Novoland: Eagle Flag Chapter 5: A lifelong alliance

A low copper bell sounded from the mountain pass at the end of the world. Looking from a distance, a black cavalry team slowly walked out of the valley, and cavalrymen in armor surrounded their collars, and immediately looked at them from a high place.

The black-clothed scout lying in the grass jumped up, pulled out the horse hidden in the depression, got on the horse, and went quickly.

"Majesty, they found us, why don't you come in immediately?" said the young man with the sharpest eyes among the cavalry on the hillside.

"Don't worry, Hongji Assassin, wait until they are ready to meet our guard of honor. I also have some things to think about." The maharaja who was surrounded by cavalry whispered. From his appearance, he was only about thirty years old, and unexpectedly had a handsome and fair face. He was not equipped with iron armor like his subordinates, but was wearing a fox fur tube with a waist that was common among barbarian warriors, fiery red A narrow knife almost five feet long was tied across the back of his horse.

No one dared to disobey this seemingly weak barbarian monarch, so the whole cavalry team stood quietly at the mouth of the canyon. Out of the Taniguchi of Tangwu Mountain, you can see the vast grasslands of Zhongzhou. The purslane and carronus swaying in the wind as deep as the horse’s knees are so quiet that one feels an illusion. On the other side of the prairie within sight, a large white tent was set up. There was a stern metal reflection around the large tent, and the scouts in black riding fast horses galloped towards that tent.

Hong Jila held up the big white banner symbolizing the barbarian lord, and the copper bell hanging on the pole jingled monotonously. His palms were a little sweaty. This was the first time he followed the Maharaja to carry out such an important mission. He was the son of Tieyan Baru, a noble noble warrior in the northern capital city. He had always prided himself on his courage and sword skills, but this Still can't restrain the tension in my heart.

"Majesty, will they bring only two hundred men and horses as agreed? Donglu people are more vicious than wolves and cunning than foxes. Let Hongji assassinate for you to find out the truth?" He brought the horses closer After becoming the Maharaja, he kept in mind his father's teaching before he left, that his own death was nothing, but he could not bury the master of Qingyang Kingdom in the hands of the sinister Dong Lu people.

"No need." Maharaja waved his hand lightly, "With that person's character, he wouldn't use such tricks."

"That year, the three of us only had two horses. When we came to Zhongzhou, we also crossed the valley and saw the grassland." He said softly, like a casual whisper or a sigh, "Looking back at everything It's like a mockery of us."

"Get out!" He led the horse down the high ground first.

Hongji was stunned for a moment, and just about to follow closely, he suddenly stopped and rubbed his nose vigorously. Intuition told him that there was a disturbing smell in the air around him.

"Don't smell it, it's the smell of corpses." The Maharaja didn't turn his head, pointing to the low mountain ridge on the left, "That mountain is called Tugu Ridge, and it's the place where the decisive battle took place two days ago. The corpses have begun to rot They have traveled thousands of miles to graze here, but they can never go home.”

He reined in his horse, turned sideways to the direction of the mountain ridge, lowered his head and closed his eyes, and clapped his hands three times in front of the tip of his nose. This is a simple worship for the barbarians when they encounter graves and dead bones when they are grazing, begging the great pantar **** to guide the homeless souls. The cavalry followed suit, and followed his horse one by one, with its tail swinging leisurely, sweeping the thick grass.

When the cavalry team approached the tent with only 300 steps, the capable barbarian warriors let their horses gallop. They spread out from the left and right wings, and two hundred people formed a formation of wild goose wings. In each man's hand was a mighty compound bow, and a serrated saber clanked in its sheath. Only Hongji still followed the majesty closely with Dasu held high, his eyes fixed on the silver armored warriors surrounding the big tent for a while, and turned to stare at the expression of the maharaja for a while. He pressed the sharp knife on the saddle tightly, and as long as the Maharaja gave the slightest hint, he would stand up and rush to the front, leading these elite tigers and leopards to charge.

