Chapter 47

The next day, Fu Feipeng personally led his men to explore the path on Songyan Peak, and they found the path according to the map. Fu Feipeng was overjoyed but remained calm on the surface. However, he secretly selected elite soldiers and prepared ropes, hooks and other supplies.

　　Two days later, in the early morning, Fu Feipeng led 6,000 elite soldiers to bypass Kuidang Pass through a small road. The defenders behind Kuidang Pass had no time to notice, and Fu Feipeng seized the city gate. As a result, the Nanzhou army attacked from both sides, and the imperial guards were caught off guard and defeated. Xiao Xing, the defender of Kuidang Pass, led his troops in a bloody battle, but was eventually defeated and killed. Kuidang Pass fell, and there was no barrier to the south of the capital!

　　The news of the fall of Kuidang Pass reached the capital that afternoon. Li Que was horrified, but he didn't even have time to react. The first cavalry of Nanzhou had already reached the gate of the capital! It turned out that Fu Feipeng had not completely taken down Kuidang Pass, and when the victory was already decided, he divided his troops to raid the capital. The purpose was to prevent Li Que from having time to react, let alone giving him a chance to escape.

　　Fu Feipeng's strategy worked. Facing the Nanzhou vanguard, Li Que hesitated. Although there were still 100,000 imperial guards in the capital, most of them were children of noble families. Although they were well-equipped and loyal, they were not as fierce as the Nanzhou army in combat. If they attacked and moved rashly, they would probably be entangled by the Nanzhou advance troops, and once the Nanzhou army arrived, there would be heavy casualties.

　　Therefore, Li Que, who should have avoided the enemy's attack in time, did not choose to leave the capital. Instead, he relied on the high walls and deep moats of Daliang's city, sufficient food and grass, and complete weapons, and was determined to defend the capital to the death.

　　In Li Que's opinion, Fu Feipeng, who was eager to capture the capital, was likely to make some aggressive mistakes, which would make it more certain for him to defend the capital and even have a chance to counterattack. But this time, he miscalculated.

　　The 300,000-strong Southern Province army surrounded the capital city, with flags covering the sky and drums of war roaring. The defenders in the capital city were all on high alert, but Fu Feipeng did not rush to attack the city. Instead, he took his time to surround the city without attacking.

　　Fu Feipeng saw clearly that after his army surrounded the capital, the strategic goal changed and his side was no longer the anxious one.

　　Because as long as the connection between the capital and the defenders of Daliang is cut off, the forces loyal to the court in various places will be leaderless and defeated one by one by the Nanzhou Army! In time, the capital will only become an isolated imperial capital, and it is only a matter of time before it falls. On the contrary, if we attack now, we are likely to fall into a fierce battle. After all, this thousand-year-old capital has never been directly captured in a direct offensive and defensive battle in history. When the support forces from all over the country gather to defend the king, the Nanzhou Army will face tremendous pressure.

　　However, all these calculations are based on a fundamental premise, which is when will Min Rou's army return?

　　According to Dong Xiuzhu's secret report, Kantqin agreed to hold Min Rou for at least three months. But now it seems that Min Rou is actively pursuing the Huns, and Mobei is so vast that there is no fixed way to transmit information. If no one is sent to notify him, it will be difficult for Min Rou to know the news that the capital is under siege.

　　Unfortunately, the connection between the capital and the outside world has been completely cut off by Fu Feipeng, and it is impossible for Li Que to send someone to notify Min Rou. So it will take more than three months, or even half a year, for Min Rou to get the news through other channels and confirm it before returning for help.

　　This period of time is enough for the entire Daliang to change dramatically.

　　After figuring this out, Fu Feipeng was naturally not in a hurry. While he was besieging the capital, he divided his troops to cooperate with his father Fu Hai's army to clear out the forces loyal to Li Que in various places. He was unstoppable all the way and the situation was very good.

