"Your Majesty, you can rest assured now." Mr. Ya reached out to support the white-haired man. It turned out that this man, who had visited Daliang many times and claimed to be an emissary, was actually the Pope himself.
Mr. Ya said, "Although there were countless deviations in the middle, the final result was not a waste of your time and energy."
The Pope stared at the ferocious sea monsters on the surface of the sea. His face was calm and emotionless, as if he was not happy at all. Instead, there was an indescribable sadness and melancholy.
"It's still too early to say the result," the Pope said. The Pope said, "Fate is a very mysterious thing. Even a person's fate cannot be predicted, let alone a country. That's probably something that only God knows. "
Mr. Ya said, "For example, that idiot Calais Yinghou couldn't hold back and revealed that matter to Gu Yun in advance?"
Calais Yinghou hated Gu Yun, the last member of the Gu family. There was nothing left in his entire life except for this bit of hatred. He had long abandoned his dignity as the Wolf King and became a mad dog without any consideration for the overall situation. In his opinion, as long as he could attack Gu Yun, he didn't care about anyone's deployment at all. However, they had no choice but to cooperate with this mad dog. The enmity between the Eighteen Tribes and the Central Plains was too deep. The power that the Goddess had left behind in the Capital was too important.
"I really admire that Gu Yun." Mr. Ya sighed. "If I were him, I wouldn't necessarily do anything, but he actually dealt with those matters quietly. Otherwise, the truth that we uncovered today would definitely be crazier than it is now. The garrisons in various places might have already … What do they call that? 'Purging the emperor's subordinates'? "
The Pope said, "The effect is not ideal, but we have no choice. Jacques, we are all trapped beasts looking for a way to survive. If we don't devour others, we will be devoured. Countless pairs of eyes are staring at this huge and beautiful herbivore. We have to take the first step. Otherwise, in three to five years, we may not have the strength to fight."
Mr. Ya looked at the vast sea. There was water everywhere, and the sea and sky were the same color. He was puzzled. "Your Majesty, if this is just a herbivore, why do we have to go through so much trouble to remove its claws and teeth?"
"Carnivorous or herbivorous, not based on size and claws," the Pope murmured. "You have to see if it is greedy, if it has a heart that desires to devour and tear … Do you smell it?"
Mr. Ya was stunned. There was almost no smell when the high purity purple gold burned. Probably only Gu Yun and the dog could smell it. He asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, are you talking about … the smell of the sea?"
"It's the smell, child," the Pope said in a low voice. "If there is a devil, then it is undoubtedly this small mineral. The blue-purple flame, from the day it broke out of the ground, it lit up this damned era. It turned the children of God into the hearts of iron monsters."
Was the machine that burned purple gold not man-made?
Mr. Ya shrugged. He did not refute, but he was more or less unconvinced.
The Pope did not explain further. He just lowered his head, murmured and began to kiss the scepter on the ring on his finger. He made a simple prayer.
"Please forgive me," he said softly. "Please forgive me."
At this moment, a cluster of blue signal fire suddenly appeared on the Sea Serpent Vanguard at the front. It shot straight into the sky.
Mr. Ya's eyes seemed to be blended with the fire. He tried to suppress it, but it was difficult for him to suppress his excitement. "Your Majesty, it's about to begin!"
It was the eighth of April in the seventh year of the Long An.
It was the third day since the Marquis of Stability, Gu Yun, moved from the hot spring courtyard to the imperial capital's Celestial Prison.
The Celestial Prison was quite cool and gloomy. Fortunately, the chill in the imperial capital had faded after the beginning of spring, and it was already very warm. The haystack in the cell was a little softer than a camp bed, so it was not uncomfortable to live in it for a few days. Gu Yun treated it as cooling off.
It was quiet around him. He did not even have a cellmate to chat with. The jailers were all iron puppets and could not speak. This was the innermost cell in the Celestial Prison. Those who were not relatives of the imperial family were not allowed to enter. Even the commander of Beidaying, Tan Hongfei, was not qualified.
The last person who was qualified to be locked in here was the Emperor's brother, Prince of Wei. Gu Yun enjoyed the treatment of a single cell, so he could only stay alone.
However, even if someone chatted with him, he could not hear them. The medicine he drank in a hurry before he left had already worn off. The color of the small moles at the corners of his eyes and earlobes had faded so much that they were almost invisible. He did not bring the glass mirror with him, so he could barely count his fingers when he opened his eyes. He could hear the footsteps of the iron puppets coming in and out of the cell.
Of course, all the ironware on his body had been confiscated, but Gu Yun was not at his wit's end.
