Forbidden City of Heze + Dalufei

"You boy... just wear this to meet the king?"

An old car with a special license plate slowly parked outside the iron gate of the Royal Military Academy. The campus looked a little deserted early on Saturday morning.When his friend opened the car door and got in, he saw that he was dressed in a T-shirt and jacket after changing from the regular uniform, Yixuan couldn't help but tease him.

"What's the matter, you emphasized that you don't need to be so restrained."

Long Fei had an indifferent expression, he kept chewing gum in his mouth, and his firm and flat cheeks rose and fell rhythmically.

"But you should at least wear a shirt and a tie." Yi Xu looked helplessly at the rebellious guy. When the car started smoothly, he pulled a piece of tissue paper placed behind the seat and handed it to the other party. mouth, "Spit out the chewing gum, look at your foolishness."

"Didn't the rules come out before you reached your house?"

There was a hint of impatience in his chuckle, but he still obediently spit out what was in his mouth into a piece of paper, crumpled it up and stuffed it into the ashtray on the car door.

"My brother is very stubborn. If the first impression is not good, he will never communicate with him."

"If you don't see each other, then don't see each other." Long Fei stretched his waist nonchalantly, and leaned on the seat with a lumbar cushion. "It's as if I can get some benefits."

"Okay, idiot." Yi Xu pushed his head hard, and simply gave up arguing with the childish young man whose rebellious period was not yet over, "I insisted on you coming to our house as a guest, give me a face Bar?"

When Long Fei stayed in the spacious and airy daytime drawing room according to his friend's instructions, waiting for the young monarch who had never met to come from the study, he finally felt a little uncomfortable.The vivid tapestry above the black fireplace directly opposite gives people a sense of strange coercion, and the portraits of the former king and queen are meticulously examining the strange visitor in the room.His fingers tapped on the brass-edged sandalwood coffee table without rhythm. The slight muffled sound was out of tune with the old pendulum clock on the wall, which made him more and more impatient. The gerbera flowers also appear noisy.

The active young man couldn't help standing up, and tried to walk around the hall with the dark red carpet, and his successive steps got stuck in the thick soft fluff. Fleeing to the side where the sun does not shine, I observed with interest the two display cases standing side by side against the wall.Rows of imported liquor leaned against golden shelves bearing brands he had never seen before.Blood-red, amber, or lemon-yellow as clear as egg whites, the glow that swirls through the world's most seductive liquids tickles his throat a little.

At this time, the person who suddenly pushed the door interrupted his initial curiosity, and Long Fei hurriedly turned around to deal with the boring and pretentious meeting ceremony.When his gaze crossed Yoshitsugu's shoulder and was blocked by the figure following him, the smile that was just about to unfold symbolically froze on his face suddenly, and what was certain was that the moment of this encounter was at the opposite end. The shock caused in the heart of the newly enthroned king was no less than his.

"I didn't expect it to be you."

After finally being patient and finishing the inappropriate greetings before, Yizheng finally took advantage of his younger brother's temporary absence from the reception room, raised his head to catch Long Fei's gaze, and said something impatient, with a dazed expression and tense nerves before The two of them let out an incomprehensible laugh at the same time.

"Damn it, you're actually a king, are you trying to scare me to death?" The thoughts that had hit a wall in his head seemed to have finally found an outlet, and Long Fei relaxed his slightly stiff sitting posture to face the most dramatic scene he had encountered so far.

"How did you become Yixu's classmate in Junlan?" I couldn't wait to respond to the exclamation of the old acquaintance in front of me, Yizheng's doubts seemed to be more urgent than the other party's, and there was even a sense of blame in his tone, "Your brain What are you thinking, don't you have a good life in the country?"

As he said that, he couldn't help but repeatedly looked at the other party's long-lost face with his eyes, carefully holding out the only crystal drop of water from the chaotic ocean behind the distant shore.The image of Long Fei has always been reckless deep in his memory, but he doesn't know why it is always connected with his very fragile and fragile sense of touch.Maybe it's because they met in April to June when the mulberry fruit is ripe, in the sensitive and easily shaken season transition.

Long Fei lived in the countryside of Yinli when he was a teenager, and he liked to run into the rich private estate of Shangguan’s family near the village to play. He would kill the fruits before they were really ripe, or set ugly and clumsy traps on the paths walked by wild ducks. , When the weather is hot, I simply take off my naked body and jump into the lake to swim, like a savage monkey who broke into this poetic place.Of course, in the backward countryside far away from the urban area of ​​Yinli, few people can manage these gardens richly and deliciously like the royal family, full of flowers and fruit trees, and there is no rest and coldness all year round, so how can we blame it? Coveted by others?After Yizheng failed to catch the elusive monkey, he decided to tear down all the walls of the land. So the boy's favorite food, mulberry fruit, finally avoided the fate of being knocked down hastily. The purple color was about to break through the thin skin before it was picked off leisurely.

