Ling Yucheng shivered in the carriage, silently tightened the collar of the fur coat on his shoulders, and forced a cough back into his chest.

Even though he struggled till midnight last night, he only got up half an hour later than usual this morning, and came straight to the military camp outside the city after breakfast.The club sore has not healed, and he absolutely dare not ride a horse, so he can only pull out this carriage that has not been ridden for thousands of years and make do with it.Even though it was covered with several thick layers of oilcloth, the cold wind still poured directly into the carriage from every tiny gap. There is usually no heater in the carriage, so the cold can only be endured by the passengers themselves.

I don't know how Xia Bai's investigation is going... If there are real traitors, one night's work may not be enough to pry their mouths open.

Thinking about it, Ling Yucheng shook the body, lifted the thick cotton curtain on the window and looked out, the carriage had already turned onto the dirt road leading to the camp gate.From afar, he could see a big black banner fluttering in the wind, and a flagpole beside him was covered with heads. After a night of snowstorm, most of those familiar faces had been covered in ice and snow, and it was no longer clear which soldier belonged to him. .

...One general is incompetent, and the three armies are exhausted.He had secretly ridiculed those generals who commanded indiscriminately many times, and finally exhausted his subordinates with heavy casualties. He never thought that there would be a day when he would taste the bitter fruit himself.

The wheels were rumbling, ran over the sidewalk next to the school yard, and went straight to the barracks.No need to deliberately ask, just turned a corner in the direction where the medicinal gas came, and there was a scene of people on their backs, big buckets of hot water were poured in and out, white cloths, ointments, decoctions, and running water were sent into the room like running water.Yang Qiu was sweating profusely with a group of underhanded military doctors. When he saw him, the main general, come in, he turned his head and continued to shout:

"Bring the gauze! The scissors! The soldering iron! - Over there, lie down! And you!"

Ling Yucheng silently pressed a soldier who saw him coming in and tried to stand up and salute.The executioners had a sense of proportion in their strikes, and even though none of the sergeants who were sentenced could get up when the eighty army rods went down, except for a few who were seriously injured, they didn't make it through on the spot, and the rest were just injuries— —Thanks to the timely treatment after the incident, he will not even be left with a disability.

Those who didn't make it through included the young man who rushed out first and caused the whole conflict.

Ling Yucheng patrolled among the wounded soldiers all over the ground, asked how the injury was, and then chatted with that one. There were consolation and beating in the words, and when the medical officer was too busy, he was also helping to pick up and deliver the wounded soldiers. Things, personally changed the dressings and wounds of the two wounded soldiers.It had been more than half an hour to walk down in a circle. Although the footsteps were as steady as before when he left, thin beads of sweat had already leaked out of the vest.

Kneeling in the middle of the night and having club sores, you don't need to look to know that the front and back of both legs are completely bruised, and the steps you take are getting heavier and heavier every step of the way.However, Ling Yucheng didn't care about his physical condition at the moment, leaving the barracks full of wounded soldiers, the moment he saw Xia Bai saluting in front of him, his expression immediately became gloomy.

"Have you found anything?"

"This subordinate is dereliction of duty!" Xia Bai was sweating profusely, handing over a thick stack of confessions with both hands, his eyes were bloodshot. "This incident is really as the adults said, it is quite strange. The subordinates did not do enough to restrain the soldiers, so that they were taken advantage of by others. The subordinates have no face to see the adults!"

The ink-colored brochure was opened page by page.The handwriting is vertical and horizontal, shocking.

In just one night, Xia Bai's intelligence personnel stayed up all night, screened batch by batch according to the rules, asked for confessions, checked entry and exit records, and searched for personal letters and belongings.A group of people proved that there was no suspicion, and immediately joined the team of inspectors. After being so busy for a whole night, they finally interrogated all 500 people of Xuanjiawei in Beijing.

