Offer a tripod

In the early morning of the next day, five thousand Xuanjia warriors gathered in the school field, and the big flag fluttered and danced in the wind.Yuan Jing's envoys had been replaced with silver-scale armor, and huge torches were lit on both sides of the platform. Under the red light, the Shura mask on his face became more majestic and ferocious.The Thousand Feather Army lined up in front, and one of them held a mighty eagle in his arm, knelt down, and led the crowd to say: "Swear to guard the territory, follow life and death!"

All the soldiers shouted in unison, and the shouts resounded through the sky.After the three drums fell, the captain of the Qianyu army raised his arms, and the eagle raised its head and screamed, spread its wings, and flew to Yuanjing's shoulder.

At that time, the sky was gradually rising, and the silver light on Yuan Jing's body was cold and cold, jumping above the color of snow.His eyes hidden behind the mask moved slightly, and he retracted them from afar, looking at the people below the stage, he said: "Let's go."

Fang Qing watched the team leave before turning back to the main tent of the Chinese army.Chu Yu frowned, and was staring at the map, when he heard footsteps, he just said, "He's gone?" Fang Qing said "Hmm", and stood aside silently.Chu Yu glanced at him inadvertently, saw his preoccupied look, and asked casually: "What's wrong? He's not happy to leave?"

Fang Qing wanted to speak but stopped: "No. My lord, why did you ask His Majesty to lead troops? Although 5000 people are not many, once he gains power, he will definitely come back to take revenge. They're not going to let it go."

Chu Yu's eyes fell on the border town, the corner of his mouth moved slightly, and he said calmly, "I know."

Yuan Jing led the army to march for a day, and the soldiers of Qianyu knew his identity, they devoted themselves to their duties, and stood by his side all the time. If he didn't speak, no one dared to speak.As the night was getting late, everyone found a hill and camped to rest.During the march, the board and lodging were simple, and Yuan Jing lived in a small tent. The place was close to the wind, and the cold wind pierced his bones. He couldn't sleep for a while, so he sat by the brazier in a daze.There was a slight knock outside the door, and the eagle, who was still dozing, let out a low cry, as if reminding someone that someone was coming, Yuan Jing collected his mind and said, "Come in."

The person who came was the captain of the Qianyu Army, named Tiankui.He held a small jug in his hand, and brought it to Yuan Jing: "I'm here to bring you wine. It's cold, drink some to warm your body." Yuan Jing took it, but felt the warmth in his hand, as if it was overheated , he took a sip and asked, "How much wine did you bring?"

Tiankui replied: "Your Majesty, there are dozens of altars."

Yuan Jing nodded: "Take it out and distribute it to the soldiers."

Tiankui hesitated: "Your Majesty, the general has an order that drinking is not allowed in the army, and these are all prepared for you."

Yuan Jing said: "The general is outside, and the military order is not accepted. Now that I am the main general, I will obey my order. Pass on my military order. Except for the brothers on duty, everyone else has a bowl. Drink and rest early. We still have to go tomorrow.”

Tiankui responded and went. In the quiet snowy night, the sound of bringing wine to the altar, whispering and drinking was very clear.Yuan Jing poked the fire with a twig, but seeing the light of the fire, Tian Kui went and returned: "Return to Your Majesty, the wine has been divided." Yuan Jing saw snowflakes on his shoulders, and the hand holding the knife was even more Frozen and red, he took out a bowl and poured him a bowl of wine: "This bowl is for you, you can go and rest too."

Tiankui half-kneeled in front of him with military salute, took the wine bowl with both hands, and drank it down in one gulp.Seeing that Yuan Jing was still staring at the fire in a daze when he got up, he kindly persuaded him: "Your Majesty, you will be leaving at five o'clock tomorrow, you'd better go to bed early, if you think it's cold, this subordinate will go get another mink quilt."

Yuan Jing took another sip of wine before opening his mouth softly: "Are there wild animals here?" Tiankui was puzzled for a while, and Yuan Jing asked patiently: "Didn't it mean that when the weather is cold, wild animals often enter the city to hurt people?" , if the child is not optimistic, will he be taken away?"

He had been serious all day long, and only now did he show a little youthful air.Tiankui smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the wild animals are all on the mountain. If it wasn't for a bad year and short food and drink, they wouldn't come and go easily in this kind of weather. You can just sleep peacefully."