　　If he didn't understand Fu Feipeng's plan at the beginning, after discussing with several staff members in the past few days, Li Que roughly understood Fu Feipeng's intention. It must be said that this is a plan to destroy the whole family that makes Li Que unable to sleep or eat. In the past few days, Li Que has not had a good night's sleep, and he is always thinking about ways to break the situation. The death squads he trained tried to break through day and night, but they were like a drop in the ocean, and none of them succeeded in sending out messages. He thought of his master Guan Mou again. With his martial arts, he should be able to break through and send a message, but at this time he found that Guan Mou had disappeared! Li Que didn't expect that after Guan Mou betrayed him, he went into hiding and watched the development of the situation. He just thought that his master had gone into seclusion again and there was no way to rely on his master to save him.

　　So the days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since the Nanzhou army surrounded the capital.

　　In the past half month, trapped in the isolated city, Li Que's mood has become increasingly depressed. Not to mention the deadlock in the military, he also encountered obstacles when he wanted to vent his anger on women.

　　Because his beloved mother Su Yuexin's belly was too big to have sex, he could no longer get comfort from his mother's tender and soft mature body as before. Although the other three concubines Huifei, Yanfei and Dongfei were also beautiful, they were always less graceful than Su Yuexin.

　　More importantly, without the exclusive favor of the head of the harem, Queen Su Yuexin, and even Min Rou, who Li Que was extremely dependent on and obsessed with, the three women naturally seized this opportunity and tried their best to compete for Li Que's favor. In this way, the seemingly harmonious harem situation in the past was also broken, and the intrigues between the three women surfaced, making Li Que anxious and exhausted. He couldn't treat them equally, which made him even more depressed.

　　However, in this situation, something happened that broke the balance of the harem.

　　Dong Lihua is pregnant!

　　This news was undoubtedly a great encouragement to the depressed Li Que. Firstly, besides Su Yuexin, another concubine finally became pregnant, which was not in vain for his hard work day and night, and it was a good start for the prosperity of the royal family. Secondly, in such a difficult period, Concubine Dong became pregnant, which made him see it as a good omen, a sign of a change in the situation, and it brought sunshine to his mood, which was originally full of haze.

　　The combination of these two factors prompted him to make a decision that no one expected, which was to enthrone Dong Lihua as the imperial concubine!

　　As soon as his decision came out, the other concubines in the harem couldn't sit still! You have to know that the Imperial Noble Consort and the Noble Consort are two completely different concepts. Although the Noble Consort's status is more noble than that of an ordinary concubine, there is no essential difference in rank and status. However, the Imperial Noble Consort is equivalent to the status of the Vice Queen, and she truly has the authority to assist the Queen in managing the harem. How can Consort Yan Li Yanlong, Consort Hui Zheng Nianshuang and others accept this?

　　"If you ask me, what Your Majesty did this time was a bit too ridiculous." Inside the Zihuan Palace, Li Yanlong took a sip of the Biluochun in the cup and complained to Concubine Hui.

　　Concubine Hui, who was favored by Li Que, had gone through a rough journey from losing power to gaining power. Her Zihuan Palace had also been restored from the dilapidated state a few months ago to the luxurious and noble state it had when the old emperor Li Su was still in power. At this moment, Concubine Hui was wearing a water-green embroidered Xiang skirt, with a cloud-patterned mutton-fat jade hairpin on her head, her chest towering, and her makeup beautiful. Concubine Yan was no less impressive, wearing a crimson-purple embroidered tassel-draped palace skirt, with an elegant and noble snake bun on her head, and her slender, white and tender legs looming under the palace skirt. If a skilled painter had painted this moving picture of the two concubines drinking tea, it would surely be passed down through the ages, allowing the later generations of playboys to appreciate the painting and indulge in the charming style of the two beautiful women.

　　"Yes, no matter what, Concubine Dong was born in a poor family and is the prime minister's former wife. It is a favor for His Majesty to make her a noble concubine. It is indeed inappropriate to make her an imperial concubine." Concubine Hui expressed her dissatisfaction cautiously, "Sister Yanlong is much more qualified for the position of imperial concubine."

