My country is dead again [Rebirth]

The soldiers of the three battalions were all on the verge of a formidable enemy, and Xie Ruzhuo was closely guarded in the middle. They were few in number, so they didn't turn back rashly for the sake of safety, but walked forward to join the main force of the three battalions.

However, when we got to the front of the forest, we found that the thousands of people were completely in disarray, and we didn't see where the emperor was. A number one official recognized Xie Ruzhuo and hurriedly said: "The remnants of the eunuchs are making trouble. Your majesty is going west. Take the sixth highness quickly." Follow up." After finishing speaking, the number one officer was called away by his subordinates.

The eunuchs had been purged before Xie Tang ascended the throne, and it was only two or three years after he ascended the throne that the liquidation was completed. However, over the past ten years or so, resurgences have emerged repeatedly, like weeds that burn endlessly in wildfire.In fact, until now, I don’t know whether there are really remnants of the eunuchs who are still dreaming about the Spring and Autumn Dream, or if other interested people are taking advantage of this to fish in troubled waters.Anyway, the court situation has already turned into a muddy pool, and Xie Tang himself can't tell how many people who have different intentions.

Jin Yiwei was nowhere to be seen in the forest. Presumably Xie Tang and the Fifth Prince were closely guarded and left first, leaving the three major battalions to scatter to stop the so-called remnants of the eunuchs. reinforce.

Xie Ruzhuo, who was submerged in the chaos, followed the group of soldiers to the west, not far away, a few feathered arrows swished past them, and the two soldiers fell off their horses, Xie Ruzhuo was frightened Shivering, the usually docile horse Yuemo was even more frightened, and with a long hiss, it galloped wildly, rampaging through the bushes half as tall as a man.

Xie Ruzhuo's heart was already in his throat, but because of his personality, he resisted the idea of ​​yelling and clung to the horse's back and followed the frightened horse into the depths of the mountain forest. The soldiers behind him seemed to be calling him, But he couldn't hear clearly under the extreme panic, his energy and blood surged, and he was out of his body. He saw figures flickering in the forest in a daze, and his mind fell blankly in the sharp jolt.

This place happened to be a low hillside, Xie Ruzhuogulu rolled down and fell into a mess.

There was no one around him, he didn't dare to run out, and he didn't dare to shout out, he crouched there like a quail with his head huddled, the clanging of swords on the slope hurt his ears.

The soldiers didn't come down to look for him for a long time, Xie Ruzhuo realized that it was not suitable to stay here for a long time, and was about to leave when a hand suddenly patted his shoulder, and the sound of a person's breathing fell behind his ear.

Xie Ruzhuo almost lost his breath in fright, but the other party had already whispered in his ear: "There is a fight from above, we can't get through to the west, let's hide in the north first."

Before Xie Ruzhuo could recover, he was pulled up, and walked towards the north with the lush forest in the jungle with the prey that smelled danger and was also running for his life.

The person pulling him was Shen Ci who he had thought of not long ago. His plain white riding clothes were rare and clean, his collars were buttoned up meticulously, he was carrying a big bow, with a few feathered arrows stuck in his quiver, and he pursed his lips. With a serious face, he watched the movement around him vigilantly.

Xie Ruzhuo glanced at it several times, thinking that this is quite a young general's demeanor.

The noise had faded away, Xie Ruzhuo was no longer afraid, and asked, "How did you find me?"

"Fifth Young Master is not in good health, so I'm going back first. I don't want to go back, so I follow the northern border army. The three major battalions came to ask for help, and the army came in a swarm. I am embarrassed to turn around, so I can only continue to follow." Apparently some heavy bows, "When I got to the vicinity, I heard the soldiers of the three major battalions say that His Majesty's horse was frightened, so I abandoned the horse and looked for it from the shortcut below the hillside. But when I came over, there was already a melee The three major battalions said that the remnants of the eunuchs chased Yujia to the west, so it might not be safe."

Xie Ruzhuo was held by his wrist, he shook his hand when he heard the words, and said, "How old are you? Even if you run back, no one will say anything about you. What are you doing here? Are you not afraid of death?"

Shen Ci frowned like a little grown-up: "Master told me since I was a child that one must be prepared to go to the battlefield to die after enrolling in the military, and if one retreats, one is not a man."