"I want to come out and have a look, but I don't have any money, so I have to enlist in the military academy." Long Fei said lightly, failing to notice the utopian episode that the other party was replaying in his mind at this time, and took out the jacket pocket to crumple Under Yizheng's slightly discolored eyes, he rolled it up calmly, put it on the cigarette holder, and lit it with a lighter, "I haven't figured it out yet, why did you move away all of a sudden. I can't believe it." , I know you are the young master of a rich family, but you don't take such an exaggeration... You never said a word to me. "

Although the other party's behavior of smoking indoors caused him discomfort, Yoshiaki still took the glass ashtray and put it in his hand without saying a word.In fact, this kind of reunion is not what he expected. Yizheng is close to a perfectionist, who tends to seal up the beautiful and fleeting memories, cut off all clues to reality and the future, and it will be like a pile of memories stored in The oranges in the glass jar always maintain a fresh and vivid color, and then fermented into a wine-like aroma.Even if he reminded himself repeatedly that everyone will grow and change, such a contrast in details does not mean anything, but he very much hopes that Long Fei will stay in the remote village where those years have been frozen, and even maintain the appearance of his youth.

"Who told you not to watch TV or read newspapers? I made a lot of appearances in the media when I first took the throne."

"Why don't you stay in Yinli? We are all kings, so it's strange not to live in the capital?"

"The place where I am is the capital," Yizheng answered forcefully but vaguely, trying to avoid some topics that would trigger minefields, "Junlan will soon become the new administrative center. But... the original reason It's my wife who's pregnant and she needs to rest."

"Wait, you're married? When did that happen?" The young man in front of him finally aroused some complaints, and his eagerness to speak made him slightly choked by the smoke ring that had just formed in his mouth, so he frowned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry Gee asked, "Why do I feel like you've been treating me like a fool?"

"I didn't tell you anything, but what do you think it's about?"

"I thought we were on good terms, yes, it's your freedom to tell me or not, but I thought you would at least say hello to me when you left, send me a few letters or something, didn't I think it was right?"

Yoshiaki sat expressionless, the silence making it look like he was admitting that he couldn't refute.

Long Fei, do you know how fragile and hard to sustain those carefree days?Like a transparent glass jar, even if there is a little stain on your hands, it will leave unclean marks after touching it.

The night my hands were covered in blood, I knew I couldn't stay.When I came back to my senses, I had already embarked on a path that diverged from you and that ordinary and kind world.Even though he killed his own blood relatives for the minimum preservation of himself, he couldn't stop being caught in the quagmire of the power struggle.This filthy blood, no matter how much you wash it, looks like it can't be washed clean, and it will continue to bring misfortune to those around you.

You'll be safe as long as you stay in that airtight glass jar, I've always thought so.

The mixture of gunpowder smoke and the slight wind and sand blown by the morning sun turned the blackened ruins of Mobaha into another blurred tomb at the end of the yellow sand. This population has reached about 1, and it has experienced poor natural supply and human survival needs. The balance of the town gradually took shape, and it was eaten by weapons of mass destruction overnight, leaving only a bare skeleton.

Resident casualties were appalling due to the reckless combat orders issued by the commanders.The soldiers in charge of collecting the corpses seemed to have gotten used to this disgusting job, cursing and kicking the lifeless piece of flesh from time to time.

Junliu was sitting in the treatment room temporarily arranged by the military doctor accompanying the team. The windows were tightly closed and the easily accessible places in the room were roughly sprayed with disinfectant. The charred fragments were separated from the exposed flesh little by little, and the blisters spread all over were cut, and a thick layer of white ointment was applied and then wrapped with paraffin gauze. Relieved, he then received a dose of antibiotics to prevent infection.

Just as he was about to move to another waiting room outside the corridor and give up the place to receive treatment to other soldiers waiting, there were loud voices and intermittent loud threats outside the window. Several teams of prisoners of war walked through the ruined lanes and gathered in the open space beside the road outside the town.

It can also be distinguished from the appearance that many of them are local residents. Both men and women put their dirty hands behind their heads, their iron-blue lips are tightly closed, and their heads are buried numbly, as if they don't care about the upcoming coming judgment.In the long mechanically moving crowd, Junliu suddenly found a familiar figure again, the little boy who begged him for food at first, and then tried to lure him away from the troops who were about to be attacked. The worn-out smock was walking along with the adults in a daze.