In addition to the 1000 people newly transferred from Qingzhou, more than 300 people have still had contact with the Yu Xia prisoners of war after they were handed over. After the transfer order, the five people said to the people they visited, "I am leaving soon, but so-and-so is my brother, and I will ask him to deliver things..."

In addition, 23 of Ling Yucheng's [-] personal guards had met with the guards of Yu Xia's mission.

"Among your lord's personal guards, those who met with the mission's guards were accompanied by two or more people according to the rules. The subordinates separated them and asked them for at least three statements, and they all confirmed each other. There was no internal or external collusion or intentional reporting Outsiders are suspected of revealing military information."

"What about the rest?"

"So far, the time of entry and exit is incorrect. There are two people whose personal letters and belongings are suspicious, and five people whose confessions do not match each other. The subordinates are continuing to interrogate them. —— Judging from the confessions obtained so far, it is very likely that He accidentally slipped his mouth when he visited the prisoners of war, so that he was taken advantage of by others."

At the end, Xia Bai looked at Ling Yucheng's face, and added a sentence in a low voice but firmly.

"Understood." Swiping away all his subordinates, and sitting quietly at the table alone, Ling Yucheng dared to close his eyes and took a deep and long breath.

...was his fault.

He met Yu Xia's old friend according to his own temperament, and even said something that should never be said when facing the former subordinates.Therefore, there was no strict restriction on subordinates who also met with the mission guards.

I asked the hussar guards to take care of the prisoners from my own mind, so when the subordinate officers and soldiers went to visit, they didn't order to stop them.

Relying on meritorious deeds, acting recklessly, unable to guard against the passing of time, in the end, it will be hard to recover...

So what if those suspicious people were not traitors?Such a major incident of leaking secrets is enough to wipe out an entire army when it is replaced by marching and fighting in the past!

It was him who gave the wrong signal from the very beginning, so that he showed his flaws and was taken advantage of by someone with a heart - if the envoy Yu Xia who visited the prisoners of war didn't take advantage of this, it would be the most ridiculous thing in the world!

The booklet in his hand was heavy, Xia Bai rushed to write the report overnight, unintentionally leaked the confessions of several people, the list of people who had contact with prisoners of war...

Every word and every word was like a sword gouged out from the bottom of his heart, the pain was so painful that he didn't dare to breathe hard.

"Check out all the suspicious people. Those who leaked their words are all tied up, and those who have met Yu Xia's envoy and visited the prisoners of war are also detained separately. When I send the report and confession, please make a decision. ——The secrecy policy in the military has been reaffirmed, if you commit the crime again next time, you will be dealt with severely!"

After sitting alone for a long time, he opened the door and went out, facing Xia Bai and giving orders lightly.Then he waved his hands, and before Xia Bai could answer, he walked past two rows of subordinates who bowed their heads respectfully.

He Liu approached immediately, and opened a big tarpaulin umbrella over his head, but was pushed away by Ling Yucheng, and walked towards the carriage step by step.Just as he lowered his head and was about to get into the carriage, a horse galloped towards him. The knight rolled off his horse and knelt down on one knee in front of Ling Yucheng, raising his voice and proclaiming:

"My lord, the Jinwu Guard has escorted a group of people over!"

People from the Jinwu Guard usually come in and out in one or two small groups.There are a total of ten people coming down, the leader is a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in light crimson riding clothes, the handle of the whip in his hand is densely wrapped with gold thread.His stature has not yet grown up, but Gu Pan's demeanor is not commensurate with his age, so he can tell at a glance which nobleman's son he is from.

Iron-clad battalion soldiers, as the first army of Beiliang who live in the palace and see the sky every day, their source of troops is usually split in half.Half of the slaves from the emperor's family and the slaves and captives brought in from various tribes were simply warriors, and occasionally there were warriors from other armies who performed well in martial arts performances in front of the emperor, and the emperor was pleasing to the eye and asked to come.Most of these people are just relying on their bravery and loyalty to gain a future. They are as big as going to battle, as small as setting up a camp, and all kinds of hard work are all their business. Although there are only half of them, their combat effectiveness is almost more than [-]% of that of the Jinwu Guard. .

