large-scale wars between the Barbarians and the Yan Kingdom.

But the Yan Emperor had never underestimated his old neighbor,

even,

in his heart,

he highly recognized this old neighbor.

One can imagine how terrifying a person is who is willing to be "mediocre" for a lifetime just to pave the way for the next generation.

Most importantly,

the Barbarians,

have never declined,

they are still so powerful,

the desert,

is still the best cradle for giving birth to brave Barbarians;

the decline of the Barbarians,

is the decline of the royal court;

and once the royal court rises again,

in response,

the blood feud that the Xia had with the Barbarians for hundreds of years will be awakened again.

And Wei Zhonghe was somewhat astonished. Although he was the closest person to the emperor, he really only just learned that there seemed to be another war coming?

Seeming to guess what Wei Zhonghe was thinking,

seeming to also understand that the court and the public would be the same as Wei Zhonghe;

the Yan Emperor said in a deep voice:

"I want to set an example for future generations, as a ruler, what one relies on is not conspiracy and tricks, not how good one is at playing small calculations, but the general trend, the general trend!

As a ruler,

every step,

should be stepped on the general trend,

not to borrow the momentum,

but wherever you go,

the momentum will rise there."

Saying that,

the Yan Emperor's gaze fixed on Wei Zhonghe.

Wei Zhonghe immediately knelt down,

and said;

"This servant understands."

These words must not be told to a third person.

Of course, this is the most superficial level;

at a deeper level, the court and the public must monitor public opinion, because some people can see clues from some personnel transfers and material transfers, that is, observe the direction of the wind.

It's just that the relationship between Great Yan and the Barbarians is actually better than with Qian or Chu.

Because when Great Yan used troops against Qian, Jin, and Chu several times, the Barbarians never invaded the border, which was extremely sensible.

If a war is suddenly started in a hurry,

in terms of morality,

it really cannot be justified at all.

"Drip... Drip..."

A few drops of bright red spread out on the map of mountains and rivers.

The Yan Emperor reached out and wiped his nose, his palm stained with red.

However,

the Yan Emperor did not care about this.

He just stared intently at his feet, at this "desert" under his feet.

"Let me bear this infamy."

The Yan Emperor raised his head slightly,

"While I am still not dead."