When Changgeng opened his eyes, he was surrounded by darkness. The only thing that could reflect light was Master Liao Ran's bald head.
As soon as he moved, the battered and exhausted Xu Ling rushed over and shouted, "Your Highness! Your Highness, you're awake! Your Highness, do you still recognize me? Your Highness … "
Before he could finish, Lord Xu began to choke with sobs. He looked at Changgeng and fiercely wiped away his tears like a filial son. Unexpectedly, the more he wiped, the more tears fell. In the end, he just sat on the side and began to cry.
Changgeng, "…"
This ear-piercing sound was very similar to his General Gu's flute. Changgeng's ears were buzzing from the sound. At this moment, he was very glad that Master Liao Ran was a mute.
Not only did the mute not make a fuss, he even considerately coaxed Lord Xu, whose nose was dripping with snot and tears, to stop.
He moved closer to the Chong Changgeng and gestured, "This place is close to Jiangbei Daying, so it's very safe. The wooden birds have been released. Brother Sun's subordinate has also found a way to bring Your Highness's token to Jiangbei Daying. If there are no accidents, General Zhong will find us soon. Your Highness, don't worry."
Although the monk often pretended to be mysterious and didn't like to bathe, he was worthy of being a disciple of Linyuan Pavilion. Out of the three hundred and sixty days of the year, there were always two days when he could be relied on.
Changgeng nodded with some difficulty. He deeply understood what it meant to "fail miserably at an easy task." He couldn't help but want to laugh bitterly.
That day, after Changgeng left the guards behind, he took Xu Ling and went to the Desert Gang alone. Unfortunately, their luck wasn't very good and they came at the wrong time.
They had just followed Boss Sun to the Desert Gang's branch and were halfway to the headquarters when the motley crew of rebels came out in full force. They just happened to be on the opposite side.
In fact, Changgeng's heart skipped a beat, but he wasn't too nervous.
Based on his current understanding of the situation in Jiangbei, this rebellion was not beyond his expectations. A cornered dog would jump over the wall and a rabbit would bite back when cornered. Everyone knew that rebellion was a serious crime punishable by beheading and the execution of nine generations of the clan. However, if all nine generations of the clan were killed, one would be in a precarious situation and could not even survive. What else could one do? Dying a cowardly death was still death. If they failed, they would be beheaded. In any case, it was impossible to kill them twice. In that case, they might as well start a rebellion. At least they would die a worthy death and leave their names in history.
The refugees from Jiang Bei had indeed reached the point where they wanted to rebel.
However, Changgeng was not an immortal. He could deduce that the refugees were likely to do something like this, but he did not know when and how they planned to rebel. However, at that time, Changgeng only felt that he had come at a bad time. What kind of storm had Yan Wang not experienced? It never occurred to him that he might not be able to control the situation.
Chang Geng knew that it wasn't difficult to deal with this kind of mob rebellion that was forced out.
First of all, the imperial court and the rebels knew that a war in the era of Violet Gold was not something that could be achieved by two or three masters killing one person every ten steps. The Flaming Machine Steel Armor was the key. Even a famous general would not be able to do anything when he ran out of ammunition and food. No matter how big the Desert Gang was, as long as they did not have the Flaming Machine Steel Armor and their own source of Violet Gold, they would not be a match for the Jiangbei Daying.
They had no choice but to rebel. It was nothing more than asking for a way out from the imperial court.
Changgeng had already prepared this way for them before he came. Even the most fearless people would be reluctant to part with a chance of survival. With this chance of survival, who would be willing to fight against the Jiangbei Daying? Who would be willing to be an egg against a rock?
Although Mr. Sun, who brought Changgeng and the others into the Desert Gang, spoke harshly and had a bad attitude, he was a sensible person and did not act recklessly. Seeing the situation in the gang, he made a prompt decision to hide the identities of Changgeng and Xu Ling. In this kind of situation where the crowd was agitated, if Yan Wang fell from the sky, not only would he not be able to calm the people, but he would also ignite the anger of the rebels. If there were really blind people who did not distinguish between right and wrong and detained Yan Wang to threaten the Jiangbei Daying, it would be difficult for both sides to end the situation.
