It was late spring in the Central Plains, but the northern frontier fortress did not feel cold at all. Instead, it began to heat up earlier. The weather in recent years was as unpredictable as Haotian's mood.
Along with the heat came the dryness. The border of the Wilderness had always had little rain, and now it was even more dusty. Although the grass in the wilderness was stubbornly green, it was covered in dust and looked very ugly.
It was even more so in the City of Wei. The mud walls were scratched by the northwest wind, and dust was flying everywhere. If it were in the past, the muddy veterans would be cursing on the shabby barracks, and the General Ma would be sighing at the muddy wine in his bowl.
Now the dust was still flying, but those scenes could no longer be seen. There were traces of the war two years ago in the corners of the walls. The wind could cut the mud walls, but it could not erase the old black blood stains. The slightly astringent well had been filled with sand by the barbarians, and the shabby barracks had long collapsed. The dilapidated and abandoned town was uninhabitable, and there was no one in it.
There was no one in the City of Wei, but there were people outside the city. Dozens of tents stood firm in the wind and sand. From time to time, prayers and incantations could be heard. The barbarians who were used to living in the wild seemed to be living happily.
Although he was exposed to the scorching sun and strong wind, Ning Que's face became paler and paler. He looked at the dead city in silence, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Sangsang's spirit was much better than before. She sat by the window, looking at the tents and feeling the pure spiritual power from the heart. She looked calm.
After years of unremitting efforts of Haotian Taoism, the most powerful force in the Wilderness, the Golden Tribe Royal Court, finally changed its original faith and bowed down to the Divine Light of Haotian.
They worshiped the Everlasting Heaven, which was also Haotian, and also Sangsang.
The wind outside the City of Wei gradually stopped. A cloud floated in from nowhere and blocked the scorching sun. The wind from the depths of the Wilderness also became much cooler. The barbarians walked out of their tents and enjoyed the rare comfort. Their faces were filled with cheerful smiles. Some pious elders kissed the ground and thanked Haotian for the blessing.
Ning Que looked back at Sangsang and asked, "Your cloud?"
Sangsang did not answer him. She lifted the green curtain and got out of the carriage. She walked slowly in the tent, feeling the respect and love of the barbarians. Her eyebrows gradually relaxed, and the flowers on her green dress gradually bloomed.
After leaving the West-Hill Divine Palace, she had been to the Great River and the Lanke Temple, as well as the South Jin Kingdom and the Tang Empire. She had never felt like this in those places. Only now did she feel like she was walking in her own world.
The sun gradually set in the west, and the temperature became more and more pleasant. More and more barbarians came out of their tents. The women began to prepare dinner, and the men began to pile firewood for the night bonfire. It was very lively.
No one could see Sangsang and him.
The barbarians around the tent suddenly cheered. Ning Que turned around and saw a black herd of horses coming from the south of the City of Wei, driven by dozens of cavalrymen of the Golden Tribe.
Looking at this scene, the emotions on his face became somewhat complicated.
Those horses were not wild horses, but the handsome warhorses that the Tang Empire raised in the Xiangwan Plain. In the peace treaty signed by him, the Xiangwan Plain and the Seven Stockaded Villages were all ceded to the Golden Tribe Royal Court.
The Tang Empire had fewer warhorses, and it was difficult to replenish them. According to the plan of the West-Hill Divine Palace, the Tang Army would run out of warhorses in another three years. Even if the war started again, the Tang Empire would definitely lose.
In other words, from the day the Tang Empire ceded the Xiangwan Plain, there was no way for the Tang Empire to make a comeback.
There were a thousand horses outside the City of Wei, which was the last batch of trophies harvested by the Royal Court. Naturally, the barbarians were in high spirits. The bonfire in the tents was suddenly enlarged, and the number of slaughtered sheep doubled. Some nobles even ordered their slaves to carry out countless jars of wine, which led to an even louder cheer.
As the night approached, the bonfire was lit. All the barbarians came out of their tents and began to eat and drink around the bonfire. When they were drunk, they began to wrestle and play, and young men and women began to dance enthusiastically.
Ning Que stood outside and looked at the scene calmly. In fact, it took him a lot of effort to control himself from looking at the ruins of the City of Wei.
The livelier the barbarian tribe was, the more deserted the earthen city was. The happier the barbarians were, the sadder the earthen city was. The brighter the bonfire was, the angrier the earthen city was.
The Big Black Horse sensed his mood and slowly lowered its head. At this time, Sangsang had finished her tour of her world and walked back to the horse carriage. She looked at him and asked, "Are you very angry?"
Ning Que calmly said, "Yes, I am very angry."
Sangsang asked, "Why?"
Ning Que did not look at her and said, "This is a human emotion. It has nothing to do with you."
Sangsang said, "Although I am not a human, I can analyze this kind of emotion."
Ning Que said, "You won't understand."