He had a secret skill that was not passed on to others. It was a game he and Shen Yi played when they were very young. They competed to see who could remove the small parts from the puppets in the Marquis' residence the fastest. When the two brats had nothing to do, they would gather together to study how to dismantle the iron puppets that guarded the Marquis' residence. Shen Yi could not dodge in time and was mistaken for an enemy by the iron puppets when he was doing something bad. He was directly thrown onto the roof and almost lost his life. Of course, Gu Yun also did not escape a beating from The Old Marquis.
The bloody lesson did not make Gu Yun remember. Instead, he became braver. The two of them repeatedly studied it for a long time. They believed that there must be a way to use the Telepathic Finger. It was like stealing a wallet, passing by each other and removing a part with a swipe.
Later, they discovered that there were places to remove the parts, but it was limited to insignificant places like the iron puppet's mask and the symbol on its arm. As a result, Gu Yun never had the chance to reveal his unique skill.
But now, he finally had the chance to display it.
The day before, when the iron puppet was delivering food, Gu Yun quickly reached out and grabbed the rusty serial number tag on the iron puppet's elbow as it was putting away the food box.
He rubbed the iron plate thin on the stone. First, he pried open the shackles on his hands and feet. He stretched his body and then cut a piece of bed sheet to weave a rope. He caught a small mouse and kept it by his side. He saved two mouthfuls of food for the mouse and played with the mouse when he was free.
That matter was deliberately dug up by someone with ulterior motives. Gu Yun knew in his heart that when he was secretly investigating five years ago, he had erased some fatal evidence. However, he did not touch Wu He. Firstly, he was just an old dog that was struggling at death's door. Secondly … he was afraid that he was not without selfish motives. He was not willing to let the unforgettable truth disappear without a trace.
Gu Yun admitted that he did not handle things well. If he was half as calm and tactful as he was now, he would understand that he should either collect those things and wait for the right time to push them out in one fell swoop, or simply rebel. Or he should harden his heart and destroy the past completely. He should bury the past in the past and never let it see the light of day again.
He should not have hesitated when he should have been decisive.
Just like Yuan and the late Emperor, if he did not hesitate, there should be no Gu Yun in the world. Presumably, there would be another kind of peace.
Gu Yun did not know what would happen in the future. He also did not know if the fledgling Changgeng could really stabilize the hearts of the army. However, he was in prison. It was useless to worry. He could only relax and conserve his energy.
Later, Haozi found that this person's hands were annoying. He found him annoying and could not avoid it. Hence, he simply pretended to be dead and refused to pay attention to him.
Little Marquis, who was disliked by cats and dogs, could only sit by the wall and meditate. He felt that this Haozi's attitude was similar to Changgeng's when he was young.
Gu Yun thought of Changgeng aimlessly. He could not help but sigh. He turned the iron piece at his fingertips into a pinwheel and lamented to Haozi, "He might as well complain that I'm causing trouble for him every day."
Haozi gave him a round butt.
Gu Yun took a deep breath and forcefully removed this bit of distracting thoughts. Without the slightest care, he stretched out his hand and pulled over the moldy carpet on the haystack. He covered himself with it and closed his eyes to rest.
Only by resting his spirit could he face the dangers of the future.
No one could disturb the half-deaf people in the prison. Gu Yun quickly fell asleep. He had a dream amidst the cold and moldy smell.
Gu Yun dreamed that he was lying on his back under a huge guillotine. The blade that weighed more than a thousand catties was pressed against his chest. Bit by bit, the blade pressed his flesh into his bones and cut him in half. He was cut off from his body and limbs. There was only a line of wound on his chest. It was so painful that he scratched his heart and liver. His ears were filled with a mess of cries, the sound of cannons, the howls of Bian Cheng, and the intermittent off-key sounds of the Hu Jia.
He was cut open by the guillotine. However, there was no blood at the wound. Instead, a signal arrow fell out. It screamed and rushed into the sky, causing the mountains and rivers to shake.
Gu Yun suddenly woke up with a muffled groan. The old wound on his chest inexplicably hurt. The piercing sound of the signal arrow in his dream lingered in his ears, forming a unique tinnitus.
There seemed to be a strange connection between him and his Black Iron Battalion. That night, at the garrison on Ancient Silk Road in the Western Regions, the first ominous signal arrow exploded in the night sky.
The urgent battle report only reached the capital a day later. The Black Eagle who delivered the letter only had one leg left. He was holding on to his last breath. When he arrived at Beidaying, where everyone was in a state of panic, he died before he could say a word.
Four hours later, the attack on the Black Iron Battalion in the Western Regions shocked the entire court.
