Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

The Queen took the "secret letter", pointed at the names on it, and asked sternly: "Do you recognize these names?" Zhao Ma was so frightened that her face turned pale and she couldn't say a word. The Queen slammed the letter on the table and said angrily: "Come here, drag this traitorous maid out and beat her to death!"

After Zhao Ma was dragged out, the queen immediately summoned all the palace maids and eunuchs and announced in public that the seven families and five surnames had colluded with Huang Chao and intended to rebel. Everyone was shocked when they heard it. The queen also ordered people to present the evidence found in the search and Zhao Ma's confession to the emperor.

When the emperor learned of this, he was furious and immediately issued an order to arrest all the spies of the seven families and five surnames in the palace and severely punish them. The power of the seven families and five surnames in the palace was uprooted and they dared not act rashly again.

After Qian Xu learned about this, he was full of admiration for Dou Qing's wit and courage. He knew that Dou Qing had made an indelible contribution to the successful elimination of the power of the seven families and five surnames in the palace. He secretly made up his mind to reward this intelligent woman.

However, before Qian Xu had time to breathe a sigh of relief, urgent news arrived from the border. Huang Chao learned that there was a civil strife in the court. He took the opportunity to lead a large army, broke through Tongguan, and marched straight to Chang'an!

"What? Huang Chao broke through Tongguan?!" Qian Xu was shocked when he heard this. He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth, extremely anxious.

"Report--" A blood-stained messenger stumbled into the hall and shouted, "Your Excellency, Huang Chao's army is advancing like a hot knife through butter, and our army... our army is retreating step by step!"

"Useless!" Qian Xu roared, kicking the messenger to the ground, "What use are you!"

"Master Qian, please calm down!" General Li, wearing armor, walked quickly into the hall, clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to lead the troops to Tongguan and fight Huang Chao to the death!" Qian Xu took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and asked in a deep voice: "General Li, how confident are you?"

General Li clasped his fists and said, "Your Excellency, although Huang Chao is powerful, I am not without the ability to fight. I am willing to sign a military order and swear not to return to the court until Huang Chao is defeated!"

Qian Xu nodded. He knew that General Li was a fierce general with the courage of ten thousand men. Now that Tongguan had been lost and Chang'an was in danger, only by sending him there could the situation be stabilized.

"Okay!" Qian Xu immediately made the decision, "General Li, I will give you 50,000 elite soldiers, food and supplies, everything you need. You must defend Tongguan without any mistakes!"

"I obey your command!" General Li took the order, turned around and left, rushing to the battlefield.

The arrival of General Li undoubtedly gave Qian Xu a shot in the arm. He knew that he could not completely quell the rebellion by force alone. He needed more detailed intelligence and more careful deployment to catch Huang Chao in one fell swoop.

So he began to rectify military discipline and strengthen training. At the same time, he also increased the collection of intelligence on the Huang Chao uprising army, hoping to find their flaws.

In the palace, Dou Qing has also been paying attention to the development of the rebellion. She uses her identity as a palace maid to gather information everywhere, hoping to do her part for Qian Xu.

One day, while sorting out the books in the imperial study, Dou Qing accidentally discovered a forgotten memorial, which was submitted by a local official a few months ago, about the activities of the Huang Chao uprising army in the local area.

Dou Qing read the memorial carefully and found an important piece of information in it: the Huang Chao uprising army's food and grass supply mainly relied on a mountain stronghold called "Heifengzhai".

"Black Wind Village?" Dou Qing's heart moved. She remembered that Qian Xu had told her before that the logistical supply of the Huang Chao uprising army had always been a mystery. If they could find their granary, they could cut off their supply line and cause heavy damage to them.

Dou Qing did not dare to neglect it, and immediately copied down the memorial, and then tried every means to pass the news to Qian Xu. After receiving the news, Qian Xu was overjoyed. He knew that the opportunity had come!

He immediately summoned all his generals to discuss countermeasures.

"Everyone," Qian Xu pointed to the location of "Black Wind Village" on the map and said in a deep voice, "According to reliable intelligence, Huang Chao's food and grass are stored here. I have decided to send an elite force to surprise attack Black Wind Village and burn their food and grass!"

