716 I Have Been to the City of Wei (1/2)
The goal was not the only similarity between them. They also cultivated the same Taoism.
The Queen had read many files on Ning Que multiple times in order to find his weakness because he killed her only elder brother, Xia Hou. The relationship between them was very complicated and subtle.
Returning to Helan City, they were still stuck in this state of mind until he entered the quiet room of the attic and saw the gray coffin.
The coffin was very large and was made of dozens of pine trees from the Tianqi Mountain cliff.
Compared with the high status of the person lying in the coffin, it looked primitive and crude, as the bark of the pine trees had not been peeled off.
After a long silence, Ning Que walked over to the pine coffin, knelt down, and kowtowed.
The Queen calmly said, ”Ever since you first met each other, you never got used to kowtowing to him. Now he is dead and will never see it.”
Ning Que stood up, gently stroking the rough bark of the pine trees in silence.
The Queen thought he would smile and give her a speech about the dead coming first. If he did, she would bring up her brother's death and discuss more serious topics with him.
Standing by the pine coffin for a moment, Ning Que turned to Master Huang Yang and the generals and said, ”What happened? Why are you staying in Helan City?”
Master Huang Yang slowly said, ”After the Headmaster and His Majesty died, it rained heavily. The Northern Army was stalled in Helan City and lost their connections to the south. We didn't know what was happening, but we guess...”
Then he told Ning Que what had happened in recent days.
”Since the Golden Palace dared to besiege Helan City, Chanyu must have gone south.”
Ning Que squat to the ground, drawing a very simple map with a branch taken from the pine coffin. He drew a horizontal line at the lower part of the map and said, ”The Seven Stockaded Villages...”
Suddenly, he fell silent and stopped moving his fingers.
Everyone in this room knew that Ning Que was from the City of Wei, a frontier fortress of the Seven Stockaded Villages.
Ning Que's expression remained unchanged as he calmly continued, ”The Seven Stockaded Villages must have been occupied and the cavalry of the Golden Palace might have passed through the Pingling Pass in Hebei County.”
Dropping the branch, he looked up at the crowd and said, ”One-third of the Northern Army Cavalry is stationed in Helan City. Is the Northern Military Camp strong enough to stop them? If the court deploys troops from Gushan Commandery or Tuyang City, what will happen in the east? Long Qing will definitely not miss this opportunity.”
His speculation was basically consistent with the reality, there was no essential difference, and it was completely in line with the view of the Queen.
”We must leave immediately.”
The Queen said, ”Withdraw southward as soon as possible.”
Han Qing said, ”It's a long journey. What about the army provisions?”
”We can grab the Golden tribes,” a Northern Army general said.
Ning Que shook his head and said, ”The Golden Palace definitely already made plans: their elite went south, leaving the empty interior behind. They won't give us a chance to take advantage, so those tribes must have withdrawn to the north once the rain stopped. If we pursue them, we'll have to go into the depths of the wilderness without any supplies. It is too risky.”
The Queen asked, ”So what's your plan?”
”There isn't a good plan.”
Ning Que stood up and continued, ”First of all, we must take away all the food in Helan City and make calculations. People will not die if they are starving for a few days, but horses will. Moreover, we can ride horses to move around even if we are exhausted and we can even kill the horses if in the worst situation.”
The generals all remained silent and then nodded in agreement.
Han Qing frowned and said, ”If we take away all the food in the city, what will the garrison in the city do?”
Ning Que answered, ”They will come with us.”
Han Qing surprisedly said, ”Are you abandoning Helan City?”
The Queen answered for Ning Que, ”As long as the Tang Empire hasn't been subjugated, we will take it back.”
The situation was urgent. After the discussion, the generals hurried away to prepare. Master Huang Yang went to get treatment while the Queen went to see the Sixth Prince, who was frightened.
At that moment, aside from the gray pine coffin in the quiet room, only Ning Que and Han Qing remained.
”I saw you and the Daughter of Yama crossing the border in a black horse carriage.”
Han Qing looked at him and said.
Ning Que said, ”There is no time to be sentimental. Just tell me what you want to say directly.”
Looking at the gray pine coffin, Han Qing said, ”His Majesty liked you so much when he was alive, and now you already know about his will. So, what do you think?”
Ning Que said, ”Continue.”
Han Qing said, ”Everyone knows that you are close to the Princess and hold a grudge against the Queen, but His Majesty has passed his throne on to the Sixth Prince... I don't really care who you support, but I hope you can make your attitude known at this time. The journey to the south is difficult, and if something happens...”
He paused when he heard some footsteps.
Han Qing remained silence.
The Queen walked in, followed by a young man.
The young man in the bright yellow clothes of the Prince curiously looked at Ning Que. He seemed a little shy as if he was not used to meeting strangers.
Ning Que kept silent for a long time by the pine coffin.
Then he looked at the Prince and asked, ”Do you want to be the emperor of the Tang Empire?”
The Prince turned to his mother in confusion.
The Queen gently touched his head, looking like she loved to spoil him.
Looking at Ning Que, the Prince thought carefully for a long time, then said, ”If my father asked me to be the emperor, then I will be.”
Ning Que said, ”Very good, then it's yours, and nobody can take it away from you.”
The Queen looked at him quietly, then asked, ”Is that the promise of the Academy?”
Ning Que replied, ”It's my promise, but it is equally as effective.”
The Queen said, ”I have no doubt about that.”
Ning Que asked, ”Why?”
The Queen replied, ”Because you finally married Sangsang.”