Chen Qingxu carefully looked at Changgeng's face and said, "I heard that Your Highness has been traveling nonstop. First, you went south to Jiangbei to rectify the cruel officials and profiteers along the canal. Then, you returned to the capital to dispatch the Ministry of Revenue and the Lingshu Temple. You rushed to the northwest at the end of the year without any rest. But you seem to be in good condition?"
This matter was quite bizarre. When she left the capital, the Wu 'er bone in Chang Geng's body had almost reached the point where it couldn't be cleaned up. She had originally thought that he had exhausted himself mentally and physically for the past half a year, and she didn't know how far he would go. When she received the waterside woodbird, Chen Qing Xu's heart was almost a bit uneasy, afraid that she would see the ominous red light in his eyes.
Who knew that Changgeng's complexion was much better than she imagined. Prince Yan's "I'll be at peace even if the sky falls and the earth sinks" state seemed to have returned.
It was similar to the years when he followed General Chung and roamed Jianghu.
But it seemed that there was a little difference. He didn't seem to be as indifferent as before. He didn't lack the smoke and fire.
"It's just a few errands. It's not that bad." Changgeng didn't care. "It's said that everything is difficult at the beginning. In fact, I don't think the beginning is the most difficult. You see, now that the court has reached the point where they have to cut off all means of retreat. If I don't do it well, at most, the capital will be besieged by the foreign soldiers again. It can't be worse. The people in the court are probably used to it and won't blame me too much. "
"… Your Highness, you're really narrow-minded. You've learned some of Marquis' teachings." Chen Qingxu vaguely dragged out Gu Yun, who didn't care about anything, and whipped her corpse. After whipping the corpse, she thought about it carefully and felt that it was somewhat reasonable. So, she said, "Yes, sometimes it's harder to accept the decline after the peak than to reform the country."
"Then it's none of my business." Changgeng said to her casually, "Zi Xi was in poor health when he was young. He needs to recuperate as soon as possible. If he doesn't go to war, he won't be able to stay in the Black Iron Battalion for many years. If he leaves, I'll go with him."
Chen Qingxu: "…"
It took her quite a while to realize who this "Zi Xi" was referring to. Her entire being was in a state of chaos and confusion. Suddenly, she realized — His Royal Highness Yan Wang's face, which covered the dust of a thousand miles, was not his complexion, but the color of spring!
For a moment, Miss Chen didn't know what to say. If such unimaginable feelings could blossom, then why didn't anyone dare to express their feelings to her, a girl who wasn't uglier than anyone else, who mingled with men all day long?
Was it because her naturally cold face was too lethal?
… Or was it because although Marshal Gu's upper beam was crooked, his lower beam was not crooked, and his strictness in commanding the army was amazing?
However, although Changgeng's seemingly careless words evoked Miss Chen's indescribable jealousy, it was undoubtedly equivalent to giving her a reassuring pill.
Although the northwest border was far away from the emperor, His Royal Highness Yan Wang's methods in the court could still be heard.
While Chen Qingxu was grateful, she couldn't help but worry that he would be bound by power in the future. It wasn't that she didn't trust Changgeng's character, but Wu 'ergu was always like a dark cloud that couldn't be dispelled. He could stay true to himself for three to five years, but what about eight to ten years? Would power and poison speed up the erosion of his mind? When the time came, he would hold the Linyuan wooden token in his hand and have great power. Who could stop him?
It wasn't until she heard this that she felt slightly relieved. No matter what, as long as the Marquis of Stability was fine, there would always be someone in this world who could restrain him and give him a hand.
Thinking of this, Chen Qingxu secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, the Linyuan wooden token wasn't affected by her vote and was ultimately handed over to Changgeng. Otherwise, Daliang wouldn't necessarily be able to recover in just half a year.
On New Year's Eve, the Black Iron Battalion finally gathered momentum to swallow mountains and rivers. The Black Iron Battalion divided into three groups and launched a surprise attack on the Western Region Allied Forces' encampment.
The Western Region Allied Forces and Jiayu Pass had been confronting each other for a long time, and hadn't received any supplies from the foreigners for a long time. Their own skills weren't good enough, and they couldn't repair the broken steel armored chariots. Looking around, their allies were all indescribable idiots who couldn't be counted on at all, and they all had thoughts of retreating long ago.
