Whether it was Gu Yun or Zhong Chan, or even the entire Daliang Army, they were not very confident about naval warfare, so they had to be extremely alert. Several people first followed Ge Chen, the master of Lingshu Academy, to dismantle the Western Dragon from head to toe, and analyzed the Western Navy's combat habits and the possibility of changes in battle from the aspects of speed, defense, artillery and purple gold carrying capacity.

When the two armies met in a narrow road, both his men and the enemy had thousands of long and short sea dragons. That was completely different from him fleeing across the river with more than 20 masters. Anything could happen.

How to fight in any situation, many things that seem to be improvisations on the battlefield are supported by the coach's countless experiences and skills. What's more, they also have to consider the future development direction of the Daliang navy, how to organize it, what kind of warships they want from Lingshuyuan, how to train soldiers, how to configure purple gold, etc.

Gu Yun's situation was a little more complicated. He was ordered to command the four territories. In addition to the Jiangnan battlefield, he also had to consider many other aspects.

During the day he followed the patrol to find out the situation on the Liangjiang battlefield, and when he came back at night he would take turns to talk with General Zhong or Mayor Yao. After Chang Geng and the others left, he had been working non-stop, so busy that he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

When Gu Yun was about to say goodbye to Yao Zhen that day, he stood up and one of his feet suddenly became numb. He swayed and felt short of breath. Yao Zhen hurriedly helped him up: "Marshal, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, I'm just hungry." Gu Yun smiled at him and said with a little self-mockery, "To be honest, if I take a sesame cake as big as a cart and crush it into a fire, I can eat it in one bite."

Yao Zhen frowned. Gu Yun must not be able to see his own expression now. People always describe young people as "full of vigor and vitality". A person's spirit and energy are all on his face. Whether he has vigor and vitality can be seen at a glance on his cheeks and lips.

Yao Zhen said, "How about you, Marshal, come to my place today. My wife doesn't have any other hobbies, she just likes to think about food. I'll ask her to prepare some porridge and side dishes. There won't be any delicacies from land and sea, but some warm home-cooked meals will be ok."

If it were in the past, Gu Yun would have gone to eat with them after hearing this, but he didn’t know what had happened to him recently. The more tired he was, the less he could eat. He just wanted to find a place to fall asleep, so he declined, “Thank you, but let’s do it another day. It’s too late today, and it’s not appropriate to bother my sister-in-law who is working.”

Yao Zhen was not in a position to persuade him any further, and accompanied Gu Yun all the way back to the tent. He was still worried before leaving, and reminded him, "As long as you have the green mountains, you will never worry about lack of firewood. Marshal, please take care of yourself."

"Enough for the winter, don't worry." Gu Yun waved his hand, raised his head and stretched his stiff neck, and suddenly saw the stars in the sky, so he sighed, "I remember that although Brother Chongze was talented, he was not ambitious. He didn't want the great credit of suppressing the rebellion of King Wei, and would rather guard his own small piece of land and live a stable life. I didn't expect that he would be forced to this point now. It's really fate."

Yao Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "There are many factions in the court. I am just a scholar with no power. Why should I go in and cause trouble? How much benefit can I get from all the calculations? Instead of climbing up the ladder, it is better to stay in a place far away from the emperor. My whole family will be there, I will have no worries about food and drink, and my words will still count. Isn't that a blessing?"

Yao Chongze was too smart, and he knew how to seek benefits and avoid harm. As early as when the King of Wei rebelled, he had already seen the decline of the prosperous Daliang Dynasty. Therefore, he did not want to work for this broken court and just wait for death in a mediocre official position.

Unfortunately, now that the nest is overturned, all the eggs are intact, and I can no longer hide my shortcomings.

Gu Yun refused to let him go and asked, "What about after the battle?"

Yao Zhen replied confidently: "If the country is peaceful by then, there will be nothing for me to do. If it is still so chaotic by then, why should I bother to join in the fun? Will General Gu be happier holding the Black Iron Tiger Talisman than when he returned victorious from his youth and drank wine with a bunch of us idle people?"

Gu Yun: “…”

Yao Zhen recalled something and said with a smile, "I still remember that when General Gu got drunk, he stepped on a thin railing with one foot, staggered and took the sword used by others to embroider swordsmen to carve and tattoo on the petals falling from the sky, and he actually carved the courtesan's face red. It is still a good story..."