Mr. Sun and Changgeng happened to have the same idea. They did not want to use these poor people's lives in vain to fill the muzzle of the Jiangbei Daying that was supposed to be aimed at the foreigners — just to let the imperial court hear a hoarse voice.
Therefore, Changgeng and Xu Ling still pretended to be righteous merchants from the south. Mr. Sun helped to cover it up. At the same time, the monk from Liao Ran, who had been living among the refugees in Jiangbei, also happened to be in the Desert Gang. Relying on the relationship that Liao Ran had established before, they smoothly contacted the leaders of the rebels.
As everyone knew, Yan Wang had a silver tongue. Except for when he was facing Gu Yun, he always acted abnormally, but at other times, he was very effective. As long as he was willing, he could fool anyone. In just over a month, Changgeng had basically controlled the situation. Originally, the people in the gang were excited, but later, everyone could sit down and weigh the pros and cons.
Except for one thorn that was absolutely irreconcilable with the imperial court, the other three of the "Four Kings" in the Desert Gang, including Mr. Sun, were all persuaded by Changgeng. They were willing to send people to try to contact the imperial court.
But at this time, the Jiangbei Daying, who had been secretly searching for Yan Wang's whereabouts, suddenly moved. The atmosphere suddenly became tense again.
Changgeng knew that the fake Yan Wang had probably already arrived in the capital. His disappearance in Yangzhou was something that everyone knew. Since it involved the Prince, the Jiangbei Daying had no choice but to go from the dark to the light and show an attitude.
On one hand, Changgeng appeased the rebels in the Desert Gang. On the other hand, he personally wrote a memorial, wanting the Jiangbei Daying to not act rashly for the time being, so as to prevent him from falling short of success.
Who knew that there would be a problem at this time.
Unforeseen circumstances could happen. When people were unlucky, they could even stuff their teeth with cold water. Yan Wang and his men had not had a smooth time since they entered the bandit's lair. After the Desert Gang plotted a rebellion, for the sake of safety, they implemented the strategy of a cunning rabbit having three burrows. They changed the location of their headquarters every ten to fifteen days. At this time, the headquarters just happened to be in the middle of a group of small hills in Jiangbei, with the back of a mine. In the Jiangbei area, such mines were not very rare. If Changgeng had a specialist with long arms at this time, he would have warned him to pay attention to these small mines, because it was very likely that the wooden birds could not fly out of the mountains.
Some mines could also make the compass and other things ineffective. Even though the Linyuan wooden birds were exquisitely made, their cores were actually just special magnets in their bellies that could establish a connection with the magnets carried by the people in the Linyuan Pavilion. The wooden birds could only pass through height or avoid interference when they were flying in the air. When they were not flying, the magnets in the wooden birds' bellies would immediately become useless after circling around the mines.
Since the birds could not fly out, Changgeng had no choice but to use a stupid method. He had the monk Liao Ran personally run an errand to send a letter. The letter that was sent out was the one that Gu Yun's personal guard sent to the capital.
Who knew that there would be another problem at this time.
The four rebel leaders generally did not read many books. Their level of appreciation was very similar to that of the old farmers who loved to listen to books in the City God Temple. They called themselves "Heaven, Earth, Man, and Ghost" respectively, and called themselves "Heavenly King" and "Earth King". When they were called out, it gave people goosebumps.
Boss Sun was the "Human King". Among them, the "Heavenly King" was the particularly vicious thorn who had a deep hatred for the imperial court.
The thorn was a man of his word. Everyone wanted to follow him in the rebellion. Suddenly, he inexplicably changed from the leader to the stubborn minority. After thinking carefully, he felt that there was a problem with Boss Sun, the "Human King" who was unwilling to go against the Jiangbei Daying. Therefore, he had a grudge against Boss Sun, who was "greedy for life and afraid of death". He bribed one of Boss Sun's trusted subordinates and prepared to catch Boss Sun's weak point and kill him.