On the same day, Shi Liu's Allied Forces received a report from a scout saying that the Black Iron Battalion didn't make any movements, so they were relieved.
The guards were strolling around, and the commanders of various countries were gathered together to concentrate on quarreling without any preparation. The entire encampment was pitch black, and the sudden appearance of the black crows was as if they had descended from the sky.
Many people couldn't wait to fight in a panic without even putting on their pants, but they were swept away by the menacing Black Iron Battalion like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
A small country far away saw that the situation wasn't good, and quickly calculated the strength of their own country, which didn't have any family background. The king and the commander made a prompt decision and led their people to escape first.
Their escape was like a signal, and the Allied Forces were in an uproar. Just as things were getting out of hand, the Black Eagle threw down a pile of copied letters from the sky, scattering them everywhere like paper money. Previously, a few small countries in the Western Region had secretly colluded with Sisi and Gu Yun, and had written a few ambiguous personal letters. At this time, the Marquis of Ding An, who had turned his back on them, printed a pile of letters and pasted them down from the sky. Together with the first batch of fleeing vanguards, it was particularly shocking.
Before those two-faced small countries in the Western Region could make an oath with their allies in exasperation, Daliang's copper roar came from the sky like a tsunami.
A sharp-tongued Black Eagle used Daliang's official language and the common language of the various countries in the Western Region to name a few of the small countries that had rebelled, and then brazenly announced, "Since you have surrendered, disarm yourselves and retreat to the side. If the sword has no eyes and accidentally injures the friendly forces, the Black Iron Battalion will not be responsible!"
The Western Region Allied Forces were in an uproar. At this time, who had the leisure to stop and carefully analyze the twists and turns of the paper? Hurriedly skimming through the beginning and the end, and seeing the corny address and humble attitude, they first took it as conclusive evidence and believed eighty to ninety percent of it.
The troops of the various countries in the Western Region were in a mess. There were strong enemies outside and traitors inside. No one seemed to be a good person when they bumped into each other. Immediately, they fought without distinguishing between friend and foe.
It was the first day of the eighth year of the Long An, the first day of the eighth year.
After the return of the commander-in-chief, the Black Iron Battalion, which had been dormant and retreating, finally revealed the fangs that had been suppressed for more than half a year. The iron sword roared to the west and swept through the Western Region Allied Forces' encampment like chopping melons and vegetables.
The Allied Forces were defeated and scattered for a time. In one night, they saw the real fighting power of the Black Iron Battalion, which had been able to sweep through 18 tribes with only 30 cavalrymen.
On the second day of the new year, a group of defeated soldiers from the Western Region retreated while fighting. The Black Eagle captured the head of the Allied Forces of Shi Liu, the King of Qiuci.
At the same time, the news of victory reached the wounded soldiers' hospital.
This was the first real news of victory in Daliang since half of the country had fallen. The whole hospital for wounded soldiers was boiling. Whether it was the wounded soldiers of the northwest who had lost their arms or legs or the well-dressed attendants of Prince Yan, they all hugged each other and cried bitterly.
Changgeng heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He wanted to open his mouth and order the servants to immediately prepare to return to the capital. Unexpectedly, when he called out, no one cared about him. He could only helplessly shake his head, take a handkerchief, and pass it to Chen Qingxu, who was crying silently.
They had been waiting for this day for too long. In the midst of the storm, the building was about to collapse. However, as long as the pillars did not fall and the Xuan Tie army's strength of spirit did not break, there would always be a day when they could clean up this ruined country.
On the fourth day of the new year, the Allied Forces of the Western Region retreated to the entrance of the Ancient Silk Road. The news of their whereabouts was leaked by the captured Han slaves, and they were ambushed by the Loulan people. When the Allied Forces of the Western Region invaded Daliang, they had occupied Loulan in one fell swoop and killed the old king. The young drunkard prince was forced to go into exile in a foreign land. Now that he finally had a chance to take revenge, he was simply bloodthirsty.
At this point, the Allied Forces suffered another heavy blow and were completely defeated.
On the fifth day of the new year, the Black Iron Battalion was unstoppable and recovered the 27 passes of the Ancient Silk Road. They directly attacked the former encampment of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms and captured all the foreigners who did not have time to withdraw.
