#594 - The Four Emperors
The hour of Hai (9-11 PM).
Great Hui Dynasty, North Zhong Mountain.
On this Lunar New Year's Eve, the foot of this high mountain, usually seldom visited, was crowded with people.
No, it should be said that from the foot of the mountain to the top, the road was lit with torches like a long dragon, with no less than ten thousand elite soldiers standing guard.
And if one looked more closely, it would not be difficult to find that although these soldiers were mainly clad in golden armor, there was also a mixture of military men in different attire.
Banners fluttered across the fields, and knives and arrows were like a forest.
Obviously, these soldiers came from different forces, or rather, different dynasties.
Four imperial carriages stopped outside the mountain gate, symbolizing that at this moment, four emperors had gathered on this not-so-large North Zhong Mountain.
As for who these four people were, and what they were discussing together...
The answer was undoubtedly obvious.
North Zhong Mountain Peak, Longchan Temple.
Countless torches illuminated the entire temple as if it were daytime, and monks of all sizes, dressed in robes, kept running in and out, holding plates of fragrant and delicious vegetarian meals, or incense, towels, and other items.
The abbot had long told them that several important figures would come to the temple for a vegetarian meal on New Year's Eve.
But how could these monks have guessed that the visitors would be the emperors of four countries!
Although monks emphasized "six roots of purity and emptiness of the four elements," and should not care too much about these worldly dignitaries... but this was the emperor after all! The Son of Heaven of the four countries!
"Shut up!"
The abbot's face changed slightly, and not only did he not answer the question, but he also sternly reprimanded: "If you don't know, you don't know. You must not ask about this kind of thing again!"
"Oh."
Startled, the little monk shrank his neck and dared not say more.
He looked at the four blurry figures in the room through the window, muttering about their strangeness.
When the four entered the temple just now, he had seen their appearance from afar.
One was tall and thin.
One was short and fat.
One's face was as white as a woman's.
One seemed to be older than the abbot...
Although they were different in height, size, and build, the clothes of these four people were embroidered with dragons, but the appearance and color of the dragons were slightly different.
More importantly, the four of them had a kind of aura that the little monk had never felt before.
You should know that Longchan Temple is a large temple, and some wealthy merchants and officials often come to offer incense and worship on weekdays. Sometimes the array is also very large, and there will also be many soldiers guarding the way.
But no matter who it was, they had never brought this kind of feeling to the little monk.
It was like... the sky was pressing down.
Subconsciously, he looked up at the night sky, with twinkling stars and a crescent moon.
The little monk suspiciously touched his bald head, turned his head and quietly looked in the direction of the齋房 (zhāi fáng, the room for vegetarian meals) again.
The night wind rustled against the window lattices, sweeping all the blood-red torchlight into the wooden window.
"Three gentlemen."
"Today happens to be New Year's Eve, but we are gathered in this Longchan Temple, which can be regarded as an unprecedented interesting event..."
In the齋房 (zhāi fáng, the room for vegetarian meals), there were only four people, and the one speaking at this time was the Great Hui Emperor, Lü Hongji.
And he was the "short and fat" one in the little monk's eyes.
Although he was short and fat, Lü Hongji's appearance was not ugly, and his words and deeds were full of the majesty of an emperor.
Of course, such majesty was nothing in this occasion.
After all, who wasn't an emperor?
"King Hui is indeed humorous."
On the other side, an old man with white hair said: "But we are here not to eat the vegetarian meal of Longchan Temple."
"What's more, now that the meal is almost finished, shouldn't we talk about serious business?"
"..."
The white-haired old man's words didn't seem to give Lü Hongji much face.
And he did have the capital to do so.
Because this person was the emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, the most powerful country among the four, Jing Guoqing.
"What King Qian said is true."
Glancing at Jing Guoqing, the anger in Lü Hongji's eyes flashed, but it was quickly suppressed.
The Great Hui and Great Qian had a lot of exchanges on weekdays, so he and Jing Guoqing could be regarded as old rivals.