　　"Well, I'm not coveting the title of Imperial Noble Consort, it's just that the Imperial Noble Consort is supposed to assist the Empress in commanding the harem. If Sister Min Rou takes the title, I will have no objection. What qualifications does Dong Lihua have to be above us?!" Compared to Concubine Hui, Li Yanlong was much more impolite in her words. After all, she was the only imperial concubine in the harem besides Su Yuexin who was related to Li Que by blood, and her status was even not inferior to Min Rou.

　　"Then again, His Majesty didn't visit Concubine Dong very often, so she was lucky to get pregnant." Concubine Hui sighed and touched her white and flat belly. More than 20 years ago, a life was born here, and it was her only support. Now that her support was gone, Li Que gave her another hope, the only hope was to give birth to a child for the new emperor, so that her position in the harem would not be lost again.

　　"Sister, do you think she might have used some other method?" The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Concubine Hui was just sighing, but after hearing it, Li Yanglong's heart moved and she had different ideas.

　　Concubine Hui was stunned: "Who knows, maybe some expert gave her a secret recipe."

　　"Hmph, master, what master is there?" Li Yanlong raised his beautiful eyebrows and rolled his eyes. "Almost all the eminent monks near the capital are familiar to me. I don't know how many of them have chanted sutras for me, but there is still no movement in my stomach."

　　"What I mean is, is this slut cheating on the emperor with another man?" Seeing that Concubine Hui didn't understand what he meant, Li Yanglong simply said it out loud.

　　"Sister Yanlong, you can't say such things!" Concubine Hui's face turned pale. Although she didn't like Dong Lihua, she was the Imperial Concubine after all. She didn't dare to say such unfounded slander.

　　"I'm not talking nonsense. Dong Lihua seduced the emperor when she was still in the Prime Minister's Mansion. It's no exaggeration to say that she is naturally dissolute. Moreover, this woman has almond eyes, peach blossom eyes, thin lips and pointed ears. From the Buddhist point of view of people, we can know that she is greedy for fame and fortune and will do anything to achieve her goals. She can betray her ex-husband in order to become an imperial concubine, and she can get pregnant by someone else in order to become a royal concubine!" Li Yanglong's words were certainly a bit of a vent, but part of them were really based on her observations and speculations.

　　She was born in a noble family, and spent half her life observing the words and deeds of all kinds of people. She was also very intelligent and had an extraordinary ability to judge people. Maybe she herself didn't even know that she had hit the nail on the head, and her analysis was basically in line with the facts!

　　"Okay, okay, sister, if you don't have evidence, please don't say these things anymore. If it gets leaked to Concubine Dong, this matter will be difficult to handle." Concubine Hui advised.

　　"Hmph, let her be arrogant for a few days. When Sister Min Rou comes back, you and I will persuade the emperor to appoint Sister Min Rou as the Imperial Concubine, and then we will deal with this little slut together!"

　　…

　　"Your Majesty, the Royal Concubine has prepared some fish soup for you and brought it to you for a try. Would you like to try it?" the eunuch asked Li Que cautiously.

　　During this period of time, Li Que was busy dealing with military affairs and government affairs every day, trying his best to find a way out of the predicament, but he was always powerless. As a result, his temper became worse and worse, and sometimes he would even refuse visits from his mother Su Yuexin, and the servants around him were naturally walking on thin ice.

　　"Let her in." Li Que sighed and put down the memorial in his hand. He was about to approve a secret report about someone in the capital spreading rumors and trying to cooperate with people outside the city. He was very upset and didn't want to see anyone. But when he thought of the newborn in Dong Lihua's belly, which he regarded as a good omen, he changed his mind.