Gu Yun was so embarrassed that his tongue almost got tied: "I was ignorant when I was young. Don't ever bring up this kind of shit again."

Yao Zhen smiled unconsciously, then looked towards the south and said, "When Jiangnan is recovered one day, I will host you and invite you to get drunk on Nv'erhong wine. You must come and enjoy it."

Gu Yun thought to himself: "I dare not. It's already hard enough to have someone like that at home."

However, it was inconvenient to confess such cowardly words in front of old friends, so Gu Yun could only smile mysteriously.

Just as the two of them were chatting about love in the middle of the night, Ge Chen suddenly ran over with a changed expression, holding a piece of sea-patterned paper in his hand: "My Lord, it's bad, Yang Ronggui is going to rebel!"

This letter came from the fake King Goose. Fearing that Mu Niao would be caught by the criminals, they did not dare to mention the matter of the real and fake King Goose in the letter, nor did they dare to reveal that the letter was sent to the Jiangbei camp. They just said in a tone of seeking help that they were temporarily pretending to be submissive to stabilize the rebels, and they didn't know what Yang Ronggui would do with them next.

Gu Yun and Yao Zhen were both stunned. Gu Yun had actually expected that Yang Ronggui would be desperate if he could not bribe the imperial envoy, but he had been in charge of the Black Iron Camp for a long time and did not take these local armed forces seriously. He thought that twenty guards were enough to wipe out Yangzhou Prefecture. Chang Geng was not a person who could be easily startled. Gu Yun raised his hand to take the sea-patterned paper from Ge Chen's hand, only to see that the handwriting on it was not Chang Geng's. It was written in a hurry, but the content made people more and more frightened, especially the sentence at the end "The emperor was assassinated and his life or death is unknown."

Gu Yun's mind raced through several thoughts, and he broke into a cold sweat - arresting Prince Yan in the south, assassinating the emperor in the capital... This was not impossible if you thought about it carefully! As long as you were brave enough.

If it weren't for the secret interference of Linyuan Pavilion, the Linyuan Wooden Bird would still be able to fly out. Given the current situation of Yangzhou City being surrounded, the news was basically blocked. Yang Ronggui could have taken his lackeys and escorted King Yan quietly north without even alerting the Jiangbei camp.

Moreover, once Li Feng died and the throne was vacant, this matter would become something worth considering.

Yao Zhen: "Marshal?"

"Go and ask General Zhong to lend me some eagle armors. Return them when you are done. Hurry up." Gu Yun had forgotten about his dizziness and said quickly, "Xiao Ge, stay here and try to contact the capital to see what is going on. I will take my men to Yangzhou."

The "King Yan" and "Ling Xu" who were ordered to commit fraud had already been packed up by Yang Ronggui and "invited" onto the pirate ship. They left Yangzhou Prefecture with the army and headed north to force the palace.

They traveled very covertly along the way, and the capital city didn't hear a single word about the serious epidemic in Jiangbei. This is enough to show the control that Yang Ronggui and his gang of traitors had over the post stations along the canal.

Resting in the post station at night, "King Yan" and "Ling Xu" were confined to a room. The guards around them had already been dealt with. There were three layers of Yang Ronghui's spies outside, so it was difficult for them to fly out even if they had wings.

It was not until the middle of the night that "King Yan" finally peeked out through the crack in the window. Seeing that the guards had relaxed a little, he touched his face and lowered his voice to "Xu Ling" and said, "If I had known that this job would be so difficult, I would have stayed with the barbarians. This time, the prince owes me a big favor - I don't know if the wooden bird can be delivered to Fatty Ge, and it has also implicated the young master. If your father knew, he would be very anxious."

"Xu Ling" was about to answer when his face suddenly became serious. He saw several guards guarding the back door fell down silently for some reason, and then a dark shadow sneaked in like flying.

"Xu Ling's" protective gear had been searched away long ago. He stretched out his hand and grabbed a porcelain cup on the table, then threw it out with a strong gust of wind. The man slightly turned his face away, barely avoiding the hidden weapon, then opened his hand and rolled up the porcelain cup into his sleeve, and quietly came in through the back window. His body was so agile that after a few movements, the wind chimes on the window did not move at all.

After landing, the man pulled off the mask on his face and gestured, "It's me.

It was Gu Yun.

