On December 26, 695, just as the people of the mainland were preparing to welcome the new year, the situation in the northern Empire changed suddenly. Under the arrangement of the Imperial Military Minister He Zhiqiu, the five divisions of the Imperial City Guard Corps took the dress with the Imperial City Guard Corps, and the Imperial City Guard Corps drew some troops to pretend to be the City Guard Corps. The real City Guard Corps left the city overnight and attacked the bridgehead of the Taiping Army's south invasion - Niutou Town in the south of Qinghe Prefecture, where nearly 150,000 Taiping Army had already gathered.

Caught off guard, the two armies met head-on on January 2, 696, and started a fierce battle. With their strong combat power, the four divisions of the Imperial City Guards that participated in the battle annihilated two infantry teams of Taiping Army in one fell swoop, and defeated an enemy cavalry team of ten thousand people. They won the first victory in the battle since the Taiping Army's uprising, shocking the entire empire, known in history as the "Great Victory of Niutou Town".

Just as the Taiping Army adjusted its deployment and was preparing to fight the imperial army again, the scheming imperial military minister He Zhiqiu seemed to have not given them a chance.

On January 3, 696, before the Taiping Army could adjust its deployment, while the main force of the Taiping Army was attracted by the four divisions of the Imperial City Guards on the front battlefield, the long-planned Imperial City Guards' Third Division suddenly detoured from the east of Qinghe Prefecture and entered Qinghe territory, threatening the rear of the Taiping Army, and defeating the Taiping Army's partial division that came to reinforce.

The Taiping Army was immediately disrupted, and more than 100,000 troops on the southern front were forced to shrink their defense. The front line was once in chaos and disconnected. The imperial army seized the opportunity to launch a general attack from the southeastern lines. After persisting for three days and three nights, the Taiping Army finally defeated the entire line. Only 30,000 troops left to escape and retreat to Qinghe Prefecture City. In this battle, more than 80,000 Taiping Army were annihilated, of which nearly 30,000 were captured. This was the most brilliant and grand victory achieved by the imperial army since the Taiping Army's uprising, and it was known in history as the "Chaos of Qinghe".

This major victory not only greatly alleviated the military threat of the Taiping Army in the north to the imperial capital, but also greatly encouraged the people and military spirits in other parts of the empire. There were only 40,000 Taiping Army in Qinghe Prefecture, all of them were huddled in Qinghe Prefecture and did not dare to go out. The Imperial City Guards also paid a considerable price, especially the four divisions fighting head-on, with nearly 30,000 casualties and seriously injured and lost combat power. This was the most serious loss suffered by the City Guards since the establishment of the empire hundreds of years.

When the news of victory came back, the entire emperor was filled with joy. The gentry in the city put on lights and set off smoke and cannons, and the joy was filled with joy in the inside and outside. Several famous places of romance and moon were crowded day and night. Perhaps everyone wanted to use this to relieve the tormented mood for such a long time.

Looking at the bustling night view outside the window, Situ Tai seemed absent-minded. This is the third floor of Tianya Haijiao Tower, which is quite famous on the imperial capital Shuiyue Street, and it is also the best-located large private room. From here, you can clearly see the large platform located in the middle of this famous venue. In terms of architectural style, Tianya Haijiao Tower is a typical Tanghe-style building complex. Its main body is a square building facing the street, covering a large area, with a total of four floors and a circular shape, leaving a large open space in the middle of the building, but a large platform about two stories high is built on the open space as a place for various group performances.

The first floor is mainly an ordinary consumption place. From the second floor, there are all kinds of style rooms with extremely high prices. You can directly watch the performances in the middle. On the third floor, there are some large rooms. The prices here are even more expensive, and it is often difficult to book a seat one or two weeks in advance. If you don’t have a special relationship, it is probably difficult to get here no matter how much money you spend. On the fourth floor, it is the boss’s private place. No one can go up there, and those who can go up are definitely not ordinary people.

This square building is connected to a large group of courtyards, which are where staff live in the venue and luxurious courtyards for guests to stay. They are equipped with complete facilities and different styles. They are worthy of being the top romantic place in the imperial capital. No wonder they are always crowded and have never been worried about the source of customers.

Seeing his master, he was irritable, and the old man was indifferent to being by his side, half closed his eyes and silently caring for his spirit. All kinds of snacks on the table were already prepared, with curtains around him half-closed and windowsills beside the windowsill

"Old Leng, do you think this guy will come?" Finally, I couldn't bear it. Situ Tai took his eyes out of the window and couldn't help asking.

"Your Highness, don't be too anxious. Look at Lao Nu, I'm afraid even if Lord Zhou comes, it's unlikely that truth will be found." Seeing that his master was like an ant on a hot pan, the old man had to open his eyes and answer.