In terms of family background, this group of people should be nothing more than civilians at best, and most of them were born as orphans with no care.But because of his clean background, he was also quite trusted by the emperor. If he was lucky, it would not be impossible for him to rise to the top—this is how Lei Yong, the current general of Jinwu, climbed up the ranks and climbed to the position of the number one military official in Beiliang.

The other half of the positions are exclusively for the children of nobles.The sons of the high-ranking officials of various famous families, the younger ones are twelve or thirteen years old, and the older ones are fourteen or five years old. As long as they have enough backgrounds and holy family members, they will try their best to send them to the Jinwu Guard as errands--those who are almost able to send an eldest son It is a kindness from God to come in. If the other sons want to find a place in the Jinwu Guard, they have to rely on favors and connections. As for the sons, they basically don't even have to think about it.

When it comes to fighting, no one expects these child soldiers. They usually do some errands and pass orders, or they are guards in the palace.By the way, to get acquainted in front of the emperor, to build a good relationship with the noble children of the same background, and to be released in his twenties, he can almost be alone.

Like Shu Ye, the current general of Yulin, who has been serving in the Jinwu Guard since he was seven years old, basically he was raised in front of the emperor.Later, when he inherited the position of General Yubayashi and married the princess, things went smoothly all the way. Why, isn't it because he grew up with princes and princesses since he was a child, and today the emperor always treats him as half a son?

At this time, the leading young man who came to deliver the decree was Zong Bi, the youngest son of the current Hussar General, and it was his turn to enter the palace this morning, so Yuan Shao took the job smoothly.At this moment, after pronouncing His Majesty's oral order, he walked half a step behind Ling Yucheng's side, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

In the conflict that got up early yesterday morning, the hussar guards were cut down like melons and vegetables, and over a hundred were killed or injured.When the news came, everyone in the army was furious, and some uncles shouted and hacked back with knives.The father forcibly pressed down the furious subordinates, and immediately entered the palace to beg to see His Majesty, but just after a while, the messenger of apology came to the door with a heavy gift.

Knowing that Xuanjiawei chopped off more than a dozen heads, hundreds of people received criminal punishment, and even the empress herself received twenty army sticks, the grandfather who was sitting at home immediately gave an order: this is the end, whoever mentions the word revenge , Who did the old man kill himself!

Then, it was the news brought back from the palace by the Jin Wuwei's colleagues. Until they stepped down, the queen was still kneeling in the courtyard and did not get up.

That night, the father, who was ordered to torture the prisoners of war, did not close his eyes all night, reviewing the fragmented confessions, smearing, deleting and correcting them himself.The elder brother couldn't see it from the side, and blurted out: "Obviously our people were cut off, but in the end, we have to be careful to calm things down...Why!"

Before his father could speak, his grandfather raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

"Why? With his military exploits! Unconvinced? You can take six thousand lone troops to take down Jianmen Pass, and then go to the old man and say 'Why'!—The queen's dignity is the dignity of her majesty, and the ceremony is also lost , I have been beaten, and if we make trouble again, His Majesty will not turn towards us!"

This morning, when my father entered the palace early in the morning, what he reported to His Majesty was "Torture the prisoners of war and learned that what happened yesterday was that the envoy Yu Xia sent people to collude with the prisoners to deliberately create trouble and sow dissension..." As for those people who were transferred by Xuanjiawei The channels of intelligence had long been deleted by order of his father.

There was a long silence, only the sound of pages being turned.When His Majesty finally spoke, he was standing at the door holding a halberd, not daring to look up:

"... Xiaowuwei should also move." He heard the voice of His Majesty ordering the decree, the voice was deep and majestic, and the tone was obviously calm and soothing, but it made his legs weak involuntarily: "Also, the guard at the Jianmen Gate Those people of Yuxia... the men will be enslaved by the Tiger Guards, all the women and children will be returned to the Xiaowu Guards, and all their belongings will be enslaved in the palace. Inform the envoys of Yuxia, and if there is no conclusion within seven days, they will all go back to me!"