When the news of the incident in the capital spread, He Ronghui led his men to besiege the Protectorate of the Northwest. As soon as he left, the Qiuci Kingdom led the charge with one hundred and sixty Sand Tigers and blasted open the Black Cavalry's patrol camp at the entrance of the Western Regions.
The Sand Tigers were the biggest nemesis of the Light Cloak Cavalry. For a moment, smoke and dust were everywhere. The horses neighed and died, and the cavalry fell in droves.
However, the Black Iron Battalion was the Black Iron Battalion after all. After a moment of confusion, they immediately reacted and pressed forward without hesitation. After He Ronghui received the news, he immediately led the Black Eagle back. He made a prompt decision to cut off the Sand Tigers' reinforcements from the air. The giant Sand Tigers consumed a lot of fuel. Once the supply was cut off, it would immediately become a pile of scrap metal.
However, the Sand Tigers who knocked on the Door were not bluffing. Behind them were tens of thousands of soldiers with flags pointing to the sky, just as everyone had feared.
The foreigners who were stationed in the Ten Thousand Kingdoms, the countries of the Western Regions that had rebelled, and even the Indians who had been taking advantage of the situation … There were even more than they had imagined. Even if it was a motley crew, it was still a "crowd". With the Sand Tigers by their side, the Black Iron Battalion could only use their heavy armor to resist. Soon, both sides began to compete for the Violet Gold.
He Ronghui urgently opened the Violet Gold storage in the Western Regions Basecamp and was shocked to find that the storage was running out. When the Emperor Long An thoroughly investigated the smuggling of Violet Gold, Gu Yun had no choice but to temporarily suspend the spies in his hands. The amount allocated to the Black Iron Battalion by the imperial court was only enough to maintain their daily patrols. There was no way they could cope with such a sudden large-scale battle.
He Ronghui sent people to distribute the Violet Gold, but the distribution of the Violet Gold was once again blocked. The news of the Marquis of Stability's imprisonment had already spread. No one knew the exact situation. At this time, everyone was in a state of panic. There were all kinds of rumors. At this juncture, who would dare to distribute the Violet Gold to the Black Iron Battalion without an order?
What if they wanted to kill their way to the capital and rebel?
He Ronghui had no choice but to send the Black Eagle to the capital and ask for help from the Beijiang City Defense Force. However, before the messenger could move, the 18 tribes outside the Beijiang City Pass suddenly launched an attack. The news that the Wolf King Calais Yinghou was going to the south personally crashed down with a "boom".
After five years of peace, the world outside the iron walls had turned upside down.
Jia Lai Huo led tens of thousands of elite soldiers and thousands of heavy armors. There was even a kind of "eagle" that was impossible to guard against. The "eagle" was bigger and more lethal than the Xuan eagle. Jia Lai Huo bit at the northern border that stretched for thousands of miles.
The northwest had fallen out of control. Without the order of the Marquis of Stability, the Black Iron Battalion did not dare to retreat even half a step. He Ronghui bitterly held on for three days and two nights. His armaments were almost depleted. The heavenly troops that had been built with the efforts of three generations were about to be destroyed.
At this time, Changgeng's messenger finally arrived.
This Highness, who was far away in the capital and kept a low profile, carried Gu Yun's personal seal and imitated Gu Yun's handwriting flawlessly.
He gave the messenger a total of two letters. If the border was still stable, he was to give him the first letter. He told He Ronghui not to have any misgivings about the imperial court. Whether it was through the black market or other means, he was to immediately and secretly fill up the western region's violet gold storage, repair the military armor, and prepare for battle at any time.
If there was already a change at the border, he was to give the second letter to He Ronghui. He was to tell him not to defend to the death and not to be zealous in battle. He was to quickly withdraw his troops two hundred li east to Jiayu Pass and wait for reinforcements.
The enemy hidden in the dark had already made a move. It was undoubtedly too late to make a move now. Changgeng didn't have the Black Eagle in his hands. The number of people he could contact through the wooden birds of Linyuan Pavilion was too limited. Whether it was the sky or the ground sinking, it would be difficult for the messenger to arrive immediately. Thus, he thought of the worst case scenario and did his best to mend the pen after the sheep had been lost.
If there was a change in the western region, the northern border would not be able to remain unscathed. Thus, the Central Plains garrison commander, General Cai Bin, would receive another letter from Changgeng at the same time the Black Iron Battalion retreated to defend. He asked him to send reinforcements north and transfer as much violet gold as possible to Jiayu Pass to resolve the urgent situation.
