The cold wind was biting, and fine snow fell from the sky, making the already-snow-covered capital of the Xia Kingdom even more chilly.
In such a harsh environment, ordinary people may still need to rush around for their own lives, but for those powerful families, staying at home, warming themselves by the fire and drinking, or admiring the snow scenery in a warm pavilion filled with braziers is the best option. The most pleasant enjoyment, few people would choose to go out at this time.
But today, many dignitaries in Xingzhou City have made unconventional choices. For example, Xi Fengyao, the third son of the Xi Feng clan, who is a third-rank official in the court, actually endures the falling odds like this. Xixue stood in front of a closed door and didn't move for a long time.
He had been at this station for more than half an hour. Finally, as if feeling his sincerity, the grand door slowly opened, and a servant came forward humbly: "I will seal you young master carefully. The prince has a destiny." I want you to come into the house and speak now.”
Only the current crown prince of Xia Kingdom could make Xi Fengyuan stay out drinking the wind and eating snow for so long. After hearing this, Xi Fengyao, who was almost frozen, suddenly perked up. He quickly shook off the melted snow water on his body, responded, and hurriedly followed the people through the door.
After walking along the winding and clever corridors for a long time, they finally came to a cleverly conceived pavilion facing the lake on three sides. At this time, the left and right sides of the pavilion were covered with thick felt. Only the side facing the depths of the lake was open, allowing people to sit in the pavilion without being too cold and enjoying the view. Waiting for the quiet snow scenery.
Prince Li Renai was currently inside, with several braziers burning beside him and a lot of wine and food on the table in front of him. He was chatting and laughing with two men dressed as scribes beside him, drinking and enjoying the scenery. Xi Fengyao, who had already arrived at the pavilion, had a flash of shame and anger in his eyes when he saw this, but he quickly hid it again. Instead, he looked obedient and lowered his head to report: "The guilty minister Xi Feng See His Royal Highness from afar."
The prince was not in a hurry to respond to him, but continued his current topic: "How do you think the arrangements we have here compare to the enjoyment of the princes of the Song Dynasty?"
After hearing this, the two confidants naturally laughed apologetically and said: "No matter how rich the people of Song Dynasty are, they are not as rich as you, the prince. It is impossible for them to enjoy the snow scenery at the lake like the prince in such snowy conditions." You don’t have to worry about being affected by the wind and cold.”
"Haha, I guess that's it." The prince nodded happily and said, "I heard that envoys from the Song Dynasty came to congratulate my father on his birthday. I really want to meet them and ask them what they think about this. ." At this point, he turned his head and glanced at Xi Fengyao, who had been waiting for a while: "Come in and talk. What's your crime, that you have to come here to see me to apologize?"
Xi Fengyao hurriedly walked into the pavilion with a slightly bowed body. It was only then that he felt warm all over his body. It was much more comfortable here than outside. But his expression was still reserved: "I know that what I did the day before yesterday was not considered carefully. I originally wanted to win a rare good horse for the prince, but in the end... I hope the prince will forgive me for my reckless behavior!"
After the commotion at the south gate the day before yesterday, Xi Fengyao was really uneasy because he knew very well that he had embarrassed the prince in front of everyone. to this end,
He has been coming to apologize for the past few days, and he was only allowed in just now.
"Hmph, you make your own decisions, you don't do things well, you can't even look down on your own family, how can you ask the orphan to use you again in the future?" The prince's face darkened, and he began to scold him. But when these words fell into Xi Fengyao's ears, he felt relieved again. For the prince to say this, he still regarded himself as a confidant. Of course, this would also depend on his subsequent compensation and performance.
So after bowing his head and admitting his mistake again, he whispered: "Prince, forgive me. I know that the mistakes I made cannot be easily repaired, so this time I want to vent my anger on the prince and execute the person who killed the horse the day before yesterday." Got it!"
"Oh? Did you send someone to take action?" The prince was not too surprised. It was true that what Sun Tu did the day before yesterday embarrassed him, but the one who was most slapped in the face was Xi Fengyao, so it was reasonable for the other party to do this. middle.
"Early this morning, the sinner named Sun Qianli went out alone. Not long ago, I sent my elite men to kill him. It will not take long for this person's head to be presented to the prince as a gift for today's snow appreciation. A perfect accompaniment to wine.”
"Then just wait here for a while. I hope Xi Fengyao won't let me down again." The prince finally had a satisfied smile on his face. Killing Sun Tu is naturally a good way to save face, so that others know the consequences of being enemies with him, and the person who did it is not one of his men. Even if something goes wrong, it is still an internal fight within the Xifeng clan. , has nothing to do with him as the prince.