Then, he was ordered to take all the prisoners who were tortured yesterday and send them directly to the Xuanjiawei camp.His Majesty's oral order was only one sentence: "These people, you can deal with them yourself!"

What did you say after receiving twenty army sticks and kneeling all afternoon... Zong Bi thought angrily, seeing the person in front walked with steady and even steps and straight back, it was all fake!Fake!

He also muttered yesterday, but he was slapped by his grandfather exactly like his elder brother. He was worried that he would be on duty in the palace today, so the slap didn't hit his face: "Does it matter if it's a real slap? At least a few thousand people." Look! The beating is not for people, but for face, do you understand!"

No matter how upset he was, after sitting down, he could only respectfully hand in the statement of the prisoner of war that was ordered to be handed over to him after his lower head was seated, and opened his mouth upwards: "My grandfather and my father ordered the boy to pass on a message, saying that Hemeng has given you a generous gift. , I’m ashamed. It’s not uncommon for people below to bump into each other, so please don’t take it to heart.”

Ling Yucheng's eyes flashed.Whether it was for his own disposal or for His Majesty's face, the hussar guards had finally cleared the account.However, what should be said should always be said: "I always fail to restrain my subordinates. Please also ask the little general to oversee grandfather and father, and I will definitely come to make amends someday."

This is what I am afraid of!Last night my grandfather made it very clear: If the queen came to apologize in person, their family would not be able to bear it!Zong Bi quickly stood up and bowed his hands in salute: "My grandfather said that last night he tortured the prisoners of war and learned that this incident was instigated by Yu Xia's envoy. We only have the same reason for the enemy and dare not do it again. Discord will only cause pain to loved ones and happiness to enemies."

Pain for loved ones, fast for enemies... The loved ones in the past are now enemies!Repressing the faint pain in his heart, Ling Yucheng raised a decent smile instead, and his tone became more gentle and calm:

"My lord really understands righteousness. —— He Liu!"

"Subordinates are here!"

"Pass down the order to behead all those prisoners of war and send their bodies back to the Yuxia Pavilion. Tell them, if you don't have the ability to kill them with one blow, don't toss about those tricks that don't work!"

He stood up leisurely, and raised his hand to greet Zong Bi:

"Little general, would you like to go with me and go out to watch the execution together?"

There were more than a hundred prisoners of war who were escorted outside the gate of Xuanjiawei Camp, all of them were unkempt, barefooted, and all of them were stained with blood.Seeing that the gate of the camp was opened, Ling Yucheng led a group of people out slowly, and everyone's gazes surrounded them, almost every pair of eyes was full of hope and longing.

They were once his soldiers.

He used to teach and train with one hand, and honed into a real soldier from farmers, refugees, and villains with the other hand. He used to follow him in many battles and died nine times without regret.

Even if he didn't leave home with him, even if he was defeated and became a prisoner, even if he was used to provoke a dispute between him and the nobles of Beiliang,...they were his soldiers.

Until now, she still looks up at him with such eyes, hoping to hear from him a little bit of possibility of survival.

Thousands of thoughts rushed through the bottom of my heart, but Ling Yucheng's expression remained unchanged, and he turned to He Liu and nodded.His captain of the personal guard immediately took a step forward and issued a loud order:

"According to the military order of the adults, all beheaded!"

"As ordered!"

Sergeants who had been prepared for a long time came to drag people, and they fell down in a row of ten in the snow. The executioner raised the ghost-headed sword high and swung it down vigorously.

The head rolled down, and the blood gushed out like a spring. At this time, the stunned prisoner of war struggled violently, and shouted in disbelief:

"My lord! My lord!"

"next batch!"

"My lord! Your lord, forgive me!"