Shen Yi ran into the tent and reported, "Commander, those bastards from the Western Region have shrunk back. They are afraid that they will not be able to explain themselves to those foreigners who depend on them for their livelihood. They want to exchange the Han slaves they captured before for the prisoners. What do you think …"
Gu Yun immediately agreed, "Exchange!"
As soon as he said this, there was an uproar in the commander's tent. "Commander, please reconsider."
Shen Yi was shocked, "Commander, the battle report has not yet been sent to the imperial court. There are many foreign dignitaries in this batch of prisoners. Is it appropriate to deal with them privately?"
Gu Yun raised a hand and interrupted him, "If the Black Iron Battalion had not retreated at that time, these people should still be in their own country. Even if they become refugees, at least they can still line up and get a bowl of porridge. They will not be captured and humiliated like animals for no reason … I am not blaming you. At that time, the order to retreat was also sent out by Yan … I was the one who sent it out. The Black Iron Battalion was able to survive and win the war today. The contribution of the people who were captured and humiliated is above us. No one can be slighted, but not a meritorious person. "
As soon as he said this, there was silence in the tent. No one raised any objections. However, they soon realized that Gu Yun did not intend to 'arbitrarily' dispose of the prisoners of war.
Both sides exchanged their prisoners at the agreed place and time. However, just as the Western Region Coalition Army was about to leave dejectedly, a light armored cavalryman suddenly took a wooden arrow shaft without an arrow tip and gently poked the chest of the person next to him. The person's chest was already filled with chicken blood, so it broke with a poke. From afar, 'blood flowed', as if he had been shot by an arrow.
The person who was' shot 'was very dedicated. He walked back and forth in a circle on the spot before he felt at ease and played dead.
Gu Yun faced the stunned enemy and coldly ordered, "These bastards are worse than pigs and dogs. They are addicted to treachery. In the name of exchanging prisoners, they actually launched a sneak attack on our army with arrows. Take them down!"
The light armored cavalrymen at the front suddenly dispersed, and dozens of heavy armored cavalrymen came out from the crowd. Before Gu Yun's voice died away, the heavy artillery had already sounded.
When Gu Yun was young, he was still inexperienced and inexperienced when he quelled the rebellion in the Western Region. He was not so shameless. Later, when the ancient silk road was opened and both sides were on friendly terms, the Marquis of Stability had always maintained the demeanor of a great country and restrained his subordinates. He always had the demeanor of a scholarly general who was' benevolent, righteous, courteous, intelligent and trustworthy 'to outsiders.
Who knew that he could actually turn a deer into a horse, invert black and white, and lie through his teeth!
The Western Region Coalition Army, who had agreed to exchange the prisoners of war, were stunned together with the prisoners of war. Before they had time to indignantly resist, the Black Eagle who was lying in ambush descended from the sky and cut off their retreat. He shot an arrow in the air and silenced the signal flare that was half released. They were dealt with quickly and easily.
Gu Yun then turned to Shen Yi and said, "I just borrowed the prisoners of war to fish. It can't be considered 'arbitrarily disposing', right?"
Shen Yi, "…"
Most of the prisoners of the Central Plains who were captured by the Western Region Coalition Army were merchants who had traveled thousands of miles to make a living. At that time, they had made a mistake and did not retreat with Fortune God Du, so they ended up in this situation.
Among these people, there were people who did small business on their own, and there were also people who followed the caravan to make a living. Altogether, there were more than 30 people left. The rest had already died in the hands of the Western Region people.
That night, these people of the Central Plains who had been humiliated and treated like cattle and horses finally returned to their own country under the escort of the Black Iron Battalion. They were still more than 100 feet away from the entrance of the ancient silk road. Before they could pass through, someone took the lead and knelt down, kowtowing to the ground and crying bitterly. The entrance of the silk road was filled with cries of grief. Zhang Guhong could not bear to hear it.
Gu Yun waved his hand and ordered the escorting soldiers to stop and not rush them. He waited silently at the side.
Among these captives, there was only one person who did not cry. That man was about thirty years old. He was dressed in a refined manner and had the appearance of a scholar. Beside him was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. He walked up to Gu Yun and did not overstep his boundaries. Separated by a group of bodyguards, he stood at a distance.
