In Beimang's Dragon Waist Province, there was the number one town in the Southern Dynasty, Tiazhuang. Following closely behind were the three towns of Gentleman's Pavilion, Ligu, Maolong, and Long. They formed a complete defensive line that could attack or retreat. Beimang had invested countless manpower, resources, energy, and financial resources into these military towns, but they were still crushed into a broken sieve by the combined forces of the ten thousand Long Xiang Army and the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry. The fifty to sixty thousand soldiers from the impregnable pass either died in battle or died in surrender. There were even some who were killed in the most tragic manner in the world. Most of the relay and fencing systems were destroyed. Most of the civil officials in the Southern Dynasty kept quiet out of fear, and the generals were no longer as conceited as they were in the past. The astonishing combat strength of the Beiliang cavalry created two situations, one good and one bad. The good thing was that the Chess and Sword Music School's Hong Jingyan came out of seclusion and took over all of the Rouran cavalry in the three military towns. This gave the Southern Dynasty, who was in a state of panic, a huge reassurance. The bad thing was that the fatty surnamed Dong could vaguely stand shoulder to shoulder with the Great Generals and the Regional Magistrate in Beimang's southern border army. His authority was equivalent. In the words of the Empress, she said, "Dong Fatty, you've been f * cking promoted again." It was rumored that the fatty surnamed Dong pretended to be obedient after receiving the benefits. In the Southern Dynasty's main hall, he smiled and said to the Empress, "Sister Empress, that's right, I've finally been promoted. Actually, it would be more appropriate if all of the Southern Dynasty's military power was given to me." Her Majesty did not reprimand this fatty for his absurd rudeness, nor did she care about his terrible table manners. Of course, she also did not allow this extremely daring fatty to climb up the ladder. However, she still left the imperial tutor, the Peace Magistrate of the Chess and Sword Music School, to support Dong Zhuo. As a result, there were very few people in the Southern Dynasty who could suppress Dong Zhuo. For example, the King of the Southern Courtyard, Huang Songpu, the two Great Generals Liu Gu and Yang Yuanzan, as well as the Regional Magistrate of the Dragon Waist Province, all tactfully avoided him. Today, on the broken relay road between the tiled building and the Gentleman's Pavilion, a fat man wearing light armor with a standard second-rank military officer's uniform was squatting. He held a handful of gravel in his hand. The relay road under his feet was still not repaired. The two towns closer to Xijing, Ligu, and Maolong had taken advantage of the Empress's secret inspection of the Southern Dynasty to mobilize more than two hundred thousand people to repair it at an astonishing speed. This fat man was very large, but he didn't look bloated. Instead, he looked especially sturdy and majestic. This was the Southern Dynasty Dong Zhuo of Beiliang's Southern Dynasty. He was a fat man who was as famous as Beimang's Chu Lushan. He was Dong Zhuo, who was newly promoted to the thirteenth Great General of Beimang. The fat man didn't have any bodyguards by his side. He only had a large flock of elite crows that roamed around in an extremely orderly manner. After Dong Zhuo gained power, the first thing he did wasn't to wantonly spend money to recruit soldiers and buy horses to occupy the mountains. Instead, he expanded the only crow flock in Beimang that could contend against the White Horse Scouts of Beiliang. According to the conservative estimates of some people, the original thousand crows had doubled in number without losing much of their combat strength. Dong Zhuo habitually talked to himself. When Dong Zhuo was still a little fatty, he was often mocked and ridiculed by others. This youth did not have any friends, and no one thought that he would have a bright future. Thus, Dong Zhuo could only talk to himself. Over time, he liked to talk to himself. After joining the army, his behavior became more and more intense. Every time a battle ended, he would go and talk to the dead. It was hard to imagine that such an unreasonable freak could rise so quickly in the imperial court of the Southern Dynasty. Fatty Dong was talking to himself, mumbling something about how the old man was unwilling to resign from the title of King of the South Courtyard. What? He was paving the way for Hong Jingyan. You stubborn old man, are you really unwilling to hand it over to me even if you were beaten to death? I'm not someone