Yuan Jing said "oh", and the corner of his mouth unconsciously rolled down.

Early the next morning, everyone marched towards Fusangguan. Tiankui got the grace and followed Yuanjing, talking to him about the old things of Fusangguan on the way.This pass is close to the countries of the Western Regions, connecting the east and the west, and has always been the fat in the eyes of the countries.In the past, it was full of wars, until 33 years ago, the first emperor and General Shenwu led troops to fight against King Wusun here, and killed 12 enemies. Wusun Kingdom was originally the largest country in the Western Regions. contend for supremacy.So far, Fusangguan has been owned by the Yuan family and has become an important commercial center on the border of Dayan.

Yuan Jing thought about it in his mind: "33 years ago? It was the second year of Wu She. After that, the father was impeached and exiled..."

Tian Kui continued: "If the Wei army wants to retreat, this is the safest way for them to return home. Once they leave the city gate, they can disperse into the countries of the Western Regions, like water falling into the sea, and it is difficult to find them."

At that time, they were approaching the city gate, and they came across a tea shed on the way, so they simply sat down to rest their feet.The stall owner was a middle-aged man who was originally from Fusang Pass. When he heard that they were Yan Jun, he didn't dare to be negligent, so he hurriedly called out his wife and children, brought out two copper pots, and boiled milk tea for everyone.

Yuan Jing was walking along a commercial road, but he didn't see many people along the way, he felt strange, so he asked casually.When this matter was mentioned, the stall owner also had a sad face: "Ten days ago, the city lord of Sumeru closed the city gate, saying that it was to prevent thieves from entering and leaving, so this place is not as lively as before." Sending the steaming milk tea to Yuanjing In front of him, he said cautiously: "Master Jun, when will this battle be over?"

Yuan Jing was silent for a moment, and said: "Come on." He smiled at him comfortingly, then remembered that he was still wearing a mask, so he took the milk tea from his hand.When the two skins touched, Yuan Jing suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his face behind the mask turned pale instantly, and the teacup fell to the ground with a "bang".

Seeing that the situation was not right, Tiankui hurriedly said: "Your Majesty...General, what's wrong with you?" Yuan Jing's body trembled for a while, and he finally opened his mouth: "It's okay."

Tiankui pulled out his saber with a "swish" and put it on the stall owner's neck: "Say! What did you put in the bowl?"

Seeing this scene, the stall owner's wife and children hugged him in fright, and the stall owner screamed: "Guanye Mingjian, there... there is nothing here!" As the place flowed down, strange smiles suddenly appeared on the faces of the three people who were hugging each other. Their huddled necks were raised high, bruises appeared on their skin, and the hanging arms suddenly grabbed forward. Tiankui saw the opportunity very quickly. , backed up a few steps, slashed with a knife, blood spurted out, the person closest to him was a little stained, and that kind of scar also appeared on his arm.

The family of three were splashed with blood all over their heads and faces, screaming and screaming like evil spirits crawling up from hell, and rushed towards the crowd.The pain in Yuan Jing's heart became more and more intense. He clenched his fist tightly and said with difficulty: "...don't get close!"

The six thousand-feathered guards gave a "drink", stepped forward in formation, and came out with hooks and chains, biting the hands and feet of the three men. Tiankui held the meteor hammer and threw it far away, only hearing a few "dong", The spines of the three were shattered and they fell to the ground.

Yuan Jing took out a pill and ate it, it just felt better.He brushed away the crowd, stepped forward to take a look, and saw that they were not dead for a while, their hands and feet were still twitching.After taking two steps closer, Xinying rushed forward with a thud, and the half-man's wings flapped sharply, blocking his way.Tian Kui said anxiously: "General! Don't get any closer!" The person who was splashed with poisonous blood before was already unconscious, and the scars on his body were still spreading.Yuan Jing hugged Ying to his full arms, and said, "It's okay, there are some things I need to confirm."

He only walked three feet away, and the dull pain in his heart surged again.Seeing something slightly arched on the stall owner's back, Tiankui asked in surprise, "What is that?"