In the end, he did not know how it was so coincidental. The person who was bribed did not catch Boss Sun's weak point for five or six days. Instead, he saw the monk Liao Ran sneakily leave the headquarters in the middle of the night to meet with people from the imperial court.
When the Heavenly King saw that the good brother who had been calling them brothers for such a long time was actually a dog of the imperial court, he immediately went mad with anger. The little trust they had in him to begin with also collapsed in an instant.
Changgeng made a prompt decision. As soon as he realized his identity had been exposed, he immediately invited all the important people in the bandit gang over before the Heavenly King could come to his door to question him. He admitted his identity as an imperial envoy. Although the time was not very ripe, it was still better than being exposed by others noisily. Of course, Changgeng could kill the Heavenly King, but Jianghu people had Jianghu people's way of living. These people who threw cups and butchered dogs were not as sensible as the people in the imperial court. If they did not handle it well, it could lead to a backlash.
In the beginning, the bandit nest had exploded under the Heavenly King's intentional instigation. They were all talking at once and denouncing each other. Yan Wang took out a hatchet and stabbed it on the table. He said coldly, "Then we'll do it according to the rules. Three knives and six holes."
This move stunned most people, but it could not fool the real bandits. The Heavenly King was provoked by him. Without another word, he picked up the hatchet and stabbed Changgeng. Changgeng knew that if he did not take it, he would not be able to end the situation, so he did not dodge.
Seeing the blood, the rebel soldiers were stunned, especially the big leaders. They all knew that Yan Wang could not die in the Sand Sea Gang for no reason. Otherwise, they would have to rebel even if they didn't. If they didn't die, they would die. At that time, there would be no room to maneuver. Thus, they all tried to smooth things over and stop him. The Heavenly King was even angrier. He immediately announced that he would take his people out of the Sand Sea Gang.
With the internal strife in the gang, the rebellion would not be settled. Boss Sun sent people to escort Changgeng and the others out of the gang. On the way, they were intercepted by several waves of the Heavenly King's subordinates. The men that Boss Sun left for him were almost all killed.
It was clear that this kind of person who could lock himself up in heavy armor was half a burden. Xu Ling, on the other hand, was a complete burden. To an expert, even charging into a dragon's lair or a tiger's den alone was easier than escaping with several burdens. Chang Geng's body was already injured, and it had been many years since he had been in such a sorry state. In order to protect Lord Xu, another knife wound had been added to his chest. Fortunately, he was half Miss Chen's disciple, so he was able to stop the bleeding.
The monk Liao Ran used a leaf to wrap some water from the stream and fed it to Changgeng. Then, he took out the wound medicine that Changgeng carried with him and bandaged the wound again. Changgeng drank the water and let out a sigh of relief. He gathered some strength to speak and forced himself to be alert. He patted the side of his body and joked to Xu Ling, "Ming Yu, come here. Sit here. Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise … My condolences while I'm still breathing."
Xu Ling wiped his tears with his sleeve in a refined manner. He repeatedly said "I'm ashamed" and choked out, "I'm a burden to the Prince."
Changgeng heard this and laughed softly. "Last time, when the foreigners besieged the city, Brother Ming Yu worked hard in private and learned a foreign language. What do you want to do this time? Go back and learn the martial art of breaking a rock with your chest? "
Xu Ling: "…"
Changgeng said, "Look at Master Liao Ran. He's not crying. He's very calm."
The monk shamelessly gestured with his hands and said, "I can't carry anything on my shoulders. I'm relying on the Prince's protection. When I go back, I'll personally light a longevity lamp for the Prince and pray for you every day."