But the majesty just lowered his head, following the horse, the half-curved emerald jade hanging from a silver chain on his chest lightly hit his chest.

The warriors shot arrows together, and two hundred arrows shot into the ground. They all pulled back their horses and drew out their sabers as a defense. The silver-armored warriors guarding the large tent did not respond at all to this. They held eight-foot long spears, with sterling silver tiger head symbols hanging from the spears, and tall white feathers stuck on their shiny helmets. Hong Jila had never seen such a luxurious army, let alone thought that the entire army was composed of handsome young men of about the same height, so he began to doubt the strength of the opponent.

The majesty dismounted in front of the tent, and inserted the narrow knife on the horse's hip into the back of his waist. The leader of the silver-armored warriors opened a corner of the tent, and Hong Jila followed the Maharaja, step by step.

The big tent is filled with the drowsy smell of spices, and in the middle of the birthday noodle furnace is burning the unnamed incense of Hongjila. A young man in a heavy brocade dress is smiling and standing At the side of the incense burner, he politely asked the majesty to sit down at the guest seat that had been set up earlier. Standing behind the Maharaja, Hong Jila felt that the thick blanket under his feet was so soft that it almost made him unable to stand still. But he didn't lose his vigilance, staring his sharp eyes wide and scanning the surroundings. The other party didn't seem to be hostile. In Nuo Da's tent, there were only a few people dressed as civil servants, and there was even a young maid serving wine. Behind the curling cigarettes was a raised bed, and a warrior in black armor Leaning against the edge of the sitting bed, rest your forehead with your hands. There was a heavy spear on the frame beside him, and a narrow saber hung from his waist, and a strand of red silk rope was tied into a cross, sealing the sword.

The emperor's sword bears the shadow! Hongji had heard of this ominous sword that couldn't be drawn out of its sheath, so the only one who could wear it was the emperor of East Lu. He suddenly became a little excited. Although he was his enemy, he had vaguely heard what happened to the emperor, and any good man on the grassland could not help admiring him. He stared at the emperor with wide eyes, but he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. He was not at all like the legends. The emperor was tall and thin. He didn't have the domineering aura to dominate the four states, but he had a faintly sick appearance. His face was pale, and his eyebrows were as black as ink. Because of her thinness, her eye sockets looked particularly deep, and she kept her head down, with long eyelashes covering her eyes.

"Since the Lord of Qingyang has arrived, let's start!" The young civil official who had invited the Majesty to his seat just now stood up, "My humble servant thanked Mo, Daxie Taishi leads the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, and I honor your majesty's request." agree to host the peace talks.”

No one responded, the emperor and the majesty lowered their eyes in exactly the same posture, looking at the place three feet in front of them.

Xie Mo looked around: "The soldiers are ominous, but the civilians are suffering. In the fourteen days since our two armies have fought, there have been dozens of battles, big and small, and each has suffered injuries. Right now, the Majesty's tiger and leopard cavalry elite soldiers are trapped in the Tang Dynasty We can't go any further before Wuguan, and our army has no intention of intimidating, so I think this is a good opportunity for peace talks."

With such a proud tone at the beginning, Hongji's heart suddenly surged with anger, but the Maharaja didn't speak, so he could only swallow his anger back.

"Our army won three consecutive battles, beheaded more than 7,000 cavalrymen, and captured 3,500 horses, not to mention ordnance and weapons. According to the reports from our scouts, there are still tiger and leopard cavalry in Qingyang Kingdom. A total of 5,000 people in the elite account have not been mobilized. In addition, there are 1,000 ghost bow warriors and 16,000 light cavalry, a total of 22,000 people. They are all cavalry, and each prepares two horses for battle. Thousands. It may not be a problem to sweep Hanzhou with such a force, but it is already a dilemma at Tangwu Pass, the number one pass in East China. I hope my news is not wrong." Xie Mo had a smile on his face, but it was Hong Ji The one who hates the most has a smug and sinister smile.