When the generals heard this, they were all cheered up.

"Your Excellency is wise!" General Li was the first to step forward and ask for a fight. "I am willing to lead my troops to Black Wind Village and burn all the food and grass of the old thief Huang Chao!"

Qian Xu nodded. General Li was brave and good at fighting, and was the best choice to carry out this mission.

"Okay! General Li, this battle is of great importance. You must be careful and don't underestimate the enemy!" Qian Xu warned.

"I obey your command!" General Li clasped his fists and accepted the order. He turned around, assembled his troops, and headed straight for the Black Wind Village.

The Black Wind Village is strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack, but General Li led his elite troops and generals. They crossed mountains and rivers and approached the Black Wind Village quietly.

It was a dark and windy night, a perfect time for a surprise attack. At General Li's command, the Tang army rushed into the Black Wind Village like a tiger descending from the mountain.

Huang Chao's army in the village was caught off guard and immediately fell into chaos. General Li led the Tang army with great momentum and soon took control of the entire mountain village. A raging fire shot up into the sky, illuminating half of the sky, and the food and grass stored by Huang Chao in the Black Wind Village were burned.

When Huang Chao heard the news that Black Wind Village had been destroyed, he flew into a rage. He had never imagined that the Tang army would find their granary and destroy it in one fell swoop.

"Qian Xu, I will never forgive you!" Huang Chao roared.

The loss of Heifengzhai was a heavy blow to Huang Chao's rebels. Their food and grass were burned, their morale was low, and they were no longer able to attack Chang'an. Qian Xu took the opportunity to launch a counterattack and won victory after victory. Huang Chao's rebels retreated step by step.

The emperor was delighted with the successive reports. He praised Qian Xu highly and issued an imperial decree to reward him. In the palace, Dou Qing was also overjoyed when she heard the news of Qian Xu's victory. She knew that Qian Xu's victory was inseparable from her help.

The emperor also looked at Dou Qing with a different eye. He never expected that this seemingly weak woman could have such courage and wisdom.

"Dou Qing," the emperor looked at Dou Qing with a smile, "you have made great contributions to the court, I will reward you well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Dou Qing bowed, "I dare not take credit for it. This is what I should do."

"You saved Qian Qing's life, and also saved the Tang Dynasty," the emperor said with emotion, "I have decided to confer you the title of 'virtuous palace maid' as a reward."

Dou Qing was flattered and thanked the emperor again.

When Qian Xu heard the news, he was happy and grateful. He knew that Dou Qing had given so much for him.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Qian Xu came to Dou Qing's residence. The two looked into each other's eyes, and everything was said without words...

Qian Xu held Dou Qing's hand, his heart full of tenderness. He knew that Dou Qing had made an indelible contribution to his victory today. Dou Qing's intelligence and courage helped him escape danger time and time again.

"Qing'er, once the rebellion is quelled, I will ask the emperor to marry you." Qian Xu said affectionately.

Dou Qing blushed and nodded gently. Qian Xu held her in his arms, and the two were immersed in happiness.

However, this joy did not last long. A few days later, Qian Xu was studying a battle map in his study when a guard came to report: "General, there is a letter from the capital!"

Qian Xu's heart trembled. He knew that at this critical moment, the letter from the capital must mean something big had happened. He quickly opened the envelope, but his expression became more and more solemn as the contents of the letter paper appeared.

"What's wrong? Has the war situation changed?" The military advisor on the side saw Qian Xu's strange expression and couldn't help but ask.

Qian Xu took a deep breath and handed the letter in his hand to the military advisor: "Read it yourself."

The military advisor took the letter and read it carefully. The emperor's handwriting was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper, revealing an unshakable anxiety. The letter mentioned that although Huang Chao was defeated, his power had not completely collapsed. More importantly, it seemed that someone in the court was secretly colluding with Huang Chao and intending to rebel!

After reading the letter, the military advisor couldn't help but take a deep breath: "I never thought that after we finally put an end to the war, there is still a bigger conspiracy waiting for us!"

Qian Xu's face was terribly gloomy. He held the letter tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. He knew that this battle was far from over, and the real enemy might be hiding beside them!