Oriole Line

coming. "

Ah Ji... It's been a long time since anyone called him by that name, and he didn't even realize it was calling him the moment he heard it.

"A Ji." When Qi Dai turned his head and saw Wen Tao standing in the middle of the stairs, Qi Dai's eyes looked at him, and Wen Tao suddenly felt that their former intimacy seemed to have disappeared in an instant.

"Brother Sijun..." Wen Tao's voice was a little stagnant.

"Sit in the tea room." Qi Dai said lightly.He Shi Shiran got up, and Wen Tao saw Qi Dai's side face clearly.I haven't seen him for a few months, and he has lost a lot of weight. The face that was originally like a full moon now only has a slightly pointed chin. His eyelids are drooping, and the sky outside the window shines on his face. Wen Tao can't see the expression in his eyes clearly.

The two sat down.Qi Dai cooked tea, offered the teacup to Wen Tao, and said with a calm smile, "Should I call you A Ji or Wen Tao?"

Wen Tao was taken aback, and met Qi Dai's eyes as clear as a white horse lake, there was no inquiry, no displeasure, or even warmth in these eyes.

Wen Tao was at a loss for words for a while, curled up his fingers while holding the teacup, and said after a while: "It's Pu... Da Sima's expedient plan."

Qi Dai continued to smile, looked out the window and said: "I heard that when the Chaoyang Palace incident occurred, you and Pu Chen were both in the palace. In the end, His Majesty was able to fight back desperately, relying on the fifty thousand soldiers Pu Chen brought to Jiankang. "

"En." Wen Tao responded, and then explained again, "The king of Chu..."

"I know." Qi Dai interrupted Wen Tao, "The King of Chu and the Qi family colluded to disrupt the court, killed the Duke of Jia, rebelled in public in the Chaoyang Palace, and slaughtered all the officials." In the past few months, I don't know how many times Qi Dai has read it over and over again, and every word is carved in his heart like a knife.

Wen Tao lowered his head slightly.

"Ah Ji, I just want to ask you one question, do you believe every word and every word in the mansion newspaper?"

Wen Tao didn't look up, but he could feel Qi Dai's eyes staring at him.He had thought about the change of Chaoyang Palace many times afterwards, and the doubts in his heart were also increasing day by day.But facing Qi Dai at this moment, he can't say anything, and he has no evidence. Moreover, he still doesn't know what role he and Pu Chen played in the whole incident. Are they chess players or... pawns?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qi Dai sighed softly.After a long time, he said again: "Ah Ji, in the past you hated the powerful ministers and vowed to kill Puyang to repay the government and the monarch. Now that I think about it, why is my Qi family not a powerful minister? Eliminate the powerful ministers, are you satisfied?"

Wen Tao's hand clenched the teacup, he remembered the many words he and Pu Chen had said in Jiankang, and finally shook his head slightly.

"Nowadays, the imperial court is dominated by the northern gentry, and the Xie family of Chenjun was even more favored. As for the Pu family, after Pu Yang died, there is still Pu Chen." Qi Dai looked at Wen Tao, "Now, it is still the same. It's powerful ministers in power, do you still want to kill them?"

Wen Tao shook his head, this time, he shook his head firmly.

"It's also a powerful minister. You helped Puchen kill the Qi family, but left the rest of the powerful ministers alone. Ah Ji, you have changed."

Wen Tao said: "I'm sorry about the Chaoyang Palace matter, but I don't regret it. If it happens again, I'm afraid I'll still be on Pu's side."

"why?"

"Because of Pu Chen, he is a better choice." Wen Tao said with certainty.

Qi Dai looked at his expression, as if he didn't believe it: "A Ji, you never believed in people's hearts, you only believed in the law. It was you who said that the evil of the world lies in the aristocratic family, and the evil of the aristocratic family lies in the powerful ministers. Powerful ministers exercise power, With the power of life and death in hand, threatening the monarch from above and oppressing the people from below, the aristocratic family will not be eradicated, and Nanjing will not prosper."

"Yes, I have said it. However, the system of aristocratic families cannot be changed in the short term. If one aristocratic family falls, its power will only be divided by other aristocratic families. Therefore, it is better to let the person who deserves his position be the minister of power. "

"So, this person is Pu Chen?"

"Yes".

Qi Dai was silent for a long time, and took out a letter from his sleeve: "This letter should have been given to you a long time ago, and I kept it for more than a month in selfishness. Now that you have made up your mind, I will not stop you anymore, just This is no longer your place."

The letter read "Wen Tao's personal letter", apparently in Pu Chen's handwriting.

Wen Tao's heart trembled, and his fingers trembled when he opened the letter. The letter read:

韬：

Liangzhou has surrendered to Beiyan, and all [-] soldiers and horses in Liangzhou City have fallen to the enemy.The city of Liangzhou is high and dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. If Northern Yan wins it, the cavalry will follow the trend, and Jingzhou will be in danger. If Jingzhou is lost again, there will be no barrier for Northern Yan's cavalry to go south, and Nanjing will be in danger of destroying the country.

I know that although you are in the academy, you have the ambition to serve the country. Can you come to Wuchang to help me fight Beiyan and regain Liangzhou.

Waiting for your reply.