Xie Ruzhuo felt that such Shen Ci was a bit cute, and secretly smiled with his eyes bent, looking at the big black bow on his back, and asked again: "Brother, can you really pull this bow?"

"Of course I can pull it!" Shen Ci snorted, very dissatisfied, "I was able to pull it last year, and I can also shoot it."

Xie Ruzhuo's feet were a little sore from the fall, and he limped after walking this distance, but he continued to walk quickly with Shen Ci, and said nonchalantly: "Then brother, can you give me a shot?" A rabbit? Nobody's ever cummed on me yet."

"Isn't there someone beside you?" Shen Ci's fingers pinched the bowstring, and muttered, "Won't you let them shoot for you?"

"Didn't you see the rabbit." Xie Ruzhuo's voice became softer, "And I only have my brother as a friend, and I want my brother to give me a little rabbit."

Shen Ci remained silent, but his eyes had already unconsciously noticed the various prey that would run by from time to time.

The trees, grass and rocks in the forest were not much different. At first, Xie Ruzhuo could not tell how long he had walked. Later, his feet hurt and he could barely walk, and the second was really dizzy from wandering around. Those sounds that sounded dangerous could not be heard clearly at all. Xie Ruzhuo was young Said: "Brother, where are we going?"

It was only then that Shen Ci realized that Xie Ruzhuo's complexion was not very good, and his walking was not right. He scratched his hair, a little annoyed, and asked fiercely on purpose: "You just follow me around like this, are you afraid that I will kidnap you?"

"Didn't my brother tell me to go with you?" Xie Ruzhuo lowered his eyebrows, "What will I do if I don't follow you?"

Shen Ci scratched his hair again, getting even more annoyed. He always felt that he was bullying him, and he felt weird.

"It should be safe here. Let's stay here overnight and go out to have a look tomorrow morning." Shen Ci swept around and arranged calmly, "Don't worry, even if the three battalions are not good enough, the Northern Frontier Army is still invincible Yes, those guys will definitely not be able to beat them."

Xie Ruzhuo didn't know what to do anyway, so he nodded obediently.

This is already deep in the hunting ground, with lush vegetation, covering a large bluestone embedded in the soil, Shen Ci took him to sit on the back of the bluestone, Xie Ruzhuo rubbed his ankles a few times, opened his mouth and wanted to chatter, Shen Ci's eyes slightly Squinting, he stretched out a finger to his lips and let out a "hush", took off the longbow on his back, picked up a feathered arrow, and pointed it at the rubble pile behind the grass.

Xie Ruzhuo thought it was some kind of prey that could eat people, so he held his breath and looked over in a cold sweat. When he saw it clearly, he was relieved. There was a rabbit of a very similar color lying beside the rubble, dusty, There are two pinches of white hair on the top of a pair of long ears.

"There are really little rabbits." Xie Ruzhuo wisely didn't speak loudly, but could only rub against Shen Ci and said in a breathless voice.

Shen Ci's ears itched slightly, he tilted his head to hide, and slowly pulled the bow away. His hands were not much bigger than Xie Ruzhuo's, but the bow and arrow were so stable that there was no tremor. It was obvious that he was just shooting a rabbit, but Xie Ruzhuo followed him. The cruelty from the day they first met was seen in his eyes.

The rabbit pricked up its ears, as if it had sensed something, and opened its hind legs to run away. At this moment, Shen Ci let go of the bowstring, and the arrow shot out quickly, nailing the rabbit that had run two steps to the ground.

Xie Ruzhuo was overjoyed, ran over to pick up the dying rabbit, stained his hands with blood, looked at the rabbit's red eyes for a while, and smiled at Shen Ci: "The little rabbit is so cute."

Shen Ci had a sarcasm on his face, he was about to die, what's the use of being cute, Xie Ruzhuo said in a sweet voice without changing his face: "Since the rabbit is so cute, let's eat it for dinner."

Shen Ci: "..."

The two 11-year-old children were well covered behind the blue stone, which was not only safe but also sheltered from the wind. Shen Ci carried a fire bag with him, squatted on the ground and built a fire, and skillfully cleaned up the gray rabbit, and then set it up on the ground. Roast on fire.

Xie Ruzhuo stared at the rabbit with all his attention, "want to eat" was written brightly in his eyes, the more Shen Ci thought about it, the more hairy he became.

"Brother, why do you know everything? You can ride horses, shoot arrows, fight, and roast rabbits. There must be many people who want to marry you in the future." Xie Ruzhuo looked at Shen Ci reverently, "Who taught you?"