　　So Dong Lihua came to Li Que with a small jade bowl in her hand. She was wearing a lilac-colored Yuehua palace dress. Her already towering breasts seemed to be tighter and fuller because of her pregnancy. Her big butt was fat and upturned, and she twisted and turned as she walked. The fetus in her belly added a bit of dignity to her originally beautiful and wanton temperament, and the title of Imperial Noble Consort seemed to add a bit of nobility to her. She looked radiant and full of spring light, and her pretty and charming face was full of pride and pride of being favored.

　　When Li Que saw this beautiful mature woman, he put his troubled thoughts aside. He ate a few mouthfuls of fish soup, then held Dong Lihua in his arms, licked her smooth and delicate face, and his big hands climbed up to Dong Fei's huge breasts and began to grab and knead them.

　　"Your Majesty~" Dong Lihua panted softly and twisted her plump body in Li Que's arms, rubbing her fair and delicate skin against Li Que's body, stimulating the young emperor's sexual desire to a greater extent.

　　"Do you like me?" Dong Lihua blew softly into Li Que's ear.

　　"Of course I like my beloved concubine. She made an invaluable contribution by getting me pregnant!" Li Que touched Dong Lihua's beautiful face with a smile, the desire in his crotch already rising.

　　"Then Your Majesty, what should I do if someone bullies me?" Dong Lihua heard this and rubbed her big breasts against Li Que's chest with satisfaction and said coquettishly.

　　Unexpectedly, when Li Que heard this, his brows furrowed, and he paused for a moment from touching her face and playing with her breasts: "My beloved, what's wrong?"

　　"It's Li Yanlong and Zheng Nianshuang again. They're teaming up to bully me!" Dong Lihua pretended to sob.

　　Li Que immediately knew Dong Lihua's intention. The day before yesterday, Dong Lihua wanted to place a magnolia in Zihuan Hall, saying that the emperor liked the smell of this fragrance and wanted to place one in each palace. In fact, she wanted to take the opportunity to show the palaces that she was the imperial concubine and had the power to manage the harem. If the concubines agreed, it would be equivalent to recognizing her status. In this way, Li Yanlong and Huifei naturally refused to do so and directly rejected Dong Lihua's request. So the three women quarreled in Zihuan Hall, and in the end Dong Lihua did not place the magnolia.

　　Li Que actually heard about this yesterday. Originally, Su Yuexin was supposed to handle this, but she was about to give birth, so she naturally had no time to deal with these things. Li Que himself was too lazy to care about this matter. At this critical moment of the country, the three women actually had time to fight among themselves, which really made him speechless. Therefore, he did not ask about it, but he did not expect Dong Lihua to come to him to complain.

　　"Dong Fei, Dong Fei, you disappoint me so much!" After Dong Lihua finished her sobbing "accusation", Li Que shook her off and said coldly, "You knew that I was worried about the safety of the capital, but not only did you not share my worries, you also bothered me with these competitive things. You are really ignorant!"

　　Dong Lihua was stunned. She thought that since Li Que had made her the Imperial Noble Consort, her position in Li Que's heart would be higher than others, and she could take the opportunity to suppress her love rival. Little did she know that she regretted it as soon as Li Que made the title, and felt that it was an unexpected and uncalm decision!

　　At this time, Dong Lihua's clothes were half torn, half exposing her magnificent breasts, and her face was tearful. She was extremely beautiful, but Li Que no longer had the interest to appreciate her.

　　"Forget it, just reflect on yourself, I won't accompany you anymore!" Li Que snorted coldly, stood up and pushed the door open to leave. After all, Dong Lihua was pregnant, so he couldn't get angry, so he could only use words to hit her.

　　"Your Majesty, where are we going?" The eunuch hurriedly caught up and asked Li Que.

　　"Oh, let's go to Qingying!" Li Que sighed. None of the women in the harem gave him peace of mind. Thinking that Wu Qingying hadn't come to the palace to see him for many days, he prepared to go visit her.

　　Li Que didn't know that his trip would give him an opportunity to resolve the problem.