Yuan Jing covered his heart unconsciously, and said in a low voice: "Gu worm." For more than a year, he could occasionally feel something stirring in his heart, and Xue Yi once said that it was because the Gu was becoming more and more domineering.Presumably, the stall owner's family of three had also been hit by the trick early on, just now when they bumped into the one in his body, the Gu worm was awakened, and the poison was released in advance.After a moment of silence, he said: "The soldier who was poisoned stayed outside the city and asked two people to take care of him. The three members of this family were burned to the ground, so we must not touch any of them."

He turned around and got on the horse, shouting: "Let's go!"

Fusangguan got the news early in the morning, and when they saw the token, they immediately opened the city gate.The person who greeted him was a veteran with gray beard and hair, with a round face and smiling eyes, he was very talkative.Regardless of the five thousand living Hades standing behind Yuan Jing, they came up and walked in with his arms.Yuan Jing was startled at first, but after seeing that there was nothing unusual about him, he felt relieved and asked unsurely, "Master Xumi?"

The veteran smiled and said: "The city lord still has important things to do, and I'm going to join the army in the city. You just need to call me old horse."

Yuan Jing was not in the mood for greetings, so he summoned the scribes as soon as they met to check the details of the family of three outside the city.Dating back four generations, this family is from Fusang City. They are usually honest and honest, and there is no suspicion of being an undercover agent.Having said that, Yuan Jing always felt that something was wrong, and asked again: "Can you find out who has been in contact with them recently?"

The old horse still had that kindly smiling face: "It's not that the subordinates are shirking. If you have dealt with them before, there are eight hundred if not one thousand in the city. It's not easy to find out."Seeing that he was deep in thought and silent, Lao Ma said in a low voice: "The general questioned them, why? You and I are both generals of Dayan, so we need to be open and honest so that we can serve the country together."

Yuan Jing glanced at him, nodded and said, "That's fine." He retreated from the crowd, leaving only two guards to wait on him, and then told him in detail what happened outside the city.The old horse's smile faded away, and his frown became deeper and deeper: "They have seen a lot of merchants who come and go from north to south. It's fine if they get infected by accident. If someone deliberately does it, uses them as bait, and spreads it all over the city... ..." At the end, he was a little startled: "This matter is of great importance. I need to report it to the city lord first, and then discuss it with the general."

Yuan Jing said: "The situation is urgent, there are Gu masters in the city, please ask Ma Canjun to call them over, I still have a subordinate injured, waiting for help."

The old horse smiled bitterly and said: "During the retreat, the city lord expelled a group of foreign witch doctors and Gu masters. I'm afraid it's hard to find them now, so I'll do my best."

Tian Kui suddenly interjected: "Chizhu has been with the prince, do you want to invite him to come?"

Yuan Jing's heart skipped a beat, with hesitation in his eyes.Tiankui also knew that he had overstepped a bit, so he took a step back and said no more.Ma Canjun looked at this and then that, and said with great interest: "Is it inconvenient, General?" Without waiting for an answer, he added: "I shouldn't say this, but it's time for war, and since there are people available, It's better to call in earlier. If you delay for a day, you will be in danger. The soldiers are working hard on the front line. If the dogs from the Western Wei Dynasty take advantage of our loopholes, it will be unforgivable. Besides, the border is a place of bitter cold. Land, the battle is over, the general should go home early."

What he said made sense, even if Yuan Jing was a little unwilling, he had no choice but to obey.After all, there was still some grievance in his heart, he refused to write by himself, coughed lightly, and said to Tiankui: "In that case, send a letter from Feiying, asking him to send Chizhu over."

Fusang City has been open to trade for a long time, and the scale of the market is huge. Although the city gates are now closed and people are not allowed to come and go, there are many civilians and temporary caravans in the city.At nightfall, before the crowds in the market had dispersed, I saw vendors hanging up a row of oil-skinned paper lanterns in front of their stalls. A string of at least four, as many as seven or eight, fluttered with the wind, far and wide. At first glance, it looks like a firefly flying out quietly in a snowy night.

For the past two days, Ye Jing was busy discussing the city's armaments with Ma Canjun. If Chizhu didn't come, he didn't dare to patrol the city for a while, and sat sleepy for more than a day. breathable.On the way here, he heard from Tiankui that when he captured the city, the Sumeru family received the grace of the late emperor and co-ruled the city with the Yuan family. host.The residence of the old city lord was built magnificently, almost like a palace.