"Xu Ling" probably had never seen Gu Yun before, and was stunned for a moment, but "King Yan" took a breath and showed his joy.

Gu Yun actually felt that something was wrong. "Xu Ling" threw the cup with too much force, but he didn't have time to think about it. He carefully looked outside, frowned, and quickly signed: "How did it become like this? Where are the guards?"

Before he finished the sign language, the "Goose King" had already pounced on him like a young swallow flying into the forest, and his steps were so graceful that they were simply breathtaking.

Gu Yun had a dog's nose that was unknown to others. He could smell anything wrong even if someone was within three feet of him. The "Goose King" in front of him not only did not have the soothing fragrance that he had been stained with for many years, but instead had a subtle smell of powder. He suddenly took a wrong step back and raised his hand to grab the "Goose King" by the throat: "Who are you?"

The "King of Wild Goose" had not expected to be exposed as soon as they met, and was so frustrated that he could only flutter his hands and feet and lip-synched, "Uncle Sixteen, it's me."

The only people who called Gu Yun "Uncle Sixteen" were Ge Chen and Cao Chunhua, who were brought back with Chang Geng from Yanhui Town that year - although they never called him that again after they grew up.

Gu Yun loosened his grip and asked in astonishment: "Xiao Cao?"

They secretly contacted each other, and at the same time, on the third day of July, a secret letter sent from Yangzhou City passed through the nine gates of the imperial city and was delivered to Lu Chang.

After reading this, Lu Chang couldn't help laughing several times, went into the room for a secret talk with a group of his close associates, and sent someone to invite Lord Fang Qinfang.

The Fang and Lu mansions were not far from each other, so the family returned quickly and reported, "Master, the Fang family said that Master Fang had a serious illness recently, with fever and rashes all over his body. They said they wanted to send him to his villa in the suburbs of Beijing, and it was inconvenient to see outsiders. I saw that they had already prepared a carriage in their courtyard, and the bedding and clothes were being burned in the backyard."

Lu Chang asked, "Does Lord Fang have anything to say to me?"

"Yes," the family member replied respectfully, "Master Fang asked me to give you a message, wishing you immediate success and all the best."

Lu Chang sneered, waved his hand to let him leave, and turned to go into the study: "Fang Qin is an old fox, he has a lot of tricks in his mind, he orders others around, but he always backs off when things get tough, he only has the ability of a dog-headed military advisor in this life - don't worry about him, now our great cause has been completed more than half, everything is ready, we just lack the east wind."

The "dog-headed military advisor" with rashes all over his body mentioned by Minister Lu burned his clothes and bedding and went out of the city to recuperate, and the next moment he came to the northern suburbs in an unremarkable sedan chair. Shen Yi, who had also sneaked out of the capital like him, happened to be in the North Camp. When he heard that Lord Fang, who was sitting on some bench, was coming to visit, he was immediately surprised.

The new commander of the Beidaying Camp was one of Tan Hongfei's former deputy lieutenants. He knew that this matter was of great importance, and immediately whispered, "General Shen, please step aside for the time being. I will see him."

Fang Qin stayed in Beidaying for nearly an hour that day. No one knew what he said until dark when he left in silence in his sedan chair.

At the end of July, Emperor Longan’s birthday is approaching.

Ever since Li Feng ascended the throne, he has never celebrated his birthday in a big way. The empress dowager in the palace died early, and after the death of the previous emperor, he had no decent elders to arrange for his birthday, and he has been frugal until now.

However, on this year's Wanshou Festival, Li Feng finally made some moves.

The site of the Qiyuan Tower that collapsed during the war was rebuilt. Li Feng thought that the appearance of the "Zhaixing Terrace" was ominous and the extravagance of the "Yunmeng Grand View" was too detrimental to the harmony of nature, so he ordered a restructuring and converted the "Qiyuan Tower" into the "Qiming Altar", abolishing its original function of eating, drinking and having fun, and turning it into a serious altar for worshiping heaven and praying for blessings, and also moved the Imperial Observatory there.

Emperor Long'an, whether he had nothing better to do or was instigated by someone with ulterior motives, decided to go to the newly built Qiming Altar to offer sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, and issued an edict of repentance to celebrate his birthday.