Shen Ci could always be choked by Xie Ruzhuo and didn't know what expression to put on. He said: "Riding a horse is very simple. In fact, you can learn how to ride a horse by yourself. You can learn it by falling a few times. My master used to be in the Cangzhou Army. He was the one who taught me archery and...fighting at the beginning, and I ran to the barracks every day, learning from everyone, and I learned it after going back and forth. As for the roasted rabbit, you go to the barracks to hang out. For a few days, you can drink and barbecue."

Xie Ruzhuo was thoughtful: "Military membership cannot be chosen at birth, does my brother like to do this?"

"Why don't you like it?" Shen Ci turned the rabbit over, "Isn't riding a horse and archery fighting more interesting than reading?"

Xie Ruzhuo blinked: "Reading is very interesting."

Shen Ci gave him a hard look: "Oh."

"Then brother wants to be a general in the future?" Xie Ruzhuo smelled the aroma of the roasted rabbit gradually, and the word "want to eat" in his eyes was about to overflow.

Shen Ci lowered his head and struck the firewood, and said in a long silence: "I should not be able to go to the battlefield in the future. The fifth young master wants me to be his personal soldier in the future. Only then will he agree to help me cover up one thing. Master and wife have paid for me. It’s a lot, and I don’t want them to be in trouble.”

Xie Ruzhuo said: "Because your mother is a prostitute, and his father actually gave birth to you with your mother, so that fifth young master doesn't like you?" Seeing Shen Ci's surprised expression, he continued, "Your background doesn't seem to be What a secret, Brother Wuhuang loves to make friends with the children of the family, he heard from others that Zongbing Pei has a son outside, so he asked Pei Yunfeng about it in the morning, and I heard it."

The rabbit had been roasted until it was golden in color and full of fragrance. Xie Ruzhuo immediately tore off a leg and gnawed on it. Shen Ci had something on his mind, but instead ate politely. He replied to Xie Ruzhuo's previous words: "Well, it's really not a secret."

Xie Ruzhuo had never had such a chance to let go and eat. His tongue was burned and he was still gasping for breath, smiling greasyly: "What's the matter? Many generals in history also came from poor and humble backgrounds. Maybe they once I never imagined that I would become famous one day, but fate made it so, or it was inevitable, and God was destined not to let them remain unknown."

Shen Ci felt that Xie Ruzhuo was silly most of the time, but what he said was always surprising. He smiled: "I don't really have any ambitions, and I don't really want to make contributions."

"I don't have any ambitions." Xie Ruzhuo unceremoniously tore off another leg, with a happy expression, "Brother Wuhuang should actually go to the fiefdom this year, but the father likes him and let him stay in Pingdu for a while." Year. If he doesn’t leave next year, the courtiers will scold him. He is unhappy and wants to drive me to the fief. I can’t wish for it. Anyway, I don’t want to stay in the palace anymore. I can do whatever I want in the fief. .”

The age of the princes in this dynasty is not fixed. If a prince is established, the emperor will not be particularly gracious, and he will usually go to the fief before he becomes an adult. Some unfavored princes are even sent to the fief before they are 15 years old.The vassal princes who have gone to the fiefdom are supported by the court with money. As long as they keep their own place, they will live a comfortable and comfortable life.

Unexpectedly, there really is a prince whose long-cherished wish in this life is to be a vassal king who spends his days at leisure. Shen Ci really opened his eyes, leaving the last rabbit leg to Xie Ruzhuo, and said: "Then you want to be a vassal wherever you want to go?"

Xie Ruzhuo was even more radiant when he talked about this, and said: "If I can choose, I will go to Jiangnan. I heard that the peach blossoms there in spring are much more beautiful than those in our north. I want to go and have a look." With a straight face, "Although I'm not very favored, I probably can't go wherever I want, but Brother Wuhuang doesn't want to go too far away from the capital. It just so happens that there is no vassal king in the south of the Yangtze River, so I will beg my father, There is still hope."

Shen Ci also imitated him and put his face in thought, and said: "My wife is from Jiangnan, I also want to go to Jiangnan to see, it's best to take my wife there, she really wants to go back. But I'm not as lucky as you , I can't go."