A bodyguard whispered in Gu Yun's ear, "Marshal, I heard on the way that it was this scholar who gathered the refugees who had been captured by the Western Region people and protected so many people. He also schemed to leak the whereabouts of the Western Region thieves, giving the Prince of Loulan Kingdom a chance to sneak attack."
Gu Yun was stunned at first. Before he could think carefully, he saw that the scholar had already knelt down with the boy beside him.
Although Gu Yun had just finished acting like a hooligan, he did not dare to be disrespectful to these people. He hurriedly said, "Mister, you don't have to be like this. Please get up. How should I address you?"
The scholar refused his help and said in a deep voice, "Marshal, this commoner's surname is Bai and my name is Chu. I'm a poor scholar who failed to pass the imperial examinations for a long time. I'm very useless. Because my parents died early and my family was poor, I gave up on the imperial examinations. Last year, I brought my younger brother to the ancient silk road to earn a living by writing and calculating. Unexpectedly, we met with such a disaster. Although I'm not talented, I'm still a disciple of a sage. I know the principle of 'not dishonoring one's ancestors, not dishonoring one's body, and not dishonoring one's language is the integrity of a scholar'.
Gu Yun was shocked and did not know what to say for a moment. He personally stepped forward and stood in front of the two brothers. He said in a deep voice, "We're late."
Bai Chu said, "We've been struggling at death's door until now because we want to see with our own eyes the imperial army reclaiming the lost land."
Gu Yun cupped his hands solemnly, "Mister's contributions are illustrious. I'll definitely report it to the imperial court."
Bai Chu laughed softly, "How can a broken body dare to claim credit? It's just that this commoner has a presumptuous request."
Gu Yun said, "Please say it."
Bai Chu said, "I have a younger brother, Ming Zheng. He's Shi Liu and hasn't reached adulthood yet. Fortunately, he's born with strength. Although most of the Six Arts of Nobility are not good, his horsemanship and archery skills are still acceptable. This commoner knows that the Black Iron Battalion is the country's sharp weapon. The soldiers are all elites. With his aptitude, he's not worthy. I only hope that he can be an errand boy and follow the Marshal around for a few years to be trained. In the future, if the Marshal's spirit is in heaven, let him grow up to be an indomitable man."
Gu Yun glanced at the young man. He saw that he had a dignified appearance and did not interrupt. He was wiping his tears with red eyes. He sighed inwardly, "Mister, please get up quickly. This is a small matter …"
Bai Chu pressed the young man's head and took a few steps forward, forcing him to kneel in front of Gu Yun, "Kowtow to the Marshal."
Bai Zheng was probably an honest child. When he was asked to kowtow, he kowtowed with all his might without any hesitation. The stone tiles under his feet shook when he kowtowed. Gu Yun had no choice but to bend down to help him up. However, when he touched the young man's shoulders, he was stunned. He felt that the child's shoulders were trembling. It did not seem like he was excited, but more like … he was afraid.
A few thoughts suddenly flashed through Gu Yun's mind — —
The Western Region Coalition Army was attacked at the Ancient Silk Road because their whereabouts were leaked. They suffered heavy losses. How could they not be angry?
Then, they would take the brunt of the attack on these Central Plains captives who were highly suspicious. Other people could be put aside first, but the leader would definitely be implicated regardless of whether he had anything to do with this matter. The enemy would not care whether he was wronged or not. There was no need for evidence. As long as there was a little suspicion, they would not let him live.
It was fine if they released some old, weak, sick, and disabled prisoners, but why did they release Bai Chu as well?
Just now, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. However, when Bai Chu and dozens of people said those words in the background, he felt agitated and guilty, so he did not investigate further!
Gu Yun was alert and immediately retreated. At this moment, he heard a loud roar. "Bai Chu" swelled up. His thin face was bulging and his skin cracked inch by inch. A torn human skin mask fell from his face.
"Marshal!"
An Anthracite rushed over without hesitation and hugged Gu Yun. He turned around and used his three layers of steel plates as a shield to protect him — —
With a loud bang, "Bai Chu" exploded. A huge wave of fire swept in all directions. The young man lying on the ground was beheaded on the spot. Gu Yun's ears buzzed. He felt a sharp pain. His back hit the ground heavily and his vision turned black.
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