"Then I'll have to thank Great Master. You're so dignified. Once you open your mouth, I'm afraid I'll die young." Changgeng adjusted his posture with difficulty. A line of cold sweat immediately flowed down his ears. He took a few quick breaths and said to Xu Ling, "These days, the news has been spreading like wildfire … That matter, the bandits of the Desert Gang have begun to talk about it. Yang Ronggui rebelled in my name. Even though we're innocent and they definitely won't be able to find any evidence against us, but … Melon Field Li … Hiss … Great Master, you don't know how to speak. Are you blind?"
Hearing this, Liao Ran, who didn't have good eyesight, hurriedly pressed down on Changgeng's left and right with Xu Ling. They carefully avoided his wounds and turned him over.
"Oh, melon Field Li … I can't explain it clearly." Changgeng endured the pain and added the second half of the sentence, "The matter of the refugees in Jiangbei has already come to this point. We can't give up halfway … Instead of rushing back to the Emperor to explain, it's better to completely stay here and solve the matter. When the time comes, I can use this minor injury to temporarily avoid arousing suspicion and leave for a while."
Xu Ling saw blood seeping out from under the bandage that King Yan had just wrapped, and heard the nonchalant mention of a "minor flesh wound". His admiration for King Yan had reached a point where it could not be any greater. His admiration for King Yan was comparable to that of Duke Feng Han in the capital.
He was about to express his sincerity when Liao Ran's expression suddenly changed. He waved his hand to stop Lord Xu and put his ear to the ground. After a moment, he Chong Changgeng gestured and said, "There are at least dozens of people coming. Who are they?"
No one could tell whether they were General Zhong or the mad dogs of the Heavenly King.
Changgeng pressed one hand on Xu Ling's shoulder and forced himself to stand up. Xu Ling was shocked. He was about to open his mouth to stop him, but Changgeng raised his hand and interrupted him, "Shhh …"
His deliberately relaxed face was completely gone. His eyes were extremely bright. His gaze was like an injured king of beasts. Even if the ground was covered in blood, he still had fangs that could kill at any time.
Changgeng grasped a long knife in his hand that he had snatched from a bandit. The veins on the back of his pale hand were exposed. He didn't look weak from a serious injury at all. It only made people feel terrified.
Xu Ling couldn't help but hold his breath.
Suddenly, Changgeng slightly tilted his ear. Then, his cracked mouth showed a faint smile. He reached out and tidied his messy clothes. He threw the knife in his hand and said to Xu Ling with certainty, "Go and see which general is coming. Go out and welcome him. Tell him I want to see him."
Xu Ling was stunned, "How did you know, Your Highness …"
"How could the Desert Gang have such neat horse hooves and footsteps? It must be one of the Jiangbei Daying's generals. " Changgeng calmly used his tattered outer robe to cover the terrible wound on his chest and abdomen. He still elegantly said, "Forgive this king for being slightly ill and being rude."
Liao Ran, "… …"
Yan Wang's ability to put on an act could be said to have been taught by Gu Shuai.
Xu Ling was completely convinced by him. At this time, even if Yan Wang farted, he would unconditionally believe him. He immediately went out to greet him.
Changgeng reached out and touched his pouch. Other than the Anshensan, there was also some emergency medicine. His fingers trembled as he took out a hemp leaf. He secretly held it in his hand. If he really couldn't stand the pain, he would chew on it. Then he would decline Liao Ran's help and stand up with the long knife.
At this time, he heard Xu Ling call out, "Your Highness, it's … …"
Before he could finish, the person had already rushed in with large strides amidst the sharp neigh of a horse.
Changgeng, "… …"
The person who came against the light was actually Gu Yun, who was supposed to have returned to the capital!
Chang Geng lost his footing, and the long saber let out a shrill 'clang clang'. His whole body fell forward, and was caught by Gu Yun.
His Royal Highness Yan Wang, who had been "leisurely strolling through a bloody storm", was suddenly "injured like a collapsing mountain". The calm and composed "King of Beasts" had turned into a delicate and sick cat. One of his hands fell limply from Gu Yun's shoulder as he softly whimpered, "Zi Xi, it hurts … …"
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