who holds grudges. Besides, we're not at the point where we can't live under the same sky. What are you, Huang Songpu, afraid of? Don't tell me you want to sell the Chess and Sword Music School a big favor in exchange for a peaceful old age? Dong Zhuo tilted his palm, allowing the gravel to slide down. He sighed. He really did miss his eldest daughter-in-law and his youngest daughter-in-law. However, his eldest daughter-in-law, who was a princess, was currently in a state of chaos. She had to go and stabilize the situation. His youngest daughter-in-law was always thinking about revenge against the new Prince Liang. She was not as cheerful and lively as before. Fortunately, he had a servant girl by his side, which made the haze in this fatty's heart dissipate. Dong Zhuo turned his head, his eyes gentle as he looked at a little girl who was leading a bright red pony in the distance. She was Tao Manwu. She was the orphan of Tao Qianzhi, who had become sworn brothers with Dong Zhuo after he joined the army. Dong Zhuo did not have any children for the time being, so he wanted to spoil this little girl wholeheartedly. He had even told his two daughters-in-law that even if he had children of his own in the future, he would most likely not dote on them as much. His eldest daughter-in-law had always been kind and understanding. His youngest daughter-in-law, who had entered the Dong family a little later, was so angry that she did not let him sleep in bed for half a year. Dong Zhuo looked at the pitiful Tao Manwu. The little girl, who seemed to be carved from jade, seemed to be humming a little tune. That pony was a playmate that Uncle Dong had found for her. She had always been reluctant to ride it. This time, following Uncle Dong to the South, even the young pony would be able to ride in the spacious carriage. Dong Zhuo stood up, wanting to talk to Young Manwu to relieve the boredom. Suddenly, he saw the little girl suddenly turn sideways, staring blankly in a direction. The extremely sensitive Dong Zhuo narrowed his eyes and followed her line of sight. He did not see anything. This fatty was confused and could not figure out what was going on. He did not think too much about it and hurriedly ran over to the little girl. He saw Young Manwu raise her arm to wipe her eyes. They were a little red and swollen. He did not know if it was because she had cried or because of the rough wind and sand. Dong Zhuo crouched down and asked gently, "What is it?"
The little girl's line of sight shifted slightly, and she shook her head vigorously. Dong Zhuo had been with her day and night. How could he not know that she was lying? But what did it matter? Young Manwu did not want to talk, so Dong Zhuo did not ask. He just pressed the tip of his nose with his thumb and made a pig's head to amuse her. The little girl reached out to take Dong Zhuo's finger and helped him rub his face. She said in a serious tone, "Uncle Dong, those big brothers called Crow Palanzi all said that you have become a high-ranking official. You must not fool around anymore."
Dong Zhuo laughed and said, "It does not matter. Even if one day Uncle Dong is too old to ride a horse and can't lift a spear, you will still make a face at Young Manwu."
Tao Manwu squeezed out a smile and glanced into the distance. She said softly, "Uncle Dong, I want to sing that song. Do you want to hear it?"
Dong Zhuo laughed heartily. He carried Tao Manwu on his broad shoulders and sat her down. The little girl hummed loudly, "The green grass grows next year, the wild geese go and come back. The spring breeze blows this year, will the Young Master return? " The green grass is green on the green flagstones, the man in green on the green flagstone bridge, humming a Jinling tune. Whose daughter lowers her head and smiles? The yellow leaves fall this year, year after year. The autumn wind rises next year, will the wife be there? The yellow flowers flow in the Yellow River, the yellow flowers in the Yellow River city, fluttering yellow butterflies. Whose son's knife is in the scabbard?
Dong Zhuo sighed in his heart. Young Manwu was probably missing the Young Master who could not tell whether he was an enemy or a benefactor.
Probably influenced by the little girl's song, the Crow Palanzi nearby, who were unparalleled in individual combat, began to hum a little song that belonged to the 70,000 Dong Army. The Dong Army's men rode their swords, mounted their spears, and died by the horse's back. Don't cry your heart out at home, my son will be the Dong Army's man again …
Young Manwu sat on Dong Zhuo's shoulder and looked somewhere. She hesitated for a moment, and with red eyes, she quietly waved her slender arm as a farewell.
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