Sangsang said, "Then you have to tell me."
Ning Que said, "I am angry because of these barbarians, but I am more angry because you are not angry. This makes me very sad and disappointed, and I even start to doubt my own thoughts."
Sangsang said, "Why should I be angry?"
Ning Que turned to look at her for a long time and said in a slightly cold voice, "You have lived here before."
Sangsang's expression did not change. She said, "I have lived in many places."
Ning Que stared at her eyes and said, "The people in the City of Wei used to love you so much."
Sangsang looked at the deserted earthen city in the night and was silent for a while. Then she pointed to the barbarians who were celebrating around the bonfire and said, "These people also love me very much."
Ning Que suppressed his anger and said, "How can it be the same?"
Sangsang said calmly, "They are all my people. I treat them the same."
Ning Que could no longer control his emotions and shouted angrily, "If you have not become an idiot, then you should be very clear that these people in the City of Wei … died because of you!"
Sangsang's expression still did not change, and the emotion in her voice was still so calm, or it could be said that there was no emotion at all. She said coldly, "Except this time? For countless years, human beings have long been used to killing each other in my name. Do I have to be responsible for every time? "
Ning Que looked at her eyes and said, "You also know … except this time."
After saying this, he did not continue. He silently walked to the horse carriage and waved the horsewhip in the air. The whip was loud and clear, dispersing the cool night wind and the light from the bonfire.
The horse carriage just drove past the tents and stopped again.
Tonight, the moon was curved like a hook and was not bright. The night sky was dotted with stars. The starlight sprinkled on the Wilderness, slightly illuminating the dark Wilderness and a huge stone pile.
There were dozens of wooden shelves in the stone pile. On the shelves were rotten corpses that had been dried by the wind. From the tattered clothes, it could be recognized that these dead people were all Tang soldiers.
Ning Que did not know whether this was the Golden Tribe Royal Court showing off after the war, or the extremely cruel torture of the scouts sent by the Tang army to the Wilderness last year after being caught.
His face was very calm, as if there was frost on it.
With a clang, he unsheathed the iron cutlass and chopped at the stone pile from a distance of dozens of feet. The iron cutlass cut the wind silently, but one could faintly hear the fierce cry of a Vermilion Bird.
With a bang, the stone pile was broken into two pieces.
A raging flame shot out from the edge of the cutlass and fell on the stone pile. In an instant, the wooden shelves and the corpses of the Tang soldiers on the shelves were all burned into the cleanest ashes.
Ning Que put the cutlass back into the sheath. The horse carriage continued to move forward. He did not sit in the carriage, but sat on the shaft, listening to the friction between the wheels and the weeds. He looked at the night in silence.
After a long time, Sangsang's voice sounded in the carriage, "I thought you would kill all the humans outside the City of Wei, or slowly roast them to death."
Ning Que did not look back and asked emotionlessly, "Will you stop me?"
Sangsang said, "I don't know."
Ning Que said sarcastically, "Is there something that Haotian doesn't know?"
Sangsang said, "Because there are some things that I suddenly don't want to calculate."
Ning Que gradually calmed down and even smiled as he thought of those valiant grassland men and those beautiful girls whose cheeks were roasted by the bonfire.
"I said it in the imperial palace of Chang 'an, in Qinghe Prefecture, and in many other places. These people will all die. None of them will be left. So I am not in a hurry."
The carnival around the bonfire, the dancing young men and women, the pious old men, and the ignorant teenagers who could already ride horses. If such a beautiful scene was destroyed, what kind of beauty would it be?
Sangsang's voice was a little cold, "Do you think I will allow it?"
Ning Que said, "So I will defeat you first, and then kill them all."
…
…
This journey was backtracking. One part of it was from the Lanke Temple to Chang 'an, and another part was from the City of Wei to the west. The same two people, the same black horse and the same black carriage. However, in those years, the sky was full of clouds and crows. Today, it was so quiet.
After leaving the City of Wei, Ning Que became much quieter. He talked less and less with Sangsang, and the time he spent staring at the green grassland became longer and longer.
When passing by Shubi Lake, according to his original plan, he would definitely rest here for a night and let Sangsang relive some of the past. However, he suddenly changed his mind and continued to move through the night.
Sangsang understood his emotional problem, but she did not care. At least Ning Que could not see that she did not care. Moreover, what she had to consider was indeed more important.
Haotian could calculate everything in the world. She calculated that there would be a very satisfactory result of this trip. However, when she was thinking about the green grassland, she once again confirmed that there was something she could not calculate.
Because she could not calculate it, she had to see it with her own eyes. After seeing the world that belonged to her, she wanted to see people or things beyond the world, and then she left.
…
…
(There is still one chapter left today. I have to walk the dog now, so the update time may be late. Those who have to work or go to school tomorrow, don't wait. You can read it tomorrow.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