Junliu immediately rushed out of the emergency room, pushed aside the crowd and tried his best to get closer to him, but on the way he ran into a junior officer who was on the scene to supervise the escort.

"Where is this going? What are we going to do with them?"

"Gather them in an open space outside the town and execute them."

The other party answered very simply, and there was no trace of emotion on his dry face that was blown into sulfur by the wind and sand. He didn't give Junliu more time to mediate, and his feet in hard riding boots took a big step.

"He Ze's military laws are much stricter than enemy war criminals in punishing rebellion during the war. They voluntarily assist the enemy, and the brand marks on their hands are identification marks."

Long Fei's khaki military coat was draped lifelessly on the back of the chair. He glanced at the young man standing in front of him with the backlight, and continued to wipe a black automatic pistol with rough straw paper. Junliu's expression at the moment, "Do you think I am the one to execute them on my own initiative?"

"You are the commander-in-chief, do you want to say that this is beyond your control?" Different from his idle attitude, Junliu didn't want to waste time, these poor civilians will inevitably die after being ransacked by the troops of both sides.

"Don't use rhetorical questions to me. Even you, Your Highness, it is impossible to question the law. This is the foundation of our country."

"Among them are pregnant women and children. He even tried to help me out of danger with that child. The people of Mobaha live in a difficult situation here. How can they resist the threats and temptations of the enemy?" The boy couldn't help but go up Taking the previous step, I wanted to force this man to face the question seriously, "Our country owes us enough protection for the peoples in these autonomous regions, why should we impose the most severe punishment when they make mistakes? !"

"I didn't say that this kind of punishment is fair." Long Fei couldn't stand the other party's quarrel in this hot and tired afternoon, so he simply put the polished gun in the locked drawer, and then showed a disdainful chuckle, "If If you care so much about this kind of fairness, maybe you can also think of the soldiers who were killed by these rebels, how they felt when they were dying?"

"Women, children, or old people you mentioned, they all lost their loved ones in the battle just now. The seeds of hatred will be buried in this way, and then they will grow wildly when they get the chance, inciting uncoordinated emotions. The rebellion is terrible. The point is not their physical aggression, but the subsequent spread of a series of negative ideologies, especially in sensitive war times, it is even more necessary to eradicate them.”

"Look at those people, they didn't cry or make trouble. Most of them have realized the retribution they will bear for their actions. They lost their relatives and homes, and now they only want to die. I think killing them just now is a kind of charity..." Jun Liu opened his eyes wide, and the blood gushed out in an instant, making him blurt out, "I heard that right, you call this charity? You don't understand the fear of these people at all, have you ever noticed their eyes, helpless ...Desperate to the point that your soul is out of your body! General, you are used to standing on a high ground like this, and you don't care about the life and death of these low-level people, even though they are the most innocent and painful victims of this war."

As Junliu said, he bit his lower lip, and the doubts accumulated in his chest rolled up and rushed around. He showed an unbearable expression from this, "I don't understand, what is the meaning of being such a soldier? We don't even have a child on our own land. I can't keep it, forcing him to rely on the enemy army in exchange for survival, I just feel ashamed!"

Long Fei looked at him silently, no longer making any positive response or evaluation.When exactly, the boy's brows were hardened, and it was difficult to relax them. He couldn't be content with the superficial order, and he always wanted to prove the deeper mystery of things.They put their own scales on this bumpy surface, and still pondered why they couldn't find the initial balance.He began to want to laugh, not to ridicule the innate tenderness of these teenagers, but to be helpless about the war, which was not able to reason or stand up to scrutiny in the first place.

"Your Highness, I think you are tired and think too much," Long Fei sighed. The other party's youthful vigor made him feel both pity and annoyed, because it inevitably tightened the old knot in his heart again, " Being easily agitated is not a good thing, after losing your temper with me, go back to rest early, sleep well and open your eyes, as if nothing happened, I guarantee that no trace of disgust will appear in front of you."

Junliu stood motionless, and Long Fei was surprised by his indifference and evasive attitude, just when he didn't know what to do, the man stood up from his chair and came to him, "Or, You need a kiss from me?"

"No...stop it." When the other party's lips were unceremoniously leaning against his cheek, Jun Liu stretched out his hand and pushed in disgust.However, the lower jaw was clamped by the tiger's jaw of the opponent's wide palm. When he was forced to open his mouth, Long Fei's slippery tongue broke in, and his right arm was completely twisted to a position where he could not move.