Hongji couldn't help it anymore: "Are all the cavalry you killed? Five thousand of them are just wandering herdsmen. They were just exiled by the tribe and ventured across the sea to graze in the east land. They have been eaten by the waves. Many relatives have set foot on land, and they will be killed by your country as enemies to receive rewards. Is this what Grand Master Xie called Lianjie? Da Xie’s horse grass is really so expensive? How much is the life of our grassland people? Is it really that low?"

Xie Mo snorted softly through his nostrils: "So what if they're not warriors? Since they are herdsmen, they should stay on the grassland. Could it be that the Hanzhou grassland can't support them, so we Daxie should take care of them?" ?”

Hongji was completely angered by the other party's contempt. He took a step forward, trembling slightly, and simply pointed at the emperor who said nothing: "Yes! Our grassland is barren, we can't grow food, we can't raise food. You live a lot of people. You Donglu people say that we have invaded your land, but what is it actually? It’s just some poor shepherds who herded their horses and ate your horse grass! You killed them as warriors and took their heads In exchange for rewards! You say we are barbarians, who is more barbaric? Is this the benevolence and righteousness of your east land? Is such a king the king of your east land? It is not as good as the beasts on our grassland!"

As soon as the voice fell, the sitting emperor suddenly opened his eyes. They were a pair of pure black tiger-like eyes. Hongji stabbed his body and felt cold for some reason. Birds, and the emperor's gaze is that sharp arrow.

The Maharaja placed his hand firmly on his shoulder, calming down his panic.

"What a good boy." The emperor said in a low voice, and lowered his eyes again.

"Teacher Xie go on," Maharaja's voice was as still as still water, "We are here for the truce, and we only ask Da Xie's conditions. What are Da Xie's conditions?"

"The tiger and leopard rider, please take it away, but the rest of the people will leave their horses and return to Beilu on foot. From now on, Qingyang will pay tribute to one thousand war horses every year, two dragon blood horses, and other horses. Ten stallions. The cavalry of the Qingyang Department retreated to the north of the Xuesong River, and Daxie built a city 30 miles north of Nanwangxia, with 1,000 troops stationed, called the "Hanzhou Governor's Mansion."

"You guys!" Hong Jila almost cracked his eyes.

Maharaja held him down: "Is that so?"

Xie Mo was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect such a calm reaction, he laughed: "Others are trivial matters. Asking the majesty to call Da Xie 'upper court' and claiming to be 'down country', once a year , On His Majesty’s birthday, he personally wrote a congratulatory form. I heard that the Majesty and His Majesty are old friends when they were young, so the Majesty knows about His Majesty’s birthday, right?”

"If it is such a request, you are not qualified to talk to me." The majesty glanced at Xie Mo and pointed to the emperor, "he is the only one who can negotiate terms with me here, let him tell me personally, say He hoped that Qingyang would surrender his arms like a humiliated defeated man, give up the horse that followed him all his life, and be Daxie's servant forever. I really want to hear this sentence."

"This..." Xie Mo's complexion changed, and he squeezed out a smile: "My lord has suffered from severe headache recently, and I can't usually meet with my subjects, but this time I came here specially for the sake of the majesty's illness. Talking hurts your body, Majesty, don't force it, what I said is the meaning dictated by the Lord before coming up, Xie Mo will never dare to distort it in the slightest."

He beckoned to the maid serving wine, "If it's all on fire, the peace talks will not go on. The majesty is far away, let's take a short break and offer a glass of wine to wash away the dust for the majesty."

The maid was a slender girl who walked forward with her head bowed and knees tremblingly, and handed the silver plate to the Maharaja. She didn't know if she was afraid of the majesty of the barbarian lord, but she didn't dare to raise her head, trembling, the liquor in the wine cup was about to be shaken out.