However, Changgeng knew in his heart that if something really did happen, this bit of deployment was far from enough.
He had no control over the entire Hundred Thousand Mountains in the southwest. Although Shen Yi was there, he was a commander-in-chief who came out of nowhere and had no foundation. It was impossible for him to move troops without a command. The Jiangnan navy on the East Sea front was even more worrying because General Zhao Youfang was one of Li Feng's people. It was impossible for him to move troops privately for Gu Yun's side.
Changgeng had a premonition that even if he could put out the fires in other places, there would be a fatal blow hidden in the East Sea.
The grievous news from the Black Eagle confirmed his worst assumption. Changgeng took a deep breath and released the last wooden bird. He turned his head and said to Huo Dan, who had a few blood blisters at the corners of his mouth, "Prepare the horse, I want to enter the Palace."
At the entrance to the Palace, Changgeng was stopped by the monk Liao Ran. Liao Ran's body was covered in dust, but his expression was still calm and without a ripple. It was as if even the most urgent situation could be dissolved by his neat scars and dispersed by a Buddhist chant.
Liao Ran said, "Amitabha, Your Highness …"
Changgeng indifferently interrupted him, "Great Master, there is no need to say more. I am entering the Palace to ask for an order, not to force the Emperor to abdicate."
Liao Ran's expression changed slightly. He made a hand gesture and said, "I believe Your Highness has this sense of propriety."
"I don't have a sense of propriety," the eloquent Fourth Prince unexpectedly tore apart his polite facade and said bluntly, "Since the Qinling Mountains have been divided into the North and South, the Southeast and Southwest are not under our control. Even if I could kill Li Feng on the spot, I wouldn't be able to solve the current situation. Besides, there is no one to inherit the throne. The Emperor's eldest son is only nine years old, and the Empress is just a good-looking but useless invalid. Zi Xi's title is not legitimate, I …"
He sneered, "I am the son of Bei Man and the demoness."
Liao Ran looked at him worriedly.
"Great Master, don't worry. I am a poisonous creature. If I were a little more willful, I would have already begun to bring disaster to the country and the people. I haven't done anything yet, have I?" Changgeng's expression became indifferent again. "Now is not the time to talk about these things. The enemy has invaded the country, and they must have planned this for a long time. This matter is not over yet, but their reaction is too fast. I suspect that there are spies in the palace … and even around Li Feng. Does Linyuan Pavilion have any useful people in the palace?"
Liao Ran's expression became serious. He gestured and said, "Your Highness, you mean …"
Changgeng said, "This matter is related to an old case from 20 years ago. It must be related to Bei Man. Investigate the two Bei Man women in the palace. Bei Man and the demoness are good at poisons. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. Don't let go of any clues."
When he said "the two Bei Man women," his voice was calm, as if they had nothing to do with him.
"I should have found it strange," Changgeng said in a low voice. "Back then, Li Feng released Calais Yinghou so easily. His background is not simple. It's a pity …"
It was a pity that he was too young back then. His big fist could only contain a little of the worries of a youth who had left his hometown.
"If I had been born 10 years earlier …" Changgeng suddenly said.
Liao Ran's eyelids twitched.
Changgeng said word by word, "The world is not this world."
He would never let go of Gu Yun.
"Zi Xi said that our Chaohai Jiao Army is 10 years behind the other armies. I am worried that Donghai will not be peaceful. General Zhao is talented in defense, but he may not be able to handle a war," Changgeng said. "I have already written a letter to my master. Linyuan Pavilion has deep roots in the Jiangnan area. I will have to trouble the great master to provide support.
Liao Ran frowned. He did not know why, but Changgeng's "Zi Xi" made him tremble in fear.
However, it was not the time to argue about a title. The monk was dressed in coarse hemp clothes. His figure blended into the morning light and rushed away.
As soon as Chang Geng stepped into the palace, the bad news already came crashing down on his head and face. One after another, the frontline military news caught Long 'an Emperor and all the civil and military officials unprepared.
The Black Iron Battalion retreated to Jiayu Pass.
Beijiang lost seven cities in one night … They did not even wait for Cai Bin's reinforcements.
The Nanjiang rioters colluded with the Nanyang bandits and mysteriously bombed the Southwest Military Supply Depot …
"Reporting …"
Everyone in the hall looked at the door with ashen faces. Li Feng did not even have time to let Changgeng greet him.
"Your Majesty, there is an emergency. There are 100,000 Western Navy invading through the Dongying Islands …"
Li Feng's eyes widened. "Where is Zhao Youfang?"
The messenger bowed his head and said in a choked voice, "… General Zhao has died for his country."
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