Xie Ruzhuo also felt regretful, his eyes lit up after being depressed for a while, and he said excitedly: "The feudal lord can have his own guard commander, I can ask my father, or my elder brother, he is very talkative, I'm young, so it's not too much to want to transfer someone there. Then I can transfer you to Jiangnan!" He was afraid that Shen Ci would disagree, so he carefully poked his arm, "It's just that you probably have no chance to become a general. You can only stay with me in the palace."

The firewood made a crackling sound, and there was no star or moon tonight, but Shen Ci could often see the stars in the clear summer sky in Xie Ruzhuo's eyes in a trance. Post-job."

Xie Ruzhuo jumped on Shen Ci when he was happy, and said with a smile: "Then you agree? Are you willing to go to Jiangnan with me?"

Shen Ci pushed him away with distaste on his face, but the corner of his mouth secretly raised, saying: "You can't even ride a horse, and you are so unfavored, so I am the only one willing to protect you, right?"

"Yes, brother, you are the best." Such good deeds are worth remembering, and Xie Ruzhuo rewarded himself with two pieces of meat, "I will go to Jiangnan to wait for you first, then we will go to see the peach blossoms together."

That night, they didn't think about what would happen tomorrow, but they had already thought about the years to come.

At that time, they were probably 17 years old, far away from these annoying people, they were all famous and vulgar, and they fell drunk in the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River.

Life is spent like this.

In the end, most of the rabbit got into Xie Ruzhuo's stomach. He hiccupped, curled up next to Shen Ci and dozed off, scratched his right hand with his left hand, and scratched his left hand with his right hand, muttering, "Why are there still mosquitoes in autumn..."

Shen Ci opened his sleeves, there were mosquito bags, and there were also many bugs bitten out by unknown bugs. He was speechless and said, "How can there be so many bugs?"

Xie Ruzhuo sniffed aggrievedly, his tender skin was so uncomfortable, he glanced at Shen Ci's hand, pouted and said, "Why do you only bite me and not you?"

Shen Ci laughed and said, "You ask me, how do I know?"

Seeing how pitiful Xie Ruzhuo was, Shen Ci had no choice but to blow cool air on his hands and rub him a few times. Gradually, Xie Ruzhuo felt less uncomfortable, and fell asleep with his head on Shen Ci's shoulder.

Shen Ci put his head on his lap, took off his coat to cover him, and sat against the big bluestone all night.

On the second day, before they could go out by themselves, soldiers from the three major battalions came to find them. It seemed that the loss of a prince was worth a lot of fanfare.

Due to the rebellion by the remnants of the eunuch party, Xie Tang lost interest in continuing to play, and hurried back to Beijing in the afternoon. Xie Ruzhuo only had time to say goodbye to Shen Ci, and once again talked about the beautiful vision of traveling to Jiangnan together in a few years. Just like when I came, I left in a single jump.

Afterwards, he realized that he was careless, and he didn't leave any token for Shen Ci. He just talked nonsense without proof. Shen Ci wouldn't think he was a liar, would he?

But after thinking about it again, he smiled and thought, anyway, it's all agreed, a liar is a puppy.

A year later, the fifth prince left the capital to join the feudal domain. He encountered a mountain torrent on his way and died before reaching the feudal land.

In the same year, the palace people reported that Concubine Ning had an affair with Wu Xianrong, the general of Xishan.

Shen Ci heard the news from Pei Yunjing, Pei Yunjing said, it's a pity, the sixth prince is only 12 years old, he will be useless in this life, he can't stay in Lenggong for a few years, and he doesn't know how he will die later.

That day was the first time Shen Che saw Shen Ci, a child who could cry.

Still out of his mind, he insisted on going to Pingdu to find His Highness the Sixth Highness.

"What's the use of you going?" Shen Che didn't understand how long he had been together, and how he had become like a life-and-death acquaintance, "Oh, let's be careful, this is his fate."

Shen Ci's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse: "He said that he would wait for me in Jiangnan...how could he lie to me..."

That idiot can't do anything, but he feels wronged when bitten by a bug, so what should he do in the cold palace?

He laughed so painfully, can't he laugh like that again in the future?

Shen Ci has never met a person who asked him not to care about those words, so he learned to not care like that person back then, learned to smooth out his thorny edges, and occasionally learned to endure.

After all, they have grown up on different sides.

At the age of 17, they are getting farther and farther away from Jiangnan after all, so far away that it has become an old dream that is no longer recalled.