The Maharaja remained silent and did not pick up the wine.

Hongji felt sorry for the maid, and felt that in this tense tent, she was like a bird in a cage, and the cage was full of blades.

He stood in front of the majesty: "We barbarians do not drink the wine of the enemy. If we drink it, it is a sign of a decisive battle. But we are here today for the truce, so we will not drink a drop of your wine, nor I will touch a piece of your meat."

All these were taught to him by his father Tie Yan. Don't let the majesty touch any food, this is Tie Yan's first order.

"Useless stuff! You can't even toast!" Xie Mo reprimanded in a low voice.

The maid trembled even more, the tray suddenly tipped over, and the bartender fell down. Hongji was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but go to catch the wine baron in mid-air. But he suddenly felt that something was wrong, the maid didn't rush in the same direction as him, the moment he bent down, there seemed to be a silver light flashing in the maid's hand, and she flashed behind Hongji.

"Assassin!" Hongji snarled, "Be careful, Majesty!"

He turned around abruptly and froze. The steel thorn in the maid's hand stopped within a few inches of the Maharaja's chest, and her wrist was pinched to death by the Maharaja, like a snake being pinched seven inches. Maharaja had no expression on his face, and grabbed her long hair! The maid struggled hard, and Hongji was surprised to find that her chin turned out to be iron blue after a man shaved his beard.

"Tianluo's killer?" Maharaja shook his head, "Everything is perfect, but why can't you always remember to cover your Adam's apple?"

The long knife "Shadow Moon" that was placed horizontally on the table was unsheathed like an elusive gleam of water. Before the assassin disguised as a maid had time to step back, it broke from his chest, and blood spattered Hongji. There are tattoos all over the body. Xie Mo's face changed suddenly, and he hurriedly pushed back. The war horses outside the tent neighed wildly. It was not known whether it was because they heard Hongji's shout, or something happened outside the tent. I don't know how many Bing's long knives cut through the tent at the same time, and those handsome and useless Daxie Imperial Guards all turned into hungry tigers at this time, cutting through the tents and rushing in together.

Hongji drew out his long knife, his legs were shaking, but he still roared: "Beast! Come!"

But the majesty still sat still, he stared at the emperor who was still sitting there motionless: "Is this the trap you prepared for me? Ji Ye..."

He stood up abruptly, held Hongji's hand, and said in a calm and heavy voice, "Get out! Follow me!"

"Whoever wins the level of Lu Guichen will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold! You will be granted the title of hereditary prince!" Xie Mo's voice came from outside the encirclement, "Give it to me!"

I don't know how many people rushed over at the same moment, and the silver-armored guards rushed up desperately under the high reward. Countless long knives slashed down for a while, and Hongji assassin could only hold his saber high above his head to resist, waiting for the result of being chopped into pieces. And one knife is faster than all other knives. The always silent Maharaja unfolded the five-foot-long narrow knife, which was just a flat swing without any fancy. But he swung his sword faster and more ruthlessly than anyone else, and he got stuck at the moment when Daxie's forbidden soldiers raised their swords. At the same time, blood spattered from the chests of several forbidden soldiers, and even the solid silver breastplate couldn't stop the blow. Majestic power.

"Don't be afraid!" The Maharaja gave Hongji a slap under his arm, "On the battlefield, if you are afraid, no one will pity you; you are not afraid of death, but you can live on!"

He took the lead to meet the long swords that the imperial guards held high above their heads. Hongji was stunned for a moment, then roared and brandished the swords to follow behind the Maharaja. The metallic light flashed in front of his eyes again and again, followed by the scarlet blood and the thick, nauseating smell. Hongjila didn't know how many people rushed into the tent crazily, and how many feathered arrows brought them with them. A sharp roar shot in from the outside, shooting behind those crazy silver armored warriors. However, the power of the huge reward pushed these young warriors to rush forward continuously, sending their flesh and blood to the sharp long knife of the Maharaja. The originally gray sword was stained with blood, giving off a strange light.