In contrast to the previous negative conversation, he hugged him tightly, and the series of kisses were too passionate. Just when Junliu was almost distracted by the other party's teasing, several gunshots came from outside the window, dragging on for a long time. echoed in the air.

When he realized that this was the prelude to the execution, Jun Liu's whole body shook, the back of his neck was chilled by the upstream blood, he desperately tried to break free from Long Fei's grip, but was held tighter every time.

"It will be over in a few minutes, out of sight and out of mind." Long Fei still kept kissing his cheeks and hairline, trying to make him stop any emotional behavior, but when he just said this sentence, his face was covered with tears. He slapped hard.

Immediately, he was pushed almost to the point of falling, and his back hit the hard corner of the table. While the sharp pain made him grin his teeth, Jun Liu had already pushed open the door to the side and ran out.

When the angry young man ran all the way to the open space outside the town, the remaining residents of Mobaha Town were already close together under the sound of gunfire, and all the evidence of the crime was exposed under their torn sleeves.Involuntarily, Junliu pushed away the soldiers gathered to watch the fun, the dry sand under his feet was blown away by the steaming air, he rushed to the center where the loaded gun was staring at him, and blocked the man who was standing not far behind him. boy.

"I'm really naive, I can't figure out the difference between you and the invading army." Junliu sneered like self-deprecating, and when he heard the officer on the side shouting at his provocative behavior, he moved closer to the rebels get closer.

"I'm so sorry, my subordinate has a bit of heatstroke today." Long Fei, who arrived right after him, continued to rub his badly hit back, and walked straight into the surrounded circle.When he grabbed Jun Liu's arm, the people standing around became silent because of the obvious tension, only the wind and sand passing over their heads forgot to hold their breath.

"Well, keep the women and children. I will ask my superiors tonight. If they don't want to pursue it, I naturally want to save their lives."

Seeing that the other party finally put away his previous cynical attitude and began to deal with his dissatisfaction seriously, Junliu temporarily held back his breath and did not continue to quarrel with him in front of his numerous subordinates.He glanced at the dull but restless eyes of the boy behind him, and his footsteps were as heavy as nails.And Long Fei, who held his hand tightly and dragged him away from the scene, seemed to show no sympathy from the beginning to the end.

"Tomorrow the sun will surely rise from the west."

Listening to the long-lost voice sounded from the other end thousands of miles away, Long Fei sat alone in front of the window opened at midnight, the cool air like moonlight piercing through his skin.

"Since the last time I contacted your base, I haven't heard from you for two years, nine months and 21 days. Today, I actually called an insider to come to my study."

"You gave me this number before you left, didn't you ask me to call it, did you ask me to buy a lottery ticket?" He said, sandwiching the peeled receiver between his shoulder and the side of his face, and opened the drawer He picked out a cigarette, held it between his teeth, and flicked the lighter.The small card with numbers on the table at hand has been worn out beyond recognition.

"But on this matter, shouldn't you consult the Army Command or the Counselor of the National Assembly? It seems that the issue of helping you with military law is not within my jurisdiction."

"But it's your son who's bothering me, isn't it, Your Majesty?"

"Why don't you call me Yizheng, General?" He asked sarcastically, leaning lightly on the thick soft sofa back cushions, the newly lit fireplace in the room radiated suitable warmth, and brewed with a cup of boiling water in front of him jasmine tea.In the dead of night, Yizheng is used to spending some alone reading time in the study, and the gold-tipped pen that has not been put down in his hand is recording his intermittent thoughts.

"Does the life on the front line make you so boring? You don't know how much I want to talk to you about each other's current situation. You finally called, just want to blame me for being incompetent?"

"No, I'm just a little confused." Long Fei took down the cigarette he had just taken, let the night wind blowing in his face brush the white smoke on his face, and then said in a trembling voice, "Yizheng, your mind Very sober, right? That’s why you have never hesitated. In order to fight for the throne, you framed your elder brother, killed his wife and concubine and underage children, betrayed Shuya, and tricked her into marrying into that damn wilderness for your benefit. nation."

"You must have seen clearly that the other side of light and fairness can only be reached after doing evil and using dirty means. If it really exists, then you tell me the fuck right now, what is holding us up? Where is the value of these killings placed?! Your son questioned me word by word today, which made me feel so guilty that I wanted to tear his mouth off!"