...To be honest, Li Feng had a bunch of corrupt officials and sycophants under him who were specifically gnawing at his country and his kingdom. He was like a poor little cabbage, with no one loving or caring for him. No one even gave him a bowl of noodles on his birthday, and he had to complain about his mistakes in governing in front of the world.

He was so miserable, and except for a bunch of white-bearded pedants in the court, no one said a good word about him behind his back. It was truly a human tragedy.

When the emperor left the palace, all the officials naturally followed him. The Imperial Guards led the way and marched towards the Altar of Prayer for Brightness in a mighty procession. The Imperial Observatory was waiting in formal attire, and the loud bells rang throughout the city.

There are eight hundred stone steps leading to the top of the Altar. The narrow path in the middle is the "Imperial Road", which is only for the emperor to walk on. On both sides are the "Royal Roads" for the king to accompany him. They only have four hundred steps and end halfway to the altar.

Emperor Long'an climbed up the Imperial Road, and hundreds of civil and military officials came to see him off. Two important officials, one civil and one military, accompanied him to the 400th floor on the left and right royal roads, and sent him to the top. However, Gu Yun and Prince Yan were not in the capital at that time, so Jiang Chong from the Military Affairs Office and Shen Yi, the Southwest Admiral who happened to be in Beijing, had to take over as his companions.

Li Feng was always busy and neglected riding and shooting. Wearing the imposing formal attire of the emperor, it was quite strenuous for him to climb the three thousand steps. As he walked, he became absent-minded and thought about his youth.

That was the first time when Gu Yun followed the old marquis's former subordinates to the south to suppress bandits when he was young. After returning victoriously, Li Feng followed the late emperor as the crown prince to welcome the army back to the court.

Li Feng remembered that the young general was full of vigor and vitality when he left, with a somewhat childish look on his face. After returning from the battlefield, he seemed to have grown up ten years older. His eyebrows and eyes, which had not been polished by the years, began to calm down, like a real blade that cuts the wind, with a faint aura of awe. He dismounted and returned, and shouted long live the emperor with all the generals. The armor on his body shone like fish scales in the sunlight. Li Feng, who rarely left the capital and the palace, accompanied the late emperor and looked at Gu Yun in armor with a little envy. While the former commander was asking and answering questions with the late emperor, Gu Yun suddenly raised his head and winked at the prince who was not yet twenty, and smiled at each other.

Now, Li Feng was at the Qiming Altar, thinking of the past, and a smile appeared on his lips involuntarily. He came to his senses and looked back, only to see a large group of people kneeling at the foot of the stone steps. All of them were the backs of their heads. The two accompanying the king were also well-behaved, and no one dared to raise their heads to offend the emperor...

There was probably no more young person in the world who would make eyes at him, and Li Feng suddenly felt lonely and isolated.

The Imperial Observatory had already prepared for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and was just clearing his throat to speak when suddenly there was a commotion beneath the altar.

Li Feng wanted to issue an edict of repentance and also to gain a reputation of being diligent in his work and loving the people. The capital was not under complete martial law that day. The imperial guards were only used to separate the people on both sides of the road. The roadside was crowded with people, and there were many people watching the excitement. As a result, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a small group of masked men moving as fast as the wind rushed out from the crowd of onlookers. They were all top-notch experts. They tore open a hole in the Imperial Guards' defense line in an instant and headed straight for the Qiming Altar.

"careful!"

"It's from Japan!"

All officials were in chaos. The commander of the Imperial Guard, Liu Chongshan, shouted "Protect the Emperor". In a hurry, he led his men to rush to the imperial road of the Qiming Altar, knelt two steps away from Li Feng, and said quickly: "Your Majesty, this place is dangerous. I will escort Your Majesty away immediately."

Li Feng was so angry that he kicked Liu Chongshan on the shoulder: "Waste!"

Liu Chongshan raised his head suddenly with a fierce look in his eyes. Several imperial guards following Liu Chongshan drew their swords at the same time. Li Feng's heart was shocked, and he suddenly realized - there were no Japanese assassins at all, it was simply a rebellion. This set of methods was exactly the same as when the late emperor condoned the Barbarian Concubine to design the Black Iron Camp!

Li Feng was shocked and angry, pointing at Liu Chongshan and said, "How dare you!"

Liu Chongshan chuckled, stood up, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and stepped closer to Li Feng: "Your Majesty, for your own good, I will escort you out of this dangerous place."