The tiger and leopard riders also rushed in. In the small tent, countless people crowded and killed like this. The wailing sounded one after another, blood splashed on the thick blanket, and the corpses fell heavily. The mask of the peace talks had been torn off, and Hongji felt the blood rushing up from his naked hostility. He roared and danced his sword, and followed the invincible king.

"Get out of the way!" The voice was low, but it carried an unusual majesty.

The imperial guards all gave way to a passage, and the emperor, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly picked up the heavy gun at the side. The thrust of the spear was like a lightning shot from behind the clouds, it came without warning, and it pointed directly at Hirokichi's chest.

A powerful arm pushed Kokichi away at the last moment. The five-foot long knife blocked the thunderous blow of the heavy gun, and the army collided with the emperor's shoulder armor, and the eyes of the two men were fixed on each other.

"It's really you who want to kill me," Maharaja said in a low voice, "I can't believe it until I see you do it yourself!"

"If I don't kill you, you will kill me, even if it's not today, sooner or later. His Royal Highness King Qingyang," the emperor shook his head, "Only the victorious can survive in this world. Your people, they need Only by occupying the land in East China can we survive, and my people, they also want this land. This is something that cannot be changed even if we die, and countless emperors die!"

He drew back the heavy gun sharply, swinging it in a huge fan shape.

The two sides passed each other, blood flashed across the majesty's shoulders, the emperor's helmet fell to the ground with a clang, blood had already soaked one of the majesty's sleeves, the gunshot wound was on his shoulder, the flexible shoulder armor It was completely cut open, revealing blurred flesh and blood. And the Maharaja's sharp knife directly chopped off the emperor's helmet, leaving a bloodstain under the corner of his eye.

"Jimo!" The maharaja yelled violently.

"What else can I say?"

"I..." Maharaja's lips were trembling, "I will not kill you! I have never thought about it like this!"

He tore open the girdle of his breastplate, holding a piece of gray iron in his hand. He used a lot of strength to control his hand, but when he held the piece of iron, he still couldn't help trembling. Finally, he ruthlessly threw the piece of iron at the opposite emperor.

The emperor reached out to catch the piece of iron. It looked like a fragment of a long knife, the blade was broken: "What is this?"

"It was the twelve knives you bought when you were in Nanhuai, and I kept the fragment of one of them. I kept it in the hope that one day I could repay you. I brought it here. It was originally I want to tell you, I can surrender to you, as long as you return the peace to the north, and give the barbarians a grassland to graze!"

Holding the piece of iron, the emperor seemed lost.

"It's been so many years, you came to me with this piece of iron. Hehe, hehehe," he suddenly pressed his forehead hard, shaking his head and laughing, "You're so stupid, you're so stupid. After all these years, you still can't change your stupidity!"

In an instant, his impact was like a thunderbolt shot through the clouds. The Maharaja did not expect such an attack at all, and Hong Jila didn't even have time to remind him that the heavy gun was already stuck to the Maharaja's throat.

"Despicable! You are despicable!" Hong Jiji yelled.

"Son! When the enemy loses vigilance, it is always your best chance to attack!" The emperor gave him a cold look.

The barbarian warriors rushed over like crazy, and the imperial guards also blocked them with their flesh and blood. Amid the wailing and slashing, the emperor and maharaja were relatively silent.

"Did you hear this voice? Lu Guichen, did you see it? I didn't ambush and kill your seven thousand warriors, but these people burned themselves to death. They all had swords in their hands, They have to kill people to survive. And you are a child, you don't understand these people's minds." The emperor smiled softly, "So I say you are really stupid!"

"Stop!" said the emperor.

The attack and killing continued, and the sound of killing swallowed his voice.

"Stop it all!" the emperor yelled.

It was a liger-like voice, which overwhelmed everything in an instant, as if a thunder had exploded in the tent.