There is only one word "Chen" in the signature, and Pu Chen's private seal is also attached.

"Liangzhou has lowered Beiyan!" Wen Tao said in surprise.

Qi Dai was very calm.

"You already knew?"

Qi Dai nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I think you hate the aristocratic family. If Beiyan hits the Pu family this time, it may not be a bad thing for Nanjing."

"Beiyan is a foreign enemy, how can it be the same? If Nanjing loses the Pu clan, he will have no power to protect himself, and the country will be ruined and his family will be destroyed!" Wen Tao stood up suddenly, so excited.

"So what if the country is ruined and the family is destroyed? As you said, the family system is hard to shake. If so, what if it is overthrown?" Wen Tao has never seen Qi Dai like this before. Take it hard.

Wen Tao took two steps back: "You actually want to hand over Nan Jing to Bei Yan?"

"It doesn't matter who you give it to." Qi Dai said, "The country is ruined and my family is ruined. I have already been the one who ruined the country and family. I don't care if it is ruined again! If it is not destroyed, my family is gone. What is the use of the country? Wait until all this It's all over, it's all clean, if my three-foot life is still alive, I will create a new world!"

Wen Tao looked at Qi Dai who he hardly knew before him, and only then did he truly realize the pain of Qi Dai's death.

"Qi Dai, you hate me so much." Wen Tao said.

Qi Dai sneered: "Of course I hate you. Puchen killed the Qi family to avenge the murder of his father. I have nothing to say. And what about you? I saved you, but you handed over the butcher knife to my family." , how can I let go?"

Wen Tao said: "I act..."

"I know, you have always acted without asking personal feelings, and only according to what is right or wrong in your heart. Even if your own parents are in front of you, if you think they are wrong, you will not be soft." Qi Dai interrupted him, " Only this time, it was my father, my brother, my aunt, and my cousin who died. Even though I know what kind of person you are, I still can't forgive you."

Wen Tao looked at Qi Dai, his face that was always full of smiles in the past was now only sharp and cold.Wen Tao made up his mind and said: "Then we will part ways from now on, and I will never step into Guangling Academy again."

"It's a deal." Qi Dai turned around.

Wen Tao watched Qi Dai's figure move away step by step, and many old things came to his mind in an instant, his heart softened, and he stopped Qi Dai again: "There is one thing."

Qi Dai didn't look back: "What's the matter?"

"About the change of Chaoyang Palace, I don't want to justify myself. But later, I thought about it carefully. This time, Pu Chen may have been used. From the beginning to the end, from Pu Yang's killing, the housekeeper Cai Bo, the words and deeds of the prince, Ye Chi, the commander of the Southern Army... Ah!" Wen Tao originally wanted to confess his doubts to Qi Dai, but at this moment, he suddenly figured out the whole thing.

"What's wrong?" Qi Dai looked at him.

"I was inquiring about the private house that Uncle Cai went to in Xikou Lane, and I met a man in black. The man in black was very skilled. I always thought he was from the king of Chu, but now I suddenly remembered that the man was Ye Chi! Those eyes, I will not admit my mistake!" Wen Tao paused, and thought about the cause and effect again, "That is to say, the person who colluded with Cai Bo is not the king of Chu, but Ye Chi, and Ye Chi is behind Ye Chi. It's today's day! I always had doubts before, and I always felt that we were being used by others, and there was no evidence. Now that I think about it, the biggest beneficiary this time is His Majesty. He used Pu Chen's troops to complete the palace change and successfully eliminated King Chu and the Qi clan!"

Qi Dai stared at Wen Tao with cold eyes: "Is this true?"

Wen Tao nodded, he had no reason to lie to himself, Qi Dai thought.

Qi Dai was silent for a while and said: "You go. I will go to Jiankang to find out. However, even if you are used, it does not mean that I will forgive you."

Wen Tao nodded silently, the only thing between the two of them was the cold teacup, like the early spring chill of White Horse Lake outside the window.

28, 28.

Wuchang.

Ever since receiving the military report that Liangzhou surrendered to Beiyan, Pu Chen has been planning how to take back Liangzhou all the time.Beiyan is a regime established by the Jie people, whose ancestors were a branch of the Huns.During the rebellion of the Seven Kings in the future decades, Beiyan began to grow, not only entered the fortress, but also captured half of the territory of the Jing Dynasty.This is largely due to their current big player, Khalil.As one of the many sons of the Great Chanyu, Khalil was not favored by many people at the time, but it was he who saw the right time and led Beiyan's cavalry to sack Luoyang.Because of his achievements, he was elected as the new Grand Chanyu after the death of the old Chanyu, and he conquered a large area of ​​Jing Dynasty's territory north of the Yangtze River.

Pu Chen locked himself in the study room all night, and the desk was covered with topographic maps of Liangzhou and military newspapers in recent years.When Tang Yu came in in the morning, Pu Chen was lying on the table, and the candlestick on one side had just been extinguished, and his civet cat was curled up next to Pu Chen, sleeping soundly, as if he had been with him all night.

Tang Yu sighed, and tidied up the things on the case, and suddenly saw a letter in Pu Chen's handwriting, which said "Wen Tao's personal letter".Tang Yu became curious, and wanted to take it secretly to see what happened, but he didn't want this letter