"My lord! I am Li Erdanzi who fought Ganquan Gorge with you! My lord!"

"My lord, I was going to follow you, but I couldn't keep up because my leg was broken!"

"Sir, save me..."

Amidst the chaotic cries for help, Ling Yucheng stood upright with his sword pressed, his handsome face seemed to be wearing a mask, and no expression could be seen.The gust of wind fluttered the eyebrows with snowflakes. He didn't even blink his eyes, but gave the order in a firm and deep voice:

"next batch!"

The cries gradually turned into pleadings, and then into wailing.Suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd, and a prisoner of war, who did not know where the strength came from, desperately broke free from the Xuanjia guards who were supporting him, and staggered and fell in front of Ling Yucheng:

"My lord," he struggled to kneel up straight, raised his face, and stared at Ling Yucheng for a moment, "how is my brother?"

The face and figure of the person in front of him seemed familiar. At the same moment yesterday, right here, another young man who was seriously injured and had a childish face looked up at him with the same eyes, crying blood every word:

"But they beat them, and it was my third brother who was almost beaten to death by them!"

Help my brother—the man once begged him silently with his eyes.

Ling Yucheng lowered his head slowly, facing the young man who became the leader and caused the whole incident.

"Your brother—is dead." His voice has never been slow and dignified. "He fought with friendly soldiers for no reason, and never killed anyone. He was all [-] army sticks. He didn't survive."

He paused for a moment, then continued to speak to the young man's mournful and unbelievable eyes: "What he committed was not a capital crime. Don't worry, there will be a memorial tablet for him in the Qingzhou Military Temple. Someone will offer incense during the Qingming and Winter Solstice. "

"Thank you sir..."

After murmuring these words, the young man collapsed to the ground as if collapsed.He didn't make a sound until he was dragged to the executioner and swung the butcher's knife down.

The speed of execution was very fast, and the cries among the prisoners of war became louder and louder as they went to the back.After I don't know how many batches were dragged over, there was a hysterical shout from the remaining group of prisoners of war:

"Ling Yucheng, you must die!"

There was a sudden silence all around, and before the soldiers and executioners had time to stop them, shouts and curses were intertwined:

"Climb up by serving men, shameless!"

"Riding for a man so much that he forgot who he is, turned around and beat his own people, taking our lives to curry favor with the new master!"

"Disloyal, unfilial, shameless!"

"If you die, you will go to the eighteenth floor of hell!"

The foul language was mixed with Xuanjiawei's scolding, the sound of whips, sticks, and dull cries of pain sounded one after another, finally calming down the sudden uproar.Then, almost all the guards turned their eyes to their lord, worriedly and quietly watching Ling Yucheng's figure standing in the wind and snow.

In the eyes of concern, worry or hatred and fear, Ling Yucheng suddenly raised his head and smiled slightly.

Shameless?

Do you serve men?

Shameless?

Ha ha……

Finally, he heard someone say these words in front of him.

In fact, why bother to hide it.There are some things, as long as they exist, they exist. If you don’t close your ears and eyes, it can disappear by itself...

Marrying Yuan Shao as a man and becoming the queen of Beiliang, as they said, I am no longer the staunch and noble Ling Yucheng who would rather die than humiliate me.

Even if he can seal all the mouths of the world, he will never be able to deceive his own heart...

Smiling, Ling Yucheng waved back the subordinates around him, walked to the prisoner who scolded the sharpest alone, bent down under his eyes of fear and astonishment, and stared into his eyes.

"Do you want to go to the [-]th floor of hell if you die?"

He asked softly at a volume that only each other could hear, his tone was calm and indifferent, even with a slight smile:

"Where do you think I am now?"

Pulling out the dagger, it pierced the man's heart neatly.

The author has something to say: ah, I finally wrote a section that I love so much and is very cute...Hold my face...

Ps:

Regardless of what His Majesty meant or what the hussars meant, it's "Whether you did it or not, anyway, it's you, it's you..."

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