People were stunned, and the swords clashed with each other to stop the killing.

"We have the invincible horses and heavy armor of the Iron Buddha, and the lightning-like light cavalry of the Celestial Legion. Even so, you are not confident that you can defeat the barbarians with wooden guns and wild arrows, but use tricks and means What?" The emperor shook his head.

"My head...it really hurts." He suddenly raised his eyes, the pure black eyes were as bright as a fire, "Then His Highness King Qingyang, I will use this piece of iron, as well as our twenty years of Everything is an alliance with you: in my lifetime, no soldier of the Xie Dynasty will set foot on the land of Qingyang, otherwise I will die under the sword, and my soul will fall into the **** of the nine abyss, and I will never be reincarnated."

There was a dead silence, and people couldn't believe that the emperor proposed the covenant at this time. But the emperor threw down the heavy gun, he held up the piece of iron, and violently exerted force! The rotten blade sliced ​​through his hand, and blood rolled across the veins on the iron plate.

The majesty stretched out his hand, held it too, and cut his own hand forcefully: "Take this piece of iron as your testimony, from now on, I will never set foot on the land of Donglu again until I die .”

The blood melted together and fell on the carpet drop by drop.

"Is that so?"

"That's it!"

The maharaja let go of his hand and turned around abruptly: "Hongji, let's go!"

"We won't meet again, right? Ji Ye, there is one last thing I want to ask you." Walking to the side of the curtain, he turned his head and stared at the emperor. Will you still come to save me?"

"Lu Guichen...is already a maharajah, yet you still ask me this question in front of my courtiers..." After a long time, the emperor smiled dumbly.

"If we had known this would be the end, in that war-torn era, why would we have struggled and fought side by side to fight a **** road? Is it just for us to raise our swords with each other in the end? What a sad curtain call. If we had known earlier, we would never have survived to this day!" The emperor whispered, "But that era has passed, Yechen's warriors died, our alliance fell apart, and there is no longer a concubine in this world." Ye and Lu Guichen, only Daxie's King Shenwu and the Great Monarch of Beiducheng remain."

He shook his head: "Lu Guichen, let's go, don't ask about my heart, the heart of the past, we have lost it for a long time."

The two looked at each other, and the majesty's eyes gradually dimmed, like embers after burning, leaving only a silent gray. He finally left and never looked back. This was the last time they met in their lives, and no matter who they were, they would keep this promise and never set foot on each other's land. If they want to see each other, they can only look from both sides of the strait, but Tiantuo Gorge is so wide that even Yuren's eyesight cannot see each other.

"My head... my head..." The emperor pressed his head hard, as if something was about to rush out of it.

At some point, a person in a black robe silently stood behind the emperor. She was dressed like a man, but that small and delicate face was clearly just a girl who was underage, and her silver hair **** was a bit shiny. dazzling. She took a step, and all the attendants backed away. She supported the emperor from behind, and took out a flat box from her waist pocket. When she opened it, there was a black gel-like ointment inside. She scraped off some ointment and burned it on the tinder with the blade. There was a cold fragrance in the mysterious smoke, and everyone who smelled it couldn't help but want to take a step forward, but they all showed fear and backed away.

The emperor opened his nostrils, greedily inhaling the smoke.

He calmed down, and the jumping eagle flames in his eyes gradually went out, replaced by a hazy grayness. His body in black iron heavy armor was surrounded by a small girl, but there was a different kind of coordination. The girl took his hand, and took the tie on Xie Mo's floor.

The emperor obediently handed over her hand, allowing her to pull the bandages.

"So you have remembered." (King Daxie Yulie suffered from severe headaches and intermittent amnesia in the latter part of his life.)

"Simon...you know? I hate falling asleep...because I hate dreaming..." The emperor looked up in confusion, "I always dream about things I don't want to see, such as dreaming that I am riding a The horse carried many knives to save a person, but I let the horse run and run, but it was just a boundless grassland with no one. I shouted in my dream where are you, I know I want to save The man in my life is dying, but I can't find my way back... I can't save him."