"Oh?" Situ Tai was stunned and thought for a while before saying, "But now that the father's health has not yet recovered, he has not been in power for the government. Even those who are sons cannot meet his father. But Zhou Baozhong is ordered to enter the palace almost every day, and even He Zhiqiu and Lu Wenfu, whom his father has always valued, are far from as much as He Zhiqiu and Lu Wenfu." Situ Tai did not hide his clarity about the information in the palace in front of his confidant.

"Hmph, Your Highness attaches great importance to Lord Zhou. Yes, Lord Zhou may have been recruited by Your Majesty for more time in the palace during this period, but according to my old slave, it was because the situation in the north was tight and Your Majesty needed to pay attention to the situation at any time. As the Minister of Intelligence, he naturally needs to think about Your Majesty's report at all times. This cannot explain anything." The thin old man shook his head disapprovingly.

Situ Tai's heart slowly calmed down, and he also found that he had become a little too restless these days, and many things were a little unconsidered. For example, it seemed a bit abrupt when inviting the intelligence minister Zhou Baozhong to Tianya Haijiao Tower today. He was considering how to restore the situation in front of him.

As if seeing through his master's hesitation, the thin old man's mouth twitched slightly and said with a smile: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. Although I am not in charge of government affairs in the palace, I am afraid that no matter how big or small the matter inside and outside the imperial capital can be hidden from him. Today, Your Highness openly asked the Minister of Information, Lord Zhou, to bring the Tianya Haijiao Tower to the banquet. It is just a human nature. What are you afraid of? Those who do some tricks secretly will be seen by His Majesty."

After hearing what his confidant think tank said, Situ Tai felt much more relaxed. He knew that his confidant often looked at things differently, but he was accurate every time, so he respected the old man very much, almost reaching the point of obeying the rules.

Situ Tai's face became much calmer as he sat down. With the sound of footsteps outside the door, the two of them exchanged glances with each other. The old man stood up first, and Situ Tai also took two steps to the door.

"Your Highness, I am late, please forgive me." The intelligence minister who stepped into the door swept away his submissive appearance in front of Situ Mingyue, with a look of spring breeze, but he did not dare to lack any etiquette. He gave a big gift when he entered the door.

"Mr. Zhou is so polite. It's really hard for me to be busy all over the past period." Situ Tai's sincere smile on his face moved people from the bottom of his heart.

Zhou Baozhong was also a worldly-wise man, bowing and saying that he did not dare to take it.

The guest and the host sat down in a compliment with each other. The beauties who had been waiting for a long time immediately rushed out of the small room next door like graceful butterflies, and sat down according to the pre-arranged arrangement. At this time, the performance on the opposite stage just began to appear.

When we were drinking and having fun, we couldn't help but talk about political affairs in the current situation. One asked implicitly and the other answered ingeniously. Of course, they were all done while avoiding others. However, even if someone was present, it would probably be difficult to understand the conversation between the two of them like a mystery.

After watching the other person leave, the generous smile on Situ Tai's face slowly faded, but his eyebrows were filled with thought.

"Your Highness, what do you mean by Lord Zhou?" Although the thin old man had been sitting next to him, Situ Tai and Zhou Baozhong kept lowering their heads and whispering, so he didn't even hear anything substantial.

"Hmph, this old fox, when he asked about his father, he looked around and said nothing useful." Situ Tai was not dissatisfied with the tone, maybe he had expected this a long time ago.

"Oh, Zhou Baozhong is not a mediocre person who can get to this point. He has his own tricks. It is probably difficult for ordinary people to take out something from him." The thin old man was not surprised by this.

"Well, but he was still quite tactful and missed a lot of news about the third brother to me. Unexpectedly, after so long, the third brother began to move again. I thought he was really honest." Situ Tai turned his eyes out the window again, and there was still traffic outside the window, with a prosperous scene.

"Your Highness, you underestimate the Third Highness too much. Although Your Majesty did remove many of His Highness in the last purge, he represents a very deep force behind him. These people have already shared the same relationship with him, so he cannot just lie down like this, so it is inevitable that he will take action." The old man saw this very clearly. He did not ask Situ Tai what the Third Highness had done, so he made an assertion directly.

"Well, I know this too, but I didn't expect that the third brother not only had close contacts with some people in the Fourth Legion, but also had a connection with Li Wufeng! This was a bit beyond my expectations." Speaking of this, Situ Tai's face had become much gloomy.

"What? What did you say?" Even the thin old man was shocked and asked repeatedly, his voice getting louder, his eyes fixed on Situ Tai's face.

Situ Tai was stunned for a moment, and repeated his words just now. The old man frowned and shook his head in confusion and muttered to himself: "It's impossible, probably not?"
Chapter completed!