"It's really unexpected that you have such sentimental moments," the other party seemed to be laughing, "Compared to me, isn't it more pathetic for you to go to the battlefield just out of anger? Then I will tell you, I never think What ridiculous light can war bring? I live in darkness every day. Even resisting the invaders is just an excuse to use justice as a motivating force, just like I stand in front of that microphone every day to preach to the people .Words like honor and loyalty are disgusting."

"The function of war is only to make people realize their infinitely ignorant human nature. I thought you have realized something after so many years of experience. Your main force is an ace division who has wiped out countless enemies on the battlefield. Do you think that You, who are also a murderer, are talking to me from a more noble position than mine today? We are just grasshoppers tied to a rope, and no one can jump out."

"Soldiers are scavengers, not critical theorists. Long Fei, the guilt of killing is entrusted to the leaders of the army, that is, me and the chairman of the National Assembly. It will also fall on my son in the future. You Don't care about our entanglement and confusion. You don't need pity."

"If you really care about Jun Liu's feelings, then shoot and kill those people in front of him. You can teach him this lesson. I guess you don't want to take this burden on the road?"

"You..." Long Fei was stuck in his throat, and the other party's calm and even-tempered tone made his scalp tingle, "Yizheng, you are still so obsessed."

"Although Junliu is just a naive kid, I would rather rely on him and believe in what he thinks is correct. There must be a way without sacrificing so many people."

"I hope so, of course I also hope that future generations will be better than me." He seemed not to be attached to any consensus reached in the argument with the other party, and changed his tone after a while and said, "It seems that you are getting along very well, Long No, do you see what I used to look like in him?"

Yizheng can imagine that if, as the other party said, there is really a certain bright side supporting his will as a leader, making him not hesitate to use bloody wrists, not afraid of the long war that can hardly see a turning point , then there must be dense mulberry trees full of purple-red fruits planted all over the other shore, faintly appearing under the passing light of memories.

After waiting for about half a minute, I wanted to get close to the once distant and dim heart after the vicissitudes of life, but the other party failed to respond to him, and there was a cut-off sound from the other end of the receiver.After repeating the short busy tone next to it several times, the king, who was sitting in the study with soft light, slowly put down the phone.

When Junliu unconsciously opened his eyes, the corners of his thirsty and dehydrated mouth had formed hard dead skin again.

The sun has just risen in the early morning, and the temperature of the ground begins to rise along with the evaporated water.

The scrapped water supply system made the faucet in the room twisted to the end, and he could only cough out a thick drop of water with copper-colored rust. The shirts and trousers that have been soiled are ready to go to the pond in the center of the town to take a shower in order to cope with the upcoming long-distance march.

With a creak, he pushed the loose wooden door, and the moment he stepped out of the door, he smelled the unusual fishy smell in the air.

He looked around in a daze, and finally found that at the end of the alley not far from him, there was a thick pool of blood, half sucked by the sand, and there were traces of being dragged on the ground, extending to the back of the corner.

He widened his eyes, and suddenly shivered, hesitantly took a step, and slowly approached the pool of blood.With some unsteady steps, his breathing began to be rapid and heavy in his ears, and the moment he turned the corner, his heart suddenly twitched uncontrollably.

Under the glare of the sun, there were messy corpses all over the place. Before they could be dragged into the dug pit, the hundreds of meters of ground below them were all pools of blood.From the eyes that were as big as copper bells and the distorted posture, it can be distinguished that they died in a frenzied chaos. The entire back of the woman who was trying to escape was covered with black blood, and her muscles were torn into pieces. Twisted fingers desperately grabbed a handful of dry grass in the corner.

The massacre without a single bullet was done quietly while he was asleep.

The chill rising from his feet made Jun Liu unable to make a sound. He felt a severe dizziness, and stood on the spot as if he lost his soul, staring blankly at the hellish scene in front of him.Soon, his gaze was caught by a small body. When he found that the boy buried under several heavy corpses had already been covered with blood, his kind nature did not bring him any pain. Fortunately, he escaped doom, and the old gray-black smock became his last cradle of sleep.

Junliu staggered back a few steps, the shock mixed with a strong sense of nausea urged him to vomit, but his back suddenly touched the man's tall body, before he could groan, Long Fei stretched out his hand , tightly covered the boy's eyes, and rested his head on his chest.

"Wake up so early, low blood pressure will make you dizzy," he said softly, and after the palm of his hand touching his eyelids felt a gradually gathering damp warmth, he put the other hand on his trembling shoulder , it seems to be the cold that even the hot and dry climate can't alleviate.

"It's just a dream, Junliu."

"It's a nightmare that hasn't had time to dissipate."

Finish