"What happened next?"

"Actually, I was hesitant until I came here. Xie Mo advised me to take the opportunity to kill him. I know it's right..." He stared at Ximen, "But I saw that piece of iron, and I knew I couldn't Kill this person, I was going to save him."

"Yeah, you originally wanted to save him, but you said it yourself. There are no eternal friends or eternal enemies. Maybe one day you will kill me too."

"I won't kill you, because if I kill you, no one will remember my past... Have you noticed? He wears it around his neck..."

The girl turned her head abruptly: "Don't ask! You should know that you can't ask anything from me. You just said that you have lost your past heart for a long time, and you still want to ask me about this situation What do outsiders ask for?"

"After living for so many years, you are still so childish." The emperor gently stroked the top of Ximen's head, put the iron piece in the palm of her hand, and patted it lightly, "Find someone to help me deliver this piece of iron." Go far away, bury it in the soil, don't let me find it again...but don't bury it too deep... After many years, some sheep-herding children will dig it out, from the rusty lines, Go read my past..."

He suddenly stood up supporting his body, took a step forward towards the tent, opened the curtain, and the figures of the barbarian warriors had disappeared.

"My... past..."

"My lord! My lord!"

Amid the exclamation of the warriors, the emperor fell on his back. The neckline of his iron armor spread out, and the half-curved emerald jade tied with a silver chain carried the greenness of spring many years ago, like a green moon, floating lightly in the air.

October, the imperial capital.

In the dead of night, the sycamore trees all over the garden look like ghost claws. The wind-blown dead leaves swirled and fell, and finally piled up under the steps of the south wing room, with a depth of two feet. This is an ancient temple, passing through the fortified gate, the garden behind is open, and on the dusty plaque are strong characters - "Dijun Shengwu".

The ancestral hall of the Bai family in the previous dynasty is also the Taimiao of the Yin Empire. Ever since the mighty Tianqi Legion from Liguo marched into Tianqi City, the monks and servants serving the ancestral temple have all run away, and the newly enthroned King Shenwu has no intention of burning down the roots of the old people of the previous dynasty, but just let it be so deserted , until one day it collapses by itself.

The footsteps stopped at the door, and the armor slammed.

"My lord!" The warriors hidden in the shadows knelt on one knee with long swords on their pillars.

"Stay here." The emperor waved his hand.

The warriors dispersed quietly again, the emperor walked into the courtyard, and the door slowly closed behind him. He ended up standing in the middle of the courtyard, a dead leaf crackling under his boot. He stood among the dead leaves and white grasses all over the courtyard, and the wind whipped up his black cloak, making a sound of hunting. The quiet wing room on the south side suddenly lit a candle, reflecting a lonely figure on the window.

"Has Da Duhu returned from victory?" the figure whispered.

He coughed a few times, the cough was piercing, as if the wind was blowing through his chest. His lungs have long ceased to function, and the scorching internal fire erodes his internal organs all the time.

"It's not a victory, but he has returned to North 6." The emperor said, "Everything is as you expected."

"The so-called barbarian invasion is nothing more than other tribes instigating disputes on the border, trying to force him to fight in the east, right? It's like when the Jiuzheng and Shuobei tribes clashed with the Zhenyan tribe on the Tiexian River, and then forced Qingyang It is the wisdom of the vultures on the grasslands to destroy Zhenyan with their soldiers. Sometimes they will deliberately conflict with the antelopes, but as we all know, vultures do not eat live animals. They do this only to attract the wolves wandering around. After the wolves massacre on a large scale, they can gnaw on the skeletons that are still connected to fresh meat. The most difficult time in East China is also the best chance for the barbarians to dominate the entire Kyushu, which is a pity."

"Unfortunately?"