Seeing the prince's smile, Xi Fengyao finally felt relieved. This time, his compensation was finally correct and timely. Now we just have to wait and see when Sun Qianli's head will be brought over by his subordinates!
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The strong horse's hooves trampled heavily on the long street paved with bluestones as they ran at full speed, causing a layer of white snow foam that had just condensed above them to splash.
Under the hot pursuit of more than a dozen black riders, Sun Tu looked like a lost dog. Originally, he should have been able to distance himself from the enemy by relying on the heroic horse on his hip, but because arrows were constantly coming from behind, he had to be distracted to dodge and block, making it impossible for him to urge the horse with all his strength. So the leader of the black cavalry was finally given a chance to catch up. At this moment, the two sides were only half a horse apart. The opponent struck with his sword several times, but he quickly turned around and dodged it, but the situation was already quite dangerous.
In fact, it was not only Sun Tu who felt anxious, but also the pursuers, especially the leader of the black cavalry, because he found that the pursuit speed of the mount under his crotch was getting slower and slower. There was nothing that could be done about it. In order not to be thrown away by Sun Tu, he stabbed the horse sharply. With the injury and bleeding, the horse could not last long. At this time, the speed had already dropped. Otherwise, Sun Tu would Even if Tu needed to be distracted to dodge the arrows, he could catch up and launch the attack.
Seeing this, he was so anxious that he finally stabbed the horse's buttocks with a knife again, causing the horse to unleash its last bit of potential while Herod screamed, and its speed increased again. They were close again, almost touching Sun Tu's horse.
Feeling that the war horse under his crotch had reached its final moment, he no longer hesitated at all, and immediately moved his legs
Leaving the stirrup, he was ready to pounce at any time. At the same time, he raised his sword high and with a loud shout, he slashed at Sun Tu's back in front of him.
He had been preparing this sword for a long time, and his angle and strength were extremely precise, leaving no room for Sun Tu to dodge. And at this time, several more arrows shot through the air from behind, blocking both the left and right sides, making it impossible for Sun Tu to change direction.
And just as he struck out with the sword, something surprising happened. The horse under Sun Tu that was still sprinting at full speed suddenly neighed and retracted its hooves. In the blink of an eye, there was an emergency. Brake and stop.
The inertia of this momentum was too great, but Sun Tu relied on his increasingly superb riding skills to control the horse from falling. Instead, it suddenly made a 180-degree turn during this period. I saw the horse's hind hoofs kicking the ground hard, but its front hoofs were raised high, and the horse's body almost formed a right angle with the ground. Then he took advantage of this and twisted his body violently. When the horse's front hoof fell again, his body had already turned around in an instant!
This change was so sudden that it was beyond everyone's expectation. Not only did everyone's attacks, including the leader's, fall into the air, their movements also slowed down! Who would have thought that Sun Tu, who was bent on escaping, would suddenly turn around
This time, Sun Tu indeed used a real spear to turn around. Not only did the man turn back, but the horse also turned back, and the spear also stabbed out with the powerful force that erupted when he turned around.
The iron gun was rapidly rubbing against the air at this moment, emitting a strange whine, almost covering up the cold north wind that was still roaring. The shimmering tip of the gun actually made the surrounding snow even more chilly, and made the surrounding snow even colder. The sword missed, but the leader of the black cavalry was terrified because his horse staggered forward. An unprecedented sense of panic gripped his heart, causing him to scream subconsciously!
Out of the instinct of self-preservation, he pressed the horse's back and got up from the saddle just like Sun Tu had attacked him. However, because of his haste, his body was a little unbalanced when he jumped into the air, and the knife in his hand had just been withdrawn. On the chest, the vital points of the lower abdomen were exposed.
But Sun Tu's shot, which was superimposed with the power of the horse's forward and turning back, had suddenly arrived, and its target was exactly where his exposed lower abdomen was.
There was only a puff sound, and the iron spear pierced into his soft lower abdomen without any hindrance. As he let out a miserable howl, the spear passed through his body without any hesitation, and suddenly, from Half of the gun body came out of its back.
But Sun Tu's shot hadn't ended yet. The moment he pierced the enemy, his hands shook and danced, and another half-shrill scream sounded from the opponent's mouth, and then stopped suddenly, and he had already provoked him fiercely. Up in the air, his lower body was completely torn apart by the gunshot, and a large amount of blood and intestines were splashed in the air...
The damage and violence caused by this shot were so astonishing that the black knights who were chasing after them were so frightened that they suddenly stopped and pulled the reins almost at the same time, stopping their forward momentum, and then everyone They all stared at Sun Tu, who was standing with his gun in front of him, with devilish eyes.
At this moment, these guys were really scared!