If it weren't for the common interests this time, the two of them probably would never have been able to sit at the same table to eat a meal in their lives.
"Ahem, King Jue, King Ji, since King Qian is so eager, then let's talk about serious business?"
Based on the principle of "although we are allies for the time being, I also want to disgust you," Lü Hongji turned his gaze to the other two.
After a while, the latter two quickly responded.
"Yes, let's talk."
The tall and thin one was the emperor of Great Jue, and his voice was a bit low.
In stark contrast to him was the emperor of the Ji Kingdom, who was the one in the little monk's eyes whose "face was whiter than a woman's."
"Oh dear, my Ji Kingdom is weak. This time, I'm just following behind the three of you to pick up some leftovers."
"King Qian, King Hui, King Jue, you don't have to care about this palace. Just discuss yours."
"If there is anything that this palace needs to do, just tell me..."
"..."
The language was like that of a brothel woman acting coquettishly, the voice was like that of a eunuch, the face was covered with powder, and the actions were delicate.
Coupled with an extremely "feminine" name, Song Yutang.
If this Ji Kingdom emperor did not indeed possess all male characteristics, and did indeed have a man's face, then he would easily be mistaken for a woman.
In this era when "gender views" were not very open, such an unmanly person would undoubtedly be pointed at and ridiculed by a group of people if he walked in the market.
However, none of the other three present showed any contempt for him.
Perhaps they had it in their hearts, but they could not show it on their faces.
This was the most basic ability of an emperor.
"..."
The candlelight was bright, and the table was full of rich vegetarian dishes, but there was almost no trace of chopsticks being used.
Withdrawing his gaze from Song Yutang, Lü Hongji looked at the couplet hanging on the wall, "Life is rarely as one wishes, seek only half satisfaction in all things," and slowly spoke again:
"Alright, since that's the case, then let me talk first."
"Now, the two kingdoms of Fengning already know that we intend to send troops to plunder their territory, and have also stopped the internal strife."
"It doesn't matter where this matter was leaked from now, but I still hope that you can all investigate it carefully..."
"..."
For the next hour, the four people discussed the upcoming war in this small齋房 (zhāi fáng, the room for vegetarian meals).
Of course, this battle involved many things, and it certainly couldn't be discussed in just one hour.
But the four were emperors after all, so it was enough to determine the general strategy, and the rest would be discussed in more detail by the generals and strategists of the four countries.
And if we were to roughly summarize the content of their "Longchan Temple meeting," then it would basically be four points.
One.
Great Qian and Great Hui each send 600,000 troops, a total of 1.2 million, to attack Xin Feng from the west;
Great Jue sends 600,000 troops, and Ji Kingdom sends 200,000 troops, a total of 800,000, to attack Da Ning from the north;
The four countries send a total of 2 million troops, and can add more if needed in the later stages of the war.
The distribution of benefits is divided in proportion to the number of troops sent.
Two.
Due to the long battle lines, logistical supplies may not be timely, so this battle will be carried out in a manner of "sustaining the war with war."
After plundering each place, seize its food and grass to replenish supplies on the spot.
In addition, in order to prevent small-scale harassment in the occupied areas and disrupt the progress of the army, a "comprehensive sweep" will be carried out in the occupied areas.
Anyone who practices cultivation, regardless of whether they are soldiers or not, will be killed on the spot if discovered.
Including all ordinary people who "disobey" the orders of the army.
Three.
Considering that the two kingdoms of Fengning have stopped the internal strife, it is not appropriate to give them too much breathing room.
Therefore, the time of dispatching troops will be advanced from the end of the first month to the middle of the first month.
To be precise, it is the second day after the Lantern Festival, the sixteenth day of the first month.
Four.
The entire war needs to be resolved quickly, and should not exceed one year at most.
The armies of the four countries will fight separately in the early stages of the war, fighting from west to east on one side, and from north to south on the other.
According to previous estimates, the two sides will meet in Da Shu in about six to eight months.
And the sign of the end of this war is...
The fall of Shuzhou City.