Yuan Jing bypassed the carved railings and painted buildings, the numerous palaces and pavilions, and finally walked to a dimly lit palace.The door was open, but there were no guards around. Yuan Jing was curious and walked in quietly.There is a small statue hanging in the middle of the hall, with curls of white smoke rising and lingering. He is in this vast mist, his eyes and eyebrows are not real.But when Yuan Jing saw it, he was too shocked to move.There is a memorial tablet enshrined under the portrait, which is the emperor of Dayan Sejong, Yuan Xu.

Yuan Jing didn't expect to see his father's tablet in Guan Town here, sobbed, threw away the mask, and knelt down on the ground.Since he left Beijing, he has made many plans and forbearance everywhere, and he has lost many smiling faces.In the past, his father had clearly warned him many times, but he had never heard of it once. Now that he has tasted the consequences, it is too late to regret, and he knows his father's good intentions.As soon as I thought of this, all the grievances and pain hidden in my heart surged out in an instant.

When the angry shout sounded from behind him, he was so weak from crying that he turned his head sobbing, and saw a middle-aged man in purple clothes and a golden sword standing in front of the palace gate.He seemed to be on the verge of rage, and as soon as he met Yuan Jing's eyes, he was stunned for a moment, filled with anger and instantly lost his temper, rushed forward, pressed Yuan Jing's shoulder, his face was full of ecstasy: "You come back It's time! You're finally back!"

Yuan Jing's shoulder was painfully pinched by him, he brushed him away, and said vigilantly, "Who are you?"

The man was taken aback again, looked at the portrait, then at him: "Aren't you..." After looking at him carefully for a moment, he said dejectedly: "Why did I forget, you are no longer here." Yuan Jing estimated that he was An old friend of the late emperor, the lights were dim, so he misread it for a while, and didn't bother with him. Tears couldn't be wiped clean for a while, touched the mask, and put it on: "I am the general sent by Dayan to guard the city gate. Dare I ask your Excellency?" yes?"

The man was still on the verge of pain, seeing his Asura mask, his eyes were startled, he remained silent for a moment, and then said: "I am the lord of this city, Xu Miting."

Yuan Jing said: "Master Xumi, I have been here for almost two days, I heard that you have been busy, and I haven't met you yet."

Xumi Ting sat cross-legged on the ground, and said gloomyly: "Ma Canjun has already told me, but yesterday is my friend's birthday, please forgive me for not meeting guests."

Yuan Jing was stunned, looked at the portrait, and felt a little annoyed that he had forgotten his father's life, and was still confessing to his father's spiritual throne in a low voice, when Xu Miting asked: "Boy, What is your relationship to the man in this portrait?"

Yuan Jing's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't answer for a while.This short meal has already made Xu Miting see the clue, he smiled wryly, waved his hand and said: "Forget it, you go back first, I will see you tomorrow, don't come here again."

Yuan Jing didn't mind his ignorance, he saluted briefly and left.Before leaving the door, he looked back and saw him standing under the portrait, staring at his father bewilderedly, and for a moment he thought of the great general who was buried with his body.Now that his spiritual aperture has been opened, he is very transparent about human relationships and the world. He can tell at a glance that his father also has a story with this person. He sighed and said to himself: "Father, how many people have you provoked?"

When I went out, it was snowing heavily again.Tiankui couldn't see him for a while, so he asked the guards in the house to look for him together.He hadn't walked a few steps before he met a maidservant. When she saw the footprints on the ground, she knew where Yuan Jing had come from. She turned pale with fright, and said in a soft voice, "General, that's a forbidden area in the mansion. The city lord never allows anyone." Come on, hurry up and go back with the maid." Yuan Jing thanked him as he held up a paper umbrella to shield him from the wind and snow.When the two bodies touched, he suddenly felt a dull pain in his chest, and he stopped his pace because of it. Turning around, he saw that the maidservant's face had bruises that were unique to dead bodies.

The author has something to say: In the process of writing, I dug out a lot of old stories about Emperor Yan. His relationship and career were more difficult and tortuous than Yuan Jing’s when he was young. I have the idea of ​​developing this article into a series. I will finish writing this year. After the scheduled two articles, if I have time, I may write another story about him.

ps: The next chapter is quite sweet, Zha Gong is a straight man and he is trying hard to chase his wife, please comment if you are so cute