"Their monarch is Lu Guichen, not you. If the two of you are separated, I absolutely believe that you can lead the barbarian iron cavalry to conquer the pass and sweep the four states."

"Next, do you want to say that because he is a benevolent monarch, and I am a king who kills and seizes the throne?"

"No, you are overthinking." The person behind the window laughed lowly, "I am the same person as you, how can I have the right to mock you? This word, always keep it in mind, I taught you that at the beginning, but I didn’t expect that you did a better job than me. Let’s not talk about this... I’m just surprised that the situation in East China is delicate now, but Qingyang It was also the beginning of the founding of the country, and the civil strife has not yet subsided. All the ministries obey Lu Guichen on the surface, but in private there is no lack of desire to provoke war again. Outside, there are great enemies of the Yu clan and Kuafu. If you can get 30,000 cavalry, It only takes two months to forcefully cross the Tiantuo Strait and go straight to Shuobei Plain along the Xuesong River in the dry season. Bai Yin failed to unify the north, but this achievement may be realized in your hands, why did you retreat?"

"I have made a covenant with him, and I will never set foot on the land of barbarians again in my lifetime."

"Covenant?" The people in the temple laughed loudly, like the flames of a dying candle in the wind, "will you take the covenant to heart? Our way of doing things is to put patience first and seek profit Move, all in one battle. Is the covenant a means for you to take a step back and seek opportunities?"

"No." The emperor was not angered by his rebellion, and looked down at his feet halfway. A fallen leaf was blown by the wind and stayed by his iron boots for a while, and flew away by rubbing the ground, "Fourteen Years ago, I made an alliance with him for the first time. I thought it would be a lifetime alliance, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this. But this time, I renewed the agreement with him. No matter how stupid we were at the beginning, this time we said If I say it, it will not change until I die!"

The person behind the window was silent for a while: "Among the people who are still alive in this world, he is the only one who can make you so persistent. It's rare to have time today to see me, a dying person. Are you interested in following me? Tell me about your past?"

"Actually, I came to see you just to talk to you," the emperor walked up the steps, swept his cloak over the leaves-covered steps, sat down, and rested his forehead with his hands, "Fourteen years ago, Emperor Yincheng Four years, I was only nineteen years old that year."

[History]

In May of the third year of Daxie Shenwu, there was a dangerous border conflict between East Lu and North Lu.

The news shocked the ruling and opposition parties. In the memory of Donglu people, there was the era of humiliation when Emperor Yinjing and Emperor Yin'an succumbed to the powerful cavalry of Beilu and pro-Nubuat, and there was also the heroic era when Emperor Yinwu was invigorated and braved two northern expeditions. However, after fifty years, the elite regiments of the Eastern and Northern Continents have never had a real confrontation. Both sides hold **** butcher knives in their hands, but neither can assert the other's strength, and dare not easily provoke a new round of conquest.

But the barbarians still came. At the critical juncture when the new empire, the Xie Empire, had not yet established its status, the tiger, leopard and iron guards of Qingyang Kingdom crossed the Tiantuo Strait. Emperor Lie, the chief guardian of the Tianqi Legion, Ji Ye personally led the Tiefutu barbarian cavalry department and 30,000 light armored cavalry to the north. Three months later, the two sides fought a decisive battle in front of Tangwu Pass in Zhongzhou.

Both sides in this battle paid a heavy price, but its ending is an insoluble mystery in history.

What can be traced back is only the third day after the decisive battle, Qingyang King Lu Guichen led the remaining troops to retreat. After sailing northward by boat, Lu Guichen personally erected an iron monument by the seaside, prohibiting the barbarian warriors from crossing the strait to invade the land of the Dongli people. And Emperor Yulie didn't pursue him either. One month later, he returned to Tianqi, the imperial capital. The next day, the emperor issued a "silence order", and anyone who dared to discuss the Northern Expedition would be killed in court.

There is no written contract between the parties.